Neon Pony Evangelion

Chapters

First Blood
The Fourth Angel Appears
First Day of School
The Fifth Angel Appears
First Date

First Blood

Darkness. Surrounded by darkness, submerged in the sweet smelling fluid known as LCL. A fluid that oxygenated her blood directly. It was a sensation that Rainbow Dash loved. Over the radio she could hear voices running diagnostics and getting her ready for combat. As the checks continued, she sat there, breathing heavily in anticipation of what was about to come, light slowly beginning to fill the entry plug.

"Pilot," one of the voices said. "Please verify that cockpit comm systems are operational."

"Testing, testing. One, two, three. You read me?" Rainbow asked, pausing in her breathing pattern. She wore a helmet that left only her mouth exposed, a red visor covering her face, and her body was covered by a green and grey suit that had three tubes each attached to the gauntlets.

"Loud and clear."

Screens around her lit up with sequences of red data streams as Rainbow settled back into place, groaning and wincing as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry we couldn't get you the new model in time," a male voice that commanded respect said.

"Or a plug suit that doesn't crush my tits!" Rainbow complained, her constrictive suit binding her large D-cups against her.

"I'd be more worried about the fact that you're piloting a scrapped together prototype of an Eva," the voice said in amusement.

"I can deal with it," Rainbow grumbled as she did some checks on her end and activated the video feeds from around her Eva. "The adrenaline will dull the pain. I finally get to pilot something."

The voice laughed a little. "You earned it, Fourth Child. Good luck."

Rainbow's breathing quickened as she kept doing checks on her controls, the systems beginning to hum more loudly. "So damn exciting! Aw listen to that baby purr!" Pylons extended from the shoulders of her Eva and connected to tracks on the ceiling of the tunnel she was in, allowing power to reach the Eva. "Alright then! Evangelion Provisional Unit-05, activate!"

Unit-05's visor lit up with a yellow glow, as did the accents on its body. At Rainbow's urging, it began moving forward, going faster and faster as Rainbow willed it to. True she would have preferred her Eva to be fully formed with arms and legs, but she could work with an Eva on wheels and with only crude claws for hands, the right one holding a spear.

Outside the base, on an anchored ship's bridge, Spitfire watched the display on the screen as the Eva sped toward its target, which was running roughshod over the various tank battalions. "Celestiadammit! How did that thing escape a security system as secure as Tartarus?!"

"Not only was it possible, it was inevitable." Spitfire turned to see the speaker: a white coated unicorn stallion with long blue locks and a blue and purple shield emblazoned on his jacket. "Fact is, ponykind is simply incapable of containing the Angels. We stripped this thing down to the bone while studying it, and all that seemed to do was piss it off."

Spitfire smirked at Shining Armor. "Well lucky for us, we've got an Eva pilot to take the trash out."

"Target inbound!" Fleetfoot called from her computer. "Eva Unit-05 preparing for hostile engagement!"

It's time to face the day.
Time to make it snappy.
But you know, first you gotta make it outta bed!

Rainbow Dash sang her jaunty little tune with a wide smile as she sped down the tunnel network, Unit-05's energy pylons sparking against the tracks in the ceiling that supplied the Eva with power.

Hello, Mr. Sunshine.
Today you're gonna be mine.
Make you pinkie swear there's only sunny skies ahead.
Take on the day with the one two punch!

As she sang, Rainbow moved into a tunnel lit only by red emergency lights, three thick security doors closing behind her. "And there it is! Deploy field!" she said cheerfully as she spotted her target.

The Angel was certainly an ugly thing. It had a shell like brace around what remained of its skeleton that was fitted with four arms and four legs, on which it was scurrying toward her. The tail and neck were pretty long, and she could barely make out its core in the back of its mouth.

Rainbow's smile morphed into a bloodthirsty grin as she reared back with her spear. "Aw yeah!" She lunged at the Angel, the spear tip piercing through the barrier that appeared before it without any problems. Unfortunately, the Angel was more nimble than she thought and dodged past her. "Dammit!" she yelled as she started turning around, only to be hindered by her momentum. "Shit this thing is stiff!"

A pair of short drills deployed from the bottom of Unit-05 and dug into the tunnel floor to try to slow it down, its movement finally halted by slamming against a sealed passageway, the back wheels sliding up to the door. "Alright. You wanna play that way, huh?" Rainbow asked as she urged her Eva after the escaping Angel.

The Angel unleashed a powerful blast from its eye holes and blasted clean through the trio of blast doors, passing into the chamber beyond and stopping, a yellow halo forming above it that cut through the ceiling and brought it down, catching the cylinder of metal and pushing it up as it lifted the Angel up the new shaft.

"Target is heading for the final seal!" Fleetfoot reported.

"What the hell is Rainbow Dash doing?!" Spitfire yelled as they watched a cylinder of metal rise up from the top of the base before being split into pieces and falling apart by the Angel's AT-Field.

Rainbow reached the hole and detached Unit-05's shoulder pylons, firing a set of thrusters that sent her rocketing up the shaft. "No you don't! Get back here!" she screamed as she closed in on the Angel and impaled it against one of the surrounding pillars. It reacted by letting out a loud howl and unleashing its eye beams at Unit-05, shearing off part of its right front leg.

Rainbow cried out as pain washed through her senses, her link with Unit-05 may have made it easier to pilot, but it also meant she felt the pain of its injuries. "Shit! That would really hurt if this wasn't so much fun!" Unit-05's left claw lunged up and closed on the Angel's core. She glanced at a counting down timer and saw that it had just dropped below 30 seconds. "Time's almost up! Better make this quick!" She growled as she tried to bring up the right arm. "Dammit! The arms weren't properly synced! This damn thing is starting to fall apart on me!"

The Angel unleashed its beam again, this time shearing off all four of Unit-05's legs, which fell to the roof of the base. Rainbow groaned in pain as she endured the pain, a couple of her right gauntlet's cables having come unhooked. "Fine! You want it that badly?! Just take the arm!" she snapped as she disconnected the third cable from her gauntlet, some of her view screens flickering. Immediately, Unit-05's right claw shot up and clamped onto the Angel's core right beside its left, prying its jaws open to let out a roar.

Rainbow pushed her left control handle forward with both hands to help Unit-05, cracking sounds starting to come from the core. "That's enough! Just! Fucking! DIE!!!" The core finally broke into several pieces and burst into blood like liquid before Unit-05 deactivated and fell from the pillar, the Angel exploding and creating a cross shaped pillar of light as Unit-05 landed face down on the roof of the base.

"Target obliterated," Soarin reported. "Unit-05 is intact and pilot life signs are still green."

A hatch at the back of Unit-05's neck opened, allowing the entry plug to extend out. A hatch on each cardinal side opened and allowed the LCL to spray out before a hatch opened and Rainbow Dash crawled from it, falling somewhat roughly onto the roof after getting down from her Eva. "Ow that hurt," she groaned. "Syncing with an Eva is even more brutal than they warned." Sitting up, Rainbow pressed a button on her helmet that retracted her visor to the sides of her helmet, revealing her magenta eyes and a trail of blood flowing down her face. Pulling the helmet off, she shook her chromatic locks free and lovingly patted her inactive Eva. "Well, we're still alive, buddy." She groaned in pain and clenched at her plug suit, finally ripping it off with a sigh of relief. The suit fell from her torso and allowed her majestic, cyan wings to spread. Slipping her arms out of the suit, she started massaging her chest. "Oh my poor boobs," she groaned as a helicopter landed behind her.

Spitfire and a medical team ran up to Rainbow, the captain stopping at the sight before her. "Rainbow Dash, why are you fondling yourself?"

"This plug suit's too tight, Captain," Rainbow explained as she kept up her massage even as the medics looked her over. "My breasts have gone numb, I'm trying to get the blood flowing again."

"I see..." Spitfire muttered as she looked at Unit-05. "That Angel did a number on Unit-05. That's gonna cost a lot to fix." She waited for the medics to bandage up Rainbow's head wound before tossing a duffel bag beside her. "Get dressed. The princess is gonna want a report from your own mouth."

"Yes, ma'am," Rainbow said as she grabbed the bag and opened it. Quickly getting dressed in the uniform she'd been provided, she stood and put on her hat before turning to Spitfire and nodding. "Let's not keep Princess Celestia waiting."

