Celestial Lance

 The quick clacking of hooves on the walkway joined the klaxons’ wail. Ponies wearing lab coats and grease-covered overalls leapt to the sides of the corridor as the pilots rushed past. A low rumble cut through the confusion and the ground began to quake.

 “Gotta run faster, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said as she shot past a scientist, blowing his papers into the air. “If we don’t hurry up we’ll miss all the fun!”

 Pinkie Pie followed behind, darting between bodies while Dash went above them. She didn’t have anything to say now. All that was on her mind was her job.

 The two friends finally turned a corner into the hangar. CLOPs – shorthand for Celestial Lance Operating Platforms – milled about getting ready to go into action against the Invaders. They didn’t have a name; they were just called Invaders.

 The platforms were sleek pony-operated machines designed to combat the Invaders. Pinkie, like most pilots had no idea how they were built, only that the mysterious construct known as the Forge produced them. All she knew was that she was good at piloting them – darn good.

 She slipped into the cockpit of her party pink CLOP, smacking the button to close it behind her. After clipping her safety harness shut, Pinkie’s hooves lowered to the two levers that controlled the machine’s movement. She slowly pushed the levers forward, and with its customary smoothness, the CLOP began to move.

 The holographic displays in front of her showed a panoramic view of the outside, thanks to what the eggheads called lens alloy. Right now, the displays featured the hangar, slowly moving past her. As Pinkie pushed the levers further away from her, the hangar turned into a blur, and she shot out of the hangar.

 To the outside observer, CLOPs were little more than a blur as they escaped the confines of the underground hangar. Only with the aid of technological marvels could one make out the form of a Lance Platform at full speed.

 There, in the glare of the setting sun, hung three machines. Much like the CLOPs, the machines were bipedal, with varying number of limbs. One of the Invaders had three arms; the others had two. The design of each differed greatly – one was star-like in shape, another was like a mushroom. Compared to the sleek beauty of the platforms, the Invader machines were a mess.

 One of the Invaders shot forward, the star-shaped one. Grasped in its third arm was a long pole that ended in a half-circle. Electricity crackled between the half-circle’s prongs, arcing outwards towards an oncoming CLOP. The lightning bolt struck home, tearing through the mech like it was cloth.

 “Raiden the thunder god strikes again!” The voice was emanating from speaker alloy on the Invader star-mech. “Do you furbags really think you can challenge me?”

 Raiden twirled the lightning rod in one arm while making a “well, what is it” gesture with the other two. “Come on! Face me one-on-one!”

 “Okay, you want a fight? Butter up, buttercup, cause Rainbow Dash is about to lay down the pain!” Dash’s mech – painted a tasteful blue with the emblem of a thundercloud stamped on the side – darted forward, armblades extended.

 Pinkie had no time to watch the frenetic aerial duel between Raiden and Dash, as another Invader approached her. It held a sheathed katana in one hand, and was moving leisurely.

 “So this is the infamous Pinkie, who shot down so many of my brethren. I suppose I should have expected as much. Quite the garish colour scheme.”

 Okay that was it. Some robot starfish calling her a furbag was one thing, but insulting her platform’s colours? Pink ran in the blood of the Pie family and by gumball she wasn’t gonna let some weird alien dude insult that bloodline.

 “It’s party time!” Pinkie shouted, jamming the levers forward forcibly. With an uncharacteristic jerk, the mecha shot towards the meanie face Invader.

 Unlike the other Invaders, this one was the closest to a CLOP that Pinkie had seen so far. It had the same sleek look, culminating in a slick-looking shogun-like helm on its head.

 She raised the lance that her machine always carried, and thrust it towards him. “Streamer attack!” she shouted as the lance head glowed pink. A spread of equally pink lasers emerged from the tip, streaming towards the Invader.

 With an almost casual maneuver, the shogun Invader brought up his still sheathed sword and spun it. The lasers impacted the sheath, bouncing harmlessly off and dissipating in the air.

 “Shouting your attacks is a poor idea,” he said, stopping the spinning of his sword. “A real warrior fights with presence of mind.”

 The sword swept towards Pinkie and whacked her CLOP in the head where the cockpit lay. She staggered under the blow as the shogun Invader thrust the sword into her metal chest. The platform collapsed under the blow, and began spiraling towards the ground.

