Midsummer Night, a Mark-II Jaeger, finds itself in the inky depths of an unknown ocean after a botched brawl. Seems they may have got a bit more than they bargined for though...
A close encounter with a category three Kaiju leaves Midsummer Night, a Mark-II Jaeger, in the inky depths of an unknown ocean. With no communications or navigation available, the pilots, Shane and Michael O'Connell, are well and truly out of their element.
Good thing they accidentally brought something with them to liven up the party,
Shane mumbled an incoherent response and rolled over in his bunk.
“Shane, get up!” The voice said again.
“Mahhyuu wha?” Shane groaned, keeping his eyes resolutely shut. While not exactly comfortable, his bunk was at least warm; something to rest of the shatterdome had little to speak of.
“Get up you sloth.” The voice said again, Shane’s waking senses finally recognising that it belonged to his brother, Michael.
“Five more minutes.” He murmured.
“No, now.” His older brother ordered. “We’ve got a mission.”
Shane was suddenly wide awake, nearly falling out of his bunk in excitement. The allure of warmth gone, he hauled himself out of his bunk. He ran a hand through his short, sandy brown hair and fixed an eye on his older brother. “Kaiju?” He asked simply.
“No, scientific mission.” Michael said, dropping a dossier on Shane’s lap. “Read it, we’re launching at 0800,”
“Bah, what a load of shit.” Shane muttered, wishing he curl up and return to his bunk. “What are we doing?”
“Testing some sort of quantum tunnelling device.” Michael said, reading from another dossier. “Apparently it allows us to make short, controlled teleports.”
“Wha- you serious?” Shane asked.
“You know Dr Karkov?” Michael asked. “Apparently that nutjob got it working and the Marshall wants to try it out on a real Jaeger.”
“Christ.” Shane muttered. “Bit risky isn’t it?”
“Karkov reckons it works fine.”
“Urgh, Karkov is a loony. Don’t tell me we have to be the Jaeger when he does it?”
“Yep.”
“Aww shit.”
“Don’t worry I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Michael said cheerfully. “Come on, let’s go get some food. If some teleporter thingy is going to blow up in our face I’d rather do it with a full stomach.”
After a rushed breakfast, the brothers made their way into the Jaeger bays where the last two Jaegers the Anchorage shatterdome possessed idled. Closer to the entrance lurked Chrome Brutus, a Mark-3 Canadian Jaeger which even when powered down, radiated power and strength. As its name implied, the Jaeger was a brutal fighter; she relied on punches, head-butts and on one occasion, a body slam to bring down Kaiju. It had racked up three kills since its deployment, only one more than their own Jaeger.
“They really are big girls aren’t they?” Shane asked absently, staring up at Chrome Brutus’ reinforced head.
“It’s something you never get used to.” Michael agreed, strolling past the sleeping giant. They walked past an empty bay before reaching their own Jaeger, Midsummer Night.
“Beautiful isn’t she?” Michael whispered.
“You get far too attached to your machines.” Shane shot back, admiring the Jaeger regardless. The only American Mark-II still in service, Midsummer Night was based around one of the older Mark-1 models, Coyote Tango. Unlike the Mark-I though, she had a slightly larger, less tapered conpod along with broader shoulders and a thicker chest. Her heavier armour meant she was a bit slower but much, much more durable. In place of the two large mortars Coyote Tango carried, Midsummer Night had a pair of short range railguns propped up on its shoulders. A long, wickedly sharp wrist blade was recessed into each of the Jaeger’s underarms, giving it a reasonable, if somewhat risky weapon for melee. A small, rarely used energy caster was built into the right arm, sticking out like a neglected middle child would at a family meeting. Shane watched impassively as a dozen engineers and workmen attached what looked like a large, bulky backpack to the Jaeger’s spine.
“I’m guessing that’s our dooby whatsit?” he asked.
“Quantum tunnelling device, yes.” Michael said a sigh. “Didn’t you read the brief at breakfast?”
“No. Why would I?” He asked, thrusting his numb hands into his pockets and glancing at a large clock set into the wall. “We’re doing some probably dangerous scientific test in a Jaeger, pretty stupid waste of resources if you ask me. Less I know the better.”
“Look, Shane-.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Shane muttered, glancing back at the clock. “Come on, let’s go suit up. Nearly launch time.”
***
“Morning Sweetie, how are we doing today?” Michael asked jauntily as he strode into the conpod atop the Jaeger. Unlike many other Jaegers such as Gipsy Danger or Crimson Typhoon, Midsummer Night’s head wasn’t designed to be removable, necessitating the pilots climb to the top of the Jaeger before entering.
“Good morning, Pilot. All systems nominal.” the onboard A.I. said back, its voice as monotonous and dull as ever. Michael had dubbed the computer ‘Sweetie’ when he had first stepped into the Jaeger four years ago, a habit that slightly irked Shane. The duo stepped into the center of the con-pod and clamped their feet into the Jaeger. A pair of uniformed technicians stepped in behind them and fastened the back of their drivesuits to the control rig. A series of dull thuds reverberated through their suits as the bolts fastened into place.
“Good morning gentlemen.” The crisp, professional tones of Marshall Pentecost came through the drivesuit’s helmet speakers “As you know, today we’re undergoing a scientific exercise. I have Dr. Karkov from our science division with us today to provide support where necessary. Your orders are to proceed to the waypoint on your map and rendezvous with RV Equinox. Further instructions will be given there.”
“Pilots.” The Russian scientist accompanying them on the mission said, his voice slipping into the conpod like coarse sandpaper.
“Good morning, comrade.” Shane joked. He and Michael had meet the quiet, usually reserved scientist around the shatterdome previously and neither held a particularly high opinion of him. The fact that the Marshall had green lit this ridiculous plan of his didn’t sit well with Shane at all.
“That wall fell many years ago, Mr. O’connell.” Dr Karkov snapped tersely, Shane’s offhanded comment striking a nerve.
“Hey, where’s the socialist spirit comrade?” Shane continued.
“Just do your job, yankee, and I’ll do mine.”
The link went dead, the faint crackle of speaker static being replaced by a low rumble as Midsummer Night’s crawler coughed into life. A faint sense of vertigo overcame them as the Jaeger slowly rolled forward.
“You don’t have to antagonise him all the time.” Michael admonished as he checked several of the Jaeger’s systems manually, a habit he’d picked up after a faulty actuator in Midsummer Night’s arm had nearly broken down a wall in the Jaeger’s bay last year. A trickle of sunlight entered the conpod as the massive doors to the shatterdome slid open, revealing a dreary and fog covered harbour. Their crawler rolled forward, undaunted by the choppy water and almost solid wall of fog that greeted it.
“He called me a coward so I called him a dirty communist.” Shane said simply.
“Right.” Michael muttered, double checking the hull seals around the legs as the Jaeger’s toes lapped at the churning water outside the Shatterdome. A small helicopter buzzed overhead like a tiny gnat, presumably guiding the crawler down the ramp and into the choppy water that stretched out before them.
Shane whistled lowly as a small bank of fog cleared away from the shore line, revealing another metal giant tied down onto the deck of a cargo ship.
“Looks like Gipsy’s finally going to Oblivion Bay.” He remarked, noting the torn arm and shattered conpod atop the once proud Jaeger. He could still clearly recall the memory of Gipsy Danger striding into its last battle the previous year, the Beckett brother’s bantering away like usual. The sight of the veteran Jaeger’s battered and broken body being towed back into the shatterdome with one less pilot had not been a pleasant one.
“I’m going to miss her.” Michael said, a twinge of jealousy mixing with his sadness. Shane nodded, Michael had always been a little envious of the other Jaeger’s speed. Midsummer Night, on the other hand, was not known for her agility, her pilots preferring to stay out of protracted grapples with Kaiju and instead use the pair of heavy railguns mounted on the Jaeger’s shoulders to gut their opponents from range.
“Prepare for neural handshake.” Pentecost said abruptly, bringing the brothers out of their reverie.
Shane tossed a look at Michael. “This’ll be a blast. This time though, I’ll be fine not having to see your first three girlfriends.”
Michael chuckled. “Like you’re one to talk. Ready?”
“Please, after you.” Shane said, an amused look momentarily gracing his features. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he prepared himself to mind-meld with his brother.
“Neural handshake… initiated.” The A.I. droned as a wave of blue light filled their minds. Flashes of their pasts rose up, flowing from one memory to the next before either could stop and consider them. Michael felt a pang of embarrassment as a rather saucy moment with one of his previous girlfriends flashed before his eyes and vanished, replaced by a flash of them piloting Midsummer Night together in combat.
“Neural link complete. Handshake strong and holding.” The A.I. intoned as the blue wave of memories slowly faded from their vision.
“Calibrating right hemisphere.” Shane said, bringing the Jaeger’s right arm into a defensive position.
“Calibrating left hemisphere.” Michael replied, bringing the other arm simultaneously. They brought their fists together with a crash of metal, their minds and the metal body of the Jaeger now one.
“Calibration complete. Enjoy your trip.”
“Thanks, Sweetie.” Michael chimed, bringing a large scale map onto the conpod’s forward display. The map expanded until Cook Inlet met the Gulf of Alaska, some 300 kilometres from where they were standing. A small blip marking the RV Equinox pulsed feebly out near Kalgin Island a ‘mere’ 125 kilometres distant.
“Don’t tell me we have to walk all that way, isn’t that what the choppers are for?” Shane complained, a navigation course appearing overlayed on the map.
“You see all this fog? Those choppers can’t operate in this weather. Tell me, would you rather walk it for a couple of hours or end up as some crater in the side of a mountain?” Michael deadpanned.
“Walk.” Shane muttered ruefully. “Let’s just get this over and done with.”
“Now that’s what I want to hear!”
***
Kaiju detection network station – Tokyo shatterdome
Frank rubbed his eyes tiredly and refocused them on the multitude of screens in front of him. It was an early morning graveyard shift and like every early morning graveyard shift, it was boring. While most of the other shatterdome personnel had retired for the night, he and six others watched the ring of sensor buoys and drones that kept an eternal vigil over the breach. He yawned and checked his watch again, frustrated at how slowly time was passing.
“Hey, Frank. Coffee?” One of the Japanese men asked. Jiro, if Frank remembered correctly.
“Yeah, thanks.” He said with an appreciative nod. He arrived in Tokyo two years ago and while he found the other late night workers friendly, he had never really connected with any of them. Frank let his mind wander wistfully, thinking of his old flat back in London… No Kaiju there to ruin his day.
“Anything yet?” Jiro asked, returning with a large mug of coffee in each hand.
“Almost sounds like you want to have a Kaiju pop up.”
Jiro shook his head. “No, no. Just makes shift interesting, don’t you think?”
Frank shrugged. “Suppose so.” He consulted a table taped to the console. “The lab boys reckon we might get another one in the next few weeks.”
“What class you reckon?”
“Hell if I know, I’d be a bloody relief for some more CAT 1s though. Mind you, the CAT 3’s put up a good fight against the Jaegers which can be great fun to watch when the Jaegers win.” He smiled, feeling a little guilty for taking pleasure in the act of watching the Jaeger pilots fight for their lives. Frank took a sip of the coffee. “You see the clips of that CAT 4 fighting in Manila last year?”
“Oh yes, very good. Horizon Brave was very skilled.”
“A Mark 1 holding against a CAT 4? Incredible. I thought those Chinese pilots were toast.”
“They would be if those other two Jaegers weren’t there.”
“Striker and Gipsy? Yeah, great show by both of them.”
“Sad that Gipsy is dead.” Jiro said sadly.
“Yeah, she was a real fighter.” Frank said wistfully, staring at the console blankly. A sudden squawk from the machine made him nearly fall out of chair in surprise.
“Oh please don’t be a Kaiju.” Frank muttered, scrambling to look at the display. The sensor grid had detected a large upwelling of water from around the breach, an effect usually caused by a Kaiju emerging from the fiery pit.
“Or from the volcanic vents around it…” Frank murmured, unsure if the reading the sensors had picked up was a Kaiju or just a vent letting off some steam. “What do you think Jiro?” He asked, his hand hovering uncertainly above the general alert button.
“Tectonic activity maybe?” The Japanese technician suggested.
Frank scratched his chin and examined his seismographic data carefully. “There have been several shifts over the last week. Could be possible I guess…”
“So no Kaiju?”
“We’ll wait until it reaches the outer ring before we sound the alert. If we get nothing it was just a false reading, if we have a contact it’ll be a Kaiju for sure. Not worth mobilising for what is probably just a tectonic shift.”
“Probably.” Jiro echoed. “How big?”
“2300 tons. Still waiting for a radiation reading…” Frank said tensely. A few seconds passed and the tell-tale radiation spike that followed the upsurgence of water eluded them. “Well… that sort of sells it for me..” Frank muttered, scratching the side of his head.
“Then what do we do?”
Frank pondered briefly. If there really was a Kaiju it would take several hours to reach the outer ring of sensor buoys. Even then, it would still be another six hours or so before it could conceivably make landfall. He slowly withdrew his hand from the general alert.
“We’ll keep an eye on it. No point causing a fuss if it’s nothing. Let it reach the outer ring and if we get anything we hit the alert.”
“Okay.” Jiro said with a slow breath. The sudden tension seemed to recede slightly as the two hesitantly decided there wasn’t a 300 foot monster after their blood just yet.
“Hey, speaking of Kaiju, you reckon Striker could take out a CAT 4 by itself?” Jiro asked, trying to usher back in a sense of normality.
Frank took an unsteady sip of his coffee. “I'd rather not think about it.”
***
Near Kalgin Island, Cook Inlet - Alaska
“Midsummer Night is at the rendezvous point. RV Equinox, you copy?” Michael said as the Jaeger ground to a halt. They were about waist deep in the water and the ever-present fog had cut visibility down to a couple of hundred metres. They had nearly stepped on a small fishing vessel on the way out, a timely blast of their fog horn finally warning the tiny vessel of their presence.
“Loud and clear boys!” The long Texan drawl of the research ship’s captain answered back. “We’ll be with you lickity-spit.”
“This guy is going to get on my nerves real quick if he keeps talking like that.” Shane muttered.
“I’d be more worried about this fog. The scanners work fine but I can’t see shit.” Michael said, the Jaeger’s head tilting down slightly to look at the swell around its waist. “Our Texan friend could be right next to us and we wouldn’t know.”
“I’d be more worried about his whole expedition. I’m not sure anyone would want to have some experimental pack… thingy, strapped to their back and be lugging it around.”
“Didn’t you read any of the brief? We’re not the first run. They tested it on Brawler Yukon’s remains and it worked fine. Mostly.”
“Don’t see why we’re the guinea pigs here.” Shane grumbled.
“Again, all in the brief.” Michael admonished, watching the radar as RV Equinox crept towards them. “We should be starting soon.” He said, his eyes flashing over the unfamiliar control panel that had been welded in an ad-hoc fashion into the conpod.
“Midsummer Night, test procedures are about to begin. Fasten your jock-straps boys, this is going to get fun!” The captain of the Equinox said with seemingly bottomless enthusiasm.
“Pilot, activate the quantum tunnelling device. There should be a marker over the appropriate control. This will feed power from your reactor into the device.” Dr Karkov said. “I’ll give you instructions on how to operate the device as the test continues. Equinox is standing by to assist and observe.”
“It’s online.” Michael said after examining the panel and flicking the appropriate switch.
“Good, the capacitors need time to charge. Once the level is at 40%, a small jump should be possible.”
“Define small, doctor.” Michael asked as the power levels rose to 20%.
“Maybe move Jaeger only a few hundred metres.”
“Only.” Shane scoffed. “What about at 100%?”
“Don’t know, have not got results yet.” Karkov said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shane asked, slightly worried.
“Simple. We did not find Jaeger.” Karkov said simply, a trace of amusement in his usually stoic voice.
“Christ!” Shane swore. “I can’t believe Pentecost let that madman play with our Jaeger.”
“Charge at 40%.” Michael said, ignoring his brother’s reservations. “What now?”
“Equinox has laid a beacon for you to use. Lock the targeting computer onto it and press the button labelled test.” He said, adding something in Russian onto the end.
Shane’s face dropped and shot a concerned look at Michael. “He didn’t just say what I think he said did he?”
“Well I never really believed in god but I sure as hell hope this works!” Michael said, slamming his fist down on the button marked ‘TEST’ before Shane could object. A curious sensation tugged at them, it felt like their stomachs had dropped a few metres while the rest of their bodies were being pulled apart. Everything flashed dark for an instant before the cool lighting of the conpod and the thick grey fog swirled back into view. A sharp crack sounded through the Jaeger as air around the machine was suddenly forced aside by several thousand tons of metal appearing. The Jaeger swayed drunkenly as its pilot’s tried to regain their composure.
“Well, that went well. I think.” Michael said shakily, raggedly panting as he shook of the strange sensation of their short journey. “Where are we?”
Shane brought the display up with a shaking arm. “On the beacon. Looks like the commie knows his stuff after all.” He said with a nervous laugh.
“I heard that.” The Russian scientist growled. “We move onto next test-.”
“I think not.” The voice of Pentecost said, cutting over the top of the Russian. “We have a situation.”
“Sir?” Michael asked.
“We have confirmed breach. Category 3, 2300 tons. Codename: Switchback.”
“Where is it heading?” Shane asked carefully.
“Seattle. We’re airlifting you to defend the city. We’re starting to warm up Chrome Brutus but it will be another hour until she’s ready to deploy.”
“What about Mammoth Apostle or Romeo Blue?”
“Mammoth is in the middle of a repair cycle. Romeo blue is already en route.” Pentecost replied. “The Carryalls are on their way to pick you up.”
“So much for not being able to fly out here…” Shane muttered ruefully.
“This is an emergency, the Kaiju is about six hours away. You’ll be pushing it to get there in time.” Pentecost snapped.
“Why didn’t we see it sooner?” Michael stammered.
“Faulty buoys in our first sensor ring. The technicians decided to not call it in. Our second ring picked it up straight away though. We’ll let you know more as we get it. Any questions?”
“How long till the choppers arrive?” Shane asked
“Around fifteen minutes. Get ready to roll, this is going to be tight.”
***
Seattle airspace – Washington State
Tight was an understatement. The flight down to Seattle had taken at least six hours and until they got there, Romeo Blue would be alone to face a Kaiju that would probably outclass it. ‘Heck’ Shane thought, ‘It’ll probably outclass us.’
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Michael said reassuringly. “We’ll paste this guy and go home.”
“Ten minutes to drop.” One of the helicopter pilots radioed to them.
“How long till the Kaiju hits?”
“A few minutes. Romeo Blue has positioned itself off the city and is waiting for it.” The pilot responded.
“Shane, get Romeo Blue on the horn. Let them know we’re nearly there.”
“Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?” Shane said poetically..
“Knock it off you dope.” Michael laughed.
“Rodger that. Romeo blue, Midsummer Night is ten minutes to drop. Keep some Kaiju for us okay?”
“Rodger that, good to hear from you.” One of the pilots, Bruce, if Shane remembered correctly answered. “We’ll got a visual on the bastard. Engaging now.”
“How big is it?” Shane asked.
“Must be about three hundred foot at least.” Bruce answered, his reply punctuated by a series rapid thumps as the Jaeger’s chest mounted Gatling guns opening fire. Like Midsummer Night, Romeo Blue specialised at ranged combat. “Fast though.” Bruce swore.
“Just hold on, we’re coming.”
“Better hurry up Shaney, we’re having a tough time down here.” Bruce snarked. “Whoa! Damn thing just blew past us, didn’t even stop to engage.”
“Pilot! Take us into the city, the Kaiju just bypassed Romeo in the bay.”
“Rodger that, coming in for the drop.”
Shane looked above at his brother. “You ready for this?”
Michael grimaced “Urban environment, fast as hell Kaiju… what could possibly go wrong?”
***
“You’re released! Good luck down there guys, call us when you need pickup.” A pilot said as the cables supporting Midsummer Night below the helicopters detached. The Jaeger hit the ground running, the several thousand tons of metal landing with surprising grace.
‘Romeo, where are you?”
“We’re entering the city now… keep an eye out, this thing is deadly fast.” Bruce replied. “It’s roen through the CBD already.”
“Will do, thanks for the heads up.” Michael said quietly, the head of Midsummer Night cautiously turning to search for the Kaiju.
“Damn, there it is! Where’d it come from?” Bruce cried over the radio. A loud roar and the screech of metal came over the radio.
“Damn, we gotta get over there!” Shane said, Midsummer Night breaking into a run. The Jaeger pounded down the streets at full speed, skyscrapers rushing past the conpod as it went to Romeo Blue’s aid. A roar of pain came over the radio.
“Come on Romeo, what’s going on?” Michael yelled, manoeuvring the Jaeger between the buildings like it was a sports car. They skidded past a building and came into view of the distressed Jaeger. They watched in horror as the vaguely lizard-like Kaiju ripped an arm from the machine and hurled it away. Before Romeo could bring its other arm to block, Switchback grabbed the Jaeger’s head between its jaws and ripped to conpod off in one clean bite. Pilotless, the body of Romeo Blue toppled over like a house of cards in a strong wind, nearly trapping one of the Kaiju’s legs beneath it.
“Romeo is down!” Shane yelled unnecessarily.
“Sweetie, railguns online. Now!” Michael barked, eager to avenge Romeo blue.
“Railgun system online. Capacitor at full charge in twenty seconds.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be quick enough.” Shane muttered as Switchback hurled the shattered conpod of Romeo Blue with a casual toss of its head. The six glowing blue eyes of the Kaiju locked on Midsummer Night and without hesitation, the Kaiju barrelled towards the Jaeger. Midsummer Night darted aside from the headlong charge with metres to spare and followed up with a punch to Switchback’s gut as the Kaiju tried to turn around. They grabbed one of Switchback’s forearms as it clumsily lashed out them and pounded their other fist into the Kaiju’s soft underbelly twice more. Roaring in frustration, Switchback swung its tail around in a deadly arc, nearly knocking Midsummer Night’s legs out from underneath it. Seizing the initiative, the monstrous Kaiju pinned the Jaeger with a claw and snapped ferociously at the conpod, eager to reach the pilots inside.
“Capacitors charged, ready to fire.”
“Back off you ugly son of a bitch!” Shane yelled, firing the railguns point blank into the Kaiju. Switchback must have sensed the threat though and leapt off at the last second, only one of the shells clipping the Kaiju across the chest. An unnatural screech of pain echoed around the city as the heat of the solid tungsten round burned away at its flesh and cauterised the wound. Before Midsummer Night could steady itself, Switchback hurled itself at them again; the two giants tumbling across the city like two dancers locked in a deadly grapple.
“We’ve got to get him off us.” Michael gasped as one of Switchback’s claws dug deep into the Jaegers chest and pierced the armour there with contemptuous ease. Midsummer Night punched the creature’s jaw several times, shattering teeth and spraying the curious neon blue blood the Kaiju had across their armour. Switchback snapped back furiously, refusing to release its death grip and biting deep into their hull wherever it could reach. With a savage roar it tore open the left arm, making Michael cry out in pain.
Shane wrapped the right arm around its jaw, trying to hold it shut before it could rip the other limb off.
“We need to do something fast or we’re not getting out of this, Mike!”
“Dump power into the quantum tunnelling device” Shane yelled, holding one of Switchback’s forearms back. He parried the claw away and activated the arms inbuilt wrist blade, unleashing a risky counter attack. The move paid off and Switchback’s right forearm was almost severed by the blow. A torrent of blood spilled from the wound, covering both combatants in an almost comical shade of blue liquid.
“We’re running?! What about Seattle?!” Shane asked, his grip on Switchback’s jaw failing as the Kaiju’s remaining forearm started to pry it off.
“Just do it!” Michael roared as the Kaiju’s claws dug further into their chest. “Chrome Brutus will be here soon to finish the job.”
“Dumping power.” Shane said quickly, hitting the button that controlled the capacitors for the quantum tunnelling device. The power levels rose sharply as the thirsty capacitors lapped the charge up from their nuclear reactor.
“Capacitors at 50% charge.” The A.I. warned.
“Another few seconds…” Michael groaned.
“We can go now!” Shane yelled as the Kaiju freed its jaw from their right arm. It snapped at their head again, missing by a mere meter.
“Capacitors at 80% capacity.”
“Michael!” Shane roared.
“Capacitors at 100% capacity.”
Michael’s fist slammed down against the ‘TEST’ button.
***
Anchorage LOCCENT- Alaska
“What just happened?” Marshal Pentecost demanded, looking at the display. One moment Midsummer Night and Switchback had been engaged in a brawl and the next both signatures were gone. “Where’d they go?”
“No idea, sir! They just vanished.”
Pentecost grabbed the microphone. “Midsummer Night, do you copy?”
Static answered him.
“Repeat. Midsummer Night, do you copy?” He asked.
More static.
“Sir, we had a large power spike when they vanished. Similar to when Midsummer Night was undergoing the tests earlier. They may have tunnelled away.”
“Well then where the hell are they?”
***
Unknown location
Midsummer Night drifted through the inky blackness silently, the Jaeger trembled slightly as its heels dragged along the silty ocean floor.
“What happened?” Shane breathed. His mind ticking over silently, evidently the neural link had been severed by the lack of power.
Michael looked around the damaged conpod. “We jumped, that much is for sure. You alright over there?”
“Fine. You?”
“Been better.” Michael responded, slipping into silence. The Jaeger ground to a halt, the muddy seabed sucking up whatever momentum it had left.
“Where are we?” Shane asked finally, breaking the silence that had descended between them.
“Well wherever the hell we are, it’s certainly not the Pacific.” Michael answered, leaning forward and tapping a few buttons on the overhead console. “You still with us, Sweetie?”
“Affirmative.’” The A.I. responded immediately.
“Systems check?”
“Warning: Main reactor offline, systems running on emergency battery power.”
“Can you restart the reactor?”
“Reactor reactivation protocols online, reactor reset in 3... 2... 1”
A dull clunk came from beneath them.
“That didn’t sound good.” Shane muttered.
“Reactor restart failed. Retrying.”
This time, a score of lights flickered on across the con-pod, basking the scene in the familiar cool white light they were used to. A low humming sound came from beneath their feet as the nuclear reactor far below them warmed up again. The display powered up, a few readings and a dozen warning lights flicking on feebly across it.
“Reactor reset complete.” The A.I. said with almost a hint of satisfaction in its voice.
“Now what?” Shane asked.
“Let’s just focus on getting Midsummer back on her feet.” Mike said, tapping a sequence of buttons. “Can we restart the drift Sweetie? I’d like it if we could stop dragging ourselves through the mud.”
“Initiating launch operations, Midsummer Night. Two pilots in neural bridge. Initiate pilot-to-pilot bridge. Pilot one, are you ready to begin?”
A flash of blue light filled Shane’s mind, his memories, instinct and emotions rolling into his brother’s like a tidal wave. The familiar feeling of Michael’s thoughts worming their way into his mind flooded his consciousness until he had trouble telling which his brother’s thoughts and which were his own. Their feelings expanded as they mind-melded with their Jaeger until finally man and machine became one.
“Neural link complete. Handshake strong and holding.”
“Calibrate right hemisphere.” The A.I. intoned. “Calibrate left hemisphere.” The pilots moved together, the occasional prick of pain making them wince as a damaged component in an arm or leg ground against something or refused to move. They slowly brought their fists together, satisfied they had become one with their Jaeger.
“Calibration complete. Activating the Jaeger in 3... 2... 1.”
Midsummer Night roared into life, the servos in the arms and legs whining as to keep up with the movement of the pilots in the con-pod. Half a dozen flood lights snapped on, illuminating the ocean bed in front of them with a ghostly glow; sending a school of curious looking fish darted away in panic as the giant mecha seemingly materialised in front of them.
“Want to go fishing?” Michael snickered, the pair moving slowly moving the Jaeger forward.
“Position check.” Shane barked, ignoring his brother’s remark.
“No signal on the GPS.” Michael called back.
“Fantastic, can we reach Anchorage LOCCENT?”
“Nothing on comms, radio might be fried.”
Shane growled and slammed his fist against the control panel above his head. A surge of feedback rippled through the neural bridge and Midsummer Night shuddered ominously.
“Caution, integrity of neural handshake falling.”
“Shane, get a hold of yourself.” Michael said calmly.
“We’re lost! No comms, no navigation, nothing! We’re completely blind down here.” He muttered, Midsummer Night juddering to a to a halt as the the neural bond connecting to two pilots diminished.
“Sweetie, can you give us anything, anything at all?” Michael asked calmly.
“Would you stop calling it that? It’s just a machine, Mikey.” Shane muttered icily.
“I think it likes it.”
“It doesn’t feel anything.” Shane insisted.
“Geographical data suggests Midsummer Night is on a continental Shelf.” The A.I. paused for a moment. “Probable course for landing laid out.”
“Thank you.” Michael said, bring the projected course up on the main screen. “Now can you stop throwing a tantrum and pull yourself together, Shane?”
Shane took a deep breath and centred himself. He didn’t trust the computer further than he could throw a Jaeger but it seemed it was the only option.
“Guess we better start walking.”
It was almost an hour later when the A.I. chimed up again. The water around them had turned from a midnight black to a deep blue. Despite his reservations about their position, Shane grudgingly admitted that the A.I. had been right.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me I thought we dumped that fish already.” Shane muttered, already scanning the waters around the Jaeger for signs of the mass of jaws, outstretched limbs and talons that would be the first sign of their foe.
“Where?” Michael asked, “I don't have a visual.”
“I got nothing Mikey, computer confirm Kaiju threat?” Shane asked, looking up to see the surface of the water a few metres above the con-pod.
“Reanalysing data, stand by.”
“We’re about to break the surface, we’ll get a better view once we’re up on top.” Shane said, carefully monitoring Midsummer Night’s sensors. He had no intention of just ‘standing by’ with the possibility of a Kaiju hunting them. A stream of water rushed down the visor of the con-pod as the Jaeger’s head rose from the depths.
“Whoa...” Shane breathed, the sight that greeted them completely unexpected. A sprawling coastal city was laid out before them for as far as the eye could see. A towering giant was visible behind a haze of smoke, occasionally striking out at a building or swiping at some unseen harassers with its tail. Even from the distance the wounds they had inflicted in their last fight were still visible.
“Well there’s our Kaiju.” Michael remarked dryly.
“What’s a Kaiju doing in New York?” Shane asked.
“What?” Michael asked, wondering where his brother had pulled New York from.
“Look, that’s the Statue of Liberty.” He explained. “So it’s gotta be New York.”
“Since when has the Statue of Liberty had four legs?”
Shane looked closer, noticing that the proud statue indeed had four legs. On closer inspection he realised it was decidedly equine in nature. “What the hell…”
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!” Michael jeered.
“Well then where the hell are we?” Shane breathed.
“Positional data unavailable at this time.” The A.I. said. “Warning: Kaiju threat detected.”
“Yes we know Sweetie, you don’t need to tell us.”
“If we dragged that sucker through with us how come he didn't just rip us apart?” Shane asked as the guided their Jaeger past the comparatively tiny statue. Even without the neural link, Michael could see his brother’s confusion. Kaiju weren’t known to just pass up a target.
“Must have thought we were dead in the water. Found this place and went to town I guess.” Michael suggested.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Kill it before it kills us.” Michael said simply. “Sweetie, bring our railguns online. Let’s see if we can gut this bastard before he sees us.”
“Railguns online and charging, forty seconds until firing sequence.”
The pair of railguns mounted on Midsummer Night’s shoulders swung into position to track Switchback, a faint hum distinguishable over the mechanical footsteps of the Jaeger already audible. They moved further inland, the water receding around the Jaeger until the tops of their thighs were visible. As they drew close to the city tiny shapes darting away from the Kaiju became visible. People, perhaps?
“Uh-oh, he’s spotted us.” Shane said as the shark/crocodilian Kaiju noticed the towering Jaeger standing out in the bay. It roared a challenge and charged with supernatural speed towards them, the city it had been so happily destroying completely forgotten.
“Guns?” Michael asked, a trace of fear flickering across the neural link. They’d already seen what Switchback could do to them in melee and it seemed neither of them were particularly thrilled with the possibility of another wrestle.
“Twenty seconds until firing sequence.”
Switchback drew closer, its massive tail reducing a building to rubble in its haste to reach the Jaeger. The ground trembled as the Kaiju dived into the water, demolishing another skyscraper with another errant flick of its tail.
“Now would be a very good time for those guns Sweetie.” Michael coaxed as six the tiny eyes on Switchback became distinguishable from its dark, almost muddy flesh. Less than a hundred metres separated Switchback and Midsummer Night when the two railguns barked and a pair of hypersonic slugs spat out the end, connecting with Switchback before Shane even realised the shells had left the guns. One clipped its shoulder while the other slammed into its face, crushing its dense skull like a juice box. A funnel of cauterised flesh and brain matter blasted out the back of its head as the solid tungsten round bored its way through effortlessly. Presumably dead, Switchback momentum carried it into Midsummer Night, nearly knocking the mighty Jaeger over. An infernal screeching echoed around the con pod as the Kaiju’s claws scraped against their armour. Shane cried out as a massive talon sliced across Midsummer Night’s right forearm in a shower of sparks and rending metal. The Kaiju's tail spasmed violently, the wickedly sharp barb on the end impaling into the Jaeger's chest with a resounding clang.
“Get off.” Michael grunted, directing their left arm to shove the twitching Kaiju off the Jaeger. The massive hand gripped the barb and pulling it out like some grotesque arrowhead. To ensure their foe wasn’t playing possum, they crushed Switchback’s chest with Midsummer Night’s foot, the weight of the Jaeger making a mockery of the Kaiju’s natural hardiness. A sickening crack came from under the water as Midsummer Night shattered the Kaiju’s ribcage under her heel.
“Was that really necessary?” Shane panted, his right arm hanging limp. “We blew its damn head off.”
“Better to be safe than sorry.” Michael said with a shrug. “You alright?”
“I’m fine, it’s nothing serious.”
Shane breathed a sigh of relief and laughed nervously. “Now that little problem is out of the way, how about we find out where we are?”
“Sounds like Christmas morning.”
***
It was truly a sight that had to be seen to be believed. Scores of buildings had been toppled by the monster’s rampage and massive footprints that a dragon could curl up in marked the streets. Another trail of destruction led back to the harbour, marking the path the creature had taken to reach the other giant which had mysteriously appeared.
‘Our saviour.’ Celestia thought cautiously. After dispatching the monster attacking Manehatten with disturbing ease, the metal giant had stood motionless in the harbour. Almost like a silent guardian watching over them.
“Princess, I still do not think this is the best idea.” One of her guards cautioned her as the quartet of ponies flew towards the mighty being.
“I think it is only fitting that we thank our guest.” She said, flapping her mighty wings to rise a little higher in the warm air. By her guess the monstrosity was almost 80 meters high and at least half as wide at the shoulders. A few chunks had been torn forcefully from its chest and arms, evidence of an earlier battle. She flinched as a shower of sparks from a dangling cable flew past her.
“Do you need to personally do it though?” The guard insisted, flying a little closer to her. “That... thing tore that other... thing... apart like it was a grapefruit! It’s dangerous.”
“I do not think it would consider me a threat.” Celestia guessed, reasoning that neither she nor her guards would be a credible threat to the creature.
“It might not understand you.” The guard pointed out.
Celestia had to agree the pegasus had a point. “We must try. I don’t want this potential friend to turn hostile. I appreciate your advice, but I believe this is the best course of action.”
“As you wish, Princess.” The guard muttered, falling back into formation. The small group approached what they believed was the creature’s head cautiously. Up close, Princess Celestia could understand the guard’s concern; she would’ve been able to fit most of her bedroom in the giant’s hand. She approached the head, her white form perfectly reflected in what appeared to be a visor of some kind.
“Greetings stranger. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of these lands. We thank you for destroying the monster assaulting our city.” She bowed her head a little, feeling a little foolish. “We extend the offer of peace to you, we mean no harm to you or your people. If you require aid we may be able to help you.”
Silence answered her. Maybe the guard was right, maybe it couldn’t understand or even hear her. She was about to order the guards back down to the ground when a speaker crackled into life.
“Uhh... Hi?”
“What the hell are you doing?” Shane hissed.
Michael shrugged. “Talking to it I guess.”
“Michael, you’re talking to goddamn flying horse. Horses don’t talk!”
“This one does, apparently.” Michael shrugged again. The two brothers had watched the small group approach the Jaeger and like any siblings, had bickered over what to do. They certainly weren’t expecting the monarch of some nation to fly up to them and start talking in fluent English.
“Yeah but... still!”
Michael shrugged. “Seems like this Princess Celestine-
“Celestia.” the A.I. corrected.
“Celestia, thank you Sweetie. Seems, like she wants to be friends.”
“Yeah just so we don't smash her city like Switchback did.”
“We wouldn’t do that anyway.” Michael said sternly.
“She doesn’t know that.” Shane pointed out.
“I’m not using that as a bargaining chip. Now shut up and let me talk to the lady.” Michael said, flicking the external communicator on again.
“Fine, suit yourself.” Shane grumbled, crossing his arms with a huff. The neural link had been shut off so the Jaeger thankfully didn’t try to imitate his anti-social body language.
“Hi.” Michael said again awkwardly. He opened his mouth and shut it again, unsure of what to say. “Sorry, but where are we?” he asked eventually.
A look of surprise crossed the horse’s face. “We?” she asked.
“Oh right, there’s two of us in here. I’m Michael. My brother Shane isn’t talking right now.”
“In there?” She asked. “How?”
“We’re pilots. This thing is called a Jaeger, Midsummer Night to be precise.”
A look of shock and awe crossed Celestia’s face. “Incredible.” She muttered, “Sorry, where are my manners? Michael, Shane, you are currently standing in Manehatten Harbour on the Eastern Seaboard of Equestria.” She smiled thinly. “Welcome, I take it you are not from these parts.”
“No, ma'am. Not at all.”
“If I may ask, where are you from?”
“We’re from Alaska, United States of America.” Michael paused for a moment, sure he would sound ridiculous. “Earth.”
Princess Celestia shook her head. “These names mean nothing to me. How did you come to be here?”
“Experimental quantum tunnelling device.” Michael explained. “We were undergoing a trial when a Kaiju attacked.”
“Kaiju?” Celestia interrupted,
“A monster, the ugly bastard that we just killed. We called this one Switchback.” Shane snapped.
“Which we are very grateful for, thank you Shane.” Celestia said.
“Anyway, we were attacked by our fishy friend here and... well, we weren't exactly winning. We activated the device in an attempt to escape.” Michael shrugged. “Ended up here I guess.”
“And what about this... Kaiju?”
“Either it followed us or got sucked through.” Michael said. “Your guess is as good as ours.”
“This uh... portal. Did it stay open?” One of the curious winged horses around the princess asked.
“Wouldn’t have a clue.”
“Radiation levels indicate the portal collapsed upon arrival.” The A.I. chimed in helpfully.
“We won't be seeing any more of those... things... again will we?” The guard asked.
“I hope not, for all of our sakes.” Michael said. “We’re not in a good enough shape to go toe to toe with another one.”
“Yeah, it’d be awful if another of your cities got trashed.” Shane muttered under his breath.
Michael flipped the communicator off. “What’s your problem? This princess seems friendly enough. She’s got balls, you gotta respect that.”
“Talking, flying horses are not what I signed up for. I say we ditch these horses and find a way home. That quantum portal... thingy dropped us here, what’s saying we can't use it to go home?”
“Maybe they can help us.” Michael said, reaching for communicator again.
“How can these horses help us? You think they could fix it?” Shane asked incredulously.
Michael shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. They might be able to patch Midsummer Night up at least. Unless you can.” He added wryly.
Shane snorted derisively. “I doubt these horses are advanced enough to repair our Jaeger.”
“Ponies.” The A.I. chimed again, an almost annoyed tone in its voice.
“Pardon?”
“Average size of their species is more appropriate to that of a pony.”
Michael shrugged his head. “Well there you go, talking, flying ponies. Just another day at the office I guess.”
“Maybe for you... it’s just not natural.” Shane murmured, still distrustful of their new acquaintances.
Michael ignored him and flipped the external communicator back on. “Ma’am, we’d like your help with some matters.”
“We are in your debt, I will be happy to help you in any way we can.” Celestia said.
“Awesome. Firstly, I need maps, charts, star maps… whatever you err... ponies, use to navigate around.” Michael said. “Second. Our intentions are to return home as fast as we can. Our portal device is ah... damaged beyond our ability to repair though.”
“I will contact our top scientists and researchers. We are well versed in the areas of teleportation and the like so they may be of some assistance.”
“Teleportation?” Shane whispered in surprise.
“Oh... great.” Michael said, his surprise evident. “Lastly, we’d appreciate it if you could offer repairs and shelter for our Jaeger. We’re a bit beat from our fight with Switchback.”
“Certainly. While facilities for a machine of your...” Her eyes seemed to sweep up and down the Jaeger. “Size... are not available, we will do what we can to accommodate you. I will go and oversee the preparations.”
“Thank you.” Michael said, flipping the communicator off again as the Princess and her entourage turned and flew back towards the city. “Well that went better than I expected.”
Shane laughed. “Either she’s blinded by some misguided sense of honour or is just plain naive. Only a fool would blindly trust two strangers with a three hundred foot war machine at their whim.”
“Or she knows that we’re not going to turn on her.”
“How would she know that? How could she benefit by offering us her hospitality.”
“I don’t know, because we haven’t done so already?” Michael guessed. “I don’t know why she’s trusting us, but this is good thing.” He bobbed his head. “Probably.”
“Yeah, right. Whatever. Let’s just get this bucket of bolts fixed and get out of here. This place is already giving me the creeps.”
***
“Spike!” Twilight yelled, her temper slowly rising. She stomped around the library, blissfully unaware of the destruction in Manehatten. “Spike!”
The small drake popped his head around her door. “What now, Twilight?”
“Where have my study notes on magnetic fields gone?’
Spike huffed. “They’re on your bed, just like they were when you asked twenty minutes ago.”
Twilight flushed and smiled embarrassedly. “Oh... sorry.”
Spike’s stern glare was cut off by a hiccup and a burst of green fire spewing from his mouth. A scroll appeared out of the fire and landed with a quiet thud on the floor. Spike picked it up and offered it to Twilight. “It’s for you.”
Twilight levitated the scroll and unrolled it gingerly.
Twilight
I require your presence in Manehatten. Gather the other element bearers and get ready to leave. A chariot will arrive for you shortly.
Celestia
“Not even a ‘My most faithful student.’” Twilight wondered aloud. “She must’ve been in a real hurry to send this.”
“Wasn’t Celestia in Manehattan for some opening?” Spike asked.
“A new dock I think.” Twilight murmured distractedly, already trying to figure what books she should pack. “Could you get the others please Spike? It’d be best to not keep the Princess waiting.”
Spike saluted smartly. “Yes ma’am!” He said, darting out of the room as fast as his little legs would carry him.
***
“I don’t see why we all have to go.” Rainbow Dash complained, leaning out of the chariot mournfully. “I have much better things to be doing.”
“Like?” Twilight asked, looking up from a thick textbook she was reading through.
“I don’t know, something.” Rainbow mumbled, scowling at the three pegasus guards pulling their chariot as if were all their fault. “What does Celestia need us for anyway?”
“The Princess is bound to have her reasons.” Applejack said queasily, trying to not notice how high the chariot was. “She’d wouldn’t have dragged us off to Manehatten for nothing.”
“I think Applejack is right, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity piped up without looking up from her sketch. “The Princess knows how busy we are.” She examined her sketch for a moment. “What do you think?” She asked, turning the page so Applejack could see.
“Uh, it’s nice I guess. Does it really need all the frills though?” Applejack asked, looking at her sketch of what appeared to be a guard’s armour covered in unnecessary amounts of flair. “Looks a little frou-frou for them guards to be wearing.”
“I think it’s quite becoming of it!” Rairty objected haughtily.
Rainbow clamped her hooves over her ears and looked sideways at Fluttershy. The butter coloured pegasus was staying out of the fight between the cowpony and the fashionista, decidedly minding her own business.
“What do you think of all this?” Rainbow muttered. “There’s something the Princess ain’t telling us.”
“Oh... it’s um... alright I guess. She is the Princess after all.” Fluttershy said nervously, as if Princess Celestia was standing next to her.
“Hey, guys, guys, GUYS!” Pinkie yelled from the front of the chariot. “We’re nearly there! I don't remember Manehatten being so flat though, maybe they’ve gone on a diet and lost some weight. Or maybe they had a massive pancake dropped on them or maybe-.” She continued, rambling on about some preposterous idea on how Manehatten had been flattened by Princess Luna’s butt.
“What happened here?” Twilight asked aghast. The mighty city had a massive scar torn into it, almost as if somepony had taken a massive bowling ball to it. A much shorter scar lead away and out into the harbour where a new skyscraper was standing.
‘No, not a skyscraper.’ She thought stupidly as she picked out an arm and a head on the massive form. Her jaw dropped as her brain started to process what she was seeing.
“Whoa, what in the hay is that?!” Rainbow yelped, catching sight of the towering figure in the harbour. “Did that thing just wreck Manehatten?”
“I have no idea.” Twilight murmured. “But I’d bet my life savings that we’re here because of it.”
Shane paced around the conpod of Midsummer Night uncertainly, the dim lighting casting deep shadows across the control surfaces as he paced tirelessly. The reactor had failed after their encore performance with Switchback, leaving them back on battery power until someone got down into their reactor spaces with a hammer and bashed it back into shape.. True to her word though, the princess had sent aid to them. A small armada of boats and dirigibles had formed over the space of a few hours and were now slowly towing them through the harbour under the direction of a quartet of the curious winged ponies.
“Where are they taking us?” He asked, glaring through the windshield as one of the flying ponies shot past, leaving a thick trail of black smoke in its wake.
“You’re asking the wrong guy.” Michael said with an air of indifference that annoyed Shane immensely. His older brother was leaning against the side of the conpod with his hands cupped behind his head. “How about you ask one of them?”
Shane scoffed derisively. “Fat chance.”
“Relax.” Michael said, lifting his head slightly.
“Relax? How can I relax? For intents and purposes we’ve been captured by an alien race of sentient ponies who can goddamn fly.” Shane snapped. “I think I’m well within my right to be freaking out a bit.”
“Well we introduced them to our three hundred foot friend and they seem to be doing fine.” Michael said. ”I think its fair to say that both parties here have had a bit of a rough day.”
Shane crossed his arms in frustration, conceding that Michael had a point. “Whatever.” He grumbled, sitting down next his brother. He pulled a glove off and wriggled his fingers around. “So now what?”
Michael shrugged. “I reckon we roll with it. Give these things the benefit of the doubt and let them help us.”
“Or pretend to help us.” Shan muttered darkly
“Call it a gut feeling, but I think these guys are better than that.” Michael said before his face hardened. “And really, look at us, what other choice do we have? We’re in no position to fight again and I don’t think I could hold off an entire county by myself.”
Shane grunted and pulled his glove back on. “Don’t suppose you’ve got any food? I’m starving.” He asked, quickly changing the topic.
Michael shook his head. “Our 'captors' might feed you if you ask them nicely.”
Shane grimaced. “Don’t horses normally eat hay? Who knows if they’ll have something edible?”
“Well these are alien horses remember?” Michael said with a chuckle as he clambered to his feet. “Who knows what food they do have?” He stepped up to the control panel and activated the external speakers. “Hey, Smokey!”
The pony that had just buzzed the conpod snapped around and looked at the Jaeger in a way that Michael could only describe as 'Pant-shittingly terrified.'.
“Yeah, you. We’re hungry, don’t suppose you could organise some food for us?”
The poor pony’s jaw worked up and down for a second as it tried to comprehend the metal giant talking to it. It eventually nodded its head and darted away, another trail of smoke drifting behind it.
“Well that worked.” Michael said idly. He turned to Shane. “Do you want the chicken or fish?”
“I’ll take the lasagne thanks.”
***
Twilight paced back and forth across the hotel suite, her hooves thudding away on the luxurious carpet like a storm of hail. While the hotel Princess Celestia had organised for them was well away from the trail of destruction that ran through Manehatten, the smell of charred wood and concrete dust still assaulted her sinuses. Celestia had promised them an explanation… later. Twilight growled, she didn’t want later, she wanted now! She wanted to know why a good chunk of the city had been turned to matchsticks, she wanted to know what she could do about it and most importantly, she wanted to know what that thing out in harbour was! Rarity glared at her from the bed, Twilight’s constant pacing distracting her from another one of her sketchs.
“Twilight, do settle down please; your constant thumping is very off-putting.” She said levelly.
“Settle down? Half the city is in flames and you want me to settle down!?” Twilight snapped crossly. Feeling a little guilty she stopped pacing and curled up on another bed, a scowl etched on her face.
“I’m with you Twilight, I can’t just sit here and watch. I need to do something!” Rainbow Dash said, her wings jittering occasionally as she sat by the window. Her head snapped around to track a streak that flew past the window, a trail of dark smoke billowing in its wake. “That was a Wonderbolt!” She exclaimed, her wings snapping out in excitement. “I can’t just sit here, the city’s ruined and the Wonderbolts are here! Maybe I can finally show them my stuff!” She said giddily, pulling the window open.
“The Princess told us to stay here.” Rarity said firmly, slamming the window shut and locking it before Rainbow Dash could fly away.
“Yeah, well, that sucks.” Rainbow grumbled, folding her hooves across her chest crossly.
“Rainbow, I can understand you want to get out and help but we don’t what’s going on. You could get hurt… or worse. We should sit tight till the princess can see us.” Applejack said firmly.
A quiet knock came from the door and an armoured Pegasus guard pushed it open. “The Princess will see you now.” He said “Please, follow me.”
“You head the man, let’s go.” Rainbow said, swooping out the door before any of the other ponies could respond. There were a murmurs of assent from Applejack and Rarity and they trooped out behind her. Pinkie, who had been silent since they reached the city wordlessly followed. Twilight looked around for Fluttershy, spotting the timid Pegasus hiding in the corner.
“Come on Fluttershy, we can’t keep Celestia waiting.”
“I think I’ll just stay here.” Fluttershy squeaked.
Twilight sighed and gave her shy friend a gentle hug, “I understand a lot has happened since we got here but I need you Fluttershy, we all do. You can be brave.”
Fluttershy whimpered. “But it’s so hard. Just seeing all that wreckage and ruin. I can just imagine so many empty seats at the dinner able…” Fluttershy cried. “So many foals who’ll wonder where their parents went.”
“We can mourn them later.” Twilight said, biting her lip in an effort to stop her chin from wobbling. “But right now we need to do what we can to help.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath, her body still shaking slightly. “Alright, I’ll try.”
“Good girl, now come on. Let’s catch up to the others.”
Celestia looked over the vast city scape from her suite’s balcony and let out a long, heartfelt sigh. A dirigible buzzed slowly across the sky, coordinating search and rescue in some shattered part of the city. The towering machine that had effortlessly destroyed the invader was occasionally visible as it was slowly dragged towards the large drydock at the mouth of the harbour. Celesta turned her head towards the bay where the remains of the beast were barely visible above the waterline. Tiny shapes, teams in protective gear, darted around on top of it, taking what information they could from the shattered corpse.
The Jaeger, admittedly, hadn’t left them much to work with.
A dot of bright white light appeared next to her for a moment, catching her attention. The light expanded and with a quiet pop turned into a scroll. Celestia unrolled the scroll hesitantly and read its contents; revised casualty figures and property damage from one of her aides on the ground.
She winced, better than she had feared but still an unparalleled tragedy. Thousands dead, tens of thousands more injured and an untold number of buildings and vital infrastructure turned to rubble.
A quiet knock on the door broke the silence and Celestia vanished the scroll with a nod of her head.
“The element bearers, your highness.” A guard said quietly, ushering the six ponies onto the balcony before retreating. Celestia turned to greet them.
“Princess.” Twilight said with a small bow.
“Twilight.” Celestia said, putting a happy face on for her student. “It has been a while since I have seen you. If only it were a more joyous occasion that we met for now.”
Twilight nodded and looked around solemnly. Celestia summoned half a dozen chairs and gestured them to sit.
“Today we face one of the greatest disasters our nation has faced in living history. One of our greatest cities lies in ruin and we were completely powerless to stop it.” Celestia said.
“You’re talking about that big thing in the harbour right?” Rainbow Dash interjected. “We saw it on the way in.”
Celestia smiled wryly. “It depends on which one you refer to.”
Rainbow Dash’s face fell. “There is more than one of those things?”
“Precisely. Jumping to conclusions is not always the smartest thing to do, my little pony.” Celestia said sternly. “A giant beast, one of which I have never seen the likes of before rose out of the water and assaulted the docks. My guards and I launched an immediate counter-attack but our blows did little more than aggravate it.” Celestia shuddered. “It was only the arrival of the second one that ended its rampage. The first is little more than an environmental hazard in the bay now.”
“And then what, how’d you subdue the second one?” Twilight asked.
“We didn’t have to. I talked to it.” Celestia said.
Six mouths dropped to floor in surprise.
“The second being, calling itself a Jaeger, told me that it was from a faraway land. The beast… a Kaiju, I think it called it, was something it brought with it.”
Twilight spluttered incoherently. “What, for sport?”
“No, they said it was an accident. “
There was a brief silence.
“They?” Rarity questioned, noticing the Princess’ words.
Celestia blinked. “Yes, apparently the Jaeger is a machine with two pilots. They both talked to me briefly.”
Celestia was sure that if pony mouths were more flexible their jaws would be somewhere down near the lobby by now. “But… but… but that’s impossible!” Twilight spluttered, the reasonable part of her mind complaining lividly. “No nation could build something that big, it’s impossible! No one has the technology!”
“No one that we know of.” Celestia said.
Applejack looked at the Princess suspiciously. “Where did say this fancy machine thing was from?”
Celestia looked at the farmer blankly. “I don’t know. I could only infer from what they said that they’re not from our planet.”
There was a collective gasp.
Celestia let out a small chuckle. “Yes, aliens. Scary, isn’t it?”
“What do they look like? Are they like the little green men in the stories?” Applejack asked nervously.
Celestia shrugged. “I don’t know. I never saw them.”
“I have a question, what are they still doing here? What do they want from us?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.
“A very good question, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia smiled. “From what they told me there machine was damaged beyond their capacity to repair. I agreed to help them fix it.”
“WHAT?!” Twilght screeched incredulously.
“Yes, yes. Why trust the aliens?” Celestia said predictably. She fixed them all with a steely gaze. “I believe this will be for the good of Equestria. Suppose more of its kind show up? It would better to have them as friends rather than foes.” She turned to Twilight. “Surely Twilight, you can see another benefit to this. Think of the technology we could reverse engineer, think of how much it could advance our own fields of science.”
“But that thing is dangerous!” Twilight and Rainbow Dash protested together.
“I’m no expert, but their machine looked like it was in no shape for another fight.” Celestia said confidently. “Besides, I doubt the pilots would be able to do much damage themselves. If they need such a brute to fight for them I doubt they’d be a credible threat to an entire nation. The way I see it, we’re holding most of the cards here.”
Twilight scratched her hoof against her cheek slowly. “I suppose so.”
“And you think the aliens are going to just let you waltz in and steal their stuff?” Rainbow Dash interjected again, brave enough to point out a slight flaw in Celestia’s plan.
“We’ll do it discretely if we have to.” Celestia said firmly. “But after such a disaster I think the ponies of Equestria need some recompense for an alien’s mistake.”
One by one, the six ponies nodded in agreement.
“What can we do to help then?” Twilight asked.
Celestia smiled pleasantly. “I’m glad you asked. Twiligh-.”
The princess was cut off by a loud whoosh and the clattering of hooves. In a flurry of smoke and feathers a Wonderbolt touched down expertly next to Celestia and bowed curtly, making Rainbow Dash squealed quietly with excitement.
“Your Highness.” He said, before noticing with some embarrassment the princess already had company. “Ladies.” He quickly added.
“Commander, how can I help you?” Princess Celestia asked, disguising her irritation with well-practised ease.
“I have a report from the Chief Surgeon from the Royal Manehatten Hospital.” The Wonderbolt said quickly, tugging a tightly bound scroll from a small pouch in his flight suit. “She said it was urgent.”
“Thank you, anything else?”
The Wonderbolt coughed awkwardly. “I was coordinating the flotilla when the machine spoke to me.”
Celestia’s eyes widened slightly. “What did it say?”
“I don’t suppose you could organise some food for us?” The Wonderbolt quoted sheepishly.
Celestia stared at the Wonderbolt for a few seconds before chuckling lightly. “Well I suppose it has needs like us. Perhaps I can convince them to come out for some dinner? Thank you Commander, you may return to you post. While you’re at it, get some food yourself. You look a bit famished.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” The stallion with a relived nod.
“Commander, before you go; take Rainbow Dash with you and assign her some duties. I know you’re shorthoofed at the moment and I can personally vouch for her abilities.”
The Wonderbolt saluted and jerked his head in Rainbow Dash’s direction, indicating for her to follow him.
“Yes! I get to work with the Wonderbolts! So awesome!” Rainbow squealed, spreading her wings and shooting off after the officer.
“Well that’s one down.” Celestia said with relief. She levitated the scroll up and unrolled it quickly. “Oh my…” She muttered as she read through the brief report.
“What is it?” Twilight asked, craning her head to read the scroll.
“It appears that even the beast’s blood is toxic. The Chief Surgeon has identified it as causing severe burns, poisonings and dark blue stains to anypony it touches.” Celestia muttered sourly. “Twilight, we have a small team examining the body. Go join them and set up a cordon around it, who knows how much of this has already spilled into the water. I may have to see if the Jaeger’s pilots know of this.” She turned to Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “I would like you three to go down to the Royal Hospital and help in any way you can. I’m sure the Chief Surgeon is neck deep in it right now and until we can bring in more doctors from further afield I’m sure she’ll appreciate whatever help she can get.”
“Princess? What can I do there?” Pinkie asked, finally breaking her unnaturally long silence.
“Pinkie, my dear. You have a talent for bringing a smile and a chortle to the faces of ponies everywhere. Laughter truly is the best medicine there is and I have a feeling we’re going to need a lot of it before this is over.”
“Ok, I’ll do my best.” Pinkie said with a nervous smile.
Celestia smiled reassuringly at Pinkie before turning to Applejack. “Applejack, there are many teams searching the rubble for survivors. Go help them, but first, take this message to the command post two blocks downtown. The captain in charge needs to know that the blood is dangerous.”
“You got it.” The burly farmer answered, snaffling the report and galloping back inside. “Hey Hunky where’s the command post?” Celestia heard her yell.
“Right this way ma’am.” A guard replied, promptly escorting her out of the building.
Celestia turned to the four remaining ponies. “You’d best be on your way, I have a diplomatic dinner to organise.” She said, frowning slightly. Her own task seemed incredibly superfluous compared to what she had assigned everypony else to do… she should be the one looking after her subjects, not the one coddling up to the aliens.
“A dinner with the green men from Betelgeuse V.” Twilight said with a small smile. “Sounds like the name of a terrible B movie.”
Celestia chuckled. “Well let’s hope it doesn’t end up like one either.”
***
Shane watched impassively as Midsummer Night was slowly hauled into the dock by a combination of heavy cranes and airship. The Jaeger had been slowly shifted to the mouth of the bay before being guided into a massive drydock clearly built for large oceangoing vessels of some kind. The ponies had flooded the dock and pushed the Jaeger in. They were now undergoing the laborious process of settling the Jaeger down on a set of heavy blocks and then draining the water out.
“Warning: Incoming dignitary. Recommend activating communication protocols.” The A.I. chimed, breaking Shane’s concentration. Sure enough he could spot the princess that had talked to them before winging through the sky towards them.
“Michael, get up.” He said, prodding the slumbering form of his brother with his boot. “Your pony pal is back.”
“Michael yawned loudly. “What’s the time?”
“2200 PDT. Unknown local time.”
Shane peered out of the conpod’s orange tinted windows. “I’d guess it’d be around 1800. Sun looks like it’s going down.”
“Except that’s not our sun.” Michael said, painfully reminding Shane that they were on some alien world, not Earth. “That reminds me… Sweetie, is the air outside breathable?”
“Analysing, stand by.”
“You thinking of riding with the top down?” Shane asked.
“I’ve been in this pod with you all day. I’ll take any chance I can get.” Michael said, wrinkling his nose up distastefully.
“Oh wow, thanks. Here we are stuck on an alien planet and you still complain about my B.O.?” Shane snapped.
“Gotta complain about something haven’t I?”
“Atmosphere is an Earth-like nitrogen-oxygen mix.”
“So it’s safe?” Shane asked, slightly surprised.
“Affirmative.”
“Well safer than in here at any rate.” Michael jeered.
Shane snorted and fixed his eyes back on the rapidly approaching princess. “What about her?”
“We’ll see what she wants first.” Michael said pragmatically as the pristine white pony hovered in front of the conpod.
“Hello Michael. Hello Shane.” Princess Celestia said simply.
Michael flipped the communicator on. “Hello.”
Celestia let a small smile creep onto her face. “I was told that you were hungry.”
“Yeah we are, princess lady. You got any food for us?” Shane asked bluntly.
“Be polite.” Michael muttered, “No need to be a prick.”
“I can arrange food for you. I was hoping you would dine with me and answer some questions I have. You must surely have some of your own.”
Michael turned to Shane. “She’s got a point.”
“I’m not leaving the Jaeger.” Shane said flatly. “And you’re not going anywhere without me.”
“The sentiment is touching.” Michael said in an annoyingly cute voice. He turned back to the floating pony. “But I agree. I’d rather not wander too far just yet.”
“What say you?” Celestia asked.
“We’ accept, but we’re not leaving the Jaeger.” Michael told her.
“She isn’t coming in here, this is a men’s room.” Shane muttered.
“Sorry, Shane doesn’t want you in here.” Michael relayed.
“We can dine on top of the Jaeger, is that agreeable?” Celestia asked.
Michael threw a quick look at his brother before nodding. “We can do that.”
“We are agreed then, I’ll be back in half an hour.” Celestia said, swooping away from the conpod like a massive eagle.
Michael immediately rounded on Shane. “What’s your problem?”
“My problem? What’s yours?” Shane said back, outraged. “Is it normal now to trust aliens at the drop of a hat now?”
“Shane, I’ve alrea-.”
“Look, she’s got to have some sort of ulterior motive. What does she really get out of fixing us up? Call me cynical, but I can tell she’s up to something.”
“I don’t know.” Michael grunted, carefully removing his drivesuit’s chest plate with a groan. “At the moment though, let’s just play nice and see where that gets us. If she tries to double cross us like you keep thinking she will, we can stomp them flat but until then, we try and be nice. Savvy?”
“Whatever.” Shane muttered, watching as Michael unclasped his bracers and greaves. His black bodysuit looked bare without the sleek white armour plates.
“Shane, I can understand you scepticism but I’m just doing what I think will get us out of here alive.”
Shane rubbed his forehead and nodded slowly. “Alright fine, I’ll play nice for now. But mark my words, she’s up to something.”
***
Celestia tilted her wings slightly, vectoring towards the massive head of the Jaeger. Rather than hover in front of it as she usually did, she angled to land on top of it. Like her last foray, she had left her guards behind. No point in spooking the aliens any more than she had to. A mischief grin spread across her face. ‘Well, maybe I can... just a little.’ Celestia had received various reports in the short time she was back at her suite; one from Twilight which detailed the extent of their cordon around the body and some basic attempts at neutralising its lethal blood and yet another from the Chief Surgeon confirming the arrival of several more doctors and nurses.
“It’s been a long day.” She said to herself, dipping down for the final approach. A moment later her hooves clattered against the worn metal exterior. The faint whining of servos reached her ears and she turned to discover a hatch rising at the back of the head. She held her breath as a black limb emerged above the rim of the hatch. A moment later, the rest of the creature followed, a pale white head with a sprig of sandy hair coming out of the top and a pair dark brown eyes recessed slightly into its skull, It took Celestia a moment to realise the black layer covering the alien was a bodysuit of some type and not its skin.
It extended an arm towards Celestia. “Michael O’Connell. Pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”
Celestia looked down at the five sausage-like fingers on the end of Michael’s hand curiously, wondering what he wanted her to do with them.
“A pleasure indeed.” Celestia said after a moment, slightly taken aback by the alien’s appearance. Fully upright she would’ve had no problem poking him in the eye with her horn. “I thought you would’ve been bigger.” She added.
Michael smiled, revealing two small rows of white teeth. “I tend get that a lot from the ladies.” He turned and offered one of his hands down the hatch. A moment later he had fished his brother out from the head of the Jaeger. While similar in appearance to his brother, Shane was a little stockier and better built. The plates of white armour that covered his black bodysuit certainly made for an imposing figure.
“Ma’am.” Shane muttered, not extending his hand like Michael had.
“A pleasure, Shane.” Celestia said, bowing her head slightly. While not outright hostile, his posture did not suggest he was entirely at ease with her presence.
“Well the, shall we get started? I was unsure of what your diet usually consists of so I had a bit of everything made up for you.” Celestia said in an attempt to break the tension. She focused a small amount of her power through her horn for a simple summoning spell. Shane and Michael jumped as a trio of large platters appeared with a quiet crack a metre above the deck. Their eyes locked on the hovering platters, jaws going slack with surprise.
“Well, that was unexpected.” Michael eventually managed to say.
“How’d you do that?” Shane asked, staring suspiciously at the slowly revolving platter that was now softly bumping up against his chest. Much to his surprise, the platter was covered in a range of food ranging from salads and pies to sandwiches.
“Magic.” Celestia said simply, a small smile forming on her face. “I’m guessing from your reaction that your kind doesn’t practice magic?”
The brothers shook their heads in unison. “Nope.” Michael answered, tentatively grabbing the platter in one of his hands.
“Interesting.” Celestia said. “Now, I hate to sound blunt but would you mind if I got right to it? There are some very pressing matters which I need to attend to.”
“By all means, go ahead.” Michael said, sitting down and crossing his legs. He laid the platter down on his lap and took an experimental sniff at one of the pieces of fruit on the plate. His brother wordlessly copied his actions, investigating one of the sandwiches methodically.
“Well then.” Celestia said, sinking to their level. “First, these beast-,”
“Kaiju.” Shane corrected, taking a cautious bite of his sandwich. Apparently satisfied, he tore into the meal with unrestrained gusto.
“These Kaiju, am I right in believing your people have experience in dealing with them?”
“You’d be right in that assumption. We’re had twenty three incursions since the breach opened.” Michael said.
“Incursions? You mean to say they’re not natives to your planet?”
Shane snorted. “Thankfully not. They’re from another planet we think. They come through a large breach in the ocean floor. How they do it? No one really knows.”
“I see.” Celestia said. “Well, we’ve encountered a few problems with this one and I was wondering ig you could help.”
Michael nodded. “Let me guess, Kaiju Blue?”
“Excuse me?” Celestia asked.
“That’s what we call it. The blood of every Kaiju encountered so far is extremely toxic, almost like a bioweapon in its own right. It’s expensive and sometimes extremely difficult to clean up. We try to get around it by combating the Kaiju with weapons that will cauterise their wounds.” Michael explained.
“You wouldn’t know how to neutralise its effects would you?” Celestia asked.
“I believe our HAZMAT teams use basic chemicals to try and neutralise the acids in their blood.” Michael answered. “Sorry about the mess, by the way.” He added, acutely aware taht the ponies might have an environmental disaster on their hands.
“We have contained it for the time being.” Celestia said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I’m more concerned about any spills in the city proper.”
“Well we’re not of much help to you there sorry, we’re taught how to not spill their blood rather than how to clean it up.” Shane remarked.
“Very well then.” Celestia said, levitating a tea cup to her mouth and taking a sip of the fragrant liquid. Shane and Michael found themselves staring again as the little porcelain cup drifted from the princess’ lips to the platter.
“Secondly then, Jaegers.” Celestia asked. “Explain the Jaegers. Surely these mighty beasts of war aren’t common on your world?”
“Well there’s only about twenty Jaegers in still active service when we left. They were developed after the fourth Kaiju attack. We realised these monsters wouldn’t stop coming and we needed something that could fight on their level.” Michael explained.
“Surely more conventional forces would work?”
Shane laughed harshly. “Can you imagine me out there waving a stick around at some three hundred foot tall monster?”
“No, I guess not.” Celestia admitted. “Surely you have more than just pointed sticks though?”
“Well that’s about as well as any of our normal weapons worked. The only thing that worked well was the nukes.”
“Nukes?” Celestia asked curiously.
“Nuclear weapons.” Michael said after a brief pause. “Do your people know about the fusion of fission of particles?”
“We’ve done experiments with it, yes. We’re currently investigating it as a potential power source.”
“Well, a nuke is an uncontrolled version of that. Lots of energy. Big bang.” Shane said, imitating an explosion with his hands.
“One warhead would be enough to level a city to the ground.” Michael added.
“And you used these weapons on your own people?” Celestia asked, both amazed and disturbed.
“It was a last resort.”
Celestia looked up at the twilight sky. The odd twinkle of some distant star was visible in the sea of orange and purple fire the sky had become.
“How many cities were destroyed by your own weapons before the Jaegers took over? Surely even with civilian evacuations the death toll and destruction caused would’ve been enormous - how did your world react?” She asked.
Michael considered his words for a moment. “San Francisco was the first and worst. It took three warheads to bring Trespasser down. The fallout from the blast and subsequent Kaiju Blue contamination rendered most of the Bay Area unfit for human habitation. We were both born in San Fran, it was heartbreaking to see it go up in a nuclear fireball.” He said. “Next came Hundun in Manila. It made landfall during a massive tropical storm. Authorities didn’t even realize what was happening until it reached Taguig City. Fortunately for Manila, it was killed in the first nuclear strike just east of the city.” Michael said bitterly.
“One strike too many though?” Celestia asked.
“To me, having a nuclear weapon dropped on a city is a loss for everyone but the Kaiju.”
“I see.”
“After that was Kaiceph in Cabo San Lucas. Their attempts to lure the creature away from the city failed. The nuclear strike that killed it effectively halved the city’s liveable area… not to mention its population.”
Celestia winced.
“Then Scissure attacked Sydney. With great effort, military forces were able to lure it to an area on the outskirts of the city that had been evacuated. There they could nuke it without irradiating the entire city.” Michael paused for dramatic effect. “By this point, the level of international panic was unprecedented. We needed a new weapon.”
“So you made the Jaegers.” Celestia summarised.
“Exactly. We made a prototype and when the next Kaiju clawed its way out of the breach, we were ready. Now imagine you’re in Vancouver and Karloff staggers ashore. You know with a great pit in your stomach how it goes. When a Kaiju arrives the nukes are what comes next. But when the cavalry comes, they drop not a bomb, but a giant machine — a machine that then proceeds to beat the Kaiju to a pulp in the space of a few minutes.” Michael said. “I’ve watched the recordings of BrawlerYukon, the first Jaeger, dropping into Vancouver more times than I can count; you can almost imagine the shock Karloff must have felt at seeing that mighty machine.”
“So the Jaegers were heroes.”
“To say the Jaegers were just heroes is a huge understatement. Every human being on earth felt very big the day we fought back… and won. The Jaegers were more than heroes, they were beacons of hope for all of us.”
“Truly amazing.” Celestia said, looking back at quickly approaching night. “One last question, I noticed that your Jaeger is looks much like you. I find it interesting that your machine so closely resembles your own anatomy.”
“I reckon it gives people a bit of a morale boost seeing machines in our own image beating Kaiju. Also something about the neural control means a Jaeger with a similar anatomical layout to us will perform better.” Michael said, taking his glove off and picking at a piece of fruit stuck between his teeth.
Celestia raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“We control it with our minds. It’s complicated and I wouldn’t have a clue how it works. Don’t even ask.” Shane said tersely.
Celestia nodded, slightly disappointed. “Fair enough. Now I do believe I have asked my fair share of questions, what about you?”
“When can your people start fixing Midsummer Night?” Shane asked immediately.
“A few days. I’d like to tend to our wounds first. Even then, progress will be slow, we’re unfamiliar with your designs and materials.
“One sec.” Michael muttered, rolling over and prying a small hatch open. He gave the lid a rough tug before unceremoniously ripping it from its hinges. “Oops.” He muttered sardonically, flipping the panel over. Printed on the bottom of the lid was a drawing on the box’s circuit board. “Do you understand that?” He asked, tossing the metal square to the princess.
“It’s a circuit diagram.” Celestia said, her surprise evident.
“Seems we’re more alike than we thought. At least we can rebuild the electronics without having to start from scratch.” Michael muttered. “Our software is intact so it’s a case of repairing our reactor, rebuilding our armour and bunch of the muscle strands and replacing some of the circuitry.”
“And the teleporter-thingy.” Shane added quickly.
“Yes, and the teleporter-thingy.” Michael echoed.
“Very well then, I’ll get our technicians working as soon as I can.” Celestia said, clapping her hooves together happily.
“Gosh, you make it sound so easy.” Shane muttered.
***
Thirty Kilometres north of Stonefall – Crystal Mountains
Snow Blind trudged through the nearly waist deep snow, occasionally falling through some soft patch and covering his thick cloak in a layer of freezing slush. For what felt like the thousandth time since establishing his crystal mining venture in the harsh northern reaches of Equestria, Snow Blind cursed the ever present winter chill and almost daily blizzards which plagued his establishment. In the faint moonlight visibility was down to a few metres, something when coupled with the freezing temperatures and whirling snow would make almost any pony think twice before heading out to mine crystals. Not Snow Blind though; he had a secret weapon, something none of the other miners in the town of Stonefall had.
“How you doing up there Jax?” He asked through his muffler.
Jewel Axe, or as everypony called him, Jax. Turned his head slightly and focused another stream of magic through his horn. “Looking good, I think we’ve hit the mother lode this time.”
“That’s what you said last time.” Snow Blind complained, breathing in what felt like a flurry of needle sharp pins despite the thick cloth over his muzzle. Although a little scrawny to be a good miner, Jax was adept at a crystal locating spell, something that few other ponies could master.
“I got a good feeling about this.” The unicorn responded, ploughing through the snow with Snow Blind following doggedly at his heels. The visibility was so poor that the duo didn’t notice the wall until Jax ran face first into it. A dull ringing sound rang out briefly before being blown away by another gust of wind.
“Son of a gun!” Jax spat, rubbing his bruised forehead with a hoof.
“What in the name of Celestia’s royal balls is a wall doing out here?” Snow Blind yelled, looking up and seeing the frost encrusted wall curve skywards until it vanish into a flurry of snow. Snow Blind fiddled with his climbing gear, if the weather hadn’t been so shocking he would’ve considered scaling it. The two ponies looked from side to side, noticing that the wall ran in both directions as far as the eye could see.
“Come on, follow me.” Snow Blind said above the wind, leading Jax down the wall. A few odd bumps and curves were shaped into the metal and beneath the caked on frost Snow Blind could make out the remains of an aging grey paintjob.
“Woah, hold up!” Jax yelled, tugging on Snow Blind’s tail suddenly. Looking ahead, Snow blind noticed a half dozen massive metal spars jutting out from the wall that he had been about to walk face first into.
“Thanks Jax.” Snow Blind said with a nod, ducking under the metal beams and out of the howling wind.
“Well I’ll be damned.” Jax muttered as he joined his companion. A large tear in the wall lay before them, bundles of small cables and metal plates dangling loosely from the ragged hole. Snow was piled up around the gaping wound that lead deep into the wall.
“What is this?” Snow Blind breathed, taking a few cautious steps towards what he could only call the cave mouth.
“You can’t go in there.” Jax hissed. “It’s pitch black down there and we don’t have any torches.”
A deep boom came from within the cave, hopefully from some cave-in and not some ravenous creature that had taken up residence.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Snow Blind said, another echoing crash from deep within the cave dissuading him from venturing any further.
“We should go.” Jax said nervously. “This thing is giving me the creeps.”
“Mark the position, lets see if we can find our way back out here when the weather is a bit better.” Snow Blind said, clambering out from under the metal spar and fishing an extendable pole from his bulging saddle bags.
“What’s the point? By the time we get some good weather this place will be covered in a few metres of snow.” Jax pointed out.
“Something tells me this will still be here. This wall looks like it’d go up for a few meters at least.” Snow Blind said, slamming the bright orange flag into the thick layer of slush covering the ground. “Come on Jax, we haven’t got all day.”
Jax threw an uncertain look back at the iron wall. Where had it come from? Sure, he hadn’t been out here for a few months but there was no way Somepony had come all the way out to the arse end of nowhere to build a wall like this. A little nagging voice in the back of his head told him it was something more than just a mere wall. ‘But what?’
“Jax?” Snow blind asked.
“I’m coming, I’m coming keep your coat on.” Jax snapped back, clambering out from under the metal beam and back into the bone chilling wind.
Island of Manehatten - Equestria Time since last incursion: One week.
Rainbow Dash trotted down the street wearily, the Wonderbolt she had been assigned to examining a fallen building ahead of her. She’d barely had any sleep since the monster had attacked and it was starting to tell. Her wings were sluggish, her eyes were held half open and she usual spunky attitude had been curbed somewhat by fatigue. She admired the endurance of the junior Wonderbolt she was with, Wave Chill, if she remembered correctly. He’d had less down time than her and still seemed to be wide awake.
Maybe it was that coffee stuff he kept drinking.
“Alright Rookie, we’ll do another sweep of this block and we’ll head back up to Lucky Seven. I’ll make my report to the boss and hopefully she’ll give us some downtime.” He said, referring to the large dirigible that floated somewhere over them. The city-block sized dirigible was one of the three airships the elite military unit operated out of on a regular basis. Still fairly new to enter service, Lucky Seven had been in Manehatten for scheduled maintenance when the monster had attacked. Although it hadn’t taken part in the defence, the mighty warbarge was now operating as a command centre for military and rescue forces all across the city. “Then, maybe then, we’ll find a nice hot meal, a shower and a rock-hard bunk to sleep on.” Wave Chill added with noticeable relief.
“About time.” Rainbow yawned. She’d been awake for at least the last thirty hours and her lack of sleep was quickly catching up to her. “I don’t know how you’re still standing.”
“Call it a combination of coffee, stupidity and being regularly being woken by a DI at 4 in the morning.” Wave Chill laughed, peering through a shattered shop front. He enjoyed having Rainbow Dash around. Being a civilian, there was a greater degree of casualness he could have than if she were a subordinate or his superior. “You should see Soarin or Spitfire though, they’re masters of the siesta.”
Rainbow Dash hid another yawn behind her hoof and followed Wave Chill into a half destroyed apartment block. Another team had been in before them and secured the worst of the building but like the rubble-strewn street outside, the building was deserted.
“Creepy.” She noted. The building looked like it hadn’t been occupied for years, not days.
“Yeah, it’s a bit off putting. The worst part is the silence. I spent a few tears a few blocks down from here and I’ll tell you now, silence is not something you find easy in Manehatten.” The dark blue Wonderbolt said, doing a quick sweep of a downstairs apartment.
Rainbow nodded in agreement and shivered, the sound of creaking wood and the occasional trickle of rubble was the only sound besides Wave Chill stomping around. ‘Wait, what’s that?’ She thought, pricking her ears up.
“Hey, stop moving around for a sec, I think I heard something.” She said. Wave Chill complied immediately, straining his own ears to listen.
“Is that… crying?” He asked after a moment’s silence.
“Sounds like it, let’s check it out.” She whispered, missing the amused look that briefly crossed the Wonderbolt’s face. Taking orders from a civilian? That was a something new.
“Please, ladies first.” Wave Chill said, gesturing further into the building.
“With pleasure.” Rainbow Dash purred, her drowsiness washed away by her curiosity. She listened for a moment, deducing the soft sobbing she could hear was coming from an upstairs unit. Nodding with satisfaction, she climbed the rickety looking staircase two steps at a time. “Hello?” She called out. “Anypony here?”
The crying stopped immediately. Rainbow dash darted up another flight of stairs and through an open door she guessed the crying to be coming from only to find her progress blocked by a reasonable pile of debris.
“Well that’s something.” Wave chill muttered from behind Rainbow Dash.
“Hello?” Rainbow Dash called again, clambering up onto the pile and poking her head around the debris. She was rewarded by the sight of a small creamy-yellow filly, probably no older than any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She stared at Rainbow Dash with a pair of wide sea green eyes.
“Wave Chill, there’s a filly trapped behind the debris.” Rainbow Dash explained, clambering back off the pile. “I can’t get to her but if you can lift some of this debris I might be able to reach her.
Wave Chill examined the half collapsed ceiling worriedly. “I don’t know, it might just all come crashing down. Is there a window we can fly in?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” Rainbow reported.
“Guess there’s nothing for it then.” Wave chill said with a defeated sigh. “I’ll lift this stuff up and you scoot in and grab her. I don’t know how long I can hold it for though so be quick.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and clambered back onto the rubble. “Hey, kid. We’re coming in to get you out ok? Just wait there.”
The filly nodded her head silently, her eyes wide with fear.
“Alright, ready?” Wave chill said, bracing his toned body against the fallen debris. “Three… two… one!” He grunted, pushing back against rubble and shifting a small portion out of the way. As soon as the gap was wide enough, Rainbow squeezed through, one of her wings grinding up against a sharp metal spar. She grimaced but forced her way through.
“Come on kid, let’s get out of here.” Rainbow said, giving the child a push towards the door. The filly resisted, unwilling to move from her spot.
“Come on, we don’t have time for this.” Rainbow Dash urged.
“Where's Mamma? Where's Pappa?” The filly asked fearfully.
“What happened to the speedy part of the plan?” Wave Chill called, struggling to hold the debris away from the door.
“Look kid, your parents aren’t coming back here. This place is a wreck and either you leave with us now or you can die when it collapses. “Rainbow Dash snapped irritably. She rebuked herself silently, some finesse was require in situations like this. “Come with us, we’ll help you find your parents.” She said in a much kinder but forced tone.
“Now would be nice!” Wave Chill groaned, a plank of wood falling from the ceiling and bonking him on the head.
The cream filly nodded silently and darted through the small hole, her small size getting her through without any problem.
“I’m coming through, don’t you dare drop it on me.” Rainbow snarled, annoyed she’d lost her cool in front of a Wonderbolt.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Wave Chill wheezed. Rainbow snorted in an amused fashion and clambered through the hole, careful to avoid the metal beams jutting out this time. As soon as she had cleared the danger zone Wave Chill dropped the debris with a relieved grunt.
“That’s going to hurt later.” He groaned.
“I think we got something bigger to worry about…” Rainbow Dash said nervously, looking up at the ceiling. Through the hole in the roof she could see one of the building's load bearing columns had been snapped in half. The wreckage, by some miracle, had been holding up most of the structure above them. With the debris disturbed, the floor above had started sagging in an alarming manner.
“Uh… run!” Wave Chill yelled as the floor above collapsed with a ear splitting crack of timber and a fresh cascade of rubble. Scooping up the filly on her back, Rainbow Dash bolted downstairs, the sudden surge of adrenalin giving her the boost she needed to keep moving. She swerved suddenly as a beam the size of a tree truck crashed through the ceiling above her, crashing through the floor like it was made of tissue paper. The filly screamed and cried into the back of her neck as the dust thrown up by the impact caught up with them. Suddenly she was outside, coughing and gagging in the late afternoon sunlight.
“That was close.” She breathed, almost collapsing from exhaustion. Her heart slowly returned to its regular tempo as the adrenalin slowly washed out of her system. "Can we not do that again?"
Wave Chill didn’t answer her.
“Oh no…” Rainbow breathed, her eyes widening with horror, turning back towards the building to discover Wave Chill wasn’t behind her. She started towards the building but drew short as the four story structure collapsed on itself in slow motion. “NO!” She yelled, galloping towards where the door had stood a few moments ago. The rational part of her mind told her there was no way he could’ve survived that, there was no way anypony could’ve survived that, but she shoved that thought aside. That was too unfair, too cruel for her to comprehend that she should live and he die. One of her heroes being buried under tons of rubble seemed far too undignified a death.
“No… not fair…” She sobbed again, spotting a dark blue shape in the rubble. She darted over to it and tried pulling it free but to no avail. Blinded by grief and anger, she didn’t realise somepony tapping her on the shoulder.
“Uh, what’cha doing?”
Rainbow spun around, amazed to see the still living form of Wave Chill behind her, a confused look on his face. She opened her mouth in surprise and turned her head back to the shape buried in the rubble.
“That’s a pillow.” Wave Chill said, clearly wondering if Rainbow Dash had been hit on the head a little too hard..
“How’d you get out?” Rainbow asked, shocked.
“Easy, I flew out the window. Why didn’t you?” Wave Chill asked, not noticing the fact that Rainbow Dash had almost been reduced to tears over his apparent death. “That was a pretty dramatic collap-.” He was cut off as Rainbow’s hoof connected with his jaw.
“You arsehole! I thought you died!” She yelled hotly.
“Oh wow, you sound so pleased to see me alive.” Wave Chill snarked. “Maybe I’ll just go pile rubble over my head.”
“Don’t do it again.” Rainbow growled, marching off indignantly.
Wave Chill massaged his now aching jaw and shot a confident look at the confused and now homeless filly.
“She’s totally into me.”
***
Lucky Seven floated over the city, only four of its eight mighty engines running as it maintained a holding pattern over the city. Her decks were buzzing with activity, her usual compliment of 175 had swelled to more than double that number. Rainbow Dash had heard stories of the ship before but had never seen for real and she had to admit, it made for a fairly imposing sight. Batteries of crude rockets were sited in turrets along the ships aft and fore structure and bands of strong yet light armour covered the superstructure. The insignia of the Wonderbolt’s flew proudly from the bridge alongside the flag of Equestria. Across the bow of the airship the name Lucky Seven was printed in large, bold letters.
“Down there Rookie,” Wave Chill indicated, pointing to a small landing platform that allowed smaller airships to dock and pegasi to take off and land without fear of running into cabling or a gasbag. The duo had deposited the child at a Royal Guard post, an action Rainbow dash felt a little guilty for, before flying up to the massive airship so the Wonderbolt beside her could make his report. Wave Chill touched down gracefully and immediately strode over to an earth pony who was monitoring arrivals and departures. He talked briefly to the pony before gesturing to Rainbow Dash. “Come on, let’s go see the boss.”
Rainbow dash followed wordlessly, still feeling a little shocked from the building collapse. She looked around the floating warship, wondering if someday she’d shoot off the launch platform alongside the other Wonderbolts as a teammate rather than just a hanger-on.
“Stick close Rookie, don’t want you to get lost in here.” Wind Chill advised, ducking through an open bulkhead and making his way down the corridor beyond, several crew members scampering out the way respectfully when they recognised the Wonderbolt’s uniform. They took a few more turns before arriving at the bridge, a large command room where dozens of ponies, many not military, were clustered around a few chart tables jabbering to each other and an innumerable number of aides all at once. Wave Chill approached the table and stood at attention, waiting patiently for the pair of Wonderbolt officers Rainbow Dash immediately recognised as Soarin and Spitfire to acknowledge his presence.
“Wave Chill.” Spitfire finally said, looking up from the chart. If she was surprised by her subordinates ragged, dusty appearance she made no outward sign of it. Soarin looked up from the chart and followed his CO’s gaze.
“Good to see you back. How did your sweep go?” Spitfire asked.
“Well, ma’am. We recovered two dozen missing ponies and found several more unmarked blood spills.”
“Still?” Spitfire asked, slightly surprised. The attack had been nearly a week ago and S&R efforts were starting to wind down. The fact that they were still finding more spills and missing ponies was troubling.
“We reported their locations to the local CPs, I’d assume HAZMAT is already cleaning up as we speak.” Wave Chill said, barely stifling a yawn.
“That’s good work lieutenant.” Spitfire said, turning to a unicorn who was after her attention. A few hushed words passed between them before Spitfire returned her attention to the two pegasi. “Excuse me, urgent matters.” She explained, following the unicorn to the other end of the bridge where the wide windows offered a panoramic view of the city.
“You’ll have to forgive her, she’s a bit distracted at the moment. It seems we’ve had some recent developments further afield.” Soarin explained, his gaze lingering on Spitfire for a moment. He looked the fliers over curiously. “What’s with all the dust?”
“Building collapse. Some idiot doesn’t know the difference between mostly stable and shift-one-bloody-thing-and-the-whole building-will-come-down.” Wave Chill spat crossly.
Soarin let out a low chuckle. “I think you’ve earned a break Wave Chill, go get yourself a proper meal and some sleep.”
“Yes sir, thank you sir.”
Soarin switched his gaze to the mare next to Wave Chill. “You too Rainbow Dash, you’re only a volunteer but you’re doing a fantastic job. I can’t order you to do it, but I suggest you have some downtime.”
“Thank you Soarin.” She said, feeling immensely pleased with herself.
“No problem." Soarin smiled, pulling her aside briefly. "Hey, maybe you could catch up with us some time? Maybe when we're a little less busy?” He asked, waving vaguely in Spitfire's direction.
Rainbow smirked. “Maybe after this thing pans out. I’m more or less dead right now.” She said back, missing the mutinous look that flashed across Wave Chill’s face.
“I'll sort something out then.” Soarin said with a nod. “In the meantime, I’m sure the facilities on Lucky Seven will serve your needs quite well. If you get the chance, drop by and say hi to the rest of the team, I’m sure they’d be happy to have a chat. Most of them are out in the city at the moment but it looks like we may be recalling them soon if this lead turns out to be something...”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Rainbow said with a loud yawn.
“Sleeping quarters are right this way, I’m sure I can find a cabin for you.” Wave Chill butted in helpfully.
“I believe there’s some space on deck three.” Soarin piped in, “I can have somepony take you down there if you’d like.”
“Nah, I’m sure Wave Chill can do it without getting lost.” Rainbow said with a tired laugh.
“That I can, right this way Rookie.” Wave Chill said, leading the rainbow maned Pegasus off the bridge.
Soarin chuckled and shook his head slowly. He turned back to the chart, slightly surprised to find Spitfire blocking his path.
“Ma’am?” He asked.
“We’ve found one.” She said, dragging him over to a larger map of Equestria without further explanation.
“For real?” Soarin asked. “Not a hoax this time?”
“For real.” Spitfire echoed. “Rouge Two is our closest asset, I’m going to dispatch them to secure the site until the lab boys can get there.”
“A sound choice.” Soarin agreed. “Where is it?”
“A little frozen backwater town in the northern wastes called Stonefall.” Spitfire said, pointing to a tiny dot on the map in the far northern reaches of Equestria. Soarin examined the map closely, silently pitying the soon to be frozen crew of Rogue Two.
“Never heard of it.”
***
Fluttershy yawned quietly and placed her head down on the small café table she and Rarity had found. Like her Rainbow maned friend she’d been awake for the better part of two days, the constant stream of casualties with minor injuries never seeming to end. She and Rarity had gone to the hospital only to be redirected to a large aid camp a good half-kilometre away. There, they had helped treat the hundreds and thousands of ponies who’d received anything from a broken bone to severe shock from the attack. While it was a job Fluttershy was used to, the constant looks of fear, panic and in some cases, downright hysteria, had not sat easily with her. Something had risen from the water and everypony was scared, ponies everywhere whispered rumours about the metal giant which now sat at the tip of Manehatten Island and it was probably no small part thanks to the presence of the Royal Guard that civil order had been maintained.
'What a week...' Fluttershy thought.
“I wonder where Pinkie Pie is?” Rarity asked, her mane more frazzled than she would normally consider acceptable. “You haven’t seen her since we left the hospital have you?”
Fluttershy shook her head slowly, listening to a pony walking past describe how the giants could shoot fire out if their mouths.
Rarity pouted and fiddled absently with a thin pen she habitually carried around with her. “You did a wonderful job Fluttershy.” She said suddenly, eying the long line of ponies who’d formed outside the undamaged café. A small unit of Guards had taken over the premises and were using it as a makeshift break station for volunteers. “This is an event of a lifetime and you’ve held yourself together really well.”
“Thank you, Rarity.” Fluttershy said tiredly. “You too.”
“I wish we could do something more… glamorous.” She sighed, looking down the street and spotting a familiar pink figure amongst the crowd
“Pinkie Pie! Pinkie, over here!” She called, attracting a few curious glances from the line of ponies. Her pink friend quickly spotted her and bounced over, her usual enthusiasm seemingly returned.
“Heya Rarity, heya Fluttershy!” She sang.
“Where have you been? I’ve barely seen you all week!” Rarity asked.
“Well after I made that doctor almost drop a scalpel down a pony’s nose somepony at the hospital told me to go down to the children’s ward.” She shivered in excitement and her voice dropped a little. “They really enjoyed having me around, the whole ward seemed to just light up. In retrospect that may have just been the lights turning on at night though.”
Rarity shared a tired look with Fluttershy, it seemed Pinkie was back to her regular chatty attitude despite the disaster.
“Why did you leave then?” Rarity asked, watching Pinkie’s slightly infectious grin fall.
Pinkie stared at the ground. “A lot of them lost their parents. I don’t know if they’re just missing or if… they’r… they’re- dea-.” She choked.
Rarity held up a hoof to forestall her. “So you thought you’d go looking for them?”
Pinkie nodded slowly.
“Well that’s very brave and thoughtful of you, but I think you should leave that to the professionals.” Rarity said firmly, gesturing around her to a few weary rescue crews.
“But I can help!” Pinkie protested.
“And you have, you’ve done more than anypony expected of you.” Rarity said sternly. “But I am not letting you go into that trail of destruction and risk your own safety.”
Pinkie glared at the ground, dissatisfied with Rarity’s rebuke.
“I agree with Rarity.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Our emergency services are doing a fantastic job, you might get in their way.”
“I suppose.” Pinkie muttered ruefully, glad she hadn’t made a Pinkie promise to any of the children at the hospital. The three ponies glanced silently at one another, unsure of what to say.
“Who wants to go see the big robot?” Pinkie yelled with her regular ignorance of such trivial things such as an ‘inside voice’.
“Pinkie, do we really?” Rarity moaned. She was in desperate need of a bath, a proper meal and a nice long sleep. Traipsing around the city looking at an alien robot was the last thing on her mind.
“Well I think it’d be fun! I mean what if we see those aliens? Wouldn’t that be so cool?”
“Your understanding of ‘cool’ somewhat differs to mine, I think.” Rarity said haughtily.
“I’ll go with you Pinkie.” Fluttershy said, stifling another yawn. “I think it’s fascinating.”
“Oh goodie let’s go!” Pinkie said, grabbing Fluttershy and pulling her down the street at breakneck speeds.
“Uh… Pinkie. Could you… slow down please?” Fluttershy squeaked as Pinkie tore down a boulevard, scattering a group of ponies who had no other option other than to get out of the way of the speeding pink cannon ball barrelling towards them. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut fearfully as Pinkie rounded a tight corner at a speed more suited for a 100 metre sprint.
“Alright, we’re here. You can let go now!” Pinkie Pie sang, coming to an abrupt halt. Fluttershy nervously opened an eye, surprised to discover that they had reached a cordon the Royal Guard had set up around the machine. More accurately, they were as close as they could get to the cordon thanks to the almost solid crowd of ponies all jostling for a view. Fluttershy shook her head in confusion, how Pinkie had suddenly gotten from Downtown Manehatten to the docks so quickly was something best not considered.
“Look at that Fluttershy! Isn’t it huge?” Pinkie said in awe, mouth agape. She craned her head back impossibly far to look at the giant's slightly recessed head.
“Yes, it’s rather big.” Fluttershy whispered. She had never seen something so large before; the massive dragon she’d confronted some time ago would’ve had trouble reaching the giant’s knee. Gauging from the crowd’s chatter, there was an equal mix of fear and awe amongst the residents. Some ponies took pictures of it while others hurled insults and obscenities, clearly displeased with hosting the metal giant in their city.
“Wouldn’t it be great to pilot one of these?” Pinkie asked, standing on her hind legs and delivering an upper cut to an imaginary enemy. “I mean, I’m not usually one for fighting but that would seriously rock!”
Fluttershy eeped quietly, clearly put off by the concept of fighting a monster the size of the machine in front of her.
Pinkie suddenly froze mid-swing and looked around nervously. “Ahh! Pinchy knee, not good, not good!” She stammered, dancing from hoof to the other.
“Pinkie? What are talking about?” Fluttershy asked, unsure of what had gotten into her friend. The words had barely left her mouth when the ground started rumbling.
***
Michael pried open the panel and examined the fried electrical components inside with a look of disgust. True to her word, Celestia had sent in repair crews a few days after the Kaiju attack to attend to Midsummer Night. A small town’s worth of support personnel ranging from metalworkers to electricians all the way up to a score of nuclear physicists who had been pulled off their own reactor project. With Michael, and occasionally Shane, guiding the repairs the combined task force had managed to patch the scores of large holes that Switchback had made in their hull, replace what felt like several kilometres of burnt out electronics and most importantly, repair the reactor to a hopefully workable state in the space of a week. He looked up from the electrical circuit he was rewiring and examined the maze of scaffolds, cranes and rigs the ponies had assembled to service the bulk of the Jaeger. While nothing like a shatterdome’s repair bays, the hustle and bustle of the scene felt somewhat like home, a feeling Michael had been missing somewhat. From the head of the Midsummer Night, he had a commanding view of the entire spectacle. Beyond the clustered and disordered repair yard, the Royal Guard kept a tight cordon, keeping the citizens of Manehatten away from the metal giant. Despite the fact the Jaeger had been in the drydock for a good week, Michael could still see hordes of ponies milling around outside the perimeter, trying to catch a glimpse of the mighty machine or one of its alien pilots.
Naturally, for what good had come from the venture, there was also the bad.
The repairmen had failed to make much progress on any of their motive systems, the liaison Celestia had given them, a student of hers named Twilight Sparkle, had explained to Michael that there simply wasn’t the technology to replicate them on such a short notice. While this meant they could still move, they'd be a bit slower than normal until someone figured out how to fix them. Worst of all though, the so-called experts Celestia had brought in to examine and repair the quantum tunnelling device had failed to make any headway, decrying the device as ‘an impossible act of science’.
Of course they had failed to account for the fact that it was fuelled by a much more efficient and powerful reactor than they had ever seen. According to Twilight, one of the physicists had called the rated power output of Midsummer Night’s reactor ‘fanciful.’
Michael smiled slightly. They had scheduled to have a reactor test later that afternoon and while he wasn’t planning on going to full power just yet, he was hoping he could show the sceptics a thing or two about human engineering.
“I can’t wait to see their faces.” Michael chuckled to himself. He looked around as the clatter of hooves on the metal hull of the Jaeger rang out behind him. Michael turned his head to find a slightly familiar purple unicorn trotting towards him.
“Hello. Michael, isn’t it?” The lavender unicorn said cheerfully. Unlike most of the ponies Michael had seen working on the Jaeger, she seemed genuinely thrilled to be in the presence of an alien.
“That’d be me. Twilight, right?” Michael said, offering out his hand. Twilight stared at it curiously for a moment before refocusing her attention on Michael’s face.
“That it is.” Twilight beamed, staring at his hand again.
“How can I help you today?” Michael asked slowly, dropping his hand back down to his side awkwardly
“Our chief technician reported to Celestia that your…” She played with the pronunciation. “Nuclear reactor should be operational again. She sent me to ensure that it was up to shape before the test.”
Michael looked her over dubiously. “Do you have any idea how it works?”
Twilight bristled slightly. “I placed third in my atomic physics class. I’ve done some work on our own experimental atomic reactor.”
“Right this way then.” Michael said, gesturing to the hatch that led below. He reached the hatch and punched the access code in. “What happened to the top two then?” He asked idly.
“They’re otherwise preoccupied.” Twilight said, brushing his question off quickly. She looked down the narrow passage the ladder led down.
“How do ponies deal with ladders?” Michael asked wryly, a small grin cracking on his face.
“We improvise.” Twilight said, casting a simple levitation spell on herself. She stepped over the threshold and floated down into the conpod like a feather.
“Impressive.” Michael said, sliding down the ladder behind her. He surveyed the conpod, quickly spotting Shane sitting cross-legged in the centre of the space as he worked on rewiring a one of the control panels.
“What did I say about bringing those things in here?” Shane asked, glancing up from his work with a disgruntled look.
“She’s just passing through, don’t get you panties in a twist.” Michael jeered.
Shane scowled and returned to his work. “How’s that?” He seemingly asked no one in particular.
“Circuit 3, 6, 7 and 10 have restored functionality.” A mechanical yet oddly warm and pleasant voice answered.
“What was that?” Twilight asked Michael as he directed her to another hatch in the floor.
“That’s the Jaeger’s A.I. I call her Sweetie.” Michael answered, clambering down after her.
“A.I.?” Twilight queried, dropping the last metre and landing with a clang on the metal floor.
“She’s a really clever computer. Helps run the Jaeger for us.”
“Can she run it herself?”
“No, there needs to be pilot input for the Jaeger to function.” Michael replied, guiding her towards the reactor spaces set within the Jaeger’s chest. Her head spun around as she took in the technological marvels around her. The way her head spun around gave the impression she was trying to look at everything at once.
“Amazing!” She breathed, examining a set of computers covered in blinking lights set within an armoured rectangle.
“Yeah it’s pretty cool. Don’t touch anything though.” Michael said, pulling her away from the bank of machines.
“How would you feel sharing some of this technology with us?” Twilight probed, hoping she could possibly get a positive response from the human. “I’d imagine we’d be able to repair your motivators a little better if we actually understood how they worked…”
“I want to talk to Shane about it first.” Michael said firmly. “Personally, I’d be a little apprehensive giving you guys a bunch of our gear and telling you to go nuts. Who knows what you’d do with it?”
Twilight nodded silently, slightly disappointed. She plodded on silently, wondering how she could restart their conversation.
“I’ve been wondering, how do you know Equestrian?” She asked eventually.
“How come you know English?” Michael asked back dryly.
Twilight let out a quiet laugh. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it. It’s a bit odd isn’t it?”
Michael nodded his head silently and ducked through an open bulkhead. The circular room beyond was by far, the largest in the whole Jaeger, taking took up a fair portion of the upper chest. It had to be to contain the large steel vessel that stood in the centre. An dizzying array of pipes circled the room and in each corner sat a large radiation counter. Unlike the rest of the Jaeger which was a dull, utilitarian grey, the inside of the reactor room was a spotless white.
“Impressive.” Twilight said, instinctively keeping her distance from the reactor. Even when shut down it seemed to irradiated power sheer power.
“You feel it too? It just… feels powerful doesn’t it?” Michael said, rolling up the sleeves on the slightly oversized jacket he’d found. The survival kits bundled in the back of the Jaeger’s conpod had contained a wealth of useful tools and equipment. The ration packs they’d found, however, had remained untouched; the food the ponies had was much better than whatever the slim silver packages could offer.
Twilight paced around the circumference of the room. “How would your technicians normally access this? I’d guess that little hatch is a little small for major overhauls.”
“The chest armour can be removed and we can gain access to the reactor by removing a few of the modules. That’s actually how your people did it.” Michael explained, watching her carefully.
“All that in a week?” Twilight asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“It helps when we can tell them how to pull it apart and put it back together.”
Twilight edged a little closer to the reactor vessel. “I’m amazed by how intimate a knowledge you have of your machine.”
“It’s more than a machine…” Michael trailed off.
Twilight raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt.
“When you’re piloting a Jaeger it’s like an extension of yourself. You’re not a person anymore, you’re suddenly something more than that. Man becomes machine and machine becomes man.”
“What’s it feel like? Does it hurt?” Twilight asked.
“It can. But the feeling.” He struggled for the right words. “At first it’s like sticking your arm in wet concrete and trying to move around but after awhile it just becomes natural. The feeling you have in there when you’re linked in with someone else is indescribable.” He shivered. “There’s nothing that Shane doesn’t know about me and me about him. I swear I can sometimes hear his thoughts even when we’re not in the drift.”
Twilight had no idea what he was talking about but decided to run with it. “Shane’s your brother, right?”
“Yes, he’s a few years my younger.”
“Yes, you two do have a remarkable resemblance.” Twilight let out a quiet huff. “What’s his problem anyway? He seems so… edgy.”
“You’ve got to give him a while, he’s not exactly the type to trust strangers. He likes knowing all the facts and figures… all this- he’s just not adapted to it yet. Hell, I'm probably being a little too lenient.” Michael said, choosing his words carefully. “He’s got a good head though, he won’t do anything stupid.”
Twilight tossed a dubious look at the human.
“Probably.” Michael admitted with a small shrug.
“Alert: Power relay failure in section seven, please proceed to the relay and conduct repairs.” The voice of the A.I. chimed through a speaker mounted in wall of the reactor room.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Analysis suggests loose wiring.”
“Sounds like an easy fix, I’ll get right on it.” Michael said cheerfully. Prior to their enlistment in the Pan Pacific Defence Corp, Michael and Shane had worked for their father’s electrical company. While neither had been passionate about the job, they had both gained a great deal of knowledge in the field of electrical circuitry. He turned to Twilight. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone ok?”
Twilight, busy examining the hastily welded together reactor shielding muttered something unintelligible. Taking her answer as an affirmative, Michael strode from the room.
“Well you didn’t really define stupid…” Twilight muttered under her breath.
***
Fifteen minutes and fixed power relay later, Michael strode back into the reactor room, quietly humming some classic from the 70's to himself. The relay had been difficult to find but easy enough to fix, a few moments of fiddling with loose wires and some choice curses seemed to have done the trick.
"Say, don't suppose you're lot know anything about mus-." He trailed off, noticing the purple pony was nowhere in sight. He peered around the reactor vessel with a dumb look on his face, half expecting to see the unicorn laying in ambush. Frowning, he looked upwards. "Sweetie, where'd she go?"
"No surveillance on lower decks." The A.I. answered. Micheal's brow furrowed. The areas were so rarely used, it made sense there wouldn't be any surveillance in the maintenance areas. Why would anyone go poke around in the guts of a Jaeger anyway? "Aww hell." Michael muttered to himself, a sense of paranoia sweeping over him. "Shane's not going to like this..."
***
“I’ve lost her.” Michael said breathlessly, cambering out from the maintenance access hatch at the back of the conpod.
Shane spun around, the bundle of cables he was holding hitting the deck with a soft thud. “What do you mean you lost her?”
“That pony, Twilight, I think.” Michael elaborated. “Sweetie had me go fix a power relay so I left her in the reactor room. Sure, big deal right? She knows what she’s doing. Anyway, I finish rewiring the relay and come back…” He threw his arms up in the air. “Boom, gone.”
“So you’re telling me we’ve got a pony loose somewhere in the Jaeger?” Shane said with a sigh of exasperation.
Michael nodded his head quickly. “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”
“And your first instinct was to come all the way up here and tell me rather than go look for her?” Shane muttered ruefully. “I told you they were up to something. It’s like all those ‘mechanics’ who keep taking detailed notes on how our arm motivators go together or those ‘blacksmiths’ who were checking out the railguns a little too closely yesterday.”
“You don’t know that.” Michael said. “She could’ve just gotten los-.”
“Warning, unauthorised system access in backup data unit.” The A.I. chimed suddenly, making both pilots look up in surprise.
“What the he- No! Shane, wait!” Michael yelled as his brother dashed towards the back of the conpod and broke open one of the supply lockers. Before Michael could react, his brother had taken a flare gun in each hand and vanished down the maintenance access hatch.
“Oh there’s going to be hell to pay for this.” Michael muttered diving down the hatch after him.
“Uh-oh.” Twilight said, her face falling as an alarm blared in the distance. She turned back to the panel in front her and shoved one of the curious metal boxes she had been about to remove back into its holder. Breathing quickly, she rooting around the floor for the few she had already disconnected. She peered back inside the box with a look of concern, in her panic she had forgotten which one went where. The sound of boots against the metal floor reached Twilight’s ears, prompting a small squeak of surprise. She hadn’t expected them to react so fast! Leaving the boxes where they were, she turned back towards where she had come from only to find her path blocked by one of the aliens, a bright orange metal tube held menacingly in each hand.
“Don’t move, fur-ball.” Shane ordered, aiming each flare gun directly at Twilight’s face. “What were you doing?” He barked roughly.
Twilight stared down the barrel of each gun, frozen in place with fear.
“I said, what were you doing?” Shane asked, noting a few hard drives scattered across the floor. He shifted his aim slightly and squeezed a round off. The flare sputtered into life with a high pitched fizz and bounced off the wall behind the unicorn before landing on the floor where it proceeded to glow merrily. He discarded the now empty gun and refocused his aim. “You’ve got five seconds till I pull this trigger, so you better start talking.” Shane snapped.
Twilight, still paralysed with fear gaped silently at him, like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a speeding yogurt delivery truck,
“Five.”
One of his thick fingers twitched against the trigger.
“Four.”
The sound of a second set of boots ringing against the floor reached Twilight’s ears and the other alien appeared behind Shane. Its eyes widened as it processed the scene in front of it.
“Shane! What the hell-.”
“Three.” Shane spat, his eyes not leaving the pony in front of him.
“Shane, put the gun down.” Michael ordered.
“I’ll put the gun down when she...” Shane jerked his head towards the pony. “Explains what she was doing snooping around down here.”
Michael turned to Twilight, a worried look on his face. “For the record, this counts as doing something stupid.” He said, slowly edging forward in an attempt to lower the flare gun.
“Two.”
Twilight’s eyes flickered between Michael hand and the flare gun that Shane was holding.
“One…” Shane breathed, his finger tightening around the trigger.
“Alright, alright! I was trying to get some data from those.” Twilight explained quickly. Shane relaxed his stance, the gun falling idly at his side. Michael stooped down and examined the hard drives for damage before plugging them back into the bank of computers.
“Come on lady, you’ve got some explaining to do.” Shane grunted, waving limply at the drive Michael was examining.
“These drives contain backups for our targeting software, balance calculations and some storage for the Jaeger's database.” Michael explained, fixing a suspicious eye on Twilight. “Now why would you be interested in these?” He asked
Twilight opened her mouth to speak but before any words could escape her mouth the Jaeger was suddenly rocked with tremendous force.
“What the hell was that?” Shane yelled, gripping the wall for support as the Jaeger continued shuddering.
“Seismic activity. Measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale.” The A.I. said, completely indifferent to the fact its body was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
“Damn it! Is the whole universe against us or something?” Shane snapped, grabbing the pony so she didn’t fall over and hurt herself. Michael stumbled, grunting in pain as his head slammed against the bulkhead.. There was another brief rumble and the worst was over, a faint tremor the only trace of the violent tectonic shift.
Michael wiped a smear of blood of from an ugly gash running down his face. “We all okay?”
“I’m fine.” Twilight said shakily.
“Never better.” Shane snapped sarcastically, letting go of the pony and helping his brother up.
“Sweetie, how’s the Jaeger? Any damage?” Michael asked, ignoring his pounding head.
The quiet creaks and groans of the battered metal hull around them was the only response. They waited for a few seconds before a look of concern passed between Shane and Michael.
“Sweetie?” Michael asked again, his voice taking on an edge of concern.
“Stand by, analysing.” The A.I. said, eliciting a quiet sigh of relief from Michael.
“She’ll be fine. We’ve had worse.” Michael said shakily, patting Shane on the shoulder roughly. Shane opened his mouth, no doubt a clever rebuttal already formed in his mind. The Jaeger’s A.I. was too quick for him though.
Several days earlier – Thirty kilometres north of Stonefall
Jax hauled himself over a ridge of snow, squinting to make out the next bright orange flag. While the weather was considerably better than it had been on their earlier expedition, Jax was having a hard time seeing for more than a few hundred metres. With the change in weather, he and Snow Blind had finally gotten the chance they were looking for to examine the strange wall they had found some weeks earlier. He brushed a clump of snow off his muzzle and pulled out a worn map and compass.
“We must nearly be there.” Snow Blind said, breathing heavily; the as he scurried up the bank behind Jax.
“Last flag should just be over that rise.” Jax agreed, stashing his map and compass away and pulling his snow goggles back over his pale green eyes. He scanned the horizon quickly, noting a front of ominous looking clouds to the north. That could be trouble.
“All these ridges and valleys weren’t here last time.” Snow Blind grumbled. Trudging after his companion wearily.
“I’d guess it was that massive snowstorm last week. The mountains around here tend to funnel the wind and the snow heaps up like this I suppose.” Jax answered pragmatically, cresting the small ridge that hid their quarry. words failed for a moment as he finally caught sight of their destination. “Whoa.”
“What is that?” Snow Blind muttered in awe. What the two ponies had presumed to be a wall was more like a vast metal dome. Several protrusions jutted from the main dome, one ending in a ragged tear that looked like had been caused by the jaws of a gigantic monster. The remainder of the dome was buried under several metres of snow.
“I don’t think that’s a wall.” Jax said slowly, overcome by awe. While he couldn’t guess the construction’s true size due to the snow cover, he guessed what he could see was at least 50 metres from end to end and at least that as wide.
“Sort of looks like a giant Diamond Dog.” Snow Blind said, pointing out what he imagined looked like a head, an arm and the start of a leg. “It’s even hunched over like one.”
Jax froze for a moment, remembering the detailed report in the town’s newspaper a few days ago about some disaster in Manehatten which had destroyed a fair part of the city. The article went into detail about some massive metal machine had slain the monster and saved the city. There were still photos of it plastered all over the paper, a monolithic guardian that stood watch over some dock in Manehatten.
“No way.” Jax breathed, his heart beat quickening as the possible implications sunk in.
“What, what is it?” Snow Blind asked, completely oblivious to Jax’s epiphany.
“Another one…” Jax whispered, galloping down the slope towards what he now realised was a metal giant. He slipped and skidded on a patch of ice in his haste and tumbled head first into the slush.
“Hey Jax, wait up! What is it?” Snow Blind yelled, trying to catch up to the unicorn. Jax ignored him, looking around for the fluorescent orange flag that marked where their previous foray had ended. He let out a curse as his eyes crossed the white snow scape without luck, evidently the flag had been buried by the recent snowfall.
“Jax, what’s up? What’d you run off for?” Snow Blind panted, finally catching up to the unicorn at what Jax guessed to be near the base of one of the giant’s shoulders.
“It’s one of those things.” Jax gushed, looking over the dull grey metal plates excitedly. “The things in Manehatten.”
Snow Blind blinked dumbly. “Come again?”
“You’ve seen the pictures in the paper right? The metal giant that saved Manehatten a few days ago. It’s one of those, I’m sure of it!”
“Jax, what the hay are you on about?” Snow Blind asked, clearly wondering if his friend needed to be carted off to an institution.
“The big machine that saved Manehatten! What did they call it..?” He scratched his head in thought back to the double page spreads in the newspaper. “That’s it, a Jaeger!” He said, horribly mispronouncing the German word.
“You mean the big alien robot everypony was panicking over?” Snow blind said, his eyes widening in shock.
Jax nodded furiously. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
Snow Blind rook a few steps back cautiously. “The look on your face tells me you want to go poke around inside it. Please tell me I’m wrong.” Snow Blind pleaded.
“Oh you are so, so right.” Jax said giddily. Ever since hearing about the attack he had sorely wanted to go see the massive construction now resting in Manehatten harbour. The prospect that he now had one of the machines in front of him was almost too much to comprehend. He fished around in his pack for his climbing gear, pulling out a set of metal spars and some rope.
“You can’t be serious.” Snow Blind said, his eyes flicking over the metal giant nervously. “What if it wakes up?”
“I think it’s dead.” Jax said with a little too much cheer. He wrapped the spars around his legs, creating a makeshift form of ice pick which would hopefully hold him as he climbed the side of the giant.
“Here we go.” He muttered, slamming the metal spar against the hull. A crack rang out as the metal connected, leaving him with a useless shattered rod of metal in his hand. “Huh, didn’t ever scratch it.” He muttered absently, examining the gunmetal grey hull closely.
“Well I guess that means we just have to go home, no point breaking the rest of our climbing gear then.” Snow Blind said, trying to tug Jax away from the metal hull.
“Relax, I got this.” Jax said, focusing a stream of energy through his horn. A moment later the duo went floating into the sky, the anti-gravity spell working its magic.
“JAX, WHAT ARE DOING?! PUT ME DOWN!” Snow Blind yelled as they sailed lazily into the sky. The unicorn ignored him, floating them a few metres higher until they stood on top of the slightly sloped, snow covered body.
“You’re insane!” Snow Blind snapped, looking anxiously at the drop behind them. It would’ve been at least ten metres back down, far too high for him to jump.
“Oh relax, what’s the worst that could happe- Woah!” Jax yelled as he tumbled into a hidden crevasse in the hull. The thin layer of snow and ice had disguised the hole perfectly, breaking only as Jax has stepped onto it. A loud thud and a groan of pain marked the abrupt end to the unicorn’s fall.
“Jax, are you alright?” Snow blind yelled, peering over the edge of the small hole cautiously. The unicorn was in a crumpled heap against a bulkhead about three metres down. He let out another groan of pain.
“I think I’m fine. Nothing broken at least.” Jax managed, shakily hauling himself to his hooves.
“I’m coming down.” Snow Blind announced, vanishing back over the lip of the hole.
“Mind the drop.” Jax muttered ruefully as a black rope snaked its way down towards him. After a few moments, the earth pony followed it, sliding down the rope with well-practised ease. Snow Blind checked Jax over quickly, frowning at the ugly bruise forming on the side of his companions head. Satisfied that the unicorn wasn’t about to fall apart, he peered around the gloomy compartment.
“I can’t see shit.” He muttered, scowling at a few lines of meaningless symbols printed on a wall. The temperature seemed to plummet in the machine but at least they were out of the howling gusts of wind that plagued the ice fields.
“Well we brought torches for a reason.” Jax said cheerfully, pulling one out of his bag and levitating it above his head. He switched it on, the narrow beam cutting through the oppressive gloom easily.
“Alright, you’ve seen inside your metal giant. Can we go now?” Snow Blind asked.
“Nah, let’s have a poke around, we might something interesting.” Jax said, orientating himself with the slanted environment.
“I think the top is this way.” Jax added, shining his flashlight up a narrow corridor which would’ve been vertical had the machine been upright.
“Any idea what all these symbols mean?” Snow Blind asked, sweeping his own torch across several more of the symbols printed on the walls.
The unicorn stared at the symbols intently, he swore he’d seen them before but couldn’t quite place the memory. “Not a clue.” He said finally, ducking his head and trotting up the shaft he presumed led higher into the machine’s body. Snow Blind wordlessly followed, not wanting to be left alone in the body of the mighty machine.
“This place gives me the creeps.” Snow Blind said with a shiver. He spun his head around quickly, the nagging sense that they were being watched hanging over him. The pressing darkness and claustrophobic corridor certainly wasn’t helping. A sudden crash made him jump, hitting his head painfully on the low ceiling. In the echoes of the crash he swore he could make out the faint sound of something moving through the hull.
“Hello?” He called out foolishly. “Anyone there?”
“Pull yourself together.” Jax chucked, reaching the end of the corridor and finding a solid metal hatch blocking their path. “We’re the only two things in here.”
“Exce- ti- n.” A cold, mechanical voice answered quietly. Its speech was fragmented and broken, constantly cutting out before snapping back on. If a look of panic hadn't crossed Jax's face at the same time, Snow Blind would've sworn he had imagined it.
“W-what the heck was that?” Snow Blind stammered, the beam from his torch wheeling around in panic. He half expected to see some alien beast with a maw full of razor sharp fangs and drool dripping from its mouth right behind him. His heart hammered against his chest and it took every ounce of courage to not bolt back for the rope.
Jax froze, he’d been inspecting the panel blocking their path when the oddly mechanical voice had spoken. “I have no idea.” He whispered. “But it didn’t sound like any animal I know… more like a machine.”
Snow Blind tensed instinctively. “You said this thing was dead.”
Jax bit his lip. “Maybe I was wrong.” He muttered. The hatch he had been examining suddenly creaked open, making both ponies start with surprise.
“Oh this is bad, this is real bad.” Snow Blind muttered fearfully. “Wh- Jax, where are you going?” He hissed as Jax made to move through the now open portal.
“I want to check it out.” The unicorn said, sounding much braver than he felt. Despite his attempt to appear unconcerned, Jax was starting to look a little frazzled.
“First we hear this voice and then a door slides open by itself.” Snow Blind hissed furiously. “I don’t that’s a good omen for our health.”
Jax brushed his words of warning off and stepped through the hatch, finding himself in roughly ten metre wide dome. The floor was canted at a slight angle and coupled with the layer of bluish frost that seemed to cover everything, Jax found it quite difficult to maintain his footing. In the gloom his flashlight picked out raised control panels and a large pair of curious frame-like structures which hung limply from the ceiling. A small hole in the centre of the dome fell away to reveal a dizzying array of gears and other moving parts.
“Snow Blind, come check this out!” Jax breathed, the fear of the mechanical voice that had scared them before buried under his feeling of wonder.
“What is this place?” Snow Blind asked, carefully stepping into the dome. He let out a curse as he slid across the floor and crashed in a heap against a few lockers at the back of the room.
“Looks like a control room of some kind.” Jax answered, fondly examining one of the consoles under the torchlight.
“Hey check this out.” Snow Blind called, prying one of the lockers open and pulling out a few bright metal tubes, some orange sticks and a few hard plastic cases with a red cross stamped on them. “Looks like survival gear.” He added, peering down one of the barrels of the metal tubes.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Jax said, snatching the tube away with his magic.
“Why?” Snow Blind asked dumbly.
“When I was traveling in the Griffon Kingdom I saw something like this. They called them firearms I think.” Jax said, turning the tube over curiously.
“That’s silly, who’d want to fire arms?” Snow Blind asked, picking up one of the plastic sticks and playing with it. He let out a quiet yelp of surprise when the stick started glowing.
Jax pointed the firearm at the corner of the dome and pulled the trigger with a burst of magic. A sharp crack sounded and a brilliant red ball of light shot out the end, landing in the corner with a sharp fizz. The red ball continued burning, illuminating most of the control room with a faint red tinge. “Huh, it shoots flares. That’s handy.” Jax said, tossing the device back to Snow Blind. “I suggest not pointing it at your face again.”
Snow Blind nodded meekly and put the firearm back where he’d found it. “Noted.”
Jax let out a small smile and reached up to the control panel; it was high enough he had to stand on his back legs to reach the buttons. Many were inscribed with a small script Jax presumed would’ve meant something to the aliens that piloted this thing. One button, larger and set apart from than the others which was labelled ‘SCRAM’, caught his attention. Feeling adventurous, he placed his hoof against the button and pressed it gently.
Nothing happened.
Feeling a little more confident he reached for another of the larger ones marked ‘RCTR MSTR STRT.’ As he pressed the button, a score of lights winked on weakly across the room, casting a soft white glow over them.
“What did you do?” Snow Blind asked nervously, a distant rumble reaching their ears.
Jax looked around cautiously. “I think I turned it on.”
“Good morning pilots. Jaeger power up sequence initiated.” The mechanical voice they had heard before said, this time its speech unimpaired. The two ponies jumped in surprise and looked around for the source of the voice.
“Where’s that coming from?” Snow Blind hissed.
“I think it’s a computer or something.” Jax muttered nervously, stepping away from the console. He vaguely recalled words of wisdom his mother had told him years ago. ‘Don’t mess with things you don’t understand.’ He cringed, wishing he’d paid more attention to them.
“Warning: Hull integrity compromised in 59 locations. Drive system failure. Reactor shielding critical. Right arm motivators destroyed.” The voice droned, apparently oblivious to the two ponies in the conpod.
“Hello?” Jax asked, wondering if he could figure out how to turn it off.
The voice continued listing off defects, apparently unconcerned with their presence.
“What are you?” Snow Blind asked.
The voice cut off abruptly, leaving the control room in sudden silence.
“Did you break it?” Jax wondered quietly.
The voice snapped back on again, immediately disproving Jax’s thought. “Brawler Yukon. Mark I Jaeger prototype.”
***
Manehatten harbour – Equestria
Time since last incursion: Breach in progress
“Double check the scanners. Please tell me you’re making a mistake.” Michael panted, climbing up the narrow passageway into the Jaeger’s conpod.
“Verifying integrity of data, one moment please,”
“Face it, we’ve got another big baddie on our hands.” Shane said with something almost approaching good cheer. He ran over to the side of the conpod and started strapping his drivesuit on, the stark white plates gleaming under the cool conpod lighting.
“Could someone please tell me what the hay is going on?” Twilight asked, floating up the narrow tunnel behind them. She looked rather rattled, something neither of them found surprising considering she’d had a flare gun shoved in her face barely five minutes ago.
“Well how about I just say your big friend rotting in the harbour is about to get another, slightly smaller, friend.” Shane said with a harsh smile. He pulled his helmet down over his face and strode to the centre of the conpod, clipping his large bulky boots into the Jaeger’s drivetrain. The harness slid down from the ceiling and he fastened himself into the rig.
Twilight’s eyes widened with horror. “That’s not good.”
“For you, no. For us, well we’ve got Midsummer Night on our side.”
“What do I do?” Twilight stammered.
“Go tell your princess what’s happening, we’ll intercept the bug and pin it down. Maybe it won’t get into the city this time.” Michael said, cutting off a snarky response from Shane.
“You can’t seriously expect to go out in this thing?” Twilight said. “We haven’t even done a trail run on your reactor yet!”
“Sure, we’ll sit back and watch the party, that is, watch your guys get slaughtered and take snapshots at the beastie with flare guns. Sounds like a plan.” Shane snapped, already itching to hammer this Kaiju into the ground,
“She’ll be fine.” Michael said reassuringly, patting the decking of Midsummer Night with reverence. He donned his own helmet and opened the top hatch. “I recommend you get out now. Riding a Jaeger in battle isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing on the world.”
Twilight looked longingly at the controls, wondering what it would be like to view the battle from the metal giant. Common sense overcame her and she levitated herself outside. Somepony had to tell Celestia what was happening after all.
“Clever girl.” Michael said, clamping the hatch shut as the unicorn vanished out the top.
Shane spun around. “She’ll be fine, right?”
“Who, the Jaeger or the pony?” Michael asked stupidly.
“Midsummer Night you dolt.” Shane snapped. “Do you really think I’d care about the fur-ball?”
“Well with the amount you give machines any personality…” Michael muttered ruefully. “She’ll hold together.”
“Data integrity confirmed. Caution: Category II Kaiju inbound.”
“How far out is it?” Michael asked, clipping himself into the Jaeger and powering on the controls. He made a mental note to bring up the little incident they’d just had later, there was a much more pressing matter now.
“Long range scanner picked it up about 40 miles out.” Shane said, bringing the sensor data up on the holographic display. A rough topographical display came up on the display, a solid ping marking where the Kaiju had appeared. That had been several minutes ago, the Kaiju could be almost anywhere by now.
“Any other information?”
“Looks like it’s around 2100 tons, rather short though. I don’t like the look of this.” Shane said pointing to the sketchy sensor sweeps which showed a pair of large protrusions at the front of the Kaiju.
“Sweetie, come up with a name and power up the reactor.”
“Reactor activation protocols online, standby. New signature detected. Kaiju Rasura is inbound on heading three-two-three. Warning: Rasura has crossed the 35 mile mark.”
There was a dull thrum from below as the reactor powered up, a warning flashed briefly across their screen but vanished immediately. With a roar Midsummer Night burst into life
“Seems like they did something right at least.” Shane remarked, feeling a raw surge of power course through him.
“Reactor online, activating drift sequence in 3… 2… 1...”
***
Pinkie Pie watched in awe as the metal colossus slowly ground to life. With a creak of metal and clicking of massive gears it dipped into a slight crouch before stretching out to its full, impressive, height. It pivoted on its hip to face the pony crowd and let loose a long blast of its horns.
To Pinkie, it sounded like the end of the word. A sound that would shatter the sky and bring it raining down on them. It was the sound of raw power in machine form.
The crowd cheered and whooped with excitement as the Jaeger strode off its blocks and off into the bay, scattering a few scaffolds as it broke free of its cacoon. It let loose another horn blast before setting off at a quick pace through the bay, the ground trembling with every step.
“Whoa, did you see that, did you see that?!” Pinkie gushed excitedly, tugging at one of Fluttershy’s wings.
Fluttershy cowered on the ground, trying to hide and vanish under her hooves. She let out a small whimper.
“That was like two thousand tons of awesome!” Pinkie cheered, continuing to tug on Fluttershy’s wing like it was a disobedient dog. “I want to drive one!”
“That’s nice. Maybe you could do it somewhere not near me?” Fluttershy whimpered, watching the machine relentlessly plough through the bay through her hooves. “Where’s it going?”
Pinkie stopped mid cheer. “I have no idea!”
Of course, if the of the crowd had been aware of why the Jaeger had left they’d have less enthusiastic. Much less enthusiastic.
***
Lucky Seven buzzed through the sky like an angry hornet, an apt comparison as it reflected the mood of the ship’s captain rather well. Spitfire prowled the bridge crossly, glaring at any of her bridge crew who so much as glanced at her. She’d seen the ground buckle and shake briefly before going still. She wanted to know what was happening and she wanted to know five minutes ago.
“What’s going on down there?” Spitfire barked. She watched in alarm as a large building damaged in the initial attack collapsed, hurling debris across an entire city block.
“Looks like an earthquake ma’am.” One of the junior officers reported. “Not a large one but it’ll be enough to destabilise some of the damaged structures.
“Bloody hell, we just started cleaning this mess up!” Spitfire growled, her famous temper rising. ”Alert Search and Rescue.” She barked, sending one of her subordinates scurrying away to find the commander of the rescue teams.
“Uh, ma’am? I’m picking up a large power signature down at the docks. It’s coming from the alien robot.”
“Fantastic.” Spitfire fumed sarcastically. What were the aliens doing? Had they somehow caused the earthquake? The paranoia that came with the job started creeping into her head. There was some connection, some link she guessed between the machines activation and the tremor. “Bring us around, full ahead.” She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the ship’s tannoy and roughly jabbing the transmit button, the blow nearly shattering the small plastic nub. “General quarters, action stations.”
“Expecting trouble Captain?” Soarin asked as the ship spun around slowly and bore down on the Jaeger.
“I have no idea of what to expect” Spitfire admitted.
“It’s moving!” Somepony said with awe. Sure enough, the metal giant took a step forward and spun around. It loosed a mighty blast from some sort of horn before advancing out into the bay. Spitfire watched dumbstruck as it strode through the water with a grace and speed that a machine of its size simply shouldn’t have. It almost seemed organic.
“Follow it.” Spitfire said dumbly, her reaction reflected by the majority of the bridge crew. “Ready all batteries to fire, bring us about on heading zero-eight-three.”
“Heading zero-eight-three, aye.”
***
Midsummer Night ran through the bay at almost 80 miles an hour, throwing up a massive spray of water as the Jaeger hurtled towards the mouth of the bay. As they cleared the mouth of the harbour they slowed down, watching their scanners carefully for signs of their encroaching foe. To their left sat Breezy Point, or whatever imitation the ponies had of it. Before them lay the vast reaches of the Eastern Ocean.
“Looks like we’ve got a crowd.” Michael remarked, pointing to the tiny dots on the beach behind them and then to the airship which had trailed the Jaeger from the city.
“Kaiju signature has crossed the Miracle Mile.” The A.I. announced solemnly. “Prepare for contact.”
“We’ve got too much ground to cover, it could slip right past us.” Shane observed.
“No, I think it’s coming right for us.” Michael said, indicating to a large black mass barely visible under the ocean swell. He directed the active sonar to sweep the area.
“Solid return, it’s right there!” Shane yelled, as the dark object broke the surface barely five hundred metres in front of them. They barely got a glimpse of the creature before a wave of rockets slammed into its armoured hide and it dived back below the choppy water.
“Shit! Where did that come from?” Michael yelped as another barrage of rockets crashed into the surf in front of them. The Kaiju vanished from their scopes and faded back under the water. They spun around, identifying the source of the rockets as a large airship hovering a few hundred metres above them.
“Watch where you’re shooting you idiots!” Shane snapped, raising the Jaeger’s right arm and flipping the dirigible off irately. While he knew the rockets would do little more than scratch the paint job, the barrage had made the Kaiju slink back into the shadows, giving it another chance to jump on them.
“Where’d it go?” Michael asked nervously, sweeping the Jaeger’s head back and forth. The wide array of scanners and trackers build into their head and legs pinging uselessly. Not being a carbon-based lifeform, the Kaiju were notoriously difficult to track. Radar and sonar worked well but the water, having recently disturbed by the passage of two giants and a barrage of rockets, wasn’t exactly being cooperative.
“Got it, solid ping on sonar! Right side!” Michael warned. No sooner than he yelled the warning, an alarm rang through the conpod as the Kaiju broke through the surface of the water with an ear-splitting screech. At first glance the creature could’ve been mistaken for an oversized scorpion, it was only at closer inspection that it varied from its much smaller land based brethren. In place of a tail stinger was a ribbed tube of flesh covered in faintly glowing blue lines. Its tail and back was covered in overlapping dark brown armour plates which trailed down the length of its body until finally ending at its massive arrow shaped head. It roared again, its jaw splitting into four parts as it howled at the mechanical colossus it faced. It clacked a pair of pincers in a taunting manner, daring the Jaeger to come closer. Another barrage of rockets corkscrewed into the Kaiju and rattled off its thick hide, not even denting the dark brown plates. It snarled but otherwise ignored the airship which had loosed the barrage, focusing squarely on the Jaeger in front of it.
“That just ain’t right.” Shane muttered, eying its massive pincers warily. A well placed snip from one could rip one of their arms off.
“Warning: Bioelectric signature rising.” The A.I. warned a split second before the device grown into Rasura’s tail glowed a brilliant blue and spat something at them. Midsummer Night reflexively raised its left arm to shield the conpod from the shot, the eight metre long barb that rocketed out the Kaiju instead deflecting off their heavily armoured forearm and embedding itself into one of their railguns with a shower of sparks.
“It’s got a gun!” Shane yelled, yanking the barb out of their shoulder and tossing it aside.
“How astute of you.” Michael remarked. “Railgun on its tail, now!”
On his command, the remaining railgun spun out of its casing, tracking the slowly twisting tail as Midsummer Night circled the Kaiju cautiously, ready to dodge if it shot another spine at them. The Kaiju seemed to hesitate for a second before screeching and hurling its impressive bulk forward. A moment later the barrel on the Jaeger’s shoulder spat fire, sending a hypersonic round barrelling at the base of the creature’s tail. The round impacted, shattering the thick armour plate like a dinner plate before bouncing off into the ocean with a hiss. Rasura screeched again, barely breaking stride and hurled itself at Midsummer Night with a speed that seemed excessive for a creature of its size.
“This is going to get ugly.” Michael groaned, twisting the Jaeger out of the way at the last second. The Kaiju anticipated the move though and bludgeoned them across the chest with its tail, sending Midsummer Night tumbling into the water. Shane and Michael were sent flying in their control harnesses as the Jaeger’s back slammed against the shallow ocean floor with a deafening crash. Rasura screeched again, immediately following the blow up with another barb from its biocannon. Shane grunted in discomfort as the shot lodged itself in their gut with a clang, the pain receptors in his drive suit making one of his ribs prickle in discomfort. Not waiting for the cannon to fire again, Midsummer Night clambered back to its feet, ripping the second barb out and brandishing it like a dagger. Without a moment of hesitation, the mighty Jaeger surged forward, grabbed one the Kaiju’s pincers and impaled the barb it held in its left hand into one of Rasura’s forelegs. The Kaiju screeched in pain and stumbled around to face them, blood leaking from the crippled limb.
“Not so well protected there, huh?” Michael yelled in triumph, smashing Midsummer Night’s fist against the Kaiju’s face with tremendous force, fracturing one of its mandibles with a sickening crack. Undaunted by the blow, it brought the biocannon up again, this time squarely aiming at the Jaeger’s conpod.
“I got it!” Shane said, releasing the pincer he was grappling with and swatted the glowing appendage down with a swipe of their right hand. Rasura had a moment to look surprised before the massive bone coloured barb embedded into the base of its skull with a stomach-turning crunch. It screeched in pain and backed away from the Jaeger, snapping wildly with its pincers.
“Damn, how tough is this thing?” Michael asked, parrying a sloppy swipe from a pincer and wrapping his hand around the claw in a vice-like grip. He squeezed tighter, feeling the mechanical ligaments in the hand straining to close completely around the armoured limb. There was a moment of resistance before the claw crumpled in on itself like an empty tin can. Rasura screeched again and wrapped its tail around the arm, foregoing its tail weapon for the chance immobilise their limb. Alarms blared as the Kaiju’s strong tail started crushing the limb.
“Big mistake, junior.” Shane said, grasping the tail with their free hand and yanking it sideways in a single violent movement. Midsummer Night shook as its powerful engines driving their arms strained to roll the bulk of the Kaiju over. Rasura roared in confusion and tried digging its stubby feet into the seabed but failed as its injured leg gave way to the indomitable force of the Jaeger. Its shriek of rage was cut short as it was flipped onto its back with a massive spray of water. The Jaeger shuddered violently as Rasura’s tail spasmed and squeezed righter around their arm, prompting a new set of warnings to light up as another vital system gave way. Without giving the Kaiju a chance to re-right itself, Shane punched the creature’s soft underbelly. “Energy caster, now!” He yelled.
“Energy caster online.” The A.I. droned as the energy caster built into their right arm swung out of its cradle and spunup in a blaze of light.
Shane brought the weapon arm up to the creature’s abdomen again and fired the energy caster. A massive arc of light leapt from the palm of their hand straight into Rasura’s vital organs, making the Kaiju’s spasms intensify. A huge gout of steam shot into the air and momentarily blocked the view as the seawater around them instantly flashed from the immense heat. Rasura screeched again, its jaws snapping uselessly at the air as it struggled to regain its footing. Something inside the Kaiju exploded with a loud pop, smearing the upper half of Midsummer Night in an ugly layer of slime and skin.
“Just die already!” Michael hissed through gritted teeth. Rasura’s tail was resolutely clamped around their other arm, slowly crushing it in a shower of sparks. Shane shifted the energy caster to the creatures head and fired another arc of energy into the Kaiju’s mouth. It let out another infernal screech before finally going still, its tail still firmly wrapped around Midsummer Night’s arm.
“Is it dead?” Shane asked, breathing heavily. He held the energy caster at the ready, prepared to shoot another blast of energy at the Kaiju if so much as twitched.
“I think so, give me a hand with this would you?” Michael grunted, trying unsuccessfully to loosen the tail’s grip on his arm.
“One sec.” Shane grunted, placing the Jaeger’s left palm against the base of the Kaiju’s tail and discharging several blasts of energy from the weapon. The water around them flashed to steam again and the tail came free, the flesh connecting it to the body ripped apart by the ravening arcs of energy.
“Thanks.” Michael breathed, struggling to bring the damaged arm in front of the conpod for a visual inspection. With the scaly tail still wrapped around it, the half crushed limb looked like it was being viciously attacked by a massive Boa Constrictor. He massaged his control arm gingerly, wishing the feedback circuits in his drivesuit didn’t hurt him so much.
“Looks like Midsummer Night has earned her fourth kill!” Shane crowed, folding the energy caster back into its cradle. There was a whir of servos and Midsummer Night’s fingers reappeared and locked into place. “Barring Cherno Alpha, we’re now the highest scoring Mark I or II Jaeger in service.”
“Yeah, good job.” Michael said with a small smile. It was an achievement worth celebrating but something else was bothering him.
“What’s up?” Shane asked, immediately picking up his discomfort over the neural bridge.
Michael rolled his shoulder, trying to relive some of the insistent pain. “I can’t help but wonder… where the hell did this thing come from?”
***
It was several hours after Midsummer Night had limped back into the harbour, cradling its nearly shattered arm that Shane and Michael finally saw Celestia again. Like the first time they had met the pony’s ruler she appeared a little apprehensive, nervous even. The news of the second Kaiju attack had spread quickly through the city and it wasn’t long before wildly over-the-top stories of Midsummer Night pounding the massive scorpion into the ocean bed had started to appear.
“I thought you said the breach between our worlds closed when you arrived.” Celestia said after Michael had described the encounter. “You said there wouldn’t be more monsters.”
“Well it seems we were wrong then. Somehow the phenomenon that caused the portal on Earth has made one here.” Michael said.
Celestia raised a slender eyebrow. “You never explained this earlier.”
“Well you see…” Michael started, briefly glossing over the circumstances that had made the portal on Earth. He explained how the Kaiju emerged to wreak havoc, smaller ones first then larger ones in the years passed. Celestia frowned as she digested this new information.
“And you think this is a natural event?” She asked.
“That’s what we’re told.”
“And it never occurred to you that these portals may have been created by something? As in, made intentionally.”
Shane laughed. “You really think so?”
“It’s a remarkable coincidence, don’t you think?” Celestia said.
“That’s not important right now, what is important is figuring out what happens next.” Michael said before Shane could retort.
“Agreed.” The pony princess said stoically. She unfurled a large map of Equestria and set it down so the humans could read it. Michael noticed a second set of symbols before each name and tapped them. “What’s this?”
“Our written language, the lack of fingers makes it somewhat difficult for non-unicorns to write complex symbols.” Celestia explained. She waved a hoof over the legible letters. “This is what the Griffons use, I noticed you seem to use them as well.”
“How odd.” Michael remarked, spotting the slightly cursive writing that marked Manehatten. He traced his eyes down the east coast, grimacing as he noted the names of all the major cities.
“Baltimare? Fillydelphia?” Shane snorted, voicing Michael's thought aloud. “That’s awful…” He added with a low chuckle.
“You think there’s something funny about their names?” Celestia asked.
“Yeah, you see…” He scoffed quietly to himself and shook his head. “Never mind, you won’t get it.”
“Anyway.” Michael said, stifling his laughter and attempting to restore some seriousness to the conversation. He drew his finger down to somewhat familiar coastline. “These areas are all going to be vulnerable to attack. What’s further east, across the sea?”
“The Griffon Kingdoms lie over the eastern sea.”
“Well you should probably let them know about this. I’m sure a Kaiju showing up on their doorstep would be a nice surprise.”
“They live in eyries high above barren, desolate plains. Unless these Kaiju can scale kilometre high cliffs they are no threat to the Griffons.”
“Well I wouldn’t put it past them but you have a point, they seem fairly safe for now.” Michael agreed, fixing his eyes back on Equestria. “What about up north or down south?”
“To the north is nothing but frozen wasteland for thousands of kilometres. The south is covered by endless barrens and desert, a few small settlements perhaps, but we’ve never pushed our southern borders far.”
“Well that makes things a bit easier I guess.” Michael remarked, scratching his chin absently. In a space of a minute they’d considerably reduced their deployment area.
“There’s still one gaping hole in all this.” Shane said.
“Yeah, I see it too. With no early warning grid we won’t know the Kaiju are there until they reach the shoreline and well…” Michael said, imaging the destruction the Kaiju would cause unopposed.
“You can’t be everywhere at once.” Celestia summarised.
“Exactly, and I doubt you have anything in your inventory which can carry Midsummer Night at high speed. We’ve got Carryalls and Jumphawks to shift the Jaegers around back home.”
“I knew I forgot to pack something.” Shane muttered quietly.
“Yeah, and we saw it today, your conventional forces are pretty much useless against a Kaiju.”
“So unless there’s something you’re hiding from us, we’re the only chance you have.” Shane said, staring at the princess suspiciously. Despite her cooperation, he still didn’t trust her. The incident earlier that morning with their liaison was proof to him that she was up to something.
Celestia sighed. “How long until the next attack?”
“Not a clue, maybe five or six months if this breach is anything like ours.” Michael said.
“Well maybe we can develop some sort of warning system and hope you will rise to the call when we are attacked again.”
“Keep us supplied with the equipment and expertise we need to keep our Jaeger running and we’ll be glad to help.” Michael said, making Shane raise his eyebrows in surprise.
“And do I get a say in the matter?” He asked lividly.
“You seemed quite happy to throw yourself at Rasura today.” Michael said with a small smirk.
“Yeah… well… shut up.” Shane grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.
“Thank you.” Celestia said with a gracious nod. She turned to leave. “I will stay in touch, but for now I need to get back to ruling my people. I have shirked from my duties far too much as of late.”
“Gosh she loves the fancy talk.” Shane mumbled under his breath as Celestia spread her wings and swooped away.
Michael watched the princess wing away from the Jaeger and turned to Shane. “I’m going to just cut straight to the point, why?”
Shane fidgeted uncomfortably. “Why what?
“Why don’t you want to help these people?”
“And why do you?” Shane shot back.
Michael sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “That’s a good question.” He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “I don’t trust them, not as much as I’d like to at least. Sure they’ve helped us, but after today…”
“With that fluff ball trying to steal our stuff.” Shane butted in.
“Yes, with that little break in…” He sighed in frustration. “What was she even doing? I mean, that data would be all but useless to them anyway. Unless they’re trying to-.”
“Build something big.” Shane said, finishing his brother’s sentence for him. To an outsider the clarity with which they could read each others thoughts would’ve been spooky but for the pilots it was almost second nature.
“Exactly.” Michael said with a huff, leaning back against the side of Midsummer Night’s head. “Should we really be fighting for these ponies? Protecting them?” It had seemed like such an obvious choice that morning when the Kaiju threat had be looming but now he wasn’t sure. Could they be hiding something from them? The look on his brother’s face told him that he thought that Celestia knew something she wasn’t letting on.
Shane shook his head. “If I had the choice I wouldn’t. I’d just pack up and go home but that’s not really an option, is it?” He gestured to the damaged arm below them. “And I sure as hell can’t fix that.”
“And now the Kaiju seem to be streaming in, we’re the only chance they have.” Michael grunted.
“Funny how it works out that way. We need each other but they’re the only ones really getting anything out of it.” Shane grumbled. “We could just kill ‘em.” He added pragmatically.
“I don’t think that’d work out very well for us.” Michael said. “We’re tough but we’re not invincible. Besides, if we stomp them we’re stuck alone with the Kaiju and with no one to fix us up.” He smiled thinly. “I don’t know about you but I think I’d prefer the ponies as dinner guests over a Kaiju.”
“Yeah you got that right.” Shane admitted, staring over the expanse of the city. Hundreds of lights had winked on across the vast cityscape as twilight had slowly fallen. It struck Shane quite suddenly that there was entire alien world out there and he’d seen only a tiny part of it.
“You don’t suppose they could build-.” Michael started to say.
“No. Not a chance.” Shane said, cutting him off. “Not a chance in the world.”
Michael shrugged and watched a low flying airship roar overhead. He wasn’t entirely sure but it looked like the one that had followed them out of the bay. “It’s very beautiful.” He remarked idly.
“”It is.” Shane agreed, picking out the name Lucky Seven on the side of the airship. Wasn’t that the name of a Jaeger?
“We have the lives of millions in our hands, it’s hard for me to say we shouldn’t protect them.” Michael said. “They need our help and as much as I hate to admit it, we need theirs.”
Shane frowned and buried his head in his hands and nodded silently. “So what about today then?”
Michael shrugged and looked back at the city. “We tighten our security, try to stop any pony from just wandering around. Keep an eye on any of the critters when they’re in the hull. Not much more we can do really.”
“And about this Sparkle character? She tried to steal something, I’m sure of it.”
“Or she could’ve been poking around out of curiosity. She didn’t admit she was stealing anything and it’d be a hard case to push. If she was trying to steal something she’d likely be doing it on orders, she doesn’t exactly strike me as kleptomaniac.” Michael said, a trace of annoyance in his voice. “Short of leveling the city there’s nothing we can really do.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Shane grumbled. He fell silent, letting the ambient sound of the city roll over them. He could smell something burning in the distance.
“Do you really think they couldn’t build a Jaeger?” Michael asked. “I mean, they’ve done a pretty good job of fixing ours.”
Shane scratched his brow and considered the prospect seriously. “They wouldn’t have the Pons or any of the software, not to mention a strong enough power source. Maybe, just maybe, they could put a shell together but they’d lack the guts.” He stared at Michael for a moment. “Are you really suggesting they’re going to try and build a Jaeger?’ He asked, slightly incredulous.
Michael shook his head. “No, not really. It’s an interesting thought though.”
Shane shook his head slowly. Interesting was the last word he would use. Scary, maybe. They sat on the shoulder of the Jaeger a while longer, silently watching the sun slowly sink behind a distant mountain range.
“Come on, let’s back inside. Big day tomorrow.” Michael said, clambering up the side of the conpod and opening the hatch. He threw a look back at Shane when he noticed his brother hadn’t moved.
“I’ll just be a sec.” Shane said in reply to his big brother’s questioning look. He was enjoying the view and after being stuck in the conpod for most of the day the fresh air was a welcome change. He looked wishfully down at the city, slightly tempted to find his way down the Jaeger and go exploring. With a grunt, he pushed the thought away, his common sense reasserting itself. He yawned slightly and clambered up the conpod with a slight swagger, blissfully unaware of the small pink shape that slipped through the cordon below him.
Shane dozed peacefully on the floor of the conpod. He was curled up on a surprisingly comfortable sleeping mat with a survival blanket loosely covering him. Despite the chilly wind which howled through the city, the interior of the Jaeger was a pleasant temperature courtesy of the swathe of environmental systems which allowed it to operate in almost any known environment.
Clack clack.
The sudden noise of something ringing against the metal floor of the conpod woke him with a start. He scanned the darkened interior of the conpod, dozens of shadows leaping out at him as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark interior. Seeing nothing that stood out, he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, convincing himself the noise had come from some part of the Jaeger contracting in the cool winter night.
Clack clack clack. CRASH “Ow!”
He shot upright again, heart beating slightly faster. “Michael, is that you?” He asked, feeling a little foolish. He looked around the conpod again and noticed nothing out place. A quiet snore answered his question and Shane shook his head slowly; he must’ve been hearing things, maybe it was some side effect from the drift? He lay down again and rubbed his forehead slowly, why was he so nervous?
“Who’s Michael?” A bubbly voice next to him asked.
“CHRIST!” Shane spat, jumping a good foot in the air as a shape resolved itself next to him. He fumbled around clumsily for a flashlight.
“Now that’s just not helpful, who’s Christ? Are they important?” the voice asked again. Shane swore and grabbed the torch, shining it straight into the bright blue eyes of an obnoxiously bright pink pony that sat next to him. His heart hammered in his chest as the shock slowly washed out of his system. To its credit, the pony blinked back at him innocently, unfazed by the light or sudden movement.
“Who the hell are you?” Shane stammered.
The pony blinked her royal blue eyes. “I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name? Is it long, short, silly? Do you even have a name? Are you Christ?”
Shane felt his mouth fall open as the pony continued to ramble, almost as if she was completely oblivious to the fact she had somehow broken into an alien war machine.
“How did you get in here?” Shane asked, wondering how long he could hide a body before someone found out.
“I walked, what else did you expect? I mean, wouldn’t a more rational question be ‘How are you Pinkie?’ or ‘Nice weather we’re having?’ Besides, I asked you a question first.” She stated firmly.
Shane darted his arm forward and clamped his hand over her muzzle. “You, just… just stop talking.”
“Well how can I talk to you and ask questions and be best friends if I don’t open my mouth?” She asked despite Shane’s hand holding her mouth shut.
“Pinkie Pie was it?” Shane asked.
“That’s a-me.”
Shane scowled. “Pinkie Pie, shut your mouth or I’ll shove it up your ass so far you’ll be tasting cotton candy every time you swallow.”
“Well I’m sure somepony like Twilight would say that’s anatomically impossible but I say we go for it. I like cotton candy.” Pinkie said cheerfully, ignoring the fact that Shane was now forcibly clamping her mouth shut.
“How the hell are you doing that?” Shane murmured before deciding it was a question best left unanswered for his sanity. He shook his head and tried to nail down the feelings of confusion, shock and curiosity that swam through his head. How had she got in? Why hadn’t the A.I. seen her and most importantly, why was she staring at him with something resembling hero-worship?
It took Shane a moment longer to realise what she was.
“Oh no…” He groaned. “You’re a-.”
“Pony?” Pinkie yelled excitedly. There was a grumble from the other side of the conpod and the faint outline of Michael rose from the floor.
“A fan,” Shane muttered, rubbing his face in annoyance. “And by the looks of it, the most rabid, crazy, excitable…” He stumbled for the word. “…Impossible, one yet.”
“What’s going on?” Michael slurred, lurching over to his brother’s makeshift bed. He nearly tripped over the pink lump sitting at the end of Shane's makeshift bed.
“We have an unwelcome guest.” Shane grumbled, waving limply at Pinkie.
Michael rubbed his eyes and peered at the bright pink pony sitting next to Shane. His gaze flickered to the roof of the conpod and then back to the pony. “How’d you get in here?” He asked groggily.
“I walked, why do you keep asking that?” Pinkie asked lamely.
“Because that hatch is rated for more than fifteen thousand pounds of force per square inch.” Shane said in a deadpan voice.
The pony shrugged, a somewhat disturbing yet oddly human gesture. “Look I don’t even know, strange things just happen around me.”
Michael sat down cross-legged and stared intently at the pony. “What are you doing up here?”
Pinkie bobbed her head from side to side. “I’m not really sure, I mean, your robot is pretty cool I guess. I was down at the docks when you left to fight that big alien monster and I mean, wow! You guys are so cool!” She mimicked the Jaeger’s fog horn with surprising accuracy. “I just had to come and say hi!”
“A fan.” Shane repeated deadpan.
“Well they’re better than enemies I suppose.” Michael said, clicking his fingers and whistling softly to Pinkie. She shifted from her position next to Shane and sat on the metal grating next to Michael.
“Do you have a name?” Michael asked.
“Pinkie Pie.” She answered cheerfully, investigating one of Michael’s toes like it was an alien bug.
“Well I’m Michael, he is my brother, Shane.” He said, offering his hand out. Pinkie stared at it curiously, wondering if she should lick it. After a moment she blew on her hoof like it was a balloon, causing four stubby fingers to spring out with an audible pop.
Michael blanched.
“Well that’s… uh… interesting?” Shane mumbled, forcing down the bile that rose in his throat as Pinkie wiggled the little stubs around. She giggled then retracted the stubs with a hiss of escaping air. Michael quickly withdrew his hand.
“So what do you two do for fun around here?” She asked.
Shane shrugged, he enjoyed fighting Kaiju in the Jaeger but he considered that a little sadistic to say. “Stuff?” He hazarded.
Pinkie rolled her eyes in a fashion that seemed to scream ‘Oh you!’. “Really? I would’ve never guessed.”
“Oh great, she knows sarcasm, this is new.”
“Oh I know a lot of things, I know that Princess Luna has a terrible addiction to toffee apples, I know there are six-million five-hundred-and-eighty-two thousand three-hundred and twenty nine rivets, nuts and bolts in your robot, I know Twilight is on a secret mission to the Northern wastes and I also know that you’re about to ask me something that has a fairly obvious answer.” Pinkie said matter-of-factly as Shane opened his mouth to speak.
“Secret mi-?”
Michael cut him off. “How’d you know about the rivets?’
“I counted.” Pinkie said in a tone one would use to tell their neighbour that their dog had eaten their favourite slippers.
Shane tossed a curious look at his brother. “How’d you know?”
“I got bored yesterday… asked the A.I. to tell me something funny. Guess it has a strange sense of humour.”
Shane shook his head slowly. “It’s a computer, it doesn’t have a sense of humour.”
“Alright, let’s get back on track here,” Shane said, fixing the best inquisitive he could muster on Pinkie Pie. “What did you say about a secret mission?”
“Well Twilight came back today, packed all her things and left on the first northbound train. She said she was set some task up there by Celestia. Something they found in the ice I think she mentioned.”
“Interesting…” Michael muttered, staring at nothing in particular. “Do you know anything else?”
“Nope.” Pinkie said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the possible implications of her words.
“Well that tells us nothing other than there’s something up north that your princess finds important.” Michael muttered, rolling over and yanking a large map if Equestria that Celestia had left them out of its case and onto his lap. He surveyed the northern reaches, noting the presence of a few small towns and hamlets. A single railway line snaked off the edge of the map towards somewhere marked as the Crystal Empire. He followed it with his finger, listing off the few towns that lay along its path.
“Horseshoe Quarry, Stonefall, Caine’s Peril, Tabor’s Mine…There’s nothing else up there.” Michael said. He turned to Pinkie and showed her the map. “Is there anything interesting about those places?”
“Do I look like a geography teacher to you?”
“Not at all… come to think of it, what do you do?” Shane asked curiously. He’d noticed the strange tattoos that had appeared on the flanks of every pony he’d seen and wondered if they had something to with their chosen profession of if they were merely cosmetic.
“I bake.” Pinkie said, yawning slightly and curling up like a dog. She continued to stare at Shane with her sparkling blue eyes.
“Like cakes and stuff, yeah?” He asked, the secret mission to the northern reaches of Equestria momentarily forgotten.
“Well I don’t bake the Cakes but I do bake cakes.”
Shane disregarded her somewhat backward comment. “And what does that have to do with balloons?”
“Cakes, parties, balloons…” Pinkie yawned. “I don’t know, that’s just the way it is.” She eyed Shane and Michael suspiciously. “Hey, I don’t suppose anypony has thrown you a Welcome-to-Equestria party yet?”
“Oh we had enough of a party with Switchback thanks. There was dancing, explosions and a good old game of pin the railgun slug on the Kaiju.” Shane said.
“Sounds like fun, can I play?” Pinkie asked, her usual excitement returning in an instant.
“Sure, it’s ‘Bring your own’ Jaeger though.” Shane laughed.
“Was there cake?”
“No, no cake.” Shane answered warily.
“Well then it wasn’t a real party, good thing I brought extra.” Pinkie announced, pulling open a compartment in the floor and removing a slightly squashed mud cake. “I know you’ll like it.”
Michael’s jaw worked up and down wordlessly. “Alright one, that hatch should be locked. Two, where the hell did the cake come from and three, how did you know I like mudcake?”
“Call it a lucky guess.” Pinkie said, nonchalantly pulling a wickedly sharp knife and three dozen full inflated helium balloons from the tiny compartment. Shane stared at the balloons for a second before throwing his arms up in frustration and declaring he’d had enough. He stormed to the other end of the Conpod and sat there, grumbling to himself about how the universe was unfair and unkind. It took Michael some time and a hefty slice of cake to draw him out of his shell.
“This is actually really good.” Michael said, taking a large bite of the muddy coloured cake. “Tastes like real chocolate. I don’t remember the last time I had actual chocolate.”
“You don’t have real chocolate?” Pinkie asked, horror written across her face.
“We’re in the middle of a war, we miss out on the luxuries.” Shane muttered, glaring suspiciously at the balloons resting against the top of the Jaeger’s cranial frame. He noticed with a start that they had crude faces drawn on them.
“You’re in a war?” Pinkie asked through a mouth full of cake. “Who are you fighting?”
“Monsters, like the one we punched the snot out of today.” Michael said simply.
Shane looked quizzically at his brother. “You reckon Kaiju have boogers?”
“I don’t know why you’d even think about that.”
“I mean, picking their nose would be pretty hard…” Shane trailed off with an evil grin
“Alright, that’s enough. I think all the sugar is getting to your head, we are not shoving our hand up one of their noses.”
“Well we nearly did when we fought Hammerjaw,” He chuckled. “That was a tale and a half…”
“Oh oh oh,” Pinkie interrupted, bouncing up and down on the spot. “Can you tell me the story, I love stories!”
“Alright, alright. No need to go crazy, well, any more than usual.” Michael said, holding her down with some difficulty. “So here we are, guarding the miracle mile off this little town in north California called Eureka when this small CAT III Kaiju, Hammerjaw, pops out of the water about a half-mile away. Now, Mammoth Apostle was supposed to be running point on this deployment so you can imagine you can imagine our surprise when this bastard slips past Mammoth and goes straight for us.”
Shane took over, both of them could recall the encounter vividly. “Anyway, we’re standing there, looking a little stupid when the National Guard, who have lined up in their little tanks along the shoreline, open fire. Suddenly, there’s shells flying everywhere and they’re really not doing much to Hammerjaw other than really pissing him off.” Shane said, mimicking the screaming of dozens of shells whistling past the Jaeger. “So we finally get our act together and pop off a couple of railgun rounds which Hammerjaw does a great job of dodging, by the way. One clips him about here,” He traced a line across his shoulder. “And he gets real mad. He gnashes his big jaw which, no surprise here, looks sorta like a big hammer and charges right at us. The National Guard are still blazing away like it’s a new year’s celebration and I can feel some of their stray rounds hit us in the butt.”
“Yeah, great shooting on their behalf. Pride of the nation indeed…” Michael muttered ruefully. “So we meet this guy’s charge, grapple him a bit before we manage to pick him up and throw him a few hundred yards. The National Guard is still blazing away like they think their pea shooters can actually do anything while we move into to finish Hammerjaw off with an energy caster to the face.”
“Just our luck that one of the armour-piercing shells from the tanks hits our spine dead on and punches through the armour there. Thankfully the shell doesn’t explode, but the damage is done. The neural input gets scrambled and we end up flailing around like a blind man on the dance floor.” Shane said, remembering the panic as their Jaeger had wildly spun out of control. “Again though, just our luck that one of our randomly swinging arms connects with Hammerjaw and our fist goes straight into the Kaiju’s gullet and up through his brainpan. One minute we’re about to curb stomp the slimy bastard and the next we’re windmilling around with his brain grasped in our hand, waving our arms around like we’re in a musical number from Grease. I think he was just as surprised as we were.”
“Well he would’ve been if he wasn’t missing his brain…” Michael shot back dryly, helping himself to another thick slice of cake. “What’d you think that of Pinkie Pie?”
A quiet snore answered him. He looked down to discover the small pink pony had fallen asleep at his feet.
“Wow, I knew I was a bad storyteller, but that...? Just rub it in why don’t you?”
Shane let out an amused snort and chewed down the last bit of his cake. He savoured the taste for a moment before he leaned over and examined the map closely. “I get the impression you think something is going on up here.” He said after a few minutes, pointing to the northern reaches of Equestria. "I don't see why we should care..."
“It's the fact she sent Twilight. I mean, replacing a liaison because they nearly caused a diplomatic crisis is sensible enough, but…”
“But?”
“Just, why her? Why not some other nitwit. She’s spent more time around us than anyone else. I think she’s clever enough to have picked up a bit from our rust bucket if you catch my drift.”
“Yeah I get what you mean...”
“But,” Michael said eventually, staring at the map as if he could extract some hidden knowledge from it. “All we can really deduce from this is that there is something that Celestia has the hots for up north. What we really need to know is, does it concern us?”
“Meddle not in the affairs of wizards… well, err, ponies.” Shane said pragmatically. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open but it could just be an internal affair. You know, reassigned to Antarctica or something.Who knows?”
“You’re probably right, but it seems a little suspicious, right? Secret mission and all…”
“Now who’s the paranoid one?” Shane said with a small smile. “If it keeps that thieving fur-ball away from us I’m happy. Let her freeze her gonads off in the north, see if I care. I just want to get this soup-can fixed and go home.”
“Well that’s good enough for me.” Michael said, stifling a yawn. He looked down at the quietly snoring Pinkie with a hint of fondness. She had seemed genuinely interested in talking to and befriending the pilots and while her methods had been a little… unconventional, she clearly meant well.
“They’re kinda cute aren’t they?” He asked, playing with a lock of her bubbly pink mane.
“A little.” Shane admitted ruefully. He watched cautiously as Michael scratched softly behind Pinkie’s ears. A low purring sound came from the dozing pony.
“Ponies don’t purr.” Michael said cautiously, taking his hand away quickly.
“You know, from what I’ve seen I don’t think she’s exactly a normal pony.” Shane pointed out, cracking a small smile.
Michael nodded in agreement. “So, how are we going to get her outside?”
Shane’s face turned a little pale, the pony didn’t exactly look like she was light. “With great difficulty.”
***
Applejack shifted through a pile of rubble cautiously, alert for signs of the potentially dangerous slips the mounds were prone to. She was one of dozens of ponies hunting through the scrap for materials that were still salvageable. She’d found more besides, toys, crockery and in one case an entire collection of intact comics which featured a giant lizard on the front cover. She’d found other less… pleasant things as well, smears of blood or other bodily fluid, a limb missing its owner and in one case a pair of ponies whose bodies had been crushed almost beyond recognition. She’d needed some time to recover after that; she was tough, but even she had her limits. She wiped a bead of sweat off her brow and inspected her work, a respectable sized pile of scrap metal and wood that lay a few metres away, waiting for one of the burly stallions pulling carts around the city to collect. She was about to start sifting through the pile again when the creak of wheels turning made her look up. A large wooden cart filled with scrap metal being pulled by a red stallion was slowly approaching. She cocked her head in confusion, immediately recognising the stallion pulling the cart. “Big Macintosh, what are you doing here?”
The stallion’s face suddenly looked like one her little sister had made when Applejack had caught her stealing cookies. “Uh….” He said, his eyes shifting from side to side nervously.
“Who’s running the farm? Who’s looking after Applebloom?” Applejack asked hotly.
Big Macintosh looked anywhere but at his sister. The farm was doing fine, it was that time of year where the only thing to do was watch the orchards grow and check them for pests every few days. Despite Applejack’s insistence, Applebloom was fully capable of looking after herself.
“What were you thinking leaving the farm without anypony to look after it?” Applejack demanded.
“And what were you thinking running off?” Big Mac said back sternly.
“The Princess asked me to.” AJ countered.
“Just like always. Running off on some adventure with your friends without a word.” The red stallion said with a slight scowl. “But when ah leave the farm, it’s the end of the world.”
Applejack winced, she didn’t like to admit it but he was right. She’d lost count of the times she’d left the farm at the drop of a hat to go on some adventure with her friends.
“You volunteered, didn’t ya?” Applejack asked.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac said, loading the scrap metal in Applejack’s pile into the cart methodically. “Ah also donated most of last season’s crop.”
Applejack’s eye twitched slightly. “We can’t afford to do th-.”
“We can take it. They need it more than we do.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, ah think we got bigger problems.”
“What’re you talking about?” Applejack asked.
He glanced around nervously and gnashed his teeth together. “The monsters…”
Applejack raised an eyebrow sceptically. “What about ‘em? We’ll fight, we’ll win. Just like we always do.”
“These things are a bit different to the Timberwolves on the farm AJ.”
“That fancy alien robot killed two of them just fine, didn’t’ it?”
“Well there’s only one of them and who knows how many monsters. Those numbers doesn’t add up. How long until one of them gets lucky?”
Applejack stared at the scrap pile for a long time as she digested her brother’s words. He was right, why was he always right? She thought back to the two crushed ponies she’d discovered and shuddered, there had to be a way to stop them.
“We’ll figure something out.” Applejack said with a confidence she didn’t truly feel. Everypony was scared of the monsters which had risen from the ocean. The unease which had clung to the city since the first monster attack had only intensified when the metal giant had returned covered in fresh scars from its second battle. It was clear to all but the most naive that the aliens could only hold so long before they fell.
They needed a weapon of their own.
“Well we better.” Big Mac said, effortlessly loading the heavy scrap metal into his battered cart. He tossed his head as if he was rejecting some ugly thought. “Sooner rather than later, preferably.” He hitched himself back to his cart with a grunt.
“I’ll throw rocks at them if I have to.” Applejack said staunchly.
“Fat lot of good that’ll do unless you got a death wish.” Big Mac said back. “Now come on, back to work. This place ain’t gonna clean itself up.” He quipped before trundling away to find more scrap.
Applejack grimaced and returned to her rubble pile, noting with distaste a small smear of blood splattered over a chunk of rubble. They needed something like the alien robot. Something that could fight and win. A way to fight the monsters on their level.
But how?
***
“Twilight. Twilight!” A tiny voice said. A faint tugging roused her from her dreams of giant monsters fighting equally gigantic machines. “Get up we’re nearly there.”
She cracked an eye open tiredly, wincing as the harsh morning light reflected off a seemingly endless plain of snow their train was chugging slowly through. She rolled her head, feeling a slight click as her stiff joints protested from the movement. A small purple drake blocked her view of the snow fields momentarily and she straightened herself out.
‘That’s a lot of snow.” She said, her voice laced with awe.
“Yeah, and to think it’s all natural here, no weather control!” Spike said excitedly. Twilight frowned and hushed the dragon, there was another pony sharing their compartment and he was still asleep, snoozing quietly under the turned down brim of a hat. She yawned quietly again and her gaze drifted to a pair of hurriedly packed suitcases sitting on the rack above her. After the machine had heroically destroyed the invading monster, Princess Celestia had ordered Twilight to take the first train north. Although Twilight had inquired as to why, the princess had been less than forthcoming.
'A task of great importance.' She'd called it. What exactly was so important though she'd left out, much to Twilight's annoyance. She knew her mentor liked to play things close to her chest but when she didn't trust her own student... it ruffled Twilight's feathers.
‘There’s something she’s not telling us…’ Twilight thought, remembering what Rainbow Dash had said when they had first arrived in Manehatten. She glanced back at Spike who now had his face pressed against the window like a child at the zoo. She smiled thinly, Spike had arrived in Manehatten a few hours before she was due to leave and after abandoning him so quickly in Ponyville, Twilight had brought him with her to make up for it. Naturally he'd been overjoyed that they were going on an adventure together.
“You reckon it’ll snow later?” The young dragon asked.
“Well it snows almost every day of the year here, even in summer there usually is a good layer of snow cover.” Twilight answered, remembering the little fact from a guidebook she had been reading the previous night as their train had rocketed towards the frozen north. She looked up at the slightly grey sky. “In fact, this is probably one of their only clear days this year!”
The pony opposite them woke with a start. “Somepony say me name?” He asked, instantly awake. While Twilight could make out the sounds that spilled out his mouth, she barely recognised them as words. She raised an eyebrow, the pony was clearly foreign, from one of the colonies perhaps.
“Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to wake you.” She apologised.
“Nah it’s fine, it’s fine. I tend ta jump when somepony says me name, that’s all.” He said, tipping the crest of his hat back to reveal a short horn. He yawned slightly and shucked off the long coat that covered him. “So we’re we at? We ain’t gone past Stonefall ‘ave we?” He asked politely in his almost unintelligible accent. Twilight shook her head.
“No sir, we’re still…” She turned to look at Spike who held up a few claws. “…A few minutes away.”
“Ah don’t call me sir, ah’m Rainy Daze, or Doctor Daze if ye prefer.” He said with a quick tip of his hat. Twilight looked him over curiously, the name seemed familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. He looked deceptively young, if wasn’t for the grey starting to infringe on the edges of his well combed ginger mane and a few wrinkles under his golden eyes, she would have mistaken him for a much younger stallion.
“Do I know you?” Twilight asked curiously.
The stallion chuckled. “Well that depends on hoo you are.” He said, his eyes slowly drifting to the set of fluffy wings on Twilight’s back. “Ah have a feelin’ ah already knoo that though.” He tipped his hat again. “Princess.”
“A pleasure, Dr Daze. Twilight will do just fine though.” Twilight said with a small nod, she’d always hated the formalities that came with her position.
“As you wish.” The Doctor said. “Ah wouldn’t be surprised if yoo’d heard of me, I was the chief surgeon at Edenbrough before I became the royal physician. Retired now.” He added.
‘Of course!’ Twilight mentally smacked herself, the name was one she’d seen in several of the medical journals she’d studied in her own time. She remembered one in particular which discussed the neural pathways of a ponies brain that had gained the doctor much renown He was probably Equestria’s most renowned neurologist.
“I’ve read many of your journals and books.” She said with a hint of admiration. The stallion’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Really? Yoo like ‘em?” He asked.
“Very good, you’re quite knowledgeable.” Twilight said, tugging Spike away from the frosted window before he did something stupid like freeze his tongue to it. A few scattered buildings were visible through the frosted glass, informing Twilight the train was pulling into the station.
“And this little fella is Spike, ain’t he?"Dr Daze asked "I've heard plenty about him.” He cracked a small bag open and removed two small,slim bottles. He took a pill from each and placed them back in his bag, each bottle making a satisfied pop as he slammed the lid shut.
“Yes, my name’s Spike; thanks for asking.” Spike muttered.
“Yoo’ave idea how much I’ve wanted to examine a dragon’s brain, it’d be very interesting I reckon.” The doctor said, looking at Spike wistfully.
“Don’t even think about it.” Spike grumbled, clamping his claws over his head protectively
“Ach, it was worth a shot. Anyway, what brings yoo up this way Pri- Twilight? A bit oot of the way fer a princess.” He noted insightfully.
“I could asked the same, last I heard you were enjoying retirement on the tropical west coast.” Twilight retorted.
“Well yoo’d be right on that one. But it was a bit odd yer see. A few days ago I get this letter from the princess, magic delivery ‘an everything. Tells me to go up north to a little backwater toon called Stonefall for something, doesn’t say what though.”
“Interesting, that’s more or less what she told me.” Twilight muttered, attempting to conceal her annoyance.
Daze scratched his chin. “Now that is a bit odd. Guess we can find oot together, eh?”
“That we can.” Twilight said with a surprising amount of cheer as the train ground to halt with a squeal of brakes and a cloud of steam. The carriage groaned quietly and Twilight levitated her luggage down of the overhead racks. In a show of courtesy, she floated down a large bag Dr Daze was having trouble with.
“Thanks lass, me magic ain’t not quite what it used ter be.” He said with another tip of his hat. The two unicorns slid the compartment door open, dodging the burly conductor who trotted past, bawling out the name of the station. They filed outside, Twilight bumping the three suitcases she levitated in front of her against Spike, the wall and together in the tight corridor. Finally making it out of the confines of the train and down onto the platform, Twilight looked around foolishly; she wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be a welcoming party or not. A cold wind bit into her and she scrambled for her cloak; it was cold here, colder even than the Crystal Empire had been.
“I think this’ll be our lot.” Dr Daze said with a nod towards a quartet of uniformed ponies which appeared out of the steam cloud the noisy engine at the head of the train was puffing out. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Did the Royal Guard get noo uniforms?”
“Air force.” Twilight muttered, remembering pictures of the dark blue uniforms, usually with some famous flyer stuffed into them that Rainbow Dash had constantly shoved in her face.
“Ah, armchair generals the lot of ‘em.” Rainy Daze said with obvious contempt. Twilight smiled silently, watching the four ponies sent to greet them cross the platform. Although the small station was crowded, they had no need to jostle through the crowd; their uniforms and rock hard faces being more than enough to encourage anypony to get out the way.
“Princess.” The lead pony said with a bow of her head when she had reached the trio. She turned to face Rainy Daze. “Doctor.” She added with a curt nod. “I’m Major Misty Fly, welcome to Stonefall. If you’d come with us please, we’ll get you out to the site.”
“Site?” Twilight asked, breaking into a quick trot to keep up. A pair of the Major’s cronies took their bags, carrying the heavy suitcases like they were twigs.
Misty Fly seemed to hold back an annoyed sigh. She clearly seemed less at ease having to babysit civilians, even if one was a princess. “We’ll explain on the way, there’s a storm forecast in a few hours and we need to get Rogue Two undercover before it hits.”
“We’re flying?” Rainy Daze asked. “I hate flyin’.”
“Please, feel free to walk.” The pony on the other side of Misty Fly drawled.
“Lightning Streak, my Executive Officer.” Misty said with obvious distaste.
Twilight looked between them curiously, noting that their mane and fur colours were almost mirrored. “Family?” She asked, noting the striking resemblance the two officers shared,
Misty made an annoyed sound deep in her throat. “Yes ma’am, he’s my older brother.”
Twilight concealed her surprise, it was highly unorthodox to have siblings serve in the same command. They trotted through the surprisingly busy town, their uniforms again clearing a path without issues. It took Twilight a moment to realise that most of the ponies around them were similarly clad, either bearing the crest of the Royal Equestrian Airforce or Engineer Corp somewhere on their winter coats.
“Uh, how many ponies do you have here?” She asked as they dodged a gaggle of engineers who were unloading what looked like massive a piece of mining equipment.
“Roughly 800 or so. We’ve got two companies of engineers, the crew of Rogue Two and another company of Royal guard. For a town of about 1000, it’s a sizeable boom to the population.” Misty Fly explained in a bored voice. "I've been placed in overall command of the taskforce."
“What do you need that many ponies for?” Spike asked, watchign the engineers carefully unload and inspect the drill.
“We’ll explain once we’re underway. I’d rather not have any eavesdroppers.” Misty Fly said, her eyes tracking a pair of the town’s residents.
They turned onto the main road through town, trotted past a series of flat cars on a siding and found themselves in an open field that looked like it had been recently cleared of snow. In the centre of the field sat a large, snow covered military airship. Two of its six engines roared loudly, drowning out the sounds of the small crowd of ponies which were loading supplies and equipment into its cavernous holds. Twilight and Spike were impressed, they’d never been this close to one of the floating giants before. The name Rogue Two was painted on the bow in large bold letters.
“That’s a right pretty bra-washer yoo’ve got there.” Rainy Daze said with obvious distaste. The old unicorn smirked as Misty Fly and Lightning Streak glared icy daggers at him. Clearly they felt a little different about their airship.
“Ex, get these people on board and settled, there’s some engineers I need to yell at.” Misty grunted, switching her cold glare to the dozens of crates and pallets that were scattered around the landing field. She stormed off through the pile and soon the sound of the engines was drowned out by a stream of yelling.
“Yes ma’am. Right this way please.” The ice blue stallion said, leading them up a narrow gangway and into the heart of the airship. The tirade of angry yelling that had flared up from behind them suddenly being cut off as they entered the metal superstructure.
“Doom and gloom as always,” Lightning Streak said as they clambered through the hull of Rogue Two, dodging frost covered technicians and off-duty flight crew. “Sorry for the cold introduction, the CO hates this place.”
“How long have you been here?” Twilight asked.
“A couple of days,” He smacked his lips together in annoyance. “Already we’ve had engines fail from the cold, entire patrols blown off course by the wind and this infernal snow gets everywhere.” He said, eying a patch of the white fluff piled up against a bulkhead. He led them through another compartment when a rather flustered unicorn appeared around a corner in front of them. He spotted Lightning Steak and pulled a report from a pouch on his flank.
“Ex, latest weather reports.” He reported, gawking slightly at the small purple dragon trailing behind Lightning Streak.
“What, never seen a dragon before?” Lightning Streak asked, unfolding the report and perusing it briefly. “Shesh… Corporal, take this down to the CO. She’s down at the port loading hatch. I think it’s time we got this tub moving.”
“Yes sir.” The unicorn said before dashing off.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
“The storm is moving in faster than we expected. We’ll either have to go now and leave some gear behind until the weather calms down or wait until it clears up to head up to the site. Neither are really an appealing option. Come on, let’s get up to the bridge.”
“Cripes, I already hate flyin’ and noo this buckets gooin’ thru a storm as well?” Rainy Daze complained, keeping step with Lightning Steak as they made their way towards the bridge.
“Quiet down you old fart, it’s only about a half hour flight.” Lightning Streak groaned.
“Hoo you callin’ an old fart you wet-nosed gurl? I’ll turn yer head into a flour sifter yer jumped-up wuss.”
Lighting Streak let out an amused snort and entered the airships bridge. A half dozen other ponies milled round, checking engine readings, watching the scanners and handing out duties to their subordinates.
“Status?” Lightning Streak asked, taking to the small raised dais in the centre of the bridge with a casual ease.
“Engine three is still playing up sir, all other systems are green.” The watch officer answered.
“Fantastic,” He muttered dryly. “Make ready to cast off, make sure everypony is at their stations and accounted for.”
“Sir, what about the gear?” A crew member asked, pointing to a few pallets that were sitting outside on the snow covered landing field.
“We can make do without, it’ll just have to wait until the next flight up. Storms rollin’ in and I’d rather not get caught out in the open.”
“Aye sir.” The pony replied, ducking back down to his console.
“Corperal, take our guests down to the wardroom please.” Lightning ordered, pulling aside one of the earth ponies that had accompanied them to the station.
“Yes sir.” He turned to the two ponies and the dragon gawking dumbly at the controls. “Princess, sirs, right this way please.” He said, leading them off the bridge. Lightning Streak had barely breathed a sigh of relief when another presence came up from behind.
“Playing captain again are we?” Misty Fly asked, a hint of contempt in her voice.
“Lay off, you would’ve done the same sis.” Lightning Streak grumbled quietly.
“You’re right, I would’ve… but you see this extra stripe on my shoulder? They put me in command, not you.” She reminded him softly.
“Yes ma’am.” Lightning Streak said through gritted teeth. He hated it when she rubbed her recent promotion in his face. They were always fiercely competitive but Lightning Streak found her crossing the line between being a good opponent and being a dick a little too often for his liking.
“Si- Ma’am, all hands are on board and accounted for.” The watch officer announced, quickly correcting himself.
Misty Fly allowed herself a small smile. “Excellent, cast off when ready.”
***
Rogue Two roared northward, the steady building wind buffeting the mighty airship as it struggled towards its target. As Twilight had never been on an airship, she found the experience both interesting and unsettling. She knew the physics behind it all but the way the airship lurched like a toy in the hands of a child when the gale howled against it did little to ease her nerves. The older unicorn travelling with them had fallen asleep, claiming air travel made him sick and nauseous.
Twilight didn’t blame him as Rouge Two hit another air pocket and lurched sickeningly.
“I don’t feel too good Twilight.” Spike complained, his face a pale shade of green.
“We must nearly be there, Lightning Streak said it was only a short flight.” Twilight reassured him.
“Maybe for them…” Spike groaned. He smiled weakly as the door to the wardroom slid open and Misty Fly stepped over the threshold. She closed the door behind her and took a commanding position over the table the trio had occupied, her lips slanting upwards slightly as she noticed spike’s somewhat unhealthy shade.
“We’re approaching the site, we’ll be landing in a few minutes so get your stuff together. Might want to wake the old geezer as well.” She said briskly. “In the meantime, I thought I’d fill you in with what we found.”
“That’d be nice.” Twilight said, amazed at Wonderbolt’s steady footing.
“About two weeks ago, a pair of miners stumbled into what they thought was a wall. On closer inspection, it actually turned to be an alien machine... not unlike the one in Manehatten.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped open. This was unprecedented news.
“While we’ve been unable to determine its mechanical condition, it does appear to be badly damaged. We’d like you to head our research efforts.”
“Do the aliens know it’s there?” Twilight asked.
“We think not. Celestia would rather they didn’t find out, she was worried they might try and confiscate or destroy it to keep it from us.”
Twilight hummed quietly, she could understand Celestia's apprehension but she disagreed with her methods. If she were in charge she would've been more open with the aliens. After her incident in the Jaeger, she could appreciate the need for openness in their relationship. “May I ask, what is it we’re trying to get out of this expedition?”
“And where do I fit in all this?” Rainy Daze asked, surprising all of them with his presence.
Misty Fly looked at Twilight. “Whatever we can. Tech, information... weapons. You name it, we want it.” She turned to face Dr Daze. “We’ve been lead to believe the machines operate on some form of mind control, Celestia thought you were perhaps the most qualified in this field.”
“Well that’s mighty kind of her, but I don’t knoo shite about machines.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can help in that regard. I practically built my own computer.” Twilight said.
“Very good, now if I can how your attention out the portside window please…” Misty fly said.
“Woah…” Spike breathed, pressing his face up against the frosted glass. The ship had dropped below the cloud cover and the vast fields of snow Twilight had noticed before were once again visible. Lying face up in the snow was a titanic metal machine. Hundreds of small shapes darted around it and among a collection of prefabricated structures. It looked like a small town had sprung up in the shadow of the colossus’ corpse.
The Wonderbolt smiled thinly. “Welcome, to Brawler Yukon.”
Twilight stalked through the interior of Yukon Brawler, Spike close at her heels. She ruffled her wings, loosening a flurry of icicles from her feathers. ‘Maybe I should wear some of those wing mittens.’ she thought sourly, eyeing an engineer who was busy examining a circuit board with a pair of the woollen mittens draped over her wings. It had been months before their first breakthrough. Months of weather cold enough to cause most of the expedition's equipment simply stop working, months of tasteless rations and months of setbacks as some vital part of the research either hit a dead end or froze up completely due to equipment failure. Now though, they’d finally found something they could use.
The long tenure was starting to irritate her. The cold and atrocious weather continually hampered their efforts to uncover the inner workings of the alien war machine and the constant attention the small team Twilight was in charge of was starting to try her patience.
“I’m not sure how much more I can take of this, Spike.” Twilight grumbled, clambering through an open bulkhead and loosening a small chunk of ice from the ceiling.
“Tell me about it. Next time Lean Cuisine is on mess duty, I’m finding my own food.” Spike muttered. The small dragon had been invaluable to Twilight, both as a friend and an assistant. He’d coped with the persistent cold the best of anypony courtesy of his thick skin and inner fire, but even he was starting to get tired of the appalling conditions.
“Well it’s a 30 kay walk to Stonefall and I don’t think the Major will let us borrow her airship.” Twilight said darkly. Their supply ship, Rogue Two, was either under covers with some new engine problem or running back and forth between the base camp and the town for supplies. With nearly 800 mouths to feed, the airship’s crew had their work well and truly cut out for them.
“Thirty kays huh, through biting winds, freezing snow and ice with no navigation references other than the moon, which you can’t even see?” Spike asked, pausing briefly for dramatic effect. “I’d take that chance over his cooking any day.”
Twilight stifled a smile and crawled through the tunnel which led up to the Jaeger’s head. She and Dr. Daze had made a considerable discovery in the workings of the machines controls and had prepared a presentation for the two senior Wonderbolts in charge of the rabble rooting through the machine. She trotted briskly up the tunnel, the loud sound of her hooves echoing against the metal drowning out the much quieter sounds of Spike’s claws pattering against the floor. She emerged from the service entrance and looked around the conpod. Since the expedition had moved in, Twilight had taken up a somewhat permanent residence in the machine’s head; preferring the wide open space it provided compared to the cramped confines of the machine’s hull or a prefabricated hut. Hundreds of cables snaked across the floor and nearly every possible surface was covered in some assortment of machinery, both alien and pony-made. One of the harnesses hung from the ceiling, its companion had long been taken down and disassembled for study.
“Ah, Twilight, you’re here.” Dr Daze said cheerfully, stepping out from behind a drawing board. Unlike the rest of the expedition, the strange unicorn seemed to savour the frozen conditions, calling it ‘the most invigorating experience he’d had in years.’
Naturally, most of the other ponies he worked with called him insane.