Spitfire nodded and led Rainbow to the chopper and boarded it, where a video feed started up on a mounted screen, showing Princess Celestia. Spitfire and Rainbow snapped to attention and saluted their commander in chief.

"At ease," Celestia said with a warm smile. "Are you feeling alright, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow relaxed and cracked her neck. "I kinda hurt all over. Syncing with an Eva is brutal, but I managed to kill the Third Angel."

"Well done, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said with a nod. "Captain Spitfire, please make sure Unit-05 is repaired and fully operational as soon as possible. Once it is, Rainbow Dash and Unit-05 will be transported to Canterlot and assigned to active duty."

"Yes, ma'am," Spitfire said with a nod. "If I may, what of Canterlot's current defensive forces?"

"Unit-00 is still in suspension, but we'll soon be receiving the Third Child, so we can get Unit-01 up and running," Celestia said.

Rainbow chuckled. "That egghead piloting an Eva? That I gotta see."

"We're sorry. Due to the state of emergency that has been declared, all lines are currently out of service."

Twilight sighed as the line cut off. "Of course these lines are cut off," she muttered as she hung up the phone. "And my cell isn't getting any reception either."

The Fourth Angel Appears

Twilight sighed as she pulled out her tablet and brought up her email, looking at the message she'd received from Princess Celestia for at least the 50th time. Even if she couldn't send messages, she could review her inbox while waiting for her ride.

My dear student, Twilight,

There is only so far that your studies can take you over video conversations one on one. So I've arranged for you to come to Canterlot to attend my school directly. I'm sure you'll blossom even more in this environment, and I have another request for you during your time in Canterlot: please try to make some friends.

Sincerely yours, Princess Celestia

Twilight rolled her eyes at the friends thing. "Please. I don't need friends to succeed in life." She looked up when the wind suddenly picked up, putting her tablet away. "What's going on?" Her answer came in the form of a fleet of VTOL fighters coming into view retreating from something. Twilight shifted her footing as she felt impact tremors from the footsteps of something massive.

Said massive thing soon came into view, the fighters surrounding it. The creature was as tall as a skyscraper, largely green, had its face: a skull like plate with a beak like extension pointing straight down and a pair of eye holes, on the middle of its chest, with no neck or skull. The shoulders were bulky and massive, and its arms were long enough to reach past its knees. Most curious of all was the red object embedded in its chest between bony protrusions that looked like ribs.

Twilight's eyes widened at the sight of this creature before ducking as missiles flew at it and detonated before hitting it, knocking it back somewhat. A glowing spear like object shot out of the smoke and severed an engine from one of the fighters, which fell and landed mere meters from Twilight, who was knocked onto her rear by the tremor. She heard a sound like a sort of hum before the creature, having made a massive jump, came down and landed in front of her, a foot crushing the fighter it had just downed as Twilight screamed.

A blue car came to a halt in front of Twilight, its tires screeching as it did. Looking at it, she saw the passenger side window roll down to show the driver: a mare with a horn, wings, sunglasses, and a smile on her face.

"Hi there, Twilight. It's been a while," she greeted. "Sorry I'm late."

Twilight scrambled to her feet and pulled the door open to get in the car. "Drive! Drive! Drive!" she screamed as she slammed her door. She jostled a bit as she buckled up from the car starting to move again, peeling out right before the creature's foot came down on the spot the car had been on.

More missiles were launched at the creature as they sped away from it, detonating before hitting as before. Bombers dropped their payloads onto it from above, and as Twilight looked back at the fight, she saw the missiles impact against a multicolored octagonal barrier that surrounded the creature before detonating.

Only when they were safely away from the fighting did Twilight calm down, taking several deep breaths. "We made it..." She then looked at the driver. "Good to see you too, Cadance. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Twilight," Cadance replied with a smile.

"Now then..." Twilight began. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?!"

Cadance winced at Twilight's volume as she swerved a bit in surprise. "Well... That thing was a life form called an Angel. Next to nothing is known of their origins, and even less of their motives. But we do know that they want to destroy ponykind."

"Those missiles and bombs weren't hurting it," Twilight noted. "I saw barriers form around it."

"They're called AT-Fields," Cadance said. "It's a barrier that every Angel can project. It makes conventional weapons useless for anything but slowing it down."

"So how are you going to stop it?" Twilight asked, a worried look crossing her face before a giant explosion went off over a foothill that sent up a mushroom cloud. Screaming, Twilight's horn glowed and she threw up a barrier around the car right before the shockwave of the explosion hit them and passed over the barrier.

"Shock absorber and inertial dampening. You've gotten a lot better, Twilight," Cadance complimented as the shockwave passed. Only then did Twilight drop her barrier while breathing heavily. "That was the blast of a balefire bomb," she explained as she pulled into a lift, which sealed behind them and started moving downward. "By the way. Aunty sent you an ID card, right?"

"Yeah," Twilight said with a nod as she pulled out the card she'd been sent.

"That's good," Cadance said as she passed a booklet over to Twilight.

Twilight took the booklet in hand and stared at the words on the cover. "Welcome to NERV? Isn't that the organization that Princess Celestia runs? I'm going to be working with them somehow?"

"You'll see soon enough," Cadance said as they exited the lift shaft and came into the open air of the space below Canterlot.

Twilight looked out the window in awe. "Wow. The real Geofront." Her gaze fell to a pyramid at the bottom of the cavern, the corner of which was in a lake in an inverted pyramid. "And that's NERV headquarters?"

"Yup," Cadance confirmed as Twilight began speed reading the booklet she'd been given. "The key in the effort to rebuild our world, and ensure Ponykind's place in it."

Celestia sat at her desk as she watched the view screen flicker, ignoring the cheers of the fools who thought a single balefire bomb could kill an Angel. She sighed as the display came back up, revealing the Angel to be only wounded, not dead. Much of its flesh had melted away, but it was slowly regenerating. Her eyes narrowed as the Angel's faceplate was pushed upward to reveal a second one without a beak. "Luna. Have Starlight prepare Unit-01 for deployment."

Before her sister could answer, a holographic screen came up revealing a unicorn in a labcoat and suit dress with a purple mane streaked with blue. "Princess Celestia. I just got word from Cadance. She's arrived with the Third Child. As we speak, Unit-01 is being prepared for deployment."

"Good. We have some time before the Fourth Angel starts moving again," Celestia said with a smile. "I'll be down shortly."

"Understood," Starlight said before cutting the connection.

Twilight looked around as she followed Cadance off the elevator onto a dock next to a lake of liquid that looked like blood. An inflated speedboat carried them across to another dock that led up to another door. To the door's right was what looked like a locking mechanism holding what appeared to be an arm in place.

They were met at the door by Starlight. "You're a little late, Cadance." She looked at Twilight. "And you must be our princess' prize pupil. Starlight Glimmer. Head of Project E technology division, section 1."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Glimmer," Twilight greeted with a smile.

Starlight smiled back. "Follow me. I'd like to show you something." Leading the pair inside, the door shut behind them, plunging them into total darkness. This only lasted for a few seconds before lights came on and illuminated a head armored in purple plating with green trim, a long horn extending from the front of the helmet.

Twilight's eyes widened. "What the... What is this thing?!"

"The most advanced weapon system ever developed by ponies," Starlight said with a proud smirk. "The Synthetic Equinoid Evangelion. This is Unit-01."

"And you will be the pilot, Twilight," Celestia's voice echoed from above, in a monitoring room above the Eva. She looked at Twilight with a smile, her white dress gently hugging her graceful form. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, my faithful student," she said. "Only you have the ability to pilot Unit-01."

"But... I don't have the training!" Twilight protested, looking at Unit-01 with some apprehension.

"We have enough time to give you a crash course before you go into battle with the Angel," Celestia said. "Nopony else can do this."

Twilight looked down, remembering what Cadance told her about the desire of the Angels to destroy ponykind. From what Celestia was saying, she was the only one that could pilot the only thing capable of killing them. Clenching her fist, she looked up at Celestia and nodded. "I'll do it."