 “I see tales of your skill were greatly exaggerated. Such a shame, I was hoping one of you ponies could challenge my arctic might.” Slowly, the Invader began to unsheathe his sword. “But now it’s time for Senric Seablade to finish this.”

 “Not on my watch!” A blue blur slammed into Senric’s machine, knocking the sword out of his hands.

 Pinkie righted herself, breaking out of her downward spiral just in time to see Dash pummeling Senric in the chest.

 Tilting the levers, Pinkie flew higher to where the two mechas were fighting. Sparks flew everywhere as metal struck metal. Dash was doing a fantastic job of distracting Senric, but it was time for Pinkie to shine.

 Right as Pinkie brought her lance around to attack, Senric’s left arm shot out and shoved it away while grabbing Dash’s sharp fists with his other hand.

 “You made the mistake of confronting one of the Emperor’s Finest – one of the Eight Champions, second only to the Elite Four Generals. My fighting prowess is second to none. I am not called Senric Seablade for nothing!”

 With one swift gesture, Senric brought the two CLOPs crashing together. AS they untangled themselves, he flew down and recovered his sword. He unsheathed in a quick motion, clipping the sheath to the side of his mech somehow.

 “For once I’ve found the need to draw my blade. Such a thing rarely happens. You’re the lucky two to taste its billion-folded arctic steel!”

 “You sure love to hear yourself talk!” Dash shouted. “Come on, Pinkie, let’s dust this bozo!”

 “Got it, Dashie!”

 “Combine blast!” Dash grabbed hold of Pinkie’s lance, and the tip began to glow, first blue, then pink, then a combination of the two. A burst of plasma energy erupted from the lance, streaking towards Senric.

 Senric raised his blade, and the energy knocked it out of his hand, flowing around it and striking him in the face. His helm slipped from his head, revealing a glass cockpit. Inside sat a very surprised looking penguin with what looked to be orange eyebrows.

 “How did you get past my impenetrable blade?” he cried out, flapping his wings angrily.

 Senric aimed his machine downward and picked up his sword, resheathing it. “You haven’t seen the last of me, furbags. Senric, Seventh of the Nine Champions will see you again!”

 The Seventh Champion rocketed into the sky, where the eerie green grid of the Rift lay. Within a few moments, he passed through it and vanished.

 Dash watched him leave, arms crossed. “What a loser. First sign’a trouble and he chickened out. Come on Pinkie, let’s jet back to the– Pinkie?”

 Pinkie was busy picking up the helm Senric had left behind. She examined it, bringing it close to her cockpit. Scorch marks blackened the helm where the energy burst had struck, but it was surprisingly in good condition. Pondering it for a brief moment, Pinkie came to a decision.

 In one swift motion, she flipped the helmet around and set it on her head. There was a glow, and the helm fused to her cockpit. She stuck her hands on her hips and turned to Dash.

 “That’s Shogun Pinkie Pie to you! Just you wait, Rainbow Dash. Your good old pal Pinkie Pie will drive off every last one of those Invaders.”

“That’s the Pinks I know and love,” Dash laughed. “Let’s go back and let the eggheads know about Senric.”

***

 Pinkie slipped out of the CLOP’s cockpit, turning to eyeball it. Like all platforms, it was sleek, more curves than anything else. The legs ended in a point for maximum kick damage. The hands were three fingered, and used mainly to hold weapons like the classic lance, or a rifle for those who preferred long-range battles. The head was tapered beneath the shogun helm, and two slits that looked like eyes smoldered in the dark recesses as the magic energy left them.

 She patted the arm gingerly before trotting off. Noticing Dash almost sprinting down the hall, she quickened her pace to match with the pegasus.

 “Hey, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “Fancy meeting you here!”

 “Pinkie Pie, I’d love to hang, but I need to talk to Twilight about what we saw out there. This is the first time we’ve seen an Invader. They gotta know.”

 Pinkie nodded sagely. “Yep. Y’know, I thought the Invaders would be less silly looking. Did you see those eyebrows of his?” She guffawed at the memory.

 Dash paused in front of a door labeled “CIC”. “Hey, Pinkie, can you turn it down a notch? I get the feeling Twilight’s gonna be all business. Like usual.” This last phrase came out of her mouth with a disappointed sigh.