“I didn’t expect to see you here so soon.” Twilight remarked.
“Well it turns out the Bra-Washer couldn’t go on a supply run, weather isn’t good enough. Fly boys are stuck here and they’re so excited to hear what we hav’ ter say.” He said quickly, pulling the drawing board aside to reveal the considerably less than excited faces of Misty Fly and Lightning Streak.
“He told us you had made a breakthrough.” Misty Fly said boredly.
“We have.” Twilight said briskly, trotting over to her workbench and levitating a piece of the disassembled harness into the air. “We figured out the control system.”
The two Wonderbolt’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That’s quite a considerable achievement.” Misty said, a hint of respect finding its way into in her voice.
“Thank you.” Twilight said with a curt nod. “It wasn’t easy and there’s still a lot that we don’t know, but we’re confident that we understand how the machines are piloted.” She paused. “The first part is the harnesses. They’re hooked into the Jaeger itself, securing the pilots in place. They have a great freedom of movement though, which allows the pilots to take sudden and violent forces without being turned to mush. The suits they wear may also have some impact on this but I can’t comment on that as we don’t have one to study.” She dropped the harness piece back onto the table and walked around the room to the one still hanging from the roof. “While they might seem to actually be fairly important in the drive process they aren't, the real control system is something their computer refers to as a ‘Pons’. It allows the two pilots to control the machine together… with their minds” She added excitedly.
Misty Fly looked at the harness cautiously and shared a dubious look with her older brother. “Alright, quick question. Why two pilots, why not just one?”
Rainy Daze’s eyes lit up. “What a good question, good thing I’ve gotta answer fer yoo. I’ll keep it sumple so yoo don’t end up scratching yer wee head, ya sorry excuse for an armchair general.”
“Enough with the smack talk.” Misty growled.
“Right yoo are. I’ll start with yoo Captain because yer haven’t tried bitin’ me head off yet. Alright, think of a song.”
“Uh… Party of One. Your point?” Lightning Streak asked dubiously.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself…" The old unicron chided. "Now sing the song in yer head. Then, I want yer ter list the governors of Canterlot… backwards. At the same time.” He added for clarification.
“I can’t do that.” Lightning Streak protested.
“And that’s why there’s two of ‘em.” Rainy Daze said triumphantly before grinning nervously. “Well, that’s my best guess at least. They need two of ‘em cause it’s too much for one person to handle at once. If I asked the Major here to sing the song in her head while you list the governors off, it’d be dead easy wouldn’t it? I’d imagine piloting a massive machine like this woold be quite difficult, both mentally and physically.”
“Suppose so.” Lightning Streak admitted. “What would happen if you piloted it by yourself?”
“Dunno, how aboot you try it yourself and find out?’ Rainy Daze said. “I’d imagine though, the neural load would either do anything from give you a mighty big headache through to turning yer brain to something yoo’d find in be in a sewp can.”
“Uh… I’ll pass.” Lightning Streak said wisely.
“Alright, but how does this get us closer to actually having anything to show for your work?” Misty Fly asked.
“Oh that part’s easy. All yer need is a way ter pick up yer brain signals, an interface if yer will. Two of ‘em actually. A processor of sorts so the machine can merge it together and make sense of the data and then finally, an output so yer actions do something.”
“If it’s so simple, why haven’t you made one?” She said deadpan.
“I’m a neurologist you stupid mick, not an engineer. I wouldn’t have a cloo how to build somethin’ like that. This is an interface between a machine and your mind, that’s no Sunday picnic.”
“But luckily, I do. Or at least I think I do.” Twilight cut in. “The good doctor had to help with the specifics regarding the actual neural pickups… but it should work.” Twilight said, leading the military ponies around to another work area nestled at the back of the conpod and uncovering a large mess of cables and computer components she'd cobbled. The resulting construction was about twice as high as a pony stood and three times as long. “Thankfully the robot’s own system was mostly intact so I didn’t have to start from scratch. I did have to reconfigure and recalibrate a fair bit though… so really its anypony’s guess what’ll happen when I turn it on.
Misty Fly examined the crude pons system with barely restrained curiosity. “How does it work? I mean, how does it make your thoughts take control over a machine?”
“Thoughts in your brain are little more than electric pulses.” Twilight explained slowly. “The computer should be able to interpret them into information. At the moment though, it’s hooked up to data drives for storage and analysis. We don’t have a giant robot we can test it on obviously.”
“What about the one we’re currently rooting through?” Lightning Streak pointed out dryly.
“A complete write off. Many of its systems are beyond our ability to repair and we’d be better off building a new one that better matches our physiology. I’m guessing you want to build one, right?” Twilight asked, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. While nopony had said anything yet, it was becoming increasingly obvious that something a bit more than just research was the intention for the wreck. She felt a pang of annoyance creep up in her chest, why hadn’t Celestia just told her what she was planning? Why leave her out of the loop for so long? She was a princess too, damn it!
“Any reason why?” Misty Fly asked, brushing away Twilight’s question off with well-practiced ease.
“Well both of the alien machines roughly match their own body shape. There might be some reason for that. Moral would no doubt be one of them.” Twilight said coolly, her irritation fading away once more.
“A fair point.” Misty admitted.
“Good.” Twilight beamed, pleased that her analysis had been accepted. “I would suggest we try and remove one of the robot’s legs and move it a more industrialised location. Its leg structure is remarkably similar to our own and with an actual lab, we might be able to learn more about it with proper equipment… or fabricate one even.”
Misty Fly and Lightning Streak shared a look. “This is supposed to be a secret operation.” She said warily. “If we take that thing’s leg off and try to move it somewhere I think somepony might notice.” The Wonderbolt said sarcastically.
Twilight huffed irately. “Well we can’t do much out here. Firstly, it’s on the middle of nowhere with access to only the most rudimentary of gear. Secondly, there’s no industrial capacity to build or study something of this size here either. A few cities along the eastern seaboard like... uh... Manehatten might have the manufacturing power to do so though.”
The two officers nodded slowly. “In the meantime, is there any chance that we could test your system?” Misty Fly asked.
“That’s where we have a problem.” Twilight said cautiously. “We know how it works… mechanically at least. But that’s it, how it’d work in practice…” She trailed off uneasily with a feeble shrug.
“Explain it like I was five.” Lightning Streak said. He stole another quick look at the curious device. Most of the components seemed to be salvaged from the alien robot rather than from their own supplies which lent the device a strange, hybrid look.
“What she means is that we don’t really knoo what’s gonna happen when you strap two plebs like yerself to it and turn it on.”
“Didn’t you say it was some sort of mind-impulse control thingy? Brain signals passing commands through to a machine or something?”
Twilight nodded, at least their lecture hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. “But it’s a two-way street… the information flows both ways.”
“So…?” Misty fly said, gesturing impatiently.
“Yoo’d effectively be inside the other pony’s head.” Rainy Daze said bluntly. “Two minds meldin' into one to control a giant machine. Imagine if she could see everything yoo knew and yoo could see everything she knew. All in here!” He exclaimed excitedly, rapping on the side of his head. “All that emotion, feeling, instinct! Everythin'!”
Lightning Streak glanced at his sister. “I’m not sure if I’d be entirely comfortable with that…”
“Which raises more questions, what happens if one of the… eh, participants isn’t comfortable with the other pony in their head? Tries to protect their own thoughts and locks the other one out? You need two ponies that not only have the stamina to run the machine but also trust the other pilot enough to let them into their most precious memories and feelings.” Twilight explained. She remembered that the two aliens were brothers; maybe that helped things? She trailed off briefly and thought about her friends. How happy would she be with them in her mind? Even with such a close bond to them she still felt a little discomforted by the idea.
Misty poked her nose into the crude system again, taking in all the small details and intricate wiring that presumably allowed the machine to run smoothly. It seemed overly complicated for what she’d just been described. Then again, considering how trivial her knowledge of the system was, she wasn’t really one to comment.
“Hook us up.” She ordered.
“What?!” Lightning Streak yelped. “Surely you can’t be serious? Didn’t you just hear the two of them just say there’s too much they don’t know?”
“Well there’s only one way to find out isn't there?” Misty said coolly. “Hook us in.” She ordered again.
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Are you sure? I mean, there’s so much more research, refinement and testing that needs to go into it before it’s ready for a test. As we just said, we don’t know what’ll happen to you when we hook you up and turn it on.”
“Just do it.” The Wonderbolt ordered gruffly. “You want your nice warm city? You’ll have a lot more chance convincing the Princess if you have something that actually works.”
“If you insist…” Twilight said hesitantly. She fished out a bundle of electrodes from the bundles of cables and with Rainy Daze’s assistance, affixed them around the Wonderbolt’s head. They repeated the process on a slightly less willing Lightning Streak.
“Can you at least tell us what we might expect?” He asked as Twilight slapped one onto his forehead with unrestrained gusto.
“Not really, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t die so you could tell me.” Twilight said with fresh enthusiasm.
“Uh, what?” He said nervously.
“Shock leading to cardiac arrest is a possibility lad.” Dr Daze said nonchalantly. “Making one consciousness out of two ain’t exactly natural yer knoo.”
Lightning Streak gulped.
Twilight slapped the last electrode in place and double checked the connections running from the Wonderbolts head’s back to the computer. She quickly skimmed over the machine to ensure all the wires were plugged in where they were supposed to be and that all the appropriate switches were flicked on. Lastly, she took a small control pad and took a few large steps back. “Alright, pony-to-pony mind bridge experiment is ready. Data is being recorded, we’re going live in 5…” Twilight’s announced, her hoof hovering over a large red button. “4…”
“This will only end in tears, I’m sure of it.” Lightning Streak mumbled.
“3… 2…”
Lightning Streak squeezed his eyes shut.
“1…”
Click!
He opened an eye cautiously, had it worked?
“That… that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Twilight muttered, restraining herself from pressing the button again. The machine buzzed feebly but the two Wonderbolts hooked into the device seemed unaffected.
“Have you tried turning it off then back on again?” Misty Fly drawled sarcastically. Lightning Streak was about to make a follow up remark when a massive jet of sparks shot out of the back of the machine and the world turned blue.
Mum and dad were taking them to the park, Misty was running ahead, screaming and shouting excitedly.their father warned her not to run to far ahead but she didn’t listen… a gap in the cloud cover emerged out of nowhere and Misty fell down, her tiny wings beating uselessly… she screamed in fear…
She was falling…
He could feel the fear of another consciousness, as if he were two beings in the one body. He could feel its fear, its terror as if it were its own. It was like a tidal wave of raw emotion hammering at his mind. He wanted to escape, to hide… but he couldn’t, because he was 3000 feet up and falling…
The wave of blue light vanished and reality snapped back into place. The consciousness that he pressed against his own was gone, replaced by a sudden sensation to fall over and pass out. He sat down, panting heavily. Lightning Streak looked over at his sister, she seemed to be in a worse shape than he was. She was sweating heavily and the look on her face suggested she’d barely been able to hold her lunch down.
“You saw it?” She asked shakily, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead.
“Yeah.” Lightning Streak breathed. “I didn’t just see it, I felt it.” He added with a shudder. He’d felt her fear as she’d fallen, he’d felt her hopelessness. For all he cared, he had been his sister.
“Uh, hello? Mind filling us in?” Twilight asked, concern in her voice. “You seized up for a moment there.”
“Your thing, it works. Or at least it did work.” Misty Fly snapped. “We experienced a memory from when we were younger… perhaps one that was a little traumatic, but still one none the less.” She summarised briskly, ripping a bunch of the electrodes off her forehead angrily. “Talk to Celestia, get your spot in Manehatten and rebuild this thing. Use somepony else’s damn head next time though.” She growled, stomping out of the makeshift lab and crashing into a table full of instruments. She scowled back at them and stumbled out without another word.
“What’s her problem?” Twilight asked, slightly shocked by the Major's reaction.
“It wasn’t exactly, uh… a pleasant memory…” Lightning Streak mumbled. “When we were little, she fell off Cloudsdale. She was lucky, dad caught her before she hit the ground but there was some more lasting damage… she was petrified of heights for months. Not exactly ideal when you live in a floating city.” He said with a small smirk. “Even now, she’ll occasionally turn a bit pale when she’s near a high ledge.”
“Lovely, PTSD is the last thing I need right now.” Twilight growled. Suddenly realising how insensitive she sounded she softened slightly. “Well at least we know it works. Sort of.”
“Ka-pew.” Rainy Daze said, miming the machines explosive demise. “Don’t want that happen’ now, do we?”
“Bad fuse or faulty wiring probably, not a hard fix.” Twilight guessed, already diagnosing the machine.
Lightning Streak looked between them awkwardly. “I’ll go talk to her.” He smiled thinly. “Send a letter to Celestia, if you can get us out of this frozen hellhole that’d be fantastic.” He shivered violently and stumbled towards the exit. “Seriously, this place sucks.” He added, if it needed to be pointed out any further.
“Spike, take a letter please.” Twilight announced once the Wonderbolt’s tail had vanished down the tunnel. She turned around, expecting to find her assistant with quill and ink ready.
Instead she found him engrossed over a small, dimly lit screen. She let out a quiet huff and cursed his inquisitiveness.
“Spike, this is important.” She grunted.
“I know, I know.” He grumbled, pulling himself away from the screen. Just…” He glance back at the screen which held the image of two of the humans. “There were aliens in here, right?”
“At some point, yes.” Twilight answered bluntly.
“Can’t help but wonder, what happened to them?” He asked sadly, he looked around as if he expected on to leap from the floor and offer him a cup of tea.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “But they’re not here at any rate. What does it matter to you?”
Spike fidgeted slightly. “What if they died here? It would make what we’re doing a bit like grave-robbing.”
“Spike, There’s no sign of any aliens on board and if there had been, well, their bodies would be preserved by the cold and we would’ve found them.” Twilight said, shuddering at the thought of finding a frozen corpse in the bowels of the Jaeger.
“Yeah, you’re right I guess.” Spike mumbled, pawing at the ice cold metal floor. “Just what we’re doing… feels wrong. I feel like we’re stealing almost.”
Twilight adopted a bemused look. “And you wait three months to tell me this?”
“I didn’t say it was a clever thought.” Spike admitted, kicking a small clump of ice clinging stubbornly to the floor.
Twilight sighed emphatically. “Look, Spike… these monsters, I’ve seen them. It’s terrifying to know what they can do but it’s even more terrifying to know we can’t do anything about it.” Twilight said quietly. “We need a way to fight back, a way to protect ourselves. If the humans are right, and the monsters keep coming…” she trailed off worriedly. “They can only last so long, if they even decide to stick around anyway. After that, well, we will only last so long.”
“Guess so.” The small dragon muttered. “And what if the aliens find out we have one of their machines?”
“I don’t think they’d be too thrilled.” Twilight answered, remembering their reaction when she’d tried nosing around inside their Jaeger. She bit her lip softly. “I feel like I should tell them though.”
“Even though Celestia said not to? Why?” Spike asked, amazed that Twilight would even consider going against Celestia’s orders.
“I feel we could make more progress if we have somebody who actually knows the ins and outs of these machines. I’m looking out for the interests of all of Equestria first and foremost. It's sort of my job description.” Twilight said, ruffling her feathers irritably, “Additionally, Celestia has been a bit of a…” She struggled for words to describe Equestria’s solar monarch
“Distrustful tyrant?” Spike put in helpfully. He covered his mouth, seemingly surprised by his own language.
Twilight growled quietly. “There are far better words you could use, Spike…But.. yeah, more or less.” She said dangerously.
“Sorry, sorry.” Spike said quickly, covering his face with his claws.
“It’s alright.” Twilight reassured him, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Can we take that letter now?’
“Yeah, I’ll get right on it.”
***
Canterlot - Royal Palace
Celestia groaned quietly and cast her eyes ruefully over the large stack of documents, reports and inquires sitting next to her throne. Although it was some time after she’d returned to Canterlot, the work load that had accrued while she’d been away still seemed to be piling up. She had statures to read and sign, research grants to approve, judgements to make and most worrying of all, not nearly enough time to finish them all before some self-obsessed twit would come breathing down her neck. She perused a short paper half-heartedly, re-reading the same line over and over again before finally passing the short document back to her aide with a frustrated sigh.
“Raven, how about we take a short break? I need a moment alone.” Celestia said quietly. Her assistant nodded solemnly, picked up the towering stack of paperwork and trotted out of the throne room, the haphazard stack wobbling dangerously as the grand doors slammed shut behind her.
Celestia let out a quiet sigh of relief and surveyed the almost empty throne room. There were still six guards stationed around the hall, two beside the main door and four more around her throne, each one standing stock straight and eyes forward. She made an almost imperceptible motion with her fore hoof and the Watch Officer directly to the right of the throne spun around bowed his head.
“Your highness?” He asked, his voice rumbling through the otherwise silent hall.
“Take your watch and finish early. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind some extra R&R time.”
“The next watch doesn’t start for another hour.” The watch officer pointed out.
“I can manage myself, thank you.” Celestia said firmly, She admired the guard’s dedication but it occasionally led to moments when their loyalty got in the way of her own desires. “Now if you’d please?”
“Of course, ma’am.” The guard said, perhaps a little offended. He nodded and the other five guards marched out of her chambers, finally leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts.
Almost alone.
“I know you’re in here, Luna.” Celestia said, smiling thinly.
The air in front of Celestia seemed to bend and warp, revealing the Princess of the Night in all her glory. The look she gave Celestia was venomous.
“What gave me away, sister?” Luna asked, her voice a little louder than one would consider appropriate for an inside tone.
“A small lock of your mane was visible, I’m a little surprised the guards didn’t see it.”
Luna harrumphed. “The mortals are no match for our stealth or subtlety.” She pronounced regally.
“It would seem so.” Celestia said with a small nod. She conjured a small pot of tea along with two delicate china cups. “Some tea perhaps?” She asked, filling both cups with the fragrant drink.
“We prefer much stronger drinks than the boiled leaves of tree's can provide…” Luna said, trailing off as the fragrant smell of tea filled the throne room. “However, it would impolite to say no.” She added grudgingly, taking the small cup Celestia offered her with a grace that few other ponies could muster. Celestia smiled again, it would an amazing thing for Luna to admit she enjoyed her tea.
“So, Luna. What brings you down here? This is unusual time for you to be up and about.” Celestia remarked.
“It is your protégé.” Luna remarked, summoning a large, plump cushion to sit on.
Celestia raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What about her?”
“Her lack of progress in the task you set her, it had been a little over three months since you have heard from her, no? Maybe she doesn’t like the Northern Wastes as much as you imagined.’ Luna asked, delighted at the look of shock and surprise that briefly crossed Celestia’s face.
“I don’t kno-.”
“Do not lie to me, sister. You’ve already left me uninformed of your plans once, it would be wise not to repeat your mistake again.” Luna said. Her voice betrayed no measure of rage but her eyes told a different story. “Perhaps one of my own stu-.”
“That will not be necessary.” Celestia interrupted.
Luna shrugged. “In fact, from what we can gather, you have not informed Princess Sparkle of your ambitions either.” She said coolly. “Is there a reason for this perhaps?” She hesitated a moment, savouring her words “Do you not trust us?”
“I would rather keep this close to my chest.” Celestia answered.
“Did you not think that one of us would be insulted, disgruntled perhaps, that you did not even consult us?” Luna growled, her voice rising slightly.
“We have aliens and monsters rising from our seas, do you think this is a time for squabbling and bickering? This is something that I decided was in the best interest for Equestria.”
“Yes, admittedly your course of action is one we might all agree on, but-.” Luna growled.
“Then what is your problem?” Celestia asked politely.
“We are equals!” She boomed, the china cup skittering across the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces as she stood up with sudden anger. “You forget that we and Twilight are princesses as well! You seem to have stagnated on your throne alone for such a long time that you forget we rule Equestria together.” Luna fumed, stalking back and forth across the throne room.
“Luna-.”
“Do not interrupt!” Luna roared, the full majesty of her voice making Celestia shrink into her throne slightly. The dark alicorn glowered at her sister a moment longer before launching back into her tirade. “When threats loom over Equestria, we should be the first to know, we should be able to discuss and plan a solution. You do not have the right to plan and plot behind both mine and Twilight’s back!”
“Twilight, is not ready to rule.” Celestia said quietly.
Luna’s face contorted in a mixture of anger and confusion. “Not ready? You say she’s not ready? She ascended, did she not? She has proven herself worthy to bear the mantle of leadership and you would deny her right?”
“She’s not ready.” Celestia repeated.
“That is not your place to decide. She was chosen and she has passed the tests, she is ready. Are you so blinded by your own selfish desires that you cannot see the path you are taking?”
Celestia’s response was cut off by a series of booming knocks on the entrance from the grand hall. She shot a look at Luna.
“We’ll discuss this later.” Celestia said calmly, focusing her magic and making the teapot vanish from her side. She glared distastefully at the small pool of tea from where Luna’s cup had smashed and cleaned it with another flicker of energy. “Enter.” She announced.
The doors swung open, revealing a flour white stallion partially hidden under a set of deep purple armour. He trotted in, the aide that followed loyally at his heels burdened down by an assortment of scrolls and maps.
“Shining Armour.” Celestia said with forced cheer. “Welcome back, how was your voyage?”
Shining Armour bowed respectfully to the two monarchs. “Very well, your highness. We hit a large squall east of Derby but we managed it navigate it just fine.” The captain of the royal guard said a little queasily.
“I take it you do not have very good sea legs, Captain?” Luna asked.
“Not at all, your highness, I prefer to keep my hooves on the ground.”
“Indeed. May I ask, what were you doing so far east?” Luna asked curiously. It was rare for the Royal Guard to set sail unless they were accompanying a monarch and even rarer for them to leave Equestria's borders without one present.
Shining Armour glanced at Celestia and she nodded slightly.
“I was leading a small group in the laying of an early warning and detection grid. Sensors and beacons placed in strategic locations so we might detect a monster before they make landfall.” He explained, “Some of the gear is monitored remotely but most of it links back to a monitoring station in Trottingham.
“One would think the Royal Navy would be up to the task.” Luna said suspiciously.
“I needed somepony I could trust completely.” Celestia explained. “It was a mission of paramount importance, one that could save thousands of lives.”
Luna made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat but otherwise kept her thoughts her own.
“Did you find any trace of this breach the aliens spoke of?” Celestia asked.
“No ma’am, nothing. There’d be next to no chance finding it in deep water.” Shining Armour responded curtly. He took a large map from his adjutant and laid it across the floor. “The Eastern Ocean is some 100 million square kilometres, we lack both the manpower and ships to search an area of that size, not to mention the lack of submersibles.”
The two princesses leant forward to examine the map, both failing to notice the orb of green fire which burst into life above their heads. There was a loud crack and a slightly charred scroll sealed with a wax stamp materialised out the swirling flames. The scroll hung comically in the air for a moment before gravity reasserted itself and the roll of paper bounced off Celestia’s head and landed on the floor with a soft smack.
“That’s Twilight’s seal.” Shining Armour noted. He wondered where his sister was and what she’d been up to over the last three months. Sure, not hearing from her for some length of time was not unheard of, but with the events that were transpiring across Equestria he was slightly surprised he hadn’t heard from her more often.
“I’d appreciate it if you could give me a moment alone, Captain. Your report can wait.” Celestia said quietly. She was surprised with how short the scroll was, she’d have hoped Twilight would have more for her.
“I'll take it you want me to leave as well?” Luna asked coldly. She flashed Celestia a look which seemed to dare her to even try.
“You may stay.” Celestia said after a moment’s consideration.
“As if there was ever any doubt.” Luna proclaimed haughtily.
Shining Armour glanced between the two monarchs, silently wondering what event had caused the animosity between them. By virtue of experience, he decided it best to not pry. He banged his hoof against his chest plate and strode proudly from the throne room, his aide dogging his heels as always.
“What was that, sir?” He asked when the giant doors leading into the majestic room had finally slammed shut. He donned his helmet again, his navy blue mane filing the crest elegantly. “Looked they were about to attack each other!”
Shining Armour smirked, not sure if he was scared or aroused by the concept of the two celestial goddesses wrestling with each other. “When you’ve been around them as long as I have, Flash, you’ll know when to just walk away and pretend something never happened.”
“I’m guessing this is one of those times, sir?”
Shining Armour bobbed his head up and down. “Yup.”
***
The doors had barely boomed shut before Celestia broke the wax seal and unrolled the scroll. She eagerly read the contents, gratified to finally hear from her student in the frozen north.
Dear Princess Celestia
While progress has been slow in the research of the alien machine, I have managed to (somewhat) successfully replicate the control system. While the design is still crude, with further testing we may be able to completely rebuild the device to a functional state.
Work has been hampered by the weather conditions and the isolation of the work site, I would propose the project is moved to a new location so further testing can be undertaken. If the project is relocated, I would like to have one of the machine’s legs removed for further study. I believe the DCE-50 that has recently entered service would have the power to haul it. Manehatten is the closest city with the industrial power to support any construction operations you may authorise.
I have gathered you would like to build one, correct? Most of the work you have set us would hardly amounto anything without our own Jaeger program.
Lastly, even with three months of hard work we have barely scratched the surface of understanding the technology in this machine. Perhaps informing the humans of our discovery would allow them to further our knowledge.
Twilight Sparkle
“How audacious!” Luna exclaimed approvingly, reading the letter silently over Celestia’s shoulder.
Celestia frowned. “But very interesting. I’d want more detail on her progress, but if she thinks we can rebuild it I would be inclined to believe her.”
“And what about her proposals? You seem very dedicated at keeping our discovery under wraps.” Luna asked, pleased that Celestia had finally opened up and allowed her counsel.
Celestia let out a defeated sigh. “I’d rather keep the project up north. Keep it secret.”
“And loose precious time and waste even more resources.” Luna droned. “How long until the next attack? What do we do then? Throw rocks?”
“A few months, if another one even happens.” Celestia guessed.
“And look how far we’ve gotten!” Luna said sarcastically. “We believe moving the machine is the better alternative.”
Celestia took a moment to understand the meaning of Luna’s words. “All of it?” she asked.
Luna tilted her head to the side. “Why not? Surely having the entire machine would give us more to work with.”
“How would we hide it from the humans?”
“Go under cover of night perhaps? There is a large covered hanger just outside the city the Air force use to store their airships.” Luna suggested. “Do the aliens venture far from their machine?”
“Apparently Pinkie Pie, one of the element bearers, has taken quite a liking to them. She's guided them a little throughout the city, but never far.” Celestia said wryly, making Luna chuckle.
“If she’s as wild as we remember they’ll have their hands full with her.”
“I still do not like this plan.” Celestia argued. “What if they find out we have one of the machines and become hostile?”
“Well then we would have learnt a very valuable lesson, wouldn’t we?” Luna said as if she was rebuking a foal.
“Luna, stop it.” Celestia said authoritatively, feeling that Luna was now mocking her. She closed her eyes and pondered her options. Yes, there was a risk in sending the wreck into an urban area... but was the trade-off worth it? Celestia imagined Equestria with its own Jaeger, it would no longer be helpless in the face of the monsters nor as vulnerable if the aliens became unfriendly.
“Alright, we’ll do it.” She said after a moment of contemplation. “Carefully.” She added as a self-satisfied smirk appeared over Luna’s face. “Sister, you are skilled in the arts of illusion, perhaps you could accompany the expedition into Manehatten?”
“So we’re not telling the humans?” Luna guessed, one of her eyebrows rising slightly
“I think it would be unwise to do so.” Celestia said, wiping the smirk off Luna’s face. The Princess of the Night seemed to want to rebuke Celestia but decided to keep whatever comment she had prepared to herself.
“Very well.” Luna answered wearily, sinking back into her cushion with a quiet sigh.
Celestia clapped her hooves together in a pleased manner. “It is decided then, you liaise with the railway and secure us the engines and I’ll inform Twilight. You can head north and stay with them in Manehatten to supervise.”
Luna bowed her head in agreement, pleased she was finally involved in the plan, even if she did hold some reservations about it. She considered arguing with her sister further but quickly dismissed it, there was rarely any point in trying to get Celestia to change her mind.
“Very well then, I shall leave at once.” Luna said, rising from the cushion regally.
“Might want to pack a coat, I hear its cold up there.” Celestia said facetiously, smiling thinly as Luna turned and marched regally out of the throne room. The dark alicorn threw a dirty look at her sister before slamming the door shut.
Celestia gazed at the iron-banded door silently. After a moment’s consideration she summoned a quill and parchment and started scribbling furiously. Her thoughts quickly drifted back to Luna even as the nub of the quill scratched noisily across the page. She hummed quietly to herself and tapped the feather of the quill across her foreleg.
“Oh sister, what is on your mind?”
***
City of Trottingham - Eastern Ocean Monitoring Station
The watch station in Trottingham was brand new. Unlike the brick and cobblestone buildings which surrounded it, the structure had whitewashed walls and gunmetal grey support columns. Despite the large Navy insignia that hung over the door, the facility was mostly staffed by civilians. A few guards kept watch over the new building, deterring the few ponies curious enough to approach the new structure from proceeding any further. The newness of the place carried on into the interior, spotless glass tables adorned the reception and the slightly off-white paint on the walls hadn’t even been stained. Through several sets of expertly crafted wooden doors lay the real heart of the operations centre, banks of computers, monitors and printers lined the walls; some were still so new that they were still covered in shrink-wrap. It was here that two dozen ponies milled around, checking readings on their instruments, chatting idly about the girls/bug-eyed monsters back home and drinking enough coffee to satisfy a small town.
It was also here that a young technician named Torque worked. Like most of his colleagues, Torque had only been at the monitoring station for a little under a week, a week with which he’d struggled to familiarise himself with some of the most advanced technology in Equestria.
“Really?” He asked himself quietly. “The most advanced?” He scoffed, thinking about the massive Jaeger currently sitting somewhere in Manehatten. He’d never admit it to anypony but he had large posters of the machine plastered all across his room, a new apartment on the east side of Trottingham he’d managed to rent with what money he could scrape together.
“You talking to yourself again?” A voice Torque instantly knew belonged to his supervisor asked, making him nearly fall out of his chair in surprise.
“Wha- wh- um, uh. No ma’am.” He stammered, trying to look as dignified as he could manage. He spun around slowly to meet the deep purple eyes of his shift’s supervisor, Skyray. He shrunk into his chair slightly, deliberately averting his gaze from the maze of angry red scars that covered the left side of her face and ran through her eye.
She smiled thinly. “Skyray or Ray will do fine, thanks. I work for a living.” Her gaze hovered him a moment longer before flickering off to the side.
“Yeah… Su- sure thing.” Torque mumbled awkwardly as she trotted away from his station. He watched her go, his golden eyes glued to the back of her pale cream head. Despite the horrific injury which had destroyed half of her face he still found her oddly beautiful. He continued staring as she made her rounds around the room and he was still staring when his computer spat out a roll of paper and squawked nosily at him.
For the second time in under ten minutes, Torque nearly fell off his seat in surprise. Straightening himself out, he looked over the temperamental device, wondering what it was beeping about. It took him a moment to realise that one of the outer sensors had picked up something. Something big. He looked around stupidly, thankful there we only a few other ponies around to see his clumsy display. Carefully, he double checked the sensor data and cross-checked it with a second nearby beacon. Much to his discomfort, the sudden surge of water which had triggered the sensor still stubbornly remained. He continued staring at it when his computer hurled another roll of paper at him, this time from a third buoy.
“Uh, Ray, we’ve got something here.” He said worriedly.
“What’ve we got?” Skyray asked, appearing over his shoulder like a spectre. Her sudden appearance nearly made Torque jump again as her mangled face appeared next to his. She brushed a lock of her chocolate brown mane away from her face and examined the roll of paper the computer had churned out.
“Movement, something big.” Torque answered.
“How big?”
Torque double checked his data. “Displacement is 2300 tons at least. I’m getting faint radioactive readings as well,” He said seamlessly.
“Do we have any shipping in the area?” Skyray asked softly.
He consulted a chart which hung from the wall next to his computer. “Nope, not anything that’s registered at least.”
“What is its course?” Skyray asked, a hint of nervousness in her usually confident tone.
“North-Eastern Seaboard, I might be able to narrow it down when it passes the next buoy. It’s taking its sweet time though.” He noted. The signature was moving probably no more than about 90 kilometres an hour, giving them twelve hours or so before it made landfall.
“Alright, good work. Keep me and the loop and send a copy of your data up the chain.” Skyray said, clapping a hoof on his shoulder and making him jump nervously again.
Torque spun around. “This equipment is pretty new, maybe it’s just a glitch? I mean, the monsters can’t be that big can they?” He asked disbelievingly.
Skyray stopped, absently touching a hoof to the scar tissue around her eye. “Let’s hope so.”
For Shane and Michael, the three months since their brawl with Rasura had flown past. Most of their time had been taken up with the extensive repair work their Jaeger, particularly their arm, needed. The entire limb had been beaten and crushed by the Kaiju relentlessly and needed to be stripped down and rebuilt. Most of the armour covering the limb had been bent or broken completely beyond saving and many of the delicate muscle strands beneath had either been torn or were missing completely. Worst of all, one of the railguns had been crumpled into little more than a twisted metal beam, severely hampering their offensive ability.
They kept their distance from the majority of the work crews, supervising the repairs cautiously from one the gantries around their Jaeger or from inside the conpod. They’d been visited almost weekly by Pinkie Pie, her boundless enthusiasm and occasional reality warping appearances breaking the monotony of the work quite nicely. She’d spent some time trying to convince them to leave the temporary work site to little avail but after weeks of nagging both Shane, Michael and the guards she continually slipped by she finally succeeded in dragging them out into the city proper.
“There’s an entire alien city out there! You think I want to stay cooped up here with you the whole time?” Shane had said when Michael questioned his enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, their first foray hadn’t gone well as Pinkie had hoped when she accidently led them into one of Manehatten’s more notorious red-light districts. Needless to say, it’d taken her some time to convince either Shane or Michael to leave the worksite for some time after that.
She’d also introduced the two humans to other ponies she knew, one of them a timid mare named Fluttershy who barely spoke above a whisper and hid behind her mane whenever Pinkie dragged her along. She’d also introduced them to another unicorn, named Rarity who’d declared the humans ‘scruffy’ and left it at that.
They’d lived relatively carefree, only the constant threat of another Kaiju attack lingering in their minds. They had run simulations daily to keep themselves in fighting form but it didn’t take long for the computer to run out of new Kaiju for them to fight. They’d allowed Pinkie to watch some of their fights, each of them only increasing her awe of their mental bond and of the abilities of their machine.
Winter had settled in over Manehatten and despite the rampant destruction to the city, spirits were high. Some holiday of theirs, Heath’s Warming, was fast approaching and it was much to Shane and Michael’s surprise when they woke up one morning to find Midsummer Night with a massive string of multi-coloured Christmas lights wrapped around the Jaegers neck and looped over her body. Most worrying of all, was the large star which was perched on the top of the jaegers head like some sort of ridiculous crown.
“You should’ve seen your face, you were like-.” Pinkie giggled, pulling an overly exaggerated rendition of Shane’s face when he’d discovered the lights.
The four other mares in the conpod chuckled, though whether at Pinkie or with her, was hard to tell.
Shane muttered something under his breath about being spied on and poked his meal, a mix of roasted vegetables and something which looked and tasted suspiciously like turkey that the ponies called squinch. Much to their surprise, Pinkie had made them a Hearth’s Warming dinner and invite herself and four of her friends to the party. They’d been a little reluctant to have so many of the equines in the conpod at the same time but after each one had promised to not do anything stupid (Michael had explicitly defined it this time) they’d allowed them in. They’d kept a close eye on each of the ponies initially but after it became apparent they were there for the party more so than the Jaeger, they’d relaxed their guard a little.
“Well I think it’s a nice touch. Compliments the shitty paintwork nicely.” Michael said, helping himself to another generous serve of squinch. “Next time don’t forget the tinsel and the baubles though.”
“Well it has drawn quite a crowd.” One of the new mares, Rainbow Dash, if he remembered correctly, pointed out. She’d already finished her meal and lounged lazily on a small nook next to the Jaeger’s visor. “Guess they’ve never seen a Hearth’s Warming tree quite this big.”
“Ah still don’t most of them have ever seen anything quite this big.” The second new pony piped up. She’d been in awe of the conpod ever since she’d entered and she’d been so caught up in looking around it in awe she’d almost forgotten about the food on her plate. “Something so mighty big, must be real hard to drive around.”
“Oh I’ve seen them do it.” Pinkie chatted excitedly. “Well, just pretend to do it at least, it’s really cool! There’s this drift thingy and then everything goes all blue and wobbly!
She waved her hooves around erratically.
Applejack touched a hooves to her chin thoughtfully. “Say, what’d it take to drive one of these things anyhow?”
Michael and Shane exchanged a curious look, what was it with all the ponies and wanting to pilot a Jaeger? Perhaps their entrance had left more of an impression that they’d initially thought
“Well first you’d need a drift buddy. Someone you can link up with.” Michael explained. “Well, we do at least. I have no idea about you guys but we can’t pilot these things single-handedly.”
“What’s that? A drift buddy?’ Rainbow Dash asked, floating down from her nook on a set of powerful looking wings. She’d been a little warier of the humans then the other ponies and hadn’t said much to either of the pilots. He’d got the impression she didn’t quite trust them, a feeling he couldn’t hold against her considering the circumstances.
“They’re someone you really trust, someone you can really connect with. The whole process is reliant on that, trust. There are other factors, but that’s one of the big ones.”
“Is it hard? To pilot one, I mean.” Rarity piped up, trying to not look interested.
Michael smiled. “I can’t even begin to describe how hard it is to pilot a Jaeger. It’s like trying to read a library worth of books while in the middle of a massive boxing match. People who have what it takes are rare… but that’s not nearly good enough. They need to be best friends with another one of them.”
Pinkie kicked her hooves idly. “I never asked, how’d you become pilots anyway?”
Michael stood up and jabbed one of the buttons on the console. A shimmery projection of Earth appeared, spinning slowly. He stared at the image for a moment, feeling a momentary pang of homesickness. Burying the thought away, he zoomed in on the Alaskan coastline and circled a large piece of land sitting in the Gulf of Alaska.
“Kodiak Island, home of the Ranger academy. The birthplace of the Jaeger program. Only the best are chosen to pilot a Jaeger.”
Shane scratched the scraggly beard he’d started growing. There was a sharp knife in the survival kit but he wasn’t game enough to try shaving himself with it. “I remember when we joined the Ranger academy we very nearly didn’t make the cut. There’s a lot of competition, as you could imagine. People from all over the world come to learn, to try and pilot a jaeger. Very few succeed.”
“How’d you get through? What was special about you two?” Rainbow Dash asked. “No offence, but you don’t seem all that special to me.”
“We had good drift compatibility and we could fight well. I was the brains and Shane was the brawn.” Michael said evenly.
“And what’s this place?” Pinkie asked, pointing at the map again. A small blip with a P.P.D.C. logo was sitting in the corner, hovering just off Anchorage.
“That’s the Anchorage Shatterdome. That’s where we keep the Jaegers, build new ones and for repairs. Anchorage is the smallest Shatterdomes, it can only house five or six Jaegers at the most.”
“That many?” Applejack asked, amazed at the thought of so many machines.
“It only ever held four.” Shane said with a small shrug. “Gipsy Danger, Chrome Brutus, Brawler Yukon and us.”
“It was home.” Michael said, a hint of sadness in his voice. He shut the display off and sat back down, poking at his food with substantially less interest than he had before.
“Hey, cheer up.” Shane said, placing a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll go home soon.”
“And what? Just leave us to die?” Rainbow Dash piped up angrily.
“That’s your problem, not mine.” Shane said casually.
“She’s got a point you know, Shane.” Michael butted in before either of the headstrong belligerents did something stupid like declare a duel to the death.
“I thought you wanted to go home?”
Michael nodded. “I do. As much as I’m starting to like this place it’s nothing like home.” He said quietly. “This probably isn’t the best time to be leaving though.”
“And when would that be then? When we’re rusting at the bottom of the bay?”
“Ideally not.” Michael said with a thin smile. “We’ll know when the time comes. Have a look around, these guys seem like they’d be able to sort themselves out. Eventually. “He chewed down on a roasted potato cheerfully. “In the meantime we can have the full holiday experience.” He watched Shane carefully. “Come on, it’s an adventure, you love adventures.”
Shane laughed, almost more or a bark. “Never thought I’d have one with an alien horse.”
“Good.” Michael said, slightly pleased. He quashed the dwelling thoughts of home that lingered in his mind and put a smile back on his face. “Hey, this is supposed to be a party isn’t it? What’s a party without some music?” He thought for a moment. “Sweetie, some Pink Floyd please.”
“Oh don’t torture us with that 70’s crap.” Shane groaned, placing his hands over his ears.
“Rubbish, it’s fantastic.” Michael said with a dismissive wave. He turned back to the ponies, an eager look on his face. “You guys are going to love this…”
***
The bridge of Lucky Seven was quiet. Not surprising considering it was almost four in the morning and like most of the Royal Equestrian Air force, the airship had returned to its home port for Hearth’s Warming. Spitfire sat at her chair, filling in the routine paperwork she was eternally cursed with. She’d yawned softly, most of the crew was either somewhere on base or had taken leave to be with their families, leaving the airship staffed with a small skeleton crew. She’d pulled a quadruple watch to fill in for missing crew, a sacrifice that worked out reasonably well for her considering how much paperwork she’d neglected to do over the last few months. Still, it was a relief when the chronometer chimed four times and a half-dozen or so fresh crew showed up to take over. She tucked her work under her wing with a relieved sigh and trotted slowly off to her cabin which was a deck below and just aft of the bridge. The usually bustling corridors were eerily quiet and Spitfire found herself looking over her shoulder several times, sure somepony was watching her. Reaching her cabin, she roughly slid the metal door open and flicked the light on.
Her quarters were large by airship standards, she had to entire compartment to herself. A small single bed was jammed up against the wall and in the corner sat an antique oak desk, a gift from the team when she’d received captaincy of Lucky Seven. Letting out a quiet sigh she loosened her tie and flopped into her chair. She’d sleep later, there was still a small pile of paperwork that needed her attention. After a moment’s consideration, she cracked open one of the desk’s drawers and pulled out the sixty year old bottle of scotch which she’d decided also required her attention. The fiery-maned mare rooted through her desk for the glass she usually used from but found no trace of the small, but ornate tumbler she habitually drank from. She growled quietly and made her way back out into the corridor, marching a few doors down to where Soarin’s quarters were and shoved the door open. Unsurprisingly, her XO was nowhere to be found, he was already somewhere in Martingale with some family of his. She paused her search briefly, wondering what it would be like to have a proper Hearth’s Warming dinner with family. Would it be fun? Loud? She shook the thought off and continued searching, she didn’t have a family, not one she wanted to associate with at least. A few choice curses later and she was back in her cabin, her usual glass firmly back in her possession. Why Soarin had it in his cabin she couldn’t remember but it didn’t overly bother her, the two of them were fairly close so it wasn’t unheard of for her to find some random things of hers lying around in his quarters or vice versa.
“Just as long he keeps his damn hooves off my scotch I don’t care.” She muttered to herself, pouring a small measure of the almost smoky smelling drink into her cup. Spitfire collapsed into her chair again and gazed intensely at the ceiling. The thought she’d had in Soarin’s cabin came drifting back onto the forefront of her mind and she suddenly felt very lonely. Surely there had to be more to life than running a squadron, yelling at subordinates and drinking vintage scotch. Her eyes drifted down to a large photo which adorned the wall next to her desk. It was a rare photo of the entire team at relative ease, taken at some wedding if she remembered correctly. There was Soarin, a goofy grin etched onto his face as he no doubt told somepony of some stupid yet amazing plan he’d come up with at some point in his career. Behind him was Surprise wearing a confident smirk as she always seemed to. Fleetfoot was off the side, staring dreamily into the distance like she was off in another world. Beside her was a serious looking Fire Streak. Spitfire scoffed in amusement, he always took himself far too seriously, even by her standards. Wave Chill was at the back, he’d been the Rookie back then and no doubt the eager look he was sporting was because of that. She smiled thinly as she spotted herself perched at the front, a surprisingly carefree and relaxed look on her face. This was her family she thought, unsure if that was a good thing. They were an entirely dysfunctional, crazy and conflicting team which had somehow stayed together under her firm gaze. She allowed herself to feel a moment of pride before quashing the feeling like a bug under her hoof.
She looked away from the photo, silently wondering if the team had become her entire life, the only thing she’d ever be remembered for. Spitfire dwelled with her thoughts for several minutes, unsure of exactly what she was looking for in the vast reaches of her mind. Was she lonely or was she comfortable with her lifestyle that kept her emotionally detached from the world? She searched for the answers but like a ball at a hoofball match, they remained elusive.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a trio of quick knocks.
“Enter.” She barked, spinning around on her chair to face the door.
The door slid open, revealing a nervous looking crewman. He saluted quickly and handed Spitfire a short message. She took it and quickly scanned its contents.
>Royal Equestrian Defence Force PRIORITY RED DISPATCH
>From: Trottingham Monitoring Station
>To: ALL REN, REAF assets in BOLTON, MANEHATTEN, FILLYDELPHIA and surrounds
>Subject: IMMEDIATE RECALL
/start message/
Unknown object detected at 2200 in Canterbury Passage. Further detection at 0250 by REN Azimuth has identified BOLTON as probable destination. ETA 1030 at last known speed. Contact with Azimuth was lost shortly after 0305. Subsequently, the object has been deemed hostile.
ALL CRAFT are to halt current activities/operations immediately and proceed to RALLY POINT BRAVO-THREE at best speed.
/end message/
Spitfire reread the document quickly, noticing the use of the words ‘Unknown object’. She flicked over the second page which contained a copy of the watch stations recording. 2300 tons... A cold chill shot up her spine as she imagined the sight of another of the monsters breaking through the waves with an infernal screech. She screwed the message up and re-buttoned her collar with a disgusted growl.
“Alright, recall any of the crew you can, we’re casting off in half an hour.” She hesitated a moment. “We’ll head down to the docks first.”
“Ma’am?”
“Well, if we’re looking at another monster attack, would you rather have the big stompy robot with us or just a few rockets and cannons strapped to a flying metal tube?” Spitfire growled.
“Understood.”
“Good, now snap to it. Clock is ticking airman.”
***
A faint buzzing, like a swarm of bees woke Michael. He shook his head and squinted through the Jaeger’s tinted windshield, wondering what the annoying drone could be. He groaned, guessing it was around five or six in the morning, far too early to be awake. He laid his head back down on his makeshift bed and tried to get back to sleep. He’d barely closed his eyes when a siren howled throughout the conpod.
“Proximity alert: Upper Right Quadrant. Three hundred feet.” The cold voice of the A.I. said, making Michael almost leap upright. He dashed to the front of conpod and peered out into the slightly foggy sky, surprised to make out a large, somewhat familiar airship buzzing angrily above them.
‘Shane, Shane! Get up! There’s a military airship out there!” Michael yelled, stumbling around clumsily for the black, almost skin tight undersuit they wore to interface with the Jaeger. He could only guess why the airship was there but he somehow knew it meant trouble.
“Incoming message, visual spectrum.” The A.I. announced.
“Visible spectrum? What the hell do mean by that?” Michael snapped, staggering back to the front of the conpod. Sure enough, a white blinker was flashing from the upper superstructure, aimed straight at the Jaeger’s head. It took Michael a moment to figure out what it was.
“Holy shit, that’s Morse code!” He whispered. Although somewhat archaic, most Rangers were trained to understand Morse code as well as basic sign language in the case that their Jaeger’s communication equipment was damaged. He watched the light closely, mentally deciphering the message.
AAA AAA AAA MIDSUMMER NIGHT CAN YOU READ THIS CAN YOU READ THIS PLEASE RESPOND FLASH THREE TIMES IF YOU CAN READ THIS FLASH THREE TIMES IF YOU CAN READ THIS AAA AAA AAA MIDSUMMER NIGHT CAN YOU READ THIS
The message kept repeating and it took several moments for Michael to get to entire signal. Michael spun around. “Shane, headlights, flash ‘em three times!”
“Whu-?” Shane replied groggily.
“Just do it!” Michael said, watching the airship closely. The fog around Midsummer Night lit up suddenly as the massive head mounted searchlight blinked on and off. The message from the airship stopped abruptly, being quickly replaced by a new one.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT MIDSUMMER NIGHT ASSISTANCE REQUIRED 2300 TON UNKNOWN THREAT CONVERGING ON BOLTON 2300 TON UNKNOWN THREAT CONVERGING ON BOLTON ONE HEAVY CRUISER MISSING ONE HEAVY CRUISER MISSING PLEASE PROCEED TO RALLY POINT BRAVO-THREE AT 42 N 70 W PLEASE PROCEED TO RALLY POINT BRAVO-THREE AT 42 N 70 W IF YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE PLEASE FLASH THREE TIMES
The message repeated three times before Michael understood the whole thing.
“Shit, we’ve got another Kaiju.” He breathed, scrambling for his drivesuit again.
“What, already? It’s only been about three months.” Shane said in disbelief. He already had his undersuit on and was busily clipping the white outer layer of his drivesuit into place.
“No doubt about it. 2300 tons.” Michael said, grabbing a map of Equestria and quickly locating Bolton. He grimaced, it was a good 150 miles away if he was reading the scale correctly.
“We’ve got a fair walk ahead of us.” He muttered. That was bad, they’d be facing a borderline CAT II/III Kaiju fatigued. At least this time they’d have backup…. for whatever that was worth.
“The way you say that makes it sound like I don’t have a say in the matter.”
Michael looked his brother over. “You’re suited up.” He noted.
Shane smiled. “Well I never said I didn’t want to fight.”
“Well after your little outburst last night, I was starting to wonder…” Michael muttered, stowing the map away and banging his chestplate into place.
“Hey, you know me. Always raring for a fight.”
“Well you better get ready for a hell of a fight.” Michael grunted, clipping himself into the Jaeger’s drive system. He flashed the headlight three more times, confirming for the airship that they had received its message. “We’ve got a long walk ahead of us so let’s get this show on the road.”
The walk was long but enjoyable. They’d selected a route which took them slightly overland, cutting a good hour off their trip. They’d initially followed the coast, skirting around the impassable suburbs and districts of Manehatten before turning northeast and making a beeline towards Bolton. The airship dogged their heels the entire way, Michael was sure it could fly much faster than they were walking, about 60 miles an hour, but it instead seemed intent on escorting them to their final destination. The change of scenery made for a nice view, the sprawling urban centre they had become accustomed to had turned into lush rolling hills covered with dense forests. A range of snow-capped mountains were visible in the distance and although they couldn’t see anything, their motion sensors were filling up with contacts as the local wildlife scrambled to get out of their way. They’d been stomping through the forest for little over two hours when a large orange shape broke through the canopy, screeched and took flight on a large set of scaly wings. It let loose a blinding jet of flame into the sky as a warning to the approaching machine.
“That’s a dragon!” Shane exclaimed as the irate beast circled the jaeger cautiously for several minutes. It eventually decided that fighting the towering giant was a bad choice and flapped off towards a trio of mountains some 50 miles distant. The airship made to pursue the dragon but after a moment it readjusted its course to continue following the Jaeger.
“There looks there is a railway up ahead in that valley, might want to go around.” Michael warned as Midsummer Night broke free of the forest and found itself near the edge of a rocky decline. A river rumbled through the valley below them, running perpendicular to a shining band of steel that ran curved and snaked towards the north.
“There’s movement.” Shane pointed out, noticing a faint gleam of sunlight bouncing off metal about a mile away. He magnified the display and a quartet of heavy looking diesel locomotives jumped into view. The engines were arrayed around a set of massive, but empty, flatbed cars. The engines were moving away from them, heading north at considerable speed.
“That’s some heavy gear.” Michael noted, logging the shape, size and identification numbers of the engines into the Jaeger’s database for future reference. He’d spotted trains as a hobby for some time and it was a hard habit to break out of. “I wonder what their cargo will be.”
“Who cares?” Shane muttered. Even without the verbal cue, Michael could feel his brother’s indifference through the neural link.
“You’re right, not important.” He said as the Jaeger crested a high ridge. Before them, the land sloped downward steeply to a large flat coastal plain. The heavy forest which they’d been steadily advancing through thinned slightly, no doubt thanks to what looked like several heavy logging operations in the area. Beyond the low hills, the blue glitter of the ocean caught their eyes.
“Nearly there.” Michael huffed, cautiously advancing down the hill. They’d been marching for nearly two and a half hours and judging from the distance projected on the screen, they had a good half hour to go before reaching the rally point. What they could do with some Jumphawks right now...
“They need some heavy lift choppers if they expect us to stay around.” Shane said in tacit agreement.
Michael nodded. “How much do you reckon those airships could carry?”
“Not nearly enough. They’d need a hundred of them just to lift us.”
“Maybe, probably should check if their air force has anything for heavy lifting.” He shrugged at Shane’s questioning look. “Beats walking at least.”
The airship swung down in front of them and a blinker mounted on its stern started blinking furiously.
“They want us to cut around, apparently there’s an industrial district just over the next rise.” Michael said, projecting a new track over the heads up display for the Jaeger to follow. He groaned quietly.
“Oh boy, more walking.”
***
Despite the detour, they reached the harbour in good time and after several more messages from the airship which had followed them from Manehatten, Midsummer Night fell into a rough defensive perimeter that had been established. Their radio was chattering away on several frequencies as the half dozen airships and a score of surface craft arranged themselves to cover the wide front they had to protect. Apparently they hadn’t been initially factored into the defence, something that surprised Michael slightly considered they’ already killed two Kaiju since they’d arrived.
“Guess they want their moment of glory.” Shane guessed, watching what he assumed to be a light frigate dart out to a picket position. “Show their people they can actually do something and they’re not just waving around glorified metal sticks.”
“Fat chance.” Michael snorted, slightly amused at the prospect. He surveyed the wide bay ahead of them, noting the position of each of the Equestrian warships. “They should be putting their heavy cruisers and battleships closer to the shore, putting them out in the deep will just mean the Kaiju will either go under them and either chomp the ship in half if it’s a good swimmer, or be at the shoreline before they can respond.” It wasn’t uncommon for a naval force to assist a Jaeger in a fight and a whole swathe of tactics and doctrines had been laid down since the first fights had occurred. Still, the supporting forces rarely, if ever, scored kills.
“Do we have a name for this thing yet?”
“Assigning name from PPDC database… Kaiju Rasputin, 2300 tons. Category II.” The A.I. droned.
“Sounds friendly.” Shane said with a grimace. “Nothing else a little nicer in there is there?”
“Designation Buttercups and Rainbow Sprinkles has already been used.”
“Ha!” Shane chuckled, wondering which part of the Jaeger he should kick to make the A.I. less of a wisecracker.
“Warning: Transient Kaiju signature detected. Inbound on heading two-three-two.”
The Jaeger’s head turned slightly, closely monitoring the vector the A.I. had identified.
“Alright, what’s the game plan?” Shane asked.
“We sit back and watch. See if our pony friends can tackle this thing by themselves.” Michael answered, directing more power to the Jaeger’s active scanners. There was definitely something there… about two miles out and closing fast.
“Here we go!” Shane exclaimed as Rasputin broke the surface a hundred feet from one of the cruisers. By Kaiju standards, Rasputin was fairly short but even so, it was if a stubby skyscraper had risen simply risen the water. A pair of short arms, each tipped with a razor sharp talon jutted out of its heavily armoured carapace, ready to tear apart anything foolish enough to get in its way. The Kaiju plodded forward on four heavy legs, the front two were nearly as thick as Midsummer Night’s chest. The ship, much to its credit, overcame its shock and fired a barrage of shells into the Kaiju’s heavily armoured upper body, achieving nothing of any significance besides perhaps annoying the Kaiju. Rasputin screeched loudly and bisected the boat with a casual swipe of one of its talons. A few panicked radio calls came over the radio before the ship was dashed against the Kaiju’s armoured legs and vanished beneath the waves.
“Well that went well.” Michael remarked, slightly disturbed by how easily the Kaiju had cut through the ship. He made a mental note to not let the beast hit them. A dozen of the other ships in the bay rotated around, finally realising how horribly out of position they were. They’d deployed like they were fighting another fleet, not a single gargantuan creature. A couple of the airships buzzed Rasputin, waves of rockets clanging harmlessly off its armour. A few of the heavy warheads found soft spots in its flesh and small wounds started to pepper its arms, leaking a small trickle of blood into the bay.
“Nope, not working.” Shane said, readying himself for combat. A brief moment of hope flared up in him as one of the large Battleship’s out on the bay fired a pair of heavy shells at the creature. The shots flew true and exploded in massive balls of fire against the creature’s flank but when the smoke cleared nothing more a slight glancing wound had been achieved. The Kaiju’s pace quickened slightly and the ponderous battleship fell out of range.
The Kaiju ignored the two blasts and advanced steadily, smashing another ship to ruin as it advanced further in the bay. It closed to within a mile of Midsummer Night, still completely oblivious to the Jaeger.
“Hey, fatty!” Shane called, blasting the Jaeger’s mighty foghorns to attract its attention. The Kaiju’s small glowing eyes glazed over Midsummer Night and settled on the city behind the towering Jaeger. It shrieked again and set off slowly, its four heavy legs making the ground shudder with each massive footfall. A few of the remaining navy ships approached the beast and peppered it with cannon and rocket fire but the mighty Kaiju paid the ant-like vessels no heed. Midsummer Night’s horns bellowed again, issuing a challenge to the Kaiju. If the Kaiju even heard the titanic rumble though, it made no sign of it. The Jaeger took a single step forward and splayed its arms in an attempt to attract the beast’s attention.
“Hey, acknowledge us! Pay attention you slimy bastard.” Shane yelled, blasting the Jaegers horns yet again.
“I don’t think it has even noticed us,” Michael said nervously. Kaiju had always gone after the Jaegers first. He examined the slowly advancing Kaiju, noting the massive armour plates which covered its back, chest and head. The Kaiju’s eyes seemed dead in their sockets not even a scrap of intelligence of cunning visible. “It looks about as smart as a brick. Let’s hope he’s as easy to smash as one.”
Midsummer Night’s horns blared again as the remaining Railgun swung out of its housing and powered up. The stocky barrel swung smoothly on its mount, tracking the small gap in the creature’s armour where its arm met its body. The Kaiju screeched again as it advanced into the harbour, shattering one of the boats trailing it in its wake. Hundreds of small figures darted away in panic from the waterfront as it approached the city, those too naïve or stubborn to seek shelter finally realising their mistake. It was about eight hundred feet from the shore line when the Railgun on Midsummer Night’s shoulder barked a solid tungsten slug at it. Unlike the other Kaiju they’d faced, Rasputin didn’t try to dodge the slug, it didn’t even acknowledge the discharge. With a crack of flesh and bone tearing, the slug smashed into the creature’s arm just below the shoulder. Chunks of cooked flesh were blown outwards by the force of the shot and the arm fell into the water with a wet slap. Its momentum undiminished, the slug kept going… only to bounce off the creature’s tough carapace harmlessly.
Much to their surprise, the Kaiju didn’t even scream. It didn’t even seem to realise it was missing an arm. It just glanced at the ragged stump of its arm with some confusion before plodding on relentlessly.
“Oh that can’t be good.” Shane said prophetically, breaking the Jaeger into a quick stride trying to circle around the ponderous Kaiju so they could target its wounded flank. Rasputin finally seemed to notice the 280 foot mechanical giant striding through the bay and roared with feral glee. Its small head retracted slightly into its armoured shell and it barrelled towards Midsummer Night on all fours with a surprising burst of speed. The Jaeger was too quick for the ponderous giant though, ducking under Rasputin’s clumsy attempt to crush them beneath its pillar-like foreleg and swinging themselves up onto its armoured back. The segmented plates provided several hand holds and within moments the Jaeger was riding the Kaiju like it was some sort of obscene horse. Rasputin screeched in surprise and spun around in confusion at its prey flipped out of sight. It paid no heed to either the pair of crushing blows the Jaeger delivered down on its back or the sudden increase in weight its legs had to carry.
“How stupid is this thing?” Shane asked as the Kaiju promptly forgot about the Jaeger and continued its implacable advance towards the city. Midsummer Night was thrown backwards as the beast’s massive forelegs found purchase on the edge of the twenty metre high harbour wall and hauled its bulk out of the water, sending the Jaeger unceremoniously into the deep harbour water. The Kaiju clambered over a bridge, crushing a section of it to rubble with a clumsy sweep of its remaining arm and advanced into the city, peering down at the ponies that fled before it with a sort of childish curiosity. It plodded down a wide street stupidly, smashing windows with its titanic footfalls and gouging large rents into buildings with its remaining talon. It ripped through a large high-rise effortlessly, its massive bulk smashing the concrete and steel construction apart like it was made of tissue paper.
“Come on, we’ve got to end this. Now.” Michael panted as they brought the Jaeger to its feet and drunkenly clambered out of the water. Dozens of seals popped open and a cascade of water poured from the Jaeger’s legs, washing away the fist-sized drops of Kaiju blood which had started to eat away at the cobblestones and concrete.
Without pause, Midsummer Night broke into a slow run, ripped a section of the fallen bridge off with its hand and swiped it at the Kaiju’s back legs. The blow connected with a loud crack, turning the bridge span into a shower of rubble and making Rasputin stagger awkwardly. It fell over sideways with a yelp of surprise, smashing into another high-rise with a deafening crack of glass and metal shattering. Its small head peeked out of its carapace dumbly, beady eyes straining to see what had tripped it.
“Over here dumbass.” Shane taunted, blasting Midsummer Night’s horns once more to grab its attention. The Kaiju cocked its head in confusion and wheeled around, finally noticing the Jaeger again. Without hesitation, Rasputin roared in fury and charged at the Jaeger again, its tiny jaw snapping furiously as it brought its remaining arm down to eviscerate them. This time Midsummer Night didn’t duck under its clumsy strike, instead the mighty machine parried away the descending talon with its armoured forearm and stepped within the creature’s reach. With a savage yell, Michael wrapped his hand around the creatures head, gouging out one of its bright cyan eyes with his thumb, sending a spray of blood and another viscous fluid across the street. Before the ponderous creature could react, Shane delivered a devastating uppercut to its jaw which would’ve snapped the neck on any lesser creature. Seizing the initiative, Michael removed his hand from the creature’s face and tugged at a damaged armour plate on its back, ripping the section clean off in a massive spray of toxic blue blood. In the space of a few seconds Midsummer Night had delivered a series of devastating blows that would’ve had most Kaiju of its size on the ropes.
Rasputin didn’t even whimper.
Roaring in fury, the implacable Kaiju raised its massive bulk onto its two stubby back legs and shoved Midsummer Night away with the mountains of flesh and armour that made up its front limbs. The Jaeger was thrown backwards by the blow, slamming into a building before crashing back-first onto the wide city street. The Jaeger rose shakily on one knee before Rasputin slammed it back into the ground with a glancing blow from its talon. With surprising speed, the Kaiju brought its feet down onto the Jaeger’s torso, pinning them remorselessly beneath its bulk. Its head emerged from its recessed cavity and snapped uselessly at the air, its tiny neck was too short for its knife-like teeth to reach the beleaguered Jaeger. The remains of its destroyed eye dripped onto them, the toxic compounds in its bodily fluids slowly eating away at the Jaeger’s armour. Michael and Shane struggled to free themselves from the Kaiju’s crushing hold, glad that in its bloodlust it had seemingly forgotten about its remaining arm. It raised a foot and slammed it back down on their chest, setting off several alarms and causing a shower of sparks to erupt around the conpod.
“It’s no good, the bastard’s too strong.” Shane wheezed, failing miserably to stop the second pillar like leg from slamming down against their torso. The feedback from the blow was enormous, every time Rasputin brought its foot down Shane felt like his ribcage was about to explode.
‘Warning: Hull integrity compromised.” The A.I. chimed, blissfully unaware of the mortal peril they were in.
“There’s gotta be something we can do!” Michael roared angrily finding purchase on the segmented armour plates that covered the front of Rasputin’s leg and struggling to hold it back. The servos in the arm whined in protest as they struggled to hold back the full weight of the beast. Rasputin roared with glee, finally realising it had its opponent exactly where it wanted it. It forced its leg down, crushing Midsummer Night’s arm to scrap.
The end was nigh, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Spitfire watched in horror as the Jaeger slowly toppled to the street, the Kaiju pressed down on top of it like an overzealous attack dog. Lucky Seven had hovered above the combat zone warily. After seeing the airship’s ineffectiveness in their last encounter, Spitfire was more cautious about committing to the battle while the alien war machine and the gargantuan monster were active. Now that the mechanical giant had fallen, she considered her next move carefully. There had to be something she could do! She quickly scrutinised the Kaiju, hoping she could find a weakness. A large rent had been carved into the monster’s back from where Midsummer Night had ripped a massive armour plate off. Maybe she could fire a barrage of rockets into it? No, after seeing the Kaiju shrug off its arm injury like it was a mere cut she doubted it would pay much attention to the comparatively piddily rockets Lucky Seven carried. No, she needed something larger than that. She pounded a hoof against the console in frustration. Where was Soarin when she needed him? No doubt he would’ve come up with some crazy but brilliant idea by now.
‘Handles just like you, you fat oaf… you’re probably about as heavy as she is…’ She thought dumbly, remembering the comparison she’d made between Lucky Seven’s handling and Soarin’s flying abilities. Her eyes widened as a truly preposterous idea formed in her head. She’d found her bigger weapon.
“Full power to engines, arm all fore rocket batteries and reroute the firing control to my station.” She squinted and pointed at the large gash in the creature’s back. “Set course zero-one-three, declination negative uh…” She quickly worked out the calculations in her head as Lucky Seven’s engines quickly roared to full power and the airship’s speed climbed rapidly. “Declination negative zero-zero-two-five. Reroute navigation to my console as well.”
“Uh, ma’am, that’s a collision course with the creature.” Her navigator said uneasily.
“I know that.” She said fiercely. She grabbed the ship’s intercom. “All hands, abandon ship. I don’t care what you’re doing just get the hell off this bucket now!”
The bridge crew looked at her with alarm, the full scope of her plan suddenly apparent.
“That’s an order, get out of here now!” She barked. “If any of you stick around you’ll be facing a court martial!” She added, unnecessarily. If they stuck around, they’d be dead as well. She smiled grimly as they scampered off the bridge, several of them tossing concerned looks back at her as they left. The distance between the Kaiju and Lucky Seven shrunk until she could made out the faint bio-luminescent lines that criss crossed the creature’s back. Underneath the beast she could made out the battered yet still struggling form of Midsummer Night. The collision alarm blared as the distance closed to five hundred metres. She silenced it only for it snap back on insistently. She pushed the engines well past their operational limits and the roar of the turbines quickly drowned out the warning klaxon.
Three hundred metres; Spitfire made a slight course correction, realigning Lucky Seven’s bow with the gaping hole in the Kaiju’s back. She felt a strange calm come over her, either this would work or it wouldn’t. She would either go out in a blaze of glory or in a futile act of defiance.
One hundred metres; she jabbed the fire button and instinctively threw herself clear of the captain’s chair. She had a moment to hear the whoosh of two score rockets firing simultaneously and the creature’s roar of rage before everything went black.
Michael yelped in surprise as a massive grey shape flashed across their field of vision. He barely had time to read the words ‘Lucky Seven’ printed on the bow before the airship slammed into the side of the Kaiju. The Jaeger’s visor dimmed automatically as a gigantic ball of fire enveloped them and the internal temperature spiked sharply. The massive pressure on their chest was suddenly lifted as Rasputin was violently thrown sideways by the impact. An infernal screech split the air as the Kaiju finally howled in pain. The sound was so intense both Shane and Michael gritted their teeth in discomfort and placed their hands over their helmets in a vain attempt to block the noise. After several long seconds the scream trailed off into a pathetic mewling sound. Stunned by what had happened, Midsummer Night lay limp in the Jaeger-sized crater the Kaiju had smashed them into.
“Did they just kamikaze the Kaiju?” Shane stammered in disbelief.
“I think so.” Michael said quietly, wondering how many ponies had been on board the airship when it had slammed into the Rasputin. He fidgeted silently for a moment, shocked by the sheer desperation of the action. “Come on, on your feet. Let’s see what’s left of our friend.”
As one, they shakily brought Midsummer Night to its feet. Every joint seemed to be leaking smoke or oil and many of their moving parts just simply didn’t work at all. Several plates of armour sloughed off the Jaeger, twisted and bent beyond the point of salvaging. They staggered upright and looked around for the Kaiju. They were alive… barely.
“Holy…” Shane breathed, the words dying in his mouth.
A four hundred metre trail of destruction terminating in the barely intact corpse of Rasputin greeted them. Fires blazed furiously along the corridor and among the shattered remains of the buildings and streets that made up the impact zone Shane and Michael could make out fragments of the airship which had accompanied them from Manehatten. What looked like it had been a fair part of its superstructure was embedded deep into the Kaiju’s flank. Rasputin's corpse lay sprawled across the street, its chest completely blown open by the impact. Small trickles of blood flowed down the Kaiju from where metre long splinters of the ship’s hull had jammed themselves into its thick hide. Amazingly, most of its back armour was still intact, testament to the natural hardiness of the Kaiju.
“Hold on, it just moved.” Michael warned, trying to raise the Jaeger’s shattered arm and being rewarded with a massive surge of pain up his entire arm.
“No way. No way in hell it could get up after that.” Shane breathed.
“See look!” Michael said again, pointing at the creature’s head which was violently writhing and shaking. Its jaws snapped open and shut slowly and a pathetic crying sound seemed to escape its mouth. Midsummer Night staggered towards it cautiously, ready to slam it back into the ground if it so much as made a move toward them. The Kaiju stared desperately at them with its last remaining eye, almost as if it was beckoning them to put it out of its misery.
“Is it, crying?” Shane asked in disbelief.
“I have no idea.” Michael muttered, shaking his head from side to side slowly. Rasputin stared at them pleadingly, the miserable cry of pain still escaping its mouth as it twitched feebly. They watched in horror as the Kaiju twitched a few more times before the last light of life finally left its eye.
The two brothers stared at the corpse in disbelief. It seemed like several minutes before Shane finally found his voice.
It was uncommon for the term ‘Pyrrhic victory’ to be used so appropriately. Bolton was safe, millions saved from the Kaiju’s rampage. At what cost though? Three of the Royal Equestrian Navy’s ships had been lost along with most of their crews below the dark waves. Lucky Seven, the pride of the Equestrian Air Force was little more than a charred wreck, smouldering slowly in downtown Bolton and untold amounts of the Kaiju’s toxic lifeblood had been spilled across the streets and through the bay; three entire blocks surrounding the beast’s corpse had been cordoned off for fear of further contamination. Even so, thousands of cases of the mysterious illness brought on by the Kaiju Blue were reported.
Worst of all though, was Midsummer Night.
The once mighty Jaeger had taken a serious beating in the fight. Nearly her entire chest would have to be replaced, the thick armour there had been bent and buckled, torn and sundered until it was little more than scrap; the Kaiju had seen to that quite well. Luckily though, most of the vital components buried deep within the armoured shell had survived, a show of durability that was testament to the genius of the Jaeger’s designers. Their second railgun had been ripped off when the Jaeger had fallen to the ground and although it was still salvageable, the delicate weapon would need several weeks of work to reattach and recalibrate it. Along with the chest, the entire left arm had been completely destroyed after Rasputin had stomped on it, leaving the limb little more than a limp metal club for the battered Jaeger to spin around. The worst part of the damage was a little more subtle though. The quantum tunnelling device, still strapped to their back during the fight, had been completely destroyed. Little evidence remained of the experimental device other than a few charred and twisted metal scraps which still clung stubbornly to Midsummer Night’s back.
Now, tied down to the deck of a large freighter, the already battered Jaeger looked like it was heading to a funeral.
“She’s not getting back up again is she?” Shane muttered, running a hand along the smooth contours of their leg armour. After being washed down of the corrosive Kaiju blood which had been splattered across the Jaeger, they’d loaded MidsummerNight onto a large vessel which steamed slowly towards Manehatten. The ship's small crew stayed away from the two humans, something they were both silently grateful for. Their confident attitude before the battle had been completely shattered by their crushing defeat and the mood that hung over them was comparable to that of a mourner.
“She will. It just might take a while.” Michael replied, staring out into the open ocean. He massaged his arm gingerly, wincing as his fingers ran over the faint burns that crisscrossed his upper arm. The fail-safes in his suit had cut in, preventing any permanent damage from the neural feedback but it still hurt like hell. “Coyote Tango was put down for repairs for a year after fighting Onibaba.”
“Coyote wasn’t damaged this badly.” Shane pointed out. Unlike most Jaeger pilots he had prevented himself from becoming too attached to his metal body. But now… seeing the Jaeger like this… he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the machine that he bonded with. “If we were back home she’d be sent straight off to Oblivion Bay.”
“At least they might give us a new Jaeger.” Michael pointed out.
“The Mk V. program was cancelled.” Shane reminded him darkly.
“Oh yeah…” Michael muttered crossly. He’d seen videos of Striker Eureka in action and he wondered how anyone could say the Jaeger Program was a waste of resources. The agile machine had put down a rampaging CAT IV, from the first swing of its fists until the Kaiju had crashed to the ground dead, in under half a minute. That was something that they desperately needed more of. The two brothers fell silent, watching the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon. It was curious sensation, seeing the sun setting to the east; it reminded them they were on an alien planet in a strange yet subtle way.
“Their conventional forces were useless.” Shane remarked, finally breaking the silence
“Not quite, the heavy guns scratched it.” Michael admitted. “How big do you reckon they would’ve been?”
“10 inch maybe? I didn’t get a really good look at it though.”
Michael shrugged. “Give them some better AP shells and up the calibre a bit and they might be able to do a little more than tick them off. Well, the small ones at least. Might only give the larger Kaiju mild sunburn.”
“Well it’s something at least.” Shane grunted before falling silent again. Michael glanced over at him quickly. He could tell that something was troubling his brother but he knew Shane well enough to not pry. Perhaps it had something to do with the smashed teleporter or maybe Shane was still a little shocked from their near death experience.
“So now what do we do?” Michael asked after what felt like several uncomfortable minutes. The moon and stars started to come out, dotting the alien sky like tiny fireflies. Unfamiliar constellations and stars burned high above them, unseen by any other human eyes. He wondered silently if one of those was their own sun.
Shane tore his eyes away from Midsummer Night. “About?”
“About the Jaeger.” Michael clarified.
“We fix her up.” Shane remarked simply, its not there was any other options... was there? He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, wondering where exactly Michael was going with his thought. “Why, what are you thinking about?”
“Something crazy.” Michael admitted, lying down on the deck and propping himself up on one elbow.
“Well that’s no surprise.” Shane remarked, scratching his beard. “Okay. Scale of one to ten, how crazy?”
“Probably about a fifteen.” Michael remarked with amazing air of casualness.
“Oh boy, this sounds great.” Shane drawled sarcastically. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, wondering how hard it would be to clamber inside the conpod, roll up in a ball and go to sleep. “Okay then, let’s hear it.” He said tiredly.
Michael nodded and gestured to the broken Jaeger“Alright, we learnt a valuable lesson today, didn’t we?”
“Yes, don’t let a Kaiju use you as a cushion.” Shane grumbled irritably.
Michael stifled a smile. “Well, that’s kind of a given but besides that?”
“I don’t know, you’re the clever one.” Shane grumbled, placing his back against the slightly battered leg armour and sliding down slowly until he was sitting down.
“We’re horribly outclassed. Or at least, we will be fairly soon.” Michael said quietly. “The conventional forces our compatriots have are next to useless… they need something better.”
“I don’t like where this is going.” Shane said in a sing-song voice.
“Hear me out. What if… what if we let have access to our tech? What if we helped in whatever way we could so the four-legs could make their own Jaegers?” Michael said. He thought back to the attempted break in some time ago, perhaps they’d already made a start?
Shane blinked. “You’re mad.”
“It’s quite possible. But hey, we’re talking to magical, flying ponies on a daily basis so who really knows?” Michael joked, smiling like he’d been offered a platter of chocolates and been told to go nuts.
Shane let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, convince me.”
“Okay, one: We’re outclassed. We need to be better equipped.”
“And you think that any hypothetical Jaegers they make would be better than ours?” Shane asked sceptically.
“Quantity has a quality of its own.” Shane remarked. “Besides, they will get better at it. In the meantime, it’ll make fixing Midsummer Night a bit easier.”
“You haven’t convinced me yet.” Shane muttered, picking at a small sprig of dead grass he found on the metal deck and twirling it between his fingers.
“Alright then, two: Them having Jaegers means we don’t feel obliged to deploy as much and gives us something to hide behind if we do. Less likely to get gutted by a Kaiju that way, no?”
Shane hesitated then nodded. “I suppose so.” He shook his head slowly, he didn’t want to admit to Michael’s arguments… but they made sense. “Okay, hypothetically, what exactly would we be giving them?” He asked.
Michael beamed, pleased that his reasons were getting across to Shane and not just bouncing off. “Well we should have some schematics and materials data stored on board for Midsummer Night. We can no doubt offer our services as instructors.”
Shane brought his knees up to his chest and rocked back and forth slightly. “I’m not entirely comfortable with this idea.” He admitted finally. “It just feels… wrong.”
“Neither am I.” Michael said firmly. “But the game has changed, we have to adapt or we die.” His voice dropped. “As hard as it is to accept, we’re not going anywhere for any foreseeable amount of time… we may as well make the best of it with what we’ve got.” He patted the leg of their Jaeger reverently. “While we’ve still got something.”
Shane winced, he didn’t like the idea of handing over their technology and equipment on a silver platter but he couldn’t ignore the reasoning behind his brother’s argument.
“Alright, I’ll think about it.” He said, rubbing his temples softly.
Michael smiled. “Thanks. I mean, honestly it seems like the best choice we’ve got.”
Shane sighed and nodded slowly. “Indeed it would.”
***
If Shane’s head hurt, Twilight was having a full on migraine. She’d received a prompt reply from Celestia commending her for her efforts and instructing the new princess on her next course of action. She was slightly surprised that Celestia had agreed to move the machine and even more surprised to learn that Princess Luna would be overseeing the operation jointly with her.
Needless to say, morale soared as the news spread around the base camp. The thought of being home for Hearth’s Warming and away from the oppressive cold lending a much needed boost to the taskforce.
Naturally, Twilight was burdened with the delicate task of dissecting the Jaeger for transport. Each part had to carefully cut away or removed from the body, weighed and catalogued before being attached to a set of massive slings and cradles a resourceful group of engineers had put together. Rogue Two could only carry about 300 tons of cargo at a time in good weather, and as the railhead was some thirty kilometres distant, there was no other viable way to move the broken Jaeger. Even so, this operation had taken several days of nonstop work.
“And she’s away!” Spike announced as the ungainly airship rose slowly into the sky, the Jaeger’s head dangling below it awkwardly like a massive football. The airship rose into the sky with as slight wobble as the wind caught the massive metal construction hanging below it.
“Good.” Twilight muttered, already fretting over the next load. The airship would be back in about an hour or so, so she had to be quick. “We’re cutting it a little close… but we should be able to get the last of the machine out in the next pickup if the weather doesn’t pick up again.” She muttered furiously double-checking her calculations. She was interrupted by a loud belch from Spike, a common side effect of using the small drake as a receiver for magical delivered mail. Unfazed, she plucked the scroll that materialised out of the air with well-practiced ease, noting Luna’s insignia embossed on the wax seal with a small jolt of surprise. She quickly tore the scroll open, wondering what the dark alicorn had written to her about.
Twilight
We have arrived along with the transport train. Once you have finished loading the machine onto the train we would like to talk with you. There is much we have to discuss.
Princess Luna
Twilight frowned, what could Luna want to talk about? Celestia had said she’d simply come along to provide an extra guardian for the machine on its trip south. Twilight crumpled the note up, slightly perplexed. Had she been left out the loop again? Perhaps she was reading too far into it, maybe Luna’s summons were more social in nature. ‘Yes, that must be it.’ She thought scribbling out a rough calculation she’d messed up in a slightly frustrated manner.
“Twilight, look!” Spike yelled, tugging on one of her wings. Twilight spun around, her jaw falling slightly slack as another airship materialised out of the whirling snow. Unlike Rogue two which proudly flew the banner of the royal equestrian Air Force, this ship flew the banner of the Night Watch – Luna’s personal guard.
A few of the ponies on the work site yammered amongst themselves and pointed to the massive, yet regal, ship which orbited around what was left of their basecamp in a lazy arc. With a loud crack of displaced air, Luna and a pair of the Night Watch appeared barely a metre in front of Twilight.
“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle!” Luna boomed cheerfully, her voice cutting through the steadily rising wind with little difficulty. Twilight yelped and leapt a good metre backwards in fright. It was generally considered poor form to teleport to somepony unless they knew you were coming or already knew you were there… even then, it wasn’t exactly polite to appear right in their face. Recovering from her shock, Twilight examined the Princess of the Night. Unlike of the other ponies, her guards included, Luna was completely unburdened with cold weather gear, revealing the full majesty of her midnight blue coat. Twilight was to discover later that Luna had performed some sort of heat-retention spell, keeping her warm and dry despite the bone-numbing conditions.
“I see you have made excellent progress with the deconstruction.” Luna continued, oblivious to the discomfort she had caused Twilight.
“Luna, you gave me quite a shock!” Twilight laughed nervously. “I wasn’t expecting you quite so soon.” She added, following Luna’s gaze. The dark princess was staring with something almost approaching awe at the massive, frost-covered forearm of the Jaeger which lay a hundred metres distant.
“It truly is a thing of wonder.” Luna said, her voice much more restrained than usual. Twilight nodded in silent agreement. “Such a device is a true power changer.”
Twilight frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Luna chuckled quiet. “You are still new to the game of politics, young princess.” She gestured back to the arm. “How long until you can move it?”
“We’re waiting for our airship to come back.” Twilight explained. “Probably about an hour or so.”
“Could it be attached to mine?” Luna asked hastily, “Speed is of the essence.”
Again, Twilight found herself with a frown on her face. Had something happened while she’d been away? Why didn’t anypony tell her anything? “It’s possible, we built a second harness in case the first one broke.” Twilight muttered, quickly calculating if the princess’ ship could carry the arm and what few parts of the Jaeger that were left. “We can try…”
A short conversation with the vessel's captain confirmed Luna’s ship could carry the forearm and within twenty minutes the remaining engineers had hooked the harness to the ship and lashed the arm down. It took another half-hour to get the remaining gear and ponies on board. Much of the heavier gear had to be left behind, Luna citing that they could return for it at a later time. Once stowed away on board, the princess had invited Twilight to her quarters for the trip back, a gesture Twilight suspected was more for privacy rather than out of courtesy.
“Please, make yourself comfortable.” Luna said as they entered her somewhat spartan quarters. While the small room was more decadent than the wardroom of Rogue Two, it was bare in comparison to how most nobles travelled. Without waiting for Twilight, Luna made a beeline for the bed which sat up against the back wall and flopped down on the soft mattress with a quiet sigh. Twilight wandered around for a moment, examining the bookshelves which lined the gently curving walls. She pulled one the old volumes down with a mix of wonder and awe. ‘Advanced practical magic. – First Edition’ the title read. Twilight flipped through the first few ancient looking pages carefully, the book must have been hundreds of years old at least. She whistled lowly and returned the book with a flicker of magic.
“Impressive.” She said to Luna quietly. The old princess had curled up on her bed and was watching Twilight carefully, almost like how a hawk would watch its prey. It was now that Twilight noticed the heavy bags under Luna’s eyes and it became suddenly apparent to her that the majestic alicorn had probably not slept for several days.
“It is an old collection we treasure dearly.” Luna said, allowing a trace of tiredness to enter her voice. She watched on cautiously as Twilight levitated another of the ancient tomes down to read.
“Now then, you wanted to discuss something?” Twilight asked, settling down a plump cushion and paging slowly through ‘The Colour of Magic. She selected a chapter at random and started reading as the book’s author described the principles behind magical amplification.
“Yes, yes there is.” Luna said hesitantly. She licked her lips nervously. “We have a difficult decision to make Twilight… and we would appreciate your advice.”
“My advice?” Twilight asked, slightly surprised that Luna would defer to her own counsel.
Luna nodded solemnly but did not elaborate.
“And what would this be concerning exactly?” Twilight queried, slightly exasperated that for once, Luna seemed reluctant to get to her point.
“The fate of the war machine we are currently in possession of.” Luna said after a moment.
Twilight understood Luna’s intent immediately, after all, it was at her own suggestion that they reveal its presence to the two human pilots. “You do not agree with Celestia then?” She asked. “You think we should hand it over to the humans?”
“We believe that they should be informed of its presence.” Luna said diplomatically. “We do not consider it wise to simply hand over Equestria’s greatest hope to a possibly uncooperative party though.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Greatest hope?”
Luna bowed her head slightly. “Forgive me, you probably have not heard the news.” She said.
“Heard what?” Twilight asked nervously, trying to not jump to conclusions. ‘No, screw that.’ the more rational part of her mind thought. She was right, something had happened and judging by how on edge Luna seemed, it was probably bad.
Luna seemed to steady herself for a moment. “A few days ago a large monster emerged near Bolton and attacked the city. The battle was fairly one sided, our navy and air force failed to make so much as an impression on the beast with conventional arms.” Luna sighed. “We lost nearly seven hundred sailors not to mention the thousands of civilians when the creature made landfall. The alien machine intervened and failed to bring the monster low. Only the heroic sacrifice of one of our airships finally brought the beast down.” She handed Twilight a dozen slightly grainy photographs of the dead monster. It took Twilight a moment to realise the large, twisted, protrusion sticking out the corpse was in fact, an airship.
Twilight’s jaw went slack at the revelation. “And the humans?”
“They and their machine are intact. Barely.” Luna said. “From what I understand though, their machine is inoperable for the time being.”
Twilight grimaced. “And what exactly are you hoping for when you tell them we have one of their machines?” She asked, slightly curious.
“Well, we had hoped they would be able to assist us in constructing our own hunters. With this new development, some parts of this wreck may be salvageable for their own ends.” She hesitated for a moment. “The question we have to ask is this, do they trust us enough to aid and assist in the construction of our own Jaegers?”
“Perhaps we should asking if they are desperate enough to help us.” Twilight answered wryly. “Last time I tried looking into their technology, they almost shot me.” She pointed out bluntly, turning the page over only to discover the next few pages had been torn out.
Luna stifled a yawn. “A fair reaction, we would have done the same had we found somepony sneaking around under our nose.”
“You would shoot them?” Twilight asked incredulously.
“Well, maybe not shoot them, but we would threaten them at least.” Luna admitted. “It’s not uncommon in some culture for interlopers to be dealt with harshly. Kobolds will cut off a thief’s hand, Griffons will usually shoot first and asked questions later.”
“That’s barbaric!” Twilight exclaimed.
Luna shrugged slightly. “Perhaps so, but you can’t deny it works.”
Twilight held back a scathing response and took a calming breath. “Alright, what does all this have to do with your decision?”
Luna took a deep breath. “We wish to tell the humans, Celestia does not. She thinks we can manage ourselves without their intervention. We believe she overestimates our ability.” She drew a small circle with her hoof, remembering she was in the same room as the lead researcher. Luna smiled diplomatically, noticing Twilight’s slightly offended look.
“We do not doubt that we will eventually solve the riddles and enigmas of the machine on our own… I do not believe however, we will be able to do it before something terrible happens.” She let Twilight digest her words before continuing.
“I also do not believe that our machine striding forth to do glorious battle out the blue will be a sight the humans would find pleasant. Especially if they find we have been holding one of their precious machines for our own ends.” She squirmed uncomfortably. “We have to make a choice between betraying my sister’s trust and doing what we feel is the right thing for our subjects… or following what she has proclaimed to be the right course and not only against my own conscience but against my duty.”
There was a tense silence, Twilight now fully understanding Luna’s hesitance.
“Ah.” Twilight said quietly. She closed the book gingerly, instinctively placing a mark between the pages so she could continue reading later without losing her place. The young alicorn pondered the situation for several minutes before finally speaking.
“How would opinions change based on my support?”
“We already know you want to inform the humans.” Luna said with a trace of hopefulness in her voice.
Twilight nodded. “Indeed. I think it would foolish to continue without their support. Their help would undoubtedly shave months, perhaps even years, off the development time.”
“Years?” Luna echoed uncertainly, she had expected there to be some positive influence but not quite that much.
“Princess,” Twilight said bluntly. “I barely scratched the surface in three months. We didn’t even get a chance to look deeply into the actual process of their control systems let alone any software, hardware, materials or actual locomotors. There is so much that we don’t know about and we’re playing with some technology hasn’t even appeared in our fields of science as even theoretical. Having someone with any experience or knowledge in the field helping us would be like turning the lights on to read at night.”
Luna blinked uncertainly as she absorbed this new knowledge. For several moments the roar of the engines and the wind howling was the only sound that reached their ears.
“Well then, it seems our path would appear to be clear.” She said quietly.
Twilight nodded and reopened the book lazily. “Indeed it would.”
***
Soarin yawned widely, resisting the urge he’d been supressing for the last six hours to simply close his eyes and nod off. He lowered his book slightly and looked at the slowly breathing mare who was lying on the uncomfortably white hospital bed.
‘Spitfire, you idiot.’ He thought for what felt like the thousandth time since taking his post. His eyes glazed over slightly before he returned to his book.
She’d been lucky. Her dive behind the communications console had undoubtedly saved her life, shielding her from the worst of the fireball which tore through the vessel. Still, she hadn’t escaped entirely unscathed. A chunk of sharp metal the size of a pony’s head had torn through her during the crash, almost completely severing her right foreleg and leaving a deep, ugly gash which snaked up the length of her body. Unlucky enough to be in the way of the large piece of shrapnel, the Wonderbolt’s right wing had also suffered a similar fate to her leg and where her powerful wing had been was now just a short, bandage wrapped stump.
Soarin allowed himself a small smile despite her horrific injuries, she was far too stubborn to die.
“How is she?’ A quiet voice asked. Wave Chill stepped into the room tentatively. Like Soarin, he wasn’t wearing his uniform. The two Wonderbolts had been rotating shifts to keep an eye on her over the last week. Wave Chill had been spending more time with her, on account of Soarin’s unwanted jump to command in her absence, but the veteran flier still sneaked as much time as he could away from the team to watch over his boss. It wasn’t like there was much to do besides sit around on base anyway.
Soarin turned his head slightly to look at him. “She’ll be fine... probably. She’s still hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Still?” Wave Chill nodded and trotted around the room uneasily. She had barely been conscious over the course of the week, a fact that worried him considering how durable Pegasus physiology generally was. He’d been down on the flight deck when Spitfire had ordered the suicidal ram attack and consequently was one of the first off the doomed vessel. He could still vividly recall the titanic fireball that had erupted into the sky as Lucky Seven had ploughed into the Kaiju like a bat out of hell. As soon as the raging fires had been quelled he’d rooted through the wreckage with a few of the other Wonderbolts to find their missing leader. He couldn’t quite fathom the Wonderbolt’s without Spitfire, it would be like having a pizza without any crust.
“Hey, Wave chill, relax.” Soarin said calmly. “She’s fine.”
“She lost a wing.” He muttered quietly, staring queasily at the small stump where her wing had been. For such a flier of her skill, it was almost a fate worse than death. He looked her over, noticing patches of her fur missing, burned away in the fire, and more disturbingly, several small patches of what looked like algae stained her skin.
He pointed them out to Soarin, worry etched on his face.
“It’s a side effect of the beast’s blood. Apparently they’re toxic as all hell. She got a few drops on her and the docs have already cleaned her up, it’s nothing to worry about.” Soarin said, not looking up from the book he was reading.
Wave Chill started pacing again, the steady clacking of hooves on the laminated floor slowly wearing away at Soarin’s patience. He was about to tell Wave Chill off when the young Wonderbolt suddenly stopped.
“She’s absolutely crazy, crashing an entire airship into that thing.” He muttered, looking at Soarin intently.
“You know, I hear she’s deaf as well.” Spitfire growled, making the Wave Chill’s face pale slightly. The yellow mare hoisted herself up, glared momentarily at Wave Chill before looking over at Soarin. “Shouldn’t you be in Martingale with your parents?” She asked.
“I left early.” Soarin said, placing his book down on a haphazard stack on the small wooden table beside him. “Somepony had to take charge of the squadron.”
“I suppose.” Spitfire muttered, trailing off quietly. She wriggled uncomfortably, a look of worry appearing over her face. “Why can’t I feel my leg?”
“Look down.” Soarin suggested morbidly.
Spitfire looked down, her gut churning at the sight of a three and a half inch long stump of where her right foreleg was supposed to be. “Well shit.’ She remarked with a surprising amount of composure.
“Yeah, that more or less sums it up.” Soarin said levelly.
“And my wing?” she asked, waggling the small stump around in a sickening manner.
“Gone as well. Might want to take better care of them next time” Her XO remarked with an almost inappropriate amount of jest.
Normally Spitfire would’ve been furious at Soarin’s apparent lack of respect and solemnity but she knew well enough that he was simply putting the act on for his own sake. She could tell he was rattled, more so than he was letting on at least.
“Damn…” She muttered flatly. It seemed the fireball had left her with life, but had robbed her of her most precious possession. It was a harsh realisation that slowly sunk in… she probably would never fly again. She had a sudden urge to be sick.
“What about prosthetics?” She asked quickly
“You might be able to get one for your leg, no luck in the wing department.” Wave Chill answered. Spitfire pondered briefly at how he knew so much before remembering some ancient discussion where he mentioned something about one of his parents having a prosthetic leg. “If you’re really lucky, you might be able to get an augmetic limb from a griffon.” He added quickly.
“Do they have wings?’ Spitfire asked, her spirits lifting a little.
“Afraid not. Mechanically speaking, a leg is much simpler than a wing. Too many complex muscles and there are issues with weight as well.” Wave Chill answered gravely, making Spitfire’s mood plummet again.
“What else is wrong with me?” She asked, prompting Wave Chill to grab a clipboard hanging off the end of her bed.
“Let’s see… You broke five ribs, dislocated or fractured more bones than I have in my entire life, punctured a lung…” He passed over the wing and leg injuries, she already knew about those. “Some internal bleeding, you lost nearly two litres of blood…” He smirked. “And a probable concussion. You feel a little light-headed boss?”
“Great.” Spitfire droned, staring at the small stub of what had been her wing again. Of all the things to loose…
She fixed Wave Chill with a commanding look. “Mind giving us a moment?”
Wave Chill nodded and quickly trotted out, Spitfire’s stare following him out as he left.
“He’s a good kid. Worries too much when he doesn’t need to and doesn’t worry enough when he probably should.” Soarin piped up. “I’d trust him to be my wingman.”
“He is your wingman.” Spitfire pointed out dryly.
Soarin made a disgusted sound and picked his book up again.
“Have you been here the whole time?” Spitfire asked eventually, prodding her missing limb cautiously.
Soarin slowly turned a page. “Yup. We’ve been swapping shifts, he was about to relieve me.”
Spitfire let out an annoyed sigh. “Which has been…?”
“A week or so.” Soarin answered flatly. He flashed an amused look at her over the top of his book. “And you say I sleep a lot.”
“Soarin.” She growled dangerously.
Soarin shot a fierce scowl at her, a rare sight from the usually unflappable stallion. “What, what do you want me to say? Everything is going to be okay? Do you want me to just lie to you? You lost a wing, your career is probably over and I’ll most likely get hit with the fallout from it. “Soarin snarled. “Sorry if it doesn’t look like I’m taking things seriously, but I’m just trying to cope with it myself.” He glared at her silently for a moment. “What the hell were you thinking pulling off a stunt like that?!” He asked, his tone not quite angry but clearly less than happy.
“There was nothing else I could’ve done.”
“You could’ve tried not killing yourself.” Soarin muttered under his breath, his anger vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He buried himself back in his book and refused to look at her.
Spitfire let out a quiet grunt and leaned back into the soft pillow, trying to ignore the tiny stub of her wing poking into the mattress. After a moment she rolled on her side and looked at Soarin in a manner that would have most stallions quietly excusing themselves from the room. Despite her horrific injuries she still managed to pull of the look rather well. “Are you really reading Daring Do?” She asked, a little condescension entering her voice.
Soarin lowered his book slightly and look at her, completely unfazed by her somewhat sultry pose. He’d been around her long enough to be completely immune to her charms. “Contrary to what you might think, it’s not a children’s book.” He said, a trace of annoyance entering his voice. He snapped the book shut and flung it at Spitfire in a lazy arc. “Since you have nothing better to do, maybe you should read it.” He added with a harsh chuckle.
Spitfire scrunched her muzzle up and pushed the book away like it carried some sort of disease. “No thanks.”
Soarin laughed again, more of an amused bark really. “Well you better find some way to amuse yourself, the doctors won’t let you out for another few weeks at least.” He checked the clock on the wall and nodded in a satisfied manner. “And unlike you, I’ve actually got work to do, so I’d better head off.”
“Boo.” Spitfire jeered.
“Well, use the knowledge that I’m running the squadron as an incentive to get better.” Soarin said with a thin smile. He trotted over to her and gave her mane a friendly ruffle. Irrespective how he felt of her nearly-suicidal actions, she was still his friend.
“That’s a great incentive.” Spitfire muttered, her eyes following Soarin as he left.
“See you around.” He said, shutting the door behind him and resigning Spitfire back to boredom until somepony else decided she needed attention. She hummed to herself quietly, occasionally throwing sidewards glances at the book Soarin had left propped up on her bedside table. The front cover showed a mustard coloured Pegasus swinging from a rope above a pool of crocodiles, a large sapphire statue grabbed in one hoof.
“Oh, what the hell.” Spitfire grumbled, “It can’t be that bad can it?”
She flipped the book over clumsily with her remaining hoof, wincing slightly as some damaged part of her body protested the movement. She glared back at the door suspiciously, wondering in Soarin was about to burst back in with a camera or something equally silly. She waited several minutes before finally deciding it was finally safe and opened the front cover.
“As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle…”
***
Upon arriving back in Manehatten, MidsummerNight had been hauled it to its feet by a trio of heavy lift cranes and set back into the dry dock which seemed to have lost its original purpose and was now acting as the Jaeger’s home base. Maybe her pilots would be able to convince someone to build them a more permanent facility but for now the most important thing was getting the Jaeger back into a functional state. Within a few hours of arriving, the mangled chest armour had been cut away and a one of the cranes was slowly lowering what was left of their arm to the ground. The entire reactor system was removed again, a quick systems diagnostics revealing several breaches in the coolant piping along with a near total loss of the graphite control rods. The work teams toiled long into the night, the sparks from welders and blowtorches continuing well into the next morning.
“So how are we looking?” Shane asked the, a piece of toast in one hand a mug of something that smelt, tasted and looked like coffee that the ponies called ‘Recaf’ in the other. Unusually, he and Michael were eating in one of the large slipways around the Jaeger which had become a sort of ad-hoc mess hall for the work crew. Two-hundred odd ponies filled the wide open space, yammering away as they shoved down breakfast, caught up with their friends or silently read a newspaper. The presence of the humans had turned a few heads but most the repair crew accepted their presence as phlegmatically as they had when they’d seen the broken Jaeger being hauled in for repairs.
“As always, it seems we’re up to our necks in it.” Michael responded, slowly paging through a report one the site supervisors had quickly drawn up for him following the Jaeger’s return. “Apparently the arm is complete scrap… but they might be able to salvage some bits off it to fix some of the muscle strands and armour on the other one. “
Shane winced. “Any good news?” He asked
“Well the reactor is fine, just a quick patch job… which is a small plus.” Michael answered, he read a few more lines. “And they can reattach the railgun, no problem.”
“Energy caster?” Shane queried.
“It’s fine. I’d still run a few simulated firings though, just to be safe.” Michael said, an explosion of pink in his peripheral vision catching his eye.
“Hey Mikey!” Pinkie Pie sang as she hopped between the rows of tables towards the humans, almost dragging a familiar butter-coloured pegasus behind her.
“Hello Pinkie.” Michael said, wondering what the hyperactive pony was doing in the mess hall and since when ‘Mikey’ had been an acceptable nickname.. Shane nodded in silent acknowledgement at the violent display of colours which seemed to snaffle up the chair next to Michael.
“What are you doing in here?” Michael asked, shifting over slightly in discomfort.
“Well Fluttershy here was talking about going down to Central Park to see all little critters and since I haven’t seen you guys for so long-“
“A whole three days.” Shane muttered beneath his breath sourly.
“- I thought I’d see if you’d want to come along as well!”
“Well that’s very thoughtful of you, but we’re working.” Michael said kindly. “I wouldn’t mind taking a short walk though. I saw this odd arch thingy on the way into the harbour which I wouldn’t mind checking out. It didn’t look more than about a mile away from here.”
“Oh you mean the Sun Arch?” Pinkie asked, noisily chomping down on a muffin she’d had the decency to actually get for herself.
“Wouldn’t have a clue.” Michael muttered, averting his gaze from Pinkie as she gave him an all too good a view of her half-eaten breakfast.
Pinkie cheered. “Well then I guess we can find out together!”
Michael nodded and made to leave. “Coming Shane?”
The younger of the O’connells shook his head. “Nah, I’ve got some welding on the shoulder to do.”
“Since when can you weld?” Michael asked.
“One of the workers is teaching me.” Shane admitted, slightly embarrassed.
Michael laughed quietly. “Look at you, making friends. What a socialite.” He jeered.
“Yeah, yeah... Now shut it.” Shane said gruffly, standing and swaggering away before Michael could tease him any further.
Pinkie, in the end, turned out to be right. It was a lazy twenty minute stroll down to the titanic golden structure which wasn’t so much an arch as it was a large, upside down horseshoe-shaped ornament suspended thirty feet in the air on a thick central support. The horseshoe was decorated so it almost appeared to be a massive set of majestic golden wings which faced east, out over the sprawling bay. The entire construct sat proudly on a large, white stone slab at least hundred feet in diameter. Two raised walkways ran around the edge of the slab, meeting at a large dais which sat in directly in front of the large, golden support. An intricate pictogram was carved into the stone circle and ran along the outer rim of the slab, gently spiralling inwards until it ended in a large sun carved directly in the centre of the slab. Michael examined the pictogram, it reminded him of the Bayeux Tapestry although much, much longer and dare he say, more detailed.
“What is this?” He asked, tapping his foot against the slab. The carvings, while meaningless to him, would obviously mean something to one of the ponies with him.
Pinkie lowered her head and examined the pictures closely. She trotted around the edge of the platform, her head low like a sniffer dog. After a few minutes so returned back to Michael and shrugged. “It looks like a story.”
“Of?” Michael asked, slightly exasperated.
“The rise and fall of Nightmare Moon. “ Pinkie guessed.
“Who?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes knowingly. “Oh just this really mean mare who tried to blanket Equestria in eternal night, no biggie.”
Michael whistled lowly. “Shesh, sounds like one hell of a lady. What happened to her?”
“Celestia banished her to the moon.” Pinkie replied casually.
Michael hid his surprise. “Sounds fun.”
“Not really, I’ve been there and it wasn’t anything special.” Pinkie said, blissfully unaware of Michael’s sarcastic tone. She trotted around the carving once more. “Still, if this is the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon, it isn’t anything like I’ve ever seen it.”
“What do you mean?”
Pinkie shrugged. “Well I don’t know, I can’t understand most of it for starters.”
“You know Fluttershy, when you want to weigh in here, feel free.” Michael said unexpectedly. He’d barely heard the shy mare say anything beyond a quiet squeak and his curiosity was constantly ravaged to hear her actually speak.
Fluttershy yelped quietly and buried her face behind her mane.
“Hmm, still the Chatty Cathy I see.” Michael noted wryly, turning his attention back to Pinkie.
“Surely you can understand it though, I mean, your own people made it right?’
“Well, this thing is like, a thousand years old at least.” Pinkie shot back. “Most of its meaning is complete gibberish, even for me.”
“Wait, you said Celestia got rid of this Nightmare Moon character… how could’ve this been made a thousand years ago if Celestia’s still around.”
Pinkie grinned stupidly. “Celestia is easily a thousand years old, if not more. Imagine how big her birthday cake would be!"”
Michael’s jaw worked up and down silently, his mind unable to grasp a living being that old. The amount that the princess most have experienced in her life… He just couldn’t comprehend it.
“Wow.” He said flatly, looking around the plaza. Trying to ground himself in reality a little more, he gestured to the plaza around him. “So what’s this place used for, is it some kind of memorial or something?”
“Not really. This, is the epicentre of the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s a festival held all over Equestria where we celebrate the longest day of the year and the return of the sun after Nightmare Moon.” Pinkie rambled. “From this spot Celestia raises the sun to start the festival.”
“Whoa, whoa whoa, wait…” Michael holding up a hand incredulously. “Celestia raises the sun?”
Pinkie looked at him sceptically. “Uh… yeah?”
“So you’re telling me Sun-butt raises the sun every day, an object which is millions of miles away and would weigh millions upon millions of tons… and she can’t even fight off a single Kaiju?”
“Well yeah! I mean… of course she raises the sun!” Pinkie stammered.
“Let me guess, she told you that.” Michael smirked, leaving Pinkie even more flustered. He savoured the feeling for a moment before looking around again. “Well, I think I’ve had enough of a history lesson, we should probably head back now.”
Pinkie seemed to snap out of her confused state, the prospect of being a tour guide again overriding her confusion. “Oh I know a great way back! Come on, I’ll show you…” She trotted off, leaving Michael and Fluttershy alone on the podium.
“I think you may have given her a lot to think about.” Said a voice so quietly Michael almost missed it. He glanced down, slightly surprised to see Fluttershy looking up at him with something approaching cautious admiration.
“I may have. What do you think?” Michael asked.
Fluttershy hid behind her mane meekly. “I… I don’t really know.”
“Well good for you then,” Michael smiled, trying to make sense of the pictograms again but without luck. If he remembered, maybe he’d see if he could find someone better versed in Equestrian history to read it for him.
“Come on you guys!” Pinkie yelled, urging them to catch up to her.
Michael glanced down at the timid Pegasus. “Let’s get going then, don’t want to keep her waiting now, do we?”
Fluttershy nodded quickly, the thought of making Pinkie Pie impatient more than enough to get her moving.
***
The trio walked through the now bustling streets of Manehatten, the morning having progressed enough for most ponies to be out and about. As Michael followed Pinkie he quickly found out that they wasn’t just ponies that lived in the vast city, He spied donkeys selling vegetables at small stalls, several small lizard-like creatures which darted in and out of sight amongst the crowds like ghosts and most interesting of all, what looked like a poster which advertised a seminar being run by a creature he could only describe as a minotaur that could’ve been Rambo’s personal trainer.
“Lots of variety here.” He noted, finally realising why most of the crowd around him didn’t think he was anything too out of the ordinary. His head spun around like a top, unsure of what bizarre sight he should be taking in first.
“Tell me about it, Manehatten is probably one of the most diverse cities in the world.” Pinkie agreed, pushing past a pair of the small lizards and meandering down a much smaller side street.
“Where are we?” Michael asked, shoving his hands in his pocks and spinning around on the spot. The street was lined with identical tall brick buildings, giving him the impression someone had just copied and pasted the design over and over again.
“Oh we’re lost aren’t we?” Fluttershy squeaked nervously, looking around in panic.
“No we’re not you silly! We’re just an alley away from the train yards and from there, the docks!” Pinkie said cheerfully, bouncing down a long, dark and uninviting alleyway.
“Uh, Pinkie? Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Michael asked, following the hyperactive pink pony anyway.
“Sure I do, see?” Pinkie said as the trio emerged from the long alley onto another bustling city street. Scores of ponies trotted past, some pulling carts while nearly a dozen stood around and chatted casually with one another. There were a few stalls set up in the street, their vendors loudly advertising their goods. On the opposite side of the road, was a large shed emblazoned with the logo of the Equestrian Railway.
“I like trains.” Michael said dumbly, following Pinkie across the street and around the goods yard which lay beyond. He pressed himself up against the chain-link fence, ogling at a large steam locomotive about ten metres away which was being cleaned down of soot outside its shed. Behind the steam loco sat a large, grimy, diesel engine with its engine bay doors open. A few short tails were visible as what looked like two engineers fished around inside the cavernous compartment, cleaning and replacing a few parts that Michael couldn’t make out from where he stood.
“What, don’t you have trains where you live?” Pinkie asked curiously.
“Not many in Alaska.” Michael admitted as another diesel engine rumbled past slowly in the distance, a long tail of empty coal cars trailing behind it. He gnashed his teeth together in annoyance, wishing he had a notepad and pen handy.
“Oooh! New trains!” Pinkie said, skirting further around the yard’s perimeter. Curious, Michal followed her until she pointed out a pair of diesel engines resting in a siding a few metres away. Unlike the other diesel engines working on the yard, these two monstrous constructions were almost spotless, brand new engines Michael guessed. Each one was about twenty metres long and by the way they radiated strength and power, they seemed more than capable of hauling almost any cargo.
‘Even Jaegers?’ Michael wondered silently, pondering the possibility of using trains as a fast deployment method rather than helicopters. While the airborne assets would be much faster and more ideal as they could cross any terrain, they’d take a great deal of time to develop and if the goods yard was any indication, Equestria already had a very good rail network. One of the locomotive’s engineers seemed to notice the small group ogling them and walked over cheerfully.
“Checking out the new DCEs are we?” She asked cheerfully, leaning up against the fence idly.
“They’re beautiful.” Michael agreed. “How much can they haul?”
“One of them could pull about 70 fully loaded cars, no problem.” The engineer boasted.
Michael nodded and examined the two engines closely, the design seemed oddly familiar… He scanned for the engine numbers, silently shocked to discover they were the same as the ones he’d recorded earlier. Well, at least he thought they were. He made a mental note to double-check when he got back to the repair yard.
“Say, you’re than alien with the big robot aren’t you?” The engineer asked casually, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“That’s me.” Michael admitted.
“Mighty fine piece of kit you have there.” She said admiringly. “Now, I might just be a bit crazy, but I swear I saw that robot of yours in the foothills around Bolton last week.
“Yeah, that was us.” Michael answered, now entirely convinced these were the trains he’d seen.
She laughed triumphantly. “I knew it! Everypony else called me nuts, but I knew I’d seen something like your robot before” She checked her watch and her eyebrows shot up in alarm. “Shoot, I’d better get going! It’s been nice chattin’ with ya.” She said quickly, galloping away before her words sunk in.
“Wait, what did you say?” Michael yelled, but the engineer was already back in the cab of her engine before Michael could gather his wits. The train pulled away smoothly with a loud blast of its horn, leaving Michael with more questions than he had answers.
***
Pinkie led the trio back to the repair yard without further incident, although Michael was too wrapped up in thoughts to really notice if anything ridiculous happened anyway. He wanted answers but had no idea where he could even start looking for them.
Oddly enough, his answers were already waiting for him back at the repair yard in two pony shaped packages.
“The princesses have asked to see you.” A guard politely said to him as they passed through the heavily guarded checkpoint which blocked the main route into the yard. The dozen or so armoured ponies glared at Pinkie and Fluttershy suspiciously as they followed Michael but knew well enough they were allowed in with him.
“Princesses?” Michael asked, an eyebrow raised curiously.
The guard nodded. “Yes sir, they just arrived.” He gestured off to a large raised platform which overlooked the work site. His curiosity rising, Michael strode up to the dais, Pinkie and Fluttershy still trailing in his wake. They’d barely seen the occupants when Pinkie let out a deafening shriek of delight.
“Twilight! You’re back!” Pinkie squealed with delight, viciously tackling her friend to the ground and smothering her with a rib-crushing hug.
“Pinkie! Can’t breathe!” Twilight wheezed as her friend’s hug tightened. Fluttershy joined her pink friend, although much more restrained, in welcoming Twilight.
“Well hello…” Michael trailed off, noticing the dark and majestic winged-unicorn standing behind Twilight silently. While he didn’t know the exact reason why it was the case, he’d figured out the ones with both wings and a horn seemed to be the important ones. He looked her over, wondering silently how he’d missed her earlier. She was dark and imposing and seemed to take up much more of the platform than she did physically. An ancient measure of wit and intellect was visible in the depths of her eyes and Michael was under no impression she was either young or foolish. Most interesting about her though, was the way her midnight blue mane flowed and shimmered despite the lack of wind. It took him a moment to realise that there were small pinpricks of light, stars almost, dotted across her mane.
She was singularly the most impressive and scary pony he’d ever met and he didn’t even know her name.
Twilight managed to worm her way out of Pinkie’s grasp and flashed Michael a friendly smile. Ignoring the constant ‘Did you miss us?’ from Pinkie.
“Hello again.” She said cheerfully.
“Twilight.” Michael muttered, not taking his eyes off the still silent titan which hovered behind her.
Twilight looked between Luna and Michael, slightly confused before finally remembering they hadn’t been introduced before. “Right, of course. Princess Luna, this is Michael O’Connell. He’s one of the Jaeger’s pilots.” She looked back at Michael. “Michael, this is Princess Luna. She is Celestia’s younger sister and is one of Equestria’s crown princesses.”
“A pleasure.” Michael said, extending his hand in greeting. Much to his amusement, Luna simply stared at the limb with confusion before finally inclining her head gracefully.
“So, uh, what brings you down here, your highness?” Michael asked respectfully. He was unashamed to admit that Luna intimidated him slightly, even more so than the Kaiju did. ‘Celestia and Luna… the sun and the moon. Parallels... How interesting.’ He thought to himself.
“We have a proposition for you.” Luna said, her voice booming over the repair yard. Several nearby ponies turned to look, some even gawping at the two princesses.
Michael folded his arms across his chest, curious. “Alright, let’s hear it.”
“We would prefer to discuss it with your sibling present.” Luna said.
“Shane? He’s up the shoulder doing a spot fix. I can go ge-.”
“That will not be necessary.” Luna said, closing her eyes and concentrating.
Before Michael could question her, the world turned dark for split second. His insides churned and twisted uncomfortably, a feeling exasperated by a sudden sense of vertigo which overcame him. He had barely a moment to register this strange, unpleasant sensation before he, Twilight and Luna appeared on top of the Jaeger with a loud crack of displaced air. He fell to his knees panting and coughing.
“Apologies, Teleportation can be a little unnerving for the uninitiated.” Luna said, her voice ringing with a faint trace of amusement that indicated she wasn’t sorry in the slightest.
“Unnerving? Jesus, warn me before you do something like that!” Michael panted, struggling to hold his last meal down.
“Michael, there’s ponies on the conpod.” Shane noted insightfully, his face appearing over the edge of the Jaeger’s head.
“Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious.” Michael snapped snarkily, trying to stand but deciding it would just be better idea to sit down instead. He gestured to the two ponies weakly. “Moon-butt here has a proposition.”
Luna scowled at the somewhat vulgar name but nodded. With a slight shake of her head she summoned four plump midnight blue cushions for them to sit on along with an empty metal bucket for Michael. The two humans stared at the small pillows before cautiously making themselves comfortable.
“Now, where do we begin?” Luna asked rhetorically, admiring the view of the city she had from the top of the Jaeger’s head. “Perhaps I should give you some background first.” She said finally.
“A little over three months ago, we found something in the Northern Wastes. Something not of this world.” Luna explained to the intently listening humans. She paused for dramatic effect. “We found what we believe is one of your Jaegers.”
“What?” Shane whispered.
“One of your Jaegers,” Luna repeated. “Lying broken and damaged in the ice. Brawler Yukon it called itself. We have moved the wreck to Manehatten today for further study. Both Twilight and myself thought that it was only right to tell you, considering what we want to do with it.”
“No way.” Michael breathed incredulously. No way had they been sitting on a Jaeger for that long, BrawlerYukon of all of them…
“It is the truth.” Luna stated simply.
Shane and Michael shared a look of surprise, they had no reason to believe the dark alicorn was lying…but how did it get here? What had the ponies been doing with it?
“And why are we only being told this now?” Shane asked cautiously, voicing the final part of the question he and Michael had subconsciously shared. For people that they were supposed to be trusting, the Equestrian’s lack of transparency was shocking.
Luna winced slightly, she’d prepared for this question but she hadn’t expected quite so much hostility. “My sister did not think it was prudent to tell you. She feared you would… react badly. We are telling you this now because I have a duty to protect my subjects and you are our best hope for doing that.”
“React Badly?” Shane cut in. “What did she think we would do? Go and stomp it to scrap?” He frowned momentarily. “Who’s your sister?”
“Celestia.” Luna answered wryly.
“Oh… makes sense.” He muttered, his opinion of Equestria’s foremost ruler made quite apparent.
“Alright, what exactly did you do to it?” Michael asked. “And what do you want to do to it?”
“We investigated the wreck and conducted what research we could.” Luna said, reasoning that telling the truth would be the best option. “We were int-.”
Michael held a hand up to cut her off, a feeling in his gut rising that wasn’t his lunch. He thought back to the conversation with Shane about helping with the Equestrians with Jaegers nearly a week ago on the freighter. They hadn’t reached a consensus on it yet… but then again having one of the princesses come forward and explain they’d been holding a Jaeger for the last three months was the last thing they had expected.
“Let me guess, you want our help? To what? Build one?” He asked, somehow knowing exactly what she was about to say.
“How did you know?” Luna asked.
“It was an inspired guess.” Michael quipped before his voice became serious again. “Now, what makes you think we would help you? A successful partnership usually requires trust, something the ruling class of your people haven’t shown us much of, to be honest.”
“We understand if you feel angered by us not being so forthcoming…” Luna trailed off. The subtleties of diplomacy were not her strong suite even with her periodic involvement with the ruling Canterlot Council.
“Angry? I’m furious.” Michael said with a decided measure of calm which seemed to contradict his own words. He paused, letting his words sink in. “The funny thing is, we talked about this situation last week and honestly? We can’t see any feasible option other than to help you, as sad as that is. We’re stuck here now and that last fight is proof enough. We won’t last long.”
“Even with this new development you would help us?” Luna asked, slightly surprised. She thought she’d have a harder time convincing them to work together.
Michael smiled briefly. “I anything it makes our job a bit easier. Depending what’s left on Brawler we might be able to salvage a bit to use on our own Jaeger.”
“I thought you would’ve been a little more cross.” Twilight butted in obliviously.
“Look pork chop. I’m a bit put out by the fact that you guys have more or less stole one of our Jaegers but getting angry isn’t going to make anything better.” Shane said bluntly. “So how about you just don’t question out mood, and just roll with it. Okay?”
Twilight nodded sheepishly. “Works for me.”
Luna smiled, pleased that at least the two humans seemed cooperative. How that would progress when development actually started… well, that was another question all together.
“So, do we have an accord?” She asked. “You supply us with the knowledge and we supply the materials and work force. Additionally, the wreck of Brawler Yukon will be available for your use, whatever that may be.”
“Not unlike what we’re doing now.” Michael noted.
“Aye, but perhaps by working together we can make something truly amazing, no?”
Michael looked over at his brother for confirmation, pleased to note the slight nod of his head he made. He guessed Shane wasn’t one-hundred percent happy with the agreement but hell, if it gave them some cannon fodder to hide behind when a Kaiju came knocking that could only be a good thing.
“”So what do you think?” Twilight asked once she and Luna were back aboard the Alicorn’s personal airship. A wave of joy and relief she’d being holding back since meeting the humans again washed out of her and she had to resist the brief urge to dance on the spot.
“They’re… different.” Luna said quietly, as if that single word summed the two aliens up perfectly. “They are not of this world but seem remarkably comfortable in it.” She noted, stretching her wings out with an audible crick.
“Well, now what?’ Twilight asked, slightly impatient to get started. She’d never thought their plans would go so smoothly and now that the aliens had given their blessings, she was eager to get started straight away. The more rational part of her mind reminded her the Jaeger, now in pieces at the Flash Fields Airfield, wasn’t going to simply run off… well, not yet at least.
“We presume you want to start work straight away.” Luna said with a slight yawn. “Perhaps you should rest first Twilight. Knowing you, you will barely sleep otherwise.”
Twilight grinned sheepishly, Luna was probably right. “And what about you?”
“We shall write to Celestia.” Luna said tiredly. “She must be informed of what happened today.”
Twilight spluttered for a moment, while she appreciated the direction of Luna’s moral compass, she couldn’t help but feel a little snubbed after her teacher’s somewhat dismissive behaviour of them. Luna seemed to understand her frustration though and and shrugged her wings pragmatically, she too it seemed, had been sidelined by Celestia's machinations. .
“We can’t just not inform my sister.” She said pointedly. “Whatever your feelings on the matter may be, it would be…” She searched for the right word before deciding the simplest approach was probably the best. “...Wrong, to not do so. Celestia has the right to know.”
“Very well.” Twilight huffed, her desire to metaphorically flip the sun-goddess off fading away.
The alicorn stifled another yawn. “Inform the captain of where you wish to go, we are tired and must sleep.” She ordered. drawing the curtains of her quarters with a faint trickle of magic and plunging the small space into darkness. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness, a faint hint of excitement visible under her drowsiness.
Twilight nodded respectfully, quietly backing out of Luna’s quarters, leaving the ancient alicorn to her slumber.
***
Celestia watched out one of the many large windows which lined the throne room, feeling slightly impatient. It had been some time since she’d heard from either Luna or Twilight and while she had not expected quick progress, she’d hoped for something from at least one of them by now. She wanted to know what they were doing, preferably before they did something rash or stupid. The exasperation which emanated for her was a curious sensation for the usually patient alicorn.
She hummed quietly to herself, working steadily through a steady stack of audits that had somehow gone unnoticed over the last week. It annoyed her slightly that most of her day was taken up by the monotony of seemingly endless paperwork. She remembered a time, long ago, when she actually had a chance for recreation without falling behind or without some twit shoving something under her nose impatiently the second she returned. Maybe she needed a change...
A loud whip-crack broke the silence and a small scroll appeared in front of her and hung in the air for a moment before gravity reasserted itself. Celestia plucked it out of the air with well-practiced ease and smiled slightly, instantly recognising Luna’s distinctive insignia on the small piece of delicate thread which bound the scroll shut. She slowly unwound the scroll, her grin growing as she beheld the flowing and overly ornate script that her sister favoured. It lasted only a moment though as she started reading, her smile slowly fading as she read her sister’s words. She promptly forgot about the dozens of reports which still sat next to her as she reached the bottom of the page.
Surely this was some sort of joke. Yes, a joke. Luna was known for her jokes, even if she did take them too far sometimes. Celestia’s fore hooves started trembling slightly as she flicked to the second page bound in the roll.
‘This is no joke.’
A wave of anger crashed over Celestia, quickly being replaced by one of disbelief. How could Luna and Twilight do this to her? She continued reading, noting with a slight note of surprise and relief that the aliens had decided to help them after all. Well, that was something at least… she could check Midsummer Night bashing at the gates of Canterlot angrily off her list, for now. Wordlessly, Celestia lowered the scroll and started pondering.
Had she perhaps taken a too draconian approach to the matter? She’d been so sure of herself and now, to see her plans fall apart and be replaced, replaced by a plan she had considered too dangerous, a plan with too many unknowns… and then succeed. She felt a surge of uncertainty overcome her.
It seemed, for once, Luna had played her hand better than she had.
Celestia shook her head clear, her anger being replaced by a strange sense of pride. Maybe Luna’s head was in a better spot than her own, maybe she had been right. Perhaps she was getting too old, too old to change her ways.
She was still staring at the letter, her mind racing twenty minutes later when a loud crash followed by a loud, ear-splitting screech snapped her out of her stupor and back to reality. The scuffle continued for a moment before an uneasy silence descended again over the throne room.
Celestia vanished the scroll and looked up cautiously, that could only mean trouble. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later as the main doors swung open and an irritated looking pegasus guard entered, a few of his feathers missing and his polished helmet slightly askew.
“Your highness, the Griffon ambassador is demanding to see you.” He said pointedly.
Celestia groaned internally, few things ever prompted the Griffon’s ambassador, a grumpy featherhead named Seered, to seek an audience with her, a fact she was very, very grateful for. She plastered a fake smile on her face.
“Does he have an appointment? “ She asked, her voice taking on an edge of barely withheld frustration. Well, at least this would be an interesting distraction from her paperwork…
“No ma’am.” The guard answered curtly. “He was quite insistent though.” He added, glancing at his ruffled wings and pointing to a pair of new scratches on his otherwise spotless armour.
Celestia cringed, wondering when the grumpy bastard would get out of her mane… if it involved him just rolling over and dying, all the better. “Show him in then.” She said, slightly concerned for the safety of her stoic protectors.
“At once.” The guard said with a thankful bow. He returned to the door and barked a command. A moment later the griffon was thrown into the room, a few patches of ruffled feathers and the scathing look he threw the guard enough for Celestia to tell that the half-dozen guards stationed outside had probably dog piled the griffon after whatever violent outburst he’d made.
“Ambassador Seered, what a pleasure.” Celestia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Thankfully though, griffons as a race seemed fairly immune to the subtleties of irony and sarcasm so the already irritated ambassador took it as a genuine greeting.
“Princess Celestia.” He growled, bowing slightly. He looked around the chamber and ruffled his wings, no doubt he subconsciously felt a little vulnerable. The alliance between the Equestrian’s and Griffons was… patchy, at best and as a general rule they stayed out of each other’s business unless it was strictly necessary.
“Now, ambassador, to what pleasure do I owe this visit?” Celestia asked, sure the guards stationed around the throne room would’ve been chortling if they were less disciplined
The griffon bristled slightly. “We have received word that you are harbouring aliens within your borders along with a gigantic machine of war in their possession.” He snapped briskly, getting straight to the point.
“Well we’ve had them for nearly three and a half months, your intelligence is a little slow or lacking.” Celestia said, adopting her best ‘Keep your frakking head out of our business’ smile. “Perhaps both.” She added.
As usual, the griffon ignored this jab, taking it as serious as ever.
“I think not, more recently we have discovered that you have a second of these machines in your possession and that you have reached an accord of types with these aliens to build more.” He said, the black pits of his eyes shining dangerously.
Celestia froze, how could he have known that? She’d only received the message from Luna barely half an hour ago. Treachery no doubt…
“That is indeed the truth.” She admitted, seeing no point in lying and just having the turkey in front of her call her out on it.
“And you did not think it was prudent to tell us? And what of the mysterious destruction in Bolton a few days ago? Hmm? Also not worthy of our knowledge?” He asked accusingly.
“I have my reasons ambassador. They concern neither yourself nor your masters.”
If Seered had teeth, Celestia was sure they would be grinding together audibly by now.
“This is absolutely unacceptable!” The Griffon screeched, pacing back and forth across the throne room like an oversized turkey. The ambassador turned to face Celestia, his thin jet black moustache almost doing a backflip at the sudden movement. “The minister will not be pleased!”
“Do you have to tell him?” Celestia asked wryly, she knew the answer to that already but she couldn’t resist riling up the unhappy griffon which stood before her a little more.
Seered ruffled his feathers in annoyance. “You know the answer to that as well as I do.”
“What is your exactly your point, ambassador?” Celestia asked boredly.
“It is a breach of our trust!” He squawked. “We expect to be informed of world changing events, such as this one, when they happen! It doesn’t just affect your own people you ignorant, arrogant as-.” He cut himself, what manners he had reasserting themselves.
Celestia raised an eyebrow dubiously, giving the griffon a look that she might’ve given to a piece of gum stuck to her hoof. “And you would do the same for us?”
“It would depend on the circumstances.” The griffon coughed awkwardly, the tone of his voice hardly convincing anypony.
“Well it was on a matter of good faith that I informed you of the monsters which now seem to be plaguing us.” Celestia reminded him.
The griffon scoffed. “We’ve not seen a trace of these fanciful monsters of yours, Celestia.” He stated arrogantly. Celestia’s brow furrowed, evidently they’d chosen to ignore the large body slowly rotting away in downtown Bolton. Perhaps it was easier for them to cover their ears and shove their heads under the sand rather than accept the truth.
“Something you should be thankful of.” She growled, her hardly amiable mood vanishing under the implications of the griffon’s accusation. “Now unless you have anything other than just accusations and hot air to throw around, I’m going to ask you to leave.”
The griffon seemed quite ready to get into another brawl but held back, an annoyed quark rising behind his beak instead.
“Very well, we will be paying very close attention to you and your friends. If we so much as get the hint that you are using your new-found power as leverage, we will not hesitate rain fire on you.” He warned, turning on his hind paws and strutting out, slamming the massive door shut behind him with an overly theatrical gesture.
Celestia scowled, resisting the urge to order her guards to throw the oversized chicken into one of the castle’s ovens. No, that wouldn’t do… she’d just get sent a new ambassador, probably one who was even more obnoxious.
She let out a quiet sigh of exasperation and added the griffons to her slowly growing list of problems.
***
With the deal struck, Shane and Michael seemed to have a purpose again. Although they were both apprehensive about the prospect of a non-human Jaeger, they both agreed the prospect was actually a little exciting. They were about to witness the birth of another Jaeger program, not exactly a point many people could boast about. It wasn’t just the two humans spurred on by the news, the few ponies who knew of the agreement seemed more lively and enthusiastic, the prospect of them having giant protectors of their own more than enough to fuel their eagerness. The salvage of Brawler Yukon had begun in earnest and a steady trickle of spare parts and junk stripped from the Jaeger started working their way into the repair yard. Within a fortnight of Luna’s unexpected visit, the two humans found themselves heading toward the outskirts of Manehatten on a small courier airship Luna had set aside for them.
When they arrived at the airbase, a pair of armed guards showed them to the hangar the venerable Jaeger had been relocated to.
“Jeez, look at the size of that arm.” Shane muttered as they entered the colossal hangar, still being cautiously watched by the two guards. Unlike any other Jaeger in service, Brawler Yukon had a large armour plate running down its arm, starting from its wrist and carrying on past its elbow until finally stopping near its shoulder. The plates, although heavy, provided excellent protection from almost any Kaiju attack. The other end extended just past the Jaegers thumb, tapering down to a trio of broad, razor sharp claws. While this significantly reduced Brawler’s dexterity it gave the Jaeger a devastating weapon against unarmoured Kaiju.
This of course, meant that Brawler’s arms were massive, almost comically so.
They gazed around the cavernous space usually reserved for the large airships of the Air Force, drinking in the sight of the dark grey Jaeger which occupied it instead. Although in pieces, the once mighty Jaeger still looked a little like a gorilla, its hunched shoulders and its long brawny arms quite unlike anything else made by human hands.
“A thing of beauty.” Michael agreed. He’d seen Brawler many times in the Alaskan Shatterdome of course, but the crude yet brutal look the Jaeger had about it lent it an appearance that never got old.
They walked around the wreck slowly, the voices of hundreds of ponies babbling around them as they worked on the fallen titan. There was loud cheer and Michael turned to see what looked like part of Brawler’s reactor being slowly pulled out of its chest.
“Didn’t expect to see you two here so soon.” A voice said from behind them. They turned in unison to see a euphoric looking Twilight beaming at them.
“Thought we’d check the old girl out.” Michael said, lamely waving a hand at the Jaeger. “How is she?”
The smile on Twilight’s face faded slightly. “In really bad shape. We’ve managed to recover a fair bit though, more than I thought we would’ve actually.”
“I see you’re making off with the reactor.” Shane muttered flatly, watching a work crew make off with the large steel vessel on a large tracked unit. He tore his haze away from it, reminding himself that the Equestrians were their friends… sort of. Maybe colleagues would be better.
She nodded. “It still works, although at somewhat reduced efficiency if the system’s data is to be believed.” Twilight said, leading them over a to a sprawling work station where nearly fifty ponies fussed over the contents of a large armoured box. It took Michael a moment to realise exactly what it was.
“The computer still works?” He asked, slightly incredulous. While the Jaeger’s computers were buried deep within the chest, safe from almost any strike, after months of freezing cold, neglect and general wear and tear, he was surprised that they would’ve been intact at all.
Twilight bobbed her head. “It’s a little beyond me, but we have some of the finest programmers sifting through the system. I have to say though, it’s amazing what you have achieved in the field… we have nothing like it at all.” She said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“And the Jaeger’s A.I.?” Michael asked curiously.
“It’s there… barely.” Twilight said slowly. “We were hoping we could compare it to your Jaeger’s system and repair it.”
“That should work, all the Jaegers run similar software for cross-compatibility.Although most of the physical stuff might b a bit out-dated, the software should be fairly up to date..” Michael said with a nod.
“How about the mechanical stuff?” Shane asked, trying to sound friendly.
“Most of the motive systems are shot, we might be able to salvage some of it though. As you can see, the right arm is missing.” She said.
An idea suddenly struck Shane. Crazy… but it might just work. “What about the left one?”
Twilight stared at the massive pieces of arm which littered the hangar and shrugged. “What about it?”
“Could you get it to work?”
The lavander pony shrugged halfheartedly. “Maybe, why?” The young alicorn asked, clearly wondering what Shane’s sudden interest in it was.
Shane smiled darkly. “Well, we just so happen to be missing ours.”
“Hilarious.” Michael interjected, clearly less than pleased with the prospect of having a hybrid Jaeger. It would be like having a prosthetic limb almost, the entire muscle strand system would have to be rebuild, the neural interface remapped and a new socket made for the joint as the existing structure would no doubt be incompatible.
All-in-all, it was a ton of extra work he didn’t really want to have to do.
“Well unless you can do magic voodoo, our other one is scrap.” Shane reminded him.
Michael made an annoyed sound and drummed his fingers against his cheek, wondering how long it would take to fix it. Too long, probably. The next Kaiju attack would come and they’d probably be down an arm… he shuddered, not wanting to think how that fight would end if the next monster was anything like either of the Kaiju they’d recently fought.
“What about your progress on your own Jaeger?” He asked, reminding himself what they were really here for.
Their escort seemed to get a little irritated at the remark, almost as if she was being constantly pestered about it. “We’ve only had a bit over a week to work on this you know.” Twilight complained, leaving the computer scientists behind and trotting into a small enclosure a few metres away. A dozen ponies sat around talking quietly amongst themselves and fussing over several drawings, they looked up at Twilight and the humans as they entered and fell silent.
“We’re still in the very early stages, we still don’t have much to work on….” Twilight admitted.
Michael and Shane leant back against a large desk and folded their arms across their chests. “Alright, how about we ask questions and you answer them to the best of your ability.”
Twilight looked around at the small team nervously, unsure if she’d be able to answer anything they asked. “Okay.”
Michael waved a hand. “Firstly: How big are you going for?”
“Around 70-80 metres high we hope. It won’t be quite as tall as yours when it’s on all fours.”
“Weight?”
“No idea. I’d guess more than yours though.”
Michael nodded, made sense. “Any ideas for armour and hull material?”
“We have talked about it briefly.” Twilight said quickly, paging through a small report she levitated in front of her. She trotted off and returned a minute later with a small metal square. She passed it to Michael. “Titanium-cobalt hardened plate. Strong and very light.”
Michael rubbed the shiny plate with an amused snort. “Stick to iron or low-carbon steel, it’ll be much more effective. Unlike your fancy-schmancy alloys which will probably shatter when they break and become completely worthless, iron is almost always reusable and because you can almost literally bang out the dents, it’s really easy to fix minor damage. Cherno Alpha’s hull was more or less made from melted down Cold-war tank hulls and rarely spent more than a few days in the workshop at a time. Romeo Blue, on the other hand, I think had a titanium alloy hull and spend quite a lot longer in the repair bay after a fight for spot fixes. Not only that, your iron plates will be a lot easier to manufacture.”
“But iron isn’t as strong nor durable.” Twilight pointed out grumpily. “Surely better protection would be more valuable?”
Michael shrugged, she wasn’t wrong. “Use it on the conpod and other vital areas then. Most of our hull is about three or four feet of solid iron.”
“It must be very heavy then.” Twilight remarked sourly.
“Quite true. Maybe when you guys another couple of Jaegers up you can experiment a bit… but for the moment, I suggest you keep it simple, stupid.”
Twilight grunted lowly and made a mark on her notes.
“What about weapons?” Shane asked, cracking his knuckles gleefully.
“After consultation, we’ve decided blunt force and concussive weapons are preferable as they reduce the chance of toxic spills.” Twilight said gravely, a large report detailing the extensive Kaiju Blue contamination in Bolton had been enough evidence for her.. “It will have its fists, which if my analysis and calculations of your combat recordings are correct, should be able to deliver blows in the excess of 18 gigajoules. A pair of rocket clusters are slated to be mounted on its back. You’re better off taking to somepony else about them as I know next to nothing about actual weapons.” Twilight admitted sheepishly.
Shane scratched his head. Ponies had hooves, not hands. “Fists?” He asked, curling his fingers up and holding it up for clarification.
“After much debate within the design team, we decided the Jaeger should have fingers not unlike yours on its forelegs. After analysing your combat footage, we decided the ability to grapple and manipulate objects in a fight is an ability that is far too valuable to lose.”
Shane was silent for a moment, wondering how to point out the obvious flaw in their plans. He decided the direct approach was best. “But… uh, you don’t have fingers. How’ll that work?”
Twilight trotted around the enclosure to a large table which held a few components she’d borrowed from MidsummerNight. She lifted one of the drivesuit’s heavy wrist units, the purple field of energy which seemed to affect things she levitated glowing brightly as it always did.
The unit was a ring about 8 inches in diameter with a central padded handle. Designed to be clamped around the pilot’s wrist, the small device was almost essential for precise control over the Jaeger. A built-in gyroscope along with motion trackers told the computer how fast the pilot’s arm was swinging, translating the raw motion into data which was then scaled up and used to determine the amount of force the arm’s motors put into a particular swing. While it was possible to do without the small device, it turned a fairly simple task, such as raising the Jaeger’s hand, into a flat-out dangerous one as the pilot had to keep a steady and focused mind lest a delicate touch turn into a full-blown punch.
Additionally, several auxiliary controls were nestled along the inner edge of the grip, allowing the pilot to activate several of his Jaeger’s ancillary functions without having to reach forward to the control panel. These controls were generally personalised from pilot to pilot but there were a few similar patterns that popped up between crews, most of which seemed to involved the Jaegers horns and the pilot’s middle finger.
“We’re developing our own version of your controls, it’ll be modified to have physical 'fingers' wired directly into the circuitry suit. The software will be a little tricky but we’re confident we will get it to work.” Twilight explained.
This raised more questions in Shane’s mind. How would they connect the fingers? How would they even walk with fingers? He voiced this concerns aloud, a clever grin appearing on Twilight’s face as he did so.
“They will be able to retract into the Jaeger’s hoof. If everything works out as we hope, the Jaeger should be capable of both limited bipedal and full quadrupedal movement, although the later will undoubtedly be more comfortable for the pilots. The fingers themselves will be wired directly into the circuitry suit, they’ll probably take some getting used to but eventually they’ll be second-nature.”
“And you’ll have enough flexibility to throw a punch with your forelegs?” Shane asked sceptically. He’d noticed the Equestrians were a lot more flexible than Earth’s own horses but it was still something he was a little dubious about.
Twilight nodded, it was something the design team had pondered extensively. “The Jaeger itself has fewer limits to its joint mobility than we do, still I’m sure we can manage it.”
“We’ll that’s something I can get the pilots to practice I guess.” Shane remarked.
“You’ve chosen pilots?” Twilight asked excitedly, dropping the wrist unit back onto the table with a heavy thud.
Michael shook his head. “Not yet, we haven’t received anything to base our selections off of.”
“I’ll ask Luna to compile something for you then, I’m sure she will have some ideas of who would be suitable.” She made a small note before pausing. “What traits are you looking for in test pilots?”
“Trust.” Michael answered immediately. “They need to trust each other for anything to be possible.”
Twilight grinned widely, evidently pleased with herself for some reason. “Why?”
Michael thought about it for a moment. “It’s the way the drift works. With the bridging of the minds, trust is critical to the connection. Your psyche doesn’t want to share its secrets. It wants to protect itself. It doesn’t like feeling naked in front of a stranger. It wants to cover itself and push the stranger out. You have to really drop your guard to make the connection. You have to trust the person next to you implicitly.”
“Oh, great.” Twilight said, a pleased grin appearing over her face. “That’s mostly what we guessed.”
Shane and Michael shared a surprised look. “You’ve tried a drift?”
“Yes, it didn’t work though.” Twilight admitted. “Not well at least.”
Michael seemed to deflate a little. “Don’t suppose you still have the Pons?”
“Naturally.” Twilight answered coolly.
Shane smiled thinly. “Don’t suppose we can borrow it, do you?”
***
“Well that’s one problem out of the way at least.” Michael said when they returned to their courier a few hours later. After their interrogation of Twilight they’d made a few more rounds of BrawlerYukon, making the occasional remark about something or other the ponies were doing to the wreck.
They’d returned to the small airship in relatively high spirits, despite Twilight’s insecurities, she seemed to have everyone fairly well on task.
Shane shrugged, slightly put out that one pony had managed to rebuild a working Pons. “Suppose so, now we don’t have to worry about making an actual Pons for our pilots. Can’t believe she made one by herself though…”
“I swear she must be like Einstein, Hawking and Queen Elizabeth all wrapped into one.” Michael joked. Still, If they’d salvaged the drift gear from Brawler, the Jaeger must’ve been in better shape than they were really letting on. Maybe there was some hope for the battered old Jaeger yet…
“What about pilots then?” Shane asked. Despite everything, he hadn’t really considered choosing pilots yet.
“You heard her, she’ll get someone to put something together for us.”
“And how long will that take? Clock is ticking and I’d like to get started before I change my mind.” Shane said boredly.
It seemed though whatever almost unnatural efficiency had overcome the Equestrian’s had also come over their bureaucracy, and when they returned to MidsummerNight, there was a small stack of folders waiting for them. Michael collected them and brought them to a small hab-block which had set aside on the site for them. While he felt more secure in the Jaeger’s conpod, he had to admit after nearly four months of living in the cramped space with his brother, a rock was starting to look more inviting.
“What’s this then?” Shane asked as Michael dumped the stack of nearly fifty cream-coloured folders on the floor. He split the stack in half, dropping half on them neatly next to Shane and taking the others for himself.
“Test pilot candidates.” Michael remarked, sitting cross-legged on the floor and opening the first folder. “One of Luna’s lackeys passed these along for our consideration.”
“There’s not very many.” Shane noted, counting a mere two-dozen folders in his stack. Based on how uncommon a strong drift compatibility was amongst humans, he had hoped for more. Then again, who knew how the ponies would cope in a drift, let alone if they even could?
Michael nodded in agreement, reading a small note which had been attached on top of the files.
“These are the service records of one of their flight teams,” Michael explained, remembering the distinctive uniforms he’d seen when they’d first arrived in Equestria. “The ‘Wonderbolts’ they call them. Luna suggested we start with them as the bonds between the team members are fairly tight and as they are a military unit, there’s a lot of combat training we can skip. Guess that’s why there aren’t that many of them.” He guessed reasonably.
“Fair enough.” Shane said with a shrug. He opened the first folder, surprised to find it in transcribed in somewhat messy English. “How thoughtful.” He remarked. Despite their time in Equestria, the language of the natives was still well and truly beyond them, the series of symbols, squiggles and circles having little more meaning than a mixed bowl of alphabet soup.
“Guess someone told her we don’t read Equestrian.” Michael said with a faint smirk. He busied himself with the first file, a seemingly somewhat sociopathic mare named Surprise.
“How many do you want to take on?” Shane asked, setting the first file aside and quickly flicking through the others, cringing occasionally as his gaze flickered over a name.
“Just the two. No point taking more than we can handle. To be honest, I’m not sure if I can even teach one pair.” Michael answered hesitantly. This was the biggest concern that nagged at him. Would they be able to teach someone how to pilot Jaeger? The amount of physiological and psychological differences between their species was probably vast. How could they teach an alien a process they barely understood themselves?
“Well we have to try or this’ll all be for nothing.” Shane grunted, he glanced at a pair of the files and handed them to Michael. “These two look promising.”
“Misty Fly and Lightning Streak?” Michael asked the room in general. “Siblings… Reasonably similar intellect types… Their behaviour record is less than starry though… says here they don’t really get along with each other though and there occasional issues with following the chain of command.”
“That’s fairly common between siblings.” Shane pointed out.
Michael poured over the file, searching for some other flaw in the duo. “She also has some sort Post Traumatic Stress issues…” Michael trailed off, his mind made up. They had potential but he wasn’t risking their first crew on someone who might crack under pressure. “I’d rather start with someone who won’t fall apart if we poke them too hard.” He tossed the file aside with a grunt. “It’s a possibility though. Consider them second-line for the moment I guess.”
Shane nodded in agreement. “What about these two? Soarin and Spitfire. He is her immediate subordinate, they’ve been serving together for a while and their records seem clean… almost a little too clean if you ask me.” Shane said suspiciously, no doubt suspecting some foul play at hand.
Michael opened their files and whistled lowly. “Well they’d probably be my first choice, I mean look at their remarks on each other… I’m pretty sure they’d be a good drift pair.” He said before grimacing as he paged over to Spitfire’s medical history.
“What?” Shane asked.
“See for yourself.” Michael said, throwing the file back over to Shane.
“Holy shit!” Shane yelped, “So she’s the one who saved our hides against Rasputin!”
“She paid the price for it though, lost a wing and a leg.” Michael noted. “She won’t be fit for service for months at least, if ever.”
“Pity…” Shane said sadly, tossing her file into the discard pile. It would’ve been fitting to train her up as a Ranger but alas, life was a cruel mistress.
“What about this guy?” Michael asked, passing over a file topped with the picture of a dark blue stallion in the top corner. The stallion stared up warmly from his CSV, the small smile he was wearing not too dissimilar from Soarin’s.
“Wave Chill?” Shane asked, raising an eyebrow.
“He could go well with this Soarin character. He’s his wingman in their flight, they have similar intelligence… heck, Soarin even did a lot of this guy’s training when he joined the team!” Michael exclaimed, reading down his copy of Wave Chill’s service report.
Shane grunted, it seemed a little too good to be true. “Any noticeable relationship issues?”
“Not that I can see…” Michael muttered, scrutinising Wave Chill’s CSV closely. “We would have interview them though, just in case.”
“Well, that’s pretty much as good as we’ll get. Unless we find another pair of siblings or a parent/child pair.” Shane said hopefully.
“No joy, only a few of them are really old enough to be having kids… well, at least by our standards anyway. Spitfire’s the oldest and she’s in her early thirties.” Michael said with an annoyed sigh.
“She looks older…” Shane said, picking her dossier up again from the steadily growing discard pile. The fiery mare stared up at him fiercely and a strange sensation to thank her rose up in Shane’s gut. He shuddered and threw the file away with almost indecent haste.
Michael shrugged, a barely imperceptible move as he re-read Soarin’s service record. “Guess these flight teams are a young pony’s game eh?”
“Suppose so. What about any significant others?” Shane asked.
Michael paged quickly through the two dozen dossiers he had; only a handful of them appeared to be in any meaningful relationship. “Not that I can see. I think we should keep to the list, they all have military training and some measure of discipline at least. If we are successful we can broaden our field but now we’re limited by our teaching staff, i.e. us.”
“Fair point.” Shane remarked, looking closely through his folders and adding another two to the discard pile after a moment of consideration. Several of the professional fliers looked promising but they both knew they’d probably find better matches in the general populace.
“I think these two guys are our best bet.” He remarked after going through the records twice more.
Michael nodded his head slowly, putting the two folders next to each other to compare them again. “You’re probably right.”
“And our second choice?” Shane asked, already taking Misty Fly and Lighting Streak’s CSVs out of the discard pile.
“Probably Misty Fly and Lighting Streak. They’re the next most likely to be compatible.” Michael answered.
Shane grinned widely, though whether at the prospect of having someone he trained pilot a Jaeger or at the idea of simply having something to hide behind, he wasn’t sure. He stood up, taking the four dossiers with him. “Alright then, let’s get them in here and get to work.”
Michael grimaced at the prospect. “You make it sound easy.”
***
The hospital was quiet, too quiet almost. It was creepy, Rainbow Dash kept expecting somepony to leap out from behind a door and jump on her. Maybe it was just the time of day or maybe this particular ward was just under capacity, but the entire place seemed deserted. Besides the receptionist she’d sweet-talked into divulging the location of her target, Rainbow Dash had only seen a bored looking janitor mopping an already spotless floor.
Of course, what she was doing visiting Spitfire was another matter altogether. She wasn’t what you would call the fiery mare’s friend… and saying she was a colleague would be a bit of a stretch. Maybe it was answers she was after then. Although the Bolton incursion had been some weeks ago now, the amount of information trickling out of the city was disturbingly small. Information regarding what had happened to the Wonderbolt’s flagship was even more difficult to come across, the monster not leaving many eye witnesses to tell the tale.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she almost ran face first into an unarmed guard who was watching dutifully over a corridor. He was wearing an air force uniform, his unit patch identifying him as being part of the Wonderbolt’s ground crew.
‘Guess this is the place.’ Rainbow thought, trying to step past the seemingly uninterested guard.
“I’m sorry ma’am, you can’t come in here.” The guard said, suddenly blocking her path. He stared down at her and the plucky Pegasus finally realised he was probably a good head taller than her. Trying to look unfazed by her burly opponent, Rainbow Dash tried to side-step the guard but he quickly blocked her path again. She glared at him forcefully, hoping her gaze alone would make him back down.
The guard was unperturbed, he’d faced down Spitfire on a bad day and lived to tell the tale. Nothing, other than perhaps a fully grown dragon would cower him. The rainbow-maned mare who stared him down was no more intimidating than a gun that shot medicine. He stared back, an amused smirk forming on his face.
“Stand down, she’s with me.” A voice said from behind them. Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to spin around, instantly recognising the deep tones of the Wonderbolt’s Executive Officer, Soarin, immediately. The smirk seemed to vanish off the guard’s face and hovered in the air a moment before leaping over to Rainbow Dash.
“Of course sir.” The guard said obediently, stepping aside and allowing the duo to pass without any further protest. Rainbow flashed a quick smile at Soarin, surprised to notice the stallion burdened down by almost a dozen books.
“What are they for? Is that Daring Do?” She asked, spying one of the many novels to feature the mustard Pegasus she adored. Surprising, since she’d never recalled hearing or seeing of any of the Wonderbolts being avid readers.
“They’re for Spitfire and yes, that’s a Daring Do book.” Soarin answered. A bemused look sped across his face. “Hello by the way, nice to see you here.”
“Oh!” Rainbow exclaimed pitifully, realising she’d left her manners somewhere back near the guard’s post. She looked away, slightly ashamed.
Soarin laughed heartily. “It’s alright, I’m just messing with ya.” He said cheerfully, readjusting the books he carried on his back slightly. “So what brings you here? Come to try and see Spitfire I guess?
“Yup.” Rainbow answered, again wondering why she had had the urge the see the Wonderbolt’s captain. Soarin didn’t seem that surprised to see her, maybe she had a closer working relationship to the Wonderbolts than she had imagined? She shook her head clear and returned to reality.
“Neat. I remember saying we should try and catch up some time but I didn’t quite expect this.” He grinned, though what for, Rainbow was unsure. He threw a look back at the guard and he adopted an apologetic look. “Sorry about that by the way. We had to put him there after a bunch of fans broke in. With how stoic he is, it’d take an army to get through that door.”
“Seems like it.” Rainbow agreed ruefully. After a moment of painful silence she decided to be blunt.
“How’s Spitfire? I heard she got hurt.” Rainbow Dash asked. Most of the information surrounding the ‘incident’ with LuckySeven was frustratingly vague, only the Wonderbolts seemed to know the whole story and they weren’t talking.
Soarin’s face darkened. “You can see for yourself.” He said, knocking twice on the door which presumably led to Spitfire’s room.
“Enter.” A rough voice that could only belong to the fiery mare growled.
Soarin pushed the door open and trotted into the still uncomfortably white room. A large unopened bottle of vintage scotch sat to the side, presumably the one aboard LuckySeven hadn’t survived the crash, and the pair of cupboards in the room were positively covered in books and other assorted detritus the Wonderbolt’s captain had collected.
“More books for you, also a visitor.” Soarin said, his cheer returning as quickly as it had gone, although perhaps a little more forced. He tugged Rainbow Dash into the room behind him and set the books he carried down on Spitfire’s bedside table, adding to the small mountain she had started amassing.
“Ah, Rainbow Dash isn’t it?’ Spitfire asked, waving with her fore hoof in what could be described as a barely pleasant greeting. ‘Her only fore hoof…’Rainbow realised with a thrill of horror.
“That’s me.” She said queasily, suddenly wishing she was somewhere else. Her eyes widened as Spitfire rolled over slightly, revealing a stump where one of her wings had been. Forcing down the bile which had risen in her throat, Rainbow Dash tore her gaze off the Wonderbolt’s injuries and looked at the books piled next to her.
“I didn’t know you liked Daring Do.” She said, trying desperately to ignore Spitfire’s injuries.
“Neither did I. Soarin got me hooked, there isn’t much else to do here other than read.” Spitfire said, a slight edge in her voice. “What about you rookie, you read?”
Rainbow Dash made a gesture somewhere between a halfhearted shrug and a nod.
“Right.” Spitfire said dryly, turning her attention away from Rainbow Dash and back to Soarin “Anything interesting happening while I’m stuck in here, Soarin?”
“Well, you’ll be delighted to hear the Trottingham Thunderhooves kicked the snot out of the Derby Dragons in their final.”
“Thrilled.” Spitfire said in a tone which conveyed quite the opposite.
He hid what could’ve been the slightest trace of a smile. “You might also be interested to know… I’ve been taken off the team.”
Spitfire cocked her head in confusion. “What for?” She asked, clearly wondering what he’d done to deserve such a punishment.
“I’ve been selected as a test pilot in some program.” He seemed to have a brief internal struggle, as if he was deciding to tell the whole truth. “A Jaeger program to be more precise. Our program.” Soarin said finally.
Spitfire and Rainbow Dash stared at him incredulously. “What?” Spitfire asked dumbly. “You, a test pilot for… for one of those alien machines?”
Soarin looked between the two mares, both of which were staring at him like he’d grown a second head. “Uh, yeah. Me and Wave Chill.”
Spitfire snorted, convinced he was pulling their leg. “Bullshit. Since when?”
“Since yesterday, course starts tomorrow.”
“You mean to say that thing we found up north actually worked?” Spitfire asked.
Soarin stared at her for several seconds, figuring out what exactly to say. His debrief of Misty fly and Lightning Streak had been delightfully unpleasant, the two slightly livid at having being left in the Frozen Wastes for three months by themselves. At least they weren’t chewing each other out for once…
“No, we’re building our own.” Soarin replied. “Apparently we might be the right ponies for the job.”
Spitfire seemed remarkably unsurprised by this. “Fair enough, I hope that works out for you. Punch one of the bastards in the face for me.”
“What are you going to call it?” Rainbow Dash asked, her eyes shimmering with excitement. She’d picked up enough from Pinkie and the two humans to know you needed two pilots. Perhaps she could find a partner somewhere… and if this this thing ever got off the ground, maybe she could become a pilot herself.
Soarin raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
“Well the alien one is called ’MidsummerNight’ or something. You should come up with a name for your one.” She explained, already wondering what she would call her own Jaeger.
Soarin shrugged, he hadn’t even considered it before. May as well get started…
“I’ll talk with Wave Chill about it I guess.” He said noncommittally.
“What about Wild Mustang?” Spitfire said lowly after a moment of silence. “You two are the most unpredictable stallions I know and well, you’re both guys since last time I checked. Also, isn’t Wave Chill from Mustang?”
Soarin indicated the affirmative. “I like it, I’ll see what Wave Chill thinks.” He said with a small shrug. He looked around uneasily as if remembering something unpleasant. “Also. Uh, Wave Chill also may have found a griffon willing to help you with you… ah, little problem.” Soarin said, stealing a nervous glance at Rainbow Dash and then Spitfire’s missing leg.
“Stop skirting around the issue.” Spitfire growled. “She can see I’m missing a leg you ponce.” She waved the stump morbidly at Rainbow Dash again.
Rainbow smiled awkwardly, clearly wishing she was somewhere else.
“Uh, right. He’s arranged for her to come in some this week and give you a look over.” Soarin said hesitantly. “That works for you?”
The ex-leader of the Wonderbolts stared at him for a few seconds, an unamused look plastered over her face. “Sure, I’ll just rearrange my busy schedule.” Spitfire said snarkily.
“I’ll let him know then. No need to be snappy about it.” Soarin muttered, slightly confused with Spitfire’s attitude. Sure, her being a little cranky wasn’t uncommon… but being flat out obnoxious wasn’t like her at all.
“Snappy? Who says I’m snappy?” Spitfire growled
“Well I couldn’t call your attitude friendly, what’s up?” Soarin asked.
Spitfire shook her head defiantly, clearly nothing seemed wrong to her.
“Spitfire, are you sure you’re alright?” Rainbow Dash asked. When she was off duty the Wonderbolt had always seemed relaxed and carefree. She’d never seen her like this.
Spitfire’s glare rounded on her, the intense stare boring deep into her forehead. “Alright? Of course I’m alright. What’d be wrong with me? It’s not like I lost anything, right?” She said, her voice taking on an edge that Rainbow found disturbingly close to Pinkie’s when she had one of her ‘episodes’.
She quickly back-pedalled. “I get it you’re upset-.”
Spitfire scoffed and glared at Rainbow dash with the heat of a thousand suns. “Sure, sure you get it. It’s not like you’ve ever lost a wing now have you? You wouldn’t know anything about how I feel right now, my entire world has been shattered, torn apart, broken apart by the harsh bitch that is life. And what about you? What have you ever sacrificed, what have you ever lost? Nothing. I lose something worse than my life and what’s my reward? Being hounded by some rabid fan who just wants to give me their sympathy, wants to butter me up? Well I don’t want it!” She yelled, almost rising out of her bed. The silence that followed her angry tirade was absolutely stunning. Rainbow Dash was sure she would’ve heard a sprig of hay hit the floor.
Soarin glanced between the two mares, a worried look plastered on his face. He looked set to jump in between the two hotheads but Rainbow Dash thankfully didn’t let it come to that.
“Well...” She said slowly, turning on the spot and marching out indignantly.
Soarin groaned internally, this would his mess to clean up, he was sure of it. He threw a quick glare at Spitfire, noting the almost disappointed look that was forming on her face, and cantered after Rainbow Dash.
It didn’t take long for Soarin to catch up to her, she’d barely made it past the guard’s post before her finally overtook the indignant mare. He hung his head, slightly ashamed at Spitfire’s attitude.
“Sorry that happened back there… she’s not normally so…” He fumbled for a word but Rainbow Dash knew exactly he meant.
“I get it.” She said grumpily, not quite looking at him.
Soarin nodded appreciatively. “Thanks… look, it’s a big loss for her and well-.”
“She’s not taking it very well is she?” Rainbow said quietly, already knowing the answer.
Soarin shrugged uneasily. “Better than most I guess, but honestly? She seems to be holding it all in. She needs somepony to get it out of her or she’ll just fall apart at the seams and be completely beyond help.”
“And you’re not the one for her?” Rainbow asked, slightly surprised. She’d expected Soarin to be spitfire’s go-to pony for almost anything.
Soarin seemed slightly taken aback. “I don’t know what you read about us in the press but it’s not like that at all. She’s more like my grumpy big sister. Thing is, she won’t confide anything with me about her feelings or just she’ll see herself as weak.”
“Huh. And you can’t think of anypony how could do it?”
The stallion shook his head silently, the look on his face telling her that those that could were few and far between.
“I’m sure you’ll sort something out, even if you have to force it out of her. That’s what friends do.” Rainbow said, daring to lay a gentle hoof on his shoulder. She expected him to rebuke her but was instead rewarded with a flicker of a smile.
“Thanks.” Soarin said quickly.
“No probs.” Rainbow replied shakily. She wasn’t usually one to offer emotional support but even she could see that even her superstars needed somepony to tell them it was okay every now and then. “Hey, good luck with your training. You have no idea how jealous I am.”
“Well if this all pans out fine maybe I can show you the basics eh?” An amused look crossed Soarin’s face and his dark green eyes drifted to her hoof. “You can stop touching me whenever you want y’know.”
“Oh right, sorry!” Rainbow squeaked hastily removing her hoof from Soarin’s shoulder. She looked around awkwardly before deciding that the pattern on the roof was suddenly very interesting. A quiet chuckle of amusement came from her companion.
“I should probably go now, lots of things to do!” Rainbow excused herself, feeling as embarrassed as a Minotaur in tight spandex. “Busy, busy, busy!” She said trotting away before Soarin could even hope to stop her.
The confused stallion blinked slowly, unsure of whether he should laugh or cry at her rampant display of emotion. After a moment of consideration he smirked confidently.
“She’s totally into me.”
***
The next day Soarin and Wave Chill found themselves in a long, mostly empty hall which until now, had been a warehouse along the edge of the repair yard. Without the stacks of crates and pallets the place almost seemed deserted. In place of the usual clutter was a large five metre mat and a collection of objects which to the untrained eye looked like nothing more than junk.
The two aliens stood in the centre talking lowly, they hadn’t seemed to notice either Wave Chill or Soarin’s arrival. If they had, they paid neither of the ponies any attention, too focused on whatever conversation they were having.
After several long minutes Soarin cleared his throat, attracting their attention. He hadn’t seen either of the curious creatures in the flesh yet and he had to admit, their appearance wasn’t anything like he’d expected. He’d imagined them… taller.
“Ah, you’re here.” One of them said with something that could possible resemble cheer. He extended one of his limbs, a gesture Soarin responded to with some confusion. “I’m Michael, this is my brother Shane.” He said, withdrawing his hand quickly as he noticed Wave Chill moving in to sniff it.
“Soarin, Wave Chill.” Soarin said, gesturing to the two of them unnecessary, no doubt they’d already know their names.
“A pleasure.” Michael said in a voice which left Soarin questioning his seriousness. “Now, I’m sure you two both know why you’re here?”
They nodded in unison.
“Good, now ditch whatever rank or position you previously held, you’re cadets now. Fresh meat. Equals. Follow me and we’ll get started.” He said, leading them over to the padded mat in the centre of the building.
“It’s really good you’re doing this.” Wave Chill said, peering around the small warehouse cheerfully, he looked the collection of junk over but found nothing of interest and returned his gaze to their new instructors.
The two humans spun around slightly, the younger looking one cracking his knuckles absently. “Yeah, maybe. But we’re not doing this out of the kindness of our hearts.” He said.
Wave Chill slowly digested this fact. “Then why are you doing this?” He asked.
“Because we’re well and truly sick of holding the line. Now shut up and we’ll get started.”
Wave Chill immediately fell silent, exchanging a sidelong glance with Soarin.This was nothing like they’d expected.
Michael nodded and took a step forward. “Well then, first off… we’re going to be determining your drift compatibility. We've read through your files and while youlook promising, we need to do some actual hands on work before we shove you into a pons.”
Soarin raised a hoof. “What’s a ‘drift’?”
Michael nodded his head. “When we talk about a drift, or drifting, we’re talking about the process by which we mind-meld to control our Jaeger.” He gestured to Soarin. “Basically, you and Wave Chill here will be sharing memories, emotions and feelings through the body of a Jaeger. I’m not sure how exactly it works beyond that but I’m sure someone smarter than me could explain it if you really want to know.”
“Alright, and a pons?” Wave Chill asked, exchanging another nervous glance with Soarin.
“We’ll get to that later, for the moment we just want to see if you two match up well enough.” Michael explained.
“And how do we do that?”
“Normally, drift compatibility is tested in a place called the Kwoon Room… but since we don’t; have one of those, this place will have to do.” He gestured to the long hall.
Wave Chill looked around the hall again, slightly disappointed. “So we’re not driving a big robot yet?”
“Look chump, there’s no point showing you how to drive a Jaeger if you two don’t match up.” Shane said dryly. The way he was leaning back gave Wave Chill the impression he thought he could be doing much better things with his time than explaining the finer details of piloting a Jaeger.
Michael took over again. “Thank you Shane. Now, we’re going to start with a sparring session so we can see for ourselves how you two link up. While you should be putting your all into it, it’s more about trying to figure each other out than winning.”
Soarin cocked an eyebrow. “If this is all about getting in each other’s heads and all, how is fighting going to help?”
Michael shrugged. “Back in the early days of the Ranger academy, some bright spark figured that seeing how two people fought was a good way to determine drift compatibility. Firstly, the better you’re able to anticipate each other’s moves and styles is a good indicator of how well you’ll be able to anticipate each other’s thoughts… which in turn strengthens the neural bond.”
“Second, watching a fight allows us to determine your temperament and your personal style, they’re important in finding a pair that’ll match up. Lastly, if you can kick his ass in a fight without breaking a sweat, are you really going to take him seriously? You have to share your most precious thoughts and feelings with this guy, your life depends on him. Will you really respect him if you can floor him with barely a flick of your wrist?”
“Makes sense.” Soarin said, honestly not quite grasping the logic behind it. Still, if they reckoned it worked, it worked.
Michael grinned thinly “Good, have you ever fought with hanbō?”
‘Sure, expect us to know your language.’ Soarin thought irately. He forced a pleasant tone. “A what?”
“A short staff.” He said, procuring a roughly carved stick he’d been working on. It was nothing like the precision made hanbō he’d find in a real Kwoon Room but it would have to do. It was roughly three feet long and half and inch wide, light but sturdy. In the hands of a trained fighter, there wasn’t much you couldn’t do with one.
“We have trained with pole-arms, mostly learning how to counter them though.” Soarin said, wondering why the human hadn’t just called the glorified stick a stick and be done with it. “On account of not having hands or claws, we prefer unarmed combat. Unicorns are much more dexterous.”
“Well that’ll have to do.” Michael said with a shrug. He tuned to Shane and took another pair of shorter sticks his brother had been holding. He tossed them to the ground in front of Wave Chill and Soarin. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The two ponies exchanged another nervous glance before clumsily picking, or more accurately, cradling the sticks in their forearms. They used their wings to balance themselves, an occasional flutter preventing them from crashing face-first into the floor.
“There’s five rounds. A strike anywhere on the body counts as one point.” Shane explained, pointing Wave Chill to one end of the mat and Soarin to the other. He watched them curiously, the way they held their sticks made their bodies look like marshmallows. Whatever doubts he’d had about the flexibility of Equestrian’s anatomy vanished, they seemed surprisingly comfortable on their hind legs, even if their mobility was somewhat impaired.
“A bit odd, isn’t it?” Michael agreed, implicitly understanding the thought that was running through Shane’s mind. He cleared his throat and addressed the two pegasi again.
“Remember it’s not just about martial prowess. This whole exercise is all about compatibility.” Michael reminded the two ponies as he walked slowly around the ring. “You want to be anticipating your opponent, knowing exactly what he’s going to do.”
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Wave Chill asked, calmly bouncing the stick up and down with his forelegs.
“By watching, learning… feeling. Study him, know everything there is to know about him. Know his styles, his strengths, his weaknesses; by doing this you’ll know exactly what he’s going to do. Make sense?”
The two Wonderbolts nodded hesitantly.
“Well considering your line of work you should already have a fairly good start. You should be able to anticipate each other fairly well...” his voice dropped so only Shane could hear him. “I hope.” He made a subtle gesture. “Uh, when you’re ready I guess?”
***
A thin sheen of sweat covered Soarin. Panting slightly, he brought his hanbō back up to the ready position. Three metres across from him, Wave Chill made a similar motion. He was pleased to see his old subordinate in a similar state. Neither were giving any quarter, a fierce instruction that Shane had given them after their first bout had ended. Soarin had clipped Wave Chill twice now, once behind the knee and the other across the ribs. Wave Chill had also struck him twice, once across the leg and another time across the neck, a blow that would probably rise up as an ugly bruise tomorrow. They were fairly well matched, Wave chill’s slightly better agility an equal match for Soarin’s slightly bulkier build.
Wave Chill glared at him, not exactly angry with Soarin but a little more irritated with himself, Soarin guessed. The last spar had been close, almost devolving to fisticuffs. Soarin had jabbed his opponent in the ribs after anticipating a downward feint and slipping past his guard, leaving a small mark where the end of his stick had rapped against Wave Chill’s ribcage.
Soarin put the last fight behind him and scrutinised Wave Chill again. He’d opened aggressively previously but now he seemed to be sizing Soarin up, looking for an opening, looking for a way past the thin stick Soarin had clumsily balanced in his hooves. He had to admit, after a few rounds he’d started to see the alien’s logic. It was uncanny how well he and Wave Chill matched up. They seemed to flow from parry to counter, each one performing the perfect response to the others move, almost as if they implicitly knew what the other would do. They weren’t perfect, the large mark of Soarin’s neck was testament to that, but they seemed to be pleasing the humans. He wiped a bead of sweat out of his eye and stared at Wave chill again.
It was almost like he was fighting himself.
With a grunt Soarin lunged forward, aiming for a small spot on Wave chill’s foreleg which was barely exposed. The other Pegasus parried and soon they were back in their convoluted dance, their wings fluttering erratically to keep them balanced and occasionally, leaving the floor entirely. They covered every inch of the mat, their sticks flashing through the air with grunts and yells, barely missing the space occupied by their opponent moments ago. They fought for what seemed for several long minutes before Michael called out.
“Enough!” He waved them down. “That’s enough, we’ve seen what we need to see.” He glanced sidewards, receiving a barely imperceptible nod from his brother.
“And?” Soarin panted, letting the irritating stick fall to the ground. He glared at it, clearly wishing it would burst into flames.
“You two are good. Crazy good.” Michael remarked. “For beginners at least.” He glanced at the stick on the ground and without warning, swept his own hanbō at Soarin’s legs, tripping the stallion up and knocking him to the ground with a single movement. “Never let your guard down. You won’t get a second against the Kaiju so you won’t get one from us.” He barked, cutting off Soarin’s angry response. He resumed his relaxed stance, a thin smirk appearing on his face. “Still, good work.”
Soarin grinned stupidly, feeling immensely proud of himself and Wave Chill despite the humiliating position he was in..
“Take a short break, maybe a shower and we’ll start classes.” Michael said, waving the two ponies away. He sat cross-legged on the sparing mat and motioned for Shane to sit next to him.
“So, what do you think?” He asked. Although Shane would never admit it, Michael could tell he was more impressed than he was letting on. Although they had a lot to improve on, the duo seemed fairly well matched.
He twirled a hanbō dexterously between his fingers, slowly collecting his thoughts. After a moment he nodded. “They’ll do.” Shane agreed.
***
Twenty minutes later they were back in the hall, a holoprojector salvaged from BrawlerYukon in hand along with several fat files filled with information from their Jaeger’s databanks.
Wave Chill glanced at the files with something approaching annoyance. “Don’t tell me that’s homework.”
“A bit of light reading.” Michael said with a pleasant smile. “Alright, today we’ll be discussing Kaiju. Since fighting them is the whole point of this joint venture, I think we should start there.”
“And not with how to pilot the big robot?” Wave Chill asked again.
“Please, give me your big robot and I’ll show you how to drive it. Until then, shut it.” Shane snapped. “You’re sure as hell not using MidsummerNight.”
“Anyway…” Michael said, reigning them in before the conversation drifted too far from the subject. He thumbed the battered projector, bringing up a slowly revolving and slightly grainy image of a Category II Kaiju, Reckoner, if he remembered correctly. The beast snarled at him from its virtual prison, the long gator-like snout splitting in a way which he found slightly unsettling. “This, is a Kaiju. Only a small one. CAT II. This little guy attacked a place we call Hong Kong in 2016.”
“Bitch is ugly.” Wave Chill remarked, trotting around the two metre high projection with an air of awe. He stared at the large metal plate the image was projecting from, clearly wondering how it worked.
“What’s a CAT II?” Soarin asked, recoiling slightly as the Kaiju lunged at him. While it was only an image, the Kaiju was still larger than he was.
“It’s a system we use to classify the Kaiju. Generally, the larger they are the more dangerous they become.” Shane explained. “The system runs from Category one through to five.”
“And how do you assign a Category to a Kaiju?” Soarin asked, slightly mispronouncing the foreign word.
“Its weight, size and toxicity are the major factors. We’ll mostly use weight though as some higher level Kaiju aren’t as toxic or are rather squat.” Michael said, bringing a new Kaiju, a CAT I called Hardship, to life on the projector. “This is a CAT I. About 1400 tons if I remember correctly. Little guy but still very dangerous. RomeoBlue killed him in Seattle.”
He brought Reckoner back up again. “Category IIs start at 1500 tons and go up to 2500 tons. They seem to be fairly run of the mill Kaiju, most Jaegers can take the smaller ones on without too many problems.” He said, remember how hard of a fight Rasputin had put up. To be fair though, he had almost been a CAT III… He shuddered and suppressed the thought.
He switched the display again, bringing a snarling CAT III into focus. This one had a large knife-like protrusion out of his head. It growled silently and leapt at Soarin, the slightly transparent image stopping a metre away from him with a seemingly annoyed snarl. The Kaiju flicked in an out of focus, a well-placed blow to the fickle machine from Shane’s foot finally snapping it back into focus.
“Let me guess, you called him Knifehead.” Soarin remarked dryly, edging away cautiously from the still growling Kaiju.
“Yup. Biggest CAT III on record. He was around 3800 tons. Killed a Jaeger too,” He added softly. “CAT IIIs top out at 4000 tons, anything heavier is a CAT IV.” He image changed again to show a hulking lizard-like monster which darted around like a child on a caffeine drip.
“Who’s this?”
“Rapture. First Category IV. He attacked Manila in 2019. Took a team of three Jaegers to bring him down. Make no mistake, if you’re fighting one of these guys, you really want some backup or to have one hell of a Jaeger.”
“What about Category V’s?” Soarin asked, almost a little worried about what he’d hear.
“Anything over 6000 tons.” Michael said quietly, thankful that the system had no listed CAT V’s. “We haven’t encountered one yet, so at the moment they’re entirely hypothetical.” He paged back to Rapture and let the three metre high Kaiju run around the room. Its barbed tail whipping in frustration as it fought an imaginary foe.
“There’s also a measure of toxicity. Almost all Kaiju are incredibly toxic, their flesh… bones… even their blood. That’s something to keep in mind, especially when fighting in an urban environment.” He widened the scale on the holoprojector and bringing a trio of Jaegers, StrikerEureka, Gipsy Danger and Horizon Brave, onto the field. Horizon was the closest to the Kaiju and despite being outweighed and outsized by the massive Kaiju several times over, launched its attack mercilessly. The old Chinese Jaeger advanced quickly, spraying the massive Kaiju down with its cryo cannons and freezing the Kaiju’s barbed tail in place in a concentrated burst of liquid nitrogen. With a massive downward sweep, the Jaeger’s massive fists shattered it into a thousand pieces.
“When we fight a Kaiju, we try to minimise the amount of blood that gets spilt.” Shane explained lowly, now watching Horizon pound the Kaiju’s face with its hammy fists. The Kaiju squirmed uncomfortably as its jawbone snapped under the rain of blows. “Minimize collateral damage.” He said as the Chinese Jaeger wrapped its burly hands around Rapture’s forearms and hurled the Kaiju out into the bay with a wide swing. Rapture regained its wits quickly though and within moments was harassing the venerable Jaeger again, using it to block Striker and Gipsy’s line of advance. Another cryo burst came from HorizonBrave and engulfed the charging Kaiju, slowing its frenzied movements down considerably and freezing patches of its leathery skin. It wasn’t enough though and the Chinese Jaeger’s leg buckled as the Kaiju’s claws tore through its knee in a massive shower of sparks and torn metal. The Kaiju pounced on the crippled Jaeger, tearing its chest open in the blink of an eye. A meaty claw wrapped around the right shoulder’s cryo cannon, shattering the delicate structure with a loud crack and forcing a massive cloud of liquid nitrogen into the air. The Kaiju’s movements slowed even more as the cannon emptied until finally, one of the other Jaegers pulled it off the now critically damaged Horizon Brave. Shane stared at the broken Jaeger sadly, watching the fire which licked greedily inside the Jaeger’s chest slowly die out as the cloud of supercooled nitrogen reached it.
A construction site wouldn’t be a place where you’d expect to see royalty but the makeshift yards that had sprung up at the Manehatten docks seemed to defy that expectation.. Celestia seemed ill at ease as she stalked through the worksites but continued regardless, this was something she had to do. It wasn’t hard to find one of the humans, they were remarkably easy to track as somepony on site always seemed to know their whereabouts. Before long, Celestia found herself out a small hab-block which overlooked the construction yards. She approached the door and knocked, feeling slightly foolish.
“Enter.”
Celestia hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open, revealing a well-used room which the human had made his home. There were few personal effects but the small quarters seemed surprisingly homely. The human, Michael, if Celestia remembered correctly, turned to look at her, a faint scowl forming on his face as he recognised Equestria’s chief monarch.
“You’re the last person I expected to see here.” Michael remarked, he folded his arms across his chest to show Celestia he wasn’t entirely pleased with her presence.
“Surprises, the little joys of life.” Celestia said softly.
Michael leaned back in his chair. “What do you want then? Come to tell us some other ground-breaking secret? Don’t suppose you’ve got Striker Eureka hidden behind a curtain somewhere, do you?”
“Sometimes it is easier to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.” Celestia answered quietly, “Perhaps now is the time for forgiveness.” She added after a moment of slightly uneasy silence.
“Trust, it’s a two way street.” Michael said, his tone a smidge warmer. He fell silent again, engrossed by the leg frames being steadily assembled across the yard. Sparks streamed down in great torrents from all over the frame like miniature waterfalls as workers with welding torches fastened supporting beams and installed vital components. The internal systems seemed to be quickly taking shape, the engines, shock absorbers, bracing and wiring peeking out from under thick slabs of armour which had been secured in some places already. Everything was coming together, much faster than he would have thought possible. Behind the legs, a large metal skeleton was being welded and bolted together, the main body of the Jaeger if he remembered correctly.
“How goes it?” Celestia asked, following his gaze. Her gaze flickered to the recently refurbished reactor they’d ripped from Brawler Yukon which sat at the heart of the Jaeger with something approaching awe. Even powered down she could feel its power, similar to how a unicorn could detect powerful magic lingering in the air.
“We’re hamstrung by a lack of facilities.” He said bluntly. “Otherwise, as well as we could hope.”
Celestia looked curiously at Midsummer Night which still stood stoically over the dockyard, an unwavering guardian for the citizens of Equestria. “How was yours assembled?’
“We have a dedicated facility for Jaegers called a shatterdome. Most of their service is spent there; everything from construction to repairs, regular maintenance to simulation drops… almost everything happens in the shatterdome.”
Celestia nodded thoughtfully. “What do they look like?”
Michael rooted around for the small holoprojector he’d borrowed from their salvage pile for teaching classes. They’d covered the topic not too long ago so the data would hopefully still be on-board. He booted the device up, giving it a rough thump with the palm of his hand as the image briefly fizzled out in a wave of static. Within a few moments, a slowly spinning projection of the Alaskan Shatterdome, or the ‘Icebox’ as it was known by its inhabitants, filled the room. Michael pulled the projection apart with a flick of his wrist, showing Celestia the three large bays for storing and constructing Jaegers, the sprawling facilities for its occupants and the LOCCENT, the local command centre which sat above the main launch bay.
Celestia concealed her surprise remarkably well, the image, while decidedly alien, was strangely familiar. She pointed her long horn at one of the long Jaeger bays. “I take it this is where your machines are constructed?”
“That’s right.” Michael nodded, pointing out a holographic representation of a Jaeger sitting in the bays. The sheer scale of the structure struck Celestia quite suddenly, the complex would’ve been several square kilometres at least. “You’re not thinking of building one are you?” He asked suspiciously.
Celestia shrugged nonchalantly. She had a city with a massive unemployment problem coupled with an almost tangible desire for revenge behind her and the giant mecha program she was so fond of being stalled by a lack of facilities… the conclusion had come pretty naturally to her. “Why not?” She looked at the slowly revolving picture again. “How detailed are these plans?”
Wordlessly, Michael expanded the image, the hologram momentarily freezing as the small computer furiously worked to enhance the detail. He pulled apart the wall with another lazily flick, the concrete coming apart to show the hundreds of reinforced steel bars beneath it.
“Good enough?” He asked, wondering how much other data he could find on the shatterdome in the two Jaeger’s systems.
Celestia’s eyes widened with amazement, the small device which he fiddled with so casually seemed to have more computing power than a small town. “I’ll have to have an engineer look at it, I don’t know enough on the matter.” She admitted. A thought nagged at the back of her head. “Why is this information even on file? Surely it seems a little…?”
“Unnecessary?” Michael finished.
Celestia nodded silently.
The human shrugged, a quiet sound of confusion escaping his mouth. “Beats me, this is from Brawler’s database not ours. One of the pilots may’ve nicked it or maybe it was left on there from when the Jaeger was built.” He guessed.
The alicorn raised an eyebrow in surprise. “And that’d be allowed?”
Michael nodded. “Course it would, most pilots have some personal effects of some kind on board. You should check out Shane’s massive collection of po-.”
“.-odcasts.” Michael finished, biting the inside of his cheek to supress a knowing smile.
Celestia flushed a deep shade of red, clearly embarrassed. “Pray tell, what is a podcast?”
Michael let her off the hook, no doubt he could tease her about it later. “It’s like a show but you can download it and listen to it later. He’s got all sorts of talk-shows, panels and stuff like that.”
Celestia found herself with more questions than answers and decided it best to leave it there, lest she spend the whole day following the rabbit hole that was human culture. Despite their seeming permanent residence in Equestria, she still hardly knew anything about them.
She coughed awkwardly. “Well then, I’ll leave you it.” She hesitated for a moment. “Pass my apologies onto your brother for my… dishonest, behaviour.”
“Let bygones be bygones Princess.” Michael muttered, playing with a small scale representation of what Celestia could only imagine was the Jaeger they were building. It seemed like he was going to something more but he kept whatever other thoughts he had to himself.
“Might I ask, what about the pilots?” Celestia asked politley as he pulled the conpod apart to examine the interior layout.
“Coming along nicely, I think we picked a fairly good pair to start with. I hope to put them through their first simulated drop soon.” Michael answered without looking up.
“That’s good to hear.” The regal alicorn said a slight nod of her head. She scanned the small room the creature called home, noting the odd collection of metal parts he’d salvaged for whatever reason. Some seemed to serve no other purpose than decoration while others served more mundane roles such as propping up a projector or acting as a rack for what few garments he had. ‘Another interesting tradition of theirs…’ Celestia thought, eyeing his clothes suspiciously. She returned her haze to Michael and coughed quietly.
“I’d like to put you and your brother at the head of our own Jaeger corps.”
Michael’s head snapped up, a look of puzzlement on his face. “I thought we already were?”
“Officially.” Celestia clarified. “Up until now you’ve been merely acting as liaisons or advisors.”
He nodded slowly. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. You simply get an official position with the usual benefits our military personnel get. You’re undoubtedly the most skilled in the matters we are likely to face over the coming months and years, I think it would be fitting for you to take command of our forces.”
“The Pan Pacific Defence Corps is separate from any one country’s military though, it’s a global organisation.” Michael pointed out.
“The only other nation that borders the Eastern Sea, the griffons, would never agree to such a treaty. That and they don’t believe the Kaiju are real, merely a fantasy or some creation of mine to spread panic.”
“Hmm, they sound nice.” Michael remarked offhandedly.
“Simply charming creatures.” Celestia said with a disgusted roll of her eyes. “Regardless, I appreciate it if you’d consider my offer.”
“We’ll do it.” Michael said immediately, no way he’d entrust the fledgling Equestrian Jaeger program to some pinhead who didn’t know his arse from his elbow. He felt a hint of pride, at the thought; this was their Jaeger program.
“Excellent, you’ll need to adopt an insignia and a name for your branch.” She smiled thinly. “The Equestrian Jaeger Corps has a nice ring to it.”
“Indeed.” Michael noted, pondering an emblem for the newly formed corp. He had a sudden flash of inspiration. “A Phoenix.”
“Excuse me?” Celestia asked.
“The corps was made from the ashes of defeat. The Phoenix is a bird which is born from the ashes of its own demise. Fitting, don’t you think?”
Celestia bowed her head again slightly. “I couldn’t agree more.”
***
Within a few weeks of Celestia’s apology, the first signs of the new shatterdome had started to rise into the sky. Most ponies would’ve been amazed at the speediness of the work as most large construction projects would take months upon months just to get approval, let alone start actual work. When almost certain destruction was the other option though, council approvals and the usual bureaucratic nightmare that construction projects seemed to get bogged down in seemed to vanish. Soon, two long wings had been laid down around a large, central boxy structure. Dozens of derelict warehouses had been demolished to make room for the enormous structure which now sat like a massive concrete and steel stain in central Manehatten. Several high concrete and metal walls were slowly rising into the sky under the direction of barked orders from the largest project management team Equestria had ever seen. Unlike the plans which Michael had handed over for study, the shatterdome was larger, capable of housing up to ten Jaegers and their support staff within its mighty halls. The Shatterdome took over the sprawling docks in inner city Manehatten, the sheer size of the structure extending several dozen metres out into the bay like a trio of long fingers. Priority had been given to the massive central structure which would eventually house the Jaeger construction facilities, the main Jaeger bay and the Shatterdome’s control centre.
“Damn they work fast.” Shane remarked as he and Michael walked through the nearly finished main facility several months later. Wind howled through the hal- built structure and a few fat drops of rain drifted down through the almost finished roof, heralds of a larger storm which was building slowly on the horizon.
“Hong Kong went up in what? Five, six months?” Michael shrugged. “Your perspective changes when the end of the world seems nigh.” He watched a unicorn trot past, clipboard levitated in front of him as he chatted animatedly to another pony. “And they have magic. Who knows how much that speeds up the build process?”
Shane made an unimpressed sound, scooting out of the way of a large forklift carrying a stack of steel beams, each as thick as he was, that threatened to run them over. “Idiots should learn how to drive first.” He remarked sourly. He pointed over at where the Jaeger was now being constructed, a large recessed bay which had been finished some weeks ago. Flood lights bathed the Jaeger in light, picking out every detail from the muscle strands half-hidden under plates of armour to the large pair of imposing missile pods which were slung from the Jaeger’s hips like a pair of bags.