Twilight shivered from the cold of the docking bay as she pulled on the plug suit she'd been provided: a purple with blue trim thing that, once the air was decompressed out of it, snugly fit her like a second skin. Made her understand why she had to strip naked before putting it on. She then slipped the headband provided to her on, the band hidden by her mane and the studs poking above it. Stepping out from behind the changing screen, she nodded to Starlight and Cadance.

"Alright. Remember, Twilight. Each Angel has a body part called the core," Starlight said as Unit-01 was lifted from the lake of what Twilight now knew to be LCL. "It's a large red sphere. That is the Angel's only weak spot. Only by destroying it can the Angel be killed."

"Got it," Twilight said before climbing into the entry plug and shutting the hatch before settling into the cockpit, further familiarizing herself with the controls as the plug was loaded into Unit-01. Once in place, the plug was flooded with LCL. It was rather disorienting at first, but Twilight quickly got used to the sensation of liquid based respiration. She blinked as the screen around her lit up in a multitude of colors before fading into a display of her surroundings.

The umbilical bridge was detached and retracted from the Eva as the arm restraints were released and pulled away, while the back was plugged with an umbilical cable to provide power to Unit-01. Twilight took to maintaining a slow breathing pattern as a lift transported Unit-01 to a magnetic catapult, a number of security gates being opened to provide a path. She felt a tremor from the surface as the Angel attacked the city in earnest, seeking to penetrate the Geofront.

Cadance stood in the command center with Starlight, Celestia, Luna, and the support team. Turning to Celestia, she looked up at her. "Last chance to abort."

"No," Celestia said with a shake of her head. "We have to kill that Angel or ponykind is doomed. Twilight? Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Twilight answered. "Let's do it."

Cadance nodded. "Alright! Launch Unit-01!" The catapult launched the Eva up through the tunnel, Twilight grimacing at the g forces being applied to her even through the LCL as the lift stopped at the surface in the middle of an empty street, the Angel turning a corner as the final restraints were released. "Evangelion Unit-01, move out!"

Twilight took a deep breath as she clenched her fist, Unit-01 doing the same. "Remember, Twilight. The Eva may have hand controls, but its movements are largely controlled by your thoughts. The entry plug slot is analogous to a circuit breaker. Once the plug is in place, the circuit connects and the Eva's body will respond to your nerve impulses as though it were your own body. So treat it as an extension of yourself." Starlight's words echoed in Twilight's mind as she pressed a sequence of buttons on her left control stick, opening Unit-01's left shoulder pylon to deploy a sheathed knife. Unit-01 reached up with its right hand and grabbed the hilt, drawing the blade, which began vibrating at high frequencies along the cutting edge.

Taking a step forward, Twilight took another breath to steel herself before charging at the Angel with a battle cry, lunging at it with her knife. Unfortunately, she found to her detriment that the Angel only looked unintelligent. Time and again, Twilight attempted to get past its guard to stab its core while also keeping the Angel from striking her in turn. But the Angel had an answer for every lunge, parry, and riposte. A more experienced fighter would truthfully have no trouble with this opponent, but Twilight had never seen combat. And though she was able to pilot the Eva without having it fall flat on its face, she had no training in actual combat.

Finally, the Angel managed to seize Unit-01's face in its left hand before grabbing the Eva's left forearm, its muscles expanding before it started pulling.

Twilight gripped her left forearm as she felt the pain of her arm being pulled, before the air was rent by a sickening crunch as Unit-01's arm was broken. Twilight screamed as the pain washed through her system and made it impossible for her to retaliate. The Angel then began ramming Unit-01's head with the spear in its arm, Twilight gripping her head around the point of impact as the pain kept her down. Finally, the armor gave way and Unit-01 was launched into a building. As the spear was retracted, it slumped over, blood spraying from the entry and exit wounds as Twilight blacked out.

"Abort mission!" Cadance yelled. "Get Twilight out of there! Eject the plug!"

"It's no good! We're completely cut off from Unit-01!" Sugarbelle reported even as she desperately tried to get the signal through to the downed Eva.

"Twilight," Celestia muttered, beside herself with worry and fear.

"Unit-01 has reactivated!" Double Diamond reported in surprise.

"It what?!" Sugarbelle asked. "That shouldn't be possible!"

They all watched as Unit-01 got up and pried its jaws open to reveal red teeth before letting out a loud howl.

"It's gone berserk," Starlight muttered.

Unit-01 knelt down and leaped through the air to land on the Angel, which after a brief struggle, knocked the Eva loose. Landing in a crouch, Unit-01 turned and charged at the Angel, which stood up in time to deploy its AT-Field, which Unit-01 slammed against and punched repeatedly before lifting its broken arm, the flesh underneath spreading to cover the forearm before vanishing back under it to reveal the damage healed.

Both hands working again, Unit-01 gripped the Angel's AT-Field and started corroding it with its own, quickly tearing right through. As it roared, the Angel unleashed a blast of purple energy that extended past Unit-01 and formed into a cross shape. Undamaged by the blast, Unit-01 grabbed both of the Angel's arms in one hand and twisted, breaking the arms before kicking the Angel into a building. Without a moment's rest given, Unit-01 charged again and tackled the Angel, pinning it before punching the core a couple of times.

Seeing that its punches weren't working, Unit-01 ripped out one of the rib like protrusions and began smashing it against the core, doing visible damage. After six strikes, the Angel moved again and wrapped itself around the Eva, the core dissolving into blood like fluid before the Angel exploded, the explosion forming a cross that extended into the sky.

"Where's the Eva?" Cadance asked weakly before the view came back up, showing Unit-01 standing with minimal damage.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Celestia smiled. "Expedite recovery of Unit-01."

"Yes, ma'am," Starlight responded.

Twilight groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "I'm... alive? And still in Unit-01. What happened? Where's the Angel?" She looked to her right and saw the hole in Unit-01's helmet where the Angel had pierced it. It was an empty space, right before an eye grew into the space and stared at the reflection. Twilight stared blankly for several seconds before it truly registered what she had just witnessed, and she needed to react calmly, professionally, and rationally.

She screamed her loudest yet.

First Day of School

Twilight groaned and slowly opened her eyes, seeing an unfamiliar white ceiling. A hospital room, she realized. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, and she could hear birds singing.

"That was quite the rough fight last night," a male voice said from beside her.

Twilight gasped in surprise as she turned to look at the speaker: a unicorn about her age with emerald green eyes, sapphire blue mane and tail with amethyst highlights, and a ruby red coat. He wore a simple outfit:white button up shirt and blue pants. He was looking at her with a smile.

"Sorry I startled you," he said, still smiling at her. "Are you alright?"

Twilight slowly sat up as she nodded. "I'm okay. Feel like I was repeatedly hit in the head with a sledgehammer, but I'm okay." She looked away from him. "Um... Who are you?"

He chuckled. "Sorry. My name is Facet. It's nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle."

"H-How do you know my name?" Twilight asked in suspicion, blushing darkly as Facet climbed onto the bed, holding himself above her on his hands and knees, still with that smile on his face. "Uh... What are you..." she was cut off by him leaning in and deeply sniffing her hair.

"The scent of LCL suits you, Twilight," Facet muttered as he pulled back enough to look her in the eye, chuckling at her darkening blush before starting to close the distance again, moving slowly. "And so beautiful too," he breathed as their lips brushed together.

Twilight's eyes shot open as she gasped. She looked around her hospital room, completely alone. She climbed out of bed and left the room in search of something to drink. Finding a drinking fountain, she drank from it eagerly, the cool water soothing her parched throat and easing the dull ache in her head. After finally quenching her thirst, she stepped away from the fountain and turned to look out the window, staring at her reflection as she slowly raised her fingertips to her lips, feeling the phantom sensation. "A dream. It was just a dream," she muttered, trying reassure herself. "It was nothing."

"Twilight!" Cadance called as she ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "So glad you're okay!"

"What happened?" Twilight asked as she pulled out of the hug. "I remember I was fighting the Angel, I blacked out, then when I woke up, it was gone and... Unit-01..."

Cadance nervously chuckled. "Yeah, we probably should have told you that the Evas aren't robots. They're biomechanical lifeforms similar to the Angels. We're extremely careful to keep them restrained at all times. As for what happened after you blacked out. Unit-01 went berserk and killed the Angel on its own. An Eva going berserk means that it starts acting on its own without pilot input."