 Pinkie frowned as Dash opened the door and stepped through. She followed soon after, head turning from side to side to catch a glimpse of Twilight.

 The unicorn in question was wearing a white lab coat and standing on a platform overlooking a holographic map of what had once been Canterlot, the city above the underground base. Her tail swished from side to side as she adjusted her glasses to get a better view of the map.

 Red dots marked where CLOPs had fallen during the short battle. There were only three others aside from Pinkie and Dash, and they had all been taken out by Raiden or the third Invader. White dots were moving towards the red ones – medic units about to free the pilots from the wreckage.

 “Hey, Twilight!” Dash practically shouted. She stopped at the other side of the map. “Did you see the combat tapes yet? Did I do awesome or did I do awesome?”

 Twilight frowned. “You did adequately, I guess. Performance isn’t really an issue, survival is, you know. Though it does help. And yes, I have reviewed the tapes. I’m interested in the pilot of that machine you both fought. He seemed to be a penguin, more specifically eudyptes sclateri. This fits with the frequent references to cold temperatures and the large temperature discrepancy around the air near the rift. Now all we have to figure out is where the Invaders are coming from, then Operation Snowfall can begin.”

 “Operation whozit now?” Pinkie cocked her head, brow furrowing in confusion.

 “Operation Snowfall! Where our carrier platform travels through the Rift to the Invader homeland and we take the fight to them. We need to mount a proper offensive, and soon. Once the carrier platform is finished, we’ll start loading volunteer CLOP units aboard it.”

 “I volunteer!” Dash slammed a hoof down on the map table. “You’ll need a healthy dose of radical.”

 Pinkie waved her hoof in the air. “Ooh, ooh, pick me too! I wanna go. If I don’t, who’s gonna plan the victory party?”

 Twilight simply nodded. “Very well, I’ll add your names to the list. Be warned, we don’t know when the construction will be finished or how long it will take to reach the enemy’s capital, or even what we’ll be facing. Your life is your responsibility, not mine.”

 Dash scoffed and shook her head. “I know, I know. You think I got where I am today by being careless?”

 “Hmm,” was all Twilight had to say in response to that.

 “So,” said Dash, leaning against the table, “who’s the geek in charge of that carrier project thingy?”

***

  “Fashion design, weapons design, there’s no real difference between the two.” Rarity tossed her mane as Dash and Pinkie stared at the hologram of the carrier. It resembled a classic aircraft carrier, but the edges were more rounded and the bridge was set between two upswept wings. “Though there’s certainly less sequins and jewels involved in weapons unless you want a fabulous rifle.”

 She skipped over to a nearby metal case, easily six feet high. “Speaking of rifles, I just finished the prototype for a new CLOP weapon. An anti-mecha weapon designed for long-range confrontations.” Rarity opened the case, and levitated a very long rifle out. It resembled the anti-material sniper rifles developed to combat the smaller Invader mechs. “It fires a high velocity, heavy round perfect for destroying the joints of enemy combatants. Against their regular armour, it still does quite a bit of damage, though not enough to cripple or destroy it outright.”

 Pinkie’s eyes had glazed over during Rarity’s long spiel about designing weaponry that had preceded show-and-tell, and the white unicorn paused, obviously picking up on it. “But of course, I can tell you’re rather tired from your excursion. Have no fear, these rifles will soon be standard issue among Lances soon. Well, I mean as soon as we work a few little kinks out.”

 With a grunt, Dash nodded and walked over to where Rarity was standing. “Look, that’s nice and all, but how do you even know this thing will fly? I dunno if we’ve ever made something as big as that.”

 “Well, we haven’t.” Rarity shook her head. “I know you’re a hotshot jockey now, my dear, but there are things beyond the grasp of your intellect. You know a lot about flying and aerial maneuvers, yes, but engineering is something you have no concept of. Dressmaking is a lot like engineering, I’ve found. It’s nothing like flying.”

 “I resent that. I know… I know… eh, you’re right, I don’t know anything about engineering.” She eyed the hologram, frowning deeply. “I hope you’re right and that thing will work. I’d hate to go back to being Rainbow Crash.”

 Rarity giggled. “An invention of mine fail? Ah, it wouldn’t be the first time, but this design is fool proof.”