Another blast of wind scoured the building, pleasantly cool despite the sweltering temperatures outside. The walls were starting to go up but the builders had been mostly focused on getting a small part of the shatterdome operational quickly rather than getting it all done at once, leaving some areas more open to the elements than others. The weather was much warmer than what they’d experienced in Anchorage, the cold winter which had gripped the city changing to a wet spring. The rains and mild temperatures had barely lasted two months though before a dry, hot summer had reared its ugly head.
“No conpod?” Shane mused as they approached the Jaeger. He stepped out of the way of another errant forklift with a snarl before deciding the gantries around the Jaeger were much safer.
“Probably still building it.” Michael remarked, looking down at the bustle of the shatterdome rather than the Jaeger. It almost felt like home, the electric buzz of welders and the ratcheting of auto-jigs echoing around the massive space. He found himself slightly melancholy. Besides Shane, he hadn’t seen another human for nearly six months and the strain was starting to show. The ponies were good enough company but he found himself longing for home. Ironically, despite Shane’s lingering distrust of the Equestrians his brother seemed to be enjoying himself more and more, perhaps he felt like he’d left less behind than Michael did?
“What’d you think?” Shane asked, breaking the slightly pensive atmosphere which had fallen over them. He waved at the Jaeger in front of them to dispel any doubt of what exactly he meant.
Michael stared at the Jaeger, the technical specs for the machine had no doubt passed him at some point but numbers on a piece of paper were no substitute for a physical examination.
“Looks like it’ll pack one hell of a punch.” He said. Down on all fours, the Jaeger looked brawnier than Midsummer Night, not by much admittedly though. His well-practised eye could already pick out flaws in the armour, no doubt that’d get better though as materials and experience improved though.
“And what do you make that out to be?” Shane asked, pointing behind the hulking form of the pony’s Jaeger.
Michael’s eyes widened. “Oh hell, they’re building more of them already?” He asked, the beginning of two more frames barely visible behind the gunmetal grey Jaeger.From a distance he’d originally mistaken the new constructions as spares or additional parts for the first Jaeger but up close it was plain to see just how different they were.
“Is… is that a hand?” Shane spluttered, pointing at a monstrous frame behind the grey Jaeger which was surrounded by scaffolds. While barely started, the structure had several points of articulation along one end, suggesting a limb of some sort. His jaw dropped, the forearm would’ve been at least twice as big as the one on the nearly finished Jaeger.
“Speaking of hands, how’s your little project coming along” Michael asked, elbowing his brother slightly to snap him out of his stupor.
“Fine, fine.” He answered grumpily. “It’s a full time commitment so I’ll probably be in and out of lessons.”
“Works for me,” Michael shrugged, gripping the handrail slightly tighter as a titanic boom shook the shatterdome, a loud crash as the Jaeger’s massive chest piece was slotted into position.
“I think they like you more anyway.” Shane remarked.
Michael’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “I wonder why…” He drawled.
“Hey, no need to be an ass about it.” Shane muttered. “I’m trying to play nice.”
“Whatever you say.” Michael chuckled, returning his gaze to the imposing form of the pony’s Jaeger.
***
It was barely two weeks after inspecting the new Equestrian Jaeger when Michael ran the first drift. Brawler Yukon’s conpod had been salvaged and heavily redesigned, both to accommodate the new pilot’s physiology but also the rebuild pons that Twilight Sparkle had delivered personally to the base earlier in the week. She’d inspected the new Jaeger as well, citing it was much different to what she’d seen on paper.
“Always is.” Shane had remarked. That was an understatement, most of the original design had been changed, the number of fingers going from five to three for simplicity and the originally planned heavy armour being stripped down due to power concerns. She’d handed over a list of changes to made to the reactor, necessitating the Jaeger’s chest be reopened so the power source could be accessed and delaying the project further while the changes were made.
“Small little tweaks we’ve found that can boost the output, there’s so much we’ve learnt even since rebuilding your Jaeger’s reactor.” She’d explained to a wary Wave Chill and Soarin. She’d vanished after that, going away to continue work on the next generation of nuclear reactors in some distant facility.
Her arrival had coincided with another special delivery, making Michael waste no time in calling the two pilots down to one of the shatterdome’s main repair bays once the alicorn had left. He strolled through the assembled detritus, surprisingly cheerful despite the pensive mood he’d had earlier. Midsummer Night took up most of the repair bay, her arm still torn to shreds and the last of the dings from the fight with Rasputin now being walloped out. Choice parts of Brawler Yukon were scattered around the bay, the arm, large segments of its leg… Michael ignored those, making a beeline for the Jaeger’s massive conpod which was propped by carefully in the far corner of the repair bay.
The two pegasi he was training trotted behind him carefully, most of the time they’d spent in the Shatterdome had been either in their quarters or in small, makeshift classrooms. They’d seen their Jaeger on occasion, marvelling it its massive size and urging the workers that were adding the finishing touches to add them faster.
“Where’s Shane?” Wave Chill asked, not entirely displeased by the human’s absence. While Shane wasn’t exactly hostile, he got the impression that the human didn’t think very highly of him. Then again, he was reading a completely different specie’s body language, for he knew Shane could’ve just been shy. He shook his head, how did the humans read each other’s emotions without wings or without using their ears? Their face seemed to move and their arms occasionally flapped about but that was about it.
“He’s busy working on a little pet project of his.” Michael explained, clearly happy to not be partaking in whatever activity his brother was. He gestured vaguely across the wide bay, “He’s somewhere over there probably.”
“Fair enough.” Wave Chill said, looking around the repair bay curiously. He’d always enjoyed watching things go together, it was always incredibly fascinating for some reason he couldn’t quite describe.
“Michael.” Soarin said, breaking his co-pilots thoughts. “How do you name Jaegers?”
“Name them?” Michael scratched his head. “Don’t really know, there isn’t really a procedure if that’s what you’re asking. The only rule I’ve noticed is their names only have two words.
“Any two words?”
“Yeah, like Matador Fury… or Diablo Intercept. Cool names.”
“Who names them?” Soarin pressed, hopping over a cable which was nearly as thick as his torso.
“Anyone really. Comes down to whatever name sticks. Mostly it’ll be one of the manufacturers, deck crew or pilots who comes up with the name. Why do you ask?”
Soarin nodded at Wave Chill. “We were thinking about naming our Jaeger.”
“Oh yeah, what’d you have in mind?” Michael asked curiously.
“Our old boss suggested Wild Mustang.” Soarin said sheepishly, sure it’d be rebuffed by the human.
“That’s a pretty good name. It’s your Jaeger after all, call it what you want.” He hesitated for a moment. “Just don’t call it Flaming Flamingo or something, that’s just ridiculous.”
Soarin chuckled, wondering what the hull would look like in hot pink.
“Alright here we are.” Michael announced, clambering up a short flight of stairs two at a time and cranking open a heavy door, he waved the two ponies inside before following them through and shutting the door behind him.
Soarin and Wave Chill looked around the conpod excitedly, they’d never been inside one of the human machines before. Lights blinked and flashed and the Jaeger’s forward viewport was covered in a multitude of calculations, figures and diagrams. A movie played silently in the bottom right corner, evidently one of the humans had gotten bored during the reconstruction or had just wanted to show off something to one of the work crew. A centreline console dominated the space in between the two harnesses, dozens of switches, knobs and dials that they found vaguely familiar jumping up at them.
Behind the two hanging harnesses was a crude device Soarin immediately recognised as a pons, the vital piece of technology that made drifting possible. Although much more makeshift than the ones Michael and Shane had shown them, the device shared several similarities, the two inputs and the large central processor buried in a mess of cabling the most obvious of all.
“Welcome to the conpod, take a good look. Soon you’ll be in one of your own. Today though, we’re just doing some practice.” Michael said, strolling around the edge of a gaping hole torn into the centre of the floor. He punched a button, making the two harnesses drop from the ceiling smoothly. It was only now the two pegasi realised they had clearly been built with equine physiology in mind. In comparison to the two cradles, the conpod seemed almost comically large.
“Practice what, exactly?” Soarin asked, nosing one of the harnesses curiously. It seemed much more complicated than the ones Shane had shown him in their lessons, longer than it was tall and much lower.
“A drift, and if that goes well we might be able to try a little simulation to try and get you used to controling a Jaeger. Baby steps.”
Wave Chill’s wings fluttered with excitement, after months of classes about improving mental focus, identifying Kaiju biomorphs and learning the ins and outs of both Jaeger and Kaiju physiology he was well and truly itching to get into a cockpit. “Really?” Wave chill asked excitedly.
“Yeah, really. And something else that arrived today for you...” Michael said, turning around and breaking open a crate. He fished around the interior for a moment before pulling a heavy half helmet out with a dramatic flourish. It was shaped like a regular crash helmet, covering the back and sides of the head but was otherwise vastly different. Three bundles of heavy cables ran down the crest of the helmet, each one slightly recessed into the gleaming metalwork. A large visor was swung down where their face would go, a large optic port on the left and on the right, a link to the Jaeger’s sensor arrays.
“Drivesuits.” He finished, tossing the helmet to Soarin and pulling the second one out for Wave Chill.
At first, Soarin thought it was a stupid design, they’d only be able to see out one side of the helmet, cutting their field of vision and limiting their depth perception. As he turned it over though, he realised with the direct link to the Jaeger’s sensor suite, he’d effectively be able to see what the Jaeger could see. The optical ports, he realised, were mirrored on each helmet, allowing a good drift pair to still see with both eyes. When not drifting or when they felt like it, the helmet’s visor could be swung up, offering the pilot a completely unobstructed view. The whole thing was held in place by a large chin strap which dangled loosely as Soarin flipped the helmet over.
While they were busy examining their new helmets, Michael pulled out the rest of the suits, a pair tar-black circuitry suits which glinted with streaks of gold as he shifted it under the bright spotlights and nearly a score of thin metal plates which covered key parts of the pilot’s body. A pair of heavy boots, thigh guards and a three-part chest plate followed along with a pair of thick shoulder pads, one bearing a phoenix and the other stamped with the owner’s cutiemark. Each plate was about an eighth of an inch of a light but sturdy alloy backed with a soft, flexible plastic which seemed to mould to a pilot’s body as he moved. He nodded appreciatively, whoever had made these had spared no expense in the design. The suits were a dark navy blue, each piece embossed with a short, white serial number which presumably would’ve meant something to somebody.
“Very nice.” Wave Chill said, fawning over one of his shoulder pads. He paused and looked over the black under-suit. “Can we put them on?”
“That’s why I got them out.” Michael quipped. Normally a team of technicians would help don the pilot’s drivesuit, fastening bolts, attaching the spinal clamps and completing other tasks the pilot would otherwise find difficult. The crates didn’t come with technicians though, leaving Michael to figure out how they went together. Luckily, the design wasn’t over complicated and quickly he’d figured out which parts went where. He helped Soarin first, getting Wave Chill to assist when necessary. The circuitry suit went first, the one piece body suit being fastened by a long zipper than ran down the front. Next came the multi-part chest piece; two pieces went around his forelegs and the last piece over his back. A pair of holes allowed his large wings to sit outside the suit, resting comfortably against the cool metal. The leg and flank armour came last, a mixture of small and large pieces which clipped to each other or the circuitry suit. Michael left Wave Chill to the more sensitive areas, he wouldn’t have put his hand down there even he was being paid in solid gold bars.
“Is there a reason for this armour? I mean, looks cool and all, but will it… ah… really help in a fight?” Soarin winced as Wave Chill adjusted his crotch plate.
“Protects you if you come loose of your harness and smash into something. Also helps against shrapnel.” Michael explained. “Full face helmets also help prevent you from drowning, should probably look into that.” He remarked dryly.
“Well that’s just great.” Soarin remarked lamely, looking at his own helmet and reminding himself to stay clear of deep pools of water.
Wave Chill was up next and now with some idea of how to suit went together, the stallion found himself fully armoured with a few minutes. He plopped the helmet over his head and looked around, a slightly foolish grin on his face. Michael had to contain a laugh, fully suited up, the two ponies almost looked like medieval warhorses. They were the least intimidating warhorses he’d ever seen though, the top of Wave Chill’s head barely reached past his hips.
“You two look ridiculous.” He chuckled.
Wave Chill reared up onto his hind legs and punched the air, still surprisingly agile despite the suit of armour he wore. “I like it, feels like it was made for me.”
Michael wasn’t surprised, it was standard practice for suits to be tailored to individual pilots.
“Alright, if you’re done mucking around let’s get started.” Michael chided, directing the two ponies over to the new harnesses. He showed them how to clip their boots into the drivetrain and then fastened the harnesses onto the back-plates, covering the twitching spinal clamp in the back of each drivesuit. Soarin took the left side and Wave Chill the right by unspoken consent, making Michael wonder if ponies had a dominant side of the body like humans did.
“Get a feel for the harness, it’ll restrict your movement slightly but you’ll get used to it eventually.” He explained as the two pegasi fumbled around slightly. The harness was fairly heavy, providing a fair amount of resistance to many otherwise casual actions. “Comfortable?” He asked.
“Hardly.” Soarin grunted, a worried look on his face. By the way he suddenly windmilled backwards Michael guessed he wasn’t used to only have two hooves on the ground while he was still technically on all fours.
“Good enough. Now, we’ve talked a bit about drifting already but I’ve got to warn you, the feeling itself is completely unlike anything we’ve described. It’s terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.”
Soarin chuckled nervously, he’d been looking forward to this moment immensely, perhaps dreading it alittle as well. What would it be like to have Wave Chill in his head? No point wondering anymore, he was about to find out. “Any tips?”
“Take a deep breath and stay focused, don’t single out any one thing. Don’t latch on to anything, just let it all flow.” Michael said, standing behind the primitive pons. “Normally your neural strength would be monitored from the LOCCENT but since we don’t have that I guess I’ll just pull the plug if one of you starts dropping out.” He hovered his hand over the activation switch. “And remember, don’t chase the RABIT.”
“What?” Soarin asked.
Michael sighed and rubbed the arch of his nose. “Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers; come on, we’ve talked about this stuff before.”
“You love your acronyms.” Soarin remarked nervously, starting to sweat a little. There was so much that could go wrong now, it would take only a slip up and the whole program would fall part.
“They’re fun.” Michael shot back with a smile. “I’m starting the drift in 10 seconds. “Remember, focus.” He cautioned, activating a small timer on the conpod’s single window.
“This is it.” Wave Chill chuckled apprehensively.
“Over the edge and b-.” Soarin started to say but the timer outpaced him, plunging the world into a swirling blue mist. It felt like someone had ripped his brain out of his skull and was playing a macabre game of catch with it. Suddenly he could feel another voice in his head, a voice that didn’t belong to him. It was faint, like the distant glow of lights on a clear summer’s night, but undeniably there. He was starting to adjust to the feeling when, without warning, his mind exploded, memories from his past flashing past his eyes, thoughts and feelings he’d harboured since he was small rushing past like they were caught in a series of rapids before a waterfall.
Gradually, other foreign memories started appearing, images of a small foal crying in the corner were quickly shoved aside by a jet of fire shooting up into an overcast sky. Soarin’s mind raced, unable to keep up with the sheer amount of information that flashed through his brain. It was the most incredible yet terrifying thing he had ever experienced. He felt the other presence probing at his thoughts tentatively and he instinctively withdrew, worried of what it would find in the depths of his mind. Before he could properly process the other presence though, the memories were suddenly ripped way, replaced by thoughts and voices which were not his own. He wanted to scream, to shout, desperate to not loose himself to the other being in his mind but all that escaped was a tiny whimper. He locked himself away, frightened by the clambering of voices which now filled his head. Voices of ponies he’d never met or even know about bumping around, all desperate for attention.
Then, as quickly as they arrived the flashes were gone and Soarin found himself again, he sucked in a deep breath of air gratefully, tiny rivers of sweat running down his forehead. He realised he had slumped to the floor, the harness the only thing holding him up. He looked up shakily, his vision being filled by the slightly concerned face of Michael. His eyes darted to the screen, only a few seconds had passed since the drift had started.
“You were screaming.” Michael said, throwing a look at Wave Chill. “What happened?”
Soarin quickly explained the odd feeling he’d felt as best he could, relieved to get a thoughtful nod from Michael.
“Sounds like you had a shutdown.” He said, displaying what Soarin saw as an underwhelming amount of concern.
“Is that fairly normal?”
“The first drift is usually pretty rough. Don’t worry about it, most people don’t get it on their first try. You just have to try and keep your mind open. Your psyche doesn’t want to share its secrets, it wants to protect itself.” Michael explained slowly. “It doesn’t like feeling naked in front of someone so you’ll naturally try to cover yourself and push the other person out. You have to really drop your guard to make the connection. You have to trust the person next to you implicitly.” He glanced back at Wave Chill, the other Pegasus seemed much more composed that Soarin did. Evidently there was something in Soarin’s mind he didn’t particularly want to share. “What happened is probably because you shut you mind off to your drift partner. Because of how the drift works, by sharing memories and feelings, he’ll still be trying to share with you and in effect, anything he takes will torn away and anything he offers will hound you until you open up. You need to open your mind, even if that means sharing your darkest secrets.” He fixed Soarin with a sympathetic gaze.
“Can you do that?” He asked finally.
Soarin nodded shakily. “I’ll try.”
“Good, we can run it again if you feel up to it?” Michael offered.
Soarin nodded silently.
Michael nodded and returned back to the pons. A moment later the countdown started again, ticking away with worrying speed.
Another wave of blue light enveloped Soarin and again he felt the strange sensation of not quite being in his own head. The memories flowed quickly now, thousands of flashes which raced past too fast for his mind to process. He could hear the unfamiliar voices in his head again but didn’t retreat to the bastion of his own mind, instead making a conscious effort to keep his mind open to the intruder. He felt his thoughts get torn away again and he nearly pulled back reflexively out of fear. He concentrated on keeping his mind open and the pressure in his mind waned, more like delicate plucking now rather than violent tears.
Their consciousnesses overlapped and Soarin started hearing more than just memories. Every ambition and dream that he and Wave Chill had experienced flashed before him, he stared in wonder, desperate to learn more but resisting the urge to latch onto any specific memory or feeling for more than a microsecond.
We have twelve generations of weather experience in this family, what do you think you’re doing running off to join the air force?
Are you trying to prove yourself or something?
Damn this suit is hot
Why would she ever be proud of me? Her son that ran away to follow a stupid dream…
There was a gut-wrenching tug at the base of his skull and suddenly everything was clear again. With a shudder the two pegasi snapped forward in their harnesses, their minds finally melded into one.
“Can you feel it?” Soarin whispered softly, as if any noise would break the new bond which had formed between them. Wave Chill nodded but Soarin could somehow feel him agreeing before he saw his head bob up and down.
It was like they were back on the sparring mat, only this time Soarin could almost physically feel the connection. He was sure if he reached out and pulled, Wave Chill would’ve come flying across the cockpit towards him.
“Good, good!” Michael cheered excitedly, his voice almost a little distant. “Now just hold it steady, I’m going to boot the sim up.” He added, ducking to the front of the conpod and mashing a series of buttons too fast for the eye to follow.
Soarin grinned stupidly, they were really doing it!
He only had a moment to savour his triumph before the visor dimmed suddenly before glowing a faint blue. A large swirling icon filled the screen before finally being replaced by an open bay of water. Soarin looked down and felt a sudden sense of vertigo. They were a good sixty metres in the air, a massive but somewhat blurry gunmetal grey body laid out beneath them. A hundred metres to their right was a long but narrow strip of sand which ran until it vanished around a curve in the land. A dense tropical rainforest filled the landscape, climbing higher and higher up a mountain range which rose up further inland.
“Pretty.” Wave Chill remarked, taking in the beautiful landscape.
“Enjoy it while you can Rangers.” Their radio crackled suddenly, the voice of Michael coming in through both the conpod’s speakers and from next to them. “Your first simulator run starts now, don’t worry, I’m not going to throw any Kaiju in just yet.”
“Yet?” Soarin asked sceptically.
“Just kidding, have a Kaiju!” Michael exclaimed cheerfully.
The air seemed in front of the Jaeger seemed to shimmer like a heat wave and after a few moments, a confused looking Kaiju appeared in front of them. ‘Kaiju’ was perhaps a stretch, the creature was barely eight metres high and seemed no more threatening than an ant was to a lion. It stared up at the Jaeger quizzically, barely ten metres in front of them. It let out a tinny cry and extended its tiny arms skyward, almost as if it expected a hug from the metal giant.
“Uh, what?” Soarin stammered, just as surprised to see the Kaiju as it was to suddenly be waist deep in water.
“Right.” Wave chill said, taking an experimental step forward. The Jaeger seemed to lurch forward drunkenly, its mighty hoof crushing the Kaiju to a thin paste. The two pilots stared at each other in confusion when the words ‘Category 0 Kaiju: Squishy defeated!’ flashed across the screen.
“Seems you two aren’t completely inept after all.” Michael jeered. “Now, let’s move onto some actual drills…”
***
Big Mac lifted up his set of heavy goggles and inspected the new weld line he’d made. With Equestria well and truly advanced to summer, Sweet Apple Acres had more or less enter a sort of hibernation. All the trees had been picked clean and the ground was far too hard and dry to make ploughing new fields worthwhile. Big Mac usually had plenty of work to do throughout the summer months but this year’s summer had been surprisingly hot, dry and early; leaving him with little to do around the farm. A sense of perpetual boredom had fallen over the red stallion as he struggled to find odd jobs to keep himself occupied.
So when the newspapers had reported a massive construction project now underway in Manehatten, he was on the next train to the great city, eager to help where he could. The site manager had practically jumped with glee upon seeing Mac in the workers queue, there were few other ponies who could match his strength or stamina pound for pound.
His family, partially Applejack, viewed the move slightly less favourably than his new boss had. Big Macintosh snorted at this, she had no idea what she was missing out on. Thousands of ponies milled around him, both higher and lower up the massive wall they were working on. From his vantage point, Big Mac could see towering cranes shifting loads of steel from trains and monolithic concrete slabs stretching far into the sky.
“Hey, Big Mac.” A voice called from next to him. “Times up.”
He spun around in surprise, surely his shift couldn’t be over yet? Standing on a gantry behind him was another earth pony, Diamondback. Like Big Mac, Diamondback had come from afar to work, all the way from Phoenix in fact. Like Mac, he was a large, well-built pony whose presence seemed to fill an entire room.
“Can’t be that time yet.” Big Mac complained.
“Sun is going down buddy, time for me to take over.” Diamondback said. It would’ve been nice to have Big Macintosh stick around to chat but their manager didn’t believe in a thing called ‘overtime’, almost fanatically enforcing their rostered times to keep his workforce in top shape. A pity, they both seemed to get along fairly well and Diamondback was sure they’d make good friends.
“Guess I lost track of time.” Big Mac said, shucking the heavy pack he carried off and handing it Diamondback. He had a few tools of his own but most of the gear had been supplied. He shivered, suddenly cold as the last few rays of the sun graced the land. High up on the wall a strong breeze was blowing, the wind chill bringing the temperature down to something more appropriate to autumn. Lights had started springing up all across the construction site and as the light quickly faded, the night crews taking over from the day shift. It was unlike anything Big Mac had seen before, the construction in Ponyville usually ended in the early evening before resuming just after dawn. Here, work was ongoing all hours of the day, every day of the week.
“I saw something on my way up, might interest you.” Diamondback rumbled as he quickly fastened the pack. Despite the chill he wasn’t wearing anything more than a light jacket, amazing considering the hot and dry climate he’d come from. He leant over the railing precariously and pointed further down the wall. “Check it out.”
Big Mac followed his gaze and whistled lowly. What he could only describe as a large mechanical head, previously hidden by the wall sat on a large mechanical crawler. Bathed in a cool yellow light, Big Mac could see although it was clearly mechanical, it was vaguely equine. The crawler rumbled along ponderously, headed for the other side of the construction yards where most of the work had already been completed.
“Maybe you should check it out.” Diamondback suggested, pulling himself back over the edge and patting Big Mac on the back. “See you in the morning buddy.” He said before clambering up a metal spar with all the confidence of a squirrel in a tree.
As way of answer, Big Mac’s stomach grumbled lowly, a sound he was sure must’ve been heard out in harbour. He smiled sheepishly, apparently his body had other things in mind
***
As usual, the mess hall was bustling with ponies, most of them other day shift workers knocking off work with empty stomachs and high expectations. Thankfully the cooks seemed up to the challenged, the massive kitchens churning out more food than Big Mac had eaten in his life in a single day. The clamour was truly fantastic, outclassing the ring of hammering, grinding and roar of machines which usually dominated the worksite. It took several minutes to find a seat, the mess hall being so packed that a stallion of his size had trouble finding a spot. Eventually he dropped into a seat near the end of the mess hall next to two pegasi who seemed maddeningly familiar.
“Howdy.” He said, feeling oddly conversational. The two winged ponies looked up, one of them doing a slight double take at Big Mac’s size.
“Hello.” The one next to him said, his companion still staring slack jaw at Big Macintosh. He twitched awkwardly, wishing the Pegasus would stop staring.
“Wave Chill, cut it out.” The other one snapped, reaching across the table and rapping a spoon across his friend’s foreleg.
“Sorry.” He mumbled awkwardly, shaking his head as if snapping out of a trance.
“Good food here.” The stallion next to Wave Chill remarked.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed, shoving a collection of gently steaming vegetables into his mouth.
The pale blue Pegasus looked down at his food, not at all put off by Big Mac’s voracious appetite. “I guess you’re one of the workers around here?”
The question caught Big Mac slightly off guard. The way it was seemed to imply he wasn’t part of the workforce. ‘Typical, lazy Pegasus…’ He nodded.
“I’m Soarin, by the way. This is Wave Chill.” The stallion said. “We’re pilots.”
Big Macintosh sighed internally, the name finally matching with the face. He’d heard more than enough about the Wonderbolts from one of his sister’s friends, another lazy Pegasus whom he’d kicked out of far more apple trees than he dared count. Maybe it was some kind of joke to her when she fell out, sprawled out on the ground at his feet like a sack of potatoes… but Big Mac just found it annoying.
“Big Macintosh, most ponies call me Big Mac though.” He remarked, wishing he could move away from the famous fliers without appearing rude. He personally thought the whole flying business was a whole load of mucking about, why bother with flappy wings when you can have a good set of hooves on the ground?
“Nice to meet you.” Soarin said cheerfully, “Where you from, Big Mac? Country?”
“Ponyville.”
Soarin’s eyes seemed to light up. “Ah, nice little place. I know a few ponies from there.” He remarked. “Know a Rainbow Dash by any chance?”
“All too well.” Big Mac said dryly.
Soarin laughed. “I suppose she can be a bit like that. Let me guess, you work in the apple orchards?”
“I own the apple orchards.” Big Mac corrected.
Soarin’s face lit up. “Oh really? Love those orchards, I’ve spent my fair share napping in some tree on a hot summer’s day.”
Big Mac shook his head slowly. What was with pegasi and sleeping in his apple trees? They were like rats with wings…
“What do you say you did around here?’ Big Mac asked politely, changing the topic before Soarin could start describing what sort of trees he liked the best.
“Okay, and what exactly do you drive?” Big Mac continued.
Wave Chill and Soarin exchanged a glance, their position as Wild Mustang’s pilots wasn’t exactly public knowledge yet. They’d heard more than enough speculation as they’d settled in on base but nopony seemed to really know who’d be piloting the massive machine sitting at the heart of the new Shatterdome.
“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” Wave Chill said with a small grin.
Soarin poked his co-pilot in the ribs gently. “Say, how about when you’re done we show you what we pilot?” Soarin invited.
Big Mac looked between them uncertainly. He was planning on checking out the big head he saw before, not wander off to see what he guessed would be some fancy airship or something. How could he say politely say no?
“Well ah was gonna have a look at this big head I sa-.” He was cut off as Wave Chill fell out of his chair ungraciously. Big Mac stared at him worriedly, clearing wondering if the Wonderbolt’s head was screwed on right.
“Did you say big head?” He asked excitedly, quickly clambering back to his hooves with a nervous smile. “You mean like, a big mechanical head, yeah?”
Big Mac blinked slowly, had he said something wrong? He eventually nodded, slightly put off by the eager stare Wave Chill was fixing him with.
Wave Chill’s head snapped around to look at Soarin. “It wasn’t supposed to be done for another week, wasn’t it?”
Soarin had an excited, almost childish look in his eyes now. “I don’t think so.”
“But he saw it, it must be done then.” Wave Chill stammered. “They weren’t bringing it in till it was done.”
“It’s done?” Big Mac asked, looking at the two pegasi like they’d grown extra heads. What were they on about?
Soarin and Wave chill snapped around, seemingly like they’d forgotten they had company.
Soarin beckoned quickly. “Come on, we’ll show you.”
Whatever Big Macintosh had expected, what Soarin and Wave Chill showed him exceeded the bounds of his imagination. A vast grey machine stood vigil over a wide bay, its thick armour gleaming under the large illuminators that shone on it. A few narrow blue lines stark agaisnt its otherwise mostly grey colour scheme. A large golden phoenix was emblazoned accross the machines’ chest proudly
“You pilot one them robots?” He asked, his surprise evident. He’d hear rumours of course, rumours of the machine but having never lid eyes on the machine himself, he’d never believed them. Word had spread around the construction site of the war machine but big Mac had turned a blind eye on them, he was there to work, not gossip.
Now though, with the mighty machine lit up brightly in front of him, it was impossible to deny.
“It has a name you know.” Wave Chill said. “Wild Mustang… what a beauty eh?”
Big Mac was lost for words, his eyes running over the large vents which covered the machine’s chest and then to the fin-like ears which jutted out of the side of its head. His eyes flickered to a scaffold which was obscured some object off to the side, a large hand it looked like. His eyes followed the machinery and widened as realised what lay in the shadows. There were two more of the machines being built, their missing metal skin revealing a slew of complex machinery.
Unable to comprehend the sight, his mouth flapped open and shut like a beached fish.
“Those?” Soarin, following Big Mac’s stunned gaze. “Those are the other two Mark 1s. Wild Mustang is the prototype.”
“Yeah, apparently there’s so much the designers could improve on just by seeing what flaws cropped up in our one.” Wave Chill said irately. “Which sort of sucks, because we get left with the shitty design.”
Big Mac didn’t respond, the biggest machine he’d seen with his own eyes was a crane back home, these metal giants were completely beyond his comprehension.
“They’ll be looking for pilots soon you know.” Soarin suggested absently.
Big Mac looked at him stupidly. “How?” Big Mac stammered.
“It’s complicated.” Soarin said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “But you need a partner, a good friend maybe? Family, perhaps? Know anypony like that?”
Big Mac froze on the spot, it was crazy, foolish. He should go back to farm where he belonged, none of this ‘pilot’ business. He remembered back to the first monster attack, the helplessness he’d seen, the desperation that everpony had felt. They need a weapon, now they had one. All it needed now was a pony to hold the reins. Something clicked inside the big red earth pony.
“I know just the pony.”
***
Set behidn the construction bays was a much less impressive, but still very important part of the Shatterdome. The vast and sprawling facilities which fed, housed and provided the other need s for the steadily growing staff. The sun had barely risen over the shatterdome but the ponies which inhabited it were already springing to life.
A loud buzz awoke Torque from his slumber, prompting a flailing hoof to emerge from beneath his sheets in a clumsy attempt to halt the squaking alarm.
“Damn thign needs to learn some manners.” He muttered sourly, just like he did most mornings. Despite feeling awake immediately he yawned loudly, savourign the feeling a moment before rising out of bed lethargically.
Torque looked around his new home with a disgusted sigh. ‘Home’ was probably overstating the two concrete rooms which contained his living quarters and a small bathroom. Like most of the staff and equipment at the Trottingham monitoring station, he’d been reassigned to the gargantuan structure as soon as it was reasonably practical to do so. Compared to the sleek modern building which he had occupied previously, the massive concrete box which had been dubbed the ‘Breadbox’, was much more utilitarian. On the plus side though, there were three excellent meals provided daily, completely free of charge in the Shatterdome’s massive kitchens and plenty of assorted beverages and snacks for him to indulge on when he felt like it.
And the robots, or Jaegers he learnt they were called, the robots! Torque couldn’t believe his eyes when he’d first seen the massive alien Jaeger hauled into one of the Breadboxes’ massive repair bays. He thought to the posters of the machine which were still neatly folded in some box lying around in his quarters, they did the machine no justice. And then there was the native machines; the newly completed Wild Mustang, a burly fighter which was piloted by no less than two Wonderbolts and the two other nameless machines which were slowly starting to take shape.
And what did he have to do in exchange for all this? Sit in a glass box at the end of one of the Jaeger bays and monitor the sensors he was quite used to by now. Apparently he’d done such a good job in Trottingham that Skyray had recommended him for a promotion and now he was the chief command technician in the Shatterdome, monitoring data feeds and interpreting them where necessary.
All in all, if he discounted his slightly dank room, he loved it.
He chuckled, at least he wouldn’t have to see his room for another nine hours or so. Whistling quietly to himself, he treated himself to a quick shower before trotted outside, slamming the heavy steel door shut behind him and locking it with a satisfying clang. ‘Not that there‘s anything that anypony could really steal…’ He thought, the ugly thoughts he had of his room fading as he strolled casually down the short hallway to the large elevator that would take him up to the shatterdome’s command centre, or LOCCENT, as it was offically called. He personally disliked the term, preferring to just call it ‘The Command Centre’ or ‘The Hub’. Still, he didn’t really have a say in the matter.
The elevator came to a smooth stop, allowing a few more ponies he vaguely recognised in before resuming its journey to the top of the Jaeger bays. The elevator stopped once more before Torque finally reached his destination. He trotted into the command centre, quickly making sure everypony who was supposed to be there was there before talking his seat at long console which overlooked the Jaeger bay through a row of panoramic windows. He looked down at the console suspiciously, something was different; there were more banks of controls than he remembered and a dozen more screens than there had been since his last shift. It was also distinctly cruder, as if someone if taken to it with some spare parts, a few wire cutters, good-old enthusiasm and a lot of duct tape.
“New gear, hope you like it.” A foreign voice said, causing Torque to nearly fall out of his chair in fright. He turned around to one of the aliens sitting in the shadow next to a bank of communication consoles, barely visible unless somepony was looking. What passed for a thin smile passed over his face. “Sorry to scare you, I’m Michael. That’s Shane.”
Who? Torque thought before spinning around to find another alien, barely a metre to his right. He almost fell over in fright again, where had he come from?
“Hi.” Shane said quietly, playing with a few of the new switches experimentally.
Torque’s fear was replaced by a confusion and then finally, what he could only describe as ‘fanboyism.’ He struggled to maintain his compose, driving down to urge to ask the alien pilots for something stupid like their autograph.
“Torque.” He stuttered, playing with his hooves nervously.
“Nice to meet you, I’m told you’re in charge here.” Michael said
Torque resisted the urge to gush. “Mostly, there’s al-.”
“Me.” Another voice butted in, the form of Skyray appearing from between two consoles stealthily. Torque nearly had a heart attack, where was everyone appearing from?! She flashed Torque a quick smile before returning her attention to the two aliens. “Name’s Skyray.”
Shane rolled his eyes and continued flicking switches, when would he meet a pony with something that resembled a sensible name?
“How can we help?” Skyray asked pleasantly, her voice a stark comparison to her horribly scarred face.
Michael cleared his throat and averted his eyes from the heavy scarring. “We’re scheduling a test run for Wild Mustang in a few days, you may have noticed a few new controls around.” He remarked.
“I was about to ask if they had something to do with you…” Skyray said, making it clear that she didn’t appreciate them messing with her gear without her permission. “What’s your point?”
“The way a Jaeger is controlled, the whole launch is usually managed and monitored by the LOCCENT staff. It’s possible to start a Jaeger without external help, but it’s a whole lot smoother for the operation to be slaved to the command centre before the Jaeger’s computer takes over completely.”
“And you want us to do that.” Torque guessed.
“Yup.” Michael affirmed, gesturing to the panel Shane was playing with. “It’s mostly just monitoring equipment, you just have to make sure everything is lining up nicely and provide directions to the Jaeger crews if something goes wrong.”
“Presumably you’ll show us how this works?” Skyray asked.
“Look lady, I’m a pilot, not a LOCCENT jockey. I wouldn’t know shit about it.” Shane answered curtly. “You’ll have to play it mostly by ear, we’ll show you what a good drift looks like and what a bad one looks like… that’s about the extent of our knowledge.”
“Drift?” Torque asked curiously, just to remind everone he was there.
“We’ll explain later.” Michael answered. “We’d appreciate if you’d be able to do this though.”
“Means we won’t have to babysit the Jaeger crews all the time.” Shane finished.
“Of course we can.” Torque blurted, “Just show us what we have to do.”
***
With construction of the new christened Wild Mustang now finished, there was little time wasted in organising a test run. Shane had even taken time off his project to help the Jaeger’s pilots ready themselves for their first run in their new metal body. The day of the trail crept up quite suddenly and despite their training, both Wave Chill and Soarin were starting to feel the first anxious jitters.
“Nervous?” Shane asked, looking out one of the wide windows set in the shatterdome’s outer wall above the Jaeger bays. There had been a public announcement a few days ago about the reveal and the dockside was lined with ponies of every shape and colour, everyone seemed incredibly eager to see the first Jaeger stride forth. The massive steel doors which lead into the central Jaeger bay were still shut, waiting for the crawler carrying Wild Mustang to approach before they rolled open.
Soarin nodded meekly, his drivesuit squeaking quietly as he bobbed his head up and down.
“It’ll be a piece of cake, nothing to it. Just get out there, show off to the crowd a little and then head back in.” He said, radiating a confidence Soarin didn’t quite feel.
“Yeah, piece of cake.” The Pegasus replied nervously.
Shane looked around cautiously. “Just focus on staying in sync and you’ll be fine. Drifting in a Jaeger is completely different from the simulator.”
“How?” Wave Chill asked, sudden apprehensive.
Shane gave him a quick wink. “You’ll see.”
Soarin and Wave Chill exchanged a nervous glance. What wasn’t he telling them?
“You’ll be making history today.” Shane continued, abruptly changing to topic. “First Jaeger pilots, first Jaeger. That’s a pretty big deal.”
“Yeah.” Soarin said queasily.
“You should be honoured, taking a stand and fighting back for you people.”
“Yeah, I just wish quite so many of them weren’t watching.” Wave Chill gulped.
“You used to be a showpony, right? You can do this.” Shane said encouragingly.
Wave Chill nodded, thankful for Shane’s words of support more than the human could readily appreciate.
A door cranked open at the end of the room and Michael appeared through the portal, the sound of machinery grumbling drifting up through the open hatch. He nodded at the two pilots and gestured through the now open door.
“Showtime.”
The interior of Wild Mustang’s conpod was smaller than Soarin expected, the walls filled with electronics and covered in thick slabs of armour creating a smaller space than one would’ve imagined.
The interior layout was similar to Brawler’s cockpit in many ways, the console was mounted centreline and most of the dials, buttons and readouts were in the same places as well. It offered a sense of familiarity to an otherwise unknown place that comforted Wave Chill and Soarin somewhat. They clipped themselves into the drivetrain, the harnesses slipping down from the ceiling and resting softly against their backs. There was a faint whirr as the bolts secured the pilots to the harness and the two long arms which Soarin and Wave Chill would attach around their forelegs rose up, eager to clamp around the pilot’s drivesuits.
The conpod’s door slammed shut, the long bars which locked it shut sliding into place smoothly and locking the pilots securely inside the conpod.
“How we looking in there guys?” The Jaeger’s radio crackled, the sound being routed to a pair of small speakers at the back of their helmets. The two pilot’s looked through the thick windshield towards the large open-plan room which overlooked the end of the Jaeger bay, the Local Mission Control. No doubt Shane and Michael were up there, wondering if the last seven months of preparation, construction and training would finally pay off.
“A-okay.” Soarin answered, leaning forward to key the radio on. The buttons were much larger than the ones he remembered training with.
“Good to hear it. Engaging pilot to pilot protocols, standby.” Michael said before the radio clicked off.
“Pilot-to-pilot connection protocol sequence, engaged.” An oddly metallic voice chimed, surprising both Soarin and Wave Chill. BrawlerYukon’s AI had been removed during their training, making this was the first time they’d encountered the Jaeger’s computer in the flesh. The Jaeger seemed to hum in life, lights sparking into life all across its hull and a low growl came from below their feet, almost as if their Jaeger was eager to be released upon the world.
“Prepare for Neural handshake, starting in ten seconds.”
The Jaeger jerked forward, evidently the crawler had started rolling them towards the massive steel portal at the end of the Jaeger bay.
“This is it…” Wave Chill said nervously.
“This is it.” Soarin agreed, letting out a long breath he’d subconsciously been holding. No backing out now, this was the moment they’d been preparing for. He watched the timer click down and focused on clearing his mind as the digital readout clicked over to zero.
“Neural handshake, initiated.”
The now familiar tug at the back of Soarin’s mind briefly disconnected him from reality and the familiar blue sheen to drift imposed fell over his thoughts. Thousands of memories flashed by, some new ones that hadn’t surfaced before briefly catching his attention. The familiar presence of Wave Chill tugged at his mind until he trouble distinguishing which one of them was which. There was something different here though, almost like a third presence hovering in the drift between them. It roared and growled with a bestial voice, purring and humming as the two pilot’s feelings expanded through it. It was a flawless drift, mind and machine forming into one being like there’d never been a distinction in the first place. With a snap, Soarin and Wave Chill crashed back to reality, the low growling and humming fading away to a faint echo in the back of their heads.
“Neural handshake strong and holding, good work.” The radio crackled.
“Calibration required, right hemisphere calibration commencing.” The A.I. chimed, a trace of irritation in its robotic voice.
Wave Chill cautiously lifted a hoof, the right hoof of Wild Mustang mirroring his movements smoothly, gears and servos whining and grinding to lift the Jaeger’s massive right foreleg a few metres above the crawler. He held the stance for a second before returning the Jaeger’s hoof to the deck gingerly. He couldn’t hear it, but a titanic cheer erupted in the LOCCENT as the Jaeger’s hoof lifted from the surface of the crawler.
“Left hemisphere calibration commencing” The AI intoned, prompting Soarin to repeat the procedure.
The computer chimed again, an almost happy tone sounding as the hoof returned back to the deck. “Calibration complete, ready to activate the Jaeger.”
As if hearing the computer, the massive steel doors slid open smoothly, flooding the Jaeger bay with harsh sunlight. The Jaeger rolled forward inexorably, the crawler chugging forward through the open doors and onwards until it broke through the surface of the water outside. The Jaeger hovered uncertainly on the large metal plate and the crowd seemed to hold its breath, wondering what the Jaeger would do.
With the whirring of gears and clank of metal, Wild Mustang took a step forward cautiously, the ground trembling as one of the Jaeger’s hooves stepped off its crawler and impacted against the reinforced concrete laid outside the shatterdome. Its head turned slightly, as if surveying the landscape which surrounded the half-finished shatterdome. Assured their Jaeger wouldn’t fall flat on its face, the two pilots strode further down the ramp, the sunlight gleaming off the fresh gunmetal grey paintjob. Even from their great height, Soarin and Wave Chill could hear the roars of the crowd which seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon. Excitement churned through the drift, any apprehension they may have felt washing away.
“Try standing up.” The radio crackled.
After a moment of hesitation, Soarin and Wave Chill reared up on their hind legs, their harnesses smoothly sliding back and locking into position, comfortably holding them upright. With a loud grinding sound, Wild Mustang slowly backed up. Its weight shifting off its forelegs and into its bulky hindquarters. The Jaeger’s pelvis rotated forward, bringing the rest of the body upright before finally locking in place. Inside the conpod, the view screen flashed twice, confirming the body was secured in the upright position.
With a whine the pair of massive missile pods that hung from the Jaeger’s flanks like a set of saddlebags slid up the Jaeger’s spinal column until they sat just behind their hunched shoulders and locked into place with a sharp click. With another loud clunk, Wild Mustang’s shoulder sockets popped out of the hull, broadening the Jaeger’s stance considerably. Lastly, the Jaeger’s three fingers slid smoothly out of their housings and locked into position with a metallic thud. Soarin tried wiggling one of the fingers and much to his delight, the stubby digit waggled happily. The crowd which jostled around the wharf to watch let out a titanic cheer and everywhere the pilots looked, they could see the flash of cameras or the metallic glint of a set of binoculars. Now fully upright, the Jaeger towered over everything except the Shatterdome itself, the ponies that stood near its feet looked positively tiny compared to the machine.
“So far, so good.” Soarin remarked with a nervous chuckle, taking another careful step forward. The Jaeger seemed to pitch forward, though whether that was simply just an effect of Soarin’s mind or not was debateable. Walking on two legs was normally very difficult for a pony but with the harnesses holding them upright and the joints locked securely in place, the mighty machine seemed to manage it without difficulty. They took another step forward, the slightly awkward gait of the mecha making Soarin’s gut lurch for moment. He shared a brief smile with Wave Chill before suddenly becoming very conscious of where the Jaeger was standing, it would be something indeed to crush a boat or somepony underfoot on their first outing.
“Alright, bring him back in.” The radio hissed again. There was no denying whoever was on the other end, probably Michael, was holding back a great deal of excitement.
Feeling Wave Chill’s eagerness coursing through their neural bond, Soarin couldn’t help but grin stupidly. Wave Chill raised the Jaeger’s arm slightly and waved gingerly for the crowd’s benefit, before wheeling the Jaeger around and marching back to the shatterdome’s doors, their confidence in the metal giant growing as they stepped back onto the large metal crawler which would carry them back inside. While the display had been short it was enough proof for the thousands of ponies assembled outside that Equestria was ready to take a stand and fight back.
‘Just like the simulator.’ Soarin thought cheerfully, unconsciously ducking the Jaeger’s head even though it passed a good five metres under the rim of the shatterdome’s door. He could tell, even without looking, Wave Chill was feeling the same sense of exhilaration.
But as he thought about it, it wasn’t. Unlike the simulator, being in control of the Jaeger… it was almost surreal. He could feel the cool breeze blowing over the outer hull, the soft patter of a few stray droplets of rain as they splattered against the roof the conpod. He could feel the streams of oil pulse through the Jaeger like blood and the reactor seemed to thrum in time with his steady heartbeat. Maybe he was just imagining things, but Soarin almost felt he was the Jaeger… or was the Jaeger another entity altogether, a third partner in their drift? The raw power which surged through him was staggering, he felt invincible, like a god amongst mere mortals.
Wave Chill grinned infectiously as the tracked crawler slewed sideways into the bay set aside for their Jaeger, agreeing silently with Soarin’s first impressions.
His day couldn’t get any better.
He made to lower the Jaeger back into its four legged stance when the radio crackled again. “Not so fast you two, we’ve got one last thing left to do.”
***
Up in the control room, Shane and Michael nodded approvingly as the Jaeger re-entered the shatterdome’s main doors, seems like they’d done an alright job after all. Like everyone else in the shatterdome, they watched the steel grey Jaeger chug along on its crawler intently. Even the construction crews working down at the other end of the Jaeger bay had paused their work to gawk at the passing giant.
“Well that went about as smoothly as it could have.” Michael said, clapping his brother on the back. “Good work.”
“Just one more thing before we let them go I think…” Shane said, raising an eyebrow questioningly. His hands instinctively drifted towards the simulator controls before withdrawing slightly. “Right?”
“Right.” Michael agreed, his eyes still focused on the narrow golden slit which marked the conpod’s visor.
“What are you two on about?” Torque asked, his gaze hardly leaving the screens in front of him. He seemed remarkably unmoved by the new Jaeger, instead focusing on the neural readouts which covered the console he was sitting at. While Michael and Shane’s crash course on the operation and monitoring of the drift sequence was fresh in his mind, he appreciated having the two humans close on hand in case he messed something up.
“It’s an initiation thing we have back at the Ranger Academy. Right about now they’ll be feeling pretty good about themselves, top of the world. Pretty much godlike.” Michael guessed, accurately describing the feeling that almost every new Jaeger pilot felt when they first drifted into their metal body. “Time to cut them down to size I think.” He brushed off the questioning glance the stallion threw at him with a knowing look. ‘Trust me, I’ve been there.’
“Yup.” Shane agreed, flicking the intercom with surprising cheer. “Not so fast you two, we’ve got one last thing left to do.”
“And what would that be?” Wave Chill asked, his voice slightly tinny through the speakers.
“One last bout of simulated combat.” Shane replied with a thin smirk as the Jaeger was locked into place out in the bay. Four yellow scaffolds extended out from the sides of the bay and surrounded the conpod, locking the Jaeger’s head and shoulders securely in place. He sorted through the short list of Kaiju he had on hand and after conferring briefly with Michael, selected one suitable for their purpose.
“Who are we fighting then?” Wave Chill asked eagerly, his tone almost a little arrogant.
“Just a little guy, shouldn’t be that hard.” Shane said flatly. The Kaiju they’d selected, a CAT II called Atticon, was a classic academy choice to reign Jaeger pilots in. While only a category II, the Kaiju was lethal; it was stronger than most CAT IIIs, lightning fast and had a hidden weapon, a barbed tongue coupled with a dangerously acidic bile that it could vomit forth when it needed to. The pilots of Eden Assassin had found out the hard way, being drowned beneath the waves of the Yellow Sea before Cherno Alpha had ripped the creature’s head clean off. Now, the Kaiju was used as a warning to overconfident pilots, being something of a final test before a Jaeger was put into active service. Only a trio of Jaeger crews had managed to beat it the first time around; Shane and Michael weren’t lucky enough to be counted amongst them. Hubris, it seemed, was an extremely common trait in human pilots.
“Prepare for drop, simulation starting in 5…4…3…”
“...2… 1…”
Wild Mustang’s conpod lightning dimmed slightly as the Jaeger’s on-board A.I. ran a quick systems diagnostics check. Nearly pointless since they’d done one barely fifteen minutes ago, but protocol was protocol…
‘Systems nominal, simulation online.” The A.I. canted, the inside of the visor already flickering.
The walls of the shatterdome faded to obscurity, being slowly replaced storm ravaged sea. Ten metre swells battered at the Jaeger before crashing up against a high, half-finished wall behind them. Beyond that lay a sprawling city of alien design. Their sensor suite picked up two contacts, one a few kilometres off to their left which while covered in strange runes, pinged reassuringly as friendly. The other was moving through the water towards them, a large blip which seemed to take up more and more of the screen as the seconds ticked by. Soarin and Wave Chill had a moment to realise they weren’t in Equestria anymore before the target became visible and the computer shrilled an alarm.
“Warning: Kaiju threat detected, category II.” It chimed once before Wave Chill silenced the alarm.
“Yeah, fat load of help you are.” He barked. Through sheets of rain and the occasional lightning strike he could see the Kaiju, its glowing cyan eyes staring out from the almost pitch-black surf malevolently. Their radio chimed once and Soarin immediately answered.
“Wild Mustang, standing by.” He said firmly, strangely calm despite the oncoming Kaiju.
The voice that answered him though, nearly made him jump out of his harness in fright. Instead of the LOCCENT officer he’d expected to answer, he heard the rough, harsh tones of a completely alien voice; a voice which seemed be infused with such power the storm which raged around them seemed to pale in comparison. It spoke a few words, which to Soarin sounded more like a Minotaur gargling with a potato before switching off again.
“What the hell was that?’ Wave Chill asked, double-checking the six rockets they carried were all armed, trusting Soarin to keep an eye on the slowly approaching Kaiju.
“Must’ve been our friend.” Soarin guessed, watching the friendly contact move slowly towards the Kaiju. There were horribly out of position though, there was no they’d arrive before the Kaiju reached Wild Mustang.Soarin forced down an inkling of panic, they faced a CAT II before in the simulator, but not one this big.
The Kaiju drew closer, slowing slightly as it noticed the Jaeger standing between it and the city. It let out a loud yowl, almost like a cat spotting a rival and starting circling them slowly.
“Come on, let’s mess this spikey dude up!” Wave Chill called, adopting a textbook shallow-water defensive stance. He could hear Soarin’s mind churning beside him as he analysed the Kaiju, searching for anything that seemed like a weak point.
Atticon returned the treatment, continuing to circle the Jaeger slowly and meowing lowly. It almost looked like a cat, a slimy, furless, spine covered cat. That was eighty metres tall…
In fact, the more Soarin thought about it, the more he realised it wasn’t at all like a cat. A pair of luminous blue eyes blinked at them, two large glowing balls of blue fire that threatened to consume them if they stared too long. The Jaeger took a step forward and Atticon took a step back, muscles rippling as it mirroring their stance almost perfectly.
Without warning, Atticon leapt forward, seemingly overextending itself for a blow. Wild Mustang took a step back and pivoted out of the way of the Kaiju’s claws, using its momentum to counterattack; bringing its three-fingered hand around to grab at the Kaiju’s stumpy neck.
“What th-?” Wave Chill exclaimed, his surprise being mirrored by Soarin. The Kaiju was impossibly fast, vacating the space which Wild Mustang’s hand now occupied in a flash. The Jaeger pivoted on its hip to track the Kaiju, at least preventing them from being completely blindsided by its next blow. There wasn’t time to raise their arm to parry the blow, the Jaeger’s movements were almost sluggish compared to the lighting quick Kaiju. Atticon smashed into them, tearing deep rents in their armour and sending the Jaeger reeling. It was too quick, too fast for them to even defend themselves from the hail of blows that crashed against them.
With a fierce yowl, Atticon slammed Wild Mustang’s back against the base of the wall, causing a miniature rock slide which bounced off the Jaeger’s armour harmlessly and sending the two pilots reeling. Before either Soarin or Wave Chill could gather their wits, Atticon leapt forward, pinning Wild Mustang under its razor sharp claws. A series of alarms went off as the creature’s claws pierced their metal skin like razors and prickles of discomfort flared up over Soarin’s skin, the tight circuitry suit he wore responding to the damage Wild Mustang was taking. The battered Jaeger tried to rise but was slammed back into the wall by the impossibly strong Kaiju for its trouble, loosing another hail of boulders which rained off their armour like hailstones. With a loud croak, the Kaiju’s long barbed tongue shot forward and pierced the conpod’s outer shell, throwing Soarin and Wave Chill back in their harnesses with a cry of surprise. Before they could react, its gargantuan mouth clamped over the breach, spilling a torrent of acid into the confined space. It was complete overkill, the Kaiju’s tongue smashing through the conpod’s visor would’ve torn both of the pilots to shreds in a heartbeat.
“Shit!” Wave Chill snarled, the dark depths of the Kaiju’s throat being overlaid with the words ‘Mission failed’. That had hardly been a fair fight, WildMustang not even managing to land a single blow on the creature. He was furious, it was almost as if they were supposed to lose.
The intercom flicked on. “How does it feel to be dead?” Shane jeered, powering the simulator down. The shattered viewport and slowly dripping acid vanished, replaced with the comforting solidity of the conpod’s walls. The slowly pulsing amber lights which flashed around the conpod winked off, being replaced by the cool white running lights they were much more used to.
Wave Chill threw his helmet off with an annoyed snarl, his lip curling up in annoyance. “It’s absolute bullshit.” He spat.
“That’s life, chum.” Shane said, his voice cracking slightly over the intercom.
“You should’ve warned us.” Soarin said flatly. He looked over at Wave Chill with an annoyed scowl.
“And ruin the surprise? You two need to harden up if you want to last more than one deployment. The Kaiju have never fought fair, so don’t expect them to start now.”
Soarin but his lip in annoyance. “And we’re supposed to beat that thing? We’d barely moved before it had pinned us.” He pointed out.
“I’m really starting to think we can’t.” Wave Chill groaned, snapping his helmet back into place with a frustrated grunt. Swallowing his ego, he started to understand the point of the exercise. Only a few minutes ago he’d thought themselves invincible, unbeatable. Now he could see just how wrong he was. It was the first time they’d lost in simulated combat, the first time they’d seen they were in fact, still mortal. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but one they’d needed to learn all the same.
“Want to run it again?” Shane asked.
Wave Chill glared at the conpod’s visor, mere moments ago it hadn’t looked so flimsy. “Do it again.” He ordered.
Shane chuckled lowly. “Alright, standby.”
Several tense minutes passed but the projection didn’t flicker into life again. Soarin suddenly became a little nervous, was something wrong? He was about to key the intercom again when Shane’s voice crackled back into life over the intercom. Unlike last time where they had been a faint trace of smugness or condescension in his words, this time he sounded worried.
“We’re going to have to cut this short, we’ve got an inbound Category I Kaiju. Midsummer Night isn’t ready to deploy so it’s up to you to play introductions. Get ready ladies, this is for real.”
The LOCCENT was ablaze with activity, a pair of buoys moored near the coastline had picked up something large. What worried Torque more though, was how quickly the mysterious contact had vanished again. The contact had lasted maybe twenty seconds before simply fading into nothing, like a ghostly apparition fading back into a fog bank. He reviewed the data methodically. Similar to the event some seven months ago, there’d been a large burst of unknown radiation, followed by a burst of plasma and heat which would’ve presumably lit up the otherwise pitch-black ocean floor like a fireworks display. As the firestorm subsided, the sensors had detected an upwelling of water, not exactly a massive quantity but still measurable. He briefly pondered what the spectacle would look like, a plume of white and red emerging from the deep, tongues of fire and bubbles glowing with a ghostly aura and then a beast, a monster able to level an entire city spewing forth with an unearthly screech… Torque shook his head and returned to the readouts, desperate for more data.
The terminal next to him churned out a line of numbers with a faint buzz, the second sweep had also returned with a puzzling lack of data. Torque scratched the side of his head and pondered the few numbers he had, clearly he was missing something. He briefly flashed back to his college days; trying to solve five by five matrices with nothing more than a dinged kettle and a short piece of string hadn’t exactly been fun. Pushing the thought aside, he quickly ran the dilation against the shipping records taped haphazardly to the side of his console, noting that the nearest vessel was not only a reasonable distance from the event but also a fair bit heavier.
“So what’ve we got?” Michael asked, leaning over the pony’s shoulder to read the displays for himself. His eyes glazed over slightly when he realised that he didn’t understand any of the instruments laid out in front of him.
The small pony reviewed the data with a speed that would’ve made any of Earth’s LOCCENT chiefs scoff with contempt. “Single signature, easily a 1400 ton dilation. We haven’t gotten anything in the area that matches in either size nor weight.” Torque confirmed as the computer churned out the raw data from the monitoring buoys. He scrutinised the readouts carefully, searching for something to prove to him that it wasn’t just a false alert. He squelched the alarm which was still pinging urgently on his console, the shrill beeping doing little to help his composure or his temperament.
“Anything else?”
“That’s it.” Torque fumed. “I got a solid reading, big spike of plasma and an upsurge of water and then it’s just gone.” He replayed the event for the human’s benefit, blissfully unaware that Michael had not a clue what the monitors were actually showing.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, almost in disbelief. “What do you mean gone?” He demanded.
The console operator threw Michael a sardonic look, wondering exactly what he thought ‘gone’ meant. “Exactly that, I don’t have a signature. No silhouettes from the buoy’s sonar, no more emissions and no movement. Nothing!” Torque smacked the bank of machines in frustration. “It’s like it just vanished off the face of the planet.” Normally the prospect of something that size simply vanishing would’ve terrified him but Torque was almost more fascinated than worried.
“Where did you find it?” Skyray butted in, blinking rapidly in a fashion which showed off her scars all too well.
Torque spun around and pulled up a map on one of the control centre’s large tables, it was one of the newfangled electric ones that’d been reverse-engineered from the human Jaeger. The stallion was still getting used to it and he was sure as hell there was about a billion functions on the complicated machine he didn’t even know about. He growled with frustration as the fickle device centred on a small backwater town in the middle of nowhere before finally snapping into position where the rad spike had been located, an area where the continental shelf rose up sharply from the abyss, some eighteen hundred kilometres distant from the town. He frowned, it was some two hundred kilometres south of where he’d first detected the Bolton monster.
“Around here.” He grumbled. “South of the first recorded breach which was…” He dropped a marker on the other detection site. “Here.”
“That’s a fair distance apart.” She said slowly, stating the obvious in a fashion which made Torque want to roll his eyes. Her gaze flickered to the two humans inquisitively.
Shane raised his hands defensively. “Don’t look at me, I’ve never bothered finding out exactly where a Kaiju emerged. That’s for the K-Science guys to play around with, not me.”
“Neither have I.” Michael admitted softly, tracing a line between the two points with the tip of his finger. “I’ll review our data, see what I can discover.” He paused for a moment, deep in thought. “I was under the impression that breaches were fairly localised though, not spread over a wide area.” He tapped his fingers on his chin absently before turning on his heel and heading towards the exit.
“Uh, what do we do in the meantime? Sir?” Skyray asked, belatedly remembering the two giants were technically in charge of the shatterdome.
“Keep Wild Mustang on standby.” Shane said, following his brother out of the command centre.
“Continue monitoring, if you find anything let us know but don’t hesitate to deploy if you think you’ve got it. Time is critical here.” Michael added before striding out purposefully, Shane at his heels.
“Well they’re helpful.” Skyray remarked snarkily. She glared after the two commanders before wheeling around to face the rest of the command staff. “Alright, you heard the man. Let’s find this son of a bitch.”
***
Of course it wasn’t quite as simple as that. Harsh language and positive thinking could only get so far. Several tense hours ticked by, the entire command centre anxiously watching their sensors for something, anything, that’d give even an inkling to the mysterious Kaiju’s presence. Even the usual stream of staff leaving for recaf or snacks had vanished, nopony daring to leave their station until the night watch came on duty. If what they were experiencing was bad, the feeling Soarin and Wave Chill were going through was flat out miserable. The two pilots were still suited up in their tight drivesuits, anxiously waiting for the word to deploy. A quick inspection of Midsummer Night was undertaken but it became quickly apparent that the venerable Jaeger wouldn’t be ready for deployment for another few weeks, let alone in the few hours until the Kaiju was expected to make landfall. The initial excitement that had risen when the breach was detected turned to frustration and then into apprehension as the hours slowly ticked by. Every scanner and sensor at the shatterdome’s disposal quivered with anticipation, sending the occasional burst of code or package of data back to the monitoring board for analysis.
“We’ve still got nothing.” Torque said, filtering the noise of a small seismic disturbance out so he could better read the sonar returns one of the technicians had collected. He scowled as the screen returned the same results, nothing but porpoise farts, an occasional shoal of fish and what sounded like a Sandcrawler high on aphrodisiacs. He was starting to think it’d been a false alarm, maybe some sort of hiccup in the computer’s new software or some natural phenomenon caused by what the humans called the Breach. The mission timer was now running on nearly eight hours without further contact and they couldn’t keep Wild Mustang on alert much longer before crew fatigue would set in.
He felt his eyelids starting to droop when one of the ponies on the communications console shot upright, her headphones pressed tightly against her ears.
“I’ve got a transmission on an emergency frequency, something about a monster!” She cried quickly.
Torque’s ears shot up. “Patch them through.” He said, wondering how in the seven rings of Tartarus the creature had slipped through their sensor nets.
The tiny speakers in the operator’s console popped into life, the quiet hissing of static audible across the entire command centre.
“Is this damn thing on? Hello? Somepony please answer!” A voice cried in panic.
“This is Chief LOCCENT Officer Torque from the Manehatten Shatterdome, how can I help you?” Torque said, hoping his voice wasn’t wavering as much as he felt.
“You gotta help us, this thing…” the pony babbled. A burst of static cut the line briefly before the terrified pony snapped back on.
“Hold on, where are you transmitting from?” Torque asked
“V-Varsity Lakes. What’s left of it…”
“Alright, good. What happened.” Torque asked, scrambling for his map. He studied it carefully, eventually spotting the small town some 140 kilometres south of Manehatten with a wince.
“It came outta nowhere! It just tore through the town like it was nothing, And then… Wait… I think it’s coming back…!” An edge of hysteria entered the pony’s voice, perfectly understandable if his report of the skyscraper sized monster appearing out of thin air was to be believed.
“Sit tight, help is on the way.” Torque said as levelly as he could, no point in showing everypony else how terrified he was. It’d take another few minutes before Wild Mustang would be out the doors and then? Well, he wasn’t sure how fast the Jaeger could run…
“We’re all dead, w-.”
Whatever the maddened pony was about to say was cut out by a smash and a terrific bang which sounded like an explosion. An ear-splitting screech roared through the speakers, unfortunately not quite blocking out a scream of pure terror which set Torque’s fur on edge. The link became an incoherent babble of screeching and crackling for half a second before it went ominously silent, the dead air leaving no doubt in anypony’s mind of what had happened to the luckless operator.
The control room fell deathly silent as everypony on duty drank it in. The stillness was broken by a pen clattering to the floor with a sound like a jackhammer pounding concrete. The sound seemed to snap Torque out of his stupor.
“Alright get Wild Mustang moving now, go go go! Get the humans up here now.” He yelled, the rest of the team snapping into action at his barked command. He gulped nervously, their first real test was now upon them.
Soarin shot awake as the small speaker in his helmet chimed irately. He shook his head clear of the fog which clouded his vision and snatched his bulky helmet from where he’d lain it next to his head, snapping it on as quickly as he could.
“Go ahead.” He said, stifling a yawn with some difficulty. He and Wave Chill had opted to stay in Wild Mustang’s conpod, an action he was now regretting if his cramped wings were any indication.
“We’ve got a possible location, we’ll fill you in on the way.”
“I’m awake, I’m awake.” His co-pilot complained, fixing Soarin with a tired look.” What’s happening?”
“I’m finding out.” Soarin replied quickly.
“It’s the best lead we’ve got, we’re uploading information to your Jaeger now. Based from our last readings, the Kaiju is a Category I. low toxicity, low emissions. We’re still unable to pick up any contact so watch yourself out there. We’re calling this guy Thresher, because I really want to run him through one right about now. Last known location is Varsity Lakes, should be coming up on your Nav system now.”
“Varsity Lakes?” Wave Chill asked sleepily, “I dated a cheerleader from there back in college.” He slurred, clipping himself into the Jaeger’s drivetrain and dismissing the popup on the navigation console.
“Oh yeah? Was she any good?” Soarin chuckled.
Wave Chill threw a ‘Why don’t you find out for yourself’ look at Soarin and said nothing further, gladly accepting the two supporting arms which dropped down from the Jaeger’s control harness. Wild Mustang lurched forward slightly, the massive crawler which it was standing on rumbling inexorably forward towards the one hundred and ten metre high doors which were now slowly sliding back to reveal an orange streaked sky. Soarin grimaced, they’d never fought at night before and with potentially several hours between them and their target, he was under no illusion what light was left would have faded completely.
The radio squawked loudly. “We’re back on deck.” The more familiar tones of Michael announced, taking over from the LOCCENT’s chief officer.
“Copy that.” Wave Chill responded curtly. A low rumble reached his ears as the Jaeger’s reactor thrummed to life deep within the Jaeger’s chest. Dozens of spotlights scattered around the hull flickered on, illuminating the darkening sea before them in a blinding halo of light. A siren strobed near their feet as the crawler rolled down the ramp and crashed into the surf, throwing up tons of water as the Jaeger rolled into the knee deep water.
“Alright, this should be fairly simple. Head down to this place, find the bastard and smash its face in until it stops moving.” Shane instructed helpfully. “I suggest a-.”
“Yes, very insightful Shane.” Michael added, cutting his brother off before he could point out the pros and cons of a headlock compared to a right hook. He talked to one of the LOCCENT crew for a moment. “Initiating pilot to pilot protocols, starting in ten seconds.”
“Nervous?” Soarin asked quietly, checking his wrist control unit so he’d have something to do.
“Yeah a little, you?” Wave Chill answered in a glacially calm voice.
“Cacking it.” Soarin responded in what may have been the greatest understatement of all time. He’d been in combat before but the thought of fighting something that outsized and outweighed him several thousand times over was flat out terrifying, even if they had a machine to somewhat level the odds.
“Five seconds…”
Wave Chill chuckled lowly at his co-pilot, meshing his helmet’s interface with the Jaeger’s systems. The world popped into focus around him with a slightly grainy quality, the Jaeger’s cameras whirring and focusing on the brightly lit city of Manehatten. He took a deep breath as the small red timer in the top corner of his helmet’s display clicked over to zero.
“Drift sequence, initiated.”
***
Once free of the confines of the Manehatten Harbour Wild Mustang made good speed. On all fours the Jaeger was slightly faster than Midsummer Night, making a good 80 kilometres an hour along the dark coastal strip. They were wading a few hundred metres from the shoreline, close enough to be out of the major shipping lanes and still be able to keep their bearings. The searchlights silently swept the empty waters, their powerful beams smoothly following the Jaeger’s head and cutting through the dark night like pillars of light. Occasional radio chatter, presumably from the ships further out to sea, broke the constant mechanical whirring of the Jaeger’s limbs and the occasional blip or ping from their scanners.They ran on all fours, the two pilot finding the pose much more natural and comfortable than on two legs. The Jaeger even seemed to enjoy the outing, its reactor thrumming with an almost joyous tone and the many vents and ports panting air like an excited dog. It was there, in the early evening that Soarin and Wave Chill understood just how vastly different piloting a real Jaeger was to a simulator. It was like a third, almost silent, partner in their little world. A creature not of flesh and bone but of steel and fire which roared and clanked along with its pilots as they churned down the east coast of Equestria.Soarin found himself grinning stupidly despite the circumstances and made a mental note to ask Shane and Michael about it when they returned, surely the two veteran pilots could shed some light on the curious connection between them and their machine.
“Hey, Soarin, check it out.” Wave Chill said quietly, breaking Soarin out of his thoughts. He directed the older Pegasus’ view to the horizon.
Wild Mustang was barely an hour out of Manehatten but already a faint orange glow had become visible in the distance. The Jaeger slowed to a crawl, they couldn’t have gone more than eighty kilometres, an ominous sign considering their destination was still some way to go. By tacit agreement, Wave Chill and Soarin brought Wild Mustang into its bipedal stance; they hadn’t fought on all fours before and they weren’t exactly enthusiastic to start learning when they were fighting a real Kaiju. The Jaeger growled quietly as its arms dropped into their sockets, almost eager to start a fight. The servos in each of the hand’s three fingers clicked and whined, flexing in anticipation for imminent combat. Now on two legs, the Jaeger’s footfalls became noticeably heavier, the considerable mass of the new Jaeger pulverising the few rocks that littered the otherwise silty seabed.
“Command, looks like we’ve got trouble.” Soarin reported simply, his head spinning a little from the sudden shift. The ruddy glow had become a full on inferno now, the large cameras mounted in the crest of Wild Mustang’s head able to now pick out some details. A large tree here, a long tongue of fire which licked greedily into the night sky and a small water tower sitting near the edge of the blaze.
“Position check?” The radio crackled, a note of confusion sounding over the link.
Wave Chill pulsed the navigation suite, a complex system which relied on a series of shipping beacons and towers, their relative bearings, triangulation and occasional celestial navigation to pinpoint their location. Most large ships had a similar system installed, although none most lacked the automation of Wild Mustang’s system.
“According to this we’re about 3 klicks north of a small town, Prosperity Wells.”
“Yeah, we see it.” Michael muttered in response. There was moment of muttering as they presumably pulled up some sort of record on the town. “Looks like a small crude port, there looks like an oil field of some kind just to the west. Go check it out. Carefully.” He added, particularly stressing the last word.
“On our way.” Soarin replied, clicking the radio off and focusing his attention back to driving the Jaeger forward. He’d started to get the hang of multitasking in the Jaeger but it was still a challenge to focus on more than a few things at the same time. Wave Chill seemed to have picked it up fairly quickly though, darting around the controls with the confidence of a mechanic elbow deep in an engine. Whatever pre-mission jitters the young Pegasus had displayed before had been replaced by a cool efficiency that reassured Soarin to no end.
Soarin couldn’t help but feel a little jealous though.
He quickly reined his thoughts in before anything bitter could fester over the neural link, he’d no doubt learn the skills over time. Wave Chill just seemed more naturally adept at it.
“Problem boss?” Wave Chill asked lightly, obviously feeling a pang of Soarin’s envy.
“Fine.” Soarin said quickly, mentally slapping himself for the lack of discipline. Here they were about to go into combat and he was getting worked up over nothing.
“Nothing at all?” His co-pilot insisted.
“Nothing at all” Soarin repeated.
Wave Chill kept a completely level face. “If you say so.” He muttered, returning his attention back to piloting the Jaeger, the remaining distance between them and the small town rapidly being eaten away by the Jaeger’s long strides. More details came into focus, a pile of rubble that had been a hall, a burning fire station and a small oil tanker beached on the sand like a bath toy, its deck tilted at an obscene angle that suggested it had been rolled out of the water.
“Jesus…” Michael breathed over the radio as Wild Mustang’s floodlights panned over the devastation. Something had torn through the small settlement like a hurricane, leaving deep trenches carved into the dirt and debris tossed around like toys. The Jaeger slowed to a cautious gait as they entered the town’s outskirts, skirting a large blackened crater where it looked like an underground fuel tank had been. Gouts of hazy smoke poured into the sky from a score of raging fires which burnt uncontested through the town, greedily lapping up what little the Kaiju had left behind. None of Prosperity Wells had been spared from the devastation, every block and every street thoroughly torn to shreds like it had been through a blender or blown apart by the titanic fuel explosion they’d noticed before. An occasional bright flash of colour was picked out by their searchlights, perhaps an unfortunate resident that had been too slow or too terrified to get out of the way of the oncoming doom.
“Where is everypony?” Wave Chill asked, unable to quite comprehend the magnitude of destruction wrought on the small town. The Jaeger’s head swivelled around with a metallic whir, almost like a lost hound looking for its master.
“Population is about 4500, there should be somepony around.” The radio crackled hopefully.
But nothing disturbed the rubble, leaving both pilots on edge as they surveyed the ruined township. It became quickly apparent that the Kaiju had been and was now long gone. Wild Mustang’s body swung dejectedly on its hip joint, a trace of anger building in the heart of the Jaeger.
“LOCCENT, there’s no trace of the Kaiju.” Soarin reported unsteadily. He’d known there’d be casualties, he’d have been naïve to think otherwise… but he wasn’t prepared for this.
There was a short moment of silence, presumably as the staff on the other end discussed what to do. “Have a look around, see if you can find the path it took. We’ve still got nothing here.” Michael ordered softly. Since the introduction of the Jaeger program on Earth every Kaiju breach had been intercepted, some more successfully than others mind you, but the Jaegers had always been on hand to fight the threat. The scene that stood before them was like the destruction wrought by Trespasser on San Francisco or Hundun on Manila, just on a smaller scale.
“Acknowledged.” Wave Chill responded coldly, crushing a pile of rubble to fine powder under the Jaeger’s foot.
“They never stood a chance.” Soarin whispered hollowly as the Jaeger stepped over a shattered warehouse which had been completely torn apart by the force of the Kaiju. He felt his frustration rise, they was supposed to be protecting these ponies and they’d failed. Not only that, but the beast was still at large somewhere, probably tearing its way through another town or village somewhere along the coast. They searched for a few minutes, only the slowly burning fires and the Jaeger’s searchlights piercing the darkness of the night. Other than the occasional slip of rubble or a building collapsing as its supports gave way, the town was deathly still.
“Found something!” Wave Chill exclaimed, highlighting an ugly brown smear that was etched into the ground like a snail trail. The scar was about fifty-five metres wide and about a third as deep, almost like a riverbed. The bottom of the excavation was littered with loose debris ranging from trees and mortar all the way up to chunks of a ship’s hull. The two ponies stared at the trail in shock, the sheer size of the trench left little doubt to what could’ve caused it.
“Looks like our Kaiju, better follow it.” The radio crackled quietly.
The pilots hardly needed any encouragement, the Jaeger already pounding along the trail at a half-run, kicking up the recently disturbed earth and smearing the fresh paint job of Wild Mustang with mud. There was something vicious brewing in the drift now, a desire for revenge, a need to see the town avenged.
They followed the trail west for a few minutes before it suddenly veered north, almost as if the Kaiju had found a new target. They unquestioningly followed the trail, eventually coming to a railway line which had hosted a long freight train. The train had been torn in half, its carriages and cargo strewn around the landscape like broken toys. Tiny metal spars, once the line which joined Manehatten to the great southern cities stuck out of the dirt like tiny toothpicks. There was no sign of its crew, either they’d died in the attack of had already fled, terrified of the monster which had so easily torn their train to shreds. From here, the trail was a little more obvious, an arrow-straight line which pointed due north. Growling with irritation, Wild Mustang followed the scar in the earth for a few hundred metres before it abruptly halted, a small rim at the end of the churned earth marking the sudden end of the trench. A sense of unease flooded the drift, how could something the size of a skyscraper just vanish? The Jaeger’s head spun around, the massive searchlights housed there revealing nothing but open fields and an occasional copse of trees.
“Where’d it go from here?” Wave Chill asked nervously, searching for any sign the Kaiju’s trail with the Jaeger’s sensors.
“Maybe it flew?” Soarin suggested, looking around the otherwise pristine landscape for any sign of the Kaiju.
Wave Chill shuddered at the thought. “Can Kaiju fly?”
“Never seen or heard of a flying one before, wouldn’t put it past them though.” Shane replied, the radio crackling with static and background noise. There was a brief moment of murmuring before his voice snapped back on clearly. “If this map is right there should be another large town… urh… Casino, I think it is, about 5 miles to the North West, how ‘bout you go check it out?”
“Any particular reason?” Wave Chill asked. It was a sound question, a Jaeger wasn’t well suited for urban operations, their immense size and weight meant they could easily get hemmed in the enclosed spaces and the addition of civilian infrastructure increased the likelihood of collateral damage, both to personnel and property.
“Kaiju tend to be attracted to population centres, it’s worth a shot.” Shane responded, his voice now almost lost in a sea of static.Soarin whacked the receiver a few times but couldn’t get a clearer transmission, evidently a local relay tower had been damaged and the signal was too weak to reach them clearly.
“Copy, we’re on our way.” Soarin replied, holding back a sigh of frustration. They’d followed the trail for nearly half an hour before it had vanished. It was almost like the Kaiju was playing with them, leading them astray. With a snarl, the Jaeger wheeled around, the machine seemingly as irritated as its pilots that it had been denied its quarry.
They’d barely moved though, when Soarin felt something through his metal skin. It lasted barely a second, a slight slip in ground which seemed noticeably out of time with the Jaeger’s footfalls.
“Feel that?” He breathed, suddenly alert.
“What?” Wave Chill answered
“It’s like we’re being… followed.” Soarin answered, pivoting the Jaeger on its hips with a low groan of machinery so he could look over their shoulder. Perhaps he was just being overly paranoid, it wouldn’t have been the first time…
“Mind explaining?” Wave Chill asked, unable to divine Soarin’s meaning even through the drift.
“It’s like you’re being hunted and anytime you stop, the thing that’s following you stops as well. Sometimes though, it’s just a little too slow to respond and you can hear it, maybe even feel if you’re lucky.” Soarin recalled, vividly remembering being hunted by a pack of Timberwolves in a similar fashion when he was younger. That had been a terrifying experience, repeating it with a skyscraper sized monster wasn’t exactly an appealing prospect.
Wave Chill immediately understood, the memory flashing through his mind. It seemed impossible though, how could a Kaiju track them so easily?
“Let’s see if I’m right.” Soarin urged, taking the Jaeger forward another few steps and straining his senses. He reached out with the Jaeger’s sensors, tasting the cool night air, seeing trees jump up like ghostly apparitions, feeling the solid ground beneath their feet… but no Kaiju.
“I got nothing, maybe you’re just being a little jumpy.” Wave Chill suggested, wishing that he didn’t sound so convinced by Soarin’s idea.
“I know what I heard.” Soarin said nervously. Maybe Wave Chill was right, maybe he was just hearing things. Soarin couldn’t shake the thought, the idea that something, maybe the still at large Kaiju, was hunting them was, frankly, terrifying.
Both a little anxious and disappointed, he broke the Jaeger back into a low stride. Almost immediately he felt a faint rumble, but this time interposed with a low click-clack sound which set his nerves on edge. Initially, Soarin dismissed it as the Jaeger trudging over the broken ground but it quickly became apparent the rumbling was out of time with their machine’s footfalls.
It was then he noticed the faint waves forming in the dirt, little ripples like a diver would make when they were just under the surface of the water. He pondered this curious effect for a moment before, with a bowel clenching squeal of terror, he finally realised it for what it was.
“Go right, go right!” Soarin screamed, the thought leaving his mind and forming in Wave Chill’s before the words even left his mouth. Trusting Soarin’s instinct, the two pilots twisted Wild Mustang hard to the right, their heavy leg moving out of the way just in time.
An explosion of dirt and rock shot into the sky in the space the Jaeger had just vacated, the resulting storm ringing loudly off their armour before bouncing off into the night. It suddenly became apparent to both the pilots how to Kaiju had been evading detection as a half millipede, half cobra shape burst from the new hole. Soarin got a glimpse of a wide set of mandibles filled with far too many teeth, row upon row of long, spade like talons and a slab of interlocking chitinous plates before the beast had burrowed back under the ground with a noise that sounded like an irritated clacking.
“What the-.” Wave Chill started, his words being cut off as the Jaeger suddenly lurched sideways.
“Move, it’s underneath us!” Soarin warned as the ground surged beneath the Jaeger ominously. The two pegasi wasted no time, shifting their cumbersome Jaeger off the rapidly shifting earth before they tripped. The two pilots had barely shifted the Jaeger to the side when Thresher burst forth again, jaws wide and a bone-chilling alien shriek rising from its throat.
Soarin swore with feeling as the Kaiju burrowed again, well before they could catch it. It was impossibly fast and flexible, able to bend its body at impossible angles to snap and bite at the ponderous Jaeger. The ground buckled under them again, pre-empting another attack.
“What do we do?” Wave Chill asked, his voice almost inappropriately calm. “He’s just too fast.”
Soarin racked his mind for ideas, something incredibly hard when he was trying to dodge a creature nearly half as wide as his Jaeger was high. With another alien screech which set his fur on end, Thresher burst out of the ground again, this time clipping Wild Mustang’s hip with several of its talons and cutting through the armoured leg joints with a sickening squeal. The Jaeger was thrown sideways, almost tumbling over from the force of the blow.
Thankful for the supporting harnesses, Soarin and Wave Chill forced the Jaeger upright, the younger pilot wincing as weight was placed on the Jaeger’s injured hip.
“I got an idea.” Soarin breathed, driving down the stab of pain which flared up along his flank. “It’s a little crazy but you’ve got to trust me.”
“Would it really be one of your ideas without it being a little crazy?” Wave Chill joked.
“Whatever.” Soarin grunted. He remembered a trick back in training, a little ruse he’d used when playing Capture the Flag to uproot a faster, agile opponent. It was a sound tactic against a pony-sized target, perhaps a little reckless against one like Thresher. He quickly communicated the plan with Wave Chill and spun the Jaeger’s head around slowly, nervously anticipating Thresher’s next move.
The ground tilted again and Wild Mustang shifted backwards, not sideways like Thresher had been expecting. It was too late now though, Thresher bursting out of the ground like shot from a cannon.
“Okay… now!” Soarin barked, darting his foreleg to the left around Thresher and hoping Wave Chill would follow through. The gambit worked, Thresher being yanked viciously sideways and almost tumbling into a clumsy heap with the Jaeger. It pulled itself free of the Jaeger’s clumsy one armed embrace and reared up on its manyhind legs, its upper body swinging back and forth slightly and its head set low. Screeching loudly, Thresher darted in quickly, trying to gnaw at the Jaeger’s torso but instead running headfirst into Wild Mustang’s other fist with a crunch like two tanks in a head-on collision.
Soarin could see surprise in the Kaiju’s eyes, well at least what passed for surprise in its case. It had eaten its way through at least two towns with nothing even resembling a scratch to show for it and here it was, fighting something that could hit it back. He slammed his fist into the side of the Kaiju’s mouth, the impact of the blow rippling down its body like a wave. It screeched in pain and slithered away, its flexible body twisting and looping over itself as it backed away from the Jaeger cautiously. There was something else there, fear maybe? It had come expecting an easy fight, it had not expected to be fighting something which could hurt it.
Thresher was now paying for its arrogance, Wild Mustang slamming another fist into its softly armoured underbelly and breaking three of the spade-like claws the Kaiju used to tunnel quickly. The hideous Kaiju screeched loudly and threw itself at Wild Mustang, hoping to throw the Jaeger off balance with the weight of its body. It was fast, nearly as fast as Atticon was, causing a brief moment of panic through the drift as its body slammed against the Jaeger before either pilot could raise an arm to defend themselves.
The Jaeger stumbled backwards, the leg servos whining loudly in protest as the Kaiju pressed its considerable mass down on them. A dozen talons flailed wildly, most bouncing off the Jaeger’s tough iron armour but a few puncturing or slipping between the Jaeger’s armoured plates. The Kaiju tried chomping down on their shoulder but the Jaeger’s arms finally came around, managing to push the writhing Kaiju off Wild Mustang’s abused hull. The Jaeger’s bulky fingers wrapped around the Kaiju’s midsection and lifted it off the ground with a loud squealing of gears. Neither of the pilots dared to release their grip on the struggling Kaiju as it lashed out wildly, twisting and buckling like an insane bull at a rodeo. Pinned, Thresher let out an irritated chitter and swung its head down, biting down hard on the Jaeger’s left hand. Its sharp teeth sheared through the metal but nearly causing as much damage to itself, opening a score of bright orange lines in its softer underbelly. Soarin cried out in pain as he felt one of the fingers go limp but strengthened his hold resolutely, there was no way he was going to let the Kaiju free. He gritted his teeth as another finger started going dead, his hoof felt like he’d bashed it hard against the corner of a chair and he was now finding it hard to focus through the pain.
“Now would be a good time!” He barked, struggling through the pain to hold the snapping Kaiju’s mouth back. He could feel the last of the Jaeger’s fingers being gnawed on, uncomfortable jabs of pain shooting up his foreleg as the Kaiju’s mouth snapped open and shut, shearing metal, snapping wires and spraying the inside of Thresher’s mouth with a thin jets of oil. Feeling the pressure lift off the abused finger for a brief moment, he shoved the hand deep inside Thresher’s mouth, levering the Kaiju’s impossibly wide maw open even further. With the Jaeger’s hand jamming its mouth open, Thresher started squirming and bucking its long body desperately again, trying to dislodge Wild Mustang’s broken fingers from the inside of its maw. It screeched again, its rope-like antenna whipping around wildly and its rear talons churning the dirt into a fine sludge in irritation.
“Rock ‘em, sock ‘em rockets!” Wave Chill cried, flying sideways in his harness as one of the creature’s massive antenna slammed into the side of the conpod.
“Verbal command not recognised.” The AI canted boredly, oblivious to the peril the Jaeger was in. It reminded Wave Chill of a technical support ‘expert’ mindlessly droning to try turning it off then back on again.
“Oh for-!” Wave Chill snarled, fumbling for the rocket’s manual firing stud. He pictured the target in his mind, a gaping black spot visible at the back of the Kaiju’s wide throat.
With a loud whir the pair of rocket pods mounted on Wild Mustang’s shoulders snapped open and aligned on the target. The hatches had barely slammed down when all six rockets roared out of their launchers, shot across the small space between the wrestling giants and disappeared down the Kaiju’s gullet like balls of fire. Thresher’s eyes widened, going still as the six metre long rockets roared down its throat, the time delay fuse built into warheads preventing them from immediately exploding on impact. Without waiting to see what would happen, Soarin ripped free Wild Mustang’s chewed hand from the Kaiju’s maw, loosening several of the Kaiju’s razor sharp teeth and more of the hand’s plating with the violent motion. Thresher reeled back, gagging and coughing unnaturally, almost like it was choking on a massive chicken bone. It was almost comical, the massive armoured worm lurching and heaving, surprise and confusion evident in its bright orange eyes. It froze for a moment, the violent waves of coughing which had wracked its body stopping as the rockets forced their way further down of the Kaiju’s throat. It let out one heaving gag before a series of muffled crumps came from deep inside the Kaiju. Its underside expanded grotesquely from the sudden increase of pressure inside its innards, bubbling up like an obscene balloon at a fair. For a moment, the Kaiju’s tough hide looked set to hold the explosion back before its gut exploded outward in a blinding ball of sparks and fire.
Thresher’s head pitched down, one final keening wail of pain escaping its bleeding mouth before it collapsed with a ground shaking impact. It continued to writhe for a moment longer, the creature’s baser instincts trying to extinguish the fire that now raged both inside and over it. The Kaiju gave one more twitch before finally falling still, its beady orange eyes glazing over with a sightless stare.
Wild Mustang stood still for several minutes, the vents and hatches dotte across the hull slowly opening and closing in time with his pilot’s heavy breathing. The Jaeger’s left hand sparked and fizzed uselessly, almost completely chomped through by Thresher’s powerful jaws.
“Is it dead?” Soarin asked cautiously, feeling something suspiciously like blood run down his foreleg.
“I think so.” Wave Chill answered, taking a tentative step towards the ex-Kaiju. “I don’t think that last meal was so good for him.”
“What, with your ‘Rock ‘em, sock ‘em’ rockets?” Soarin joked, trying not to laugh despite the circumstances.
“Eh shut up.” Wave Chill grunted, placing the Jaeger’s heavy foot over Thresher’s head and giving it a careful prod for good measure. The massive beast flopped over, its mandibles splaying out limply like fish at the market. The two pegasi considered their prey for a moment, it didn’t look so scary with a crater the size of their conpod burnt into its stomach.
Wave Chill nodded appreciatively, as if examining a work of art. “Guess we better get him home.”
***
Like a hunter bringing in its kill, Wild Mustang slowly advanced back towards its home berth, Thresher being dragged unceremoniously behind them. The Jaeger was limping slightly, a ragged tear in its hip hampering the machine’s pace and making it yowl like an injured lynx. Its left hand was completely ruined, a tattered scrap of metal leaking oil, sparks and a clear, viscous substance which was less identifiable. Both pilots could feel the Jaeger’s wounds, grimacing with pain each time the right leg took a lurching step forward or when the left arm brushed up against the hull. They pushed on regardless, driven onwards by the prospect of hot food, a shower and a repair bay for their injured machine.
They had been unable to re-establish contact with the Manehatten shatterdome, the brutal smash from Thresher had badly damaged the Jaeger’s large communication suite built into the side of the head, disabling the already somewhat fickle device.. Thresher’s corpse was grasped firmly in their remaining hand, a constant throbbing pain from their other mangled limb a constant reminder of the Kaiju’s damage. They’d dumped the corpse outside the city limits and swung around back through the bay, bringing the Jaeger back into the shatterdome’s wide halls within five hours of their departure.
As soon as Wild Mustang’s conpod was secure against the gantry, the large armoured door hissed open, a few bright-eyed engineers staring into the interior. At the end of the gantry stood both Shane and Michael, a stern yet cheerful look on both of their faces.
“Gee, thought you guys would’ve been a bit more cheerful, first win and all.” Michael remarked as Soarin and Wave Chill emerged from the conpod, shucking their heavy helmets off with all the grace of a whale piloting a blimp.
“Oh well… you know.” Soarin muttered, “Not really sure if we won. Lost a lot of ponies tonight.” He added darkly, a sad look crossing his face for a split second before being replaced by a forced smile. “At least we avenged them.”
“It was the best you could do, don’t beat yourself up over it.” Shane said, resisting the urge to pat the little pony on the shoulder. He wouldn’t say that he was close to either of the pilots but he understood the feeling they were going through. “We’ll debrief you in fifteen minutes. Get out of your drivesuits and get something to eat or drink.” He continued. “You’ll probably be as hungry as well... uh, a horse.” He finished awkwardly, visibly wincing as he realised exactly what he’d said.
“Right.” Michael said flatly, smoothly taking over from his brother’s awkward fumble. “My office in fifteen.”
***
The office, really nothing more than a small annex with a few chairs, a desk and some curious decorations next to Michael’s spacious quarters, seemed empty, even with all four pilots crammed around the newly polished desk. For a while Soarin and Wave Chill explained the events of the night, Michael and Shane interrupting only to ask an occasional question.
“And you dragged him all the way back here.” Shane asked, a scowl appearing on his face.
Soarin nodded. “We dumped a few klicks south of the outskirts of Manehatten.”
“Yes, we’re well aware of that, there are a few hazmat teams cleaning it up now.” Michael said sourly. “You know, we thought we made it quite clear that you should keep these guys away from population centres, not bring them closer.” He added with a shake of his head.
Wave Chill and Soarin cringed.
Shane scowl deepened. “What the hell were you thinking bringing that thing back here?”
Soarin and Wave Chill winced, not used to the fierce tone of their trainer.
“Well, you’re lucky this guy is about as toxic as potent weed killer so we don’t have a massive environmental disaster to worry about. You get off the hook this time.” Shane added, his normal tone of voice returning. “Just don’t get into the habit of dragging Kaiju home, alright? Next time you might not be quite so lucky.”
“Exactly.” Michael agreed, rising from his spot behind the desk slightly. “You were damn lucky you ran into Thresher in the first place.”
“I think it found us rather than just by chance.” Soarin said uneasily. “It appeared to be able to burrow very well, I think that’s how it was slipping past the sensor grid.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully “Makes sense, it’s looking for large creatures in the ocean, not under the seabed. Looks like we’ll need to plug that particular gap in our defences.”
Wave Chill cleared his throat. “What about more Jaegers? To fill the gaps as well? We can only be in one place at a time after all.”
“The other two are coming along just fine, that’s our job to worry about.” Michael said back firmly. “What we really need is a way to get the Jaegers from point A to B quickly so we don’t take an hour or two to reach the deployment zone. We’re lucky Thresher hit nearby and not at the ass-end of the world.” He paused for a moment to let the idea sink in. “Sadly it doesn’t look like your air force has anything with that sort of lift capacity. Well, not in large enough numbers at least.”
“Train?” Soarin suggested.
“Limited by where the rails run.” Shane said dismissively. “Choppers would be infinitely more preferable.”
Soarin and Wave Chill exchanged a glance. “Choppers?”
Shane rolled his eyes, they hadn’t really bothered explaining aerial Jaeger drops on account of the Equestrians not having the necessary gear on hand. “Like one of your airships but much smaller and faster. Most of us use Jumphawks, the Russians and Chinese use Carryalls, I think. There was a squadron assigned for transport to each Jaeger.” He sighed wistfully. “You wouldn’t know what I’d give for a dozen of those little beauties right now.”
Michael made a thoughtful sound. “Might be worth looking into, I’d be surprised if what passes for your engineers couldn’t put a few together.” He returned his attention back to the two pegasi sitting in his office, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “You two did well today. There’s some sort of celebration happening downstairs so go enjoy it, you’ve earned it.”
“Sir..,” Soarin trailed off, remembering he had one more thing he wanted to bring up.
Michael glanced up “Yes?”
He glanced at Wave Chill for support. “Look, I bet this will sound crazy but… When you drift in the Jaeger do you ever feel..?’ He trailed off, unsure of how to explain the feeling
“Feel the Jaeger?” Michael guessed.
“I suppose so, yes.” Wave Chill and Soarin answered in perfect unison. Soarin quickly hid a smile, that was new…
Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “Yes, suppose I do. When you drift you’re melding your mind through the Jaeger’s body. You and Wave Chill are forming the gestalt entity that is Wild Mustang. The Jaeger is a part of that I guess. You can feel its oil pounding like blood in your veins, the reactor churning like a heart… for all intents and purposes you are the Jaeger. Well, that’s how I see it at least.”
“You mean to say the Jaeger is alive?” Wave Chill asked dubiously.
Michael shrugged. “That depends on your point of view. Shane here doesn’t really believe it.”
Shane nodded silently in agreement. “The Jaeger’s a means to an end, a machine which we project ourselves through. They’re not alive.” He said with conviction.
“But as I said, it really comes down to what you believe. Personally I think that once you’ve drifted in a Jaeger they become something different… They get their own little quirks and nuances, just like a person. Spend some more time with your Jaeger and you’ll figure it out for yourselves.” Michael explained. “Anything else?”
Soarin shook his head slowly, an action quickly mimicked by his co-pilot.
“Good, now get out of here.” He said, gesturing to the door.
“Yes sir.” Soarin said quietly, taking that as his cue to leave. He forced himself up, surprised by how tired he was. Maybe the fight with Thresher had taken more out of him than he realised or perhaps the extended drift with Wave Chill had sapped his energy; whatever it was, Soarin just felt like crashing in his quarters. He excused himself quietly, leaving his younger co-pilot to his own devices; unlike Soarin he seemed much chirpier, still rearing for action despite their long day.
He wearily made his way back to his room, trying his hardest to avoid the few other ponies wandering the monotonous halls of the shatterdome. Slamming his door shut behind him he threw himself down on his bed, too tired to bother with the lump of sheets which sat messily at the end of the mattress. His head had barely hit the pillow and he had fallen into an uneasy sleep, his dreams plagued by soaring infernos and the cruel laughter of a cruel and shapeless alien.
***
BLOWN TO BITS – Equestria’s first Jaeger win!
- The Equestrian Herald
WILD MUSTANG A HIT! – Crowds celebrate Jaeger’s first victory
- Manehatten Courier
The newspapers cried for next few days after Thresher’s defeat, many dedicating several pages to the spectacle. The Manehatten Courier’s front cover even had a top to bottom picture of Wild Mustang rolling out of the shatterdome, the sun gleaming off its freshly painted hull. The fledgling Jaeger program was quite suddenly thrown into the public eye, thousands of ponies making their way to Manehatten to marvel at the tremendous shatterdome or try to catch a glimpse of Wild Mustang. The Jaeger would occasionally partake in field trials, stepping outside of the shatterdome, not only to practice a particular technique in the wide bays of Manehatten but to also allow the millions of ponies that crowded the city to catch a glimpse of the machine as it strode through the bay on two legs or more commonly, on all fours. For the first time in living memory every hotel in Manehatten was full, every hostel filled to capacity, innumerable ponies flooding to the city to see their metal guardian.
The destruction of the two towns at Thresher’s claws was news as well, although dramatically overshadowed by Wild Mustang. The public simply couldn’t get enough of him and before long it was common practice for the guards stationed outside the shatterdome to be turning around dozens of ponies everyday who kept trying to sneak in.
If Soarin or Wave Chill noticed the extra attention they made no mention of it, it seemed they were used to it already, their previous profession no doubt playing a part in that. If anything, they treated their newfound stardom with apparent indifference, phlegmatically doing dozens of interviews and appearances for local papers and radio stations. Shane was less appreciative of this, resisting the urge to throttle any pony who approached them with a large ‘Press’ tag lodged in their trilby.
Of course though, the persistent press was the least of their issues. Soarin and Wave Chill still had a lot to learn, the short training course they’d been subject to would’ve had the tutors at the Jaeger Academy frothing at the mouth. Under-trained pilots was an even smaller issue than the two half-build Jaeger hulls sitting in the giant construction bays of the shatterdome. Neither of the hulls had been named although ‘Stompy’ seemed to be a fairly popular term to describe the large brute which seemed to take up most of the construction bay.
They hadn’t even put serious thought into the nightmare that would be finding the next Jaeger pilots.
So when Twilight found herself back at the shatterdome at the request of the two pilots, she was understandably nervous, feeling somewhat like an intruder despite her involvement with the program since day one. The shatterdome seemed different, more alive perhaps that it had during her last visit. Everypony seemed to have purpose and meaning in their step, the recent victory no doubt played a part in that.
She found them sparring in one of the Shatterdome’s combat halls along with several curious onlookers. Each was holding a long, light combat stick and based by the perspiration building on their bodies they’d been at each other for a few rounds at least. She noticed the two new Jaeger pilots sitting off to the side, watching their mentors closely as they danced across the mat, almost too fast for her eyes to follow. There was a series of rapidfire cracks as their staffs bounced off each other before a sudden silence fell over the room, both humans locked in place. After a moment of unspoken agreement they returned to the centre of the mat without an apparent victor. This process repeated itself several times before Twilight finally realised they were finishing the fights mentally rather than physically, the two brothers so well in sync they could silently figure out who would win in the next few moves. She was reminded of a chess master playing several moves ahead of their opponent, only in this case they were not only doing it at the same time they were simultaneously reaching the same conclusion as the other.
They fought two more rounds in a similar fashion before bowing to each other respectfully and stepping off the mat, placing their beaten combat sticks reverently in a cradle which held a dizzying collection of the weapons. The two humans wiped themselves down with towels and slowly meandered their way over to Twilight, chatting amicably about their most recent fight.
“Good morning, Marshalls.” Twilight said politely as they entered earshot.
“Princess.” Shane responded, a slight edge to his voice as he used her formal title.
“A pleasure as always, impressive display there.” She remarked.
“Well they certainly thought so.” Michael said, gesturing the slowly dispersing crowd which had been spread around the combat room. He nodded to Soarin and Wave Chill, prompting the two pegasi to float down from the ceiling and start sparring on the mat. Twilight watched them out of the corner of her eye, noting that they seemed to be experimenting rather than practicing their technique.
“Anyway, how can I help you?” Twilight asked, diving straight to the issue with the formalities out of the way.
Michael wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. “We find ourselves in a sticky situation. We’re desperately in need of personnel with experience to take leadership roles within the Jaeger corps but as you could reasonably understand, experience isn’t exactly common around these parts.”
“You’re offering me a job?” Twilight asked, immediately catching on to his meaning.
Michael nodded. “Yes I suppose so.”
Shane picked at one of his fingers idly, watching the fight going on behind them curiously. “Our J-Tech division is quite understaffed.”
“J-Tech?” Twilight asked. She could make a fairly reasonable guess at the meaning but just wanted to be sure.
“Jaeger tech. Weapons development, drift research, Jaeger operations. Anything to do with the ins and the outs of the Jaegers falls under their banner.” Shane said mildly. “We’re looking for a division chief, reckon you’re the best person for the job.”
“Are you sure? I don’t-.”
Michael interrupted her. “You built a pons by yourself, refurbished a Jaeger and oversaw the construction of another. Trust me, you’ll do fine.”
Twilight smiled nervously, she didn’t like it when others played up her achievements. “I suppose so. Alright, what do you need me to do?”
“We’ve got our hands full with Soarin and Wave Chill, there’s still a bit we need to teach them before I’m happy with their standard.” Shane butted in. “In the meantime, we’ve got two Jaegers being put together outside and we’re a little preoccupied to be making sure they’re both coming along fine. There’s also the small matter of their crews, another small hassle for us.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “Where are they at now?”
Michael tossed her two fat dossiers, each one marked with a long hull number. “We didn’t commission them, this was approved by Celestia.” He said, a trace of irritation in his voice.
“Still sticking her nose in, I see.” Twilight muttered, flipping open the first dossier like an eager child and engrossing herself on the details of the first Jaeger, a heavy hitting behemoth which made Wild Mustang look like a twig.
“Hey, I’m not complaining.” Michael said defensively, “Just would’ve nice to consult us first. How is she even paying for them? Jaegers are usually a little out of the price range for royalty.”
“The Equestrian royal family holds a reasonable share in many successful businesses. That, along with the fact that Celestia and Luna have literally ruled for thousands of years and produced a large and prodigious family has allowed them to gain considerable wealth. They- I mean, we’re fairly well off, though this would’ve put a fairly large hole in their savings.” Twilight murmured without looking up. “Helps that labour is fairly cheap as well. I’m sure the government could approve three or four Jaegers now without breaking a sweat. If they wanted to...” She trailed off in way which implied there was more to the matter than she was initially letting on.
“Wanted to?” Michael asked, taking the bait like she expected him to.
Twilight swayed her head from side to side teasingly. “I’ve heard grumblings from some of the senators, that’s our elected officials, some of them are less than pleased with you two.”
Shane and Michael bristled. “Why?’ Shane asked indignantly, wondering how their mood would change if he turned up with Midsummer Night, knocked on their front doors and delivered them chunks of dissected Kaiju.
“Some of them think funding could be… better managed… better spent.” She said lamely, her nose still stuck in the first dossier.
“What a bunch of incompetent pr-.” Shane said, being cut off by a swift gesture from Michael.
“We’ll deal with that when we need to, at the moment we have three- sorry, four Jaegers in the pipe so we’ve got something at least.” He said pragmatically, indicating to Twilight that Midsummer Night would soon be fit for service again. He turned to Twilight. “How are we looking?”
The alicorn fixed him with an irritated look, she’d only just received the dossiers on the two new Jaegers, she hadn’t had the time to look them over properly yet. “I’d guess the first hull will take another three, maybe four or so months to finish.” Twilight replied. “I’d predict another six to seven months for the second, there seems to have been a few teething issues with the reactor and the primary drivetrain.” She said briskly before returning her attention to the second dossier.
Michael blinked with surprise, he hadn’t expected them done so soon. “So we should start training now?”
“Yes, because I’m an expert.” Twilight said sarcastically without looking up.
Michael hid a smile. “Alright, alright… no need to be snippy.”
Twilight bowed her head slightly. “So how will you run this?”
“We were going to open the floor to general entries.” Shane said.
Twilight blinked silently. “Last time I checked Equestria had a population of about 350 million, any plans for dealing with that many applications at once?”
Shane paled slightly. “She’s got a point there. That might be a slight problem.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, an air of irritation emanating from her. Did she really have to think of everything by herself? The two humans were clever but sometimes, like right now, they were incredibly dense. “Set a baseline medical and psychological entry barrier, that’ll reduce your selection pool considerably. I’d err on the side of caution and set it higher rather than lower as you can bring it down if your initial candidate pool is too small much more easily than you can raise it. After that, you can screen potential candidates more thoroughly and narrow them down to a smaller pool. After that I guess it’s just a matter of selecting the best ones that are left. How many crews do you want?”
Shane tapped his foot irately, why hadn’t they thought of that? It seemed so simple now that she’d laid it out for them.
“Three or four. One for each Jaeger and an extra in reserve. We still have a way to go with Soarin and Wave chill so we’ll have our hands full with the TYPOs as well.”
“Typo?” Twilight asked.
“Slang for a fresh recruit. Stands for-.”
“Tries Your Patience Often.” Shane said, finishing his brother’s sentence with an almost psychic degree of accuracy.
“You know it’s creepy when you do that?” Twilight said with an involuntary shudder.
“One of the perks of the job.” Michael said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
Twilight laughed quietly. “Well I can safely say it’s a job I don’t want.”
***
Much to the complete lack of surprise to anyone involved in the Jaeger program, the influx of applications was less like a flood than it was a tidal wave. Millions of submissions were submitted in the first week, putting the system Twilight had come up with to the test. While there were some natural bureaucratic slipups, the process seemed to work well, the stringent physical and mental requirements excluding the vast majority of hopeful applicants. Within two weeks, they had shortlisted this still considerable number down to three thousand individuals, allowing Shane and Michael to closely analyse and then select promising candidates. In between their tutoring, Soarin and Wave Chill were also roped into helping, the two humans no doubt reasoning that the extra hands would ease the process along. This process lasted another week or so, the pool being brought down again to about 200 ponies. A further round of screening, this time involving physical exams, tests and a psychological assessment dropped this down to a class of twenty-six, small enough that the final round of selections could take place. A few familiar names had cropped up on their roll but most of them were unfamiliar faces.
In the middle of all this was Big Mac and Applejack.
After Soarin and Wave Chill’s encouragement, Big Mac had gone home, hoping to find a willing candidate in the form of his sister.
Applejack though, had been slightly harder to convince, arguing relentlessly against Big Mac and trying to persuade her big brother to see sense.
“It’s downright foolish.” She’d argued. “Sweet apple Acres is our home, our life! You can’t just walk away from that on a whim.”
“Didn’t you?” Big Mac pointed out, effectively silencing his sister for the rest of the day. There’d been tension after that, the other two residents waiting for one of the sparring ponies to either give in and for life to return to normal or for it to be never the same again.
“You’re really dead set on doing this, ain’t ya?” Applejack asked quietly one night as she and Big Mac peeled their way through a bucket of apples for Granny Smith.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac answered stoically. “With or without you.”
Applejack gnashed her teeth together. “And what makes you think they’ll take you on?”
“They mightn’t. But I want to try.” Big Mac replied, putting the massive apple was peeling aside as he scraped the last of its skin away. “And ah’d like it if you’d join me.”
Applejack squirmed uncomfortably.
“Ah can’t do it alone AJ, help me. Please.”
“Alright, fine. Ah’m only doing this for you, understand?” She snapped, frustrated at her brother yet eager at the prospect of piloting one of the machines. “Can’t let you go off by yourself and get hurt.” She mumbled, glaring back down at her small pile of apples.
So there they were, several weeks later; somehow against all odds standing in line in the brightly lit combat room. Apparently the duo had good ‘drift compatibility’ and although they’d both scored below average on many of the entry exams, their physical scores and aforementioned compatibility had seen them through to the end. Now here they were, lined up with top athletes, what looked like half a dozen military ponies, an odd collection of blue-collar workers and two ponies who would’ve looked at home in a prison. ‘Not bad for a pair of apple farmers!’ she thought with a hint of pride.
The doors at the end of the chamber swept open, allowing a stream of morning sun and two uniformed creatures to walk in. Many of the ponies took a shallow breath of surprise, the majority of them would’ve have seen either of the aliens in the flesh yet.
“Good morning cadets.” One of them said politely, gesturing to the line of ponies. “Welcome to the shatterdome. Here we will select the best of you to become rangers.” He gestured to himself and then this counterpart. “As you may know, my name is Michael and this is Shane. You can address us either of us as ‘Marshall’ or ‘Sir’, your choice.” He paused for a moment. “Any questions?”
A chorus of replies rang out across the room. “No sir!”
“Good, then let’s get started.”
***
They first walked down the line, checking each of the ponies off their list. They did a double-take at Big Macintosh towering over the other cadets but moved on.
“Applejack?” The taller one who’d called himself Michael, a truly silly name if Applejack had ever heard one, asked.
“Here, Marshall.” She hollered.
Shane halted mid-step, staring at Applejack like she had suddenly spurted an extra pair of legs. He backtracked, a curious look on his face.
“Say ‘I’.”
“Ah?” Applejack said, looking from side to side in confusion.
Shane almost jumped with glee. “How would you address a group of peop- er, ponies?’
Applejack adopted an expression not unlike to the one Shane had just worn. “Y’all?”
“Oh this is just great, you’re southern!” Shane wheezed, adopting a faux Texan accent not dissimilar to the one the captain of the RV Equinox had used almost a year ago. “Now I’ve seen everything!”
“Shane…” Michael warned. Giving his brother a rough yank away from the two confused ponies before he could pry further.
“But they’re speaking Southern.” Shane chuckled, leaving the baffled Applejack behind him and following Michael up to a small dais at the end of the room.
“That’s nice, shut the hell up.” Michael said nonchalantly. He flicked through his short list and without thinking took the first two names off the roster, Applejack and another pony called August Fall, an earthy brown stallion who seemed like a stick compared to the brawny farmer. He called the two ponies up to the mat and explained the rules of the ring. They’d changed it up a little though, Earth Ponies weren’t able to use a staff as efficiently as either pegasi or unicorns so would wrestle instead. Armed with knowledge, the two ponies took to the centre of the mat, August Fall trembling slightly as he faced Applejack. The reason for his apprehension quickly became apparent, Michael had barely called start and Applejack had already ground him into the floor, tripping him up with one deft movement.
“She’s good.” Shane muttered, watching the orange mare remorselessly pin the older stallion to the sparring mat. The brown stallion struggled for a few moments before signalling his resignation, his face almost turning a faint shade of blue as he flopped around on the mat helplessly.
“Next one?” Michael asked, already seeing there was little chance the two ponies would line up well. The fact that Applejack had ground the hapless stallion into the dirt in under five seconds was only making that more apparent.
“Yeah I think we’re just wasting sunshine otherwise.” Shane murmured, “But who do we send in next?”
Michael drummed his fingers against his chin “She has a brother doesn’t she?” He asked, remembering the connection. Why they hadn’t started with him seemed a little counter-productive... he slapped himself mentally for making such a simple mistake.
“Yup.” Shane replied before looking down their list of cadets. He crossed off the hapless stallion and moved down the list, searching for the mare’s brother amongst the short list. “Big Macintosh?” He called, instantly spotting the stallion amongst the crowd by virtue of his height. “You’re up next.”
Applejack seemed to shoot a glare at them but otherwise remained silent, clearly she was less than pleased with the situation.
“You know the rules, first to five strikes.” Michael said, curious to see how the fight would go. From what he’d seen, Applejack was strong and fast but even she seemed to pale in comparison to her big brother, knots of tough muscle were visible under his red fur and he stood nearly half a head over any of the other ponies in the room.
“Brawn isn’t everything though.” Shane said lowly, reading his brother’s thoughts in a way most people found incredibly unsettling.
“Yeah, maybe you could learn that.” Michael shot back, focusing his attention back on the mat. The two siblings were slowly circling each other now, waiting for the other to make a move. If they were anything like Shane or Michael, they’d probably already been in enough scuffles with each other to know how they fought. Michael peeled his eyes away from the two farmers briefly, running his eyes down the list they had, there were four pairs of siblings listed, not exactly surprising as siblings seemed to usually make the best crews. He didn’t know why it was the case with scientific certainty but he could probably make a fairly good guess why it was the case…
“Damn, look at them go!” Shane muttered quietly.
Michael looked up to see the two ponies locked in a fierce wrestle, each of them throwing their weight around in an attempt to dislodge the other. Big Mac seemed more passive than his sister, reacting to her efforts rather than actively striking out. Applejack wasn’t as strong as Big Mac but she was a bit faster and agile, her smaller frame able to twist and turn more effectively than her massive brother’s. Their heads butted together roughly as the two ponies wrestled, neither seemingly able to get the advantage.
“They’re good.” Michael said quietly, pleasantly surprised by how well matched the duo seemed. There was something else there, it was like they’d done this many times.
“I’ve seen enough.” Shane responded, “The only way they could be better is if they were the same person.”
Michael nodded and whistled loudly, a shrill sound which echoed throughout the open room and made every head turn in his direction. The ponies stopped mid-wrestle, their eyes revealing an inkling of curiosity but also a trace of apprehension.
“You two, outside.” Michael ordered, pointing the two ponies to an overly large set of doors which led deeper into the shatterdome. The two siblings exchanged a worried glance before shuffling out silently.
Without pause Shane ordered the next two ponies into the centre, his mind already focused on the next two cadets.
***
Applejack wandered down one of the shatterdome’s wide halls, Big Macintosh trailing at her heels. A pair of friendly pegasi that Big Mac recognised had given them directions to a room where they were supposed to wait, something that suggested to Applejack that they’d passed whatever test the two humans had set for them. She could hardly believe it, she'd hardly expected to get so far, let alone make the final cut! What opposition she’d had to joining the Jaeger corps had washed away under her excitement and a sense of duty. If she was one of the few good enough to pilot one of the fancy machines she had better damn well do it.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice the pony that had just walked around the corner until she’d crashed face-first into her. Both ponies fell to the ground in a heap, a stack of papers the other pony had been carrying flooding the hallway.
“Oh sorry, I di-.” Applejack cut herself off mid sentence as the pony come into focus. “Twilight!”
“Applejack?” Twilight asked, refocusing her eyes on the farmer standing over her. “What are you doing here?”
“Ah could ask the same thing.” Applejack said, helping her friend back to her hoofs. Her spirits rose slightly, she hadn’t seen Twilight for some time and it was a welcome relief to know her friend was okay in the wake of the most recent attack.
A bemused expression appeared over Twilight’s face. “I work here. More to the point though, what are you and Big Mac doing here?” she asked, her mind refusing to acknowledge the fact she and Big Mac were both wearing badges that read ‘Cadet’.
“We… uh, volunteered to um... pilot the robots.” She said quickly.
Twilight looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Come again?” She asked flatly.
Applejack repeated herself, noticing that Big Mac was slowly edging away like eh expected Twilight to explode.
“Wel- well that’s... that’s..,” Twilight stammered, the look on her face not quite matching the words she said. She seemed to be at odds with herself, unsure of how she should be taking the news.
“Lovely?” Applejack guessed hopefully.
“No it’s not!” Twilight snapped, stamping the concrete floor with her hoof angrily. She cast an angry glare at the orange mare. "What are you thinking Applejack!? Don't you realise just how much danger you and Big Mac are putting yourselves in?" She barked.
Applejack bit her bottom lip, her ears pressing against her head as the alicorn's anger washed over her. It was clear to her that the ire in Twilight's eyes was merely a cover for concern, a feeling that was confirmed a moment later as her gaze softened, being quickly replaced by a worried frown.
"Ah... ah do Twilight" Applejack started quietly, slowly regaining her previous confidence. "And I also know that if there was somethin’, anything, ah could do to help I’d do it in a heartbeat. I can’t let Big Mac do this alone, Twilight. Somepony has got to do it and it may as well be me.” Applejack finished stoically.
Twilight quavered slightly. “I can appreciate that, but you could get hurt… or worse! I can’t let you put yourself in harm’s way like that” She exclaimed.
“We’ll look after each other, won’t we Big Mac?” Applejack said. “Them Kai-jews will be the ones runnin’ from us.”
The stallion nodded fiercely in agreement.
“I’m not going to convince you to back out of this, am I?” Twilight asked defeatedly.
“No, you’re not.” Applejack said, a trace of dark smile appearing on her hard face.
“Well I guess any further argument is pointless then.” Twilight muttered, more to herself than the farmer she had been scolding. “As long as you know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
Applejack smiled thinly, she didn’t need anypony to tell her what she’d gotten herself into. She’d seen it firsthand.
“Well I guess I should offer you luck.” Twilight said, reorganising the fallen papers with an efficiency that only a skilled magic user could hope for. “You’re going to need it.”
***
Back in the Kwoon Room, Shane and Michael now had a somewhat familiar pair in front of them. Misty Fly and Lightning Streak, the very two ponies that had been promising candidates for Wild Mustang, were now before them, a pair of delicate wooden sticks balanced awkwardly in the forelegs. Evidently someone had told them of their potential, either that or they’d simply come along for the ride. Much to both Shane and Michael’s delight, they were performing well, darting across the mat with the ease of two people who knew each other inside and out.
They weren’t the best pair they’d ever seen and as Misty Fly rapped Lighting Streak across the back of the head with her hanbo, it became readily apparent she was the more dominant of the siblings. It wasn’t to say that Lighting Streak was a slouch, it just seemed like he was holding back, out of fear of his sister or perhaps some sort of brotherly instinct. Still, it was a buoying prospect that they’d fairly well nailed the pair down from their service records some months before.
“She seems to be enjoying herself.” Shane remarked, noticing the smirk which Misty Fly was wearing as she reset her position on the mat. The words had barely left his mouth and the two pegasi were back at it, the light crack of wood against wood ringing around the Kwoon room. Perhaps she was a little too confident, letting her guard down for just a moment to make an opportunistic strike, a move Lighting Streak took advantage off, slapping her across the cheek with his own stick.
“Ouch.” Shane muttered quietly, wincing as her head snapped back from the blow. Misty shook her vision clear, a vicious look on her face. Lighting Streak grinned, maybe he’d enjoyed that a little too much…
“Very determined.” Michael noted. “Both of them.”
“You can tell he’s a little afraid of her though, see how he keeps holding back?” Shane pointed out. “See, I would’ve smacked you in the ribs with my stick if you’d done something like that.” He said as Misty Fly sloppily parried her brother’s stick away.
“Gee, thanks.” Michael said dryly. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I do like them though, try and get Lighting Streak to open up a bit and I reckon they’d make a great pair.”
“You reckon?” Shane asked. Michael knew he wasn’t questioning his judgement more so than he was pushing him for more.
“They’ve got an incredible amount of potential. That’s too hard to just pass up. And they’ve drifted before, that’s got to count for something.”
Shane pouted. “I wouldn’t call a fizz a drift.”
Michael shrugged. “Better than anyone else here.”
Shane sat silent for a few moments. “I agree, let’s take them.”
Michael made a small note on his clipboard. “Fantastic.” He whistled loudly again, instantly gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He pointed at Misty Fly and Lighting Streak. “You two, outside now please.”
The two siblings shared a look and fluttered out, Misty Fly grinning broadly like she’d already been selected as a frontrunner pilot.
“Alright next two, up you come.” Michael called, barely looking up from his notes.
The words had barely left his mouth when a loud crack, like a gun going off in a small room, sounded next to his ear, making him jump with fright. A green halo of fire leapt into life, spitting out a pristine scroll before vanishing back into nothingness with a quiet fizz. They’d had a few scrolls delivered them in this somewhat dramatic fashion although they were no more used to it than the first time it had happened. Muttering under his breath indignantly, Michael reached for the neatly bound scroll, noting that the seal was an unfamiliar one, belonging to neither of the royal sisters they habitually received mail from. He prised it open curiously, his expression forming into a scowl as he read down the thin sheet of paper.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He muttered sourly.
“What is it?” Shane asked, not taking his eyes off the two ponies waiting patiently in the centre of the mat.
“Summons from the Senate. For both of us.” Michael said icily. “Apparently some idiot thinks we’re just faffing about enough to have called some sort of inquiry.”
“That’s bullshit.” Shane protested.
“You’re telling me.” Michael said ruefully, “They start in a fortnight.” He added, flipping over the second page bound in the scroll.
“Yeah, cause we’re not busy at all, are we?” Shane said sarcastically. “Give me a pencil, I’ll let them know what I think about their inquiry.”
“Oh jeez, this’ll be good. They might throw you in jail or something, that’d be a nice change.” Michael said dryly, fishing around for a pencil and a scrap of paper. “Nothing too inflammatory, alright?”
Shane grunted in response, already scribbling furiously. After a few moments he passed the hasty letter to Michael with a fierce scowl.
Michael suppressed a grin “Uh, Shane? We can’t send this.”
“Why not?” Shane shot back gruffly.
He chuckled lowly. ‘Well for starters, I’m pretty sure there’s a ‘k’ in ‘knucklehead’”
***
Misty Fly shifted slightly, the confident look she held sweeping around the room slowly before finally stopping on the two earth ponies sitting on the other side of the hall from them. It was odd, barely a few weeks ago she’d had no interest in the position but now she could hardly think of anythign else. She’d seen the countless news reports detailing Wild Mustang’s first victory and decided the prospect of piloting a Jaeger not only appealed to her ego immensely but also provided a new challenge, more of a challenge than routine patrols aboard Rogue Two did at least. She’d managed to convince Lightning Streak to come along fairly easily, her brother originally more open to the idea than she had been. This had pleased her immensely, at least if she had to share her innermost thoughts with somepony it would be with somepony she mostly trusted, not some random stranger they’d pukked off the street.
They hadn’t been told anything but Misty suspected this was the shortlist. Suspected was selling it a little short, as soon as they’d stepped out of the combat room a pair of familiar pegasi, Soarin and Wave Chill, had descended on them and given them directions to a room where they were told to wait. That alone had sold the idea they were destined for greater things.
She and Lighting Streak had done well, easily outperforming all of the other candidates with an ease that came only with experience. The two pegasi turned their heads slightly as the door creaked open and two more ponies, two more Earth ponies, shuffled in silently. They stared at the other two pairs before deciding that Misty Fly’s arrogant glare was enough of a disincentive to sit near her or her brother.
Lightning Streak made an almost imperceptible nicker of annoyance, a sound he seemed to constantly make whenever Misty Fly got a little big for her boots. Which is to say, all the time.
Misty Fly ignored this, she knew she was the most skilled out of the group, why shouldn’t she show it off? She didn’t bother vocalising this, knowing that her brother would either just remain silent or sarcastically ask her if she knew what humility was and where she could get some.
She clicked her tongue impatiently, how much longer were they going to have to wait? She wanted to start now, Soarin and Wave Chill already had a machine of their own and she was practically chomping on the bit to have one of her own.
Her question was quickly answered when two more ponies, this time a pegasi and an earth pony, drifted in, quickly followed by the two aliens. The two newcomers sat as far away from Misty fly as they reasonably could while the two strange aliens hovered by the door. After a moment, the taller one, Michael if she remembered correctly, cleared his throat.
“Alright, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good: You’re our shortlist. The best we could find. I’ll honest when I say that you’re good, at least by our standards, you’re pretty good.” He paused for a moment. “Bad news is we’ve only got two hulls available. So four of you will leave empty handed. We’ll keep you on board as reservists if you’d like, maybe you’ll get you chance when the next series rolls around. But for now, you won’t be mainlining.”
There were a few quiet mutters at this. Misty Fly felt the corners of her mouth rise slowly, a competition? Good, all the more reason to push herself harder.
“We’ll start next week so you have some time to get your affairs in order. Quarters will be made available for you and your passes will be made up and handed out in the next few days.” He said, standing aside and gestured out the door, a broad grin breaking out on his face. “See you in a week.”
***
Back out in the hallway the mood was somewhere near exuberant. The eight hopeful cadets chatted with each other, exchanging names and pleasantries. Soarin and Wave Chill joined them again, chatting enthusiastically with the potential new pilots that would join them.
Misty Fly however, was backed up against a wall, eying off her competition with a steely gaze, almost as if she could divine the best way to beat each of them with a simple look. Most of the other cadets avoided her, something which suited the introverted ex-Wonderbolt just fine. She was examining the second earth pony pair, apparently a duo of royal guards, when her silent ruminations were rudely interrupted.
“Howdy, names Applejack. Nice ta meet ya!”
Misty Fly instantly recognised the earth pony and the towering leviathan behind her as the first pair of earth ponies she’d first seen fight. She gave them a ‘Get your face out of my face before I rearrange it’ look but the talkative orange one seemed to miss the cue. Consigning herself to at least some social interaction she put on a level face.
“Misty Fly.” She answered boredly, wondering if she could learn anything from the blabbering yokel who had the audacity to annoy her. She flashed a look at her brother chatting animatedly with Wave Chill, silently willing for him to come distract the mare who seemed insistent to talk to her. He caught her look, a worried look instantly appearing in place of the smile he’d worn moments ago.
“Gee, you were one of them Wonderbolts weren’t you?” Applejack asked.
She rolled her eyes, would she ever say something that wasn’t already obvious? “That would be correct.” Misty answered icily. “What about you?” She asked, more so she could know her opponent rather than because of some social convention. She tossed a glance at Lighting Streak, slightly relieved to notice he was a few steps behind Applejack, perfect timing for her to slip away.
“We’re farmers, run one of the biggest apple orchards in Equestria.” Applejack said proudly.
A contemptuous look appeared over the ex-Wonderbolt’s face, all thoughts of vanishing silently going up in smoke. “Farmers?” She said disbelievingly. “They picked farmers to watch my back?”
Applejack’s proud look fell off her face like a greased potato off a hot plate. She gnashed her teeth together, well aware that the Pegasus was now mocking her and Big Mac.
“Yeah, farmers.” She said lowly. “Got a problem with that?”
Misty scoffed quietly. “Well I’m sure glad you’ll know how to plough the fields when push comes to shove. Maybe they’re planning on using you as the chum. Farmers.” She jeered again disbelievingly.
“AJ…” Big Mac said cautiously, reflexively holding his sister back before she did something stupid. Applejack glowered at the Pegasus, resigning herself to simply glare and think angry thoughts for the time being. Misty Fly made another amused sound and trotted off without another word.
Lightning Streak glanced at her, smiling awkwardly. “Nice to meet you?” He said, desperately trying to salvage the situation before it completely crashed and burned.
“How ‘bout you just scamper off before somepony gets hurt.” Applejack snapped irritably, immediately regretting her sharp attitude. The poor pegasus was just trying to be nice, it wasn’t his fault his sister had her head so far up her arse it’d put a greedy dragon to shame.
A disappointed look crossed his face before he spun around, following Misty Fly with a slightly put-out gait. He seemed more annoyed with his sister than the Apple siblings, making Applejack wonder how often he went through what they’d experienced.
“Something tells me she don’t like us.” Big Mac drawled.
Applejack shot a deadpan look at him but otherwise remained silent, her silence enough to get across what she thought of the Pegasus.
***
Lighting Streak was fuming. Why did his sister have to be such an arrogant, short-sighted half-troll? Any chance of an easy solution to this new problem seemed to have vanished faster than a platter of fritters at a hillbilly hoedown.
‘Okay, bad example.’ He thought sourly, wondering if there was some way he could easily patch things up between his sister and the Apple siblings. He scowled, the fallout from that little incident would probably carry over to him as well, a pity, as Applejack wasn’t exactly a mare lacking in the good looks department.
He felt his anger rise slightly, why did she have to ruin everything for him?
“Any reason why you have to be such a bitch?” Lightning Streak asked pointedly. The words were out of his mouth before he could pull them back, an accidental slip of the tongue that was bound to land him in trouble.
Misty fly snapped around like a lightning bolt, her eyes boring deep into her brother’s. “Excuse me?”
Much to his own surprise, he didn’t back down. He stood his ground, the worst she could do was beat him up. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the worst she could do but he figured now was a good a time as any to stand up to her. “Applejack and Big Macintosh, they seem like reasonable ponies. Why’d you have to go and take a metaphorical dump all over them?” He questioned. ‘And ruin any chance of me being friends with them while you’re at it…’
Misty fly bristled. “Do you really want a bunch of yokels with a few missing chromosomes watching my back? The humans might think they have potential but to me they’re just a liability.”
“And you think you’re better than them straight away, wow, that’s some superiority complex you’ve got there.” Lighting Streak shot back.
She scoffed haughtily “They’re farmers, I know I’m better than them.” She pointed out, the words flying out of her mouth with a venomous air about them. “I don’t to be coddling them when it comes to a real fight.”
Lighting Streak stared her with sudden clarity. “You think they’re competition. Don’t you? A threat to… to some perceived superiority you have over them.” He probed, receiving nothing more than a small annoyed grunt from his sister. He smiled to himself despite there being nothing remotely funny about the situation. “I know you well enough to know what you can and can’t handle; and know you can’t handle somepony that’s better than you.”
Misty brushed his words off remarkably well. “They’re nothing and they’ll never amount to anything other than being a weak link.” She said lowly, looking away before Lighting Steak could follow up. Lighting glared at her, wondering what her real stigma against the two ponies was, there was more than just her ego at work here.
“Come on, what is it? I’m your brother for Archon’s sake, you can tell me anything.” Lighting Streak said firmly. He kept his gaze level, determined to beat her at something… for once.
Misty Fly wavered slightly, she seemed to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown, something very uncommon for the usually well composed Pegasus.
“Yes, you’re my brother.” She snapped, her eyes starting to water slightly. Lighting Streak wasn’t sure if she was going to cry or yell at him, the mixture of emotions on his sister’s face an unusual combination. She gave him a furious glare. “And that’s why I’m worried.”
He blinked in surprise. “Caring about somepony that’s not you? That’s new.”
Misty made a quiet noise that could’ve been a laugh. “Some bonds run deeper than others.” She said, before her steely attitude returned. “Besides, apparently this thing needs the two of us to work and I don’t trust anypony else, so I have to look after you.”
“Nice to know your heart hasn’t frozen solid sis.” Lighting Streak chuckled. “Look, it’s nice to know you’re looking out for me and all and I know this’ll be hard for you, but would you mind turning the bitchiness down a bit? It’s no reason to snap at them.”
“Respect is earned, not given.” Misty fired off rapidly, reverting to her usual self almost as quickly as she’d lapsed from it.
Lighting Streak groaned internally. This was going to suck.
Although Lighting Streak didn’t know it, his statement was unnervingly accurate. The two weeks leading up to the Senate inquiry were some of the worst Shane and Michael had experienced, their time perpetually spent collecting every scrap of evidence, every file, every record of the Jaegers, both in Equestria and on Earth. They delegated most of the initial training of the four potential teams to Soarin and Wave Chill, their faith in the pilot’s basic abilities enough that they trusted them to guide the recruits through the early stage of the training. The week leading up to the start of the Senate Inquiry was hectic, the new cadets had arrived and settled into the Shatterdome, leaving Soarin and Wave Chill up to their necks in work as they suddenly found themselves teaching eight ponies the basics. Shane and Michael had it no easier, constantly receiving letters from the two princesses concerning the inquiry and regular status updates on the Jaeger hulls from Twilight. Michael was wondering where all the time had gone two weeks later when he was busy packing a large rucksack to take to Canterlot. Soarin watched him curiously from the comer, silently observing the process the human was dutifully undertaking.
“You should’ve done this earlier.” He remarked, noting that Michael had managed to find, lose, find again and then lose the same sheet of paper in the last five minutes.
Michael fixed the Pegasus with a withering look but keep his mouth shut, knowing the pilot was right.
“So who’s running the show while you’re gone?” Soarin asked after a few minutes of silence, deciding it was safe enough to talk again without risking his head leaving its shoulders.
“You’re in charge while we’re gone. I wouldn’t expect anything crazy to happen but if it does, contact us immediately. We’re left you with a training schedule but go with your gut if something seems off.” Michael said, zipping his backpack shut before throwing it carelessly into the corner of his desk. He saw Soarin’s dubious look and flashed him a reassuring smile. “We hopefully shouldn’t be gone too long.”
At that moment Shane barged in, a large knapsack resting gently on one shoulder. “Ready to roll? Luna’s courier just landed.”
“Great.” Michael deadpanned, suddenly wishing he could stay in the relative safety of the shatterdome, surrounded by ponies he could at least somewhat trust. ‘Canterlot’ seemed less appealing by the second. He stuffed a few loose pieces of paper into the folder he was presenting with before tucking the messy binder under the crook of his arm. He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder with a single deft motion, already wishing he could unpack it all again.
“Lead on.” He gestured.
Shane was happy to oblige, leading them up several levels before emerging out on one of the shatterdome’s expansive balconies. This one had been turned into an impromptu landing pad of sorts, a medium sized airship with a midnight blue paint scheme idling noisily in the early morning air. The ship was sleek, a stark comparison to the large and bulky airships the Equestrian Air Force seemed to favour. A few crew members stood around, busy pumping some sort of oil into the ship’s massive fuel tanks or loading supplies of some description. A unicorn hailed them as they approached, quickly showing them up a dubious looking gangway and into the craft’s interior.
“Please excuse our rush, the Captain wants to get moving before some unfavourable weather sets in.” He apologised, showing them to a well-decorated although somewhat dim room set at the back of the ship. “Make yourselves comfortable, we’ll be casting off soon.”
***
The trip took the better part of the day, the courier not reaching Canterlot until well after the moon had risen above the horizon. The small airship looped lazily through the night sky, a calm but overcast evening which seemed silent other than the constant drone of the aircraft’s engines. The moon cast a pale silver light over the clouds, making it look like a slowly tumbling ocean. A few mountain peaks broke through the dense cloud cover, spires of rock and earth in an otherwise featureless landscape.
“You know, I could get used to this.” Michael sighed wistfully, leaning back on a small pile of pillows he’d made in their well-furnished cabin. He gazed up through the large port which sat in the ceiling, watching the stars slowly wheel overhead as the airship entered a shallow turn.
“Agreed.” Shane muttered, looking up from a small language guide he was reading. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to spruce the shatterdome up a little. Grey walls and piping isn’t exactly the prettiest thing in the world.”
Michael squirmed a little. “I like it that way. Reminds me a little of home.”
“Home.” Shane echoed quietly. They’d been in Equestria for nearly a year. A year without human contact, a year with only a few scraps to remind them of where they were from and who they were. Shane had rooted through the wreck of Brawler Yukon during the salvage, both to recover as much as he could to use on Midsummer Night and to search for any workable parts from Brawler’s own experimental teleporter. Needless to say, months under the crushing ice and snow hadn’t been kind to the machine and anything of value had been either crushed under the Jaeger’s own weight or corroded to all hell. It was a sobering experience but one he’d quickly accepted, other than Michael and his Jaeger, Earth hadn’t really held much for him.
Michael on the other hand, had taken it slightly less well. It wasn’t to say he was moody, but he’d certainly become attached to the small things which reminded him of home, the odd little decorations in his office and his quarters were perfect examples.
“Do you think we’ll get home?” Michael asked.
Shane shrugged. “I can think of one way and I’ll just say now, I’d rather stay here.”
“And that would be?” Michael asked sceptically.
Shane looked back at his book nonchalantly. “The breach.”
Michael’s jaw dropped. “You’re crazy.”
“I didn’t say it was a good idea.” Shane said defensively. “But I mean, if the Kaiju are coming through the breach like they are on Earth… I’d guess there’s a way back through the portal.”
Michael stared back out the window, “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Shane let out a heartfelt sigh. “Look, I get what you mean but I don’t think we run away now. Look how far we’ve come, look how much we’ve achieved.” He pointed out. “You want to leave that all behind?”
Michael squirmed again. “Not really…”
“Well then I think you should get used to call this place home.” Shane said bluntly. “You said so yourself, you like it here.”
Michael remained silent for a few moments. “We have come a long way, haven’t we?’
“Yeah, just to think I nearly shot the damn Head of our Jaeger development team…” Shane muttered, transcribing a few symbols from the guide onto paper. “I would’ve never imagined us doing this a year ago.”
There was a quiet knock on the door, prompting both humans to snap their heads around to look at it. There was a moment of tense silence before Michael answered.
“Enter.’
A bulky unicorn, one of Luna’s underlings who’d shown them in before, slowly pushed the door open and bowed to the both of them.
The aide cleared his throat. “Her highness has invited you to the bridge while we make the final approach into Canterlot, she thinks you would appreciate it.”
“Not one to say no…” Michael muttered, hauling himself off his pile of cushions and following Shane out the door, stooping his head so he didn’t hit it on the doorframe. They followed the pony down a series of narrow corridors before arriving at the ship’s bridge, a large gondola-like structure which hung from the bottom of the airship like a small mound. A series of windows wrapped around the walls, making it feel like they suddenly in a large fishbowl.
“Michael, Shane.” Luna said lightly, perched on a small chair off to side of the bustling command centre. “How has your trip been?”
“Good thank you. I was not aware you were on board…” Michael said cautiously.
Luna laughed quietly, an oddly pleasant sound that reminded him of a tinkling bell. “We haven’t, we only joined the flight some ten minutes ago.”
“Fair enough.” Michael muttered, drifting slowly over to the panoramic display that drifted past the window. They were sinking rather quickly, the airship rapidly dropping until it was skimming just above the cloud layer.
“Sirs, starboard side at our two o’clock.” The navigator said coolly. It took Michael and Shane a moment to realise she was addressing them. They spun their heads to follow her directions.
“Well isn’t that something.” Michael remarked, resisting the urge to press his face against the window like a small child in an ice-cream parlour. Through a hole in the cloud layer he could make out a gleaming city of white and gold built into the side of the mountain. Spires of pure white reached up to the heavens, each tipped with a gold cap and a large star-like emblem. Several waterfalls tumbled down from the lowest tiers of the city, cascading down several hundred metres of sheer mountainside before finally floating to the ground in a fine silver mist. The whole structure seemed to defy physics, a masterpiece of engineering which would’ve had any human engineer frothing at the mouth in awe.
“Damn.” Shane breathed, his eyes going wide at the sight. The airship dropped lower, each individual light burning in the fortresses’ windows becoming visible as they dipped below the clouds.
An amused grin crossed Luna’s face and it occurred to Michael that she’d asked them up to the bridge just to see their reactions. The princess quickly regained her decorum and motioned to the city. “Welcome to Canterlot.”
Barely twenty minutes later the airship had docked in a berth behind what Luna had pointed out was the Royal Palace, a sprawling affair which seemed to take up a fair portion of the city. A small crowd of ponies met the ship, a small gaggle of ground crew already busy unloading luggage and tying the airship down, a dozen guards in gleaming gold ceremonial armour and a small mob of low ranking flunkies that heckled for Luna’s attention as soon as she stepped down the gangway. She dismissed them with an annoyed wave and turned her attention to Shane and Michael, both of whom were still staring at the towering spires that reached towards the clouds with a mixture of awe and fascination.
“I’ll assign you an equerry for the duration of your stay. They will both serve as your guide and escort.”
“Escort?” Shane asked cheekily. “You think someone would attack us?”
Luna scoffed. “Hardly, you are both our guests and heroes. I think a knife between the ribs is a little out of the question.”
“Agreed, I doubt a would-be assassin could reach.” Shane remarked dryly, eyeing the short spears the guards carried warily.
Luna, now leading the way towards the palace on foot, threw a look back at him. “It would do well to watch your tongue-in-cheek behaviour.”
“Excuse me?” Shane asked.
Luna rolled her eyes. “There is a certain amount of etiquette required in the Senate. Watch your tongue, lest it put it somewhere you’d rather not be.” She cautioned. “While we think the amount of formalities is somewhat unneeded, it is unfortunately what is expected.”
“Great, rubbing palms with the upper crust is the downside to being a Jaeger pilot.” Shane remarked sourly. “Half of them just want you to increase their power and the other just want a good- ooffph!” He exclaimed suddenly, running into a skinny pony unexpectedly rounding the corner in front of them. There was a crash, Shane tripping over the short pony and nearly ending face down on the smooth cobblestones. Much to his credit, the short stallion recovered quickly and started apologising profusely upon noticing Luna leading the small formation. Unlike most of the ponies either had met, this one seemed much more upper-class, his well-trimmed (although now slightly dusty) jacket and thin framed glasses giving off an air of authority and power.
Luna cleared her throat awkwardly. “This is Senator Hammerlock, he is the elected representative for the Manehatten district.” Her voice suddenly sounded inside their heads. “He is also rather influential in the senate so it would pay to be polite.” She said, stressing the last word in particular. “Hammerlock, these are the human Marshalls, Michael and Shane.”
Michael whacked his temple softly. “Warn me before you do that please?”
Luna rolled her eyes silently, leaving Hammerlock with a puzzled look on his face. The pony recovered quickly though and he bowed his head to them respectfully.
“Good evening to the both of you, a pleasure to finally meet you.” He said cheerfully, adding a solemnly nod to Luna. “Your highness.”
Luna gracefully nodded in return. “Hammerlock is a supporter of you and your machines. The same most probably goes for the majority of his constituents.”
“Well, I represent a small portion of Manehatten at least, the central city to be exact, but I think everypony is in your debt. Not only have you personally saved or city twice but your actions have also provided Equestria with the means to fight back.” He paused for a moment. “You must be very proud of yourself.”
Shane mumbled something under his breath awkwardly, not expecting to hear such praise.
“Hammerlock, are taking part in the committee?” Luna asked curiously.
“Naturally, I have much to present to my colleagues on the matter.” The gaunt stallion proclaimed. “
“Good to hear.” Luna purred contently. “Now if you’ll excuse us, I need to show our guests to their chambers.”
Hammerlock bowed again. “Don’t let me hold you up. Marshalls, Princess.” He nodded to each in turn before trotting off, humming a faint tune to himself.
“He’s a good pony, it’ll be a shame when he retires.” Luna muttered, her gaze drifting after the retreating senator. She seemed lost for a moment before regaining her direction, shaking her head as if clearing a bad memory, “Nonetheless, we must press on. Your chambers are just up above.” Luna motioned, leading the small group onwards again. They climbed a series of intricate stairs, each one carved from a stone of pure white and entered the palace through a narrow gate guarded by another half-dozen watchmen. The castle’s interior was no less lavish than the outside, large banners hanging from the ceiling, each depicting the solar sisters, some hero of Equestria or simply a large blazing sun and crescent moon. Thick red carpets swathed the hard stone floors, muffling their footsteps which echoed around the high ceilings of the palace’s halls.
“You sure didn’t skimp on this place.” Shane remarked with a low whistle, completely taken away by the opulence of the royal palace.
Luna remained silent for a moment, not offering her view on the matter and led them up a large staircase. “Royalty has some perks.” She admitted loathingly.
“Need a holiday?” Shane jeered.
Luna scowled at him, her fierce look the only response she gave on the matter. “Your lodgings are through here, take your pick from any of the guest rooms.” Luna said pointedly, “A guide will be along to take you to the hearing in the morning. I trust these will be suitable in the meantime.”
“Very…” Michael said quietly, pushing one of the doors open to discover the opulence didn’t end out in the corridor. The rooms, although small by human standards, were exquisitely made out, every expense being made for the castle’s guests. A large four-poster bed seemed to dominate the room and a set of wide windows gave an almost panoramic view of the city below. He walked in slowly, his head tilting back to gaze at the intricate design of the ceiling.
Luna coughed quietly. “I’ll leave you two to get settled in, until the morning then.”
Michael nodded. “Until the morning.”
***
Michael was awakened by a quiet knocking, like an insistent woodpecker banging on the tough bark of a tree. He rolled out of the bed with a groan and groggily made his way over to the door. The bed was a little too small for him, clearly its designers hadn’t had a six foot tall giant in mind when they’d made it. Muttering under his breath, he yanked it open to reveal a tall guard standing outside.
“Sorry to disturb you sir, I thought I would wake you as the senate will be seating within the hour.” The pony said politely. Like most of the guards Michael had seen around the palace, he was decked in an ornate set of ceremonial armour although his garb seemed slightly more ornate than most. A single stripe emblazoned with a sun was embossed on his gorget, possibly a mark of rank or a personal emblem of some kind. Michael’s eyes drifted up to the guard’s blue mane which shot out the crest of his helmet like an ancient roman legionnaire in a way that Michael found impossible to comprehend.
“And you would be?’ Michael asked boredly.
The guard seemed a little embarrassed at his lack of manners. “Flash Sentry, sir. I’m to be your guide for the duration of your stay.”
“Swell.” Michael said blandly. “Mind giving me a moment?”
“Of course, sir.” Flash said, closing the door and backing away. Michael paused for a moment, smiling slightly as he heard the process being repeated across the hall. He busied himself, pulling out a freshly pressed uniform and making sure he looked and smelt respectable. Fifteen minutes later he was out in the corridor, a slightly put-out Shane next to him.
“Enjoy your wakeup call?” Michael asked jauntily.
Shane shot him a glare. “I was already awake.” He muttered under his breath. He withheld any other comment though as Flash Sentry reappeared and gestured for them to follow him. “There’s time for a quick breakfast, I’ll take you to the Senator’s Hall after.” The guard said cheerily, showing them down a long spiral staircase and down a winding series of passageways which dumped them into a wide mess hall.
“If there were more time you could dine in one of the palace’s dining rooms but this’ll have to do. The food all comes from the same kitchens so it’s still pretty good here anyway.” Flash explained, taking his helmet off and finding a seat for them, ignoring the stares of the three or four dozen guards who were already eating. Making sure they were comfortable her vanished, returning a few moments later with two plates laden with boiled vegetables, some toast with a collection of spreads.
Flash didn’t sit with them though, instead mingling with a few other guards who Michael figured were other officers from the markings on their armour and the way the bulk of the other guards stayed away from them. Even then he seemed remarkably out of place and no sooner than Michael and Shane had finished their plates, he was ready to usher them along.
“You have problems with the other guards?” Michael inquired once they had returned to the lengthy halls of the palace.
Flash sighed, his wings flaring slightly in irritation. “Other way around, most of the other officers don’t really like me.”
“Any reason?”
Their guide smiled thinly. “I’m good at my job. I get past on my own merits rather than using my family connections to get me prestige. I’m the Captain of the Guard’s aide, something many of the ‘higher class’ guards are envious of. ”
“Fun.” Shane remarked sourly.
“Hardly what I’d call fun- wait, you’re joking right?”
Shane rolled his eyes, great someone oblivious to sarcasm. “What do you think?” He muttered under his breath.
They rounded a corner, a high pair of ornately carved doors coming into view. Waiting at the edge of the doorway patiently was Celestia, her long flowing mane still shimmering despite the lack of a draft.
“Marshalls, good to see you again.” Celestia said cordially. “We don’t have long before the committee starts so, please, follow me.” She gestured trough the wide doorway before leading them through, Flash tagging along behind loyally.
“This is the Senator’s hall.” Celestia explained as they entered the expansive chamber beyond. Like most of the place, it had high ceilings and broad ceiling to ceiling windows. The chamber was semicircular in shape, dominated by a series of rising, ringed chairs and desks. “The entire senate can convene here but today we’ll be facing just a small council, no more than about 15 or so.”
“How many in the full senate?” Michael asked, his eyes immediately drawn to a long U-shaped table which sat in the middle of the hall. There were already some ponies, presumably senators seated there, each of them breaking off from their conversations when they noticed Celestia.
“Three hundred and twenty.” Celestia responded quietly, gesturing them to another long table which ran across the top of the senator’s table. Some of the ponies were now watching Shane and Michael curiously, their eyes following them closely as they sat down at the table. They noticed Hammerlock siting over on the right side of the table, deep in conversation with another senator sporting a moustache that seemed to dominate most of his face. A few more senators drifted in and took their seats along opposite edge of the long table, facing Michael and Shane with blank expressions. The pony sitting in the centre cleared her throat loudly and called the meeting to order, formally welcoming the two of them before introducing the other members of the panel. With the formalities the assembled senators wasted no time in firing off their first questions, nodding occasionally and asking follow up questions when some point one of them brought to light confused them or needed further explanation.
It quickly became apparent that most of the senators present were more curious than anything, only one being openly opposed to the Jaeger program. Their questions in particular seemed borderline accusatory rather the inquisitive ones posed by the other senators, aimed at exploring the flaws in the program and the massive amounts of funding needed to keep the Jaegers afloat.
It was starting to sorely test both Michael and Shane’s patience.
The senator in particular, Senator Lotus from Bolton, was particularly pushing their buttons. Celestia, who had had taken to quietly sitting at the back of the chamber to watch the proceedings, was forced to intervene at one point, warning the belligerent senator to watch her line of questioning. Most though, were much more pleasant.
“What about mounting Jaeger class weapons on defensive emplacements? Say, turrets and bastions equipped with these large scale weapons?” One of them, a senator from the west coast, asked.
“Most Kaiju are too agile to hit reliably with short-ranged, static weapons. A Jaeger can bring these weapons to bear in both a way that allows it target critical locations while still remaining durable. Static weapons also have the inherent disadvantage that they are well, static, hundreds of turrets would be needed to adequately protect a single stretch of coastline. Coupled with the sheer logistics of supplying these emplacements I think a Jaeger would be cheaper and more effective.”
Hammerlock looked over the rim of his glasses and added to his colleague’s question. “Why not make them longer ranged?”
“We accept the trade-off in range for power, we’d much rather bring down a Kaiju in a single volley than in twenty. Additionally, as I said before, Kaiju are fairly agile and have been quite adept at dodging our own conventional weapons despite their advanced guidance packages, which I will point are more advanced than your own.”
Hammerlock nodded. “A fair point, what about energy weapons? The file you prepared for us mentions your Jaegers using them.”
“They’re short-ranged by nature, atmospheric blooming prevents their effective use over more than maybe, say, 100 metres? Anything further and the energy is too dissipated to be effective.” Michael answered curtly.
“I see, so your Jaegers are designed for short ranged confrontations in mind?”
“That is correct, sir.”
Hammerlock made a satisfied sound. “Well, I think that about sells me.”
“Hardly.” Senator Lotus put in. “If a proposed static defence network were implemented, how many platforms would be needed? I think you greater overestimate the number required.”
Michael leaned back in his chair uncomfortably. “How long is Equestria’s eastern coastline?”
“About 3900 kilometres, give or take.” Celestia answered quietly from behind. Some of the senators sat up a little straighter, as if they were suddenly remembering that Celestia was present.
“Well, you’d want a battery every 500 metres or so, probably closer together even but I’ll go with the bare minimum for now. Assume each battery would take maybe 20 million to erect and arm… Well you can do the math.”
Shane decided to pitch in. “And then you have a system which might, might be able to hold back a medium sized Category II Kaiju. Anything larger will just stroll on in, stomp a battery or two and then be the middle of a city. You’re royal screwed if you get one, like the most recent attack in fact, that tunnels.”
Lotus glared at him and fell silent, the other senators quickly scribbling down notes and murmuring lowly to each other. Shane smirked and shot a look at Michael.
“Yeah, thought that might shut her up.”
“Alright, what’s her beef?” Shane grumbled during a brief recess just after midday. They’d been in the chambers for nearly four hours now, four hours of almost constant interjections and loaded questions from the irritating senator.
Celestia seemed to regard the senator for a moment over her thin slice of cake, a snack a waiter had brought in for the assembled committee. “Senator Lotus has always been a very opinionated pony, one who always jumps head first into the lion’s mouth without necessarily thinking it through.” Celestia explained. “She’s lost a lot over the last year, her wife was killed in the Kaiju attack on Bolton, something she personally blames you two for.”
Shane baulked. “Why?”
Celestia shook her head. “The last year has given many ponies to form their own theories about the monsters now arriving on our shores, there is a small faction which believes they followed you or are merely running from something and lash out in self-defence. She subscribes to that first theory.”
“Now what would scare a Kaiju?” Michael asked, before suddenly wishing he hadn’t.
“I’d rather not think of that.” Celestia muttered.
Shane scoffed derisively. “Well I bet none of those ‘theory makers’ have ever seen a Kaiju up close before. I can tell you, when you see one of the beasts hunting someone, that really changes your perspective a bit.”
“Someone?” Celestia questioned dubiously.
“There are many recorded events of Kaiju hunting individuals, stopping at nothing until said individual is either dead or something else, such as a Jaeger, catches their attention.” Michael explained.
Celestia seemed to pale, an impressive feat considering her already snow white coat. She seemed to wonder if the two humans were playing with her before she decided the serious looks they wore had no humour about them. “Regardless, she is somepony you should tread lightly around.” Celestia warned. “Otherwise you might find yourself somewhere you’d rather not be.”
After the brief recess more questions were fired off from both sides of the table, some reasonable ones, others less so. At one point Lotus started asking about the arrival of the Kaiju coincided with their appearance before someone helpfully reminded her that wasn’t what they were there for. Lotus took it in her stride though and instead fired off another question.
“Has it occurred to you that instances of collateral damage would be less without the presence of your so called Jaegers? So far several of your operations have caused a great amount of collateral damage whether that be in the form of improperly disposed of remains or physical damage from the passage of your Jaegers.”
“Combat doctrine typically suggests fighting away from civilian infrastructure, ma’am.” Michael answered levelly, noting that she had failed to mention damage actually caused by the Kaiju.
“Well, obviously that wasn’t very well observed…” She replied flatly, scribing something down quickly on her notepad. “Tell me,-.”
“No, how about you tell me something, ma’am.” Michael interrupted. “What is the point of this personal crusade against our program? Tell me, are you looking out for the greater interests of your nation or just a fulfilling a desire for vengeance?”
“We’re the one asking the questions, Marshall.” Lotus snapped back. “It is not your place to question my motives.”
Michael took the bait. “I think I know more of your motives than you do about this hearing.”
“I am knowledgeable enough in this field.” Lotus shot back. “Firsthand experience.”
Michael laughed. “Way I see it ma’am, you’re about as knowledgeable on this matter as a kid running a nuclear reactor. I do not care for your opinion, I do not care for what you think unless that thought so happens to be ‘Gee, these experts we brought in seem to know what they’re talking about, maybe I should listen to them!’. He snapped crossly. “And until that thought goes through what sludge passes as your brain matter, I don’t think you should have a part in this goddamn debate.”
Lotus looked down at him haughtily. “You disrespect my intelligence?”
Michael smiled thinly, ignoring the silent cutting gestures from Shane as he verbally tore into the pony. “No ma’am, calling it intelligence would be an insult to the mentally handicapped.”
The chamber broke out in murmurs, a few ponies to the left side of the table snickering quietly. Lotus through ignored this and drew herself up to her full, unimpressive height. “I’ll have you jailed for contempt.” She warned icily.
Michael laughed. “I’d like to see you try.”
Behind him, Shane pressed his forehead into his palm.
***
“You just had to say that, didn’t you?” Shane remarked, trying but miserably failing to withhold a smile at his brother’s predicament.
Michael glared out through the cell door, a gaze which Shane was sure would’ve melted steel. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned his head against the cold stone wall behind him. “Shut up.”
The door behind them creaked open slowly, a pair of guards ushering in Luna before leaving again. The alicorn wasted no time in fixing Michael with a flat expression, an irritated look which seemed to sum her feelings up instantly. “You lasted one day. One day before getting yourself in trouble. Not only did you make a fool of yourself in front of the committee, we now also owe Celestia several bits.” She said like someone who’d been beaten by their younger cousin at their favourite video game all day.
“You bet on that?” Shane asked, his disbelief evident in his voice.
A trace of an amused smirk crossed Luna’s face. “We emulate the citizenry in this regard. Making bets with a sibling is common practice, no?”
“That’s despicable.” Michael complained, walking over to the cell door and wrapping his hands around the bars. The cell was too small for him, most probably designed with a pony, not a creature almost twice their size, in mind. “Are you here to let me out?”
Luna nodded. “While it would be amusing to have you stew in there for a few more hours you serve no further purpose in here.” She said, unlocking the door and making it swing open without touching it.
“Won’t Senator Asshole be annoyed?” Michael asked, looking at the open portal cautiously.
“Slightly, but they need you back in the chambers for more questioning and only a handful of senators are trying to drag this out further than it should... thankfully. If it was put to a vote she would almost certainly lose.”
“Well that’s a relief.” Michael groaned, working a crick out of his back with a wince. “Tell me, how are we going so far? I honestly can’t tell.”
Luna tilted her head slightly, leading them back out into the narrow corridor which ran towards the small cell block’s exit. “Well enough. We believe you’ve convinced enough of the Senators of the merits of your machines. Needless to say, your flippant remark towards Senator Lotus may have pushed some of her own followers back but drawn the admiration of her opponents.” The alicorn remarked quietly, the guards at the main entrance opening the doors and standing aside to let the small group pass. They were now back inside the gleaming white halls of the Royal Castle, a stark comparison to the dark, roughly hewn stone that lined the prison. Michael was surprised to discover that twilight had fallen, a faint red smear in the sky the only sign of the sun.
Shane blinked rapidly, his eyes not prepared for the sudden change in light. “How much longer are we going to be stuck here?” He asked. “One day of these talks and I’m already sick of it. And he’s doing most of the talking.”
“A few days, probably.” Luna guessed.
He laughed. “A few days and this’ll all be over? At the rate we’re going? You’re kidding, right?”
“The senate is not as airheaded as you might think, they understand the importance of this issue. Well, most of them at least. We are remarkably good at making decisions in quick order.” She boasted. “Besides, you have public opinion on your side; that alone is enough to give any elected representative pause for thought. All it will take is one influential senator to put the motion in and then… well, we’ll see.”
Shane chuckled quietly before he realised the princess was being deadly serious. “Wow, you really live in the perfect world don’t you?”
Luna made an amused sound. “Only when it wants to be.”
***
Although they were both immediately sceptical of Luna’s estimate, both Shane and Michael were pleasantly surprised when Hammerlock came forward a few days later and announced his intent to put the motion forward to the assembled senate. It was good timing, the senate inquiry seemed to be coming to close, the majority of the senators participating having asked the questions they deemed necessary.
“Frankly I think we’ve all had enough of this rubbish. There’s a small group of Senators, maybe eleven or twelve in the entire assembly, who are staunchly opposed to the Jaegers but most seem to be on the supportive side. Frankly this whole inquiry is a bit of a sham.” Hammerlock said over a light breakfast, a small omelette that the castle’s kitchen had prepared for them. “I do believe the support is mostly due to the lack of other options put forward at this time and also owing to the public mood regarding your most recent victory.”
“And would you think their support is likely to change?” Michael asked, poking a small, red and most decidedly unknown vegetable curiously.
The aristocrat shrugged slightly. “Possibly. I believe our best chance at success is an immediate motion rather than delaying and potentially losing funding to another competing program. So far the majority of the committee has no reason to believe that your program isn’t useful.” He adjusted his glasses slightly, fixing the two humans with a cautious look. “I presume you have no opposition to me doing this?”
“None at all.” Shane remarked, picking a shred of something that looked suspiciously like spinach from between his teeth. “Gets us back where we want to be.”
“I’m with Shane, no problems from me.” Michael agreed. “I must ask though, what other options really seem viable?”
Hammerlock shrugged again. “I wouldn’t have a clue, I don’t think much has been put forward as of yet.”
“Well maybe you should suggest to your friends that they come up with something reasonable before trying to can the one thing that is working.” Shane said coldly.
“I’ll be all too happy to let them know your thoughts.” Hammerlock said cheerfully, delicately pushing his plate away and standing. “We best get going gentlemen, the senate will be sitting soon and it would be bad form to appear late.”
***
By the time they arrived in the hall the senate was already overflowing, senators of every colour and breed yammering away as they took their places around the mighty chamber.
“I wasn’t expecting there to be so many.” Shane remarked. Noting that their appearance had drawn more than one stare.
“The entire senate is sitting today, not just a select committee.” Hammerlock said cheerily. “All 320 senators from across the nation.” He pointed out a ring of benches which ran along the back wall of the room, curving all the way around until it met with the opposite end of the chamber. “You’ll have to sit up there today, I’m afraid this area is for the senators only.”
“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t going to be quite what I’m expecting it to be?” Shane muttered, following his brother up into the risers that ringed the chamber.
“Nah, it’ll be fine.” Michael said, not sure if he even believed himself. He had no time to change his mind though as the Speaker, a short stallion with wire frame glasses perched at the end of the hall, called the senate to order. The muttering around the chamber died off as the speaker invited several presumably important ponies to make opening speeches. This transitioned into an open floor question-time before Michael finally got bored and stopped paying attention.
The hours slowly ticked by, general political back and forth banter about something was ‘so and so’s’ fault and that ‘X’ was a terrible waste of government spending, the only thing that seemed to be happening. Eventually though, talk started drifting to the eventual fate of the Jaeger program and the results of the senate inquiry. At first there was a ray of hope that things would be over for Michael but the discussion dragged on and on, pointless bickering and debating that seemed nigh on endless. He zoned out, entertaining himself with a small piece of lint he found drifting in one of his pockets. Finally, after what seemed like hours and hours of back and forth rhetoric, Hammerlock rose to his feet and addressed the senate.
“I wish to forward the motion that this senate fund the construction, maintenance and upkeep of five new Jaegers which are to be constructed over the next two years. Additionally, funding shall be set aside for the construction of a new base for these Jaegers to operate from.” Hammerlock said, his voice carrying around the chamber loudly. “We’ve debated this long enough and I believe it should be put to a vote so we can get back to the business of running this nation rather than running it into the ground with pointless and bad intentioned inquiries.”
There were a few quiet hisses at this but the chamber was otherwise silent.
“The Member for Manehatten has made the motion. Lock the chamber please.” The Chair droned as the three massive doors leading into the hall slammed shut with an echoing boom. He looked at Michael over his half-frame spectacles for a moment, waiting for the chamber to settle. He finally cleared his throat. “All in favour, say ‘Aye’.
A chorus of ‘Ayes’ rang out around the chamber, echoing off the high vaulted ceiling and making it sound like they were in a stadium rather than a senate.
“And the opposed? “
A small group of neighs shot out at them, most coming from the small pack of senators sitting directly in front of them. Michael looked at Shane hopefully, there seemed to have been sustainably less ‘nays’ than ‘ayes’
“I think the ‘Ayes’ have it. The motion is passed.” The Chair said after a moment of silence. He glanced down at Michael and Shane before addressing the rest of the Senate. “I think we’ll call that lunch, we reconvene in half an hour. Mark that as… one thirty.”
A low murmur filled the chamber as the assembled senators rose and started chatting with their neighbours or drifting out of the long hall. A few of the unicorns vanished into thin air with sharp cracks but the majority seemed more interested in talking with their colleagues, the two princesses at the back of the chamber or Shane and Michael.
“Five, five more Jaegers! And a new shatterdome!” Shane laughed with relief. “Maybe those pinheads do know what they’re doing.”
“Those ‘pinheads’ just saved your flanks so maybe you should show some respect.” Hammerlock said, appearing behind Shane and shooting him a cautioning glare. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”
“Indeed, thank you Senator.” Michael said, cautiously shaking the small pony’s hoof. “You’ve been a great help.”
“Yes, I suppose I have. Now if you’ll excuse me, my belly aches and there’s this small café just outside the palace that makes salad just the way I like it.” He nodded politely to the two of them. “Good luck, stay safe.”
The two humans murmured their thanks, looking around awkwardly as a few other senators who they didn’t know swarmed around them excitedly.
“Probably a good time to get out of here.” Shane murmured, standing quickly and looking around for their escort, Michael close at his heels. They found him leaning up against the wall just outside the chamber, a bored look on his face as he waited for them patiently.
“Ready to go?” He asked, perking up slightly as he noticed them emerging from the Senator’s hall.
“I was born ready.” Shane replied, feeling more cheerful than he had for days.
“I guess it went well for you?” The guard asked politely.
“Very well.”
Flash nodded.” Good to hear.”
Noticing a score of ponies blocking the passage in front of them, Flash lead them out through one of the palace’s many gardens, allowing the two humans to admire the natural beauty of Canterlot for a few minutes. The prospect though, was quickly shattered as a shadow crept over them.
"Ah, humans… my favourite!" An oddly familiar voice exclaimed from above them. Shane and Michael spun around to see an odd, serpentine like creature snaking its way down the wall towards them.
“What the hell is that?” Shane asked, recoiling slightly as the creature emerged from the shadow it was in, revealing a bewildering collection of body parts that still seemed to all blend together in an oddly coherent body. He could make out a lion’s paw, a goat’s horn and a bat’s wing, amongst other things.
“Discord.” Flash growled, instantly suspicious. He moved between the two humans and the eldritch creature protectively. “What do you want?”
“Flash Sentry, please. Do you really think I would hurt our guests?” Discord asked innocently, battling his eyelids at the orange pegasus. “Now scurry along like a good tin-soldier and leave us be.” He snapped his fingers with an impossibly loud crack and their escort marched off like a clockwork soldier, an indignant look on his face as his limbs starting acting on their own accord with a faint ‘Rikt-rikt-rikt!’. Shane wondered why he wasn’t calling for help before he realised his mouth was forced shut in an almost comical smile.
“Shane, Michael. Such a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” The being Flash had called Discord said smoothly, raising itself up on two stumpy legs. He slithered around them, completely at ease with the world.
“Who are you? Maybe it might be better to ask, what are you?” Michael asked, “And how do you know our names?”
Discord smiled broadly, revealing a set of well-kept teeth. “I dare say everyone in Equestria knows who you are. As for me… well, let’s say I’m complicated.”
“You certainly look the part.” Shane remarked.
“I’ll take that as a compliment!” Discord said smoothly, vanishing in a flash of light and reappearing between the two humans with a soft fizz.
“Well then... Discord was it?” Michael said awkwardly, taking a small step away from the creature. “What can we do for you?”
“Well you can lend me your ears.” He chuckled, a pair of disembodied ears flashing into existence next to his mouth. Both Shane and Michael were horrified to discover each of them was missing an ear, Michael scrabbling desperately at the smooth flesh which now resided where his ear had been.
“Hey!” Shane yelled, snatching at the floating ear next to Discord’s head.
“It’s impolite to interrupt someone when they’re speaking.” Discord scolded, tutting quietly at Shane.
“Yeah, well it’s impolite to steal someone’s body parts you ass.” Shane shot back.
Discord frowned, “Hmm, perhaps I haven’t got this whole ‘manners’ thing down yet; forgive me I’m still learning.” He added, replacing their ears with another snap of his fingers. The creature slithered back up the wall again, looking down at the two humans like they were lab rats.
“You are not creatures of this world. Tell me, how did you come to be here?”
“An accident.” Michael replied.
Discord raised a busy eyebrow. “Space is very large. Certainly larger than a football stadium. Even somehow bigger than the combined ego of your Rangers... Despite its size though, we still have idiots like you coming here.” He smiled thinly, a long fang drooping out of his mouth dangerously. “Considering just how big space is, do you really think you came here just by chance?” He said, the words almost sliding out of his mouth malevolently.
Michael raised a finger to respond but the words seemed to die in his mouth. His jaw flapped up and down for a moment before something finally came out. “Mathematically, it’s not likely, no. What’s your point?”
“Just a thought.” Discord said innocently, now floating in the air like a balloon and working away at one of his claws with a nail file. “And here’s another thought; a Midsummer’s Night always ends with dawn.”
Shane blinked. “What?”
Discord didn’t look up from his claw. “It’s just a thought.” He said again nonchalantly, acting like he hadn’t said anything in the first place.
Shane was about the question him further but Discord had already vanished, a faint fizz and another flash of light the only trace of the existence. The two rangers stood in silence, staring at where the odd creature had stood moments ago.
“A Midsummer’s Night always ends with dawn?” Michael asked quietly.
“Hell if I know, I hate riddles.” Shane grumped. “Unless you take it literally, then well, yeah, makes perfect sense.”
“Don’t suppose he was talking about us, do you?”
Shane laughed and shook his head. “He sounds like a crackpot, certainly acts like one to.” He muttered, rubbing his ear cautiously.
“Suppose you’re right.” Michael said, unable to shake the feeling there was more to the creature’s words than he was letting on.
Shane nodded and stared off in the direction Flash Sentry had marched off helplessly, a faint smirk appearing over his face. As a series of crashes and bangs echoed up the hallway. “I suppose we should probably go help him, just in case he pitches himself over a cliff or something.”
“And that would just be awful.” Michael said, thrusting his hands in his pockets and contenting himself with watching and listening.
***
Needless to say once Shane and Michael returned to Manehatten the news of their success in the senate spread quickly around the shatterdome. Twilight, now well and truly on top of the construction of the two new Jaegers almost danced with glee at the prospect of five more machines, along with a new home for the metal giants. After much debate the location of the second Shatterdome was decided to be Trottingham, the large island the city resided on deemed particularly vulnerable to attack while conveniently shielding the other great northern cities of Equestria from direct attacks.
Not everything had gone quite so well though.
One of the cadets had tripped and fallen down a flight of stairs, breaking their foreleg and receiving a hefty concussion for their trouble. It would probably take a month or two before they would be in fighting shape, leaving little doubt that their chance at becoming a pilot had almost vanished. The other teams though had performed remarkably well in their short absence under Soarin and Wave Chill’s supervision though, quickly mastering the basic theory behind the drift process and becoming well acquainted with Jaeger and Kaiju terminology. With the two veteran pilots back though, training could now step up a gear; each of the hopeful crews would soon have to undertake their first drift.
“Are you sure? I mean, me and Wave Chill didn’t drift for a while.” Soarin asked, watching the small class being educated by Michael on the finer points of Jaeger physiology and systems.
“We trained you two in a fairly ad-hoc fashion, with that experience under our belts I reckon we can do a better job this time around.” Shane replied. “No use just sitting them around on their asses and teaching them if they can’t drift.”
“And do you think that’s likely?”
Shane shrugged. “Probably not, I think we picked a fairly good group.”
“Good… right.” Soarin said, eyeing Misty Fly suspiciously. He knew she was fiercely competitive and had an ego that made a dragon’s look meek. While he hadn’t noticed anything particularly out of the ordinary yet, he couldn’t help but notice that the two Apple siblings sat as far away as they reasonably could from her and seemed particularly ill at ease around her and Lightning Streak. Maybe it was something completely innocent but Soarin had decided to keep an eye on it… for now.
“You have a problem with them?” Shane asked, noting that Soarin’s tone was entirely genuine.
Soarin shook his head, no point blabbing about something that was merely a hunch. “Not as of yet.”
The first drift went about as well as could be expected, Applejack and Big Macintosh being chosen to go first. While there was some initial hesitation, the latent talent that Shane and Michael had seen in the sparring ring came to the fore, the two ponies neatly sliding into alignment as easily as a tasty treat going down the gullet of Equestria’s solar monarch, or as Applejack put it afterwards, like well-made apple pie.
Lighting Streak and Misty Fly’s drift went almost as well, a momentary hiccup when Misty tried to stonewall her brother the only flaw before the two ponies fell into mental synchronisation. There was decided amount of dominance from Misty Fly’s side, her style, feelings and temperament carrying over the neural bond much easier than Lighting Streak’s did. This was hardly a concern in of itself, most Jaeger crews tended to have a dominant pilot.
The last pair of candidates were less fortunate, while they displayed excellent compatibility out of the drift their minds refused to link up in the actual pons, relegating them to second-line duty for the foreseeable future. It was a small blow to the program but not one without its perks, for better or worse it had neatly allowed Misty Fly and Lightning Streak, along with Applejack and Big Macintosh to take the two prime positions.
This of course brought with it a new problem to solve; which crew would go in which Jaeger? It was eventually decided on account of their slightly better connection in the drift that the first hull would become Applejack and Big Macintosh’s Jaeger while the second would go to the two ex-Wonderbolts.
This naturally aggravated Misty fly to no end, much to Applejack’s amusement, the orange farmer savouring every moment of her rival’s disgust and outrage at having been put into what she considered the ‘Second-rate’ position.
Of course, if she had known what the end result of this would be, she probably wouldn’t have been laughing.
***
Spitfire soared through the sky freely, swooping and climbing like an eagle hunting its prey across a dry savannah. She tilted her wings back, ascending up through the scarce cloud cover like a like a rocket on full burn. She pulled a tight flip and angled herself back towards the ground, flapping her powerful wings three times and pulling into a steep dive. A sonic boom echoed through the empty sky as she rocketed past Mach one, an impressive feat for most pegasi but one she’d mastered long ago in ages past. She let out a whoop of excitement, the sound instantly being lost in the wind that tore at her face.
Then a burning hunk of metal roared past her.
Then another.
She looked back fearfully, a behemoth blazing end to end hurtling after her with a shriek that sounded like a mournful spirit. The ship was breaking apart, chunks of metal the size of houses hurtling past her like meteorites. Despite the conflagration that roared along the ship’s fore decks, Spitfire could clearly read the name printed proudly across the bow.
Lucky Seven.
She beat her wings faster, pushing her body to the edge but the ship still grew closer, a low groan moaning through the otherwise empty sky as the wind tore at its abused hull. She turned her head again as the piece of the bow the size of a hydra broke free and whipped after her. She felt the heat of the flames and the sickening crunch of the metal impacting before everything went black.
Spitfire shot awake, her eyes darting around the small hospital room she was in. She sat still for several minutes, getting her breathing under control and appreciating the dull lighting which gleamed off the thin sheen of sweat that covered her body.
‘Just a dream.’ She reminded herself for what felt like the thousandth time. She’d been having that same dream over and over for the last two months now. Ever since that damn griffon doctor had operated on her. She lifted leg out from under the sheet, a faint click and whir of the mechanical joints the only indication that the otherwise normal looking leg was something else. They’d given her skin grafts but that hadn’t helped her shake the unease of the mechanical limb, now when she looked down she wondered why she could never feel her leg. She sat up, her eyes scrolling slowly around the room, finally settling on a wide portrait of her and the Wonderbolts with a pang of loneliness. She’d barely had any contact with them since Soarin had informed her of his enrolment into the Jaeger program, an occasional letter or liquor disguised as a box of chocolates the only indication that they hadn’t forgotten about her. Even those had stopped though, leaving her with just the nurses and doctors that worked at the Manehatten Specialist Hospital for company. She stared at the framed picture for a few more moments, the thoughts that ran through her head everyday returning like they always did. Had her family abandoned her?
The question tumbled over in her mind for a few seconds before she discarded it hastily, that was just dangerous thinking. She left the picture behind, her eyes flickering to a small calendar hanging on the wall next to it. Her heart leapt with excitement as she realised what day it was.
Scribbled in messy black ink was the large printed letters ‘RELEASE DAY’, the day she would finally leave the hospital and go back to her life, or at least what was left of it. She slipped out of bed quickly, her fore hoof clicking noisily against the polished floor as she packed what few of her personal effects had been brought for her. She’d finished packing in a matter of minutes, the majority of her things lost in the wreckage of Lucky Seven or stored in her barely used apartment in central Manehatten. She trotted out, it was barely ten in the morning and her doctor wouldn’t have made his rounds until late in the afternoon, far too long for her to simply wait around. She trotted quickly down the hall towards the main reception, stumbling occasionally as she misjudged the distance between her and the ground with her prosthetic limb. She was thankful there were no staff around of they probably would’ve escorted her back to her room.
Slinking out to the main lobby, Spitfire waited until the receptionist turned to take a call before darting as quickly as she could towards the main doors. She was out in a matter of seconds, grateful for the fresh air which assailed her sinuses, a welcome change from the slightly stuffy air which smelt suspiciously like boiled cabbage the hospital recirculated. She snapped her signature pair of sunglasses on, ignoring the faint burn mark etched onto the left side of the frame.
“Nice of you to show up. I was beginning to wonder if you would appear at all.” A voice she immediately recognised said. She spun around to find Soarin leaning up against the wall patiently. His green eyes flickered down to her new leg for a moment before tracking back up to her face.
“Didn’t think you’d show up.” Spitfire said pointedly.
Soarin gave her a cheeky grin. “You thought I’d just ditch you, right? Like you did to me?”
Spitfire let out an annoyed huff. “That had happened all of once you dork.”
“Still counts.” Soarin shot back, getting off the wall and shading his eyes from the sun, sincerely wishing he had a pair of sunglasses like Spitfire did.
“You didn’t visit.” Spitfire accused him.
Soarin’s ears drooped slightly, an awkward look crossing his face. “Yeah… sorry, I was busy.”
“Yeah, busy saving the world. Good job.” Spitfire said, slightly more impressed than her sarcastic tone let on. She lapsed into silence, unsure if her words had taken a profound effect on her friend. She was about to apologise when he spoke again.
“So how’ve you been?” Soarin asked, a slightly awkward tone in his voice. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was referring to.
Spitfire shrugged. “I’ve been in and out of rehab for a few months, still getting used to this damn thing. You missed the operation.”
“Operation? I thought they were just giving you a new leg?” Soarin asked, his eyes widening slightly.
Spitfire laughed darkly. “They had to rebuild most of my shoulder and I’m now also the proud owner of a few non-organic ribs. The entire area around my leg has to be augmetic or I’d probably damage something if I pushed myself hard.” She explained, inviting Soarin to prod her ribcage. The stallion poked her chest curiously, unable to tell the difference between her real ribs and her new ones. Her poked her fourth rib down and received a reflexive kick to the face for his trouble.
“Uh, that one’s me. Sorry.” Spitfire apologised.
“Touchy.” Soarin muttered ruefully, rubbing the side of his face where she’d hit him.
“Still hurts a bit. Doc reckoned it might take another few months before I get used to it completely, if at all.” She looked around the mezzanine impatiently, as if talking about her new limb disgusted her. “Now are we going to sit here and chat all day or are we going somewhere?”
“Well, now we’re waiting on you.” Soarin said, trotting off towards a row of taxis. He would’ve flown but with Spitfire around he thought that a little inconsiderate.
“Arse.” She spat, setting off after him indignantly.
“Bitch.”
Spitfire looked at him, an eyebrow raised. On account of their mostly professional relationship it felt weird for Soarin to use such vulgar language. Maybe this whole Ranger thing was a lot more laid back than the Air Force had been.
“What?” Soarin asked, noticing she was staring at him with something that could possibly be interpreted as melancholy.
“Nothing, I just missed everypony.” Spitfire said flatly. “Feels good to be back.”
“Yeah, it’s good to have you back. Now come on, let’s go.” Soarin beckoned, guiding her towards the small row of cabs waiting patiently out the front of the hospital.
Spitfire laughed again. “Where exactly did you have in mind, got a nice little date all planned out for your long-lost boss?”
Soarin smiled thinly. “Trust me, you’re going to love it.”
The taxi trundled noisily down the wide cobbled street, Spitfire wincing slightly every time they went over a large bump. Soarin was paying the driver a reasonable amount, why couldn’t he go around the bumps? She held back a curse as the carriage lurched again.
Soarin though, seemed completely unfazed, chatting away animatedly without paying any heed to the treacherous road their driver was trotting down. Spitfire was less amiable, still slightly bitter that she’d abandoned for a few months.
“So what are your plans now?” He asked.
Spitfire resisted the urge to glare at him. “The Air Force offered me a desk job. I took it because it’s better than nothing and I really haven’t got much at the moment.” Spitfire grumped, clearly less than thrilled with the prospect. She was a natural born flier and the loss of her wing was really hitting her hard. “I’m back at it next month, so until then I guess it’s just hitting up bars and trying to find a way to stay distracted.”
Soarin grimaced but didn’t comment, he could guess easily enough what that meant. Stallions, and probably the occasional mare… depending on her mood.
“So, how are the rest of the Bolts?” Spitfire asked, trying to sound casual.
Soarin shrugged. “I haven’t really been keeping in contact with them since I left. Might be better off asking Misty or Lightning.”
Spitfire threw him a questioning look.
Soarin made a face. “Right, sorry, they’re pilots now. Kinda… sorta… still in training but they’re doing pretty well.” Soarin explained. Watching the shatterdome draw closer. He’d rarely seen it from the ground, most of his time being spent inside its halls rather than outside it. It looked like a massive tree nestled at the heart of the city, sprawling and spreading in every direction, a construction of steel, concrete and faith that seemed to make him feel warm and fuzzy for some inexplicable reason.
“Nice for somepony to tell me.” Spitfire complained.
Soarin shrugged. “Sorry, we’re all pretty busy at the moment with the Jaegers. It’s a bit more than pushing buttons and looking heroic y’know.”
A thought occurred to Spitfire. “Who’s in charge of the squadron then?”
Soarin shrugged. “Rapidfire, Surprise, maybe?”
Spitfire shuddered at the thought. “Sweet Luna, get me inside my office now.”
“Your precious office can wait.” Soarin laughed. “Enjoy yourself while you’re here and relax.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Spitfire growled, leaning back against the seat and trying to keep her temper down. Too much was happening that she didn’t know about, too much that involved the few ponies she knew and the even fewer she cared about. Spitfire felt like she was being steered along rather than holding the reins, a disturbing feeling for the usually headstrong mare. She liked making her own destiny, carving out her own legacy to live by rather than blindly follow somepony else.
She lapsed into silence, only answering the occasional question Soarin asked her as quickly as she could. The walls of the Shatterdome grew higher as the taxi approached and soon they had passed into its shadow and to the outer rim of fences that marked the edge of the Jaeger Corp’s headquarters.
“This is our stop.” Soarin announced, clambering out of the taxi to pay the pony pulling the cart. Spitfire hopped down, misjudging the distance slightly with her new leg and almost landing flat on her face. Swearing internally, she shook off Soarin’s look of concern and followed her former executive officer through the security checkpoint, the half dozen guards happily admitting them once Soarin showed them his pass although their gaze didn’t seem to leave Spitfire until after she’d vanished behind a large shipping container with Soarin. She shook this off phlegmatically, she was well and truly used to attracting a lot of attention from other ponies, especially ones of the opposite sex. She made an amused sound and followed closely at Soarin’s heels, the stallion making a beeline for one of several large steel doors set into the outer wall.
“Elevator. To get up to the gantries.” Soarin explained, jabbing one of the buttons on the wall with an ease of somepony who knew the place well. “Trust me, I tried walking once. Wasn’t fun.”
Spitfire rolled her eyes, of course Soarin would’ve tried that. The lift whirred to life, smoothly whisking them upwards at a brisk pace. After a few seconds the elevator clunked to a halt, the two heavy doors sliding apart to reveal the shatterdome’s main Jaeger bay.
Thin wispy trails of steam rose from vents in the thick walls, coiling like snakes under the hundreds of spotlights which lit the arena brightly. Thousands of smaller lights were set into the walls and gantries which ringed the central staging area, most were switched off but others bathed metal giants the size of a skyscraper with a pale white aura. Spitfire could only make out two of the machines, one she remembered that belonged to the two aliens and the other as Wild Mustang. Nearly a hundred metres below them, the floor buzzed activity, hundreds of ponies and machines milling around with tools, spars of metal and other odds and ends. It reminded her of a massive beehive with each of the metal giants as a queen. The alien Jaeger seemed to be having work done on it, a large misshapen arm in place of the much sleeker one Spitfire remembered. There was also work being done on its shoulders, something that looked like a large box of missiles being affixed in place where she remembered a cannon of some sorts being.
“Wild Mustang.” Soarin announced with pride, pointing out his Jaeger housed below them. The damage from Thresher had long been fixed by now, the only trace of the Kaiju a single decal stamped on the left side to the chest to mark their first kill.
“It looks a lot different up close… much bigger than I thought. You compensating for something?” Spitfire asked, her eyes working up and down the machine.
Soarin rolled his eyes and made an amused snort. “Let’s not start.”
Spitfire chuckled lowly, wondering what their relationship would be like if it were slightly less professional. She loved Soarin almost like a brother and now he was out of the Air Force, she felt she could express herself a little more around him than she usually did.
Her thoughts were broken by a cry of ‘Spitfire!’ and a dark blue object which shot out of her peripheral vision and half tackled/half hugged her.
“Easy on the suspension there, junior.” Spitfire growled.
“Sorry boss.” Wave Chill said sheepishly, letting her go and floating half a metre off the deck. “How’s the new leg?” He asked, oblivious to the envious glare spitfire was shooting him.
“Grand.” Spitfire shot back. “Now stop flapping around like an idiot or you’ll be first pony I test it out on.”
Wave Chill immediately dropped to the wide gantry, eyeing her new leg cautiously. “It seems they didn’t fix your temper.” He remarked wryly.
Soarin decided to intervene before sparks started really flying. “I was just showing Spitfire around the Jaeger bay, thought she might like to check out the machines.”
“Show her Castle Bravo, she’d love that!” Wave Chill suggested.
“Castle Bravo?” Soarin asked quizzically.
“One of the construction workers dubbed it that, sorta caught on and spread I guess. I actually quite like it.” Wave Chill explained. “Bet he’s feeling as pleased as punch.”
“Which one?” Soarin asked irately. To his knowledge neither of the new Jaegers had received proper names yet, leaving Wave Chill’s announcement a little ambiguous.
“The good looking one.” Wave Chill clarified, taking off again and hovering above Soarin and Spitfire like an excited child asking his parents to take him to the zoo.
“Ah right, skinny-legs. Gotcha. Come on, we’ll show you. Have to say, it’s probably more your style than the other one.” Soarin said, leading Spitfire down a narrow gangway and past a small gaggle of construction workers having a tea break. The path went up a short flight of stairs which rose above a high concrete divider separating Wild Mustang’s pen from the newly dubbed Castle Bravo’s.