"I see," Twilight said. "And after I screamed at the eye regenerating? I don't remember anything after that."

"That's because you fainted," Cadance said with a light giggle.

"Oh," Twilight muttered with a blush before a pair nurses rolled a bed past them. The bed was occupied by a pegasus girl with long pink hair and a yellow coat. She had bandages around her head and on her right eye, and her right arm was in a cast. Twilight looked her in the eye as she passed by. "Cadance, who is that girl?"

"Fluttershy Sandora," Cadance said. "The First Child, and designated pilot of Eva Unit-00."

"What happened to her?" Twilight asked.

"An accident during a synchronization test with Unit-00," Cadance explained. "The Eva went berserk and she got hurt in the process." She put her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "On to a more cheerful topic. You'll be living with me."

"Really?" Twilight asked with a smile. "Glad I get to live with somepony I know."

Twilight let out a content sigh as she stripped off her clothes in preparation for a hot bath after dinner. Cadance was still an amazing cook. Depositing her clothes in the hamper, Twilight opened the door from the laundry room to the bathroom, only to be perplexed by the sight of a short, purple creature covered in scales rubbing itself down with a towel.

Said creature looked up at her with green eyes that had slitted pupils, an eyeridge arching.

Twilight finally fully registered the situation and screamed loudly, running to the living room. "Cadance! There's a thing in there!"

"A thing?" Cadance asked in confusion.

"A purple, scaly thing!" Twilight exclaimed before yelping as she felt the heat of flames mere inches from her ass.

"I am not a thing!" the purple reptile indignantly snapped as he stalked pasted Twilight. "My name is Spike! And you will fear my fire breath!"

"Oh. Him," Cadance said with a giggle as Spike continued past her. "He's a dragon, actually. Just think of him as another roommate."

"Yeah. And never call me a thing again," Spike said as he grabbed a bowl of gemstones and started eating them as he sat down on a scaled to size chair and grabbed a book. "I can heat water myself, so don't worry about the hot water." He shot Twilight a smirk. "Nice tits, by the way."

Twilight suddenly remembered she was naked in front of a male and yelped as she covered herself with her arms, blushing up a storm. "You little pervert!" she snapped back as she went into the bathroom, ignoring the dragon's laughter.

Twilight lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She couldn't get that dream she'd had in the hospital out of her head. Getting up, she went to Cadance, who was reading in her room. "Cadance? Do you have Dr. Glimmer's number?"

"Need to talk to her?" Cadance asked as she grabbed her phone.

Twilight nodded. "Something on my mind, and I can't sleep because of it."

Cadance nodded in understanding as she called Starlight and passed Twilight the phone.

"Thanks," Twilight said as she went to her room for some privacy.

"Hello?" Starlight's voice came when she picked up.

"Dr. Glimmer? It's Twilight. Can I talk to you about something?" Twilight asked.

"Of course. What's on your mind?" Starlight asked.

"Uh, well..." Twilight hesitated. "Does the name Facet mean anything to you?"

"Ruby red coat, emerald green eyes, sapphire blue mane with amethyst highlights, and he's a unicorn?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah. That's him. Do you know anything about him?" Twilight asked.

"Facet Orichalcum. The sixth qualified pilot chosen in accordance with the Yearling Report. The Sixth Child, and the only male among the Eva pilots," Starlight explained. "His assigned Eva is still under construction, so he won't be assigned to active duty for quite some time. In the meantime, he's enrolled at Celestia's School, same as you, so you're likely to meet him soon. Why do you ask? And on that note, how did you learn his name?"

"Well... It's just..." Twilight gulped as her face flushed. "I had a dream about him when I was in the hospital. He introduced himself, asked how I was feeling, and then..."

"What happened then?" Starlight gently pressed, greatly interested in this dream.

"He... climbed onto my bed and hovered over me." Twilight was feeling a little sweaty at the memory. "He sniffed my hair. Said the scent of LCL suits me. And then he..." She shivered a little at the memory as her blush grew. "He kissed me."

"Facet is noted to have interest in interacting with his fellow pilots," Starlight said. "And LCL's scent, known only to pilots, is very distinctive, so he has identified his fellows as pilots by that scent. He also has little regard for personal space at times. Though he's never gone so far as to kiss any of the other pilots." Starlight was silent for several seconds. "Maybe the dream was prophetic."

"Prophetic?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's said that if a mare sees a stallion in her dreams before ever meeting him, it's means that stallion is her true love."

Twilight's blush engulfed her face. "I don't believe in such silly superstitions!"

Starlight laughed at Twilight's outburst. "It's just an idea, Twilight. No need to get worked up. In any case, I wouldn't worry too much about it. People we've never met can appear in dreams if we've seen them. Even if we don't remember seeing them. Remember that dreams are a byproduct of the sleeping mind organizing data."

"Yeah. Thanks for the talk, Dr. Glimmer," Twilight said with a smile. "I feel better now."

"Glad I could help," Starlight said warmly. "You should get some sleep. Tomorrow's your first day of school after all."

Twilight chuckled. "Yeah. Good night, Dr. Glimmer."

"Sleep well, Twilight."

"Everypony. We have a new student joining us today," Cheerilee said with a smile. "Ms. Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight nervously smiled as she stood beside the teacher. "Hi. Nice to meet everypony."

"Nice to meet you too!" a pink pony returned, suddenly standing right in front of Twilight, making her jump back in shock. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" She pulled three other ponies close to her. A mare with a white coat and royal purple curls to her mane and tail, a mare with a blond mane in a ponytail with a stetson, and... Twilight blushed as she laid eyes on Facet Orichalcum. "This is Rarity, Applejack, and Facet! Now you have friends at school!"

Twilight nervously laughed at Pinkie's energy, blushing when Facet stepped closer to her and sniffed her mane.

Rarity blushed at the sight. "Facet, really! Learn to respect a mare's personal space!" she snapped in outrage.

Facet stepped back and smiled at Twilight. "The sweet scent of LCL. You were the one that fought that Angel the other night, weren't you?" The entire room fell silent at his question.

Twilight felt the whole room staring at her, waiting for her answer. Gulping, she slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah. That was me." The whole class erupted into chatter and words of gratitude, calling Twilight a hero. Though that noise quickly fell silent when a fist impacted Twilight's face and knocked her into the wall with a yelp of pain.

"Applejack!" Rarity scolded, aghast at what the blond had done. "That is no way to treat the one who saved all our lives!" She helped Twilight to her feet with a look of concern. "I do apologize for her."

Twilight glared at Applejack. "What did I do to you anyway?!"

"Wasn't gonna feel right till Ah did," Applejack answered. "Mah little sister's in the hospital 'cause o you."

"I do hope it was worth the detention you just earned," Cheerilee said with a frown.

"Sorry about Applejack, Twilight!" Pinkie said as she bounced around her family's bakery preparing treats. "I just know she'll come around!"

"Pinkie is right," Rarity said as she painted Twilight's nails, which had taken a great deal of convincing. "Her little sister Apple Bloom means the world to her. They lost their parents in an accident, and their brother died in the Second Impact. She's the only family Applejack has left, so she's very protective."

"Now I feel kind of bad," Twilight said with a crestfallen look, looking up at Facet as he laid his hand on the one Rarity didn't have in her grip.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Twilight," Facet said with that gentle smile. "Apple Bloom's injuries aren't your fault. Don't dwell on the one that got hurt. Focus on the many more that you saved."

Twilight thought for a few seconds and nodded. "You're right. She'll probably come around once her sister's okay." She gave Facet a smile. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Any time, Twilight," Facet answered as he returned Twilight's smile.

The Fifth Angel Appears

"And I said, 'oatmeal?! Are you crazy?!'" Twilight and Facet laughed at Pinkie's joke as they walked toward Sugarcube Corner after school.

"Pinkie have you thought about doing stand up?" Twilight asked as they reached Sugarcube Corner and went inside.

"Not really!" Pinkie chirped. "You two grab some seats and I'll grab us some sweets!" She hopped behind the counter and left Twilight alone with Facet, who pulled a chair out for her with a smile.

"Thank you, Facet," Twilight said, smiling back as she sat down.

"So how's the training at HQ?" Facet asked as he sat down across from her. "Things going well or are they a little rough?"