 Dash only nodded. “Amazing. I’m kinda tired from doin’ all that cool stuff. Catch ya later, Rarity.” When she was half-way through the doorway she paused and turned back to Pinkie. “Yo, Pinks, you gonna head out too?”

 Pinkie blinked. “Yeah, sure. Nice seein’ you, Rarity!”

 Rarity smiled and nodded, waving the two away. “Very nice seeing you again. Please don’t hesitate to come back.”

 The two friends trotted down the bare hallways. Living underground wasn’t ideal, but they had to make do since most of the above ground cities had been destroyed by the Invaders long ago. Rainbow Dash especially hated the underground city, since there was nowhere for her to fly aside from the hangar. She was prone to bouts of cabin fever.

 Nopony but her and Pinkie knew that she’d sometimes slip outside to get some fresh air and stretch her wings. Sometimes she’d go up at night and look at the Rift, its eerie green glow illuminating the landscape like a sickly second sun.

 “It’s nice in a weird way,” she said once. “Like, it’s there and you know what comes out of it… but at the same time it’s… eh, it’s pretty, I guess. I dunno how to describe it.”

 Pinkie had no response to that. She found it hard to remain cheery and perky all the time these days. Rainbow Dash seemed to be doing that plenty for the both of them.

 It didn’t take long for the two to reach their respective rooms – right across from each other.

 “G’night, Pinkie. I hope we don’t get called out again tomorrow.”

 “Night, Rainbow Dash!”

 The two separated and entered their rooms.

 Gummy perked up when he saw Pinkie enter her room. He waddled over and hopped onto her head, sucking in a valiant effort to remain attached to her head. Pinkie scooped him up and laughed.

 “Come on, Gummy, it wasn’t that bad! Only a few hours.”

 Gummy made a croaking sound and waggled his tail forcefully.

 “You know what, Gummy? I have an idea. Why don’t you come with me next time we get called out to fight? It’ll be so much fun and you can get to see what mommy Pinkie Pie does for a change! What do you think?”

 Gummy jumped up and latched onto her hair again, sucking on her mane.

 “Sounds like you agree, Gummy.” Pinkie pried Gummy off again and set him down next to her bed. “It’s time for bed.”

 She leaned over and pulled the chain to the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. Then, she slid into bed and fell asleep, holding Gummy tight to her chest.

***

Elsewhere, in a frozen land…

 Senric marched his way into the great throne room. The Emperor sat on his throne in the centre of the room, ceremonial blade sitting across his lap.

 The Four Generals stood in a half circle in front of the Emperor. There was Mundus the Wolverine, known for his sharp claws both inside and out of his jiarch. Then there was Kyrie the Fox, known for her guile and deceptions. Terinth the Tern sat on Fletch the Caribou’s shoulders, pecking at his feathers to clean them.

 “Senric Seablade,” Mundus hissed. “Did you find what we seek?”

 “Indeed, General. The source of magical energy is right there beneath the ruins of Canterlot. A massive fountain of power.”

 “What luck,” purred Kyrie. “If it’s below Canterlot, then their leadership will be there. Two birds with one stone.”

 Terinth’s head snapped up at that and he squawked angrily at Kyrie.

 “Oh hush, darling. Simply a phrase.”

The bird hopped up and down, still chittering at her.

 “Terinth, calm yourself,” Fletch muttered leisurely, chewing on something. “Perhaps we should make a few more feints at Canterlot before bearing down on it.”

 “If I may speak frankly,” Senric began.

 The Emperor moved, blade scraping the marble floor beneath his feet. The Generals and Senric all looked up to see what he would say.

 “Do not destroy Canterlot without my express permission,” his voice rumbled through the room, echoing in Senric’s chest. “I have foreseen the end of our war.” With that, he returned the blade to his lap and closed his eyes.

 “Well there you have it,” Mundus said with a smile. “We leave Canterlot as it is. A barren waste with ponies cowering beneath it. Dismissed, Senric Seablade.”

 Senric lowered his head and left the circular chambers.

 As he left, Kyrie made a yipping noise. “What an unexpected turn, oh Emperor,” She said turning to face him. “May I ask why you desire for Canterlot to remain unscathed?”

 The Emperor raised his head to look at her. “Because of my vision. I have seen the end of ponies, and it is their own doing.”