“Wow…” Spitfire said, her awe evident in the way her jaw seemed to dislocate itself so her mouth could hang open.
Beneath them was another Jaeger clad in a patchwork set of white armour. Streams of sparks floated down from the Jaeger’s lithe limbs like rain and the constant whirr of drills and rivet guns drifted up to their high platform. Unlike Wild Mustang, this Jaeger had a decidedly feminine form, its sharply angled head and skinny frame making it look like something out of a fashion magazine more than a machine made to fight monsters. Its delicate limbs still radiated power though and unlike Soarin and Wave Chill’s Jaeger, it looked like it could move fast. Very fast.
“I want one.” Spitfire mumbled absently, completely entranced with the massive figure below them.
“Well you’ll have to fight Misty Fly and Lightning Streak for that one. It’s still a bit off being finished though unlike the other one which is basically done.” Soarin laughed darkly. “Gee, Misty was livid when she found out the two farmers were getting a Jaeger first.”
“I can imagine.” Spitfire said, only half listening to what Soarin was saying. Her prosthetic had started twitching slightly, almost as if it know it was in the presence of something that could kill the monsters that had taken away its original. Soarin was still prattling on but Spitfire had stopped listening, her head suddenly throbbing and pounding irately. She found herself drifting back to her final moments aboard Lucky Seven… how stupid and desperate that move seemed now hung in her mind. The Jaeger below was proof of just how far they’d come.
“Spitfire?” Soarin asked, noticing that she’d been silent for the last few minutes. “You alright?”
“Fine.” Spitfire responded quickly, snapping out of her trance and looking away from the Jaeger being constructed beneath them. No, she couldn’t pilot one of them. Not with her crook leg, all she was now was a liability. “Just… just get me out of here. I think I should go home.”
“But you just got here.” Wave Chill protested.
“And I think that’s enough for me, you two are busy so don’t let me hold you back.” Spitfire muttered, turning on the spot and trotting off.
“You going to stop her?” Wave Chill asked.
“I don’t really want to lose teeth.” Soarin pointed out. Watching Spitfire leave with a puzzled look. He’d thought showing her the Jaegers would cheer he up but she seemed worse than ever. Maybe it was just too much too quickly…
“Well what’s her problem then?” Wave Chill insisted.
Soarin shook his head. “I have no idea.” He said quietly. “And I don’t think we’re likely to find out.”
***
With the two Jaeger teams properly selected, training kicked into high gear. Hours of rigorous study were followed by daily simulator drops which were then trailed by more physical exercises. The new rangers became intimately familiar with their new Jaegers, learning the ins and outs of not only their Jaegers but of the other two as well. Soarin and Wave chill participated in this demanding training regime as well but seemed to be leading them just as often as they were part of them, both Shane and Michael hoping the now bloodied crew would be able to help teach the new arrivals they were expecting.
The months flew by in a blur of simulated drops, whirling sticks and barked commands. The animosity that had plagued the two crews grew as their training progressed, Castel Bravo’s pilots consistently scoring higher in ranked simulated drops, but falling slightly behind in actual physical combat. This led to an almost constant stream of heckling and belittlement from Misty Fly until a few stern words from Michael had caused her continuous verbal sparring to transform into mostly silent scorn.
Things hardly got better when the training turned to co-operative drops. They’d fought with other Jaegers before in their simulated runs but the Jaeger s had always been controlled by the A.I. or scripted to prevent their involvement in the actual fight. They’ never fought alongside a Jaeger control by another pilot. The third exercise, this one actually involving a Kaiju, seemed to send the relationship to rock-bottom. Soarin had been placed in charge of the simulation, he and Wave chill having successfully defeated a small Category III Kaiju with the assistance from Midsummer Night the day previous.
Needless to say, the atmosphere as the four pilots suited up in their sim-suits was remarkably tense, the only words exchanged spoken by the ponies assisting the pilots into their suits. It was almost a relief for them to step into the simulator pods and clip in. Lighting Streak cleared his mind as the drift countdown started, the now somewhat familiar sensation of his sister’s thoughts invading his presence like a roaring and stomping army. He’d initially found it rather unsettling but now it seemed almost second nature to be sharing his mind with her… even if he didn’t particularly agree with her on everything. The cycle ended and Misty’s presence retreated slightly, something he always found amusing as her usually open and undisguised feelings seemed to retreat, especially from him, when she was drifting. It was almost like she didn’t want him to see how she really felt. A wave of annoyance crashed into him as he thought this, his sister clearly not as amused as he was.
The radio crackled noisily for a moment before the low tones of Soarin started speaking in their ears. “Alright, today’s agenda is teamwork. We’re executing a two team drop. Two Jaegers, one Kaiju. You will need to work together to survive.”
“You know, we’ve never done team combat exercises before. Wouldn’t it be smart to teach us something first?” Lightning Streak pointed out.
“The best way to teach someone to swim is throw them in the deep end… and then release a shark.” Soarin said pointedly. “Now have a shark.”
The world inside the simulator abruptly changed, the calm, idyllic beach turning into a fog socked coastline. A fierce wind started howling around the two virtual Jaegers and the rough waters starting pounding up around their knees, sometimes throwing spray up as high as the Jaeger’s chest.
“Uploading Jaeger specifications and releasing the beast. Have fun kiddos.” Soarin announced before the link went silent and lines of data started scrolling quickly across the Jaeger’s display.
Misty Fly and Lighting Streak looked over their shoulder, noting that their compatriots Jaeger resembled the nearly finished machine out in the shatterdome, a titanic behemoth which towered over their smaller machine. She looked down, the sleek form of Castle Bravo quickly rendering into view. She didn’t like the fact that somepony else had named the Jaeger but, although she would never admit it, the name was one she liked. She could see how the worker had come up with the name, the Jaeger’s head bearing a striking resemblance to a landscape centrepiece in one of Equestria’s military bases also named Castle Bravo.
“Hardly seems fair…” Misty muttered under her breath, enviously eyeing the massive Jaeger. Lighting Streak made to rebuke her but the computer chimed a warning before the words had even formed in his mind.
“Warning: Kaiju signature detected. Category III – Designation: Trespasser.”
“Shit, he wasn’t joking about the shark.” Lighting Streak said as an icon pinged up on their sensors. Although the sensors had picked the beast up, the Kaiju was still out of sight, the thick sheets of fog swirling around them down cutting visibility down to barely a hundred metres.
Misty Fly’s mind immediately went into overdrive, all thoughts of envy being chased out as the situation formed in her mind. She started spawning and sharing dozens of different tactics they could use against the Kaiju, some more workable than others. Oblivious to their silent communication, the second Jaeger started grinding forward, each footstep it took shaking the earth beneath them.
“Alright, let them engage first, we’ll move in take it down while it’s distracted.” Misty said.
“Isn’t the point of the exercise to be working together to bring this thing down?” Lightning Streak pointed out, watching the other Jaeger stride through the surf apprehensively. Castle Bravo hesitated a moment, its pilots slightly conflicted.
She raised an eyebrow, a move Lightning Streak felt rather than saw courtesy of the drivesuit she wore. “We are. We can’t see it through this rain so I doubt it’ll see us coming either. They’re the bait, we’re the sword.”
“Isn’t that a little undignified?”
She snorted contemptuously. “Their Jaeger looks like it’s built for it, ours isn’t. They’ll be very good bait.”
“If you say so.” Lightning Streak said, grudgingly finding himself agreeing with her on that point… although he wouldn’t have called Applejack and Big Macintosh bait. Their Jaeger hardly looked like it would stand up in a protracted engagement for very long… still, it felt wrong abandoning their teammates so readily. He would’ve preferred a unified approach, providing a situation where they could offer immediate support if needed rather than leaving the other Jaeger sticking out like a ruffled feather.
“Well let’s move this crate, come on!” Misty encouraged, dropping the Jaeger into a low stride, a graceful gait which covered the ground beneath them at a surprisingly brisk pace.
Lightning Streak tossed another look at the other Jaeger as it faded away into the mist, wondering what its pilots would be thinking as they saw their comrades pull away from them.
He quickly squelched the thought, there was a Kaiju to kill.
Applejack and Big Mac could only watch with horror as the sleek form of Castle Bravo faded away into the mist like a ghost.
“Those cowards!” Applejack exclaimed, wanting to do nothing more than chase after them and yank them back by the scruff of their necks. It would’ve been pointless though, their Jaeger was much swifter than their own and catching them would’ve been an exercise in futility.
“I think we got bigger problems.” Big Mac said softly, his voice calm despite the developing situation. He pointed at the Kaiju alarm which was beeping softly as the system picked up the first inkling of the Kaiju on its short range sensors. The Jaeger wheeled around to face the threat, readying both of its hammy fists in anticipation.
They didn’t have to wait long, like a rocky outcrop looming out of fog, Trespasser strode into view through the fog, an alien shriek erupting from its mouth as it spotted the Jaeger prowling through the mist. An orange glow burned deep in its throat, so bright that it even burnt Applejack’s eyes through the Jaeger’s polarised viewport. Applejack and Big Mac held back, watching the Kaiju closely as it circled them, an almost cautious look on its face as it studied its new prey. It had two pairs of heavy arms, each one tipped with a trio of razor-sharp claws. More worrying though, was a large protrusion jutting from its forehead which made the creature look like someone had taped a large axe to its head. Both pilots shied away from it instinctively, neither having any illusions about what the heavy blade could do with the Kaiju’s weight behind it. The uneasy truce seemed to last hours, the Jaeger and Kaiju circling slowly as they each attempted to exploit their opponent’s weakness. Then, like a bullet from a gun, Trespasser staggered towards them at a lumbering gait, its head down and its two long forearms pushing off the ocean bed to give it an extra burst of speed.
Undaunted, Applejack and Big Mac stood their ground, bringing the Jaeger’s arms up in anticipation of the creature’s reckless charge. The earth was shaking now, the Kaiju’s pace increasing as the distance closed between the two giants. It briefly occurred to Applejack that Castle Bravo still hadn’t reappeared on their scopes but she was forced the thought aside as the proximity alarm pinged.
“50 metres to impact.”
With a deliberate precision, Applejack and Big Mac reached out, aiming both of the Jaeger’s hands at the creature’s broad shoulders, trying to avoid the massive axe which seemed aimed straight at the conpod. They wondered if they’d misjudged the distance for a moment, half-expecting the massive blade to slice through the cockpit like butter but a reassuring impact jerked the machine back as the Kaiju slammed into the stoic Jaeger, its heavy blade coming to a stop scant metres from their conpod. They were being forced back now, their heavy feet ripping up the seabed like a gardener ripping up turf but the force of the Kaiju’s charge was being rapidly depleted by the Jaeger’s enormous weight.
“Now!” Applejack barked, swinging the Jaeger’s mass to the side and sending the Kaiju sprawling as it suddenly found itself off balance. Exploiting their opponent’s momentary lack of coordination, Big Mac backhanded the Kaiju across the face, cracking several of its teeth and breaking it skin just below the jaw. The Kaiju screeched again, staggering away from the slow Jaeger so it could regather its wits. After a moment it rallied, hurling itself back at the Jaeger with an animalistic fury. One of its smaller hind arms darted in under their guard and clawed at the Jaeger’s midsection, drawing a squeal of metal as the claws dug into the thick metal.
Applejack winced as the Jaeger stumbled backwards from the strike. They’d taken some damage but the heavy armour seemed to have taken the brunt of the blow.
“Where in tarnation are those two hotheads?” Applejack barked crossly, struggling to stand upright as a line of pain cut across her midsection. Seeing its opening, Trespasser moved in, grabbing the Jaeger’s shoulders and driving its large, axe-like head into their chest. Sparks flew and alarms wailed as the massive protrusion cut through the heavy armour, sending Applejack and Big Macintosh reeling in their harnesses again. Trespasser roared victoriously and tried pulling the blade free.
It was stuck.
The Kaiju howled and snarled viciously, completely forgetting it had four razor-sharp claws and struggled feebly to pull its massive bladed head out of the Jaeger’s chest. The two combatants tumbled over, Trespasser quickly giving up on pulling the blade out and instead tried to push it further in. Without the aid of the creature’s momentum behind it, though the Kaiju found itself unable to move. It screeched loudly, oblivious to everything but its head stuck deep in the Jaeger’s chest.
It didn’t even notice the white shape of Castle Bravo materialise out of the fog like a spectre, bound up behind it and leap onto its back until the Jaeger was already on top of it. It roared with surprise, its four heavy claws unable to reach this new assailant and tear it free. The Kaiju trashed widely but was unable to shake the agile Jaeger pressed down against it.
“Hello!” Misty Fly called tauntingly, one arm already wrapped tightly around the Kaiju’s neck. The other limb was poised up high, a wickedly-sharp combat blade nearly as long as their Jaeger’s arm snapping down into position under their forearm and locking into position with a sound of metal snapping against metal. The Kaiju barely had time to screech before the wickedly shape blade made a wide upward cut, severing its throat and embedding itself in the top of the creature’s spine. The other arm, still wrapped around the Kaiju’s neck gave it a violent twist, popping Trespasser’s head clean off its shoulders with a spray of blood and a sickening squelch of tearing flesh.
“And goodbye.” Misty finished, wiping the blade clean on the Kaiju’s leathery hide before folding it back into place behind the Jaeger’s elbow with a satisfied click. The perfectly white Jaeger seemed to regard the fallen Apple siblings with disgust. “You’re welcome, by the way. No need to thank me.”
Applejack swore as the screen faded to black, a score being quickly calculated on screen.
“Scenario concluded, calculating score: Engagement time: 6:32. Minimal collateral damage inflicted, critical damage sustained, Kaiju Blue contamination within acceptable parameters. Total score: 56%.” The computer chimed boredly. Applejack scowled, the damage penalty had taken a good 35% off their score, giving them the worst result they’d ever received. With their solo runs they seemed to average around 85 percent, a far cry from today’s score. She glared at Big Mac, surprised to see the stallion slowly shaking his head.
“Don’t even think ‘bout it.” He said firmly.
“Ah am thinking ‘bout it.” Applejack shot back. “She’s a no good, scumsuc-.” She cut herself off, aware that Big Mac was now staring at her sympathetically. “Alright, fine! I’ll talk to her.” She said grudgingly.
“Good, no need to get your hooves involved.”
Applejack wanted to protest but knew big Mac was right, she shouldn’t have let Misty Fly get to her so easily. She smashed her hoof down on the harness release, nearly shattering the small nub with the strike and stalked out of the conpod simulator. The other two pilots were already outside and Applejack wasted no time in making herself known to Misty, storming up to the cocky Pegasus with barely withheld rage.
“What in the hay was that all about?” She fumed.
Misty Fly looked at her like she was a persistent door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. “We practised teamwork didn’t we? Great job distracting the Kaiju by the way, top notch.” She said snidely.
“That wasn’t teamwork!” Applejack yelled.
Misty seemed remarkably unconcerned, unfazed by the angry farmer nearly pressed up against her face. “Yes it was, you distracted him and we brought it down. That’s teamwork in my books.”
“If that was fer real, me and Big Mac would probably be dead!” Applejack snapped, amazed by how pig-headed Misty Fly was being.
“And nothing of value would be lost.” Misty said boredly. “You barely lasted more than two minutes against the beast. I’m constantly amazed at how you even got picked in the first place.”
“That thing was nearly twice as big as us, how long would’ve you lasted?” Applejack snarled.
Misty declined to comment, turning on the spot and marching away. “Maybe next time don’t let it hit you, did you consider that?”
Applejack ground her teeth together, wondering what it would feel like to grind Misty Fly’s face to paste under her hooves. She made to move after her but was stopped by Lighting Streak sticking his foreleg in front of her. He shook his head slowly, a disgusted look on his face.
“Trust me, it’s not worth it.” He whispered.
Applejack growled but backed down. “You sure about that?”
A flicker of a smile crossed his face. “Probably.” He said, relieved to see Applejack relax her stance slightly. His leg was still pressed up against her chest, her coarse orange fur brushing against his in a way that made him feel like he was petting a cat. He racked his mind, trying to figure out something to say to break the tension but all he could think about was his stupid sister.
Any chance at friendly conversation was swiftly dashed though as another Pegasus barged his way onto the room. His bottle green eyes swung around like a pair of search radars before locking onto Misty Fly. “Misty, Lightning Streak, suiting room. Now.” Soarin barked.
“Da da da, I’m dead.” Lightning Streak announced flatly, loud enough that only Applejack could hear him before hanging his head and trotting off towards the suiting room. Misty was already there, glaring at him like it was somehow all his fault.
“What?” She snapped, noticing his annoyed gaze.
Where do I start?” Lighting Streak muttered. “How about here…” He adopted an overly sarcastic tone. “Gee, you’re doing a great job integrating yourself with your other team members, aren’t you?”
“Shut up.” Misty growled.
“No, no I will not shut up. Not until you stop being such a royal bitch to the other side for what I can tell is no real reason. They’re talented, they’re skilled, they’re great until you come along and rip their self-esteem apart. That, or just ditch them for your own personal gain.” Lightning Streak said vehemently. “They’re averaging 86% in solo missions for crying out loud.” He pointed out, aware that it still wasn’t as high as the 94% they averaged and that was all that she cared about.
“And how would you know that?” Misty asked, her tone suddenly curious. She circled around her brother inquisitively. “Are you watching them?”
Lightning Streak looked away awkwardly, not liking the direction the conversation was now going. “Np? Sometimes, maybe... Urh..?” He mumbled into the ground.
Misty smiled thinly. “Now why would you be so interested in them, I wonder?” she teased, knowing full well what Lightning Streak’s interest was. She’d just been in his head and it wasn’t exactly something he’d been hiding… especially when they’d abandoned the Apple sibling’s to flank the Kaiju.
Lightning Streak looked away again, his lips pursed silently.
He was spared any further embarrassment by the stern figure of Soarin appearing around the door frame. The veteran pilot glared at both of them, his impression of the two of them all too clear. Misty Fly cleared her throat. “You wanted to talk to us, Soarin?” She asked, an air of indifference around her
“Sir.” Soarin reminded her venomously. While they were both technically the same rank, seniority in the Jaeger corps was usually determined by length of service and deployments in the case that a ranking officer, such as the shatterdome’s marshal, was absent.
“You wanted to talk to us, sir?” She asked again, prompting a look of surprise from her brother, she usually showed but nothing but respect for their former XO.
Soarin glared at her. “That was some stunt you two pulled back there.”
Misty made no attempt to hide her irritation. “Why is everypony so snappy at me? I finished the mission, that thing ended up with its head on a mantelpiece!” She snapped crossly.
Soarin shook his head slowly, his patience quickly running out. “That’s beside the point, you misunderstood the purpose of the exercise, Ranger.”
“That’s entirely the point, we’re here to fight and win aren’t we? Victory no matter the cost? I did that, what more do you want from me?”
“I want to you to act like a reasonable pony dammit.” Soarin barked, his fierce tone cowing the other Pegasus slightly. She wasn’t going to lie, seeing Soarin worked up was a truly terrifying thing to behold and it was with good reason she was thankful that he had a fairly cool head.
“You do not ever abandon your teammates, even if you have misguided personal vendetta against them.” Soarin snapped. “I don’t give a flying feather about your opinion on where they came from or who you think they are, they’re your teammates now and you will treat them with the respect they deserve. You pull a move like that again and I swear you’ll never see the inside of a conpod again. Understand?”
She glared at him stubbornly but nodded.
“I want to hear it.” Soarin growled.
“Yes, sir.” Misty spat.
“And you,” He said, turning his glare to Lightning Streak. “Rein your damn sister in. It’s your Jaeger as well, not just hers.”
“Understood, sir.”
Soarin’s glare softened slightly. “Good, now let’s hope we never find ourselves meeting like this again.” He said briskly, trotting out without another word to either of the pilots in training.
***
With the fallout from the two-team drop still fresh in their minds, Shane and Michael were forced to pay closer attention to the two teams. It was somewhat of an unpleasant surprise, neither expecting to face such severe animosity between the cadets. They had almost no first-hand experience with the matter, their own experiences with other pilots being mostly positive. In the end they decided that Soarin’s stern rebuke was enough, Misty’s attitude having already improved slightly by sheer necessity. Simulated drops continued as normal although they were far more cautious conducting joint operations involving the newly minted crews.
A least there was some good news out of the bad, the massive Jaeger destined for the Apple siblings was completed. Standing a full 89 metres high, the Jaeger towered over everything in the Shatterdome, making the ponies which milled around is feet look like ants. Twilight could barely hold back a stupid grin as she showed Applejack and Big Mac the finished Jaeger from her office, a large quasi laboratory/workspace/think-tank/storeroom that backed onto the Jaeger bay. The J-Tech division, although still very much in its infancy, was already flooded with prototypes, theoretical concepts and wild ideas, anything to better the fighting ability of the Jaegers under the shatterdome’s command. Some would’ve considered it madness but the carefully ordered rows of equipment and almost obsessive amount of cataloguing on Twilight’s part kept everything together.
Somehow.
It was for that reason, Big Mac had decided it was a place best left alone for the most part. He regarded the complicated and occasionally dangerous looking machines which inhabited the long storeroom with something approaching suspicion, things better left for minds more brilliant than his own. He could hardly say no though when Twilight had invited them to look at the machine from the relative safety of the J-Tech spaces, especially not when AJ had so happily agreed to go.
The first thing that struck Big Macintosh was the machine’s size. It towered over the almost dwarf-like Wild Mustang by a good six or seven metres. The enormity of it didn’t finish there, every part of the machine seemed oversized, hands ending in fingers nearly the width of a train carriage, feet that made Wild Mustang’s look like ballerina slippers and a thick barrel-chested design ringed with vents and proudly emblazoned with the symbol of the Jaeger corps, a golden phoenix spreading its wings. The Jaeger was much more heavily armoured than its prototype, thick plates of iron set over the Jaeger’s shoulders, knees and hips to protect the vital components nestled there. In the centre of the chest, directly in front of the snubby conpod, sat a small hump which served to both house the Jaeger’s primary sensor array and protect the giant’s head and neck. The whole display was completed with an ochre paint job not dissimilar to the colour of his sister’s coat. A few details such as the trim on the shoulder guards were picked out in a deep red or brown, breaking up the otherwise flat hull quite nicely. It was a curious sensation, he’d piloted the machine several times already in the simulator and seen it many times when he’d visited the Jaeger bay but the finished product seemed so much… larger.
“I assume you like it?” Twilight affirmed, taking from the two pony’s amazed stares that they approved of the leviathan.
“It’s the most beautiful thing ah’ve ever seen…” Big Mac breathed, his eyes darting from one small detail to the next.
“It still needs a name…” Twilight said, looking at the two pilots expectantly.
Applejack and Big Mac shared a look, they’d been hoping somepony else would come up with a name for the giant, none of the names they’d had were particularly fancy…
‘Perhaps something simple then?’ Big Mac pondered, wondering if maybe they’d been overthinking the whole thing. A simple name that reflected his or AJ’s personality, a name that show what they were here to do. His eyes lit up for a moment as a sudden Eureka effect overcame him. He whispered quietly to Applejack for a few moments, pleased to see she agreed with the Jaeger’s name.
“Ah like Frontier Justice.” He said simply.
Twilight bobbed her head up and down. “Hmm, Not bad.” She said appreciatively, trotting away from the wide window and over to a small alcove in the wall. “These also arrived for you yesterday.” She said revealing a new pair of drivesuits similar to ones Soarin and Wave Chill were issued with. One though, was substantially larger and both featured half-dozen more interface ports had been wired into the shoulders of both suits, hopefully allowing for more fluid and precise control over the Jaeger.
“Nice.” Applejack remarked, trotting over and running her hoof over the smooth shoulder plate embossed with her cutie mark. They seemed remarkably similar to the ones they’d trained in but the undersuit was inlaid with more wiring and as she’d noted before, there seemed to be a few more interface ports than the training suits had borne.
“If all goes well, we should be ready to have a trial run in a few more days.” Twilight said cheerfully. “I’ve run so many simulations for your Jaeger but it’d be nice to put it through its paces, don’t you agree?”
Big Mac and Applejack grinned at each other. “Ah think that goes without saying.”
***
The Jaeger bay was already undergoing frenzied preparations by the time Gearheart clocked in for his shift. He was half an hour earlier than usual, a day like today was well worth the small discomfort to wake up a little earlier. Like most of the ponies who worked in the cavernous space, he was a mechanic, a grease monkey, as the white-collar workers liked to mockingly call him. Unlike the lucky Jaeger crews though, Gearheart worked on something a little closer to the ground. He was he chief mechanic for one of the massive crawlers which carried the mighty robots from their bays to the massive solid steel launch doors nestled at the end of the bay. Along with three dozen other ponies, a mixture of mechanics, fitters and engineers he kept the bane of his existence, Crawler One-Three, in working condition. Or at least as close to working condition as they could.
Crawler One-Three was a venerable old workhouse, a piece of junk the Air Force had once used to move airships around before it had been finally relegated for the scrap heap. The Jaeger Corps had been desperate to get their hands on anything and with the Air Force not willing to share their own already limited stock, they’d been forced to use two aging crawlers, Oh-Seven and One-Three, until new machines could be manufactured and delivered. They were old cankerous affairs, prone to breakdowns and throwing tracks at inopportune moments. They’d been refurbished to a reasonable standard after their unexpected career change but their age still showed far more often than anypony would’ve liked. Of the two, Crawler One-Three was the older, Oh-Seven being a slightly newer model though it was still junk compared to the newer designs the Air Force had put into service a few years ago.
One-Three though, annoyed Gearheart to no end. The crawler seemed to always be in need of a complete overhaul and although he and his crew had stripped down all four of the crawler’s massive engines more times than he could count, something always seemed to be breaking or misfiring. He’d jokingly called it ‘The other mare’ as he seemed to spend more time with it than he did his girlfriend, a name most of his crew grudgingly agreed was fitting.
Today though, the crawler seemed to be alright. She’d been cleaned and polished to an acceptable standard and nothing critical had broken in the last week so overall things were looking up. He looked his metallic beast over as he entered its massive enclosure, noting the monstrous Jaeger now perched on top of it. Unlike Wild Mustang which Oh-Seven had carried out a few months ago, this one was standing on two legs on account of it being a little too large to properly fit on while on all fours. He wondered what it would be like to service the behemoth, clambering up and down gantries all day and scurrying out along the hundreds of moveable catwalks which seemed to cover every surface of the bay’s inner wall.
‘No, I’d much rather keep my hooves on the ground thanks.’ He thought, feeling a little squeamish simply looking up at the narrow catwalk wrapped around the Jaeger’s neck. Shaking the thought off, he picked up a collection of tools and moved the back of the crawler, intent on doing one final check of the Crawler’s engines.
The launch was due in a little over half an hour at this point, Frontier Justice, the brand new Jaeger if Gearheart were to guess, was already in position on the crawler’s thick deck and ready to roll,. All the command staff were waiting for was the ‘All-clear’ signal from the deck chief and the crawler could start rolling out. Gearheart was busy checking the oil levels in the aft-right engine when one of the mechanics under his watch scurried up to him.
“Hey, Gear, I was checking the fore-right track unit and it looks like there’s a problem.”
‘Great’ Gearheart thought. ‘Would it be too much to just catch a break?’ He fixed the mechanic with an impassive look. “What’s wrong with it?’
“The seventh pin looks like it had a crack in it. The track is still holding but I reckon it could crack open if we’re not careful.”
Gearheart cursed under his breath. Fixing the link would take time, days even. If the mechanic was right the crack had appeared in one of the most inconvenient places possible. “Show me.”
The grease covered mechanic nodded and led Gear up to the front track assembly, illuminating the tight space with his horn and pointing out the link in question. “Right there.”
Gearheart scowled, sure enough the pin between link seven and eight had developed a long crack running around the circumference of the five metre long rod. It was thin though, barely noticeable unless you were looking very closely. It was a miracle the unicorn had seen it at all.
“Alright, tighten up the track a little. It’ll put a bit more tension on the track but you don’t want thing catching any slack or it’ll fall apart. See if you can’t get in there and patch it up as well. I’ll have a chat with Strong Box and see if we can’t push this thing back and get damn pin fixed.”
The unicorn nodded briskly. “I’m on it.”
“Good lad.” Gearheart said, clapping him on the back before leaving him to fix the problem at hand. He searched around for the deck chief, a skinny little stallion called Strong Box whose small size seemed at odds with the booming voice he usually displayed. Spotting the stallion chatting animatedly with one of the crawler operator’s, Gearheart trotted over, a sense of dread rising in his gut. He hadn’t been here long but he already knew Strong Box valued one pony’s opinion and little else. Naturally, that pony just happened to be himself.
The young mechanic waited patiently until there was a suitable break in the deck chief’s conversation, neatly sliding in like a well-oiled piston.
“Yes?” Strong box asked irately He was already juggling a few hundred small dramas at once and wasn’t looking forward to the bright-eyed mechanic to adding any more.
“We need to cancel the launch.” Gearheart said simply.
Strong Box looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “Come again?”
Gearheart maintained his composure. “We need to cancel the launch.”
The Floor chief smiled thinly. “And why would that be?”
“One of the pins connecting the fore-right track on One-Three has cracked. It’s holding for the moment but it’s only a matter of time before it’ll break.”
“We can’t cancel the launch.” Strong box replied, immediately returning his gaze to another pony who was vying for his attention.
Gearheart wondered if the chief had even heard him. “But the crawler is damaged!” He proclaimed.
“Look kid, Oh-Seven is in tha’ workshop already with a busted gearbox so unless you’ve got another crawler up your arse we’re usin’ that one.” He pointed to One-Three like Gearheart was mentally impaired. “Do I make myself clear?”
‘No, you make yourself sound like an idiot.’ Gearheart thought indignantly. “It needs a proper repair job or it’ll break. Can we at least push it back to get a closer look at the join?” He said levelly.
“Push it back?” The stallion shook his head. “Nothing is pushing this launch back. We do it now or it don’t happen at all.”
“But sir, if the pin snapped while the Jaeger is on the crawler we could have a potential disaster.”
Strong Box gnashed his teeth together. “I’m well aware of that, kid. Just tighten the assembly up and patch that crack. We don’t have time ter take it apart an’ put it back together before the launch. It’ll hold fer a few hours, that’s all its gotta do. We can take it back into the shop for an overhaul afterwards, alright? I’m not going to have a late launch on my head, you hear?”
Gearbox sighed, that’s exactly what he’d already done. And that, in his opinion, wasn’t enough.
“With respect, sir, I don’t think that-.”
“How long you been here, kid?” Strong Box snapped irately.
The young pony flushed red. “Six months.”
Strong Box snorted contemptuously. “I’ve been working with these things fer ten years, they’re unreliable at the best of times. These sorts of problems happen all the damn time and you think we ‘ave a cry every time somethin’ breaks? No, we work with it. Now get outta my sight before I sic the guards on yer.”
“Well if that thing breaks, it’ll be on your head.” Gearheart fumed, marching off before he could see if Strong Box would follow through with his threat.
***
High up above the floor of the launch bay sat Applejack and Big Mac. Or more accurately, Big Macintosh, as his sister was now pacing back and forth restlessly. They were already fitted in their drivesuits, the dull green finish gleaming under the bright lights.
“AJ, you’ll carve a rut in the floor at this rate.” Big Mac said quietly. “Get a grip.”
Applejack shot a glare at him but stopped pacing, the room suddenly falling silent. She lasted barely a minute before she started up again, pacing back and forth like she’d drunk far too much recaf. She jumped as the door swung open and Misty Fly trotted in, her brother close at her heels like he always seemed to be.
“What do you want?” Applejack asked, her tone instantly suspicious.
Misty looked at her dangerously. “Don’t screw up.” She said succinctly. There was something else in her eyes, a look of envy that screamed ‘This should be my chance.’ at Applejack. She retreated without another word, all that need to be said already said in those three words.
“That’s her way of saying good luck.” Lightning Streak clarified quietly. He locked eyes with Applejack for a moment. “You’ll do alright, it’s your time to shine.” He laughed quietly. “Even if she doesn’t think so.”
A faint smile graced Applejack’s lips. “Thanks.” She mumbled.
An alarm blared on, a loud repeated buzz which caught the attention of everypony in the room. A moment later Michael stepped through the door, a barely restrained grin on his face. “You know the music, time to dance.”
Frontier Justice’s conpod was a lot smaller on the inside. Applejack looked around, shoving away the feeling that the walls were closing in as she stepped into the control room. The interior lights were a faint red, making the inside of the cockpit look like someone had gone a little axe-crazy. Applejack brushed this thought off and marched to the centre of the conpod, clipping herself into the enormous drivetrain with two sharp clicks. With a reassuring jolt of solidity, the harness fell down neatly into place, latching itself on the back of her drivesuit like some sort of obscene parasite.
“Two pilots, on deck.” The computer droned, its voice substantially deeper than the one she was used to in the training simulator. “Initiating launch operations.”
She almost didn’t hear the last part of the computer’s announcement, a deep rumble sounding beneath them as the behemoth started powering up.
Frontier Justice didn’t so much roar into life as it did thunder. The Jaeger’s mighty heart, the new and improved reactor from the Raython laboratories, turned over deep inside the Jaeger’s barrel chest, building up from a low whir to a high whine in a few seconds. Thin streams of oil and hydraulic fluid pumped steadily throughout the Jaeger’s limbs like blood and the ports lining the front of the Jaeger’s chest hissed open, venting the already considerable heat emanating from the reactor.
“Initiating pilot to pilot protocols, starting in ten seconds.” The radio crackled quietly.
‘This is it.’ Applejack thought, trying hard to not let her nervousness show. She had drifted with Big Mac now more times than she could count, but now that they were undertaking the process with a finicky machine… it was a completely different kettle of fish. Dozens of holographic projections danced into life and arranged themselves over the conpod’s viewport as the Jaeger’s systems booted, figures, numbers and readouts that would escape the understanding of anyone bar a pilot, detailing everything from the reactor’s core temperature to the Jaeger’s oil pressure. It was a veritable sea of information. Everything seemed to be a faint tinge of green, whether that was just to complement the Jaeger’s earthy colour scheme or because the computer had defaulted to the setting, Applejack wasn’t sure.
“Drift sequence, initiated.” The computer growled..
The world dissolved into a blue haze before Applejack could muster her thoughts, the now familiar sensation of not quite being inside herself flooded her senses. This time was different though, she could feel her consciousness expand into the machine until she could feel the whispering of steam across the metal hull and the click of gears and servos in the arms.
She also suddenly felt very masculine.
Her thoughts mixed with Big Mac’s like they’d been thrown into a blender, giving her first row seats to his feelings as he drifted into the Jaeger. She noted curiously that Big Mac didn’t feel much different, he seemed basically the same as he always was.
‘Suppose that means it thinks it’s a boy.’ She thought, reasonable, considering that Frontier Justice didn’t really seem all that girly. ‘Feels rather butch…’
Big Mac laughed silently as this, a rare memory of him rolling on his back laughing like an idiot drifting into Applejack’s mind.
‘’Why were you doing that again?’
‘Granny smith was convinced your name was Applejohn. You were also covered in tree sap.’
‘Oh… right…’ Applejack thought embarrassedly, amazed at the way that time seemed to slow as they conversed mentally. She remembered Michael had called it ‘Headspace’ a phenomenon that occurred when two well synched pilots started communicating much faster than they could verbally. He’d pointed out recorded instances where the Wei triplets, a crazy bunch of human pilots by AJ’s reckoning, had undertaken a particularly long-winded conversation in under a second.
With a light whisper the blue mist faded from her vision and reality snapped back into focus, the dozens of holographic and solid displays of the Jaeger’s console once again dominating her field of view.
“Neural handshake strong and holding, good work.” The radio crackled. “Alright boys and girls we’re going for a little test run, let’s see what your Jaeger can do.”
The crawler slowly jerked to life, inexorably propelling Frontier Justice towards the massive bay doors. The grinding and clanking tracks was barely audible over the loud hum of the Jaeger’s reactor, a quiet drone which gradually built in intensity like a slowly waking giant.
Applejack grinned proudly, this was a show she’d never forget.
Then quite suddenly, like a supercell breaking over a tiny hamlet, all hell broke loose.
Far below them, the much abused fore-right track of Crawler One-three failed exactly like the young mechanic had predicted it would. A loud bang, like a bullwhip cracking in an empty room, rang out around the launch bay and the tightened track leapt off its runners like a coiled viper. With another snap, one of the heavy treads came loose from the link, jamming itself into one of the bogies and ripping through the structure like tinfoil. The platform Frontier Justice was resting on lurched precariously, sending the top heavy Jaeger pitching forward. One of the ponies guiding the crawler down the ramp was killed instantly, a massive hunk of shrapnel from the bogies swatting him aside before he could even react. A suspenseful stillness filled the hanger, the quiet groaning of the stressed track bogies the only noise that cut through the stunned silence. With a final rending shriek of metal buckling, the already damaged bogie gave way, almost disintegrating under the combined weight of the Jaeger and the platform it was supporting.
Then, like a drunk reaching the point of no return, Frontier Justice started to tumble forward.
Up in the conpod things suddenly became hairy. They’d felt a dull crunch but hadn’t seen the track separate from the bogies. The first sign that something was wrong was when the Jaeger lurched forward sickeningly.
“What th-?” Applejack managed before the Jaeger suddenly started falling forwards. She had a moment to notice the deck had tilted forward at a slight angle before the realisation set in. They were nearly 2900 tons of out-of-control iron. They had to do something and fast, before a bad situation turned worse. She could all too easily imagine Frontier Justice toppling though a load bearing wall and bringing the rest of the shatterdome on top of them. They willed the Jaeger to lean backwards slightly, not too much that it’d cause the towering behemoth to tip over backwards instead, but enough that it would counter the forward slope. The Jaeger slowly started to even out and Applejack breathed a sigh of relief.
And then the world dropped.
It was like they were walking on stilts and someone had suddenly kicked them out from underneath them. For what felt like an entire bowel-clenching second they were in free fall. Big Mac let out a heartfelt curse as the Jaeger jumped forward dangerously. Leaning back wouldn’t save them now, they were already pitched forward at a crazy angle and Frontier Justice didn’t exactly strike Applejack as a Jaeger that was particularly agile. Reflexively, she threw out her forehoof in an attempt to stabilise themselves. Frontier Justice followed her, its right arm slowly rising palm down, fingers outstretched, searching for something to brace itself against. Its palm slammed into the edge of the crawler first, tearing through the metal effortlessly before finally embedding itself in the unyielding ground with a deafening crunch. Like a dinner plate hitting the floor, the concrete surface shattered under the Jaeger’s weight, bringing Frontier Justice to an abrupt halt. Applejack and Big Mac were thrown forward violently in their harnesses, shaken but otherwise unhurt. A moment later one of the Jaeger’s knees slammed against the deck, sending another violent shudder through the hull.
“Big Mac, you okay?” Applejack asked weakly, the force of the impact having knocked all the air out of her lungs. She could hear the radio squawking energetically but her head was spinning so badly she could make nothing out.
Big Mac let out a hoarse cough. “Fine, ah think. You?”
“Golden.” Applejack answered shakily. She certainly didn’t feel that great. Her head was pounding furiously and every bone in her body ached like she’d been bucking apples for several days straight. She could feel something slick against her forehoof and she could taste a faint metallic tang in her mouth. Relieved to be in one piece, Applejack let out a faint groan, resisting the overwhelming urge to pass out. She realised numbly that she couldn’t feel Big Mac in her head anymore, something had either shorted the connection or cut it off completely. A sudden sense of vertigo overcame her and she lolled forward in her harness.
“AJ?” Big Mac asked worriedly, unsure if he should detach himself and go to her aide.
“Ah’m… fine.” Applejack rasped, a wave of black overwhelming her senses again. She heard one more cry from her brother before everything turned to black.
A sickening crunch of bones snapping and steel shrieking woke Applejack with a start. It took her a few moments to realise it’d been a dream, the snapping and tearing sound a mere figment of her imagination. Forcing a calming breath down her throat she looked around the darkened room, taking in her surroundings. She seemed to be in some sort of dimly lit medical ward, the off-white walls and tasteless decor enough of a hint without the small array of medical devices beeping quietly at her bedside. She shifted uncomfortably, she hated hospitals at the best of times… what was she doing here? She racked her mind, trying to figure out why she was lying in a slightly lumpy hospital bed. Her eyes darted around the room worriedly, all she could remember was a sudden falling sensation followed by a loud crunch.
A red shape shifted slightly in the corner of her eye, a shape she realised numbly wasn’t a lump of blankets stacked messily in a chair as she’d first thought, but her brother slumbering peacefully. Outwardly, he seemed fine so Applejack turned her attention to her own body, wincing as she wriggled about. Her chest felt like someone had been at it with a hammer and then messily glued it back together, one of her ribs in particular flaring painfully whenever she put any shifted her weight around. She had only a moment to ponder over this conundrum when a row of lights studded in the roof flickered on with a pale, almost moon-like glow. Applejack turned her head, instantly spotting who she presumed was a doctor or an orderly of some kind standing at the end of the hall.
“Sorry if I startled you, I just couldn’t help but notice you’d woken up.” He explained softly. Applejack’s eyes flickered to the back of the room, noticing what appeared to be some sort of small room which would usually house a nurse. A bright orange light spilled out into the hallway behind the pony, evidently he’d been reading before Applejack had caught his attention.
“How long have I been out?” Applejack asked, suddenly realising how dry her throat was. The orderly must’ve noticed her hoarse voice as he vanished and then reappeared a moment later with a tall glass of cool water.
“About eighteen hours, you took quite a fall.” He quipped.
Applejack tried to sit up but a sudden wave of vertigo made her decide that probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Her eyes flickered to the quiet snoring form of Big Macintosh propped up against the wall.
“Your brother is fine.” The orderly said gently before the words had even formed in Applejack’s mouth. “A few bruises, bit of shock maybe, but nothing lasting.”
Applejack let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. “What about me?”
The stallion shrugged slightly. “A bit of internal bleeding, a concussion and a nasty fracture on one of your ribs. We already fixed you up but it might hurt for a little while.” He explained pleasantly.
“What about anypony else?” Applejack asked nervously. She remembered the tumbling fall their Jaeger had taken and the sound of bones being crushed and snapped that still echoed in her head.
The pony’s gentle smile didn’t fade but his eyes seemed to tell a different story. “No, you didn’t hurt anypony.” He said after a moment’s hesitation.
Something about his statement didn’t seem quite right to Applejack but she let it slide, her brain didn’t seem like it was exactly the way it should if the way her vision keep blurring at the edges and the way her skull felt like somepony had driven a spike through it was any indication.
“Try to get back to sleep, you should feel better in the morning.” The orderly said quietly. “If you need anything just let me know.”
Applejack nodded slowly, cautious of making her head spin again. She laid her head back in the reassuringly soft pillow and drifted into a troubled sleep, her mind echoing with the cry of tearing metal.
***
The next morning Applejack was positively flooded with visitors. First was Twilight, the young alicorn’s face almost etched into an expression that screamed ‘I told you so’. Her concern overwhelmed any urge to say the words though and instead spent a good half-hour simply talking with the farmer before Big Mac woke up and almost jumped on Applejack. He’d stayed up most of the night worrying over his sister and it was clear to see that he was thrilled that she had pulled through alright.
Shane and Michael were also delighted to have her back so quickly, although their joy came from the fact that they wouldn’t have to go find a new set of pilots for Frontier Justice rather than just being concerned for her wellbeing. Naturally they put the duo back to work immediately, although thankfully sparing Applejack from physical activates until she’d healed.
“She needs at least two week to heal properly.” The shatterdome’s doctor had ordered sternly, eyeing Shane and Michael like they were a pair of suspicious hooligans messing around in an alleyway.
Despite this they still had the duo on light duties, attending classes and meetings mostly but also sitting in on some of the combat lessons. It was one such meeting a few days after the incident when things almost got out of hand.
“We should be doing another round of simulator drops this week, I was hoping we could cover some deep water operations as we haven’t really had time to mess around with those yet.” Michael said the six assembled pilots. “It’s a completely different kettle of fish to fighting above water or shallow water drops, blocking, dodging, walking, standing… it’s all different when you’ve got that third dimension and the added water resistance.”
“I still think some of us need to learn how to stand up straight on dry land first.” Misty said pointedly, her gaze snapping around to Applejack and Big Macintosh.
“Misty...” Michael warned, aware at how tense the atmosphere had suddenly became.
Not taking the warning for what it was, Misty rose to the bait. “With all due respect sir, I find it hard to be comfortable when my so called ‘backup’ falls over like a drunken idiot the first time they step into a Jaeger.” She snapped back in tone that seemed completely at odds with the term respect.
“It could’ve been a lot worse, it was a good recovery on their part.” Michael retorted firmly.
“Yes, a great recovery that ended up with a Jaeger ploughing face-first into the ground. Great job.” Misty said snidely. She looked around the room at the assembled pilots, failing to realise just how quiet it had suddenly become. Wave Chill was examining the ground as if he’d suddenly found a gold deposit, Soarin was looking at her like she’d farted loudly at a formal dinner and both Applejack and Big Macintosh looked like they’d just run over an adorable bunny with a cart. She turned to Lightning Streak, wondering if she was the only sane one in the room. “What?” She asked the group at large.
“There’s this thing called tact, maybe you should look into it.” Shane said quietly.
Misty clamped her mouth shut and instead glowered at Applejack like it was all her fault. She stayed that way for the rest of the meeting, silently glaring at the farmer out of the corner of her eye and only occasionally grunting or nodding in assent when somepony said something she agreed with. It was only at the end when Michael finally pulled her aside.
“Misty, I get that you think you’re the best and that everyone is complete rubbish but you’ve seriously got to tone your attitude down.”
“I think my ‘attitude’ is justified. Those two couldn’t even stay upright for more than a minute.” Misty said pointedly.
“Yes, because the god-damn crawler decided to retire to Florida and die.” Michael barked. “Not their fault.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, I think you need to understand that your attitude isn’t being conducive to our team and if you can’t work as a team, we don’t want you.”
Misty seemed slightly taken aback. “Me? What about the-.”
“Christ pull your head out of your ass for just one second!” Michael snapped. “Applejack and Big Macintosh have the makings of fantastic pilots. Unlike you, they haven’t been professionally trained for years and thankfully possess a good deal of modesty, something I don’t think you even know the meaning of.” He fumed.
“Now understand me when I say that I’m this close to kicking you and your brother out, this close.” He held his fingers together. “I don’t care that you’re the best pilots we’ve got and I certainly don’t care for that raging ego of yours okay? You sort your shit out or god-damn it, I’ll sort it out for you.”
Misty took a step back, she’d never considered that they’d actually kick her out, she was far too good for that. Michael didn’t look like he was joking though and the threat that Soarin had originally given her some time ago suddenly seemed a very real and present danger. A slightly more reasonable side of her poked its head out from underneath the thick outer layer she wore.
She bowed her head slightly. “Yes sir. Sorry, sir.” She said, a slight trace of sincerity entering her voice.
“Now there’s a word I never expected to hear from your mouth.” Michael said, surprised his rant had actually gotten to her. “Spend a few days thinking about whether you really want to be here or not, hopefully you’ll chose the right option. Now get outta here.” He said with a jerk of his head to indicate that he was done with her.
Misty trotted off, her ego slightly bruised. She was so caught up with her thoughts that she didn’t even see her brother until she’d almost stepped into him. Misty looked away embarrassedly, hoping he hadn’t heard the heated exchange nor seen her being cowed by Michael’s threat.
“What was that all about?” Lighting Streak asked.
“Nothing.” Misty lied. “Nothing at all.”
***
It was a curious day that Princess Celestia found herself sitting in the Shatterdome’s main reception. She was supposed to be relaxing, having organised some time off from her usual duties which she was using to visit the great cities of Eastern Equestria.
A vacation, dare she call it that, was something that Celestia was a little unused to. Luna had been left reluctantly to watch over Canterlot in her absence, a move which Celestia greatly appreciated as it gave her both some breathing room for when she returned and some peace of mind that nopony would do anything particularly stupid while she was gone. Luna was less thrilled by the prospect although this was hardly unusual, she lacked both the patience and finesse for general politics, her mind suited for other slightly more nefarious tasks that a royal had to invariably deal with. Still, Celestia relished the opportunity for a slight change in pace. Even if she did have some official duties to attend to during her stay, she intended to make the most of her trip while she could. Of course if she’d known about the recent incident involving Frontier Justice she probably wouldn’t have been quite as happy as she was but as they say, ignorance is bliss.
The reason then why she the monarch was sitting in the main reception of the Manehatten Shatterdome then, and not say, relaxing at one of the cities many spas or arcades, was a little beyond her guards. Well, at least if she had a reason, she wasn’t sharing.
Nevertheless, her appearance seemed to have caused a little bit of a stir among the administration team as they frantically searched for someone to see her. While she waited she perused a newspaper, the broadsheet loudly announcing the most recent crisis Celestia had to deal with. A small of group of tourists had been captured a few days ago by a pack of Diamond Dogs and being held for ransom, something Celestia was rather hesitant to pay lest it set an example for other roving packs of the creatures that they could pinch ponies from under her nose and be paid for it.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long and she’d barely gotten halfway down the page when Shane strode out into the foyer, a somewhat lacklustre look on his face. “Hello Celestia.” He said flatly.
“A pleasure as always, Shane.” Celestia said back in the same bored tone, making the edge of the human’s mouth raise slightly. She looked behind him, half expecting to see his brother in tow.
“Where’s Michael?” Celestia asked when she realised Michael wasn’t hiding behind a pot plant.
Shane adopted a slightly amused expression. “He’s negotiating with some Air Force brass for use of their crawlers.”
“And you’re not with him because..?”
Shane’s eyes flickered upwards with a look that showed his poorly concealed irritation. “Well, you know me.” He muttered ruefully. “Don’t suppose you could ask them to play nice, do you?”
“Yes, I presume their throats prefer not being jumped down.” Celestia replied dryly.
Shane rubbed his hands together, brushing her deadpan remark off like he hadn’t heard it. “So, what brings you here then? Can’t resist sticking your nose in like always? Can’t help but visit your two favourite aliens?”
Celestia brushed the jab off with well-practiced east. “You left so quickly I didn’t have time to congratulate you on your victory in the senate. I would’ve visited earlier but my duties have kept me in Canterlot. I will admit visiting Manehatten is a welcome change of pace.” She said coolly.
“Come to visit us on your vacation, that’s so sweet.” Shane said dryly. “Your other duties must be incredibly dull for you to think this is a blast.”
“Being a princess is not all it’s cracked up to be. Make one little mistake and suddenly everypony’s over you and its nothing but work, work, work.” Celestia lamented. She smiled at Shane like she knew something he didn’t, an infectious yet cheeky smile which Shane found incredibly hard to not mirror. He struggled to keep a straight face and instead begun another line of questioning.
“You know, I’ve been wondering…”
Celestia raised an eyebrow slightly. “Wondering?”
Shane pondered the wording for a few moments. “If you’re princess, who’s the ruling monarch?”
The corner of Celestia’s lips twitched slightly. “I am. I just like the title ‘Princess’ better.”
“Alright then, being the all-powerful leader you are then, couldn’t you have just, you know, ordered the government to give us money?”
Celestia chuckled lightly. “Democracy does not work that way.”
Shane huffed. “And what about some sort of supreme executive power? Dissolve the senate and take power?”
The alicorn’s face hardened, the cheeky look she’d held vanishing in an instant and being replaced by a look that would turn water to ice. “I do not think that the current situation is severe enough for me to invoke those, neither would I want to at this time. I’m no tyrant.”
Shane put his hands up defensively, clearly it was a somewhat touchy subject. “Alright, alright, just asking.”
Celestia made an apologetic sigh. “I appreciate your curiosity for the inner workings of our politics Shane, but I’d rather not discuss that matter. The last time I resorted to such measures were dark times, ones I’d rather not repeat for the sake of my people nor my character.” She eased a smile back onto her face, replacing the hard look she had fixed on the human. “Besides, it seems you have the senate’s support so I doubt such an action will be necessary.”
“But will we keep it?” Shane mused. “Fighting a war requires three things: money, money and yet more money. I don’t think it’s the last time we’ve seen those pinheads.”
Celestia nodded in agreement. “I do not doubt it for a second. I believe it would take a remarkable event to lose their goodwill though.”
“Well I hope you’re right, I don’t think I could stand that sort of punishment again.”
“Oh it’s not that bad.” Celestia jeered. “Besides, you would visit Canterlot again and if I understand correctly, you quite enjoyed your time there.”
“I’d be more comfortable being hooked into a rusty old bucket like Brawler Yukon to fight a CAT IV than I would be going back to that chamber.” Shane grumped.
“You have a strong bond with your machines.” Celestia remarked.
Shane shrugged. “They’re means to an end, nothing more.”
Celestia made a thoughtful sound. “You’re somewhat of an enigma Shane, you persist that your machines of war are nothing more than that yet still seem to care deeply about them.
“Speaking of enigmas, do you know anything about this thing called Discord?” Shane asked, quickly changing the topic before she could push it further.
Celestia’s face seemed to take on an expression somewhere between an amused grin and a look of concern. “I think I could fairly say I’ve had too much to do with him. I’m hardly surprised you bumped into him, or more likely, he chose to dump into you.”
Shane felt like she hadn’t said anything at all. “But who is he?
Celestia’s amused look faded. “He’s a powerful spirit of chaos, more cunning than a fox, slipperier than a snake and gifted with the power to shape the world as he sees fit. He answers to no one and he plays his own games. Even I don’t know what his aims are most of the time.” Celestia explained. “While he’s somewhat reformed from his chaotic ways, Discord is still someone you shouldn’t trifle with.”
“So he’s basically a god, right?”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Celestia queried.
“A powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent being, maybe?” Shane explained, remembering the Equestrians’ didn’t really seem to have a concept of a deity.
“I wouldn’t say so, no.” Celestia purred. “Discord can die and fall ill like a mortal but if age troubles him, I do not know. Nonetheless, he would one of the more powerful forces in Equestria.”
“Uh-huh, how powerful are we talking?”
“I do know not know if there is a limit to his powers. He surprises even me with his magic on occasion.” Celestia said cautiously. She glanced at Shane for a moment before deducing his interest in the chaotic spirit. “You think he could help you in your battles, don’t you?”
“Got me there.” Shane admitted.
Celestia snorted in amusement. “Good luck convincing him. As I said, he plays his own games. Getting him on your side would be like convincing a Diamond Dog to part with a-.”
“Princess Celestia!” A voice cried out, cutting the monarch off midsentence.
Celestia turned her head, immediately recognising the voice which had called out to her. Standing off to the side of the hallway with a pile of perfectly arranged papers levitated above her was Twilight sparkle. The young alicorn was framed in the doorway, the light spilling out from the room behind her making her look like some hero from the cover a book, albeit one with a pair of glasses that fought with paper and words rather than a sword or spear.
“Twilight, a pleasure to see you!” Celestia said warmly. Aside from the occasional correspondence, she hadn’t seen or heard from her former pupil for some time, work keeping them apart. Celestia felt almost a little guilty about it, the last time she’d heard from Twilight the young alicorn had been chewing her out and she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d create a rift in their friendship. The slight trace of suspicion that the younger alicorn held seemed to indicate the possibility.
Shane on the other hand seemed delighted, almost as if something he’d been looking for had been delivered to him on a platter. He turned to the current head of Jaeger development cheerily.
“Twilight, me and Michael were going to have a sit down to discuss the new hulls that got approved, naturally I thought you would want to participate.”
“Of course.” She answered immediately. “My design team already has some work done.”
Shane nodded in approval. “Very good. Anyway, when you’re done with Sun-butt drop by our office.”
“I’m right here you know.” Celestia remarked.
Shane simply chuckled and wandered away, leaving the two alicorns alone in the hallway, it didn’t take a genius to figure out Twilight and Celestia wanted to be alone.
“Sun-butt.” Celestia echoed, slightly outraged.
“He calls Luna Moon-butt on occasion so I think it’s only fair.” Twilight remarked casually. She smiled wickedly, enjoying the privilege of being able to poke a little fun at Equestria’s ruling monarch. She’d endured enough of Celestia’s tricks and mischief in her childhood to make it a oddly satisfying feeling.
“Undignified.” Celestia shot back. Her face told a different story though, a ghost of a smile gracing the ancient alicorn’s lips. At least she still knew how to take a joke.
Twilight chuckled quietly and led Celestia down the hall to her office, a small room packed to the brim with files, research notes and books that backed onto her jarringly empty personal quarters. It struck Celestia just how empty the small room was in comparison to her former student’s office, the bare walls and uncluttered floor a rather dramatic change.
“Some tea perhaps?” Twilight suggested, already filling a dinged kettle with water and lighting a fire underneath it with a spark of magic. In addition to their emptiness, her quarters seemed remarkably clean, almost as if the alicorn had hardly been using them. The notion hardly surprised Celestia, she’d known Twilight to spend several days on end in the dark corners of the Royal Canterlot Archives with her nose in some stack of research papers. The alicorn took to new information like a fly did to garbage, and if the way which she seemed to have integrated herself into Equestria’s steadily growing Jaeger program was anything to go by, Celestia guessed her proverbial fly had found the proverbial garbage tip.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Twilight said directly, “Didn’t really take it as your sort of thing not to mention just how busy you are with your duties.”
“Sometimes a watchful eye needs to be maintained over your most prized possessions, even if they are secured in the safest of strongholds.” Celestia quipped.
Twilight slowly raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment, Celestia’s comment indicated well enough that some group with considerable influence seemed to be having second opinions about the Jaeger program. Even if Celestia had visited just to reaffirm whatever doubts they may’ve had, it seemed a little off that the group would be so discrete with their attitude.
Celestia let a ghost of a smile cross her face as she beheld Twilight’s anxiety. “It’s nothing to be concerned about, Twilight.”
“Hmm.” Twilight grunted, feeling that Celestia was once again deliberately leaving some important information unsaid. The kettle started whistling quietly but she paid it no heed, instead glaring at Celestia suspiciously.
“Celestia, I thought after our last disagreement you would be slightly more open, especially when it came to keeping both myself and your sister informed.” She advanced on Celestia slowly, “I’m guessing Luna doesn’t know why you’re really here either, does she?” Twilight added, now nose to nose (or more accurately, nose to somewhere-below-the-nose; Celestia was still a fair bit taller than her.) with the solar monarch.
“Twilight,” Celestia said firmly, “I can understand your misplac-.”
“Don’t you lecture me about misplaced faith, dear teacher. You left me in the cold, literally, for months while you planned and schemed your way towards almost certain ruin.” Twilight barked before softening her tone to a more sociable standard. “Celestia, I’m no longer your student, please don’t treat me like one.”
“You mightn’t be my student anymore but you still have a lot to learn, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said lowly.
“And Luna?” Twilight persisted.
Celestia sighed and lowered her head, a shameful look appearing over her face. “I have still not gotten used to her being back yet. It certainly isn’t helping issues that she is either away or doesn’t want to partake in politics, she hardly tries to integrate herself in my life.” She admitted.
Twilight nodded, she could understand that Celestia was a little hesitant about bringing her sister back into the fold, even if she had been expecting her return. Even so, it had been years since Luna had returned from her exile… perhaps Celestia was being a little too hesitant.
“I’m sorry Twilight, after ruling this nation for nearly a thousand years by myself it’s a little unusual to have to share it again with not one, but two other ponies within such a short space of time.” She said quietly, as if she could read Twilight’s thoughts. “A creature of my age sees the world differently, days seen like minutes, decades in mere hors... Countless lives I’ve walked this earth, taking in its wonders and fighting the many terrors that lurk in the dark. Your perspective changes after a while.” She explained.
Twilight nodded again. “Nonetheless, I think you could at least consult one of us before you do something rash again. You don’t have to do this by yourself, Celestia. For starters it would’ve been nice to know you were financing our Mk.I program.” The young alicorn said, her good mood returning somewhat. ”You don’t have to micromanage us either, I know what I’m doing.”
Celestia laughed. “Do you now?”
“Mostly.” Twilight admittedly sheepishly. “I’m learning as much as I can but there’s a lot to learn.”
Ceelstia shook her head, a broad smile on her face. “All in good time, just remember that sleep is indeed still a thing.” Celestia assured her, relieved that Twilight had scolding her and was back to her old self. She flicked a look over at the kettle which was now whistling shrilly “Now, about that tea…”
***
Celestia and Twilight ended up talking for the better part of an hour, their focus dancing around but always seeming to be lightly brushing against the topic of Jaegers or Kaiju. While Twilight could’ve possibly gone on for hours, both alicorns had other duties to attend to and Celestia eventually excused herself, promising to try and visit again when she could.
No sooner than Celestia had left, Twilight collected her design team’s documents and made her way up through the bustling shatterdome. Her route took her through the Jaeger bay, not a strictly necessary detour but she liked looking at the Jaegers and took any opportunity she could to learn more about their inner workings. She passed Frontier Justice’s bay, craning her head back to stare up at the towering leviathan’s conpod. The last of the damage from the dramatic fall was being buffed out, a few diligent workers reapplying a new coat of paint over the rough edges. The Jaeger itself, no thanks to Big Mac and Applejack’s quick reflexes, hadn’t sustained any major damage, a few busted shock absorbers and a few leaking hydraulic lines the only lasting damage that had shown itself. She smiled thinly, the Jaeger seemed just as tough and stubborn as its pilots.
Leaving the Jaeger bay behind her, Twilight made up her way up through the labyrinth structure towards where the two humans had made their quarters. She knocked quietly at the door, waiting patiently until Shane opened it and invited her in. As usual the office seemed rather bare, the occasional piece of alien decoration standing out from the concrete walls. Twilight dropped herself into one of the tough looking chairs around Michael’s desk and deposited her paperwork on top of what appeared to be a steadily growing pile of requestion forms that littered the human’s messy desk.
“Yay, more paperwork.” Michael moaned. “I’m a pilot, not a desk jockey.” He flicked through the heavy document with an annoyed sigh before cupping is chin in his hands and adopting a much friendlier expression. “So, what do you have for us today?”
“For once, good news. I’ll save the best for last.” Twilight said, immediately launching into her pre-planned lecture. “Firstly, Frontier Justice is back to operational status.”
Michael raised an eyebrow. “That was fast.”
“Minor damage only, barely took a scratch. Hopefully our investigation can shed a little more light on what actually happened though.”
“Indeed.” Michael muttered, happy to move along. Frontier Justice’s fall had become a bit of a messy business and he was quite glad that they’d managed to keep news of the incident relatively quiet. It would do little for their programs if the first Mark I was hailed as little more than a clumsy waste of money.
Twilight nodded. “Secondly, I may have solved your mobility concerns.”
Shane and Michael started paying a little more attention at this, the issue had plagued the Jaegers since Midsummer Night had been forced to trek northwards to Bolton.
“I decided to do a little research of my own and with some help from Soarin, I may’ve sourced someone that can help.” She rifled through her file and pulled out a neatly folded letter. “The Griffon Empire uses a machine they call a Rotary which appears to be similar enough to what you call a ‘helicopter’. While they have nothing on the scale that we’re looking for, I incidentally discovered that one of their plants actually produces the engines we use for our airships. I sent them a letter with our design requirements and I got a fairly positive response back. While it’s somewhat unknown territory, they seem confident they can build something that can carry your Jaegers.”
Michael read the letter slowly. “And they’re happy to do that?”
“Provided we pay them, naturally.” Twilight said with a chuckle. “They’re rushing a prototype through now, if their estimates are right it should hopefully be ready for testing in a few months.”
Michael gave the letter to Shane to read. “Anything else? We were going to talk about the new Jaegers we have.”
“Of course.” Twilight answered. She levitated the heavy file on Michael’s desk open. “As soon as we heard the news the design teams have been investigating costs and potential future developments for the Jaeger program.” She flipped a few pages over, the summary of the report, so Michael could read them.
“Looking at these estimated delivery costs, I think going for this route would be the optimal choice.” Twilight said, pointing to a few paragraphs in the short summary.
“Three hulls now and two more later.” Michael muttered quietly, flipping the first few pages over and then spreading them across the table like pieces of a jigsaw.
Twilight nodded. “I was hoping that with the assumed savings that we could possibly incorporate some more advanced technology into the Mk.3 hulls. Magic use was kind of what I was hoping for.” She admitted.
“Magic?” Shane queried. “I haven’t really seen you guy use much that could be… uh, useful.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and let out quiet snort of amusement. Before either of them could stop her, she levelled her horn at the wall and shot a purple blast of energy from the tip. A loud crack rang around the office as the outer surface of the wall ionised, leaving a small, blackened crater.
“Hot damn.” Shane whispered, edging away from Twilight slightly.
The alicorn looked remarkably pleased with herself. “There are other uses as well, as you’ve undoubtedly seen, most unicorns are adept with telekinetic spells.” She focused for a moment before reappearing behind them with a loud pop. “Teleportation could also be implemented, although I doubt many ponies could shift a whole Jaeger.”
Michael spun around, clearing one of his ears out and yawning widely. “Mind not doing that in here?”
Twilight adopted a bashful expression. “Sorry, I’m just a little excited by the idea.”
“Got anything else locked away in that horn of yours up there?” Shane asked vaguely.
“Dozens of spells, not all of them are obviously useful though.” Twilight said, projecting a small purple bubble around herself after a moment of consideration.
Michael looked at the dome curiously for a few seconds. “What’s that, some sort of air bubble?”
Twilight shrugged her shoulders. “It can double as one but it’s actually a basic shield.”
“Cool…” Michael muttered, reaching out absently and finding an impenetrable barrier of energy surrounding the alicorn. It felt like running water and every time he poked it small shimmers of purple and white spread across its surface like ripples. He poked it a few more times, making a small smiley face appear in the faint waves. “Is there a downside to making magic capable Jaegers?”
“Well, any crew would have to be skilled magic users or your advantage is lost. Projecting this sort of field around something as big as a Jaeger isn’t an easy task for most ponies. Most ponies can’t even do this this sort of magic.” She confessed.
“I’m assuming they’d have to be unicorns or uh…” he gestured to Twilight.
“Alicorns.” She finished. “Yes, you’d be right.”
“And why couldn’t you just build a laser cannon thingy instead?” Shane asked, pointing at the now smoking crater in the wall.
“Because firstly, it’s easier to harness a powerful unicorn’s inherent power to shoot purple bolts of doom rather than build something that does it. Secondly, a unicorn is much more versatile, as I’ve just shown you and lastly, because we’re still trying to build a giant laser cannon thingy.”
“You’re building a giant laser cannon thingy?” Shane asked.
“We build a lot of things.” Twilight said dismissively.
Michael held a hand up before they got off track. “And you’d want to outfit both of the Mk.3s with this ability?”
“If possible, yes.” Twilight answered.
“Which means we’d have to find four unicorns, four powerful unicorns to drive them.” Michael said flatly. “Doesn’t exactly sound easy.”
“Well, you’d probably only need one powerful one to focus the abilities, two would just be a boon.” Twilight pointed out. “The energy for the spells would be coming from the Jaeger’s power plant rather than just from the user. Mafic amplification is a reasonably well studied field, although I don’t think anypony has ever tried adding something like an atomic reactor into the mix.”
“I suppose that’s a bit better.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, “What do you think, Shane?”
“Hell I’m down if we get to see that again.” Shane said, pointing to the blackened crater again.
Michael nodded at Twilight. “Alright. Look into it. What about the Mk.2s?”
Twilight shrugged. “My designers has put some preliminary stuff together, nothing concrete yet. We do have some nice tech that’s starting to come together though so I’m hoping we can put that to good use.”
Michael gestured openly. “Care to share?”
The alicorn grinned happily. “Might be easier to show you.”
***
As usual the Jaeger spaces seemed to be bustling with activity. Technicians ran every which way, loaded down with replacement parts, piles boxes stacked haphazardly on carts or in one case, a firing mechanism that was big enough for Shane to fit his head inside. It wasn’t just to bustle of ponies that made the space look busy, stacks of spare equipment, replacement parts, sheets of metal and what could only be described as junk gave the warehouse-like space an air of a glorified junkyard. Most of the junk seemed to evade the two alien’s attention but one pile caught their attention, the familiarity of the design meant there could only be one source.
“Uh, what’s this?” Shane asked, picking up one of the charred components carefully. It looked vaguely like a Jaeger’s actuator, provided you discounted the dried oil smeared across it and the heavy burn marks which covered one side of the cumbersome device.
Twilight looked around. “It’s a component of Wild Mustang, one of the techs thought he could scavenge it.”
“But there wasn’t a fire on-board…” Michael murmured, drifting over to the small pile and eying another part, this one a fastener for a motor. His eyes tracked over to Twilight suspiciously. “Was there?”
“Not a fire, no.” Twilight affirmed, giving a half melted capacitor a stern look. “Several of the Jaeger’s systems were a bit, uh… how do it put it, broken, after fighting Thresher.” She explained. “It’s amazing it got through that fight intact.”
“Bit of luck can go a long way.” Shane muttered, tossing the actuator back into the pile with a snort of disgust.
“Relying on luck is not a mathematically sound option.” Twilight said as of the idea was poisonous, moving the broken piece of Jaeger back onto its assigned pile, rather than in the pile of circuit boards Shane had tossed it into.
“Not very reliable.” Michael murmured, a look of concern on his face.
“That bucket of bolts went together so fast I’m surprised it worked as well as it did. We’ve had time to improve the layout, add more redundant systems, hardier electronics… somewhat, don’t worry about that.” The alicorn reassured him. “Now come on, I didn’t bring you down here to show you scrap metal.”
She led them past a stack of neatly ordered drawings pinned to a wall and down a short flight of stone stairs which opened up into a long but narrow test chamber. At least a score of ponies milled around the outer edges, some of them looking up as Twilight emerged from the stairwell but most were too concentrated on their work… whatever that was, some were tinkering with devices too alien for either Shane or Michael to comprehend. What really caught their eye though was what they could only describe as a long metal device which looked vaguely like a large salt grinder. Twilight lead them over to the device and started fawning over it.
“I have no idea what I’m looking at.” Shane said bluntly.
The alicorn seemed rolled her eyes like she was explaining to a pre-schooler that the stove-top was hot. “Laser-induced plasma channels. Infrared excitation of air to create conductive plasma trails.”
Shane looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “In English?”
Twilight let out an annoyed huff and trotted over to the machine. “Well this thing here, the laser, emits a powerful beam into the air. This rapidly heats and ionises the air, which in turn causes the surrounding gases to turn into plasma. A split second after this happens, an electric current passes through these newly created channels, and since plasma tends to electrically conductive, well… might want to take a step back.” She cautioned, flicking a few switches on the control panel. A low electric buzz filled the chamber and the centre of the device started glowing a faint cyan. The buzz shifted a sharp whine and then a crack of thunder as the weapon discharged, a blizzard of lightning leaping from the end and wasting itself against the opposite wall with an electric hum that set their hair on end.
“Well then…” Michael said lowly, blinking away the image burned into his retinas.
Twilight nodded with satisfaction. “That’s just a low power setting, I’m sure it could be stepped up several times with a Jaeger’s reactor powering it. From what I can tell it works in a similar way to your Jaeger’s energy caster although this will have slightly more range as its only limiting factor is the laser’s cohesion… so probably a hundred metres at high power.” She guessed.
“What’s the limit on it?”
Twilight’s wings rose up and down in the rough equivalent to a shrug. “Don’t know, I guess as much power as you want to dump into it.”
Michael frowned. “Where’d you get all this stuff from anyway?”
“One of the bright sparks in the Las Pegasus Science and Research Institute came up with it based on some notes on an emitter we pulled from Brawler Yukon a way back. The actual lethal part was my own idea.” Twilight admitted proudly.
“Makes me wonder what you think about in your spare time.” Shane said with a low chuckle.
Twilight gave him a flat expression. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
Shane shook his head slowly. “Shit, give her a bit of time and money and she’s already an evil genius. I should’ve shot you when I had the chance.”
Twilight scoffed. “And miss out on all these fun toys?’ She drifted to the other side of the room and gestured to a complicated looking pneumatic system. “One of my designers put this together after watching one of your simulator battles, she particularly liked the big green Jaeger of yours so made a copy of its weapon system, or at least as close as she could. “
Shane examined the machine for a few seconds. “Nice, pistons fists?” He deduced.
“How astute.” Twilight remarked.
“Hardly, a few of the Mark Is and II were fitted with a similar system. It’s a reliable and powerful weapon, maybe not quite as devastating as a trio of goddamn chainsaw hands but it works.” He said cheerily.
“Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.” Twilight said pragmatically. “And if said solution is a pneumatically fired fist the size of a house to deal with some abnormally large pests, then by all means let’s build one.”
***
Applejack rolled to the right, wincing as she shifted defensive stances. It was a simple move one of the combat instructors had taught her several weeks ago but now the manoeuvre seemed painfully difficult.
As the doctor had rightly predicted, Applejack was back on her hooves within the next week. Although she still suffered from occasional chest pain, especially when she exerted herself, it was manageable and she soon found herself back in the shatterdome’s main combat room practicing with Big Mac daily. Although Applejack had tried to mix things up a little, Big Mac insisted they stick to the basics while she recovered, a fair call as Applejack was still struggling to keep up with her older brother. She swore internally as she dodged another heavy blow, an ungraceful stomp that seemed more at place at the orchard back home than in a combat arena. Her normal agility was hampered somewhat though and the usually quick action was somewhat sluggish, Big Mac’s blow landing a little close for comfort.
Applejack noticed Misty Fly trot into the combat room out of the corner of her eye and was immediately tempted to have a dance in the ring with her… ‘First things first though’ She thought, noticing Big Mac ponderously come about for another go. He wasn’t a particularly graceful nor quick fighter, but Applejack could attest from their fights that when he hit it hurt. She ducked under the blow and the follow-up she knew would follow. She was a little slower than normal though on account of her recent injury and winced as Big Mac’s blow glanced off her rib cage.
“You alright?” Big Mac asked, immediately dropping from his combat stance when he noticed Applejack stagger.
Applejack sucked a breath through her teeth, she would’ve loved to admit that she’d want nothing more than to just take the day off but her pride didn’t her allow her, instead making a small nod in response to her brother’s worried question.
“Ah think we can take a breather.” Big Mac said in a soft yet firm voice. Applejack cursed internally, of course he knew. She let out a quiet sigh and backed out of the combat ring gratefully, Big Mac drifting off to watch Soarin and Wave Chill spar on the other side of the long combat hall. She grimaced as another flare of pain shot up her chest, one of the shatterdome’s physicians had given her some painkillers to try and take the edge off but she’d neglected them, a decision she was starting to regret slightly. She made to exit the hall, noting with a tang of distaste that Misty was still hovering around near the door, almost as if she was waiting for her. She made an annoyed sound deep in her throat but carried on regardless, she wasn’t going to give the pegasus the pleasure of knowing how much she despised her.
Misty’s mouth curled into a faint smirk as she trotted past. “Still taking it easy, huh?”
Applejack ignored her, grinding her teeth together in frustration. If that comment had been from anypony else it would’ve been fine but Misty Fly had a way of making everything that wormed its way up her throat sound either snide or just flat out obnoxious. Her mouth seemed to constantly ooze venom, something she constantly wondered how Lightning Streak put up with. He wasn’t a bad pony, he just seemed to be partnered with the most insufferable thing to crawl to life since whatever evil magic had spawned the Timberwolves.
“Applejack.” Misty called out in an almost apologetic tone as the farmer passed her silently.
Applejack disregarded her, she wasn’t interested in sitting around and letting Misty hurl more mud at her. In truth she wanted nothing more than to kick the living daylights out of the rude and arrogant Pegasus but she managed to withhold that urge, that’d just get her into trouble.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.” The pegasus barked, wheeling around to follow the farmer.
‘She just won’t take the hint, will she?’ Applejack thought, quickening her pace slightly. It was an exercise in futility though as the Pegasus quickly caught up to her. She felt a hoof rough grab at her shoulder.
“Look you stupid mud-.”
‘Oh that’s it!’ Applejack thought angrily, lashing out with her hind leg and catching Misty straight in the mouth. She didn’t give the Pegasus time to recover, spinning around and delivering an anger-fuelled right hook that would’ve floored most ponies. Misty Fly was made of sterner stuff than most though, using her wings to propel her forward and knocking both ponies into a tumbling heap before the blow could properly connect.
“What’s your problem?” Misty spat, a small glob of blood flying out of her mouth and landing on Applejack’s cheek.
“What’s yours?” Applejack snapped back, kicking the Pegasus in the gut and clambering upright. She leapt at Misty again but the cocky pegasus was already moving again, darting aside at the last moment and slamming Applejack into the unyielding concrete wall with her shoulder.
“Pathetic.” Misty sneered, letting Applejack crumble to the floor like a ragdoll. Their fight had attracted a few onlookers but she didn’t care, her blood was running hot now and now that the tension between them had finally snapped, she was finding it awfully hard to not give the farmer an extra kick or two for good measure. All thoughts of trying to set things straight with the earth pony were gone, replaced by an anger which would’ve put a small sun to shame.
“Y’know, I was starting to feel a little sorry for you back there. Now? I’m not so sure.” Misty continued. “Credit where it’s due though, for a mud pony you’ve go- oofph!” She exclaimed, her head snapping back violently as the downed Applejack used her hind legs to uppercut the base of her jaw. Misty stumbled back from the blow, giving Applejack the room she needed to clamber back to her hooves again. There was fire in her eyes now, an insatiable urge burning inside of her to hurt the arrogant pegasus who’d made the last few months a living hell. She swung at Misty again with a yell, aiming squarely for the crest of her snout. The pegasus was tough though, shaking off the last blow like it was a mere pinprick and raised a hoof to block the strike. With a vicious snarl she slipped under Applejack’s guard with her hind legs, using her wings to do a quick on the spot summersault and sending Applejack crashing into the opposite wall back first. Unlike last time where she had gloated at her opponent’s misfortune, Misty piled on straight away, not giving the Earth pony a chance to even recover. She had Applejack in a vicious leg lock before a pair of burly hands ripped her off and hurled her away. Now free of her hold, Applejack made to lunge at her but someone moved between them.
“What the hell are you two doing?” The monstrous figure of Shane barked, easily holding both ponies away from other. A pack of guards behind him moved in, restraining both ponies.
“Practising, sir.” Misty said, glaring at Applejack venomously.
“Bullshit.” Applejack snapped back, wondering if she could throw off the three guards that held her back. She tried freeing herself but the combined strength of the burly guards holding her down was too much to shift.
“Still ready for round two, eh?” Misty Fly jeered.
“Enough!” Shane roared, stepping between the ponies and pointing to the three guards holding down Applejack “You three, take her down to the infirmary. Once she’s patched up bring her up to our office.” He glared at Misty. “You’re coming with me.”
***
In retrospect the most painful thing wasn’t the slow throbbing of her jaw from where Applejack had kicked her but the seemingly endless wait as the two humans let Misty stew outside. They seemed to debate for hours before Shane opened the door and motioned for the pegasus to come in.
As always the office seemed overly decorated, little ornaments that held no value or meaning to Misty adorning the walls and desk like trophies. An elegant chronometer sat on the back wall, remarkably out of place with the rest of the somewhat dingy space. Michael sat behind the ornate desk, a slew of paperwork and reports covering nearly every inch of the polished surface. He looked at her closely, a surprisingly flat expression on his face. It disturbingly reminded her of a look Spitfire would adopt before tearing into a pack of new recruits with the frenzy of a pack of sharks into a dying whale.
“Would you care to explain yourself?” He said, his voice as impassive as a rock.
Misty looked down. “I thought about what you said to me after Frontier Justice crashed and decided you were right.” She said levelly.
“And that you were wrong, Applejack and Big Macintosh are a bit more than cannon fodder.” Michael interjected.
Misty Fly coughed roughly. “I didn’t say that.”
Michael let out a heartfelt sigh. “So instead of bucking up, you lashed out?”
Misty bristled with anger. Wasn’t she the victim here? “I didn’t do anything.” She proclaimed.
“Having seen your attitude towards those two, I find that rather hard to believe.” Shane remarked dryly.
“She started it.” Misty complained, wincing as she breathed in and out. The adrenaline was out of her system now and the bumps and bruises from the fight were starting to hurt more than she had initially thought, her jaw in particular felt like it was being rubbed up against a whetstone.
“A likely story.” Shane said flatly, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
She looked between them with disbelief. “I’m telling the truth, sir.”
Michael looked over a small medical report that the infirmary had sent up. “You beat her up pretty good for what you say was self-defence.”
Misty stood up angrily, her body screaming in protest as she did so. “What, do you want me to just run away? She kicked me in the face!”
“No, you should’ve been able to sort something out before you came to blows.” Michael said sternly. “We should’ve done something.” He added his tone much gentler, feeling a little guilty. They should’ve done something sooner, tried to iron out the kinks in the relationship between the two teams… too late now.
“So what are you going to do to me?” Misty demanded.
Shane and Michael glanced at each other. “We’re considering putting you back to second line duty, team three is recovering well so they should hopefully be ready for duty, albeit a little undertrained, before Castle Bravo is finished.” Michael said firmly.
Misty shook he head disbelievingly. “No, you can’t.” She choked.
“You’re not calling the shots here, cadet. Teamwork is an essential skill, a skill you are grossly lacking in.”
For the first time since she’d arrived in the shatterdome, Misty Fly’s usually proud face showed defeat. “And my brother?’
“He’ll go with you, finding another drift partner for him would be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Ah…” She said, feeling like she’d been kicked in the gut again. She was surprised by how much the knowledge that they were punishing him as well affected her, her brother had never displayed an avid interest in the Jaeger program but he seemed happy here, even if he was privy to her thoughts some of the time. She could only guess how he’d take the news, most likely he’d blame her, just like he did for everything…
It struck her quite suddenly that for once, it was actually her fault. She swallowed a lump in her throat and bit the inside of her lip, she rarely acknowledged her mistakes but when she did it was usually a rather profound realisation.
“We’ll need some time to sort out the specifics but for the moment you’re grounded, understand?’
“Yes sir.” Misty muttered.
“Good, now get outta here.”
***
A few minutes after dismissing Misty Fly, Shane and Michael found themselves down in the shatterdome’s infirmary, a white-walled and sterile environment that seemed a little at odds with the somewhat Spartan facilities the Shatterdome also hosted. They drifted through silently, quickly finding Applejack under the eyes of an elderly looking orderly. The earth pony seemed less than thrilled at being back in the care of the shatterdome’s doctors so soon but made no verbal mention of it, the fierce glower she wore more than enough of enough of an indication of her mood.
“Well aren’t you Little Miss Sunshine?” Shane jeered. The cheeky look quickly fell off his face when Michael discretely stamped on his foot. A doctor drifted up behind them before he could protest.
“Nothing too bad, she’s a tough one.” He reported before turning to Applejack sternly. “Just so you know, fighting with your fellow cadets does count as exerting yourself. You’re staying here for a few days so that rib of yours can properly fix.” He said like a parent scolding a child. He glared at her again before moving off to tend to another patient.
“Ah don’t have to stay here again do I?” Applejack complained as soon as the doctor was out of earshot.
“Doctor’s orders.” Michael said with a shrug.
Applejack sighed explosively and folded her forelegs across her chest. “Great.” She muttered, her annoyed look turning even bitterer. It took Michael a moment to realise she was glaring at something behind them and turned to find Misty fly limping past with a nurse in tow. The nurse put her a few beds down from where they were and starting probing around the pegasus’ jawline with a trickle of magic.
“Magic.” Shane muttered under his breath. His tone wasn’t overly hostile but it held a trace of caution in it, caution which was far outweighed by awe.
“Magic.” Michael agreed. He watched as the aura vanished from around Misty’s jawline, making the pegasus shudder slightly. Seemingly pleased, the nurse started patching up her other wounds with an efficiency that any human doctor would’ve found impressive.
Applejack bitter look hadn’t left the Pegasus, although it seemed to have demised in intensity somewhat, the daggers which had shot of her eyes before thankfully vanishing. “What’s happenin’ to Misty?” She asked.
Michael didn’t look away from the pegasus in question. “We’re demoting her and Lighting Streak to auxiliary roles. We’re not going to tolerate infighting in our Jaeger corp.”
Applejack winced, she was as much to blame for the fight as Misty was. Getting rid of the arrogant pegasus was no doubt a small boon, but Applejack didn’t feel right letting somepony else take the fall for her actions. It just wasn’t fair, especially considering Lighting Streak was getting knocked down as well. She struggled internally for a few seconds, she could vindicate Misty Fly just as easily as she could condemn her.
“Sir.” Applejack blurted out.
The human turned around. “Yes?”
Applejack hesitated a moment. It would be so easy to simply say nothing and let her rival get knocked back… “Ah did it.”
Shane raised an eyebrow, an expression mirrored by his brother. “Come again?” Michael asked.
Applejack hesitated again, what if they demoted her and Big Mac instead of the other team? ‘No, it’s the right thing to do.’ She thought resolutely. “Ah started the fight.” She admitted.
The two humans snapped to look at her, a look of surprise on their faces.
“Did you now?” Michael asked quietly
Applejack nodded silently, wishing she could hide under her sheets from the two humans.
“Guess Misty was telling the truth then.” Shane muttered softly as Michael pulled him away from the hospital bed.
“Still leaves an issue with behaviour.” Michael pointed out. “The two teams just don’t seem compatible.”
Shane rubbed his face irately. “Misty has already been chewed out for her behaviour, she improved a little. If she did really try to iron things out and Applejack lashed out I don’t think we can punish her.”
“And we can’t afford to lose both of them, regardless of what their disciplinary records are like they’re both fantastic pilots.” He tossed a glance between Applejack and Misty Fly, neither seemed particularly happy with the situation.
“So what do we do then?” Shane asked.
Michael made an almost imperceptible shrug. “Misty provoked her, Applejack lashed out. Get Misty to drop the assault charges and give the two of them stern warnings. I really don’t want to drop either of them and I think they’ve realised there was a misunderstanding between them, hopefully.”
“So they get off scot-free, that sets a great standard.” Shane remarked dully.
“Do you want to drop either of them?”
“Not really, no.”
“Thought so, so unless you’ve got a better idea speak up now.”
Shane indicated he had no further opposition, as usual deferring to his brother’s more diplomatic outlook like he usually did in such situations. “How are you going to get Misty to drop it, what reason would she have to do that?”
“I’ll appeal to her better nature.” Michael replied, already aware that was a small flaw in his plan.
Shane adopted a wry smile. “She has one of those?” He asked.
“You’re not helping.” Michael remarked, making his way over to Misty’s bed.
Shane followed him reluctantly. “Oh there’s no way in hell she’s gonna go for this.”
***
The LOCCENT was comparatively quiet, only the low whir of fans and the occasional snatch of conversation working its way to his ears. He liked the graveyard shifts for this reason, the shatterdome had an odd charm to it when the work crews were away and the staffing at a minimum. Some thought it was creepy but for the slightly anti-social and awkward stallion it was a nice change from the regular clamour. The view out the wide window was beautiful as well, the floodlights casting long shadows on the sleeping giants that had started populating the bay. Without the dozens of ponies which seemed to crawl over the machines during the daylight hours the constructs seemed to take on a more organic quality, he liked to imagine each of them slumbering away, dreaming of whatever eighty metre high robots dreamt of. Torque smiled thinly, dismissing the thought and swung down into the low chair office chair which sat next to the main command console.
Torque ran a hoof over the console, wiping a small amount of dirt from between the controls. “Morning beautiful.” He purred before leaning back and relaxing in his chair, a comfortable one he’d bought himself to replace the tasteless hard-backed one which used to reside in the command centre.
“Didn’t think you thought of me that way, Torque.” A voice he immediately knew belonged to Skyray said from behind him. Torque swore internally, wondering how the pale mare always seemed to get the jump on him. It had become something of a morning ritual, Torque would stalk into the command centre and sit down, she’d appear and make some comment, they’d exchange a few pleasantries and then the whole process would repeat itself again the next morning. She smiled at the slightly embarrassed look on Torque’s face and chuckled lowly. “Feeling alright this morning” She asked, delicately swirling the last dregs of recaf around in her mug.
“Fine, yourself?”
She sighed quietly. “Same old, I swear though if that kitchen gives us that ground up vegetable shit again I’m going to flip.”
Torque smiled thinly, although living on base has its perks, the pony in charge of catering seemed to be a little unimaginative at times. He personally didn’t mind it but the occasional lack of variety seemed to rub some of the staff up the wrong way.
“You could go somewhere else for your meals.” He pointed out, quickly paging through the previous night’s log and thankfully spotting nothing out of the ordinary.
She leaned across the back of the console, her head in her hooves. She looked in his vague direction, the angry red scars across her face glaring up at him under the soft light. “Got somewhere in mind?”
Torque thought for a few minutes, absently setting the board’s controls back to his preferred layout. “There’s this place downtown that makes this weird stringy things with sauce, it’s pretty good.”
The pegasus baulked slightly. “Sounds… interesting?” She said sceptically.
“Nah it’s great, one of my friends was over here a few months ago for his birthday and he took me there. Delicious.” He affirmed, smacking his lips together for emphasis.
Skyray looked at him dubiously, an eyebrow slowly arching itself over her good eye. “Alright, consider me curious. How about you take me there for lunch?”
Torque shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure.”
She yawned quietly. “Alright, see you later then.”
“Yeah, later.” Torque replied, watching her leave the command centre with a slightly giddy feeling in his chest. He slapped the sensation down and returned his attention to the board, trying to not think about how long was left in his shift. ‘Yeah, no. Not gonad happen.’ He thought dumbly, already eyeing the clock warily.
“Well at least I have something to look forward to.” He said with an uncharacteristic smirk.
As if hearing him, the console started beeping; a high pitched drone which could only mean one thing.
“Movement in the breach, dilation indicates Category I signature.” The computer chimed right on cue.
“Oh you gotta be kidding me! I wasn’t talking to you, you glorified piece of-.” Torque exclaimed, words failing him as he spun around to collect the data the computer splurged out mechanically. Were the Kaiju really that inconsiderate? He finally got something that could remotely be called a date and a Kaiju just had to appear to ruin the mood, didn’t it? He glared at the steady stream of data crossly, now it just seemed personal...
‘This is why we can’t have nice things.’ He thought sourly. Whatever creature had decided to stock its arse through the breach was small, smaller than Thresher had been. Torque frowned and pulled up a sonar image, noting that although the creature’s mass was a bit lower than the last Kaiju’s, it seemed at least twice as tall as Thresher had been. There was also some weird feedback filtering back through the system, almost as if the Kaiju was attempting to dampen its signature. He glared at the image for a moment, watching the sonar returns as the large blob seemed to shift around in the water like a shark following blood for a few moments before assuming an arrow straight course. Whatever this thing was, it was moving quickly, powering through the water at a little over 240 kilometres an hour.
Despite his irritation at the Kaiju’s appearance he couldn’t help but be fascinated, this was the first time he’d managed to track one of the creatures for more than a few moments and the wealth of data the computer was churning out was truly incredible. They’d have to wait until one of the Jaegers pacified the creature to get precise information of course but he could already imagine the half-insane biologists who had taken to researching the creatures salivating over the new data… for whatever it was worth to them. He double checked his recorders, the creature was almost out of sensor range and it would be something indeed if he found out they hadn’t been recording when the data was later processed.
With a frustrated sigh he starting warming up the two Jaeger’s reactors, a slow warmth building in their chests as their hearts starting turning over and rousing the machine from its slumber. Torque flicked the intercom to the alien marshal’s office, hoping one of the creatures would be a wake at the early hour.
Equestrian Jaeger Corps ///////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Research Notes: Jaegers Author: Twilight Sparkle (J-Tech Research Division Head) Doc ID: 000231 D.O.P: Not cleared for general release ///////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Jaeger - [Pro: Yeager, Trans: 'Hunter']
Having extensively studied both the data files aboard Midsummer Night and Brawler Yukon, I have written this article as somewhat of a compendium concerning Jaegers. This note will briefly cover the purpose and the Mark (Mk.) system used to classify Jaegers
The purpose of a Jaeger from data collected is fairly obvious, kill Kaiju. What though, makes them excel at this so much more than any other platform? Their high cost, both in material resources and technological requirements make them no small feat to construct and maintain. This in of itself makes the prospect of building and maintaining a large fleet of Jaegers somewhat of a daunting prospect. From the data and information I have studied though, I believe I have discovered the reason for the superiority of a Jaeger over ‘conventional’ forces.
Firstly, a Jaeger is able to go toe-to-toe with almost any Kaiju, their large size allowing them to fight the beasts on their level rather than being forced to scatter or face certain destruction. This coupled with their immense strength and agility (even a relatively slow Jaeger like Frontier Justice could outrun and outmanoeuvre all but the fastest of armoured vehicles.) allows them to engage Kaiju and in most cases, destroy them. Their ample power supply allows them to mount heavier weapons than would be possible on conventional forces and their aforementioned agility allows them to bring them to bear much more efficiently as well. While costly to maintain and potentially volatile (While I cannot confirm it for obvious reasons, a runaway reactor reaction could be potentially fatal to both the Jaeger, crew and any nearby terrain features), a Jaeger’s power core could easily supply an entire city with its power needs if required.
In addition to the obvious combat benefits that a Jaeger would possess, it is also worth considering the morale boost that such a machine offers. Seeing an eighty metre high equine construction fight and defeat the creature that was tearing your home apart would no doubt give you reason to cheer. The popularity of the Jaeger program, even in its infancy, reflects this rather well.
Marks
The Mark system of classification is a little bit of a misnomer. While most ponies would normally assume that a higher Mk. Jaeger is better than a lower Mk. one. This isn’t always case, although generally I assume development of technologies would lead to improvements in Jaeger design rather than deteriorating quality (or so I’d hope…). In truth though, the Mk. of a Jaeger actually does little more than to refer to its year of manufacture.
Despite this, I have still managed to classify Mks. by using their defining characteristics. Note that I’ve used the human Jaegers found in the database as our Jaegers seem to not quite meet these guidelines nor do we have enough different Mks. to make an interesting comparison.
Mk.1s: Seem to be test beds and basic hulls, with fewer advanced systems in comparison to newer Jaegers. Interesting to note that despite their technological ‘roughness’ they are still brutally efficient, possessing enough power to either beat a Kaiju into submission or basic tricks which allows them to overcome an enemy. These Jaegers, despite the rapidity that they were assembled with, are mostly superior to anything we have manufactured as of yet.
I will also note at this juncture for all those who constantly remind me that our Mk.1 Jaegers bear some similarities to human Mk.1s that several of our own designs have indeed been based off successful human Mk.1s as the technology present in these machines is much easier to replicate and fabricate than higher Mks. I would expect as our technological aptitude increases our designs will become more divergent from human designs.
Mk.2s: These Jaegers seem to be simply redeveloped Mk.1s; system overhauls, improved software and more efficient systems built into Mk.1 or similar to Mk.1 hulls. These Jaegers also possess some measure of experimental capacity, a few being fitted with weapons or systems which seem to be unique to that Jaeger. Other than the extensive data on Midsummer Night that is available, little other information is available for this Jaeger design. Why this would be case I can only speculate on although the performance records of these Jaegers compared to the Mk.3s may have something to do with it.
Ref: Midsummer Night, Eden Assassin
Mk.3s: From what I can tell, these machines are the workhorses (no pun intended) of the Pan Pacific Defence Corp. Fitted with improved reactor technologies, stronger and lighter alloys, newer control mechanisms and interfaces and generally improved weapons, these Jaegers are a world above the Mk.2 design. Most Jaeger drops seem to involve at least one Mk.3 supporting two or three other Mk.2/1s over a wide deployment area. Although fitted with mostly unremarkable weapons and comparatively primitive construction, one Jaeger in particular, Gipsy Danger*, has achieved a record of five kills before destruction; an impressive feat considering the number of confirmed breaches on Earth.
Mk.4s: These are the elites, the best of the best. The Mk.4s are some of the advanced machines of their time, sporting a dizzying array of combat techniques, weapons and designs to accomplish their goal: killing Kaiju. Each of the five Jaegers in this class are highly attuned, being specifically designed around the unique abilities of their pilots. Probably the best example of this would be Crimson Typhoon, a three armed Jaeger hailing from the nation of China** which has a unique three pilot control system and if combat records and simulator drops are to be believed, capable of performing front flips in combat! I personally consider this method of combat highly impractical compared to the simply brute efficiency of the original Mk.1s and the newer Mk.3s suggesting that these Jaegers were created to show the perceived superiority of Jaegers over Kaiju, a guess that their mostly solo combat record seems to support.
Ref: Mammoth Apostle, Crimson Typhoon
Mk.5: According to records there is only one Mk.5 in existence, the Australian*** Jaeger Striker Eureka. There are annoyingly few files on the Jaeger itself though, leaving anecdotal evidence the main source of information. According to my dubious sources (two humans who I’m quite sure were just messing with me at this point.), the Jaeger is capable of running at over 350 kilometres an hour at length, weighs about as much as a feather, has brass balls the size of a county (I feel this is a joke I’ve missed, brass would hardly be a suitable material to construct a Jaeger with) and can disembowel a CAT IV Kaiju in under thirty seconds single-handedly. How much of this is actual fact and not just fancy remains to be seen.
Ref: Striker Eureka
* Despite my best attempts to divine some sort of naming pattern for Jaegers I’ve managed to come up with absolutely nothing other than pure whimsy and what Shane describes as ‘Rule of cool.’
** A well-developed nation on Earth. While my attempts to research the human home world have netted some results, the two main sources of information (i.e. Shane and Michael) have so far been unwilling to part with much information.
*** Another nation of Earth whose dialect of speech is what I can only describe as incomprehensible.
///////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Equestrian Jaeger Corps
An alarm ringing quietly next to Applejack’s head made her open an eye sleepily. It sounded familiar somehow, like something she’d heard countless times in training before.
Before she could fully process the thought she felt a hoof on her shoulder.
“AJ, get up. We’ve got trouble.” Big Mac said softly.
“What, what is it?” Applejack moaned, wishing her ribs didn’t feel like a hive of bees had taken up residence in them. It had been nearly a week since her dramatic fight with Misty, several days of awkwardly avoiding the pegasus in the halls and focusing on getting herself back into prime condition. Misty, much to Applejack’s surprise, had dropped the assault charges against her, making Applejack wonder if the pegasus was going to start playing nice. It seemed distinctly unlikely though as the first time she’d bumped into a still bandaged Misty, the pegasus had wasted no time in telling her how useless she was like she usually did. The attack had seemed less hostile than usual though, the usual edge and sneer of condescension missing from her voice. Applejack made an internal sigh of frustration, there was no telling what the cocky pilot thought of her.
“Kaiju alarm.” Big Mac explained, snapping Applejack back to the present. The tiny alarm suddenly seemed much louder, blaring urgently in her ears as some alien beast descended upon them intent on their destruction.
“We’re being deployed?’ Applejack asked, suddenly wide awake.
“Everypony is.” Big Mac said back. “Come on, we need to get moving.”
Applejack wasted no more time with talk, slipping out of bed and matting down the worst of her mane before setting off after Big Mac at a brisk pace. The older stallion led them up to the shatterdome’s LOCCENT, the unnervingly empty hallways echoing loudly with their hoofsteps.
“What time is it?’ Applejack asked, realising that they were the only ponies out.
“‘Bout four in the morning.” Big Mac said, stifling a yawn. “Too early to be working the farm even.”
Applejack made a quiet grunt in assent and focused on walking straight. The pain that had flared up in her ribs had faded to a dull throb that wormed its way persistently into her conscience, making her wonder if she’d be able to pilot Frontier Justice fine. She didn’t have time to voice these concerns to Big Macintosh though, as they rounded a corner and suddenly found themselves in a very busy command centre. Soarin and Wave Chill were already roosted up near the command terminal, fully suited up in their piloting equipment. Misty Fly and Lightning Streak sat just behind them, conspicuously bare compared to their two compatriots.
‘Right, Castle Bravo ain’t ready to drop yet.’ Applejack remembered, wondering how Misty and her brother would be feeling about that… probably pretty put out knowing them.
“Alright people, listen up.” A voice that could only belong to Shane barked out. Applejack spun around as the room fell silent, surprised to see the human also wearing a suit of armour. Unlike theirs, his was as pattern of brilliant white on black, standing out against the dull colours of the control room vividly. Michael followed behind him silently, also bedecked in a similar suit of interlocked plates. “We have a single confirmed breach, just a small Kaiju but we’re deploying everyone… not going to take any chances here though. A clear, flawless victory is what we want, understood?”
A chorus of affirmatives rang out around the room.
The LOCCENT chief came forward, looking slightly nervous. “We had a breach at urh…, around 0200. Dilation indicates a Category one class Kaiju.” He fiddled with a few controls and a rough silhouette appeared on one of the large screens overhead. He pointed at the series of large bumps which ran along what looked like the back of the creature. “Name is Quillback.”
“Luckily, he appears to be aiming for somewhere close by, outer district of Manehatten Island called Brookwater, if I were to guess right.”
Michael stepped forward again. “As Shane said, it’ll be a three team drop. Soarin, Wave Chill, you’ll be front-lining with us, standard patrol pattern.” He turned to look at Applejack and big Mac. “You guys will be holding the end-zone, stick along the shoreline. I know you want to be up front but you’re still injured.”
“Ah’m fine, sir.” Applejack protested.
“We still need someone up back in case this bastard somehow slips past anyway, your Jaeger is too slow to engage in a protracted pursuit.”
Applejack couldn’t argue with the logic behind his argument so bowed her head and offered no further protest.
He turned to Misty and Lightning Streak. “Sorry guys, you’re going to sit this one out.”
“Figured as much.” Misty said grouchily.
Michael gave her a fake smile. “Still, you can take this opportunity to maybe get some C&C experience.”
Misty shared a bored look with her brother. “Brilliant.”
Michael nodded contently. “Good, we all clear then?”
“Like good aquavit.” Soarin answered from the back of the room.
“Pardon?”
Soarin blinked, noticing that no one else had understood him. “Aquavit. It’s clear, sir.”
“Learn something new every day.” Michael said, his voice betraying his eagerness to get back into his Jaeger proper. “Right, let’s move!”
***
The next few hours were a frenzied rush of checks, preparations and pre-launch jitters which pushed the ground crew to the test. It wasn’t until well after sunrise that the first Jaeger was ready to roll down the ramp atop a new crawler on loan from the Equestrian Air Force. The mighty machine had arrived the day before last and everyone in the shatterdome was especially thankful for it now, the old Crawler Oh-Seven finally being condemned to the scrap-heap for the time being.
After filing out of the LOCCENT, Big Mac and Applejack were quickly fitted with their tight form-fitting drivesuits. They were heavier than the ones the duo was used to wearing, the thick plates and studier interface ports of the real suits much more noticeable than the ones fitted to the practice suits. The Jaeger bay was a short trip away from the suiting rooms, Frontier Justice being stored next to Castle Bravo near the head of the long bay. They brushed past a pair of technicians from Wild Mustang as they passed the catwalk leading out to the Jaeger’s conpod, the veteran Jaeger was already rolling out on the deck of a crawler.
Much to their surprise though were the two ponies waiting patiently at Frontier Justice’s docking berth. Leaning up against the wall with a bored expression was Misty Fly and behind her, a slightly more cheery Lightning Streak.
Applejack decided to ignore them, figuring they had just seen Soarin and Wave Chill off. It was a bit of a surprise then when Misty turned to her and spoke quietly.
“Hey.”
Applejack tossed her a sidelong glance, an expression mirrored somewhat more sternly by Big Mac. Despite his almost entirely phlegmatic outlook on life, he hadn’t taken kindly to Misty’s brawl with Applejack. The farmer was sure if he’d had the chance, he would’ve had a few things to say with his hooves to the pegasus.
Misty took their uncomfortable silence as a prompt to continue. “Look, I know we’ve never really…uh, seen… eye to, um. Eye.” She seemed to be really struggling with words, was it really that hard for her to admit her own fault?
”I just thought I’d, say, uh… Good luck.” Misty said, her eyes fixed on a small patch of flaking wall a metre to the right of Applejack’s head. She hardly seemed like she meant it but at least she was trying…
“Yeah, watch yourself out there AJ, I’d quite like you to come back in one piece.” Lighting Streak piped up.
Applejack suppressed a twitch. “Uh, Thanks.” She mumbled, fumbling with her drivesuit’s helmet awkwardly. She flashed a look at Big Mac, wondering if he’d say something so they could escape the increasingly awkward situation.
Misty looked around awkwardly, one of her forelegs idly swinging around slightly as the pegasus tried to figure out how she could leave without it feeling awkward. ‘Too late, it’s already awkward.’ Applejack thought stupidly.
“Well this is… uh, different?’ Misty struggled, looking at her brother for support but finding nothing other than a similarly blank expression.
Applejack looked at Big Mac, resisting the urge to laugh at the lack of basic social skills the normally proud and cocky pegasus was displaying. “Well, uh, this is our Jaeger I guess.” She said, happy to find a reason to get away from the other team. Misty’s behaviour was making her want to cringe and Lighting Streak… well, she wasn’t born yesterday; it was easy to see that he’d grown fond of her despite what Misty might’ve thought to the contrary. Make no mistake, he was a good pony, standing up for the two of them when things didn’t seem to be working out. Simply put though, she just didn’t feel that way about him.
The door leading out to the Jaeger bay swung open, allowing a technician to poke her head through the opening. “We’re ready to roll.” She announced, thankfully sparing any further awkwardness between the two Jaeger crews. She waved Applejack and Big Mac though and then quickly shut the door behind her.
As soon as the door had slammed shut Misty snapped around to look at her brother, a scornful look on her face. “You were an embarrassment.” She said flatly.
“And you weren’t, of course.” He said flatly.
Misty stuck her nose up slightly. “I think I handled myself just fine, thank you very much.”
He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Oh right, I’m sure your wonderful ‘speech’ would’ve made anypony applaud if they hadn’t been forced to remove their brains with a spoon to spare themselves the torment of listening to you.”
“And your fretful goodbye to your ‘gal’ was any better? I swear I felt my ears start to bleed.” Misty jeered.
Lighting Streak snapped his mouth shut and looked away. “Yeah, yeah.” He muttered through his teeth. His affection for Applejack was well known by his sister, a fact she remorselessly taunted him about at every opportunity she could. He’d hoped that with Misty’s opinion of Applejack (forcibly) improving, that she might give him a moment of respite but that seemed to not be the case.
“Don’t leave me Applejack, I don’t know what to do without you.” Misty cried with a remarkably good impersonation of his voice. She chuckled quietly, hoping that Applejack could still hear her through the thick steel door.
“Shut your face.” Lighting Streak growled back, trotting off before Misty could poke any more fun at him.
Misty made an amused sound in the back of her throat, completely unimpressed with her brother’s comeback.
***
The interior of Frontier Justice’s conpod was a welcome change to the interior of the Jaeger bay. The quiet, sealed environment was pleasantly cool, a stark contrast from the hot, steam filled Jaeger which echoed with clangs and shouts as the Jaegers were moved around. Besides the low purr of the Jaeger’s environmental systems and occasional beep from one of the control banks, the Jaeger was silent. The reactor buried deep in its chest was ticking over slowly, any slower and it’d shut down. The two pilots approached the centre of the cockpit, the floor neatly sliding away to allow the two ponies to clip themselves into the Jaeger’s systems.
“Those two seem… different.” Big Mac said quietly.
“You don’t need to tell me.” Applejack groaned, stifling a yawn and clipping herself into the Jaeger’s drivetrain.
“You know, Ah think that’s the first time she’s said anything nice to either of us.” Big Mac continued, happily accepting the two supporting cradles and snapping his control unit into place.
“Swell.” Applejack muttered, mimicking her brother’s actions a little more slowly.
“AJ?” Big Mac questioned. He’d have thought that Applejack would’ve been thrilled that their rival had at least started acting somewhat reasonably.
“Ah’m worried about a bit more than them at the moment.” Applejack admitted. She looked back at the locked conpod door nervously.
“Ah get it.” Big Mac said quietly. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
Applejack managed a weak smile. It was easy to tell that Big Mac was just as terrified as she was but he at least was making a good show of trying to keep it hidden. They were potentially about to face their first Kaiju and they hadn’t even taken a real step in a Jaeger yet.
‘Initialising pilot-to-pilot interface.’ The computer rumbled quietly, its voice whispering in through the back of the drivesuit’s helmet. Unlike the tinny sounds of the simulator It possessed a deep gravely quality, like two boulders being ground together in a deep quarry. ‘Initialisation complete, power-up sequence engaged.’
The conpod rumbled and creaked like a dog stretching itself after a nap, a few new lights dancing up on the control surfaces as the reactor quickly spun to life. The Jaeger jerked forward as its crawler’s tracks ground inexorably towards the wide doors yawning open at the end of the hall. Applejack felt a moment of vertigo, a brief flash if tumbling to the ground again before she returned to her senses; they were perfectly safe.
‘Pilot-to-pilot connection engaged, standby for Drift sequence.’ The Jaeger growled again.
Applejack barely had time to blink before what felt like a blue bucket of water was poured over her head. A rush of memories and feelings whirred past, a warmth from a fire in winter, the cold pang of despair as she tended to a failed crop, the sharp squeak of her sister’s voice as she munched on an apple messily… all condensed and rammed into the space of a microsecond. She instinctively wanted to shut it out but instead forced her mind open to accept a million unfamiliar memories, sights and smells that weren’t her own. As quickly as it had appeared, the icy water was scooped up and the world returned to normal, a new selection of lights and images appearing over their displays as the siblings fell into sync.
‘Neural interface achieved. Activating primary systems, bringing the Jaeger online.’ The computer thundered, its mechanical tone now considerably louder. With a creak of metal, Frontier Justice rolled forward, the top of the gaping metal doors passing scant metres above crest of the Jaeger’s conpod and then out into the warm early morning.
It must’ve been a shock to the local residents seeing not one, but three Jaegers roll down the shatterdome’s wide ramp in the morning. First had been Midsummer Night, the venerable Jaeger sporting its newly calibrated arm salvaged from Brawler Yukon and a wide box of missiles in place of its destroyed railgun.
Wild Mustang had rolled down next, the Jaeger stepping forward from the crawler eagerly as soon as it had reached the bottom of the ramp. It loosed a blast from its horn at the already departing Midsummer Night before plotting a course through the bay towards its patrol zone.
And last but not least came Frontier Justice, the sun gleaming from its fresh tan paint job and making it glow with an almost heavenly aura. This was a new Jaeger, one the public hadn’t seen yet and the brave (or stupid) ponies who had stayed out in the streets after the alert had been sounded stopped and stared at this new giant rolling down the ramp to protect them from an alien menace.
“Baby steps, AJ.” Big Mac said as the crawler slid to a halt and the crawler boss cleared them to step off. The two ponies looked down nervously, and after their last outing they were understandably nervous about the prospect of leaving the relative safety of the crawler’s deck.
“Like dunking for apples in a barrel.” Applejack said back nervously, taking a cautious step down. The weight of the Jaeger pitched forward slightly, then settled, as the Jaeger’s massive foot slammed down into the silty bottom of the bay. Applejack could feel the mud sucking at her hooves and the icy chill of water lapping at her knees. The feeling seemed so real she had to resist the urge to look down to check for water in the conpod.
A blip appeared on their tactical display, a large icon sitting out in the bay with shifting numbers underneath it, a marker for them to follow to their first mark of their patrol pattern. A rash of similar markers appeared one by one as either Michael or Shane uploaded a series of waypoints for them to follow.
Applejack shifted the Jaeger again, feeling a brief moment of resistance as the motors in the leg strained against the mud before pulling free. Frontier Justice lurched into a low, unhurried stride, pounding along the route marked out for them, an almost organic quality in their movements. Applejack let herself drift further into the shared consciousness, feeling the steady beat of Big Macintosh’s heart in her head and the panting of his breath as if it were her own. She could feel something else as well besides her brother, a low growl that snarled and lurked at the edge of her mind. She examined it, surprised to find it withdraw at her probe. It reminded her of a Timberwolf stalking its prey; it seemed to dart away when she focused on it and returned cautiously when she ignored it. She was tempted to bring the strange feeling to Big Mac’s attention but he seemed to have already noticed it as well, their shared thoughts giving him a front-row seat into her explorations of the drift.
‘Any idea what that is?’ Applejack asked mentally.
‘Nope.’ Big Mac replied truthfully.
Applejack frowned and pushed the feeling to the back of her mind, only for it to start scrabbling at the base of her skull like a persistent itch.
Applejack gritted her teeth together and tried to ignore it, instead focusing on the third waypoint. It almost seemed a little insulting, so much weight and power to throw around and here they were sitting back like a scolded child. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, it wasn’t normal her to be so… aggravated, impetuous even... she tossed a questioning look at Big Mac and he nodded slowly, evidently he could feel it as well.
She frowned. If it wasn’t him, what was causing it then?
Applejack was forced to dismiss the thought, the radio crackled to life as Soarin and Wave Chill reported in.
“We’re at the Mark, starting our sweep.” The pegasus said coolly. “I seriously can’t even see more than twenty metres ahead down here.” They were already out in deeper water, slowly patrolling several kilometres to their front. Midsummer Night was further south, guarding the southern inlet into the harbour. Frontier Justice itself was holding the harbour front, loudly marching a little over a hundred metres from the shoreline like a burly fullback protecting the backfield.
Applejack forced herself to relax, waiting for the calm to blow over was almost unbearable. It was unlikely she’d see combat but she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something big was about to happen.
“Contact… no, wait… it’s gone again. Strange…” Soarin piped up, his voice slightly distorted over the radio. Applejack heard a faint curse over the open link before the pegasus switched it off.
“LOCCENT, anything?” Shane barked, a faint pounding coming through the speakers as Midsummer Night pounded along the seabed somewhere to their south.
“Negative scopes are clear, actually… wait one-.”
Whatever the LOCCENT chief was going to say was cut off as Wave Chill cut across his transmission. “Got it again! At our 7 o’clock.” He yelled fearfully. The channel hissed with static and a yelp of pain and surprise for an agonisingly long moment before Wave Chill’s voice returned. “It blew right past us, couldn’t see a thing until it was right on top of us. We’re pursuing but it took a parting gift out of our leg. Damn that thing is fast!” He said, his voice warbling with interference.
“Oh hell.” Michael muttered. “Applejack, Big Mac. Looks like you’re up. Just hold it off for a few minutes, we’re on our way back in.”
‘Great’ Applejack thought. A few minutes may as well have been a few hours, most of the fights in the simulator were over in a matter of moments, the Jaeger either pounding the Kaiju into submission or being torn apart before a second engine could get involved.
She felt a quiet snarl of pleasure claw at the back of her mind but pushed it away, they had to focus now. She scanned the water closely, the harbour was probably too shallow for a Kaiju to swim past so the beast would be fairly obvious by the time it reached their position.
“There.” Big Mac said simply, marking out what looked like a large wave in the water on the tactical display. It was only a matter of moments away now, drawing closer and closer with worrying speed, an immense bow wave which swamped the few boats moored out in the harbour and dashed itself against the seawall with a mighty crash.
With a roar, the wave finally broke and a monster, a beast of unimaginable size and power spawned in a place that was the stuff of nightmares, rose from the bay. Water rushed in rivers down its thick, slimy hide, gleamed off its bony plates of armour and trickled down its long claws. Thin swirls of blue covered its forearms and its spiny back, a similar glow pouring from its mouth as it bellowed another alien screech. It looked like a grotesque hybrid between a Diamond Dog and a primeval lizard, an unnatural mix of smooth dark skin, chitinous plates and alien malice. An alien eye fully as big as Applejack locked onto them, a long and narrow pupil of the darkest black staring straight at the Jaeger. The creature howled again, slamming its meaty claws against the bed of the harbour in challenge. It loosed another intimidating roar which despite the circumstances, amused Applejack slightly; even if the creature had bothered to stand upright, it would’ve barely reached past the top of their shoulder socket. The difference in size didn’t seem to visibly faze it though, the beast howling and pounding away like a child throwing a tantrum.
“You know what Miss Pie always did for newcomers?” Big Mac drawled slowly.
“Threw ‘em a party.” Applejack responded automatically.
Big Mac looked at Quillback, his face lacking any emotion. “Ah think this fella needs cheering up.”
Applejack couldn’t help but smile, the creature did seem to be acting like a demanding child, even its baleful look seemed bang on. She moved her hoof down to the control panel and pressed a button.
Like a wrathful god, Frontier Justice’s fog horn rang out, the air between the two giants shaking as the giant bellowed out a single sustained note. The sound drowned out everything, the Kaiju’s roar seemed to die in its throat and turn to a pitiful whimper in comparison. The Jaeger growled, widening its stance and digging its feet into the thick mud. With another echoing boom from its horn, Frontier Justice smashed its two fists together eagerly, inviting the Kaiju to do something stupid, like charge it.
Instead, Quillback made an alarmed warble and took a step back. The desire to fight seemed drained from the Kaiju’s eyes, replaced by a sort of loathing fear. It took another step back before turning on a heel and running.
“Hey, get back here!” Applejack yelled, immediately breaking the Jaeger free from the sucking mud and giving chase. The Kaiju was breaking away though, bounding away on all fours like a frightened dog, yelping and howling as it finally realised it had picked the wrong mountainous metal monstrosity to pick a fight with.
“He’s getting away.” Big Mac said, pointing out the glaringly obvious with a sort of calm demeanour that he would’ve been more at place in their apple orchard.
“Ah can see that.” Applejack barked sternly. It occurred to her that the Jaeger had a harpoon and tow cable fitted for such a situation and she powered it on, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it sooner. A pair of orange circles projected itself over the view screen, zeroing in on the Kaiju.
‘Harpoon online, ready to fire.’ The computer growled, an insistent beeping coming from the drivesuit’s helmet speakers as the circles crossed over the Kaiju and tightened.
They didn’t need any more encouragement, the two harpoons whipping out from the Jaeger’s hips with a loud hiss like a pair of metal vipers. One smacked into the Kaiju’s back, ricocheting off its heavy armour harmlessly with a screech but the other found its way into the back of the Kaiju’s unarmoured knee, burrowing all the way through the joint and out the other side. With a howl of pain the Kaiju buckled, its knee completely destroyed by the nine metre long harpoon jutting through it. The heavy cable securing it to the Jaeger snapped taut for a moment, arresting the Kaiju’s forward momentum and leaving it writhing like a floundering fish in the middle of the bay.
“That was my one.” Big Mac said proudly, slowly reeling the line in.
“Lucky shot.” Applejack grumbled back, digging her feet into the mud again as the Kaiju tried hauling itself upright. Frontier Justice tilted forward as the Kaiju tried scrambling away but Quillback’s shattered knee, coupled with the sheer weight of the Jaeger at the other end of the line prevented it from getting more than a few metres. Frontier Justice closed to fifty metres, cautiously approaching the flailing Kaiju as the cable slowly reeled itself in. Quillback’s head whipped around and roared again, surging to its feet in an impressive display of tenacity. It charged at the Jaeger, loping forward awkwardly on all fours, screeching like a maddened Banshee. Big Mac warded its first frenzied blow away with a casual flick of the Jaeger’s wrist, leaving the roaring Kaiju open to the Jaeger’s other fist. Applejack didn’t waste a moment, slamming the other arm into the creature’s bony breastplate as hard as she could.
With a crack that left their ears ringing even through the conpod’s thick walls, the plate cracked into fragments, thin trails of blood and another vicious substance leaking out between the wild fissures that snaked along the armour plate. A few drops leaked into the bay and onto Frontier Justice’s fist, making the paint blacken and peel away. Quillback squealed in pain but leapt at the Jaeger again, adrenaline now fuelling its panicky motions. Applejack hadn’t expected it recover quite so quickly and barely caught its arm, one of its razor-sharp talons mere metres away from the conpod’s viewport.
With a mechanical whir Frontier Justice’s dexterous fingers wrapped around Quillback’s other gangly forearm and swung the suspended Kaiju at the ground like it would a sledgehammer. Quillback yowled in surprise, its claws tearing helplessly for purchase as it was yanked through the air with the grace of a whale piloting a blimp. It had a moment to enjoy the view of Manehatten before the unyielding ground rushed up again to meet it.
Tough as a Kaiju is, massive blunt trauma is no small thing. Bones cracked and blood vessels tore free as the Kaiju was slammed over and over again into the ground like an overly enthusiastic child with a toy. Its internal organs turned to paste, the consent pounding dashing them over and over again against its tough skeleton. It was only when Quillback’s unnatural eyes rolled up into its head and a faint whimper passed through its shattered maw did the Apple siblings finally dropped the beast, tossing it aside like a discarded lolly wrapper.
Applejack let out a sigh, panting heavily. Her ribs was starting to flare up again but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind. Big Mac gave the limp creature a cautious prod with one of their feet and let out a quiet chuckle. “All partied out.”
***
Needless to say, the atmosphere back in the Shatterdome could only be described as euphoric. No sooner than Applejack and Big Mac had stepped forth from Frontier Justice’s conpod they were swarmed by dozens of ponies, each more than eager to congratulate them, slap them on the back and cheer loudly. The LOCCENT chief was slightly less impressed, he was busy organising cleanup crews which were attending to the already decaying Kaiju’s carcass. A whole swathe of Manehatten’s waterfront was cordoned off and evacuated, Frontier Justice’s treatment of the Kaiju had done little to keep the beast intact.
“I had a date.” Torque complained dejectedly over the radio.
The mood sunk a little when Wild Mustang limped back into the shatterdome. The Jaeger had an ugly chunk torn out of its upper leg, sparks fizzing from shorted circuits and hunks of torn metal replacing the proud paint scheme the Jaeger had displayed. It would take at least a month or two to fabricate a new thigh and refit the Jaeger back to working order, leaving Soarin and Wave Chill slightly more sullen than anypony else.
The most dramatic change was in Misty Fly’s attitude though. when she congratulated Applejack and Big Mac, she didn’t look like she was addressing luggage. Applejack wouldn't have called her tone warm, but it was at least starting to sound somewhere near the realm of approachable.
It was almost midday before the shatterdome’s three operational Jaegers were stored, powered down and cleaned down of any Kaiju contamination, just in time for the chefs in the kitchens to roll out a massive feast to celebrate the pilot’s first victory. Plates of food stacked high were carted out, roast vegetables, pies, both savoury and sweet, sandwiches and other food besides prepared in such such quantity to feed the shatterdomes’s staff, a population that would have rivaled a large village.
Despite the good mood and mostly pleasant company, Applejack found herself unable to properly enjoy the festivities though, her thoughts continually going back to the itching snarl which had plagued the back of her head during the drift. She’d asked Shane and Michael but the two humans couldn’t provide any concrete information, leaving the farmer with more questions than she did answers.
***
Rainbow Dash yawned quietly, a ray of afternoon sun creeping between her eyelids and rousing her to wakefulness. She tried ignoring the sun for a few moments before remembering she was supposed to be working, maybe it was working checking if anything had happened while she’d been napping. She stretched herself out over her cloud, feeling her toned muscles strain themselves a few joints pop as she forced the rest of her body to wake up. Feeling that was at least awake enough to handle something resembling social interaction, she rose up on her haunches and looked over at the pony she shared the cloud with.
“Miss anything?” Rainbow yawned widely.
“Nope.” Thunderlane said back simply, lazing back against the soft Cumulus with his head against his fore hooves. He barely spared a glance in her direction, his entire attention focused on a small grey tuft which sped around the sky in a fashion that seemed decidedly unnatural for clouds.
“Rumble?” Rainbow asked with a tone that betrayed no sign of concern for the phenomenon.
“Yup.” Thunderlane answered.
“Figured.” Rainbow yawned again. “That kid has hardly left a cloud since I showed him how to make it rain on ponies.” She regarded the cloud with another idle glance. “Your brother’s a sadist.”
Thunderlane shrugged. Rumble wouldn’t ever hurt anypony, he just took after Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash well; he liked playing jokes on others.
Rainbow hid a quick smirk, at least Thunderlane had one redeeming quality. “What’s the time?”
“Around two, still a few hours till knock-off time.” Thunderlane answered wearily. “You know, I’m trapped on a cloud with the most beautiful mare in Ponyville for most of the day, you could at least try and make it fun for me.” He complained.
Rainbow Dash tossed him a silent look of disapproval. Thunderlane’s idea of ‘fun’ didn’t quite mesh with hers… just like a one metre wide square peg didn’t fit into a one centimetre wide octagonal hole.
Thunderlane took the look with a quiet snort of amusement. “Don’t know why I bother anymore.” He said with evident faux cheer.
Rainbow continued staring at him silently, the unamused expression never leaving her face.
A proverbial lightning bolt struck Thunderlane. “That reminds me, I’m taking next week off. Thought I’d get that out of the way now that I know for certain that you’ve said no for today.”
“Just like I do every day.” Rainbow shot back dryly. She dropped the nasty look she held and looked at Thunderlane curiously. “What do you need a week off for?”
“Wow, you really aren’t that bright. I took a week off last year at the same time, and the year before that, and the year before that…” Thunderlane jeered.
“Oh right, Brayford…” Rainbow muttered, allowing herself to feel a little foolish. The city of Brayford was host to a large festival around this time of year, Thunderlane seemed to always attend for some reason. Rainbow Dash couldn’t remember, but couldn’t be bothered asking about again.
“I’m taking Rumble this year, he loves the city. Mum and Dad took him a few times, but never to the actual festival. Said he wasn’t old enough.”
“He’s still just a kid.” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Would your mum and dad like you taking him?”
Thunderlane squirmed uncomfortably. “They’re not really in a position to complain.” He said lowly. The stallion brooded for a moment, his expression darkening for a moment. “Still, it’s a family tradition and I think he’d enjoy it.”
“Fair enough.” Rainbow shrugged. She didn’t really care what Thunderlane’s reasons were, if he was gone for a week though it simply meant having a week that she might actually enjoy.
“You could come.” Thunderlane suggested. “Well, next year at least. Good luck finding a place unless you wanna share a be-.”
“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” Rainbow warned.
Thunderlane smirked. “I’m thinking about it so hard. And you can’t stop me.”
Rainbow rolled over to look at him. “You are playing a very dangerous game, Thunderlane.”
Thunderlane smiled. “I don’t see you doing anything about it.”
A shrill scream and a torrent of childish laughter split the air but either of the pegasi paid it any heed. Rainbow’s glare narrowed as Thunderlane’s grin spread.
“Rainbow Dash!” A voice that Rainbow was all too familiar with shrieked.
Rainbow ignored it, she wasn’t done with Thunderlane yet.
“Rainbow Dash get down here now you- you-!” The voice called again, a mixture of highly unladylike language drifting as words failed the owner.
With a sigh of frustration, Rainbow Dash scurried forward on her belly and peered down at the street below, unable to ignore the mixture of anger and anguish which drifted up to where she and Thunderlane were roosted. Rainbow dash was completely unsurprised to see Rarity standing in the middle of the deserted street, her coat and mane dripping with water. She made a mental note to deal with Thunderlane later… a note she’d probably forget about anyway. He wasn’t worth her time, and she frankly had better things to do.
Like taking another nap.
“Oh, hey Rarity.” She said like she was completely surprised to see the unicorn. The sudden scream she’d heard before now made sense, the cloud Rumble had been ‘playing’ with had obviously found a target. Rumble himself though was nowhere to be seen, the cheeky colt having obviously fled the scene before anypony could properly hold him to account for his actions.
“You … you-!” Rarity spluttered, words failing her again as streams of freezing water trickled down her body. Although Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell which from her distance, it looked like Rarity was either shivering or shaking in rage… Rainbow sincerely hoped it was the first, Rarity was a downright pain when she got angry.
“Me?” Rainbow asked with a strategically hidden look of amusement. She waved Thunderlane forward, their animosity forgotten at the chance to have a good laugh at Rarity’s expense.
Rarity finally seemed to overcome the shock of having a cloud’s worth of water dumped on her head. “You know, Rumble used to be the most charming little colt before he started spending time with you!”
Rainbow shrugged her wings and stifled a laugh. “Lighten up, I’m just teaching to kid to have some fun.”
“That’s not my definition of fun.” Thunderlane snickered, receiving a solid kick to the flank for his trouble.
Rarity’s look of outrage panned over to Thunderlane, expecting the stallion to back her up. Her glare burned into the burly pegasus for a few seconds before he realised her scathing look had landed on him like a crosshair.
“Uhh...” He said noncommittally, unsure of which of the two mares he would rather stay in the good books of. Rainbow Dash thankfully saved him the trouble by leaning over the edge of the cloud and looking down at Rarity.
“What’da want Rarity? We’re kinda busy.” She asked pointedly.
“Yes, so busy keeping the sky clear that you can laze on a cloud for hours on end.” Rarity said scathingly.
“Sky’s clear, isn’t it?” Rainbow questioned.
Rarity didn’t want to admit this point so instead concentrated on restoring her mane to its previous state, wringing great fountains of water out of her hair with her magic. “Pinkie got a rather interesting parcel from Twilight and Applejack. It’s for all of us so I-.” She was cut off mid-sentence as Rainbow Dash shot upright, suddenly very interested.
“What is it?” Rainbow interrupted, nearly bounding up and down on the fluffy cloud excitedly.
Rarity let out a quiet huff of irritation. “I don’t know, we were all going to open it together.”
Rainbow Dash looked back at the cloud and then back at Rarity. It was tempting to curl up again, take another nap and then use Thunderlane as a punching bag but the prospect of something from Twilight and Applejack was too good to pass up. Maybe it would be some part of one of the mighty machines her friend piloted, or maybe a tooth from the creature Applejack and Big Macintosh had crushed not long ago.
“I’m going to go check this out, keep an eye on things Thunderlane.” Rainbow ordered, floating down to the ground with a single leisurely flap of her wings.
“Alright.” The stallion said dully. He gestured to the almost cloudless sky at large. “Looks like it’ll be a tough one, I can tell I’m going to have my hooves full.” He added dryly.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, just enjoy your cloud.”
“I’ll enjoy it faster once you’re gone.” Thunderlane jeered back.
Rarity snickered quietly, poorly hiding a small smile behind her hoof.
“Don’t encourage him.” Rainbow complained, moving away from the low hanging cloud as fast as she could without leaving Rarity behind. The unicorn had cunningly not told her where they were meeting, presumably so she would at least have somepony to talk to while she walked there rather than simply being left behind in a trail of rainbows and clouds of dust.
Rarity smiled thinly and continued cleaning her mane, making it look like a respectable mess, rather than the complete mess the wave of water had turned it into. She let Rainbow stew for a few moments, despite being part of the same group of friends it was fairly easy to say that Rainbow Dash and Rarity were the most distant; they rarely talked and even when they did the conversations usually ended up fairly one-sided.
“So you and Thunderlane..?” Rarity asked, prompting Rainbow’s face to screw up with disgust.
“Y’know, I think you make a point of bring that up at least once a week.” Rainbow butted in crossly. “And for what’s hopefully the last time, it’s nothing like that. I’m stuck with Thunderlane like Winona is stuck with fleas.”
“Then why are you always spending time with him?” Rarity pointed out.
“Because he’s my partner on the weather team. I’d much rather be stuck with him than have somepony like Flitter around all day, all she talks about is boys and doing her mane. Like you.” Rainbow shot back.
“And I suppose all you talk about is flying fast and going to the gym.” Rarity said flatly.
“One; I also talk about racing which is completely different to flying fast and two, I don’t go to the gym, I workout at home.” Rainbow corrected.
Rarity let out a quiet snort of amusement. “Fascinating.”
“Hardly.” Rainbow muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
Rarity made another quiet sound in the back of her throat and fell silent, unwilling to attempt a conversation again.
“So do have any idea what this thing is?”
“Other than a box, no. Spike wasn’t very clear.” Rarity responded idly.
“Spike eh, that means it’s at the library right?” Rainbow Dash asked, spreading her wings hopefully.
“I didn’t say tha- no, no, no- wait..!” Rarity exclaimed, too late as Rainbow took to the sky in a flurry of feathers and what felt like a miniature storm of swirling dust and leaves.
“Thanks Rarity!” the pegasus cried distantly.
Rarity sighed dejectedly. “You’re welcome…”
***
Much to Rainbow Dash’s surprise, Fluttershy and Pinkie were already at the Golden Oaks library when she arrived, the yellow pegasus sitting quietly in the corner with a book that could’ve been used to crush a small dog set in front of her. Pinkie on the other hand was bouncing around as she was usually prone to doing, occasionally knocking a book free with a careless swipe of her tail or mane. Spike padded along behind her with an annoyed expression, replacing any of the books that Pinkie knocked down as she bounded around like a destructive monster.
“Oh, hey.” Spike said flatly as he noticed the door swing shut. The young drake had been in charge of the library in Twilight’s absence, a task Rainbow would’ve found rather onerous at the best of times… still, there was no one else to do it and Spike didn’t seem to mind it that much. “Where’s Rarity?”
“Uh… she had to do her mane.” Rainbow Dash improvised quickly, looking around the library for the package Applejack and Twilight had sent them. Her eyes immediately fell on the small, beaten parcel sitting on the table in the centre of the library, the official looking stamps and large red ‘FRAGILE’ sticker instantly catching her eye. “This it?”
“Yup.” Spike answered, placing yet another book back on the shelf. “Pinkie, would you mind?”
“Sorry, I’m just so excited, I mean we haven’t heard from Applejack and Twilight for such a long time so this is really special!” The obnoxiously pink pony replied, stopping mid bounce and rooting herself to the hard wooden floor.
“Special.” Rainbow echoed, shaking the box cautiously. It certainly didn’t sound like anything interesting.
The door swung open and shut again as a slightly flustered Rarity swept into the library, her eyes immediately locking onto the back of Rainbow Dash’s head furiously.
“Oh hey Rarity.” Rainbow dash said cheerily. “Guess we can open this up now.”
The words had barely left Rainbow’s mouth before Pinkie tore into the package like a chainsaw into the trunk of a tree, strips of cardboard, tape and packing foam flying everywhere like pieces of shrapnel. Fluttershy dived behind her book, only poking her head out again once the dust had settled.
“A tape?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “That’s it?!” She swooped down into the debris of what had been the box, searching for something else amid the torn packaging.
“I think it’s… uh, splendid.” Rarity hazarded, levitating the large reel of tape up to eye level. She read it for a moment before turning to Spike. “Spike dear, be a darling and fetch the projector would you?”
Spike bowed lowly and scurried off to find the library’s projector, a cantankerous old machine that was well and truly past its prime but still used frequently enough to warrant it not being thrown into the trash.
“Found a letter.” Rainbow dash announced, pulling a miraculously undamaged letter from the pile of shredded packing material. She flipped it over, the front was covered in curly script that she’d come to associate with Twilight’s writing and the back was sealed with an official looking wax seal. Without waiting for anypony else she cracked the seal open and tugged the folded letter out from the envelope, he eyes quickly moving from side to side as she read down the page.
“Apparently this tape is a copy of some footage from when Applejack went out in her machine last.” Rainbow dash explained, her voice growing a little excited. She’d been following the Jaeger program closely and it was no surprise to her that her friend had done well against her first Kaiju.
“Anything else?” Rarity enquired.
“The usual. Miss you all, blah blah… come on, I want to see AJ kick some flank!” Rainbow Dash insisted, passing the letter off to Rarity.
“Oh, I don’t think fighting is really my sort of thing.” Fluttershy said, looking down at her still open book awkwardly. She seemed set to retreat to the edge of the library but Rainbow Dash caught her before she managed to flee.
“Come on Fluttershy, it’ll be fun.” She insisted, plopping Fluttershy down in the middle of the library. “Provided that Spike ever finds that projector.”
As if hearing her, Spike reappeared from the library’s store room, the dusty projector laden on a dubious looking trolley. He struggled with it for a few moments, shoving it so that it would shine onto a large projection screen Pinkie had been thoughtful enough to set up. It took Spike only a few more moments to set the old machine working, he was well acquainted with the correct procedures, and wasn’t prone to, say, putting the tape in upside down as many ponies seemed to be.
A slightly grainy image flickered into view and the four ponies fell silent as the picture resolved itself into a recording from one of Frontier Justice’s shoulder mounted cameras. There was a brief stutter and the image suddenly panned over a massive beast standing a little over knee-deep in the water. It howled at the Jaeger, although silent in the picture, its intent was well understood by its audience. The camera shook violently and the Kaiju paused, evidently the Jaeger had done something to intimidate it. The Kaiju took a faltering step backwards before turning tail and loping off.
“Yeah, run it down!” Rainbow Dash cheered, subconsciously rising half a metre of the ground in excitement. As if hearing her, the Jaeger started ponderously pursuing after its quarry, its slow pace being easily outstripped by the nimble Kaiju. She was worried that it was about to get away when a pair of metal barbs shot from the Jaeger’s hip, burrowed through the creature and tripped it over. The beast snarled silently again, leaping at the Jaeger like a coiled up jack-in-the-box. Their vision was obscured for a moment as a massive claw blocked half of the camera, scrabbling helplessly at the Jaeger’s heavy armour. The obstruction only lasted for a second, the massive Kaiju being hauled skyward and being swung around like a primitive club. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie cheered again, not noticing Fluttershy wince each time to the monster slammed into the unyielding earth. The Jaeger’s relentless assault continued until the creature finally lay limp, a shattered mess that was discarded with a casual ease.
“Yeah, Applejack! You rock that meanie!” Pinkie cheered as the film petered out with a clatter of flapping tape.
“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow Dash laughed. She looked around, noting that only Pinkie seemed anywhere near as enthusiastic as she was. Rarity had a flat look plastered over her face, sheer indifference and perhaps a trace of disgust pouring from her eyes. Fluttershy on the other hand looked like she was going to be sick.
“That was horrible,” she choked, “That poor creature… It was so scared.”
“Fluttershy, you’ve seen what these things do for yourself.” Rainbow said flatly, “Don’t tell me you’re starting to sympathise with them.”
“Well, maybe they’re not all like that.” Fluttershy rebutted. “Maybe it was just scared and lonely?”
“Yeah, sure. Lonely and hungry more like it.” Rainbow Dash said back flatly.
“Well, I think you’re wrong.” Fluttershy said with uncharacteristic conviction. She gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look, snapped her thick book shut and stormed out of the library.
“What’s her problem?” Rainbow Dash commented, as usual displaying her great insight into the minds of other ponies.
Rarity pulled an awkward smile. “Your social skills are an inspiration, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity said dryly, “I suppose somepony should talk to her before she does something rash…”
Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at her blankly.
“I suppose that pony is going to be me, isn’t it?” Rarity continued, her voice so flat it made a salt plain look rugged.
“Shotgun!” Pinkie called out, bouncing up and down next to Rarity with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, wondering belatedly if it was really a smart idea to question Pinkie’s thoughts.
The pink pony shrugged. “I call shotgun,” She said succinctly.
“Right.” Rainbow Dash said slowly, deciding that it was better to not inquire further. “Well, I don’t know about you two, but I really want to get in on this Jaeger thing.”
Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash like she thought she should be in an institution. “You want to be a pilot?”
“Yeah. Being a pilot is really hard, not many ponies can do it.” Rainbow Dash stated proudly.
“And you think you’ve got the stuff I suppose.” Rarity said, an eyebrow arched gracefully over one eye.
“Think so? I know so.” Rainbow said back proudly.
“And what about your dream of joining the Wonderbolts?” Rarity asked.
“Well, like half of the Wonderbolts are already in the Jaeger program. All the good ones anyway.” Rainbow said with a dismissive wave.
“Well that’s good for you Dashie, maybe we can pilot one together?” Pinkie exclaimed, standing up on her hind legs with well-practised ease and making a range of mechanical noises with her mouth. She took a step forward, wobbled precariously for a moment before tumbling over and landing in a pile.
“Might still to work on that a bit, Pinkie.” Spike said, carefully reshelving a few books which had toppled down along with the bubbly pink pony.
“Yeah… besides, I’m not really sure if we’d match up too well Pinkie.” Rainbow said cautiously.
“What do you mean? We’re like two peas in a snuggly wuggly pod.” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling Rainbow Dash into a rib-breaking hug any grandma would be proud of.
“Uh… right.” Rainbow wheezed, struggling to free herself before Pinkie crushed something vital.
“I think what Rainbow dash is trying to say is that you might not be looking at it from quite the same point of view.” Rarity explained gently, wondering if she needed to find a crowbar to lever Rainbow Dash out of Pinkie’s hug.
“Whaddya mean?” Pinkie asked, deflating slightly but keeping her iron-strong grip on Rainbow Dash
Rarity searched for the right words for a few moments “I think Rainbow here might be taking it a little more seriously than you are.”
“Pinkie you can let go of me now...” Rainbow coughed.
“But I am being serious about it.” Pinkie protested.
“Can’t breathe…”
“Pinkie, please don’t be offended when I say this… but she wants to do her best, show the world what she’s made of. You on the other hand just seem like you go in and have a laugh, make an adventure out of it.” Rarity explained insightfully.
Pinkie looked down at the Rainbow maned pegasus she still had her forelegs wrapped around. “Oh, ok.” She tilted her head to the side like a curious dog and smiled at Rarity. “That makes sense I guess, no offence taken.”
“Brilliant, now I think you should let Rainbow go before you choke her, her face is turning blue.”
“Her face was already blue.” Pinkie pointed out.
“Bluer than normal.” Rarity stressed.
“Oh, so it is.” Pinkie said like she’d found a stray Bit behind the couch and released Rainbow Dash from her hold. The pegasus immediately took to air, gliding through the library and landing up in the loft with a relieved groan.
“Rarity’s pretty much right.” She said, peering over the edge of the raised reading area suspiciously.
Pinkie sighed wistfully. “I just wish I could go with one of my best friends.” She said, wasting no time in shifting her hopeful look to Rarity.
“I don’t think it’s really my sort of thing, dear.” Rarity said as if she was warding off a persistent vacuum cleaner salesman.
Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, it was worth a shot.”
“What about Maud?” Rainbow asked helpfully.
Pinkie perk up a bit, as if the thought had somehow escaped her mind. “That’s a great idea, I’m sure Maud would be thrilled at the idea!”
Rainbow wanted to point out that the words ‘Thrilled’ and ‘Maud’ probably weren’t quite the right combination but enough common sense to keep her mouth shut and let Pinkie ramble on a little longer.
“What bout you Dashie? Who’d you partner up with?” Pinkie asked, her head tilted to the side like a curious dog.
Rainbow stammered awkwardly for a few moments, the thought hadn’t really crossed her mind at all. She was so convinced she had the guts to pilot a Jaeger but had completely neglected the fact that unless she wanted her brain to start running out her nose, she needed somepony else to do it with. “I dunno.” She managed, loathe to admit that she hadn’t thought of it at all.
“Something to think about then, eh?’ Pinkie suggested.
“It’s not quite as easy as it sounds Pinkie.” Rainbow shot back. “My co-pilot would have to be able to keep up with me, not an easy task, I can assure you.”
“Oh yes, their ego would have to be even more grating than your own, I’m sure that’ll be easy to find.” Rarity interjected. “If only you could clone yourself, you’d feel right at home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous..” Rainbow scoffed, oblivious to the sheepish grin Pinkie wore.
“Well then, my dear, tell me whom you would go with go with?” Rarity persisted. “I can’t think of anypony that suits your very demanding requirements.”
Rainbow Dash racked her mind. Nopony around town that would suit her sprang to mind. Besides her friends she didn’t have many ponies she was close to… and she wouldn’t trust some random stranger inside her head.
“How about Thunderlane?” Rarity teased, enjoying the frustrated look that spread across Rainbow Dash’s face as she tried to think of somepony else.
“Ugh, you’re making it hard to think.” Rainbow Dash complained, shuddering at the thought of piloting a Jaeger with Thunderlane. She needed somepony more serious, somepony who was both rock hard and sufficiently awesome. She struggled for a few more moments, trying to not look at the obnoxiously cheery look Rarity still had plastered over her face when a thought suddenly came over her. She smiled thinly. Yes, that’d do quite nicely…
She turned to Rarity, a confident smirk on her face. “I got an idea.”
***
The bridge of the REN Apocalypse was uncharacteristically quiet, a rather uneventful evening that seemed remarkably out of place in the warship’s usually bustling command centre. A mere light frigate in the Royal Navy, the Apocalypse’s only noteworthy feature was its name, a title inherited from a destroyer which had originally served with distinction in the Griffon-Equestrian war dozens of years ago. The frigate was sailing off the coast, en route to a rendezvous with a resupply vessel before finally returning to its homeport in Fillydelphia, still almost another week distant The Apocalypse had been out for several weeks already, laying and conducting maintenance on a series of sensor-buoys moored in deep water off the coastline. They’d been lucky enough to miss the Kaiju attack on Manehatten, the creature skirting far north of their operational area. That was almost two weeks ago, though, and now was old news, even if the crew still continually talked about the crushing victory the Jaeger Corp had enjoyed over the monstrous alien.
A light breeze was blowing in from the south, making the thick cloud cover which heralded a distant storm race across the sky like shadowy streaks. A few rays of moonlight peeked through the thick cloud cover but the ocean was mostly a massive black shifting mass, creating a light swell which made the frigate rock back and forth in a hypnotic manner. The ship’s crew were tired, the change of watch was near and many of the 124 strong crew still on duty were wistfully dreaming of their bunks below decks.
The commander of the ship, an old earth pony named Pastel found himself slouching in his chair, his eyes lazily focused on the young officer manning the con. He’d commanded the Apocalypse for nearly fifteen years, fifteen years of feeling the faint rumble of engines below deck and hearing the now familiar squeaks and groans that the old ship had acquired over its long service.
“Sir?”
Pastel ignored the quiet voice, his mind lost in a swirl of memories and fatigue.
“Sir?” The voice said again.
Pastel finally snapped from his stupor, turning his head to see his XO standing behind him, his face bearing an inkling of concern. “The watch is changing.”
“Ah yes, of course.” Pastel said, finding himself loathe to leave the bridge. He’d been dreaming of the lead up to the Kaiju attack in Bolton. He had been absent when that order had come through and since it seemed that when anything bad happened, it happened when he was off duty. An electrical fire in the engineering spaces last week? He’d been asleep in his quarters. Two crew falling overboard? He’d been eating lunch in the wardroom. What was next in store when he left his post? He shuddered, a wave of paranoia washing over him. He was tempted to stay on the bridge for a while longer but he’d already pulled a triple watch, his underlying paranoia driving him to the edge of exhaustion.
He needed to sleep though, and the next four hours had promised to be uneventful, the weather was forecast to pick up in the late morning, but for now even the wettest of sailors could have navigated the waters they were sailing through. The majority of the crew was below decks, sleeping away or attending to other duties and for what felt like the first time since the voyage had started, Pastel felt like he could leave his paranoia at the door and actually have a reasonable night’s sleep. He gratefully surrendered the commander’s chair to the XO, slinking out of the bridge along with a few other crew who were fortunate enough to be relieved. Pastel found himself smiling as he clambered down a steep staircase. It was almost funny how worried he’d been about something bad happening, completely unjustified! What was he doing losing sleep over it? There was nothing wrong.
Nothing wrong at all.
The entire frigate suddenly shook from end to end, a grating sound of metal shearing and bending tearing at Pastel’s ears. The deck suddenly bucked sideways, slamming Pastel against the bulkhead. The world seemed to spin around as the boat slewed hard to starboard. It didn’t take a genius to figure something bad had happened.
Picking himself off the wall which had temporarily become the floor, Pastel galloped back to the command bridge, dodging a few other injured crew who had had just finished their watch and were heading back to their bunks. An alarm was howling now, the ship had already gone to general quarters.
“What the heck just happened?!” He barked as soon as he entered the bridge, his exhaustion very much forgotten in the wave of adrenaline that now pumped through his veins.
“There was another ship! Came right out of the night and nearly ran us over, sir!” The executive officer explained, helping another pony to her hooves. “We spotted it at the last moment, and got out of the way. Barely.”
Pastel’s mind spun into overdrive, how had his crew missed another ship so easily? “Damage?” He asked automatically.
His XO shook his head unsteadily. “Still trying to figure that out.” He winced and raised a wing, a few streaks of blood running down his flank and wing from where fragments of the shattered bridge windows had torn through him.
“Get down to the medical bay.” Pastel snapped, snatching up a pair of magnifiers that had tumbled against the wall. He dashed out to the lookout post of the starboard side, searching the waters for the rogue craft which had nearly totalled his frigate.
“There, sir. Bearing… uh, 081.” His XO pointed out, stubbornly staying on deck despite his injury.
Pastel glared through the magnifiers, easily making out the tail of a retreating freighter. It was a massive ship, easily twice the size of his own. It was a miracle it hadn’t torn them in half.
“Get after it. Prepare a boarding party and get me a casualty and damage report on the double.” Pastel growled.
“Sir, what about the wound-.”
Pastel’s eyes shot fire at his executive officer. “That bastard just rammed us! Get us underway now, I want her captain’s head on a platter!”
The officer baulked. “Yes sir.”
Pastel felt perhaps a little guilty for being so stern with the pony, but who could blame him? He stared after the freighter again, noticing that its running lights were off and the ship didn’t appear to have even noticed that it nearly crushed the frigate beneath its bow. The deck shifted again as the frigate came about, the water behind them churning and frothing as the propellers noisily spun up to speed and started slicing through the water. They quickly gained on the lumbering freighter, the light frigate cutting through the light ocean swell with the ease of a knife through butter. The bow was bent at a slight angle from the collision but the Apocalypse carried on unfazed, eagerly churning after the ship which had so nearly sent it to the bottom.
“Got a name off the stern. RV Intrigue. It’s an Equestrian registered trading vessel, sir.” The officer of the watch piped up.
“What’s it doing so far out of the trade lanes?” Pastel mused.
“Not a clue.” The watch officer said after an uneasy moment, scanning the lifeless ship with another pair of magnifiers.
The frigate drew up alongside the massive freighter, the lack of any sign of the ship’s crew starting to concern Pastel. Certainly they’d be able to see the frigate now, the dozens of lights along the forecastle alone made it fairly hard to miss. Heck, how had they missed them in the first place?
“She’s not responding to our hail, sir.”
“Is the boarding party ready?” Pastel asked, the familiar sense of paranoia making his hooves itch slightly.
“Waiting for the word.”
Pastel let out a frustrated sigh. “Send them in then.”
***
Breeze checked and then double checked his harness, wearily shaking the sleep out of his eyes. He could barely follow the barked orders of his team leader, never mind play with the fiddly straps which held the flexible device together. He yawned quietly, wishing he could just go back to his bunk and go back to sleep. He had just pulled a double watch, now he had to board a vessel which had apparently come out of nowhere, and nearly turned them all into a big soup can.
Not exactly his idea of a fun time.
Breeze’s thoughts were broken by a loud yell. “We are a go, everypony out on deck!” His team leader, a rough pegasus that everyone simply called Boss, barked. Breeze stifled another yawn and trooped out, the sea spray and cool breeze which blew in from the south instantly snapping him from his drowsy trance.
“Team one, we’re securing the tower. Team two will provide security from the fore deck and sweep the holds.” Boss barked, spreading his wings and snapping the heavy illuminator on the crest of his helmet on. A moment later the rest of the team followed suite, following their leader into the remarkably pleasant flight conditions. A few loud cracks indicated that the unicorns of team two had teleported across the gap between the two ships, no small feat considering the distance and the unsteady nature of both vessels.
Boss looked down on the dark ship, already pointing out the obvious signs of trouble. “No crew on deck. No lights either. Ship looks like it’s in a bad way.” The pegasus pointed out a series of deep lacerations in the flanks of the ship, like a monster had clawed its way out of the water and onto the deck. Breeze immediately thought of the Kaiju, massive alien beasts which everypony was all too familiar with. They had fought at Bolton and watched with horror as the invading monster had waded through their fleet’s shell storm like it was a barrage of eggs.
“Think it was one of them Kaiju, sir?” Breeze asked nervously.
“I think if a Kaiju attacked, we wouldn’t be searching a boat.” Boss said back gruffly. “Looks more like pirates.”
Breeze frowned. Pirates? They were basically unheard of these days, real ones anyway. Besides, why would pirates raid a ship and then leave the cargo untouched? From up high, he had a perfect vantage point of the containers on deck and as far as he could tell, they seemed to be in fairly good condition, bar a few which looked like little more than twisted and buckled metal sheets. He pointed this out to Boss.
“Beats me.” The veteran grunted back, angling down towards the raised crew area at the back of the ship. They clattered down with a soft thud, the eight pegasi making up the first team instantly splitting up expertly into pairs to secure key sections of the ship.
“Breeze, on me. We’re clearing the bridge.” Boss whispered, starting up the narrow flight of steps that ran along the side of the ship’s tower.
They cautiously advanced up the stairs, the only noise the distant rumble of the ship’s engine and the occasional gust of wind which whistled eerily between the rails. The ship was completely dark, the only illumination coming from Breeze and Boss’ headlight, and the faint moonlight that occasionally broke through the cloud cover. Shadows leapt out at the two pegasi as they climbed higher, unnatural, impossible shapes and figures that only retreated into more familiar and friendly forms as soon as one of their headlights swept across it.
“Where is everypony? Ship like this should have at least a few dozen crew.” Boss muttered, wincing as one of the steps creaked unnervingly underhoof.
A sudden crash made them both spin around in alarm. They relaxed slightly, realising it was just the wind blowing through an unsecured shutter. Breeze shuddered, unable to shake the sensation they were being watched. He approached the edge and stared over the side, staring impassively into the black water. Breeze swore he saw a small shape shift beneath the surf but dismissed it as a trick of the light and his growing sense of paranoia.
“This place gives me the creeps.” Boss said quietly, fastening the shutter shut so it wouldn’t startle them again.
“Yeah, creepy.” Breeze agreed, quickly trotting away from the edge and up the last stairwell to the bridge. He could see the Apocalypse powering alongside some two hundred metres away, the ship’s lights bouncing and bobbing erratically in the light swell. Breeze caught himself staring at his home, wishing for nothing more than to be off the derelict and back in his warm cabin with his shipmates.
They reached the top of the staircase, silently creeping onto the ship’s port lockout post. Like the rest of the ship it bore extensive damage, the deck ripped and buckled as if it’d been torn up by a plough. He frowned, the damage here looked different to the scars further down, almost as if something completely different had torn the deck apart. It looked unnervingly like a set of claws had done the deed, a disconcerting fact considering that each mark was nearly half as wide as Breeze’s leg.
“This door looks like it was forced open.” Boss noted, pointing out the broken hinges and slightly twisted frame that lead to the bridge. That was enough to cause concern, the door was no light affair and whatever had forced it open seemed to have done it with an almost casual ease. The two pegasi hesitated, neither wanting to enter the pitch-black interior of the Intrigue’s bridge.
“You first, Boss?” Breeze suggested with an uneasy laugh.
“Not a chance kiddo. Get in there, I’ll be right behind you.” He grunted, giving Breeze a gentle push forward.
‘Just had to open your mouth didn’t you?’ Breeze thought sourly, taking a cautious step over the threshold and sweeping his headlight slowly around the deserted room. Nothing leapt out to attack him from the shadows so he took another step in, careful not to trip over the slightly raised doorframe.
The bridge was a complete wreck, controls were shattered and broken, several chairs were scattered across the deck in pieces. Most concerning though was the apparent lack of crew, dead or living. It reminded Breeze of an abandoned schoolyard, an area that should’ve been bustling with activity but instead was as still as a tomb.
“Looks clear, boss.” Breeze whispered, taking another cautious step forward. He swept his headlight over the exposed girders on the roof, flinching at every shadow that jumped out at him.
“Check the logs, I’ll see if I can’t get us some more light.” Boss ordered, stooping down over the shattered consoles that controlled the ship’s lighting.
Breeze nodded and searched through all the bridge’s cabinets for something, anything that could give him an inkling to what had happened to the ship and the crew. Frustratingly though, everything was empty, even a half-eaten stapler he found was missing its staples.
‘Wait, half-eaten?’ He thought, backtracking slightly and examining the small device curiously. Sure enough one edge looked like it had been chomped at viciously, or more accurately melted away. “Boss, what do you make of that?” He said, throwing the stapler to the pegasus with a casual flick.
“Who the heck eats a stapler?” Boss mussed, giving the small contraption a curious glance before tossing it away with a surprisingly loud crash.
“Something that doesn’t know better.” Breeze guessed, spinning around as the sound of hooves on the stairs outside suddenly rang in his ears. He and Boss pressed themselves against the wall, only relaxing when a member of Team Two stuck her head around the door.
“Sir, we swept the lower decks. No sign of anypony. All the documents are missing as well, manifests, logs, navigation charts... you name it, we don’t have it.”
Boss let out a breath he had been holding. “Maybe the crew abandoned ship? Place looks pretty beat up.”
The unicorn shook her head. “Lifeboats are still on board. If they jumped ship, they certainly didn’t use them.”
Boss frowned, it was starting to sound more and more like a pirate raid to him. “What about the cargo?”
“Everything seems to be in order down below, sir. Nothing suspicious onboard either.”
“I don’t think it was pirates.” Breeze chimed in. “They wouldn’t raid the ship’s logs and unless they were incredibly well trained, they couldn’t take the boat without a distress signal being sent out. And the crew, there’s no sign of them at all… and I’m fairly sure any pirate would’ve demanded a ransom for anypony they captured by now.”
“By now?” Boss queried.
Breeze pointed out a small clock that was smashed on the main console. “That thing reckons its three days ago.”
Boss examined the small analogue calendar set just below the clock. “Good eye.” He turned to look at Breeze with a look that crossed somewhere between amusement and condescension. “Alright then detective, what happened?”
“My nephew knows more about the tooth fairy than I do about this.” Breeze muttered, both pleased and terrified that Boss was at least willing to entertain to his ideas. “I haven’t got a clue, sir.”
“Well then until you can come up with a better idea, we’re operating under the premise that this was a pirate attack.” Boss said pragmatically. His tone suggested that he didn’t believe it though, there hadn’t been a pirate raid in living memory around these parts for starters, nor did it explain the heavy damage the ship had suffered or the mysterious disappearance of the Intrigue’s crew and every document on board.
“In the meantime, sweep the vessel again and try and get this hulk under control.” He pointed to the other pony. “You, get some ponies down to the engine room and see if you can’t turn them off.” Boss turned to Breeze. “You, get back to the Apocalypse and report what we’ve found to the Captain.”
Breeze nodded, thankful to be leaving the ship for now. “Yes sir.”
“Whatever happened here, he’s is not going to like it.”
The mysterious fate of the Intrigue slowly filtered out the Equestrian community, some news sources loudly parroting the claims of piracy while others had a little more thought and tact about them (The idea that the crew had been abducted by aliens was widely dismissed as rubbish, despite the fact that two alien species had surfaced in the last year). For others though it was mere trivia, more important things in the world were happening than the disappearance of 21 crew off a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean.
Crop yields over the summer had been worse than usual, the changelings had seemingly abandoned Equestria’s south-eastern border and most importantly, Sapphire Shore’s doghouse had sprung a leak, giving the poor creature a nasty cold.
All of these though, meant nothing to Rainbow Dash. She was a mare on a mission. Maybe her mission had seemed a little fantastical at first, but as she walked down the narrow hallway towards what she thought would be her future co-pilots residence, any doubt of fantasy was totally washed away.
It had taken her a surprisingly long time to find Spitfire. It hadn’t been easy at first, after she’d been discharged from the Wonderbolts the former professional flier had taken up a supply position at the Air force office in uptown Manehatten before being moved to Verdant Meadows, a large airbase to the south that was home to several large airships, including her former command, Lucky Seven. She’d seemingly vanished off the radar there though and it’d taken several letters to both some of the remaining Wonderbolts and the Jaeger crews in Manehatten to figure out what exactly had happened to her. After that it had taken another two weeks to get a response from the mare but at least now she was an expected guest, rather than just dropping in unannounced like she had last time.
Even so, she couldn’t help but shake the feeling the fiery mare didn’t really want to see her, maybe it was the fact that the last time she’d seen Spitfire, she’d been chewed out like a wet rag. She forced the feeling down and knocked on the door three times, her hoof rapping sharply on the solid wood. Rainbow heard a few muffled sounds before the door finally opened a crack and a golden eye peeked out, narrowing slightly as it beheld the mare standing in the hallway. The door slammed shut and Rainbow heard a chain being undone before opening again, revealing Spitfire in all her glory, or perhaps lack of.
She seemed to have gotten a lot older since Rainbow had last seen her, her coat seemed a little less lush than it usually did, her head wasn’t held quite as proudly as it once had been and, if the bags under her eyes were any indication, Spitfire looked like she hadn’t had a proper night of sleep for a long time.
“Oh, it’s you.” Spitfire said, her tone somewhere between somewhat polite and bitter. She seemed to contemplate Rainbow Dash for a moment before widening the door and allowing the pegasus to enter.
Once upon a time, Rainbow Dash would’ve been giddy at the prospect at visiting a Wonderbolt in their home but Spitfire’s apartment seemed to defy all expectations of what she had expected. It was small, it was messy and, on close inspection, not that dissimilar to her own home, albeit neither floating nor made of clouds. She pointed out what looked like a few craters in the wall.
“What are those from?” She asked as she stepped inside.
“Anger management.” Spitfire answered carelessly, leading Rainbow Dash down a narrow hallway past a bedroom that had a distinctly dreary smell about it and into a slightly cramped living room. “Want a drink?”
Rainbow looked around at the collection of half-empty bottles which crowded around most of the flat surfaces like eager fans. “Uh, I’ll be all right.” She answered quickly.
Spitfire made a quiet snort and searched around for a bottle that wasn’t empty. “Probably should clean up a little.” She remarked after she’d checked almost a dozen bottle to no success.
Rainbow pawed the ground awkwardly. “So… how’ve you been?” She asked. Normally Rainbow would have skipped the small talk and jumped straight to business, but she thought that she owed Spitfire a measure of respect.
“Great, great.” Spitfire said, finally finding and draining a bottle of a smoky smelling amber liquid. “Best days of my life. I’m always busy. I have plenty of friends and I have a totally relaxed outlook on the future.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell if she was being serious, it seemed unlikely but Spitfire’s tone had no trace of sarcasm in it. “Really?”
Spitfire’s face dropped. “Of course it’s not. I keep having nightmares, my social life is me talking to my pen most of the day and I haven’t flown in Celestia knows how long. It’s driving me mad.” She snapped. “And don’t even get me started on this thin-.” She lifted one of her forelegs up only for it to lock up with a squeal. Spitfire looked at her disobedient leg like she would a stack of new recruits and unleashed a barrage of swearing of a calibre Rainbow Dash hadn’t even dreamed of. The stream of expletives kept rolling as she smacked her leg a few times to no avail. It was incredible to watch, Spitfire worked in profanity like an artisan might work with paints or clay; it was her medium, and she was a true master. She bashed the limb’s joint again, finally knocking it loose with a whine of annoyed servos.
“I think that speaks for itself.” She growled, throwing herself down on a surprisingly clean longue that had one of her uniforms draped over the back. “I’m really quite surprised they haven’t put me in an institution yet.”
Rainbow Dash kept silent, Spitfire seemed to have zoned out, seemingly forgetting she had company. She seemed to contemplate her drink for a few minutes, completely oblivious to the rainbow maned pony that stood awkwardly in the middle of her living room.
The mare snapped back to reality. “Guess there are some perks though, get plenty of time to sit around, drink and talk to ponies like you.” She said with a small smile. “Anyway, what do you want?”
Rainbow Dash stood up a little straighter. “I want to join the Jaeger academy. I want to pilot a Jaeger.”
“Good for you, maybe you actually make a difference to the world there. Fighting eighty metre high alien bugs.” Spitfire remarked. “Want to know happened when I last fought an eight metre high alien bug?” She asked, high eyes widening slightly as she spoke. She seemed to hold the painful silence for a few moments, staring slightly to the left of Rainbow Dash. “I crashed an airship into it.” She summarised bluntly, making a quiet explosion sound as she finished. She stared into her drink for a few seconds. “That went well for me, didn’t it?”
She seemed to refocus again. “What’s this got to do with me? You got no friends or family to tell the good news to and receive kind word of support from? Pretty sad If I’m your first port of call.”
“Well, no, I was just thinking that you could go with me and be my co-pilot.”
Spitfire stared at her with shocked surprise for a few seconds, the thought had seemingly never occurred to her. She gained a critical eye and seemed to regard Rainbow for a few moments, almost as if she was shaping her up. Much to Rainbow’s disappointment though, she didn’t seem particularly moved by the idea.
“No.” Spitfire answered after a few agonisingly long seconds.
Rainbow Dash stood in stunned silence. She hadn’t expected Spitfire to say no, it somehow seemed unfair that former leader of the Wonderbolts was turning her down.
“Why?” she found herself blurting out before she could pull the words back. She immediately expected Spitfire to flip at her but instead the pegasus sighed wearily.
“Look kid, I’ve changed a lot from when you knew me. I’m not to pony I used to be.” Spitfire explained. “I’ve lost too much, become too bitter, to let somepony like you into my head.”
“Somepony like me?” Rainbow asked indignantly, unsure if she should be offended,
Spitfire laughed quietly.
“I know the type too well, cocky and arrogant, so sure of their own abilities until something nosedives. Thinks they have nothing to lose until they’ve lost everything. I used to be like that, before I tried to be a hero.” She shrugged slightly. “Maybe we would’ve made a good team, but not anymore.”
“But I can’t do it by myself.” Rainbow argued.
“Well then I suggest you find somepony else.” Spitfire said, her voice not raising a single decibel. There was a trace of finality to it though and Rainbow knew there was no convincing the other pegasus no matter how hard she tried. She felt a wave of frustration wash over her, what Spitfire was doing to herself wasn’t right.
“What happened to you? The Spitfire I know wouldn’t let herself become like this. Wasting away in some dead-end joint like this. She would be rearing at a chance to push herself and achieve greatness.” Rainbow asked piercingly.
“The Spitfire you know is gone, kid.” Spitfire said, looking at Rainbow Dash over the rim of her glass, like she was a piece of dirt stubbornly clinging to the wall.
“Is that so?” Rainbow found herself glaring at Spitfire. “Well, I think you should take a look at yourself and see just how far you’ve fallen.” She sneered. “It’s disgusting. To think I would’ve ever aspired to be like you…” She trailed off, wondering if she’d perhaps gone too far.
Spitfire clapped her forehooves together sarcastically. “Thank you for the wonderful motivational speech. Now if you’re going to keep insulting me, I suggest you get out of my apartment before I decide to stand up.” She said levelly.
Rainbow stood her ground. “You don’t know who you are anymore. This isn’t you, Spitfire.”
Spitfire stared at Rainbow Dash for half a second as if considering her next words very carefully. “I know damn well who I am, kid. I fought an army of changelings to a standstill not once, not twice, but three times. I’ve led expeditions beyond the furthest reaches of Equestria and seen wonders that defy the mind. I’ve seen reality torn apart by a madman and defeated horrors that would leave you sleepless for weeks. I’ve seen my friends die by my wing and have sacrificed more for this country than a mere featherhead like you could even possibly understand. That’s who I am, that’s what I am.” Spitfire snarled, her voice rising as she rose out of her chair, her eyes never leaving Rainbow Dash’s. “If you think you can come in here and tell me who I am and what I have to do with my life, then you’re sorely mistaken. Now get out!” She barked, righteous fury in her voice. It was a barrage that would’ve made a rampaging Manticore pause in its tracks and go find its mother in panic. An emotion fuelled tirade that made Rainbow Dash simply want to turn tail and run.
She stood her ground though, determined to not let Spitfire see how frightened she was. “Well it seems she’s not all gone after all.” She said quietly, backing out of Spitfire’s apartment cautiously. A few seconds later the door clicked shut, leaving Spitfire standing alone in her living room.
“Damn kids.” She muttered, noticing that she seemed to have spilled her drink in the excitement. She let out an irritated huff and started searching for another bottle that wasn’t empty.
***
Recaf.
The seemingly innocuous liquid seemed to be the lifeblood of many of the shatterdome’s staff, fuelling the research and behind the scenes work that allowed the Jaeger operations to run relatively smoothly. The combined shatterdome, now nearly a staff of nearly 3000 ponies, went through more recaf than a small town did on a weekly basis.
Nopony in the shatterdome, other than perhaps some of the LOCCENT staff, exemplified this quite as well as High Noon. A relatively carefree earth pony with golden eyes that seemed to wander and lose focus far too often. High Noon worked in the Jaeger Corps K-Science division, a small but skilled section dedicated towards studying anything and everything to do with the Kaiju. Breach study? That was them. Containment and decontamination? K-Science’s department. Physiological profiles and Kaiju anatomy? K-Science had a specialist for it.
Unlike any of the other disciplines in the shatterdome, K-Science didn’t really have a ‘head’, or an organised structure for that matter. Nothing like Twilight’s finely tuned, regimented and organised department. It was a loose collection of biologists, chemists, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers working in their own specialised fields. K-Science was also a much smaller affair, numbering only a few dozen members compared to several hundred which made up the shatterdome’s J-Tech division. While this may have seemed a little unfair to an outside observer, anypony connected with the division knew that most of the work was outsourced and for good reason. Dozens of institutes across Equestria were desperate to get a slice of the science pie that the Kaiju’s arrival had baked, and unlike J-Tech, which was based in the shatterdome for ease of manufacturing and assembly, Kaiju related science could be done fairly effortlessly anywhere.
None of this of course meant anything to High Noon. She was barely alive in the early morning and required a strong cup of recaf before she’d even consider putting her mind to work. While a 4am start was a little bit of an oddity for her, she had been woken by a loud roar followed by a spine-tingling whine of electricity and with her sleep disturbed, she had figured now was as good a time as any to wake up and get to work.
Cheerfully ignoring the fact that her clock said it was only three and a half hours after she’d gone to sleep, she forced herself upright and staggered towards her personal recaf machine. She swung clumsily at the buttons, swearing loudly until the machine purred quietly and dispensed a nice, hot cup of invigorating liquid. While most of the shatterdome’s staff would get their drinks from one of the numerous refreshment kiosks located around the facility, she’d quickly decided their take on recaf (which in her mind was simply hot water mixed with something that tasted suspiciously like ground citrus peels) was completely unsuitable for her needs and invested in her own machine.
“That’s the stuff.” She sighed, taking a sip and feeling some of her synapses have something resembling a spark of activity. She bundled her scattered notes together quickly, undoubtedly missing several important pieces of information in her daze, and set off towards the K-Science labs deep in the bowels of the facility, recaf mug held in hoof like it was a newborn child.
She trotted down the main hallway, her brain absently processing the fact that there seemed to be a bit more of a draft than normal. She pondered this for a moment but gave up after a few seconds, her brain wasn’t capable of walking and thinking at the same time just yet. She passed a perfectly circular ten metre wide hole in the outer wall without pausing. The idea that the melted edges, heavy plasma scarring and the particularly stressed purple alicorn that fluttered around trying to fix it, was anything out of the ordinary barely occurred to her.
“Morning.” She muttered absently to the slightly blackened pony as she passed, a few cogs in her brain slowly starting to tick. It was only when she’d reached the elevator and was seven floors down did she realise that something had been a little odd about the whole thing.
“Right. Wrong elevator, pay attention to which way you walk.” She muttered to herself as she stepped out into the far side of the mostly deserted K-Science labs. Her brain had finally started working now, the mental cogs finally clicking into place and allowing her to act like a mostly rational being.
High Noon drifted into the open-plan laboratory, exchanging an occasional greeting with the handful of other scientists already at work before settling at her own station in the back corner. From there she had an excellent view of the entire space and an even better view of her ‘best friend’s’ section. Although she hated to admit it, the pony that was already at work across from her, a humourless unicorn that went by the annoyingly simple name of Aurora, was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend. Which was even more hilariously depressing when she really thought about it, considering that Aurora tried her hardest to have nothing to do with the slightly eccentric physicist that worked opposite her.
She had thin pale blue eyes that seemed more fitting for a fashion model rather than a scientist, eyes which held an equal mixture of scientific curiosity and disgust for almost anything she looked at. As usual, her charcoal grey mane was done up in a perfect bun, High Noon probably couldn’t have even found a single strand of hair out of place been if she’d used a magnifying glass, Aurora was like that. Obsessive described the unicorn well, an obsession for the strangest, most trivial things about biology but an uttermost disregard for almost anything out of her field. That wasn’t to say she was dumb, no way. She probably knew nearly as much about theoretical physics and nuclear mechanics as High Noon did but simply seemed to think such studies far beneath her.
It managed to both irritate and turn High Noon on at the same time.
“Do you ever sleep?” High Noon asked tiredly, noting that the she was still pouting over something that looked like an oversized muscle. If High Noon wasn’t mistaken it was the exact same specimen the unicorn had been examining nearly four hours ago when she’d gone to find her bunk.
“Sleep is an unnecessary distraction from discovery.” Aurora said flatly, not even looking up from her slab of meat. She levitated a razor sharp scalpel from the workbench beside her and carefully sliced away a thin strand of some slimy goo from the muscle and expertly placed it away in a sample jar.
“So what, you just don’t sleep, Rory?” High Noon teased, draining the last dregs of her recaf and wishing she had a second one.
“My name is Aurora.” The biologist responded, still not looking up from her work.
High Noon smiled toothily. “Whatever you say, Rory.” She said, flopping down in her comfortable chair on the opposite side of the lab. She quickly checked her computer, noting that her models were still compiling. Well, nothing to do until that was done. She flashed a look back over at her colleague, her legs making her walk over to her seemingly on their own violation.
“What’s this?” She asked, resisting the urge to poke the fibrous slab of meat in front of the unicorn. It was a light tone of grey and had a distinctly unhealthy blue tinge to it, almost like someone had run it through a bucket of blueberries.
“A sample of the right-side Latissimus Dorsi taken from Quillback.” Aurora answered, still not looking up at the earth pony.
High Noon blinked, she knew next to nothing about anatomy. “So… what is this?”
“It’s a muscle.” Aurora said like she was explaining how a light switched worked to a simpleton.
“Huh. Wasn’t that a lot easier to say?”
“Not really…” Aurora growled.
“Is it safe?” High Noon persisted.
“High Noon, go away.” Aurora said, still refusing to take her eyes off her specimen. “Go and play with your silly numbers.”
The mare scoffed indignantly. “Silly? You think my highly complex mathematical models are silly? Does that mean your slab of meat is a joke?” She asked indignantly.
“No, it’s a Latissimus Dorsi.” Aurora said humorlessly.
High Noon fixed an incredulous look on her. “You really don’t get out much, do you?”
The biologist finally designed to look up at the earth pony. “If I say yes, will you go away?”
High Noon let out a disgusted sigh and marched away crossly. She’d been working with the unicorn for a little over two and a half months but she was still as dull and tiresome as ever. She never slept, never seemed to eat and rarely displayed anything resembling a sense of humour. If she didn’t know better she would’ve suspected the unicorn was some sort of robot. She flipped one of her dozens of notepads open to an empty page and started furiously scribbling down some equation she could use to divine if the unicorn was in fact an extragalactic being sent to observe Equestria. She was busy with her ‘work’ that she didn’t even notice Aurora standing next to her until the unicorn cleared her throat in a completely over the top fashion.
“Oh hey Rory, what’s up?” High Noon asked innocently.
“That’s my pen.” Aurora said matter-of-factly.
High Noon shrugged. “So?”
Aurora bristled. “That’s my pen I use to write my reports.”
“You’ve got hundreds of pens.” High Noon pointed out, scribbling out a large block of equations which looked more like scrawl than anything else. She contemplated the scrawl for a few moments, absently chewing on the end of the pen as she did so.
“It’s my pen you kleptomaniac.” Aurora said, grabbing the pen with her magic and yanking it out of High Noon’s grasp. She have the earth pony another scathing look before retreating back to her side of the lab. “Damn magpie.” She hissed quietly, cleaning the pen off and neatly writing down a few notes about her Kaiju sample.
“It’s my pen you kleptomaniac.” High Noon mimicked childishly. It wasn’t her fault that she compulsively stole things. Okay it was, but she had been better than she usually was; she had not even pinched Aurora’s stapler for nearly a week. She stared at her computer blankly, it would still be a while until her predictive model would finish and until then there was not much she could do other than play around with the records from Quillback’s breach, and she did not particularly feel like doing that.
“Aurora, I’m bored.” She complained, throwing her head back and staring at the slightly peeling ceiling in the hope it would give her an idea.
The unicorn glared at her silently for a moment before turning back to her sample.
“Rory, tell me a joke.” High Noon said after a minutes of bored silence.
The unicorn looked at her angrily, momentarily placing her slender pen down on the bench with deliberate precision. “I’m not very good at jokes, but here’s one. What’s brown, orange and red all over?”
“What?”
Aurora shot her another cold look. “You, if you talk to me again today.”
High Noon laughed sheepishly and kicked her hooves up on her desk. “Hah, good one.” She looked around her messy table, maybe the recordings were not such a bad idea in the face of the alternatives. She had once amused herself by going into the Jaeger bays and sketching their reactors with funny faces but her clearance into the area had been withdrawn after that incident involving one of Wild Mustang’s rockets and her office. The only reason she’d kept her job after that little incident was the fact that she was damn good at it, the mathematical models of the breach and her study into the unique form of radiation given off by the portal was unparalleled. Although there had been no proof to support it at the time, she had predicted Quillback’s breach date with an accuracy of three days and once her most recent model was done, she was confident she’d be able to predict the next breach with a similar degree of accuracy. She checked her computer again, just in case the model had somehow finished early before booting up the sensor recordings. All pretty normal stuff, well at least as far as ‘normal’ went. The amount of energy given off by the breach defied many well established scientific laws by its mere existence, it should’ve by all reason collapsed in on itself or simply fizzed out with the amount of energy that it was chewing through daily. Something, though, was keeping it open and High Noon wanted to be the pony that found out what exactly that something was.
She poured over the new data closely, replaying the sensor log over and over as the beast tore through the portal like she did a sandwich. It was completely silent yet she could almost hear it in her mind, an alien shriek that chilled her to the bone. She shuddered, no way did she want to be anywhere near one of these things when it was still alive, the bluish alien armpit across the room was enough to put her off the idea. She leaned forward slightly and wiped a smudge of dirt off her screen. The earth pony frowned and leaned closer, noticing that the small smudge of dirt wasn’t actually on her screen but actually part of the recording. Curious, she played the loop again, noticing that the smudge seemed to be underneath Quillback’s comparatively massive signature, almost as if it was hiding. She played the recording through one more time, noticing that the tiny blip vanished after a few seconds, obviously whatever it was had been scared off by the sudden appearance of the skyscraper sized Kaiju appearing out of nowhere.
“Aurora.” She said absently.
“What?” The unicorn sighed in frustration.
“What do you make of this?” High Noon asked, pointing to the small smudge on her screen. Aurora glared at her, wondering if it was some sort of joke before trotting over to examine the small mark.
“It looks like a small signature.” She answered after a few moments.
“I guessed that,” High Noon said flatly. “But what is it? You’re the biologist, not me.”
“You’re asking me to tell what creature you’re looking at from a small dot on a screen.” Aurora questioned irately.
“Just take a stab, genius.”
“From its relative size, I’d say it’d be a whale calf, maybe an Oradron.” She guessed.
High Noon looked at her like she’d spoken gibberish. “A what?”
“It’s a large species of shark. Where did you get your doctorate, out of cereal box?” Aurora asked snidely.
“Geez, how’d you know?” High Noon snapped sarcastically.
Aurora looked at her sceptically and went back to her Kaiju specimen, unsure if the earth pony was being serious or not.
“Hopeless.” High Noon muttered, turning back to her attention back to the small smudge. The black smear seemed harmless enough, maybe she was just overthinking things. Filing the small anomaly away for future study she continued examining Quillback’s signature, the small signature eventually fading into the realm of obscurity.
***
The victory of Frontier Justice over Quillback seemed to be a tipping point for the Shatterdome. For the first time since the Mark I pilots had been inducted, all of the crews seemed to be united in the same purpose. It was not to say that every pony suddenly got along, that would’ve been pushing it, but at least they had put their differences aside for the sake of the greater good.
This welcome change in demeanour gave Shane and Michael plenty of time to start stressing over the launch of the Mark II program. The Trottingham shatterdome was lagging behind schedule slightly but the first of the three Mark II hulls had started taking shape in the shatterdome’s construction bays. Auto-jigs, workers and cranes working night and day to bring the Jaeger online. To a casual observer it could’ve been mistaken for Wild Mustang, the body and head bearing a slight resemblance to the veteran Jaeger. On closer inspection though, the sleeker lines and curvier body gave it a distinctly more advanced and slightly more feminine appearance. If Wild Mustang was the rough copy, then this Jaeger was the slimmed down variant.
In addition to the new Jaeger taking shape, the rotary project started coming to fruition and before long they’d received another letter from the head of the manufacturing plant that the design was ready for its first demonstration.
“They’ll be here next week. A few days to transport them across the ocean and then a quick shakedown before they fly.” Michael relayed. He and Shane were lounging in his office, going through a stack of mail that they had neglected for the last few days. They really started taking on their command roles, Shane involving himself in the training more and Michael deigning to more administrative tasks. They’d enjoyed their foray in Midsummer Night some months ago but it was apparent no one else was quite ready to take over the reins of command just yet.
Shane peered at the diminishing stack of letters suspiciously. “Bit of time to run an air drop sim then.”
“Nah, I’m sure dropping our pilots from a chopper without any training will be fine. Might land on their face or something.” Michael remarked, pulling another letter of the pile and flipping it over.
“What is it you reckon?” Shane asked, noticing that his brother seemed to be hesitant opening it.
“Probably a bill.” Michael answered dryly, tearing the envelope open carelessly. He studied the letter inside for a moment, his flat expression slowly changing to a curious one. “Or not.” He was silent for a few more minutes before speaking again. “Well that’s interesting.”
“You going to explain or am I going to have to guess?” Shane asked.
“If you had to guess we’d be in here for months. There’s two things. First, it’s an invitation to a tech convention of some kind.” Michael said, not looking up from the letter. “They’ve asked us if we’d like to make a display.”
Shane blinked, he hadn’t expected that. “Are we?”
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t. More publicity isn’t a bad thing.” Michael answered with a shrug.
Shane huffed. “When is it?”
“A couple of weeks. We could probably put a Jaeger on display.” Michael mused. “I’m sure they’d love us for that.”
“I’m sure they would. Now what’s the other part?”
“I know you’ll love this.” Michael answered sarcastically. “There’s a formal dinner for VIPs, I assume that includes us as we've been cordially invited.” He held the invitation so Shane could read it.
“Oh great, an event where we awkwardly rub palms with the elite class as they try to use us to aid their own ends.”
“I take it you don’t want to go then?” Michael asked, an eyebrow raised slightly.
“Of course I have to go, otherwise you’ll go and have no one else around to at least feel appreciated by.” Shane responded gruffly.
“Huzzah, a fantastic day for camaraderie.” Michael mussed, tossing the invitation against his ornate desk idly. “So, who are we taking?”
“Jaeger-wise? Well, Wild Mustang is still being patched up, apparently Twilight’s lot are doing some firmware and software upgrades so I think it’d be best to not touch the old horse for the moment. Castle Bravo is still undergoing reactor shakedown trials and its final fitting. It’ll be ready to deploy in another three weeks or so.” He summarised. “So unless you want to take our Jaeger, that just leaves Frontier Justice.”
“Well I think that works fine, it’s the one the public want to hear about at the moment.” Michael said. Frontier Justice seemed to have become rather popular after its victory, it had become the unofficial poster-boy for the Jaeger Corp and if the repeated letters asking to make a toy line for it were any indication, kids seemed to love it.
“So we’re sorted then?” Shane asked, rising slightly from his chair. He wanted to inspect one of the lower port seals on Midsummer Night. It had sprung a leak during their last deployment and regardless of what he did to it, it didn’t seem to want to seal properly.
“Yeah, we’re done. I can handle the rest of this myself.” Michael replied, looking at the small stack of paperwork with distaste. He personally hated the administrative role but accepted it grudgingly, there wasn’t anyone else he considered up to the task.
Shane on the other hand, seemed thrilled. “Great, I got some airdrop sims to set up.” Shane said cheerfully. “This is going to be fun!”
***
The week leading up to the arrival of the rotaries went about as smoothly as one could have hoped. Shane managed to squeeze in a few simulated air drops for the pilots which was met with anything from almost giddy excitement from the two pegasi crews and downright horror from the two earth ponies. While Shane assumed this would amuse him to end, he didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as he could have hoped when he remembered his life could possibly ride on the ability for them to land on their feet and not on their arse.
“Fun week?” Michael asked absently as they waited patiently for the griffon to arrive.
Shane shot him a silent look.
“That bad?” Michael jeered.
“I swear some of them don’t know what ‘up’ means.” Shane drawled. “Come on, how hard is it to drop eighty metres, straight down?”
“Fun, Unsafe, City Killer!” Michael piped up, quoting the general attitude most pilots held towards airdrops, in particular concerning airdrops where the Jaeger ended up landed face down in what used to be a city block. He leaned back in his chair, grinning stupidly at the brief chuckle he got out of Shane.
Shane folded his arms across his chest, trying to wipe the smirk off his face and appear more serious. “You know, I’ve heard enough about these guys from our pilots. Most of them reckon we shouldn’t trust them further than we could throw a tank.” He said, changing the topic to something a little more serious.
“Okay, go jump in Midsummer Night. Then we can trust him.” Michael shot back wryly.
Shane made an amused snort and was about to make a retort when the door swung open, revealing an exceptionally well groomed and proud looking griffon. A pony showed him in then quietly excused herself, quickly closing the door behind her.
He looked he was ripped straight from a cook on mythology, albeit he was much shorter than either had expected. His plumage was a wonderful white, offsetting his golden coat beautifully. He wore an expensive looking half-suit of some charcoal grey material that seemed to shimmer under the light.
“Good morning, glad you could make it. I’m Michael an-.” Michael started, extending his hand in greeting.
“Yes, Mikhail knows who you are.” The griffon said, considering Michael’s hand for a moment before shaking it delicately. “More importantly though, do you know who Mikhail is?”
“You build helicopters, this much we know.” Shane grumbled.
“Rotaries.” Mikhail corrected. “But yes, Mikhail builds finest rotaries in the world.” The griffon asserted proudly. “Today, Mikhail has brought design to you so you may see for yourself.”