"It's going really well. If the simulator is anything to go by, I'm getting better and better as a pilot." She glanced to the side. "Hopefully I'll be better able to fight when the next Angel attacks."

"I'm sure you will," Facet said in a reassuring tone. "And hopefully you won't have to fight by yourself again. Dr. Glimmer tells me that Unit-00 is being taken out of suspension, and with Unit-01's success in combat, Unit-02 and its pilot are undergoing evaluation."

"Glad to hear it," Twilight said. "Will Fluttershy be able to pilot when Unit-00 is ready?"

"From what I can tell, she will be," Facet answered. "She's tougher than she looks. I'd say she was chosen as the first pilot for a reason."

Twilight was about to say something else when Pinkie returned with milkshakes and passed them around the table before sitting down. "Pinkie? How are you so cheerful despite how the world is? I mean, Applejack seems pretty affected by losing most of her family."

Pinkie looked down at her milkshake with a more somber smile. "Well... I'm actually adopted. Me and my twin sister Marble."

"Your parents died in the Second Impact?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie nodded. "My older sisters too. Limestone was with mom and dad, and Maud..." She sniffled as her mane became less poofy and more subdued in color. "Maud was at ground zero..."

"I'm so sorry I brought that up," Twilight said softly, looking at the table. It was well known that there had been no survivors at ground zero of the Second Impact.

"It's okay," Pinkie said as she smiled at Twilight. "The last time I saw Maud, we spent the whole day at a carnival, and before she left, she gave me a big hug and told me she loved me." Reaching into a pouch she was never without, Pinkie withdrew a small rock. "She left this with me too. Her pet rock. His name is Boulder, and I take good care of him, like Maud asked. He's all I have to remember her by."

Before more could be said, alarm klaxons started going off. "Attention. A state of emergency has been declared. Please proceed to the nearest evacuation point."

"That's your cue, Twilight," Facet said as they stood up.

"Right," Twilight said with a resolute look on her face.

From her seat in the command center, Celestia watched as the city transformed and assumed its fortress configuration, artillery batteries, machine guns, and missile silos taking position as a camera feed showed the approaching Angel. Where the Fourth had been largely humanoid, this one more resembled a crustacean. Bright red shell with eye spots on top, a pair of claw like arms forward of it, and a multitude of white, multijointed legs surrounding and providing protection for its core. She could only scowl as the gun batteries opened fire, their shots being blocked by the Angel's AT-Field.

"Waste of the taxpayers' money right there," Starlight said with a sigh.

"Guess these military types won't be satisfied until they fire all their bullets," Cadance replied with a scowl.

"Eva mobilization has been requested," Double Diamond reported as he hung up the phone next to his console.

"They don't get it, do they?" Cadance asked. "We'll mobilize whether they ask us to or not."

Facet glanced around the shelter he sat in, his gaze finally coming to rest on Applejack, who sat scowling next to a wall. Going over to her, he sat down. "Why are you so angry at Twilight? She had no idea your sister was where she was when she got hurt. So you can't blame her."

"She was pilotin' the thing, so sure Ah can," Applejack retorted.

"You don't seem to fully grasp the stakes of the conflict," Facet said before a shockwave shock the shelter. "Would you like to see what she's up against out there?"

"Huh?" Applejack looked at him in confusion.

"Eva pilots can go places civilians can't," Facet said. "Come with me. I'll show you what our fight is against, give you a little perspective."

Applejack thought about it for a few moments before nodding. "Alright. Show me what's goin' on out there."

Twilight winced at the G forces the launch pad put her under as she was rocketed to the surface. Unlike her fight with the Fourth Angel, this time she emerged from underground in an extension of a building that had opened facing away from the Angel, giving her the element of surprise. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. "Deploy Field." The air in front of her shimmered as Unit-01's AT-Field materialized.

Grabbing the ready gatling gun, she quickly emerged from her cover and opened fire on the Angel, which had risen up onto the rear of its body, bullets impacting its AT-Field as spent casings flew, some crushing cars that they landed on.

Away from the fight, on a hill overlooking the action stood Facet and Applejack. "See what I mean, Applejack?" Facet asked. "The stakes are high in this fight."

"That sure is a weird lookin' thing she's fightin'," Applejack conceded as the Angel disappeared in the gun's blast cloud. Several seconds after Twilight stopped firing, a whip of light slashed out of the cloud and severed the barrels of her gun and the top half of the catapult. "She's already gettin' thrashed!"

"The fight begins in earnest," Facet remarked as he watched the battle with a serene smile.

Twilight dodged the Angel's attacks with some difficulty as she made her way to the spare rifle that had been sent up. Grabbing it, she took a few shots at the Angel. "I'm neutralizing its AT-Field, right?!" She dodged another whip, but gasped when she saw a countdown pop up at five minutes and start counting down.

"Umbilical cable severed!" Double Diamond reported.

"Unit-01 has switched to auxiliary power!" Sugarbelle reported.

Before Twilight could take another shot at the Angel, one of its whips wrapped around Unit-01's ankle and hurled the Eva through the air, the rifle falling from its hand as she fell toward a distant hill. She groaning as she recovered from the impact. Seeing the Angel coming, she was about to move to attack when she saw a pair of people between the fingers of Unit-01's left hand, having narrowly avoided being crushed. A quick magnification revealed Facet and Applejack. "Dammit!"

Turning her sight back to the Angel, Unit-01's hands shot up and caught its whips, holding them in place. She whimpered as the pain shot through her hands, which trembled as they gripped her controls. Ignoring Cadance's calls for a sitrep, she extended the entry plug from Unit-01 and opened the secondary access hatch, a ladder lowering quickly. "Facet! Applejack! Get in! Now!"

"Time to go," Facet said with a cheerful smile as he led Applejack to the ladder and scaled it with her close behind. Once they jumped into the entry plug, Twilight closed the hatch.

"There's water in here?!" Applejack asked as they were plunged into darkness.

"Ah fresh LCL," Facet sighed as the display, flickering from the damage Unit-01 was taking.

Once her friends were secure, Twilight threw the Angel back and stood up, Unit-01's hand armor melted from holding the whips for so long. Before, Twilight had been moving on adrenaline from being scared. Now? Now she was seething in silent rage. In the background, Cadance was telling her to retreat, but Twilight ignored it and drew her progressive knife.

"Twilight I gave you an order!" Cadance snapped. "Retreat!"

Twilight cut off the two way radio and charged at the Angel with a scream of rage as Unit-01's time limit dropped below a minute. Too little time to worm past the Angel's guard, so she bit the bullet and charged head on. As she predicted, the Angel speared Unit-01 on its whips. Biting her lip as she fought through the pain, she closed the distance and plunged her blade into the Angel's core, both hands pushing her right control stick forward as far as it would go to push the blade deeper. Glancing at the clock, she saw ten seconds left. Growling, she screamed as she threw Unit-01's right knee up and impacted the pommel of her knife, driving it completely into the core, Unit-01's knee guard snapping off as the core split in two, causing the Angel to disintegrate just as unit-01 shut down and fell to the ground, the Angel's blood raining down on it.

"Unit-01 has shut down," Sugarbelle reported.

"Target has disintegrated," Double Diamond added.

Despite the victory, Cadance was seething silently, glaring at Twilight's brazen disobedience. "That only worked because she was lucky."

Twilight sat on a bench in the locker room, fresh from a shower and nursing a can of coffee while Cadance stood over her with her arms crossed, looking very angry with her for the first time in Twilight's memory.

"Twilight, why did you disobey my order?" Cadance asked in a measured tone.

"Because I had to protect my friends," Twilight answered.

"Even so, I'm your superior officer in these battles and I expect you to follow my orders."

"It doesn't matter now!" Twilight snapped as she shot to her feet. "That thing almost killed my friends using my Eva. I had to make it pay. I had to make sure it could never hurt my friends!"

Cadance took a step back from the suddenly angry girl before hugging her. "I'm just glad you're alive and well. But please. In future, listen to my orders. Okay?"

"I will," Twilight answered softly as she hugged back.

Twilight entered her classroom to the sight of Applejack waiting by her desk, flanked by Rarity, Pinkie, and Facet. "Hi, Applejack. Pinkie. Rarity. Facet."