Michael was perhaps a little surprised by the griffon’s blunt and businesslike manner but he played along regardless. “Where are they now?”
“Mikhail’s crew are unloading as we speak.” He gestured absently with a talon. “You will see, no?”
“Yes, yes. We’ve just been ironing out a few details for a tech convention next week, hard to move a Jaeger so far you see.” Michael explained, leading the small group out of the office and towards the lifts.
Mikhail looked at him curiously. “Display in Martingale, no?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
The griffon nodded. “Mikhail goes every year with new designs. Well, he does not go in person but will always send representative.”
“Are you going this year?”
“Of course, Mikhail will go with Broadway to convention. It would be foolish not to.”
“Broadway?” Shane asked.
“Is what Mikhail calls them, make noise like big fat theatre performer at Mikhail’s favourite theatre. Is appropriate name.”
Shane coughed. “You have a theatre called Broadway where you come from?”
“Rough translation, yes. This is odd?”
“No, not really.” Shane said, stifling a chuckle. It should’ve hardly been a surprise to him at this point considering how many of Equestria’s cities were named but the parallel was still astonishing.
“It’s been a remarkably short turnaround time for such a big project.” Michael complimented, drawing the conversation back to the subject at hand.
“Short, yes. No new engine needed, chassis based off older design but reinforced for heavier loads. Mikhail was fortunate to not encounter issues with design.” He hummed appreciatively. “She is like queen of the sky. Is fat queen, but still queen nonetheless.”
“So you’ve built something like this before?” Michael asked, punching the button for the loading dock and watching the doors slowly slide shut.
“Not this big, no. Mikhail must admit your giant machine’s needs are…” the griffon seemed to struggle for the right word for a moment. “Unique.” He eventually decided.
The griffon stumbled as the elevator smoothly dropped down, his face holding an expression that someone who’d narrowly avoided throwing up would wear.
“You alright?” Michael asked idly, wondering if he should find a doctor for the queasy looking creature.
“Altitude sickness.” Mikhail spat, “Rarely come down here.”
“We’re what, fifty metres above sea level, how do you get altitude sickness from that?” Shane asked.
“Fat man does not understand. Mikhail lives four, maybe five kilometres high on plateau. Air is much, much thinner there.”
“Fat?” Shane yelped indignantly.
The griffon held up a claw diplomatically. “No, no, not fat. Mikhail never say fat. What is the word Mikhail mean…” He waved his claw around for a moment as he thought for the right word. “Stocky, yes stocky. Stocky is word.” He said as if he were addressing a dismissive servant.
Shane’s eyes locked onto the back of the griffon’s skull. “Yeah, right.”
“Mikhail build you rotary, biggest rotary in the world. Mikhail does this because he is clever griffon who likes your metal giants. Would Mikhail lie to you?” The griffon protested innocently, plucking a fat cigar from his pocket absently.
“Yeah, we’re also paying you a lot of money, I’m sure that has nothing to do with it.” Shane snapped back, plucking the brown stub from between the griffon’s claws with a scowl.
“You’re a terrible bastard, Mr O’Connell.” Mikhail lamented, eying his cigar wistfully.
Shane gave the cigar a disgusted look before giving it back to the griffon. “Our dome, our rules.”
Michael hid a smile. “How about you just show us your helicopter.”
“Rotary.” Mikhail corrected.
“Right, whatever.” Michael muttered, gesturing for the small group to continue as the elevator doors slid open. A blast of cool air wound its way around the trio as they made their way out onto the wide concrete loading dock, dodging a few small cargo haulers which seemed intent on taking the most roundabout route they could along the waterfront.
They emerged from behind a slowly rusting shipping container, catching another blast of the chilly autumn sea breeze.
“Oh wow.” Shane said, words failing him as a machine of immense proportions jumped out at him from the usual mess that covered the dockyard. A few other griffons padded around the massive craft or lazed on top in an attempt to catch some sun, their every action being closely watched by a few of the shatterdome’s guards.
“She is beautiful, no? Mikhail has never designed better Rotary.” The griffon said proudly, padding over to the rotary and running a claw down the bulky flank of the machine. The helicopter, or Rotary, as Mikhail continually insisted, was absolutely massive, at least 40 metres long from nose to tail and nearly half as high. A pair of massive rotors jutted out the sides on thick prongs-like wings, each one at least 35 metres in diameter. A quartet of engines were nestled under the rotors, massive turbines making it look like a bastard love child of a commercial airliner with its wings stuck on the wrong way and an oversized skycrane. The front of the Rotary was an ugly snub nose with a large canopy, built for utility rather than style or grace. A large series of braces, cables and winches sat in the middle of the airframe, presumably that would hook the helicopter to the Jaeger. The massive machine had already drawn a sizeable crowd, dozens of the Jaeger’s ground crews gathering around the new machine that almost rivalled the Jaegers in size.
“Beautiful isn’t the word I would use. Looks like an overweight whale with wings.” Shane retorted.
“You don’t like it, Mikhail will order you strapped to harness and dropped in ocean. You don’t know what you mean, she is beautiful.” The griffon snapped back, clearly quite offended by the comment.
“Does it fly well?” Michael asked, suppressing a smile.
“Flies gracefully, like eagle in thermal. Yes, it will do what you want.” The griffon affirmed.
“Can you show us?”
“Of course.” Mikhail answered. He turned to a few the other griffons who had been lounging lazily on top of the leviathan and barked a few orders in a language that sounded like a bird gargling a potato. It obviously meant something to the griffons though, as they hauled themselves upright and dropped through a hatch in the roof, a few muffled echoes banging through the hull as they clambered around inside.
“Might want to clear room, is loud and makes lots of wash.” Mikhail explained, leading by example and retreating nearly a hundred metres back from the idling rotary. A low mechanical groan came from the aircraft and slowly, but surely the rotors starting spinning up. Michael didn’t need to order the watching crews back, most of them had already scattered when the blades had started moving.
Mikhail hadn’t been lying about the noise, a mighty roar was already sweeping across the open courtyard as the blades spun faster and faster. Mikhail raised a claw, presumably a signal to the massive craft’s pilot as a moment later the massive construction lifted off the ground.
“Well I’ll be damned.” Shane yelled as the leviathan ascended higher and turned on the spot. It powered over the bay with surprising agility, pulled a wide banking turn and then powered back to the shatterdome, its rotors thumping loudly through the clear sky as it thundered towards them. It roared overhead and vanished behind the bulk of the shatterdome, the sound of its rotors noisily chattering away the only sign that it hadn’t simply vanished. After a few moments the Rotary reappeared over the lip of the building and hovered above the dock like with a deafening roar.
“Top speed is about 250 kilometres an hour, range is about 900 kilometres with external fuel tanks and full load.” Mikhail explained as the rotary spun on the spot and slowly lowered itself to the ground. No sooner than the craft’s heavy landing gear had touched the ground the pilot cut the power and the loud roar of the engine faded away to a high pitched whine.
“Is best thing you’ve seen, no?” Mikhail asked hopefully.
“Certainly seems to have the flying part nailed down.” Michael remarked. “What about lifting?”
The griffon raised his head proudly. “Our first test, lifts 290 tons. Is good for first prototype. Mikhail improve though, this model can lift 375 tons.”
Shane looked impressed. “Not bad. That’d be what, eight or so to a Jaeger?”
“Good, you know how to count.” Mikhail droned flatly. “Mikhail can also count, Mikhail knows you will need many rotaries to lift all your robots.”
Michael mused over the numbers for a few moments. When the shatterdome in Trottingham was finished they’d need a fleet there as well, effectively doubling the number of machines they needed. He guessed they’d need at least three squadrons for each base, plus some in reserve to allow for breakdowns and the like.
“56, by my reckoning.” He said.
The griffon nodded appreciatively. “Easy job, Mikhail can have order in twelve weeks or so.”
Shane crossed his arms. “Well, I think we still want to see you lift a Jaeger before you buy all these choppers from you.”
Mikhail nodded as if he hadn’t expected anything else. “Naturally. Mikhail is smart though, Mikhail brings twelve rotaries to display. Eight will lift your Jaeger, yes?”
Shane and Michael exchanged a look. “We’ll need a pair of volunteers to pilot the Jaeger.”
“I like how you say volunteers.” Michael replied.
“Well, I have a pretty good idea of who can do it in mind. I’m sure they’ll love it…”
***
“Are you crazy?” Applejack yelped, “That’s got to be the worst idea I’ve ever heard!”
“Come on Applejack, it’s not that bad. It’s just a bit of flying.” Shane teased, hiding a wicked smile behind a sheet of paper. They’d tracked down Applejack and Big Macintosh after organising the specifics for a test drop. They’d found the two ponies sparring in one of the shatterdome’s combat halls and if the collective look on their face was anything to go by, they were not impressed with the idea.
“Why don’t you get one them pegasus ponies to go up and do it, they love flying.” Applejack suggested, looking a little green in the face at the idea of flying around in a 2900 ton Jaeger.
“What, you afraid of heights?” Michael butted in.
“No,” Applejack said uneasily. “It just ain’t natural.”
“Well, Wild Mustang is still in for repairs and Castle Bravo shouldn’t be moving yet so I think that just leaves you two.”
“And you.” Applejack said back pointedly.
“Fantastic, I knew you’d be happy to help.” Shane said, disregarding her last comment. He was struggling to maintain his composure now, the mix of horror and fear on Applejack and Big Macintosh’s faces almost too much for him to handle. “Report to your Jaeger in an hour.” He said, quickly turning on his heel and striding out so they couldn’t see him laughing.
Applejack scowled. “Oh, he is so going to pay for this.”
***
An hour later Frontier Justice was running hot, its reactor spun up and the two pilots locked securely in their harnesses. Outside, the eight rotaries being used for the demonstration powered overhead in two groups of four, each group connected by a large frame that would snake down to the Jaeger to create one lifting body. Shane, Michael and the other four pilots had found their way out onto one of the shatterdome’s many observation decks to watch the spectacle for themselves.
“Here we go.” Michael yelled, pointing out the eight rotaries chattering obediently into position like giant crows above the Jaeger bay. He could hear the radio chatter of the griffon pilots but whatever they were saying was completely incomprehensible as they were speaking in a foreign tongue that sounded like a jumble of Polish, Russian and an eagle’s shrieks all spoken at once through a potato.
Then, with a low boom, the shatterdome’s roof retracted and opened up like a massive steel flower petal, massive metal doors splitting apart and sliding back to allow overhead access to the Jaeger bay. It was a design feature that had been initially questioned but had been built at Shane and Michael’s insistence. The entrance had at first been deemed useless but now that the Corps had heavy lift capacity, the massive doors seemed to be well worth the trouble they’d been to install. The eight rotaries shifted slowly into position, the rig used to lift the Jaeger dangling beneath the two quartets of ugly craft like a wireframe. Once in position, the cables winched down to the Jaeger’s shoulders so the small gaggle of ponies, now in charge of attaching the Jaeger to the rotaries, could get to work.
The Jaeger already had several hardpoints on its upper hull to facilitate the shatterdome’s cranes moving it around in the bay so it took only a short while for the Rotaries to hook up to the Jaeger. Despite the aircraft’s ungainly appearance, it seemed to be managing the tight formations Jaeger carrying required rather well, hovering steadily as their massive cargo was quickly latched on.
Michael keyed the radio. “You two ready in there?”
“Just get this darn thing over with.” Applejack snapped back, managing to convey her apprehension very well over the link.
“Alright, take them up then.” Michael ordered and as one, the rotaries rose into the sky, their engines howling like wraiths as they struggled against gravity. Slow but surely, the Jaeger slowly rose into view over the lip of the roof, climbing higher and higher until the Jaeger’s massive feet had cleared the roof. The assembled rotaries hovered for a moment before slowly tipping forward and powering out over the bay, Frontier Justice being carried below like a statue. It was only a short flight, the Jaeger was being dropped only eight hundred metres from the shoreline and the rotaries were quickly eating the distance up.
“You’re in position, disengage transport.” Michael urged once the Jaeger was in the assigned drop zone.
Applejack and Big Macintosh hesitated.
“Come on, you’ve run the simulation. It’ll be fun.” He insisted after a few seconds.
“Ah’m gonna regret this, disengaging transport.” Applejack managed. A few beeps sounded and the cables snapped away, recoiling like stretched elastic bands. Frontier Justice seemed to hang in the air for a moment before dropping like a brick, the air shrieking as the Jaeger plummeted downwards. Several curses flew over the link as Big Mac and Applejack braced for the surely bone-crushing impact to follow.
With an explosion of water, Frontier Justice smashed down into the bay like a hammer from the heavens. A fine mist obscured the Jaeger for a moment as it stooped over, its double joint knees bent to absorb the titanic crash. After a moment the machine rose up like a boxer from the ropes, its joints unlocking and allowing the Jaeger to pivot around and face the shatterdome.
“Damn, she looks pissed.” Shane remarked with a laugh as the Jaeger made a crude gesture in their general direction.
“I ain’t ever doing that again.” Applejack said over the radio, sounding like she wanted to throw up. “Y’all crazy.”
“Alright princess, bring it back to the barn. No need to get snippy.” Michael instructed, flicking the radio off with a chuckle. He turned to Shane, a wide grin on his face. “Best, volunteers, ever.”
***
With the rotary display over and a firm contract locked in with the griffon building them, the shatterdome’s staff attention turned to the next event, the Martingale tech convention. Situated several hundred kilometre inland, the city had been posing a slight problem logistically. Luckily, the arrival of the massive rotaries alleviated this somewhat, Frontier Justice would be able to soar through the sky like an overweight brick rather than pound along the ground or be lashed haphazardly to a train. Mikhail, already attending the convention with several of his other rotary designs, was more than happy to lend the Broadways to the cause, after all, what better display of strength and power would it be than for his designs to be seen airlifting an entire Jaeger?
After much coaxing and convincing, Applejack and Big Macintosh had agreed to be carried by the rotaries to the convention in Martingale, a trip that would at least take two or three hours for the encumbered craft. The rest of the pilots would be going by airship, a small but speedy craft the shatterdome had acquired to move personnel around quickly.
Soarin and Wave Chill were more than happy to go, they had several friends who would mostly likely be in attendance, not to mention Soarin’s family, and the social evening was a welcome change in pace from the regimented training they’d been through. Applejack And Big Mac were going out of necessity rather than desire, it would simply be overly inconvenient to return back to the shatterdome after delivering Frontier Justice and carrying a fully armed and fuelled Jaeger around with pilots on board was dangerous, to say the least.
Misty Fly on the other hand laughed off the invitation with a harsh snort of amusement and a condescending look; she had much better things to do than rub noses and she was hardly a socialising pony at the best of times.
Lightning Streak had other ideas though, ideas mostly involving a certain farmer. He had decided now was a good a time as any to try talking to her, after all, when would he get another chance to have a relaxed and laid back evening?
He waited up in the prep area near the top of the Jaeger bay, knowing full well Applejack would have to pass through there to reach her Jaeger. Lightning Streak found himself nervous, perhaps he was being a little too forward. Maybe he should back down and try again another time. He forced himself to stay still, waiting patiently until the farmer showed up.
He would not have had time to sneak off anyway as Applejack appeared around the corner, Big Macintosh trailing a few steps behind her. He gulped, no backing out now without looking exceptionally weird. He waited a few moments before falling into step with Applejack.
“Hi.”
Applejack tossed him a sidelong glance. “Howdy.” She muttered.
The little script Lightning Streak had been preparing suddenly vanished leaving him with his mouth hanging open like a surprised goldfish. He wracked his brain before deciding he’d just have to wing it. “I like you.” He blurted out, mentally slapping himself a moment later as he realised exactly what he’d said.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “That’s nice.”” She said levelly.
Lightning Streak was slightly taken aback by her unenthusiastic response. “Well, uh, I was thinking maybe we could get to, um… know each other a bit better, you know, I mean, maybe you’d like to go and get a drink or something tonight..?” He fumbled, following one step behind Applejack. He smiled with a confidence he didn’t feel and waited several tense moments for her to reply.
Applejack stopped him before he got ahead. “Look, you’re a good pony and all but, uh, Ah just ain’t interested.” She said firmly, stopping to look him in the eye.
Lightning Streak blinked quickly, smarting from the mare’s words. “Wow. Um, yeah. Well, thank you… for your honesty, I guess?” He mumbled, looking down at the hard concrete awkwardly.
“No hard feelings. Ah just ain’t, uh, looking for something like that right now.” Applejack said with a nervous smile.
“No, not at all. Of course. I’ll, um, I’ll just get out of here.” He mumbled to the ground. He backed up, nearly crashing into Big Mac before skirting around the massive stallion and slinking off before Applejack could lay down another word in his direction.
“What’s his problem?” Big Mac asked, tightening his large helmet over his head.
“None of your business.” Applejack shot back, taking a step back as a technician swung the door into the Jaeger bay open and bringing Frontier Justice’s conpod into view.
Big Mac smiled thinly, leading the way out onto the gantry. “Guess I’ll find out soon enough.”
***
Skyray prowled the LOCCENT cautiously, unlike Torque, who liked to kick back and watch the show from his sweeping station that overlooked the Jaeger bay, she preferred to be more mobile, trotting around steadly and checking each of the console operators and then forming a picture from the information they collected. She found that it helped them focus with her watching more closely, that or her scarred face was enough to make the majority of the staff apprehensive around her. She liked to imagine it was the second, the idea amused her for some reason that she couldn’t quite lay a hoof on. Today though, she wasn’t quite at ease as she usually was, with most of the pilots and one of the Jaegers preparing to leave the shatterdome, she felt a little vulnerable. She didn’t trust the griffons and their flying machines further than she could throw them, and she certainly didn’t trust her luck to hold out while the shatterdome’s fighting force was reduced. She’d made her point of view incredibly clear to the marshals, and while they seemed to understand, they seemed much more at ease about it than she would’ve liked.
“What if a Kaiju attacks when you’re gone?” She had asked.
“We’ve still got an operational Jaeger ready to roll, we can be back within two hours, more than enough time before anything could make landfall. I assume you can radio through to the airship.” The one she thought was Michael had responded. Truth be told she’d never really bothered keeping track of them, they both looked the same to her and more importantly, they both seemed equally as competent as each other, though one did seem a little more temperamental.
. “Of course.” She had replied sceptically.
“See, no problem.” Michael said, a line that had hardly convinced the LOCCENT chief. “Besides, what are the chances a Kaiju would just spring out now of all times?”
“Tenfold, because you just said that.” Skyray deadpanned.
“Nice to see some positivity around here. I’m sure everything will be just fine.” Michael said
She glared at her monitor, almost as if she was daring a Kaiju to be foolish enough to tear through the breach. She kept replaying the conversation over and over in her head, a mantra that kept repeating and repeating itself over and over again as she tried convening herself nothing bad was going to happen. She paused from her rounds and dropped into the command chair. How did Torque do it? She kicked up her hooves on the console and tried acting casual but all she felt was a worrying wave of paranoia. She glanced out into the Jaeger bay through the ceiling to floor windows, Wild Mustang looked a little sad tucked away by itself, the spot that Frontier Justice usually occupied next to it being conspicuously empty. She found the sentiment amusing, here she was giving the machines personality. Personality! They were machines for Archon’s sake! She swept the notion aside, the pang of worry slowly eating away like a persistent child at the base of her gut. She glanced down at the console again, just in case the alarm had failed for whatever reason. It was clear. Clear like it always was.
Her harsh glare returned, her one good eye boring into the monitor as if intimidating the machine would make the Kaiju co-operate until the Jaeger got back to the shatterdome.
“Just try it, I dare you.” She growled.
The computer beeped at her.
“Shit.”
***
The rough observation decks studded along the shatterdome’s outer walls were a far cry from beauty and even further from comfort. Most of the small platforms had nothing other than a dim light set into the wall and a chest high wall to stop anyone from falling over the edge without a bit of conscious effort on their behalf. One thing they did possess though, was a rare peacefulness and quiet that seemed so rare in the constantly hectic environment. It wasn’t uncommon then, to find a pony or two out there lost in thought, seeking a moment of solace away from the bustle of the shatterdome’s main facilities.
Lightning Streak had been out on one such balcony for the last few hours, his head resting against the weathered concrete wall glumly. He’d seen, or more accurately, heard, Frontier Justice winched up into the sky and carried away like a massive statue. It’d been mostly peaceful after that, the only other big disturbance being when the machines returned and set down in the shatterdome’s massive loading docks like a flock of noisy crows. It was starting to get cold, autumn was rearing its head and there was a slight nip in the air, a slightly unseasonal cold snap that stole the fire from bellies and made your breath mist slightly. He heard the door creak open on its hinges behind him but didn’t look around, if somepony wanted him they’d talk, and if it was a wanderer, they’d hopefully just leave him alone.
“Thought I’d find you out here.” A voice that could only belong to Misty fly said. The way words sneered out of her mouth was quite distinctive, making even a friendly conversation sound a little harsh to the untrained ear. She pranced up to him, a few choice comments about the temperature drifting from her mouth as she left the relatively warm confines of the shatterdome’s interior. “I thought you went with the others?” She asked.
He shook his head slowly.
Misty’s face drifted into view, a slender eyebrow arched over one icy blue eye. “You going to talk to me, or am I going to just have to amuse myself?”
Lightning Streak shook his head again, prompting an amused snort from his sister.
“Rough day, huh?” Misty asked, leaning against the guardrail and looking out over to bay. The view from the shatterdome was frankly quite beautiful, more of the city’s lights dazzling distant across the vast expanse of water and along the black, open ocean to the east. She could make out a few boats chugging along the shipping lanes, the only movement on the otherwise mirror-still surface. It was a quiet night, almost too quiet, Misty thought. The calm before the oncoming storm. While there wasn’t a single cloud visible in the sky her instincts could tell something big was coming, and when it hit, it would hit hard.
Lightning Streak still didn’t look around, while he hadn’t been expecting company, Misty’s appearance didn’t seem to surprise him in the slightest. “Yeah.” He answered simply.
Misty nodded, seemingly content with his answer. “What’s up?” She asked after a few moments.
“I’m surprised you care.” Lightning Streak scoffed, looking away from his sister.
“You’re both my brother and my co-pilot, I have to at least pretend I care.” Misty chuckled. She sighed “Look, I’ve had this absolute bastard of an itch in my wings all night, like a hive of bees decided to visit. Whatever is bothering you can’t be that bad. So come on, out with it.”
Lightning Streak turned to look over the bay again. “She turned me down.” He muttered after a moment.
“Applejack?” Misty guessed. It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out.
Lightning Streak took his head off the railing and looked at his sister sullenly. “Yeah.”
Misty shrugged noncommittally. “Hmm, too bad. For you that is, she kicked me in the face so I’m honestly quite happy for your girlfriend to dump you.” She clarified.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Lightning Streak grumbled.
“That’s the spirit.” Misty said cheerily, stretching her wings until they popped in their sockets.
“I want to go home…”
Misty stopped stretching and looked at him with concern. “You mean Home home, yeah?”
“Yeah. Home, home.”
She paused and looked at him incredulously. It was hard to say they’d ever really had a home, they had been together since OCS and their precious profession had left them moving around the country on a fairly regular basis. The last time they’d had a real home was when they just foals and living with their parents, and they’d already kicked the bucket. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Misty scowled at him. “Oh for Archon’s sake, pull yourself together. What are doing moping over a mare anyway? You’ve been turned down so many times that I’ve simply lost count, I would’ve thought be you’d be used to it by now.”
Lightning Streak looked at her silently, an unimpressed look carved onto his face.
“Right, not helping, sorry.” Misty said, realising exactly what she’d said. She took a breath and started again. “As they say, home is where the heart is.”
“Gee sis, I didn’t know you were that sentimental “
“I’m not, its absolute bullshit.” She agreed.
Lightning Streak cracked a thin smile “Well, are you happy here?”
“Of course I am, I’m happier than a seagull with a potato chip. This place gives us purpose, gives us something to strive towards. Every time I plug myself into a Jaeger I get a real sense that I can change the world.” Misty said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
“Oh just shut your face and let me enjoy my moment.” Misty snarled, giving him a playful shove. Lightning Streak took the move without complaint, he had not seen Misty so easy going, for lack of better words, for years.
“Whatever. How ‘bout you just go back to your itchy wings.” He suggested, enjoying the shudder that passed down Misty’s spine.
“Actually, I was just thinking about heading back inside. Get an early night or something.” She yawned theatrically. “If you’re ready to stop moping, we could even run a sim-drop.” She suggested.
Lightning Streak seemed to perk up a little. “Could we run the Squishy round?”
Misty had to hold back the immediate ‘no’ that formed on her lips. Squishy was by far a joke, a stupid joke that Michael had played on Soarin and Wave chill that had now become a rather popular time-waster for the pilots. He was barely a Kaiju, he didn’t even have a proper category assigned. Misty had vehemently refused to add him to her simulated combat record, it seemed ridiculously undignified for starters.
“Alright, fine.” She sighed, judging that she could justify it as an attempt to cheer her brother up in case somepony ever asked her why she’d sunk that low. “But I don’t want to hear any more of this mopey crap about that farmer, alight?”
Lightning Streak nodded slowly. “I guess I can agree to that.”
Misty was not sure whether to boo or cheer. On one hand, she had to deal with the humiliation of fighting Squishy while on the other, she could at least be spared from the invariable moaning that was sure to follow. She let out a huff, suddenly quite annoyed at the situation she found herself in.
“Great, let’s this this shit over with then.”
***
It wasn’t quite as bad as Misty had at first feared. She had insisted they do a few ‘real’ simulations before facing Squishy so they spent several intense hours completing virtual obstacle courses, reactions, defensive moves and techniques, both solo and with other virtual Jaegers. They killed a large CAT I solo, more so Misty was assured they could do what Frontier Justice had done some three months ago than for any experience it would offer them. When they finally booted the Squishy sim up, they barely wasted a minute before tearing the tiny virtual Kaiju apart limb from limb.
‘Pathetic’ Misty thought as they crushed the creature’s tiny skull in their palm. She could feel a hint of humour from Lightning Streak’s side of the neural link but forced it away, she found it incredibly undignifying to be fighting something that couldn’t realistically hurt them; it was like killing an ant and then proclaiming yourself defender of the universe. With Squishy now being little more than a trophy on the metaphorical mantelpiece, the simulated world dissolved and faded to black. Misty glared at the slightly orange tinge around the edge of the screen as if it was somehow the computer’s fault for making it too easy.
“That was fun.” Lightning Streak said cheerily, ripping his helmet off and patting his mane back into shape. Misty snorted and removed her own helmet, quickly disengaging herself from the test harness and trotting out to the suit racks. Unlike real drivesuits, the simulator suits were light and easy to don and remove without the aid of another set of hooves. They were also much flimsier, lacking any of the armour or advanced circuitry needed to interact with the Jaeger’s complex control suite.
“You didn’t enjoy that at all?” He queried, following his sister lead and carefully removing the suits circuitry layer. He looked at it slightly wistful, he’d tried his real drivesuit on only once and he was surprised at how eager he was to put it on again.
“Not at all, give me a real challenge for crying out loud. Not this little tiny baby Kaiju shit.” Misty complained, attempting to remove her own case of bad helmet hair with little success.
“We’ll get our shot soon enough, don’t you worry.” Lightning Streak reassured her.
“Hope so.” Misty rumbled, stretching a few cricks out of her wings and trotting over to the heavy door which lead back out into the main hallway. Like most of the drift related equipment, the simulator bays were nestled up near the top of the shatterdome, a necessity to keep the sensitive machines away from the heavy gear located in the Jaeger bays and J-Tech areas. She slid the door open, surprised to both see nopony around and to hear an insistent alarm suddenly ringing in her ears.
Lightning Streak looked around at the alarm, a persistent blaring sound that cut into the base of his skull like a razor. “That can’t be good.” He observed.
“Yeah, that’s the Kaiju alarm.” Misty realised with a jolt of surprise. How long had that been going without them noticing? They both seemed to share the same thought as they exchanged a worried look and galloped down to the elevator, Misty punching in the level for the LOCCENT with almost indecent speed. The elevator smoothly accelerated downwards, seemingly taking an age to reach the right level. Misty almost pried the door open when the car stopped and within a minute they were in the command centre.
“What’s going on?” Misty demanded, making a console operators jump at the sound of her booming voice.
The LOCCENT chief, a scarred pegasus Misty remembered was named Skyray spun around in surprise. “What are you two doing here? I thought you were in Martingale with the others?”
“Well we’re not, what’s the situation?” Misty said matter of factly.
Skyray looked at Misty like she was just another problem to deal with. “We have a confirmed breach, dilation indicates a Category II Kaiju. That was nearly an hour and a half ago.”
Misty twitched involuntarily. How had the LOCCENT staff not informed them by now? “Brilliant, I assume you’ve told the others?”
“We’ve been trying, but I haven’t gotten anything back yet. I sent a runner but they won’t get there for another few hours at best.”
“Okay, and how come nopony thought to go, ‘Hey, what about Castle Bravo’s crew? Maybe they could do something.’” Misty said flatly. “Very clever of you, considering we were just upstairs in the simulator.”
The pegasus spared Misty a look, now wasn’t the time to be bandying insults. “One: We didn’t know you were here. Two: You aren’t rostered for deployment, your Jaeger isn’t ready yet. I mean, sure, if you want to go out there you’re quite welcome to throw rocks.” She snapped.
“Alright, cut the cheek sweetheart. Where’s this thing headed?” Misty growled.
“Central coastline is what we’re guessing. It lit up the scanners so brightly we’ve still got an active track.” She pointed out the screen which had a bright white splotch over it. It was so bright that the rest of the screen looked almost black in comparison.
“It’s not even trying to hide?” Lightning Streak asked curiously. That was a first.
“A sledgehammer would be more subtle if it smashed you in the face.” Skyray deadpanned. “This thing is spewing out so much shit that I thought the computer was going to have a heart attack.”
Misty’s mind ticked over for a moment, running some quick numbers through her head. Martingale back to Manehatten would’ve been doable but the central coast from Martingale was too far, way too far for any Jaeger to go on their current time frame. The only thing they’d be reinforcing ny that point would be a graveyard. “Start-up Castle Bravo, we’re going after it.” She ordered.
Skyray’s good eye widened. “What, are you crazy? Castle Bravo still has dozens of shakedown trails to go through, it’s certainly not ready to launch!”
“Just do it. Thanks to your incompetence, it’ll take hours before anypony else gets back here. We’ll barely have time to intercept at this rate anyway.”
The LOCCENT chief looked mutinous. “You can’t just-.”
“Look you one-eyed freak, you get that Jaeger started or so help me I’ll go and start it with a pair of jumper cables and a potato battery, do I make myself clear?” Misty snapped.
Skyray looked set to knock Misty over the head with a brick. “Crystal.” She fumed.
“Good.” She turned to Lightning Streak and motioned for him to follow her.
“Question, how do you plan on getting down there in a reasonable time frame? The tracks put about say, seven hundred kilometres between us and there. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t pack my running shoes.” Lightning Streak asked, trotting behind her obediently. They weren’t making their way up to the suiting rooms, as he’d expected, but down towards the shatterdome’s extensive dockyards. They stepped out into the now biting wind, Misty still leading the way like a mare possessed. He looked around in confusion at the sudden gust, the now idyllic night had turned angry; a cold autumn wind had picked up and was blowing clouds across the sky like rockets.
“During our little outing before, I noticed the Griffon transporter still in the dock.” Misty said quietly, as if their job had somehow turned into a stealth mission. She peered around the edge of a shipping container, relieved to see a dozen of the massive rotaries still tied down on the main deck.
Lightning Streak saw the heavy transporters and understood immediately. “Ok, but I can’t fly those things.”
Misty smiled thinly, pointing out a few griffons lazing in a circle beneath one of the gangways up to the ship. “True, but they can.”
“Right, because they’ll help us. Their boss went with the others and they don’t seem the type to take orders from ponies.” Lightning Streak pointed out.
“Where’s that optimism of yours?” Misty jabbed. “I’m the cynical one.” She jeered, ducking out from behind the container and approached the griffons, her brother following behind her nervously. “Who’s in charge here?” Misty demanded when they were in earshot.
A few of the griffons looked at each other, clearly not understand what she’d said. One of them, a massive creature that probably stood a good foot taller than her, stood up and padded over.
“No one is in charge.” He said gruffly. “What do you want, pony?”
“I want you and your friends to here take me and my brother to fight a Kaiju.” She pointed at the ship which carried the rotaries. “Using those.”
“Kaiju?” The griffon asked, struggling to pronounce the word.
Misty made an annoyed expression, didn’t these griffons know anything?. “Basically a big monster capable of destroying a city.”
The griffon looked at her dubiously and relayed her message to his companions. Misty waited for several moments as the griffons discussed it amongst themselves in their own tongue.
He finally turned back to her. “So let me get this straight, you want me to hop in my rotary, carry you halfway across Equestria, risking life and limb in this scrapheap, to fight a monster that could swat me out of the sky with a single look?”
“Uh, yes.” Misty admitted.
The griffon made a cackling sound. “You’re hilarious. Now get out of here.” He ordered, waving a talon at them dismissively.
Misty resisted the urge to floor the massive griffon, he was not only considerably larger than she was, but he also had nearly a score and a half of his friends sitting around. “You have a name, turkey?”
The griffon spun around, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Gaston.”
“Well, Gaston, I suggest you should really reconsider your stance.”
The griffon cackled again. “And why would that be? There’s only two of you and almost thirty of us.” He said, his beak seeming to curl up slightly. He poked Misty’s chest gently. “So I suggest you run off with your tail tucked between your legs before you get hurt.”
Misty, much to Lightning Streak’s surprise, backed off with an amused look. “We’ll be back, and then there’ll be one of us.” She chuckled, wandering off and leaving and leaving the very confused griffon behind her.
***
Gaston tried to not think about the annoying pony after she’d been shooed away, immediately going to back to incredibly important task of preening and cleaning his feathers. While pegasi tended to only preen themselves only when they had to, griffons tended to preen themselves at every moment they could afford to.
After all, appearances were everything.
His preening session though seemed a little more lacklustre than usual though, his mind constantly drifting back to last words the bossy pegasus had said.
What had she meant by ‘One of us?’ Surely no pony was audacious enough to take on nearly thirty griffons alone. He paused his cleaning and scoffed silently, instead busying himself with watching two of the other griffons fight over a portion of their rations. Everyone seemed to be watching them now with barely concealed interest, several of the other pilots already betting on who would win. He didn’t bother, he already knew out of the pair would win the brawl. His suspicions were confirmed a few moments later when a dark specimen by the name of Genevieve dropped down next to him, the extra rations gripped victoriously in her beak.
“Like taking candy from a chick.” She purred, preening some of her ruffled feathers back into place. She bore a few scratches along her flanks but Gaston knew better than to trouble her about it.
“Sharova does not have quite the same mettle as you.” He agreed. Almost all griffons were extremely prideful and the simple compliment made her glow all the brighter.
“It seems I have chosen a good broodmate after all.” Genevieve jeered, tossing him a few thin strips of salted meat from the bag. Gaston took it without complaint, none of the griffons were prepared to stoop down to getting food from the locals, leaving them with a simple but fulfilling diet of salted meat, dried fruit, and the occasional fish.
He was about to make a reply when the lights suddenly snapped off. A few of the other griffons cursed loudly and jumped to their feet, prowling cautiously around their small camp. Was this some trick of the overbearing pony who’d approached them before? Maybe she sought to use the darkness against them. Gaston blinked quickly as he searched for trouble, his eyes unused to the sudden darkness. He swore quietly, while having very good eyesight, griffons tended to be lacking a little with their other senses.
Whatever it was, Gaston could certainly hear it. A steady, rhythmic boom and low tremor that seemed to be drawing closer and closer. He glared out into the swirling darkness, still unable to make out anything more than a few metres away.
Then Gaston saw one of the skyscrapers move.
“Flap my feathers…” He gawked, his eyes going up to follow the shape that suddenly loomed out of the darkness. The lights snapped back on, suddenly blinding the assembled griffons and allowing their new arrival to make a suitably dynamic entry. It was huge, massive. The largest machine Gaston had ever seen. It thrummed with power, every inch of its pure white bodywork showing off its supreme strength and agility. Gaston scrambled back as a massive hand slammed onto the pier beside him and the machine stooped down so he could get a good look at its head. It seemed to glare at him through its ice-blue visor for a second before a frustratingly familiar voice rang out from its head.
The howling of the night air rushing past Castle Bravo’s conpod was thankfully blocked by the thick steel walls of the pilot’s cocoon. They were both silently thankful for this, the steady thump of the rotary’s blades and the occasional quiet beep as Castle Bravo’s sensors picked up an ionised particle in the air was enough already to set them on edge. The pervading darkness was doing little to help, the wind had died down but a massive blanket of dark clouds blotted out the moon and stars. There thankfully wasn’t any rain yet but if the occasional faint flash of lightning in the distance was any indication, it probably wasn’t far off. After their suitably impressive entrance at the shatterdome it hadn’t been hard to persuade the griffons to take them, they were a proud race but even they weren’t completely stupid.
The Jaeger’s radio occasionally picked up an odd stream from the griffon pilots, banter that drifted back and forth meaninglessly to the two pilots. Even if either of them could’ve understood their language of their transporters, neither would’ve probably paid it much heed. Compared to the fairly relaxed attitude that they’d approached their simulated combat drills some hours earlier, both of Castle Bravo’s pilots were on edge. Misty had run the same systems diagnosis twelve times now and Lightning Streak was staring somewhat vacantly at a small flashing icon on the conpod’s display.
“System scan complete, all systems nominal.” The computer hummed coldly in the back of Misty’s helmet. She shuddered slightly at the sound, it was like having ice run down her neck, an unpleasant chill at the base of her spine every time the Jaeger’s computer spoke. What it was exactly that she found unnerving eluded her but the almost glacial temperature it possessed did little to comfort her.
“Misty, give it a break would you?” Lightning Streak complained. “I get it, you’re jumpy.”
“I’m not jumpy.” Misty complained.
Lightning Streak took his eyes off the Jaeger’s scanners for a moment and shot her a sarcastic look. “Sure you aren’t. It’s not like I can feel it you fluttering around like a hummingbird in my head.”
“And you’re not?” Misty sneered back defensively. She didn’t like to admit she was nervous. She hadn’t seen real combat before and the prospect of her first real fight against a skyscraper sized monster seemed a little less appealing now that she was actually on the way to do it.
“Shitting bricks.” Lightning Streak answered with a nervous laugh. “How bad could it be though? We drop in, bash its face a few times and go home, easy stuff right?” He smiled thinly, it was a little pointless as Misty could feel his forced ease through their neural bond, but it couldn’t hurt.
“Yeah, sure.” Misty answered sceptically before retreating to the relative silence of her mind. She was tempted to start another systems check but squelched the order when Lightning Streak conjured up a memory of the overly perfectionist behaviour she tended to exhibit when she was younger
“They weren’t ordered right.” She growled defensively.
“Sure, because everypony orders their dolls, I mean, collectable figures, by date of manufacture.” He shot back wryly.
Before Misty could shoot a reply back the Jaeger’s sensors lit up like a fireworks display. The delicate instruments suddenly looked like a rave party, flashing a cold but insistent blue as the sensors suddenly overloaded with a sudden wealth of data.
“That’s our Kaiju.” Misty summarised as the computer analysed the data and identified the unique mixture of ionised particles and fumes that a Kaiju’s body gave off. The pre-combat jitters were gone, replaced by a cold, machine-like efficiency. This is what they’d trained for and now with something tangible to go off, Misty found herself slightly less worried.
She signalled a change in direction to the rotary crews and the massive transports shifted onto a new heading, following the proverbial trail of breadcrumbs the Kaiju had left.
“I can’t see anything down there.” Lightning Streak piped up, looking down at the ground. A massive fog bank had rolled in, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of vapour. Small hills broke through the fog here and there like an archipelago and the occasional faint glow of a light forced its way through the dense cover. The rotaries dropped lower, the Jaeger’s toes now dangling a little under a hundred metres off the ground. The rotaries turned again with a bowel-clenching shift of gravity, bringing a distant mountain range into view, a rocky wall which jutted up into the sky like a massive impenetrable barrier. The rotaries pitched over a low hill and plunged into a wide, shallow valley.
“How far from the coast is this thing?” Misty asked worriedly. The signal strength was steadily growing as they headed inland, a worrying prospect as they were supposed to be stopping the Kaiju before they dragged their slimy hides up the beach, not after. By her reckoning they were already five or ten kilometres from the coast, much further than any Kaiju had gotten before.
The computer shrilled an alarm, it had a solid return.
“Kaiju signature detected. Category II profile. Designation - Bile.”
“Well there’s your answer.” Lightning Streak muttered, flipping his helmet’s visor down in unison with Misty. A wealth of new data scrawled across their display as the drivesuit synched with the Jaeger’s systems. Misty looked around and felt the servos and pistons in the Jaeger’s neck shift the machine’s head around.
Maybe it was the downwash from the rotaries or maybe a light breeze had picked it up and brushed it away, but the fog bank nestled at the bottom of the valley briefly shifted apart, allowing the two pilots and crews of the rotaries a quick glimpse of a massive tentacle and a slimy, unnaturally pale arm waving around like stalk of wheat in a strong breeze. The fog closed in again as quickly as it had parted and the idle banter which the rotary crews had been enjoying suddenly cut to stunned silence.
“Still think this was a good idea?” Lightning Streak asked quietly as a massive shape started forming in the fog bank like a ghost.
“Too late to back out now. Drop us next to those two silos.” Misty ordered, her gut clenching as the rotaries spun around to deliver them to the designated area. It was almost as if their pilots wanted to get away from the looming shadow as quickly as possible.
“Good luck pony, maybe you come back in one piece, eh?” One of the pilots joked.
Misty resisted the urge to tell him to shut his guinea-trap, there was at least a trace of sincerity in the griffon’s voice. Perhaps the momentary sighting of the Kaiju had sobered him up somewhat. She brushed the thought aside and punched the override for the Jaeger’s harness, disengaging the Jaeger from the transport with a loud whip-crack of steel. She jammed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the fact that her guts felt like they were now somewhere in the crest of the Jaeger’s head. A proximity alarm chimed softly in the back of her helmet, giving her a second to tense up for the inevitable bone jarring impact that was to follow.
Like a drunk navigating the front steps of his drinking hole, Castle Bravo landed awkwardly, slamming into the ground with a squelch of mud and a whine of delicate servos. It was a sloppy landing but the pilots brushed it off, they had only done one air drop in the simulator and that time they had managed to land flat on their face and unlike that time, they couldn’t just reattach themselves to the rotaries and try again. This was for real. They quickly regained their footing in the treacherous ground and powered towards where they’d seen the Kaiju, the nimble Jaeger bounding over a few splintered trees and a small hillock effortlessly as it advanced towards the shifting shadow.
“It’s already been this way.” Lightning Streak observed, pulling his hoof free of the sucking mud with a squelch and a spray of black toxic sludge.
“Must’ve hit a dead end at the end of the valley.” Misty guessed, she couldn't think of any reason why the Kaiju would double back.
Like an airship appearing out of a cloud bank, Bile slowly materialised. It was like watching a crash in slow motion, each moment making a gnawing sense of dread and horror grow in the pilot’s chests. It was the colour of rotting flesh and death, the only blotches of colour a score of bloated pustules of glowing blue that pocked its skin like sores and six eyes that glowed brightly along the side of the Kaiju’s head. A long tongue, glowing like a neon band, lolled out its limp jaw like a puppet with its strings cut, probing and twitching as the Kaiju slowly advanced over the rough landscape. A pair of lanky arms sprouted from the Kaiju’s bloated body, each one tipped with four large tentacles that spasmed around like they had a mind of their own. Its stumpy legs were coils of flesh and skin, blubbery appendages that somehow kept the beat’s considerable weight up. A quartet of large tentacles sprouted from the Kaiju’s back, each one tipped with a row of massive suction pads. The walking horror was dripping as well, a light blue sheen that dripped and oozed its way down the Kaiju and turned everything it touched to a black sludge. The Kaiju’s tongue whipped around, licking over the Kaiju’s rolls of blubbery flesh and along its freakishly long arms, coating its skin with a fresh layer of the dripping mucus. It was an abomination, a walking sack of blood and muscle that defied the very laws of nature. A horror that would cause even the most stalwart of creatures to start gibbering with terror.
And it was marching out of the fog bank, gurgling noisily like a disorderly hoofball fan.
With deliberate slowness, Bile’s head tracked around to face the approaching Jaeger, its tentacles writhing energetically and a low, ominous gurgle coming from its shapeless head. It seemed hilariously awkward, lumbering forth like an unsteady drunk, ready to pitch over at the first sign of trouble. Its skin was slimy and slick, shining like glass under the bright glow of the Jaeger’s searchlights. Misty resisted the urge to gag, it was by far the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen.
“That is just….” Lightning Streak shuddered, his face paling visibly as the Kaiju hauled itself upright and hobbled towards them.
“A face not even a mother could love.” Misty agreed, vaulting the Jaeger over a farmhouse like it was a pebble. They were close enough now to make out a small, unseeing pupil in the centre of the creature’s otherwise flat eyes. Misty got a good look behind the creature, a long putrescent slime trail was snaking behind it, the ground withered and blackened under a faint sheen of what looked like the Kaiju’s mucus. Her observation of the Kaiju was interrupted when it made a vile retching sound and vomited forth a tide of a sickly blue liquid towards the Jaeger. Castle Bravo ducked aside and the trail flew over their shoulder, burning into a copse of trees a hundred metres to their left and leaving nothing more than lumpy black sludge.
“You have so got to die.” Misty snarled, blasting the Jaeger’s foghorn and diving towards the Kaiju.
Bile rose to meet their charge, taking another loping step forward and swinging an arm clumsily at Castle Bravo, its tentacles whipping around in a wide arc. The Jaeger easily dodged the ungainly blow, ducking under the Kaiju’s arm and slipping past Bile’s guard to slam its shoulder into the Kaiju. It was a mighty blow that would have floored any smaller opponent but Bile was massive, and despite its ungainly appearance, was actually rather well balanced.
Bile seemed a little confused as its blubbery flesh rippled and shook. A large discoloured patch of skin started forming where the Jaeger had slammed into the Kaiju but otherwise it seemed unfazed by the blow.
“Oh, this is so going to suck.” Misty said with feeling before the Kaiju’s tentacle whipped back around and clipped Castle Bravo across the back like a disobedient child. Already extended, the Jaeger stumbled forward, tumbling into the Kaiju’s other arm and instantly getting entangled in the Kaiju’s tentacles. The two pilots tried to break free but much to their dismay, Bile had already tightly wrapped its tentacles around the Jaeger’s upper arms. It made a hair-raising gurgle and hurled the Jaeger sideways, still maintaining its iron-like grip on the beleaguered war machine. Like Quillback some months earlier, Castle Bravo was completely at the mercy of its larger opponent, struggling to no avail as the Kaiju shook them violently like a toy.
The Kaiju drew them in closer, its obscene tentacles writhing and wrapping around the Jaeger’s chest like ropes. Misty tried swatting one away but two more quickly took its place, wrapping around the Jaeger’s upper arm and starting to squeeze. Small streaks of what she realised was the creature’s blood started welling up from under Bile’s skin and trickled over the Jaeger’s surfaces, the fresh white paint instantly peeling away in black lumps as the Kaiju’s blood trickled over it.
An alarm started ringing in the back of her helmet as the Kaiju’s tentacles tightened around the Jaeger. Misty groaned uncomfortably, her fur felt like it was being seared away and her blood vessels felt like they popping and bursting beneath her skin. She could feel the Jaeger’s hardened skin slowly melt away as Bile’s noxious secretions wormed its way into the machine’s vitals. Castle Bravo whined and snarled, its powerful arms struggling against Bile’s writhing tentacles. She felt its hold slither over the right forearm and got an idea.
“Overcharge the stingblade’s firing mechanism.” She wheezed as the Jaeger’s chest started crumpling like a tin can. She was worried the series of loud bangs beneath them had drowned out her voice but Lightning Streak was already on it, overriding several safeties and activating the motor at the base of the arm which swung their stingblade into position. While he was doing this, she reached forward for the Jaeger’s cannon controls. Mounted in the Jaeger’s shoulder stabilisers and the chest, Castle Bravo possessed six of the massive 406mm cannons, not dissimilar to the ones found on a battleship. While the Jaeger only carried a handful of shells in reserve, when it ripple fired all six guns at once the results were usually quite spectacular. Now with Bile obligingly holding them right in front of it, there was hardly any chance they’d miss. She forced the doors open, primed the guns and mashed down the firing stud as Lighting Streak fired the stingblade’s engine.
With a roar of servos and cannons, the razor-sharp blade locked into place under the Jaeger’s arm, neatly severing several of the Kaiju’s smaller tentacles and crushing the bulk of its tree-trunk like arm between the massive stingblade and the Jaeger’s wrist as it slammed into place with a sharp crack of metal. The entire Jaeger shook from the impact and Bile instinctively drew back, straight into the path of the six shells. Like Princess Celestia at a pastry shop, the heavy shells tore through the Kaiju. Their armour piercing tips were designed to smash through several inches of solid steel, never mind the Kaiju’s soft, blubbery flesh. Two ripped through Bile’s upper right tentacle, severing it with a spray of blood and a wet squelch. The remaining four crashed into the Kaiju’s chest and along the crest of its head, leaving ugly pock marks and wounds that oozed more of the Kaiju’s glowing blood. It backed off, snarling and gurgling like a broken bubbler, swatting clumsily with its remaining limbs as it reeled around in confusion.
Misty finally got a good look at the damage they had inflicted, one of the Kaiju’s massive tentacles was crushed into paste and all of the smaller appendages sprouting from its back had been sliced clean through or crushed to little more than limp pulp, spraying even more of the Kaiju’s curious luminous blood everywhere. She snarled in approval and activated Castle Bravo’s other stingblade with a press of a button, bringing the Jaeger’s other blade to the ready much more gently. They weren’t playing nice anymore.
Through her connection with her brother she could feel the Jaeger’s right forearm had cracked in several places from the bone-jarring impact but brushed the feeling away to the back of her mind, he was putting up with it so she saw no reason in complaining about it.
Besides, they had bigger things to worry about. Bile was starting to rally, getting its crushed and wildly flailing limb back under control and refocusing its many beady eyes on the limping Jaeger. It took a plodding step towards them, its left arm dragging along the ground and nearly tripping it up as dead parts of it limb got caught in debris. It let out a snarl of frustration, the first tangible noise the Kaiju had made since engaging them, reached around with its good arm and ripped its other damaged arm off at the elbow.
“Shit, it just pulled its own arm off!” Lighting Streak stammered as the Kaiju tossed its now useless limb aside, more of its glowing lifeblood pouring out of the fresh wound it had inflicted on itself.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Misty snarked, wishing he’d focus on maintaining their stance rather than gawping at the relentless Kaiju. Castle Bravo took an unsteady step forward, its engines and tortured gears complaining as Misty forced it upright. The fragile Jaeger probably only had a few more minutes left in it before something vital gave. “Now stand up and let’s finish this bastard off before we fall over.”
He made a pained expression but helped her force the Jaeger back up to its full, unimpressive height. They took another step forward, crushing a tree which had miraculously survived Bile’s toxic mucus to splinters and swung low with their good stingblade, aiming at taking off Bile’s last arm at the shoulder. The Kaiju tried stepping back from the strike but it was too slow to get entirely out of the way. The sharpened blade cutting through its blubbery skin like butter. Another torrent of blood spilled down the beast’s gut as the blade tore up through its chest, finishing just short of its shoulder. The Kaiju let out another gurgle and swung its remaining arm around like a club, smashing the crippled Castle Bravo sideways like an umbrella in a gust of wind. The Jaeger managed to remain on its feet though and rolled with the blow, allowing it to counter by shifting its weight slightly to rip Bile’s remaining arm out of its socket with a sickening pop. While the move would’ve simply dislocated most creature’s arms, Bile seemed to simply fall apart at the seams and a veritable tidal wave of Kaiju Blue swamped the battlefield, joining the already considerable stream which was still pouring down Bile’s chest and neck.
“Damn, where is this all coming from?” Lightning Streak yelped, using Bile’s considerable mass as a refuge from the rising tide. The small Jaeger scrambled up its opponent’s back, forcing its way onto the Kaiju’s broken shoulders and struggling to maintain its grip as the now armless Kaiju flailed wildly to shake them loose. More of the creature’s toxic blood splattered over the Jaeger, eating away voraciously at the machine’s already damaged armour. Misty felt the right leg’s motors give out before the auxiliary snapped into life. They were on borrowed time now.
“Screw this!” She snarled, plunging the Jaeger’s good stingblade into the crest of the Kaiju’s skull, aiming for one of the shell craters their previous barrage had made. There was brief moment of resistance before the creature’s head split in two, what passed for the beast’s brain matter spilling out in a surge of bright blue toxic goop. Misty groaned in disgust and with every last ounce of strength she could muster, pulled the blade free and kicked off the Kaiju’s back. Castle Bravo was airborne for a moment, the once graceful and sleek Jaeger sailing over the rapidly expanding lake of toxic sludge which still poured out from the dying Kaiju before slamming into the ground with an impact that was felt for kilometres around. Castle Bravo bounced once, clearing a small grain silo that had somehow escaped destruction, before tearing a deep channel into the soft earth, the already tortured drive system locking up and leaving the Jaeger sprawled in the mud like an exhausted boxer. The Jaeger lay still for a moment, steam rising from its vents and its armour sizzling away cheerfully as massive splotches of the Kaiju’s blood slowly melted it away.
Misty tried moving one of the Jaeger’s legs but only got a faint groan and a pitiful squeak in response. A dozen lights and alerts were flashing across her helmet and there seemed to be more systems broken than there were working ones. She gritted her teeth and spun the Jaeger’s head around, satisfied to see Bile’s corpse slowly bubbling away in a pool of its own slime. Without a constant stream of protective mucus to cover its body, the Kaiju was starting to melt away, sinking into the glowing pond of Kaiju blood that coated the ground around it. She realised with a hint of horror and disgust that its obscene heart was still pumping away, its nervous system too simple to realise that it was, in fact, already dead.
She looked over at her brother, not bothering to ask if he was alright. She could feel his heart hammering in her chest and his mind, now racing at a million miles a minute, was still competing with her own thoughts. She let out a shaky breath and cut the connection, with the Jaeger immobilised for the moment there was no point in making the already overtaxed computer keep their neural link running.
“Well that was fun.” She remarked casually, suddenly wishing she had a cigar. She’d never smoked one of the foul things in her life, but for some reason now seemed like a remarkably good time to have one. She took a moment to revel in their victory before brushing the strange thought away and turning to her attention to the Jaeger, mentally sorting through the hundreds of faults the diagnostic system was finding. Most of it seemed superficial, only a few critical systems were down completely. Still, they needed to get washed down before the Kaiju’s toxic blood turned them into slag.
“Uh, Misty?” Lighting Streak said warily.
“Not now.” Misty said, noticing that the reactor core was showing a minor containment breach. She immediately reached for the SCRAM button, the toxic Kaiju blood would eventually eat its way through the hardened vessel that housed their reactor and possibly cause an even bigger catastrophe if it was still running when something vital gave. Misty, for one, had no urge to go out in a flaming ball of nuclear fire. The conpod’s light flickered and spluttered out, being swiftly replaced by a few smaller ones as the Jaeger switched over to battery power.
“Misty?” Her brother called again. She heard a faint click of metal but dismissed it, still engrossed in making sure their reactor was secure. She activated the system’s fire suppression system, vaguely remembering in some lesson that the carbon dioxide would slow the acidic reaction of the Kaiju’s blood.
“Misty, move!” Lightning Streak yelled, suddenly ripping her free of her harness. She didn’t even have time to draw breath before she’d slammed against the side of the conpod in a tangle of legs, wings and drivesuit. She was about to berate him when a patch of the roof above her station suddenly caved in, the metal completely eaten through by the Kaiju’s acidic blood.
“Damn it sis, pay attention next time.” Lighting Streak coughed, edging away from the small drops of Kaiju blood which splattered around them and started sizzling through the floor. “You alright?”
Misty resisted the urge to bite his head off. After all, he did just save her from the distinctly unpleasant experience of being melted alive. Her wing though, had been crushed under the two pegasi and if her reckoning was right, the delicate limb felt like it had been fractured in several places. “I was better.” She growled, holding back a cry of agony as she straightened her wing out. A noxious smell was starting to fill the conpod as the metal floor started dissolving in places, bubbling away cheerfully as the two pegasi watched.
“We need to get out of here.” Misty managed, limping towards the conpod’s main door. She forced it open with another groan of pain, dismayed to find only a small crawlspace between their Jaeger’s hull and the ground.
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” She grumbled, squeezing down into the gap and squirming through the small gap until she was free. She took a grateful breath of air, quickly deciding that the smell of the distant Kaiju rotting away, mixing with the burnt hull, was much less pleasant than the smell that now filled the conpod. The sun still hadn’t risen and a soft but chilly breeze was cutting into her exposed face like a razor. Through the fog she couldn’t make out anything more than a few hundred metres away from the now dormant Jaeger.
“Now what?” Lightning Streak asked, materialising at her shoulder. He looked around and shucked his helmet off, spitting out a few chunks of dirt.
“Find some high ground and get away from this wreck. Hopefully somewhere out of the wind where we can shelter till the sun comes up.” Misty wheezed, now wondering if her brother had inadvertently broken a rib in their rough tumble. “Then we wait.”
***
Luckily for the two pilots they didn’t have to wait long. Within an hour of Bile’s demise, a nearby REAF Airship, Sabre Three arrived, prowling slowly through the rapidly lifting fog like a shark and took them on board. By the time that the first of the rotaries was back on the scene, Misty and Lighting Streak had been scrubbed down, fed and had their injuries attended to by the ship’s orderly. The rotaries wasted no time in seeing to the fallen Jaeger, and within half an hour the small flotilla was powering back towards the shatterdome as fast as it could, Castle Bravo hanging limply from their cradles like a drunk pit fighter. No sooner than the Jaeger had been deposited through the shatterdome’s yawning roof, teams of ponies clad in hazmat suits scrambled over the Jaeger, spraying it down with a basic solution and pumping its systems full of carbon dioxide. Within the hour the Jaeger was deemed relatively safe and another swarm of repair crews swarmed over the Jaeger like an army of ants, removing panels of burnt and twisted armour to reach the Jaeger’s more sensitive components.
Like their Jaeger, the two pilots were fussed over as well. Both were scrubbed clean again and underwent mild anti-radiation therapy, the combination of the Kaiju’s blood and the Jaeger’s wreckage giving them a slightly higher dose than what was considered safe. Misty’s wing and rib were properly set in a cast, pegasus physiology being what it was, she would probably only suffer for a few days before being back to her normal, spirited self. Although Lightning Streak hadn’t been injured nearly as bad, the exposure to the Kaiju’s blood was starting to turn patches of his mane and coat a crazy shade of blue. As soon as they’d been cleared by the shatterdome’s medical teams they were ushered to the Marshal's office for debriefing. They spent the next few minutes taking turns in explaining the events leading up to the encounter and then the encounter itself with the monstrous Kaiju.
“That was too close.” Michael summed up succinctly as soon as the two pilots were seated opposite him. He placed a single page report down on the desk with a relieved look. Misty leaned over slightly, reading the words ‘Castle Bravo - Preliminary report’ scrawled across the top.
“It was a brave, but stupid move.” Shane agreed.
“And what would you have done?” Misty asked with a faint sneer.
“Probably the same thing.” Shane admitted. “You were lucky though.”
“Quite. Give it another hour or two and Castle Bravo would’ve been more useful as scrap.” Michael affirmed. He looked at the two pilots apprehensively. “You two are alright?”
“Could be better.” Lightning Streak answered.
“The docs cleared us.” Misty rebutted noncommittally. Although her head was throbbing gently and her muscles felt like she’d been through twelve of Spitfire’s infamous training sessions without a break, she thought it best to not mention it, lest they force her back to the infirmary.
Michael looked at her with a slightly bemused look. “What’s your problem Misty? Thought old guts and glory would’ve been thrilled after your first outing.”
“It was … different.” Misty admitted uncomfortably.
“Not at all like you were expecting?”
Misty shuffled slightly, unwilling to share her feelings with the human. “Was the convention worth it?” She asked, skirting around the question like a politician sitting before an inquiry.
Michael looked slightly annoyed at the change in topic, but accepted it. “Well, if you discount the fact that that we were caught flat footed with a Kaiju in the backyard, yes. Totally. We had quite a few parties approach us with designs that look quite promising. In terms of expanding our resource base, we did remarkably well.”
“Of course it was.” Misty grumbled, wincing slightly as she folded her hooves across her chest.
“Oh get over yourself princess, everything turned out alright.” Michael admonished the pegasus gently.
“If it could, I’m fairly sure Mother Nature would punch you in the gut for saying that.” Shane remarked from off to the side.
“Probably.” Michael agreed, his tone becoming a little more serious. While nothing concrete had come in yet, several square kilometres of prime farming land had immediately been reduced to sludge by Bile. While this was a small amount by itself, the possibility of ground infiltration was a very real danger, and if the water table got severely contaminated, it could well spell disaster for crop growth in the region. “I’ve never seen or heard of a Kaiju that toxic before, it was like a walking bio-hazard.”
Misty shuddered involuntarily, in her mind Bile was little more than a weapon. It seemed impossible to her that something like that could’ve just occurred naturally or evolved. What would’ve prompted nature to make a creature like that? Misty quickly decided that wherever the Kaiju came from, was not a place she wanted to go.
She pushed the thought down, it wasn’t something she knew enough about to comment on. Shane and Michael had been fighting the Kaiju for six odd years now, they knew more about the creatures than she did and they’d never mentioned anything that seemed to back up her thought.
“Neither.” Shane said with a slow nod. He looked at Misty and Lightning Streak. “And you say this thing just fell apart after a little action?”
“Like a wet paper tissue.” Misty affirmed.
Shane blanched. “That’s one hell of a defence mechanism.”
Misty and her brother nodded in tandem.
Shane made an impassive sound. “Well I’m sure that K-science lot will love pouring over it… if there’s anything left.”
Misty forced down the unpleasant mental image of Bile blackening and melting away in its own pool of blood. “Can we go now, sir?”
“Yeah, we’re done here.” Michael said, waving the two pegasi towards the door. “Get some rest and don’t push yourselves. You’ve done well today.”
“Thank you sir,” Misty said, backing out of the office with Lightning Streak in tow before they changed their minds.
Lightning Streak couldn’t help but notice her slightly odd demeanour. He would’ve expected her to be crowing about her achievement to anypony she could find, not be pensive and brooding like a troubled philosopher. “What’s up?” He asked after he was sure they out of earshot of anypony else.
Misty scowled at him. “Everything is different than what I expected.”
Lightning Streak snorted with amusement. “And what did you expect exactly? Glory? Fans? Awesome sunglasses?”
Misty glared at him silently, unable to come up with a good answer.
***
Free from the Marshal's office, the two pegasi trotted down to the Jaeger bay. They didn’t have to voice the desire to see their Jaeger, it just felt instinctive. The morning had well and truly progressed and dozens of technicians crowded the hallways, either setting off to start their shifts or returning from whatever early morning work they’d done. Misty walked with a slight limp, her wing didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would but her ribs flared painfully every time her hoof struck the weathered concrete floor.
‘Some discomfort…yeah, and Celestia has an amazing beard.’ She thought sourly, ignoring a few oily looking earth ponies who stared at her as she passed. After her long station on Rogue Three she was hardly used to hero worship, it was something she’d have to reluctantly reacquaint herself with. They rode the elevator down to the bottom of the Jaeger Bay’s floor and entered the expansive hall, the guards patrolling one of the many entrances letting them pass without any trouble.
As usual the Jaeger bay was echoing with noise and activity. Frontier Justice sat dormant by the door down on all fours, a few ponies checking the Jaeger’s upper hardpoints diligently. Wild Mustang was conspicuously unattended, the massive grey behemoth standing silently in its wing like a vigilant sentinel. The usually dark, brooding form of Midsummer Night was strangely absent.
The focus of attention seemed to be squarely fixed on Castle Bravo though.
The small Jaeger was propped up on a crawler, held securely in position with a crane and several massive bright yellow clamps. Hundreds of scaffolds snaked out from the walls and surrounded the Jaeger like an iron cage. An echoing boom rolled around the bay as another crane pulled one of the Jaeger’s mangled chest plates free from its body. A flutter of wings sounded to her left as Lightning Streak took flight, shooting up like a rocket and hovering up around the top rafters and scaffolds surrounding the Jaeger.
“Check out the view from up here.” He called out.
Misty squirmed uncomfortably. The rafters were up near the Jaeger’s head and looked remarkably flimsy from where she was. With her wing out of action the stairs seemed like an exhausting prospect, further reducing her desire to go up near the Jaeger.
“No, I think I can see just fine from down here thanks.” She said squeamishly.
Lightning Streak chuckled loudly. “The only pegasus who’s afraid of heights….” He teased, before leaving her in relative peace. Even from her spot on the floor she had a good view of the damage Bile had inflicted. Despite the best work of the shatterdome’s repair crews, the bottom half of the Jaeger was still covered in scorched and twisted plates of scarred white metal. The top looked hardly any better, the Jaeger’s entire chest had been pulled open, naked metal and machinery showing between the massive struts that made up the Jaeger’s frame. What looked like several kilometres of cabling hung from struts and looped around the Jaeger’s hull like jungle vines. It almost felt a little perverted to be looking at the Jaeger with its chest open, as it the removal of its armour and its tough skin made it naked.
She shook the thought off, that was ridiculous. She’d seen the internals of Rogue Two’s engines several times and it’d hardly had an effect on her. Maybe it was simply because Castle Bravo was looked more pony-like or maybe it was something else. She couldn’t put a hoof on it but she felt a deeper connection with the machine, after all, wasn’t Castle Bravo some sort of a gestalt entity made up of her and her brother sharing the body of a giant machine?
Was it now a part of her as much as he was a part of it?
Misty Fly locked that thought down before she got carried away. She hardly knew enough to make an informed judgement and guessing wasn’t exactly her strong suite. She bit her lip as Lightning Streak fluttered down from the gantry and landed next to her, he was still gawking at the Jaeger slightly, an immensely profound look on his face.
“She’s something special.” He affirmed, voicing the mutual thought that they seemed to be sharing.
“Yeah, something like that.” Misty said, quickly wiping the look off her face when she realised he was staring at her.
“Come on, you were thinking it.”
Misty quickly changed the topic. “I learned something about our Jaeger, something all those hours in the simulator never showed. It’s a precise scalpel, a delicate blade. I’m flailing around with it like it’s a broadsword.”`
He nodded briskly. “Noted. Something to try out in the sims, eh?”
She shook her head slightly. “It’s not the same. It’s like a completely different machine. It’s angrier, meaner… colder.”
“Baby’s annoyed at being woken up early.” Lightning Streak chuckled. He stopped when he realised Misty seemed to be taking his idea seriously. “Come on, that’s ridiculous. It’s a machine. It doesn’t feel, it doesn’t think.”
“She’s special. You said so yourself.” Misty shot back defensively.
“There’s a difference, that’s not exactly what I had in mind.”
Misty craned her head back slightly and stared up at the Jaeger’s conpod. “I’m not so sure of that.” She said, a shiver running down her spine.
She couldn’t be sure but it seemed like Castle Bravo glared back.
***
The next few days passed slowly. Misty was forced on light duties due to her injuries and she was strictly forbidden by the shatterdome’s doctors from going anywhere near the simulator or combat rooms. This left her with an overabundance of free time, time she was supposed to use to recuperate and recover.
Fat chance.
Fuelled by a desire to not sit on her rump all day, Misty worked her way into the Jaeger bay and tried to make herself useful. This wasn’t quite as easy as it sounded, as most of the crews working on the Jaegers were either too preoccupied to notice her or too burdened with tasks without having a clueless pony around as well to keep an eye on. She’d almost given up hope when she ran into a unicorn struggling with a large service hatch on the side of Castle Bravo’s head. Despite the height and the narrow scaffold that she would have to traverse to reach the unicorn, Misty forced her way out around the side of the conpod, not looking down lest she freeze up.
“You need a hand with that?” She called up to the unicorn.
The unicorn’s head tilted down as she was surprised somepony was talking to her. She regarded Misty silently for a moment.
“That’d be nice. You look like a strong pony, open this hatch for me. The latch is jammed shut tighter than a Diamond Dog’s butt crack.”
Misty may have considered herself above many things but she didn’t mind getting her hooves dirty from time to time. She clambered up the side of the Jaeger’s head, mindful of the seventy metre drop to her left and set to the panel with the usual gusto she did everything. Armed with a hammer, cutting torch and judicious swearing, she tore the beaten panel on the side of Castle Bravo’s head open. Grinning slightly, she set aside her tools so she could get a better look at the mess of electronics housed inside. She didn’t know a thing about the components themselves but it didn’t take a genius to know that most of them were fried.
“Thanks for that.” The unicorn said cheerfully, brushing a lock of her electric yellow mane out her eye. “Name’s Kilovolt, or Volt if you like.”
“Charmed.” Misty Fly said levelly. The unicorn was giving her a look that bordered on slightly unhinged and Misty started to wonder if she was really in the safest spot.
“You’re one of them Rangers aren’t you?” Volt asked. It seemed more like a statement than a question but Misty played along.
“Yep.” She answered simply.
“Neat.” The mare chirped excitedly, her eyes snapping violently to the open hatch like a magpie to something shiny. She made a disappointed sound and leaned in through the hatch, another sad sound drifting out as she looked around.
“What a load of junk.” Volt said, ripping out a circuit board with a hole the size of a bit burnt through it and tossing it aside like a candy wrapper. The mare reached in further and ripped out a tangle of blackened, half melted cables.
“What is this stuff?” Misty asked, in a rare show of politeness ignoring the mare’s close proximity.
“Spotlight controls, a few sensors maybe. Pretty basic stuff.” Kilovolt said assuredly, leaning back into the hole and dragging out the last few scraps of melted cable lodged in the bottom of the compartment with a flicker of magic.
Misty drew back slightly, the technician smelt worse than griffon. She decided that pointing this out was probably unwise, she wanted to learn something after all, not just piss the seemingly eternally cheery pony off. “Uh, huh. Is there anything I can do?”
“See those silver globes at the front there? I want you to twist it to the left, pull’ em out and pass them up to me. There should be five of them.”
Misty obliged, squirming down through the hatch and pulling each of the shattered lights out with a grunt. “Now what?”
“Replace them with these new ones. Don’t worry about the circuitry, I’ll do that in a sec. Don’t want you to electrocute yourself now, do we?” She chuckled.
Misty threw her a suspicious look and twisted each of the new bulbs into place, each one locking in with a satisfying click. She had just locked the last one in place when she felt a sharp, burning jolt in her flank.
“Son of a bitch!” Misty yelped, her voice rising an octave as she leapt into the air instinctively. The pegasus spun around indecently, glaring at the now cackling electrician who was holding what looked like a small electric test kit.
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.” Volt managed through her laughter.
Misty glared at her furiously before her eyes darted to her flank to check that it hadn’t been burnt by the current. She couldn’t see anything but she feel the burn right in the middle of her cutie mark like a nasty bee sting.
“Oh lighten up.” Volt giggled, handing the test kit to Misty like nothing had happened. “Now test those lights, I’ll sort out this thing.” She said, dropping her head into the hatch, oblivious to Misty’s ire.
Misty looked at the machine she’d been given venomously, “How?” She asked, slightly annoyed that the unicorn hadn’t explained anything.
“You know how to make a circuit?” Volt asked, her voice muffled by the metal.
“Yeah.”
“Well do that genius. If they work, there should be a number on the screen.”
Misty scowled, peeling her gaze away from the mare’s bobbing tail. The electrician’s rump was bouncing around like a thing possessed as she worked, sticking out in Misty’s peripheral vision like a gaudy banner.
“Enjoying the view?”
Misty’s wings shot out with a jolt of surprise, well, one of them did. The other sort of flailed limply against its cast in painful fashion. Misty looked around with confusion, the voice hadn’t come from Kilovolt.
“Down here.”
Misty Fly’s eyes spun around to the catwalk a few metres below her, the southern drawl now clicking into Misty’s mind.
“Applejack.” Misty said, her voice somewhere between a sneer and a yelp.
“Didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.” Applejack chuckled, leaning on the railing running around the edge of the catwalk.
The pegasus bristled silently and focused on folding her wings back in. She looked away embarrassedly, making a crude circuit to test the first light as if ignoring Applejack would make her go away.
“Pretty high up here.” Applejack said nonchalantly, looking over the edge of the scaffold at the almost seventy metre drop to the solid floor.
“Could be worse.” Misty muttered just loud enough for Applejack to hear her. She still wasn’t paying attention to the farmer, instead swapping the next bulb into the circuit.
“Can’t say I ever liked heights.” Applejack continued.
Misty glanced up the small dial. “Me neither.” She admitted, suddenly very conscience of the fact that she was awfully close to the edge of the Jaeger’s head.
The former farmer adopted an amused expression. “A pegasus who doesn’t like heights? Must be like finding an Earth pony who don’t like dirt.”
Misty made a noncommittal grunt back, she wasn’t sure if Applejack was just trying to heckle her. A slightly awkward silence rose up, broken only by the occasional curse from Kilovolt as she worked on the Jaeger’s internals.
“Ya know, Ah think this the first time we’ve ever really… just talked.” Applejack said idly.
“How horrifying.” Misty remarked dryly, gracing the earth pony with another glance.
Applejack leaned a little closer, trying to get a better look at what Misty was doing. “Need a hoof with that, Misty?” She asked.
“No.” Misty shot back. She looked up again, feeling perhaps a little guilty. “No, thank you.” She said in a slightly more pleasant tone.
Applejack took a step back, the faintest trace of a smile on her face. “Well uh, Ah’ll let you get back to it then.” She said, nodding at Misty and trotting off, her hooves clanging softly against the metal walkway.
Misty looked back down at the dial, it was showing a few small numbers. She made a small grunt of approval and set the light aside.
At least today, one bridge had been crossed.
***
The burning rays of sunlight crept through the train’s windows waking Rainbow Dash from her slumber. She kept her eyes shut, wishing the steady rocking of the carriage and the clatter of wheels would let her drift back to her dreams. The sound of her compartment door sliding open and slamming shut made her open an eye curiously, a bad decision it turned out as the harsh rays of sun immediately seized the chance to jab themselves in her eyes like forks. Blinking rapidly to clear the burning afterimage, Rainbow looked around the small compartment wearily. Pinkie, still snoring quietly was two bunks above her, her tongue lolling out obscenely as her chest rose and fell. The inviting smell of a fresh croissant drew her look across the compartment to the other occupant of the small room, Maud.
“Good morning.” Rainbow said, stifling a yawn. She blinked quickly, feeling a slight moment of vertigo as the train carriage clattered over a coupling and rocked from side to side. She had always preferred flying to trains but the trip to Manehatten’s outskirts would take much longer by wing and when she arrived she wanted to be in prime condition for the start of the pilot training course at the Jaeger academy.
Maud blinked and nodded in affirmative, a slow and deliberate motion which showed about as much emotion as a rock. She had arrived in Ponyville a few nights before, Pinkie having successfully dragged her away from her apparently subpar geological expedition with little difficulty. She was pretty much the same as Rainbow Dash had remembered, although she was perhaps slightly more built and a few centimetres taller than the pegasus recalled. Her personality seemed no different; Maud was just as unapproachable and unreadable as she’d always been, the same flat look smeared across her face like it was drawn in with permanent marker. What Pinkie found so incredible about her sister alluded Rainbow Dash, then again how Pinkie’s mind worked in general seemed to also escape her grasp most of the time.
Rainbow stretched a crick out of her wing with a grunt. “Let me guess, you slept like a rock?”
Despite Maud’s deliberate lack of emotion, she seemed to look at Rainbow like she was a young foal. “No, I slept like a pony. Rocks don’t sleep.” She said flatly.
“Wow, tell me something I don’t know.” Rainbow said snarkily before remembering who she was talking to. She grimaced as Maud immediately started firing off trivia about rocks with the liveliness of an energetic snail.
“Ok, ok, very interesting. Wasn’t after your life story.” Rainbow said, cutting Maud off before she could drill in the subtle differences between different types of clay. She stole a look across at Pinkie’s sister, nothing that the large plate she had laid before her had a mixture of pastries, toast and what looked unnervingly like some rocks from the plant pots that sat in the dining car.
“Are you going to eat those?” She asked, pointing at the small rocks suspiciously.
“Yes.” Maud answered simply.
“Hmm. Go figure.” Rainbow said as Maud took a bite from the rock with a sickening crunch.
“Would you like one?” Maud asked thoughtfully, thankfully offering her one of the non-sedimentary items on her plate.
“Um, I’m not hungry.” Rainbow lied, ignoring the way her stomach growled at the offer. Maud nodded and returned to her meal, dashing what little appetite Rainbow may have had left with another crack of splintering rock. She looked around, wondering if Maud would notice her sneak out. Rainbow didn’t have exactly a problem with Maud, she was just, well, weird. Even by her standards. Being around Pinkie’s sister was like being at a tea party and all the guests were rocks, sentient rocks that delivered every line in a completely flat, emotionless way and took everything at face value. It was like someone had taken Pinkie, replaced her hyperactivity with the gait of a sloth and hammered out her love of parties with a rock before replacing said love with said rock.
“Do you have a sister?” Maud asked suddenly. Rainbow Dash was quite taken aback, she hadn’t expected Maud to start talking to her.
She flashed a look at the dull earth pony, uncertain that she was in fact talking to her. “Uh, what?”
“You seem quite confused as to why I’m here.” Maud explained, her face still completely blank of expression. “The look you gave me on the train yesterday and just now makes it clear you don’t understand.”
Rainbow Dash blinked with surprise. It seemed incredibly perceptive of Maud to be able to pick up on that. She let it tick over in her mind a few moments.
“So, do you have a sister?” Maud asked again.
“Well, uh, no, I don’t have any sisters.” Rainbow answered. “I don’t have any family actually, well, besides my dad.” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“And your mother?”
Rainbow smiled. “Oh we have a great mother-daughter relationship. We’ve been playing hide and seek for the last twenty-two years. Mum where are you? Ha ha…” She trailed off at Maud’s unflinching expression.
Maud nodded again, she seemed to do that a lot. “I understand.” She said, her voice flatter than a saltpan. She looked up at Pinkie who was still snoring quietly in the bunk above Rainbow with what could’ve been the slightest trace of concern on her face. “I think she’s going to get more than she bargained for.”
“Who, Pinkie?” Rainbow asked.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my sister is much more of an idealist than most ponies.” Maud said flatly.
“Really? Never noticed that before.” Rainbow said, again forgetting who was talking to.
Maud stared at her silently for a moment, the rock she was turning over before her eyes laying still in her hooves. “I think you need to pay more attention.”
Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to slap herself across the face with her hoof.
Maud continued on like the small interlude hadn’t happened. “She mightn’t agree with it, but I think Pinkie needs somepony around to keep her a little more grounded. She can get carried away and get hurt. Somepony has to look out for her.”
“You realise what you’re getting in for though, right?” Rainbow questioned. “It’s hardly a safe environment.’”
“I can fight.” Maud said flatly.
“You can fight?” Rainbow asked, slightly incredulous. She knew Maud was strong, even by Earth pony standards, but she somehow doubted she knew how to use that strength properly.
Maud looked her dully. “You really do need to pay more attention.”
“Well, uh, how about you show it off then?” Rainbow asked, floating down to the floor and stretching a few kinks out of her legs.
Maud looked at her like she was trying to sell a vacuum cleaner at her front door. “If you insist.” She said levelly, sliding off her bunk with perhaps a hint of enthusiasm. “I haven’t fought another pony for a while.”
That should’ve been Rainbow Dash’s first hint. The fact that there was even a tiny glint of excitement of Maud’s eye should’ve tipped her off to what was about to come.
Rainbow grinned broadly. “Well I’ll go easy on you then, Heh, I don’t wanna hurt- ow!” Rainbow squealed, her confidence turning to shock as Maud struck out, pinning her to ground and placed in her in a vicious chokehold before she could react. She squirmed, trying to dislodge the earth pony sitting victoriously on top of her but Maud was too strong and Rainbow felt that if she moved her head more than a few inches, Maud would snap her neck with a leisurely twist.
“Tap out, tap out.” Rainbow wheezed, unable to even move a hoof to signal her defeat.
Maud returned to her plate of food with a level grunt of approval, leaving Rainbow sprawled out on the floor like a crumpled blanket to get her breath back. “Whoops.” She said after a few painful seconds.
Rainbow Dash slowly sat up, her head spinning like a top. “Where did you learn that?” She demanded.
Maud looked down at her with a bored expression. “Fight Club.”
“You go to a fight club?” Rainbow asked incredulously. It seemed hard to believe that Maud, of all ponies, would be interested in fighting, let alone be good at it.
“I do, pay attention.” Maud said, fixing a dull look on Rainbow Dash before returning to her meal.
***
After arriving at Brandymane station, the three ponies transferred from the gleaming steam train they’d caught from Ponyville onto a loud, oily diesel engine drawing a large load of heavy field guns and consumables which would take them to their final destination. The trip was mercifully short, the few passenger cars were crowded with a mixture of military personnel, civilian contractors and what Rainbow presumed were new recruits for the Jaeger academy. Needless to say the somewhat cramped conditions were happily abandoned when the train ground to a halt at the end of the line. Out on the platform, the divide between the army base and the Jaeger academy was more apparent, the gleaming stone structures, several of new, that made up the Jaeger academy were a stark contrast to the dirty, utilitarian buildings that crowded the army base haphazardly.
Formed just before Quillback’s emergence, the Jaeger Academy was based in the old Equestrian Army OCS, a large institute just outside Pleasant Field army base itself. Taking up a little over three square kilometres of land, the installation was a mixture of lecture theatres, classrooms, advanced simulator rooms, workshops, practice rooms, labs and training fields. The transformation had gone fairly smoothly, but even now, several areas of the facility were being finished and several buildings still had scaffolds around them.
The name was a bit of a misnomer, the academy didn’t just train crew to pilot Jaegers but also the dozens of support staff needed to keep the mighty machines running at peak efficiency. LOCCENT operators, J-Tech staff, repair crews. All these and more trained at the institution, providing the necessary base for the handful of Jaegers to work off. It was managed mostly without involvement from either of the human pilots, they had decided that it was important that the training and induction process shouldn’t be reliant on them lest they suffer a terrible misfortune.
Today though, the academy was home to some several thousand students, the backbone that the new shatterdome in Trottingham would be based off. The eyes of the higher ups though, including most of the current pilots, were firmly fixed on the Mk.II pilot program, a course which had already attracted thousands of applications from all across Equestria. The entry pool had been expanded from just pairs to individual entries, allowing the academy to increase their potential recruiting pool. While this might have seemed a little odd at first glance, as a Jaeger generally required two crew for safe operation, many of the Pan Pacific Defence Corps’ best Jaeger pilots, such as the widely regarded crew of the Chilean Jaeger, Diablo Intercept, had come from completely different backgrounds and had shared no experiences before their induction into the Jaeger academy on Kodiak Island. With an increase in available crews to assist in training and more funding, the Corps’ Leadership believed it was the right time to expand their ranks in anticipation of the completion of the Mk II program.
As Rainbow Dash followed Pinkie, Maud and a veritable tide of recruits into the massive facility, it struck her just how immense the entire program had become. They trudged over a massive stone courtyard, a few small groups of uniformed ponies directing cadets to where they had to go. The three ponies were waved past a pair of massive flagpoles, one flying the symbol of the Jaeger corps, the other the national flag of Equestria, and into a cavernous hall already brimming with ponies.
The massive hall echoed with a thousand voices, ponies of every shape and size milling around, either gawking at the massive banners draped from the ceiling or talking excitedly to their neighbours. Rainbow Dash paid them no head staying close to Maud and Pinkie as they waited with various degrees of patience for the orientation lecture to start.
“Gee, a lot of these ponies look pretty serious about this.” Pinkie pointed out to Maud excitedly, her voice almost lost in the cacophony of sound that bounced around the room.
Maud said something back but it was lost to Rainbow Dash amidst the noise.
The pegasus looked around, finding herself slightly anxious. She guessed there was about five thousand ponies packed into the massive hall like peaches in a tin, a slightly unsettling number considering each and every one of them was a potential barrier between her and the top spot and Pinkie was right, many of them looked rather determined. The din in the hall subsided as a creature, so alien it could’ve only been one of the humans stepped out across the stage and took position behind the small podium in the centre. He waited a few moments for the noise to die down completely before opening his arms to the auditorium.
“Welcome, cadets, to the Jaeger Academy. It is my pleasure to welcome the first you as the first official class for this institution.”
There was a few whistles and cheers.
He waited for silence. “Over the next few months you’ll be subject to a rigorous course of both mental and physical tests from which the results will provide our first cut. Those of you lucky enough to be selected will continue training at the Manehatten Shatterdome where we will then select our final groups.”
“I doubt we’ll make it past the first cut, looks like a tough crowd.” Rainbow heard a pony with a fiery blue mane say behind her.
‘Yeah, not with that attitude you won’t’ Rainbow thought, a trace of her confidence returning.
“At the conclusion of this orientation, you will be split into your companies and from there assigned your training schedules.” He paused for a moment. “Remember, today is the day you choose to face the monsters at your door. If it feels like we are trying to break you, it’s because we are. The Kaiju won’t hold back, so neither will we. You will be ground to dust, pushed to your limits time and time again so that those who endure will be ready… ready to face the demons beyond.”
Teamwork Or: How They Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Grizzly
Chapter 17 – Teamwork Or: How they Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Grizzly
The sharp cry of drill instructor woke Rainbow Dash from her slumber.
“On your feet, move it, move it! Come on ladies!”
Rainbow Dash groaned and glanced out the window next to her bunk, her bleary eyes cheerfully telling her that the sun hadn’t risen yet. She groaned into her thin pillow, she hadn’t had an early start like this since her time in the Wonderbolts’ Academy.
“Up cadet! You know which way up is?” A mare who looked like she wrestled several Minotaurs before breakfast barked in Rainbow Dash’s ear.
With the sound of the drill instructor still ringing her ears, Rainbow dash leapt upright, her body protesting at the sudden movement. Her other dorm-mates received similar treatment, the pegasus physically hauling some of them free of their bunks and onto the cold floor. Rainbow dared to peek a look at the mare prowling next to her, her murky green eyes looked almost unnatural, too bottomless and too dark. She looked a little like Fleetfoot though the slightly greying mane was a dead giveaway that she was considerably older than the Wonderbolt.
“I’m Commander Raze, your chief training officer.” She announced to the dorm. She waved to a burly unicorn standing by the door with an almost laughably serious look on his face. “I will be your main drill instructor for the duration of your course, although sometimes sompony else, like this fine gentleman will take you for training. You will do everything we ask you to do without question or hesitation, clear?”
The room was deathly silent.
“Hmm, might be some promise in you yet.” She observed. “Now get outside! Go, go, go!” Raze barked.
Rainbow Dash stumbled towards the dorm’s exit, noticing a flood of other cadets already forcing their way down the hallway. She’d heard of Commander Raze before, she was a legend around the Wonderbolt Academy. She’d trained the likes of Spitfire and the previous leader of the Wonderbolts, Skyfire. The fact that the Jaeger Corps had gotten its hands on her was incredible, to say the least. She must’ve been verging on at least 70 years old now, well beyond the usual service career of most military types.
She had to discard the thought as she stomped outside with the other cadets and a wave of cold air drove the breath from her lungs. High in the mountains around Manehatten, the autumn felt more like winter and with the sun still hidden beneath the hills, the temperature was probably hovering somewhere in the single digits. The sky was a dark shade of blue streaked with the occasional cloud and a few pinpricks of light from an overly persistent star. In the distance she could hear an occasional deep boom of some sort of artillery. The sound made her mind focus and she took in their immediate surroundings.
After the alien’s orientation, she, along with the other cadets, had been billeted into the rather Spartan accommodation the academy offered. Out of the 300 or so ponies in her company, there was maybe 70 odd ponies sharing the long set of dorms with Rainbow Dash, a rough mix of earth ponies, an odd unicorn but many more pegasi. The other dorm rooms were being emptied efficiently, streams of ponies stepping out onto the wide, grassy parade ground.
“B Company. Form five lines, sixty in each!” Raze barked from the front of the formation, waiting for a few seconds as the group formed up into somewhat straight lines.
“Good, at least most of you can count.” Raze sneered, glaring at a unicorn who was out of place. Her fierce green eyes were enough to make the cadet move a line back without a word.
“As many of you will no doubt be aware, you are one of many classes that have been accepted into the Equestrian Jaeger program. Fifteen classes of three hundred, Forty-five hundred cadets. From each company, only twenty will make it through to the first cut.” She smirked. “I hope you like competition.”
Rainbow Dash cracked a thin smile, she was going to enjoy this.
“They aren’t paying me to talk though, I’m here to train your sorry arses into shape and weed out the weak.” She stopped prowling around and took up position at the head of the formation. “Push-ups, count off to 100! Go!” she barked, immediately leading by example and dropping to the ground. Rainbow Dash was all too eager to follow suite, the cold morning air was starting to clear her head and a morning workout was pretty much routine for her.
“97, 98, 99, 100!” Raze called out from the front she took a deep breath and rolled onto her back. “Sit-ups, count off to 100! Come on, pick up the pace ladies!” She barked, already steaming through her exercises like a machine.
Knee bends followed, then leg lifts, then more push ups. Raze was barely even sweating, pushing the cadets like they were super soldiers. Rainbow Dash was sweating now, thick beads of sweat forming on her brow and her breath started coming in ragged pants. Nopony else had stopped yet and she wasn’t going to be the first to bow out. Raze kept them going, short sprints, rolls and any other move the pegasus could come up with. Rainbow Dash started to realise this probably wouldn’t be quite as easy as she’d first thought.
“Rest.” Raze finally called out after what felt like an eternity. The first rays of the sun had started creeping across the field and the cool morning had become mild. The artillery below them had long fallen silent, leaving the only sound the consent panting of the other cadets and the occasional bird which had started calling out from the trees. “Get some water and have a quick break, we move out in few minutes.”
The other trainers wheeled out carts laden with bottles of water and passed them out. Rainbow took one thankfully and spread herself out on the grass, wondering how Pinkie and Maud were handling it. They were in a different group and she didn’t recognise any of the ponies around her.
She was so caught up with examining her surroundings she didn’t see the water bottle flying at her until it hit her in the side of the face. She instantly snapped around, fire in her eyes. Somepony was either very brave or very stupid to be throwing things at her. Her anger was replaced by shock as a figure, an athletic looking pegasus snapped into view.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” She sneered.
Rainbow’s look of surprise must’ve shown as the pegasus flashed a smirk at her. It took a few moments for Rainbow Dash to recover from her shock, a wave of disgust replacing the unfamiliar feeling.
“Oh, it’s you.”
Lightning Dust smiled thinly. “You seem surprised.to see me.”
The last Rainbow Dash had seen of Lightning Dust was her humiliating dismissal at the Wonderbolts’ Academy. She’d felt nothing but anger and disgust for the arrogant pegasus and it was fairly safe to say her opinion hadn’t changed much. Rainbow Dash was the type to hold a grudge, especially against somepony who’d nearly turned her friends into pancakes.
“Cat got your tongue?” Lightning Dust jeered. She laughed quietly, as if laughing at some joke that Rainbow had missed. She regained her composure at looked Rainbow in the eye. “How’ve you been buddy?”
“We are not buddies.” Rainbow growled back.
“I figured.” Lightning Dust said with a quick roll of her eyes.
Rainbow Dash glared back at her silently. She’d never quite forgiven Lightning Dust for almost killing her friends at the Wonderbolt Academy all those years ago, truth be told, she hadn’t seen the arrogant pegasus in the interim.
Lightning Dust picked up the silent cue instantly. “I get it, you don’t like me. Well, might come as a bit of a shock but I don’t really like you much either, Crashie. So how about this, you stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. Comprende?” She explained quietly.
“Suits me just fine.” Rainbow said cautiously. She didn’t trust Lightning Dust further than she could throw a tank.
“Alright, on your feet! Fall in, we’re moving out!” Raze barked, vigorously encouraging some cadets off the ground.
Lightning Dust spun around to join the crowd, a thin smirk on her face. “Catch you around, Dash.”
Rainbow Dash glared after her silently for a few seconds, spitting her water bottle out disgust.
Screw getting ready to fight daemons, the daemons were already here.
***
The next few weeks of the course played out pretty much as Rainbow Dash expected. Commander Raze pushed the cadets harder and harder, almost taking delight in seeing how far she could push them before something broke. Mental tests, lectures, tutorial and workshops started as well, leaving most of the hopeful cadets with a worrying amount of work on top of their almost sadistic workouts with Raze. By the end of the first week Rainbow found herself utterly swamped with class work ranging from mechanical fundamentals to Kaiju research and even circuit diagrams. Lightning Dust kept her end of their bargain up, for the most part keeping away from Rainbow Dash unless absolutely necessary. She caught glimpses of Maud and Pinkie here and there, Maud was making a mockery of Raze’s psychical training and was facing her coursework with her usual phlegmatic approach she took to everything with. Pinkie was having a little harder time of it but was still coping, her odd mental state and closeness to Maud had apparently interested some of her assessors so much they’d kept her enlisted despite not being the splitting image of fitness or rationality. It was a good thing as well, Rainbow’s company had suffered nearly a 30% dropout rate, a good portion of the potential cadets already having been weeded out or simply left on their own accord well before the first cut had been decided.
Even so, the pressure was still on. The date of the first cut was rapidly drawing closer and most of the remaining cadets were quite capable of stopping Rainbow from achieving her goal. Although she was performing well in the physical trials, she was struggling somewhat with the veritable tidal wave of knowledge she was supposed to somehow absorb during the first eight week semester. Most of her already limited free time was spent pouring over her engineering books or practicing the mental techniques they’d been taught. The work load was incredible, they were expected to not only be peak physical condition but also know each part of a Jaeger intimately. They had to be able to look after two bodies, their own and the metal one which they would eventually pilot. Commander Raze didn’t make things easy for them either, waking them at flat-out obnoxious hours, occasionally depriving them of rest if their performance wasn’t up to scratch and virtually making every moment that wasn’t spent in a class a living nightmare. It got to the point that Rainbow Dash started looking forward to her tedious coursework over Raze’s training sessions.
The old pegasus was particularly fond of rigorous and often mentally testing team-building exercises, such as carrying large, heavy and occasionally dangerous loads through a vicious obstacle course in complete silence, playing capture the flag against the army troopers and letting them use stun rounds while the cadets had nothing but their hooves, and, on one memorable occasion, organising a training exercise that was subject to an artillery barrage midway through. While the later had turned out to be fake, the howling of shells arching overhead and the explosions around them at the time (actually preplaced charges Raze was detonating) had been real enough to set almost all of the cadets on edge.
It was understandable then, when she introduced the cadets to a massive obstacle course a few weeks from the end of semester that she called ‘The Playground’, Rainbow Dash found herself sceptical.
“No tricks, no surprises, no catches and no artillery.” Raze explained, marching up and down in front of the greatly diminished line of cadets. “The last one to cross that line at the end though, can look forward to an exclusive, personal and very fun training session with me tomorrow morning.”
Rainbow Dash cringed at the thought, she had no desire to be the unlucky one who’d would suffer the veteran pegasus. She looked over the course carefully, there were dozens of routes to the finish; many of them involved vertical components as well as more conventional obstacles. Several paths were elevated above massive pits of mud and many of these paths just seemed to end abruptly. It certainly wasn’t a course for the light-hearted.
Raze enjoyed the looks of unease on most the recruits faces before continuing. “Alright, teams of three, let’s go!” Raze ordered loudly. Her ability to always be louder than everypony else always impressed Rainbow Dash. She must’ve practised yelling for a long time.
The cadets quickly formed up into teams, they had done this enough to know who they could work with. Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed a stallion by the name of Thunderblitz that she’d worked with a few times. He had proven to fairly reliable and the duo had spent a little time together out of Raze’s training sessions to either go through their coursework or quiz each other. Besides Pinkie, he was probably the closest thing she had to a friend at the academy. He was squat and well built, his face had a smile to die for and his mane looked like he had never touched it with a comb before. Although an Earth pony, he was very nimble and quick on his feet. He nodded in greeting as Rainbow Dash pulled him aside from the rest of the group.
“Got anypony else?” Rainbow asked quickly, looking around but only seeing fully formed teams figuring out a way through the course.
“Can’t say Ah do.” He said back with a heavy drawl. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but wonder if he was somehow related at Applejack, he sounded awfully similar to the former apple farmer. She spun around, seeing no loose ponies hanging around.
“Might have to go with Lighting Dust.” Thunderblitz said, pointing out the irate looking pegasus in the crowd. From appearances, she seemed to be the only one who hadn’t managed to find herself in a team already.
“Uh…” Rainbow hesitated.
As if feeling their gaze on her, Lighting Dust spun around, her face in an expression of outraged disbelief. “This has to be some sort of sick joke.” She complained, her mustard yellow mane bouncing around irately.
“It’s not a sick joke unless it involves a foal and a blender.” Raze snapped, suddenly appearing at her shoulder like a spectre out of fog, She gave the pegasus a push towards Rainbow Dash and Thunderblitz. “Now get with your team cadet.”
Lightning Dust didn’t move.
Raze glared at her fiercely. “You got your ears turned on, cadet?”
“I don’t want to work with her, ma’am.” Lightning Dust explained, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash accusingly.
“Well I’m happy not to work with her either, ma’am.” Rainbow butted in.
“You don’t want to work with her?” Raze asked uncaringly, looking between the two pegasi.
“No ma’am.” The two pegasi answered in unison.
“Well too bad, suck it up or I’ll chain you two together and you can do everything together. Everything.” The old Commander growled.
Rainbow didn’t object any further, Raze had been known to go through with several of her threats, regardless of how crazy they seemed. She tossed a glare at Lightning Dust suspiciously, unsure if she was comforted by the fact the pegasus was doing the same back.
Thunderblitz looked between them nervously, wondering if they were going to start clawing at each other. “Ex-girlfriend?” he asked, perhaps a little foolishly.
Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash rewarded him with a glare that would have stopped a Kaiju dead in its tracks.
Raze thankfully interrupted before Thunderblitz could make a fool of himself again. “One last thing, you won’t be able to fly or use magic in the Playground so don’t even think about it. If you do, somehow, you’ll be joining me tomorrow morning as well.”
Rainbow cursed silently. She knew there had to be some catch, flying through the course would’ve been too easy.
“You two better not slow me down.” Lightning Dust growled quietly.
“I’m sure we’ll keep up just fine.” Rainbow said back with a pointed look. She tore her gaze off Lightning dust and studied the course carefully, searching for the best way through it. The third dimension was messing with her head a little but she eventually figured a way through the course, hopefully a way that nopony else would think of. Some of the obstacles were deliberately set up in a way that working as a team would make them easier to traverse, she was confident in Thunderblitz helping her but less so in Lightning Dust. The way that the pegasus had distanced herself from Rainbow and Thunderblitz was enough an indication on how she wanted to do the course.
Rainbow pointed out her suggested route to Thunderblitz.
“Shouldn’t be too bad.” He agreed, setting himself up behind the starting line and waiting patiently for Raze to start the exercise. Rainbow had barely taken up position beside him when Raze blew a whistle sharply and they were off, galloping towards the course like their lives depended on it.
Rainbow darted towards the entrance she’d chosen, surprised to see Lightning Dust making her way up the same way. Rainbow scampered up the slippery looking incline, freezing with shock as she placed a hoof onto the start of the course. As soon as she had crossed the threshold, a magical tingle washed over her spine and out into her wings. She looked around with surprise, a faint blue aura had settled over her wings, locking them to her sides like they were glued in place. She looked at Lightning Dust a few paces ahead of her, the cyan mare seemed similarly affected, struggling with visible frustration at her magical bonds. Rainbow cursed silently, Raze hadn’t been lying that they’d be unable to fly at all.
“Ignore it.” Rainbow ordered gruffly, dashing ahead with Thunderblitz in tow. Lightning Dust had a moment to look embarrassed, realising she was now in fact behind Rainbow, before galloping after them indignantly. They vaulted over a wide pit and slid down a ramp covered in obstacles, Rainbow still in the lead but constantly checking behind her, making sure the other two were following right behind her. They overtook another group and galloped across a narrow bridge, Lightning Dust clearing it barely a second before it tipped over, dumping the other group off into a pool of freezing water.
“Nearly there.” Rainbow said encouragingly, scampering up a wall before helping Thunderblitz up and over. She made to help Lightning Dust but the pegasus refused her help, climbing the wall with all the assurance of a squirrel scaling the rough bark of a tree. Rainbow took the lead again, bounding over a few low fences before skidding to a halt before a massive pit of mud. From afar the gap look small enough to jump across but up close she was far less certain. She looked around quickly, trying to figure out how to cross the pit.
“Looks like some sort of bridge.” Thunderblitz said, narrowly avoiding crashing into her butt face first. Rainbow looked down at the floor, quickly spotting a discoloured tile between her hooves. She stepped on it and a narrow platform slid out from the wall with a metal snap. She took her hoof off, the metal platform snapping back into its concealed position as soon as she removed her weight from button.
She looked across the other side, spotting the same discoloured patches. The ‘bridge’ had three such buttons, one on their side and two on the far side. A pressure sensor presumably prevented more than pony crossing at once and after one pony had crossed, made the bridge only activate when two buttons were held down. The two pads in the other side were too far for one pony to reach both, so it required the entire team to get across safely and efficiently.
“Okay, I’ll hold this button down, you and Lightning Dust cross. When you’re over I’ll join you.” Rainbow ordered, stepping onto the large red button. A narrow walkway slid out smoothly from the wall, creating a safe path across.
Lighting Dust bounded across quickly before Thunderblitz could take a single step forward, nervously eyeing the other teams as they made their way through the course. She was across in a matter of seconds and jammed one of the buttons down impatiently.
“Come on, let’s go!” She snapped irritably.
Thunderblitz looked down at the drop nervously. “Bad time to mention I don’t like heights?”
“Come on, off you go.” Rainbow said encouragingly, “I’ll be right behind you.”
Thunderblitz didn’t argue, edging slowly out onto the narrow walkway. It was a good ten metres drop into the mud pit below and there was no safety harness.
“Come on, watching you is like watching old people-.” Lightning Dust heckled.
“Lightning Dust, shut up!” Rainbow Dash snapped, cutting the pegasus off mid sentence.
Lightning threw a childish glare at her. “Make me.”
“I’m considering it.” Rainbow growled back. She couldn’t though, getting off her button would send Thunderblitz plummeting to a muddy doom.
Lightning Dust, to her credit, stopped jeering and instead focused on watching the other teams anxiously. Some were nearing the end of the course now.
Thunderblitz was a little over halfway across when Rainbow Dash started getting ready to cross, crouching down in anticipation and watching the stallion intently so she knew when she could move. She was so busy watching him that it came as a surprise when the bridge suddenly fell out from underneath him. He was close enough to the end that he managed to catch the edge as he fell, a cry of shock ringing out as his hind legs flailed uselessly in the air.
“What the-?” She started, her head snapping around to the button Lightning Dust should’ve been standing on.
The pegasus was nowhere to be seen.
‘That bitch!!’ Rainbow thought furiously, turning her attention back to Thunderblitz. “You okay?” she yelled.
“Could be better.” He grunted back, hauling himself up onto the ledge with a groan. He turned back to face her, trembling slightly. “Now what?’
Rainbow looked the obstacle up and down, there was no way they could get the walkway back for her to use and going around would take far too long, several of the other teams were already finishing. Rainbow Dash froze with shock, Lightning Dust was down at the finishing line, parading around victoriously. It seemed she had left the button so she could finish first, even at the expense of the rest of her team.
“Dash?” Blitz asked, snapping Rainbow Dash out her stupor.
“Might be able to jump it.” Rainbow guessed, her disbelief being replaced by burning rage. She took a few steps back, wishing her wings weren’t tied. If that was the case the jump would’ve been childishly easy, even a fairly flightless pegasus like Scootaloo would’ve managed it. With her wings bound though, the gap was more of a daunting prospect.
“Sure that’s a good idea?”
“Not really!” Rainbow said, darting forward and propelling towards over the gap before she could think about how much of a bad idea it actually was. The fall wouldn’t kill her but it would probably hurt a bit, not to mention the humiliation of being covered from head to hoof in mud. With a yell, she launched herself over the edge, flailing wildly in an attempt to grab the ledge. She came up just short though and with a pang of horror, watched the surprised face of Thunderblitz disappear past the edge. She tried to arrest her forward momentum but with her wings tied firmly behind her back there was little she could do to prevent herself from slamming into the platform’s metal support with a sickening crunch.
‘That’ll leave a mark.’ She thought, her head spinning wildly as she plummeted towards the ground like a brick. She had a moment to contemplate what imaginative torture she would inflict on Lightning Dust before smacking into the mud with a wet slap. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it would’ve, or maybe that was just because her head felt like it was being pounded on like an apple tree at Sweet Apple Acres and, in comparison, the crash felt like a soft prod. She spat out a mouthful of gunk, thankful that all her teeth seemed to be intact. If the drops of red that kept obscuring her vision and that mixed with the mud were any indication though, her face probably didn’t look that crash hot. She stumbled out of the mud uneasily, unsure for a moment which way was up. It took every ounce of strength to not just fall over in a heap, but Rainbow Dash kept going, struggling towards the end of the course with a dogged determination.
“Dash, you alight?” Thunderblitz called, almost sliding down the last stage of the obstacle course to reach her.
“Never better.” Rainbow giggled, blinking away a trickle of blood that obscured her vision. She brushed off the concerned stallion and forced her way into the group of cadets, ignoring the worried look she was receiving. Finding Lightning dust standing near the edge of the crowd, she staggered towards her quarry, nothing but sheer determination fuelling her motions.
“You.” She spat venomously, a few specks of blood flying out of her mouth as she spoke. It occurred belatedly to Rainbow Dash that getting angry right after smashing head-first into a metal support wasn’t the best idea but she smashed the thought down, any sense of rationality buried beneath a seething anger.
Lightning Dust spun around, a look of surprise on her face. “Gee what happened to you? Hit your head on someth-.”
“You.” Rainbow Dash interrupted furiously. “You arrogant… traitorous, piece of crap! You just couldn’t do it could you? You just had to be first, didn’t you?” She roared, her vision going blurry as she yelled at Lightning Dust.
“Winning is what I’m good at.” Lightning Dust sneered.
“Good, well I hope you win. I hope you make the grade. I hope you become a pilot, just so a Kaiju can eat you. Then it will spit you out because it’s never tasted something quite as foul as you.” Rainbow snarled, wanting to do nothing more than smash Lightning Dust’s smug little face in with her hooves until it resembled her own. She was aware that the entire field was gawking at her but she paid them no heed, her attention solely focused on the pegasus in front of her.
Lightning Dust looked unfazed. She took a step closer to Rainbow Dash and grinned. “Go on, do it. Hit me. I know you want to.” She whispered.
Rainbow Dash suppressed the overwhelming urge to do so, she didn’t want to give the pegasus the pleasure of seeing her totally lose her cool. Her foreleg twitched slightly but she kept it firmly planted on the ground as a wave of nausea swept over her.
“Screw you.” She mumbled before finally allowing herself to pass out.
***
Rainbow Dash didn’t wake until the early evening. She had always been a fast healer and beside a few stitches holding a bit of her face together she seemed no worse for wear, The Academy’s doctor wasn’t sure if the wound would scar or not but the prospect didn’t bother Rainbow Dash much, scars were cool. She was eventually removed from the infirmary a few hours later, more on account of her constant complaining that aggravated the nursing staff than a completely clean bill of health. By the time she was finally free of the hospital it was time for the mess to start serving dinner. She made her way down the dining quarters with visible glee, her blood loss and afternoon exercise had left her quite hungry and unlike her experience with other military food, the Jaeger Academy actually seemed to be able to get its hands on good quality food for its students.
She made her way into the bustling facility, ignoring the occasional look she received from another cadet wandering past in the crowded halls. The mess was a massive long hall that could serve nearly a thousand ponies at a time. The sheer enormity of the place always struck Rainbow Dash whenever she entered, it was even more impressive when she remembered there were four such facilities around the academy, each one working around the clock to feed the veritable army of ponies that called the facility their home. While each of the companies had a designated hall, they were free to mingle with any of the various disciplines that they shared the facility with, creating a massive melting pot of ponies from all walks of life. It had a sort of chaotic and disorderly feel to it that for some reason was very homely compared to the regimented vibe the academy gave off.
Although Rainbow hadn’t bothered looking too closely, her company appeared to share the facility with a mix of mechanics, some J-Tech types and another company of ranger cadets. She lined up in one of the queues for food, satisfied that it took only a few minutes for her receiving a tray full of steaming potatoes, beans and a few fillets of a vegetable/soy/wheat combination that somehow tasted nice.
Next came the harder part, finding a place to sit and eat in relative peace.
She’d barely left the end of the lien when a stallion slotted into place next to her smoothly.
“Ah didn’t expect to see you out of the infirmary so early.”
Rainbow Dash jumped little, nearly spilling her tray of food over a diminutive looking unicorn trotting past her. She flushed red in embarrassment, she hadn’t expected anypony to suddenly sneak up from behind her.
“Looking a bit red there darl’.” Thunderblitz teased.
“You’re an arsehole.” Rainbow said, managing not to sound too flustered. Nopony had ever called her ‘darl’ before, and even if Thunderblitz was just being facetious, which he probably was, he was toeing a dangerous line.
“Let’s just go find a table.” He offered, brushing her words off like they were nothing. “I’m sure there’s somepony Ah know around.” He set off, his tray balanced expertly across his back.
“How do you know so many ponies?” Rainbow questioned, following behind him obediently.
He gave her a wry look. “Ah’m not afraid of chatting with strangers, and since Ah can put up with you just fine, everypony else seems fairly tolerable by comparison.” He said with a sly wink.
“Ho ho ho, Hehe… ha...” Rainbow laughed scathingly. “Very funny.”
“Can’t take a joke, can you Rainbow?” He jeered, dodging a pair of oil-stained mechanics going the other way.
She gave him a dangerous smile.
Thunderblitz laughed quietly and threaded his way through the hall, finally settling into a table crowded with a few burly mechanics cheerfully. “Evening boys.” He drawled.
A few cheers, jeers and cries of welcome erupted from the small group, evidently they were fairly familiar with the stallion. Rainbow Dash was tempted to leave but Thunderblitz was the closest thing she had to a friend around and she figured she could stomach whatever social awkwardness that could possibly ensure for the opportunity to have a little company while she ate.
“Who’s the gal?” One with a spiky red mess of a mane asked with interest. His voice had a distinctive twang that was unique to the city of Bolton.
“She’s a friend of mine.” Thunderblitz explained, a slight smile and a red flush ghosting across his face as a few whistles drifted down from the other end of the table. Rainbow Dash was sure she’d die of embarrassment but managed to keep a level face, picking at her potatoes with a bored expression.
Red-mane leaned over to talk to Rainbow. “What’cha doin’ here? Learnin’ ta be a pilot like Mr. Grassroots here?”
Rainbow Dash nodded silently, looking straight at her potatoes like they were her one of her engineering books.
“That’s good, that’s good. Listen, you keep an eye on Blitz, he’s a clever stallion. He’ll do good, I’m sure of it.”
“She probably thinks he’s a damn hayseed.” Another one chuckled. “Given out his folksy wisdom…” He drawled, imitating Thunderblitz’s accent rather terribly.
Rainbow’s mouth twitched into a smile for a second.
Red-mane stood up, checking his watch quickly. “Can’t stay around and chat Blitzy-boy, gotta run to a class. Fantastic timetable.” He grumbled sarcastically. The other stallions jumped up with similar enthusiasm, most of them giving Rainbow Dash sly looks out of the corner of their eyes.
“Have fun kiddies.” He jeered, making kissing motions with his mouth before sauntering off with his fellow mechanics in tow.
“Ah’m so sorry ‘bout that.” Thunderblitz said awkwardly when he was sure they were out of earshot.
“Interesting friends you have.” Rainbow said, clearly unimpressed. She pondered if she’d be able to hit red-mane with a potato at range but quickly decided it would be a waste of good food.
“When Ah moved up to Bolton to study, they were my classmates.” His face flickered with a trace of a smile. “They were good times… Rasputin changed that though. Seeing that thing, just jump out of the harbour into the city, that was something else.” He fell silent, poking at his food unenthusiastically.
Rainbow looked at him expectantly but he seemed unwilling to share the story.
“You’re okay though?” He asked, quickly changing the topic onto more current affairs.
“My face is being held together by nothing more than good intentions and eight stitches.” Rainbow grumbled. “I live though, thanks for asking.” She flashed him a quick, appreciative smile.
“You’ll be right for tomorrow morning?”
Rainbow Dash groaned internally. She’d completely forgotten about Raze’s punishment, no, torture, which was in store for them. She highly doubted the ruthless pegasus would let her off easily for merely having a badly cut face. “I’ll have to be.” She moaned, her head starting to throb a little at the thought.
“Lightning Dust will be joining us as well you know.” Thunderblitz pointed out slowly.
Rainbow’s “What, really?”
“Yeah, Raze was pretty ticked off. Said that Lightning Dust didn’t understand how a team worked.”
“Can’t believe I missed that.” Rainbow said, cheerily imagining how Lightning Dust would’ve reacted to ‘losing’ despite winning.
“Speaking of her…” Blitz trailed off, looking off past Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. She looked around subtly, noticing Lightning Dust drop down into a chair a few tables away. She looked wearier than usual, none of the usual spark in her stride was present. Thunderblitz’s gaze slowly tracked back to Rainbow Dash “Don’t suppose you could tell me what beef you’ve got between you?”
“You won’t tell me about Rasputin, I don’t tell you about Lightning Dust.” Rainbow said bluntly.
He looked at her, his mouth slowly chewing as he considered the proposal. “Ah can live without knowing, I’m going to just take a wild stab and say there’s some bad blood between you two.”
“Genius.” Rainbow said darkly, wondering what she’d have to do to get him to spill the beans on the Kaiju.
“Well you gotta do something about it, or you can look forward to another 19 weeks of fun.” Thunderblitz drawled, kicking his hooves up on the table and leaning back on his chair as he munched down the last bit of his dinner.
Rainbow moved her tray aside slightly, her appetite sullied slightly. “Assuming she makes it past the first cut.” She pointed out.
“Ah’m sure she will. She’s just like you. Determined, confident, a fantastic athlete, and so full of herself that she can’t see past her own nose.”
She tossed the stallion an uncertain look “Thank you?”
He flashed a toothy grin at her. “Don’t mention it.”
Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment. “Well, assuming we get through the first cut, then what?” She asked after a few minutes.
He cracked a wry smile. “You didn’t listen to the orientation at all, did you?”
“Uh, I may’ve been busy at the time.” Rainbow admitted sheepishly. She looked up from her food, noticing that Lightning Dust had vanished. “Besides, that was ages ago and I’ve had to cram so much in my head since then I’m surprised it hasn’t started dribbling out yet.”
“Well there’s another two eight week semesters which on the first we focus on combat training and stuff. They assess our drift compatibility based on our fights and the bonds we’ve formed, somethin’ like that Ah think at least. From there, drift partners are selected and only a handful will go through to the last cut.” Thunderblitz explained. At least he’d paid attention during the lecture, Rainbow Dash had probably been napping. “After that we get to try out in a real Jaeger, provided the Mark Twos are on schedule.”
“Might.” Rainbow echoed cautiously.
“You sound mighty uncertain about that.”
Rainbow let out an exasperated huff, she didn’t want to admit the lingering doubt that had started knowing at her gut. What if she didn’t find a drift partner? What If she was good enough to make the grade but was left on the sideline, a replacement, because she just couldn’t match up with anypony? “Not important, don’t worry about.” She lied, brushing his disbelieving look off and staring at what was left of her food.
Thunderblitz shook his head slowly. “You’re a terrible bastard.”
Rainbow Dash could handle being called things, but being called a bastard, even endearingly, struck a nerve. Her chest tightened up slightly and for a moment she had to quash the instinctive urge to lash out at Thunderblitz.
“You alright?” He asked, concern growing over his features.
“Fine, I’m fine. Actually, no. Not really. I think I’m going to go back to the infirmary for a bit.” Rainbow Dash lied.
Thunderblitz didn’t seem to completely buy her story but if he made no mention of it. :”Alright, Ah’ll see you around then. Maybe we could do a little study together later on if you feel better?”
“Don’t think that’s gonna happen.” Rainbow said, not really paying attention to him anymore. She stood up and trotted off before he could work up the courage to call her back.
***
Rainbow Dash didn’t see Thunderblitz again until then next morning. She’d left the mess hall and gone straight back to her dorm, distracting herself by trying to ram some obscure maintenance protocols into her head for a few hours before forcing herself to bed, dreading whatever Raze had in store for her the next morning.
What it turned out to be was far worse than she could’ve imagined.
It didn’t seem too bad at first. She was woken at a surprisingly reasonable hour for morning calisthenics, her paranoia only really started kicking though when the usually brutal session turned out being uncharacteristically tame, by Raze’s standards at least. She avoided Thunderblitz and Lightning Dust, instead focusing on putting her all into the exercises Raze led them through. She started hoping that the old commander had finally gone senile and had forgotten their punishment when Raze made a point of telling her that she, Lightning Dust and Thunderblitz were expected after breakfast.
That put a small dampener on things.
With that message still ringing in her ears, Rainbow consigned herself to a small meal before making her way back out onto the training field where Raze was expecting her. She had nearly made it outside when she noticed Thunderblitz trailing her slightly, following her cautiously like a hunter tracking a wild Sabrecat.
She stopped and looked at him, unsure if she should be amused or impressed. “I’m not going to rip your head off.” Rainbow said pointedly. Thunderblitz looked back cautiously, unsure if she was merely luring him closer. After a second he decided she was safe and trotted up next to her happily.
“Didn’t know if Ah was in trouble.” He quipped, flashing her a quick smile before his face fell flat again.
Rainbow Dash made a disgusted sound at the back of her throat but otherwise remained silent. She turned a corner and marched out into the blinding morning sunlight.
Thunderblitz coughed awkwardly. “Mind explaining what was with you at dinner last night? Ah didn’t mean nothing by what Ah said.” He explained apologetically.
“I know.” Rainbow said, looking forwards blankly. She waited a few moments, mulling what to say in her head. He deserved some explanation but she was unsure of how much to give him, she didn’t like exposing herself emotionally to anypony, not even her friends. “I had a lot of problems with my, uh, parents marital status, when I was young, well… ah, lack of, to be exact.” She explained quietly. “It’s a bit of a Cloudsdale thing. They’re more old-fashioned around there, to say the least.”
“Ah’m sorry.”
She snorted quietly. “Don’t be, I try to forget it but sometimes somepony says something that just slips through the cracks… It doesn’t feel great.” She admitted. She rubbed her snout idly, it was probably the closest to an emotional confession she would make.
“Alright.” Thunderblitz said levelly. He didn’t seem know how quite to respond so kept it short and simple.
“Don’t worry, we’re still cool.” Rainbow muttered awkwardly, looking out across the parade ground they were trudging across. She could see Raze waiting patiently for them a hundred metres away, her ever present scowl visible even from across the paved courtyard. She had brought company. A unicorn stood behind her silently, and something that looked like a long metal tube lay at her hooves along with a sturdy looking bag. She tossed a look back at the stallion. ”Right?”
He nodded silently.
Rainbow let out a quiet sigh of relief, she seemed to have almost grown a habit of alienating friends at academies. That feeling of relief though, was quickly sunk when they approached Raze, the old pegasus had a look about her that reminded Rainbow Dash far too much of a wolf gloating over its prey. Whatever she had planned for the three ponies, immediately seemed even less appealing.
“How’s the face, cadet?” Raze asked as they stopped in front of her, her tone lacking the usual bite it usually possessed.
“Healing well, ma’am.” Rainbow responded curtly. She could’ve sworn Raze gave a small, relieved smile but dismissed it as a trick of the light.
“Good to hear.” Raze said, her gaze flickering behind them. Rainbow resisted the urge to turn around and look, knowing that would probably just piss Raze off for some reason. She waited patiently as another set of hoofsteps came up behind her before finally stopping off to her side. She glanced sideways as Lightning Dust appeared in the edge of her vision, a frustrated look on her face.
“You’re late.” Raze growled.
“No excuse, ma’am.” Lightning Dust said, tossing a quick glare at Rainbow Dash and Thunderblitz, receiving one in kind.
Raze didn’t press the issue, instead picking up a metal tube off the ground. “Today’s exercise is all about teamwork. You will work together and succeed as a team, or you die alone. It’s as simple as that kiddos.” She lifted the tube so they could all see it clearly. “This is a Mark 17 Shoulder-fired rocket launcher, it fires an 84mm shaped charge which can defeat most armour at a range of up to 500 metres. Our big airships take these little kiddies and ramp them up to eleven. In the hands of an inexperienced operator like you, I’d expect an effective range of no more than a hundred metres at best. For ease of transport, it breaks down into two parts, both are needed to fire correctly, in addition to ammo. Generally, it’s carried and operated by a team of two. The team must be joined at the hip and trust each instinctively, the gunner can’t do shit without the loader and the loader can only glare and think angry thoughts if the gunner waltzes off.” She paused and broke the launcher down and reassembled it in a manner of seconds.
The three ponies nodded silently.
Raze took a step back and nodded to the unicorn standing just behind her. His horn glowed for a moment and the air shimmered like a mirage on a hot day. Within a second, a monstrous battle tank had appeared in front of them. It had a large, double barrelled howitzer on its dumpy looking turret and a wide set of tracks. Its low set body was a little wider than the turret and looked quite intimidating. A pony with a heavy looking helmet leaned lazily out of one of the top hatches, a jolly look on his face.
“This is an AKT-155, a brand new fighting tank the army is testing to help fight the Kaiju threat. It possess a pair of 155mm cannons capable of firing regular high explosive shells, armour piercing shells and thermite based munitions as well. I call it the ‘Grizzly’. It’s so new, in fact, that this is only the prototype model. The army was looking to do some fire and mobility tests with it and I was all too happy to help.” Raze explained cheerfully.
Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. ‘Surely she can’t be serious.’ She thought as Raze disassembled the launcher again.
“Each of you will have one component of the launcher, you will need all three to fire the weapon correctly.” She handed Rainbow Dash the front half of the launcher, Lightning Dust the back half and Thunderblitz a bag full of warheads. “The objective of the exercise is to engage and ‘disable’ the tank. You just have to score a hit on the tank and then the exercise is over.”
“I don’t know how to fire this thing.” Rainbow pointed out.
“It’s so simple a newborn foal could do it. The rocket goes in like this, you aim using these sights and depress this button to fire.” Raze explained, jamming a rocket down the back of the pipe and locking it into position with practiced ease. She held the weapon up for them to see before unlocking the round and tossing it back into the bag with a careless motion that made Rainbow Dash’s heart skip a beat.
“Doesn’t sound too hard.” Lightning Dust said, balancing the stock of the launcher on one of her wings. “What’s the catch?”
Raze nodded to the unicorn again. “This.”
An aura of light shimmered around the three ponies for a moment before the world cut to black. Rainbow felt like she was being squeezed through a garden hose for a split second before she reappeared on a small mound of rubble with a sharp crack. She shook her head clear of the dizzying effects of the teleportation, noticing two more similar snaps in the distance. She looked around cautiously, she was in a deserted yard overgrown with plants and grass. A dilapidated warehouse sat behind her, its sheet iron roof slowly rusting away in the open air. To her front was a maze of metal frames, rubble piles and general detritus that granted a wealth of cover. She looked closer, spotting a bright flash of cyan on one of the distant piles some 500 metres away, obviously Lightning Dust.
‘Okay, now what?’ She thought, chomping down on the launcher’s strap securely. The thought had barely passed through her mind when the air split again with a low crack and the Grizzly appeared between her and Lightning Dust, its engine growling and belching fumes. Rainbow Dash watched in shocked surprise as its turret slowly tracked around until it felt like she was staring down the two long barrels.
“Oh shit!!” She screamed in realisation as a twin crack of thunder rang out around the yard and a pair of shells roared overhead, slamming into the warehouse behind her with an earth-shaking explosion. She felt a wave of heat wash over her back and saw a few pieces of splintered wood rain into the ground around her as the warehouse disintegrated under the tank’s cannons. She dived to the ground instinctively, the throaty roar of the tank’s engine almost chuckling in the distance.
“You insane son of a bitch, you didn’t say it would be shooting at us!” She roared up at the sky, worming her way further into what cover she could find. Not that it would do her much good if the tank found its mark. She heard a loud metallic thud as the spent shells were racked free from the Grizzly’s autoloader and a new pair rammed into place. Rainbow curled up in a ball tighter, this wasn’t how she imagined going, being blasted to smithereens by a tank, an Equestrian tank no less. A cool rod of metal banged her on the chin and in a moment of realisation she remembered the launcher Raze had given them. If she could find Lightning Dust and Thunderblitz maybe she had a chance. Spurred on by the thought, she made sure the launcher was grasped securely in her mouth and spread her wings, willing herself to go as fast as she could.
She wasn’t a moment too soon, another pair of discharges shook the yard and two more shells roared out from the Grizzly’s barrels and slammed into the dirt fifteen metres to her right. She arched up high, searching frantically for a sign of either of the two ponies she was working with. It occurred to her that she could easily escape from the tank by just flying away but squelched the action, she’d be leaving Lightning Dust and Thunderblitz at the mercy of the metal monster.
‘Not that I care about Lightning dust, stupid mare can go shove her head down the tank’s gun for all I care.’ She thought bitterly. She dived sharply to shake off the ponderous tank’s aim and dipped behind a low building. Confident she had lost the vehicle she soared upwards again, her eyes prowling the ground for the two other ponies.
It didn’t take long to spot Thunderblitz, he wasn’t exactly trying to hide and his coat stood out starkly from the packed earth and detritus that packed the yard. Rainbow swept her view around, noting that the Grizzly was still prowling near where she’d taken off from. Deciding it was relatively safe, she dived sharply towards the ground, her half of the launcher banging against her chest loudly. The extra weight made her misjudged her speed slightly though and instead of landing gracefully with a small, dramatic puff of dirt, she zipped over Thunderblitz’s head and ploughed into the ground, tumbling head over hooves before coming to a sudden stop on a surprisingly soft surface. Rainbow had a moment to think about this before the object moved.
“Get, the heck, off me.” It mumbled crossly.
“Lightning Dust?” Rainbow asked cautiously.
“No, I’m Princess Celestia you moron.” Lightning Dust snapped back. “Nice landing there, by the way.”
Rainbow made an annoyed sound and jumped off the pegasus, relieved to see that she seemed to be all in one piece. Besides a bit of a stoked temper, Lightning Dust seemed to no worse for wear, a slightly tussled mane the only sign that Rainbow Dash had used her as a pillow. The irate pegasus didn’t have to time to chew Rainbow out though as Thunderblitz galloped into view, the bag with the launcher’s ammunition swinging wildly.
“The both of ya?” He asked, quite pleased with Rainbow’s serendipitous discovery.
“If she doesn’t watch where she’s flying they will be neither of us.” Lightning dust sneered, straightening her mane out.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Rainbow said back, trotting over to Thunderblitz and opening the thick bag he carried. Inside were about a dozen rounds, each with a prominent white cap on the end. “That’s all of them?” She asked.
“Eeyup, but they’re only dummy rounds.” Thunderblitz grunted, grabbing one of the rockets with a disgusted growl. The word ‘TEST’ was stamped in large white letters across the body of the rocket.
“Great, means we can get a shot off without worrying about hurting the crew.” Rainbow said curtly, grabbing the other half of the launcher of Lightning Dust’s back and snapping the two pieces of the launcher together like Raze had a few minutes ago. The old pegasus was right on one thing at least, the mechanism was so simple even a foal could use it.
“Have you noticed they’re shooting at us?” Lightning Dust snapped angrily, an understandable trace of panic in her voice. “With live ammunition?”
“It occurred to me, yes.” Rainbow muttered, forcing herself to stay calm despite the situation. She lifted launcher and frowned, there was no way she’d be able to load and fire efficiently, she’d need somepony else to load it at the right moment.
“Has it occurred to you they are trying to kill us?” Lightning Dust snarled.
“We’re all in one piece aren’t we?” Rainbow shot back. She looked at Thunderblitz expectantly. “Okay, any ideas?”
“No. Just, no. Screw this, I’m out of here. I did not sign up for this shit!” Lightning Dust said like the other two were completely crazy.
Rainbow Dash tackled her to the ground before she could get airborne. She smacked the pegasus across the face with her hoof, her face twisted into a snarl. “Celestia’s sweet arse you are. You got us into this whole mess, and whether you like it or not, we’re a team. We will do this together.”
“Ladies, as fun as it is to see ya’ll roll around in the dirt, Ah think we have a bigger problem to deal with.” Thunderblitz urged, peering over to top of the rubble. The Grizzly had chugged into view, its massive turret slowly tracking around for a target. He ducked down again as the tank rolled out of sight again with a throaty roar.
Rainbow glared back at Lightning Dust, still pinned beneath her. “Are you with us?”
“You’re insane.” Lightning Dust spat.
“You leave now, Raze wins. You don’t want to give her the satisfaction now, do you? You like winning.” Rainbow said lowly, staring Lightning Dust straight in the eye.
Lightning Dust looked away ashamedly for a moment. She seemed conflicted, as if she agreed with Rainbow Dash but didn’t want to admit she was right.
“Alright, fine.” She muttered ruefully.
“You two done yet?” Thunderblitz asked impatiently.
Rainbow let Lightning Dust up cautiously, prepared to pin her to the ground again if she much as made a skyward motion. “You have an idea?” She asked, brushing a thin layer of dust of her coat.
“Yeah, I do. Okay, why don’t one of you grab the launcher, fly up and hit it from the sky. Should be pretty risk free.” He suggested.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Good luck firing that thing in mid-air, also I don’t think I could carry that thing and fly very well at the same time.” She said. The assembled launcher was nearly as long as she was, that and there was no way she could load it while flapping around.
“Well scratch that one then.” He looked over at Lightning Dust but she didn’t look like she was about to offer a suggestion any time soon. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before shifting over to Rainbow Dash. “Any ideas, Dash?”
Rainbow scratched the side of her head thoughtfully. Now that they weren’t being shot at she was starting to think clearly. “We just have to get a hit on it, that’s all. We could set up an ambush somewhere, that’d probably work.”
Thunderblitz bit his lip. “There’s no way we would know where that thing is going, we’d need to draw it in somehow.”
“A diversion.” Rainbow agreed. She looked the launcher over again. “We’ll need two of us to fire this thing properly.”
“I can do that, I’ve shot one of these things before.” Lightning Dust piped up, her voice still bitter.
“Really? When?” Rainbow asked, a little miffed that Lightning dust hadn’t shared this information earlier.
The aqua pegasus shot her a scathing look and remained silent.
“Alright, whatever. I’m going with you though because frankly, I just don’t trust you to not run off.”
“Which leaves me as the distraction.” Thunderblitz guessed glumly. He shrugged indifferently. “Could be worse Ah guess, Ah kind of like-.” He didn’t get to finish the sentence before a throaty roar and the crash of masonry cut him off. Like a hoofball team running through a banner, the Grizzly tore through one of the building behind them, its turret slewing around slowly to point at them.
“Move, move, move!” Rainbow screamed, grabbing Thunderblitz around the waist and shooting skyward. He was heavy though and with the launcher still gripped in her mouth, she was having a hard time taking flight.
“Help me!” She cried to Lightning Dust. Already some way ahead, the pegasus looked back indecisively for a half-second, clearly torn about going back to help Rainbow Dash. She was already clear of the tank’s arc and going back would only endanger herself.
It was then, rather relieving when she quickly doubled back, zipping under Thunderblitz and giving them to necessary lift to get clear of the tank’s gun.
“Thanks.” Rainbow said breathlessly as they powered away from the growling behemoth.
Lightning Dust ignored her. “You’re heavier than you look, you know.” She growled at Thunderblitz.
Rainbow cracked a thin smile. “We can put him down there.” She said, pointing out a thin line of dirt behind some stacked shipping containers. From above she could only see a few obvious entry points for the Grizzly, all of them visible from the row of containers. With a flutter of wings and a small cloud of dust they dropped the thankful earth pony off and dumped the cumbersome launcher on the ground. They took a few moments to get their breath back, the three of them sprawled out in the dirt like sacks of potatoes.
“I’m surprised you came back.” Rainbow said, idly playing with one of the warheads. She enjoyed the look of alarm of Lightning Dust’s face before the cocky pegasus remembered they were only dummies.
“I didn’t come back for you.” Lightning Dust said quickly. “You had the launcher and I need that.” She looked away from Rainbow Dash, a badly concealed look of embarrassment on her face.
“You could’ve just grabbed the launcher and ran, no need to help fatty over here.” Rainbow prodded.
“Shut up.” Lightning Dust snapped, jumping up onto one of the rust-brown shipping containers with a flutter of her wings and scurrying out of sight.
“She’s just as bad as you are.” Thunderblitz drawled, propping himself up off the ground so he could look around the small concealed patch they had taken refuge in.
“Hardly.” Rainbow complained, kicking up a small clod of dirt.
“Well, if you’re so much the bigger mare, go try and sort whatever you two got between ya. Y'all gonna get me killed at this rate.” He grumbled.
Rainbow glared at him silently, her hooves folded across her chest stubbornly
“Jeez, you’re worse than a Boulder Knoll back at home, Ah could get one of them little blighters to move faster than you.” Thunderblitz mocked, giving her a gentle shove.
“Ohooho, you are playing dangerous game here buddy.” Rainbow jeered, picking herself up and staunchly planting her rump to the ground.
Thunderblitz gave another gentle shove, just enough to uproot her. He snickered quietly as Rainbow rose up off the ground, an outraged look on her face.
“You are so asking for it.” She snarled.
“Well why don’t you go sort out your other problem before making another one?” Thunderblitz suggested wryly. He seemed quite happy to fight Rainbow if necessary, as much as Rainbow hated to admit it, he’d probably win. In the tight space her wings and speed wouldn’t offer much advantage and he was easily stronger than she was. She could all too easily imagine him planted firmly on top of her, a victorious look plastered over his smug face. It would only get worse if Lightning Dust came to investigate the sudden disturbance. She forced down an embarrassed flush and kicked the ground again.
“Alright, fine!” she snapped grumpily.
“There we go.” Thunderblitz drawled calmly, ignoring the furious look Rainbow Dash was giving him.
Unable to stand his annoyingly triumphant look, Rainbow jumped up the container and trotted out after Lightning Dust, grumbling internally. She could figure out a way to get even later. She scooted out along a narrow passage created by the gap between two containers, ducked under a half-open door and found herself out on a thin perch overlooking the yard. The wind whistled past softly and in the distance she could hear a faint rumble and the occasional crack of concrete breaking under steel treads. Lightning Dust was seated a metre away, her yellow eyes watching the yard cautiously and her mane blowing softly in the breeze. She didn’t seem to notice the other pegasus until Rainbow Dash cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Get tired of your boyfriend?” Lightning dust sneered.
Rainbow Dash gave her a silent scornful look but didn’t rise to the challenge. She plopped herself down on the narrow ledge as far away as she could get from Lightning Dust, casting her eyes over the massive yard. She wondered what this place had been before it was abandoned, maybe it was a purpose built arena of sorts and the decrepit look was merely an illusion. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, wondering what she could say to Lightning Dust, or if she should simply wait for the other pegasus to talk first.
“Thank you.” She finally blurted out, her voice cracking slightly She hadn’t realised how dry her throat had become.
Lightning Dust didn’t look at her. “What do you want?” She asked quietly, her voice almost suspicious.
Rainbow looked away, slightly surprised how quickly Lightning Dust had picked up on her intent. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say before eventually decided it was best to just skip the crap and go straight to the point.
“We used to be friends, you know.” Rainbow said, following Lightning Dust’s gaze but not spotting anything particularly interesting. She didn’t say anything, her stare if anything, becoming more vacant. Rainbow let out a quiet sigh, running her tongue around the inside of the teeth. “I actually quite liked being friends.” She admitted.
Lightning Dust’s focus seemed to return and her eyes flicked over the Rainbow. “I know.” She answered quietly before looking away again.
Rainbow bit her lip in frustration as the silence stretched out, Lightning Dust was just as bad as opening up as she was and talking to her was like talking to a brick wall. She wanted Lightning Dust to say something but the pegasus didn’t seem to forthcoming, she never did.
“Could we try it?” Rainbow asked, unable to take the deafening silence any longer. “Being friends again, I mean.” She clarified.
Lightning Dust threw her a venomous glare.
“Or maybe at least not being enemies?” Rainbow suggested hastily. The mare’s glare softened slightly but the pegasus was still frustratingly silent.
“It’s not quite that simple.” Lightning Dust said after what seemed like an eternity.
Rainbow Dash didn’t need it explained to her; there was lingering ire between them, regardless of what she said. She didn’t trust Lightning Dust nearly as much as wanted to, and Lightning Dust had some deep-seated hatred of her based on her disgraceful removal from the Wonderbolts Academy. Whatever knock-on effects that event had caused hadn’t been explicitly mentioned by the pegasus, but whatever had happened in the intervening years Lightning Dust clearly hadn’t enjoyed it. While it didn’t seem exactly fair to Rainbow Dash, after all, it was Lightning Dust’s own actions that had caused her expulsion from the academy, she could understand why she felt the way she did, Rainbow Dash probably would’ve felt the exact same way if their roles had been reversed.
“Yeah, I get it.” Rainbow said, looking skyward.
“I know.” Lightning Dust said again, a faint smirk crossing her face as Rainbow ground her teeth together with frustration.
“You’re an arsehole.” Rainbow grumbled.
Thankfully Lightning Dust didn’t answer that one, just smiled knowingly. “Takes one to know one.” She remarked before her grin fell off her face like a stick of butter racing down a metal slippery-dip on a hot day.
“What is it?” Rainbow asked, suddenly on edge.
Lightning Dust didn’t look at her, instead her eyes scanning the yard cautiously like a hawk. Her knees bent slightly as if she was preparing to pounce. “It’s coming.” She said after a moment.
“The tank?” Rainbow asked, her throat suddenly going dry.
“Yep, definitely looks like it’s heading this way.” Lightning Dust said after a moment.
Rainbow Dash saw it a moment later, a grey block shifting in and out of view as the tank rumbled through the deserted yard in search on them. They shared a look of concern before bounding down off their exposed position and back into the hidden strip of dirt they’d found, Lightning Dust fumbling for the launcher with almost indecent haste. Thunderblitz didn’t need to be told what was going on, the two mare’s frantic motions were more than enough to give the situation away. He ducked out from behind the small strip of dirt, searching for a suitable piece of cover he could conceal himself in.
Within a minute the trap was set. Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash were perched back on top of the shipping container, lying out of sight until they were sure that Thunderblitz had grabbed the tank’s attention. The stallion was on the ground about fifty metres away, an old metal pipe he’d found held tightly in his mouth. They waited, silent and motionless as the tank slowly rumbled into view, pausing cautiously behind a low wall which obscured most of its turret. Its optics spun warily, scanning the area for the three ponies it was supposed to be hunting.
“It’s not going for it.” Lightning Dust muttered a split second before Rainbow Dash could vocalise the same thought. She waved subtly to Thunderblitz, he’d have to get its attention somehow. Even from their position, they could see the stallion was less than thrilled at the prospect.
“We are so going to owe him for this.” Rainbow muttered.
“I’m sure you could think of a way to repay him.” Lightning Dust snickered suggestively.
Rainbow flushed red. “Shut your damn mouth and just aim the launcher.” She snapped, resisting the urge to punt Lightning Dust at the tank instead of a rocket. She made a motion to Thunderblitz, they were ready.
With a cringe he rose up out of his cover and pointed his pipe at the tank. Like a bloodhound tracking a scent, the tank’s turret optics whipped round, fixing him in their glassy gaze. Thunderblitz made a deliberate fumble, dropping the pipe with a loud clatter and a curse. He adopted a fearful expression, which was probably genuine considering the level of firepower aimed in his direction, and scampered to new cover.
The tank took the bait, kicking its engine into gear and rumbling after him, oblivious to the two pegasi perched about eighty metres to its right. It had barely slipped out from behind the crumbling wall when Lightning Dust rose up from the roof of the container, took aim and depressed the firing stud.
With a roar the rocket corkscrewed towards the hulking tank only to crash into the wall between the two pegasi and the armoured behemoth with a soft crack of masonry.
“I thought you said you could shoot?!” Rainbow shouted, diving for the bag of ammunition and slamming another round home as quickly as she could. The rocket had left a tell-tale trail of smoke behind it, a sign the tank would surely pick up on at any moment.
“It was a long time ago, I’d like to see you do better.” Lightning Dust snapped back irately, lining up the growling tank carefully.
“Wait…” Rainbow urged as the tank roared out towards them. She placed a steadying hoof on Lightning Dust’s shoulder. The tank was still half-hidden behind the building and firing now would probably waste their last shot at ending the sadistic exercise. She forced down a thrill of horror as the tank started turning its turret towards them.
“You’re gonna get me killed, Dash!” Lightning Dust snapped. The Grizzly had clearly lost interest in chasing Thunderblitz.
“Just trust me.” Rainbow ordered, her voice cracking as the tank’s flank slid out from behind the wall enticingly.
“No that’s too close, that’s too fu-.” Lightning Dust warned, her curse being cut short as another boom echoed around the arena. Rainbow didn’t have time to register the flash of the shot before the shells had roared past them, detonating some twenty metres past the containers in a cloud of dirt and rock.
“Now! Shoot it, shoot it!” She screamed. The tank had now fully emerged from behind the building. Unless she was completely incompetent it would take a miracle for Lightning Dust to miss now. If she did, somehow Rainbow didn’t think they’d be around long enough to find out.
Lightning Dust didn’t need any convincing, the words had barely formed in Rainbow’s mouth when she jammed the trigger down again. The second rocket whooped way with a sharp crack, travelling the short distance between them and the tank in the blink of an eye. The warhead smacked into the side of the tank’s armoured skirt with a metallic clank before bouncing off with a feeble fizz.
“Cease fire, exercise over!” Raze barked suddenly, her voice booming around the cratered yard from some hidden sound system. The tank immediately powered down, its engine cutting off with a disappointed whine.
Rainbow Dash let out a relieved laugh and found herself patting Lightning Dust on the back.
“Yeah, good job.” Lightning Dust said cautiously, watching Rainbow’s hoof like it was holding a knife. She shook her hoof off and tossed the launcher aside. “Just wait till I show raze what I think her stupid exercise.”
Rainbow threw a look at the monstrous tank beneath them, its barrels glinting dangerously under the morning sunlight. After facing that, she couldn’t help but agree with her.
***
After reuniting with Thunderblitz, the trio were teleported out of the arena, being deposited gently in the same spot where they’d left. Raze and her adjutant were still there, waiting patiently as if no time had passed since their departure.
Whatever elation from the victory they felt was instantly dashed when they saw Raze. Lightning Dust didn’t waste a second charging at the Commander and swinging a blow at her face furiously.
The blow didn’t even connect, Raze quickly snapping Lightning Dust’s hoof out of the way and twisting her painfully into the ground. “If you’re going to hit an old mare, make sure you put some effort in.” She sneered condescendingly, her green eyes colder than a block of ice. She pressed Lightning Dust a little harder, eliciting a quiet whimper of pain as she threatened to dislocate her leg. She made a disgusted sound and let Lightning Dust free. “Get up.” She ordered emotionlessly.
To her credit Lightning dust recovered quickly, rising to her hooves faster than Rainbow dash would’ve thought possible. “You’re nuts!” She roared furiously at their instructor. “You tried to kill us!”
“I’ve been tested on several occasions and have always been cleared for service.” Raze snapped back. “It was a totally harmless exercise, those tankies were at more risk of hurting themselves than you.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but they were using real ammunition on us.” Lightning Dust sneered disbelievingly. She looked back for a moment at Rainbow dash and Thunderblitz for support.
“Their gunnery was intentionally inaccurate recruit, I’d like you to find a tank crew that couldn’t place shell within a metre of a pony-sized target at a range of under two hundred metres.” Raze explained, glaring at Lightning Dust like she was a piece of chewing gum she’d found clinging to her fetlocks.
“They still could’ve hit us.” Rainbow butted in, siding with Lightning Dust on the matter. They had, after all, shot at her as well.
“Only if you were dumb enough to go jam yourself down the barrel, cadet. They were ordered not to fire unless you were well clear.” Raze pointed out scathingly.
“And you couldn’t have told us this beforehand?” Lightning Dust demanded. She didn’t seem willing to admit that Raze was, in fact, right.
“That would’ve ruined the point of the exercise. Despite what you might think, I did not just throw a tank at you for my own enjoyment, but to pull your sorry behinds together. You worked well as a team today and that’s what we’re looking for here. If it takes a tank to make you pull your head in, cadet, then I will damn well throw tanks at you until you do so; are we clear?” Raze snarled, glaring the three ponies down.
“Crystal.” Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust grumbled in unison. They were surprised by the off-handed compliment from Raze but were still furious with the test she had put them through.
“Good, now get out of my sight.” Raze said, motioning them away with a dismissive wave of her wing. She gave them another quick look before marching off, her aide in tow.
“Well that went well...” Lightning Dust grumbled, rubbing her foreleg tenderly. She glared after Raze furiously before looking at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of her eye. “Suppose when you’ve got to deal with shit like that, it can’t hurt to have somepony else around to watch your back.”
“Provided you can trust them to do it.” Rainbow muttered back.
Lightning Dust looked offended. “Hey, what happened to trying not to be enemies?” She snapped irately.
“Oh right, of course. Completely forgot about that.” Rainbow drawled back sarcastically. Apparently Lightning Dust was still receptive to jabs at her character. She gave Lightning dust a small, slightly lopsided grin to show she was joking.
“IS that how this is going to work out, eh?” Lightning Dust jeered. “Look at us, insufferable but inseparable. I can tell it’s just going to happen.” She clicked her tongue and winked at Rainbow Dash overtly. “Catch ya around, buddy.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but let out an amused scoff. She was just like her, but somehow managed to be even less subtle. Still, there had been a trace of sincerity in her voice so there was a chance Lightning Dust had begun to see some actual value in working as a team instead of gnashing their teeth at each other.
Maybe, Rainbow Dash thought, just maybe that had been the point of the exercise all along.
***
J-Tech had never been an easy task. Even on Earth, where the technology going into Jaegers was more developed and better understood, few could handle the stresses of both keeping the machines well looked after while spearheading research into improving their efficiency against the creatures which rose from the deep. It was now, only as Twilight almost literally waded through her reports and research, realised just how enormous a task she had taken on.
It hadn’t presented itself as so much an issue before, most of the tech that had gone into the Mk Is was simple, based on already existing technologies or painstakingly reverse-engineered from Midsummer Night or the wreckage of Brawler Yukon. Now though, she was required to innovate, not simply reproduce. The Mk. I’s were already starting to show deficiencies, deficiencies they had anticipated but had simply been unable to account for. The Mk. II’s and III’s couldn’t be developed using the same process, it was technology that was already starting to show its age in the fight against the Kaiju.
She was hardly alone, the entire J-Tech department along with assistance from external institutions, was focusing its efforts on R&D. A new generation of nuclear reactors was already under construction in labs deep in the Equestrian heartland. New, more efficient gears and transmissions, circuitry designs and motors were flooding in like a veritable tidal wave and she hardly found herself with a lack of enthusiastic volunteers ready to help bring the Mk. II program to life.
Things just seemed to be moving too quickly though. While Equestrian technology and science had dramatically benefited from the arrival of Midsummer Night, it was still woefully lacking in some areas. They had to develop too much in too little time. More often than not her team’s research simply hit a dead end, their current level of technology just wasn’t up to the challenge of pushing mostly theoretical ideas into reality so quickly. Simply put, the technology was either there but nopony quite knew how to use it, or they knew how to build it but lacked the means to do so.
This seemed to hold particularly true in the field of energy weapons. The Mk. II’s were originally planned to make great use of them but the idea had been quickly scrapped when the realisation had hit that they were woefully unprepared to use such advanced weaponry. She’d had Midsummer Night dragged back into the construction bays some weeks ago so she could properly examine the machine’s energy caster. The tiring foray had left her almost more confused as when she’d started. She understood the principles behind it, but the method still eluded her. The J-Tech’s first large scale energy weapon had ended up melting a ten metre hole in the side of the shatterdome, hardly a promising start after the small scale tests had worked well enough. The device, while functioning exactly as intended, had picked up a nasty side effect. Unless quickly discharged, the energy caster would continue to build charge until the weapon either melted to molten slag, or the power source ran dry.
The failure of the test had forced work to stall on the first Mk. II hull, instead being redirected to a much simpler experimental design, Twilight’s project team had devised as an interim solution. The new hull eschewed energy weapons in exchange for a system somewhat similar to Midsummer Night’s railgun. Although they had been unable to replicate the Jaegers weapons due to material limitations, the idea of using magnetic forces to propel an object at high velocities was simple enough. While comparatively crude, mock-ups of the weapon system were looking promising, especially in the area of cracking open armour. It was though, incredibly energy intensive, and Twilight could finally understand on a practical level why similar designs hadn’t been encountered on other human Jaegers.
Twilight flipped over a page in her report tiredly, she hadn’t slept properly for over a week and she was reaching the edge of her limits. She laid her head down on her smooth desk, enjoying the cool touch of the wood against her pounding head. She resisted the urge to fall asleep, she still had far too much work to do that. Maybe another trip to the recaf machine was in order.
A paper clip strolled past her face, whistling absently.
Twilight ignored it, dismissing it as a trick of her tired brain. Her mind pondered the strange occurrence for a moment before dismissing it as preposterous, paperclips couldn’t whistle.
Another paperclip walked past cheerfully, balancing a two thousand page report on its upper edge.
“What.” Twilight said flatly, lifting her head off the desk to discover that her once tidy tray of paperclips had suddenly sprung to life. A small army of the small metal shapes marched across her desk, picking up small crumbs of food and rearranging pages of paper into odd shapes.
Twilight shook her head, wondering if the lack of sleep was the cause of the paper clip's sudden sentience. She levitated one up to eye level, alarmed to see the small strip of metal trying to squirm away like a worm.
“What the..?” She managed before an ear-splitting crack rang around her office, scattering the towering stacks of paper stacked across her desk like they were caught in a storm.
“DISCORD!” Twilight bellowed furiously as the serpentine spirit uncurled himself like a sleeping cat. He looked at her innocently and yawned widely.
“Did I do that? Sorry.” He said without a trace of sincerity. The spirit looked down at his metal army, rewarding them with a small wave.
The paperclips cheered.
“Discord. What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” Twilight fumed, her face starting to twitch as the monolithic amount of effort it would take to reorganising her office dawned on her.
“I couldn’t help but notice one of my dear friends was having trouble so I thought I should help. Isn’t that what friends do?” Discord hummed harmlessly, twirling a finger and making a score of paper sheets fold into paper planes. The constructions hovered uncertainly in place for a moment before whizzing around the room like startled pigeons.
“Discord, I have several reports to finalise, the construction of two Jaegers to supervise and now an army of paperclips ruining my office; I do not have time for you!” Twilight smouldered, grabbing a paper plane out of the air and snapping it like a twig with a flicker of magic. The tattered remains of the craft fluttered down to the floor where they flapped feebly.
“But of course.” Discord proclaimed, vanishing and reappearing behind Twilight with another loud snap. He flicked his claw again and the paper scattered around the office flashed back into place across Twilight’s desk. He fished a few sheets out and examined them, a pair of ornate spectacles appearing across the bridge of his nose as he did so.
“I don’t see what the problem is.” He announced a few moments later.
“That’s because those don’t have any problems on them.” Twilight snapped, snatching the sheets out of Discord’s claw and placing them back on their respective piles.
“My, my… watch your temper me little princess.” Discord chided sweetly, cradling his chin between his arms.
“You are not helping!” Twilight growled dangerously, her eye twitching slightly.
“Then allow me to.” Discord offered, bowing lowly before teleporting in front of Twilight’s desk again.
Twilight glared at him suspiciously, this had to be some sort of joke. “You wouldn’t understand.” She grumbled, wondering if she could somehow turn Discord into a pot plant, petunias were particularly nice.
Discord looked offended. “Wouldn’t I? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class.”
“Of one?” Twilight asked dryly, rubbing her forehead with a hoof slowly. She was loathe to admit that Discord’s interruption was serving a welcome distraction for her work, not to mention the first real social interaction she’d had for a few days. She turned down several meetings with Applejack recently on account of her work and she saw no end in sight, at least until the Mk. II Jaegers were running smoothly.
“As always, you seem to underestimate me, Twilight.” Discord chided, filing away at one of his claws absently.
Twilight played along and made a beckoning gesture to Discord. “As always, please educate me then.” She said, her words dropping with frustration.
“You haven’t told me what the problem is yet.” Discord pouted.
Twilight’s face adopted a look of defeated annoyance. Discord was clearly playing with her now. The alicorn took a steadying breath, holding back her temper with some difficulty.
“We are building an energy weapon, we call it a shock projector.” Twilight explained quietly. “Currently, for reasons that I cannot wrap my head around, it refuses to power down once it has started drawing a charge. While it is a problem we could probably fix with time, time is not something we have a great abundance of at the moment.”
Discord’s lips curled into a thin smile. “I’m sorry princess, time is not something I can just give out willy-nilly.”
“Please, tell me something I don’t know.” Twilight snapped crossly, zapping a paper clip that was trying to run off with her latest staff memo. The small piece of metal twitched for a moment before crawling off feebly.
“The sky is green and eating bananas make mosquitos bite you.” Discord hummed, curling his tail up around and offering Twilight a ripe yellow fruit. When she refused he peeled the skin away before chomping thoughtfully. “Maybe this isn’t as much of a problem as you think, I’m sure whichever pony you put in that metal box will be responsible enough to be careful with it.”
Twilight crossed her forehooves crossly. “Accidents happen.” She said flatly. She tossed a glance at the wall which hid Frontier Justice from view, while the machine and its pilots had long recovered from their fall, the incident was still fresh in her mind. She’d followed the incident up thoroughly and had passed along her disciplinary recommendations for the guilty parties to the marshals, measures that she personally thought were lenient considering the potential catastrophe that had narrowly been averted. She was hardly in the mood for a similar incident to occur, especially if it happened because of her own negligence.
“Everything is an accident just waiting to happen. You can only prepare yourself so much, I should know.” Discord explained. “Sometimes I think you worry too much princess, sometimes I think you just need to let it go. Quite a popular phrase I hear.”
Twilight felt like boiling over. “Let it go? Just, let it go? You think I should install something dangerous in one of the Jaegers and just let it go?” She snapped.
“It was just a suggestion, I’m sure you can think of something.” Discord purred. He vanished with a crack of light and reappeared behind Twilight again. “Or maybe not.” He ran a claw around the heavy bags under Twilight’s eyes and tutted quietly.
“Discord…” Twilight growled dangerously.
The serpentine creature ignored her, snapping his claws and making a set of blueprints appear. He unrolled them, revealing the detail for the new Jaeger hull that Twilight was fretting over.
“Where did you get that?” Twilight asked, slightly outraged that Discord had gone through her office.
“Magic.” Discord snorted quietly, running a claw gently down the large blueprint. “Very impressive Twilight, very impressive indeed. What will you call it?” He inquired.
Twilight looked at him blankly, her mouth slightly open as if between taking a mouthful of hay.
“Hmm, it’s wild and dangerous you say. Wild, like the Everfree Forest. I made a summer home there, I should know.” Discord chuckled quietly. He seemed to think for a moment before swiping his paw across the top of the blueprint. “Everfree Bandit. I think that’s a good name, has a nice ring to it”
Twilight peered at the sheet, the two words but been printed magically along the top as if they had on the original. “I could think of worse.” She said, unwilling to admit she quite liked the name Discord had suggested.
The spirit nodded. “I’m sure Pinkie will love it.”
Twilight took a moment to register what Discord had said. “Pinkie? What’s Pinkie got to do-.” She cut herself off, noticing that Discord had simply vanished as he were made of fog. She stared at the wall where he had just been in silent confusion for a few minutes before shaking her head wearily.
“Discord…” She muttered, succinctly summing up her thoughts on the chaotic spirit.
It was late in the afternoon when Rainbow Dash rolled out of bed. Unlike every day for the last eight weeks at the Jaeger Academy, she had been granted the rare pleasure of a day off. It was a well deserved holiday, Raze had been mercilessly pushing them nearly every hour they weren’t in class and even with exams to study for, their sadistic trainer delighted in coming up with the most grueling exercises for her tired charges to complete. Although Rainbow hadn’t been counting, she felt like she’d only gotten about five or six hours of sleep over the last week. Her natural response then, was to spend the few days that made up the semester break sleeping as much as possible. She blinked wearily and yawned, looking at the small clock perched next to her bunk dangerously. The small alarm clock had a few dings in it, courtesy of Rainbow Dash herself, when it prompted her to wake up at some extraordinary early hour.
“Four...” She murmured groggily, doing some quick calculations in her head. Fifteen hours of sleep hardly seemed enough to make up for the massive sleep-debt she’d accrued but she forced herself upright anyway, reasoning that her stiff wings could use a stretch and that she probably wouldn’t get back to sleep for at least a few hours anyway.
She was so tired, in fact, that she completely missed the letter taped crudely to the side of her head until she was halfway to the mess hall. She peeled it off slowly, wincing as as a small clump of her fur went with it. The top corner of the letter was emblazoned with the golden phoenix of the Equestrian Jaeger Corp and her name was neatly printed on the front. A small sticky note was stuck on top roughly, a few choice words that Rainbow Dash had come to associate with Raze’s extensive vocabulary of profanity and condescending endearment scrawled on hastily as if an afterthought.
Her excitement building, Rainbow tore the letter open, her jaw fully dropping as her eyes blitzed down the letter. She reread it twice, her mind unable to take it all in at once.
“Yes!” She yelled, unconsciously leaping into the air and doing an impromptu summersault. Her loud cry of joy scared a pair of engineering students down the hall and the sound of clattering tools quickly joined in with her victorious cheers.
Her body’s tiredness and hunger quite forgotten, Rainbow Dash zipped down the hallway, darting between other students, light fittings and open doors like it was all some big obstacle course. She didn’t have an exactly clear course in mind but she needed to celebrate and if celebrating meant turning the academy into some sort of slalom course, so be it.
Her breakneck trench run was abruptly interrupted though as a pink shape flew through the air towards her, a half formed scream of excitement tumbling out of its mouth as it wrapped around Rainbow Dash like a doona. The stunned pegasus barely had time to register the fact that she was now grounded before a bubbly set of blue eyes forced their way into her vision.
“We did it, we did it we did it!” Pinkie chanted, her voice almost reaching a screaming pitch. Rainbow covered her ears until her friend recovered her decorum. Pinkie had her own letter proudly gripped in her mouth, waving it around like it was a rubber chicken at a rave.
“Pinkie is excited.” Maud said, enough emotion in her voice that she could’ve been mistaken for a tree.
“You said it sister, up high!” Pinkie cheered, holding up her hoof for her sister to hit. Maud looked at it for a moment before deliberately placing her hoof against Pinkie’s with a soft click.
“Woo.” She deadpanned, her eyes never quite focusing on any one thing in particular.
“Great!” Rainbow congratulated them, slowly recovering from the sudden shock of being virtually pulled out of the air by her hyperactive pink friend. She endured another rib-crushing hug any self-respecting grandma would be envious of before forcing her way out of Pinkie’s iron grip and flapped up to an altitude probably out of reach of her friend. “Not to be rude though, how exactly did you..?” She asked, trailing off sceptically as she thought about it. How Pinkie could’ve made the grade was frankly, beyond her. Although she wouldn’t admit it aloud, she had barely managed to pull through herself.
“I have no idea!” Pinkie exclaimed, closing her eyes and looking up at Rainbow Dash cheerfully, holding her acceptance letter proudly like a puppy with the morning paper.
Rainbow Dash switched her gaze to Maud but the stoic earth pony simply looked back at her silently, emotionless as ever. The stand-off persisted a few seconds before Rainbow Dash realised that getting something more than an emotionless look out of Maud would be like getting Fluttershy out of her cottage to watch dragons, unnecessarily hard and painful. She pushed the thought aside for now, that would be something she could sit down and ponder later. In the meantime, she still had some rounds to do, namely, she wanted to check if Thunderblitz had made it through the first round of selections. She was tempted to find Lightning Dust and shove her own letter in her face but pushed the idea down, knowing her luck, Lightning Dust would’ve also qualified and if she hadn’t, Rainbow Dash was happy enough to leave her alone. If her rival had been selected though, Rainbow was sure she would know at the end of the day by simply having her ears switched on.
“Well that’s great I guess, Pinkie.” She said warily. “Look, I gotta check up on some other ponies around, I’ll catch you in mess hall B in a few okay? I haven’t had anything to eat since last night.” Rainbow said apologetically.
“I’ll keep the cake ready!” Pinkie Pie called after her enthusiastically.
Rainbow didn’t bother questioning this, knowing Pinkie, she probably would have a cake, a large, frosted monolithic pillar of sugar and stomach pains that defied sensibility, ready for her when she did reach the mess hall
How Pinkie achieved such a feat was something best left unquestioned and just chalked up to one of those things that happened around the apparently boundless pink pony.
Disregarding the slightly maddening thought, Rainbow trotted away cheerfully to find Thunderblitz. Despite the hour, it didn’t take long to find him, a curious look in the library yielded nothing, prompting Rainbow to head back to his quarters. She could barely conceal her excitement when she rounded the open door,
“Look what I just got!” Rainbow boasted proudly, shoving the letter in Thunderblitz’s face so he could read it.
His dark eyes looked it over glumly. “Yeah, great. Good for you.” He mumbled.
Unlike Pinkie, Thunderblitz didn’t hold the slightest trace of cheer on his face. While he wasn’t exactly renowned for his excitability, Rainbow Dash would’ve thought the prospect of getting through the first cut would’ve given him something to smile about. She quickly pieced two and two together, suddenly feeling bitter for how quickly she’d shoved her own acceptance letter in his face.
“You didn’t make it through, I take it?” Rainbow asked quietly.
Thunderblitz looked up slowly and shook his head silently.
Rainbow frowned. “That’s bullshit, you were as good as anypony else that got through.” She said, her mind suddenl wondering if that was a compliment or an insult considering how many ponies she knew of that had actually gotten through.
“Apparently not.” Thunderblitz muttered, packing the last of his personal effects into his saddlebag and flapping it shut. “Some sorta, cognitive dissonance or something. They offered me a technical position but Ah turned that down, Ah want ta fight.”
“Well they aren’t going to give you a Jaeger.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Thunderblitz shrugged, placing his saddlebags over his rump. “Might join up with the army or something. They could give me a shot”
“Dangerous much?” Rainbow said with a nervous smile.
“And piloting a Jaeger isn’t?” Thunderblitz shot back.
Rainbow smiled thinly. “Just watching out of my friends, that’s all.”
Thunderblitz returned the smile half-heartedly. “Yeah, thanks.” His gaze lingered on Rainbow for a moment longer. “You look after yourself, you hear? Don’t want to have to come and save your sorry behind. Again.”
“Again?” Rainbow complained. “If you’re talking about that Grizzly incident, me and Lightning Dust saved your scrawny butt, thank you very much.”
“Yes and I am eternally grateful.” Thunderblitz drawled, brushing past her and sauntering off down the hallway. “Ah will see you, someplace else.” He said in farewell, gracing her with a friendly smile.
“Yeah, see ya.” Rainbow said as he vanished around the corner. The mostly empty hallways made her suddenly feel quite lonely. She sighed quietly and glumly played with the door handle for a few moments before trotting off the meet Pinkie and Maud in the mess hall.
Somehow, Rainbow got the feeling she wouldn’t see him again.
***
It wasn’t often that Misty Fly found herself surprised. Being the meticulous, control freak she usually was, she often planned things well in advance and it was a rare situation indeed if something caught her completely unaware.
It was then when she and Lightning Streak were called in to observe the newly minted Ranger cadets and hopefully pick out drift compatible pairs, she received quite a shock.
The cadets were a few weeks through their second trimester now, combat drills and the grueling process of familiarising themselves with the Academy’s simulators taking up the vast majority of their time. It barely came as a surprise to the six fully fledged pilots that they’d have the thankless task of observing the cadets as they trained, watching from the sidelines as the academy's staff whipped them into shape. The four former wonderbolts had been rostered to go first, Applejack and Big Macintosh staying behind in the shatterdome with Frontier Justice in case a rapid deployment was required.
Soarin and Wave Chill had drawn the short straw and Misty was all too happy to take the paired group. She reasoned it would be much easier to spot potential for drift compatibility in a group where the ponies involved were much closer to start with.
What she hadn’t expected though, was to run into the metaphorical – or literal, depending on your point of view – village idiot and stone wall.
Before the group of ranger cadets had arrived she’d expected a hard, tight-knit group of cunning fighters. Her surprise was almost total then, when the group turned out being mostly farmers and miners. There was half a dozen royal guards and a few security officers according to her files, but not the veritable wave of seasoned warriors she’d expected.
The most surprising thing though, was Maud and Pinkie Pie. As the group of hopeful cadets drifted in, her gaze was almost instantly drawn to the differences between them. One was bright and energetic, like Surprise on a caffeine drip. Her mane and bounding gait seemed to defy gravity and her coat was a gaudy, bright shade of pink that made Misty’s eyes water if she stared for too long. Everything about the mare seemed to defy what she expected in a Ranger, she was hardly the splitting image of fitness and if the way her head twisted round as she and her partner bounded into the room was any indication, she hardly knew what the term ‘attention span’ meant.
Her partner was almost a polar opposite. Her mane was slicked down in uncompromising straight lines, her stony gaze held not even a flicker of emotion and her walk reminded the pegasus of a slightly energetic sloth. Unlike the bouncing pink mare which accompanied her, the dull looking earth pony looked strong enough to lift a boulder. Misty watched the two with something approaching morbid fascination, the two ponies, the pink one doubly so, seemed to simply defy everything she thought possible. They were the most disjointed, improbable pair that Misty had ever laid eyes on.
But they were perfect.
Even without seeing them in action, Misty somehow knew they were what she was looking for. She didn’t know where the feeling had come from but somehow, she just intuitively knew they were the best choice, the right choice.
‘No, that’s stupid. the pink one could barely fight alone, never mind in sync.’ She thought, forcing the ludicrous idea down only for it to surge the fore again, rising up in the back of her mind like a persistent rash. Misty swore under her breath and tried ignoring it to little success, it was like a needy child that screamed louder when you looked away, demanding constant attention. She tried suppressing it again, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was telling her to pay attention to the two mares. She swore again and in a rather uncharacteristic lack of stubbornness, gave into the urge, focusing on the two Earth Ponies like she was tracking them across a plain.
As the rest of the trainees spread out and started their exercises under the careful supervision of their trainers, the two ponies drifted off to the side and sat down away from everypony else. None of the trainers paid them any head, dismissing them like they were annoying flies buzzing around on a hot summer day. Curious, she called one of the trainers over.
“Why isn’t anypony keeping an eye on those two?” She asked.
The trainer snorted with bemusement. “They’re a lost cause. Trust me, it’s not worth your time trying to get those two to do anything.” He grumbled.
“Names?”
“Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie. Sisters.” The trainer answered.
Misty nodded and excused the trainer, padding back slowly to her previous position. She flipped through her large stack of files, stopping when she reached the two sisters.
Their record was unimpressive, to say the least. Pinkie had barely scraped past the course’s physical requirements and her mental state had been succinctly summed up as ‘eccentric’. Maud was a little more Misty’s style, her file seemed to indicate she was somepony who would focus on getting the job done first and letting other concerns come second. She did seem a little slow though, not the energetic and hot-blooded sort of pony Misty would imagine piloting a Jaeger. Misty read further, frowning slightly as she examined their files closely. Despite her gut screaming at her that they were exactly what they were looking for, the two sisters certainly weren’t what she would’ve picked as Ranger material.
“Ah, I see.” She muttered, turning the page and encountering the abridged version of the neurological report. The academy’s chief neurologist, a vaguely familiar sounding pony by the name of Rainy Daze, had insisted they be admitted on their mental bond alone. Even without a pons to bridge their minds, Pinkie and Maud seemed to understand and perceive each other’s thoughts and feelings almost perfectly. A trait rare enough to warrant them getting a pass on that merit alone.
Misty scowled, she didn’t like the look of Pinkie, her attitude seemed far too flippant and random to adhere to anything resembling the chain of command and her fighting skills seemed non-existent, something these training sessions were supposed to be alleviating. She sat on the feeling for a moment, trying to ignore the fact that her lower intestine seemed intent on dragging her over to the two ponies. They would need a lot of work before they would be worth anything, maybe too much.
“Ah, what the heck…” She said with a resigned sigh, giving into the compelling feeling in her gut, throwing the file away and trotting over to where the two sisters were sitting.
“What are you two doing?” Misty demanded, her barking voice making the two earth ponies stop and look at her.
“Playing a game, wanna join?” Pinkie chirped, shifting aside so Misty could sit and join them. She seemed entirely unfazed by the pegasus’ sharp voice or intimidating posture.
Misty peered closer, noticing the thin game matt and he small tokens and dice strewed across it. She recognised the game immediately. Kaiju and Jaegers, a fairly new but popular roleplaying game not dissimilar to Oubliettes and Ogres although with less emphasis on character creation and more so on punching giant monsters in the face. She’d played it all of once with Soarin, Wave Chill, her brother and Torque before deciding that it wasn’t her sort of game. That decision, of course, had come immediately after rolling a natural ‘10’ on the critical failure table and having her Jaeger explode in a titanic ball of nuclear fire.
It was safe to say that Misty Fly was a very poor loser.
“Stop messing about, get up and continue your training.” She ordered sternly.
“We are practicing, I’ve already killed three Kaiju.” Pinkie pointed out.
Misty resisted the urge to scream, instead focusing on maintaining a strained look o composure. “That’s wonderful, what about your sister?” She asked scathingly.
“Eighty-seven.” Maud answered flatly.
Misty shook her head. “Where did you get this anyway?”
“Games room.” Pinkie answered.
“We don’t have a games room.” Misty deadpanned.
Pinkie looked up at the ceiling innocently. “Do now…”
Misty Fly’s eye twitched slightly, it wasn’t just hard talking with Pinkie, it hurt. Her voice scratched and squeaked in her ears in the most painful way she could imagine and she didn’t seem to understand the idea of talking quietly. She grabbed Pinkie roughly by the neck and yanked her to her hooves.
“Stop wasting my time, you’re here to train. You want to goof off and play your little games you can go down to kiddies corner and mess about.” Misty growled. letting go of Pinkie with an annoyed grunt. She briefly considered dropping the duo and moving on but a little voice in the back of her mind told her to stick with it for the moment. “Now show me what you’ve got.”
Pinkie blinked obliviously.
Misty gritted her teeth. “Have a spar with your sister, I want to see how well you can fight.” She said in a deceptively calm voice.
“I might hurt Maud though.” Pinkie objected
‘Yeah, unlikely!’ Misty thought, aware of the stone-cold glare Maud was giving her. She had to remind herself for a moment why she was bothering with the two ponies in the first place before moving on. “Alright, fine. You can fight me.” She offered.
Pinkie scratched the back of her head for a moment before nodding cautiously. Misty breathed a quiet sigh of relief, finally she was getting somewhere. She took a few steps back and adopted a fighting stance, her body low to the ground and her wings outstretched for balance. Pinkie looked confused before adopting the same stance with a playful growl. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Misty, growing tired of the pink pony’s inactivity, darted across the mat, snapped a leg around Pinkie’s neck, rolled over her back, dragged her to the ground and placed her in a headlock. She stared into Pinkie’s startled blue eyes for a moment before pulling an imaginary blow across her windpipe.
“You’re dead.” She growled as Pinkie squeaked with surprise.
Pinkie smiled nervously. “Can we try again?”
Misty growled with distaste, her already limited patience running dangerously close to expiring. Her subconscious was still screaming at her insistently though and she felt that despite Pinkie’s incompetence, maybe it was worth trying again. She mustered up the sternest look she could manage. “If you somehow make it to a Jaeger, I give you a life expectancy of five minutes. Tops.” She growled before rising up off the mat and helping Pinkie up with a reluctant sigh. “Please, prove me wrong though.”
“Alright, let’s do this. I’m ready. So ready. Never been readier ”
Misty rolled her eyes contemptuously and reset her position on the mat across from Pinkie.
In the time it took to blink the scene changed.
Pinkie was now riding astride a tastelessly blue, antique cannon with pink and purple wheels, its impossibly wide bore aimed squarely between Misty’s eyes. The pegasus had barely begun to form a sound of confusion before the cannon went off with a bang that left Misty’s ears ringing. Instead of a solid shot, a veritable wave of balloons, streamers, confetti and general foolishness erupted from the cannon’s muzzle, showering Misty Fly with a kaleidoscopic barrage of party decorations. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Misty gave the wall behind Pinkie a furious look as the rain of streamers and confetti rained down around her cheerfully. The more rational part of her mind wanted to know where the frustratingly pink pony had pulled the obscene cannon from, but the less rational part was already contemplating how best to dispose of a corpse and she was having a hard time replacing that rather macabre thought with a happier one. She blew a short purple streamer off her snout with an irritated huff, feeling her temper boil over.
Like a dike breaking under floodwater, Misty’s fragile composure snapped and she rounded on the Earth pony with a frustrated snarl. “Is this all some sort of joke to you? Some… some, sick, deranged joke?” She yelled furiously, her chest rising and falling quickly as she advanced on the mare and backed her up against the wall.
For once Pinkie seemed to stop and pay attention, her eyes focused squarely on Misty’s burning eyes.
“Look, I don’t know what you were expecting this to be, but this is not some sort of novelty fair or circus. We’re training to fight a war, I don’t know if you’ve quite realised that. This war is not fun, this war is not some game, you screw up and thousands of ponies die, you screw up and a town or city gets flattened like a bug.” An image of a Kaiju like Bile rampaging through a city rose up in Misty’s mind and she had to suppress the sick feeling that rose up in her gut. “We need ponies who are willing to step up to the plate, ponies willing to sacrifice everything, not some careless buffoon like you who scraped through by sheer luck. If you’re not willing to knuckle down and get that this isn’t some great adventure, some grand game, then you can go home.”
Pinkie’s mouth flapped open and shit like a fish out of water, her ears pinned back against her head as if they were glued down. Her eyes started wobbling and for a moment Misty was sure sthe particularly pink pony was about to break down into a bawling mess.
“I… I…” She stuttered pitifully for a moment, choking on her words like she had swallowed a rock.
“Come on rookie, say something!” Misty sneered.
Maud rose off the mat with a cold look. “Leave her alone.” She ordered.
Misty let out a snort of amusement but backed off Pinkie, shaking her head slowly. “Gladly. She’s not worth my time. She’s not worth anypony’s time. She’s just baggage.”
“She’s my sister.” Maud said back sharply.
“Good, at least you’ll be able to die together.” Misty sneered viciously. She regarded the duo for a moment longer before spinning on the spot and marching off, wondering what foul atrocity she had committed to deserve this.
***
A hall over, Soarin was thinking much the same as his colleague.
Though inside of his frustration being directed at a particular cadet, he found it directed squarely at his copilot. The two pegasi had arrived at the training hall early and not letting an opportunity go to waste, Soarin had suggested they have a light sparring session while they waited for the cadets to arrive. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, they’d been so busy drilling and practicing that it had been some time since they’d actually had a nice, simple tussle with each other. Soarin’s enthusiasm had quickly drained after that as Wave Chill had proceeded to quickly stomp him flat to mat seven times in nearly as many minutes. Soarin had managed to level the score slightly but after nearly half and hour, Wave Chill was still comfortably sitting on nearly twice as many points as he was. Soarin blinked away a bead of sweat, silently circling Wave Chill and waiting patiently for him to make a move.
“Are we going to be doing this all day?” Wave Chill asked mockingly, letting his grip on his hanbo slip slightly. Soarin saw through his feint though and remained still, his green eyes solidly fixed on Wave Chill’s.
A loud, cackling laugh sounded off in the distance, echoing up the hallways and spreading around the room. Soarin glanced off to the side, momentarily distracted by the sudden noise. By the time his eyes were back on Wave Chill, the stallion was already halfway across the mat and Soarin had barely a second to throw up a desperate block.
He cursed under his breath as Wave Chill pounced on him. The younger stallion was making him pay dearly for his mistake, slapping his stick aside with a casual swipe and pinning him to ground with a savage grin. The pegasus pressed his friend into the mat, almost taking a little too much pleasure at the way Soarin squirmed under him.
“You’re making this too easy, you old relic.” Wave Chill jeered as Soarin’s struggles ceased.
Soarin scowled. Wave Chill’s superiority over him was starting to annoy him. While they’d been relatively well matched at first, Wave Chill had shown a greater aptitude for piloting and slowly but surely had started outclassing the older stallion. He’d become more confident and boastful, not necessarily a bad thing as he’d been almost been a little too reserved before. What annoyed Soarin the most though, was despite how much effort he put into improving himself, Wave Chill was still better. It seemed remarkably unfair that despite the fact that his co-pilot had a lot more downtime, he was still beating Soarin more often.
“I’m not that old.” Soarin protested, pushing Wave Chill off him and standing up again. “I’m not that much older than you, and you’re younger than some of these new cadets.” Soarin said, ignoring the fact that Wave Chill was, in fact, nearly ten years younger than he was.
“Whatever.” Wave Chill chuckled quietly, readying himself again.
Soarin glared at him silently, wanting to do nothing more than snap his light hanbō across his friend’s snout and wipe that stupid smile off his face. He didn’t have the chance to though, the doors into the expansive combat room flew open and the steady babble of dozens of voices started drifting around the room. He resolved to finish the fight later and tossed his stick away into a corner, turning to face then new arrivals with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
There was a good hundred of them, the majority of them looking rather excited to see a pair of real Rangers in the flesh. The group’s trainers quickly marshaled them into smaller teams, setting down the planned exercises for the morning session.Soarin and Wave Chill watched them silently for a few minutes, slightly taken aback by the sheer number of ponies they were expected to watch,
“Is that..?” Wave Chill asked eventually, his eyes settling on a mare about halfway up the room from them.
“Lightning Dust, yeah.” Soarin answered impassively. His eyes locked on the mare as she effortlessly powered through her routine. ‘That could be fun...’ He thought dourly. Soarin watched her silently for a few seconds before striking out at random to inspect the now busily practicing cadets.
“See anything you like?” Wave chill asked, his eyes locked on a mare who would’ve looked more in place at a high-profile fashion show than a combat room.
“Focus.” Soarin admonished gently.
“I think you could learn that too, Mr. Glanceylot” Wave Chil teased.
“Yeah, yeah…” Soarin muttered suddenly freezing in place as he locked eyes with another of the trainees.
“Morning, sir.” Rainbow Dash chirped, taking a quick break from battering at the trainer she was practicing with. She was the same as Soarin remembered her, lively and spirited with a spark of mischief in her eye. The pegasus had obviously been training hard, her toned form was sleek like a shark and she seemed a few centimetres taller than he remembered.
“Hi.” Soarin said, recovering from his surprise and flashing her a quick smile.He felt a little stupid for not even considering that she would be in attendance at the academy, she had the drive and ambition along with enough stubbornness to get through just about anything.
‘Yeah, she’d go well in a Jaeger.’ He thought before realising that he was probably staring at her a little too intently. “Enjoying the course?” He asked idly.
“I don’t enjoying would quite the right word.” She said back with a soft chuckle, her eyes darting down to the faint bruises which covered her body.
“Ouch.” Soarin remarked, following her gaze.
“You should see the other guy.” Rainbow said, referring to the battered looking trainer across the mat with a sidewards glance.
“Need something a little more your own size?” Soarin guessed, noting that the stallion’s bumps and bruises were almost disproportionately more abundant than the ones that covered Rainbow Dash.
“What did you have in mind?” She asked curiously.
Soarin’s mind ticked over for a moment dumbly before striking gold. It was a bit of a long shot but it certainly could be interesting to watch. He contemplated it for a second longer, aware that both Rainbow Dash and Wave Chill were looking at him like he had suddenly stopped working.
“A challenge.” Soarin said levelly, motioning for the two pegasi to follow him.
“Got any idea what’s he thinking of?” Soarin heard Rainbow Dash ask as she fell in step behind him.
“Something crazy, no doubt.” Wave Chill responded cheekily. “Soarin has a habit for being a little left field…”
“Don’t suppose he’s ever traded ideas with Commander Raze eh?” Rainbow joked. “Hope he isn’t going pull a tank out of his pocket or something. Should I've checked behind the light fittings on my way in?”
Wave Chill looked surprisingly serious. “Maybe, I think they’re related.”
“She’s my aunt.” Soarin said, turning his head slightly so he could enjoy Rainbow’s shocked reaction.
“No way!”
“Yeah, she makes the best chocolate and blueberry muffins for Hearthswarming.” Soarin said, wondering how far he could lead her on.
“Bullshit!” Rainbow scoffed.
“Alright, maybe not the best, but they are pretty good1” Soarin admitted with a thin smile, leading the small group over to where Lightning Dust was cheerfully beating the snot out of one of the trainers. Unlike most of the other cadets around the room, she seemed completely intent on beating each one as quickly and efficiently as possible with little regard for actually paying any attention to what they were saying about her combat style. As much as Soarin disapproved of her technique, he had to admit that it was working and as she forced her seemingly hapless trainer to the mat with a pair of swift kicks, he was forced to grudgingly admit that she was probably better than almost all of the other ponies in the room.
Almost.
“Impressive.” Wave Chill said in a fashion that made it clear that he actually thought nothing of the sort. Soarin resisted the urge to gag him, again wondering where his sudden spurt of arrogance had come from.
Lightning Dust didn’t miss the verbal cue and leapt at the chance to put herself over him. “Oh, you wanna have a go then?” Lightning Dust taunted. Wave Chill made no effort in resisting the challenge, grabbing a spare hanbō and striding confidently to the centre of the mat. Soarin and Rainbow Dash stopped to watch the fight, the two pegasi exchanging a knowing look as Wave Chill obliviously took position across from Lightning Dust.
He had barely gotten into position when Lightning Dust darted towards him recklessly. Caught by surprise, Wave Chill barely had time to block her stroke. Trying to seize the initiative, Wave Chill tried forcing Lightning Dust back, pushing back against her short hanbō with is own.
The two quickly became locked in a sort of vicious grapple, each one trying to put the other off balance. It was a delicate game and the slightest slip in concentration would’ve given the other the edge. Soarin and Rainbow Dash watched silently, both silently impressed that Lightning Dust could keep up with the stallion. The duel lasted a few more seconds, both pegasi straining against each other feebly before Lightning Dust lifted her head slightly and whispered something in Wave Chill’s ear. He glanced down for a second and in that brief lapse of concentration, Lightning Dust struck. Within a lightning fast movement, she clipped Wave Chill under the chin with a foreleg and using her hind legs, drove him into the mat with a kick that sent him sprawling. She held her hanbō victoriously under his chin for a moment before withdrawing it.
“All you stallions are the same, this is getting easy.” She chuckled, taking her weapon away from Wave Chill’s face and giving him an obnoxious wink. She turned back to Soarin and Rainbow Dash with a sly smirk.
“What did she do?” Rainbow asked curiously. Soarin seemed to have understood for he was chuckling quietly, clearly quite enjoying seeing Wave Chill sprawled over the mat like a wet towel.
“Very impressive, cadet.” Soarin said, only answering Rainbow Dash’s question with a knowing smirk. “I doubt that trick would work against a Kaiju though. Just for your consideration.”
“Probably not.” Lightning Dust admitted, twirling her hanbō around delicately. She fumbled and dropped the short stick, scowling fiercely at Rainbow Dash’s badly concealed snort of amusement. She gave the room at large a challenging look, as if daring anypony else to fight her.
“How about we get you two in there together?” Soarin suggested idly, motioning Rainbow Dash to join Lightning Dust on the mat. “”Just for fun.” He added with a friendly smile.
“You serious?” Lightning Dust asked, retrieving her hanbō from the ground with savage glee.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Soarin replied, taking a careful step back and giving Rainbow Dash an encouraging wave onto the combat mat.
“Rainbow smiled thinly, she’d been waiting for this. Finally she had a chance to to give Lightning Dust a good smack on the head and get congratulated rather than reprimanded for it. She gave Lightning Dust a wicked look, only to be a little perturbed to see that Lightning Dust seemed to have the exact same look of delight on her face.
Soarin hauled the still dazed Wave Chill off the mat and passed Rainbow his hanbō. “I trust you know how to fight with that?” he asked.
“A bit, yeah.” Rainbow affirmed, grabbing the short stick in her mouth and trotting into the centre of the mat to face Lightning Dust.
“This should be good.” Soarin muttered under his breath, giving Wave Chill a gentle prod to make sure he was alright.
“Whatever you say.” Wave Chill slurred, sitting up groggily to watch the fight. He tilted his head to the side, his neck making an audible pop.
“Ouch.” Soarin remarked dryly, favouring his co-pilot with a sidelong glance before returning his attention to the impending fight.
***
As Rainbow Dash strode to the centre of the combat mat, she started subconsciously analysing Lightning Dust. Everything from the way she held her head, down to her hoof placement, stuck out as Rainbow as she prepared herself for the fight. On of her trainers had mentioned something about how knowing your opponent was just as important as know how to fight, if you knew how they would fight and how they were likely to react, it was much easier to counter them. This idea was the entire reason Ranger cadets fought each other so much, the more they knew about each other the better the chance they would match up across a pons.
Rainbow took a steadying breath, Lightning Dust was cocky and arrogant, but with good reason, she was skilled and most of the things she boasted about were probably true. If her short bout with Wave Chill was any indication, she was probably a bit more of a talented fighter than Rainbow Dash, or at least she was happy to resort to dirty tactics in order to win. Rainbow had watched the fight closely, it resembled her own fighting style somewhat, a mix of fast blows and low cunning to get an opponent off-guard and then a single heavy strike to hopefully knock them down for good.
She paused at the thought, giving Soarin a sidelong glance. Was he testing them together?
No, that was ridiculous, she and Lightning Dust hardly got along; they certainly wouldn’t make a good piloting pair. She assumed a low, balanced stance, signalling to Lightning Dust that she was ready to begin. Rainbow readied herself to dart aside at a moment’s notice, she expected the turquoise mare opposite her to attack early and spare little thought of holding back.
Her expectation was dead on and Lightning Dust flung herself at her, her light stick sweeping low to trying and knock Rainbow Dash off her hooves. She rolled aside before the blow could connect, quickly recovered and then lashed out, aiming to knock Lighting Dust across the ear. Lightning Dust parried the blow effortlessly, grinning with enjoyment as she shoved Rainbow back a few paces. With a yell, she flung herself at Rainbow Dash, the sharp crack of wood ringing around the room as the two lightning fast pegasi beat at each other futilely.
Clearly irritated that she couldn’t pin Rainbow down so easily, Lightning Dust forced Rainbow’s hanbō up before diving forward, sending the pair sprawling across the mat in a flurry of flailing limbs, feathers and creative language. Rainbow managed to break free though, using her powerful wings to reorient herself and copied Lightning Dust’s previous tactic, sweeping low and trying to unsettle her.
Lightning Dust rolled aside, mimicking Rainbow’s previous move with a quiet grunt. The fight became a sort of twisted dance, the two mares weaving, ducking and dodging around each other amidst a rapid flurry of strokes. Neither seemed to be able to gain the upper hand, any ploy being swiftly thwarted by a mixture of agility and an almost unnatural prescience they both possessed.
“Stop copying me!” Rainbow growled, frustrated that Lightning Dust seemed to just brush off her strokes like they were nothing. The turquoise mare chuckled, countering with a low move that Rainbow could see coming from a mile off.
“That’s kind of the point, genius.” Lightning Dust sneered playfully, moving aside before Rainbow Dash could rap her across the back of the head. They both drew back a few paces, watching each other cautiously. The respite only lasted a few seconds before the two pegasi were at it again, wings flapping and breath panting as each tried to land a solid blow. Whatever more skill Lightning Dust had was offset by Rainbow Dash’s slight advantage in speed, Lightning Dust simply swinging at thin air as many times as Rainbow Dash found her stroke stopped by a clever parry.
The duel started attracting more attention, Misty Fly and Lightning Streak had even broken off their group in the hall over and along with Soarin and Wave Chill, watched with thinly concealed interest. The furious melee lasted another full minute before the two pegasi broke off again, neither able to land a serious blow on the other.
“Getting tired, Dashie?” Lighting Dust jeered, panting slightly. Thin rivers of sweat ran down her forehead but the fire in her eyes was burning no less fiercely than it had before. “You look like you ran through traffic.”
“Had a look in the mirror?” Rainbow shot back, blowing a tuft of her mane out of her eyes.
Lightning Dust smirked, brushed a few strands of her own mane aside and then leapt at Rainbow with a fierce yell. They traded a score more ineffective blows before Lightning Dust backed off slightly, her breath coming in ragged pants. Rainbow let herself put a little weight on her hanbō, she was just as tired as Lightning Dust was but she was determined not to show it.
“Seems we’re at an impasse of sorts. Maybe we’ll just keep doing this forever.” Lightning Dust panted, a faint trace of admiration in her voice.
“Actually, I think you two have done enough.” Soarin butted in, stepping between the two exhausted mares and waving them down before they could take another swing at each other. “I think we’ve found ourselves a team.” He looked back at the other pilots for support, slightly irked to see that only Misty seemed really on board with the idea.
Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash looked at him like he had suggested they make-out in front of the class. “What.” The two pegasi said in unison, their voices flatter than a saltpan.
Soarin let out an exasperated huff. “You two have potential together. A lot of potential.”
“Yeah, right. And I’m a pretty princess.” Lightning Dust deadpanned.
Soarin gave her a flat look. “If you weren’t so feathering blockheaded…”
Lightning Dust’s eyes flashed angrily, her grip on her hanbō tightening reflexively.
“Soarin, no disrespect to you, but are you sure you’ve got your head screwed on straight? I can’t work with Lightning Dust, you want to put me in a Jaeger with her?” Rainbow protested.
Lightning Dust nodded. “I won’t work with her.”
Soarin scowled. “You two are as stubborn as each other.” He muttered, looking back at the three other pilots that had gathered for support.
“You two are letting a stupid grudge get in the way of what’s best.” Misty said firmly, finally lending another voice to Soarin’s proposal."I think you should give it a shot."
“That’s pretty rich coming from you, Misty…” Lightning Streak muttered quietly, getting a solid whack on the back of his head for his trouble.
Soarin gave the siblings a quick glare before they could start squabbling before returning his attention back to Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. “If you won't do it voluntarily, I'll make you do it. You two are going to train together, eat together, heck, and even sleep together until you start working together as a team.”
“But she-!” Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash said in tandem before cutting themselves off and looking at each other coldly.
“Yes, yes, I had Spitfire chewing at my ear for a few good months after you two made a mess of each other at the Academy. I get it, but that was years ago, I had hoped you two would have enough common sense to be able to be able to grow up and put that aside.” Soarin explained, irritation lacing his voice.
Lightning Dust pulled a long face.
“Oh, get over yourself princess.” Soarin snapped. “Both of you report to the simulators in an hour, we’ll go through the basics and see what you can do.”
***
Nearly an hour later, Rainbow Dash herself making her way to the academy’s simulator section. She had been there all of once during orientation and out of all the facilities the academy boasted, it was probably the most exciting. While the prospect of getting into a Jaeger, albeit a simulated one, was simply thrilling, Rainbow could’ve hoped for a much better drift partner. She gritted her teeth and pushed that thought behind her, snarling and growling about it like a frustrated baby Timberwolf wouldn’t get her anywhere except trouble.
She still couldn’t brush off the feeling completely though, why had Soarin insisted they partner up? Wasn’t it plain to see that they wouldn’t work well together? She scowled, feeling the familiar feeling of frustration rise up in her gut again. She rounded a corner quickly, barely paying any attention as to where she was going and nearly slamming straight into Soarin.
In an odd display of cat-like behaviour, the stallion had planted himself right outside a door, simultaneously reading a file and chewing away at an obscenely large cookie. He looked with surprise up as Rainbow swore and skidded to a halt, his look of confusion being quickly replaced by cheerful look.
“Oh, hello.” Soarin said through the abnormally large biscuit, folding the file shut quickly and slipping it under one of his wings. “Heading my way?” He asked with as much of a smile as he could manage through his treat.
Rainbow looked at him flatly, finding it surprisingly difficult to not crack a smile at the goofy look he was giving her. He reminded her of a dog that had just been given a treat. “Suppose…” She grumbled.
Soarin’s expression dropped a little as he set off at a measured pace, Rainbow falling obediently into step behind him. He munched quietly on his cookie for a while before breaking off a chunk clumsily with his other wing and offering it to Rainbow. She declined it politely, leaving Soarin with a few broken bits of biscuit lodged in his wing. She had to stifle a laugh as he tried pulling the chunks out but succeeding in only removing a few loose feathers.
“This isn’t working quite how I planned…” He said, spitting out a small blue feather sheepishly.
“You’re an idiot, sir.” Rainbow said pointedly, grabbing his wing and knocking the few remaining pieces loose before he hurt himself in some creatively stupid way.
“On occasions.” Soarin admitted. “Thanks, by the way.”
Rainbow grunted out a response and fell silent again. “Why did you choose us two anyway?” She asked after a few painful seconds.”Me and Lightning Dust, I mean.”
“Because I saw a lot of potential.” Soarin explained patiently. “Despite what you might like to think, you two seem very similar. Your physiological assessments seem to match up as well, you both have a very strong drive and enjoy pushing yourself to your limits. Self-centred, egotistical…”
Rainbow Dash frowned slightly but made no protest, she wasn’t going to admit that Soarin was right in that respect, Lightning Dust was pretty much the same as her, though perhaps quite a bit rougher around the edges.
Soarin continued, oblivious her irritation. “Quick-witted, brash and often the first to step up to a challenge. You like winning, even if it comes at the expense of others.”
“I’d never leave my friends hanging.” Rainbow Dash rebutted crossly.
Soarin smiled thinly. “Of course. There’s a few differences here and there, but you two are pretty much the same pony, personality wise. With a bit of training, I wouldn’t put it past you two being very good Rangers.
“But what about the Wond-.”
“Yes, I am completely aware of what she did, what you did yadda yadda.” Soarin interrupted irately. “I mightn’t have been there at the time but guess what happens when you’re good friends with your CO?” He asked rhetorically.
“You get why we can’t work together then?”
Soarin shook his head. “No, not at all. That little blunder happened ages ago and it’s not like you’ve been at each other’s throats for every moment in between now and then. Learning to forgive and forget could be a very smart move, Rainbow.”
“Yeah, not like she’s going to go for that.” Rainbow muttered.
Soarin shrugged. “Well you can only…” He sighed and struggled for the right word for a moment. “Try, I guess.”
Rainbow Dash knew Soarin was right but it she was reluctant to admit it. She wanted to simply get over whatever rift plagued her relationship with Lightning Dust but it was hard to simply put it behind her when Lightning Dust took it upon herself to aggravate the situation as much as she could.
“Yeah, I guess.” She mumbled quietly.
“Well that’s a start at least.” Soarin said, cracking a small smile as they walked through a yawning arch and into a wide hallway. The left side of the short hall was open, the wall cut away to reveal a large warehouse. Several large metal boxes dominated the space, each connected by a narrow metal gangway that led back to the hall Rainbow and Soarin were walking down.
“Simulators. Brand new.” Soarin said enviously. “It’s amazing what happens when you get the proverbial blank cheque…”
Each simulator was effectively an eight metre high replication of a conpod mounted on an advanced feedback system to replicate the movements of a Jaeger as a pilot moved. The rig could also simulate battle damage ranging from anything from missing limbs through to conpod breaches. Although Rainbow Dash wasn’t quite sure if it was true or not, she had heard the entire system could also be flooded and drained in a matter of seconds.
“Fancy.” She remarked, craning her head back to look at the top of the massive device.
“Yeah, and to think I didn’t have such nifty toys when I was called in. I was trained in a real Jaeger.” Soarin said wistfully.
“Lucky.”
Soarin crinkled his nose up, remembering the first few tries he and Wave Chill had taken in Brawler Yukon’s scavenged conpod. “Eh, the proportions were off by a mile and most of the systems were cobbled together. Made for one heck of an ad-hoc trainer. Enough chit-chat though, go get yourself a drivesuit, I’m sure they’ll have one in your size.” Soarin said, gesturing to a wide door off to the right.
Rainbow wandered into the room, marvelling at the rows of midnight black suits that lined the walls. The old stallion supervising the room took one look at Rainbow before grabbing one of the heavy black suits and handing it to her.
“Do this enough kiddo, and you get pretty good at picking out the right size suit on the first try.” He explained at her questioning look. “Had another mare just like you come in for a suit, fitted her just fine so thought you’d be right with that.”
“Uh-huh.” Rainbow muttered. “How do I get this thing on?”
“Head back outside, take the first left and you’ll find the suiting rooms. Should a few ponies happy to help there.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow muttered, slinging the heavy black suit over her back and following the stallion’s directions to the suiting room. It was a fair bit bigger than the storeroom and was bustling with activity, a good half-dozen ponies already fusing over an annoyed looking Lightning Dust.
“What are you looking at?” Lighting Dust snapped irately, noticing Rainbow Dash standing in the door stupidly. She was half-covered in a suit of thin white plates, the black form-fitting circuity suit poking out underneath in places.
“Nothing.” Rainbow said firmly, following a technician’s gesture and standing on a large round plate a few metres across from Lightning Dust. The process was faster than she imagined, first two ponies helped her into the tight black suit and then started layering on the plates of armour. The plates seemed to simply mould to the circuitry suit before locking into place with a sharp click. Rainbow looked down at her armoured form, it was nowhere near as bulky or heavy as the real drivesuits she’d seen other pilots wearing. She wriggled slightly, delighted to note that the plates hardly restricted her freedom of movement at all.
“Looking good ladies.” Soarin purred stepping into the suiting room through a side door. He regarded them for a moment before the technicians handed the two mares their helmets and waved them towards the heavy door set at the back which presumably lead out to the simulators. The small group went out onto the gantries, their hooves clacking noisily against the steel grating before Soarin waved them into the first metal box. He trotted in after them, squinting slightly as the harsh white overhead lights snapped on.
“Right, left? Any preferences?” He asked idly, flipping a few switches on the large control panel that stood between the two harnesses.
“Right.” Rainbow blurted out immediately.
“Left.” Lightning Dust answered simultaneously.
The two mares shared an incredulous look, much to Soarin’s amusement.
“See, fun.” He joked, pressing down a small button on one of the upper control surfaces. “We good to go Wave chill?”
“Everything appears to be in order.” The stallion chirped through what Rainbow realised was some radio link to a control room.
“Great, now if you two would be so kind as to ante up, we can get started.” He urged, inviting them to clip into the drivetrain on the floor. He showed them how to the clip their suits in and after a quick check to make sure their harnesses were secured, darted out of the simulator, slamming the heavy door behind him.
“Booting it up, standby.” Wave Chill announced, the view screen fuzzing over slightly and a large, black and blue arena appearing on the screen.
Rainbow Dash looked around, they were standing in a square, featureless room. If there was a roof, it was out of her sight. A glowing pedestal set in the centre of the arena, a large holographic representation of a Jaeger slowly rotating around silently. The room had a pair of long halls branching off it, each marked with a few glowing portals. The two corridors stretched off into the distance as far as the eye could see, their ends being lost in a faint blue haze. She jumped a little as a voice spoke to them through the conpod’s speaker system.
“Welcome to the Shatterdome Jaeger Combat Simulator. In this combat simulated environment you can load battlefield scenarios of your choosing.” The simulator’s A.I. canted coolly. It had a distinctly intelligent, feminine and machine-like quality to it, quite unlike anything Rainbow Dash had ever heard before. “To begin a mission please step through the portal. For the safety of yourself and others in this test environment, maintain neural synchronisation with your teammate at all times. If you have any further questions please consult the help section or the Simulator Deck Officer.”
“Ignore all that jazz about combat simulation just for now, baby steps for the moment.” Soarin’s voice piped in through their helmets. “For the moment we just want to work on establishing that neural bond. Depending how co-operative you are, we might be able to move onto a basic exercise later. First though, look down at the control panel.”
The two mares looked down simultaneously.
“Good, now that’s a lot of buttons isn’t it? Lots of potential for mayhem and mucking around.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, there were at least a couple of hundred buttons and lights crammed onto the small control board.
“Don’t worry too much about learning them all of the top of your head, you pick up a sort of strange intuition when you actually drift with the Jaeger. Somehow you instinctively know that orange one there turns on the windscreen wipers, not the demister. Bit weird at first, but it comes naturally in time I can assure you.” Soarin explained cheerfully. “Most of the Jaegers functions are controlled through your MUI anyway, the buttons are just a hard-line in case something screws up. Anyway, see that black switch about halfway down on the right side? Should be labelled PONS INPUT or something similar. Flip that to the right.”
“What does it do?” Rainbow asked, search for the switch amid the mess of controls that covered the solid panel in front of her.
“Turns on input from your station. If it’s off you can’t drift. We’re supposed to use it for jumpstarts, although I’ve never done one myself.”
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “A what?”
“Oh, right. Basically it’s starting up without the computer being slaved to the shatterdome’s. Anyway, flip it over and we’ll get started.” Soarin explained.
Rainbow Dash hesitated, flipping it over would effectively consign her to being stuck with Lightning Dust. If Soarin was right and the two were drift compatible, she’d most likely be forced to stick with Lightning Dust, for better or worse. She bit her lip silently, she would have infinitely preferred somepony else.
But what if there was nopony else? Would she let her pride get in the way of what could be her one chance to actually pilot a Jaeger? She glanced out the viewport, Soarin obviously thought that she wouldn’t. She let out a quiet sigh of resignation and flipped her switch, prompting a cool green light to spring on the top corner of her helmet.
“Lightning Dust, turn your switch to the ready position.” Wave Chill ordered over the radio.
“Waiting on you.” Rainbow said pointedly.
Lightning Dust scoffed. “Ah ha, no.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. What foul atrocity had she done to deserve this? “Get over yourself.” She said, mimicking Soarin’s earlier comment.
The other pegasus growled lowly, her switch resolutely staying untouched.
“Really?” Rainbow questioned, frustrated at her obstructive behaviour. “You’re really going to be like that? What do you have against me so much so that you’re willing to throw out a chance for both of us to get through this thing? Remember when we actually worked as a team to beat that Grizzly? Wasn’t it nice to not be down each other’s throat for just a little while?” Rainbow asked, ignoring the fact that an hour ago she had been vehemently opposed to getting inside a conpod with Lightning Dust.
“Lightning Dust, please flip your switch to the ready position.” Wave Chill asked again.
“Alright! Fine!” Lightning Dust grumbled, relenting and flipping her control to the ‘READY’ position with a scowl. “I’m not doing this for your sake though.” She snapped irritably.
“Thank you.” Rainbow Dash mumbled. She considered what Soarin had said to her out in the hallway for a moment before turning to Lightning Dust. “And, sorry. For whatever I did. I never meant for you to get the boot, probably would’ve preferred if you’d stayed on board actually.” She added with an attempt at a friendly smile.
“Whatever.” Lightning Dust muttered, looking out through the conpod’s viewport impassively.
‘Blockhead.’ Rainbow thought sourly, at least she was trying to be reasonable.
“Alright, ten second timer. Counting down now.” Soarin informed them. “Try and clear your mind, it’ll make this a lot smoother.”
A display flickered on, counting down the seconds with a worrying speed. Rainbow dash looked over at Lightning Dust again but the pegasus showed no outward sign of even noticing the timer. She wanted to say something obscene or profound to get Lightning Dust to snap out of it but nothing came to mind.
“Drift sequence: initiated.”
Rainbow felt like her head had been smashed through a wave. A surge of bright blue light filled every recess of her mind and clawed its way down her spine like a persistent bug. She felt her conscience expanding, growing like an air bubble until it brushed up against another almost electric force. She started hearing vague whispers and flashes of images, tastes and smells that she had never experienced. Curious, she pushed against the electric buzz, attempting to force her way in. Ultimately though, it was like naively poking a Manticore with a stick and thinking it wouldn’t maul you in response and Rainbow Dash sprung back, a sharp shock running up and down the base of her spine. The wave of blue light which flooded her senses snapped off like somepony had removed a filter and she slumped in her harness, panting like she’d just done a morning of rigorous exercise. She turned her head towards Lightning Dust, the other pegasus looked no better than she did, her head slumped and her chest rising and falling like a panicky bird.
“What the heck just happened?” Rainbow panted. She shook her head slowly, she felt like she’d just run a marathon.
“Uh, I think you just had a fizz. Just a mild one from the looks of it.”
Rainbow Dash strained to think clearly. “A what?” She asked.
More or less when the neural bond shorts out, can be from equipment failure or when the drifters don’t meld.”
Lightning Dust seemed to perk up a little. “So we’re not compatible then.” She said, more like it was as statement than a question.
“Not quite. In fact from what I’ve been told, a fizz is a fairly normal on a first drift, me and Wave chill fizzed first time we tried. More likely one of you isn’t letting the other in, we’ll find out soon enough.”
“We have to do that again?” Lightning Dust moaned.
“Yup, maybe that’s a little bit of an incentive to try and do it properly this time.” Soarin growled.
If the look on Lightning Dust’s face was any indication, she probably would’ve tried throttling Soarin if he was close by. “Kill me now.” She muttered scathingly.
“Suck it up princess. Just focus, and remember what you’ve been taught and everything will go just fine.” Soarin rebuked her. “Alright, you two ready again?”
“Yes.” Rainbow said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
“No...” Lightning Dust muttered under her breath.
Soarin either didn’t hear this comment or chose to ignore it. “Good, starting in 3, 2, 1…”
***
In the end, despite Soarin’s hopes, they ended up with no more success than when they had started. The only thing they had to show for their efforts = or perhaps lack of – was a pounding headache, a slightly runny nose and in Lightning Dust’s case, a few brief seconds of unconsciousness. Soarin relented after that little incident, reluctantly letting the two pegasi unplug and join the other ranger cadets in the mess hall for dinner. He seemed disappointed by their progress but steadfastly remained convinced that the two ponies would line up fine. Neither Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust were particularly convinced by his enthusiasm and when they put their drivesuits back into storage, Lightning Dust brushed out past Rainbow before she could stop her.
Several hours had passed since Soarin had dragged them away from the combat hall and Rainbow Dash found her throbbing head and Lightning Dust’s irritating behaviour taking a backseat in priority to her rumbling stomach.
The mess facility was all too happy to oblige though, providing a hearty soup and warm, soft bread that reminded Rainbow Dash of Sugarcube Corner’s more sensible baked goods. She wormed her way through the half-full mess hall searching for an empty table so she could sit down and think. She spotted the four pilots at one end of the hall, Wave Chill was talking with Lightning Streak and Misty Fly animatedly, bits of his dinner flying around as he waved his hooves around her emphasis. Though Rainbow couldn’t tell what he was talking about, Soarin didn’t look overly pleased with it.
She shook her head slightly and avoided the pilots, after her dismal performance with Lightning Dust in the simulator she didn’t feel like she could even look them in the eye,
She close a vacant table as far from them possible and tucked into her food, ignoring the comings and goings of other ponies around her. She felt some of the other ranger cadets looking at her enviously but ignored them in favour of her soup.
She was quite surprised then, when a tray loaded with food clattered down on the table across from her and Lightning Dust dropped into the chair with something that could’ve resembled an attempt at a friendly smile if Rainbow squinted hard, turned her head twenty degrees to the left and was halfway across the room.
“Evening.” Lightning Dust purred.
Rainbow Dash grunted out a vague reply, unsure of what to say. She pretended that she hadn’t seen the other pegasus, instead tucking into her soup and trying not to burn herself. The awkward silence stretched on for several minutes, Lightning Dust equally unsure of how to handle herself. It seemed like she was about to start talking several times but only let out a pitiful choked sound in place of intelligible speech.
“I’ll work with you.” She eventually managed.
Rainbow almost choked on her soup, taken aback by her rival’s sudden change in tact. “Come again?” She gagged, sure she’d misheard the other pegasus.
“Those radar-dish ears of yours must be ornamental.” Lightning Dust jeered, quickly assuming control of the conversation in manner Rainbow Dash found reassuringly familiar. “I said I’ll do it.”
“Pilot with me?” Rainbow asked, her food quite forgotten.
“No, wrestle in mud pit with Princess Luna.” Lightning Dust replied flatly. “What do you think genius? I’ll allow you to be my co-pilot.”
“Allow…” Rainbow echoed hollowly. “Funny choice of words you’ve got there.”
“There’s a certain amount of dignity that comes with the position. I wouldn’t let anypony get in a Jaeger with me.” Lightning Dust sneered.
“But I’m the best you’ve got, huh?”
Lightning Dust’s face dropped a little. “I could’ve hoped for better.” She muttered, mirroring Rainbow’s earlier sentiment on the matter.
“That was what I was thinking as well.”
An uneasy silence drifted between the two mares as they both considered this. It was a curious feeling, neither particularly wanted to be with the other but neither really wanted to go anypony else. They knew what the other could do, what they couldn’t, what they stood for and what they shunned. They seemed to reach the same conclusion at the same time.
“We made a great team once. Nopony could beat us then.” Rainbow said after a few quiet moments. “Nopony will beat us now.”
“Of course.” Lightning Dust said, not even a trace of doubt in her voice.
Rainbow brightened slightly. “You might just make a good co-pilot after all.”
Lightning Dust ignored Rainbow’s remark and pointed her hoof at her counterpart dangerously. “Just understand something, I’m not doing this out of some misguided sense of honour, friendship or some other crap like that, but because you’re my best ticket to getting behind the wheel to one of those Jaegers. We’re not pals, we’re not buddies and we’re certainly not friends. You’re my co-pilot, nothing else. We get in that thing, we punch a big gribbly in the face and that’s it, we clear?”
“Crystal.”
Lightning Dust let out a quiet huff. “Alright, let’s get this shit over with then.”
***
“Soarin, get up, get up!”
Soarin groaned quietly, pushing his face into the soft pillow he was lying on. His billet at the academy had come with a welcome surprise, more hospitable accommodation and meals. Soarin strangely found himself reluctant to abandon his bed for a few more hours. He was forced to consciousness though, as a series of rapid-fire hits bounded along the edges of his pillow and across the head of his bed.
“Go away.” He grumbled into his pillow. Ge cracked a single eye open, noting that his room was still dark. Soarin blinked groggily as a dark blue hoof tapped him on the side of the head.
“Get up, they need us.” Wave Chill insisted.
Soarin’s sleep-deprived mind ticked over slowly, still not understanding the reason for Wave chill’s urgency. “Who?” He slurred, wondering who would come knocking at this hour. His image of Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust banging his door down popped into his mind but he quickly dismissed it, he doubted they would be foolish enough to disturb him at this early an hour.
Hopefully.
Wave Chill gave him another light tap on the side of the head. “There’s a Kaiju coming, biggest one yet. Category III, I heard.”
Soarin looked at his co-pilot suspiciously, his green eye narrowed slightly. “Is this another drill?”
“No, real. Now come on, get up.” Wave Chill insisted.
Soarin felt his fatigue wash away as a sudden surge of pre-combat jitters rose up in his gut. ‘We’re being deployed.’ He thought dumbly, rolling out of bed hastily and tangling himself up in his thin bed sheet.
“You know which way up is?” Wave Chill jeered, helping Soarin to his hooves. “You good to suit up?”
Soarin shook his head groggily. “Recaf first, then suits, then saving the world. Get your priorities right.” Soarin’s mind went blank for a moment. “What time is it?”
“’Bout half-past three. Sun will be up in few hours. There’s a ship coming for us, should be here in about twenty minutes or so.”
Soarin rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Right, good. Just point me at the nearest mug of recaf and I’ll be golden.”
Wave Chill grinned thinly. “Right this way.”
***
Half an hour later, Soarin found himself on the small observation deck of a small patrol cutter, Sting, quickly winging its way towards Manehatten. A few metres behind him the small command staff talked indistinctly, urging the small ship to go as fast as its powerful engines could take it. Soarin glanced back towards the small command centre idly, Wave Chill was talking cheerfully with the navigator, a small, spry looking mare who seemed pleased with the attention she was getting from the Jaeger pilot. Soarin smiled thinly, provided she didn’t get distracted and plot a course into the mountainside he didn’t care how much Wave chill chatted her up. He watched the dark landscape slip past, he probably could’ve flown faster by wing but he was happy not to, a heavy rain storm was brewing and the occasional gust of wind shook the small airship from time to time. A few splotches of fat rain splattered against the windshield with loud thuds Soarin could hear over the throaty roar of the ship’s engines. The view of the mountains jutting out of a sea of dark clouds was abruptly cut off as the ship plunged into a fogbank, replacing the panoramic sight with a swirling mass of dark grey mist.
“Ah, she’s a keeper.” Wave Chill sighed, trotting up to Soarin with a wistful look.
“Your latest girlfriend dump you already?” Soarin said back dryly, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the windshield.
“No, she’s got to steer the damn ship.” Wave Chill fired back defensively.
Soarin let out a quiet snort, allowing the short conversation to drift into companionable silence. He knew Wave chill was already in fight mode, mentally running through combat patterns and motions. If he had knuckles, the young pegasus probably would’ve been cracking them repeatedly at this point.
‘Small mercies...’ Soarin thought thankfully, his eyes slowly drifting back to the glass around him. Somewhere out there, a creature of impossible size and strength was bearing down on them, eager to destroy all in its path. Even with thee reassuring thought that he’d be fighting it in Wild Mustang, Soarin had to admit it was a little frightening. He stole a look at Wave Chill, he seemed to handling it just fine.
“You alright, Soarin?” Wave Chill asked, seemingly aware of his co-pilots slightly pensive mood.
“Yeah, fine. Just thinking.” Soarin muttered, turning his gaze back to the front window as the ship broke through the heavy cloud layer and brought the dazzling lights of Manehatten into view. The rain was pounding down in earnest now, a steady thumping that beat down on the airship like a tribe of mad drummers. For some reason he found himself thinking about the two pegasi he’d forced into the simulator yesterday.
“About?” Wave Chill prompted.
Soarin bit his lip silently. “What if I’m wrong?”
“About Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash?’ Wave Chill guessed.
Soarin nodded. To a regular pony, Wave Chill’s perceptiveness would’ve been a little creepy but to Soarin it seemed as natural as a pig wallowing in mud. They had probably logged no more than a couple of hundred hours or so in neural sync, but he swore occasionally he could catch fleeting afterthoughts from his friend even when he was alone.
“Eh, you can’t always be right. So what? You make a mistake, learn, move on.” Wave Chill said with a slight shrug.
“I know what I saw.” Soarin muttered.
“Well maybe your vision is getting a bit fuzzy old boy, I didn’t see jack-shit when they were hooked up.” Wave Chill jeered, slicking his mane back a little and looking back at the navigator. “All I saw was a pair of mares who didn't want to co-operate.”
“Thanks.” Soarin muttered dryly, tempted to give him a good kick for his trouble. Wave Chill sauntered off before Soarin could put the thought to action though, again leaving the pegasus to his own thoughts.
He returned his gaze out the rain-smeared window, wondering where Wave Chill’s sudden cockiness over the last few days had come from. He wasn’t usually so brusque. He scowled, whatever it was, he didn’t like it. Soarin brushed the thought away, it was probably just a phase Wave Chill was going through, he was young and overconfident, dare Soarin even say a little blind and naive.
Sting powered over the city, dipping lower and lower until the outer suburbs of Manehatten drifted by only a few hundred metres below them. The airship made a wide sweeping turn over the bay and lined up with a massive structure barely visible through the sheets of pouring rain, the Manehatten shatterdome. He turned his head slightly as one of the crew slid up alongside him.
“Sir? We’ll be touching down in a few minutes. Wind shear is pretty bad down there so we’d rather not stick around too long.” The stallion said crisply.
“Alright, could you go check on Misty and her brother, they’ve probably fallen asleep back there.” Soarin asked, jerking his head towards the back of the ship where the two former Wonderbolts had made their roost.
“Of course sir. And sir? Good luck. Give that ugly bastard one for us would you?”
Soarin smiled darkly. “Yeah, thanks.” He muttered as another suddenly squall made the ship shudder like it was being tossed around by a Kaiju. ‘Looks like we’re gonna need it.’
***
Barely a minute after Sting touched down outside the shatterdome, the four pilots leapt out in the pounding rain and galloped to the welcome refuge of the Shatterdome’s steel doors. the gusty wind had picked up, blasting fat drops of water into their eyes as they made the quick journey across the exposed landing pad.
“One hell of a shower.” Misty remarked as they trooped into the elevator, each of them drenched from head to hoof in water. She shook herself off, showering the other occupants of the car with a spray of water.
“Real kind of you, Misty.” Soarin deadpanned, wiping a few heavy drops off his nose with a disgusted sigh.
Misty gave him a wild grin back as the doors slid open, depositing them just short of the shatterdome’s LOCCENT. The corridors were uncharacteristically empty, the ringing Kaiju alarm was enough to clear the halls faster than even the most intimidating of drill sergeants could’ve hoped.
Though he completely understood what the alarm heralded, Soarin took some pleasure at the way it cleared the deck so quickly. Non-essential personnel scrambled aside, going to their stations or a shelter and leaving the usually bustling shatterdome almost unnervingly empty. The proverbial calm before he stepped into a Jaeger and made a storm.
The almost eerie silence evaporated as the group found its way to the command center. Everypony was at their station, talking into headsets or watching boards carefully. There was a comforting sense of efficiency about the place, everypony knew what they were doing and seemed completely at ease despite the looming threat of a Kaiju.
Michael stood at the end of the command centre, his tall form silhouetted against the ceiling to floor windows that lined the wall. He was bent over slightly, looking at a piece of paper and talking with Torque, presumably about the latest incursion. Applejack and Big Macintosh were already in their drivesuits, the pair waiting anxiously beside the main console for the others to arrive. As they trotted closer, the conversation started drifting through the general clamour of the packed control room.
“-and then the quarterback, that’s this guy here, catches the snap and either hands it off, throws it to an open player or runs up field.” Torque explained.
“So it’s basically American football? Seems pretty much the same.” Michael said with a small frown.
Torque looked at him blankly. “I’ll take you word for it.”
Michael pointed vaguely at his forehead. “What about your unicorns and pegasi, can they play?”
“They play in different leagues, the Unicorn Major League can be pretty, uh, interesting.” Torque explained, coughing politely as he realised they had drawn a small crowd.
“Hoofball, huh?” Misty asked, looking slightly unimpressed. “You’re really talking about sport at a time like this?”
“Lady, this is hoofball. Calling it a ‘sport’ makes it sound like it’s optional.” Torque protested.
Misty glared at him silently.
Michael flashed Misty a nasty smile. “Nice to see you too, grumpy guts, don’t like being up this early?”
“I’d prefer the world to start at a more reasonable hour.” She admitted sourly.
“Well, sadly, the Kaiju aren’t quite so accommodating. As you would’ve heard, it appears we have one coming in. Category III, big bastard. Latest telemetry indicates he’s heading to Bolton, should be there in about three or four hours.” Michael explained.
“What’s the plan sir?” Soarin asked.
“Despite what our griffon friend has assured us, we’re still waiting for a few squadrons of Broadways. We haven’t got enough to move all four Jaegers at once, not that I could join you anyway.”
It suddenly obvious that Shane hadn’t joined Michael in the LOCCENT, despite his usual eagerness for a chance to deploy.
“Shane’s come down with some sort of stomach virus, he can barely get out of bed. Piloting a Jaeger is a bit beyond him at the moment, despite what he thinks on the matter.” Michael explained at the blizzard of questing looks.
“We’ll go first, we can handle this.” Misty volunteered.
“You’re all going.” Michael said firmly. “Back each other up, stay close enough so you can support each other. It’ll be a tough fight. I’ll keep an eye on you from here.”
“We’ve dealt with Cat IIIs before, shouldn’t be too hard.” Wave Chill said dismissively.
“In the simulator. I don’t think I should have to remind you just how different a real fight is, the computer isn’t nearly as good as I’d like it to be.” Michael warned him. “No risk taking, alright? No glory seeking, that goes for you too, Misty.”
“Yes sir.” She grumbled sullenly.
“Good, no mistakes this time alright? Everyone comes home in one piece” Michael affirmed, clapping his hands together enthusiastically.
The six pilots nodded silently.
“Alright, suit up. Clock’s ticking.”
***
The quick briefing over, Soarin and Wave chill made their way up to the suiting rooms. A few of Wild Mustang’s ground crew were already there, running quick checks on the suit’s on-board systems and ensuring all the moving parts fitted well. It had been long enough since Soarin had worn his real drivesuit that he had almost forgotten just how unsettling it was at first, the chilling touch of the synthetic, skin-tight circuitry-suit against his fur and then the hard clamshell-like plates that covered his torso, legs and rump. The thick plates of armour had started to become a little scuffed around the edges, the blue paint starting to wear off slightly as edges the armoured plates rubbed together. He gratefully accepted his helmet from one of the technician and pulled it down over his head, the heavy piece of armour immediately synchronised up with the rest of his suit’s circuity. They had been promised full-face designs at some point but it seemed that project had been put on the back-burner for the time being.
Soarin couldn’t blame them, the three Jaegers taking shape in the construction bays at the back of the shatterdome seemed to be the real focus of attention. He felt a twinge of jealousy, the new Jaegers far outstripped anything Wild Mustang had in both speed and power; he’d had a quick look at the specifications for the new Jaeger’s reactors, they almost made Wild Mustang’s look like a steam engine in comparison. He quickly quashed the thought, as if the simple idea was somehow a betrayal of his Jaeger.
“Soarin, you alright?” Wave Chill asked, his helmet’s strap dangling jauntily as the stallion sauntered over to door from the suiting room, his heavy boots thudding against the metal floor grating loudly.
“Yeah, fine.” Soarin mumbled, tightening his helmet’s strap and following his co-pilot out into the narrow hall that lead down to where Wild Mustang would be patiently waiting for them. They passed Misty Fly and Lightning Streak in the hall, the two former Wonderbolts were almost chomping at the bit to get into their Jaeger.
“Just waiting for the farmers to clear the portal.” Misty grumbled, glaring at the solid steel door that separated them from the Jaeger bay as if somehow it would make Frontier Justice move faster. “Don’t know why they didn’t send us out first.” She muttered, wiping a bit of muck off her otherwise perfectly polished drivesuit.
Soarin shrugged, a somewhat difficult motion in the heavy suit. The shatterdome only had threeexits for the Jaegers, the two sets of main doors at the end of each bay and the massive flower-like opening in the roof which Jaegers could be winched out of. The opening had been dubbed the portal, it was almost like their own mini-breach, except only Jaegers came out of their one, not Kaiju. “Probably cause if you went out first you’d try soloing this bastard.”
Misty grinned slyly. “Maybe, then again, we probably could…” She looked at her brother for his assurance but he didn’t look quite as certain as she did.
Soarin chuckled. “Watch out for that ego of yours, last time I checked the drivesuits don’t grow with it. Could be painful.”
“Just shut up and get into your rust-bucket, you relic, don’t want Wave Chill getting too far off on his own now.” Misty jeered, waving her helmet at Soarin’s co-pilot.
Soarin felt a little hurt by the comment but hid his irritation impassively. He could tell Misty was just poking fun at him, but her attempt at humour was completely lost on him.
Wave Chill looked like he had just scribbled over a famous painting with a permanent marker, his ears folded back against his head and his eyes downturned. Soarin gave him a withering look before trotting down to their where their Jaeger was waiting.
“Well that was… different.” Wave Chill muttered once they’d left their comrades behind.
“It doesn’t matter.” Soarin answered gruffly. He was less aggravated about Misty calling him old than he was her calling Wild Mustang a rust bucket. She had a point though, compared to Castle Bravo it was pathetically underpowered but it was his rust bucket.
“Sorry.” Wave Chill said sheepishly, banging the top of his helmet down firmly.
Soarin looked him sternly. “Sorry? You’re sorry? You go around and talk like I’m some sort of dusty out thing you pull of out the cupboard when you need me and you’re sorry? This whole tough guy act you’ve got going on reeks. I don’t know who you’re trying to impress or what the point of it is, but it’s just insufferable.” Soarin growled.
Wave Chill deflated a little, his ears flopping down and his wings sagging a little.
Soarin let his tirade sink in for a moment. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve never been like this before, sure a little cocky at times but never flat out obnoxious.”
“Are you cross because I’m better than you at something?” Wave Chill asked accusingly.
Soarin halted in his tracks, he wasn’t exactly used to winning, he was used to placing second behind Spitfire for most of his career for starters, but he certainly hadn’t ever been stuck in last place before. He flapped his mouth open and shut a moment before dismissing the thought as ludicrous, he was neither that petty nor vain. “No, I’m just a bit irritated how much you’re letting your ‘prowess’ get to your head. You keep acting like this and you’ll end up like Misty did, assigned to the arse-end of the world because nopony can stand you.”
Wave Chill bit his lip silently, his eyes downcast.
Soarin let out a sympathetic sigh. “Now I feel like an arse. Sorry, I’m not trying to belittle you or anything, I just… just don’t want to be like her. You’re probably my closest friend besides Spitfire, heck, sometimes I think we’re pretty much family. Seeing you become like Misty just rubs me the wrong way.”
Wave Chill ran a hoof over the top of his helmet. “I get it.” He muttered. “I guess it’s just, nice, y’know, being good at something.”
Soarin slid his own helmet on and marching to the heavy door which would take them out to the Jaeger bay. “Be good all you want, just don’t let it get to your head.”
Wave Chill followed him awkwardly. “So, we’re cool then?”
“Yeah, cool.” Soarin replied curtly, standing aside so a technician could open the heavy steel door that separated them from the noisy Jaeger bay. The locking mechanism spun around smoothly as the door swung open, letting a cloud of steam into the narrow hall.
Wave Chill seemed happy enough to drop the issue and stomped out along the short gantry behind Soarin, the expanse of the brightly lit Jaeger bay spreading out beneath them. Soarin caught a glimpse of Frontier Justice being lifted skywards through the roof before the massive Jaeger’s feet vanished from sight.
The heavy conpod door swung open as the interior lighting snapped on, a cool blue light that reminded Soarin of an underwater glass bubble. Small blinking lights snapped on across the control surfaces and a cool voice spoke as they tramped to their harnesses. “Beginning launch operations. Enabling pilot to Jaeger interface, beginning primary system diagnosis.”
The heavy harness thudded down against Soarin’s back, a pair of large bolts securing his drivesuit to the reinforced frame as conpod door slammed shut with a thud, a sharp click sounding a moment later as four thick bars slid into place and locked it firmly in place.
The entire Jaeger shuddered as the crawler beneath them rolled forward. Wild Mustang snarled forward slightly as its reactor roared up to power. A thousand diagnostics pinged through the Jaeger’s network of systems, checking every last function from life support to control surfaces and fire suppression. Satisfied that everything was in working order, the computer pulsed a faint green light across the edge of the HUD.
“System scan complete.”
Soarin waved the message down with a gesture and powered on the Jaegers sensor suite as they passed through the massive set of steel doors guarding the Jaeger bay from the outside world. The world sprung into view around him, dark clouds and the foamy, choppy sea outlined in a faint shade of green as the Jaeger’s low-light cameras panned over them. He imagined the night air would be mild, a typical warm, wet spring morning that Manehatten was renowned for. If he was still in the Air Force they’d probably be patrolling down around Silver Bay, maybe he would’ve had a late night, a nice dinner in Lucky Seven’s ward room followed by a few drinks and some friendly conversation with Spitfire before bunking down to take the midmorning watch the next day. Maybe if he was lucky he would’ve had some time off to see his family.
He scowled, sharply jabbing a few of the sensors online and opening the Jaeger’s vents in preparation for transport. He hadn’t seen any of them for over a year and a half. His youngest brother, Shady Daze would nearly be finished primary school and be onto Academy. He made a mental note to take some leave and see them once this incursion had blown over and the Mark II pilot program was on its feet.
“Thinking of your folks, Soarin?” Wave Chill asked quietly, his voice almost lost in the heavy rumble of treads and roar of engines as the crawler plunged into the warm water of Manehatten Bay.
“Yeah, guess so. Actually, just thinking of how things have changed. Two years.” Soarin muttered, letting out a contemplative sigh. “No way does it feel that long.”
Wave Chill chuckled lowly. “No way would I’ve seen myself here a few years ago.”
“Different times, different world.” Soarin mumbled, arming the six rockets idling in their launchers and setting up a practice firing solution. Satisfied, he powered the system down again. “What about your family? You miss them?” He asked offhandedly.
Wave Chill frowned darkly, flipped his visor down and turned his attention to the massive rotaries thumping through the air above them, Frontier Justice grasped securely in their harness.A moment later Castle Bravo roared overhead, hanging from eight more of the heavy lift craft. Soarin didn’t have the chance to question this, his radio crackling as another pack of the massive Broadways appearing overhead to pick Wild Mustang up. He felt a slight pricking at the base of his spine as the Jaeger shuddered to a stop at the base of the ramp and the computer spoke again.
“All systems online, ready to activate the Jaeger.”
It seemed like such a dull day for the world to end.
Even with the promise of dawn not far off the sky was still dark, laden with dark storm clouds and streaked with fat, heavy drops of rain that made the formation of machines winging through the gloomy Equestrian skies look like they were ploughing through heavy seas.
The three squadrons of Broadways kept a tight formation all the way to Bolton despite the poor weather. Despite the inexperience of the green crews, the three squadrons of craft managed through the rough weather quite well with their massive cargos. The amassed air power would’ve been a sight to gawk at, even if it hadn’t been for the three enormous mechanical beasts slung beneath them. The going got a little better, half an hour out of Bolton they left the pounding rain behind, emerging out of the almost solid cloudbank and running into the first rays of sunlight creeping up over the eastern ocean on their right.
Maybe it wasn’t such a bad day after all.
The light did little to reassure Soarin though, every dark patch of ocean seemed to conceal a Kaiju and even the sight of Castle Bravo and Frontier Justice leading the formation some distance in front of them did little to comfort him. He pushed the thought down, trying to settle back into the shared consciousness he was a part of. It was harder than he remembered, there seemed to be a slight rift between him and Wave Chill, as if somehow their neural bond wasn’t quite complete. The third, almost unfamiliar presence was back as well, though now it was almost comforting rather than intimidating. He probed a little further silently, feeling the Jaeger’s fingers twitch in their sockets reflexively as he explored the machine mentally.
‘Odd.’ He thought, gradually forcing himself back to reality before he became lost in the intricacies of the machine.
The rotaries adjusted course above him, making his gut squirm uncomfortably as gravity shifted. Soarin was well and truly used to flying, but he had to admit that flying in a Jaeger was still something of an odd concept. The thought of two and a half thousand tons of flying iron, computers and two squishy pilots in the middle of it all somehow made him feel a little queasy.
“We’re coming up to Bolton now.” One of the pilots announced, again changing course a few degrees so that the Jaeger’s crew could see for themselves.
Bolton had never properly recovered from the devastation wrought by Rasputin and Lucky Seven’s suicidal ram. Two long scars still haunted the city, one littered with rusting debris of the once formidable cruiser and the other with what was left of the Kaiju’s almost solid skeleton. Although Lucky Seven’s fiery demise had limited the spread of Kaiju Blue somewhat, several city blocks adjacent to the scars were unnervingly devoid of life, nopony daring to live near the remains of the massive creature which had torn through their city. .
“It’s like everypony just… upped and left.” Wave Chill remarked as Wild Mustang roared overhead, the downwash from the assembled broadways making the windows rattle and the branches on the trees whip around wildly. Unlike Manehatten, which had flourished and grown with the construction of the shatterdome under the watch of the Jaegers, Bolton had seemingly faded to obscurity. Millions of ponies still lived in the sprawling city, that much was obvious, but it was a mere shadow of its former glory.
Soarin nodded in tacit agreement, words weren’t needed to convey his thoughts. They roared over a section of Lucky Seven’s bow and he felt Wave Chill’s gut clench, a wash of memories filtering through their shared consciousness. Soarin tried to filter them out but couldn’t help but feel the heat of fire and the burn of smoke in the back of his nostrils.
The two pegasi had a few more seconds to consider the view before the city rushed behind them and the sweeping bay filled their view screen. The sun was starting to crest over the horizon in earnest now, painting the water with a bloody red streak and gleaming brightly off some of the still factory-grey broadways. A few abandoned ships littered the edge of the harbour and further out, the broken masts of an Equestrian navy vessel stuck up above the water’s surface, another reminder of Rasputin's brief but destructive trek through the city.
“Wild Mustang, we’re in position. Disengage when you’re ready.” The Broadway’s load chief said professionally.
“Copy Avalanche One, disengaging now.” Soarin replied crisply. Whoever was leading the squadron of transports sure took their job seriously. He punched in the override for the Jaeger’s harness, his gut dropping away like a rock as the Jaeger plunged into freefall. The entire conpod shuddered as Wild Mustang slammed into the bay, the monstrous shock absorbers in the legs doing little to ease the blow of two and half thousand tons of iron slamming into the ground. He felt two more faint tremors as Castle Bravo touched down with a textbook three-point landing followed by Frontier Justice slamming down with all the grace of a brick.
“You’re clear, good hunting. We’ll hold back in grid eighteen with Jewel and Warhammer. Holler when you need a pickup, over.”
”Will do, thanks for the lift Avalanche.” Soarin replied as the rotaries peeled away towards the city.
“Hey, Soarin. Check it out.” Wave Chill said disbelievingly.
“What?” Soarin asked, following his co-pilots gaze curiously. He couldn’t have spotted the Kaiju by now, it still wasn’t due for at least another half-hour. His jaw dropped as the camera panned over the city. “No way…”
“They’ve gotta be joking right?” Wave Chill muttered.
“Doesn’t look like it.” Soarin murmured. “Castle Bravo. Frontier Justice. You guys seeing this?”
“Wish Ah wasn’t.” Big Mac replied, his voice cold even over the radio.
“Unbelievable.” Misty muttered angrily.
Several hundred metres of the harbour front was taken up by a crowd of ponies, many of them holding large signs or waving placards. Though Soarin couldn’t hear what they were saying, he got the impression from the slogans scribbled over the protester's signs that they weren’t too happy see any of the Jaegers.
“Don’t they know we’re here to help them?” Applejack asked incredulously. “They should be happy to see us.”
“Yeah, well they got a funny way of showing it.” Soarin muttered back. Wild Mustang took a few awkward steps backwards, moving closer to the crowd and stooping down so they could get a better look.
The crowd was unfazed by the machine’s attention, instead jeering all the louder. Soarin felt a few sharp pings and clicks as bits of broken pavement and rocks started bouncing off Wild Mustang’s armour.
“That’s gratitude.” He muttered dryly, blasting the Jaeger’s massive foghorn in response. The angry rebuke scattered the crowd, most of them scurrying away like rats down a refuse pipe at the thundering noise. Just as many stood their ground though and pelted more missiles and abuse at the Jaeger, cheering loudly as it rose up and strode away to rejoin the other two dumbfounded machines.
“Ungrateful pigs!” Misty growled over the radio, blasting Castle Bravo’s own foghorn at the crowd, but doing nothing more than eliciting more jeers.
“Leave them, we’ve got bigger things to worry about.” Soarin ordered firmly, spinning away from the crowd before he did something stupid.
The radio pinged quietly as Wild Mustang wheeled back around and joined the other two Jaegers, a message from LOCCENT. “Heads up guys, we’re getting the first whiff of it on the mid-range scanners. It’s moving faster than we thought, ETA in ten minutes.” Michael reported.
“Copy that.” Soarin replied curtly the three Jaegers fanned out into the their designated patrol pattern. Each step forward was accompanied by the grating of metal against metal and a quiet, but almost feral growl in the back of his head. Soarin found the butterflies in his stomach flutter off, combat was imminent and somehow that realisation made him calm down a little.The mission clock ticked away slowly in the centre of their display until nearly eight minutes later the radio crackled again.
“Signature has entered the outer edge of the harbour. Should be visible any moment now.” Michael said cautiously.
No sooner than the warning had piped through a shrill beep from Wild Mustang’s sensors sounded over Soarin’s helmet speaker. A red alert started flashing in the corner of their view screen and a low growl grated in the back of his mind as Wild Mustang smelt the first traces of foe for itself. A moment later an ugly head reared out from the water, sunlight gleaming of its slick skin as more of the Kaiju broke the surface.
Tusker was big. Bigger than anything they’d fought before. The sheer difference in size could not be understated, the Kaiju weighed more than Quillback and Bile combined and despite being down on all fours, it was tall enough to reach Wild Mustang’s conpod. It paddled towards the waiting Jaegers like a dog, eager to get out of the water and set its massive feet on solid land. A thick, sloping, plate of armour covered the front of its chest and head, two small glowing ports above its fanged maw indicating where its beady eyes were. A pair of tusks, each nearly the size of a Jaeger’s arm, shot out of the side of its head and dropped below its muscular shoulders like a bull. It roared as it gained purchase on the earth with a clawed foot, a thundering sound which shook windows in their frames and made what little of the crowd that remained by the waterfront gallop for shelter in fear. The six Jaeger pilots shifted uncomfortably in their harnesses, Tusker looked like a creature straight out of Tartarus.
And it was coming straight for them.
“Well, this could sting a little...” Lightning Streak said, voicing the thought that everypony had been thinking but dared not say.
Soarin grimaced, even a glancing blow from one its horns looked like it would gut any of the Jaeger, bar Frontier Justice, instantly. He forced down the urge to run away and instead pivoted Wild Mustang to face the Kaiju.
“Cut the chatter. Misty, Lightning Streak, Try to flank it, I’m sure it peripheral vision isn’t great. Applejack, Big Mac, you’re probably the only one of of us who can tie it up. Me and Wave Chill will try and distract it, try and get it under control once we have its attention.” Soarin instructed, already searching for a way to bring the creature down. The neck looked relatively unarmoured but the creature’s sweeping horns and snapping jaw would make it a hard shot.
“Copy.” Misty replied curtly, all too happy to be out of the firing line and powering off to sidestep to Kaiju. Applejack seemed distinctly less impressed with having to grapple the massive beast to the ground but accepted it regardless, Frontier Justice stomping forward boisterously so she and Big Mac could wrangle it..
“Now, uh, how did you intend on distracting it?” Wave Chill asked. It was a pointless question, he already knew the answer but the simple action of talking seemed to help calm his nerves a little.
“I hadn’t quite got around to thinking about that.” Soarin admitted
“Figured.” Wave Chill grimaced. They slowed their pace cautiously as they closed in on Tusker, the threat indicator clicking away noisily in top of their displays as the metres between them and the Kaiju whittled away with worrying speed. Tusker reared its head and roared another challenge, kicking up a massive spray of water and silt as it pawed at the seafloor.Once again, Soarin had to wonder why they were advancing straight towards the creature bent on tearing them apart rather than running, but forced the thought down, clenching the Jaeger’s fist so hard that the middle of his hoof started stinging.
Tusker swept its head from side to side, its beady eyes focusing first on Castle Bravo, then Wild Mustang, and then finally onto Frontier Justice. The three Jaegers had formed a sort of semi-circle around the Kaiju, Castle Bravo riding out on the extreme left flank and Frontier Justice sitting a few hundred metres off to their right. The Kaiju hesitated, acutely aware that it was surrounded and outnumbered. It stooped down slightly, its massive frame hunching over and a low growl escaped its twisted mouth.
“I think it’s goin-.” Soarin warned
A bellow erupted from Tusker’s mouth, drowning out the rest of Soarin’s belated warning as it pushed off its hind legs and charged straight at Wild Mustang.
“Shit!” Wave Chill exclaimed as the Kaiju bounded towards them, much faster than either of them had thought possible. Trying to block or redirect the Kaiju’s earth shattering charge would’ve been futile, Wild Mustang simply didn’t have the tonnage nor the strength.to wrestle with something that big.
“Dodge!” Soarin barked, trying to shift the Jaeger’s weight onto one foot and spinning out of the way of the Kaiju. Wild Mustang wasn’t nearly fast enough though and one of tusker’s horns caught the Jaeger’s underarm and punched straight through with a screech of metal and the warble of a dozen alarms suddenly going off. Soarin and Wave Chill had a moment to look on in horror before one the Kaiju’s massive talons caught on their leg, and pulled the Jaeger underneath its bulk. Their horror only lasted a moment before reality snapped back into focus and the Kaiju’s horn ripped up through their shoulder, tearing through the Jaeger’s arm like it was soft butter. Supports crumpled like foil and the arm came loose, sparks, hunks of metal and hydraulic fluid spraying everywhere as the limb plunged into to the water. In the conpod, alarms buzzed, sirens flashed and the control screens flickered as the computer tried to cope with the sudden damage. Wild Mustang’s pilots were virtually rendered helpless by pain, even Wave Chill was barely able to think clearly over the second-hand pain he was feeling through his link with Soarin. Waves of static crawled across all the screens and arcs of blue lightning jumped up and down Soarin’s drivesuit as the circuitry inside it blew out violently. There was nothing they could do but watch as the next foot came down hard, crushing their chest in like a tin can and setting off another blizzard of alarms as the reactor space started flooding .Tusker’s third foot slammed into the ground two metres away from their conpod, the impact shaking the pilots in their harnesses. Then, like the eye of a hurricane passing, a sudden calm swept over the conpod. Tusker rolled over them, its feet clawing at the ground to bring its massive weight to a grinding halt. They probably had less than ten seconds before Tusker came back to finish the job.
“LOCCENT! We’re hit bad!” Wave Chill managed, unsure if the radio was still working after the sheer amount of abuse the Jaeger had suffered. A sharp squeal and a pop of static a half second later answered his question. He swore loudly and turned to Soarin. “Soarin, Soarin you still with me?”
Soarin could barely respond, his mind struggling to cope with the scalding, pricking, burning pain which spiked at his shoulder. His entire foreleg felt numb and his brain was still trying to catch up. “I- I-.” He stammered, his green eyes wide with terror.
Another rumble shook the conpod and for a moment all the screens went dark. A foul, screech sounded above them, the sound of teeth punching through metal.
“Soarin, it’s trying to break the conpod!” Wave Chill urged, “Come on, I need you buddy.” He tried grabbing Tusker with his hand but the limb was unresponsive.
Another crunch came from above them, this time accompanied by a freezing spray of water. Tusker withdrew and for the first time since stepping foot in the Jaeger, the pilots saw raw sunlight stream into the conpod.
“Oh damn.”
***
“Wild Mustang is down!”
The short message from LOCCENT send a lightning bolt down Applejack’s spine. She could see the carnage for herself, the massive Kaiju crushing the Jaeger beneath its feet like it was a toy. The message snapped her out of shock, they had to act fast or Soarin and Wave Chill would be joining the long list of ponies that had already fallen prey to the Kaiju.
“Come on, they need our help!” She urged frantically. She didn't need to tell Big Mac twice, her massive brother already starting to break the Jaeger into a run before the words had left her mouth. Although slow at a walking pace, once Frontier Justice built up speed, it became an nearly unstoppable juggernaut of iron capable of crushing almost anything underfoot.The Apple siblings worked every iota of speed out of the Jaeger they could, each foot leaving a four metre deep imprint in their wake as they gained speed. The thrumming of the reactor resonated in time with the machine’s footfalls as they closed the gap, the horn booming out on its own violation as the pupils in Tusker’s eyes became visible.
Tusker, still intent on tearing the fallen Jaeger apart, didn't see Frontier Justice coming until it was less than twenty metres away, foghorn bellowing like an assembled army. It roared back defiantly, trying to bring its cumbersome horns around to impale the Jaeger.
But It was much too late for that.
Like a freight train hurtling out of control down a hill, Frontier Justice slammed into Tusker, the sheer force of the Jaeger’s forearm slamming down onto the Kaiju’s shoulder making the ground tremble. One of the Jaeger’s heavy feet came down on the Kaiju’s foot crushing the Kaiju’s limb with a sickening crunch of bone and armour. Using the momentum from their ground-breaking charge, Applejack swung the Jaeger’s other fist around, catching the massive Kaiju straight between its glowing eyes as it roared with pain.
The massive war machine took a step forward, a sweeping uppercut forcing Tusker back as Frontier Justice’s’ oversized knuckles caught the Kaiju’s jaw. Tusker squealed again, a few fat globules of blood dripping out of its mouth as it started struggling upright. It rallied faster than either Applejack or Big Mac expected though and threw its bulk at the Jaeger, thousands of tons of flesh, bone and armour crashed into Frontier Justice like a tidal wave. Big Mac barely managed to raise the Jaeger’s arm in time to block the blow, sending the Kaiju’s massive horns squealing off the Jaeger’s armoured gauntlet. Undeterred, Tusker pressed forward with blinding speed, slamming the Jaeger back with a fierce roar. The two titans struggled against each other for a moment, 2800 tons of iron and grit pushing back against the 3800 ton mountain of flesh and animalistic fury. Tusker had the upper hand though, slowly pushing the Jaeger back little by little until its centre of gravity went past its tipping point.
Applejack felt a brief moment of vertigo as Frontier Justice’s balance tipped backwards before they finally tumbled over with an impact that made the earth shake. She swore silently, the breath knocked out of her, despite the harness she was hooked into.
Before Tusker could capitalise on its advantage over its prone opponent, the Kaiju found itself beset upon by another foe. Castle Bravo came in low, swinging one of its gleaming sting blades at the Kaiju’s injured leg. Caught blindsided, Tusker could only watch as the blade cut deep into its foreleg with a sickening squelch before striking hard against bone. The Kaiju stumbled, and with a lightning fast blow, the nimble Jaeger batted aside a horn, clamped an arm around the enraged Kaiju’s neck and pounded down on its face, shattering teeth and turning one of the beast’s eyes into a battered, bloodied mess.
“How do you like that?! You want some more?!” Misty taunted, readying the other stingblade. She was about to plunge the long blade through the top of the Kaiju’s cranium when Tusker suddenly pitched sideways, dropping its weight onto its injured leg in a show of incredible toughness and flipping the stunned Jaeger sideways between its horns. It loosed another bellowing roar, its one good eye fixed on the Jaeger. With a contempus flick, it whipped its head forward, hurling the dazed machine towards the floundering form of Frontier Justice.
Still struggling to rise to their feet, Applejack and Big Mac had no chance in dodging the other tumbling Jaeger, the two ponies only able to watch and cringe as the white machine hurtled towards them like a rocket.
The impact sent the two machines sprawling again, pieces of armour spalling inside Frontier Justice’s conpod and the delicate electronics spluttering as Castle Bravo slammed into them. One of Castle Bravo’s stingblades plunged into the ground barely a metre from Big Mac’s shoulder and the other wedged itself neatly between the Jaeger’s conpod and the other pauldron. In any other situation, the scene could’ve been funny, the sight of the white Jaeger face down against Frontier Justice’s conpod, the larger machine’s arms almost wrapped around its lithe body lovingly. Neither crew had the time to appreciate the funny side of the situation before Big Mac cried out a warning.
“Get up, its coming over!”
It was a useless warning though, only a Jaeger like Striker Eureka could’ve gotten up from a tumble like that so quickly, and for a sickening moment, the four dazed pilots were sure they were about the watch as the Equestrian Jaeger program came to a sudden and undignified end.
Another fog horn bellowed out across the bay, followed a split second later by loud WHOMP! as a heavy rocket slammed into the Kaiju’s flank.
Still stuck under Castle Bravo, Frontier Justice could only watch in amazement as another Jaeger staggered back defiantly into the fray, oil and sparks dripping from its stump of a shoulder, its severed arm grasped tightly in its other hand like a club. It loosed another rocket at the Kaiju, burning a ragged hole in its neck and blasted its horn again, challenging the Kaiju to a second round.
Wild Mustang wasn’t quite finished just yet.
***
All Soarin could feel was pain. A biting, cutting, electrifying surge that set every nerve alight and made the edges of his vision fuzzy. He was no stranger to pain, he’d broken more bones than he could readily count and been in more than enough fights over his career as a Wonderbolt, but this pain was different. It crawled and squirmed under his skin, it ran up and down his spine. It burned and seared his skin like he’d sat on a stovetop.It was something else’s pain and to the stallion, something about the way it coursed through his body just seemed distinctly wrong.
“How you doing Wave Chill?” Soarin asked, trying to distract himself from the unnatural feeling. They took a step, the entire conpod lurching dangerously as Wild Mustang staggered forward with a growl.
“Just a scratch, I’m sure that’ll buff out.” Wave Chill panted. His helmet had come loose in the tumble, opening up a long gash just above his eye and matting his fur down.”Any ideas?”
Soarin bit his lip until he drew blood. He could barely think straight, his forelegs didn’t seem to want to work and a incascant snarling in the back of his mind kept interrupting what thoughts he could gather. How they’d managed to pick themselves off the bottom of Bolton harbour was beyond him. Wild Mustang and its pilots were falling apart at the seams yet they pushed on with a dogged determination, forcing the pain aside and coaxing everything they could out of their battered machine.
They took another lurching step forward towards Tusker, readying themselves for round two.
If anything, the Kaiju seemed amused by their determination, plodding towards them and leaving the other two Jaegers in preference for live prey. It struck Soarin as a strange gesture, perhaps the Kaiju had a sense of honour? The idea seemed absolutely absurd, but to his pain racked mind, anything seemed possible.
Whatever the Kaiju’s motivations, Wave Chill was all too happy to oblige its desire to fight, taking another unsteady step forward, raising his arm and swinging their severed limb at Tusker’s face. The blow clipped Tusker across the side of the head, sending it stumbling backwards with a roar of pain. Wave Cill didn’t let up, swinging the arm down again and again until the Kaiju’s face was a bloody mask.The barrage of blows was only halted when Tusker finally managed to catch a strike on its horns, sending the crushing blow skittering off to the side like a pebble off a stone wall. Thundering with anger, it’s tail arced around, the end splitting into a almost sickening parody of a long, gangly four fingered hand.
“That’s new.” Wave chill yelped with surprise as the tendrils wrapped around their makeshift club and with a powerful tug ripped it free from their remaining hand. The two pilots barely had time to react before the arm came sailing down on top of the conpod, Tusker gleefully mimicking the Jaeger.
The crest of the conpod caved in like an eggshell and Wild Mustang tumbled backwards, its pilots completely stunned by the blow.
It’s opponent now prone again, Tusker lowered its head and charged, scooping Wild Mustang up in its horns and pushing it along the floor of the harbour like it was a snow plow. The juddering roll came to an abrupt halt as Wild Mustang slammed flank first into the harbour wall around Bolton’s extensive dockyards.
“Get… off!” Soarin muttered furiously, arming the Jaeger’s two port-side missiles and firing them point-blank into Tusker’s face. The two rockets whooped out of their launch tubes, one spluttering weakly and falling into the water at their lap with a tiny splash. The other slammed into Tusker’s neck, burning a ragged hole through its throat which its tongue fell through sickeningly.
The Kaiju stumbled back, freeing Wild Mustang for a brief moment, allowing them to half stand, half stagger back to their feet. They stumbled backwards almost tripping over a warehouse as Tusker roared towards them again, its feet touching dry land for the first time.
Wave Chill grasped frantically for something, anything to swing at the Kaiju. His fingers found an idling diesel locomotive and instinctively wrapped around it, warping the loco’s edges and spraying foul black oil over the Jaeger’s hand. With a blast of their horn, Wild Mustang rose back off the ground, pivoted around and swung the locomotive at the Kaiju, sending several dozen wagons still coupled to the engine hurtling through the air like they were at the end of a whip. The veritable barrage of train cars flew over their shoulder and slammed into Tusker’s face and bounced off its back, spilling crates of machinery, fuel and tons of metal over the Kaiju’s head and body. Soarin lit up the last pair of the Jaeger’s rockets, two fiery streaks whooping out their tubes before slamming into the Kaiju’s armoured hide with twin fireballs. For a split second, Tusker was wreathed in a glowing halo of burning thermite before the fuel splattered across its body ignited with a mighty whoomp.
Wild Mustang stumbled backwards again, reflexively shielding its visor from the blinding ball of fire with its remaining arm. Tusker screech of pain was titanic, the air shaking as the Kaiju blazed from end to end. Sheets of its skin sloughed off from the heat or burnt and peeling away like a ripe fruit. It rounded on the battered Jaeger, its remaining eye glowing with anger.
“Oh crap.” Wave Chill panted as the penny dropped. The city block sized monster they’d been trying to kill was now not only wrapped in sheets of flames, it was thoroughly pissed off.
And arguably, the only thing worse than an angry Kaiju trying to kill you is an angry Kaiju trying to kill you while on fire.
Not wasting any more time on pleasantries, Tusker lowered its head and charged again, smashing trains, storage tanks and warehouses aside like they were toys. Wild Mustang, already on its last legs, was too slow to get out the way and with a sickening screech of metal, the Kaiju’s massive tusks carved through the Jaeger’s gut like it was putty, opening up a pair of long ragged tears from its torso all the way to the bottom of its shoulders. Unable to match the sheer force of Tusker’s charge, Wild Mustang was slammed backwards again, allowing Tusker to roll over them like a steamroller, its massive legs crushing the machine as it trampled over them. Its forward momentum couldn’t be fully denied though, leaving Tusker to dig its claws into the ground as it overran the prone Jaeger.
“Up. Up!” Soarin panted as dozens of alarms screamed at him. The right leg didn’t seem to want to work and if the searing pain which crisscrossed his left foreleg was any indication, there wasn’t much left of their last arm either. He wanted to scream, to fall back and let the wave of pain wash over him, but to do so would be to die, and Soarin had no intention of meeting his end quite yet. He was barely conscious, but he gritted his teeth and forced the Jaeger on, ignoring the grey that crept in around the edges of his vision like fog. They had barely gotten to their knees when Tusker limped back around for them, its flesh still sizzling away merrily as if it had become the world’s biggest barbecue. Wave Chill raised his arm to try and ward the creature off but the Kaiju batted it aside and smacked the Jaeger to the ground again with its horns. With another roar the creature stomped down on wild Mustang’s remaining arm, pinning it firmly beneath one of its clawed feet.
Driven by animalistic rage, Tusker bit down on the conpod, teeth the size of a man biting and snapping at the Jaeger’s head. peeling strips of armour away like a ripe orange skin and making delicate electronics short out as the its jaws ripped and tore. The cranial frame crumped like it was made of paper, for a moment exposing the two pilots to the foul miasma of the Kaiju’s breath and allowing them to see the Kaiju with their own eyes. The raw horror of nearly being inside a Kaiju’s gullet lasted barely a second before Tusker’s fanged maw vanished and was replaced by the clear morning sky and the almost overwhelming smell of burning flesh. In its lust to rip Wild Mustang’s pilots apart, Tusker had failed to notice Frontier Justice approach from behind and latch its hands around its thick tail and swing until it was airborne. The Kaiju was too heavy for the Jaeger to throw more than a hundred metres but it was far enough to put the remains of Wild Mustang out of immediate danger.
Pounding forward before the Kaiju could recover from its brief flight, Frontier Justice slammed a fist down on Tusker’s head, its foghorn bellowing as the heavy knuckles cracked down on the Kaiju’s skull.
Wild Mustang had saved them once, it was time to return the favour.
***
Applejack and Big Mac were operating more on instinct than considered thought, Tusker’s brief and one-sided fight with Wild Mustang had impressed one thing in their minds. Tusker had to die and it had to die now. Neither could reach Soarin or Wave Chill on the radio but the main structure of the conpod was still relatively intact, so it was possible that the two Rangers were still alive.
Their last blow still ringing in their ears, Applejack and Big Mac raised the Jaegers arms in tandem, motors squealing with protest and gears grinding until the limbs were hovering above the conpod. The Jaeger paused for a fraction of second, as if contemplating where would inflict the most pain on the Kaiju before slamming its fists down on Tusker’s skull again.
Knocked down and reeling from the last blow, Tusker couldn’t dodge the powerful overhead double-fisted slam which cracked down on top of its head. Its heavy skull held but the Kaiju was knocked senseless, promoting Frontier Justice to raise its fists above its head again for another mighty blow.
“Torque limit.” The computer protested, its voice snarling bitterly in the back of Applejack’s helmet. She brushed the warning away, letting gravity take over and unlocking the solid iron fists for another strike. Frontier Justice’s foghorn boomed out again as the blow connected with a wet crack, a mighty roar of vengeance for its fallen comrade.
Tusker yelped with pain, unable to gather its wits and organise an effective counterattack. the Kaiju snapped its jaws and let out a half-hearted roar as Frontier Justice’s fingers wrapped around its shoulders and pushed the Kaiju back onto its hind legs. With a snap of muscle and a drawn out growl of stressed motors, Frontier Justice twisted the Kaiju around and forced its foreleg back towards it, putting it in a textbook submission hold. Tusker struggled and squirmed but the behemoth of a machine held true, shifting its weight so the Kaiju couldn’t slip from its hold. Now firmly stuck in place, Tusker could only watch and roar as another Jaeger slowly approached it. Castle Bravo looked at the Kaiju coldly, its gleaming stingblades making it look like an executioner.
“Now, now!” Applejack yelled, her face twisted into a snarl as she let her baser instincts come to the fore. Tusker had possibly killed Wild Mustang and his pilots, she wasn’t going to let it anywhere near anypony else.
With Tusker being held up obligingly like a punching bag, Castle Bravo strode in casually, ducking under a desperate swipe and ramming one of its wickedly sharp blades into the Kaiju’s armoured underbelly. The blade barely stopped, plunging through the Kaiju’s chest, slicing clean through one of Tusker’s already fractured ribs, narrowly missing the Kaiju’s thick spine before bursting out of its back in a spray of blood and fractured armour.
“Watch it!” Applejack barked in alarm as the blade came to a juddering halt a few metres short of Frontier Justice’s conpod. She shifted back reflexively but didn’t loosen her grip on the Kaiju a single inch.
Misty and Lightning Streak ignored her, plunging their second stingblade into the other side of Tusker’s chest with a cold, calculated precision that was more at place in a sniper’s nest. Applejack could imagine Misty’s face locked in a snarling visage as she and her brother exacted their revenge on the yowling monster that had downed their comrades.
The second stingblade cut a bloody path through Tusker, severing several nerve clusters and tearing through the creature’s massive primary heart. It punched through Tusker’s back as well, emerging just under its right shoulder with a sickening crack. They tried retracting the blades but there were well and truly jammed, gunked up with gore and lodged through several layers of bone and armour, the blades were beyond worthless. Driven by rage, and with their other weapons denied to them, Applejack watched wide eyed as the Jaeger’s gun ports flipped open, each of the barrels elevating until they were squarely pointed at the base of Tusker’s jaw.
“Down, down!” She yelped, loosening her grip on Tusker and ducking, Frontier Justice’s leg motors whining with protest as the Jaeger tried squatting.
Tusker lived just long enough to see the blinding flash of the Jaeger’s six cannons and feel the heat as the incendiary payload exploded inside its brainpan.
***
There wasn’t much left of Tusker in the end. The Kaiju’s entire head had been blown open like a ripe watermelon by the barrage of shells and its neck was little more that a ragged stump. Lost in their emotions, Misty and Lightning Streak had fired their Jaeger’s entire load into the creature’s face, even well after the Kaiju was dead. Several of the battleship-grade shells had missed, and landed in Bolton itself, levelling a couple of buildings and starting a fire which roared dangerously out of control for nearly an hour before being brought to heel by the city’s fire department.
Adding insult to injury, Tusker’s body was unwilling to release Castle Bravo’s stingblades from its grip. After many failed attempts and despite assistance from Frontier Justice, the Jaeger was only freed several hours later when teams of hazmat suit clad ponies clambered inside the Kaiju and cut away strips of flesh, chunks of bone and fragments of the Kaiju’s shattered armour.
Castle Bravo and Frontier Justice were whisked back to the shatterdome by their Broadways, neither of the Jaegers has sustained serious damage in the fight but it would take several weeks of repairs and trails before the two machines were in top condition again.
Wild Mustang was a bit more of a problem. A veritable horde of salvage crews and rescue personnel were over the site within minutes of Tusker’s death. Soarin and Wave Chill were pulled from the tangled remains of the conpod, battered, bleeding and bruised, but still alive. Soarin’s right foreleg was scarred and burnt almost black in places and he was rushed to Royal Bolton Hospital for nerve and skin rejuvenation. Wave Chill was hardly in better shape but had at least been conscious when the rescue crews cut into the mangled cockpit. Soarin spent the next few days drifting in and out of consciousness, he would live, but some of the scars of the battle would take longer to heal, if ever.
A few days after the battle he and Wave Chill were transferred back to the Manehatten shatterdome, Soarin still confined to the infirmary until the doctors were happy with the progress of his recovery. It was nearly a week of blurred half-consciousness before Soarin finally became lucid enough to snap back to reality.
“You sleep like a brick.”
Soarin half cracked an eye open. “Spitfire?”
“No, it’s your mother.” The fiery pegasus drawled.
Soarin cracked a thin smile, his face felt like dry plaster. “Hope not, if you were my mother, I would’ve been suffocated long ago.”
“What, do I smell?” Spitfire asked wryly.
“That wasn’t what I meant, but now that you mention it, yeah, you smell. When did you shower last?”
Spitfire cracked a thoughtful expression. “Can’t remember.”
“Yeah, thought so.” Soarin muttered, sitting up slightly and grimacing as his body cried out in protest. He felt stiff, like a engine running without oil. He blinked quickly, his forelegs felt like they’d been detached and put back on again. “Where’s Wave Ch-.”
“He’s fine.” Spitfire said simply.
Soarin let out a quiet sigh of relief. “I take it we won?”
“That thing is dead.” Spitfire said with a nod. “You’ve been asleep for nearly a week.”
“And I guess you’ve tearfully sitting by my bedside since. Tears for your long lost XO?”
“Me? Nah, I’ve been here for like, twenty minutes maybe.” Spitfire answered
soarin shook his head slightly. Something didn’t quite feel right, like a part of him was missing. “Wait, how’d you get in here?”
Spitfire let out a quiet sniffle. “My best friend was nearly killed, not even the entire griffon army could keep me out.”
Soarin felt the edge of his mouth twitch. “Don’t suppose you found your friend yet?”
Spitfire looked down at Soarin wryly. “Nope.”
Soarin chuckled quietly, resting his head back against the bed. “It’s good to see you, Spits.” He said after a moment of companionable silence.
“Yeah, you too.” Spitfire sighed, her mechanical foreleg clicking slightly as she lay it on the small bedside table. She seemed incredibly tired and her mane seemed a little paler than Soarin remembered.
“You look like shit.” Soarin remarked in a friendly tone.
“Yeah, and I bet you look like a feathering beauty model.” Spitfire growled. gesturing at Soarin’s forelegs. “You trying to copy me or something?”
“Ah.” Soarin said simply, following her gaze. A web of angry red and white scars snaked up his leg and around his shoulder. The burns shimmered slightly under the light, a telltale sign of some form of magical rejuvenation at work.
“Nasty.” Spitfire remarked dryly..
“I’ve seen worse.” Soarin countered, watching flatly as Spitfire seemed to shrink away a little. “So, where’ve you been?” He asked accusingly.
Spitfire bit her lip. “Around.”
“You haven’t been replying to my letters.”
“Didn’t have much to say.” She shot back defensively.
Soarin folded his forelegs across his chest, wincing as the almost glassy scars touched skin. “You doing alright?”
“What do you think?”
Soarin didn’t need to answer that. Spitfire looked like a mare defeated. She had lost weight and the dark rings under her eyes made her look like she was out of a bad B-grade horror flick. The only part that seemed unchanged was her eyes, they seemed to burn as brightly as ever. “It’s Lucky Seven, isn’t it?”
Spitfire nodded slowly. “I close my eyes and all I can see it burning like a pyre. I always ask myself, how did I survive that? How did I live where so many others died?”
“Most of the crew got off, you know that.” Soarin reassured her.”
“Most.” Spitfire shot back. “I should be dead.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Or cursed.” She snarled quietly.
Soarin bit his lip softly. “I know how you feel.”
Spitfire was about to retort crossly but held her verbal lashing back, realising Soarin had a point. “Yeah, suppose you do. Must be hard, considering how much of a connection you have with those... things. More than I should to a stupid airship.”
Soarin withheld a cry of shock. He’d suspected Wild Mustang hadn’t pulled through the fight but he could hope. Maybe there was still a chance for the Jaeger. “Yeah, guess it feels like I just lost a part of me.”
Spitfire pulled an unimpressed face.
Soarin stifled a laugh, realising that he could’ve worded his last statement much better. “Alright, that was in bad taste, sorry.”
“You are so not.” Spitfire grumbled, looking up at the roof as if he’d made an inexcusably bad pun.
“Hey, Spitfire. Can you lend me a hoof? Har har har.” Soarin jeered.
“Shut. Your. Feathering. Rat. Trap. Shithead.” Spitfire barked, slapping the stallion across the back of the head with each word. She held a ghost of smile though and for the first time since she and Soarin had started talking she seemed at least a little happy. “That reminds me, got something for you.” She muttered, reaching down with an augmetic wheeze and returning with a brown, battered package balanced on her hooves.
“What is it?” Soarin asked flipping it over curiously.
“Something for you to get better with.” Spitfire mumbled,
Curious, Soarin tore the stained paper off, revealing a slightly damaged copy of Daring Do.
“It’s the one you gave me.” She explained, looking away as if she was embarrassed.
“I’m fairly sure regifting is some sort of mortal crime.” Soarin joked.
“Yeah, well, I’m already half-dead so what have I got to lose?” Spitfire remarked darkly.
Soarin was about to rebuke her morbid attitude when the infirmary doors swung open and a dozen guards led by one of the doctors stormed in.
“Official visiting hours are between nine and three.” He said meekly, hiding behind one of the burly guards as Spitfire glared at him.
“Jeez, Spits, how many did you knock out getting in here?” Soarin muttered dryly.
“A few thousand maybe? Didn’t bother counting.”
Soarin snorted at Spitfire’s terrible lie and looked at the cowering doctor. “Doc, can you just give us a minute here?”
“You need your rest. Your friend can come back later when she has proper clearance.”
“Proper clearance, my arse. Since when can’t she be here? You know who she is?”
“We’re on a level Red Alert sir.” One of the guards rumbled. “Essential personnel only.”
Soarin frowned, surely there couldn’t be another Kaiju already. “Why?”
“Your Jaeger is being airlifted back into the shatterdome, the marshalls thought it prudent to keep everypony out of the way while the recovery process is underway.”
“Why would they do that?”
The guard’s wings shifted slightly, “You’re the pilot, you tell me.” He turned to look at spitfire, undaunted by her fiery look. “Ma’am, come with us please.”
Spitfire didn’t move.
“I’d rather not use force.” The guard said firmly.
Spitfire laughed. “Look at you, you don't even have a nametag. You really think you could make me go with you?”
“Spitfire, go with the nice guard.” Soarin said sweetly. “Maybe if you ask him nicely he’ll do you behind the dumpsters.”
“Well that’s an ide- wait, hey!” Spitfire complained.
“I doubt you’d make it back to your place.”
Spitfire raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side slightly. “Touche.”
“I’m still here, you know.” The guard said flatly.
“Oh right, sorry.” Spitfire said dismissively. “Arsehole...” she muttered under her breath. She turned back to Soarin. “Now you. Get better and stop trying to get yourself killed, I’ve got enough shit to worry about without you throwing yourself in front of the first alien creature you can find.”
“Comes with the territory I’m afraid,” Soarin said back, trying to sit up on his haunches.
“You need your rest.” The doctor said firmly, taking a cautious step out from behind the wall of guards between him and Spitfire.
“Like hell I do, I’m seeing my Jaeger.” Soarin objected.
“You risk further dam-.”
“I don’t give a damn doc, I need to see it.” He interrupted.
The doctor bowed his head slightly. “Alright, fine. But you’ll have an escort. If you’re not back here in an hour, I will have you bound to that bed.”
“He might enjoy it.” Spitfire remarked under her breath.
“I’ll take you down, sir.” The guard offered, striding around to the bedside. He gestured to the other guards. “Escort her off the premises.”
“Yes sir.”
“Guess that’s my exit then.” Spitfire sighed, standing up with a quiet mechanical creak. “Don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you for a little while Soarin.”
“Why, where are you going?”
Spitfire shook her head.”I don’t know. Away. Somewhere. Maybe somewhere down south. Brayford maybe, I hear they have a bit of a drinking culture down there. I just need to get away from everything for a while. Start somewhere fresh.”
“We’ll keep in touch though?” Soarin asked. sliding off the bed and almost collapsing. He gratefully accepted the guard’s offered shoulder, putting as much of his weight on the burly pegasus as he could.
Spitfire shrugged. “We’ll see. Take care of yourself, Soarin.”
***
With Spitfire being escorted away by nearly an entire squad of guards, Soarin was half carried down towards the Jaeger bay by his silent escort. The medical bay was sited on the upper levels of the shatterdome, far away from where the Jaegers were kept. It took the pair several minutes to make the journey through the almost deserted halls to the lifts which would take them further down. It wasn’t until they were in the dimly lit elevator car that Soarin tried striking up conversation.
“About what I said about you and Spitfire…” Soarin started hesitantly. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”
“It’s alright sir.” He replied, punching the button for the Jaeger bay’s ground floor. The car started creeping downwards, the gentle accelerated making a new pain shoot up Soarin’s foreleg. He clenched his jaw and banished the pain away from his mind.
“She’s a bit down at the moment and she’s always been one to enjoy, uh, ‘interpersonal activities’. If it came out as a bit, er, lude…” He trailed off with an awkward smile.
The guard let out a quiet snort of amusement. He didn’t seem like most of the guards Soarin had the ‘pleasure’ to met in his career; he wasn’t overly stern and at least seemed to have a sense of humour.
“Does the guard have a name?” Soarin asked.
He brushed a piece of his mud-brown mane out of his eye. “Maple, sir.”
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Soarin.”
“Figured that, sir.”
Soarin grinned. “One thing I hate about being famous is that everypony already knows you. Greetings are always so one sided.”
“Yes, sir.” Maple agreed.
“You haven’t always been a guard, have you?” Soarin asked, looking the pegasus over. “No, your uniform’s a little messy and there’s a certain amount of good natured humour in you. What did you do before coming here?”
Maple nodded, seemingly not at all put out by Soarin’s guesswork. “Used to do middle management at a factory.before coming here.”
“Weather factory?” Soarin guessed. Most pegasi had a natural affinity with the weather and it was no surprise that the Equestrian Weather Service almost exclusively employed pegasus ponies.
“Toys, actually.”
“That’s a bit of a career change.”
Maple chuckled lowly. “Yeah, suppose so. Thought I might give back to the ponies protecting us.” His voice almost reminded Soarin of a stone crusher and whenever the guard spoke, Soarin could feel his entire chest rumble. “Your co-pilot’s did me a great favour.”
“Sorry, I don’t recall him ever mentioning anything.” Soarin apologised.
“He rescued my daughter after Switchback’s attack. My wife wasn’t quite so lucky. Died from radiation sickness a few days afterwards.” Maple said hollowly.
Soarin bowed his head slightly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, your lot have done enough for my family since the Kaiju arrived. My dad manages that toy factory, he makes quite a good amount off action figures based on your Jaegers, he and my mum were in Bolton when that big one hit home. They’re alive thanks to you.”
“Don’t suppose you’d ever want to get in a Jaeger would you?: Soarin asked.
The guard shook his head, his blue eyes shrinking slightly. “They scare me.”
“The Kaiju? Well, they scare me too, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“The Kaiju are scary. The Jaegers though, they terrify me.” Maple explained.
“Bit of an odd career choice then, working around them.” Soarin commented wryly. “What scares you about them?”
The pegasus shivered slightly. “They’re not natural…You stand near one and you feel like it’s watching you. You’ve heard the stories about them, right?”
They brushed past a few guards standing watch at one of Jaeger bay entrances, the half dozen ponies standing aside wordlessly to let them pass.“Can’t say I have.”
“I hear things from the deck crews, strange things. One said he saw the damn thing twitch, another said a floodlight turned on by itself.” Maple whispered, as if somepony walking past would think he was crazy for saying it out loud.
Soarin considered this for a moment. “Do you believe them?”
“Well, I don’t think they’re lying.” Maple chuckled nervously. “Point is, you couldn’t get me in one of those things even if you paid me a million bits. Some things just ain’t supposed to be. Giving a machine a mind just ain’t right.”
Soarin wanted to point out that wasn’t how the pons system worked but found the words died in his throat. He couldn’ flat-out deny he hadn’t felt it in his head when he’d drifted in Wild Mustang, a third partner in their mind, a third body which made up the shared entity he and Wave Chill made. This was different though, Maple was suggesting the machines were alive proper.
“You’d rather not have the Jaegers around?” Soarin asked.
Maple shook his head slowly. ”No, I’d rather them not being so damn creepy though.”
Soarin frowned. He’d found it ridiculous to think that somepony could think a Jaeger was creepy, he’d always found them warm and inviting, well, maybe just inviting in Castle Bravo’s case. Since he’d taken up the mantle of piloting he felt almost more at home in the machines than out.
“Maybe I’m just crazy though, I’m sure most of the ponies around here love ‘em.” Maple said, seeing soarin’s look. He leaned over and punched the access code into the large keypad set on the wall. A moment later, the locking bars in the door clicked back and the heavy door slid apart, granting access to the main Jaeger bay. Maple hesitated at the threshold, unwilling to go any further.
“Oh come on, they’re not going to eat you.” Soarin chuckled. More pragmatically though, he probably couldn't walk very far without the guard helping him.
“Yes sir.” Maple muttered weakly.
“There’s a good lad.” Soarin said cheekily, earning a soft glare from the guard.
As usual, the Jaeger bay was bustling, ponies in harnesses dodging earth ponies pulling carts laden with parts and machinery. Wisps of steam drifted around the roof like clouds and burning spotlights hung from the ceiling and studded the walls like barnacles. The place seemed darker than usual though and the usual babble of conversation was eerily missing, it was like someone had sucked the heart out of the bay and left a vacant hole in its place.
It wasn’t hard to see why.
Propped up in it’s bay like a drunkard, Wild Mustang instantly drew the eye like a red stain on a white shirt. It was slumped over, held up by a dozen thick cables and nearly as many flaking yellow docking booms. Unlike Castle Bravo and Frontier Justice which were almost completely devoid of life, Wild Mustang was positively brimming with activity.
“It’s dead.” A voice said quietly.
Soarin didn’t look around, he knew Wave Chill would’ve been down here. He had never been attached to the machine like Soarin had been, but every Ranger, even the most cynical ones like Misty Fly, shared a special bond of sorts with their Jaeger.
Soarin was at a loss for words, staring at the Jaeger like it was a dead child. “I didn’t think it was this bad.” He choked, his heart sinking like a rock.
Wild Mustang was a sorry wreck. the Jaeger’s chest was crumpled like a tin can and torn open in several places. The legs were a little more intact but most of the armour was either crushed and cracked or torn off, exposing charred wiring, busted shock absorbers and gutted engines. One of the Jaeger’s shoulder was little more than a ragged stump, a mess of tangled cables and torn metal. The conpod was hardly recognisable, the golden visor almost completely shattered and every surface either torn open or twisted horribly. Somepony had taken the decency to wash the Jaeger down and attempt to make it look a little more presentable, but the wrecked machine slumped up against its supports looked like it would be more at home in a graveyard
“Not much for it I’m afraid.” Wave Chill said, placing his hoof gently on his friend’s shoulder. “You’re alright?”
“I’ll be fine.” Soarin said lowly. “You?”
“I was out of the infirmary in a day.” Wave Chill answered. “Never realised how dull it is around here without you. Or how much sleep I could get without your constant chatter, that’s one small relief I’ll miss.”
“You’re welcome.” Soarin remarked dryly. Losing Wild Mustang was bad enough but losing Wave Chill would’ve been disastrous. Machines could be repaired and rebuilt. His friend wasn’t so easily replaced. “Do you think it can be fixed?”
“Dunno. It’s been the hot topic for the last few days. Come on, the marshalls are down here I think, why don’t we ask them?”
Soarin nodded in approval, indicating for Maple to follow Wave Chill. The trio trotted closer to Wild Mustang, moving between the workers hauling piles of scrap off the Jaeger. The two humans were easy to find, they’d established themselves on a slightly raised gantry overlooking the Jaeger. A small group of foremen and J-Tech types milled around beneath them, yelling instructions at other workers and fussing over sheets of paper.
Michael had a mug of recaf in one hand, the heavy rings under his eyes and the half-vacant look on his face enough to tell Soarin that he probably hadn’t slept much in the last week. He was talking lowly with Shane, the constant thump of machinery and banging of metal more than enough to drown out their conversation.
His brother still looked a little pasty but at least he was up and about again. They both seemed a little ill at ease around the destroyed Jaeger, almost as if it reminded them of something unpleasant.
“Oi! Look what the cat dragged in.” Shane yelled out, spotting Soarin and Wave chill out from the crowd of workers and waving them up. “Didn’t think you’d be up yet.” He said to Soarin.
“Me neither, had to see it though.” Soarin said, lamely gesturing at Wild Mustang.
“I understand.” Michael responded tiredly. Maybe it was Soarin’s imagination, but he looked like he’d aged a few years since he’d seen him last. “You have no idea how hard it was to bring it back, almost considered stripping it down and just leaving it out there.”
The very idea shocked Soarin, leaving it to rust hardly seemed dignified.“Why?”
“Tusker did a real number on the chest, most of the internal structure was too badly damaged to do much more than just sit. Move it, and the whole thing would probably collapse in on itself. We spent a few days putting about a gazillion reinforcements in there just to keep it up. Took another few days to prep it for transport. Most of the mounts were torn off or damaged so we had to improvise. Smaller parts were a bit easier to bring back but well, there was a lot of them.” Michael explained, looking down at Wave Chill and Soarin. “You two are lucky sons of bitches. I’m told that pegasus physiology is tough, but you’re lucky to be alive, let alone walk..”
“Yeah. Lucky.” Soarin echoed hollowly.
“I get the feeling you want to ask us something.” Shane said, looking at Soarin out of the corner of his eye.
Soarin and Wave Chill exchanged a glance. “Can we fix it?” They asked in unison.
Michael snorted, as if somehow something about the situation was funny. “Short answer, no. The amount of time and money we’d have to sink into wouldn’t be worth it, we’d be better off building a new one.”
The flicker of hope in Soarin’s heart spluttered and died. “Can you build a new one then?”
Michael shook his head. “Nothing more than what we’ve got already started. We would have to ask for more funding for any more Jaegers. And after Wild Mustang got totalled, well, public confidence took a little bit of a hit. They know we’re not invincible.”
“How bad?”
“Well, no one is panicking or anything, which is a small relief. The official press release said that Wild Mustang was slated for decommissioning anyway.”
Soarin and Wave Chill frowned. “Is that true?”
Michael smiled wryly. “Is now.”
“Don’t suppose it’d be too much to ask for a new one then?” Wave Chill asked hopefully.
Shane looked at him like he had suggested they do the Full Monty on top of the shatterdome. “Wave Chill, I can count the number of pilots who have piloted more than one Jaeger on one hand.”
“Guess your bosses didn’t like giving the guys who wrecked the expensive shiny things new toys.”
“Well, no.” Michael chuckled. “But it’s probably because I can also count the number of Jaeger pilots that didn’t die in their Jaeger on one hand as well. I think that’s the point Shane was making.”
Wave Chill blinked. “Oh.”
“Yeah, a little morbid. But them’s the dice I guess.”
“Training new pilots is hard We started with what, a few thousand recruits didn’t we?” Shane asked, waiting for Michael to nod in agreement before he continued. “Of that, I think there’s maybe nine or ten groups at the moment that are practicing in a simulator. Of those, I’d say that only a three or four of them are actually at the standard we’d want them to be or better. Then of course, none of them have any actual combat experience...” He trailed off.
“What Shane is saying, in short, if you want a new Jaeger we’ll give you one. You two are good pilots, your Jaeger… well, it left a bit to be desired, to be honest. It was a prototype after all.”
Soarin and Wave Chill stared at him in surprise, neither had seriously expected to get another Jaeger. “W-which one?” Soarin stammered.
“Well unless one of you springs a horn from your head it’ll have to be a Mark II. I’ll have a talk to Twilight about it, I’m sure she’ll be able to get something sorted.” Michael said, wincing slightly as a part of Wild Mustang’s conpod was peeled away in a way that reminded him uncomfortably of Romeo Blue being torn apart by Switchback in Seattle.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t mention it.” Michael muttered. “Are you two ready to go back to the academy?”
“I don’t think the doc wants me out of his sight just yet.” Soarin groaned irritably..
“Well you two are a little useless down here at the moment, so as soon as you’re in shape, you’re heading back. I’m sure Applejack and Big Mac will be thrilled.” Michael ordered.
“I’m not sure we’re cut out for teaching.” Soarin said back quietly.
“The joy of being in command means every bastard under you gets to second-guess you. You’re not afforded that luxury, the moment you start second-guessing yourself you lose.” Michael said back firmly. “If we thought you and Wave Chill were bad teachers we wouldn’t send you back.”
“Of course not, it’s just hard to not have doubts sometimes.”
Michael and Shawn exchanged an amused look. “Have a look at the lot you had under your wing and tell me that again.”
Soarin looked at them suspiciously. “Why, what happened with them?”
“I think you’d want to see it for yourself.” Shane said.
Soarin grimaced. “Oh boy, this can only be bad...”
“Sir!”
The four pilots looked down from their platform, a young mare dressed more for an office had parked herself below them and waved to Michael.
“Yes?” Michael answered.
She balked for a moment, clearly not expecting all four to stare at her so intently. She saluted awkwardly. “Sir, I have message from Princess Celestia, she’s asked to see you immediately.”
Michael looked down at the mare with irritation. “We’re on a lockdown, she can come later.”
The pony smiled awkwardly. “By requesting to see you, I mean she’s in your office right now.”
Michael sighed explosively. “Alright, fine. Shane, keep an eye on these jokers down here. I’ll go and see what sunbutt wants.”
“Yeah, well right now she’s a massive pain in ass.” Michael shot back, prompting a quiet chuckle out of both Shane and Soarin. “Alright, I’ll be back in a bit. If not I’ve probably passed out in my office and in that case, don’t disturb me.”
“Mikey needs his precious sleep.” Shane teased.
“Shut it.” Michael grumbled, taking one last contemplative look at Wild Mustang. “Right, let’s see what the princess wants.”
***
Michael worked his way quickly through the shatterdome up to his office, it took barely two minutes from when he’d left the Jaeger bay to reach his door. He punched the locking code in wearily and pushed the heavy door into his office open, revealing Celestia lounging in his chair behind his desk. “There’s a thing called ‘knocking’, you know.” Michael muttered dryly.
Celestia smiled thinly, spinning herself around on his chair playfully like it were a top. “I’m afraid teleporting leaves little need for such formalities.”
Michael shooed her off his seat, silently wondering there was some way he could magic-proof his office. “Well at least you didn’t drop in when I was in the shower…” He muttered before dropping into the comfortable chair with a sigh. “Now what do you want? We’re a little busy at the moment.”
“I came to deliver a message, normally I’d just send it by magical means but I think something of this importance is necessary to bring this before you myself.”
Michael sat up a little, Celestia’s playful expression had dropped like concrete block and now the monarch almost looked a little worried. “Okay?”
“In the senate assembly today there was a motion raised concerning your organisation. It was dismissed, thankfully, but only after a bit of debate. Your good friend is starting to perhaps gain a little traction.” Celestia warned.
Michael cocked his head to the side. “You mean that dumb bi-.”
“Senator Lotus, yes.” Celestia hastily interrupted. “Your most recent defeat has very well impressed in the minds of our politicians that your machines are not quite as invincible as they once thought.”
“Noted. What can we do about it then?”
Celestia shrugged. “Nothing directly. It’s something I’m sure a good performance record will keep in check. I’m sure the committee will quickly forget your loss if you start winning again.”
Celestia hesitated a moment. “I’ve heard some, rumblings, from my international contacts. Apparently there has been a little talk in the Griffon aristocracy concerning the procurement of a Jaeger. Now, whether they mean to buy one or if they intend to acquire one through more nefarious means…”
“Hold on one sec, we’ve done deals with them before. What makes you think they’d try and steal one?”
Celestia looked a little ashamed. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that. They’re a highly efficient and businesslike lot, I’m sure they’ll approach you if they want something.” She took a breath. “Just, be aware that you now have the eyes of more than one government on you.”
“I think that’s been the case since we got here.” Michael chuckled.
Celestia cracked a thin smile. “Indeed. Now, I would love to stay and chat a while but I have other matters which need my attention. Thank your pilots for me, I trust they are recovering well?”
“They’ll be fit soon enough.” Michael assured her.
“Good, such brave little ponies…” Celestia said quietly. She sounded guilty, like she should’ve been in their place
“Yearning to answer the call, princess?” Michael jeered.
“No, of course not.” Celestia shot back. “I have my place and it is certainly not at the helm of a Jaeger.”
“If you say so.”
Celestia glared at him silently for a moment before vanishing in a crack of air and a flash of blinding light. Michael stared at the spot she’d been occupying for a few good minutes, his mind wandering aimlessly. He finally snapped back to reality with an amused snort.
“I give her six months.”
***
Despite Soarin and Wave Chill’s absence, Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust’s tutelage continued much as before; Applejack and Big Macintosh taking over while the two pegasi recovered from their brawl. While Rainbow Dash was absolutely delighted to see her friend again, Applejack insisted on keeping a professional distance lest she give Rainbow any more favour than any of the other cadets.
“It’s rubbish.” Rainbow said to Pinkie over a meal in the mess hall. “Applejack knows me, she knows that I’m not just full of hot air.”
“Are you full of cold air then? I heard that’s unhealthy.” Maud interjected.
Rainbow blinked. “Wha- no?”
Maud returned the gesture. “Then shouldn’t you be full of hot air?”
“It’s an expression, silly.” Pinkie said, thankfully being the voice of reason for once rather than going off on a wild tangent about something like hot-air balloons as she was normally prone to.
“I know.” Maud replied, looking at her meal like she’d just spotted a drowning fly in it. “I was trying to make a joke.”
“Might want to work on your timing, bud.” Rainbow suggested dryly.
“My timing is excellent, I’m very rarely late. That’s why I have a watch.”
Rainbow wanted to explain to subtle differences in the meaning of her words but decided it would be pointless. She knew Maud was quite clever but when the stoney-faced pony look everything at face value, it was a little hard to see how.
“Speaking of time,” Pinkie butted in, talking through a peice of bread coated in rainbow sprinkles. “Do you think it’s time to bring the,” She looked around suspiciously. “Supplies in?” She whispered across the table.
Maud turned to Pinkie, her shoulders raising the slightest amount. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t been looking closely she would’ve missed the gesture entirely.
Pinkie blinked. “Yes, you’re right. Might just leave it for the moment.”
Rainbow Dash looked between the two sisters skeptically. Whatever Pinkie and Maud were on about, it seemed a rather serious issue to Pinkie. “No offence Pinkie, but shouldn’t you be focusing more on making sure you make the grade rather than this… thing?” Rainbow asked uncertainly. She considered figuring out exactly Pinkie meant by ‘supplies’ but decided against it, while trying to understand Maud was simple enough, if one had the patience, but Pinkie’s mind could be like a bag of angry cats at the best of times. Trying to understand her somewhat roundabout thought patterns usually ended up being painful. “Last I heard, you and Maud weren’t exactly in the good books of your trainers.”
Pinkie Pie pulled a look that fell remarkably well somewhere between irritated and upset. “Misty Fly is weird… and that’s me saying that. She’s way too serious, maybe delirious, m-”
“Yeah, I get it.” Rainbow hastily interrupted before Pinkie could spell out ever rhyming word for herd. She let out a sympathetic sigh, her pink friend seemed increasingly worried and frustrated at the former Wonderbolt’s behaviour. “I dunno Pinkie, maybe you could just… not be so… you?”
“So me? How can I not be me? I’m me!” Pinkie protested. “That’d be like asking a cake to not be a cake and be a muffin!”
“I know her type.” Rainbow explained hastily. “They see humour as something that undermines their authority, they’ll only start to respect you if you’ve actually got any talent. Maybe you should show her.”
“Talent, eh?” Pinkie pondered, tapping her hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Ah-ha! Maud, we need to get ready, quicksmart! What’s the time?”
“Five past seven.” Maud answered, her eyes barely flickering up to a clock somewhere above Rainbow’s head. “Hmm. Didn’t your simulator session start at seven?” she asked boredly, her eyes slowly creeping over to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow dash froze with horror, a mouthful of food halfway to her mouth. How that had slipped her mind was completely beyond her. “Oh damn, gotta go!” Rainbow Dash yelped, her bowl clattering to the table. Lightning Dust would never forgive her for being late.
“Have fun!” Pinkie called after her, a bright technicolour streak the only indication that Rainbow had ever been there at all.
***
By the time her bowl had come to a complete halt in the mess hall, Rainbow Dash was already halfway to the suiting room, her mind already set on the upcoming drift session. She powered across the academy grounds, blatantly ignoring several flight regulations in her haste to reach her destination. She perhaps then, felt a little foolish when she arrived only to find Lightning Dust waiting outside the suiting room playing with a strand of her mane impatiently.
“You forgot, didn’t you Rainbow Crash?” Lightning Dust asked, not even bothering to turn around.
“Of course I didn’t, Lightning Bust.” Rainbow shot back.
”Imaginative as ever.” Lightning Dust yawned.
Rainbow cracked a thin grin. “Speak for yourself. What’s the hold up?”
She shrugged silently and continued playing with her mane, her frustration at the dealy quietly bubbling away under the surface.
Rainbow didn’t prod her further, Lightning Dust wasn’t overly sociable, not towards her at least, and in Rainbow’s experience it usually took teeth-gritting amounts of prying and patience to get her into an actual conversation, a effort she wasn’t willing to go to at the moment. Instead she sat down a measured distance away from the pegasus and waited, running through a mental checklist of things she had to remember before getting into the simulator. Thankfully they didn’t have to wait long and Rainbow was only halfway through her list when a gangly technician opened the suiting room door and popped his head out.
“They’re ready for you now, come on through.” He said, gesturing them to follow him through to the suiting room. Rainbow and Lightning Dust followed him silently, stepping up onto the slightly elevated plates in the centre of the room so the dozen or so technicians milling about could get to work.
“Hey, Dusty. This time, try not to fall straight onto your arse like you did yesterday.” Rainbow reminded Lightning Dust mockingly.
The other pegasus simply grinned at her obnoxiously, lifting a leg so the technicians that swarmed around them could fasten her armour into place. Although saying that her attitude towards Rainbow Dash had improved could have been overstating things, she had become markedly less hostile since they’d first drifted. Tolerable, was the best word Rainbow could think of. Neither of them liked admitting it, but Soarin had been right from the start. Under Applejack’s supervision, they'd successfully drifted the evening of Tusker’s demise and had spent as many hours as they could beg, coerce or plead in the simulator since.
“What do you bet she makes us do the basic course again.” Lightning Dust piped up sourly. “I’ve had enough of this one kick, one thousand times bullshit, let me fight a damn Kaiju already.”
“I think Applejack would rather we master the basics rather than just pushing us off into the deep end. With a shark.” Rainbow explained with an exasperated sigh.
“I’m ready. You’re ready. What is she waiting for?” Lightning Dust grumbled. “Unless of course, you don’t think you’re up to it?” She asked snidely.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Rainbow replied indignantly. “Maybe you just shouldn't be so keen to stick you head in the lion’s mouth.”
“Bah.” Lightning Dust remarked, flicking her tail in annoyance and marching off the pad as soon as the last securing bolt had been drilled in.
Rainbow followed behind a second later, wearing a small smile on her face. She shared Lightning Dust’s enthusiasm to get on with the program but she was just much better at hiding her impatience, which was truly saying something as she was hardly a patient pony at the best of times.
They made their way out along one of the gantries, their metal boots clanking loudly enough to be mistaken for a marching army. Lightning Dust suddenly stopped in her tracks, nearly making Rainbow crash into her armoured rump.
“What the ha-?” Rainbow started, trailing off with a surprised ‘Oh’ as she noticed what Lightning Dust was staring at.
Instead of the massive form of Big Macintosh and Applejack though, Rainbow was surprised to find Soarin and Wave Chill stationed outside the door, the older of the pegasi still bearing some bandages across his back and leg. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust exchanged a look, neither of them had been told that their previous trainers had returned to the academy.
“You’re late.” Rainbow said gruffly, forcing her helmet on and trying not to look at the angry red scars which ran down Soarin’s leg and crisscrossed his shoulder.
“Spare us the cheek sweetheart and just get in the simulator.” Soarin said with a faint smile.
Rainbow suppressed a wry smirk and brushed past the two injured pilots, Lightning Dust tottering along behind with a remarkably flat expression.
“I didn’t know they were back.” Rainbow said, gently prodding her copilot.
“You think they tell me anything?” Lightning Dust retorted, snapping her boots into the simulator’s drivetrain with two sharp clicks.
“Yeah, right. What was I thinking?” Rainbow muttered, snapping her visor down. A flood of information swamped her senses, a dancing array of coloured lights, ticking numbers and blinking displays suddenly filling her vision.
“So… which one do you want to rut then?” Lightning dust asked cheekily.
“Excuse me?” Rainbow asked, sure she’d misheard her copilot.
“You heard me.”
Rainbow stared at her with as much of a flat expression as she could manage through a helmet. “I don’t think I need to answer that.”
“Oh come on, I saw the way you were looking at them.” Lightning Dust jeered. “You can’t say you wouldn’t.”
“It’s not like that.” Rainbow protested vehemently.
“Then what is it?”
“They’re my friends, when your friends narrowly escape death, it’s natural to be worried for them. Of course you wouldn’t know that, because you haven't got any friends.”
Lightning Dust snorted, hiding a slightly hurt look behind a contemptuous smirk. “Yeah, right. ‘Friends.’ I’m a mare of the world and I can tell you right now there’s a very good reason why I think what you’re telling me is bullshit.”
“Maybe you should ask them yourself then.” Rainbow said back, finding herself smiling despite her irritation. She reckoned Lightning Dust was just jealous that she was well connected with many renowned ponies. “Besides, Soarin is… old, and Wave Chill? I’d rather not thanks.”
“He’s not old, he’s experienced.” Lightning Dust chuckled.
“Why thank you, Lightning Dust. Now if you two are quite done..?” Soarin remarked dryly over the comm link.
The two mares froze in horror, blissfully unaware that they’d left the channel open.
Rainbow diligently flicked off the channel. “Well then…” She muttered embarrassedly, trying to desperately suppress a giggle..
Lightning Dust nodded silently, chomping her mouth shut so she wouldn’t laugh. She didn’t need words for Rainbow to understand how she felt. “I think we should get started.” She said quickly.
“Yeah.” Rainbow said flicking the channel back on so Soarin and Wave Chill could hear them. “So what are we doing today?”
“From the notes Applejack and Big Mac thoughtfully left, you two are becoming quite adept at the basics. As you’ve yet to actually fight a simulated Kaiju, I think now is a good a time as any to get started.” Soarin explained cheerfully. “Which Jaeger would you like to be?”
The view screen flickered to life and displayed rough holographic projections of the Jaegers stored in the system. All the Mark Is were there along with the three new Mark IIs, further across was a limited selection of human Jaegers, the simulator data for a handful of the machines had been stored on Midsummer Night and had been transferred over for completeness sake. The two pegasi were limited in their choices though, they had only been allowed to choose from three Jaegers, the Mark IIs currently in production.
“Same as always I guess.” Rainbow said, selecting the middle machine, a small Jaeger that looked like a dog ready to pounce. She could barely keep the trace of excitement out of her voice, she’d been dying to use the simulator’s combat features.
They’d tried out all the hulls during their time clocked in the simulator but both pegasi had naturally gravitated towards the lean, agile machine. Unlike Everfree Bandit, which for some strange reason felt like it was simply borrowed, the Jaeger seemed like a natural extension of their body, a brilliant display of raw speed and power that the two pegasi enjoyed. They’d clocked nearly twenty hours in the small Jaeger, an almost inordinate amount of time compared to the number of hours they’d spent in Everfree Bandit and the last, dark, almost brooding Jaeger
“I see you’ve grown quite attached to the little one.” Soarin remarked.
“It’s like us, fast.” Lightning Dust boasted, giving Rainbow a rare, somewhat friendly smirk.
“Well I guess we’ll see if she’s fast enough then. You’ll be fighting a CAT II today, lovely guy called Atticon.” Soarin said, loading the Kaiju into the simulator with well practised ease.
“It’ll be a piece of cake.” Lightning Dust boasted, running a systems check like she’d been taught.
“I like your enthusiasm.” Soarin remarked slyly. There was something in his voice that made an alarm bell in Rainbow’s head ring but she couldn’t quite place a hoof on it.
The now familiar sensation of being forced through a blue wave washed over Rainbow Dash, a flood of memories feelings and raw emotion rushing past her eyes like a stick of butter going down a metal slide on a hot day. She was used to this now though, the sudden surge had been overwhelming at first but she’d grown used to it. What she was still adjusting to though, was Lightning Dust. Every time she drifted with the pegasus she got the sensation of looking into a mirror and not quite seeing her reflection. It left an uncomfortable feeling crawling under her skin, like she was having sandpaper rubbed all over herself. The moment of irritation lasted barely a second before passing though and once again Rainbow could see clearly, the swarms of blinking lights and indicators across her console swimming back towards her.
“Neural bridge established. Initiating simulated combat environment. Pilots, prepare for combat.” The computer hummed.
The view out their front screen changed. A storm wracked ocean leapt into view, a massive half-finished wall jumping up into existence to their extreme left. Behind them, a thousand blazing lights of a city burned through the blankets of rain which filled the dark sky.
“This isn’t Equestria.” Lightning Dust muttered insightfully, pinging the Jaeger’s sensors experimentally. The torrential rain was reducing their visibility to a few hundred metres and the constant thumping of waves and heavy machinery against the massive wall behind them was hardly making it easy for the acoustic sensors to pick up anything solid.
“Contact five hundred metres. Kaiju signature detected, Category II.” The computer sang quietly, a blood red blip appearing on their state of the art threat indicator.
“Ready?” Lightning Dust purred excitedly.
Rainbow gulped. “Ready.” She answered slowly, hoping that her anxiety wasn’t transmitting over the neural link as much as it felt it was. She was hardly a coward but the prospect of facing a Kaiju head to head, even a simulated one, didn’t seem quite as exciting as it had a few minutes ago.
“Ah quit being such a scaredy-cat, this’ll be a cakewalk.” Lightning Dust reassured her teasingly.
“Four hundred metres to contact.” the computer chimed.
A pair of glowing blue orbs materialised out of the pelting rain and the rest of the Kaiju swiftly followed. It was feline in appearance, a long stinger tipped tail jutting out above it awkwardly. The two roving orbs spun and locked on the two pilots, each looking more like a large bauble rather than a normal eye.
Lightning Dust gave the Kaiju a disgusted look. “Oh sure, a Kaiju that looks like a cat. I wasn’t being literal you smartarse.” She grumbled.
Atticon regarde the Jaeger with curiosity for a moment, it’s head cockign to the side slightly and a long, forked tongue slipping out between its barbed teeth as if it were tasting the machine. It hissed quietly, a grating, rasping sound which filtered in over the steady thrumming of rain striking the conpod.
“Let’s go!” Lightning Dust growled, breaking the Jaeger into a flat sprint. Rainbow followed reluctantly, now probably wasn’t the best time to be second-guessing herself. A mechanical whine filled their ears as the Jaeger built up speed, quickly passing the two hundred kilometre an hour mark as it accelerated towards the Kaiju.
“Fifty metres to contact.”
Atticon waited patiently until the last moment before ducking under the Jaeger’s swinging arm with a surprising burst of agility and leaving their strike sailing through thin air.
Now overextended, Atticon assumed its target to be easy pickings, gnashing its teeth and swiping a paw at the Jaeger in a wide arc. Rainbow and Lightning Dust followed through with their punch, the world spinning as they performed what could only be described as a improvised combat roll to avoid the blow.
Atticon yowled as its prey slipped under its strike, the lithe Jaeger was much faster than the Kaiju had expected. Rolling back upright, Rainbow Dash slung a quick jab at the Kaijus’ exposed ribcage, her blow being rewarded by a loud squeak of pain. Atticon took a step back and rallied, its prehensile tail whipping around and clattering off their shoulder before they could properly regain their footing. Before Lightning Dust could rip it away, the bulbous stinger sitting on the end twitched and jabbed down, punching clean through the pauldron and injecting a voracious, toxic mixture into the Jaeger’s shoulder. A slew of warnings popped on the screen as the toxins started eating through the arm’s actuators and control circuits.
“Bad kitty!” Lightning Dust snarled, ripping the barb out and squeezing the bulging acid sac between her fingers. Atticon squeaked again as the pulsating sac expanded before blowing out at either end like a party popper.
“Son of a bitch!” Rainbow squealed, resisting the urge to grab her shoulder. It hurt a lot more than she expected, a gnawing, biting, burning pain working its way deep into the joint and spreading down her foreleg. She tried moving the limb but it seemed sluggish in response, many of the delicate control circuits had evidently been damaged or destroyed by the Kaiju’s attack.
They were down an arm and Atticon had only lost its stinger.
“Not exactly the best outcome, Lightning Dust.” Rainbow summed up accusingly, trying to work some feeling back into her numb foreleg.
There was no time for that though as Atticon came at them again, deliberately targeting their crippled arm and managing to sink its claws into their already damaged shoulder before Lightning Dust punched it off, giving the Kaiju a blackened, bleeding eye for its trouble. It hissed again, making the fur on Rainbow’s back stand up on end.
“You ready for more?” Lightning Dust taunted, blissfully paying no attention to the trouble Rainbow Dash’s side of the Jaeger was in.
Atticon evidently was, lunging forward again, jaws outstretched while simultaneously restraining their good arm with its tail. The Kaiju tore at their shoulder with a claw sloughing away another sheet of armour and clamped its jaws down on the conpod with a distressing crack of metal shattering.
“It's going to breach the conpod!” Rainbow yelled, another ominous crunch sounding above their heads. She struggled against the claw pinning her shoulder in place to little avail. If it wasn’t for the slurry of acid and melted parts that ate away cheerfully at the joint she might’ve managed but the pegasus simply couldn’t muster the strength to push the Kaiju off.
“Well maybe if you hadn’t let yourself get hit we wouldn’t be in this mess.” Lightning Dust snarled, forcing Atticon over but not quite far enough to break its hold on their head The Kaiju’s teeth tore into the conpod again, another squeal of tortured metal ringing around theor metal sanctuary.
“Me? If you hadn’t been such a reckless idiot we…” She yelled, trailing off as she looked at Lightning Dust.
Or more accurately it seemed, where she had been.
The entire side of the conpod had been torn away cleanly, revealing an office with a panoramic view over a green vista standing out amid an ocean of clouds. Pegasi in blue and yellow uniforms dotted the sky outside and whizzed around, cheerfully oblivious to the Kaiju which was trying to tear the conpod open a few metres away. As she looked, the interior of the cockpit seemed to melt away, leaving her stranded in the oddly familiar office.
‘I know this place...’ Rainbow thought dumbly, taken aback by how out of place she was in her perfectly white drivesuit. She took a step forward, her hooves clanking noisily on the hard, wooden floor and a bunch of papers neatly stacked on a desk ruffling slightly as she passed. She spun around with surprise as the door behind her slammed open and an angry mare stormed in.
‘Spitfire!’ Rainbow thought with surprise, half-tempted to dive behind the desk for cover. Spitfire though, ignored her as if she were a ghost and forced herself down into her chair, drawing a bottle of scotch out of a draw along with a small glass.
“You waiting for an invitation?” She snarled.
Rainbow jumped, thinking the clearly angry mare was addressing her. “Uh-?”
“Thought not, get your arse in here.” Spitfire growled.
“Ma’am?” Rainbow asked, but Spitfire dutifully ignored her. She spun around, surprised to see a slightly younger looking Lightning Dust in a Wonderbolt training uniform.
‘Oh...’ Rainbow thought, suddenly aware of where she’d seen the office before. Everything suddenly made sense and her brain, which seemed to have been plodding along slowly finally clicked.
‘Something’s gone wrong, we’re out of alignment.’ She thought. wheeling around to face Spitfire again. ‘Right?’
The Wonderbolt didn’t answer her, in fact , Spitfire seemed completely oblivious to her presence at all, glaring straight past her and at the distraught looking Lightning Dust.
“You know why you’re here?” She asked, pouring herself a measured glass of the strong smelling liquor.
Lightning Dust didn’t answer, instead staring impassively past Spitfire’s head at the flights of ponies buzzing past the window.
“You used to be quite fond of running that mouth of yours, what’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”
“No ma’am, I don’t understand why I’m here.” Lightning Dust said snidely.
Spitfire let out a faint chortle. “Odd, cause I got five reasons why you should be.”
“That wasn’t my fault.” Lightning dust fired back with parade ground efficiency. “those idiots shouldn’t have violated military airspace without clearance.”
“Those idiots are some of the greatest heroes in Equestria.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that your actions nearly killed five ponies, endangered your entire class and the staff at this academy.”
“But it didn’t.” Lightning Dust said, a trace of irritation in her voice. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about, ma’am.”
“Of course you don’t. You’re a reckless idiot and frankly, after your latest stunt, I think we’d be better off without you.” Spitfire said levelly.
Rainbow felt like a shank had been driven through her heart. For the first time since entering the room, Lightning Dust’s resolve seemed to wave. “Bu-.”
“You nearly killed Celestia’s personal student, do know how much unwanted attention we’d get if that had happened?”
Rainbow felt the spike go in further. It wasn’t her fault. “But it didn’t-.”
“But it could’ve!” Spitfire roared. “If it hadn’t been for Rainbow Dash’s quick thinking, we’d be cleaning five stains off the welcome mat.”
A surge of anger shot through Rainbow and for a moment she didn’t care about anything, not the spike being driven into her chest , not her imminent discharge and certainly not the equally furious mare sitting across from her. She wanted to roll up in a ball and cry but she didn’t, instead came back firing. “You never had any problem with my attitude before.” Lightning Dust shot back. “Are you really only concerned about your squadron’s image now, huh? Gonna kick out your best cadet just because some idiots violated a military base’s airspace and made you look like a fool?”
Spitfire put her forehooves together. “Look kid, I made a mistake in my initial judgment of you. You’re a good flier but you’re an arsehole. You put yourself before your teammates, that’s not something the Wonderbolts stand for. We’re a team, a family. When we join, we expect each other to keep to a certain code, a set of standards that we trust each other to stick to, especially when shit goes sideways. That’s something I had to be reminded of today.” She admitted sourly. “You’ve never even bothered with them.”
Lightning Dust scoffed contemptuously, any semblance of politeness well and truly gone. “Let me guess, Rainbow Dash came and whined about her friends having a little fall and blackmailed you into getting rid of me. Figures she’d get special treatment.”
“What I talk about with others is none of your business.” Spitfire growled. “Now, you have half an hour to get your things together and get off my base. If you’re still here after that, I’ll throw you off a cliff with your wings bound myself. We’ll see who comes to your rescue then.”
Lightning Dust was too angry to care. She knew it, Rainbow Dash had always been jealous of her getting the leadpony position and had finally made her move. It didn’t seem quite right that she’d stab her in the back like that but it was the only conclusion Lightning Dust could bring herself to, after all, it wasn’t her fault. How could nopony see that? It had never been her fault.
She glared at Spitfire, holding back a storm of tears and pent of frustration. This had been her dream, her aspiration. A hour ago it had been a normal day but now it was quickly turning into the worst moment of her life.
Rainbow Dash winced, she knew the feeling Lightning Dust felt. It was strange that she’d felt it barely an hour before, the only difference was that she’d chosen it while Lightning Dust was being forced into it.
“Lightning Dust.” She beckoned quietly.
The pegasus ignored her call, her head bowed in resignation.
“Lightning Dust, this is just a memory. Please, snap out of it, I need you here. Now.” She said, unsure if the Lightning Dust seated in front of her could actually hear her or not. She let out a sigh of exasperation and took a step forward. “Well if you won’t listen…” She muttered, slapping Lightning Dust roughly across the face with her hoof. “You hear me now?”
Lightning Dust jumped like she’d been electrocuted, her eyes wide and her breath quick and panicky. For the first time she seemed to noticed Rainbow Dash, a look of pure bewilderment appearing over her face. She looked between Spitfire and Rainbow Dash like they’d both suddenly turned into Changelings. “What the-?” She exclaimed before the office shook like a giant had picked it up and had thrown it.
“Pilot Two, out of alignment.” Spitfire said, her voice oddly flat and devoid of any emotion.
“Snap out of it!” Rainbow yelled, slapping the stunned Lightning Dust across the face again.
“Rainbow Dash?!” Lightning Dust blurted out in surprise.
“You’re drifting, none of this is real! It’s just a memory! Now snap out of it!” She ordered, hitting Lightning Dust once more.
“Get off me!” Lightning Dust snarled, rolling with the blow and moving to strike back.
“Get control of yourself or we’re going to fail!”
Lightning Dust froze in place, eyes going even wider as a persistent klaxon started ringing in their ears. A metallic crunch sounded behind Rainbow as something vital gave way and Atticon forced its way into the conpod. For a moment she was greeted with the sight of a snarling maw and rows of razor sharp teeth before everything turned to a merciful black.
With a crack like a firework going off, the scene snapped out of existence and the interior of the simulator snapped back into view, a faint but persistent buzzer ringing in her ears. Rainbow Dash slumped backwards, her motion mirrored by Lightning Dust. The other pegasus ripped her helmet off, her chest rising and falling like she had been holding her breath for a few minutes. The front view screen was slowly pulsing red with the words ‘Mission Failed’ but neither of the pilots seemed to really pay it any attention.
“That was…” Rainbow panted, trying to clear her vision of the swimming blue dots which danced like pinpricks of light at the back of her mind.
Lightning Dust didn’t respond, shakily disengaging from her harness and almost falling flat on her rump. Rainbow moved to help her but forestalled the motion as Lightning Dust clumsily staggering back to her hooves.
“Don’t touch me, don’t even…” She spat between breathes, her eyes burning with what Rainbow Dash could only describe as fear and regret Lightning Dust forced herself upright and stormed out of the simulator, slipping through the door as soon as the heavy metal portal was wide enough for her to fit through.
“What. Was. That.” Rainbow said between deep breaths. She took her helmet off slowly and let it drop to the floor with a crash, she knew exactly what had happened but needed somepony else to affirm it for her.
“You went out of alignment. You drifted into a memory and relived it.” Wave Chill said.
Rainbow shook her head, trying to make sense of what had rushed through her mind. “I was there, but that wasn’t me. I could could feel everything. It was almost like I was-.”
“Somepony else?” Soarin finished.
Rainbow scratched the side of her head, trying to soothe the steady pounding seated behind her temples. She knew she had just been inside Lightning Dust’s head, perhaps more, but she was still struggling to accept it.The whole thing was hard to wrap her head around, it just seemed so strange. “Yeah.” She muttered. “You… you were in control, why didn’t you stop it?”
“I considered it.” Soarin admitted. “But then I thought it would be important for you to learn first-hoof what it’s like to go out of alignment. It’s fairly safe in here.”
“Yeah, thanks. Real insightful.” Rainbow muttered sourly, wishing she had some water to wash away the coppery taste in the back of her mouth. She disengaged her harness, there was no point staying connected if Lightning Dust had stormed off. Rainbow staggered out to the door, almost falling onto a concerned looking Wave Chill as she pushed herself through the portal.
“Whoa there partner.” He said, steadying her incase she decided to topple over. Soarin appeared behind him, offering another steadying hoof to the wobbly pegasus. .
“How do you feel?” He asked.
Rainbow blinked. “Dizzy. Nauseous.”
“Great, your head isn’t all mush.” Soarin deadpanned. “Let me have a look at you.”
“I’m fine.” Rainbow protested, trying to push him away.
“Rainbow Dash, a quick checkup never hurt anypony.” Soarin admonished. “Now open your eyes wide.”
Rainbow let out an irritated sigh. “Alright, keep it quick.”
Soarin peered into her eyes, pushing her eyelids back a little as he checked them. He gestured her to open her mouth.
“Can you taste blood?” He asked.
“A little.”
“Good, you bit your tongue.” Soarin muttered.”At least your brain is still working right.”
Rainbow eyed him suspiciously. “Thought you said it was safe?”
The pegasus shrugged. “Safe enough.” He remarked wryly, giving one her wings a quick tug.
“Ow! What gives?”
“Just thought it’d be fun pulling your wings.” Soarin said cheekily. “Nah, just making sure all your bits are working fine.”
“I don’t think you know what the word safe means.” Rainbow snapped, folding her wing back in with a huff.
“Can you feel your legs? Any numbness at all? Teeth? Ears?”
“They’re going to go numb at this rate.” Rainbow Dash muttered just loudly enough so Soarin could hear.
“Well that lovely sarcastic wit you’ve got seems intact at least.” Soarin said, giving her another quick once over. “Everything else seems to be fine, your eyes are a little red though. Might be worth getting a quick checkup in the infirmary later, just to be safe.”
“Yes, dad.” Rainbow whinged.
“I’m was going to say that I’m not nearly old enough, but then I remembered that apparently I’m old.” Soarin drawled.
“Well you’re fussing over me like he would when I was sick. I can look after myself you know.”
“Yeah, and sometimes you don’t know your limits.” Soarin said, an edge of concern in his voice. “I think you’ve done enough for one day, I suggest you go get some rest.”
“And what about Lightning Dust?”
“Might be a good idea to find her as well. You two are a lot better than the last time I checked, it’d be a shame to lose that.”
“Better?” Rainbow asked. “Did you see what just happened?”
“Yeah, and it was an unfortunate blunder that you two would both be very keen on not experiencing again. I’m sure she’ll understand.” Soarin explained. “Talking with her now, rather than later, probably isn’t a bad idea.”
“Well that’s great and all but she just stormed off, how the heck am I supposed to know where she is?”
Soarin shrugged. “Beats me, you’re the one who was just in her head.”
***
Finding Lightning Dust didn’t take nearly as long as Rainbow dash thought it would. Rainbow Dash found her nestled in a small nook on the roof of one of the engineering workshops, hidden between a vent and the low railing which ran around the length of the roof. It was a spot Rainbow had visited many times before when she needed a moment alone, the vent kept the roost pleasantly warm and the location had a commanding view over most of the academy and the surrounding countryside.
Rainbow watched from above, circling above Lightning Dust hesitantly for several minutes before finally deciding to intrude. Soarin was right, she was finally making progress with Lightning Dust and if they were going to pilot well, they needed to sort it out, preferably sooner rather than later. She touched down with on the roof a few metres away from her copilot, her hooves clicking quietly against concrete as she landed and waited patiently for Lightning Dust to notice her.
“I saw you,” Lighting Dust muttered, her voice barely audible over the soft thrumming of the vent next to her. “As soon as you left the ground. You circled for almost five minutes.”
“Thought I might find you out here.” Rainbow Dash said quietly, slightly annoyed that Lightning Dust had seen her despite her best attempts to be subtle.
“Yeah, and how’d you know that?” Lightning Dust grumbled, shifting away slightly.
Rainbow shrugged. “It’s where I would be.”
Lightning Dust muttered something under her breath and turned away, returning her gaze out over the sprawling academy grounds. She flinched as a few low crumps rang out over the academy, distant rumbles echoing over the landscape as a distant artillery unit commenced firing drills. The sounds reminded Rainbow of a Grizzly stalking them through a scrapyard and she involuntarily shuddered, that particular simulation of Raze’s would probably haunt her for a while.
“What I saw back there,” Rainbow said sullenly. “I never meant for any of that to happen. I didn’t convince Spitfire to kick you out.”
Lightning Dust looked down uncomfortably. “I know.” She said simply after a short but painful silence.
Rainbow looked up nervously. “After all that… Jeez, I know how you feel.”
“I doubt that.”
“No, I do!” Rainbow protested. “I felt it all, your anger, your grief. I was inside your head.” She shuddered, a cold chill running down her spine that had nothing to do with the cool mountain air. She put her hooves up on the railing, staring out at a distant peak. “I get why you’d hate me after that. I mean, if you swapped the circumstances I’d probably feel the same way.”
Lightning Dust grunted quietly, unwilling to discuss the matter any further.
Rainbow Dash hesitated a few seconds. “What happened after that, I mean, what’ve you been doing in the meantime?”
Lightning Dust looked over at her and let out a quiet sigh. “Can you just drop it?”
“No, I think this is something we need to talk about, we need both need to be more open with each other.” She said, aware of the distinctly unhappy look Lightning dust was giving her. “That is, unless you want to have a repeat of that last drift session every time the thought comes up.” Rainbow said firmly.
Lightning Dust squirmed uncomfortably on her roost as she considered the prospect. “Alright fine, but this stays just between you and me, got it? No yammering on about this to that pink friend of yours, savvy?”
“Fine by me.” Rainbow muttered, flinching again as a another wave of dull booms echoed over their roost.
Lightning Dust sighed quietly, taking a deep breath before starting. “Since the Academy I’ve been staying fairly low key, taking whatever jobs I could get, pretty hard to find willing employers when you’ve got a mark like mine on your record. Had a few odd jobs here and there, never really stayed anywhere long enough to settle down.”
“You didn’t go home?”
The other pegasus shook her head. “Didn't dare go back, couldn’t bare to think what my family would think. They all had... high expectations. I’ll put it that way.”
“You’re from Las Pegasus right?” Rainbow asked
“Yeah, makes Cloudsdale look a dump.” Lightning Dust said with a faint smirk. “Besides, there wasn’t much to back for unless I wanted to join the family business.”
“What do they do?”
“My mum and dad runs a line of casinos and hotels, not really my thing. Crunching numbers and greasing the highrollers.” She let out a soft chuckle. “I was always ‘Daddy’s Little Wonderbolt.’”
“Must be rich.” Rainbow said wistfully.
“Swimming. It’s never been something I’ve cared about though, I prefer to live the simple life.”
“Didn’t you have any friends? Wouldn’t they be worth seeing again?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeah, well, I only really had one real friend back home. She was a lot like you actually. We were amazing, it was like we were twelve foot tall and bulletproof. There was nothing we couldn’t do together.”
“Was?” Rainbow asked without thinking. She kicked her hooves up on the small perch and tried to act relaxed, Lightning Dust seemed a lot chattier once she’d gotten the ball rolling.
Lightning Dust hesitated again. “Bad case of feather flu. She had a bad reaction to the drugs the docs put her on, arseholes didn’t even bother checking on her.” Lightning Dust’s voice cracked slightly. “She just… never woke up.”
“Damn.” Rainbow said hollowly, cringing at the thought. She couldn’t imagine losing one of her friends, not like that.
Lightning Dust rubbed her face with a wing. “But no big deal, right? Ponies die all the time, no need to be a pussy about it.” She said, her voice cracking slightly. “It taught me to never take anypony’s work for granted though, they make mistakes.”
“Yeah, because you’re completely perfect, right?” Rainbow said dryly.
“I didn’t say that.” Lightning Dust protested. She bit her lip, struggling with the words. “I’ve… made mistakes.”
“Like the Wonderbolt’s Academy, right?”
“You just love dredging that up, don’t you?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “It was a defining moment in our relationship.”
“Lose the second friend I ever had, slap myself with a life-shattering discharge. Yeah, what a moment.” Lightning Dust grumbled, looking away grumpily. The sun had set behind a peak and a fierce chill now gripped the small perch the two pegasi were on. In the distance, small flashes of light were visible as the artillery barrage rolled on.
Rainbow’s ears perked up. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” Lightning Dust shot back icily.
“Was I your second friend, your only friend?” Rainbow asked disbelievingly. She couldn’t say she hadn’t considered Lightning Dust a friend for a short while but after their falling out, she had never really considered that Lightning Dust may have reciprocated those feelings.
The mare looked away uncomfortably. “Yeah.” She admitted.
“But then why-?”
“Do I hate you so much?” Lightning Dust finished. She let out a quiet snort. “I hit rock bottom, I had nothing left I wanted. I had no future that I could see. I was sure you hated me, I thought I’d lost the only friend I’d had for eight years and it was my fault. Because I screwed the pooch too hard!” She yelled, her voice rising as she spoke. Lightning Dust stopped, calming herself with a deep breath. “I don’t know how I got through those next few days, I hated myself more than anything. I think I just.. convinced myself that it was your fault. I stormed out of Spitfire’s office with this wonderful idea that you had gotten me kicked out and it stuck, I wasn’t willing to admit that maybe I’d screwed up. Spend a few years like that and you get real bitter.”
“But you did make a mistake. You couldn’t control that tornado. Surely you know that?”
Lightning Dust nodded slowly. “Yes, I know. Just took a while for me to realise it.”
“Well I appreciate the change.”
Lightning Dust smiled thinly. “Thank yourself. It wasn’t really until I got in your head that I started seeing how wrong I was.” She let out another quiet sigh of relief. “I’ve been holding that all in for a while. Feels good to get it all out.”
“Sometimes it helps to have somepony around to just listen.” Rainbow said with a faint smile.
“Guess so.” Lightning Dust admitted. A brief flash in the distance caught Rainbow’s eye, a crashing wave of thunder rolling over them a moment later. There was a storm coming.
“Dash, I’m sorry for what happened back there in the simulator.”
“No prob, could have happened to anypony.”
“I mean how I acted. We’re a team now, me and you. That means I have to listen to you, not recklessly endanger you and not just give in to the whim of my ego. Glory isn’t everything.” She admitted.
“Well I’m glad you learnt that lesson, I think it’ll take a bit more than words to get through your skull though.”
“Probably.” Lightning Dust agreed. “Something to work on.”
“Yes, something to work on.” Rainbow echoed.
The two pegasi fell silent for a moment, watching the occasional strike of lightning and shell burst in the distance. The oncoming storm seemed to be doing little to deter the army from their firing drills, the barrage continuing on unabated.
Eventually, Lightning cleared her throat. “So, what do you want to call it?” She asked.
Rainbow Dash feigned ignorance. “Huh?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. There are what, ten pairs in the simulators at the moment, we’re easily topping the scoreboard and most of others are still getting the hang of actually drifting. We’ll get a Jaeger.” She stated, not a trace of doubt in her voice.
“Yeah, the fast one.” Rainbow affirmed.
“As if there was any doubt.” Lightning Dust boasted. “So, what do you want to call it?”
Rainbow looked away quickly, she'd been thinking of names ever since they’d first tried the Jaeger but had kept them from Lightning Dust, she thought the other pegasus would’ve just laughed at them. “I don’t know.” She lied.
“Quit playing possum Dash, I know you’ve got something.”
“And what about you, huh, you got anything?” Rainbow fired back.
Lightning Dust immediately laid off the attack, her body shifting to a defensive stance. “Well…” she said, rolling the word around like it was in a tumble dryer.
“Yeah, thought so.” Rainbow smirked before looking away. She sat pensively for a few seconds. “Alright, fine, I had some ideas.”
“Like?”
“Stolid Sharkbait?”
Lightning Dust arched an eyebrow. “Do you want to get eaten?”
“Striker Eureka.”
“You stole that.”
“Omega Epsilon.”
“Too clichéd.”
“Lightning Dust is a shithead.” Rainbow growled.
“Too long.” Lightning Dust said back, cracking a thin smile. “I do like the usage of my name though.”
“Of course you would.” Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes contemptuously. “How about Daring Do?”
Lightning Dust burst out laughing, a loud, hearty sound that made the tips of Rainbow’s ears burn. Lightning Dust lost herself in her mirth, almost rolling right off the edge of their roost amidst a fit of giggles.
“Wow, really?” She eventually managed before breaking down in hysterics again.
“Shut up, it’s a good name.” Rainbow muttered indignantly, her face burning red with embarrassment.
“Yeah, for an egghead.” Lightning Dust giggled.
“You got a better idea?” Rainbow challenged.
Lightning Dust immediately quietened down, her amused look broken as she broke into a fit of coughing.
“Better than anything you’ve got.” Rainbow said crossly.
Lightning Dust scowled. “Daring Dragoon. There, you get to sound like an egghead and I get to sound like a badass.” She said snidely.
“Hmm, allitr- alliret- allitra- damn it, what's the word for the same lett-?”
Rainbow poked her tongue out at her. “Who’s the egghead now?”
“Shut up.” Lightning Dust grunted quietly.
Before Rainbow could press Lightning Dust further an alarm suddenly rang out around the campus, the sudden sound making the two pegasi jump with surprise.
“What the heck is that?” Lightning Dust spluttered.
“Dunno, but it sounds like trouble.” Rainbow said, looking over the edge of the building, a mixture of dread and curiosity building in her gut. “Come on, let’s check it out.”
“Alert, Category III Kaiju signature detected. All personnel report to stations.”
Misty snapped wide awake in an instant, tumbling out of her chair and banging her jaw on the desk she had her legs propped up on. A moment later a tower of heavy books toppled down off the desk and landed on her head, eliciting a loud string of profanity from the mare. Her eyes watering from the sudden, sharp pain, she rolled upright, ignoring the surprised looks of the other ponies she had been sharing the library with. Misty stifled a yawn. She had hardly found a chance to sleep since her fight with Tusker, and even if she’d wanted to, the incessant ramblings of a dark and twisted form seemed to always invade her thoughts, telling her about various brands of confetti, the benefits of chocolate milk in a balanced diet and generally other nonsensical things.
‘Must’ve dozed off.’ She thought sleepily, staggering with as much dignity and haste as she could manage towards the door. She couldn’t remember why she’d been in the library but it must’ve been important, she’d made a veritable fortress of solitude out of nearly two score various books.
Her first thought was to find Lightning Streak. No doubt her brother would’ve heard the alert by now but you could never quite know, sometimes he would truly do some stupid stuff at the worst of times. She pushed past a few confused cadets and made her way down towards one of the academy's exercise halls. It was probably no later than eight if the high moon and her somewhat whacked body clock as any indication. Something about the alert seemed distinctly wrong to Misty but she couldn’t quite place a hoof on it, not at least until she’d half galloped, half staggered into the Kwoon room. It came quite suddenly, like a train hitting a surprised Timberwolf.
The academy doesn’t have an alert system.
The thought had barely registered in Misty's mind before a bag of confetti opened over her head and an impossibly loud party whistle shrilled in her ear.
“What th-?”
“Happy birthday!” Pinkie Pie yelled, jumping down from the spot above the doorframe she’d somehow been hiding in.
Misty simply stared in blank shock, her mind quite unable to process what had happened. She tried to grasp at something rational, something she could understand. Her mind immediately skipped over Pinkie, if the last few weeks she’d spent observing the hapless recruit was any indication, Pinkie Pie and rationality didn’t go hand in hand. She tried instead to get a grip on the room but immediately gave up. It was covered from ceiling to floor in streamers, balloons, big, frustratingly happy signs and filled with ponies she either didn’t know and didn’t want to be around or ones she did know and really didn’t want anything to do with right now. At least half of them looked as surprised to be at the party as she did, almost as if they’d been plucked from whatever they’d been doing and simply dropped in the hall.
“I-?” Misty stammered, the only sane thing she could reasonably latch onto being the slightly overfilled punchbowl in the corner. “What?”
“Well a certain somepony told me it was your birthday today so I couldn’t help myself and organised a super-duper party for you. It’s sort of my thing.” Pinkie explained proudly. “It’s great, right?”
Misty just flapped her mouth open and shut like goldfish. “The- what? Who?”
Pinkie seemed to understand her just fine though. “Oh the alert? That was just to get you down here. I had to ask a lot of favours to get that one put out.”
Misty felt herself shaking slightly. Had Pinkie really just fooled her that easily? She clenched her teeth almost instinctively. She wasn’t sure whether to be angry or just plain confused.
“You set off the alarm, which doesn’t even exist, just to get me down here, for a party I don’t want and certainly didn’t ask for.” Misty said, her voice almost deathly clam.
Pinkie considered this for a moment, blissfully unaware of how close Misty was to crossing the line into explosive anger. “Yes.”
For a moment Misty missed the sensation of being able to clench fists. It probably wouldn’t have helped temper her simmering anger, but at least she tried.
“WHY?!” Misty yelled.
“Because it’s your birthday and who doesn’t enjoy a good party?” Pinkie asked, delicately plopping a striped party hat on Misty’s head before bouncing off with an ear-grating song spouting from her mouth.
Misty glared after her, her teeth grinding together like millstones. She felt a hot surge of embarrassment creep over her and for a moment, Misty had the overwhelming urge to just sit down and cry. The tips of her ears turned red and Misty felt like everypony was staring at her, her usual bravado and cocksure attitude retreating under a wave of embarrassment.
‘No.’ She thought resolutely, the pink mare may’ve thought she had outsmarted her and made her look like an idiot in front of the academy but she would show her what she really thought. She scowled, her embarrassment being replaced by manufactured anger as she started looking around for Pinkie. She stormed through the crowd, her eyes flashing dangerously, but the pink mare seemed to have vanished as quickly as she had appeared.
“Nice hat.” Lightning Streak said, appearing out of the crowd like a ghost and trotting alongside her with a stupid smile.
Misty’s head jerked to the side, a fierce scowl aimed squarely at her brother. She wanted to say something but held back her words, unable to think of anything that could appropriately sum up what she thought about the hat.
“Oh, great. She’s angry.” Lightning Streak muttered just loudly enough for Misty to hear him.
“You think?” Misty snapped back, batting the bright party hat off her head with the tip of a wing.
“I think a lot of things. Right now I’m wondering why you are hunting down a particular mare to give her a piece of your mind.” He asked accusingly.
Misty hesitated for a fraction of second, he sounded like his patience was being sorely tested by something. She gritted her teeth though and ignored the cautious feeling that swelled in her gut. “That stupid mare made me look like an idiot in front of half of the academy.” Misty fumed, her eyes still sweeping the crowd for the pony in question.
“Yeah, idiot. Laughing Stock. Fool. Don’t you remember how to use words?” She snarled indignantly. “Didn’t you see everypony laughing at me?”
“Nopony was laughing at you, I don’t think anypony really noticed you arrive, honestly.” Lightning Streak said calmingly.
Misty felt her cheeks burn red. “Well obviously you weren’t paying attention then.” She snapped brusquely.
“Sis, you’re taking this way out of proportion. Nopony is laughing at you, Pinkie certainly didn’t mean to make you look like an idiot so why don’t you just cool your jets and enjoy-.”
“But she did!” Misty yelled, attracting the gaze of several ponies who happened to be standing nearby.
Lightning Streak let out an exasperated sigh. “Not this again…” He muttered bitterly.
“That idiotic, feather-brained… lunatic!” Misty started spluttering, painfully unaware of how much attention her remarks were earning.
Lightning Streak quickly intervened, pulling his sister aside before she blew a fuse. He forcefully pushed her out of the hall the impromptu party was being hosted in and shoved her into a janitors closet and slammed the door shut behind him before Misty could fight back.
It took Misty a moment to realise that she wasn’t surrounded by ponies anymore. “How dare you-.”.
“Misty, you have got to calm down!” He interrupted crossly.
“Me? Calm down? You see what I’m dealing with here? How can you expect me to calm down?!” Misty yelled back.
“Yeah, I know, I was there. “He muttered scathingly. “Look, maybe it’s a bit tiring for you but you’ve just got to put up with it, you’re better than that.” He scolded.’
Misty seemed set to erupt again. “Tiring!” She shrieked, her voice rising in pitch.”That mare is a lunatic, a plain rotten, demented, psycho! She made me look like an idiot in front of everypony!”
“Misty, shut up.” Lightning Streak said seriously, his eyes cold like a blizzard. “Just for once in your life, shut up and listen.”
Amazingly Misty fell quiet. It was rare for Lightning Streak to have such cold conviction in his voice. In fact, Misty couldn’t remember the last time his voice had sounded so deadly.
Content that he now had her attention Lightning Streak continued. “This mare has gone out of her way to do something nice for you. When was the last time somepony has ever done that for you?” He paused for a moment his eyes locked on his sister’s. “That’s right, you probably can’t even remember. Not only that, but this is the same mare that you almost immediately declared a write-off as soon as she stepped into this academy. Has it possibly occurred to you that she’s not trying to undermine you, that she’s not trying to make you look like an idiot but is simply doing something nice, because she can?”
“No.” Misty admitted after a moment of strained silence. Even in the dim light, her expression was clearly one of complete dumbfoundment, why would somepony just do that?
Lightning Streak let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, I know it’s your ‘thing’ to just be better than everypony else, lord yourself over anypony who doesn’t measure up to your impossibly high standards and get fired up any time somepony does something out of step, but you can’t keep doing this. I thought you’d learned your lesson with Applejack, but clearly you’ve just ignored that in the face of your ego.”
“You just expect me to bend over and take it then?” Misty snapped back hotly.
“No, but I expect you to reign yourself in a little. You start to explode like that again and I’m outta here, I’m walking right out and nothing you say or do will bring me back.”
“What, you’ll just quit?” Misty asked, a disbelieving smile breaking across her face.He had to be joking. Yes, he was known for his bad jokes at times but this was just too far.
“Yup.”
Misty found herself laughing nervously. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Not for a second. You pull your head in or I’m gone.”
Misty stared at him in silent disbelief, Lightning Streak had almost been a constant in her life. They’d done everything together and despite what she’d admit in public, she loved her brother more than anypony else in the world. She was the only family that she had left and he was the only pony she was close with, even if their relationship was strained on occasions.
“No, no. Don’t do that, don’t you dare screw with me.” She threatened, one of her forehooves twitching off the ground slightly. “Don’t you dare…”
Lightning Streak looked at her unflinchingly. “I mean it. Every last word”
Misty took half a step backwards. “Don’t screw with me. Not you. Please, not you.” She said again, her snarling threat turning into a desperate plea.
“Misty…” Lightning Streak said apologetically, realising he may’ve gone a little too far.
“Don’t go.” Misty choked, throwing her forelegs around Lightning Streak’s neck and pulling him into a tight hug. She wiped her eyes with a wing, not wanting him to notice that they were starting to well up with tears.
Lightning Streak sighed quietly and returned the hug. It was probably the first time he’d seen Misty display an emotion besides anger or contempt for several years. The iron walls which Misty habitually build around herself came crashing down and all her emotional uncertainty came flooding out. For a few seconds the pegasus was reduced to a quivering, sobbing mess.
“Aww, jeez…” He muttered.
“You’ve always been there. Always. No matter what I’ve done or said you’ve always stuck around. Whatever happened, I always knew you’d be there for me.”
Lightning Streka let out a quiet chortle. “Not that you ever needed me.”
She ignored his jab. “I’d be nothing without you. Not a Wonderbolt, not a Ranger. Not Castle Bravo. Nothing. I’d be a washout” Misty said with a quiet sniffle.
“Don’t say that. You're one of the most talented ponies I know Misty. You’ve always had a fierce drive… maybe just a little too fierce.”
Misty let out a choked giggle. “It doesn’t help that everypony else is just so stupid.” She said, pulling away from her brother with a guilty look. It was hard to swallow her pride but if it meant keeping Lightning Streak it was something she could manage, the alternative just wasn’t an option.
“Misty, are you crying?”
“No..,” She said, turning her head and wiping her eyes clear with a wing. Misty took a slow breath, feeling the jitters flow out of her body and a slight sense of calm return. “You’re a right bastard.” She muttered accusingly.
“Yeah, probably.” Lightning Streak admitted. “But I knew it would make you pull your head in a bit.”
“I want to make something clear. If our situations were swapped and I was the only one in the world you could rely on, I would never do that to you. I would never threaten you like that.” Misty hissed venomously. “Is that clear?”
Lightning Streak nodded. “Crystal.”
“Right, what do you want me to do then?” Misty asked as nicely as she could manage, blinking her stinging eyes clear again.
“Well, I want to you to try and do two things for me, okay? First, I want to you try and keep your temper under control. Vent to me if you have to, but do it in private. Second, I need to you go back out there and try to enjoy your party. You don’t have to talk to anypony if you don’t want to but just stick around for a little bit. I’d really appreciate it.”
A dark look crossed Misty’s face. “I don’t think I could do that, when was the last time I enjoyed a party?”
“Probably when you turned thirteen. It was just me, you, mum and dad. Dad brought home pizza and mum made you a cake that looked like the Wonderbolt’s emblem. I remember you ate so much pizza that mum thought you’d just vacuumed it up. I got you a plushie of Captain Raze, you didn’t let that thing out of your sight for a week.”
A flicker of a smile crossed Misty’s face as she recalled the event. He was right, it had been a good party. “I miss them.” She whispered.
Lightning Streak sniffled quietly and rubbed his nose with a hoof. “I know.”
The two siblings sat in companionable silence. Lightning Streak wrapping a wing around his sister and pulling her close.
“I’m sorry.” He said, tucking her head under his chin. “I shouldn’t have done that to you.”
“Okay, maybe I deserved it.” Misty jeered. “And maybe you deserve a size 23 boot up your arse.” He let out a snort of amusement. “That sounds more like the Misty I know… can I have the nice Misty back please?”
Misty let out a quiet scoff of amusement.
Lightning Streak retracted his wing. “There’s a party going on out there with your name all over it, you ready?”
Misty let out a quiet sigh. “Ready as I’m ever going to be.”
***
The aftermath of Misty’s surprise party was better than Lightning Streak expected. Misty returned to the party with as good a grace as she could manage and managed to get through without grinding her teeth down to stumps. The days immediately following it were equally bearable. Misty barely talked to anypony, instead stewing silently during lessons and only snapping out mild rebukes in place of long winded rants. Perhaps she didn’t want to admit that her brother had a point or maybe she was still raw after his threat, but whatever the reason, Lightning Streak enjoyed the short time without his sister flying off the handle at every little thing. He could still tell she was fuming internally but at least she appeared to making an effort to keep her temper in check.
Pinkie remained blissfully oblivious to the pegasus’ ire and carried on in her perpetually cheerful manner just like she always did. She even seemed to have wisened up a little in the face of Misty’s criticism, Lightning Streak actually saw her wrestling with her sister from time to time though he was unsure if they were actually properly sparring or just messing around. He swore he even caught her paying attention during one of the Kaiju biology lectures a visiting K-Science representative was giving.
A sort of monotonous pattern started forming. Lightning Streak would wake up, run simulator drills with promising cadets, observe the rest of them in training, eat, watch his sister stew silently, train more and then go to bed. Although he hated to admit it, Misty flying off the handle every now and then did make his life more interesting. Week after week trudged past wearily and the end of the second trimester started looming on the horizon. The most interesting and lengthy conversation he’d had with his sister had been about table salt and the only relief Lightning Streak found from the almost unbearable tediousness was when Pinkie did something funny, like completely fill his quarters with balloons in under an hour or wear a silly mustache for a day for no discernible reason other than that she liked it.
It was quite a welcome change then, when two weeks before the end of the term, something interesting happened.
The first indication that something was happening was the rapid clip-clopping of many hooves hitting concrete and the distinctive scrape of metal rubbing against metal. The Lightning Streak barely had time to process this sound before a trio of guards appeared around a corner and galloped down the corridor he’d found himself in. Not wanting to become a red and blue smear across the ground he quickly darted out of their way, swearing as the small group rushed past him like a charging bull. He glared after the three ponies angrily before a sudden surge of curiosity made him take after them.
Usually such a thing would go unnoticed by Lightning Streak, it wasn’t his business to go snooping around when it came to things concerning others. He was exceptionally bored though, Misty had already turned in for the night and the few cadets under his care had been given the luxury of a night off from drills. Whatever had prompted these guards to bolt off like they had been whipped was certainly more interesting than practicing alone for an hour or two.
“What’s going on?” He asked as he caught up with one of the three guards.
“One of the alarms in the simulators tripped. Somepony is in there when they shouldn’t be.” She said back, an almost disturbing amount of pleasure in her voice.
“Intruders, great.” He muttered, tempted to drop out of the chase and go find a nice book to read instead. He abstained though, swooping along behind the guards. An extra hoof never hurt after all and the unexpected break-in promised to be the most exciting thing to happen for a while.
The three guards rounded on the simulator hall like they were running a race, the lead one stopping abruptly as they reached the one clearly active simulator.
“Something wrong?” Lightning Streak asked.
“Whoever is in there didn’t force their way in,” The guard explained cautiously. “Either they know the codes or they used some sort of magic.”
Lightning Streak frowned. Only a handful of ponies knew the codes to access the simulators and none of them would not have been so stupid or careless as to set the alarm off. A unicorn could have teleported in but that seemed unlikely, there were no unicorns in the current batch of cadets who were simulator ready for starters and blind teleportation wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for most unicorns either.
“Hold it there guys, I think I know who’s behind this.” Lightning Streak muttered, waving the guards back a few steps and punching in the access code for the simulator. The heavy door swung open and to his complete lack of surprise, revealed Pinkie and Maud bedecked in a pair of gunmetal grey practice drivesuits.
Lightning Streak shook his head slowly. “Why am I not surprised?”
Pinkie turned around to look at him, completely unconcerned with the trio of frustrated looking guards behind the pegasus. “Oh hey!”
“When they said there were intruders I imagined something a bit scarier.” Lightning Streak said, for some reason finding something remarkably funny about the situation. He turned to the three flustered guards and shooed them away, confident he could deal with the two sisters alone.
“Intruders? How’d they get in? Intruda window?” Pinkie giggled.
“You shouldn’t be in here.” Lightning Streak said quietly.
Pinkie considered this for a moment. “Well, yeah…” She trailed off innocently.
“Most would ask how you got in here, but I think for the sake of my sanity I’d rather just leave it my imagination.” Lightning Streak continued, trotting into the simulator. Only a few of the lights were lit and the front view screen was dark. He motioned to the lifeless screen. “You need access to the control room to get this to work you know, just for future reference next time you decide to break in.”
Pinkie and Maud shared a look. “Oh, that makes sense. Where’s the control room?”
“Pinkie, what are you doing here?” Lightning Streak asked patiently, idly flicking a few switches.
The pink pony seemed to realise the potential trouble she could be in “Practicing? Trying to practice? Trying not to get caught while pract-”
Lightning Streak let out a deep sigh and trotted around to the front console. “Look Pinkie… I’m just not sure your cut out for this. Great at parties, pranks and picnics, yeah. Fighting? Ehh, not so much. Sorry.”
Pinkie looked at Muad and then back at the pegasus. “Let us try, please.” She begged. It was the most serious Lightning Streak had ever seen her, for once it didn’t sound like she was about to deliver a punchline.
“Why should I?” He asked, staring straight at Pinkie. “Come on, convince me.”
Pinkie looked down at the gated floor for a moment before looking back at the Ranger. “All I ever wanted to do is make ponies smile and be happy. To feel good and… stuff. I’ve seen firsthand what the Kaiju do to ponies they make them sad, they make them frightened and scared. I don’t like that.”
“And you would do anything to make them happy again. Even if that means fighting, several thousand ton alien monsters?”
Pinkie smiled weakly.
“You’re not a warrior, Pinkie.” Lightning Streak said firmly.
“No.” Pinkie admitted.
“You see my problem then?” He asked.
The earth pony sighed sadly and looked down at the ground again. “I understand.”
Lightning Streak felt a pang of guilt. Pinkie and Maud were probably some of the most capable candidates they had compatibility wise, even if he hadn’t read their file just seeing the two around each other made it plain to see. Their marks were abysmal though, Pinkie was failing both the physical and theoretical parts of the coursework. Maud was a bit better though her stoney persona was frustrating her psych instructors to no end and her occasional bouts of literal mindedness caused some issues in her classes. A little mischievous voice in his head told him to boot the simulator up but he forced it down, he could only imagine what Misty would think.
‘Stuff her!’ He thought, slamming his hoof down on the deck resolutely. “Pinkie, Maud, wait here.” He said,a determined gleam in his eye.
The two sisters looked up, but he had already left the simulator, a quick flash of his tail in the door the only indication that he’d been there at all. A minute later a hundred lights flickered on across the control board and a low thrumming echoed around the conpod. A wide grin split Pinkie’s face as the intercom crackled to life.
“Okay, I could quite possibly be putting my career at risk here but you know what, so what? Screw it! You two have potential, much more than your grade would imply. So let’s do this thing.”
***
“Misty. Misty, wake up.”
Misty Fly ignored the voice, pressing her face into her pillow and dutifully banishing it from her mind. Privately, Misty enjoyed the small measure of comfort the Jaeger Academy offered over the Shatterdome. The beds were softer, her dorm was larger and the food was better. Most importantly, she enjoyed being in charge. The feeling of being able to get a full nights sleep and not be roused to a random drill at the whim of a superior was an almost euphoric sensation to her.
“Come on, sis, get up.” The voice nagged persistently again.
Misty cracked an eye open, a dark and fuzzy Lightning Streak slowly coming into view.
“Piss off.” She grumbled flatly.
“Nice to see you too. Come on you featherbrain, get up.” Lightning Streak persisted.
“Are we under attack?” Misty asked tiredly.
“No.”
“Then it can wait.” She muttered sourly, rolling over so she was facing away from her brother.
Lightning Streak didn’t relent, jumping up onto her bed and bouncing up and down excitedly next to Misty like he was a foal.
Her patience lasted a gratifyingly short time. Misty rolled over again, hurling her sheet at Lightning Streak and shoving him off the bed with an explosive groan. “WHAT?!” She yelled.
Unperturbed, Lightning Streak poked his muzzle through the sheet tangled over his head. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“And it couldn’t wait?” She growled dangerously.
“Nope.”
“Is it really that important?”
“Yep.”
The two pegasi maintained eye contact for a few long seconds, Misty’s irritation almost visible in the form of mental rays. “I hate you sometimes.” She grumbled.
“I know, I love you too.” Lightning Streak said back, happily wearing a dorky grin as he tried shaking off the sheet his sister had thrown over him.
Misty considered going back to bed for a moment before relenting, her blood was pumping and it would probably take her a good hour or so to calm down and get back to her all-important slumber. “Alright, fine. Just give me a moment to make myself look decent.” She muttered scathingly, ripping the bedsheet off her brother and neatly tucking it back into the bed. She took a moment to brush her messy mane back into place before trudging out after her giddy looking sibling.
“What time is it?” She yawned, noticing the sky was still dotted with stars.
“Don’t know, I’ve had about five cups of recaf in the last hour though and it’s making my head feel funny.” Lightning Streak answered quickly, turning around and waving her forward “Come on, hurry up!”
“Get a grip on yourself, you’re acting like a giddy little filly.” Misty growled,
“Well excuse me princess.” Lightning Streak shot back cheerfully. “It doesn’t hurt to be excited about something every now and then.”
“I think you’ve been having a too much recaf…” Misty muttered sourly. “Now, where are you taking me?”
“Simulators.”
Misty let out an exasperated sigh. “Dare I ask why?”
“Because there’s something I want to show you.” Lightning Streak answered irritably. “If you opened your ears you would know that by now.”
“Yeah, but what?” Misty persisted.
“It’s a surprise.”
Misty gritted her teeth silently, it wasn’t usually like Lightning Streak to hide something from her. It seemed him standing up to her a few days ago had given him a small measure of courage. She growled quietly, reminding herself that she was still angry over his threat. Grudgingly accepting that she wouldn’t get anything more out of him, she followed him in frustrated silence, the quiet clack of hooves echoing down the hallway the only sound in the deserted building. They quickly reached the simulator hall, Lightning Streak’s caffeine induced state lending him a sense of urgency he very rarely displayed. He guided Misty past the banks of simulators and into the long control room at the end of the hall. She noted that one of the machines was active, the low, steady thrum of electricity and a few rapidly blinking lights tipping her off.
“Alright, what am I looking at?” She demanded impatiently.
Lightning Streak took a second to consider how to break whatever news he had. “For the last two and a half hours I’ve been running Pimkie and Maud through the simulator.” He answered, deciding that using the subtlety of a wrecking ball was the best way to go.
Misty laughed heartily. “Good one, I see your sense of humour is still rubbish. Thank you for waking me up for nothing.” She said, finishing with an annoyed snarl and moving to wheel around.
“I’m not joking. See for yourself.” He said, activating the simulator’s interior camera feed and bringing a slightly fuzzy image of the two earth ponies into view.
Misty’s eyes bulged. “Please tell me this is some sick joke, those two can’t even- .”
“They are very good, if you’d just give them a damn chance.” Lightning Streak growled defensively.
“Those psychos-.” Misty started.
“Those ‘psychos’, have maintained a stable drift since I started, I think that has to be worth something.” He interrupted. “You can see for yourself if you don't believe me.” he added, directing Misty to the mission data screen.
“I- They- What?” Misty spluttered, her eyes bouncing between the numbers on the monitor, her brother and the camera feed like they were rubber balls. She eventually seemed to gain a small measure of her composure and her eyes drilled into Lightning Streak. “You undermined me!” She exclaimed indignantly.
“You have no more authority on the matter than me. You know that.” Lightning Streak said calmly. “Now shut your damn judgemental ego up and watch them.”
Misty’s eyes dropped to the floor and she let out a long, irritated sigh. “Fine.” She muttered, dragging a chair over to the console and watching the data like a hawk. She wanted to yell at him, tell him he was wrong and that she was right but for once, she knew she was wrong.
“Thank you.” Lightning Streak said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I mean it.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Misty muttered sourly, letting out another regretful sigh. “Sorry...” She added, a trace of sincerity in her voice.
Lightning Streak smiled. “Don’t sweat it.” He said thankfully, turning to the microphone and switching it on. “Alright girls, you two ready?”
“You betcha, Streakster!”
“Streakster?” Misty asked, biting her tongue so she wouldn’t let out a scornful laugh.
“Shut up.” Lightning Streak shot back, his face turning a faint red. He turned back to the microphone. “Alright, we’re gonna run just an easy exercise. I’ve got Misty up here now so I want you to show her what you can do.”
“Advanced terrain course?” Misty asked incredulously as he booted up the mission. “That’s easy?”
“It is for them.” Lightning Streak said back proudly.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Misty said, the faintest trace of curiosity in her voice.
‘Good, maybe she’ll warm up to these two.’ Lightning Streak thought, loading the mission “Might want to grab a recaf, this could be a long night.”
***
The next few hours seemed to blend together in a strange mixture of recaf, Pinkie’s occasional nonsense and an almost constant stream of incredulous and condescending looks and language Misty threw out. As the two sisters mastered every challenge thrown at them It became increasingly apparent, even to somepony as stubborn as Misty, that the two earth ponies had an incredible amount of talent. The impromptu session carried on for hours, neither of the earth ponies showing any sign of fatigue, mental or physical. It was only when the door to the control centre opened and Soarin and Wave Chill sauntered in, that Lightning Streak realised that they had been cooped up for nearly six whole hours.
“Morning.” Soarin said cheerily as he passed, he and Wave Chill casually working their way down towards one of the other control stations. “Didn’t know you two would be in here this morning.”
“Neither did I.” Misty grunted under her breath.
Soarin trotted over curiously. “Who’ve you got in there?”
“Pinkie and Maud.” Lightning Streak answered, gratefully accepting a pastry that Soarin offered him from a positively overflowing plate he was carrying.
“Oh that’s nice- wait, what?” Soarin spluttered, doing a quick double take. He peered over Lightning Streak’s shoulder at the camera feed into the simulator. “You can’t mean those two crazy earth ponies who organised that neat party for Misty?”
Lightning Streak grinned. “Yep, that’s them.”
Soarin blinked slowly as his brain digested the information. If Lightning Streak listened closely he could probably hear the gears turning in the stallion’s brain. “I didn’t think they were passing.” He said slowly.
“They weren’t.” Misty answered crossly.
“Then why-?”
“I gave them a shot,” Lightning Streak interrupted “I’m probably gonna get chewed out for it but, hey, they’re good. I’m considering giving them their first combat sim later this afternoon if there’s a spot free.”
Soarin's jaw dropped, it had taken weeks for any of the cadets, even the seemingly gifted ones like Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust, to be combat ready. “How long have they been at it?”
“About six hours.” Misty yawned widely, trying to look at the readouts on her display and not at the smug look her brother was wearing.
“Six hours.” Soarin echoed incredulously, sure he’d misheard the mare. “Straight?”
“Yeah, they seem to have a knack for it.” Lightning Streak replied looking at his sister with the sort of look that screamed ‘I told you so’.
“Holy shit.” Soarin muttered, borrowing a phrase he had heard Shane utter more than once when something surprised him.
“Yeah, they’re great.” Misty grumbled darkly.
“She’s just jealous.It took us this long just to get a stable drift going.” Lightning Streak said cheerfully, ignoring his sister’s scowl. “These two though? First try. Heck, I could probably link them with just a pair of rusty iron cables and they’d still drift fine.”
“That’s incredible.” Soarin said, his jaw still hanging slack. “And the drills?”
“Picked it up first time, all of them. We barely had to tell them anything. They just… knew. It’s a little creepy actually.” Lightning Streak admitted, shifting in his chair slightly.
Soarin shook his head in amazement again. “Amazing. And to think…”
“That they were going to be writeoffs?” Lightning Streak finished, looking at Misty accusingly.
“Don’t villianise me.” She grumbled indignantly, pressing herself against the back of her chair as if she thought she could simply vanish into it.
“As if I’d ever do that.” Lightning Streak said innocently.
“Yeah, right.” Misty growled, rising up off her chair and sulking out of the control centre.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to bed, it’s half past eight. If you disturb me again today I’ll string you up and hang you from the roof.” She snapped tiredly before slamming the door shut behind her.
“She seems to be in good mood.” Wave Chill commented dryly from the other end of the room.
“Yes, she didn’t pull anypony’s head off for starters... what did you do?” Soarin asked, rounding on Lightning Streak curiously.
“I do a lot of things.” Lightning Streak answered defensively.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her quite as pissed off at you before ,what’d you do? Steal her brush? Hide a snake in her bed? Put soy milk in her recaf?”
Lightning streak let out an amused scoff. “No, I told her I was going to leave if she didn’t cool her jets.”
“Hmm, that’s why the academy’s been so quiet.” Wave Chill remarked from the other end of the room.
“That’s cold.” Soarin said, shaking his head slowly. “Did you know when Spitfire promoted her, Misty was only going to take the position if you went with her?”
“I thought that transfer was an error, a simple mistake? That’s what she told me.”
“I don’t. Misty is the type to talk about her feelings out loud.” Soarin said with a small smile. “She’s never loved anypony, only you.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“Look, I don’t like Misty as much as the next pony but... nopony deserves that, to be alone.” Soarin said softly. “We excel when we work together, not we fight among ourselves.”
Lightning Streak let out a tired sigh. “You’re right, I hate it that you’re always right.” He muttered, rubbing an eye tiredly. “Just... it’s so embarrassing, so frustrating when she loses her top. Sometimes I just put up with it but I don’t know what came over me the other day, I just couldn’t stand to see her explode over literally nothing.”
“We all hit out limits at some point.” Soarin reassured him.
“Not too sure about that. Have you ever hit your limit?”
“Once. I hope it never happens again.” Soarin said, taking a warm croissant in his mouth and taking a large bite out of it.
Lightning Streak strained his mind for a time when the usually calm stallion had ever lost his cool completely. Struggling to come with a moment he looked back up at Soarin. “What happened?”
Soarin flashed him a weak smile, chewing on his croissant silently.
“Ah, I get it.” Lightning Streak yawned. “Well, I guess I should probably follow Misty. I think I’m going to fall asleep in my chair otherwise.”
“Probably not a bad idea, give those two a break as well.” Soarin said, gesturing vaguely to the simulator with a wing.
Lightning didn’t answer him, just nodding his head slightly.
Soarin watched him for a moment. “Lightning, what are you doing?”
A quiet snore answered him.
The stallion let out an amused snort. “Out like a rock.”
.
***
For possibly the first time in his life, Soarin found the throaty roar of an airship's engines annoying. He could hear it clearly, a slightly higher pitched whine, an off-pitch note of complaint from the forward starboard engine as it spun just a little faster than the rest of the engines.
‘Sloppy.’ He thought, glaring up from the observation deck towards the small bridge behind him. Whoever had the helm was apparently deaf. He gritted his teeth, trying to not focus on the odd sound. He flicked over another page in the magazine, it was a mindbogglingly boring article, but it was infinitely better than stressing over the sound of a slightly out of sync engine. He glared irritably at his copilot. Wave Chill was dozing on the lounge opposite him, his head resting on his forelegs and his chest rising and falling softly, seemingly unconcerned by the noise.
“Soarin, I’m bored.”
Soarin looked up slightly, Rainbow Dash had dropped down from the roost she and Lightning Dust had made at the back of the observation deck. The other pegasus seemed to have fallen asleep as well, her mustard tail hanging lazily and swinging slightly as the airship occasionally shuddered..
“Well it’s a half-hour flight. I’m sure you can amuse yourself somehow.” He said politely.
“When you’re as fast as me, half an hour is a long time.” Rainbow scowled.
Soarin wondered if he could block his ears without her noticing. He’d lost count of how many times he’d heard her say something to that effect since he and Wave Chill had dropped the news on them three days ago. He hit himself internally, how had he ever thought telling Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust that they’d be going to test a Jaeger in advance was a good idea? Ever since he’d told them the two pegasi had practically been chomping at the bit to get out of the academy and into the shatterdome. They were actually very lucky to be going at all, in the wake of Pinkie and Maud’s exceptional performance over the last few weeks following their unexpected promotion to the simulators it had seemed more likely that the two earth ponies would be claiming a Jaeger first. It was only at Soarin’s insistence that the marshalls changed their mind, giving the test run of the newly finished Daring Dragoon to the two pegasi rather than Maud and Pinkie. It had been a slightly controversial point with Misty, the furious pegasus suddenly jumping to the defence of her trainees despite the indifference she had previously shown them.
“Can’t this thing fly any faster? What’s the point of having a nice ‘fast’ airship if it flies at the speed of an old mare doing her shopping?” Rainbow Dash complained, glaring out at the passing scenery from the large observation deck.
Soarin looked up from the magazine he was reading, fixing the mare with a soft glare. “You could really do with a little more patience. Enjoy the world, enjoy the opportunities where there’s nothing immediately pressing, no paperwork, no drills, nopony yelling at you. Those moments are what you should live for. Try it out some time.” He suggested before flicking over to the next page.
“I like napping.” Rainbow pointed out, as if she were correcting an error on a test he’d taken.
Soarin looked up again. “That’s a start I guess. I always enjoy finding a nice cloud to curl up and waste an afternoon on. I admit that’s a bit of a luxury now though.” He added quietly.
Rainbow nodded. “There’s a difference between wasting your own time and somepony else wasting it for you though.” She muttered sourly. “I could fly faster than this hunk of junk.” the pegasus added, attracting a few glares from some the airship’s crew who were within earshot.
“Your point is noted. However, we have appearances to keep.” Soarin chided her softly, putting his magazine down and watching the mountains slip past quickly beneath them. The last time he’d seen the breathtaking view, he’d been on his way to fight Tusker and the mountainside had been socked in with rain and fog. Now though, the sun was shining brightly and the few, patchy clouds were high above them, revealing a stunning mosaic of greens, browns and the occasional patch of cold grey as a slope dropped off sharply.
“How does it feel? To pilot a Jaeger?” Rainbow asked suddenly.
Soarin hesitated, unsure where to start. The spine-tingling sensation of feeling through a second skin? The slick feeling of oil pumping through his veins? The growling, barking presence which occasionally rose up in the back of his mind? The brain-numbing pain of losing a limb that wasn’t quite your own? His gut clenched at the thought and his right foreleg started prickling uncomfortably. “Different.” He summed up.
Rainbow Dash let out an amused snort. “You’re about as useful as a screen door on a battleship.”
“Having being stationed on a battleship for a short time, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a screen door. Hot and cramped like you wouldn’t believe.” Soarin chuckled softly.
A quiet sound of annoyance escaped the mare’s mouth and she glared at Soarin like he was an obtrusive bureaucrat. “What about fighting?”
Soarin fixed her with a cold look. “It is the single most terrifying and exhilarating thing I have ever experienced. I sincerely hope that the number of Kaiju I have to fight is kept to a minimum.”
“I thought you were brave.” She stated accusingly.
“Courage is one thing sure, but I think your regards of how brave you think you are, you tend to shake a bit when you fight something over a hundred times your size. The only thing between you and that is a few metres of iron, some wit and the pony next to you.” Soarin said levelly, tossing a look over at the sleeping Wave Chill. “I know you and Lightning Dust will make a good team. Look after her, because when it comes to it, she’s the only thing between you becoming paste on the ground.”
Rainbow almost looked a little put off. “Right, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” She said, the tiniest hint of anxiety in her voice.
Soarin gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”
“Who said I was worried? I’m not worried. Do I look worried to you?” She fired back a little too quickly.
Soarin silently shook his head, an amused smile creeping over his face as he returned his gaze back out the window. The heavily forested mountains had started making way for cleared fields and low, rolling hills. A thin ribbon of steel snaked its way across the countryside beneath them and it didn’t take long for Soarin to spot a train; a colourful, vintage steam locomotive pulling a half-dozen cars towards Manehatten.
“Don’t see them much anymore.” He remarked before noticing that Rainbow Dash had left his side and was now sitting closer to her silent co-pilot, a contemplative look on her face. Feeling a little foolish, he turned his gaze back out the window, watching silently as the lush countryside slowly turned into sprawling suburbs. The airship dropped slowly, avoiding the bulk of the city and instead aiming for the imposing, squat shatterdome which was nestled near the city’s extensive dockyards. The facility was buzzing with activity, a handful of the massive rotaries buzzed around like oversized bees and even from a distance Soarin could see dozens of workers clearing the main ramp in preparation for the launch.
A low throb whipped past the airship as one of the rotaries zipped past them, its freshly painted hull gleaming in the sun.
“Cheeky bugger.” One of the airship’s crew muttered as the rotary’s nose pitched up slightly before vanishing behind the shatterdome.
Soarin peeled his attention away from the rapidly approaching shatterdome, trotting over to Wave Chill and giving the stallion a gentle prod.
“Not another dry clean- huh, whu?” Wave Chill exclaimed, his wings flailing about madly. The airship started shaking slightly as its engines kicked into reverse, slowly arresting its forward momentum.
“Get up, we’re landing.”
***
Rainbow Dash was out of the airship before the gangway had even touched the landing pad, Lightning Dust followed barely a second behind her, her mane and tail flapping wildly in the downwash from the ship’s engines.
The impromptu windstorm whipping wildly across the top of the shatterdome wasn’t enough to discourage a small welcome party for the arrivals though, and Rainbow Dash had barely time to notice the few ponies near the base of the gangway before a purple shape leapt on her.
“Rainbow!” Twilight cried excitedly, giving her friend a rib-crushing hug before she could fight her off.
“Uh, hi, Twilight.” Rainbow choked back, her voice little more than a quiet squeak. She tried freeing herself from her friend’s crushing hold, aware of the silent, mocking smirk Lightning Dust was giving her.
“Oh it is so good to see you again! I wish I had visited before but I’ve been really busy. You have no idea how much I’ve had on my plate.”
Rainbow squeaked out a unintelligible response, her words being lost over the roar of the airship’s engines and the fact her lungs were virtually crushed under her friend’s hug.
“I think she wants you to let go.” Lightning Dust droned emotionlessly.
“Oh, yes. Of of course.” Twilight said sheepishly, letting go of the pegasus before she injured anything more than her pride, and trying to get her somewhat wild mane back into place. The airship’s engines rose to a faint whine as they cycled down and the rest of the small procession trotted down the gangway.
“Morning Princess.” Wave chill said cheerily as he passed.
“Ma’am.” Soarin said, giving the alicorn a slight nod.
“Good morning Rangers. I believe they’re are waiting for you down in the LOCCENT.” Twilight replied.
“Better not keep them waiting then.” Soarin muttered, dodging a stray piece of plastic that tried lodging itself in his mane. “We’ll catch up with you two after the test, good luck.”
Twilight let out a quiet, content sigh as the two stallions trotted off. “Such an exciting day. No time to sit back and relax though, lots to do. Come along you two.” She said to Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow coughed awkwardly. “Twilight, I don’t think you've ever been properly introduced. This is Lightning Dust. Lightning Dust, Twilight Sparkle.”
“I know who she is.” The two mares answered in tandem, Twilight answering with a trace of bitterness in her voice. They exchanged a glare before trotting off and leaving Rainbow behind with a sheepish look on her face.
“Well that makes things… easy.” Rainbow grinned nervously, flapping her wings and taking after the former librarian.
“Yes, I remember you, you almost killed my friends.” Twilight said, her tone almost disturbingly friendly.
“And I remember you flew a flimsy balloon into restricted airspace.” Lightning Dust shot back as the small group got into one of the elevators.
“How about we just put that all behind us, huh? “ Rainbow piped up, not wanting the mares to get into a brawl just yet. Who would she get behind if that happened, one of her best friends or her Jaeger’s copilot?
Twilight scowl flickered up at the hovering pegasus before going back to Lightning Dust. “Agreed.” She said, her scowl softening into a barely welcoming smile. She punched the button for the Jaeger bay and the elevator dropped smoothly, a few distant clangs and a soft mechanical whir the only things to break the tense silence.
“So, Rainbow. How have you been?” Twilight asked eventually. “Enjoying your time at the academy.”
The thunder of heavy artillery exploding overhead flashed to the fore in Rainbow’s mind. She smiled weakly, deciding that story was probably better off not being told. “Could be better.”
Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend’s non-answer. “Lightning Dust?”
“Swimmingly.” The pegasus shot back dryly.
“Hmm.” Twilight remarked impassively.
A quiet ding sounded and the doors slid apart, allowing the three ponies out into a bustling hallway. While Rainbow prided her sense of direction, the seemingly featureless hallways and abundant artificial light was making her feel disoriented.
“This place is so big, how do you not get lost all the time?” Rainbow asked as she stepped off the elevator after Twilight.
“You get used to it pretty quickly actually, most of the shatterdome is taken up by the Jaeger and construction bays. Most of the amenities are in the back of the facility and the upper levels are all training, suiting and accommodation. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it rather quickly.” Twilight said, approaching a heavy, several inch thick steel door. She quickly tapped in a code on the access panel next to it, making the door slide apart with a quiet hiss.
“Welcome to the heart of the shatterdome.” She announced.
“Woah..” Rainbow and Lightning Dust breathed in unison as Twilight ushered them forward into the Jaeger bay. The space was massive, at least a hundred metres high and several times that long. Massive armoured skylights were built into the roof, allowing small amounts of the morning sun to filter into the massive space. A massive set of doors at one end of the bay were open, revealing the shimmering harbour and a long, worn concrete ramp leading down to it. The bay itself was full of machines and ponies; five massive Jaegers partly concealed in their pens and hundreds of technicians tending to them. Rainbow immediately recognised the hulking form of Frontier Justice standing on all fours closest to her and the sleek, graceful hull of Castle Bravo in the pen beside it. At the back of the bay sat Midsummer Night, the massive human Jaeger standing out quite distinctly from the rest of the machines. Most interesting though, was the distinctive shape of Everfree Bandit, the almost finished Jaeger was missing plating along one of its forelegs and its head was strangely absent. Unlike any of the other Jaegers in the bay, it was still a dull factory grey.
“Is that Wild Mustang?” She asked, pointing to a stripped down hull next to the human Jaeger. It certainly looked nothing like the proud, if somewhat ugly, Jaeger she’d seen in pictures.
“Salvage is still underway.” Twilight affirmed, trying not to look at the managed hull.
“Where’s our Jaeger?” Lightning Dust asked, not spotting Daring Dragoon in the bay anywhere.
Twilight nodded to the other end of the bay. “Should be coming through there any second now…”
As if hearing her words, a klaxon sounded and the large doors separating the Jaeger bay from the construction areas slid open, slowly revealing the Jaeger they had come to pilot.
The machine stood a little over 45 metres high on all fours, positively tiny compared to the massive, hulking form of Frontier Justice which occupied the bay next the them. It’s front half was relatively blocky in shape, but to Rainbow it still looked speedy, each piece of armour seemed to simply flow into the next and the pair of large intakes studded into it’s thick chest gave it a powerful, muscled look. The most impressive features though were the two large thrusters seated above the Jaeger’s haunches and a pair of long, metal cylinders which jutted out of the Jaeger’s elbows and ran almost all the way back to its powerful, curved hindlegs. While the Jaeger they’d piloted in the simulator had been a flat, boring grey, the finished version had a brilliant coat of dark turquoise and ice blue covering its armour. A few plates on the Jaeger’s wrists, shoulders and hind legs were picked out in a blazing orange and a few bright red trimmings stood out vividly against the the dark hull. A low rumble sounded and the Jaeger moved towards them, the crawler carrying it rolling forward with a throaty roar of its massive engine.
“Now that, is a Jaeger!” Rainbow crowed.
“I’m rather pleased with it myself.” Twilight said, a hint of pride in her voice. “Now if you’d follow me again.”
“Where are we going?” Rainbow asked, unwilling to leave the Jaeger behind just yet.
“J-Tech. You’re Jaeger has to run some pre-trial tests before we’ll let you in the conpod.” Twilight explained, giving the unresponsive Rainbow Dash a gentle push back towards the elevators.
“Uhh… fine! Fine fine fine fine fine.” Rainbow grumbled reluctantly, following Twilight and Lightning Dust back to the elevator.
“Isn’t she just so cute when she’s grumpy?” Lightning Dust jeered.
“She has that effect sometimes, doesn’t she?” Twilight chuckled.
“It’s pretty hard to take Dashie seriously sometimes.” Her co-pilot continued.
“I know right?””
Rainbow grumbled quietly to herself, irritated that Twilight and Lightning Dust seemed to be bonding over making fun of her. She fluttered into the elevator car again, Twilight pressing another button to make the car drop like a rock.
“And down we go again.” Twilight muttered as the elevator dropped down into the bowels of the facility.
“Gee, this seems like your sort of place.” Rainbow said as the doors slid open to reveal the beating heart of the J-Tech division. “Nice place for all you eggheads to sit around and do your magic in.”
“It’s a marked improvement.” Twilight admitted. “We originally had open-air hangars.”
“I’d rather the hangars.” Rainbow muttered under her breath as she dodged a cart stacked with crates and boxes being pushed by an oblivious earth pony.
Twilight ignored her, trotting cheerfully down a wide hall before veering through a door with her name and position stamped on a plate next to it. “My office.” She proclaimed. “You can wait here until the test is ready to begin. She swung a monitor around with a soft pulse of magic and concentrated for a moment, a dizzying array of numbers and figures dancing across the screen. “The reactor is in it’s final shakedown phase, shouldn’t be too long.”
Rainbow nodded silently, looking around the office curiously. The large room was almost buried in some places under stacks of messy paperwork or odd trinkets that looked like a mad scientist’s personal experiments while other parts where almost jarringly clean, a few ornaments from the Golden Oaks library sitting proudly on the shelves. She immediately noticed a framed picture of her friends, the six ponies in the photo looked much younger than she felt.
“Nice roof.” Lightning Dust remarked.
“Thank you.” Twilight purred, craning her neck back to stare at the slightly shimmery web of stars, constellations and other celestial phenomena which crisscrossed the office’s ceiling. The whole illusion was set against an almost velvet night sky, making Rainbow feel like she was outside again. “That took me a while to figure out, but I think it’s a nice touch.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow muttered, reminding herself that she was in fact several floors underground and not out in a field.
The two pegasi admired the illusion for a moment longer before Lightning Dust moved around behind Twilight’s desk and sat down in her chair, ignoring the alicorn’s sudden glower.