"Listen, Twilight," Applejack began as she stepped closer to Twilight, the rest of the class's eyes on them. "I've had some time think and, well... Ah want ya to hit me as hard as ya can."

Twilight gasped along with everypony else. "W-What?!"

"Just do it already!" Applejack said. "Ah ain't gonna feel right until ya do."

"She means it, darling," Rarity said as she looked at Applejack a bit distastefully.

Twilight hesitated for a moment before balling up her fist. "Well. If you insist," she muttered as she cocked her fist and slugged Applejack in the jaw with a surprising amount of strength, sending her stumbling back a step.

Applejack took a second to recover from the blow, and when she stood up, there was a decent sized bruise forming on her cheek. "Okay. We're even. Sorry Ah decked ya last week."

Twilight smiled and extended her hand to her. "Water under the bridge, Applejack."

Applejack smiled back and shook Twilight's hand. "It's AJ to Ma friends."

Twilight nodded. "Sure thing, AJ."

First Date

Twilight found herself alone today as she started heading out of the school to go home. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie had their own things to attend to, so she decided to spend the evening reading after she did her homework. Her ears twitched as she passed by the music room, the sounds of a piano coming from within. Curious, Twilight quietly opened the door and entered, finding Facet alone and enthusiastically playing the piano. She stood in silence and listened to him play, a smile forming on her face as she enjoyed the improvised song.

Finally, Facet finished his song, and silence filled the room as the echoes of the last notes faded away. "Did you like it?"

Twilight flinched when he addressed her, since he hadn't even turned around. "Sorry to disturb you. I was passing by when I heard your music. It sounded beautiful."

"Thank you, Twilight," Facet said as he turned to regard her with that ever present smile. "Come sit with me. Let's talk."

"Okay," Twilight said before joining him on the piano bench, only to be confused when he didn't speak, instead playing a few notes on the piano. "I thought you wanted to talk."

"Playing the piano with four hands is a conversation. Just in scales," Facet said.

"But I don't know how to play the piano," Twilight admitted.

"It's easy," Facet said as he gently gripped her wrist. "Just take your hands and play these keys down here." He guided her hand to rest above the keys on the left side of the piano.

Twilight hesitantly played a few different notes, glancing at his smiling face.

Facet played a few notes himself. "Go on," he encouraged. "You just have to jump in."

Twilight played a few notes with a little less hesitation, this time using both hands even if she was just randomly pressing keys.

Facet then launched into a full blown song like when she had arrived. He smiled at her when she started adding her own notes to the melody, slowly gaining confidence. He closed his eyes and swayed slightly to the tune they were making. "This is officially my favorite pastime. Making music with you, Twilight."

Twilight couldn't deny that she was enjoying the melody. Nor could she deny that it really was a bonding experience to make music with another person. She lightly blushed when she felt his finger brush against hers while they played, but found she didn't mind the contact. All good things must come to an end however, and before she knew it, they were being ushered out by one of the custodians.

"That was really fun, Facet," she admitted as they walked down the sidewalk together. "Making music together really did feel like a conversation. I feel like I know you a little better."

"As do I, Twilight." Facet stepped a little closer to Twilight as they walked. "We can do it again whenever you want. But you know, there are plenty of instruments that you might enjoy on your own time. I have a couple of friends who work part time at a music store. I can show you if you'd like."

Twilight nodded with a smile as she looked at him. "Sure. I'd like that."

Facet returned her smile with closed eyes. "It's a date."

Twilight darkly blushed at that. "A-A date?!"

"Yes," Facet answered, still smiling. "Do you not like the idea?"

Once again, Twilight found his warm smile utterly disarming. "I-It's fine. Just caught me off guard is all. I'd love to go on a date with you."

Smiling wider, Facet led Twilight to a small music shop and entered. "Vinyl. Octavia. I've brought a friend with me today."

"What up, Facet?!" Vinyl greeted as she exchanged a fistbump with him. "That pilot girl, huh? Nice catch there," she complimented with a grin as she lowered her sunglasses to regard them with her magenta eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle," Octavia greeted with a smile as she shook Twilight's hand. "Facet hasn't played music with anypony in a while. Seeing about getting her an instrument, Facet?"

"Yes I am," Facet said as he led Twilight to different instruments. "Try them out until you find one that fits you."

Twilight started looking over different instruments. First trying a guitar, but not really feeling a connection to the instrument. She met similar failures with the ocarina and drums. Finally, she came to a cello. Picking it up, she put the bow to the strings and played a few notes. They were deep and resonated with her soul. "The cello. This is the one."

"A good choice," Octavia said with a smile. "I can teach you if you'd like."

"I'd like that," Twilight answered as Octavia took the cello and put it in a case while Vinyl rang it up. She went to get her wallet, but Facet stopped her.

"It's on me," he said as he withdrew his own wallet and paid for the cello. Once it was paid for, he picked it up to carry it for Twilight.

Twilight found herself surprised by just how easily she took to the cello. In just two weeks under Octavia's tutelage, she had become rather skilled at playing. While she took pride in her new talent, there was another reason she enjoyed the cello: her now daily music sessions with Facet. After school and on the weekends, they'd get together and just play, with only occasional words spoken during them.

They sat back to back, him on the piano and her on her cello, the vibrant notes of the piano mixing in a dance with the more somber tones of Twilight's cello. Both had their eyes closed as they swayed to the sounds they made together. Twilight's fingers danced across the frets of her cello as Facet's danced across the piano keys. It seemed too soon that the last notes faded and left the music room in silence.

Sitting in silence for several seconds, they turned as one and looked into each others eyes. Still riding high on the emotions that music is so good at evoking, they began slowly leaning toward each other. As the inches dwindled down, their eyes slowly closed, before they finally felt the soft contact of their lips. Where in her dream of him, Twilight had felt flustered, here she felt only a wave of calm contentment wash over her as she lifted her hand to gently caress Facet's cheek. She blushed as she felt his hands slide around her waist and draw her into his lap as his tongue slid along her lower lip.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Twilight parted her lips, allowing Facet's tongue entry into her mouth, where her own greeted it in a slow, affectionate dance. This dance was only ended when they finally were unable to ignore their lungs any longer, a small string of saliva connecting their lips as they broke apart. "Wow..." she muttered, blushing up a storm as she looked into Facet's eyes. "You're a really good kisser."

"You too, Twilight," Facet answered, smiling at her as they got to their feet. "Let's get out of here before the janitor shows up. I'll walk you home."

"Thanks," Twilight said as she packed up her cello and picked it up. This time, when they exited the school, her fingers were twined with his.

"So what's it like living with Twilight?" Starlight asked as she and Cadance rode the in all but name ski lift down through a demolished section of NERV HQ that desperately needed repairs.

"It's pretty nice," Cadance answered with a smile. "Can't wait to see her face when Shiny finally gets back."

"Is she getting along with Spike?" Starlight inquired as she reached into the pocket of her labcoat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and put one between her lips.

"The little pervert loves to tease her, but otherwise they get along great." Cadance suppressed a sigh as she watched Starlight light her cigarette. "You know that's not good for your health."

"The possibility of dying of cancer in twenty years loses most of its sting when I might die in an Angel attack tomorrow," Starlight retorted after taking a drag and exhaling the smoke. "On another topic. I hear that Twilight's been getting pretty close to Facet lately."

"You have no idea," Cadance giggled. "The look on her face when she's thinking about him. That girl's got it bad." She let out a small, happy sigh. "But that's a good thing. With everything she goes through to fight the Angels, it's nice to see her be a normal girl falling in love."

"And since the one she's given her heart to is a pilot himself, that could actually make them a strong team," Starlight added. "At least, once Unit-06 is finished. On that note, Unit-00 is almost ready for combat, and Fluttershy is back on active duty."

"But Unit-00 is just a prototype. Proof of concept," Cadance pointed out with a tone of worry.

"The Angels have forced our hand. We need every advantage we can get," Starlight replied before taking a drag of her cigarette.

"Wonder if they'll ever repair this part of the complex," Cadance said after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Maintaining and equipping the Evas takes top priority so... probably never," Starlight answered, taking one last drag and tossing the butt.

"They could at least spring for seat cushions..."