“So,” Lightning Dust started, kicking her hooves up on Twilight’s desk contemptuously.. “You’re the top whiz around here, what can you tell us about Daring Dragoon? Preferably something we don't know.”
Twilight looked between the two pegasi. “Daring Dragoon. I like that. Did Rainbow suggest Daring Do?” She asked with a small chuckle.
“Of course not.” Rainbow lied.
“Of course.” Lightning Dust answered at the same time with a smirk.
“I’m sure Miss Yearling would love to take some royalties from that.” Twilight remarked before shuffling through a stack of papers. “Ah-ha. Jaeger equipment… This is a new one, the Advanced Ratcheting, Reflexive and Feedback System” Twilight announced proudly.
“Or Reflex Joints, if you don’t like your alphabet soup. We already know about those.” Lightning Dust remarked wryly. “Or at least, I do.”
“That is not the correct designation.” Twilight said, a small scowl aimed at the pegasus appearing on her face.
“I’m curious, how do they work?” Rainbow asked, immediately regretting that she had. She understood the basic workings of the system but the simulator could only offer so much, her question had been more aimed at wasting some time rather than gaining actual information. If the look on Twilight’s face was any indication though, she was bound for one heck of a lecture. She pushed the alicorn’s sudden monologue to the back of her mind, dredging through her memory for whatever she knew about the mechanism herself.
Essentially the Jaeger’s reflex joints were a complex ratcheting and feedback system which allowed the Jaeger to bend its arms and legs at impossible angles, lock them in place, and then transfer momentum with relative ease. How it worked was beyond Rainbow Dash’s comprehension, but from what she understood, this would allow a Jaeger with sufficient speed and flexibility, such as one like Daring Dragoon, to perform anything from several thousand ton Judo throws to suplexes with a Kaiju, quickly twisting the creature into the ground and then pinning it there with relative impunity.
This would then give the Jaeger’s primary weapons, a pair of massive objects unimaginatively called Impact Hammers, room to work. Each ‘hammer’ was an almost three-hundred ton plate of solid tungsten positioned past the end of each of Daring Dragoon’s elbows. When activated, massive capacitors along the length of the arm charged until a magnetic force fired the plate out to the Jaeger's palm in a fashion similar to how Midsummer Night's railguns worked. By placing the Jaeger’s hand against a Kaiju's skull or rib cage the weapon could, theoretically, instantly kill the creature in one shot; turning the beast’s armour against it by transforming it into a hail of lethal shrapnel inside its vital organs..
The system did have some drawbacks though, the sheer amount of power each ‘firing’ required meant that many other secondary systems other Jaeger’s boasted were absent and firing them more than a few times each mission could be problematic depending on the Jaeger’s other power needs.
“Rainbow Dash, are you paying attention?” Twilight asked accusingly.
“Yeah, of course. Real interesting.” Rainbow lied, noting that her friend had pulled a blackboard from the corner over and had filled it with diagrams and calculations since she’d stopped listening. Her eyes drifted over to a clock set onto the wall and noticed with surprise that almost twenty-five minutes had passed.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “What was I saying then?”
Rainbow looked the board over quickly, not immediately understanding any of it. “Maths. Calculations. Mathematic... calculations.”” She stammered lamely.
“Right. Since apparently that was all a waste of time then…” Twilight muttered sourly, wiping the board clean with a quick swipe of a duster. “Any real questions?”
“Can we try it now?” Lightning Dust asked impatiently, she clearly hadn’t been listening either, her focus seemingly directed on a paper clip which appeared to be stubbornly crawling across Twilight’s desk.
Twilight let out a quiet huff of annoyance and looked back at the monitor she had linked with the Jaeger’s systems. “It’s ready. You’ll need your drivesuits.”
“Okay, then why are we still here then?” Lightning Dust asked impatiently.
Twilight rolled her eyes so quickly Rainbow thought they were going to fall out of her head. An irritated sigh coming from her mouth, the alicorn lead them out of her office and back to the elevators. She glared at the two pegasi accusingly before rapidly entering a code into the keypad, prompting the elevator to slid back the way they’d come..
The trip was mercifully short and within a minute Twilight had led them to a wide suiting room comfortingly similar to the one at the academy. A dozen technicians waited patiently around the edge of the room, flanking two open compartments that contained a pair of matching drivesuits. As soon as Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash stepped forward onto the small pedestals they sprung to work, fitting the two mares with a tight circuitry suit and then layering armoured plates on top.
The suit was much heavier than the simulator suits and unlike the spotless white suits Rainbow Dash was used to, her suit’s armour was a brilliant shade of dark aquamarine that matched the Jaeger’s hull and hugged her body like a second skin.
“I feel like a model.” Lightning Dust complained, stretching her legs to test the fit.
“They’re lighter than the first generation suits.” Twilight explained over the mechanical whirring of the drivers locking the suit’s bolts in place. “They feature more reactive circuitry and better, more reliable failsafes and some other material changes which I know you’d just ignore if I bothered explaining them. We’ve also improved the display and the customisability based on pilot feedback.”
“Still clunky old helmets though.” Rainbow pointed out, knocking a hoof on the side of the heavy, half-face helmet a technician slipped over her head.
“They’ve been some gearing issues with the full head designs.” Twilight said apologetically. “I’d guess they will be ready in a few months.”
“Suits me just fine, I’d imagine I’d feel like a goldfish in one of those full-face things.” Lightning Dust chuckled, satisfied that she still had an almost complete range of motion in the suit. “Does my butt look big in this?” She asked self-consciously.
“Massive. Now quit checking yourself out and get your helmet on.” Rainbow snapped, clicking her tongue impatiently as she waited for Lightning Dust to put her helmet on and sync it with her own.
“Yeah, yeah don’t get your wings in a twist.” She complained quietly, slipping her helmet on and poking her tongue out at Rainbow. “Happy?”
Rainbow pulled a disgusted face back. “What, are you twelve?”
“I’m ten, I’ll have you know.” Lightning Dust shot back, leaping down off the pedestal and following Twilight out of the suiting room and back into the elevator. Rainbow trailed behind, an irritated look on her face. Lightning Dust seemed much more playful than usual, maybe the upcoming test had just put her in a good mood. The elevator rose up again, taking them higher into the facility before coming to an abrupt stop.
“Where are we going?” Rainbow asked, stepping out into the corridor beyond cautiously. Something about the hall didn’t feel right, it almost felt too high. She looked over at Lightning Dust but the pegasus seemed to be completely unconcerned. .
“Launch bay, where else?” Twilight replied sweetly. She took a sharp right and stopped by a thick metal door that two technicians stepped forward obediently to open. “This is you.”
Lightning Dust bounded through the door and out onto a catwalk without a worry in the world, completely unconcerned by the big drop on either side. Rainbow followed a little more cautiously, her gut still telling her that something seemed off.
“Hey, where’s the rest of it?” Rainbow demanded, her eyes falling on the massive conpod sitting at the other end of the walkway. Just the conpod. The rest of the Jaeger was conspicuously missing.
“Well you get in the head, don’t you?” Twilight pointed out from the doorway.
Rainbow peered over the edge of the gantry, they were in a rectangular concrete box which looked to be at least a couple of hundred metres long. A score of gantries and platforms sprouted out from the wall and large numbers were printed on the wall. The most interesting thing though, was the twelve rails which ran from the ceiling and extended towards the floor in sets of four. Daring Dragoon’s conpod was secured to four of these rails with two massive sets of orange clamps. Curious, she looked down, a large hatch ringed with yellow and black warning stripes, easily big enough to accommodate the entire conpod, was sealed shut beneath her.
“Come on Rainbow!” Lightning Dust urged as the small door built into the back of the conpod hissed open.
Rainbow scowled, following her co-pilot into the conpod and trying to dispel the sense of unease that sat in her gut. The feeling was completely forgotten though as she stepped into the conpod.
“This is awesome...” Lightning Dust trailed off.
The interior of the conpod was a cool, calming white. Deep blue lighting strips were nestled into the walls and floor, making the entire cockpit look like it was underwater. Three pairs of heavy pipes snaked across the back of the cranial frame and hull reinforcements lined every surface. Two almost delicate looking harness sat in the centre of the conpod, a large control panel hanging from the roof like a bat. The large, reinforced visor was segmented into six parts, giving the two pilots an almost 180 degree field of view of their surroundings.
“Yeah… wow.” Rainbow agreed, her eyes darting around and drinking in every little detail. This was nothing like the simulator.
“Good morning cadets.” An unfamiliar voice said over the radio. “I’m Torque, your mission controller for today’s exercise. Get hooked in and we’ll begin.”
The two pegasi didn’t need any more encouragement, clipping their boots into the drivetrain and rocking forward slightly as their harnesses clamped down on their back. The two technicians did a quick check over before exiting the conpod, closing the door behind them with a solid thud.
“Securing conpod, stand by for drop.” Torque announced cheerfully.
A mechanical click reverberated around the conpod as the locking bars slid into place.
‘Wait, what?’ Rainbow thought.
“Release for drop.” Lightning Dust said calmly.
“What do you mean ‘Relea-.’”
The words had barely left Rainbow’s mouth when a sense of weightlessness overcame her and her gut felt like it was now somewhere in low orbit. The sensation only lasted a moment before the conpod dropped like a rock, hurtling down a narrow passage like an out of control elevator car.
Rainbow Dash screamed.
Lightning Dust laughed.
A sudden jolt of deceleration shook the conpod and the interior of the massive Jaeger bay appeared through the windshield. The conpod shuddered again, a solid impact reverberating through the entire structure as they hit something solid.. She had barely a moment to catch her breath before the conpod jerked to the right, spinning in a quick, complete circle that made Rainbow felt like she was going to be sick before returning to its original position.
“Coupling complete.” An energetic voice belonging to the Jaeger’s computer announced. It sounded unnervingly like a male version of Lightning Dust, even possessing the same cocky, self-assured tone that Lightning Dust always displayed. . .
“What the heck was that?” Rainbow stammered.
Lightning Dust chuckled loudly. “Your friend went into great detail about it, weren’t you paying attention?”
Rainbow shook her head clear. “You were?”
“You weren’t.” Lightning Dust stated dryly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rainbow demanded, her ears burning red with embarrassment.
“Thought you knew.” Lightning Dust snickered as a series of vivid blue and orange lights flickered on across the viewscreen.
“Pilot-to-pilot connection engaged. Prepare for Neural Handshake.”
***
The shatterdome’s LOCCENT looked like a bee hive. Dozens of ponies milled about, reading data off screens, talking over headsets and giving off a general feeling of efficiency that the command centre usually acquired when something exciting happened. It would’ve been wrong to say though, that anypony was more excited than the two figures standing at the front of the control room, their muzzles almost pressed up against the glass windows which overlooked the Jaeger bay. The watched sas Daring Dragoon’s long conpod came roaring down out of the ceiling and slam into the hull nervously, it hadn’t been the first time such a test had been tried of course, but now there was a much more valuable cargo inside the metal cage hurtling down the rails.
Soarin let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding as the conpod hit home, locks engaging as it spun around quickly.
“I swear, they do that to our new Jaeger and I will shoot somepony.” Wave Chill muttered off to his side, his distaste for the new system evident in his voice.
“I think it could be quite fun actually.” Soarin chuckled.
“Thought you hated flying in a Jaeger.” Wave Chill muttered accusingly.
“That’s not flying, that’s falling.” Soarin pointed out.
“Two pilots onboard and ready to connect.”
The two stallions turned as the Jaeger’s onboard AI piped through the console behind them, it sounded almost unnervingly familiar.
“Gotta wonder who does the voices for those.” Wave Chill muttered, shaking his head disbelievingly.
“Or if it just makes its own voice up on a whim.” Soarin added.
“Initiating Neural Handshake.” Torque announced from somewhere behind them, flicking a few of the oversized switches which covered the front of the console.
Soarin and Wave Chill watched tensely for a moment, the two pegasi in the conpod had drifted more times than they readily count now, but this was different; they both knew first hand that drifting in a Jaeger was an entirely different kettle of fish. A few seconds passed, the two pegasi silently watching the conpod like hawks.
“You think they’ll...?” Wave Chill asked absently
“They’ll be fine.” Soarin said, almost as he were daring the two pilots to do something on the contrary.
His statement was confirmed a moment later as the Jaeger slipped forward slightly, barely half a metre but enough of a sign to indicate that the pilots had shifted in their harnesses as if they’d suddenly stumbled.
“Neural Handshake strong and holding.” Torque announced a second later.
“See?” Soarin said, wearing a faint smile on his face. A few cheers and whistles rang out around the command centre as the Jaeger took a small, cautious step forward.
The first thing Soarin noticed was its slick, almost organic movement. When it moved, it didn’t stomp and thunder around like Frontier Justice did, instead taking careful, measured steps like an athlete approaching the starting blocks of a sprint. Where any of the larger Jaegers are accompanied by the thrumming of cooling systems and the grinding of metal against metal, the only sound that this machine made as it seemingly slid across the floor of the shatterdome was a smooth electric hum.
As the Jaeger passed through the massive bay door, a pair of stabiliser fins snapped up smartly from its shoulders like a pair of small wings, lending the already quick looking Jaeger a sleek and sporty finish. Down on all fours, its rear legs spread for stability, the nimble machine looked like it was about to run a race.
“Oh, that is so sexy.” Wave Chill muttered from off to the side, his eyes firmly focused on the Jaeger.
Soarin found himself agreeing with his co-pilot, watching silently as Daring Dragoon took another few cautious steps down the ramp towards the water. The lithe Jaeger was either so light or so eager, that its pilots had decided they didn’t need the crawler to take it down to the water. The Jaeger seemed to glare at the calm water suspiciously for a moment for bounding in like a playful dog, sending small out surges of water that broke against the harbour front. It sounded its foghorn, an almost delicate sound compared to the booming blasts that Frontier Justice or Castle Bravo habitually unleashed, before breaking into gallop, the faint electric hum building in intensity as the Jaeger ploughed through the water and away from its pen
“Whoa...” Soarin muttered, his eyes going wide as the Jaeger shot off like a shell out a cannon. The sheer speed was unreal, even the Broadways would’ve had trouble keeping up with the Jaeger at a full run. He wheeled around following the Jaeger’s progress on one of the Jaeger’s camera feeds which played on monitors around the control room.
Daring Dragoon skidded to a sudden halt about two kilometres distant from the shatterdome, its legs splaying out wide before leaving the sea bed as the Jaeger performed an impromptu combat roll. The feed went dark for a second as the Jaeger plunged beneath the water before emerging again, sheets of water rolling off its sleek form and sparkling in the morning sun. It shook its head, as if clearing its vision before continuing to trot around like a showpony on display.
“Now they’re just showing off.” Wave Chill grumbled.enviously.
“I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust are going to enjoy every single moment they get in that thing and make that fact very public.” Soarin agreed.
“Yeah. You don’t say.” Wave Chill muttered as the machine jumped around the bay playfully, its rear thrusters puffing occasionally to keep the Jaeger’s balance.
“A real beauty, isn’t it? I honestly thought it was maybe a little ambitious but it seems to be working quite fine” Michael said, slipping up behind the two former wonderbolts silently. “You must be proud.”
“Very.” Soarin affirmed.
“I thought you would.” Michael nodded, clearing his throat quietly. “Soarin, if you have a minute there’s something I’d like to discus. It can wait until the test is over actually, meet me in my office when you’re done.”
“Yes sir.” Soarin nodded absently, wondering what the human could possibly want. He tossed a look at Wave Chill but the stallion simply shrugged his shoulders, he was clearly just as clueless as Soarin was.
“Good, I’ll leave you two to it then. Talk to you later.” Michel said before striding out of the command centre.
“What's that all about?” Wave Chill wondered aloud.
“I’ve no idea. He seemed a little nervous about it, whatever it is.” Soarin muttered, trying to refocus his attention on Daring Dragoon’s movements. He scowled, Wave Chill was right, the Jaeger had an undeniably attractive edge to it. Even with its rough, almost blocky finish, it still managed to give off an attractive, athletic appearance.
Or was that just the pilots inside he was thinking about?
‘No’ He thought resolutely, quashing that thought like an ant beneath a boot before it could take root. That was a no-go zone, he was technically the soon-to-be-ranger’s superior and he didn’t want to add fraternisation to the list of things he had to worry about. He’d already skirted that line once and he wasn’t exactly keen on a rerun.
“You clench your jaw any harder and you’ll break it.” Wave Chill chuckled. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I’m going to see Michael.” Soarin grumbled, dutifully ignoring the monitors with Daring Dragoon on them. He stormed out of the command centre and into the corridor beyond, feeling immensely frustrated with himself.
‘You’d think I would’ve learnt my lesson.’ He thought, a fierce glare scattering a few technicians who were stupid enough to get in his way. Soarin strode down the hall, only pausing when he was outside Michael's office. ‘Get a grip on yourself, just a stray thought. It means nothing.’
“Bah!” He spat, burying the poisonous thought as best he could and putting a more pleasant look on his face. He took a quick breath and knocked on the door.
“Enter.”
Soarin pushed the portal open poked his head through the door. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
Michael nodded, concealing a look of surprise and waving the stallion in and then resting his chin on the top of his hands. “You’re early.” He remarked.
“Didn’t want to wait around for the test to finish.” Soarin muttered.
“Something bothering you?” Michael asked, a trace of concern in his voice.
“No sir, I’m fine.”
Michael shrugged. “Fair enough, you know yourself better than I do.” He paused, giving Soarin a slightly disbelieving look before he continued. “Anyway, have you been following the construction of the Trottingham shatterdome at all?”
Soarin shook his head. “Can’t say I have.” He answered.
“Well that might be a good thing. Development hell, so many hoops to jump through… made a few political promises I would’ve rather not. Still, it’s nearly finished. Finally.” He added.with a small smile.
“Good to hear.” Soarin replied, wondering what this had to do with him.
Michael tapped his desk slowly, as if considering something. He remained silent for a few seconds before gesturing at Soarin. “How would you feel about handling a strike group?”
“Sir?”
Michael cleared his throat slightly. “We need someone to run shop over there. I’m sure Shane would love to do it, but then we’d be down a Jaeger, practically speaking at least. You’ve had command experience before and you’re the longest serving pilot we’ve got, thought you might be interested.”
Soarin considered this for a moment. “What about Wave Chill?”
“He’d be your XO. Think he’d be up to it?”
Soarin nodded slightly, Wave Chill had technically been an officer before leaving the wonderbolts, even if he’d rarely actually taken on any command duties. “I’m sure he’ll manage. Who would you be sending over?”
“We’re thinking Frontier Justice and Daring Dragoon, along with your new Jaeger, once it’s finished. Castle Bravo will remain here along with Everfree Bandit, once it’s operational. I think that should give us a nice balance of Jaegers until the Mark III program is finished.”
The pegasus nodded again. “Yes sir. When are we going?”
Michael tapped the tip of a pen on his desk and looked down at a few sheets of paper messily spread in front of him. “End of the week. There will be a small amount of outfitting to be done still, but it should be liveable. That’ll give you a few days to settle in before we send the Jaegers over. By the start of next week you should be fully set up over there.”
Soarin cleared his throat quietly “If you don’t mind me asking, what about the cadets?”
“Thought you might ask that.” Michael said with a small smile. “You seem to have gotten rather attached to some of yours…”
Soarin looked up at the ceiling innocently, his face paling slightly. Could humans read minds?
“There’s one week until the term is officially over. We’ve got one outstanding pair of pilots, one very good pair of pilots and few reasonable ones and the rest are pretty mediocre. Once the term is over it’s pretty cut and dry who’ll be making the grade. You’ll get to keep your pet rangers, we’ll get those other two Misty and her brother found.”
Soarin considered pointing out that if Misty Fly had her way, the two earth ponies probably wouldn’t have gotten into a simulator, let alone a conpod but instead nodded diplomatically. “And we can keep an eye on them easily enough while they train in a real Jaeger.” He summarised, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. He was sure the two pegasi in Daring Dragoon would have never forgiven him if they had not been allowed to keep their new toy
“Pretty much.” Michael agreed.
“Great.” Soarin muttered as cheerfully as he could manage. “Anything else I should know about?”
Michael frowned slightly, Soarin was usually more lighthearted. “Yes, one last thing. Did you have anything planned after midday?”
“Well I was planning on eating lunch, hope that isn’t a problem.” Soarin remarked.
“I’m holding a strategy meeting at one o’clock, as Strike Commander you can consider yourself invited.”
Soarin raised an eyebrow. “What kind of strategy are we talking about?”
“Offensive strategy.” Michael explained. “We’re going to hit the breach.”
The factory-city of Vladivostok was dark and sullen, heavy patches of grey clouds crowded in the sky like fans at a football stadium, letting only a few streams of determined sunlight through to caress the cold earth. Despite being mid-April, the temperature was still hovering in the low single-digits, made colder by the occasional blast of cold air which howled through the empty streets. The city had grown dramatically over the last year, a steady stream of Japanese and Korean refugees streaming into the city as the Kaiju's inexorable attacks grew more frequent. While otherwise a fairly unimpressive footnote in the Russian Federation, the city housed the last remnants of the Russian Jaeger program, the massive, ugly Pan Pacific Defence Corp Shatterdome clinging to the edge of the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula like a stubborn limpet to a rock.
The Shatterdome was almost eerily empty, many of its staff laid off as the facility’s Jaegers slowly fell one by one. Now only one remained. Cherno Alpha. There were rumours bouncing around the facility that the shatterdome was going to be sold off or abandoned, the upkeep costs too high to justify for only one Jaeger. These mutterings, although whispered earfully by the inhabitants of the city, were ignored completely by the last two pilots that called the base home. For them it didn’t matter where in the world they were stationed, a Kaiju would have to go through them before Vladivostok would fall.
Standing over seven feet tall in his drivesuit, Aleksis Kaidonovsky looked like he could break any of the technicians scurrying around the shatterdome's LOCCENT over his knee like a twig. His hard jaw, thick beard and massive physique, even visible under his drivesuit, gave him the appearance of a bear standing up on two legs. While intimidating, anyone who halfway knew the Ranger also knew that he was as harmless as a butterfly. Make no mistake though, if someone was stupid enough to threaten his wife or his Jaeger, his calm demeanour and docile mood evaporated almost instantly and the offender would find themselves spending a long time in the shatterdome’s infirmary or in the case of a Kaiju, usually in several pieces.
“I wish they would get this over with.” Sasha growled from next him, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder and glaring down at the command staff that milled around. Her head held back proudly, she measured a little over six feet tall, taller than most of the men that worked in the LOCCENT. Unlike her husband, Sasha was much scarier than she looked, her lithe features hid a brutal cunning honed by years guarding a Siberian prison and her clean, simple makeup gave the pilot a charming aura which many of the shatterdome’s men had learnt to avoid lest they suffer her wrath.
“Have you ever know Marshall Borsky to be on time? He is probably still crying over his smashed yacht.” Aleksis rumbled.
“It’s not my fault he moored it there.” Sasha countered.
“No, no it’s not.” Aleksis grinned, remembering the dull crunch as Cherno Alpha had crushed the boat to splinters underfoot. They wasn’t been much left other than kindling after Cherno’s foot had gone through the boat, much to the Marshall’s ire.
“Maybe he slept in.” Sasha remarked as she spotted the short Marshall limping towards them. Borsky had been one of the first Russian Rangers and although his diminutive frame and almost childish voice had earned him more than enough jokes at his own expense, Sasha and Aleksis respected him. He had piloted Cherno’s first sister T-90, Siberian Advance for several years before being moved to Vladivostok’s lead Marshall. Although he deeply loathed the position, he would probably be dead if were not for the change; Siberian Advance had been destroyed along with both of its pilots late last year.
“Sasha, Aleksis! You mongrels! You stood on my boat!” He growled, looking up crossly but not getting much further than Aleksis’s broad chest.
“Da.” Sasha said back simply, struggling to hold back a wicked smile.
“Govniuk.” Borsky muttered under his breath before spinning on his heel and tapping on the shatterdome’s tactical display. “This is from Oska. Small Kaiju, only Category III. Designation, KM-24. We expect the bastard will make landfall about here.” He said, pointing a stubby finger at the Kamchatka Peninsula. “You will deploy and intercept.” He finished, the screen fuzzing with static as it jumped to the uninhabited length of the Russian coastline. The so-called ‘Wall of Life’ was some hundred kilometres distant from the projected landing site and the nearest settlement was long abandoned.
“Is it lost?” Aleksis puzzled. It was unlike Kaiju to simply target what he took as an empty beach.
Borsky shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, you kill it and bring Cherno back. You’re too valuable to lose now.”
“Mr. Fish will not know what hit him.” Aleksis affirmed, banging his armoured fist against his chest plate.
“Good. Now get to your Jaeger.”
***
Aleksis and Sasha wasted no time getting to their charge, either of the pilots would practically jump at the chance to get in their Jaeger.The trio had fought together for so long now that the two Rangers considered the massive machine family, almost akin to a son the couple had never had.
They rode the waiting elevator to the conpod in silence, the partners were so in tune with each other that there was no need for simple pre-deployment conversation, Aleksis knew what his wife was thinking and she, him.
With a strained hiss to doors slid open and the two Ukrainian pilots stepped out in tandem, making the twenty metre walk to the Jaeger’s conpod with all the casualness of a Sunday stroll. Within a minute of entering the conpod they were linked n, the bundles of fibre-optic cables snaking down from the roof plugged into their drivesuits and the heavy, thick harness slammed down on their backplates. The two technicians that accompanied them, the same two that had for the last nine years, gave the two pilots a silent salute before striding out and locking the conpod door behind them.
Unlike most Jaegers which had their conpod mounted where their head would be, Cherno Alpha’s was mounted in his armoured chest, affording the Jaeger’s pilots a measure of protection most others lacked. The design came with a few drawbacks though, the mounting prevented the pilots from looking over their shoulder and lacked an escape system in the case that Cherno Alpha was disabled.
That last fact hardly bothered Sasha and Aleksis, if they died, they would die together with Cherno Alpha.
“Conpod secured.” Sasha confirmed, as the status lights pinged a solid green. Above them, the massive flower-like roof opened wide, a pair of thick, heavy cables snaking down as Cherno’s squadron of Carryalls maneuvered into position.
“Safeties engaged.” Sasha radioed, locking the giant’s limbs in place and popping the hatches for the cable mounts. A minute later a pair of solid thuds echoed through the hull and another light flickered on, pulsing a bright green. For a brief moment the Carryalls strained against the cables before the machine rose off the ground, slowly rising through the shatterdome’s roof and out into the still chilly Russian spring air. A few squadrons of heavily armed attack helicopters rose up from the shatterdome, a pair of oversized missiles hanging from each helicopter.
“We do not need them.” Aleksis rumbled, eyeing the helicopters grumpily.
“Da, but they make the small people feel more useful.” Sasha pointed out pragmatically. That and a few extra eyes never hurt if they encountered a particularly slippery Kaiju.
“Suppose.” Aleksis mumbled.
The massing air fleet formed up over the harbour before turning north-west, the chatter of nearly thirty pairs of rotor blades cutting through the overcast sky..
***
Cherno Alpha felt stiff, even after a full refit of his arm motors and a recalibration with the neural synapse, the Jaeger still felt like it was suffering from arthritis. The technicians and lab rodents had said it was simply the pilot’s imagination, but Aleksis knew different.
Cherno Alpha felt old. After nearly a decade of service, the Jaeger was starting to show less of the spark that had drawn Aleksis and Sascha Kaidonovsky to it. Every time Aleksis drifted he felt twenty years older, his joints ached and his head started throbbing in synchronisation with the cycles of Cherno’s massive reactor.
“He is tired of war.” Sasha said, her voice almost bouncing around inside his head as well as in his ears.
“Da.” He replied simply, giving the aging machine’s control surfaces a comforting pat. The old buttons and consoles had been swapped for a state of the art holographic projection, a hundred lights blinking and flashing they read off Cherno Alpha’s vital signs. Aleksis had never been a man of words, usually letting his headstrong wife do the talking for him. She was right though, Cherno Alpha had been fighting nonstop for nearly nine years now, he had seen his brother and sister T-90s torn apart and had broken the backs of four Kaiju across his knees. He was the last Russian Jaeger standing, a lonely sentinel standing watch over the factory-city of Vladivostok. Aleksis could feel the machine’s aging spirit aching for a rest in his bones.
‘Once more my son’, He thought. ‘Just once more.’
Cherno purred softly in the back of his mind and Aleksis felt the joints loosen and the throbbing ease. He felt bad lying to the Jaeger, but the PPDC needed them now more than ever. Cherno Alpha had more than enough fight in him to last another century if needed, but deep down, Aleksis knew the machine just wanted to rest.
That would have to wait though, there was a Kaiju to kill.
“Cherno, we’re approaching the drop zone. Prepare to disengage.” The carryall pilot said, his slightly broken Russian giving him away as one of the Japanese refugees that had started trickling into Vladivostok since the war had started going badly.
“Copy.” Sasha said curtly, punching a few blinking lights in preparation to disengage Cherno Alpha from the roaring Carryalls. Aleksis brought the idling reactor up to full power, feeling a surge of power course through his veins as Cherno Alpha growled to life.
“Disengaging Transport.” Sasha said as the Carryalls jerked to a halt. There was a momentary feeling of weightlessness before nearly three thousand tons of Russian iron hurtled to the ground like a thunderbolt, impacting gracelessly into the water with a tremor that shook the pilots in their harnesses.
Cherno’s horn bellowed out across the deserted landscape, there was no one but the helicopter pilots to hear it, but it was tradition. Sasha grinned wickedly at her husband and removed her finger from the button, silencing the giant’s horn almost immediately. A brief spike washed over Cherno’s sensors as the Kaiju brushed across the edge of their scanners. They took an unflinching step forward, the Jaeger’s heavy traction pads leaving a two metre deep imprint in the frozen Russian lowlands.
As if feeling their footstep, the Kaiju, now flashing as KM-24 on their sensors, powered towards them, breaking the surface of the water and screeching at them like a banshee of legend.
Cherno Alpha growled back, its sensors sweeping over the foul Kaiju and giving the machine a rough idea of what the beast looked like. A slick, slimy body like an eel perched up on two thick legs. The horn bellowed again and with a well practised motion, Cherno smashed its fists together twice, sparks flying as the heavy, electrically charged fists bounced off each other.
“Leave this one to us.” Aleksis rumbled over the radio to the chopper pilots. “Stay out of our way.”
The two dozen helicopters buzzing noisily behind Cherno Alpha seemed happy to oblige, spreading out and gaining a little more altitude but none moving an inch closer towards the Kaiju.
It was good thing too, the gills on the creature’s neck pulsated and the frigid water that lapped around the Kaiju’s feet turned into a raging torrent, water rushing towards the Kaiju like it was going down a drain. A moment later KM-24’s eyes exploded, water shooting out of them like a high pressure cannon.
The torrent of water crashed into Cherno Alpha, making the machine rock back slightly, the foul mixture of water and Kaiju blood making the Jaeger’s paint sizzle and pop. Ugly black welts sprung up across the machine’s cooling tower, streams of water pouring down over the armoured conpod. A cloud of steam rose around Cherno Alpha, the icy cold waters of the Bering Sea heated to boiling temperatures by the Kaiju.
They took another step forward, struggling forward against the jet of pressurised water like a man struggling to walk against a strong gust of wind. Cherno Alpha growled in protest, irritated by the lack of progress it was making. The jet of water seemed to double in strength and the Jaeger was forced back half a step.
“Is it going to drown us to death?” Sasha chuckled, raising a bulky fist in front of the conpod and splitting the jet of foul, noxious water. The internal temperature of the conpod had risen noticeably but neither pilot paid it any heed, digging their feet into the hard earth and slowly but surely plodding towards the Kaiju like an implacable glacier.
Noticing that Cherno Alpha was getting uncomfortably close, the Kaiju switched targets, directing its blasts of water at the Jaeger’s armoured legs. Aleksis and Sasha grunted and dug the massive stabiliser pins built into the back of Cherno Alpha’s feet into the ground, three metre long pins driving like piles into the frozen Russian earth.
“Cherno needs his hard house.” Aleksis grunted, using his free hand to turn on the jury-rigged sound system he’d personally installed in the Jaeger several years ago. Strictly against regulations, but the shatterdome’s Marshalls tended to look the other way, allowing the grizzled veterans a small measure of peace unless they blasted their ‘music’ too loudly.
“Da.” Sasha agreed., her face locked in a savage grin.
Neither quite knew why, but Cherno Alpha seemed to adore hard house, its systems often running beyond their theoretical limits when the pilots blasted the loud, grating, music from their sound system. Not that they would complain, both of the Russian pilots enjoyed the heavy beat, often finding their own movements syncing up with the beat of their favourite dance track as Cherno Alpha pounded into battle like a mobile mountain of iron.
Aleksis grinned, punching on the dance track and listening contently as the rumble of Cherno Alpha’s fog horn boomed out again without either of the pilots touching the trigger.
“Go!” Sasha yelled, planting a foot into the frozen mud and taking off like a sprinter. It was incredible to watch, three thousand tons of iron, grit and good old Russian engineering breaking into a sprint. It boggled the mind how a machine like Cherno Alpha could run, its cooling tower bent down low and its legs pounding the earth like an earthquake. The fog horn boomed again and Cherno Alpha broke through the swirling mist which surrounded it, pushing through KM-24’s jet of water like it was a mere trickle. The Kaiju screeched in surprise and tried backing away but it was far too slow, the Jaeger roaring out of the mist like a vengeful spirit and slamming a fist into its flat face with a crack of discharging electricity and reinforced iron against bone.
The Kaiju’s face crumpled from the blow but it was tough, lunging forward and swiping a webbed talon at the machine’s cooling tower. Aleksis brushed it off like it was a requisition form, using Cherno’s left fist to swat it aside and allowing his wife to give the snarling creature a vicious backhanded slap.
“My grandmother fights better than you!” Sasha jeered, grabbing the creature by the long fin which ran down the back of its head and lifting it as high as she could.
With the Kaiju held open, Aleksis swung low, his armoured fist slamming into the Kaiju’s chest with a sharp crack of snapping bone and splitting skin. He swung again and again, each blow striking in memory for one of Cherno’s fallen siblings.
Battered and bloodied, KM-24 brought up one last reserve of strength, a horrendous rumble sounding as it sucked in another jet of water. Its gills pulsed open and a wave of pressure forced its way out of the Kaiju’s eyes, aimed directly at the Jaeger’s conpod. With a sickening squelch, KM-24 put everything into one last desperate attack
It pattered harmlessly off the windscreen.
“Our turn.” Aleksis whispered, cycling Cherno’s incinerator turbines open. An alarm howled as fuel was shunted upwards, pressure building behind the vents until it finally blew out in a billowing ball of nuclear fire. KM-24 got to enjoy a brief surge of heat before the superheated slag washed over it, burning its skin away in an instant and boiling its insides away before the Kaiju could draw breath to scream. Sasha released the Kaiju instantly, carefully keeping Cherno’s hand away from the river of molten fuel.
The Kaiju twitched twice more before finally falling still, its bloated body sinking to the ground at Cherno’s feet with a soft thud.
“Another well done barbeque.” Sasha laughed, reaching across to give her husband a loving caress. Cherno growled in a satisfied manner, it had been too long since it had made a kill.
Aleksis grinned. “Da, if only fish-man ha.”
A squeal of static burst out of the short range radio, a cacophony of gibberish, white noise and other, less identifiable sounds that screeched painfully in their ears. “-̸̷̧͡n҉͠y̛͢͜͟ǫ̴ņ̢͟ȩ̴̨͞ ̴̸̴̀;҉̵'̢́͞r̴̨͜͝é̸͘ç͢͜-̷̡̨̛͜ ͠v͞͏į́n̸̢͝g҉͘͞?̸̸̕͢ ̷͝A̴̸̡͜҉n̵͠҉̶̕c̴̷͜͡;̵̛h̶o̡r͘ą̛̛̕͢ǵ̶̨e̷̸̕͏͠,̸̵͢͝ ̸̀͞d̷̡o҉̢͡ ̀͡͞ỳ͡-̢̛̀͞ ̧̨҉̨͟r̛͢͝͠e̶̵̷͜͞-̢̛͢͝͝?̷̷͘͘͞ ̸̧L̶̀̀͟o̵҉́́'̨̨̡͜;̸̨͢s̷̛̀͡ ̢̛̀͜;̨̀͠'̷̀A͏҉̕̕͏n̴̵͢͢͜g̸̵̢-̡ ́͝`̴͢'̕҉̨͟;̕͜ ́͏̕͝d̷͝͝o͏̶ ̵͘͟͢͜y̵̕͟͏̛o̕͟͠ư̵ ̨͝ḉ̴̀͘o̕҉p҉͏̀͜͡y̨͟͟͡͡?̧̧ ̷̕͜ ̴̸̢̛͝Ţ̧́͜h̴̴͢į̶̨-̸̢̡;̛́̕͡'̸̨́͜ ͟M̡͞i̸͢͠d̴͝s̶͠u̷̡̢m̨͢͞͠m҉͡͏-͜ ̵͏҉͘i͏̡̕̕͝'̸̡̧͞;̨̛͜ǵḩ̷́͡͞-̧͟ ̀̕͜҉̀f̧̀r҉̶e͝҉g̵̶̨͡-̧̛́͘͟ ̸̢̛'̡͟͞;́́͝͏͡c͟҉ą̢͘n̛̛͜͡ ̶͘҉-̴̨̨͞n̷̨͞҉ý͢͞ò͘ǹ̀-̡͝͏;͏̢́͢͟'҉̴̴̸͝ ̛҉҉͞h̨ȩ̷ą̶͞r̴̨͘͝͞ ̢́͞m̴̧͢͢-̸͘͟?̶̀͢҉̷̢̧̛͏W̶̧͜͟a͏͏͘̕͝ŕ̴h̴́́a̴̛͢m̢̀m̧̀̀͟-̷ ̧͡s̶̛͘q͠u͢a̛͝d̡͘͡o̶̧̕-̷̡.̡̀͡ ̸͏s̶̕͢t̢̡̀͘͠a̶͘͡n̵͢'̡͢;̶̵̸͡͝'̷̢͠;̢̛̕`̸̧́͢;̨҉̴̵ļ̸̡̕ ̧̛b͠͏̴̡ý̵͞.̴̵̢҉̶̸͘W̸̸̢̨̡í̡l̡͘͜-̵̡ ̷̧͜M͜͡ų̛̀͢s͏̷̡͡'̡͢͏҉͘;̛̀̀͟t̸͏̡̀;̷́͢͝-̶͘͞a͞͠n͏̧́'̡̧̕͏-̷̢ ͘͘͜i͏-̷͜͜͏ ̵͞d̛́o͠҉̶̛ẃ̸̢̛͟n̨҉̸!̶̷̶̕͢͜À̴̶͞ĺ̸̀͝-̵̛͢ ̷̛͝͝p̧͠'́͜;̶̡́͜͠ó̸̷̴̸r͢͝͞҉t̸̸̀s͠͠͠͠ ̸́͘͜s͢͏̸̀͡e̵̵̢͟'̵̕a̧̛͠͠ĺ̡͘͜e̷̶͏͠d̡̢,̡̛͡͝ ̀̕͢͞҉r̡͘e҉̢a̛͜d̕͠y̵̨̛͜ ̷̵̨͘t͜҉̸̛͡o̵̕ ̢͢s̡̡̨̢͟u͠҉͢-͏̸̴̕͡;̨͡'̵̴̡̕͝-̵̕m̸̵̸e̸̴͠r̷̢͢҉g̡̀͢͟é̷̕̕!͟͏̨̀̕͢͝T̨ḩ̶̡́͡e͟҉̧'̶̨;̵̨̛̀͏-̸̧͟͝ý̀'̀͟͞r̷̶̛͝͡e̴̴̷̕͟ ̸̛͠ś̢̀͘ţ͢o̢͢͟͢ṕ҉̛͏'̵̸́́p̡̧̛͝i͏̸̡͠n̕҉g̨͟,͝͝ ̵̡͝҉͜w̶͟͢͞h̶̢̡͡ỳ͘͢ ͝͠a͞r͏́ę̴ ̕̕͝t҉h͏͠e҉̧͏́͡y̢͢͞ ̵̵̀͠s̴̛͝͏̛-͟'̧͟;̴̨̧́͡'͏̕t̷̴͝o̸̵̢͞-̷́͘͜i̢͏̵͘͠n̨͏̷͘g̶̡͢͞͡?̶͢'̴̵́́͢͟͞Ǵ̵̛i̶͝ṕ̛̕s̀͞'̢͝;̢͟;̢͞҉͠͠y̸̧͟,͏҉͏̷ ͜҉͠c̷̵͘͝'̨́͟;̧̢̢͜͞-̷̷m̀ì̢́͜ǹ̴̨͜g̷̀̕͟҉ ҉̧̢ú̶̶͘̕p̵̶͜͝͏ ̡͘͟͡͞ơ̴̵͢͞n̛͝͏̷͟;͏̷;̵́͟͡͝'̷̢̢̨͘ ̴̧͡͠͡ý͠͡'̵҉;҉͏'̶̛͘͟͞;̢̨̨͢o̴҉̷͞ù̸́̕r̴̡̧͜͢ ̴̴̛̛T̵ẁ̴̡͏̵e̡̛̛͡l͠'̀̀͘͠͡'̨̕;̛͘v̷̸̢̢͠e͞͡͝ ̧̛̀O̴̡͠'̶̡͡͞c̨͜͡l̀̕҉̵ò̡̧͘c͢͡͏k̷͝!̵͜;̡҉̡̢͘ ̢̀F҉҉ù̢͟͟͞l̵̡̨̕ļ̵̛͢ ̛́́̕͝s̶̀҉p̸̷͘͝͏ę̷e͞͝'̷̢́̕'̴̶̨̛́;̡͢͝-̷̷̢!̧̨̕͟ ͏I̸̵͘t̢͏͡'̨̧̨͢͠s̕͏͘;̷͟͝͠͞'̸̴̛͝ ̶̧́͜c̡͞h̨̕̕-̸̧͜;̷̸͡'̵̵҉̸̵'́͘͜͠͡;̨̧-̢͝á̧҉̧r̴̵̢̕g̢͘͏í̡͟ǹ̸̸ǵ͡҉̸͡ ̷̢͘;̴͢ś́͜͟͝ò͘͢;̡͏'̶̧͜;̴́҉m̀́͞e̸͜ ̶̴͞s̨͘͡;҉̢̛̀͞o͠҉̶͟r͘͡҉̨͞ţ̴̀͜ ҉҉̡o̶̢͜͞͡f̛́ ͟͡w̴̵͡҉e̷̶͢a̴̵p̧͠'̀͟͠͝;̴ơ̴n͘͏͞!̶̡̧̛͠ ͝͡͠;̷̨͜͝'͠҉҉Í͠t̷͠͞͞'̶҉ş̴͘͟͞ ̶̴̶̛́a̷̴̡̛ ̶̛͟͞M̸̡a̸̡̕͠-̴ ̧̧͏f͢i̸v̸̨͏̀-̷̢̨͘͢;͏̢'̢́͠é!̶̸̨͏W̸̢͢e͡ ́́j͏̷̛͞͞u̕͜͜҉́'͡͏҉̸͘;̶̕͝s̷̢;̡҉̧͏;̶͘͠͝t̷̴̨͢ ҉ĺ̸̨́-͟͜;̵͟'̛̀ ̸̧̡c͏͝-̴͜'̷̴̧t̵̶̀͜;̀͝;̴̀͜a̸̕͜͞͞c̶̵͏̶̷t̡̛͘͟͝ ́͞w̨͠͝ì̷̡͝'͘;͠͏t͢;̸̨͠͠h̸̨̛͘ ̸̶̢҉͠;̨̨͟͡H̸͘;͡҉͏Q̡͞;̴̢̀͟'̶͝.̛͜͢͢͝ ̕͜͢W̴̨h̴̡́͜e̴̛r̶̡è͜҉'̷̕͟s̸҉̢̀ ̸̴ò̶̡̕ú̵̶͠r҉̨͘ ̀́͡s͘͡͞u͜͝p̛҉̡p̷̸̢̀͜o̶̡͟͞͠r̀t̶͟͞?̴̷̛͘!҉̶͘͟ ̀͘͘̕I̷̛͘s͏͝ ̧̀͡t̛͏̴h͘͏̶̡̀è̶̶͢ŗ̶̢͜e̴̢ ̀͞a̡n͟҉҉y͝͞-҉҉̸ ͠͡'̷̨̀͜;̸̧́͝y̷͘͝'̨̨̛ņ͜͟ ̸̀e̢̨͜͝͞ĺ̨͜s̵͘͘;͘͟҉̡'̨̢҉ȩ̛͠ ̴̷̕͞o̷͘͠͠n̴̨̨͝ ̢̛̀̕͡t̷̷̢̢̛;̷̢́̀͏'͠'͞h̶i̴̶̛s͘͢͝ ͏̴n̴͘͟-́҉̷҉̴;̨́͘'̶̸̕̕͠t̡҉?̶͞͝ ҉̸̧͟Ẃ̨͢'̵̢̧͘'̶͞͏͢e͏̨́͜;̷̧̛́͜'͏̷͠͡;͏̀͢͝'̢́ ̶̀̀͡͡j͢͡ừ̵͢͢s̵̢̀̕͢t̷͢͠ ̛ĺ͘̕͢o҉̨s̴͝҉͝ţ̡ ̵͘͟͞a͝͡l͏̧̛l҉͢;̨̛͠͝'̧̀;͡'̵͜ ̨͝-͏w͏̶̡͡e͠͡ŕ̷̛͟,̵̨ ̨͟b͟҉͢r̨̀͟͝ ̸̷̀͢'͘҉҉̧͢;̕͞͞;̢̀͡'҉̡f̷̛́o͜r͘͢ ̸̡a̢̧̕͏ ̶͢h̷̢̡à̴'͘͜͞͏;̵҉̕'̕͜r̸̀d̴͜ ͢͝l̸̀́͠à̧̢'̢͟;͘͜͝͝͝n҉͏'͢͏n̛͘g̷̶̛͜͜!̶̧̕̕͡ ̴̢҉͝T̢́̕͏h̶̨͢͟͏e̷̸͜͏͢y̡'̨̢̡r̛̕̕͟;̨̛͟͝'̶͘e̴̵͠ ̴̀͜e̵̡v̶̧͠è͏;̸͢'҉̢͡;̨͘͜͟҉;̷͞͞;͢͟'̷́͘͜͞h̢̨͟e̵̸̴̴͟r̷̢͘e͏́͡!̴́̕͝ ̸͜͟҉ ̢͞͏̨̛ ̶̶̕͝”
The sound lasted barely a second before the line cleared again, leaving the two pilots staring at the device in confusion.
“Was that English?” Aleksis asked cautiously, the dead Kaiju lapping at their feet quite forgotten. It twitched again and Sasha quickly stomped down on it just to be sure, driving the stabiliser spike straight down through the remains of the creature’s neck.
Sasha tapped the side of her helmet gently but could coax nothing further out of the machine. “Sounded like it. Maybe a ghost signal?”
Aleksis grunted in agreement, the warbling message had set his hair standing on edge, even his beard felt like it was humming with electricity. Still, there was nothing to be gained worrying about it, he hadn’t been able to glean anything from the mysterious message and it seemed unlikely that he’d ever hear it again. Dismissing the signal from his mind, he reached down for KM-24’s corpse, gripping it firmly around the neck and hauling it back to the shore.
If the general excitement that pervaded the shatterdome from Daring Dragoon’s trail run wasn't’ enough to make Soarin excited, his sudden promotion and the impending strategy meeting should have been.
Oddly enough though, he found himself feeling bitter.
It seemed like a kick upstairs into a position he had never wanted, a way to keep him off the front lines and out of a conpod. Coupled with the surge of the unexpected feelings he had experienced during Daring Dragoon’s trail, the gnawing, biting feeling that sat in his gut as he considered his new position, left him in a decidedly foul mood.
He didn’t have time to dwell on his feelings though, between the congratulatory slaps on the back he kept receiving from ponies he only half-knew, a throng of journalists that had somehow infiltrated the facility to question him and the excited ramblings of the facilities two newly minted Rangers, he found it almost impossible to even clear his mind before being swamped again.
It was so bad that he viewed the imminent strategy meeting as a nice, quiet place he could relax and gather his thoughts. As he made his way towards the nominated meeting room, he actually found himself, oddly, quite looking forward to it.
As he trotted into the meeting room Soarin had to admit he was a little taken aback though. The rectangular room was dominated by a thin, polished wooden table which sat squarely in the centre of the room. A dozen uncomfortable looking chairs were organised around the table, most the seats already taken by scientific looking types. He only immediately recognised two of the the scientists in the room; Twilight Sparkle sitting on the far side of the table next to another J-Tech officer Soarin couldn’t remember the name of. He looked around uncertainly for a moment, he hadn’t expected to be quite so badly outnumbered at the meeting. His dismay only lasted a moment before Twilight waved him over and invited him to sit next to her.
“Hello Soarin!” She chirped cheerfully.
“Ma’am.” He replied curtly, not quite managing to look at her directly.
Twilight frowned for a moment, reading the slightly irritated look on his face. “Something bothering you? I’d thought you’d be a little more upbeat, you must be very proud of Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust.” Twilight beamed.
“Yes.” Soarin replied gruffly. “You must happy be your Jaeger worked.”
“Oh there was hardly any doubt.” Twilight boasted. “I must admit though, it did perform beyond our wildest expectations.”
“Great.” Soarin remarked, shooting an annoyed glance at an earth pony and a unicorn that were squabbling loudly on the other side of the table. The two were almost polar opposites, the earth pony looked like she’d just woken up and her notes were scattered across the table messily like a miniature tornado had blown through them. The unicorn’s pile of papers though, were enatly stacked up as far away from the earth pony as she could manage, along with most of the other equipment she had brought with her.
“Those are my pens!” The unicorn growled.
“I never touched your stupid pens!” The earth pony fired back, twirling a pen on the table.
“You’re holding one!”
“Those two…” Twilight muttered under her breath. “Should’ve fried that earth pony while I had the chance, would’ve been easy to pass it off as an accident.”
Soarin’s ears perked up and he looked at Twilight in alarm but the alicorn made no sign of her casually murderous remark. She looked back at him with a worryingly harmless look.
“Anyway, I think it’s a remarkable achievement for us. Our first Jaeger built and designed from the ground up in Equestria, by Equestrians, with only limited outside influences.” Twilight said proudly, puffing her chest out slightly. “I’ve organised a small gathering with my friends tonight, you and Wave Chill are welcome to join us if you’d like.”
Soarin tossed her a somewhat skeptical look.
“I just thought it could be nice to celebrate, that’s all.” Twilight explained, slightly taken aback by his slightly frumpy attitude.
“From what I understand, Wave Chill is going to a bar with Lightning Streak. He’s flying down from the academy. I’m sure they’ll think of something stupid to do together while they’re there…” Soarin explained in a manner that held a small bit of disdain for his co-pilot.
“And you’re going with him?” Twilight asked.
Soarin shook his head slightly. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Well you’re welcome to join us if you’d like, I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Applejack would be delighted to have you along.” Twilight offered politely.
“I’ll consider it.” Soarin muttered as the doors at the other end of the room swung open, Shane and Michael sweeping in and taking the last two seats at the head of the table. The quiet banter which had floated around the table almost immediately ceased as the two humans took their seats, even the bickering scientists across from Soarin stopped and paid attention.
Michael, pleased that he didn’t have to call the meeting to order, sat up a little straighter. “Thank you all for coming, I understand many of you are quite busy in your own fields so I appreciate you taking the time to sit in. As you should already know, we’re considering our options for an offensive action, hitting the Kaiju right where it hurts.” He pulled a small holographic projector out of his pocket and placed it on the table, a moment later, a slightly fuzzy projection of an imagining of the Breach appeared over the heads of the assembled scientists. The entire table fell silent, many of the scientists simply staring into the writhing mass of energy that made up the core of the tear in reality.
“Okay, what’s the plan rhen?” Soarin prompted. “I assume you have some sort of idea of how we’re going to mount an attack on this thing?” He added, his head cocked to the side slightly. “You do have a plan, right?”
Michael hesitated for a moment. “Now that’s where this kind of falls flat on its ass. See, back on Earth we tried to destroy the breach. Nothing worked, burying it under thousands of tons of seafloor. Kaiju ate right through it. A pair of nukes bounced right off.” He sighed.”I’m looking for fresh ideas.”
The earth pony across from Soarin raised a hoof. “Nuke? What’s a nuke?”
“A missile armed with a nuclear warhead. Big boom, basically.”
She nodded understandingly. “How do they work?”
Michael flashed her a harmless but slightly irritated smile. “Twilight, all the Jaegers currently operate with some sort of nuclear fission reactor, yes?”
“Correct.”
“Okay, take one of those reactors, refine the fuel and allow the splitting of atoms to run wild. Lots of energy. As I said, big boom.”
The mare visibly paled.
“Even if we wanted to hit the breach with a ‘nuke’, we couldn’t. We have nothing like that.” Soarin interjected quietly. “I mean, I’ve been out of the military for a while now, but we’ve never needed anything on that level of power.”
“Well, technically we could.” Twilight piped up. “As you said, we have the Jaeger’s reactors. They could be programmed to run wild in a manner like you mentioned.”
Shane chuckled skeptically. “Great, so we just have a Jaeger jump into the rift and blow itself to kingdom come? Shot not.”
“I’m sure we could find another solution.” Michael agreed.
“Yeah, if only we could just close it by magic or some-.” Shane cut himself off mid sentence, his eyes swinging around to Twilight like she’d farted loudly. “Could we close it using magic?”
The entire table’s attention turned to the unicorn.
“Um, well… uh…” Twilight stammered, literally at a loss for words. “I… I don’t know, it’s something I haven’t really thought about before.”
“Never at all sprung to mind?” Shane pointed out disbelievingly. “It’s a pretty simple thought!”
“Well, no it’s not.” Twilight said, trying to claw back a little dignity. “Firstly, you don’t know anything about how unicorn magic works. It’s not quite as easy as snapping your fingers and making everything perfect… if we, ugh, had fingers that is.”
Shane crossed his arms defensively. “Okay then, explain.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Well, firstly you’d need to be close enough to the breach. Magic gets exponentially harder the further away you are from the target. That in itself is problematic, the breach is almost 9 kilometres under the Eastern Ocean.”
“Use a submarine then.”
Twilight shook her head. “The pressure would almost certainly be fatal for any vessel we have on hand.” She furrowed her brow thoughtfully. “ A Jaeger might be able to take it for a short time though.”
Michael shrugged. “Well I know the old girl can. She’s been pressure tested to the bottom of the Challenger Deep. Ten kilometres or so.” He clarified for the sea of blank faces which looked at him.
Twilight tapped table thoughtfully. “For how long though?”
Michael shrugged. “It’s just a thought.”
Twilight scribbled something down quickly before returning to the problem at hand.. “Second. The breach is several hundred metres long and wide if our data is accurate. Even if I could find a spell or make a spell to close it, the amount of power a unicorn would need would be immense. Too much for one pony to handle.” She shrugged. “An alicorn could handle it, maybe.” Twilight added with a healthy dose of skepticism.
“How about two?” Shane joked.
“Well it would almost half the load.” Twilight muttered seriously. “That’s a considerable difference… but there’s only four Alicorns in Equestria and none of them can pilot a Jaeger.”
Michael drew an imaginary line on the table aimlessly. “How much power are we talking about, just out of curiosity?”
Twilight shrugged helplessly. “I wouldn’t have the faintest idea.”
“I may be able to help there.” The earth pony spoke up. “High Noon, K-Science.” she said, introducing herself to with Twilight a quick smile that Twilight didn’t return. “I’m probably the foremost researcher on the so-called breach.”
“What do you know about it?” Michael asked.
High Noon’s smile wavered. “Not a lot… actually. I could spend years looking at it and I would probably still have so much to learn.”
“Well, what do you know?” Michael asked, a trace of irritation in his voice.
High Noon rolled her eyes “It’s nuclear in nature, it gives off healthy doses of Gamma, Beta and some other sort of high-neutrino radiation and it’s sticking to some sort of schedule in regards to how often it spits out Kaiju. It’s energy capacity is also enormous, the breach alone outputs several terawatts of energy each day.”
“So, nothing useful right now then.” Shane summed up.
“No, not really.” High Noon agreed reluctantly. “But that’s something I can work on and it looks like I’ll have time, as you still haven't figured out how you’ll get down with a unicorn anyway.” She pointed out snidely.
“The Mark III Jaegers will be magic capable.” Twilight reminded the table at large. “Provided nothing goes disastrously, that is probably our best delivery system. I can make a note to ensure their designs meet the pressure requirements and to refit our current Jaeger fleet as well if necessary.”
“Okay, so we have a basic idea of what we’re doing then. Sparky, I want you to coordinate with High Noon whenever you can and try and figure out a way to close it down. Whether that means magic or just simple brute force, I want a solution by the time our first Mark III is operational.”
“Yes sir.” Twilight answered smartly.
“Also, I would like you to assist in the selection process of our Mark III crews. From what I’ve seen you’re rather good at this magic bullshit. If we go with your assumption we’ll need a good crew and an even better machine to go with it. Speaking of that, how are we looking with the Mark IIIs?”
“I’d say we’re looking eleven to thirteen months before the first Mark III is operational. Another few weeks for Everfree Bandit and maybe another month or two for the final Mark II.” Twilight answered, briefly consulting the pony next to her along with some of her notes.
“That’ll have to do I guess.” Michael murmured.
“With respect sir, I disagree.” The unicorn next to High Noon interjected flatly. Everyone looked at her as if she’d burped loudly at a formal dinner. “Aurora, K-Science.” She introduced herself haughtily. “The Kaiju are getting larger and more aggressive. In the time since records have been kept, there has been an almost 8% increase in muscular and bone density in Kaiju tissue samples taken. They’re adapting faster than any organism ever recorded.”
“So they’re adapting to match our current Jaeger fleet?” Shane asked.
A trace of uncertainty clouded the unicorn’s gaze. “I have nothing to substantiate that claim. Thanks to your trigger-happy subordinates, the last few specimens have left very little useful evidence behind.” She said as if she’d found a drowned fly in her soup. “A live specimen would be preferable for study-”
“And that’s never going to happen.” Michael said forcefully. “A Kaiju would far too dangerous to keep alive, even in a crippled state.”
“Well,” Aurora shot back crossly, “Until I have access to better specimens, my ability to help your cause are somewhat limited.”
“I hear much more of this and I think my brain is going to throttle itself.” Shane muttered under his breath, prompting a few smirks and sniggers at his end of the table.
Aurora didn’t notice. “I would suggest that if the opportunity to contain a live Kaiju arises, we should take it. The amount we could learn about the creatures would be monumental.”
“I’ll take it under consideration.” Michael replied diplomatically. “Still, with that development, I suggest you light a fire under the Mark III development, Twilight.”
“I’ll try, but it’s unlikely there will be much progress without major losses in quality and reliability. This isn’t exactly something you want to rush.” Twilight pointed out.
“Fair enough.” Michael sighed defeatedly. “Alright, I think we’ve got what we needed out of today. I want updates when they happen so that if we need to scrap this idea, we can come up with something else. Clear?“
A chorus of affirmative replies came from around the table.
“Good.” Michael nodded. “Now-.”
He was interrupted by the doors at the end of the room swinging open and an incredibly nervous assistant walking in, almost tripping over a small decorative plant by the door.
“Sorry. Sorry.” She blurted out, half torn between fixing the plant and talking.. “Sorry, Sir. Sir, it’s important.”
Michael gave the intruder a soft, patient smile. If was irritated at being interrupted, he didn’t show it. “How about you start at the beginning.”
The pony seemed to regain a little of her composure. “We just received a communique from someone, it’s important.”
“Someone.” Michael repeated cautiously. “Does this someone have a name?”
“Sorry sir, a message from Wing Lord Forsyth. He has requested a meeting with you. In a week.” She said, licking her lips nervously. The rest of the table visibly stiffened at the name.
“Now forgive me if I don’t know my history, but who, sorry?” Michael asked.
Twilight recovered first. “Wing Lord Forsyth is the supreme military commander of the Great Eyrie, Oberon. He is the Shrike’s military advisor and oversees the defence of the city.” She explained. “He’s a griffon, sir, quite possibly the oldest one alive.”
Michael turned to face the messenger, thinking back on the words Celestia had given him in his office some time ago. “Did he say what he wanted?”
She cleared her throat. “He, uh, he said he wants to commision a Jaeger.”
***
Several floors above the meeting, Rainbow Dash lay in her bunk, a small, unassuming double decked steel framed bed with was roughly shoved up against the wall of an equally unassuming room. There were no windows but the air was cool and fresh thanks to a large cent buried in the ceiling. Dozens of tiny cracks and lines crisscrossed the roof and as she lay, feeling a little bored, she traced imaginary lines along them with her eyes.
She and Lightning Dust were to stay in the shatterdome until Daring Dragoon was shipped to Trottingham. In the meantime they’d practice with their Jaeger, engaging in field tests as well as simulated exercises. To Rainbow it sounded exciting, she was looking forward to playing around with her new Jaeger, finding its limits and honing herself to be the best she could be.
Some small part of it did seem a bit worrisome though. Piloting Daring Dragoon was incredible, she wouldn’t dispute that, but from her brief time in the lithe Jaeger she had started to develop an almost subconscious desire for action, a thirst to pit herself against the greatest foe she’d ever known. It went beyond the regular ‘twitchiness’ that she regularly experienced and bordered onto something else a little darker.
That scared her a little. She’d never been afraid of a scrap before, at least not that she would admit, but this was different. The energetic Jaeger was almost downright bloodthirsty. Somewhere down there, was a desire to fight for fighting's sake. To snap bone and pulverize flesh joyfully, without concern for life or limits.
She shivered slightly at the thought. She had nothing against fighting, she just preferred it for a reason, like defending her friends or bringing a bad guy in.
Maybe it was something to do with Lightning Dust, her copilot was certainly more aggressive and gung-ho than she was, an almost impressive achievement in the case of the later, but Rainbow didn’t think she was quite that vicious.
Hopefully.
As if somehow hearing her thoughts, the door slid open with a faint scrape and Lightning Dust practically pranced into the room, a self-assured smile on her face.
“Somepony is in a good mood.” Rainbow remarked dryly, not looking away from the thin crack which ran across the roof. She quickly brushed the concern she’d felt away, it wouldn’t do to confront Lightning Dust about it just yet.
“Of course I am.” Lightning Dust said back,her chest puffed out proudly. “It’s been a great day. I got to test a Jaeger and I got invited out tonight.”
Rainbow Dash spared her a glance. “That’s nice.”
“Yeah, Wave Chill and Lightning Streak were going out a bar nearby and Wave Chill invited me.” Lightning Dust boasted
Rainbow felt a smile creep across her face, it seemed that Lightning Dust’s tough persona was much easier to crack through than her own. “He’s nothing incredible, I spent a couple of days working with him when this whole thing started, he’s nice enough…a bit too regimented though I reckon.”
“You’re just jealous.” Lightning Dust fired back.
“Trust me, I’m not.” Rainbow mumbled back, staring intently at the ceiling. It took her almost a minute to realise that Lightning Dust was still sitting down, looking up at her expectantly. She let out a quiet sigh. “What do you want?”
“I was uh, kinda hoping you’d want to come.” Lightning Dust muttered. “Since we’re, you know, friends, and all.” She added awkwardly.
Rainbow Dash rolled over onto her belly. “Well, I had planned on going out with Twilight and Applejack someplace, but I’m sure I could convince them to go wherever it is you’re going.”
Lightning Dust’s jaw seemed to tighten a little but she accepted the proposal with a nod. “So that'll be the eight of us then. I saw Misty with her brother before, can’t imagine how he convinced her to go out past her bedtime.” Lightning Dust chuckled.
Rainbow shrugged indifferently, rolling off her perch with a brief flutter of wings.
“Where are you going?” Lightning Dust asked, examining her mane in a small mirror.
“To tell my friends what’s happening.” Rainbow said, scrunching her nose up with annoyance as Lightning Dust brushed her mane back. “And to get away from you before you start swooning.”
“Jealous!” Lightning Dust barked playfully, prompting Rainbow to pull another disgusted face.
“Desperate…” Rainbow fired back, zipping out before Lightning Dust could come up with some clever comeback.
***
The shatterdome seemed colder than Lightning Streak remembered. After months at the much less spartan Academy, the starkly utilitarian structure was a bit of a jarring comparison. He wasn’t one to complain though, and took the change as phlegmatically as he could; he was only planning on staying for a day or two anyway.
But it wasn’t just the shatterdome which was bothering him.
For reasons unknown and despite his social plans, Misty had accompanied him. She had not even been included in his plans originally, only finding out through sheer dumb luck and then immediately offering to join him.
He suspected that she was, of all things, still a little scared of him and had tagged along for no other reason than to show that she could be reasonable. Whether that was actually the case remained to be seen though, Lightning Streak suspected she probably wouldn’t be able to put up with a night out but she had surprised him before..
Either that or she was actually starting to change for the better.
Lightning Streak shuddered slightly as if a cool breeze had brushed past him, the idea of his sister becoming sociable was disturbing for some reason.
Still, could be worse
He checked the small clock set on the wall of his dorm, it was time for him to go. He pushed away the few bit of paperwork he had brought down and left the bare room, spinning the locking wheel behind him. It was a short walk to the elevators and then another two hundred metres or so to the main foyer, he was supposed to be meeting Wave Chill and whoever it was he was bringing down there in a few minutes so Lightning Streak didn’t rush, he had plenty of time.
He called for the elevator, waiting patiently until the door slid open with a soft pong. The car was already occupied, a short, youthful mare standing absently in the back corner with the markings in an engineer embroidered on her uniform’s shoulder . He flashed her a smile as he entered, it never hurt to be polite. The doors slid closed with a quiet thunk and he considered himself to a few moments of peaceful silence.
“Um… hi.”
Or not
Lightning Streak looked back at the mare with a polite smile as he could. “Hi.”
Her mouth almost seemed to flip open and the most fan-girlish squeal Lightning Streak had possibly heard in his life come out of her life.
‘Oh boy… He thought, searching for a way out of the metal cage.
“Wow! I’m actually talking to you, this is the best thing that’s happened all day.”
‘Please don’t start, you look so nice...’ Lightning Streak thought desperately, taking a tiny step away from the almost giddy pony.
“I mean, wow, you were great with the Wonderbolts and all but wow, what you do here is so much cooler.” She gushed, brushing away a lock of her mane nervously. “I’m a huge fan of how you suit up and turn into a enormous, white, fighting machine. Thing.”
“Uh, thanks.” Lightning Streak replied, wondering if the elevator could possibly move any slower. The poor mare kept on rambling, only coming up for air when Lightning Streak was sure she was going to asphyxiate. He was thankfully saved when the car clattered to a stop, the doors slid open and Misty Fly trotted in, giving her brother a curious glance but otherwise making no other indication of his presence. The other mare shut her mouth for a few seconds before firing up again, although no less quieter than she had been before. She seemed to practically on the verge of talking her own mouth off at the idea of being with both of Castle bravo’s pilots.
Lightning Streak slowly counted off to ten in his head, wondering how long it would be before Misty’s fragile temper would snap.
His sister lasted all of four seconds before almost ungraciously slamming the button for the next floor down, causing the elevator to jerk to a sudden halt.
“This is your stop.” Misty said, waving the mare out.
“Uhh, no I’m down on sub-.
“Yes, it is.” The Ranger repeated dangerously, giving the poor pony a look that could melt ice.
The mare let out a quiet squeak of fear and quickly disembarked, the door sliding shut behind her with a solid thud. For a few moments the only sound was the quiet whir of the car’s motors and a soft electric hum.
“You know, I don’t say this much, but thanks sis. I thought she was going to eat me.” Lightning Streak chuckled nervously.
“Oh don’t sound so upset.” Misty smirked, throwing him a dirty look. “I’m sure you would’ve enjoyed it.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Lightning Streak intoned humorlessly, getting a soft chuckle of amusement out of Misty. He looked at her incredulously, astonished to see her struggling to hold a laugh back. “Come on, laugh it up fuzzball!”
Misty crackled another chortle but remained otherwise stoic, the only sign of her amusement a slightly upturned smirk. The two siblings exchanged a few silent glances, both privately wondering which one would break first.
“Look at us, its like one of us farted in a packed elevator and doesn’t want to admit it cause it smells.” Lightning Streak joked.
Misty broke, a loud grating laugh coming from her mouth before she could hold it back. Lightning Streak quickly following suit. Neither noticed the elevator car stop nor the doors slide open.
“Uh…”
The two Rangers looked up, seeing a very confused mare with her mane done up in a tight bun standing in the hallway. She seemed completely frozen by shock, looking between the two cackling pegasi like they belonged in a mad house.
“You didn’t see anything.” Misty warned her icily, quickly regaining her decorum and returning to her usual no nonsense attitude.
The pony nodded quickly. “I’ll just take the next one.”
“You do that.” Misty smiled dangerously, closing the doors before the pony outside could make another peep.
“Well that happened.” Lightning Streak remarked wryly. “I didn’t know you could laugh Misty.”
“Yes, I’m sure that was taken out of my programming.” She replied emotionlessly as the elevator accelerated down again smoothly. Lightning Streak gave her a friendly smile as the doors slid open again, spitting them out near the front lobby. They moved on in silence, their brief moment of hysterics inside the elevator forgotten. They worked their way past a few empty offices and around one of the shatterdome’s libraries although it was more akin to a giant storeroom rather than a dedicated place to read and learn.
As they trotted past the entrance to the area, :Lightning Streak noticed Big Macintosh sitting in a far corner, reading a thick book silently. Almost feeling a little mischievous, he changed direction, starting to whistle innocently.
“Where are you going?” Misty asked before noticing the massive stallion and stopping dead in her tracks. She gave her brother a disgusted look. “Ugh, you can catch up.”
Lightning Streak ignored her, actually a little glad she hadn’t followed him over to talk to Big Mac.
“Hey, Big Mac what'cha doing?” He asked when he was sure he was in earshot.
The stallion glanced up over the top of his book silently before looking back down, the simple action apparently enough of an answer.
“Good book?” Lightning Streak asked, tilting his head slightly to read the title. “The History of Mathematics?”
“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh answered stoically.
“Huh, never took you for much of a scholar.” The pegasus mumbled standing around awkwardly as the large stallion seemed to ignore him. Conversation wasn’t Big Mac’s strongpoint. “Hey, I was going out tonight with a couple of others, don’t suppose you’d want to come long would you?” The pegasus asked, jumping straight to point.
Big Mac lowered the book slightly, staring at Lightning Streak suspiciously. The two stallions had never had much beef with each other, unlike their younger siblings, but it would be a bit of a stretch to describe their relationship as anything other than lukewarm.
“Where?” He asked eventually.
Lightning Streak shuffled his hooves awkwardly, as if he were being judged. “Well there’s this bar called the Horse and Jockey over a little ways, pretty nice place.”
Big Mac stared at the pegasus for a few seconds longer before going back to his book.
“Aw come on, I’d be a great night out. They do specials after eight and I’m fairly sure Wave Chill, in his infinite wisdom and with his delusions of immortality, will challenge me to do something stupid, or foolish. Probably both.” Lightning Streak said encouragingly. He let out a quiet sigh and looked Big Mac in the eye. “Look, It’d be great to have somepony else around to makes things interesting and I know we don’t really talk much but I’d like it if you were there”
The massive earth pony looked up again, a barely interested look on his face.
Lightning Streak made a resigned shrug with his wings. “And it would be nice to get to know you a bit better.”
Big Mac fixed Lightning Streak with a blank gaze, his book seemingly forgotten.
“Come on, give me something here, its like I’m trying to read tea leaves or something.” Lightning Streak complained.
Big Mac let out a measured sigh, carefully folding the corner of the page he was on in as a marker and putting the book aside gently.
“So is that a yes?” Lightning Streak asked hopefully.
Big Mac rose off his chair, the comparatively small wooden frame squeaking as his weight lifted off it. “Eeyup.”
Lightning Streak let out an amused snort. “Do you ever say anything else?”
Big Mac gave him a silent stare.
Lightning Streak let out an amused whiny. “Figures…” He muttered as Big Mac padded past him and the book back on the shelf before following Lightning Streak silently, a blank expression on his face.
“So, do you get out much?” Lightning Streak asked casually. “Go around much at home?”
Big Mac blinked once.
“You know you’d get along great with Pinkie’s sister Maud, I’m sure you two would have the most interesting conversations. You’d just blink at each other all day…” He fumed sardonically. “You’d be enraptured…” .
.Big Mac just blinked silently again.
“See?” Lightning Streak insisted, more to himself than anypony else. They rounded a corner into the shatterdome’s main foyer, prompting Lightning Streak to do a quick double take. He was expecting no more than five in their group but before him were nearly a dozen. Wave Chill was talking with Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash excitedly. Behind the two mares stood Applejack and the shatterdome’s J-Tech head, Twilight Sparkle, talking like old friends. Misty stood as far away from everypony else as she could, looking slightly aloof. Soarin idled a few metres away from her, trying to not look at anything in particular. Something about the stallion’s pose indicated he didn’t really want to be there but was more of convention than anything else.
“Damn, what are they all doing here?” Lightning Streak thought aloud.
Big Mac shrugged silently, seemingly indifferent to the large group of ponies.
Lightning Streak gave the stallion a wry look. “Somehow, I knew you would do that.”
***
It didn’t take long for the group to reach the bar that Lightning Streak had chosen. While the ten-odd ponies on their own probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention normally, their fame made any passerby gawp at the group incredulously or bounce up to them ecstatically. Thankfully though, there was no need to fight off packs of rabid fans and admirers with most ponies respectfully keeping their distance.
The Horse and Jockey from the outside was a small, inconspicuous affair; a small sign overhanging the narrow street and a pair of relatively unassuming looking security guards standing watch out the front the only indication that the bar existed at all. Despite its relatively unassuming appearance, the bar’s surprisingly large interior was was usually filled with music and patrons of all shapes and sizes. The bar was one of the few in Manehatten that was host to some of the more exotic species of the world, griffons, minotaurs and zebras were occasional guests and if one were particularly lucky, they could even occasionally find a pack of small drakes visiting from time to time.
Tonight though was not one of those nights though and the only visitors the bar hosted was a small group of griffons who roosted away in a distant corner.
“This is it?” Misty Fly asked as she squeezed in past Big Macintosh.
“This is the place.” Lightning Streak affirmed as they spilled out into a spacious, well furnished bar. Ornate light fittings floated just below the ceiling , bobbing around whenever somepony passed underneath. Dozens of padded chairs, stools and lounges were set out across the bar, most of them occupied by other patrons. The arrival of the group had attracted a bit of attention, several of the bar-goers had stopped their conversations and turned towards the group.
“Well this is nice.” Misty remarked sarcastically.
“Go sit in the corner and stop whining you jumped-up killjoy.” Lightning Dust grumbled before making a beeline for the bar with Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Applejack in tow.
“Bitch…” Misty muttered once she was sure Lightning Dust was out of earshot.
“Good to see you getting along with the new rangers, Misty. I always had such confidence in you.” Lightning Streak remarked dryly.
Misty pulled an annoyed face and vanished into the crowd without another word.
“Well that was a good start.” Lightning Streak said, clearly resisting the urge to rub his face with a hoof. “Good a time as any to get started…” He added irritably, trotting after Wave Chill and Big Macintosh as the other two stallions made a beeline for the bar.
***
Already ahead of the stallions in the group, Twilight and her small group gathered at the bar. All but one of the four mares looked positively enthusiastic at having a night out together and even Lightning Dust still looked like she could enjoy herself if she tried hard.
Of the group, Twilight seemed particularly fascinated with the polished countertop.
“A bar.” She uttered gleefully, running a hoof across the polished counter. “I’ve never been to a real bar before.”
“You don’t drink?” Lightning Dust asked, clearly mortified by the prospect. She looked at Twilight incredulously over the top of an exotic drink she probably couldn’t even pronounce the name of.
“I try not to. I’ve done many studies and experiments in the area of alcoholic beverages and the results are far from optimal.” Twilight explained.
“You-.” Lightning Dust tried to interject
Twilight carried on without noticing. “With effects such as loss of basic motor skills, lack of cognitive and decision making skills, serious liver and brain damage, I don’t see why anypony would want to drink from a physiological viewpoint.
Lightning Dust opened her mouth to counter but Twilight continued as if she hadn’t seen anything.
Still, I must accept that from a psychological standpoint drinking does alleviate many social obstacles that may pop up, and is in itself, a relatively tame social tool when used in moderation. That has nothing to say for the benefits that a small amount of alcohol can have for your heart ...” She trailed off, noticing that Lightning Dust had now finished her drink and was staring off blankly. “Oh I’m sorry, were you trying to say something?”
“No, I think you just about covered it.” Lightning Dust grumbled sarcastically before going to find a part of the bar with a lower average IQ.
“I think you scared her off, Twilight.” Rainbow remarked with a small grin.
“Suits me, never liked that mare much anyway.” Applejack interjected, shooting a flare off after Lightning Dust.
“Aw she’s not so bad once you get to know her, she’s just like me only-.”
“Only a little rougher around the edges.” Applejack finished. “Ah think that’s only the seventh time you’ve said that?”
“Whatever.” Rainbow fired back.
Applejack shook her head, it had been weird without Rainbow Dash around. “Alright. what are ya’ll getting? First round’s on me.”
“Do they have a list of drinks?” Twilight asked uncertainly..
“They have cider on tap.” Rainbow Dash commented, her eyes gleaming slightly.
“Cider is nice.” Twilight agreed.
“And not just any cider! Sweet Apple Acres cider!” Rainbow cried excitedly, her mouth falling open with disbelief. She stared at the tap longingly. “I didn’t know you sold that stuff out here, AJ.”
“We didn’t.” Applejack frowned. “Never sold it much out of Ponyville actually.”
“I guess your family must’ve thought it was a good idea.” Rainbow chipped in.
Applejack let out a quiet huff of irritation. “Yeah, guess so.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Twilight asked. “Gets your orchard more a name for itself and earns your family more money.”
Applejack frowned. “Just guess it ain’t quite as special.”
Rainbow Dash, already holding a mug reverently, ignored Applejack’s comment, cheerfully downing the bubbly liquid with little regard for her friend’s complaint. Before Twilight could even think to glare at Rainbow, a slightly downcast looking stallion dropped onto the stool next to her
“Oh hey Soarin!” Twilight said cheerfully, immediately recognising the newcomer. “I wasn’t sure you’d join us.”
Soarin threw her a look. “I thought I might take you up on your offer, the only other real choice of company I had was the three stooges over there and I don’t feel like destroying my liver just yet.” Soarin remarked, waving vague towards Lightning Streak’s group with a flap of his wing.
“Could’ve gone with Shane and Michael, I’m sure they’d like the company.” Twilight pointed out.
“I don’t really want to be around them right now.” Soarin muttered, waving over a bartender and giving her a quick set of directions. She seemed a little confused at first but trotted off regardless, no doubt preparing a drink for the stallion. She returned a moment later with a short glass filled with an almost psychedelic range of colours running through it.
“What’s that?” Rainbow asked, pointing at the blaze of colours which slowly settled in Soarin’s cup.
“It’s called a Rowdy Bitch.” Soarin answered gruffly.
“Odd name. What’s in it?” She asked, leaning over Applejack to get a closer look at the drink.
Soarin peered into the drink blankly. “Stuff.”
“You seem to be in particularly fine mood.” Rainbow commented, getting a few nods of agreement from the other mares around the bar,
“I’d rather not talk about it.” Soarin mumbled defensively.
“Talking to other ponies about your problems can be good, Soarin. Maybe we can help you with whatever the problem is?” Twilight offered.
“Well, thanks, but I don’t think you’d be able to help me.” Soarin said with a half-smile.
“How about we just try, hmm?” Twilight suggested encouragingly.
The stallion sat and considered for a few seconds, his eyes flickering between his glass and the counter uncertainly. “Alright, but I’d rather you keep it among yourselves. It’s the promotion I got.” Soarin stared into his brightly coloured drink silently or a few seconds. “It just almost feels like it’s a bit of a kick upstairs.”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight exchanged a confused look. “I don’t get it.” They said in unison.
Soarin adopted a remarkably bad impersonation of Michael. “Hey, you two just wrecked Jaeger so you’re getting a promotion so you don't wreck another.”
“But they’re giving you a new Jaeger.” Twilight pointed out, the small umbrella in her drink spinning with a purple glow.
“You’ve seen how often they deploy? Duty of command and all?” Soarin shot back wryly.
“I thought you told me you didn’t want to see combat.” Rainbow asked.
“Well, yeah, but this is different. You said it yourself, it’s another story when someone else is holding you back.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “You’ve got a point, but I think you should take this opportunity and run with it. I’d jump at the chance to be in command of a strike group.” She said wistfully.
Soarin let a quiet chuckle. “I don’t think you’d be saying that if you actually did, there’s a lot more to commanding than just giving out orders.”
“Like there’s more to runnin’ an apple farm than just growing apples.” Applejack piped up helpfully.
“Didn’t Big Mac do most of the book keeping?” Twilight asked.
“That’s beside the point, Twi.” Applejack grumbled defensively. “There’s still a lot to it.”
“Oh, I’m not doubting that. I could imagine the bookkeeping alone would be rather impressive. Maybe I should look into it when this all blows over.”
The small group sat pensively for a moment, considering Twilight’s words. It was almost a foreign thought to consider the war ending, it had consumed Equestria for long enough already.
“What are you going to do when this is over, Soarin?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Hell if I know…” He muttered. “Something quiet, that’d be a nice change of pace.”
“You could be a librarian.” Twilight suggested with a soft giggle.
“I wouldn’t mind that...” Soarin said with a soft smile.
“Boring more like it, where’s the fun, where’s the thrill?” Rainbow butted in loudly.
“Oh I think I’m getting enough of that at the moment to last me a lifetime.” Soarin laughed. “You go have an arm ripped off and then let me know how you feel.”
“I’m too fast, I’d never give them the chance to hit me.” Rainbow boasted. “Fastest mare in Equestria in the fastest Jaeger in Equestria, rather fitting don’t you think?”
“Ah’d rather mine any day of the week. Your thingo looks like it would fall apart in a stiff breeze.” Applejack jeered.
“It’s been engineered a bit better than that, Applejack.” Twilight complained. “For starters-.”
“Ah know Twi, it was a joke.” the farmer said, hastily covering before Twilight decided that going into the details of the Jaeger’s construction was necessary.
Twilight hid an annoyed expression, turning back to Soarin. “I think you’re taking this whole thing the wrong way, I’m sure neither Shane or Michael meant any disrespect for you.”
Soarin slowly let out a long breath. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He admitted.
“See, nothing to worry about then.” Twilight said warmly.
Soarin didn’t seem to share her optimism, his face twisting up a little as if he wanted to disagree with Twilight was too polite to do so.He finished off his drink with a disatisfied grunt, wishing he was someplace else.
“Want another drink, Soarin?” Twilight offered.
“Nah, I think I’m going to head off, I’m sure there’s a bucket-load of paperwork for at the shatterdome to do.” Soarin said with a quiet sound that made it clear what he really thought of the idea of doing paperwork
“But you just got here.” Rainbow protested.
Soarin shrugged silently, placing a few bits on the counter for his drink and leaving the bar as quickly as he’d arrived.
“There is something seriously wrong with him.” Rainbow said suspiciously. “He’s not usually so…”
“Snippy?” Twilight suggested.
“Yeah.” Rainbow muttered.
“Ah wouldn’t worry yourself about it sugarcube, poor stallion probably has enough on his mind without you jumping up and down in front of him like Pinkie would.” Applejack said with a not at all reassuring smile.
Rainbow Dash huffed quietly, silently accepting that her friend was probably right.
“Maybe we should just put it aside for the moment, don’t want to ruin our night out do we?” Twilight suggest amicably. “Come on Rainbow, I’ll get you another drink. How’s another cider sound…”
***
A few metres away from where Twilight's herd sat, Lightning Streak’s small group had made camp. Wave Chill looked a little too eager and Big Macintosh had his forelegs up on the bartop, a perfectly blank and level expression on his face.
Lightning Streak eyed the counter dubiously, the mug-stained tabletop was worn from years of use and had an almost infused smell of alcohol. He’d been to the Horse and Jockey several times before, but never with a mute giant and a foolish showoff.
“You know, I’m starting to have second thoughts about this. Are you sure you can’t be a little more imaginative?” He said, wishing he was suddenly with somepony he felt more comfortable with. Wave Chill was alright company but Big Mac seemed to alternate between staring at him and the lights bobbing over their heads.
“I’m young, I’m foolish, I’m prone to bouts of self-indulgence and I drink for the hell of it when I can. Did you really expect anything else from me?” Wave Chill rambled, whistling over a bartender and ordering the first round.”You got anything else better in mind?”
Lightning Streak shrugged. “When you put it like that, I guess not. You down for this Macarena?” He asked, turning to the silent Big Macintosh.
Big Macintosh gave him a blank look, clearly not expecting such a nickname. He eventually shrugged and took the drink without complaint.
“Steel yourself guys, I’ll have you know I was a notoriously good drinker in college.” Wave Chill warned slyly.
“Out of your group of one I would guess.” Lightning Streak muttered, enjoying the way that his comment seemed to rile up Wave Chill. The young stallion was sometimes like his sister in that regard. Push the right buttons and away you go. “You know, when I was in college I barely drank, you know, actually being busy studying, but the few times I did I was renowned as the ‘Stallion of Steel’.”
Wave Chill snorted contemptuously. “Bullshit, you got that from a comic or something.”
“Didn’t say it was an imaginative name.” Lightning Streak chuckled. “What about you Big Mac, you ever do anything like that in college? Can’t imagine you being much a social drinker.”
Big Macintosh looked a little embarrassed, hiding his face in his tankard for a moment. “Ah never went to college…” He mumbled, looking away. “Never did anything past primary school…”.
The two pegasi shared a surprised look. Secondary education in Equestria wasn’t mandatory but was almost universal in some shape or form. Finding somepony who had never received any form of higher education was an oddity, to say the least.
“Fair enough…” Lightning Streak trailed off awkwardly.
“I ain’t dumb though. Ah taught myself everything.” Big Macintosh added defensively, a soft scowl appearing on his face. “I know what you’ll thinking, Ah get it all the darn time.”
“I wasn’t thinking you were an idiot Mac, I know you're not. You’d have to be pretty clever or you wouldn’t be here.”
Big Mac rumbled lowly but said nothing else, giving the two Rangers a slightly dirty look.
“We’re kids from privilege. We had money, we had an education. I’m going to pretend I know that it’s like for you. I’m not going to judge you for it though.” Lightning Streak said kindly. “You’re a decent pony, that’s all that matters to me.”
Big Mac let out a quiet grunt, lifting the tankard and drinking heavily from it.
Wave Chill recovered first, grabbing his own tankard with indecent haste. “He’s off! Sneaky bugger!”
Lightning Streak hesitated for a moment before grabbing his own mug He gave Big Mac a friendly look, pleased to note that the stallion didn’t look quite as irked as he had a minute ago.
Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
***
At the other end of the bar, far away from the shenanigans of the other Rangers, Misty Fly sat alone. She’d chosen a corner seat at the end of the bar, far away from most of the crowd. In her corner she was fairly inconspicuous, she’d only been bothered by a few ponies who had recognised. Incredibly, she’d dealt with them relatively politely, only telling one of them to Piss off!’ when he tried buying her a drink. Despite everything, she actually found herself enjoying the bar. The atmosphere was nice, nopony was getting up in her face and she could watch her brother be stupid with his new friends from a relatively safe distance.
It was all relatively peaceful until an obnoxiously bright cyan figure slammed into the chair next to boisterously.
“Lucy, I’m home!” The pegasus announced loudly.
Misty looked at her like she had asked for her to pay the bill. “I’m not Lucy.” She replied flatly, shifting away from the interloper slightly. She immediately recognised the mare, she was one of Soarin and Wave Chill’s cadets, the one who had piloted the Jaeger earlier in the morning.
“I knew that... wait a minute you’re not Rainbow Dash.” Lightning Dust muttered, squinting at Misty closely.
Misty ignored her.
“You look familiar though, did I screw your brother or something?” Lightning Dust asked casually.
Misty looked at Lightning Dust furiously. “I have no idea. Now piss off!”
“Wow. You’re an arsehole.” Lightning Dust commented dryly. She thought for a moment. “And that’s me saying that.”
“I’m sure the Jaeger Corp values you for your ability to state the obvious.” Misty sneered.
Lightning Dust hit Misty’s shoulder in a friendly manner that did nothing to make the pegasus unwind. “You need to loosen up lady, enjoy your life a little more. Unwind a little, y’know.”
“Go away.” Misty growled.
“You sleep around at all? I mean, I did at some point, I think. Yes I had that stage where I needed a nice bi-.”
Misty clamped the pegasus’ mouth shut before she could go any further. “Shut up and go away.”
Lightning Dust blinked silently, slowly worming her jaw loose from Misty’s grip. “How many was it…” She trailed off absently as she slowly counted off in her head, her eyes shifting slowly to the left every time she mentally ticked somepony off. “Forty seven.” She answered. “I can name them all if you’d like.”
Misty’s eyes narrowed slightly, the other pegasus had something about her that she found oddly relatable. She decide to tolerate the mare for another minute, just to sate her curiosity “How do you even remember something like that?”
“I just remember things, it’s something I’m good at.” She boasted drunkenly. “Go on, ask me anything.”
“Alright then, how many Royal Darbys did I win during my time in the Wonderbolts?” Misty asked confidently.
Lightning Dust poked her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes losing focus as she considered the question. “Three. Four if you count the one you won while you were posing for Fleetfoot.” She answered triumphantly.
Misty let out a quiet snort of amusement, silently impressed that Lightning Dust knew the correct answer. Only a handful of ponies could’ve known that, Spitfire probably didn’t even know.
“See, I told you I’m good.” Lightning Dust continued.”Now I got a question for you, how many stallions have you slept with?”
“You heard me. As for why I care, I like to keep scores. Numbers. Thiiinngs.” She said, dragging the word out like it was dough. “Let’s me know how much better I am than everypony else.” Lightning Dust explained with a quiet hiccup.
“Is that why you started with me then? Cause I’d wager that everypony else in here would beat you hooves down in that field.” Misty sneered mockingly.
Lightning Dust looked like she’d been slapped. Her face twisted into one of annoyance before her inebriated brain processed exactly what Misty had said and chuckled slowly. “So I am beating you then.” She guessed, a goofy smile spreading across her face.
Misty’s face fell. “Not talking about it.”
Lightning Dust leaned closer, the smell of some kind of liquor washing over Misty’s face. She had a mischievous spark in her eye. “Let me guess, less than ten.”
Misty glared at her silently.
Lightning Dust closed an eye slightly. “Five?”
Misty remained silent, her lips pursed into a thin line.
Lightning Dust let out a quiet chortle. “One?” She giggled.
“Shut up.” Misty growled, averting her eyes from the barely composed pegasus..
Lightning Dust get out a hooting laugh, almost toppling backwards off her stool. “None?” she cackled.
“I said, shut up!”
“You’ve never been with a stallion?!” Lightning Dust cackled, tipping over backwards and knocking over another nearby patron. “Hey, my friend here is still a virgin, want to help her out?” She asked through another fit of giggles.
The stallion gave her a confused look before trotting off as quickly as he could.
Lightning Dust seemed to gather a fragment of her composure. “No way, I mean, no way! You were a Wonderbolt, prime eye-candy. What did you do with all your spare time?”
“Practised.” Misty snarled back venomously..
“Bullshit.” Lightning Dust barked, working her way upright again with the determination of a turtle trying to reach water.
“Go away.” Misty ordered gruffly, forcing herself to not give the mare a kick while she was still down.
“Tell you what, I help you get laid tonight and I’ll leave you alone.” Lightning Dust said, poking Misty’s chest accusingly.
Misty swatted her away. “That makes no sense.”
“Course it does, you just need to be drunk to get it.” She slurred. “Barkeep!”
The barman appeared from behind the counter like he had been shot out of a cannon, a bemused look on his face.
“You sir, what’s the strongest, nicest, most expensive drink on offer? My friend needs to get drunk.”
“No I don’t.” Misy stated indignantly.
“Yes you do.” Lightning Dust fired back nonchalantly, slipping a hoof over Misty;’s shoulder.
“I swear by the crown of Celestia, I will turn you into a placemat if you do not take your hoof off my back and release me from your inebriated, impulsive clutches.”
Lightning Dust looked from her to the bartender. “See what I mean?” She said casually. “We go way back, she wouldn’t placemat me, don’t worry.” She added to reassure the pony, although still having the sense to take her hoof off of Misty.
The barman looked between the two mares for a moment before returning to Lightning Dust’s question like nothing had happened. “Well, I’ve probably got some spirits stacked back here but I’ll tell you what, I made this new drink I call a Kaiju Slurpee, you girls interested?”
“It doesn’t actually have Kaiju in it does it?” Lightning Dust asked curiously..
“No, of course not!” The stallion laughed, “But it does glow a bright blue.”
“Pretty.” Lightning Dust uttered. “I’ll take two.”
“I’ll pass.” Misty muttered, edging as far away from Lightning Dust as she could manage.
“Aw quit being such a wimp. We’re here to celebrate, not sulk in the corner. where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Dead, in a ditch. Covered in kerosene. On fire.” Misty muttered sourly as a pair of small shot glasses skidded across the counter towards them. Each had a half-measure of a blue, luminescent liquid in it.
“Just the one?” Lightning Dust insisted, waving a glass at her tantalisingly.
Misty let out an exasperated breath, Lightning Dust had a sort of endearing, stubborn attitude that she found infuriatingly difficult to not appreciate. “Why do you drink?”
Lightning Dust considered the question for a moment. “ I drink to forget.”
Misty scowled at her silently, her gaze eventually falling on the glass Lightning Dust poked towards her. She took it cautiously, the last time she’d had alcohol was when Spitfire had given her a small measure of her foul liquor in celebration of her own command. Misty had hated it then and she suspected she would hate it now.
“Well, I guess I can drink to forget you.” She muttered scathingly.
“I’ll drink to that.” Lightning Dust chuckled, clinking her glass against Misty’s cheerfully and downing the shot in one go. She pondered the taste for a moment before slamming the glass back down against the counter. “That’s not actually half bad. Bar dude! Another round for me and my buddy here please.”
Misty cringed, this was going to be a long night.
***
Lightning Streak placed his drained mug back on the bench softly, a loud smack of wood against wood next to him loudly announcing that Wave Chill had also finished his first drink. The stallion eagerly grabbed another, starting on his second mug at a slightly unreasonable pace. Lightning Streak looked at him with a tinge of concern in his eyes but held off, Wave Chill knew his limits. Hopefully. Lightning Streak didn’t want to have to mother when he invariably did something stupid.
He stole a glance at Big Macintosh, surprised to see the stallion seemed to be giving Wave Chill the same concerned look.
“I worry him sometimes.” Lightning Streak noted.
“Ah can see that.” Big Mac replied quietly.
“Well, not that much really, usually my worries are spent on keeping my sister in check.” Lightning Streak joked.
Big Mac snorted quietly. “Sounds painful.”
“She’s not usually too bad, usually. She just gets these moods occasionally where she likes to explode at the slightest provocation.”
“Ah’m amazed at how different you two are. It’s like you were raised by different parents.”
“Well, considering our family… I can’t say I’m surprised that she turned out a little odd.”
Big Mac considered his words carefully. “You had bad parents?”
“On the contrary actually, they just never did things quite as you’d expect.”
“Like?”
“Well, for starters, they had her in the first place.” Lightning Streak said.
Big Mac looked at him blankly, a look of confusion etched across his face.
Lightning Streak made an apologetic motion.“Right, sorry. I’ll explain it quickly for you... okay, almost all pegasi follow one of two distinct schools of thought. The first, is the more traditional way and that’s to have a big family. Like, really big. Soarin’s family is a pretty good example of that, he’s got a ton of aunts and uncles and even a few siblings but their are many which are larger”
“Not unlike mah family.” Big Mac said.”There’s always somepony around to lend a hoof if times are tough.”
“Yeah, I suppose. But pegasi families tend to big because, well, we’re a pretty active lot. Even the slowest of pegasi are usually still more active than your average earth pony. For some of us, when we get cooped up there’s usually only a few releases that consistently work…” Lightning Streak finished with an awkward movement of his hoof.
“Oh.” Big Mac said simply.
“Yeah... consequently, your more sedate pegasi have smaller families. and by smaller, I mean like, one foal. There’s very rare to find much in between in any major cloud city. It’s either rellies for days or just a small, tight-knit family group. Of course there’s a whole bunch of other things that contribute to family sizes such as bloodlines, wealth and prestige but let’s not get into that. Just understand that my parents didn’t follow that convention.”
“Your parents had two foals.” Big Mac summarised.
“Yeah, I mean it’s not like it’s anything bad… just unusual, I guess. I think it’s appropriate then that my family was a bit weird…”
“How so?”
“My dad would say the strangest, most stupid but somehow believable shit. I’m sure at one point he had Misty convinced that at night, Princess Celestia actually lowered the sun down on top of the west coast where it stayed until the next day.”
“Wow.” Big Mac muttered in astonishment.
“She was all of four, can’t blame her. Dad was a great bullshit artist. And mum, jeez, mum was the most determined, kindest but also goofiest pegasus I’ve ever known. There wasn’t anything that was too much for her. She’d pull some pretty wicked pranks on us when we were kids.” Lightning Streak chuckled softly before his face became flat again. “Then of course they died and my sister turned into the egocentric arse we all know and love. Call it a coping mechanism, she loved them to bits.” A ghost of a smile cross his lips and he shook his head. “Enough about me though, what about your family? You still work on the farm with your folks”
Big Mac blinked silently. “They ain’t there anymore.” He said softly.
Lightning Streak dropped the topic like it were a pan of flaming hot coals. “Well, how about another drink then? They always say the second one goes down better…”
***
“You see, this is supposed to be easy.” Lightning Dust giggled, watching as her companion hesitated, her cup halfway to her lips. “The third one is always-.”
“Yes, significantly.” Misty slurred, slamming the whole drink down in one motion. She contemplated the taste as the liquid ran down her throat, it was a fiery yet sweet taste that reminded her somewhat of the time she’d eaten a Flaming Dunebug when she was little. Thankfully though, the drink wasn’t squirming the whole way down.
She grimaced, maybe taking the first drink Lightning Dust had bought her out of desperation hadn’t been such a good idea. It had been remarkably easy for the bright pegasus to convince her that a second and then a third round was an even better idea after that.
Now Misty wasn’t so sure.
“Whoa…” She uttered, shaking her head vigorously as the drink settled in her stomach. “I feel something… tingly.”
“That’s buzz. Buzz is good, buzz is life.” Lightning Dust interrupted, chomping noisily on a couple of peanuts. “You should have more.”
Misty shuddered all over. Her brain felt a little fuzzy, almost as if it had been blurred out around the edges, and she was suddenly struggling to find the right words to say. “Dizzy…” she moaned.
“Wow, you really can’t hold your liquor.” Lightning Dust chuckled without concern. “We should do this more often, I bet you’d be a funny drunk.”
Misty stared at her hoof like it had grown a pair of tentacles out of it. She was feeling curious, foolish even, a particularly unusual sensation for the usually stoic mare. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the constant egging on from Lightning Dust, either way, she was feeling incredibly, impossibly, inexplicably impetuous.
“Sure…” Misty Fly giggled foolishly.
“I’ve never heard you laugh before.” Lightning Dust observed. “You have a nice laugh.”
Misty flushed red at the unexpected compliment, feeling her mouth twitch upwards reflexively. “Th-Thanks.”
“No worries.” Lightning Dust smiled as Misty seemed to stumble over herself, even without moving. “You don’t drink much do you?”
“No, I don’t go out much. I don’t enjoy it.”
“Well you seem to be enjoying yourself right now.”
“Yeah.” Misty mumbled quietly. “This is nice… gee, do you reckon I could like this more often?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not.” Lightning Dust laughed. “We’ll go out another time.”
Misty felt a warm sensation spread through her chest. She had rarely ever met somepony who was so accepting of her. She giggled again for no discernible reason, her vision blurring as her head bobbed up and down. “Hey, am I supposed to feel f-faint?”
“Yeah that’s normal.” Lightning Dust said, offering her two cups, one with another Kaiju Slurpee and the other filled with cool water. “Here, drink this, you’ll feel better…”
***
At the opposite end of the bar, Big Macintosh, Wave Chill and Lightning Streak were taking a quick break from the drinking contest Wave Chill had so valiantly suggested. The young pegasus had, despite his cocky, self-assured attitude, had been the first one to call a halt to the drinking and catch a break. Wave Chill’s dark eyes were lazy and unfocused, staring groggily into the wall a few metres opposite him. His entire chest heaved occasionally as he hiccuped silently. Lightning Streak wanted to feel sorry for him, but it was hard when the upstart had jumped into the contest with such a cocksure attitude.
Big Macintosh on the other hand, despite the small tower of mugs that he’d downed, hardly looked any worse off. He seemed to talk a little more but he otherwise showed no outward sign of any discomfort. Lightning Streak glared at him with admiration, the earth pony would be real competition.
“Ready to get going again Wave Chill?” He asked, slapping the pegasus on the back heartily.
“Just… uh… just give me a minute.” Wave Chill groaned, his wings twitching as he breathed in and out.
“Hey.” Big Mac muttered, dragging Lightning Streak’s attention away from the crippled stallion and pointing down towards the other end of the bar with a hoof.
]While it took Lightning Streak a moment to find what he was pointing out and it took him a minute longer to properly comprehend it.
“Misty’s drinking?” He asked, flabbergasted and horrified at the same time.
“With that new mare, no less.” Big Mac added.
“I think I need a minute here.” Lightning Streak said, sure he was misinterpreting the scene somehow. He continued to stare, his eyes as wide as saucers as the two mares talked cheerfully.
“Take all the time ya need.” Big Mac muttered, looking at the clearly intoxicated pegasus through the crowd with a mixture of fascination and dread. .
“Are you ogling my sister?” Lightning Streak asked indignantly.
“Nope!” Big Mac burst out defensively, tearing his gaze off the Ranger and looking at something that wasn’t likely to get him in trouble. He muttered something under his breath about a ten metre pole but Lightning Streak choose to ignore it.
Lightning Streak watched for a moment longer, finding a smile spread across his face as Misty spun on her stool, an adorable, almost comically wide grin on her face.
At least she seemed to be enjoying herself.
“She’s a hooffull.” He muttered.
Big Mac gave him a sympathetic look. “Sounds like my sister.”
“One of the perks of being a big brother.” Lightning Streak agreed. “Y’know, our sisters aren’t really all that different.”
Big Mac raised an eyebrow with amusement. “Ah think you’ve been drinking too much.”
“Okay, discounting the fact that Misty’s ego could dwarf the Eastern Ocean and her generally antisocial behaviour…”
“They both get riled up over things they shouldn’t.” Big Mac agreed.
“They’re both dedicated to their profession, whether that be farming or aerial performance and combat.” Lightning Streak continued.
The earth pony nodded. “Stubborn.”
“Occasionally prideful.”
“Occasionally?” Big Mac snorted.
“Okay, Applejack might have that one over Misty.” Lightning Streak admitted with an infectious laugh. “But they’re not really that different, right?”
“Ah’m not going to agree with you on that one.” Big Macintosh said firmly.
“Literally no fun allowed.” Lightning Streak complained, slightly pissedly.
“ I swear if you two keep this constant yammering up you’re going to give me a second headache.” Wave Chill complained through the counter.
“I believe that’s what they call a migraine.” Lightning Streak jeered. “You hear that Mac? We give out migraines. Never thought you would be such a chatty catty.”
“Just shut up and drink something.” Wave Chill complained.
“Waiting on you sweetheart.” Lightning Streak teased. “Unless you want to just give up now?”
“Never.” Wave Chill growled, giving Lightning Streak a determined growl that his eyes didn’t seem to really support.
“Well, drink up then.” Lightning Streak goaded him.
Lightning Streak was sure he heard the other Ranger mutter some choice words about his parents, a dog and what they probably did together but couldn’t help but smile as Wave Chill grabbed another mug of drink.
It seemed the contest was back on.
***
“What do I mean I’m too drink to have a drunk?” Misty exclaimed hotly.
“I think you just answered your own question.” Lightning Dust cackled, pulling Misty away before she could do something stupid.
“I’m not drunk. I don’t drink.” Misty growled. “Ffff- ething moron.”
“You’re drunker than a glass of water.” Lightning Dust assured her, leading her to a vacant corner lounge and plopping her down gently.
“Drunk… I’ve never been drunk before.” Misty pondered, resting her back up against the longue and draping her hind legs over the edge. “Hey, you’re good at this what do you do when you’re drunk?”
“Make poor life choices...” Lightning Dust remarked under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Find a cutie and see where things go.” Lightning Dust corrected herself.
“Really? That’s it?” Misty asked.
“I’ve never really been that creative.” Lightning Dust admitted. “Why, you got a better idea?”
“Shit, how do I think again?” Misty asked.
“Oh boy…” Lightning Dust muttered under her breath.
Misty frowned. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Lightning Dust shrugged. “You’re a clever mare, I’m sure you can figure things out.”
“B-but how do I talk to them?”
“Back up a few centimetres-, wait, no.” Lightning Dust flushed. “Just say things, they’ll know who you are. You don’t need to say much, just say something to get ‘em interested.”
Misty seemed to have missed her fumble. “Do you really think this will work?” She asked.
“What?”
“The whole thing you were yapping on about before. I mean, being with somepony.” She asked seriously. “Will it work?”
Lightning Dust blinked slowly. “Define work.” She asked.
“Do you think it’ll make me nicer?” Misty asked, a look of almost genuine concern on her face. She’d never cared about what others had thought about her but now, the fact that she was having what could qualify as a social outing with another pony that wasn’t her brother, her pride was really stinging.
Lightning Dust let out an explosive snort of amusement. “No way, this is the stupidest thing you’ve done in your life.”
Misty cocked her head to the side. “What?”
“I said, this is the best idea you’ve had in your life.” Lightning Dust said through a barely suppressed grin. “Now go get ‘em tiger!”
***
An hour and several drinks later, Lightning Streak had something stumble across him which he would have much rather not. He had been poking a bit of fun at Wave chill as the stallion sat face down against the counter, his snout squished up like a wrinkled mandarin against the polished wood. The younger stallion had bitten off a little more than he could chew, downing drinks like a contestant at a pie eating contest before quickly slamming into the proverbial wall and sliding down it like a cream cake.
It suddenly occurred to Lightning Streak that he was also rather hungry.
Big Macintosh had excused himself for some reason Lightning Streak had missed and was quite absent when a very drunk mare dropped in between Lightning Streak and Wave Chill. She barely gave the half passed out stallion a sidewards glance before turning to Lightning Streak.
“Hey there cutie, hows ‘bout you ‘n me find somepony with a Mistletoe cutie mark, if you know what I mean.” She proposed with an overt wink.
It took him a moment to recognise the mare, an unamused expression crossing his face. “I’m your brother.” Lightning Streak replied flatly.
The mare looked like she’d hit with a brick across the face. “Whoopsie.” Misty replied drunkenly, jumping out of the seat like a fire had flared up on it and disappearing before Lightning Streak could stop her.
“Did that really just happen?” Wave Chill asked with a laugh, clearly having enough cognitive function to comprehend the short but humiliating conversation.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Lightning Streak answered, terror written across his face. Lightning Dust had somehow gotten Misty drunk, he could think of almost no fate worse. “Where’d she go?”
“Talking with Maccie.” Wave Chill said with a quiet giggle, pointing out a clearly terrified Big Mac through the crowd. Misty had a hoof draped around his neck and a sultry look on her face, her words were thankfully drowned out by the general murmur in the bar though.
“Oh boy…” Lightning Streak grumbled, moving to intervene before things got really out of hand. He was barely halfway towards Big Mac though when another burly earth pony blocked his view. by the time he’d forced his way past, Misty was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, Big Mac, where’d she go?” Lightning Streak asked, giving the stallion a nudge.
Big Macintosh ignored him, his eyes shrunken to pinpricks and his tussled mane almost seemed to be standing on edge. He looked like a lynx which had just found itself in the sights of a griffon hunter.
“Oi, Mac. You alright?”
Big Macintosh finally seemed to notice him but his jaw seemed almost frozen in place.
He finally managed to regain motor control after what seemed like an incomprehensibly long internal struggle. “Ah need another drink.”
***
Nearly an hour had passed since Lightning Dust had sent her companion on her merry way before it finally caught up with her. She was halfway through a glass of cool, soothing water when Lightning Streak practically jumped on her.
“Did you get Misty drunk?” He asked accusingly, glaring daggers at the mare.
“I may have.” Lightning Dust answered in a remarkably flat tone. She fluttered her eyes at him innocently. “Why?” She asked as sweetly as she could manage.Lightning Dust relished the slightly uncomfortable look the stallion have her.
“Because she just came up to me and Big Mac and asked if he wanted to uhh…” He flushed slightly. “You know…”
“Whoops.” Lightning Dust answered dryly, staring off into the distance with an amused look plastered over her features. She smiled to herself as if remembering an old joke before looking back at the irate stallion.
Lightning Streak let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t you have even a shred of decency? The poor mare can hardly walk straight!”
Lightning Dust let out an impressed sound. “Wow. She only had three drinks.”
:Lightning Streak blinked slowly. “Really?,Wow, what a lightweight…”
“I know right?” Lightning Dust answered drunkenly, taking the opportunity to not too subtly check the stallion out while he was next to her. “Where is she now?”
“That’s the worst part, I have no idea.” Lightning Streak fumed, glaring furiously at the other pegasus. Whether he was irritated at her overt look or his sister’s disappearance though, Lightning Dust couldn’t tell.
“I’m hardly responsible for what she does… in fact I don't’ think I’m hardly responsible right now.” She paused suggestively, her eyes seemingly losing focus before snapping back clearly. “Hey, speaking of responsibility, don’t you have a drinking contest to get back to?”
“Least of my problems…” He muttered, pulling an unamused expression and sauntered off, presumably, to find either his drinking companions or his sister, the two stallions seemed to have somehow simply vanished from the bar despite one of them being the size of a cart. Maybe the prospect of Misty trying to hit on ponies in the bar had scared the two of them out of their minds.
Lightning Dust lifted her glass back to her lips, a mischievous smile creeping across her face. “I am so going to regret this tomorrow.”
***
The end of the night for Big Macintosh was nothing quite like he had expected.
Lightning Streak was still absent, presumably hunting through the city from end to end in the vain hope of finding his sister. Big Mac admired his dedication though in his opinion, Misty Fly was better off missing.
A faint groan caught his attention, Wave Chill was starting to stir. Starting being the key word, the stallion’s face looked like it had been painfully glued to the top of the counter and what noises he were making were barely distinguishable from unintelligible gibberish.
Although it held no measure of importance to him, Big Mac guessed he had won the drinking contest by default. Funny, considering he’d hardly drunk anything over the night, content to sit and listen to Lightning Streak or Wave Chill babble on about something or other in a boasting manner that seemed prevalent amongst pegasi.
He watched Wave Chill silently for a few minutes, no doubt somepony smarter than him could describe the odd sort of pleasure he felt at seeing the pony’s discomfort. His silent thoughts were interrupted when a familiar hoof tapped him on the shoulder He turned slowly not at all surprised to find his sister with another pony draped over her back, Twilight Sparkle, Big Mac realised slowly. Applejack looked incredibly tired, her eyes rimmed by small bags and a slightly dazed look. She still looked rather happy though, which was some relief to the stallion.
“We’re gonna get going, Ah think Twilight here has had a bit too much of the drink.” Applejack said through a yawn, checking her friend was hoisted over her back securely.
“I don’t want to go home mum… we only got to the library three hours ago.” Twilight complained groggily.
Applejack shot the mare an unimpressed look, a slight hint of concern breaking through the irritation in her eyes.
Big Mac nodded, letting his sister cart off her friend with the enthusiasm of a mother putting her disobedient child to bed.
“Count on Twilight to get herself smashed on her first real night out.”
Big Mac looked again, his eyes falling on the form of Applejack’s other friend, Rainbow Dash. She shared the same look as Applejack, tired but content. Her prismatic mane caught the slowly dying light in a rather spectacular fashion, a beautiful spectrum of bold colours and dark lines reminding Big Mac of a piece of art he had seen on display in Ponyville a long time ago.
“Heh.” He chuckled softly, tearing his eyes away from the interesting sight
Rainbow Dash’s eyes fell on Wave Chill, an amused grin creeping over her face. Big Mac couldn’t help but mirror the action, leaving both ponies grinning like idiots.
“Jeez, since when does your face move?” Rainbow bantered playfully.
“Rainbow…” Applejack growled irritably a few metres away.
“Yeah, yeah on my way.” Rainbow muttered, stomping away from Big Mac with an annoyed flick of her tail.
Big Mac made an amused sound in the back of his throat, draining the last dregs of his drink and looking back at Wave Chill. As amusing at would have been, he could not leave the stallion at the bar all night. He sorted their tab, pulling a few stray bits he saved for special occasions out from his yoke and hauled Wave Chill onto his back. While some might have trouble hefting another pony, Wave Chill felt like little more than a twig to Big Mac.
‘Let’s get you home.’
***
It took almost another hour before Lightning Dust had started to sober up enough to notice that Misty still was nowhere to be found. While she was fairly comfortable leaving the mare to her own devices and letting fate take its course, the more reasonable part of her mind made her abandon the bar and look for her new friend. She stumbled around the bar at first to little avail before widening her search, stepping outside and rooting around a few nearby streets. It took her another fifteen minutes before she almost literally tripped over the pegasus in question.
“Hey! Watch where you sleep y-!” She snapped before noticing the bundle of fur, feathers and hair in the gutter she’d trodden on was, in fact, her new friend. “Misty, what the heck are you doing out here?”
Misty mumbled something unintelligible, her chest rising and falling shakily. Lightning Dust’s heart jumped into her throat, if Misty had gotten herself into trouble it would’ve been all her fault. She scooped the other pegasus up, worrying over her like a mother hen. Se forestalled the motion, backing away slightly as Misty pushed hit her away.
“You alright?” Lightning Dust asked, taking a small step closer. Misty seemed unhurt but if the quick look she’d got at her face was any indication she had been crying.
“No.” Misty muttered, curling up tighter and looking away from the other pegasus.
“Nopony touched…” Lightning Dust started, Misty cutting her off with a sharp shake of her head.
Lightning Dust breathed a quiet sigh of relief, at least she could absolve herself of some guilt. The other pegasus shied away as Lightning Dust reached out comfortingly. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Misty glared at her silently.
Lightning Dust stared down at her sympathetically and sighed deeply. “Look, I’m not normally one for, well, giving a shit, but you know what? I’m half-drunk so why not?” She plopped her rump down on the curb next to Misty and stared out at city. Over the tops of houses and apartments she could make out the top of the shatterdome, a hundred blinking lights across it making it look like a small city in its own right. She sat there for several minutes in silence, waiting for Misty to say something. Lightning Dust frowned, she had been waiting so long she could feel the more active part of mind starting to throttle itself out of boredom.
“Go away.” Misty mumbled into the gutter.
“You’re a right arsehole.” Lightning Dust suggested helpfully.
“I said go away.” Misty repeated, talking into the stonework like it was a pillow.
“Fight me.” Lightning Dust jeered.
“Feth off.” Misty growled.
Lightning Dust didn’t budge. “You’re the biggest arsehole I’ve ever met and until you talk to me, you’re the biggest arsehole in history.”
Misty seemed to consider this for a moment before finally pulling her face out of the sidewalk and staring at Lightning Dust, a mix of anger, self- and sadness in her bright blue eyes. t. Her face was wet with tears and her eyes were red and puffy, the usual self-confident attitude nowhere to be found.
“I am an arsehole.” Misty sniffled, picking herself up off the pavement with as much decency as she could manage. “And normally that fact wouldn’t bother me, but right now it’s the most important thing in my life. Everypony hates me, even my brother hates me.”
“Your brother loves you.” Lightning Dust said encouragingly. “I don’t know him that well but I know he’d never leave you out to dry.”
Misty let out a choked cough. “He threatened to leave me, why would he do that? Why would any family ever do that?”
“My family never came looking for me when I dropped off the grid. They abandoned me, well, I actually abandoned them but...” Lightning Dust said, trying not to let her voice sound hurt. “I’ve never heard from them since though.. Which is fine right? Families do that don’t they? Happened to you, happened to me.” She said quickly, looking away so Misty couldn’t see her face.
“My family died.” Misty stated bluntly. “He’s all I have left.”
Lightning Dust felt a surge of embarrassment and guilt. “Shit. Sorry.”
Misty sank back to the pavement, looking into the pavers like she could see her reflection in them. “I’m a horrible pony.”
Lightning Dust crouched down next to her. “Yes, you were. But you see that now, you’re trying to change aren't you? That’s something you should be really proud of, not everypony can do that.”
Misty sniffled quietly.
“You have your downfalls, but we all do. Nopony is perfect. Well, I reckon I’m pretty close…” Lightning Dust said, her mouth curving up into a thin grin.
Misty’s face adopted a fleeting smile. “Yeah, maybe.” She agreed hesitantly. The pegasus twitched slightly and slowly, almost fearfully, laid her head on Lightning Dusts’ shoulder. It seemed like a foreign action for her and even with her mind clouded, Lightning Dust could tell it was probably the first time she had made an affectionate action towards another pony, perhaps barring her brother, in a long time. Misty shifted uncomfortably, almost making to withdraw from the contact but Lightning Dust wrapped a wing around her, pulling her into a gentle hug.
“Is this what having a friend is like?” Misty asked.
“Can be.” Lightning Dust said softly.
Misty let out a long breath, almost like a quiet pur. “I like it.” She said finally. “I never thought I’d like having a friend.”
“I’ve never wanted to have friends. I’ve always told myself I didn’t need them, that they’d just weigh me down. But now, I don’t know how I’ve been able to do it all alone.” She shuddered uncomfortably. “The silence isn’t so much of a comfort now.”
Lightning Dust nodded silently. She had started to feel something similar since she had started drifting with Rainbow Dash.
“But we can be friends can’t we?” Misty asked, her voice almost sounding hopeful.
“Okay, you are really drunk.” Lightning Dust said with a soft chuckle. “But for what it matters, I like you Misty.You’re tough, you’re good at what you do and you’re not an idiot. They’re things I like in a pony. So yeah, friends.”
“You mean it?”
“Heck no, I’m drunk. I don’t even know what I’m really saying right now..” Lightning Dust snapped playfully, giving Misty a subtle wink.
Misty let out a sad laugh, a faint smile appearing over her face. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Lightning Dust said kicking one of the pavers absently. She rifled Misty’s mane playfully, taking delight in the way the pegasus immediately complained in her usual tone. “Just don’t tell anypony.”
The sound roused Shane from his inert state. He looked up from the pencil he had been intently twirling on the tip of his finger, Twilight's glare pierced into him like daggers.
“Hmm?” He grunted without a measure of interest.
“Shane, are you even paying attention?” The alicorn asked accusingly.
The pencil stopped spinning and dropped to the desk with an obnoxiously loud clatter. The few others in the room, Michael and some of the other higher ranking Shatterdome staff, looked at him expectantly.
“I’m not going to answer that, on the basis that I don’t want to.” Shane replied after a moment of silence, eliciting a sigh of irritation from his instructor.
“The griffon delegation will be arriving tomorrow and you have to be up to scratch on them!” Twilight exclaimed crossly. “I’m sure if I asked you for any of their names you wouldn’t be able to list one.”
He sat up a little straighter, feeling the judging eyes of his brother boring into the side of his head. “Alright, how about you start again. I wasn’t listening.”
He swore part of Twilight’s mane burst into flames before dying down again as her groan of frustration echoed around the room. She took a deep breath, putting a obviously forced smile on her face. “I have had foregone sleep for the last four days to prepare material for this. Some might call it excessive but I think it’s just good business.” She said icily, her left eye twitched dangerously as she spoke. She advanced towards Shane, her horn starting to glow a little. A few ponies shifted away nervously but thankfully a full on rout seemed unlikely. “If you would please pay attention, that’d be grand.” She said sweetly, her horn hovering a few inches from his face. She glared, before smiling again to show that she was harmless.
Mostly harmless, Shane thought.
Michael leaned over. “I never thought I’d say these words, but it’s probably a good thing to listen to the little, angry, purple pony princess.”
Twilight ignored his remark and resettled herself at the front of the room.
“I’ll keep this quick.” She said, throwing all the small cards she’d been levitating into the air with an annoyed flick. “There are three important griffons coming tomorrow. The first is Wing Lord Forsythe. He’s the military commander of Oberon. He’s very old, but could probably turn you into tinned soup if you looked at him the wrong way.”
“Sounds like a pleasant guy.” Shane muttered.
“I’m sure you’ll love him.” Twilight replied deadpan. “Next is Shrike Lysander. He’s the leader of Oberon, elected by their High Council. He’s only been Shrike for a few years, is still young and a little naive by Griffon standards but his eyrie loves him. Personally, I think he’s a reasonable leader and the times I’ve had correspondence him he’s been very personable.”
Michael raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
“He’s one of my penpals.” Twilight admitted with huff. “Now if you’d kindly leave my personal affairs behind?”
“Sure, sure.” Michael agreed..
”Last is Master of Finance, Titania. As you may have guessed, she’s the Shrike’s chief financial advisor and manages the treasury. She also sits on the High Council and has done quite well under Lysander’s rule. As the head of a large arms manufacturer, I’m sure she has a vested inter-.”
“We care, why?” Shane complained.
Twilight rolled her eyes irritably. “They’ll have an escort of about half a dozen guards and a handful of advisors and attendants. As a member of Equestria’s royalty, Princess Celestia has asked me to make sure their trip goes as smoothly as possible so I’d appreciate all the help I could get from you two.”
“No complaints from me, I’d rather not get turned into soup.” Shane chuckled.
Twilight shrugged tiredly. “Any questions or should I carry on?”
“Yeah I got a question.” Michael spoke up. “It’s been bugging me since we got this message… since when have the griffons considered the Kaiju a serious threat and since when have they wanted a Jaeger? Last I heard they thought it was, uh, propaganda or something.”
“I don’t know why they’ve had a sudden change in policy, but remember this is the view of one city, not the nation as a whole. Lysander’s views may not fall in line with what the other Shrikes think.”
Shane picked his pencil up again, twirling it between his fingers absently. “Now, I don’t claim to be clever, but I don’t see how a single city could possibly hope to have the resources for a Jaeger. From what I’ve gathered Equestria is having a hard enough time maintaining its fleet, how is one city going to do it?” He asked.
Twilight retreated to her desk and levitated a large, overstacked clipboard up to her face. “Approximate population of Equestria as per to last census, three hundred and thirty-two million. Population of Oberon and its surrounding territory according to their last public census, one hundred and eighty-eight million.” She said levelly.
Shane and Michael exchanged an incredulous look. “How big is this place?”
“Oberon is the third largest Griffon city, behind Sunstone and Griffonstone.” Twilight continued, “The city itself covers several hundred square kilometres and its territories cover an area roughly a third of the size of Equestria, fairly large by griffon standards.”
“Wow.” Michael muttered in awe. “So it’s more like a country then?”
“Suppose so.” Twilight agreed. “Now, while we’re on the topic, is there anything you think we should do while our guests are here?”
“Jaeger demo?” Somepony suggested.
“Good idea.” Twilight beamed. She looked at Shane sweetly, it was generally accepted that he was the man to go to for anything on Jaeger operations. “Who would be available?”
Shane frowned. “Daring Dragoon and Frontier Justice are scheduled to leave in the next few days, they need to be completely cold for the trip so they’re out.” He looked over at Michael questioningly, they didn’t need words to convey the thought. It would be much safer that way, yes, much safer.
“But I do know who’d be up for it…”
***
Pinkie bounded through the Jaeger bay with her usual enthusiasm. While at first, the pink motor-mouth had drawn equal amount of fear, love and confusion of the ground crews, they were starting to get more used to her now, returning polite greetings or scrambling out of the way without complaint as she bounded past with the enthusiasm of a rubber ball falling down an endless staircase.
Today wasn’t a normal day though, today was special.
Today, Everfree Bandit woke up for the first time.
It wasn’t a real trial, just a reactor shakedown and systems check for the Jaeger followed by a few drills she and Maud had practised. They would hardly move more than fifty metres out from their pen.
She was already in high spirits, after a short briefing from Twilight regarding the guests the entire shatterdome was preparing for, she and Maud had been selected to display Everfree Bandit to the dignitaries. Pinkie was quite beside herself at the announcement, even Maud had let out a rather flat ‘hurrah’ in her excitement.
She was taking the long route around the bay, bouncing along the somewhat precarious gantries which ringed the long hall with little regard for the eighty metre drop, scattering a few more level-headed ponies or simply clearing the heads of the unaware with large bounds. She passed the human Jaeger, Midsummer Night. The machine had barely been out of its pen in the last few months and was constantly crawling with workponies, it seemed to Pinkie that the alien machine just wanted to get out into the open air again and shed the lice which crawled over it.
The coal-black Jaeger's conpod seemed to follow her as she bounced up to it, the golden vision port bunched up into what she imagined to be a fierce scowl.
She smiled back, cheekily sticking her tongue out at the machine.
A figure working at the Jaeger’s neck caught her attention, stopping her mid bounce. She pondered for a moment before changing course, bounding over to the human..
Shane had eschewed the navy blue uniform Michael wore in favour of a light singlet and a dirty pair of cargo pants. His skin was coated in a thin layer of sweat and grease which shimmered in the blazing downlights as he worked silently up on the Jaeger’s shoulder.
“Hiya!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully, bounding over the small gap between the gantry and the Jaeger’s hull. She slipped on a patch of oil, a heavy hand grabbing her mane before she had even realised that she was falling.
“Careful.” Shane warned, looking between Pinkie and the long drop down to the reinforced concrete floor.
Pinkie gulped.
Shane released her from his hold, eying the drop cautiously before returning to work on whatever it was he was doing. “Wouldn’t want to slip now.”
“Nope.” Pinkie agreed, scooting away from the edge slightly. Try as she might, Pinkie had never been a very good flier. She plopped her rump down next to where Shane was working on Midsummer Night, casting a slightly vacant look at Everfree Bandit. Her Jaeger, It was nestled across the bay, a towering metal sentinel now oddly devoid of the army of ant-like builders and workers which had crawled around and inside its hull for the last year.
Everfree Bandit was probably the most humanoid of all the Jaegers in the Equestrian fleet. Two smoothly shaped armour plates made its double jointed legs less obvious while standing and the Jaeger’s upper body shared some structural similarities to a de Havilland class Mark III Jaeger. It’s paint scheme was also the least flashy and ostentatious, a simple two tone gray colour scheme contrasting nicely with the cobalt blue machinery and a few stripes of bubbly pink paint around the chest and on its ankles to appease its co-pilot.
It was simple but graceful, possessing a sleek shape from its feet all the way to its conpod. A few new pieces of tech had gone into the machine, a new heads up display and better reactor cooling among the more prominent ones. Each fist housed a complex and power set of hydraulic pistons, allowing the Jaeger’s gauntlets to shoot out at frightening speed. Built into the forearms were complex and according to Twilight, still non functional energy casters. Everfree Bandit wasn’t the fastest Jaeger, that title belonged squarely to Daring Dragoon, but it was built to be quick, flexible and hit hard.
He followed her blank look after a minute of silence, tearing his gaze from the mess of complicated electronics he was working on. “It’s a good Jaeger.” Shane muttered quietly.
“Better than yours?” Pinkie egged him.
“No, not a chance.” Shane growled defensively. “I’d stomp you flat solo.”
Pinkie blew a raspberry at him. She couldn’t claim to know much about being a Ranger but she was sure she and Maud could handle anything, even a grumpy human like Shane. What Pinkie lacked in fighting prowess Maud more than made up for and what her sister missed in social prowess Pinkie made up for several times over.
“Hey Shane?” Pinkie asked
“Yeah?”
“What’s that?” She asked, pointing at a angry red pattern of lines which ran down his left arm.
Shane inspected his arm for a moment. “Circuitry burns. It’s an imprint from the drivesuit. If you get hit bad the neural circuits in the drivesuit can overload and burnout. There are failsafes if there’s too much feedback but these sorts of burns are still quite common. Soarin and Wave Chill have some now as well, if they’re willing to show them off.”
“They’re pretty.” Pinkie said admiringly, her eyes tracing along the intricate patterns.
“I’d love to hear you say that after you get some.” Shane shot back, rubbing his arm self-consciously.
“Do you have many injuries?”
“A few.” He lifted his singlet slightly, revealing a small but wild pattern along his back. “I have some National Guard tanks to thank for that one.” He remarked sourly. “A few scars on my arms courtesy of Switchback and a couple of other bits and pieces here and there. It’s all pretty common stuff. If you look at Michael he’s pretty much got all the same scars.”
“Cool.” Pinkie grinned.
“It’s not cool, it hurts like hell.” Shane chuckled.
Pinkie giggled, flexing her forelegs. “I’d look tough with scars.” She remarked.
“You lot have fur, you would hardly see them.” Shane pointed out.
Pinkie deflated slightly. “Oh yeah.”
Shane let out an amused snort, giving Pinkie’s mane a soft tussle. “How do you fit that all in your helmet anyway? I could knit a rug out of this.”
Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno, it just seems to…” She made a sliding noise, flicking her head back.
Shane pinched the bridge of his nose. “Everything’s a mystery with you, isn’t it.”
“Things happen.” Pinkie agreed. “Sometimes I’m not even sure why, but they do. I just go with it, life’s easier that way.”
“Good advice.” Shane muttered. “You excited?”
“You betcha!” Pinkie squealed, jumping up and down in place. She imagined she could feel the entire Jaeger rocking in time with her. “Aren’t you? I mean, first day for realsies, not just practice!”
“I have to meet with three very highly ranking griffons in a few hours.” Shane muttered deadpan. “I don’t like griffons.”
“Not all griffons are so bad! I know heaps of great ones. I mean, maybe they’re a little cold and grumpy but they’re really nice when you get to know them.” Pinkie said encouragingly. “Just don’t call them chickens, or turkeys or sasquatches or any kind of bird really. They don’t like it.”
“One of those things is not like the others.” Shane observed. He seemed slightly confused about something but decided not to press it.
“Either way, we can have a post launch party! We can have cupcakes, drink punch, conga and go Kaiju bobbing...”
“Conga, maggots.” Shane muttered under his breath, waving a finger around in circles and pulling a decidedly sour look as he returned to work.
Pinkie let out a quiet giggle, Shane was funny when he wasn’t grumpy. Even when he was grumpy he could be funny, some of the faces he made were downright hilarious. She decided that human expressions were something she’d have to investigate further if she ever met any other humans. She said goodbye to the grumpy Ranger and bounced off, singing happily to herself.
***
Michael looked down at the two armoured ponies in his office, barely able to suppress a grin. Seeing a joker like Pinkie in a full drivesuit was like seeing a dog with shoes, a real novelty. How she managed to fit her voluminous mane inside her helmet would probably remain a mystery.
Pinkie and Maud’s drivesuits had been a matching pair when they’d arrived but by now Pinkie’s had been customised, the mare had painted some simple but pretty patterns on the foreleg guards and had stuck a balloon sticker on her helmet. Maud’s flat grey drivesuit matched her to a tee, the level grey matching the mare’s expression almost perfectly.
“You two look right at home.” Michael remarked. “Now, we have a small routine for you to go through here, I’ve had Torque have it upload it to your overview. Just go through the motions, nothing fancy, ok?”
“Yes sir, Mikey!” Pinkie sang, firing off a crisp salute.
Maud blinked in agreement.
“Great, now get along you two. Get settled in and get ready to show these griffons what you can do.”
Pinkie and Maud left his office, Pinkie practically bouncing out, her armour making a racket which could probably be heard in Canterlot. Michael smiled, they seemed so enthusiastic, they reminded him a little of him and Shane when they first got a chance to pilot Midsummer Night, though he certainly hadn't been bouncing around like a spring.
Which was good news all around, Everfree Bandit was their newest Jaeger and would be the best platform to show off to the visiting dignitaries, but more importantly, it kept Pinkie away from said dignitaries. He and Shane had tacitly agreed on that.
Michael couldn’t claim to know anything much about diplomacy, but he could just imagine Pinkie Pie doing something ridiculous, like start a war for instance, by accident. Someone like Misty could be about as inviting as an Arctic blizzard, but Michael knew that she was mostly rational. At least if Twilight’s briefing had been worth anything, the griffons would probably appreciate her brutal honesty or at least wouldn't see past her thinly veiled insults and forced smile whereas Pinkie’s attitude would just confuse them.
Another knock came from the door and Shane barged in, not really waiting to be invited inside. “They’re coming, just got a message in LOCCENT. You ready?”
Michael nodded, standing up and slipping his jacket over his shoulders. It had been hard finding a tailor who could make fancy clothes for them, but Princess Celestia had insisted. Michael wasn’t complaining, it was the nicest thing he’d ever worn by a mile. “Yeah.” He replied, looking up, slightly taken aback that Shane was wearing an almost identical uniform.
Michael was more used to him sauntering around the shatterdome dressed like a mechanic, even in Anchorage, Shane had rarely donned anything resembling a uniform. Seeing him all cleaned up and dressed up in uniform was a little unusual.
“Looking sharp.” Michael noted, resisting the urge to straighten his brother’s tie. That would’ve been too much, he was sure, Shane would’ve rewarded him with a punch to the face for that.
“Let’s just get this shit over with.” Shane grumbled. “Last time I was dressed up like this we were in the capital.”
“And that was awful, wasn’t it.” Michael remarked, buttoning his jacket up and walking out of the office.
“That crap was unbearable.” Shane moaned.
Michael laughed. “And I was the one who went to jail, remember?” He chuckled, keying the elevator. They rode the lift up to the roof, the doors sliding open and dropping them out into the city-side of the shatterdome. Twilight was a few metres away, her mane neatly combed and wearing her royal raiments, a small, understated tiara and a small golden necklace. Misty Fly and Lightning Streak were also present, each wearing a navy blue jacket, a dress shirt and a tie. Misty was also wearing a pair of dark aviator-style sunglasses and looking rather serious.
“Hello, are you Tom Cruise?” Michael asked her slightly tongue-in-cheek as they sauntered over.
“Eh?” Misty replied, cocking her head to the side in confusion.
“Ah, right. Of course, you wouldn’t know who he is.” Michael said lamely. “funny how that slipped my mind.”
“He’s a missile, like a guided rocket.” Lightning Streak explained helpfully. “Shane told me about it once.”
“Yeah… I’m sure that’s right.” Shane smirked. “Remind me to show you Top Gun sometime, I’m sure you’d love it.”
Misty scowled and shook her head, clearly feeling like she was being left out of some sort of joke at her expense.
“I didn’t know we had that.” Michael remarked casually.
“I should probably check.” Shane shrugged. “I’m sure those Wonderwhatsits would love a bit of air-to-air combat, Earth style.”
Michael didn’t reply, he could see an aircraft approaching the shatterdome. Sweeping in low over the bay and running fast like it was being chased by a bat from hell. It wasn’t one of Equestrian designs he was sure. Unlike the dirigible-like creations the ponies seemed to favour, this one was more like a conventional helicopter; a bit like a bastardised version of an Osprey helicopter, he thought.
“That’s them?” He asked, pointing out the craft.
“That’s them.” Lightning Streak confirmed following his arm. “That’s a griffon rotary alright.”
“Looks too small for it to have come far, where’d it come from?”
“They most likely have a boat in the harbour, the griffons don’t use long ranged airships like we do.” The icy blue pegasus replied. He gave his sister a reassuring rub on the back, she looked about as rigid as a steel beam.
“What’s her problem?” Michael asked.
“I don’t like griffons.” Misty hissed though what Michael could tell was a very forced neutral expression. If he didn’t know better, Michael would’ve said that Misty almost looked afraid.
Michael didn’t have a chance to ask why as the Rotary swept in over the roof of the shatterdome, blowing any further chance of conversation away with the thunderous clatter of its propellers. It hovered uncertainly for a moment before it was slowly guided down to the landing pad, touching down with a smoothness that any human pilot would be envious of. The craft was a faded red and silver, the crest of Oberon, a screeching golden eagle, painted proudly on its flanks. The rotary’s engines cut away to a high pitched whine as the pilot powered down, the back of the craft dropping down to meet the roof. A pair of guards came down first, each one armoured with ornate suits of red and silver plate and long beaked helmets which almost completely covered their heads. They moved with a sort of fluidity and precision that Michael knew that could only come from years of familiarity.
Behind them came another griffon, he was much smaller and more youthful than either of his guards. Although he lacked any apparel other than a small amulet strung around his neck, his almost fiery red plumage was in pristine condition, shining brightly in the morning sun.
“Lysander,” Twilight said cheerfully, stepping out to meet the ruler of Oberon. She bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Likewise, Twilight.” The griffon beamed, returning the gesture and motioning for his guards to let the pony pass. “It has been far too long since we last talked.” He gave the alicorn a hearty one-clawed hug, a gesture Twilight somewhat awkwardly returned after a moment.
“That’s Lysander? He’s just a kid.” Shane muttered under his breath.
Michael didn’t want to draw assumptions but compared to the few other griffons he’d met in his time in Equestria, Lysander looked very young, doubly so to be the ruler of a massive Griffon state. His thoughts were interrupted as Lysander padded up in front of him, his orange eyes blazing curiously.
“Lysander, this is Marshall Michael O’Connell and his brother, Shane O’Connell. They jointly run our Jaeger program.” Twilight introduced them.
“A pleasure, sir.” Michael said, inclining his head slightly.
“Fascinating.” Lysander beamed, snapping his beak with delight. He sounded vaguely like a Swedish mechanic Michael had known back on Earth, that is to say, he sounded like he was singing while gargling a potato. “I’ll try to be brief, I’m sure I could ask you enough that your mouth would turn numb.”
“Yes sir.” Shane and Michael agreed in unison.
By now, another griffon bedecked in another suit of well fitting ornamental armour had stomped down the ramp and took up position next to Lysander. His plumage was a brilliant , almost snow white with a few black tips, a stark contrast from his dark, though greying fur. Sharp eyes looked out from under the menacing looking helmet and even slightly stooped over, the creature nearly came up to Michael’s shoulder.
Twilight perked up slightly, bowing her head respectfully to the newcomer. “Wing Lord Forsythe, it is a pleasure to have you here.”
Forsythe returned the gesture, grunting quietly at the princess. His eyes fixed immediately turned and fixed on Michael and Shane, a sharp glare shooting at the two humans. “You are shorter than I expected.” He said, his voice disarmingly quiet. It had none of the pomp that the rotary designer Mikhail had, it was dangerous and sharp, each word was pointed like a needle.
Neither graced the comment with a reply. Michael bowed respectfully like Twilight had taught him.
The old griffon seemed unimpressed.
“I understand you are a great warrior, sir.” Michael piped up. “I have heard quite a few stories from the princess.”
Forsythe nodded as if he was merely confirming a fact. He slanted his head forward, removing his helmet with a claw and unwillingly giving it away to an attendant. Unhelmeted, he didn’t look much friendlier, a long mess of scars knotting and twisting around the right side of his face and running through one of his dark eyes. He looked a little like an old, grizzled shark.
Cold. The word seemed to fit Forsythe perfectly.
Another griffon took up position behind Lysander. Although Michael had never met a female Griffon before, she was undoubtedly so, her body was much slicker and more streamlined, lacking the sheer bulk that the guards or Forsythe had. Her plumage was a mottled grey but her golden eyes blazed fiercely. A simple gold circle hung from a chain around her neck This was obviously Lysander's financial advisor, Titania.
Titania, was a world apart from Forsythe. She was smaller, not much bigger than a pony and lacked either the razor talons or the fine armour of her escorts, but her beady eyes were sharp enough to make up for it. She reminded Michael a little of Misty Fly, the same sort of smug air hung around her and crept around the edge of her face,.though unlike the pegasus, she looked much more shrewd. Twilight had warned them that many griffons suffered from a insatiable greediness, Titania hadn’t even opened her beak and she seemed to serve as an exemplar for that. The way she looked at everything made it seem like she was evaluating its worth. She didn’t bother to introduce herself, slotting in behind Lysander close enough so that she could still hear everything.
The introductions done, Twilight led the congregation back to the elevators and down towards the Jaeger bay. Their simple job of saying hello and smiling done, Misty Fly and her brother slinked off, perhaps to watch the upcoming demonstration.from the LOCCENT. With their departure, there was about a dozen of them, the number of griffons in the party outnumbering everyone else three to one.
They arrived at one of the many entrances leading to the Jaeger bay, a guard punching in a code to open the heavy steel door and admitting them into the heart of the facility.
The reaction of the griffons as they strode out into the Jaeger bay was one of barely concealed shock. The scene had been well prepared in advance, hundreds of ponies worked all through the massive bay on the mighty machines housed in their pens. With the exception of Everfree Bandit, the rest of the Jaegers were being treated with a full overhaul.
“Amazing.” Lysander proclaimed enthusiastically.
“Yes, isn’t it?” Twilight smiled. This was the product of her work for the last few years, finally on display for the world to see. The alicorn had every reason to be proud.
“Midsummer Night, Frontier Justice, Castle Bravo, Daring Dragon and Everfree Bandit.” Michael said, pointing to each Jaeger in turn, leading them up several flights of steps and up to one of the gantries which ringed the room. “We have three more hulls currently laid up, under construction or planned.”
“Must be expensive…” Titania finally spoke, her voice harsh and flat.
Michael smiled. “Yes, expensive. On Earth, a Jaeger usually costed tens of billions of dollars. Labour is much cheaper in Equestria.”
Titania looked at him wordlessly. Obviously she wouldn’t know what a dollar was, but the word billions seemed to have a profound effect on the griffon.
“How much less?” She inquired.
“Thanks to the significantly reduced initial R&D costs I would say a Jaeger built off an existing line is roughly two thirds to half cheaper than the first. No concrete numbers, sorry.”
“Still, expensive…” Titania muttered quietly.
“Worth it though. Even a minor incursion can be catastrophic. Nothing but a Jaeger can fight a Kaiju on its level, actually stop it and prevent it from making landfall.”
The three griffons seemed to flinch a little at the word incursion.
“If you would like, we can have a short demonstration with our newest Jaeger, Everfree Bandit.” Michael offered.
“That would be splendid.” Lysander chirped excitedly.
Michael nodded and waved down to the deck chief who radioed LOCCENT. The Jaeger’s crawler grumbled forward, gantries and scaffolding retreating from the Jaeger’s hull as it rolled out of its pen and into the open expanse of the Jaeger bay proper. Work around the massive hall halted as crews stopped what they were doing to watch the new Jaeger power on for the first time.
“We’re live in fifteen...” A voice Michael recognised as Torque’s spoke out over the intercom. A klaxon sounded somewhere overhead and the crew on the deck scattered to a safe distance. A terrific rumble shook the air as the Jaeger growled to life, the powerful reactor housed in its chest thrumming with power. After a few seconds the Jaeger seemed to unfreeze, its limbs and joints drooping slightly, a sure sign that Pinkie and Maud now had complete control. The Jaeger’s arms rose to a ready stance, its fingers flexing eagerly. It moved with a sort of bombastic precision, every motion filled with energy and excitement but still laced with deadly intent. It pivoted and turned in place experimentally as if it were testing its flexibility.
The griffons muttered quietly to each other, their guards shifting nervously. Everfree Bandit looked down at the small group, blasting its horn enthusiastically. Within the confines of the Jaeger bay the sound was absolutely deafening, the blast echoing off the walls like the warcry of a god.
“Jesus.” Shane swore, yawning to unblock his ears. “Count on those two jokers to do that.”
Everfree Bandit ‘cracked’ its knuckles noisily and smoothly extended its right arm out at its abdomen. After a moment, the Jaeger’s hand spun open with a clatter and a whir of motors, the Jaeger’s fingers joining together into a massive pronged projector. A few plates on Everfree Bandit’s forearm flared open, revealing a series of vents and cooling fins.
Michael's eyes went wide with fear. Everfree Bandit’s energy casters were supposed to be disconnected, completely separate from the rest of the Jaeger’s systems while a few potentially fatal flaws in their design were ironed out. For a moment, Michael wondered if he should find some better cover before realising it made little difference, if Pinkie and Maud accidentally fired the weapon a mere concrete wall wouldn’t do him much good.
He covered the quick slip in composure.with a quiet cough, leaning down to whisper in Twilight’s ear. “Is that supposed to happen?”
Twilight seemed too stunned to respond at first. “They’re completely inert..They should be..” She murmured.
“Then how are they doing that?”
Twilight blinked silently but didn’t provide him with an answer.
Michael tried to not look concerned, a rather hard thing to do when the energy projector seemed to aimed squarely between his eyes. If so much as a flicker of energy carried over those rails, the last thing he vowed to do before being turned to ash was fire Twilight.
“This isn’t in the script” Shane noted, clearly thinking the same thing as he was.
“No, it’s not.” Michael answered in a remarkably nonchalant tone.
Shane blinked and shrugged, things were out of his hands for the time being. “You know,” He started, staring down the energy caster with a sneer. ”At first, I thought all those stories of Pinkie’s reality-warping shit were just nonsense, but boy, then you suddenly get egg all over your face and have a little pony doing things she just shouldn’t be able to. Then you really just can’t be sure what to believe in.”
“Ditto.” Michael agreed, breathing a silent sigh of relief as Everfree Bandit raised its ‘hand’ back to shoulder level, the energy caster folding away smartly. Thankfully, none of the griffons other than maybe Forsythe seemed to have quite realised the danger they’d been in; the Wing Lord’s scarred face was a little more screwed up than usual but if that was out of distaste or concern, Michael couldn’t be sure.
Everfree Bandit displayed a few more stances, showing off its flexibility and fluidity before powering down again with an almost disappointed whine. As the Jaeger retreated back into its pen atop its crawler, Michael found himself letting out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.
“So, what do you think? Great, isn’t it?” Michael asked, cheerfully ignoring the fact that Everfree Bandit had nearly vapourised the party.
The group of griffons seemed somewhat divided with their opinions. While Lysander looked like a kid in a candy shop, his eyes open wide with glee, his advisors expressions were far more neutral. Forsythe was the first to speak. “We cannot fight like that.” He said, rearing back on his hindlegs somewhat clumsily before dropping back down onto his claws. “We fight with beak, claw and paw; two legs does not suit us.” He seemed at least, somewhat pleased with what he’d seen.
“I’m sure we can sort something out. As you’ve seen, the platform is adaptable; making the Jaeger fight exclusively on all fours shouldn’t be too hard.” Michael offered, looking at Twilight to back him up.
Twilight nodded excitedly, clearly relishing the prospect of creating something exciting and new. “Indeed. A few volunteers for neural mapping would be very helpful towards that end.”
Forsythe considered the proposal for a few seconds, looking at Lysander for approval before nodding. “Assuming this deal goes through, I will see if anyone would be willing to stay behind.”
“Well then perhaps we should get to it. If you’ll follow me…” Twilight suggested.
They walked around the Jaeger bay, Michael and Twilight pointing out features on each of the Jaegers and answering questions while Shane lagged behind, occasionally trading looks with an equally silent Forsythe. They caught an elevator up to the LOCCENT before finally adjourning to a briefing room. Titania almost immediately took over, laying down their terms. Her terms in actuality , Michael suspected.
“The Jaeger will be based in Oberon, while you will build the machine, you will train griffons to work on, repair and build new components. You will supply machines, schematics and toolings to fabricate these parts along with spares.”
“Not asking for much…” Shane muttered under his breath.
Titania seemed to miss his remark. “You will provide access for our researchers to necessary technologies and allow them to make copies, notes or whatever else they deem necessary. This includes reactor technologies as well.”
Twilight cleared her throat. “There is one condition the Crown has in regard to technology sharing. In undertaking in this program you will agree to not militarise these technologies. Not weapons, not equipment. Nothing.”
“A bit hypocritical, no?” Forsythe asked curiously. “Does your nation not enjoy the technological boons from these Jaegers?”
“The Crown has kept J-Tech at an arm's reach from the military for practical and financial reasons.” Twilight explained. “Unless that decision is overturned, it’s a policy we intend to keep. Note how I only mentioned reactor technologies, anything else far now is fair game.”
Forsythe looked at her suspiciously before softening and nodding. “Very well.” He concluded succinctly.
Titania looked slightly irritated at the interruption. “We would also have you train pilots and reserves domestically.”
“No, we train them here.” Michael cut in. “We don’t have the resources available to have a Jaeger’s crew on the other side of the world teaching rookies instead of being available to jump in the conpod.”
“Surely you have instructors…”
“Yes, our instructors are our pilots. It’s how we did it at home, it’s how we do it here. I’m sorry, but this one is non-negotiable. It’s just not practical.”
Titania looked at Lysander crossly, clearly upset at the idea. The Shrike nodded slowly, prompting her to return her attention back to the front. “Fine.” She said, not letting her irritation enter her voice.
Shane coughed quietly. “On that note, I’m sure that as much as you’d like to build it at home, you’ll find we’d do a much better job of it here.”
Titania looked set to argue this but Forsythe cut her off before she could even start.
“Agreed. Any delay would be… undesirable.” He said, throwing a withering look at the other griffon to silence her before she could speak again. “You have experience, tools and the factories. As much as we pride our local industries, we could not build something like this without a large delay.”
‘He’s right you know.’ Michael thought. Forsythe was turning out to be a very reasonable figure.
Titania decided to not argue the point, tapping the tabletop with a claw before sitting silently. Forsythe rolled his eyes slightly at her behaviour, the first real expression the ancient griffon had made.
“Well, I think I will take it under advisement.” Lysander said, his gaze flicking between his two advisors. “We’re certainly leaning towards making a purchase, but I’m sure we’d all like to see some numbers first.”
“Numbers.” Titania echoed sullenly.
Lysander gave her an aside glance. “We’ll be in Canterlot for the next week, perhaps your staff could procure some estimates.”
“I’m sure we can come up with something.” Twilight agreed diplomatically.
“In the meantime, with your permission, I’d like to leave a few aides here. They will act as an intermediate point of contact for our ongoing negotiations.”
“That will be fine.” Michael nodded. “If that’s all then..?”
“Actually, I have just one question.” Shane spoke up, giving the griffon congregation a long look.
Here it is.’ Michael thought. He’d been dreading the question Shane was about to ask but he honestly dreaded the answer more. He’d had his suspicions since he’d seen their reactions to his talk in the Jaeger bay, but he was hoping that he was wrong...
“...Why?” He asked. “Why would you travel halfway across the world and spend an inordinate amount of money to acquire a machine solely designed to fight monsters, that from what I gather, your kind have the arrogance to believe don’t exist.”
Everyone seemed to stop and stare at him with surprise, the looks from the griffon side of the table cold. Lysander’s beak clacked uneasily but he fixed Shane with a measured look. “Arrogance… pride… greed. Most griffons suffer from these. Perhaps one day they will be our downfall, but I believe what my eyes see and my ears hear.”
“And what mine have seen is most unpleasant.” Forsythe rumbled quietly, his sharp voice cutting in over Lysander’s. “Eighty-seven square kilometres of dead land, thirteen thousand, two hundred and eighty-one dead, three entire Talon wings destroyed.” He spat, the smallest edge of anger entering his calm voice.
“Impossible.” Twilight breathed, catching the griffon’s meaning immediately.
Forsythe took a folder from one of his retainers in one of his gnarly claws and passed it across the table to the alicorn. She flipped it open silently, her mouth agape as she beheld the grainy, colourless pictures inside. A small port-city was torn asunder, a black smear of torn earth and fire heading inland, swerving left and right seemingly at random before terminating at a thirty metre mound. The Kaiju was small, even by their standards, but trail of destruction it had left was more than enough to display the danger it had posed.
“H-How..? How did it- Whe-?” Twilight’s words caught in her throat, looking at Shane and Michael in disbelief. “We should’ve... “
“Known.” Michael finished for her worriedly.
***
The trip north to Trottingham was nowhere as exciting as Rainbow Dash could have half hoped. As she glared sourly out one of the airship’s many viewports at the small city below them, she was already wishing she was back in Manehatten.
Trottingham was the most northern ‘city’ in Equestria and was the largest city on Shield Island, an appropriately named spit of the land which sheltered the northern reaches of Equestria from the Eastern Ocean. With a population of just over eight-hundred thousand, Trottingham was a fairly small city but had evolved into an important trade hub between Equestria and foreign nations such as the Crystal Empire, some of the more coastal Griffon cities and even further east. Prone to cold weather all year round along with heavy snow and sometimes sea ice in winter, Trottingham was virtually as far north as one could go before they were truly in the wilds.
From the airship, the snow capped buildings of the city looked less inviting than Rainbow Dash would have liked. She was no slouch when it came to cold weather but the climate seemed a little extreme, they were well into spring and the snow had still been falling thick.
“Why would anypony want to scratch a living out here” She asked rhetorically, already shivering despite the warmth of the airship’s heaters. The trip had taken about five hours, five hours of inaction that had left Rainbow Dash incredibly twitchy and irritable. She had wanted nothing more than to simply jump ship and fly there herself, a sentiment she felt was shared by many of the pegasi hitching a ride on the stuffy, cramped airship the Jaeger Corp had chartered. Now though, she wasn’t looking forward to disembarking as much as she had an hour ago when the first of the snow had started appearing.
“Mining, Industry, bit of agriculture.” Somepony answered, causing Rainbow to nearly bang her head against the window. Lightning Dust appeared at her shoulder like she always seemed to when Rainbow Dash wasn’t expecting her, “”Shield Island is like, really rich in minerals and there’s a lot of shipbuilding here. Some more exotic animals and plants are also farmed here thanks to the ever-present cold.”
Rainbow didn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing her surprised look, hiding it with a huff. “How do you know all that?”
Lightning Dust shrugged. “I’m smart.”
Rainbow let out a huff. “Showoff.”
“You expected me to be modest?” Lightning Dust chuckled. “Besides, almost all of that was in the briefing papers, didn’t you read them?”
“You did?” Rainbow asked.
Lightning Dust shrugged again, a noise of indifference coming from her mouth.
“Sucks balls that we get stuck up on the arse-end of the world.” Lightning Dust muttered ruefully, glaring at a snowflake which stuck itself to the window. “Manehatten was much nicer.”
“Agreed.”
“Figures, once I start getting settled in I’m moved somewhere else.” Lightning Dust whined. “Seems to be my lot in life.”
“I’ll miss my friends.” Rainbow Dash echoed sadly.
“You’ve still got that farmer with you, I left my only other friend behind.” Lightning Dust grumped.
“Oh yeah, you and Misty… a perfect match.” Rainbow drawled sarcastically. “Did I see you two hugging before we left?”
Lightning Dust bristled indignantly.. “She hugged me, for the record.”
“Wow, feelings, that’s a first.” Rainbow snorted. “When’s the wedding?”
“Hey how about you shut your mouth, ya bastard.” Lightning Dust shot back.
Rainbow gave her a dangerous glare but Lightning Dust was already gone, floating off with a yawn, presumably to find somepony else she could annoy or sort her few belongings out for landing.
Rainbow Dash let out a grunt of irritation at her co-pilots behaviour, suddenly feeling quite hungry. She glared out the window again, spotting the squat shatterdome which would be her new home. It was a squat, ugly thing half built into a cliff which ran along the waterfront. It towered over everything else, another gray, featureless thing in a gray, featureless landscape.
“At least it’ll be warm.”
Rainbow nearly banged her head against the window again. ‘Why is everypony startling me today?’ She fumed internally. She turned around, her glare immediately softening slightly
“Oh, sorry.” Soarin grinned stupidly. “Wouldn’t want to break a window now.”
Rainbow resisted the urge to blow a raspberry at him, contenting herself with a slightly irritated look. He looked out the viewport next to her, admiring the city below.
“Looks nice enough I guess.” He muttered. “Just add a little sunshine… hey, you wouldn’t mind keeping the weather in check while we’re here would you?”
“Give me twenty good ponies, I’ll think about it.” Rainbow said back. She’d need a whole lot more than that in truth, there was a reason the weather wasn’t controlled here, it’d be too damn hard.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, we’re landing soon. Thought I might interest you in some lunch when we land? Local cuisine looks… delightful.” He said, picking the word after a moment’s thought.
‘If they have pies you’ll be happy.’ Rainbow thought dryly. The former Wonderbolt could probably live off pies without complaint. “Sure, why not. Can’t be that bad, can it?”
“No,” Soarin chuckled. “No, I guess it can’t.”
***
It took another few weeks to get everypony settled in, there were hundreds of support staff being brought up from Manehatten to form an experienced core of workers to run the shatterdome. A week to the day that Rainbow arrived, Daring Dragoon and Frontier Justice were airlifted to the new shatterdome and stowed away in the much smaller Jaeger bay.
The population of Trottingham rose sharply as ponies came from far and wide to bask in the safety of the facility or simply find work. With several thousand new mouths to feed and house, businesses were booming and there was no shortage of jobs going around.
Rainbow found herself fitting in rather well, she had found the best hangouts and places to relax in the city and the shatterdome fairly quickly. She’d even managed to get quarters with a view over the bay after calling in a few favours. While she missed Manehatten and Ponyville, the shatterdome was much more homely than she’d ever expected.
She quickly fell into a routine. Wake up at the crack of dawn and go out for a flight in the chilly morning air, a few laps of the shatterdome or a circuit over the rooftops of Trottingham was enough to get the blood pumping. Sometimes Lightning Dust would join her, usually egging her on to fly between the narrow gaps in the rows of houses, slalom between light posts or some other generally reckless behaviour. Thankfully for her wellbeing, Lightning Dust’s attendance was patchy at best.
Next came another workout, this time in one of the shatterdome’s gyms. She’d work away for an hour or so with Applejack before breakfast, maintaining her already well formed physique and challenging the ex-farmer to feats of strength or endurance whenever her ego needed a stroke.
Then came the real work, Soarin had set a vigourous course of simulator drills for the two rookies which kept them occupied until well after lunch, an hour break for a meal and a nap was welcome reprieve from the mental stress of the drift.
Rainbow’s least favourite part of the da came next, several gruelling hours of theory and practical work dedicated towards familiarising themselves with every intricacy of their Jaeger’s systems. Usually one of the lead mechanics would tutor her and Lightning Dust, running them over basic field repairs, advanced system diagnostics and all other aspects of technical the wizardry that went into the machines.
Rainbow hated it, this was Twilight’s territory, the pegasus simply struggled to keep up with the flood of numbers, complicated words, calculations and procedures. The fact that her brainier co-pilot picked most of their tutelage only served to annoy her further.
“You’ll get it eventually.” Applejack assured her one morning as she and Rainbow finished up in the gym and trotted down to the Jaeger bay. Daring Dragoon was being shut down for a reactor inspection, the morning sun filtering in through the skylights and gleaming off the machine brightly. It always looked like that, bright and excited like a small dog chasing a ball.
“Somehow I doubt that AJ.” Rainbow grumbled back, tossing a jealous look at Frontier Justice.
Big Mac was on a scaffold by the machine’s ankle his massive red bulk visible next to his equally giant Jaeger. He was methodically replacing a gyro in the Jaeger’s ankle joint. The new part was nearly as big as her torso but Big Mac seemed to have no trouble lifting it unassisted.
Applejack followed her gaze. “Pish-posh. Took me a while to get all this technical do-dads down and I still ain’t the best. Just set your hooves and ya mind to it and it’ll come to you.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t share her enthusiasm. Even when Lightning Dust tried to help her out during their frequent drift sessions, Rainbow felt just as confused as when they’d started.
By the time their tedious systems training was over, it was nearly evening and she had another few hours to herself after dinner. Sometimes she’d catch another bit of shuteye but most of the time she was too frustrated to sleep and either went out for another flight or read a book in the shatterdome’s archives or in Trottingham’s public library if she wanted to be away from the noise of the facility.
She was there one evening, browsing through the old library’s somewhat megre selection of adventure novels and dutifully avoiding the few other patrons for fear one would start talking to her when she noticed that somepony was watching her.
This in itself wasn’t all that strange, she got looks all the time. Even before she’d become a Ranger, she had basically been a local celebrity in Ponyville.
She stole a glance at her follower, peeking above the top of a book she’d pulled off the shelf; he certainly looked familiar. It look another moment to place his squat frame and rough, unkempt mane.
“Thunderblitz?” She asked incredulously.
The stallion looked up at his name, a small smile flickering across his face. “Oh, uh… hi.”
Rainbow gave him a confused look , carefully placing the book back where she’d found it, she’d suffered enough of Twilight’s wrath to know the folly of replacing a book haphazardly. “What are you doing here?” She whispered, floating over the shelf to his rather poor hiding spot in the loft above. He didn’t look much different, a little thinner and more ragged maybe.
“Uh, Ah live here?”
“And I’m from the moon, nice to meet you.” Rainbow drawled sarcastically. “What are you doing all the way up north?” She asked.
He scratched the back of his head. “Well, uh, after the Jaeger Corp didn’t keep me on, I joined the army. Thought Ah might still do some good.” He said. “Got billetted up here a couple of months ago with one of the new Grizzly squadrons.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yeah, being in one of them tanks is a heck of a lot better than being shot at by one.” He chuckled quietly.
Rainbow scoffed. “Well, a Jaeger is way cooler than a tank.” She boasted.
Thunderblitz smiled politely. “Well, if we ever get in a fight together, Ah’ll make sure we don’t show you up.”
Rainbow smiled painfully. She’d seen a simulation recording Michael had put on where a company of human tanks had been thrown around like toys. somehow, she didn’t imagine that a pack of Grizzlys would fare much better. “Yeah... “ She muttered, trying to not imagine what would happen if a Kaiju put its claw through one of the tanks.
“Yeah…” He echoed lamely. “Say, you wouldn’t want to go and get some, uh, dinner, would you? Catch up=?”
Rainbow’s eyes drifted to the clock on the wall behind him, a thrill of panic creeping up her spine. “Shoot!” She yelped. “I’ve got to get back to the shatterdome. Not tonight bud.” She apologised, giving him a smile and dashing out. It wasn’t abundantly clear if he was just being friendly or if he was actually interested in her, but Rainbow suspected is was the former. He'd complimented her once or twice before but that was fairly normal, a lot of ponies found something about her attractive. It was a moot point regardless, she wasn’t inclined that way towards him anyway.
She left the library as quickly as she could, taking wing as soon as she was outdoors and making a beeline for the shatterdome. One security check and two elevator rides later she came to a halt outside the simulators. Lightning Dust was there, already suited up and looking incredibly bored. She was lounging back against a wall with her forelegs tucked behind her head and a helmet resting on her belly. Her co-pilots gleaming golden eyes immediately locked on her.
“Hey Dash.” Lightning Dust chirped impatiently, rising from where she lounged. “You’re late.”
“Yeah, how about you tell me sometime when I care.” Rainbow puffed.
“Sure, whatever you say.” Lightning Dust shot back, thrusting the helmet she’d been resting on her belly onto her head. She gave her a mischievous smirk as she trotted past into the simulator. “See you in the drift kiddo.”
***
“Wakey wakey Dashie, there’s an alien bug to go smashie.” A voice sang in her ear. Rainbow groggily opened an eye, aware of a insistent beeping coming from a small box beside her bed. She was vaguely aware of Lightning Dust standing over her.
“Go away.” She grumbled into her pillow. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since she’d last seen her co-pilot. She was tired, Soarin had worked them hard in the simulator with the promise that if they did well they wouldn’t have to endure their technical workshop the next day. Heg limbs were stiff and her head was throbbing in time with the reactor cycle of her Jaeger.
Lightning Dust let out a huff of disapproval but hopped off her bed, jumping to the hard floor with a flutter of wings. She was silent just long enough that Rainbow was starting to think she’d gone when a sudden jab of pain bit her just behind the ear. She was wide awake in an instant, her body reflexively shooting up and her wings splaying out wide with surprise as she tumbled out of bed with a sound halfway between a curse and a moan of delight.
“Oh, so that’s what that does to you.” Lightning Dust chortled, smiling broadly down at the mess of sheets and feathers that was her co-pilot.
“I will end you.” Rainbow snapped back, glaring daggers.
“Save it Sunshine, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Come on, let’s go.”
Rainbow’s sleep-deprived mind finally caught Lightning Dust’s meaning and she rose to her hooves, her anger momentarily forgotten. She shrugged the twisted sheets off her body and trotted after Lightning Dust, trying to control her jittery wings to little avail. Another surge of outrage washed over her and she vowed to get back at Lightning Dust… somehow.
“What time is it?” Rainbow growled tiredly. It hardly felt like she’d slept at all.
“A little after four in the morning..I was having trouble sleeping, all I could hear was this ‘thrmmmm’ ringing in my ears.”
Rainbow cursed the Kaiju’s timing silently, why couldn't’ they show up at a more reasonable time?
Lightning Dust hummed the distinctive tone again. “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
Rainbow rubbed an eye tiredly with a wing. “Yeah, it’s a reactor. Our reactor.” She yawned.
“Have you been hearing it as well?” Lightning Dust replied, subconsciously mimicking her friend.
“No.” Rainbow said, not entirely truthfully. She’d been feeling it, but she didn’t want to tell Lightning Dust that.
She and Lighting Dust reached the elevator which would take them to the suiting rooms, the doors sliding open smoothly at the press of a button and welcoming the two pegasi into the empty car. The short trip was silent, Rainbow Dash scowling tiredly at the wall the whole time, she was still jittery and her uncompliant wings were starting to get stiff.
“I didn’t realise you’d have quite that much of a reaction.” Lightning Dust said by way of apology when they finally reached the suiting room. “Wish I had a turn-on like that.”
“Screw you.”
Lightning Dust purred cheerfully. “Is that an offer?”
Rainbow shot her a sarcastic look and let the three technicians get to work fitting her drivesuit. Hers was fairly standard, a lightweight half-faced helmet with a sophisticated visor, turquoise plating and a tight-fitting dark grey circuitry suit. Lightning Dust’s suit was similar, though she’d already had some custom decals added, her cutie mark on the back of her helmet and the word ‘Daring’ stenciled across her right shoulder. She blinked as her helmet came down over her head, even without the visor down she could already hear the onboard systems linking up with those on Daring Dragoon.
“Initialising. Uploading preferences. Welcome back, Rainbow Dash.” The almost restless voice of the Jaeger’s computer chimed through the helmet speakers.
That was new, it had never called her by name before, always pilot.
“Kick some butt.” One of the techies said, wearing a face that made it clear she was glad she wasn’t going out. She screwed Rainbow’s last shoulder pad in place and gave the suit a solid whack to make it was all in place.
“Thanks.” Rainbow muttered back, stepping off the plate and following Lighting dust out of the room. For some reason she found herself thinking of the words Lightning Dust had said when they’d first piloted Daring Dragoon.
‘Look unto me and despair, for now I have become a god!’
***
She and Lightning Dust were the first to the briefing room, a long curved chamber a floor under the LOCCENT. One wall boasted ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the Jaeger bay, giving the occupants an almost panoramic view of the business end of the shatterdome. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t been fretting over the impending Kaiju approaching the city, it really would’ve been quite a nice view to admire. While she was busy worrying, Lightning Dust seemed to have other things on her mind.
“I really can’t get over how much these things bring out our butts.” She marvelled, lounging across two chairs and examining her posterior. Unlike the bulky suits which Applejack and Big Mac wore, theirs were lighter and the joints were more exposed, allowing the two mares to take advantage of their incredible flexibility.
Rainbow gave her a disapproving scowl. “That’s what you’re thinking about, at a time like this?”
“Jeez Dash, it’s like you hardly know me.” Lightning Dust grinned slyly, her eyes slowly drifting down to her co-pilots flank. “It’s sure doing you several favours, your mood notwithstanding.”
Rainbow gave her a silent stare of disapproval and started pacing around the room. They couldn’t have been there for more than a few minutes but time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. Every minute that ticked by seemed to last hours.
“Would you stop that?” Lightning Dust grumped eventually. “You’re starting to make me nervous.”
Rainbow Dash glared at her sullenly but stopped her pacing. She hadn't thought it possible for there to be something worse than just sitting around and waiting for something for happen, but it seemed that waiting around for potentially imminent doom fitted the bill just fine.
After what felt like days, Wave Chill and Soarin trotted into the briefing room, followed moments later by Applejack and Big Macintosh. The two earth ponies were armoured as well, their heavy suits thumping against the floor loudly. Once they’d both settled, Soarin addressed them.
“Approximately six hours ago Manehatten detected a Kaiju breach. Tracking has indicated that in the last half-hour it has entered our sector. It has come further north than any other Kaiju, indications are that it will make landfall on Shield Island somewhere around Trottingham.”
He paused for a moment, his green eyes locking on each of the pilots. The stallion almost looked vulnerable without his drivesuit. Rainbow understood how he felt, she would’ve felt guilty if she were staying behind.
“From what we can tell, it’s a Category III.”
Applejack grimaced at the prospect. Lightning Dust nudged Rainbow Dash excitedly, she could tell her co-pilot was eager to score a big first kill. Rainbow was understandably a little more hesitant, a Category III had destroyed Wild Mustang, nearly killed Soarin and Wave Chill and had taken three Jaegers to kill. What made this any different?
Soarin seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “In light of that, we’re keeping this as foolproof as possible. We’ll deploy about two klicks out, drop some beacons in the water to try and attract it and then you’ll take it out as a team. Keep your spacing tight, you need to be able to help each other out. All clear?”
“Yes sir!” The four rangers chorused.
“Good. Now, we’re expecting Trample to make landfall in about two hours, so keep an ear open for updates.”
Everypony nodded. Rainbow could tell they all felt nervous, well, at least she did, but she knew everypony was counting on her to keep calm and do her job. She’d charged a dragon fearlessly, a several thousand ton monster was easy compared to that.
At least so she hoped.
***
An hour and a half later they were nestled inside Daring Dragoon’s conpod and linked up with the rest of the Jaeger. Frontier Justice was out first, waiting in the centre of the Jaeger bay for its Broadways to hoist it out of the massive flower petal-like upper portal. They methodically ran through the extensive list of pre-launch checks, Daring Dragoon was a highly strung machine in comparison to the brutal simplicity of Frontier Justice. It had maneuvering thrusters on swivels, dynamic control surfaces, massive electromagnets and the ratchet joints which gave it its astounding flexibility.
Once that was done, Lightning Dust pushed the reactor up to power, a low thrum settling over the machine as the reactor spun up. Everything was quiet and slick, at idle the only noise was a barely audible electric hum
“Reactor start complete. Prepare for neural bridge.”
Rainbow set her dial to ‘Ready’ and took a deep breath. A flood of blue swam across her mind, a million images, thoughts, smells and ideas streaming through her consciousness. It almost seemed easier than normal with the whole Jaeger present.
As soon as the neural uplink was established, Rainbow felt restless, twitchy even. Every extremity was alive with feeling and the tips of her ears buzzed with static. The urge to just go was almost overwhelming.
They’d been warned about this. While it was still complete conjecture, many of the rangers swore that their machines were starting to ‘feel’ like their pilots. There was no real way to prove it though and if she’d asked somepony in the J-Tech division, they probably would’ve fired back with some long-winded response about ‘neural separation’ or the impossibility of ‘imprinting’, neither of which she would’ve made heads or tails of anyway.
Regardless, if the claims were true, Rainbow Dash could only imagine what a month of being cooped up in a concrete box would do for her composure. No wonder Daring felt twitchy.
“LOCCENT, scrub transport for us. We’re going for a walk.” Lighting Dust piped up as the thought entered their shared consciousness.
“Uhh… affirmative, opening main doors for you. Standby, we’ll have a crawler for you.”
The doors at the end of the bay started to won’t open.
“I’d say if we keep it slow and gentle, we don’t need a crawler.”Lightning Dust replied.
“Alright, carefully though please.”
Lightning Dust was right, at only a bit over 1500 tons and down on all fours, Daring Dragoon was light enough to not damage the floor at a low stride. As they crossed the threshold and edged down the steep ramp, the Jaeger let loose a blast of its horn, the deep sound echoing across the empty bay. They set off at a natural canter, the reactor purring delightfully as they ploughed their way through the ankle deep water. They’d done very little work on all fours but Rainbow found herself enjoying it immensely, it felt much more natural and helped set her worried mind at ease.
It took only a few minutes to reach where Frontier Justice had been dropped, the massive Jaeger already towering over them on two legs. Their conpod was barely level with the other Jaeger’s hips, they almost looked like an attack dog growling at the side of its master. They held position as the minutes ticked by, waiting patiently as the Broadways either scurried back to the shatterdome or dropped some of the experimental Kaiju lures.
“I‘m picking up something at the edge of our sensors.” Lightning Dust announced. “It’s a big one.”
The conpod lighting dimmed to a soft blue as the Jaeger immediately switched over to combat settings, the inside of Rainbow Dash’s visor coming alive with tracking data and sensor overlays. Faint orange lines started to criss-cross the display as the computer tracked the Kaiju and made course predictions.
It was heading straight for them. Either the lures were working or Trample was really gunning for a fight.
The Jaegers put a bit of distance between each other, Frontier Justice taking point about four hundred metres to their front. They were the anvil which Trample would crash against and Daring Dragoon was the hammer which would crack the Kaiju asunder. In theory at least.
The minutes ticked by on the mission clock and idle thoughts started to permeate the drift. On the surface, Lightning Dust was thinking about having a nap or a strong drink, maybe both. Deeper down she was a little nervous, a little worried about the imminent battle. Rainbow could feel something else as well, a underlying aura of loneliness and remorse.
Rainbow quelched her curiosity, that sort of investigation was dangerous even outside of a combat environment. She’d fallen out of sync with Lightning Dust once, she didn’t want to do it again, certainly not now.
“It is tempting, isn’t it?” Lightning Dust asked softly, biting her lip. “I mean, we share a lot already… but deeper down… just how far does that rabbit hole go?” She mused, her voice springing to the fore of her mind without the pegasus physically speaking. The Jaeger’s reactor levels flickered for a moment and seemed to shudder at the thought, or was just that the ground trembling?
‘Not now.’ Rainbow thought nervously. ‘There’s too much riding on us to muck around.’
Lightning Dust nodded silently and the levels returned to normal.
Daring Dragoon shuddered again, this time in revulsion. The sensor readout chimed, the Jaeger could smell Kaiju. Lightning Dust quelched the alert, the conpod shifting from side to side in time with her head as she scanned the surrounding water.
Besides the patches of gleaming white surf which were picked out in Daring Dragoon’s headlights though, the ocean was empty, an endless black blanket punctuated by flecks of tossing whitecaps and glistening drops of seaspray which clung to them like dew.
A freezing gale had started to blow in from the north, making Rainbow’s fur prickle up uncomfortably as it whistled through the Jaeger’s armour plates and over the sensors in the Jaegers ears. She knew she couldn’t actually feel it, but the machine’s reactive circuits were unnervingly realistic.It would probably snow again tomorrow, covering Trottingham in a fine white coat of slush and powder, that is, unless Trample turned to rubble first.
“Two kilometres.” Lightning Dust called quietly, her golden eyes staying locked on the Jaeger’s sensor readouts. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but be amazed at how calm her co-pilot was externally, not even a trace of nervousness evident in her stone-cold voice. The Jaeger’s reactor purred impatiently in anticipation. She could taste something foul now at the back of her throat, like rotting fish and decomposing seaweed.
“Wait…” Applejack warned over the radio, the farmers voice cracking with interference slightly. Frontier Justice loomed out of the night like an apostle, the massive Jaeger illuminated by dozens of running lights and helpfully outlined on their display if they somehow missed the ninety metre behemoth.
Another bell. The Jaeger’s short ranged sonar and radar picking up what a casual observer would think to be an island moving towards them.
Rainbow Dash’s wing twitched nervously under her drivesuit, a puff of exhaust venting out of one of Daring’s thrusters in response. She swore silently, the Jaeger’s fingers twitching in their armoured housings.
A loud ping chimed in the back of her helmet as the ‘island’ rose out of the water, a solid wall of white water rushing forward as the Kaiju broke the surface. An orange glow shone out of its mouth, shining over the rough water like a beacon.
Unlike many of the simulated Kaiju she’d fought before, Trample was down on all fours and built like a big cat. Its swamp green flesh was covered by mottled, slightly chipped bone coloured plates of armour and its thin slender legs looked much too small to be hauling its bulk about. Apart from a few weak points on its legs, its belly and on the base of its throat, the Kaiju’s armour covered its body entirely, rising up in spiked ridges along its back. A wicked looking blade jutted out the front of the creature’s head, the front side of the massive curve tapered down to an edge so sharp Rainbow felt squeamish simply looking at it. A few strands of glowing yellow drool dripped from the Kaiju’s open mouth, splashing into the ocean with faint puffs of steam.
Trample hissed at them, arching its back up like a cat would. The air seemed to warp and bend around the Kaiju as it roared.
“Ideas?” Rainbow asked.
“Stay away that knife it's got.” Applejack suggested unhelpfully.
Rainbow resisted giving her friend a similarly unhelpful response and after a lightning fast mental conversation with Lightning Dust, started to circle their Jaeger around to the left, mirroring Trample’s wide arc.
“We’re going to come around on its left side.” She advised Applejack.
Trample noticed them, one of its orange eyes detaching Frontier Justice and locking on the lithe Jaeger as it started to circle around on its flank. Its other eyes were fixed on Frontier Justice, studying the machine with interest. The Jaeger dropped into a combat stance, taking cautious steps every now and then, its outstretched fingers twitching in anticipation. It become a game of cat and mouse, both sides waiting for the other to do something first.
‘Almost there.’ Rainbow thought. Another few moments and they’d be close enough to leap on Trample’s back and introduce it to one of their Impact Hammers…
Trample moved first. The Kaiju lowered its head, charging at Frontier Justice. It took only a few powerful strides before it was up to speed, dashing through the surf like a rabbit being flushed out of its hole.
Frontier Justice was ready though, Applejack and Big Macintosh sidestepping its headlong charge with barely a metre to spare and locking a meaty arm around the Kaiju’s neck. Before it could break free, the Jaeger’s other fist slammed down on top of its skull. Trample’s body buckled under the force of the blow, dipping into the surf before it surged back, a talon reaching for the Jaeger’s neck but instead screeching off the armoured bulb on its barrel chest. Frontier Justice pushed forward, releasing its neck and slamming the base of its solid fist on top of the Kaiju’s thick skull again. Before Trample could regain its wits, a wide undercut caught the Kaiju’s jaw and sent it pitching over backwards.
“If you two would quit standing around like idiots…” Applejack snapped, Frontier Justice batting Trample’s head aside with the back of its hand as it tried to rise.
Daring Dragoon was already in motion, its long legs and quick stride eating up the distance between it and Trample. Within seconds the blue flash was on the Kaiju’s back, pressing its palms against the base of its neck.
Trample howled again, bucking and rolling away from Frontier Justice as the Jaeger latched on, prompting Daring Dragoon to push off before it could be thrown off or dragged under. With a quick puff of their maneuvering thrusters, they were back on the Kaiju, sprawling across its belly and pressing one of their hooves against Trample’s armpit.
“Impact Hammer, engaged.”
A surge of energy prickled up Rainbow’s foreleg before finally unleashing with a savage note of joy which sang in the back of her mind. An electric crack split the air as the tungsten plates fired, slamming into Trample’s armpit with a sickening sound like a freight train striking a bison. The outer layer Trample’s armour cracked under the blow, flecks of luminous orange blood and shattered armour spraying everywhere. The Kaiju’s shoulder crumpled inward like a tin can and a blood-curdling scream rose from its gullet. Before either of Daring’s pilots could shift and apply the second charged hammer, the Kaiju’s long tail came whipping around, slamming into the side of the Jaeger’s conpod with terrific force and knocked Daring Dragoon loose. Trample rolled on, rolling over its shattered joint without any apparent worry and pushing the Jaeger’s back into the seabed. It brought its good claw down on the Jaeger’s head, a blood-curdling screech of metal sounding as it tore into the Jaeger’s thin armour.
“Conpod breached.”
She saw Lightning Dust look over at the solid wall beside her, terror wide in her eyes. The armour had held, barely, but the conpod’s interior had gotten quite a bit smaller, a massive bulge the size of wagon visible on the interior wall. Sirens strobed and sparks fizzed from the damaged section, blood-red emergency lighting flickering on. A few small cracks had appeared through which trickled thin trails of water. Another impact shook the conpod, momentarily plunging it into darkness. The computer canted another warning but its words were twisted and distorted, alien gibberish instead of intelligible speech.
She reflexively kicked out with her hindlegs, using as much reverse thrust as she dared to add power to the desperate buck. Luck seemed to be on her side, the flat of the Jaeger’s foot catching Trample’s unarmoured groin. The stabilising pin fired on its own accord, penetrating several metres through the Kaiju’s leathery skin and shattered part of its pelvis. Trample howl rose a full octave, its knees nearly buckling and giving out completely. Everything seemed to be getting harder, every action making her mind and limbs burn with protest. She was vaguely aware of Frontier Justice trying to shove Trample over but its claws were dug into the mud tight and its wicked knife-head stopped them from getting too close.
The Kaiju’s claw came down again, this time Rainbow brushing its talon aside with a quick parry which made her head explode with pain. Undeterred, it turned its head away from Frontier Justice, its jaws opening wide to clamp down around the conpod..Its face was a bloody mess, blood and chips of armour flaking from its head as it came around. For a moment all she could see was the depths of the Kaiju’s gullet, horrifically illuminated by the Jaeger’s spotlights.
“Eat this!” She yelled without thinking, shoving Daring Dragoon’s foreleg inside the Kaiju’s frothing mouth almost on reflex. Trample had a second to look surprised before the pre-loaded impact hammer blew the back of its skull out. The Kaiju immediately dropped like a rag-doll, trapping Daring Dragoon beneath its bulk. Its tail twitched twice before it lay still, its tongue lolling out over Daring Dragoon’s neck.
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, slumping back hard in her harness. Everything hurt, her head felt like somepony had shoved a spike through it and her limbs felt heavy and hot. She could feel she was bleeding in a few places and the front display kept fizzing out. Somewhere behind her she could her the trickle of water slowly leaking into the conpod.
Something shifted through the Jaeger’s visor, she felt a rumble and then the sky became visible, small brilliant flecks of light covering a slowly brightening blanket of darkness. A white light flooded the conpod and she felt the Jaeger being lifted upright.
Rainbow couldn’t resist, the neural link had been cut without her noticing and she was much too tired to really care. She fought to stay awake for a moment before giving in, the lance of pain through the middle of her skull too much to handle.
Rainbow Dash slipped into consciousness with a long groan. Everything hurt, her hooves hurt, her wings hurt, but most of all her head hurt. It felt like she’d been strung up by her hindlegs and beaten with paddles for an hour. Her tongue was thick and dry, the heavy metallic taste of dried blood hanging to it like glue. She didn’t bother to open her eyes, that would probably just hurt as well.
‘What…’ She thought groggily, struggling to string a coherent thought together. It was hard, it was like somepony had shoveled half of her brain out with a spoon and other half was struggling to keep up. She lay silently for what felt like hours, listening to the steady beep of some machine and the distant clopping of hooves against tiles. Slowly she felt a bit of feeling start to return to her, she could wiggle a wing now without her mind screaming in protest.
The sound of hoofsteps approaching sounded in her ears, she felt something bump into the side of her bed.
“Can you hear me Rainbow Dash? The nurse said you’d woken up.” An unfamiliar voice asked.
She tried to speak but found that too hard, instead nodding a little in response.
“Fantastic. Can you open your eyes?”
Rainbow cracked her right eye open slightly, flinching at the bright light which flooded her senses. She slowly open it further, taking in the small ward she was in. Everything was painfully white, white walls, white floor, white curtains and blinding bright white lights. She looked around and noticed that she was the only patient.
“Bright...” She croaked weakly.
The doctor smiled slightly. “How do you feel?”
Rainbow took a deep breath, thinking over his question for a few moments. She swore horsley as way of response.
He laughed. “I expected as much. Now just bear with me for a few minutes, I just want to give you a quick check up.”
Rainbow nodded groggily as he took her temperature, blood pressure and had a look in her eyes, ears and mouth. She winced as he touched the left side of her face, the flesh was tender and raw like it’d been burnt.
“Sorry.” He apologised before stepping away. “Well, physically, you’re fine. A few sprains, cuts and fractures, nothing you won’t walk off in a few days. You do have some nice burn scars on the back of your neck and your face though.”
“Then, why-.”
“You’re brain is still a bit bunged up. Scrambled, so to say. You’d need a neurologist to give you the specifics, but in simple terms you had a very severe stroke. Your EEG is promising, but we’ll need to some more tests before you’ll be cleared. Regardless, we’re probably going to keep you in here for the better part of the week so we can monitor your condition.”
Rainbow groaned defeatedly. She hated hospitals. She’d be stuck here, alone and bored while everypony else was out being useful. Her mind scrambled to halt at the thought. “Is Lightnin-.” She croaked.
“She’s fine. A minor injuries and a slight concussion. She was knocked unconscious during the battle.”
Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. a weight lifting off her chest. Lightning Dust was her partner and as much as Rainbow found her a pain in the rump, she would’ve never forgiven herself if something had happened to her. “What about the others?”
“They’re fine. Applejack barely left your side for a few days. You’ve got a good friend in her.”
Rainbow smiled wryly, she didn’t need that told to her. If Applejack had been hurt she probably would’ve traded places just a readily.
“Can I see Lightning Dust?” She asked.
“Of course.” The doctor nodded, scribbling a few notes down on a clipboard before hanging it over the end of her bed. “I need to let the Commander know you’re awake first, he’s been worried sick and barely slept. Poor thing is a wreck. I’ll have her brought down soon. I’ll also get a nurse to bring some food, you look famished.” He added before retreating from her side.
Rainbow nodded, relieved that this doctor at least had his priorities right. She suddenly realised how hungry she was, her stomach rumbling and growling lowly. How long had it been since she’d last eaten? It sounded like she’d been unconscious for at least a few days judging from what the doctor had said.
She looked around the small ward, suddenly impatient. She wanted to get straight back into action, not laze around like a sloth. Rainbow sluggishly tried sitting up, the movement making her neck and head scream with agony. She gritted her teeth and pushed through the pain, almost collapsing before managing to awkwardly prop herself up with a pillow.
Another nurse trotted in, levitating a tray of food in behind him and placing it down on the sideboard beside Rainbow’s bed. He fussed over her for a moment before the doors to the ward swung upon and Soarin plodded in.
Although the stallion always bore some sign of chronic fatigue, he looked more even ragged than normal, bits of his frayed mane sticking out and the ever-present bags under his eyes deeper than she remembered. He pushed a small cart loaded with books in front of him.
“Sir.” She croaked, giving him a semblance of a salute.
Soarin bristled slightly. “Do that again and I’ll have you locked in room until you know what’s good for you.” He said tiredly, still flashing a weak smile.
“What, get hurt or salute?” Rainbow grinned.
Soarin shrugged indifferently. “Either. How do you feel?”
She swore coarsely again to illustrate her feelings before remembering who exactly she was talking to. “Oh, sorry sir.” She added, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment.
“Oh you can swear at me, Rainbow.” Soarin chuckled. “You tend to hear a lot of ‘F’ words in the service, the most common of which of course is flank.”
Rainbow Dash cracked a small smile, it was good to see Soarin still had some humour about him. They shared a moment of awkward silence, Soarin’s mouth dropping open as if to say something but no words came out.
Soarin finally took a clumsy step forward, kicking forward the small cart he’d wheeled in with him. “Well, uh, the doctor told me you’d be out for a few weeks and I know how much you like to read so I brought you some books to read. There’s some ones you’ll like, some ones you won’t, textbooks and the manuals mostly.”
“Still have to study, don’t I?” Rainbow sighed, suddenly wishing she was still unconscious.
Soarin flashed her an almost savage grin, clearly aware of how much she detested textbooks. “Yeah, you do. There’s only one way you’d get out of that.” He jeered. He looked away for a moment, a regretful look flashing across his face for an instant. It’s… It’s good to see you’re alright, Rainbow.”
“Thank you, sir.” Rainbow said as he turned to leave. “And Soarin?”
He turned.
“Get some sleep would ya? You look like a walking corpse.”
“Yes, mum.” He shot back sarcastically, giving her a quick smile before trotting out, nearly tripping over Lightning Dust as she forced her way into the infirmary. One of her forelegs was bundled up in a sling but otherwise looking no worse for wear. Rainbow’s co-pilot seemed to give Soarin a voluptuous look over as they awkwardly got out each others way before trotting over to Rainbow.
“Chatting up Soarin now are we?” Lightning Dust purred suggestively, a sly smirk growing across her face. “Friends in high places and all that?”
“Lightning Dust...” Rainbow grumbled back. Her co-pilot at seemed unaffected by their harrowing experience at least, her usual libido jammed forward at full throttle.
“Enjoy your little sleep?” Lightning Dust asked with a yawn.
Rainbow rolled her eyes slightly. “Only because you weren’t there.”
“Hmm. So you did miss me.” Lightning Dust replied dryly, her head tilting to the side slightly as she gave Rainbow a thin smile.
Rainbow returned the look, silently happy that Lightning Dust was fine. Already she was itching to get back into the conpod, to rejoin their shared consciousness. The silence and solitude of her own mind almost felt oppressive.
Rainbow broke the companionable silence. “How’s Daring?”
“Oh she’ll be fine. Most of the damage was to the conpod, just bumps and bruises basically anywhere else. They reckon she’ll be back up and running in a month or two at worst.” Lightning Dust shrugged, wincing as she bumped her leg against the bed. “You should’ve seen it, the whole left side was a mess, like it’d been mauled by an Ursa. So much torn and shredded metal.” She said, leaping up onto the bed and carefully lying down on her belly to take the weight off her injured leg.
“I know right? Still, I think in future we should avoid being hit again.” Lightning Dust suggested with a snort of amusement, rolling over onto her back and snuggling into the bed sheets.
“I’ve heard worse ideas.” Rainbow agreed, finally digging into her food hungrily. At least the infirmary’s food was good compared to the normal stuff she got, a generous serving of hay fries and a delicious looking sandwich heaped with all sorts of vegetables were spread over her plate. There was also a small tub of red jelly and a small green apple which she decided to leave for last. “So, what about you? Doc said you’d be okay.” She asked, resisting the urge to kick Lightning Dust off her bed.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Lightning Dust rumbled, enviously watching Rainbow scoff down her food. “I swear if this damn leg doesn’t start hurting less soon though. I’m going to never bother walking again.” She hissed.
Rainbow ignored her complaint. “Do you remember anything about the fight?”
“Well, Trample came down on the conpod, the lights went out and that’s the last thing I remember.” Lightning Dust said, “I woke up a few hours later to some gorgeous hunk of a nurse taking my blood pressure. I don’t remember a thing in between.”
“So I was piloting the Jaeger solo! No wonder everything was so hard.” Rainbow exclaimed, downing the last of her fries and cheerfully cracking open the tub of jelly. The excruciating pain she’d felt when she’d woken up seemed a distant memory.
“Yeah, for all of about twenty seconds.” Lightning Dust grumbled indignantly, obviously trying to save face. “I looked at the logs. If you’d stayed connected any longer your brain would probably be the texture of that jelly you're about to so happily slurp down. Pull a stunt like that again and it’ll be a miracle if it doesn’t kill you.”
Rainbow stopped dead, the red jelly suddenly no longer quite as appealing as it had been a moment ago. She pushed the cup away with a grimace, feeling the aching pain starting to creep back up her limbs and into the base of her skull. Lightning Dust cheerfully liberated the uneaten jelly from her tray, attacking it with a spoon as if she hadn’t seen food in a week.
Rainbow was too sore to hide her disappointment. She had always hoped she’d be one of the special Rangers who could pilot their machines solo for great lengths of time. The record was apparently over three hours. Twenty seconds hardly matched up in comparison.
“But I did finish it, solo.” She grinned toothily, giving Lightning Dust a meaningful look.
“So? Hardly anything special, anypony with half a brain could’ve done it.” Lightning Dust shot back defensively, pointing the spoon between Rainbow’s eyes accusingly.
“Well...” Rainbow said, looking up in a carefree manner. “It’s a good thing I was able to handle Trample by myself. It’s not like you really did much, after all.”
Lightning Dust chuckled sarcastically. “Oh-hohohoho, you’re playing a very dangerous game here, Dashie.” She said, waggling the spoon indignantly at her.
“I mean, can’t give you too much credit now can we? 20% at best?” Rainbow continued, allowing a slightly mocking tone to enter her voice.
“If you weren’t just in a coma…” Lightning Dust muttered, indignantly finishing off the last of the jelly and throwing the spoon at her co-pilot. “You know what? I don’t like this conversation, I’m leaving.” She snapped, her wings snapping open indignantly as she stood. Lightning Dust rose too awkwardly though, grinding her injured leg against the bed as she stood.
“Careful there princess.” Rainbow taunted as Lightning Dust swore profusely.
She pulled a long face at Rainbow Dash and carefully hopped down off the bed, giving the bedridden pegasus a crude gesture with a wing as she limped out of the infirmary.
Rainbow grinned stupidly, tickling Lightning Dust’s over-inflated ego was just too much fun. “Aren’t you just a barrel of laughs?” She snickered quietly to herself, settling back into her soft pillow. Her head was starting to hurt again, a hot slicing pain which cut down her forehead like a knife and hammered away at the base of her skull. She threw a look down at the books Soarin had brought down for her, smiling thinly as she recognised the thick letters running down the spine on one of them. She almost found it funny that he remembered at all. She clumsily picked it out of the pile, flipping the first page open.
It had been a while since she’d read Daring Do.
***
Twilight pushed open the heavy door to her office with a hearty sigh. As she crossed the threshold she let an immense wave of tiredness wash over her, her shoulders slumped and her head drooped slightly. She cast a thought to the small kitchen attached to her office, turning the kettle on with a sharp click and preparing a cup of tea with another few idle thoughts.
Twilight was tired but happy. Today the negotiations with the griffons had concluded, a concrete deal having been struck for the EJC to construct another Jaeger, this time for the griffon state of Orion.
‘More work’ Twilight thought, stifling a yawn. She’d have to have one of her free J-Tech teams start drawing up detailed plans...
She’d been actively involved in the negotiations since Lysander’s congregation had left, debating and arguing points ranging from cost, design and even pilot training with her griffon counterparts until finally coming to ameable conclusion. As both a representative for the Equestrian Crown and the Equestrian Jaeger Corp, Twilight felt she’d done both branches proud.
‘Yes, so very proud,’ Twilight thought happily, leaning back into her well-worn chair tiredly. She’d slept in her office more times than she could count, the stress, duties of her job and her own dutifulness occasionally preventing her from divulging in some of life’s smaller pleasures.
Perhaps a vacation was in order, she thought before promptly dismissing the idea, too many ponies were counting on her for her to enjoy such luxuries. She could hardly complain about the lifestyle. Until recently, she’d been surrounded by friends and she still kept in constant contact with those that were further afield; she’d almost dropped everything and gone to Trottingham when she’d heard of what had happened during the battle with Tusker.
She had the unique opportunity to work in the cutting-edge field of Jaeger technology, no doubt one of the most advanced areas of Equestrian science and magic. Disregarding her position as a princess, she had an almost unparalleled access and contact with some of the greatest minds in Equestria. On top of all that was the constant invention, tinkering, creation and discovery which gave her so much of her drive.
Who’d want a break from all that?
No, a holiday could wait. Maybe once the pair of Mark IIIs currently under construction were deployed, once they had pilots and were out of her mane, she might consider it. But until then there was just too much to do.
The two Jaegers were proving troublesome on account of the buckets of new technology going into them. The groundbreaking reactor-pons-magic interface was buggy at best, though it did at least work on occasion. The reactor’s energy conduit was also problematic as only a sufficiently advanced unicorn or alicorn could harness it without being flooded with uncontrollable energy. While she herself had little problem controlling the output after spending a few days getting used to it, weaker or less disciplined testers had caused all manners of phenomena such as gravity loss in the areas around the test chamber, uncontrollable bursts of lightning or even more exotic incidents which had forced her to postpone further tests for reasons of safety. It occurred to her that while willing pilots there would be no lack of, capable ones, less so.
And those were some of her smaller concerns.
Twilight shook her head, banishing the thoughts with some effort. She only had a few minutes free until her next appointment and she’d prefer to not spend them worrying about her work. The kettle finished boiling and she poured a cup, drifting the gently steaming mug out to her once she was done.
Her eyes drifted across her cluttered desk, searching for a place to put the mug. Although she’d given up keeping it completely clean long ago, the half-dozen odd mugs, stacks of paper and small components which haphazardly littered it all had their place. She wrinkled her nose up at a week old half-drunk cup of recaf, maybe that didn’t have a place. She levitated it to the small kitchenette she had adjacent to her office and dumped the contents into the sink with a satisfied smile.
‘Spike would’ve helped kept this clean.’ She thought wistfully. Not only clean, but more importantly, organised. He knew almost all of Twilight's small intricacies.
She quelched that thought almost immediately. As much as she missed Spike, he was still a child, and as solid and reassuring several feet of concrete and reinforced steel felt, the shatterdome was effectively the frontlines of a warzone. The middle of Equestria was safe as safe got, no Kaiju incursion could penetrate that far inland.
She didn’t need any more of her friends in danger, not now.
A quiet knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Come in.” She called, tearing her gaze away from her mess and hurriedly straightened a bit her mane so she’d at least look a little more presentable. She decided that she could probably skip the weekly K-Science brief in lieu of a long, warm shower.
The door quickly swung open, slamming against the wall on its loose hinges and adding yet another dent to its metal surface. The pegasus who’d pushed it open didn’t even flinch at the noise, he was well used to it by now, Twilight even suspected he actually enjoyed the loud bang.
“Two griffons for you ma’am.” Her aide said curtly.
“Sent them in. Thank you, Sidewinder.”
He tapped a hoof to his forehead and vanished.
Twilight quickly searched for two sets of files, finding them under a half-finished report on high-energy weapons.
“Garde and Hilmar…” She muttered more to remind herself than anything. Griffons sure did have strange names. They were two of Forsythe’s guards, volunteers who had elected to stay behind to help with the neural mapping for their city’s new Jaeger. No doubt they had no idea what that actually entailed, but that’s why Twilight was seeing them. She quickly flicked through their files, the sound of claws scraping against concrete coming from outside.
A bird’s head poked around the doorframe curiously, a ruby red eye staring at Twilight.
“Garde?” Twilight asked.
“Hilmar.” The griffon spoke, his soft tinkling voice at odds with his fierce appearance.
“Oh, sorry.” Twilight apologised, waving him in.
“Common mistake.” Hilmar shrugged without concern.
Twilight didn’t have time to ask what he meant by that before a second griffon appeared behind Hilmar. Another ruby eye locked onto Twilight.
Twilight blinked with surprise “Oh…”
***
Misty Fly was cross.
While to many others this seemed to be her natural state of being, she was in fact, usually sitting below full-blown anger at a level that her brother like to call ‘egotistically suppressed irritation’.
‘Why in the seven planes of Tartarus would they give this to ME?!’ She thought, storming through the shatterdome towards Michael’s office. The shift was changing and although the corridors were thick with ponies, her bark and fierce glower was enough to forge a path with little effort.
She had been enjoying a pleasant afternoon of downtime, studying simulation and battle recordings in the shatterdome’s library when Lightning Streak had joined her, bearing a new assignment directly from Michael. Misty wasn’t usually one to completely disregard the chain of command, usually taking orders and completing them the best of her abilities even if she didn’t like them. This though, this assignment, felt like it been given to them because of something she’d said. It felt personal.
She pushed past Michael;’s silent secretary, barging into the human's office without even knocking.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Misty snapped.
“Just when my door was starting to be treated like a door again…” Michael muttered, looking up from a stack of papers as thick as his arm. “Please, make yourself right at home.”
Misty glared silently.
“I’m not telepathic, Misty, what is it?” Michael asked with an air of faux sweetness.
“You want me to babysit griffons?” She snapped.
“Well I seem to recall it was you and Lightning Streak, but yes, I want you to look after some griffons.” Michael replied patiently, resting his elbows on his desk and forming an arch with his fingers. “Why, is that a problem?”
“A problem? A problem?” Misty hissed. “It’s griffons, of course it’s a problem! Me and griffons don’t mix!”
“I don’t see the issue…” Michael flipped through a few pages scattered across his desk, searching for the two griffon’s names. “...Garde and Hilmar, that’s them. I’ve met them, they seem friendly enough.”
Misty seemed to regain a little composure, draping a hoof over her muzzle with a groan. “That’s… that’s besides the point, sir. Why me? Why not get Pinkie and Maud, why not you or your brother? Why not anypony else but me?”
“Because I want experienced Rangers on it. I’d go with Soarin and Wave Chill but they’ve got their hands full getting Trottingham started up, not to mention getting things back in shape after Trample made a mess. I don’t have the time to watch these two myself and if I asked Shane to do it I’d probably just get a blank stare in response. Even if I was willing to put Pinkie and Maud on it I can’t, they’re at the Proving Grounds, you know that.”
Misty wrinkled her nose up irritably. It was hard to admit he was right. The shatterdome seemed infinitely more quiet now that Pinkie and Maud had vanished with their Jaeger into the wilderness. Oddly enough Misty found herself missing their presence.
“But why? Why bother? What’s so special about them?” She asked.
Michael shrugged slightly. “They interest me. Call it a trial period.” He grabbed two thin files off his desk and passed them over to Misty.
“They’re twins?” She asked with bewilderment.
“Cousins, actually.” Michael corrected her. “Though from what I understand of griffons they may as well be.”
Misty scowled, wondering what scheme had been cooked up for the two griffons. Nothing good she could imagine. She knew a deal had finally been closed with the infernal creatures in regard to their own Jaeger. He couldn’t possibly suspect these two of being Ranger material, could he?
He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Look... I understand you have some, uh, reservations, about griffons and I apologise for dropping this on you out of the blue, but I need you to do this.”
Misty wanted to make a case against him but she reigned her frustration in. She was already way out of line and Michael was right, as much as she hated to admit it. There was nopony else. Misty puffed her chest out slightly. “I understand.” She said, keeping her voice as impassive as she could.
Michael rested his chin on one of his palms. “If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you like griffons?”
Misty felt her tongue twist in her mouth. She hadn't expected that. What could she say that wouldn’t make her look like a foal? Admitting weakness was not something she did.
“They- They scare me.” She replied eventually.
“They frighten you? That’s it?” Michael’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Misty felt a hot blush creep across her cheeks. She didn’t normally give a flying feather about what other ponies thought of her, but Michael’s tone almost seemed a little patronising. She swore silently, unable to tell if the human was being condescending or not, how did their body language work without tails, flexible ears or wings?
“More than you know.” Misty grumped back, looking away and pinning her ears back against her head. She was starting to feel irritable again, if she told anypony else she was certain they’d make a laughing stock out of her. ‘Terrified of a griffon! What a pathetic excuse for a pony!’ She thought miserably.
“Being afraid of something isn’t something to be ashamed of, Misty.” Michael consoled her.
Misty shot him a cold glare, what did he know about shame? Her pride didn’t allow her to be afraid, being afraid was something others did. Being afraid of something as simple as griffons was almost as bad as her unease with heights. She shuddered at the thought of that little tidbit getting out. “I’ll keep an eye on your stupid griffons.” She growled irritably. “Just keep everything I said to yourself, savvy?”
“Good.” Michael beamed, dismissing the issue with a relieving amount of ease. “Now, unless you have something else you need..?”
Misty frowned and shook her head, making to leave before stopping again. “Sorry sir.” She apologised softly over her shoulder. “That was… I was, out of line.”
“That’s alright Misty.” Michael replied, already digging back into his work.
Feeling a little better, she marched out of his office with as much dignity as she could muster. A sick feeling grew in her gut, why was she so meekly subjecting herself to this?
“Sorry.” She apologised brusquely as she passed Michael’s secretary, feeling a sudden pang of embarrassment as she stomped off. She hadn’t closed the door when she’d stormed in and the much-abused secretary had probably heard everything.
Misty made her way back from where she’d come defeatedly, no longer the raging, stomping terror machine she had been a few minutes ago. She felt ashamed, ashamed for letting her anger get the better of her again over something so trivial. Watch griffons, so what? She could manage.
Somehow.
A knot of anxiety started to tie itself in her gut at the thought.
She arrived back the library, completely unsurprised to find her brother where she’d left him. He’d gained a book now, a thick blue-bound thing which Misty couldn’t see the contents of.
“Well that was quick, did you change his mind already?” Lightning Streak asked sarcastically, not looking up from the list he was clumsily transcribing from the pages.
“Shut up.” Misty grumbled crossly, dropping into a chair opposite him.
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad. We just need to keep an eye on them, nothing else. It’s not he’s expecting you to get cozy with ‘em.” Lightning Streak assured her.
“I know.” She muttered into the table, wishing he’d just leave her alone to sulk. She looked back at her recording without interest, a human Mark III Jaeger was garotting a Kaiju with a handful of cargo crane wires. Gipsy Danger was it? She couldn’t remember, there were a lot of human Jaegers and many of them looked all the same to her.
Lightning Streak looked up and tapped her foreleg. “Misty.”
“Muh?” She asked without interest, dismissing the recording and browsing the extensive collection without lifting her head from the table.
“Misty, look.” He said, nodding his head at something behind her.
She lifted her head slightly, following his gaze and freezing. It was the two griffons, Garde and Hilmar, Michael had called them. She’d seen them before, they were two of Lysander’s guards but they’d never talked and their interactions had been limited to a few wary glances.
“Which one is which?” She asked, edging away slightly.
He made an unintelligible noise. “Do I look like an encyclopedia to you?”
‘Could use one to beat some sense into you…’ Misty thought sourly, looking at the two griffons out of the corner of her eye.
“What exactly are we meant to be looking for?” He asked, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort and she looked at their razor-sharp claws and wicked beaks. If Misty dared sit next to one of the griffons he would’ve towered nearly a full head over her.
“Honestly, I’m not one hundred percent sure..” Misty replied, shooting her brother an irritated look. He seemed to be studying their massive wings intently, as if he were self-conscience of how small his were in comparison. “”But, based off what Michael offered me, I’d say we’re supposed to be assessing them for-.”
“Drift compatibility?” Lightning Streak finished.
Misty frowned, scratching at her neck absently. Despite how often it was starting to happen, it still slightly perturbed her when her brother did that.
Still, it certainly seemed a reasonable enough idea. Why else would Michael want trained Rangers to watch them, why not some other random grunts? That, and the griffons were, as best she could tell, identical. Half of the on-duty Rangers were siblings which suggested to her that related pairs were more likely to work well. “Okay.” She agreed, forcing down a thrill of panic as she forced herself to look directly at the two creatures. She felt Lightning Streak bump his hoof against hers, a little serenity returning to her thoughts at the gentle contact. “Assuming that’s the case, what do you think?”
“Misty, I’ve just only just seen them.” Lightning Streak shot back, his wings fluttering with annoyance.
She glowered at him irritably and returned to watching them out of the corner of her eye silently. She had been wrong, the two griffons were only almost identical. True, they both shared the same beautiful snow white plumage, hints of smokey gray tucked along their wings and nestled around their wings and shoulders. Their crests were the same as well, short and swept back with flecks of black and gray dotting their oiled feathers. The only outward differences was a thick scar which crossed one’s hooked beak and curved down his neck and a slight change in eye colour, one griffon with a deep ruby red while the other’s was more the colour of fresh blood.
Lightning Streak gave her a nudge. “Look at their eyes. See how they’re always looking somewhere the other isn’t?”
“Covering each other’s blind spots.” Misty agreed, immediately shying away as one locked eyes with her for a moment. His eyes shone sharply under the soft downlights, watchful and vigilant.
“Exactly.” Lighting Streak replied, resting one of his hooves next to hers. No doubt he could feel her heart pounding in her chest and hear her short breaths. “We should have a talk with them, maybe try and get them in the Kwoon sometime. There might be something there.”
‘You mean you talk to them.’ Misty thought, flinching away from the griffons reflexively as one cleaned its eagle talons boredly. There was no way anypony would make her go near one of the hulking creatures.
Lightning Streak rose from his chair, giving her an exasperated look, as if he could somehow hear her thoughts.
“Where are you going?” Misty demanded.
“If we’re going to case these two, I want something to eat. You want something?”
Misty scowled at him suspiciously. She didn’t like that he was leaving her alone with Hilmar and Garde on the prowl. “A jam sandwich would be nice.” She muttered eventually.
“Jam sammy it is then, sit tight I’ll be back soon.” He said with a wink before vanishing off between two bookcases and leaving Misty on her lonesome. She looked back at her mission recordings but had completely lost interest at this point, the two griffons stalking through the library were stuck on her mind. Misty swept her gaze around the room again, easily spotting the two griffons waiting patiently by an unattended help desk. She couldn’t help but stare at the albino creatures, taking every detail of their stocky bodies in. They were short, for griffons at least, for they still easily towered over her. The gnarly scar running down one of the griffon’s neck kept drawing her eye, a curious urge building as she imagined how he had earned the injury.
They stood there for several minutes, their heads swivelling around to take in the unfamiliar room before somepony she didn’t know finally found their way over to help them. They talked at length before the librarian directed them to a shelf on the other side of the library Misty knew was stocked with language books.They browsed the aisle for a few minutes before padding out of view.
Misty put her head down on the desk again, her quarry momentarily lost to her. Her eyes lazily started to drift over to Lightning Streak’s book. She scoffed, a cookbook! She’d suffered his cooking enough in the past and she imagined it no matter how much reading he did on the subject it would still be to die for. She grinned wickedly at her own joke, wishing she had somepony to tell it to.
Where was Lighting Streak anyway? He sure was taking his sweet time. She snorted again, maybe he’d fallen in love with some simpleton again and forgotten what he was doing. He had his moments of weakness like that.
“Boo.” A voice said in her ear softly.
Misty screamed like she’d been stung, leaping out of her chair and perching on top of a nearby bookcase out of fright. Her focus snapped back to the seat she’d just vacated, an icy cold chill of fear sweeping over her as she laid eyes on the two griffons she was meant to be watching. Their wicked beaks were half open, a glint of mischief evident in their eyes.
“She scares well.” One piped up, the griffon’s voice tinkling like a soft bell. The pair seemed unduly amused at her reaction. “Are you always so easy to catch unawares?” He asked in somewhat broken Equestrian.
Misty snarled back, she wanted to fly away but she’d chosen a bookcase tucked against a wall and the griffons were blocking her only path of escape. She edged sideways, partially covering herself with her wings and hoping they couldn’t see how terrified she was.
“Garde.” The one with the ugly scar proffered. “And you, pretty mare?”
Misty was unsure if she should be scared or flattered. She settled for barring her teeth at him and growling under her breath. Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone?
“I did not realise you were dog.” Hilmar jeered before barking roughly.
“Wanna try me, buckbeak?” Misty snapped hotly.
Garde rolled his bloody eyes as Hilmar squawked with amusement “A start at least. Tomorrow we will talk, you will do better, you will see. Maybe we will not need to call each other names.”
‘Not freakin’ likely.’ Misty thought as he scratched at the floor absently before padding off with his companion. If either of those fuzzballs tried something like that again she’d buck their stupid faces in. She remained frozen on top of the bookcase well after they’d vanished from sight, the irrational fear that one was just hiding around the corner burrowing into her mind like a tic. She had been chased by griffons before, they were excellent hunters and were more persistent than they had any right to be. She could hear somepony unfamiliar talking to her but she ignored them, quite happy to sit in her feathery fortress.
“Oh good, you’re here. She’s been up there for nearly fifteen minutes.” Misty heard a voice laden with obvious concern.
“Misty, why are hiding on top of a bookcase?”
She looked out from behind her wings at the familiar sound, Lightning Streak was standing beneath her with a slightly concerned looking member of the archive’s staff.
“They were here.” She hissed. “They scared me.”
Lightning Streak gave the librarian an apologetic look. “I’ll deal with her, don’t worry about it.”
The mare nodded and trotted off, giving the two a curious glance before vanishing from sight.
Lighting Streak tapped a hoof impatiently. “Misty you can come down now.”
Misty looked around cautiously and after another gentle round of coaxing from from her brother flapped down to the floor.
“Can’t leave you alone for more than a few minutes without something going wrong.” Lighting Streak jested, draping a wing over her back. “You’re a nuisance, sis.”
“Sorry.” She blurted, surprising him with her blunt apology. “They came right up to me, I panicked.”
“It’s alright.” He said back softly. “I’ll have a talk to them, maybe you should come as well and get to know them. Things you know about aren’t as scary, are they?”
“I’m happy not to.” She growled.
Lightning Streak huffed with annoyance.“They’re probably going to be here a while and from what I gather we’re going to have quite a few more griffons on base over the coming months. You should get used to them unless you want to spend all your time in your room with the door locked.”
Misty grimaced at the thought but nodded hesitantly. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the two griffons but the alternative certainly wasn’t that appealing either.
“Good girl. We’ll have a talk with them tomorrow.” Lightning Streak smiled, giving her an almost condescending pat on the head.
Misty glared at him suspiciously, something seemed a little strange. Lightning Streak seemed almost too at ease with the turn of events. Why did the griffons even come over near her anyway? Where she'd been sitting was on the other side of the library, completely out of their way.
Most importantly though, where was her jam sandwich?
Pinkie skipped up the steps leading to Everfree Bandit’s conpod, the soles of her drivesuit clanging loudly against the raw metal as she took the crude prefabricated steps three at a time. Although it was well into summer, the pre-dawn mountain air was still chilly and crisp.
Maud followed behind at a much more restrained pace, each step perfectly calculated as she climbed the gantries surrounding the humming Jaeger. Her perfectly matte grey drivesuit moved with her in an disconcertingly organic manner. Pinkie still hadn’t quite gotten used to seeing Maud in her drivesuit; without the her typical flat grey dress she almost looked foreign. The sleek suit of interlocking plates and jet black undersuit just looked distinctly out of place on her sister.
She paused for moment, partially out of necessity so that Maud could catch up and partly to admire the view from the skeleton of gantries and metal scaffolding which grew out from the earth up around her Jaeger. Out past the brightly lit perimeter fence a few hundred metres away, the forests and mountains of the Proving Grounds were dark.
The Proving Grounds were a huge testing facility about an hour out of Manehatten. Nestled at the roots of a mountain range, the base featured deep valleys, craggy peaks and sweeping fields, all to test the latest machines and equipment for the Equestrian armed forces. The Proving Grounds was also Everfree Bandit’s temporary home, the hastily assembled mess of scaffolds, rigs and cranes making a makeshift pen for the massive Jaeger.
Two months on from its first commissioning, the Jaeger’s energy casters were ready to be activated. A team of a dozen J-Tech boffins had been hard at work designing a way to disperse stored charge in the massive cannons since the fault had been discovered and were now busy installing and testing their hard work on the Jaeger. It was a simple matter of safety that had prompted the move out to the isolated base, if the energy casters misfired it was better they annihilated a few square metres of forest and fields rather than blast another hole in the shatterdome.
Initial tests had been promising and now, after two weeks in the wilderness, they were ready for a full-scale test.
Maud and Pinkie had enjoyed the downtime, spending their days off exploring in the woods, hunting for rare or interesting rock specimens, composing new songs which echoed loudly off the narrow valleys or entertaining the three hundred odd ponies which worked on their Jaeger whenever they weren’t needed in the conpod. She’d made friends with the lead engineer, a diminutive earth pony named Wireframe, whose penchant to motormouth off, twitch and bounce whenever she was excited reminded Pinkie much of herself.
Pinkie missed everything about Manehatten of course, everything from the jumpy but excitable LOCCENT manager Torque, the stoic but friendly guards and of course her bestest friend, Twilight. She had heard that there were two new griffons in the shatterdome and even more rumours that there were big plans for them. While Pinkie didn’t completely understand why they were there, they must have been there for a good reason and she therefore resolved the throw them a massive welcome party when she and Maud returned.
The thought made a grin creep across her face.
She resumed her climb and quickly reaching the conpod, Maud still lethargically trailing some distance behind, Pinkie started bubbling and raving excitedly her plans to one of the technicians who accompanied her as she waited. It was rare that she got to throw a party for griffons.
To the technician’s credit, she seemed to be following along fairly well, impressive since the constant clang of her metal boots against the conpod’s floor would’ve made anything but the most bombastic of conversations unintelligible.
By the time Maud reached the conpod, Pinkie was already fastened into the Jaeger and had her helmet on, a slick full face design with a large clear visor. Compared to the previous generation suits Pinkie had trained with, it was much lighter, fully enclosed and had an integrated HUD projected on the inner faceplate. It was also highlighted with lines of blisteringly hot pink, though Pinkie probably appreciated that more than anypony else.
She peered out past the dancing lights of the conpod’s viewscreen as Maud silently hooked into the Jaeger’s drivetrain. The faintest rays of the rising sun were now visible over the crests of hills and filtering through the copses of trees which studded the mountain ridges. Despite the early hour she was eager and energetic, ready for a day of adventure and excitement. As always, Maud looked utterly impassive, though Pinkie could tell her sister was almost equally as eager for the test.
“Good morning Pinkie,” The energetic sound of Wireframe’s voice suddenly buzzed over the helmet’s intercom. “Good morning Blinky.”
“It’s Maud.” Maud protested with what could have been a sigh.
“Close enough.” Wireframe tittered cheekily. “Now I apologise for having you two up so early, but I couldn’t wait to get this done and dusted. Whenever you’re ready, jump on in.”
“It’s okay.” Pinkie sang as she absently started booting up Everfree Bandit. Most of the controls were second nature now. There was a lot more work to do without the shatterdome’s systems and staff to piggyback off, but she and Maud had gotten quite good at it. With the pre-launch checks finished, Pinkie set her end of the pons to ready.
She and Maud exchanged a small nod and with a sensation like she was being pulled down a drain, they entered the drift.
***
“Okay, listen up!” Wireframe barked cheerfully. “First,we’re just doing a dry run. Just charging the weapon and then hopefully dispersing the charge.” There was a slight pause as she presumably waited for them to do something. “You can activate the caster by either voice command, neural input or you can configure your control panel. First though, you need to make sure the master feed switch is on. It’s the purple one, three o’clock high on your control panel. Do that now please.” She added sweetly.
Maud scanned for the switch and flicked it from ‘safe’ to ‘live’. A string of green hashes lit up across the control panel.
“Good.” Wireframe confirmed. “We’ve got a target about three hundred metres downrange. Take aim, we’ll charge it up and then disperse it. We’ll be controlling it from here for now, but I’m sure you’ll want to map out a control scheme that best suits you later on.”
Pinkie nodded silently. Everfree Bandit’s reactor thrummed eagerly below her, impatiently urging its pilots on. They raised the Jaeger’s right arm, the machine fluidly complying to their order.
“Go go, energy caster!” Pinkie sang impulsively, delighted as the Jaeger’s hand spun apart at the knuckles and locked back smartly, arranging itself into a pronged array. The housing around the Jaeger’s forearm spun open, revealing several series of vents and coils. A red targeting reticule automatically overlaid itself on the Jaeger’s viewscreen and on their helmet’s display.
“Very good. Initiating test.”
Pinkie felt a surge of energy course down her foreleg like a lance of fire. The sensation grew for a moment as the energy caster guzzled power from the reactor, before suddenly tapering off and leave a dull prickling sensation. Beads of sweat started to grow along the lower half of her foreleg. The vents along the Jaeger’s arm hissed and the coils glowed dimly as the weapon bled off charge. A pulsing alert sounded in the back of her helmet as the weapon finished discharging.
“Okay!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerily, tapping her hindleg absently in time with the thrumming of the Jaeger’s reactor. She didn’t really understand much of what was going on but all the lights that were supposed to be green were green and everything else seemed to working just fine.
“Fantastic.” Wireframe bubbled excitedly. “Now we’ll move onto a live test.” She was starting to sound excited like Pinkie did when she was; she could almost imagine the diminutive scientist bouncing up, down and all over the control centre. A steady whine started to build under the conpod as the Jaeger’s power consumption rose sharply.
“Test at fifty percent charge”
A streak of light flared along the outer edge of the energy caster, the conpod’s visor immediately dropping to its darkest polarity to compensate. A sharp temperature spike and a sharp crack of ionised air washed over the conpod before the sound turned to thundering roar, a ravening arc of energy lashing out from the three projectors. The crackling bolt leapt from their palm, a burning ball of light too bright to look at, before exploding in a bloom of white fire. The earth flashed black, rock melted and what little shrubbery clung stubborn to the ground instantly flashed to ash.
The arc of light cut off after barely a second, Pinkie rapidly blinking to clear the burning afterimage seared into her retinas. Her hoof burned softly with energy and all of her fur felt tingly, stood up at attention like she’d been in the middle of an electrical storm.
“Cool!” She exclaimed brightly.
Maud blinked silently, her face impassive. Her pupils seemed to have dilated slightly though, as if she were in awe of the power now at her beck and call.
“Okay, everything looks good from this end. You girls ready to bump up the charge?” The radio crackled again, Wireframe’s voice somewhat more distorted and static-laced than before.
“Okey-dokey!” Pinkie sang, ramping up the power output like she’d been taught. Everfree Bandit sang excitedly in the back of her mind, the Jaeger putting itself into an appropriately badass firing position with little input from its pilots. Pinkie couldn’t explain it properly but the Jaeger almost felt overjoyed, as if some part of it that had been missing had returned.
She looked over at Maud, her sister sharing what passed for an excited look.
“Testing in 3… 2…” Wireframe suddenly cut off, leaving a quiet hiss of static to slither down the channel. “Uh, Stand by…” She added after a moment, a hint of concern in her voice.
Maud and Pinkie shared a confused look as the Jaeger’s weapon powered down with a disappointed whine. Pinkie twitched as she impatiently waited for somepony to tell her what was going on. Everfree Bandit started to chomp at the bit with irritation in the back of her mind, growling and whining impatiently. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind warned her of what could only be an impending doozy.
A radio crackled again. “Dispatch from Manehatten. Girls, you’re going to want to hear this…”
***
The Manehattan Shatterdome was uncharacteristically quiet.
Torque didn’t mind, he quite enjoyed the graveyard shifts. Sure, things had been ‘interesting’ with Pinkie Pie around; even a simple trip to get recaf could become fraught with peril if one happened to draw the bombastically bouncy mare’s attention. With her and a Jaeger missing though, the shatterdome felt uncharacteristically empty.
‘Not for much longer.’ Torque thought, casting his gaze down the end of the Jaeger Bay. Behind the solid walls another two of the metal giants were taking shape; sleek and graceful titans which were every bit as beautiful as they were deadly. Torque wondered what it would be like to pilot one of the machines, his running wild with imagination as his own skyscraper sized Jaeger started stomping around his head.
His pleasant train of thoughts was interrupted as a computer panel in front of him started beeping intently. Torque swore under his breath, dragging himself upright as calmly as he could.
‘Why is it always the quiet nights? And why do I always get them?’ He thought irritably as he surveyed the board expertly. There, the deep sea sensors were picking up a sudden surge of displacement in the water around them. Torque had seen the signs enough to know what they meant, a breach was imminent. Before the computer even had time to process the data, Torque had triggered the Kaiju alarm.
A few moments later feeds of data started to stream into the LOCCENT. Displacement, radiation readings and sonar sweeps started to paint a picture of the creature, a long and skinny Category III with a pair of what looked like large pectoral fins and a long horn. It was light, only just registering over a CAT III signature, but if the initial readouts were to believed it was fast, faster than anything Torque had ever seen before in his career as the shatterdome’s chief LOCCENT manager.
“Huh..?” Torque muttered to himself as the creature shot towards the surface like a cork, quickly fading from the deep-sea sensor net. That was unusual, most Kaiju would run deep once they breached, sticking close to the ocean floor until shallower water forced them up.
Another sensor picked the Kaiju up near the surface, a bright racing blip against the cold ocean, before it yet again vanished.
“Odd.” Torque summarised, blinking in confusion at his boards as they returned to their normal readouts. He stood from his station and strolled around the control centre as calmly as he could, confirming with each of the twenty odd technicians under his watch that their scopes were clear. After a half-hour of diagnostics and rechecking the sensor data, Torque was left just as confused as when he had started. The only thing worse than a Kaiju was a Kaiju that refused to play by the rules.
His mind flashed back to Thresher; the large millipede-like creature had burrowed underground and managed to evade their sensors entirely, had this creature done something similar? He immediately dismissed the idea, they had seismic sensors recently installed to prevent such a tactic working again.
If the Kaiju wasn’t underwater or underground, then where in Tartarus was it?
He wondered if the crazy K-Science theories he’d read about had any basis. Analysis of the skin and chitinous shells of the last two Kaiju had showed them to be somewhat more capable of absorbing their sensor sweeps than the preceding ones. That sort of rapid evolution seemed just impossible to Torque though, doubly so since it was carrying over a myriad of species.
His cocoon of thoughts was burst as one the ponies manning the signal monitoring consoles paged him over.
“Sir, I’m getting some interesting chatter out at sea. From one of our boats.” She explained as he wandered over unhurriedly.
“Define Interesting.” Torque demanded. It was too early in the morning for vague mysteries and vanishing monsters. He felt the urge to find a cake or pie to take his frustration out on.
“Well, from what I can gather they picked up a large object overhead about ten minutes ago, it hasn’t responded to radio contact and is not giving off any sort of transponder.”
Torque cocked his head curiously. “Where are they?”
She studied her screen carefully, the bright light dancing across the pair of thin glasses she wore. “About two hundred kilometres from where we last had a fix on the Kaiju.”
Torque blinked, staring at the technician stupidly for a moment before it clicked.
“Oh crap.” He muttered, more to himself than anypony else, leaping back towards his console and praying to whoever might be listening that he was wrong. No, the scans were still clear, the underwater and seismic sensors still showing a distinct lack of Kaiju.
“Go get the Marshall here. Now.” Torque ordered, pointing a hoof at the first pony he saw, a scared looking intern. He let out a quiet noise of surprise before scampering off to find one of the humans.
‘No, not fins…’ Torque thought, wondering how it was possible. He’d read enough of the K-science papers to know that Kaiju were an incredibly adaptive species but this was preposterous. How could something as big as a Kaiju fly, it made no sense to him.
He patched his console into the shatterdome’s extensive communication suite, searching channels until he found what he was looking for, a link to the Apocalypse's ops room. It took another few minutes to find somepony there who could fill him in.
“We have a wing of pegasi checking it out now.” A grumpy sounding watch commander from the REN Apocalypse told him. His tone suggested to Torque that he thought the LOCCENT manager was poking his head in something that clearly wasn’t his business. “Probably just a smuggler or a off-the-books flight. They’ll have eyes on the target in a few minutes.”
“I’ll stand by.” Torque replied, going back to his screens to triple-check that he hadn’t missed anything. The watch commander hadn't seemed too receptive to his idea that the Kaiju was flying, outright calling it absurd. Torque wanted to believe him, but every shred of data he had was pointing towards the Kaiju becoming airborne.
“What have we got, Torque? Michael asked, making Torque jump a little as he appeared at his shoulder like a ghost out of mist.
“I think I found our Kaiju.” Torque said, about to explain what he had deduced. Before he could though, the irritable sounding watch commander came back in his headphones.
“Patching through the unit.” He grumped.
Torque’s heart rate immediately jumped as a slightly out of breath sounding pegasus starting talking. She was remarkably calm considering what she was reporting.
“Sir, listen.” Torque said, his jaw tight. He passed the headphones to Michael, the human pressing them to one ear as they wouldn’t fit over his head.
“It’s flying?!” He swore incredulously after a few seconds of intent listening. His jaw worked up and down, a look on his face that one would usually reserve for somepony else who was trying to pick up the mare at the bar you liked. He threw the headphones down, turned on the spot and walked to the nearest corner The entire LOCCENT went silent aside from the occasional beep of a console, everypony watching him as he stared at the floor, his arms crossed firmly across his chest and his head hung in defeat. It took a minute for him to recover his composure.
“Flying Kaiju, cool. Now what? We can’t defend against a flying Kaiju, it can hit wherever the hell it wants.” He spat furiously, more to himself than anypony in particular. Michael looked like he was about to break down again but managed to restrain himself with a deep breath.
He looked Torque in the eye. “Okay, get every Jaeger ready to deploy and hooked up to their Broadways now, let Soarin know what’s happening and have his teams on alert. I don’t think it’d go that far north because that means covering half of Equestria but I’ll be damned if this thing catches us with our pants down again. Keep tabs on this bastard, as soon as we know where it's going, I want Jaegers there.”
“What about Everfree Bandit?”
“Get a message to them, they’ll have a head start on any inland target at least. I don’t like sending them in without support but it means we have a Jaeger on the ground half an hour earlier, we’re doing it.” He growled, rubbing a hand through his coarse hair.
Everypony stared at him silently.
“What are you waiting for, get on it!” He snapped.
The shout was enough to get everypony back to work, ponies turning back to their consoles to get the relevant messages out.
“Michael…” Torque started.
Michael threw him a desperate look. “Sorry, this is just... “ He ground his teeth together. “This is bullshit.”
Torque wanted to say something clever but nothing came to mind. Instead he settled for nodding silently. There was something terrifying about seeing him so worked up about a Kaiju, he and Shane had fought against the monsters for years before they had arrived in Equestria and everypony had started to assume they knew all the tricks in the book. Clearly this was something very new.
Michael shook his head slightly, letting out a long breath. “Better get the old girl ready, excuse me.” He uttered darkly before stalking out of the control centre.
Suddenly with nothing to do, Torque fell back into his chair and rubbed his hooves through his mane stressfully. He was suddenly, painfully aware how tired he was. Torque checked the time on his console, it would be dawn in another hour or so. His shift was supposed to finish not long after, though with the sudden Kaiju breach that was more likely to be a pipedream. He let out a long sigh of exasperation as he leaned his head back into his chair, wondering what he’d done to make the universe hate him.
***
It was a typical summer afternoon for Canterlot, hot and dry like the inside of an oven. A slight breeze did some to take the heat away but many of the city’s citizens were staying indoors, under fans or tucked away in their air-conditioned homes or shelters. Those that still remained, at least.
Celestia had neither such luxury. The royal palace’s ancient rooms had been designed with neither in mind, though they had at least been cunningly designed to promote airflow and the thick walls did something to shield its occupants the heat.
She felt another trickle of sweat run down her neck as she lounged in her chambers, reading over the latest reports from the Treasury, Agriculture and Home departments. Strictly not her business, but Celestia enjoyed keeping up to date on her nation’s doings and nopony would dare deny her the small pleasure. The alicorn’s discomfort did not come from the heat though.
Celestia lowered the papers she had been reading with a sigh and nervously looked out one of the windows ornately carved into the white stone. It would be evening soon, though she did not look forward to the cool change darkness would bring. In her mind the night was now solely the harbinger of something much fouler.
The emergence of this new Kaiju, Harpy they called it, had been a great shock to her. Though the incursion of the monsters had almost become routine now, the coming of this new airborne threat had made Celestia nervous. She had stayed updated on the beast as it had been tracked throughout the day. Its speed was phenomenal, it had crossed the coast a few hundred kilometres south of Manehatten and continued inland with an unnerving precision. The mighty Jaegers of the Manehatten shatterdome had been powerless to stop the creature and although initially tied down along the coast, had swiftly given chase, though their transports were considerably slower than the soaring creature from what she gathered.
The hours had inexorably slipped by and as each new update trickled in the news only got worse. After a few hours of tracking the airborne Kaiju’s path, its target had become abundantly clear.
Celestia fidgeted nervously, wondering how much longer it would take to arrive. Much of the city had already been evacuated, but Canterlot had become home to many fleeing to the perceived safety of Equestria’s heartlands. There were still tens, if not hundreds, of thousands still being transported out by the city’s force of overburdened guards.
A private airship, no doubt belonging to one of the city’s aristocrats, zipped by the window, a flash of shining metal against the slowly darkening sky. Celestia watched with a trace of amusement as one of the Royal Guard’s mighty airships, Solar Prophet, quickly intercepted and boarded the yacht. Within a few minutes it was back in the city, no doubt having been ‘requisitioned’ to help with the evacuation. Celestia expected whoever owned the ship in question would no doubt complain to her about its seizure at some point.
A sharp knock on the door tore her gaze away from the window.
“Enter.” She said cooly, already knowing her Captain of the Guard was on the other side.
“Princess.” Shining Armour bowed slightly as he pushed the door open.
“I assume you’re here to try and convince me to leave again?” Celestia guessed flatly.
Shining Armour let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, princess.” He snapped as politely as possible. “We don’t have long before this creature arrives, our latest estimates put it only an hour away. I personally think leaving is a very good idea”
Celestia bit her tongue silently. After a moment she rose from her lounge and trotted over to the window. Although the city proper was too far below her to make out anything between the buildings, she knew it would still be crowded with ponies evacuating the city.
“How many are left?” She asked softly.
“Too many.” Shining Armour replied after a moment of silence.
Celestia sighed. Leaving would’ve been the sensible move, but it didn’t sit right with her. “I can not leave them at the mercy of this creature.” She spoke softly yet her voice was laced with conviction. “I will fight for them, if I must.”
“You can’t fight a Kaiju.” Shining Armour pointed out pragmatically.
Celestia shook her head. “No, perhaps not.” She agreed. “But somepony must try.”
Shining Armour harrumphed quietly. “You know, your sister said the exact same thing.”
Celestia smiled wryly. “I guessed as much. She’s awake then?” She asked, giving the sprawling city a hard look before turning on her heel and striding regally from her room without waiting for an answer. Shining Armour followed in her wake like an aggrieved parent.
“You know, just for once, I thought you might actually take a risk to your personal security seriously.” Shining Armour admonished her. “It would be nice to be able to leave you alone for a day without you sticking your head in a manticore’s mouth.”
“You sound like my mother.” Celestia sighed. “You just want to suck all the fun out of life. ‘No Celly, no jumping on turtles’, ‘No Celly, don’t do the thing.’” She mimicked.
“There’s a difference between going down to the local bakery unannounced and fighting a monster bigger than an Ursa.” Shining Armour pleaded exasperatedly.
Celestia stopped abruptly and looked down at her captain of the guard. “Shining Armour, I appreciate your counsel and I understand your point, but you are asking me to flee and leave my subjects to their doom...”
“The Royal Guard will fight for you.” Shining Armour pointed out.
Celestia spread her wings indignantly, her massive white feathers gleaming in the orange afternoon sun which filtered through the windows. “So they can fight, but not me? Do you forget me, sir?” She asked, her voice booming with authority.
Shining Armour shrunk slightly. “Of course not ma’am, but if you-.”
“Good grief, since when did you become my father?” Celestia groaned, silencing Shining Armour with a glare out of the corner of her eye. She stopped outside of Luna’s chambers and knocked on the door.
After a moment the door opened and Luna’s head appeared out of the darkness beyond. Unlike Celestia’s chambers which were open to the light and full of bright decor, Luna had her curtains drawn and her room filled with subdued colours. A few lamps glowed dimly from the black chandelier above and cast deep shadows across the alicorn’s parlour.
Luna had a black mug filled with something dark and bitter smelling floating a few inches from her face. The words ‘I hate Mondays’ printed across the cup had been tastelessly edited to ‘I hate days’ with a crude red marker. Though her mane was disheveled and her wings unkempt, her blue eyes burnt bright with energy.
“Good afternoon.” Celestia said curtly. “May I come in?”
Luna stood aside wordlessly, allowing Celestia to enter her suite. Celestia puckered her lips wordlessly, it was much messier than her own rooms and she nearly tripped over something in the gloom.
“A drink, sister?” Luna offered.
“Later, perhaps. I’m sure we’ll need something strong.” Celestia said, magically opening of the curtains and allowing the bright afternoon light to filter in.
Luna winced. “Was that really necessary?” She complained. In the light, Celestia could see her sister looked much more bedraggled. Luna didn’t look like she’d been sleeping much.
“Sorry.” Celestia apologised, closing the curtain again. “How long has it been since you’ve been outside?”
“During the day? A while.” Luna said, stifling a yawn. “The nights have been… busy. Sorry for all the mess.” She added, picking up a few scattered mugs and bowls off the floor and depositing them on an already overflowing sideboard.
“It’s that bad?” Celestia asked.
Luna flinched slightly. “So many terrors... so many fears worm their way into the mind in the darkness. There are more than just the monsters from within that haunt us…” She trailed off. “We have a monster of our own to deal with now.”
Celestia nodded. “Indeed.”
“I felt it rise in the night.” Luna whispered. “Even in the dreamscape I could feel something… an unspeakable malice bearing down on me. There were no good dreams had last night.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow curiously but Luna did not elaborate. While Celestia was a master of many of the world’s magics, she understood little of the mysterious realms Luna ventured into. Her sister had tried explaining it once, but it was an art beyond Celestia.
“I assume you are here to ask me to flee.” Luna sighed with resignation, taking a sip of her foul smelling drink. “It would be the sensible choice.”
Shining Armour made a relieved sound, muttering something under his breath about common sense.
“Actually, I was going to ask if you fight alongside me.” Celestia put forward. “Canterlot is still being evacuated, and the although the best we can hope for is to buy some time… it is all we can do. It is what we must do.”
Luna nodded in agreement, perking up slightly as she realised Celestia wasn’t going to force her away. “So do you have a plan then?”
“Well it’s pretty much like this…”
***
Half an hour later, Celestia and Luna set out from the palace, leaving a practically fuming Shining Armour to await their return. Celestia’s plan was simple, try and distract the Kaiju and draw it away from the city, hopefully until a Jaeger could show up to deal with it. Being the bait in her own plan wasn’t the best idea Celestia had ever come up with, but given the time and lack of resources on hand, it would have to do.
Harpy was now visible from the city, a tiny black smudge in the slowly darkening sky. A knot of apprehension started to form in Celestia’s gut as she watched and waited, she had been in battle more times than she could readily remember across her lifetime, but only once had she dared take on something quite on the scale as this.
She grimaced, remembering how successful her attacks on the monster Switchback had been. She turned to Luna, noting the dark look on her sister’s face. Like Celestia she seemed to harbour some reservations now that the time had come.
“We should move.” Celestia murmured, spreading her wings and taking flight before her courage failed her. Luna followed close behind, the two alicorns making a beeline towards the approaching Kaiju.
Celestia soared out over the city, her massive wings beating slowly as she glided towards the approaching speck. Behind them, Solar Prophet and its sister ship Night of Solace rose from Canterlot, their engines roaring and weapons gleaming dangerously in the setting sun.
“I would just like to say, for the record, this is not your best plan.” Luna said from beside her.
“Well if you have a better one....” Celestia replied dryly as they neared the edge of the faint purple shield Shining Armour had established around the city.
Harpy was no longer a small speck, the Kaiju soaring towards them at a frightening pace. As it closed, Celestia could start to make out its hideous features. It looked almost like one of the Wyverns of legend, though as Harpy drew closer she could make out no trace of scales covering its charcoal grey skin. Electric blue light shone from its wing membranes and its body was covered in strange alien tattoos dancing with colour. A long, knife-like horn jutted from the crown of its small head. Even from inside the shield Celestia could smell it, a rank mixture of rotting fish, smoke and death which clung to the back of her throat.
There was something else as well; a foul, almost palpable miasma which incited fear, hatred and wanton destruction clung to the creature and permeated the air around it. Just looking at it made Celestia's blood boil with anger. As the creature drew inexorably closer the sensation grew stronger.
Now only a few hundred metres from the shield Harpy seemed to take up the entire sky. Its wingspan dwarfed even the two mighty airships which buzzed behind Celestia noisily.
The Kaiju didn’t even slow its pace for the shield, slamming head first into the barrier with an impact that shook Celestia’s teeth. Incredibly, Harpy didn’t immediately breach it, the Kaiju slipping along the skin of the wall like it was sliding across a frozen lake and eliciting a perfect, high pitched ringing note that made Celestia’s fur stand up on end. The magical barrier flared solid white before suddenly collapsing as Shining Armour presumably lowered the barrier.
The Kaiju pitched over as the magical resistance suddenly vanished, dropping nearly a hundred metres before regaining control. It missed the two alicorns, gliding past them without as much as a squeak in their direction.
“Well, that worked!” Luna exclaimed dryly, powering after Celestia as she struggled to keep up with the flying Kaiju. Night of Solace and Solar Prophet wheeled about to desperately avoid a collision with the Kaiju, Harpy missing the later by mere metres.
Celestia pumped her wings furiously, finally drawing level with Harpy. The Kaiju finally seemed to notice her presence, one of its burning eyes slowly turning around and locking onto her with an almost haunting sense of curiosity. Before Celestia could true to cast a spell on the creature, its jaws split apart, a snaking tongue lolling out and tasting the air with savage glee. A moment later hideously equine scream split the air, a piercing wail pouring out from the Kaiju’s maw like a tidal wave.
Celestia felt a tremendous blow suddenly force itself down on her consciousness, a wailing, cascade of incomprehensible gibbering and alien howls pressing down on her like an anvil. Time seemed to slow as what felt like an entire world of mad and impossible beasts invaded her thoughts. Celestia’s senses were flooded by the urge to maim and destroy. She found herself howling with primal rage, picturing the slaughter of millions, rending rock and earth apart in animalistic fury, laughing at the death of worlds and stars, her only desire to-
Celestia missed a wingbeat, the remnants of a sob escaping her mouth as Harpy’s macabre wail faded and the terrifying visions left her mind. She looked around with horror, realising that her sister had vanished.
“Luna!” She cried, spotting the catatonic form of her sister hurtling towards the ground lifelessly. Celestia tried to capture her within a field of magic but she couldn’t concentrate, a incessant tidal wave of emotion and evil thoughts clouding her mind. She powered on, quickly catching up to Luna and cradling her delicately in her forehooves. Celestia could feel her sister’s panic, her breaths quick and her heart racing like a hummingbird in her chest. Another direct assault on Harpy seemed a poor choice, so Celestia grudgingly pulled away from the monstrous creature and made a beeline back to the palace, leaving the circling Kaiju to the two roaring airships closing in on it.
Shining Armour was waiting where she and Luna had left him, brazenly glaring at Harpy with complete disregard at her last order to him to find shelter. He bolted over to her as she landed, his face wrought with dismay as he saw the unconscious Luna.
“What’s wrong with her?” Shining Armour demanded, gently taking Luna from her.
“Knocked her out cold.” Shining Armour observed. “She’s alive at least.” He looked up as Harpy let loose a deep beastial roar above them as the two airships started engaging it. “We need to get out of here. Can you teleport us out?”
Celestia winced, struggling to focus and push through the lances of pain which clung to her mind. “I’m not sure.” She murmured, a few sparks of stray magic fizzling from her horn uselessly.
Shining Armour grimaced. “Okay, the war chamber is the best place to be then, I think Harpy would even have trouble digging through the mountain.” He guessed.
“I wouldn’t put anything past it at this point.” Celestia groaned, setting off after Shining Armour as quickly as she could manage. They came to the end of a hall and into a courtyard large enough that Harpy could have lain down with room to spare. Usually occupied by a mixture of aristocrats, tourists and palace staff, the gardens were eerily lifeless.
The sky was filled with chaos however, Harpy locked in battle with the two lumbering airships. Bursts of cannon fire and streaks of rockets lit up the dusk sky, the annoyed roars of Harpy mixing with the constant thud of quick loading guns and buzz of engines. Harpy backed away from the storm of fire, clawing to the side of the mountain and roaring at the airships.
As Celestia watched, Solar Prophet came about on the seemingly confused Kaiju, spitting shell and rocket at the beast in a incessant blizzard of fire and smoke. Night of Solace took up a perfect crossfire position, blasting away at the monster with its own gun decks.
For a few moments, it looked like Harpy had met its match. The overwhelming storm of fire was taking its toll, dozens of small craters starting to pockmark the Kaiju’s skin and weep blood. It roared with irritation, hiding its face behind one of its leathery wings as it clung stubbornly to the side of the mountain. Celestia dared to hope for a minute that the two massive airships would convince the Kaiju to go find something less troublesome to play with.
That unfortunately wasn’t the case, the beast swiftly taking wing again, shooting up several hundred metres before plunging back on Solar Prophet, claws outstretched and its wings flared.
“Oh da-.” Shining Armour swore before the mighty airship buckled, its back breaking in an instant as the Kaiju’s monstrous claws punched through it like tinfoil. Solar Prophet lurched sickeningly like it had hit a pocket of turbulence before Harpy released it, the airship spiralling out of control for a few seconds before careening into the side of the mountain with a titanic crunch.
“The bunker is on the other side! Move! Now!” Shining Armour barked as the airship pitched over, rolling down the mountain towards the palace.
Celestia didn’t need telling twice, making for the other end of the gardens as quickly as she could. It was a race against gravity, the airship’s bow piercing one of the palace’s towers and toppling it like a child might demolish a tower of blocks.
The small group made it across with seconds to spare, the airship careening sideways as its prow lodged into the ground and sweeping the hulk across the courtyard. A fire raging inside Solar Prophet must have found something vital, as the airship’smagazine went up; a billowing fireball washing out over the courtyard and blasting Celestia and Shining Armour off their hooves.
With a sickening groan, the wall adjoining the courtyard bowed inwards, loose rubble and masonry.pelting the group as they gawped with horror. Celestia barely had time to hear a shout of warning before the entire wall toppled over with a sickening slowness. She turned to flee, barely making it three steps before something hard slammed her back and she saw no more.
***
The sharp taste of smoke clinging to the back of her throat greeted Celestia as her vision slowly swum back into focus. The pristine hall of the palace had been replaced by a scene of chaos. Fires licked greedily at the twisted wreck of Solar Prophet, columns of smoke twisting and curling around the ruins of the palace like slender fingers. A hellish orange glow bathed the rubble and cast deep shadows. Somewhere above, Celestia could still hear the sound of cannon fire and Harpy’s slow wingbeat. There was a pair of metallic shrieks, a shudder and then only the crackle of fires and the slithering of cascading stonework.
She groaned, a few trickles of rubble trickling down her side as she stirred. Shining Armour and Luna were nowhere to be seen, presumably buried the piles of rubble which now made up the wing of the palace. Celestia struggled back to her hooves, weakly calling out her sister’s name. The fire and smoke obscured her vision and burnt her lungs but she stumbled on, forcing herself away from the carnage. She soon found Luna half buried in the rubble, tripping over her sister’s prone form before realising it was there. She fell onto her side, looking up at the smoke choked sky. Harpy was nowhere to be seen, though she could still feel its overbearing miasma pressing down on her. She gritted her teeth, trying to force the horrific, hate-fuelled visions of death from her mind.
Then, with all of its horrifying magnificence, Harpy appeared above, slowly circling the half-ruined palace. Its wings beating methodically, its head turning on its snake-like neck as it searched the collapsed architecture. The fight hadn't gone completely its way though, hundreds of small wounds pockmarking its skin and a long, deep gash along the Kaiju’s face wept blood. About three-quarters of its horn was cleanly snapped off, leaving a ragged stump in its place. It landed against the side of one of the palace’s bulbous towers, seeming to sniff the smoke choked air. It surveyed the destruction for a moment before suddenly looking down, its gaze fixing on her as if guided by a homing spell. A gurgle escaped its throat and it awkwardly started to edge its way down the side of the palace.
Celestia could hear the masonry crunch and crack under its weight as the massive creature started to worm its way downward. She ignored the rain of debris which startled falling around her, for the first time in living memory simply shocked into submission.
Harpy screeched again, a long, despairing wail which sent Celestia into another fit of agonising misery as the Kaiju’s scream bore down on her, tearing and ripping at the edge of her mind. The screech abruptly cut off, Harpy slithering down further towards her, one of its massive clawed talons slammed into the piazza barely thirty metres away as it stooped down inquisitively. A foul mixture of tanned leather, death and sulphur washed over Celestia as the Kaiju’s head snaked closer, cocked slightly to the side in a curious manner. It let out a hiss and sniffed at the prone form of Luna cautiously, its tongue slipping out and tasting the air around the princesses. Harpy gave Luna a gentle nudge with the edge of its head, two long drooping vine-like feelers hanging from the bottom of its jaw examining her inquisitively.
Celestia forced herself upright, ignoring the pounding in her head as the remnants of the Kaiju’s hellish scream faded from her senses. The massive Kaiju turned slowly to look at her, like a curious foal might examine an ant. It hissed with interest, its head tilting from side to side and a few globs of spit drooling out of its mouth and melting the cobblestones below.
“Touch my sister again and I will make you regret it.” Celestia growled, bending her head low and pawing at the ground. She could taste blood, the bitter metallic taste rousing something dark and dangerous in the vestiges of her mind. Luna had told her once that to fight the darkest terrors, using something darker and fouler was sometimes needed. It had never struck Celestia as the wisest of things, but now, faced with something surely crafted in the lowest pits of Tartarus itself, she could see the reasoning behind it. Only a monster could slay another monster.
The Kaiju blinked, the ground shaking as its other massive claw came down into the courtyard. It slid its head closer towards Celestia, its tongue quickly slipping in and out out past the edge of its gruesome maw. It could taste her, taste her fear, her anger. Harpy’s jaw twitched slightly as if somehow trying to form a crude smile. It spread its wings wide, blotting the sinking sun out and illuminating the entire courtyard with a sharp electric blue. Although it could not speak any tongue Celestia could understand, its body language was unmistakable.
Try me.
Celestia obliged, allowing herself to succumb to the beastial, bloodthristy urges which Harpy ravaged her mind with. A surge of panic lanced through her as the darkness swiftly took hold, greedily filling her body and quenching her fear as quickly as it had emerged. Shapeless blobs of darkness pulsated from her horn, a ghostly purple aura wisping from her eyes like steam. The darkness grew uncontrollably like a cancer, smothering and stealing the light from Harpy’s wings and clawing at the Kaiju malevolently. Harpy’s aura of smugness faltered, the creature trying to back away with a pathetic mewl of fear. The nothingness didn't let it, unnameable, impossible shapes gripping and holding the Kaiju in place like chains. A knife of immaculate darkness caressed the side of Harpy’s head, searing the surface to a blackened husk and sloughing sheets of flesh off the Kaiju’s face in blankets of ash. An entire row of the Kaiju’s eyes were obliterated, the black wave of ripping away its body until the ridges of the Kaiju’s skull started to appear against its blackened wound.
Harpy screamed again, a scream of pure terror replacing the high pitched wail that had incapacitated Celestia before. Harpy writhed and snapped, black clumps of half-melted skin, sinew and muscle spraying the courtyard as it ripped its body free of the black cloud. It pitched over drunkenly, bashing its raw skull against the rubble of the royal palace and flailing wildly as the dark strands fiendishly fought to restrain it.
Celestia’s didn’t even register the fact, finding herself laughing despite everything as she drove the power she wielded over and over into the Kaiju’s head. She delighted in the savage thrill that came from the pain she was inflicting, drinking in the sounds of pain and terror which came from the pitiful beast which had dared attack her. She would punish it, rip it apart piece by piece, atom by atom and eradicate its very essence from living memory-
One of Harpy’s thrashing wing membranes suddenly clipped her, sending Celestia slamming into a wall with a bone-crushing impact. The darkness suddenly retreated, fizzing out weakly around her as Celestia momentarily blacked out. She was vaguely aware of the Kaiju rallying, almost half of its face now replaced by a wicked mask of bone and half-melted flesh. Her head swam with dark thoughts and Celestia immediately regretted what powers she had called upon to try and banish Harpy. She tried to stand, to flee, her legs immediately giving out as she tried to rise. It was a hopeless errand, Harpy staggering back at her with its face of bone. It roared deeply, raising one of its massive claws over her and bringing it down without hesitation. Celestia felt the darkness close in and she did nothing, no last hurrah, no last moment of defiance. She had fought, bartered with her soul and lost. She closed her eyes, almost welcoming the coming oblivion.
The sound rang out around her, echoing off the courtyard and resonating perfectly in the dry evening air. It was beautiful yet chilling at the same time, drilling into her skull like a death knell. Celestia contemplated the perfect, fading note for a moment before realising she wasn’t, in fact, dead. She open her eyes, amazed to see a shimmering white dome of energy surrounding her. The barrier stabilised and the shimmering barrier of light flickered back to a royal purple as the sound faded from her ears.
Harpy seemed just as surprised as she was, its foot jarred to a halt a metre above her. It slammed its claw back down with a frustrated screech, making the barrier flicker white again. Celestia looked around for the source, surprised to see a bloodied and battered Shining Armour, illuminated by a brilliant aura of purple light spilling from his horn. Apart from his eyes, he looked every part the white knight of legend.
For his eyes were open wide, his pupils contracted into small dots of fear. Whether at the enormity of the Kaiju or something else, Celestia didn’t know. Had he seen her court with the darkness? Shining Armour had fought the dark powers before, he had seen the horror they could bring firsthand. If he had seen her so happily succumb to its urges would he ever trust her again?
Thankfully it seemed like a bridge that would be crossed later, as Shining Armour yelled, “Princess! Get ready to move!” He staggered as Harpy slammed its foot against the barrier again, gritting his teeth with effort.
“Ready?” Celestia choked with disbelief, still completely overwhelmed by her sudden change in fortune.
“Run!” Shining Armour ordered, dropping the field and losing a blinding spike of magic right into the surprised Kaiju’s face. It didn’t do much more than tick it off, but at this point, every last bit helped. He paused a moment, capturing the still prone form of Luna in a telekinetic field and bolted like he was being chased by all of Tartarus itself.
Celestia groaned weakly, barely able to stand, let alone run. Even if she could flee, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from the Kaiju. Most of the palace was crumbling around them and unless Harpy decided to just leave, they were trapped.
Quickly recovering its wits, Harpy snaked after them, its tail thrashing at the palace and screaming noisily like it were a child that had its favourite toy taken away. The citadel which had stood for over a thousand years was torn down in seconds as the Kaiju scrambled after them. Even at full gallop it would’ve been futile to try and outrun it, the flat out speed of the beast was simply astonishing for something of its size.
Barely fifty metres separated her and the Kaiju when a shadow swooped past overheard and the sound of rotors cut over the sound of the Kaiju’s tantrum. Celestia staggered as the ground shuddered again, a metal foot slamming into the ground barely five metres behind her. She craned her head back in wonder as a massive Jaeger loomed out of the smoke and fires, recovered from its rough landing and rose to face the Kaiju. Its horn sounded, shaking the very air as it bellowed a challenge
“That’s a Jaeger!” Shining Armour exclaimed in disbelief, his voice being swept away by the sound of cracking masonry, the hiss of hydraulics and the hearty thrum of the Jaeger’s reactor.
“It’s Everfree Bandit.” Celestia whispered in awe, her mouth hanging open in amazement as the Jaeger stood upright. It looked every part a god, standing tall and fearless through the smoke and fire with the golden sunlight gleaming brightly off its armour.
She felt Shining Armour grab her, pulling her away from the impending fight but her body resisted, some part of her wanting to stay watch the titans clash on her doorstep. It was fascinating yet terrifying to watch, like a train derailing in slow motion. Everfree Bandit didn’t waste any time taunting the Kaiju and jumped straight into action, closing the tiny gap with a single bounding step. Even with half of its face missing, Harpy was all to happy to oblige, launching itself at the newly arrived Jaeger with an shrill shriek.
The fight was about to go up a level.
***
“We’re here!” Pinkie sang, immediately readying the Jaeger for contact as they touched down with an earth-shattering crack. Maud blinked back flatly, her eagerness positively bursting over the neural link. Like Pinkie she was eager to stretch their limbs after the long flight from the Proving Grounds, though she was more intent on using the Kaiju as a test bed for their Jaeger than Pinkie was. Pinkie sounded the Jaeger’s foghorn, delighting in the positively terrific sound that bellowed from Everfree Bandit's chest. Harpy screeched back, throwing itself at the Jaeger, claws outstretched greedily.
The two sisters leapt forward recklessly, the nimble Jaeger darting around Harpy’s claws and wrapping its arms around the Kaiju’s midsection as they slammed into it. The force threw the Kaiju backwards and the two titans tumbled around like toys caught in washing machine. They crushed an entire wing of the ruined palace to dust under their weight, the edge of Canterlot’s upper tier drawing dangerously close as the two giants rolled towards it with reckless abandon. Punches, kicks and slashes were traded between the monster and the machine, claws screeching off armour and the wet smack of metal against flesh echoing across the city with a pace and rhythm like a hellish orchestra. As the open drop loomed closer, neither Pinkie nor Maud made any attempt to slow their erratic tumble, kicking the Jaeger right over the edge of the city with Harpy in tow and plunging into freefall.
Now completely airborne, Everfree Bandit laid in with gusto, fists flying and pistons firing as its pilots bashed Harpy’s skull in like a boxer would pummel punching bag. Harpy screeched, pushing them off and trying to re-right itself but the two sisters latched themselves back on with the stubbornness of a tic, wrapping one massive hand around the Kaiju’s neck and using the other to thrash any part of the creature they could reach. Cracks and fractures started to fissure along the Kaiju’s skull as the Jaeger got to work.
“Welcome to Equestria!” Pinkie sang, seemingly oblivious to the fact they were hurtling uncontrollably through the air. “Enjoy! Your! Stay!” She added, Maud punctuating each word with a piston punch to the Kaiju’s jaw or chest. The Jaeger tightened its grip around Harpy’s neck, clutching to it with the tenacity akin to how a castaway might’ve clung to their liferaft.
Harpy yowled in pain, unable to organise a proper counter-attack before the next tier of the city rushed up to meet them. The Kaiju slammed home first with a deafening crack that shook the entire city, sending tons of polished stone, earth and concrete sloughing down the mountainside. Harpy managed to kick the Jaeger off, Everfree Bandit tumbling away and crushing an entire block beneath its bulk before regaining its footing with a well executed roll. The Kaiju picked itself up weakly, spreading its wings and pushing off the ground in a desperate attempt to flee. It didn’t get far, Pinkie and Maud leaping up after it, grabbing its leg and dragging it back to earth with another blast of the Jaeger’s horn. The two titans fell back to earth and tumbled across the lower reaches of Canterlot in an ugly ball of punches, kicks and swipes. With a sickening crack, the district of the city they were fighting across broke free of the mountainside, cascading away with a slow magnificence like water over the lip of a waterfall. Harpy and Everfree were suddenly back in freefall. Swept up in the rapture of battle, neither Maud nor Pinkie seemed to really pay it much mind.
Despite the change in footing, Everfree Bandit continued punishing the tumbling Kaiju, kneeing, elbowing and punching it at every opportunity it could. Harpy managed to pierce the Jaeger’s left shoulder with one of its massive taloned feet, but a piece of debris the size of one of the massive Jaeger bay doors back in Manehatten crashed into it, ripping the claw away from the Jaeger along with a spray of shredded metal and cabling.
“Oh, this leather is so supple!” Pinkie remarked cheerily, ignoring both the multitude of warnings that crisscrossed the screen and the slowly spreading fire of pain in her shoulder and headbutting the Kaiju. Harpy’s jaw finally split in half from the impact, the bone shattering under the Jaeger’s continual abuse and showering the conpod with fragments of bone and a thin layer of blood.
Any further attempt to comment on the situation was drowned out as Harpy’s wing clipped the side of the mountain with a gut-wrenching crack of bone and flesh. The impact sent the two giants bouncing away from the cliff like two leaves caught in a strong breeze.
Everfree Bandit was unfazed, attaching itself back to Harpy with no regard for their almost suicidal spin.
“Hey, Maud! A rock! See if grumpy-wumpy Harpy likes rocks!” Pinkie invited as Maud plucked a chunk of concrete the size of the Kaiju’s head from the air around them and slammed it against the side of Harpy’s face like it was a mascara brush.
Harpy obviously didn’t like rocks as its roars of pain rose sharply in protest.
With a screech which penetrated the conpod, Harpy finally kicked Everfree Bandit away and desperately tried to spread its wings and pull out of the sharp dive. It was a fruitless task though and the only thing Harpy ended up achieving was breaking its already injured wing and spiraling even further out of control.
On the plus side though, Everfree Bandit was too far away to hit it again.
“Eight hundred metres to ground contact.” The computer growled, alarms singing loudly from every inch of the conpod. Many systems had been damaged in the reckless tumble and subsequent fall and the Jaeger’s damaged shoulder was starting to feel sluggish.
“Pinkie, we are falling.” Maud pointed out as if the thought had only just occurred to her. The rational part of her mind was already at work trying to figure out how they could avert, or at least mitigate the inevitable hard stop at the end.
If the single thought that blared back across the neural link, a long drawn out ‘WHEEE!’ and the look of pure bliss on her sister’s face was anything to go by, Pinkie obviously didn’t think it was that much of a problem. Pinkie was having the time of her life, she’d never enjoyed fighting all that much but being hooked into Everfree Bandit seemed to tap some deep seated visceral thrill for fighting. The Jaeger wanted it, so Pinkie wanted it. The adrenaline pumping thrill of base jumping in a three-thousand ton war machine was just the cherry on top.
A lightning fast mental conversation followed, Maud repeatedly driving home the fact they were falling until Pinkie finally grasped the gravity of the situation and started pulling the Jaeger into a semblance of a brace position. To any normal pony, the speed at which the two pilots managed to discuss, debate and work on the finer points of landing a steel titan the size of a skyscraper would’ve been completely beyond them, but for the two sisters it felt like they were falling through jelly, the altimetre clicking down with almost unbearable slowness as they conversed over the neural link.
“Two hundred metres to ground contact.” The computer said coolly as the crystal blue waters of Wagtail Lake rushed up to greet them. They impacted a moment before Harpy, two massive plumes of water shooting up into the sky as the pair of giants hammered into the water one after the other.
The lake was only twenty or so metres deep, so the Jaeger slammed into the bottom of the lake with a sharp crash, the water doing little to break their descent from the city above. The entire Conpod shook violently, the shock absorbers unable to deal with the massive force of the Jaeger ploughing into the lakebed. Several seals and gaskets blew open and a score of warning lights flashed on to replace the ones which had vanished. The whole machine seemed to just keep on shaking, so hard that for a moment Pinkie and Maud feared it might simply fall apart. Chunks of Canterlot rained down around them, sending plumes of water into the air and rattling off their heavy armour with sharp thuds. A particularly large piece clipped the conpod and shattered into a hundred pieces, the impact making the Jaeger's lights go dark for a moment.
Eventually, the noise stopped. Everfree Bandit hunched over in a thirty metre deep crater of its own making.
“Pinkie?” Maud asked as the neural bridge between her and Pinkie spluttered.
“A-okay!” Pinkie said back cheerfully as the computer recovered and reestablished the link. They were both breathing heavily and the insides of their circuitry suits were soaked with sweat.
While the Jaeger hadn’t been designed with two kilometre dives in mind, Everfree Bandit had come off rather well. Many plates of armour had warped or bent, allowing water to flood some areas of the Jaeger, the Jaeger’s right knee structural integrity had almost collapsed and a few secondary systems had been shaken loose but all things considered, the Jaeger and its pilots weren’t much worse for wear. A heavy cloud of mist, dust and debris settled around Everfree Bandit, cutting visibility down to a few metres and pattering down on the roof of the conpod with a gentle, soothing sound completely at odds with the adrenaline racing excitement which had got them here. The occasional rumble of debris cascading down the mountainside still occasionally reached their ears.
Harpy was nowhere to be seen.
A scanner pinged once, a shrill beep as it picked up the telltale radiation signature of a large Kaiju.
“It’s still alive.” Maud hissed, a slight trace of caution and respect entering her voice. She flicked through the Jaeger remaining cameras but was unable to make out any sign of the beast. The scanner still beeped quietly, stubbornly insisting the Kaiju was slowly closing in on them.
“Not for much longer.” Pinkie quipped, sliding her left foreleg back and forth like she was cocking a rifle. The Jaeger’s right hand quickly split apart in response, the fingers sliding around on their mounts and locking back against the palm as they formed the tip of the Jaeger’s energy caster. A sharp crackle and the hum of electricity split the air; a bright, purple light arcing around the tip of the Everfree Bandit’s hand as the primitive energy weapon built up charge.
The two sisters then waited patiently, their crackling left arm bathing the scene with an electric purple glow.
A final proximity warning sounded, Maud and Pinkie simultaneously spinning around and releasing the pent up charge at the figure which came screaming out the mist at them.
A sheet of supercharged purple fire leapt from Everfree Bandit’s forearm with a sharp crack, the surrounding mist instantly flashing away from the heat. Pinkie had a moment to see the snarling form of Harpy silhouetted behind the blast. The Kaiju was battered and bleeding, its face poured blood and other, less identifiable bodily fluids. Its neck was bent at an obscene angle that looked like it had been broken in at least two places. One wing was completely limp, trailing like a torn sail behind the Kaiju. It had a moment to roar defiantly before the ravening pulse of energy exploded in its face.
A loud tearing sound and the smell of cooking flesh filled the air as Everfree Bandit’s energy caster tore through Harpy like a hot knife carving butter. The Kaiju’s head caught fire first, before suddenly melting away in steaming streams of flesh, muscle and bone. The start of a horrified scream escaped the Kaiju’s throat before it too, was atomised.
A creature that had no doubt taken hundreds, if not thousands of years to grow and evolve on some alien world melted away in moments as Pinkie and Maud cycled the energy caster as quickly as its capacitors would allow them. Within seconds the only indication that Harpy ever had a head was the ragged, cauterised stump of its neck.
Harpy’s body, sans head and neck flopped into the lake like a puppet with its strings cut, a wing spazzing wildly for a few moments before finally dropping.
Everfree Bandit watched its downed foe cautiously for a few minutes, the waters of Wagtail Lake slowly settling down and lapping around the Kaiju’s bulk. The surface of the water was already turning a foul, electric shade of blue in places as the Kaiju’s noxious blood leaked out of its corpse.
Maud nodded appreciatively, cycling the weapon’s safety back on and folding away smoothly. “It’s okay I guess.” She summarised flatly, giving the closest thing to a seal of approval to the weapon as she would.
The two pilots took a moment the simply breathe, the entire Jaeger shaking slightly as they carefully took a knee to steady themselves. Pinkie and Maud looked between each other and the control console silently, a flood of emotion coursing over their mental link. With Harpy dead and the adrenaline high starting to die down, the two sisters started to realise the severity of the immense destruction they had inadvertently caused.
“We…” Pinkie gasped, her chest suddenly constricting with horror. Somewhere deep inside the shared entity of their minds, some small smidge of feeling took pleasure in what they had wrought.
“I..?” She breathed again, unable to find words to describe the sudden regret and terror she felt. Even Maud seemed visibly shaken at the implications of what they had just done.
Soarin rose sluggishly, a nightmare of screeching metal, fangs and talons being chased from his mind like a half-forgotten memory. He chewed absently, ignoring the almost subconscious lines of pain which ran down the side of his body. He knew by now that they matched the scars that Wild Mustang’s hulk bore, but it didn’t make it an any more pleasant feeling. He looked at the small clock sitting beside his bed and sighed quietly, very early. He shrugged off the thoughts of going back to sleep and slipped out of bed, stretching his aching body as he did so.
It wasn’t just the nightmares. As of late he’d been feeling bilious and uncomfortable, suffering from shakes, aches and pains, particularly after waking up. It reminded him of a addict suffering from withdrawals. The shatterdome’s physician hadn’t found anything wrong with him, but Soarin trusted her about as much as he trusted each of his aunts to not give him a horrendous sweater for Hearth’s Warming.
Instinctively, Soarin knew something was wrong, even if he couldn’t place his hoof on exactly what it was. He yawned loudly, feeling very hungry. That was one thing at least he could fix easily.
He set off towards the mess with purpose, the aches and pains subsiding as the grumble of his stomach grew. Food truly could fix anything. It briefly occurred to Soarin that the watch would soon be changing, accounting for the surprising number of ponies up and about despite the early hour. Despite the lack of lack of clear and present danger many seemed overly skittish or bore barely concealed looks of worry. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.
Even over a month later, Harpy’s incursion into the heartland of Equestria had quite handily dispelled the notion that the interior was safe. Up to now, it was assumed an attack so far inland would be all but impossible. Refugees, displaced ponies and others just seeking a safer place from the Kaiju had flooded the interior of Equestria, swamping the populations of the numerous small towns and villages which made up a large part of central Equestria. Being one of the few large cities in the interior, Canterlot had been similarly crowded and it was all the authorities could do to try and settle them as best they could. Now though, another mass wave of migration was happening to the west coast of Equestria. He’d learned from his family that the housing market was booming in places like Las Pegasus, Seaddle and Vanhoover.
While the east coast remained well populated by those too poor, stubborn or had enough faith in the Jaegers to leave, even in the short time he’d spent in Trottingham, he’d noticed less and less ponies around. Soarin reflected on this glumly, finding a suitably large meal to sate his hunger on. How many would be left in six months? A year?
The effect of the attack hadn’t just hit the morale of the civilian populace, the Jaeger Corp was also reeling. There was a definite air of tension and unease hanging around the shatterdome, everypony was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Rangers under his command were less confident and chatty, even Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust hadn’t been bragging as much when they practiced drills, though they certainly maintained an apparently unshakable ‘Can do!’ attitude which Soarin found comforting. His biggest concern was Wave Chill though, his co-pilot starting to become reclusive and uninterested in the goings on around the shatterdome. Not only had he neglected the few command roles and administrative tasks Soarin left him, their last few simulated sessions had been dismal, Soarin had apparently died on two out of the last six simulated drops, not a particularly encouraging statistic. That thought was enough to remove what was left of his appetite and after leaving the mess Soarin made a start on the veritable mountains of mundane paperwork that seemed to pile up at an unsettling rate. It would be a few hours yet before it would be reasonable enough, in his mind at least, to wake his co-pilot and start the day proper.
‘Time to knock some sense into him.’ Soarin thought after putting a rather insignificant dent in the work, plodding along the hallway towards Wave Chill’s quarters. He hadn’t made an appearance as of yet and it was getting well into the morning. Although they had no rostered duties until the early afternoon, it was high time for him to be up and about. Besides, there were some new toys to play with which Soarin had seen arrive some hour beforehand.
He entered Wave Chill’s quarters with little issue - even if the stallion had bothered to set a door lock, Soarin would’ve known it anyway. A solid wall of musk slammed into Soarin’s nose like a brick, making him recoil slightly.
“Urgh.” Soarin groaned, wishing there were a window.
“You’ve changed, I don’t remember you being so stallion-like last time.” Wave Chill rumbled dryly from his bed.
Soarin snorted. “Not your usual squeeze, sorry. How about you get up?” He suggested nicely.
“I don’t need to be up for another… two hours.” Wave Chill guessed with a yawn, burying himself deeper into his cocoon.
“Come on, get up.” Soarin said to his co-pilot, punctuating the order with a prod.
Wave Chill grumbled loudly and rolled over, putting a pillow over his head like a foal trying to skip school might.
“When my little brother doesn’t get up, the next step involves me jumping on him. Do you really want that, Wave Chill?”
The other pegasus rolled up with almost indecent haste. “I’m awake, I’m awake.” He affirmed, staring at a point somewhere behind Soarin’s head blearily.
Soarin wrinkled up his snout. “You smell.”
“Haha, yes, thank you, good morning to you too dunderhead. I’m sure you’re the sparkling visage of pony cleanliness.” Wave Chill rattled off, rubbing an eye irritably. “I hope for your sake you didn’t wake me up just to say I smell.”
“No, we’ve had some kit arrive. Thought you might want to see it.”
Wave Chill went stiff. “It’s not Thursday already, is it?”
“Nope, arrived early.” Soarin beamed. “Come on, clean yourself up a bit and come down to the bays. I mean, seriously, you reek.”
“Since when did you become my mum?” Wave Chill growled, throwing a pillow at Soarin as he rolled off his bed and started searching for a towel.
“Want a recaf?” Soarin asked, watching the pillow sail across the room far away from him.
“Yes please. Like I like my mares; hot, unbridled and very, very bitter.” Wave Chill groaned, butting his head up against the wall in his search for a towel.
“Shower first.” Soarin ordered, pointing him in the direction of the suite adjoining Wave Chill’s quarters.
Wave Chill make an annoyed whine, following Soarin’s instruction with all the grace of a spoiled twelve year old. While he waited for his co-pilot to make himself presentable, Soarin found himself a bagel and Wave Chill a thermos of liquid which could’ve been mistaken for raw, liquid bitterness. By the time he returned to Wave Chill’s quarters, the stallion was looking, and more importantly, smelling, considerably cleaner.
“Y’know those’ll make you fat if you keep eating them.” Wave Chill said in way of thanks as they plodded down towards the bays.
“Tfghhugg erhgff.” Soarin replied cheerfully through his bagel, chewing louder for Wave Chill’s benefit.
“Wonderful.” Wave Chill drawled, averting his eyes from the mess unfolding in Soarin’s mouth. They made their way down to the shatterdome’s small Jaeger bay in a timely fashion, neither bothering with small talk. When you shared your consciousnesses on a regular basis, there was surprisingly little to talk about.
As usual the Jaeger bay was a hive of activity. Even though none of Trottingham’s Jaegers had been actively involved in the last incursion against Harpy, they were both being bothered over all the same. Daring Dragoon was down on all fours, its head lifted clean off its body and its access panels all open. The highly strung Jaeger had sprung a reactor leak towards the tail end of its last deployment, a worryingly common occurrence for the maintenance-intensive Jaeger, and was being meticulously being stripped and searched head to toe by engineers armed with radiation counters and wrenches. By comparison, the ever reliable Frontier Justice was just receiving a new coat of paint along with fresh insignia and markings. Looking at the two pony-made demigods towering over him was enough to make Soarin's skin prickle uncomfortably.
Most of the attention was on the newcomer though.
It had arrived in the small hours of the morning, loaded down between two flights of rotaries and overseen by a small army of support staff. The new Jaeger was several weeks ahead of schedule, amazing considering the number of design changes, modifications and issues which had cropped up during manufacturing. Fresh off the assembly lines in Manehattan, the Jaeger and its component parts had been flown north for the final touches - namely the installation of the conpod and potentially weeks of calibrations, trouble shoots and other pilot tests. Soarin considered that a little odd, given that could easily be done in Manehattan. The more politically aware side of him wondered if the move had anything to do with the developing fiasco in the aftermath of the Canterlot attack.
Unlike their previous Jaeger, Wild Mustang, this machine was much slicker. Gone were the huge missile pods, replaced by internal weapon bays built into the roof of the Jaeger’s shoulders. Large vertical stabilisers hung from the Jaeger’s back, tucked in close like a pair of wings. The neck was considerably more reinforced and armoured, and the solid traction pads had been replaced with flexible cloven hooves, giving the machine better traction on any surface. The Jaeger’s conpod, hanging a few metres above the neck seal, had long swept back ‘ears’ and a massive centreline mounted searchlight built into the crown of its head. The vision port was tinted a stunning shade of royal red, contrasting sharply with the machine’s dark grey paintwork. Its build was much bulkier than either Daring Dragoon or its cousin, Everfree Bandit, giving it more of a masculine appearance. The Jaeger positively towered over the comparatively tiny Daring Dragoon, almost matching Frontier Justice in height.
Both Soarin and Wave Chill had seen the Jaeger multiple times during its construction, but even now, it sported several late-stage design changes neither hadn’t seen. Most prominently, a massive sloped fin jutted from the Jaeger’s thick chest directly in front of the conpod, a heavily banded and reinforced edge facing outwards. The Jaeger’s wrists and shoulder guards, while slimmer, looked considerably more reinforced than either remembered.
“Gee whiz, ain't she a beauty." Wave Chill remarked with a trace of awe. For the first time in weeks, he seemed to be excited about something.
Soarin nodded in agreement, his heart almost doing backflips at the thought of being in a Jaeger again. The thunder of iron hooves, the roar of the reactor and the mind-melding process which made pilot and machine one was exhilarating. Intoxicating. Addictive. Soarin wondered if that was the source of his ills.
Wave Chill cast an inquisitive eye over the huge fin set into the Jaeger's chest. “Interesting design choice I guess?”
“I’d say it’s meant to help block blows going for the head, well, from the front at least.” Soarin guessed, peering at the thick bands which ran around the slanted fin. “Depending how strongly they’ve reinforced it, you could probably also wallop something pretty hard with it. I think a couple of the human's Jaegers had them as well.”
“For headbutts when you don’t want to use your head.” Wave Chill muttered, his gaze dancing over the Jaeger eagerly. He fixated on something above them but Soarin paid him no heed, casting a scrutinising eye over the Jaeger.
Soarin nodded. “Something to work out. It’s not something we’ve had in the simulations.” He mused. True enough, the fin would make it awkward for anything trying to hit the conpod from the front, but it could also serve as a very large, very convenient handhold. That could be a problem, but it’s something they’d work out together. If nothing else it might be something else to get his less orthodox partner motivated.
“Hey Soarin. check out the gals. I don't recall a forecast for rain in the Jaeger bay.”” Wave Chill sniggered with amusement.. Soarin followed Wave Chill’s gaze upwards, immediately spotting Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust way up in the upper rafters of the Jaeger bay.
“Oh...” Soarin breathed, amazed to find the ceiling seeded with a couple of cunningly hidden rainclouds. At first hidden by the blazing downlights and support beams, Soarin could now spot a whole cluster tightly packed above Frontier Justice, threatening the Jaeger with a massive downpour. He looked back down at Wave Chill, unable to stop a whisper of a smile forming on his face. “Those two have an inexhaustible amount of enthusiasm.”
Wave Chill just grinned knowingly.
‘Of course.’ Soarin thought with a trace of irritation. He didn’t let it show, addressing Wave Chill again. “Well, I guess if we left now it can be somepony else’s problem.”
“Agreed.” Wave Chill grinned, eyeing the two mares fondly. “Anything else come in?"
“Yep, we have new drivesuits as well. Give them a look over and make they have the right size on the label. I've kept the receipt so we can take them back to the shop if they don't fit” Soarin joked.
“I don’t think that’ll be an issue for me. You, on the other hand…” He gestured vaguely at all of Soarin. “I don’t know how you still fit.”
“Lots of patience. At least I’m not cold.” Soarin remarked. “Come on, I’ve got them upstairs.”
They exited the Jaeger bay before the two Rangers floating above them could cause any real trouble, Wave Chill tossing the scene a furtive look as he followed his partner out. They made their way upwards, Soarin having had the new suits sent to one of the shatterdome’s practice areas.
The training room was conspicuously crowded, a gaggle of technicians pouring over two metal crates and a few battered looking mannequins. One had an old drivesuit on it for comparison. A mess of large paper sheets were spread over the floor, the ponies frequently checking it, arguing over something, checking again and then arguing again as they figured out the new suit.
“Pretty.” Wave Chill remarked, trotting over and peering at the half-assembled drivesuit. The suit was thinner and sleeker than their old ones. Each plate was a vibrant shade of midnight blue, freshly polished and stamped with a string of white serial numbers which neither of the Rangers had never bothered to understand the meaning of. The undersuit was still jet black, with a hundreds of gold strands of circuitry running up and down the length of it. The helmets, Soarin noted, were fully sealed, with their own supply of oxygen built-in.
Wave Chill fished out a helmet from a crate with his cutie mark crisply stamped on the back. “You thought of a name for it?” He asked, giving the helmet an approving nod.
Soarin looked blankly into another neatly packed crate, the lights gleaming off the armour within. “I was thinking of calling it Sceptre Six.” He said dumbly, noticing Wave Chill’s head incline in an incredulous manner. “I mean, it’s where we both started, and it’s the sixth Jaeger. Seemed fitting.” He justified quickly.
“Sceptre Six.” Wave Chill stated, looking at Soarin with dumbfoundment. “Really? Really. Couldn’t come up with anything better?” He asked with a note of exasperation.
“I didn’t see any suggestions from you. You’re barely contributing anything at all as of late.” Soarin countered tersely before lightening his tone a bit. “Besides, doesn’t it just bring back happy memories? Such a bright-eyed cadet you were back then. A better time…” He said wistfully.
“All I remember was being yelled at and cleaning.” Soarin’s co-pilot said with a pout, clearly remembering all the ‘fun’ hazing he had undergone aboard the Wonderbolt’s school ship under Soarin's tutelage. He looked down at his helmet, his face reflected perfectly in the freshly polished visor. “Guess things haven’t really changed that much.” He said after a short moment of silence.
Soarin picked out his own helmet, surprised at how much lighter it was. Wearing his old one for more than a few hours at a time hurt his neck, the newer model had definitely taken steps to alleviate that problem. “Suppose so, though the lack of yelling as of late is a nice change.”
“Command has its benefits I guess. Well, for you maybe.” Wave Chill shrugged "Are we done here?", putting his helmet back as his interest waned. Soarin was sure there were other things, or ponies more accurately, around the shatterdome he was eager to get to. He shook his head slightly, amazed at how quickly Wave Chill's thoughts had shifted. Soarin subconsciously found himself pursing his lips, tempted to chew out his friend’s lack of discipline and motivation.
“Don’t you even start.” Wave Chill said without even looking at Soarin.
“I wasn’t going to-.”
Wave Chill cut him off. “I don’t need to be plugged into a computer to know exactly what was going through your head, Soarin." He muttered irritably, giving Soarin an irritated look. "As much as you might try to be, you’re not my damn dad, okay?” Wave Chill added.
“Given your history, I would’ve thought you’d have an appreciation for more professional behaviour.” Soarin chided him gently.
“Not in the air force anymore old boy. Rules aren’t the same, before you throw the bloody book at me.” Wave Chill said back, giving Soarin a pointed look over his new helmet. There was a uncomfortable moment of silence, the two pegasi stewing in their own thoughts. Wave Chill's face was unreadable before he piped up. “She asked me, for the record.”
Soarin blinked, slightly surprised that Wave Chill had assumed that’s what he was being berated over. Soarin knew, he'd known for almost as long as Wave Chill had known it, and he couldn't care less. “And I suppose it’d be impolite to say no, wouldn’t it?” Soarin said smoothly, hoping his momentary lapse hadn’t been noticed.
“Damn straight bingo-bango.” Wave Chill replied. “Besides, it’s technically not fraternisation, as you’re the one in command, not me, and we’re technically in separate units.” He added with a smug look. Maybe he had bothered to read the book after all, if there was a book in the first place. “You going to get that?” He asked as a pager chime went off simultaneously in their ears.
“There’s a special place in Tartarus for lawyers.” Soarin shrugged, filing away a mental note to chase Wave Chill up later. Maybe when he was thinking with the smarter head. He chinned the pager, careful to mask any lingering irritation in his voice. “What’s up?”
The clipped tone of his LOCCENT manager sprang into his ear. “Soarin, you’re wanted by bossman in Manehattan. There’s a ship warming up outside for you now.” She dutifully informed him, cheerfully throwing any semblance of protocol out the window in her usual fashion. “Be ready in fifteen.” she added before clicking the channel off.
“Gee, wonder what that’s about.” Wave Chill pondered aloud, sarcasm practically oozing from his mouth as he spoke. No doubt it was more bad news.
Soarin ignored this, instead honing in on the typical short conversation he was getting used to with the new head of house. “Be ready in fifteen. Y’know, sometimes I really wonder who’s in charge, me or Skyray.”
“No denying it, she’s got you by the balls Soarin. It takes orders or it gets the hose again.” Wave Chill said in his best impression of the scarred mare. “You should probably get ready then I guess.” He said diplomatically after a moment of slightly painful silence. Soarin could tell he was just happy that he’d spared from further grilling, for the time being.
Soarin looked back at his new drivesuit dejectedly, slightly disappointed he wouldn’t get to try it on just yet. “Yeah, I guess. Hopefully I’ll be back in one piece. Must be pretty bad in there right now”
“You didn’t hear it from me, but I heard from a friend that humans eat horse meat when they’re cranky.” Wave Chill winked, stowing his helmet back in the box. “Have fun out there mate.” He added before trotting out with an obnoxiously cheerful whistle before Soarin could decide whether or not to throttle him.
He resolved that if either Shane or Michael were hungry, he would make a good recommendation for Wave Chill. Soarin scowled, the thought of eating making him realise he had missed a real breakfast and quite possibly second breakfast, the bagel he’d eaten earlier doing little to sate his voracious appetite. He spent another few moments huffing and glaring at the room in general before collecting a few things and heading out. This ship had better have a well stocked galley, there wasn’t much more he hated than flying on an empty stomach.
***
“So we’re screwed.” Shane summed up succinctly.
“Royally.” Michael agreed, dropping the copy of the report he held on the conference room table. The rest of the shatterdome’s senior staff looked on in mute horror, blown away by the sheer ramifications of the document which lay in front of them.
“All of it?” Shane asked, as if asking again would change the situation.
Michael nodded somberly. “All of it.”
Shane leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest and scowling. “Well that’s ridiculous.”
Michael cradled his chin between his hands, his eyes avoiding the document on the table in front of him. The seal of the Equestrian Senate seemed to sneer at him from the front page. “We did wreck a city. A big city. An important city.” He pointed out, a growing pit of nausea growing in his gut.
“We also killed a Kaiju. If we hadn’t there wouldn’t be anything left at all.”
“I don’t think we can can it a win, in anyone’s terms.” Michael pointed out. “Collateral damage during the engagement was… extreme.” He decided, trying to not recall the numbers he had seen. By Earth standards it would’ve been considered a disaster, both for civil authorities and the PPDC. If it had been him and Shane, Stacker would probably already have had them out the door. Or worse.
Shane shut his mouth, tacitly conceding the point.
The room fell into an uneasy silence, each of the divisional heads digesting the ugly truth. Of every senior member of the Jaeger Corp, the only one missing was Twilight, who had reportedly locked herself in her office.
“So how long do we have?” Soarin finally asked, the stallion looking amazingly unfazed by the news.
“A year.” Michael answered as calmly as he could, resisting the urge to grab the report and start ripping it up. That wouldn’t help matters at all. “Then a review, then who knows what.”
“So, nothing.” Someone muttered hollowly.
Michael nodded. There were in the deep end now, and the sharks were starting to circle. “In addition to the cuts, all funding for our ongoing requisitions are being drawn back considerably. That means weapon development, new reactors, K-Science…. new Jaegers.” He said uneasily, chancing a look at the report in front of him. “Gone.”
“Good thing we had the last Mark II off the line early.” Someone from J-Tech remarked.
Michael nodded again, grateful for that one small mercy. Truth be told, it had been rushed off and stamped complete when word of change to the Jaeger program's financial situation had been flagged, but that wasn’t important now. “We should be able salvage one of the Mark IIIs as well. Although we have nowhere near enough funding to finish it as designed, we should be able to make up the difference through preemptive cuts to other divisions. We need that Jaeger now more than ever.”
“We don’t have pilots for it.” Shane put in sharply, sounding more and more bitter with every word. “And I doubt we’ll be able to train any more. The academy is being shut down and handed back to the army.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Michael reassured him before addressing the table at large again. “For the time being, business as usual. Tell your staff what’s happening. Next couple of weeks will be hard, not going to lie. Each of you are going to have to think carefully about projects you have going on in your departments and start thinking about what we can cut, and what we still need. I expect recommendations from each of you as soon as possible.”
There was another drawn out silence.
“Come on, we’re not sunk just yet. Let’s make the most of what we have.” Michael said in a vain attempt to inject some life into the meeting.
“We were dead before the ship even sank.” Someone put forward darkly as the meeting broke up, the various heads muttering quietly to each other as they filed out. Soon Shane and Michael were the only two left in the room, an ominous silence hanging between them.
“This is verifiably insane.” Shane put forward first. “Gut the one thing that’s kept the world running for the last few years. What will they replace us with, huh? A wall? This is just like what happened back home. You screw up once and this how they reward your time and effort.”
“Preaching to the converted, Shane.” Michael remarked. “But unless the senate has a sudden change of heart though, we’ve got to work with what we got. We can either resign ourselves to being decrepit, or work with what we have for as long as we can.”
“At the moment I’m wondering if they’re really worth saving.” Shane muttered crossly, casting a deep look at the wall.
“Well if not us, who will?” Michael put forward. “We’re their best chance right now, even if these assholes hate us.” He tapped on the report. “Giving up isn’t an option in my books.”
Shane glowered. “Suppose not.”
Michael smiled thinly. “Besides, we have a vested interest in the shit staying out of the fan.”
“Because we are the fan.” Shane finished knowingly.
“Exactly.” Michael nodded, giving him a firm clap on the shoulder. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an alicorn to see.”
“I don’t envy you in the slightest.” Shane replied as Michael strode out. He made a beeline for the elevators, riding down a couple of levels before disembarking into the shatterdome’s huge J-Tech labs. Although it was unlikely most of the staff knew exactly what was going on just yet, the mood around him was decidedly dour. There would no doubt be some idea about what was about to happen, the all senate hearings were all recorded for the public of course. He walked to Twilight’s office, knocking on the door and waited patiently.
“Damn it.” Michael muttered, not receiving a timely reply. He quickly keyed in his personal access code into the door, opening the locked door smoothly. The office was dark, only a single desk lamp providing illumination. Twilight was slumped over her desk, her face pressed against the cluttered wooden surface in an uncomfortable looking fashion.
“Nice decor you’ve got going on here.” Michael remarked, gesturing around the room. It was messy, even by Twilight’s standards, stacks of paper, quills and other odds and ends scattered around with little apparent organisation.
Twilight didn’t immediately respond, almost digging her head deeper into her desk.
“This is very bad.” She finally said in what Michael considered a gross understatement.
Michael placed his hands on his hips. “Yeah, just a bit.” He agreed in a straightforward manner, any levity being left at the door.
Twilight looked up, her face haggard and streaked with fatigue. A stray quill clung stubbornly to her mane, dangling wildly as she moved. She brushed it aside, flushing slightly at Michael’s hard look. “Sorry, I’ve just been…” She trailed off, words failing her. She made a passing semblance of cleaning up slightly. “Not the best outcome.”
"We tried." He replied.
"Months of inquests and inquiries... more like a witch hunt." Twilight fumed, her eyes narrowing. "It was all to make heads roll."
“It’s a bit of a kick to the teeth.” Michael agreed. “You alright?”
Twilight nodded slightly, the anger in her posture vanishing. “I’ll be fine. Just a bit crushing to have your work for the last few years relegated to the trash.” She sighed quietly, looking around the office dejectedly. “What are we going to do?”
“Keep calm and carry on.” Michael replied without a trace of irony.
“Easier said than done.” Twilight muttered. “What about Pinkie and Maud?”
Michael folded his arms across his chest defensively. Twilight’s tone was almost accusatory.
“If I were home, and it were me, I’d be in deep shit, to put it mildly.” He cut Twilight off before she could argue. “But, given our situation I’m not willing to throw two good pilots under the bus just yet. And I never did. I could've done the easy thing and sacrificed them, but I didn't. I'm sure that there will be more hard questions and even harder answers but at this point I’ll jump through whatever damn hoops I need to to keep them around. Pilots are a premium now.”
Twilight nodded tiredly, looking a little happier.
“But that’s not what I need you thinking about.” Michael riposted before he got sidetracked. “We’ve got one Jaeger we can possibly salvage, and it won’t happen without you.”
“And it’s rather central to our plans.” Twilight added. She finally plucked the quill from her mane and starting taking rapid fire notes. “We’ll need to cut back almost the entire J-Tech department and salvage as much as we can from the other Mk. 3 hull.”
“Franken-Jaeger.” Michael noted wryly.
A hint of a smile graced Twilight’s lips. She understood enough Earth pop-culture to get that reference at least.
“Do you see any huge issues with getting it deployed?”
“We’ll need to cut back its armament a bit I think. Keep it simple.” Twilight guessed, dropping her quill again. “More pressingly though, it doesn’t even have pilots. I’ve mentioned more than a few times that we need some very spec-.”
“Could you do it?” Michael cut her off. “You’re one of those fancy unicorn things. And you’ve been testing it”
“Alicorn.” Twilight corrected him automatically before she registered what he’d said. “What.” She added flatly.
“You could, couldn’t you?” Michael said, rephrasing the question into a statement. “You have a brother don’t you? He’s that shiny guy in Canterlot, isn’t he?”
Twilight stared at him agape, her jaw working up and down slightly. If the situation had been better, Michael would’ve found it amusing.
“I-I guess.” Twilight stammered eventually. “Surely you can’t be serious though?”
“Well, I’d personally rather keep you on the ground and keep the fleet running, and I really don’t see a whole bunch of other alico-.” Michael cut himself off mid sentence, a thought occurring to him. It suddenly seemed so obvious, right in front of his face this whole time. His eyes narrowed in thought. “I need to send a message.” He said quickly.
Despite her tiredness, Twilight latched onto his errant thought immediately. She jumped up, a look somewhere between outrage and disbelief on her face.
“No, you are not asking Princess Celestia and Luna to become Rangers!” She yelled far too late, Michael already out of her office. She stared and spluttered a moment longer before galloping out after Michael.
***
“You did what?” Shane asked, his voice betraying a small amount of incredulity. He sipped carefully on a mug of whatever the Equestrians passed as coffee and carefully readjusted himself in his chair.
Michael hand up a hand diplomatically. “I know, a bit radical. But I think it’s our best shot at getting some new pilots.”
Shane could barely suppress a grin. “This is a bad idea.” He remarked with a remarkable amount of cheer. Michael could already imagine him drilling the two Alicorns with unrestrained gusto.
“We’ve had worse.” Michael countered.
Shane snorted with amusement. “True, but this is like asking the president if he’d please like to step into the conpod. Bad idea, Mike.”
“If I remember the president correctly, I’m sure he would’ve jumped right in without a moment’s hesitation.” Michael mused absently. “Also, the president isn’t an immortal alien-space-wizard-equine who raises the sun and moon.” He paused for a moment. “Though who knows at this point.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure.” Shane muttered with a smirk. It only took a moment for his face to harden again. “You don’t believe really all that do you? I mean, raising the sun and all.”
“Not really.” Michael admitted. While they’d seen some truly weird and wonderful things while they’d been in Equestria, he still had issues believing the outrageous idea that Celestia raised and the sun and Luna the moon. He’d even been to one of the Summer Sun Celebrations, and while very impressive, he still didn’t quite wrap his head around it. True he'd seen it with his own eyes but the physics of the feat made no sense to him. “If she could move a freaking star, she could hurl a continent into low orbit before her morning coffee.”
Shane grunted in agreement. “Still doesn’t make your hair-brained thought a smart idea though, they're practically gods Mike. What if they, you know..." Shane sounded the slightest bit concerned, a true rarity for him, "Die?"
“No, but unless you just happen to have spare alicorn’s falling out of your pockets, you have a better one? We want a new Jaeger, we need new pilots. We don't exactly have much of a pool to chose from.” He said as if explaining the process to an executive board comprised of five-year olds.
“Suppose not.” Shane admitted quietly. He pondered quietly for a moment. “They might not agree to it, y’know.”
“I know, but we’re already up to our necks in it so it can’t hurt to try.” Michael said, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk. It had been a day since he’d sent the message to Celestia and she was usually much more prompt in replying. He’d already suffered one yelling session from Twilight, the mare almost choking on her disbelief at the prospect. He’d managed to survive by prying her for an alternative pair of pilots. That had at least shut her up, although he was sure she’d left him partly deaf and singed.
Shane grimaced slightly and took another sip of not-coffee. The cup was halfway to his lips when a loud crack split the air and two tall, almost proper horse-sized ponies appeared out of nowhere next to Shane.
“Oh hello.” Michael remarked casually, completely at ease with the two princesses suddenly appearing out of thin air. After living on base with a couple of unicorns capable of teleporting, he was used to them popping in even at the most inopportune moments. This was tame, by comparison. Shane, on the other hand, now had a healthy coffee stain on his trousers.
Celestia nodded her head as way of greeting.
“And Luna as well. I thought you were still in the hospital.” Michael remarked, smiling softly at the midnight-blue princess. He tried, and failed, to suppress a smile at the tirade of almost-silent profanity spilling from Shane.
“Discharged this morning.” Celestia explained simply. “We’re both very fast menders, or so I’m told.”
“Live to a thousand and I suppose it’s all just scratches, right?” Michael joked.
“We’ve each seen our fair share of injuries. Ageless, yes. Immortal, not quite.” Luna admitted.
“Well for fighting a Kaiju in close quarters you came off pretty well, I can’t think of many people who could boast the same.” Michael remarked, ignoring the fierce scowl aimed across the table at him from Shane. He decided it was best to move past the small talk. “Did you consider my message?” He asked, jumping straight into the tank to wrestle the proverbial shark.
The two alicorns exchanged a glance.
“It was…” Celestia started.
“Interesting.” Luna finished in a tone Michael found pleasantly encouraging.
“Well, princess, you’ve fought two Kaiju now and come off little worse for wear. Gave Harpy a good go of it if the stories don't exaggerate. By all accounts you’re more experienced that some of my Rangers.”
Celestia shot her sister a slightly concerned look. “You have to understand that the political situation around your Corps at current is somewhat…” She fished around for a word for a moment. “Complicated.”
“Understandable.” Michael replied, thinking back to the nightmare-inducing decree he had stuffed in his desk somewhere. Complicated didn’t even start to cover it. Twilight hadn't been wrong about the commission set up in the wake of the Canterlot incursion. It had bayed for blood, sought something to blame and now what he had started considering his life's work was out in front of the firing squad.
“Doing something so bold such as joining your program would be seen as providing overwhelming support for what much of the aristocracy,” A note of distaste entered Celestia’s voice, “And evidently the majority of our elected officials, now see as a failed, financially unviable venture. They appear to have placed their faith in other projects, some which I must admit, have a measure of merit to them.”
“And you need to remain impartial.” Shane finally spoke, at least showing a measure of understanding of Equestrian politics for someone who apparently didn’t give a rat’s arse about it.
“Tis convention.” Luna remarked with abject irritation.
“Of course.” Michael said as if he wholeheartedly agreed. “Surely with the great upheavals in the last few days though, convention is a bit old hat. While the government’s position on whether it will continue to fund the Jaeger program is questionable at best, in my opinion, we most continue what we do here while we still can. Duty demands it. I'm sure that's something you hold close, your duty to your subjects. The matters we will face in the near future will not be won by majority votes and political intrigues, but with steel and grit. The monsters at your door can't be bargained or reasoned with, but only defeated head on. That means we need pilots, pilots with special skills, if we want to try and preserve Equestria’s best hope at ending the Kaiju threat.”
Celestia looked quietly impressed, clearly recalling the last time Michael had tried his hand at diplomacy he’d ended up in a jail. “You don’t need to convince us, Michael.”
“Oh good. Why are we talking then?” Michael asked with a faux smile.
Celestia cleared her throat subtly. “If I understand your letter correctly, you are trying to preserve an unfinished Jaeger in light of your upcoming...” She searched for a polite word. “Budgetary restrictions.”
“We are, though if you two aren’t on board it’ll be pretty much as useful as harsh language.” Shane explained darkly.
“Could we see it?” Luna asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. Unlike Celestia she had not been overly involved with the Jaeger program and had seen the machines on relatively few occasions.
“Sure. Just if you break it, you buy it.” Michael noted wryly. He led the group out of his office and directed them towards the manufactory spaces behind the Jaeger bays. As they walked he fell in step beside Celestia.
“We’re being replaced then.” He remarked. He’d been aware of other projects in the pipeline, but he hadn’t thought they were being seriously considered as an alternative. “Let me guess, heavy armour and artillery projects, up-gunned attack craft… a wall.”
Celestia's look remained neutral. “There are a number of other projects being investigated-.”
“They won’t work.” Michael cut her off, feeling a sickening case of deja vu. This was the same arguement which had been tried and failed with Earth's politicians. “We’ve explained this. The little things just don’t have the presence to pin down a Kaiju like a Jaeger does. We’ve seen it before. And now that some Kaiju can evidently fly, I don’t think a wall will stop them.”
“A wall is not on the table.” Celestia bristled slightly. “These arguments were all made in the committee hearings for your program, I'm well aware of them. Clearly though, it's not enough to counteract the actions that your Rangers did in eroding their confidence." Her look softened, and her critical tone dropped with well practiced ease. "Michael, it’s been many a year since a monster has inflicted such widespread damage on a populated centre. We've suffered invasions and attacks, to be sure, but nothing quite on this scale. This new scenario we're in is a distinctly unpleasant blemish on your Ranger’s otherwise exemplary service records, it's a shame that a number of key players aren't willing to overlook it.”
“Noted.” Michael said stiffly.
“For what it’s worth, I still support your endeavours wholeheartedly. Perhaps things will change for the better.” Celestia encouraged him.
Michael gave her a hard look, keying in an access code for the manufacturing spaces. “I’d like to believe that. But somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen.*
**
In stark contrast with much of the shatterdome, the manufactory was perpetually hot and noisy. The grinding, clangs and buzzing of machines filled the air and ground away in the background. Steam hissed, and as one entered, they could feel the temperature rise noticeably.
It was already considerably less busy than it had been though, the massive cutbacks slashing the procurement of several Jaegers and associated pieces of equipment. Much work had been put on hold, and now faced an uncertain future. There was now only one machine being actively worked on, the other hulk now being torn down for any useful parts that could be scavenged.
The Jaeger was still a skeletal frame in many places, but even now there were still stark differences to those which had preceded it. Most pronounced was the large fin which jutted from the Jaeger’s head like a horn. This, coupled with an ingenious amplifier and a very complicated crystal-lattice control matrix allowed a sufficiently powerful magic wielder to use the Jaeger as an extension of their abilities. In their simulated tests, Twilight (who, being an alicorn, was generally the only one powerful and skilled enough around the shatterdome to use the thing properly) had managed to do mundane things ranging from firing supercharged blasts of energy and widescale telekinesis, all the way up to very short teleport jumps. The extra equipment and new weapons necessitated a larger, heavier reactor which in turn made the new machine the heaviest of any Equestrian-built Jaeger so far. Unlike the preceding Mark I and IIs which had cribbed much of their systems from Midsummer Night, the new Jaeger was largely built with indigenous systems and technology. Although it was some time off being finished, the machine gave off an almost palpable sensation of power, the air seeming to tingle with purpose around it.
“Interesting.” Celestia looked up at the Jaeger's faceplate, her face completely unreadable. “I must ask, how will this machine so greatly change our prospects?”
“Because with it we can mount a credible assault on the breach, stopping the Kaiju at their source.” Shane piped up. “Nothing else could do it.”
Celestia nodded as if that made sense to her. “And how will it close this breach?”
Michael spread his hands cluelessly. “Magic.”
“Yes, magic.” Shane agreed.
“And how does that work?” Celestia asked with a trace of bemusement.
Michael and Shane looked exchanged a look of confusion. “...Magic.” Michael reiterated as if that answered everything.
Celestia and Luna chuckled lightly. “Oh, I see.” Celestia answered dryly.
“I’ve always been curious,” Luna asked, her eyes dancing across the Jaeger’s unfinished hull. “Why do they need a head? It seems like it would be an obvious vulnerability. Why not put the pilots in the chest?”
Michael sighed and drew out an invisible clipboard from behind him. “Do you wrestle bears?” He asked, pretending to write something.
Luna was taken aback by the seemingly random question. “...No?”
“Okay, do you drink unreasonable amounts of grain alcohol?” He continued blithely.
“Well there was that one night…” Celestia muttered just loud enough for Michael to hear over the grinding of a crane. Luna’s face reddened slightly.
“I don’t see th-.”
“Do you mind the almost inevitable death from radiation poisoning by virtue of having a nuclear reactor ten feet from your ass?” Michael asked, looking up from the fake notes he was writing blankly.
Luna blinked, her expression unamused.
Michael tucked the clipboard back behind him. “Congratulations Moonbutt, I can ascertain from your answers that you are not, in fact, Russian, and therefore not crazy enough to pilot a Jaeger whose conpod is within farting distance of its reactor. You are henceforth deemed of relatively sound mind and body... and apparently, mostly free of alcohol poisoning.” He said without the slightest trace of amusement.
“Do you always speak this way?” Luna asked after a moment of silence.
“With how things are going, I find that my judicious use of sarcasm and quick wit are the only things managing to keep me sane.” Michael remarked, “Otherwise, I’d probably be in a much worse spot right now.”
Celestia look slightly guilty. “It’s a very impressive project. It’s admirable that you continue to work with such enthusiasm, even with the obstacles set in front of you.” She said, bringing the conversation back to a point.
“It’s what we can do.” Michael answered dutifully. “We do need kinda your help though, and not to sound impatient, but it’s kind of important that we get an answer from you… sooner, rather than later, preferably.” A loud echoing boom resonated around them to underline the statement.
Celestia shot her sister a barely perceptible look. “I think I can safely speak for the two of us in saying that you have our support. When do we start?”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Chapter 26: Terrible Two
Applejack was cheery, the most cheerful she’d been for a while. She packed her saddlebag with an uncharacteristic spring in her step. It was her last day in the shatterdome for two weeks.
She and Big Mac were about to embark on some well-earned leave back to Ponyville, Applejack had found her mood improving all day. It wasn’t to say she didn’t like the shatterdome at Trottingham, or the ponies who made it their home, but neither had been to Sweet Apple Acres since she’d signed up for the Ranger Corps.
Applejack had been looking forward to it for a while, going back and working the farm for a little while. Others might think it crazy, taking time off work to work, but she had greenhooves through and through. To her it was equally as crazy to not go back and work the land. It wasn’t even a question of what she’d do once this war was over; straight back to the farm and the simple life for her.
A quiet knock came at the door. Still grinning at the thought, Applejack sauntered over and opened it, unsurprised to find Rainbow Dash waiting outside. Her grin remained, ho was Rainbow Dash going to survive without her? She wouldn’t have anyone to spontaneously challenge (and then lose to...) who was worth the time. She could only imagine her being restlessly bored during her free time.
“Hey.” Rainbow said, her wings flicking restlessly as she lingered at the threshold. She peered at the small mess Applejack was sorting through and suddenly looked bashful. I’m not interrupting, am I?”
Applejack shook her head and beckoned her friend. “Not at all RD, just packin’ is all.”
“Oh yeah.” Rainbow muttered jealousy. “Would be nice, getting some time off away from this dump. Planning anything cool?”
“Not really.” Applejack admitted. She was just looking forward to working the farm again for a few weeks and had not planned anything else. “Get plenty of excitement ‘round these parts as is.”
“Hmm.” Rainbow grumbled. “You used to be fun, AJ.”
Applejack shrugged silently.
Rainbow rolled her eyes dramatically. “Well, make sure you say ‘Hi’ to everypony for me. Be a while till I have enough leave for it to be worthwhile.”
Applejack smirked. “You’ve spent enough time napping to make up for it.”
“Hospital time doesn’t count!”
“Well if you stopped shoving your face down every Kaju’s throat you came across, you might not be there so much.” Applejack advised her.
“Pshh. Me and danger go hoof in hoof.” Rainbow boasted.
Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Your funeral.” She remarked darkly.
Rainbow scowled, Applejack’s humour evidently having taken too dark a turn for her. “You’re packing an awful lot just for a trip home.” She observed suspiciously.
“Well there’s the stop off in Baltimare first-.”
“Baltimare? I thought you were just going back to Ponyville.” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
Applejack gave Rainbow a flat look. “Well we were, but since it’s on the way back, the boss figured we could make some media appearances. Try and fix our public image or something.” She shut the flap of her saddlebag. “So we’re making a few stops here and there.”
“Ugh! So jealous.” Rainbow Dash sighed wistfully. “What’s the point of being super famous if there’s nopony around to appreciate it.”
Applejack snorted with amusement. Where would Rainbow Dash be without an audience. Maybe she did need another knock to the head to sort her out.
“I mean, Big Mac doesn’t even talk! What’s the point of putting him in front of cameras?” Rainbow Dash continued, fluffing her wings up as she spoke. Applejack shared a look with her brother, his expression jumping between amused and indignant.
“Just wish they’d pick me for something cool.” Rainbow finished, staring up at the ceiling dreamily. No doubt she was imagining being in front of a sea of cheering fans.
“You’re a Ranger, sugarcube, that’s ‘cool’ enough ah reckon.”
“There’s cool and then there’s cool. You wouldn’t get it AJ.”
Applejack smiled wryly. “So... doing interesting things and just showing off?”
Rainbow scowled. “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”
“Well, just be careful what you wish for.” Applejack shrugged. “Not everythin’ that’s ‘cool’ is really that ‘cool’.”
Rainbow was undoubtedly mustering up some sort of smart response when the ready-action alarm went off. There was a moment of uncertainty before they sprung into motion, she and Big Mac abandoning their packing and practically leaping from the room. Something had to be wrong, they weren’t expecting another Kaiju for over a month. Maybe it was just a drill.
Regardless, the three barrelled their way down towards the command centre, bumping into a much more nonchalant Lightning Dust and Wave Chill in the corridor outside.
“What’s going on?” Rainbow demanded, the words out a second before Applejack could ask herself.
“Dunno, but it’s probably not a breach. I would’ve heard somepony screaming about it.” Wave Chill answered, tapping the small headset he and Soarin now habitually wore.
“So it’s a drill then,” Rainbow stated, her scowl darkening as Wave Chill shrugged his wings in response. “...Nice timing then.” She added, flashing AJ a smug look.
Applejack glared.
Wave Chill shook his head as the five pilots entered the empty briefing room adjacent to the shatterdome’s LOCCENT. “Good way to ruin a perfectly good day if it is, but Soarin just finished up his stint in the command centre so I think not. He’s probably asleep. Well, was, asleep at any rate. Drink, anyone?” He offered, casually trotting over to the sideboard which hosted a variety of hot drinks. Hearing no replies, he busied himself with a pot of tea.
“Do you think he just wears that thing for show AJ?” Rainbow asked quietly, guestering at Wave Chill discreetly. “He’s supposed to be in charge around here and doesn’t know anything.”
Applejack didn’t respond outside of a sidewards glance. She understood Rainbow Dash’s sentiment, if she were in charge she would’ve made inquiries and kept everypony informed. Bellyaching behind his back wasn’t going to change anything though.
Rainbow continued unabated, shooting a dirty look around the room in general. “Soarin works himself to death and all Wave Chill does is sleep around, mope and occasionally sing his own praises.” She muttered, adding a few crude descriptions about their commander for effect.
Applejack raised an eyebrow, the hypocrisy of Dash’s statement was not entirely lost on her. Still, it wasn’t often she heard Rainbow get anything approaching irritable at anything with, or that had worn a Wonderbolt’s patch.
“You look in the mirror lately?” Applejack asked drly. “Sounds just like you.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but he’s way worse at it. And I can’t get him out of my head”
Applejack shot her a perplexed look. Since when did Rainbow Dash of all mares chase anypony, other than herself.
“Ugh, Not me! Lightning…Dust...” Rainbow Dash trailed off, her eyes dropping to the floor in embarrassment. Her look switched to irritation as Applejack’s confusion switched to quiet bemusement.
“Hey, you try putting up with it all the time!” Rainbow complained.
Applejack let out a quiet chuckle. Who rolled around with who was none of her business and not something that overly concerned her. The fact that Rainbow was apparently so worked up over it amused her greatly.
She decided to take a direct tack. “Has it affected her sim performance any?”
“No,” Rainbow admitted grudgingly, “but she won’t stop telling me, or thinking about it. All the time, blab blab blab. It’s like she thinks I’ll be jealous.”
Applejack suppressed a snort of amusement, no doubt Rainbow Dash was forced to experience quite a bit more secondhand than she would’ve liked. Picking and choosing what you got from your partner wasn’t an option in the drift… and she probably was just a touch jealous.
“Don’t know what you’re complainin’ about then.” Applejack whispered back, taking small pleasure in her friend’s evident discomfort.
“Something to share, Dashie?” Lightning Dust crooned condescendingly from the end of the table. She had been watching their muted conversation with interest.
“None of your business.” Rainbow Dash huffed.
“Anything you say is my business.” Lightning Dust scoffed, waving her hoof dismissively. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll catch up on the goss latter.” She added with sly wink.
“I dunno, sounds very interesting.” Wave Chill asked, catching Applejack’s amused grin as he returned to the table with a mug of tea.
“Nope.” Applejack and Rainbow answered in tandem.
Wave Chill gave them a searching look. “Are you sure you two aren’t supposed to be in the same Jaeger?”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look, catching each other’s eye for a moment before looking away awkwardly.
“Very.” They answered together again, prompting a chuckle from Wave Chill and a momentary stutter of embarrassed gibberish from Rainbow Dash. She was saved from further teasing as the door into the briefing room swung open again, admitting a ragged looking stallion.
“Good morning all.” Soarin said, almost dragging himself in and dispelling whatever levity had existed in the room at that point. He looked like he’d just been woken, his mane messy and one of his wings ruffled and unkempt. The ever-present bags under his eyes only ever seemed to grow each time Applejack saw him.
‘Maybe Rainbow has a point about Wave Chill.’ Applejack thought, feeling a pang of sympathy for the commander.
“What’s the word then?” Wave Chill asked.
“About two hours ago, we had a report from a frigate patrolling up north. Apparently they crashed into something. Note that I say crashed, they didn’t know the thing was there until they practically ran over it.” Soarin explained.
“The Navy couldn’t figure its arse out from its elbow, I’m not surprised they can’t read a screen.” Wave Chill interjected.
Soarin gave him a flat look and continued. “At first they thought it was a whale or a Carcharodon but apparently after a bit of confusion the thing took a swipe at them before taking off like a scolded foal. They didn’t get a real good look at it, but they weren’t sticking around to tango with something nasty enough to take a bite out of them. They reckoned it was a Kaiju and raised the alarm.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Soarin finished. Apart from the quiet hum of electronics, the room was silent as a grave. Applejack bit her lip nervously, noting how each of the other rangers handled the information. Wave Chill looked dismissive, Rainbow Dash looked positively thrilled and Lightning Dust’s face was an unreadable mask. Big Mac wore a thoughtful expression, as he were reviewing an exam paper.
“But we ain’t had anything since Harpy came through, have we?” Applejack asked, finally breaking the dead silence.
Soarin nodded. “No, and we haven’t had a whiff from any of the sensor nets or buoys.” He looked around, suddenly looking even more tired. “Which either means the navy boys are getting a bit jumpy or we have a very serious issue. You’ve all seen Kaiju, I don’t think I need to tell you how bad a potentially undetectable one would be”
Applejack shivered. Bad didn’t even cover it. If one the monsters could evade all of their sensors, there was no way for a Jaeger to reliably intercept it. No way to stop it from wreaking havoc on some isolated region before moving on. Worse still, what Soarin was suggesting should’ve been impossible. Kaiju couldn’t just hide in the open, they reeked of radioactive emissions which usually made tracking them easy. It was a natural, immutable part of their biology.
And that terrified her more than anything. She’d been thrown a few curveballs in her time, but for the most part, the world worked as it worked. Apart from the odd bit of ancient magic, nature followed a set of rigid, unchangeable laws. Those rules suddenly changing when the results could endanger tens of thousands of lives made Applejack shudder.
“That’s bad.“ Big Mac summed up laconically, clearly following the same train of thought as his sister.
“Which is why I’m deploying the four of you to check it out. Weather conditions are not suitable for flight conditions so you won’t have the eye in the sky keeping you company.” Soarin sighed, adding another layer of complication to the already tricky mission cake. “I doubt you’ll find anything and it’s probably nothing, but it pays to be diligent.”
“Not coming with, sir?” Lightning Dust asked, giving Rainbow Dash a pointed look. “Thought you’d be itching to get stuck in.”
“Sceptre is still undergoing shakedowns and needs bed rest for a bit longer.” Soarin answered unhappily. “We’ll be monitoring from here.”
“Sad.” Lightning Dust shrugged, rising from the table and motioning to her co-pilot. “Come on Dashie, let’s get this shit sorted out.” She said, prancing away cheerfully.
Rainbow Dash ground her teeth irritably, giving Applejack an annoyed look before making to follow her partner. Applejack and Big Mac followed a few steps behind, riding the elevator up to the suiting rooms in contemplative silence. Just as they were about to split off into their respective areas, Applejack broke the quiet, remembering something Rainbow Dash had said before.
“Something cool.” Applejack mocked Rainbow just before they parted. “You just had to open your mouth, didn’t you?”
***
‘It’s probably nothing.’
Soarin’s words kept echoing in Applejack’s head as they roared north. A fat juicy lie if ever she’d heard one. No one went to the time and trouble and prepping two Jaegers and all of their support crews for nothing. Not in weather like this. Not at a time like this, when everything was under the knife. Nothing was evidently some sort of slang for ‘Something, but we don’t know what and we’re too afraid to find out without two giant machines poking the proverbial stick down into the dark, scary hole first.’ the military-types who ran the joint enjoyed using.
“We’re gonna have to drop you here, AJ.” The Broadway’s pilot, a hard-working and dependable pegasus aptly named Whirlwind informed her. “It’s getting a bit rough with you hanging out down there. We’ll find a place to put down and circle back around when you’re ready for pickup.”
“Understood.” Applejack replied curtly, her gut lurching as the Broadway squadron hauling the Jaeger came to a stop and Frontier Justice swung on its harness. “Disengaging.” She said for the benefit of their pilots, punching in a rapidfire series of buttons to disengage the hooks. It was one of the few systems controlled completely by instruments, being able to mentally perform the task could be hazardous for an idle pilot in transit.
With a sharp snap the cable mounts clicked open and the Jaeger dropped from the sky like a brick, the massive Broadways wheeling away noisily as soon as their payload was clear.
She gritted her teeth as the Jaeger plunged into the water. It was very cold, just above freezing according to her external sensors. The water that had splashed up over their vision port was already starting to freeze over and mix with the flurry of snow and ice which swirled and drifted around them. A reassuring friendly contact appeared on their sensors behind them as Daring Dragoon dropped into the frigid waters behind them.
“Damn that’s cold.” Lightning Dust complained with a shiver
“Shut your trap and keep your eyes peeled.” Applejack said back, slightly glad that her friend’s copilot had made the complaint first.
“No need to get your tail in a twist, sheesh.” Lightning Dust snorted back as Daring Dragoon bounded past them, easily outpacing the hulking leviathan that was Frontier Justice. Applejack watched them vanish into the swirling mist, barely three hundred metres away. This was not an ideal deployment for them, they were too slow to cover much ground and too cumbersome if something ambushed them. Although barely two years old, Frontier Justice was starting to show its age compared to its newer generation of siblings. She shook her head, as if it would shake free the sheets of sleet which blasted against the conpod and obstructed her vision. Frontier Justice’s power plant growled, an irritable feeling dancing around the edge of her consciousness, as if the Jaeger was annoyed at her musings.
‘No. He’s not old. He’s in his prime.’ She thought, relieving the growl building in the vestiges of her mind.
Advancing behind Daring Dragoon, Applejack and Big Mac started sweeping their port side. They were down to sensors, and as much as the two rangers trusted them, they preferred the good old Mark 1. Eyeball a good slight more. Especially if whatever it was they were hunting was as stealthy as was suspected. True, the Jaegers were wired up the arse with fancy sensors and scanners, much more so than a typical sensor buoy, but they were so sensitive they could quite easily get thrown out by clutter. Her own vision was much harder to spoof.
‘Typical!’ She thought irritably, the sweep only returning Daring Dragoon ahead of them. The one time they really needed to see, there was a blizzard.
Frontier Justice prowled forward much like a hunter of old would, cautiously, slowly, taking a step and scanning before taking the ground in another few long strides. They did this for the better part of an hour, covering the area assigned to them with all the due diligence possible. All the while the blizzard roared and wailed around them, crusting the Jaeger in a fine layer of ice and snow.
Nothing. Nothing except shifting ice, shrimp farts and the odd bit of marine life.
Applejack was just about ready to pack it in when she caught a shadow of movement in the shifting wall of white around them, a dark shape riding just above the waves. She double backed, closely scrutinising where she swore there was a flicker of movement.
A row of electric white orbs stared back, wide with surprise.
“Horse Apples!” She exclaimed, wheeling the Jaeger around the face the half-submerged creature. She glimpsed a deformed, grotesque body, a maw filled with far too many teeth and a sleek tail before something whipped in and pierced her right knee. The Jaeger lurched precariously, the crunch of buckling metal mixing with her roar of pain. Before she or Big Mac could take a swing back, the half-formed shape vanished again as if it were no more solid than air.
“Son of a...!” Applejack exploded, taking a breath and reeling in her anger. She needed to focus, in case whatever what was out there came back. The Jaeger took an awkward step back, its weight shifting to its left leg. Applejack suppressed a whimper, the raw pain of the injury making her eyes water. She swore again silently, she was angrier at herself more than anything else, allowing one of those despicable creatures to catch her off guard. She bit back another curse, she could feel her knee burning under her drivesuit like a stamping iron had been taken to it.
“Bit small for one of them though.” Big Mac observed, his demeanor similar to if he were serving dinner. He had a grimace on his face though, his lips pulled tight and an eye twitching from feeling her pain second-hand.
Applejack bit her lip, trying to ignore the long barb which had punctured her leg. The thing, whatever it was, had easily gotten the drop on them and landed a damn solid blow. Why hadn't it it taken another swing at them, and more importantly how had it gotten so close without them noticing? She nodded her head, tasting blood.
“‘No more than 30, 40 metres, maybe?” Big Mac guessed, carefully scanning the opposing quadrant in case it somehow appeared behind them.
“Nope.” She agreed shakily. Applejack opened the frequency back to the shatterdome. “LOCCENT, we made contact. With… something. Whatever it is, it didn’t hang around for dinner, bolted as soon as we saw it.”
‘Damn well nearly trod on it.’ Applejack mused, wondering if machine or flesh would’ve won out in that fight.
“Copy. We’re showing damage here, are you okay?”
“Just a scratch.” Applejack growled, the Jaeger’s leg almost locking up as she moved it. The barb jammed through their leg shifted uncomfortably, making the Jaeger roar with protest again.
“Copy that, keep us posted. Daring’s on her way back to you.”
Fat help that would be! Applejack resisted the urge to snap something back and cut the link. No, this wouldn’t happen a third time. Not again. She vowed when they tracked down this beast she would crush its stupid skull between their fists.
They carefully nursed Frontier Justice forward again, every movement punctuated by the squeal of metal and a violent lurch. They’d barely taken a step before Daring Dragoon was at their side, appearing out of the swirling snow like a ghost.
“Shit, how are you two still walking?” Lightning Dust asked after the lithe Jaeger’s crew had stooped slightly down to inspect the damage. A long, slender barb was jammed through the Jaeger’s knee and protruded out the other side.
“We’re fine.” Applejack replied, the Jaeger growling affirmatively with her statement.
“AJ, you’ve pretty much walking on good intentions.” Rainbow retorted.
Applejack bristled, unwilling to back down. “You here to help, or fuss over us?”
The tone of her voice was seemingly enough to make the other two rangers quiet down, she knew her and the Jaeger’s limits well enough and didn’t need to be lectured on them. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, focusing on the sensor data which ran through her mind. Everything around her snapped into focus with crystal clear clarity, steadily growing fuzzier as it distanced itself from the Jaeger. She could feel the scrape of each jagged flake of snow against the hull, the soft whirr and click as the audiophones swivelled in their recessed armoured housings in the Jaeger’s legs and the aches and groans of Daring Dragoon’s joints a few dozen metres away.
Then she could feel the savage, predatory urge of something else, a thick wet purr growing in the back of her mind like a savage, chained dog. Two of the Jaeger’s fingers involuntarily twitched, balling into a fist.
‘Enough!’ Applejack thought, tasting bile in her throat. Her eyes snapped open, the waves of sensor data fading from her mind to be replaced by a dizzying sense of vertigo. The sync alarm flashed on for the briefest moment, signalling that the two pilots had been out of neural alignment. It had only been a slight thing, but AJ felt sickly and uncomfortable, like she’d been dragged out naked in front of a crowd. She looked over at Big Mac, her mind alight with confusion. He looked similarly sickened and disturbed.
“Applejack, Big Mac, what’s happening?” An insistent voice in her ear asked. “Your vitals just flatlined. Are you alright?”
Applejack took a moment to compose herself before responding. “We’re fine, just something playing up ‘round here.”
She hesitated for a moment, sharing a knowing look with Big Mac before activating the radio again.
“LOCCENT, we’re calling it and heading back. Whatever it was, it’s long gone and we ain’t finding it in a hurry.” Applejack finished with a frustrated sigh. It rubbed her the wrong way to leave the leave the job half done, but there was no way they’d find that Kaiju again in this muck. And neither her nor Mac were overly keen in potentially having another breakdown, they’d already had their fill of weirdness for a day.
‘Maybe not today, but we will find that slippery son of a bitch and teach it a thing or two, even if its the last thing we do.’ Applejack thought.
The thing in her head snarled in sympathetic agreement.
***
The unexpected encounter in the North Sea had the entire shatterdome at Manehatten on edge. Once the reports from the involved rangers had been disseminated, it soon became the premiere topic of discussion and thought. The K-Science biologists were left scratching and pulling hair from the head with confusion and dismay, J-Tech engineers were frantically working on new sensor packages for the Jaegers and technicians worked overtime to ensure the shatterdome’s three machines were in top shape.
While the place descended into organised chaos, Shane was busy drinking coffee.
Or at least something like coffee. The fact that it looked, smelt and tasted pretty much exactly like coffee, but wasn’t coffee was what bothered him the most. Not the slash and burn approach being taken to the shatterdome’s budget to make room for the Mk III, not the spooky invisible Kaiju and certainly not the last two (very special) ponies to join their pilot program.
Michael’s hairbrained scheme in getting Celestia and Luna to join the Jaeger Corp was working remarkably well. In some ways. The two sisters were taking to their work as well as anyone could have expected and were proving to be fast learners, picking up Jaeger-theory, Kaiju biology along the requisite mechanics and physiology faster than anyone Shane knew. Even the famed Beckett brothers, considered natural Rangers from the moment they first stepped into Ranger School, would’ve been impressed.
‘If they were alive. If anyone is still alive.’ Shane thought mournfully. He’d adopted a new habit, one which had more than several shrinks raise their eyebrows. For the past three months, each time he conducted his daily inspection of Midsummer Night he tuned the Jaeger’s communication suite to PPDC frequencies and despite the protests of the Jaeger’s dumb A.I. cranked the sensitivity up as high as it would go. Then he’d sit, sit and listen for an hour or longer for the faintest murmur or whisper of noise. He didn’t seriously expect it to work - ever since befalling whatever disaster the quantum tunnelling device had suffered the Jaeger’s comms had been dark of native traffic - but it was a simple routine which kept some other link with home alive. Even if it was a stupid one.
Still, he always hoped.
Today had of course been no different, and after growing bored of counting the rivets in the roof of the conpod, Shane had decided to spend the rest of his free time doing the one other thing he wholeheartedly enjoyed. Annoying his brother.
So armed with a fresh cup of not-quite-coffee and an almost equally fresh uniform, Shane strode towards the simulator bays where Michael (Or Misty, probably Misty) would be putting the new cadets through their paces. Or try to, at any rate.
He cut a striking figure, tall, imposing and completely at ease with his surroundings. Although infinitely more comfortable at the helm of a Jaeger, the shatterdome was his stomping grounds and he was the chief stomper. He was so preoccupied he almost stood on an earth pony which lacked either the wits or good sense to get out of his way.
“Hi!” She chirped, apparently not at all fussed that Shane had nearly trampled her.
“Oh sorry, didn’t see you there.” Shane said. He vaguely recognised her, but for the life couldn’t remember her name. Sun… something? She looked like one of the earth ponies on staff with the shatterdome’s weapon’s development program, but Shane honestly couldn’t recall. It took him a moment longer to place her - she’d been present (and awfully stressed) when their first attempts at a domestically built energy caster had almost blown up half the shatterdome. Fun times.
“Oh that’s alright,” She beamed. “Enjoying your morning?”
Shane grunted noncommittally. “It’s been better.”
“Oh that’s no good, I’m sure the rest of your day will be better. You’re looking nice today by the way.” Sun-something said with a cheeriness that made Shane’s ears want to bleed.
She tossed her mane slightly and smiled, almost batting her eyelids as she did so.
It was a disturbingly human-like gesture and immediately alarm bells went off in Shane’s head. ‘Oh god, she’s trying to flirt me with. No. Bad. Do not want.’
“Um. Right. Thanks. Bye.” He said mechanically, practically stepping over the pony in his haste to escape the situation. ‘Ick, ick and double ick.’ He thought, beating a hasty retreat towards the elevator.
Of course on a planet with several breeds of sentient species, the concept of an interspecies relationship would have been far less taboo than it was on Earth, not to mention the Equestrians seemed far more liberal on that front to boot. Not that the concept appealed to him in the slightest, even the thought made him feel a little squeamish.
He rounded the corner and came to a row of elevators. He was pleasantly surprised to find a familiar pegasus there, with a similarly sized thermos tucked underneath his wing.
“Sir.” Lightning Streak said as way of greeting, giving an awkward half wave/half salute gesture with his free wing.
“Sup.” Shane replied, suddenly feeling much more at ease and pressing the button for the simulator floor. He noted that Lightning Streak was going there as well, confirming his theory that Michael had palmed supervising Celestia and Luna off to his subordinate.
They rode in silence for a few seconds before Shane decided to strike up conversation.
“Am I attractive?” He asked with a casual air of indifference at odds with the question
Lightning Streak’s face seemed to twist and contort in ways that would usually be considered unhealthy for a moment, his mouth flapping open and shut like a beached fish.
Shane decided to dig deeper, enjoying the perplexed look on the ranger’s face too much. “To you. I mean, to a pony.”
Lightning Streak seemed to finally find his words. “I… what?”
Shane explained his earlier encounter with as few words as he could manage.
“I guess… to a certain… more, uh, liberated… kind?” Lightning Streak guessed once Shane had finished. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Shane suspiciously, perhaps starting to catch onto his shenanigans. “Are… you looking for pointers, sir, because I-.”
“On the contrary. I found it distressing and would rather it not be repeated.” Shane replied with a cheeriness at odds with his words. “I can recommend you to her if you’d like?”
Lightning Streak considered this for a moment. “Thanks, but I think I only have the space for one dangerously lethal mare in my life right now.” He said carefully, evidently having caught onto the fact Shane was messing with him. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open with a satisfying rumble. “Sounds cute though.”
“Look man, your cute is my cancer.” Shane sneered.
Lightning Streak shrugged his wings, evidently quite okay with Shane avoiding what he might consider ‘Cute’.
“You two having any luck with the rookies?” Shane enquired as they navigated towards the simulator control centre.
Lightning Streak gave him a wry look. “See for yourself.”
They entered the small command centre, Shane unsurprised to see Misty Fly banging her head against the control console and having an uncharacteristically polite, yet strained, conversation with someone through her headset. Behind her, lounged back casually and reading in the observation area was Michael. The area around him was piled with old looking books and a few discarded snack wrappers.
“Hey.” Shane said, injecting just enough cheer into his voice to annoy his brother.
Michael grunted back obnoxiously, flipping over a page in the old book he was scanning.
“How are the shinies going?” Shane asked conversationally. He’d had them the day before yesterday and could sum their performance up in two words. Not pretty. Judging by Lightning Streak’s comment, things hadn’t improved yet. Michael flipped through a few pages in rapid-fire succession, looking up to give his sibling a flat look.
“Oh. Excellent.” Shane surmised. “What’s with all the books? A bit of light reading?”
Michael set the heavy leather-bound book he’d been paging through aside. “Sure, just a comprehensive account of Equestrian history. Nothing major.”
“Humour me for a moment.” Shane replied, curiously cocking an eyebrow. “Why?”
Michael chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. “So I had the bright idea of asking Twilight about the history of these two, given she was Celestia’s former student and all that. I’d figure she’d know a bit. If we know a bit more about them, maybe, just maybe we can get somewhere.”
“And she gave you all these books” Shane guessed dryly.
Michael pulled an expression of faux surprise. “Books! I know, who would’ve guessed.” Shane suppressed a grin as Michael hefted another book, a journal penned by their Jaeger chief. “Turns out little Twilight is quite the fangirl.”
“Give me the laconic version.” Shane ordered, taking a small sip of the coffee-like-but-not-quite-coffee substance he favoured.
“Uh, Luna got jealous of her sister being more popular than her, had a fight, got possessed by a demon and tried overthrowing the government in a bloody revolution whose primary selling point was bringing about eternal night. Celestia won and turned her into the moon for a thousand years.”
Shane nodded as if this was all rational and took another contemplative sip. “That’s rough.”
Michael scratched his cheek absently. “Then she was unmoonified by… some stars, I think? And tried the whole thing again before Twilight and her friends, some of which are actually now Rangers I’ll point out, blasted her with, from what I can tell, a magic friendship rainbow laser and made her quote unquote ‘Good’ again.”
Shane swilled his thermos of not-coffee in deep thought. “Are you sure you translated that all correctly, or do you think this whole planet is just perpetually high on something?”
“I wouldn’t rule either out of the question to be honest.” Michael smirked. “Magic is weird.”
“Some of your technology is no better.”
They turned to see Twilight trot in, mane frazzled and eyes heavy with exhaustion. Shane felt a pang of sympathy for her, the poor thing was working herself raw trying to keep everything together. She exchanged a quick smile with Lightning Streak and waved at Misty but received no response.
She turned to look at them. “Imitation and replication is easy, understanding..?” Twilight’s look grew vacant and she shook her head. “Much harder. For smarter ponies than me.”
“So… no one?” Michael said jestingly.
Twilight smiled slightly at the compliment, evidently waving away the more disturbing ramifications of that statement for the time being. “How are they going?”
“Disgustingly.” Michael surmised.
Twilight didn’t need a deeper explanation, she was up and out of her labs to observe her mentors more times than either Shane or Michael bothered to count. Given her more ragged appearance than usual over the last few days it didn’t take a genius to figure where she was finding the time for her expeditions.
“Oh. Well...” Twilight sighed, unwilling to accept that Celestia and Luna were failing at something.
“We’ve still got plenty of time.” Michael reassured her. “We’ll figure it out, I’m sure.”
“On the plus side they’re both remarkably competent on solo drills and knowledgeable in all of the usual coursework. Misty is raving about them, which is probably the first I’ve heard her say something nice about anyone else.” Shane added if only to cheer Twilight up.
“But they haven’t managed a stable connection yet.” Twilight said, worry lacing her voice. “Nopony else took this long to successfully accomplish a short drift, and they can’t even do that! I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made me nervous.”
“You’re really worried about them, aren’t you?” Michael asked, prompting a ‘No really?’ look from Shane.
Twilight fixed him a steely look. “You don’t get it. Their relationship, or failings thereof are what defined the last thousand years of our history. I mean, all that bad blood is supposed to be behind them… but, what if it’s not? With their history, a tiny slipup could be disastrous.” Twilight snapped like she were scolding an ignorant foal. She sighed and recentred herself again, carefully straightening out a few strands of her mane. “Yes, of course I’m worried. Everypony is. Celestia and Luna are loved throughout all of Equestria. If there was an accurate comparison to your world, they’d be gods.”
“The whole sun and moon bullshit, yeah I get it.” Shane said, earning a downright withering look.from the alicorn for his trouble. “Okay, okay, they’re the boss. Bosses. Whatever.”
“And you want to shove them into a metal box atop a volatile reactor to face-off interdimensional monsters bent on the destruction of all life as we know it.” Twilight started to ramble, her eye twitching with worry. “So much could go wrong.”
Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “We acknowledge that, but again-.”
“We need them, yes.” Twilight agreed. “It just worries me that we haven’t gotten anywhere. Those two should be excellent drift partners, with how long they’ve lived with each other, they should know the other inside and out.”
“They don’t trust each other.” Misty Fly cut in bluntly from the control board. “Simple as that, Sparkle. No amount of fangirling is gonna change that. They’ve got a whole bunch of problems, and this is me talking.” She added, proving she was at least somewhat self-aware.
Twilight looked like she was about to fly off the chain at Misty but the pegasus didn’t let her get a word in, quelling any dissent with a scathingly annoyed look that would’ve probably stopped a rampaging Kaiju cold.
Michael and Shane nodded, agreeing with Misty’s assessment. “She’s right. Trust is critical to the connection, and from what your books have said, I could see why they’d have some deep seated trust issues. Dropping those mental barriers is easier when it’s someone you know, but it’s still not natural. You need to trust that other person implicitly and without any reservation.”
Twilight scowled but reluctantly accepted their words. “Okay, then. What do we do?”
“Talk with them separately for a bit, and get a good understanding of what’s going on and we can work from there.”
“You can’t just confront them, it’s Celestia and Luna.” Twilight protested.
“That’s actually exactly what I want to do.”
Twilight looked about ready to explode into low orbit, her face warped into an incredulous expression. An eye twitched and her mouth hung open with disbelief. She looked set to protest further but gave in with a weary groan of resignation, prompting a half-stifled laugh from Misty Fly. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”
“Excellent. Good to have you on side bookhorse.” Shane said with his well practiced faux cheer.
“This can only end badly.” Twilight groaned.
“Well aren’t you just a debbie downer.” Shane jeered, “Can’t ever have some good news or ideas now, can we?”
“Actually...” She straightened slightly, putting aside her discomfort with how they intended to deal with their Celestia/Luna problem. “I did come up here for another reason. Some good news, actually. I just recently returned from a sitting of the Senate Committee for Homeworld Defence in Canterlot, and well it was just excellent. A few of your old friends are sitting on it and they all loved to trash you. Bunch of closed-minded xenophobes I’ll show ‘em a thing or two about friendship…” Twilight trailed off, her tone growing borderline murderous. Her tone brightened again. “Anyway, there’s a motion sitting before them at the moment concerning the sales and distribution of ‘Dangerous Weapons and Other Advanced Technologies’.”
Michael blinked twice before jumping to the obvious conclusion. “Griffons. Jaeger.”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. That. Apparently it’s not in our interests to pass on advanced weapons to states that have shown ‘Aggression’ and a have a ‘Desire to impinge on our land and sovereignty’. As it stands, they are likely to ban the sale outright.”
Shane and Michael exchanged a dumbfounded look. The Committee of Homeworld Defence was the body they were directly responsible to, and was supposed to operate in the interests of the entire planet and look beyond national politics. While it was probably within their purview, it seemed a highly questionable choice.
“Okay… in what universe is this good news?” Shane asked dryly.
“Oh it’s not. This is terrible news. The whole thing is barely half done and would be completely incompatible with any pony pilot. But... on the plus side we’ll have another hulk to rip and tear at for parts and beat up for loose change.”
“Oh, brilliant. I guess the Griffons will want their their money back then.”
Twilight winced slightly as if she’d been trying to not fret over the idea. “Not my problem and I’m not going to make it my problem, they can sort that out with the Senate. They drop us into this mess they can sort it out as well.”
“Great. Two princesses who can’t drift, an undetectable Kaiju roaming the north and now a very, very unhappy customer who wants to see my manager.” Michael groaned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Twilight. “You don’t have any other problems to drop on us, do you?”
***
At first there was nothing but pain.
It’s first conscience thought was of never-ending darkness and then blue. Blue blue blue blue blue. And then the pain again. It caught a flash of a twisted, unnatural form being stitched together like a shirt. It screamed as its flesh and blood was assembled, ripped apart and then rebuilt at the whim of another. It was but a cosmic plaything, being constructed, regrown and then altered again and again to suit whatever purpose its master desired.
It lost count of how many times it died, only to be reforged again in unbearable pain and agony. Again. And again. And again.
And then blessed nothingness. No sight, no sound, no touch. After a life of pain the nothing was a welcome, if unsettling relief. It hung, suspended in its cocoon of nothingness. It was lost and alone. It screamed at the dark, unable to comprehend or feel. Only be. It roared at the dark, its mind shackled and chained like a beast. Where was it. Why couldn’t it see. Why was it here. It screamed again but the darkness held no answers.
Then a more primal, instinctual thought come to the fore. For the first time in its existence it was free to feel. The first feeling it had was of hunger, a ravenous unquenchable hunger.
‘No.’
The thing recoiled as the Other spoke in its mind, every instinct crying out to escape, to shield itself. It retreated into the staunch fortress of its mind to hide but the other followed it, tearing down the gates and smashing asunder the walls to get at it. It screamed as the Other greedily grasped and tore at its mind, reaching down into the deepest dungeons of its consciousness to root out every last vestige of its will. Every detail of its consciousness was carefully analysed, stripped and any undesirable thoughts or feelings sterilised. It was done with a speed and precision which belied millennia of cold practise, and the torment that lasted an eternity in its mind in reality took no longer than a blink of an eye.
And then the Other was gone. A flood of light and sound spilled across its mind. It could see the harsh light of machines, taste the viscous substance which surrounded and pushed against it and feel the heavy bonds which held it in its cage.
Then the restraints were released. It floated in place for a moment, its eyes drawn to the centre of everything. The vast burning eye of a black sun set against a dead, blue world. As it cast its eyes around it beheld vast, jagged holes of light scattered across the void. They beckoned to it, warm and comforting against the cold blue void. It wanted to go to each in turn but something stopped it.
‘NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNo.’
It suddenly knew where to go, kicking its legs and making for one of the bright tears like a drowning man clutching for a liferaft. As it swam, its mind flooded with thoughts. Where there had been a void in its memory it could now smell, feel and see thoughts that were not its own. Hundreds of conflicting images and memories filled its mind, stacking on top of each other in a huge pile which threatened to topple at any moment. Pictures of iron giants and feeble insects filled its thoughts. It was hungry.
‘Kill.’
Now it knew what it was, its purpose was seared into its mind with a clarity it few creatures would ever know. It was death, the doom of worlds It was the harbinger of destruction, the child of the star-gods.
It roared again as it sailed into the hole of bottomless light, another alien horror born to plague a suffering, dying world.
Somewhere distant, in an city yet unknown to it, an alarm started to wail.
***
“Uh-huh, a Category III you say?” Soarin mumbled, his head still half buried in his pillow. The beeping of his pager had woken him a minute ago, and although he would’ve loved to ignore it, the message was coming through on an emergency channel.
“Yes sir, big one by the looks of it.” The voice of Skyray, the shatterdome’s chief LOCCENT operator replied.
“They always seem to be that way.” Soarin joked half-heartedly, trying to remember the last time there had been a ‘small’ Kaiju. He raised his head to look at the small digital clock beside his bed, swearing under his breath at the time. He’d only left the command centre a few hours ago and it was still early morning. Kaiju just had the worst timing. “ETA?” He asked hoping it would be ‘never’.
“Tracking from Manehatten indicates it’s heading up our way, it’ll make landfall sometime in the next twenty hours or so.”
Good. Still enough time to catch up on some much needed sleep. He could brief everyone in a few hours. “Get the Jaegers warmed up, schedule a briefing for eleven hundred hours and inform each of the crews in the meantime. Keep me updated if anything changes.”
“Of course, it’s a poor Kaiju that interrupts your nap.”
“I would damn well hope so.” Soarin grumped back, cutting the comm link and trying to get back to sleep. It was nigh on impossible however, his eyes kept snapping open and staring at the clock tick over with torturous slowness. With an annoyed grunt he knocked the clock down of its perch, its face pressed against the floor. He didn’t need to be any more jittery than he already was. His first real chance to show off his command potential didn’t really inspire confidence in his ability. One Jaeger crippled and nothing to show for it except more questions.
‘It could’ve been worse.’ He reminded himself, his old mantra not doing much to improve his mood.
After a moment of quietly stewing Soarin picked the clock up and returned it to its perch, a small crack in its display. He rolled over and jammed his eyes shut, willing himself to sleep. The sun was going to be up in a few hours, and it was going to be one hell of day.
***
The briefing the next morning brought another surprise.
The Kaiju, a large Category III named Charybdis, had pushed even further north than anypony had anticipated, putting it squarely out of Manehatten’s court and further and further into the North Sea.
This in itself wasn’t a problem, they’d deployed Frontier Justice and Daring Dragoon there to track the anomalous contact nearly three weeks ago, but it did cause a bit of confusion amongst the Kaiju analysts. Why? Why go so far north?
This wasn’t Soarin’s primary concern though . His thoughts were on how many Jaeger’s he’d have. Frontier Justice’s leg had been badly damaged on their last sortie and although repair crews had been working on the Jaeger since it returned to the shatterdome, it had never been a sure thing. And the Jaeger wasn’t exactly fast to begin with. Any formation they adopted would move at a deathly slow pace if repairs weren’t completed to a satisfactory degree.
Consequently, Applejack and Big Macintosh weren’t present, instead working on their Jaeger with their deck crew several floors below and listening in on an open comm channel.
Applejack finally radioed in as Soarin was starting to wrap up. “Sir, we've made some progress on the repair front.”
“Is Frontier operational?” He asked, half dreading the response.
“Barely. But we’ll walk out on crutches if we have to.”
Soarin allowed a smile to cross his face, feeling just a little relieved. At least they’d have all three Jaegers ready. That small matter sorted, he looked back at the map projected up on the threat board. The projected target area was still massive, it would still be hours before he could effectively deploy the three Jaegers at his disposal. He cocked his head to the side slightly, watching the projected track move further and further north.
‘What in the wide world of Equestria is it doing?’ He puzzled. There was nothing in the north. No cities or other large targets that Kaiju seemed to usually gravitate towards. It would take an age for the creature to approach anywhere near the Crystal Empire, though if that was allowed to happen Soarin knew that would be the least of his issues. Heads would go on pikes, probably his.
He stared at the map for a moment longer before looking back to his crews. “Alright, we’re on alert from this point on. Keep your ears sharp, I expect you to be ready to roll in thirty minutes when I give the word. Dismissed.”
A chorus of affirmatives answered him.
He looked back at the map, noticing everypony’s gaze following the Kaiju’s track as it arched further north. .
“Bloody hell that’s gonna be cold…” Wave Chill muttered, voicing the thought passing through Soarin’s mind.
Soarin tapped the map, noting the Kaiju’s original heading and then the wickedly sharp it had taken to drive it north. “Took a real turn here. What the heck is this thing doing?”
Soarin bit his lip thoughtfully and brought up the old sensor logs, overlaying their last mysterious contact’s positions on top of Charybdis’. Nothing seemed to match up, but the last sign of their previous quarry had been much further north as well. Was there a connection between the two?
Soarin stared at the picture for a while longer before dismissing it, leave the grand strategies and behaviour analysis of the Kaiju to the eggheads in K-Science. He knew how to fight Kaiju, not how they thought. He filed the small nugget away and tagged it for later rumination.
With the briefing over, Soarin retired from the command centre for a while, intending to get some administrative work done before deploying. Hours of restlessly shifting between working, running pre-launch checks on Sceptre Six and trying to nap instead mostly resulted in him nervously checking the inexorable progress of the incoming Kaiju in his quarters. It was moving much slower than he had expected, almost like it was trying to drag out the wait as long as it could. Nearly eighteen hours had passed since the initial alert and Charybdis’ final approach was still in doubt. It had tracked further and further north, almost reaching the latitude where their last encounter had been. Soarin knew they’d have to deploy soon, else it would slip too far north for a sea-intercept to be possible.
So with this in mind Soarin found himself, as was his habit when faced with an impending crisis, down in the shatterdome’s commissary with his drive suit donned and helmet hung on the side. Truly there was nothing food couldn’t solve.
Despite the earliness of the hour which hung over Trottingham, he was pleasantly surprised to find all of the shatterdome’s five other Rangers there, clustered around in a group at one table. Various members of their deck and Jaeger crew were scattered around the noisy room, many waving or saying hello as he passed to join his comrades. As he approached he saw that Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash were playing, much to his surprise, a game of chess while Applejack and Big Mac watched and heckled. Wave Chill sat beside Lightning Dust, watching the game with silent interest. All, he noted with satisfaction, were suited up.
“You’re up early. Or is that you’re still awake? I know you weather ponies have weird sleeping habits” Soarin said without introduction, dropping onto the bench alongside Rainbow Dash to join the group of Rangers. She scooted over slightly, either to make a little more room or so he could see the board clearer but otherwise didn’t acknowledge him, her partner flashed Soarin a look reeking with disgust before she realised exactly who she was looking at and embarrassedly returning her attention to the board.
“Could say the same for you.” Lightning Dust answered, her face flushed slightly. She didn’t look back up at Soarin again, her gaze glued to the sparsely populated chessboard.
“Couldn’t sleep.” Soarin explained lamely, jumping a little as something behind him fell off a table with a loud crash. What a role model he made! An alarm goes off and suddenly he was more skittish than a bunch of foals at Hearth's Warming. If Spitfire were here she probably would’ve kicked him somewhere distinctly unpleasant before chewing his ear off with a delightfully creative insult. Soarin lingered on the thought, suddenly feeling regretful - he’d fallen out of contact with his former commander and not by his choice; she hadn’t responded to his messages and when he tried visiting while on leave had apparently moved again without a forwarding address. Soarin would’ve loved to have her unshakable leadership around right now.
“Didn’t pick you two for chess.” He said, taking a mouthful of toast buried under butter and jam and chewing quickly to bury his previous line of thought before it stuck
“I’ve been teaching her.” Rainbow explained. “I don’t think she’s been paying attention though.” She added with a snigger.
“No, you’re just more competent than a braindead athlete has any right to be.” Lightning Dust retorted crankily, despairingly holding her head in her hooves as her eyes flashed across the board.
Rainbow Dash smirked confidently. “I had a good teacher. And I like to win.”
Soarin watched on with interest as both mares stared intently at the board. No doubt there was an amazingly complex mental game going on between them, the usual strategising and planning that happened in chess amplified by the mind-link they shared. The number of moves each mare was thinking ahead must’ve been phenomenal.
Lightning Dust suddenly swore and crossed her forelegs. “That’s it, I give up!” she proclaimed hotly. “This is a stupid game for stupid ponies and you’re stupid for playing.” She boiled angrily at the smug looking Rainbow, her scowl deepening to a degree Misty Fly would’ve found impressive. Soarin half expected her to start pegging pieces at her copilot .
“And the streak continues!” Rainbow boasted haughty, snaking her head from side to side victoriously. “At this point I’d almost consider letting you win. Almost. It’s so sad to watch it’s funny.”
“Frak off.” Lightning Dust pouted, glaring at Rainbow Dash with the heat of a jet turbine. Soarin wondered if he’s have to break up a fight between the two - although some part of him wouldn’t have minded watching.
“The secret is to get her to agree to do something she ain’t ever gonna win, but spmething she thinks she’s gonna win.” Applejack piped up, giving Lightning Dust a genuinely sympathetic look. “Ah’m yet to see a time where her mouth runnin’ faster than her hooves hasn’t gotten the better of her.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and dismissed her friend’s remark with a wave. “As if, AJ.”
“Ah, the good ol’ selective memory trick. Classic Rainbow Dash.” Applejack said dryly.
Lightning Dust gave Applejack the slightest nod, as if to appreciate and agree with her statement “Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea I’m working on.”
“As long as it’s not as stupid as your last one, I’m game.” Rainbow smirked. .
Lightning Dust snorted with amusement. “You still couldn’t do it.” She teased
Lightning Dust shared a look around the table “Didn’t stop her from trying it. I was laughing so much I couldn’t untangle her.”
“You are literally the worst.” Rainbow fumed under her breath.
“Come off it, you know you love me.” Lightning Dust teased.
They started bickering like an old married couple, as always managing to steal the spotlight and turn it firmly on them. It made Soarin smile, it was good to see everypony was keeping their cool. At least, hiding it a lot better than he was. He could almost pretend that they weren’t hanging around waiting for the word to go to battle, but instead a group of friends sitting around and just ‘shooting the shit’ as AJ put it.
Soarin would’ve loved that more than anything.
The sound of his headset chiming snapped him back to reality.
“Go ahead.” Soarin said curtly, aware that the rest of the table had dropped everything and was watching him with intent interest. Applejack and Big Macintosh sat still and attentive while Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were both leaning forward slightly, already ready to spring into action.
“We’ve finally got an approach heading for Charybdis. ETA to coast is within the next few hours at current speed. Looks like we’re heading north.”
***
For the second time within a month Frontier Justice hung from its cables, swaying slightly beneath the flock of rotaries which hoisted it northward. No matter how much they did it, the feeling was always disconcerting to Applejack. An earth pony felt right on their own hooves on the ground, not suspended a few hundred metres above the deck by the grace of some infernal chattering contraption.
As if to prove a point the squadron of Broadways adjusted course slightly, making Applejack’s gut lurch. ‘Only a few more minutes.’ She thought to herself queasily as their transports settled onto their new heading.
“This seems familiar.” Big Mac remarked without concern.
Applejack agreed, the weather was almost as foul as it had been the last time they’d come out this way. Visibility was slightly better, but hampered by the all-encompassing darkness. Without moonlight breaking through the thick cloud cover, the only lights came from spotlights mounted on the swarm of rotaries and the Jaeger’s own running lights.
At least their sensors would be able to pick up and find Charybdis in this muck.
“Approaching the DZ. You’re off here folks.”
Frontier Justice dropped first, cracking through a thin ice sheet before plunging into the inky-black water. They’d dropped lower than normal in an attempt to prevent any damage to their hastily repaired leg. Even still, they almost botched the landing.
Daring Dragoon splashed down a few hundred metres to their port side and Sceptre Six a few seconds later, each Jaeger’s landing accompanied by a shuddering they could feel in the conpod. Squalls of snow and sleet blasted and whistled around the Jaegers, occasionally wiping out visibility completely. This was weather even the most sturdy and thick headed of pegasi would think twice about going out into. The fact that the the rotaries had gotten them this far was a testament to the ruggedness of their transports.
“You sure it came up this way?” Applejack heard Lightning Dust ask. “There’s nothing here.”
“Sure as I’ve got feathers.” Soarin responded from his new Jaeger, his voice punctuated by heavy footfalls as Sceptre Six advanced into the snowstorm
Applejack and Big Mac exchanged a tiny glance, Soarin was taking a bit of a gamble relying entirely on the sensor data and deploying everyone together so far out of the way. If Charybdis double-backed or otherwise started larking about, they could quickly find themselves in hot water. In her experience, Kaiju didn’t ever just do something for the hell of it. And coming this far north struck her as something bizarre. Lightning Dust was right; there was nothing here.
“Start searching, keep in sight of each other and keep your eyes open.” Soarin ordered them, his voice cool and collected… but breaking just a little at the edges.
Easier said than done, their visual range came and went came with all the certainty that unmaintained weather did. One moment they could see Sceptre Six and Daring Dragoon off to their left, the next whirling blankets of ice and snow. It it weren’t for the two reassuring contacts on the Jaeger’s scopes holding steady off their flank, they would’ve become separated very easily.
They pounded slowly through the choppy surf, water sloshing up their legs and freezing into all the little nooks and crannies it could make its way into. Applejack could feel the biting cold and cutting wind second-hand, shivering involuntarily despite the warmth of the conpod. Her left knee still felt tight and sore, the Jaeger’s actual leg grinding with complaint every time to they gingerly moved it. If she concentrated on it, she could feel the pistons which still needed to be reset and the seams of hasty welds which had been done to get the Jaeger back into service. It was a real hodge-podge job, but it would hold.
She hoped.
“Contact right.” Lightning Dust announced a second before Frontier Justice’s less sophisticated sensors picked it up as well. It was large and reassuringly unsubtle, slowly tracking away to their right. “I think it’s noticed us, contact is closing - and fast.”
“Tighten up.” Soarin ordered.
There was still several hundred metres separating Daring Dragoon and Frontier Justice when Applejack caught sight of the thing through the swirling snow. Its head reminded her of a hammerhead shark, though the edges of the bony protrusions were swept back in a crescent-like shape. Four beady eyes glared out from under the growth like little candles, bouncing and lighting up the snow around it. Rows after row of teeth lined its jaws, so crammed together they seemed to be falling out of the beast's mouth.
The creature marched forward on two broad legs, the tops of which broke through the surf like pylons. Occasionally, as it moved forward, it would fall forward onto its front set of oversized claws, loping forward and sending a large bow wave racing ahead before standing upright again. A long tail swished out behind it in the darkness, crusted with lumpy growths and with a wickedly sharp barb at the end. Hanging loosely from underneath the creature's massive leathery shoulders was a second, smaller set of claws.
The Kaiju wasted no time in making introductions and surged forward towards Frontier Justice, barreling out of the night with a low roar. It was huge, larger even than Frontier Justice.
With their speed limited, Applejack and Big Mac set themselves firmly in the seabed and took the creature’s frenzied charge. The distance rapidly closed but the two rangers patiently waited for the right moment to move.
‘Now!’
Their first blow came with a grace at odds with the huge Jaeger, a quick uppercut catching Charybdis under the jaw as it tried to press home its charge. The two rangers followed up with a heavy hook, whipping the Kaiju’s head aside with a sharp crack. With the Kaiju momentarily off-balance, Frontier Justice took a half-step back, raising both fists above its head for an overhead strike.
Before the blow could connect, Charybdis’ tail flashed quicker than lightning, the piked babr on its tip punching through the hastily repaired plating around the Jaeger’s knee. The joint exploded in a shower of debris, gears, cables chunks of metal snapping free and whipping away. Frontier Justice lurched again as its leg gave out, this time the forces too great for them to overcome and unceremoniously pitching them into the ocean.
“Again?!” Applejack roared, this time her anger overwhelming the pain which burned her leg. Try tried to rise but the Jaeger’s entire leg leg was unresponsive and refused to take their weight. Charybdis had been lucky the joint was already damaged or its blow probably would’ve have been largely ineffectual.
Much to Applejack’s surprise though, the Kaiju didn’t follow up its lucky hit, running from the downed Frontier Justice instead of staying to finish them off. Whatever its reasons she was glad, they would’ve been sitting ducks. It instead made a beeline straight for Daring Dragoon.
“We’re down but we’re alright.” Applejack said brusquely, slowly, methodically starting to stand their Jaeger up again. ”Give us a sec to get back into it.”
***
Rainbow Dash’s heart lurched as Frontier Justice toppled over as if in slow motion, sending up a majestic wave of water as it impacted the ocean.
“We’re down, but we’re alright. Just give us a sec.” Applejack reported.
She breathed a silent thanks. A whack that like could hurt, but it sounded like AJ and Big Mac had bruised nothing more than their egos.
“We see it, it’s coming right for us.” Lightning Dust said, tossing a furtive look over her shoulder as if she could see out the back of the conpod. “You with us boys?”
“We got your back.” Wave Chill replied.
“Well then try and keep up!” Lightning Dust jeered as Daring Dragoon jumped into the attack. Charybdis had made it only a few steps from where Frontier Justice lay partly submerged before they were on it. Although not nearly as fast, Sceptre Six was right on their tail, skirting a little wider to flank the Kaiju while they distracted it.
As usual, Daring didn’t hold back, jumping right into the brawl with its considerably larger opponent. They easily slipped past the Kaiju’s first wide strike and caught the follow up in their left hand. The whole Jaeger shook as they took the hit, machine and flesh struggling back and forward to overcome each other.
It was strong. Too strong to try and flip or toss, so they threw a wide haymaker, their fist catching the underside of its broad hammerhead and momentarily dazing it.
Sceptre Six now came in, but its pilots hadn’t anticipated Charybdis stumbling and the jab which was supposed to connect with the Kaiju’s shoulder went wide, almost hitting Daring Dragoon.
“Hey watch it!” Rainbow yelped as they shifted out of the way of the wide swing. What were Soarin and Wave Chill playing at? Throwing a punch like that into the fight was just as likely to hit them as it was Charybdis. If they could just grab it and hold it still...
“Sor- ofph!” Wave Chill’s apology was cut off as Charybdis’ tail swung around and smashed Sceptre Six aside, the Jaeger toppling over backwards with a huge splash of frigid water.
The distraction gave Daring Dragoon an opening though, and the Jaeger pounced, a hand going between Charybdis’ arms and the other pushing back against the claw which held it, lifting it high above the Kaiju’s head. A burst from the Jaeger’s thrusters was enough to shove the Kaiju over onto its side. The Jaeger dug a knee into the Kaiju’s gut and fired an impact hammer into the Kaiju’s midsection.
CRACK
The sound of snapping bone and flesh rang out, uncomfortably loud even through the Jaeger’s conpod. Charybdis roared, its lower arm almost exploding at the joint and a bloody crater where the impact hammer had struck. Undaunted, it threw its hefty mass to the side, dislodging Daring Dragoon and regaining its feet with a deft roll. Down on all fours it hissed and spat, globs of ichor falling from its mouth. It looked much less certain of itself, breathing heavily and growling each time it moved. They’d hurt it badly, that much was evident.
Rainbow grinned as it rushed forward and they casually ducked under a wide, desperate swipe. This was too easy! Charybdis was too slow and cumbersome to wrestle with them this close, not with an arm out of the fight at least.
In the gloom they didn’t see its tail come from up high, aimed at where their dodge would take them. For all its ease, their dodge was flashy and easily telegraphed. Now suddenly trying to overcome their Jaeger’s inertia was nigh impossible.
‘Thrusters!’ Rainbow willed, the Jaeger’s oversized maneuvering jets firing to violently throw them off course.
It might’ve worked, had the Kaiju’s tail not come apart at the end like thin petals of a flower, petals sharpened to deadly points, and scattered out in a wide arc. With a sickening smash, two barbs ripped through the viewport of the conpod like paper, shattering the thinly armoured screen and latching onto the floor grate barely a metre in front of the two rangers. The third one burrowed into the bottom of the Jaeger’s head with a sickening squeal of metal, grabbing the Jaeger’s chin in a vice-like grip.
Full-blown terror gripped Rainbow Dash as the barb started tightening and tugging, ripping, lashing, clawing and scratching like a wolf trying to reach down a crevasse after a trapped rabbit. She scrambled back as far as she could, the barb slashing the air where she’d been half a moment before.
It knew they were in there.
The sync alarm chimed in her helmet but she barely heard it, the thought shaking her to her core. It knew they were in there. It knew. How did it know? How could it possibly know?
She didn’t have the time to ponder this question further as Charybdis smashed one of its claws against the side of the conpod, then the other, ripping through the Jaeger’s head like tinfoil. She felt the massive impact, her harness snap and then the side of the conpod rush to greet her before the world went black.
***
Sceptre Six hauled itself to its feet groggily, warnings flashing across every screen and pings and shudders sounding from its beaten hull. Soarin groaned, his chest felt like it had been crushed. He could feel a deep buckle high across the Jaeger’s chest where Charybdis’ tail had struck them. A coughing fit threatened to overtake him, and although he knew it was just neural feedback, it felt like every rib had been broken. He spat, a glob of blood streaking the inside of his helmet and grimaced; maybe something was actually broken.
Wave Chill didn’t seem much better, wincing with every movement as they hauled themselves upright.
“It hits like a freight train!” Wave Chill coughed.
Soarin resisted the urge to yell at him. He’d swung wide, far too wide, and left them open. They’d nearly hit Daring Dragoon. Anger replaced his pain, a raging fury threatening to overwhelm the drift. Dark storm clouds, a solitary ship being battered in a howling storm… He quickly reigned it in before one of them slipped, they needed to focus, now more than ever. Later, when they weren’t in mortal peril he could rip Wave Chill into pieces.
Wave Chill’s presence retreated, latching onto and starting to shield itself from Soarin’s anger. The mental weight of the Jaeger started to press down on Soarin, threatening to drive him to his knees.
‘Damn it, now isn’t the time for that either.’ Soarin thought instantly regretting losing his temper. He risked a quick look at Wave Chill, relieved to see him snap out of his brief reverie. ‘That’s it, focus! Remember your training!’
Charybdis was fifty metres away, down on all fours at facing Daring Dragoon. A whole section of its gut looked like it had been caved in, clear evidence that the other Jaeger had been busy. It swung clumsily, too clumsily, Soarin realised. It had been a feint. A thrill of horror ran down his spine as its tail arced above it and dove for Daring Dragoon, the Jaeger having dodged the purposefully clumsy strike . A warning had only half formed in his mouth when the tail smacked home, ripping the front of the other Jaeger’s conpod to shreds.
“NO!” He and Wave Chill roared in unison, but it was too late. They were still twenty metres away when Charybdis ripped a claw through the crown of the other Jaeger’s conpod, shredding through it like a grater through a block of cheese. Daring tottered for a second before plunging sidewards into the surf, its limbs slack.
And then Sceptre Six was on it, the entire Jaeger howling with animalistic fury as it smashed into Charybdis.
A fierce uppercut knocked the Kaiju back, the tremendous force jarring Soarin’s shoulder as the Jaeger’s fist impacted the flat base of the Kaiju’s boney head. Charybdis righted itself, but the Rangers had anticipated this, a second wide punch catching the other side of the Kaiju’s head and sending it sprawling.
They were acting almost on instinct now, hammering the Kaiju without pause or hesitation. Muscle strands strained and threatened to break, the Jaeger’s pilots demanding more from them than they could manage. Soarin and Wave Chill moved in perfect unison, pummeling Charybdis with such ferocity it barely managed to get a return strike in. For a moment, the Jaeger and its crew was united in singular purpose.
The two Rangers slipped their Jaeger to the side, dodging an almost drunken swipe of the Kaiju’s claw by a hairsbreadth. With a fluid motion the Jaeger locked its hands around the monster’s shoulders, viciously yanking it aside to try and drag Charybdis from its feet. Despite the rain of blows it had taken, the Kaiju didn’t go over easily, its claws desperately scrabbling for purchase on the roof of the Jaeger’s sloped chest. Shrieks and squeals echoed through the conpod as talons scraped across the armour a few metres away. Soarin and Wave Chill immediately shifted their grip, grabbing the Kaiju around its wrists and forcing its claws away. Charybdis snapped and snarled, pushing back with a terrifying amount of strength. It was getting desperate, its eyes and strange body tattoos burning bright as fear and adrenaline gave its limbs strength. Without warning, Soarin released the Kaiju’s right arm, letting it drop away into empty space before Charybdis could react. He slammed his fist home once more, he and Wave Chill rolling Sceptre Six’s weight with the blow to push the Kaiju away. They took a half-step back, creating more room between them as Charybdis reeled.
“Rockets.” Soarin breathed coolly as the Kaiju started to rally.
They didn’t give it the chance.
Sceptre Six’s rocket tubes hissed open, the drab, scratched plates protecting the launchers flipping up smartly. The Jaeger planted its huge feet firmly into the ground as half a dozen streaks of fire whipped out from its shoulders and splashed across Charybdis in a whirlwind of fury. The first four blossomed against the Kaiju’s chest, and for a moment the Kaiju rose, clawing at the air with a strangled roar before the fifth impacted against its head, the armour piercing warhead burrowing through the creature’s eye before exploding. Charybdis toppled backwards, sizzling merrily as it crashed back into the surf. The last missile roared past the Kaiju’s shoulder and splashed harmlessly into the ocean some distance away. A great cloud of steam rose from the Kaiju as the fires which blazed across it were abruptly extinguished by the falling snow.
Sceptre Six didn’t waste any time, wheeling around to assist their stricken comrade as soon as it was clear Charybdis had breathed its last. Frontier Justice was already on hand though, its red-faced pilots finally having caught up with the fight and hauling Daring Dragoon upright without any hesitation or need for direction. Water poured in great torrents from holes in the Jaeger’s conpod, billowing away wildly in the freezing wind.
“Medevac. Now.” Wave Chill blurted, his mind too entangled with the body of the Jaeger to use words. He almost had a predatory look about him, his eyes drawn open wide and his mouth twisted into a snarl, his back slightly hunched in imitation of Sceptre Six’s stance. It took Soarin a moment of reflection to realise he probably looked the same.
“Wave Chill.” Soarin said aloud, struggling to distance himself from the machine-like thoughts which chattered and gnawed at the edge of his mind. It was the closest he’d ever felt to being the Jaeger, almost more machine than pony.
“Wave Chill.” Soarin repeated.
“What?!” Wave Chill snapped, rounding on Soarin like a hungry timberwolf. Soarin could see the helplessness, the anger in his eyes. He knew exactly how he felt over the flagging neural link and it took all of his strength to not retreat into himself as Wave Chill’s emotion crashed over him like a typhoon.
Eventually, Wave Chill pushed back the baying wolves and chattering machine in his mind and broke down into anguish. The combat high was wearing off, being replaced by an overwhelming sense of despair. “Oh fuck, I killed them. I fucking killed them. They’re dead and it’s all my fucking fault.” He sobbed, collapsing in his harness. He stared blankly out the conpod’s viewport at the ruined Daring Dragoon, alternating between whimpers and great heaving sobs. Soarin stumbled, suddenly nauseous as the drift unraveled unpleasantly. He tried to reign it in but Wave Chill’s consciousness had completely retreated into the fortress of his mind and was unconsolable.
‘He’s going into shock.’ Soarin thought numbly, amazed at how calm he was given the situation. It probably wouldn’t last. “AJ, status?” He asked quietly, casting his gaze towards the wreck of Darin Dragoon. Illuminated by Frontier Justice’s massive searchlights he could see the full extent of the Jaeger’s damage.
The conpod was still intact, incredibly, but three deep scars were gouged into the Jaeger’s crown and the viewport was managed almost beyond recognition. Each hit had compromised the hull and even if the direct hits hadn’t turned the two pilots to paste, the dip into the ocean might have.
“Wait one.” Applejack responded. Soarin could see her making her way carefully down Frontier Justice’s arm, heedless of the danger of slipping and falling some eighty metres to the water below. Picked out sharply in the lights from her Jaeger, the ranger almost looked like a valkyrie of legend. Once she’d made the hair-raising trip over to the other Jaeger, ot took her a minute or so to find way inside without shredding herself.
A Broadway appeared out of the muck, its pilot struggling to keep it steady over Daring Dragoon. A squad of pegasi debussed from the transport’s side, jumping out into the maelstrom one after the other without fear or hesitation. They descended on Daring Dragoon, land atop the Jaeger and similarly started looking for ways inside. Although he wanted to deny it with every fibre of his being, the analytical part of Soarin’s mind was sure there was no way the two rangers inside had survived and the medical team would only be serving as a burial detail.
“Soarin, it’s a real mess in here.” Applejack reported, her voice snapping Soarin out of his stupor. “Those docs better get here real soon, they’re in a real bad way.”
“They’re alive?!” Soarin responded, his voice breaking with astonishment.
“Barely. They’re… they’re… oh Celestia...” Applejack choked back, her voice on the verge of cracking. The fact that mare was still operating despite the circumstances, Soarin found amazing. She must’ve left her channel open as Soarin could now hear other voices, the medics having evidently found a way in. He couldn’t make out the words, but the urgency of their tone spoke of the seriousness of his pilot’s conditions. He heard a muffled clanging above his head, somepony was knocking on the top access hatch.
“Open up sir.” A mare with a voice as warm as honey asked over the radio.
He opened the top hatch, fumbling with the controls a moment before hitting the right button. He was operating on autopilot now, rigid discipline and training the only thing keeping him from collapsing into a heap and curling up into a ball. He was starting to visibly shake though, not a good sign.
‘Sleep when you’re dead, Clipper.’ A voice said in his head.
“Thank you, sir. Bit cold out.” The mare said in a surprisingly chipper tone, dropping into the Jaeger with another similarly dressed medic. “You alright?” Soarin nodded and wordlessly pointed at the catatonic Wave Chill, waving away the ministrations of the second corpsman. They spent a minute fussing over him before the mare reported back.
“We’ll take him back with us, are you right to handle everything here by yourself sir?”
“I’ll be fine.” Soarin responded hollowly as Wave Chill was bundled up and half carried, half walked out of the conpod. It didn’t convince the medic though, and she gave him a quick once over before declaring his condition tolerable. A minute later they were all stowed away in the rotary and it roared off south at full pitch.
Soarin watched until the machine had vanished into the swirling storm, wondering if he’s see Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust alive again. Daring Dragoon certainly didn’t look like it, hanging dead in Frontier Justice’s iron grip. If it’s injuries carried over to its pilots in any way, Soarin didn’t see much hope for them.
“Applejack.”
“Sir?” Applejack responded after an uncomfortably long silence. She was unashamedly crying.
Soarin wished he could hug her. Lie and tell her everything would be okay. “Can you rig Daring for transport?” He said.