Cadance entered her apartment to be greeted by the sounds of Twilight's cello. The instrument produced deep, but very cheerful notes that originated from her ward's bedroom. Smiling, she walked past Spike, who was perusing one of her lingerie catalogs again as he lounged on the couch, and quietly opened Twilight's door.

Inside, Twilight sat on her bed with her eyes closed and a smile on her face as she played. Cadance could only imagine what was going through Twilight's mind as she played that beautiful melody. When it finally ended, she was given an ovation by Cadance, blushing as she put the cello back in its case. "How long were you listening?"

"The last five minutes," Cadance answered as she fully opened the door and leaned on the door frame. "You've gotten really good at that."

"Thanks. It's all because of Facet."

"You're spending a lot of time with him lately," Cadance noted.

"Yeah," Twilight answered in a blissful sigh as she lay back on her bed and hugged her pillow with a small giggle. "We had our first kiss today. It felt so amazing. Being there with him, so close together as we shared that feeling. Words just can't describe it."

The moment was broken by alarm klaxons going off. "Attention. A state of emergency has been declared. Please proceed to the nearest evacuation center."

"An Angel," Twilight muttered as she got serious and stood up. "Let's go, Cadance."

The crew of NERV's command center looked at the video feed of the Sixth Angel as it floated over the landscape. It was unlike the Fourth and Fifth Angels in every way. Where those two had vaguely recognizable forms, the Sixth was a giant, reflective blue octahedron. Every few seconds, audio monitors picked up a high pitched sound like sonar coming from it.

"The Sixth Angel has come," Celestia muttered. "Send out Unit-01."

Twilight had been prepped for deployment the moment she arrived at the command center, and now sat in Unit-01's cockpit, breathing slowly and steadily with her eyes closed as her Eva was prepared for combat. She took peripheral note of an anti-air rifle being put next to Unit-01 before the launch pad began moving toward the catapult. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes as the catapult rocketed Unit-01 toward the surface. She had her plan of attack: find cover and take potshots at the Angel while working to take down its AT-Field.

But no plan survives contact with the enemy.

"Target energy levels are rising!" Double Diamond reported.

"It's charging up?!" Starlight gasped. Unit-01 had just reached the surface.

"Look out!" Cadance screamed to Twilight.

Twilight gasped as the Angel stopped and began shifting its form like a fluid crystal. In mere moments it had assumed a shape roughly like an hourglass. In the middle of these points Twilight saw a glowing red object that she determined to be the core. All thoughts of attack were swept away when a cross shaped light emitted from the Angel's core.

Massive holes were melted in a row of buildings right before a beam of energy impacted against the center of Unit-01's chest. Twilight groaned and winced in pain as she felt her Eva's pain, her display screen beeping and flashing the words "Condition Yellow" as the LCL bubbled around her. The pain stopped as a blast shield was deployed in front of her, blocking the beam. She had little time to compose herself however, as the Angel shifted form again into a sort of three dimensional cross. A high pitched screaming sound reached her ears before the Angel fired an even more powerful beam. The first had been small and focused. This one engulfed the blast shield and Unit-01 together, soon vaporizing the shield.

Twilight screamed in agony as he entire body was awash with pain, feeling like she was slowly disintegrating even as Unit-01's AT-Field barely held up against the Angel's onslaught. The LCL bubbled even more as the screen in front of her beeped more frantically and flashed "Condition Red!" As the explosive bolts of the block were detonated, allowing her to drop back underground and away from the beam, Twilight coughed up blood and lost consciousness.

"Get a medical team, STAT!" Cadance screamed as crews brought Unit-01 back into its storage bay.

"Pilot's heartbeat is out of sync!" Sugarbelle reported. "Activating plugsuit defibrillator!"

Twilight's unconscious body twitched as her heart was shocked, resetting it and letting it resume a steady beat. After her entry plug was removed from Unit-01, the LCL was drained and Twilight removed from it. The medical team quickly stripped off her plugsuit and put her on oxygen before wheeling her into the operating center.

On the surface, the Angel had finally come to a halt over a section of the city. Its bottom point began rotating and extending downward toward the ground. As it made contact, the Angel's AT-Field turned the extension into an effective improvised drill that began penetrating the ground and going down toward the Geofront, slowly but surely.

While Twilight was being tended to, the command center staff were in the war room discussing how to fight the Angel. "Based on the data we gathered in the time the Target was attacking Unit-01, we've determined that it immediately attacks all hostiles within a given radius," Double Diamond said as a screen on the table demonstrated the sheer breadth of the Angel's attack range.

"So close combat isn't an option," Starlight muttered. "The Sirens have calculated that a large enough mass of balefire bombs could pierce its AT-Field, but an explosion of the required magnitude would destroy the Geofront."

"Whatever we do, we don't have a lot of time." Double Diamond brought up a diagram of the Angel's drilling. "The Target has just penetrated the second armor plate. At the rate it's progressing, it'll breach the Geofront about six minutes after midnight."

"What about the research institute's prototype positron cannon?" Cadance suggested with a grin.

"That thing isn't finished yet," Sugarbelle answered. "It can fire, sure. But it doesn't have a targeting system."

"Then we use Unit-01 as a sniper," Cadance answered.

"That's... actually crazy enough to work," Starlight muttered.

Twilight sat alone in her bedroom, illuminated only by the setting sun as she played her cello, immersing herself in the soothing notes.

"What will you do now?" A soft voice asked, startling Twilight out of her song. Across the room beside the closet was Fluttershy, the mysterious Unit-00 pilot. She was wearing a yellow sundress that accentuated her lovely, almost motherly, curves, and her flowing pink hair complimented her forest green eyes. "What will you do now, Twilight Sparkle?"

"What will I do?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"Indeed." She looked to her side to see Facet sitting with her on her bed. "That last sortie was the closest you've come to dying while fighting the Angels. Will you keep fighting? Or will you flee from these powerful foes that view you as little more than an insect?"

Twilight's eyes snapped open. She found herself staring at the sterile white ceiling of a hospital room. Slowly sitting up, she felt warmth on her right hand. Looking at it, she saw it clenched in Facet's left hand as he looked at her with a worried expression. "Facet..." Any further words were cut off by him pulling her into a deep kiss that conveyed quite clearly how relieved he was. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, seeking the comforting warmth of his embrace.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Facet said after breaking the kiss, staring deeply into Twilight's eyes. "I was so worried."

"I'm sorry," Twilight muttered as she hugged her coltfriend close and rested her head on his chest. "I couldn't do anything. I was stuck on the catapult, only barely protected by Unit-01's AT-Field. I thought I was going to die."

"You won't," Facet muttered reassuringly. "Now that we know how the Angel works, we've got a plan in place. You and Fluttershy will be working together in the operation. Unit-00 will be covering Unit-01 as you attack the Angel with a positron cannon powered by Equestria's entire power grid. At midnight there's going to be a nationwide blackout to give all the electricity to the cannon."

"I don't know if I can do this," Twilight muttered. "When I fight, I'm the only one at risk. Everypony else is safe underground. It's like I'm a shield more than a sword."

Facet released Twilight and levitated over a change of clothes. "Let me show you something, Twilight."

Twilight clutched Facet's hand as they rode the elevator downward deep into NERV HQ's depths. "Where are you taking me, Facet?" She asked as they left the normal shaft behind and started passing through a transparent shaft, the area around them looking more like the innards of a brain than a military base.

"Level EEE. Where the Angels' target is located," Facet answered as the elevator stopped at the bottom of the shaft, opening into a corridor that was dimly lit with orange lights. He led Twilight in silence to a locked door. Sliding a keycard through a scanner, the door slowly opened, a number of spiraling bars coming undone as it did to reveal the room behind it.

Twilight gasped at what she saw. Nailed by its hands to a massive red cross, and impaled through the chest by a double pronged spear, was a white, faceless entity with no legs. At the waist was a deformed mass of what looked like pony legs that twitched, while a stream of what she recognized as LCL was pouring down the cross from behind the figure. "What... is that thing?"

"That is the source of all life on this planet, and the key to its destruction," Facet replied. "The Second Angel, Faust. If an Angel should get past our defenses and reach this level, the entire facility will self-destruct. Every single agent of NERV knows this, and is prepared to sacrifice everything to prevent the Third Impact. You are far from the only one at risk, my love. You, Fluttershy, me, the other pilots. We're the only ones that can directly fight the Angels by piloting the Evas. We've been entrusted with ponykind's future."

Twilight looked at Facet in silence, doubt still clinging to her stubbornly.

Facet smiled at her and held out a small recorder. "A little something from the PR department."

Twilight took the recorder and put it to her ear. It released a beep before playing a message.

"Twilight. This is Rarity. I just want to let you know that we're with you in spirit in the bunkers." Another beep was heard.

"Hiya, Twilight! Pinkie here! I just know you're gonna beat that Angel down! I'll have a victory cake for you after you win!" A third beep.

"Twilight. It's AJ. We all believe in ya, sugarcube. You teach that Angel not to mess with ponies, kay?"

Twilight smiled as she heard her friends' voices. As she lowered the recorder from her ear, she looked at Facet and nodded, her confidence restored. "Let's go."

The pair were met at the surface by Cadance, who stood leaning on her car with a smile. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Twilight replied with a nod. "We've got an Angel to kill."

As Twilight got into the car, Facet held out the keycard he'd used to Cadance. "Thanks for letting me borrow this."

"No problem," Cadance said, smiling as she pocketed the card. "Let's get moving."

On the drive to the operation site, Twilight never let go of Facet's hand, looking out into the distance at the drilling Angel, determined to pay it back for nearly killing her.

Starlight was waiting at the site with Fluttershy, which was a beehive of activity. Ponies ran around making sure things were in place, and the Evas were ready for their roles as well. "Alright. Twilight. Fluttershy. You both have a specific role in Operation Hurricane. Twilight, you're the gunner in Unit-01. Positrons are affected by gravity, the planet's magnetic field, and its rotation. So don't forget to compensate for those factors."

"Right," Twilight relied with a nod, already running calculations in her head. "For something this scale, there can only be one termination point for all the electricity, so retreat isn't an option. I have to do this in one shot."

"Exactly," Starlight confirmed before looking at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy. Your role is to defend Unit-01 in the event that the Angel fires back at our position."

"Yes, ma'am," Fluttershy replied in her practically emotionless voice. "I'll protect Twilight with my life."

"Get changed you two," Cadance ordered once Starlight was done with her explanation.

Twilight went with Fluttershy to the provided changing room and stripped out of her clothes before she picked up her plugsuit. "You know. There's a chance of us dying out there," she said as she stepped into her suit's legs and pulled it up as her arms went into the suit and sealed it. A press of the wrist button expelled the air in it and conformed it to her body's curves.

"No we won't," Fluttershy replied. "I'm going to protect you."

Twilight nodded and headed out of the changing room, going straight to Unit-01. As she climbed into the entry plug and settled into the pilot seat, she took to her breathing exercises as the plug was sealed and placed into Unit-01. She closed her eyes and kept breathing as it was flooded with LCL, letting her sync with the Eva as her display lit up and showed the outside world.

"Twilight." Starlight's voice came over the radio. "Unit-01 has been fitted with type-G sniper equipment. So we'll be able to calculate the shot and compensate for errors from out end. All you have to do is pull the trigger."

"I understand," Twilight said as she waited for the operation to begin. She watched as the blackout began, Canterlot plunging into darkness as a satellite feed showed her the progress of the entire country going dark. "It's almost time..."

In the mobile command center, Cadance watched the clock with Starlight, Sugarbelle, and Double Diamond. Finally, the clock hit midnight. "Commence Operation Hurricane!" Cadance ordered.

All across the country, circuits were closed and began channeling electricity toward Canterlot from all across the country to converge on Canterlot. Twilight opened her eyes as she listened to the radio chatter of connections being made and confirmed stable.

"Stage 3 connections stable," Double Diamond reported.

"Send a message to fortresses four and five," Cadance ordered. "Commence operation as scheduled. Order all scouts to pull out."

Twilight watched as several missile silos in the mountain fortresses opened and fired a massive salvo at the Angel. As they came closer to their target, the Angel shifted its form into a multipronged carousel sort of shape that rotated at high speeds before emitting a beam of energy and swinging it around, detonating all the missiles before a cross shaped light burst from it and vaporized the mountain the missiles were fired from.

Another volley was fired by a battery of AA guns that were deflected by the Angel's AT-Field after it morphed into a shield shape before turning into a shape more resembling a cannon and firing back. As the Angel was subjected to a relentless barrage, its shape constantly changing to return fire, Twilight pulled back a lever on the positron cannon to slot in a fuse. As the final connections were being made, Unit-01 deployed a scope and one above Twilight's head slid down to let her see through the sight of the targeting computer. Once the computer was locked on, she pulled the trigger, sending a beam of positrons at the Angel's exposed core.

The Angel froze for a moment before letting out an ear piercing screech as it expanded into an erratic spiky form that was black and started falling back as blood spurted from the wound. "Got it," Twilight muttered with a smirk. Until she noticed the cracks in the Angel repairing themselves, followed by it reverting to its default form. "I missed?!" Then the Angel's form shifted again. The entire side caved inward and fanned out in a star shape before settling on a reversed five pointed star on the third flare out, with the core hanging in the middle of an upright five point star shaped opening, which began glowing as the Angel released a prolonged screech. "Oh shit..." Twilight groaned before the Angel fired.

The shot disintegrated half the mountain behind Twilight and sent Unit-01 flying back along with anything not bolted down. It was several seconds before the shot finished. "Ow..." Twilight muttered as everything stopped tumbling.

"Twilight! Are you alright?!" Cadance's concerned voice asked.

"I'll live," Twilight answered. "How's the power system?"

"Still online. Looks like it's already recharging," Double Diamond replied.

"And the positron cannon?"

"Still intact with minor damage that looks superficial," Sugarbelle supplied. "Not sure we'll get another shot out of it though."

"We have to try," Twilight said as she grabbed her controls. "Moving back into firing position, and discarding type-G equipment. Switch vital firing system controls to manual. I'll make the calculations myself." She picked up the cannon and balanced it as she took aim at the Angel.

"Target has breached the Geofront!" Double Diamond reported.

"Let's make this quick!" Twilight replied as she ejected the burned out fuse and loaded another one.

"Fuse exchanged. Barrel cooldown complete," Double Diamond reported.

"New firing solution has been entered," Sugarbelle reported. "All further error compensations will be left to the pilot's manual control."

Twilight switched to the targeting computer zoom and started lining up her shot when she saw the Angel's core glowing again. "Oh you son of a-" The Angel fired and she averted her gaze as she braced for the impact, only to not feel it. Opening her eyes, she saw Unit-00 standing between her and the beam with its shield. "Fluttershy!" The shield was holding for the moment, but quickly deteriorating under the Angel's barrage. Gritting her teeth, Twilight looked back through the zoom screen and resumed lining up her shot, ever conscious of the time pressure she was under. After a number of tense seconds, she locked on and pulled the trigger.

The positron beam pushed against the Angel's beam for a few seconds before powering through and continuing on to the Angel. This time the Angel snapped shut into its default form and funneled an explosion out the opposite corner. It again burst out in a black crystal shape with a screech. Only this time, a pair of depressions formed in the flat area, the core soon afterward bursting.

Twilight sighed in relief as the Angel collapsed into blood before seeing Unit-00 fall. "Fluttershy!" She tossed the cannon aside and rushed over to Unit-00, lifting it out of the bay and drawing her prog knife to force aside the Eva's cover on the spine and let the entry plug extend outward, venting its LCL. Gently setting the plug down, Twilight quickly exited Unit-01 and rushed down to Fluttershy's plug, using her telekinesis to pry open the emergency exit to the plug. "Fluttershy! Are you alright?! Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Twilight. "I'm alright," she said with a nod.

"Good," Twilight said as she sighed in relief. "For a second I thought we'd lost you. Don't ever scare me like that again. I'd hate to think one of my friends died because of me."

"Friend?" Fluttershy asked with a tilt of her head.

"Yes. You're my friend, Fluttershy," Twilight replied. "So how about a smile?"

Fluttershy slowly curled her mouth into a smile and nodded. "Alright. I'll smile for you, Twilight."

Facet watched the exchange from a nearby hill with a smile, hands resting in his pockets. "You underestimate your ability to form bonds with others, Twilight Sparkle."

Author's Note

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