Mobile Fighter Equus Gundam

Long ago when Equestria was starting to experiment with magically advanced technology, there was a war that nearly destroyed the entire planet, but it was saved by a new proposal, to start the Gundam Fight Tournament, a fight between representatives of each nation while piloting machines called Gundams. It proved to be a way to quell the wars with one another. Though the proposal was not perfect, it limited the damage to Equus by a great margin. And limiting the cost of innocent lives on what used to be a peaceful world. But the story of this fight is about the young drake named Spike Drakeson of Neo-Canterlot. He lived with his father, Bahamut, and his step-mother, Princess Celestia. He had many friends who lived in other parts of Neo-Canterlot. They had all gone their own ways to live their own dreams. However, at the moment, Spike found himself in an unknown situation. He was currently standing in an elevator with his eyes closed as he ascended up the capital building of Neo-Canterlot.

‘What do they want me for? I’m sure Shining Armor can handle whatever the issue is.’ Spike thought as he felt the elevator stop before the door opened. He walked out without looking until…

“Spike?”

Spike opened his eyes when he heard his name. He was shocked when he found a blue dragoness and five mares sitting in the room he just walked into. The dragoness was Ember. When dragons and ponies made peace with each other, she and her father, Torch, were made members of the council between nations. She had been studying Gundams to aid her father in preparing Neo-Canterlot with the best way of winning the tournament.

Two of the mares were earth ponies named Pinkie Pie and Applejack. The two lived in a small town on the colony of Neo-Canterlot called Ponyville. Pinkie Pie worked in a bakery that doubled as her home with her employers, the Cakes. And Applejack ran her family farm. However, along with that, Pinkie Pie also studied more cooking and Applejack studied Gundam Mechanics.

There were also two pegasi named Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash worked as part of Neo-Canterlot Cloudsdale’s enforcement task force, the Wonderbolts. But given how she found Gundams awesome, in her words, she began studying how to become a mechanic to one day be part of the Gundam crew for Neo-Canterlot.

Fluttershy, like Applejack and Pinkie, lived in Ponyville as well. She mainly took care of animals as her job. And like the others, she also studied medical training as a nurse on the side.

And the last among them was an alicorn, Princess Twilight. As kids, she and Spike grew up together and viewed each other as family. And though she is a princess, Twilight does do her part to help the community of Ponyville like her friends. It was difficult for her to say goodbye to Spike long ago, but now she was happy and relieved to see him again before her.

“SPIKE!”

Before anyone could say anything, Spike found himself in a tight grip of Pinkie Pie. “Oh Spike! It’s so good to see you again! It’s been so long! Have you gotten taller? What have you been up to? How’s-?”

“Pinkie? How about you let him breathe so he can answer one question first?” Rainbow said with her usual attitude.

Pinkie looked to see Spike was turning blue a bit before she released him. “Oopsie. Sorry Spike.”

“It’s… Okay Pinkie…” He said catching his breath.

“Yeah, so what have you been doing for the past few years Spike?” She asked.

“I’ve been travelling the world, seeing new places and meeting new friends. Otherwise, same old, same old.” Spike shrugs a bit.

“Glad to hear it.” Rainbow Dash said as she hugs him, “I missed you.”

“Same here RD.” He said as he hugged back.

“Just so you know, don’t mention this to other Gundam teams, got it?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, I got it, so what have you been doing RD?” He asked Rainbow Dash.

“I’ve been studying to be a Gundam Mechanic for a long time. I wanna figure out to help build the best Gundam ever and make my own mark on the tournament,” Rainbow said with a smirk.

“You haven’t changed a bit have you RD?” He said with a smirk as well.

“Nope. And I never will.” She smirks more and pounds her chest with pride.

Spike was then hugged by Fluttershy and Applejack before Twilight approached him and hugged him as tight as she could. “It’s really good to see you Spike. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too Twi. And Ember. How are things going with your mechanic work?”

“Going okay. Dad is determined to have the perfect Gundam for the tournament.”

“Yeah. By the way, while I am glad to see you all again, what brings you here?”

Twilight scratched her cheek a bit before responding, “We were gonna ask you the same thing.”

“Because I called you all here.”

They all looked to see the door open to reveal a blue ram in a military uniform. Spike had a bit of a hard glare towards the goat as he said, “General Grogar.”

“Spike. Glad you all could make it.”

“What’s this about? Why are we here?” Spike asked with a serious tone.

Grogar cleared his throat, while ignoring Spike’s glare, before speaking, “Because Spike. We need you to fight for Neo-Canterlot as our Gundam fighter.”

This caught everyone by surprise. Twilight then asked, “But I don’t understand. We already have somepony to represent Neo-Canterlot. My brother Shining Armor-.”

“Your brother is a traitor to our nation Princess Twilight!” Grogar said, cutting her off.

“Hold your tongue old goat! You say he is a traitor, but do you think that I should believe you for one second?” Spike glares at Grogar.

“Well… let me show you rather than telling you, you stubborn dragon.” Grogar spat out venomously.

“Okay, show me…” Spike still not trusting what Grogar says.

Grogar then led Spike and the girls to what appeared to be stone statues of his father Bahamut, his stepmother Celestia, and his step aunt Luna.

“What…? What is this? What happened to them?” Spike asked in disbelief.

“Let me tell you from the beginning,” Grogar stated as he stood in front of the statues. “You see Shining Armor was said to be developing a machine, a Gundam, to help repair Equus. It would do so through its three main functions: self-recover, self-replicate, and self-evolve. However, after the Gundam was finished, Shining revealed he had planned to use the Gundam to wipe out all creatures on the planet. Authorities tried to take him in, but he escaped with what we’re now calling the Devil Gundam to the planet. Unfortunately, given how they were the ones to approve his project, the council held your family responsible and sentenced them to this stone statue state. The only way to have them freed is for Shining to be brought in and for Neo-Canterlot to win the tournament.”

Spike couldn’t believe what was before him. He believes Shining Armor wouldn't do something so terrible, but has trouble denying the evidence before him.

“Now do you see what Shining has brought to your family? This is the reason why we want you in the Gundam Fight, to free your stepmother, your father, and your step aunt. Do you understand what I am saying? Shining Armor must be brought in. Or he must be brought down,” Grogar said with utter seriousness.

Spike sighed and said, “Alright… I’ll join the Gundam Fight… But know this, I will find out the truth of this troubling information. Do I make myself clear? I won’t kill Shining Armor, even for all of this, I won’t kill him. But I do promise I’ll bring him in.”

“Alright… do as you wish… but you will bring Shining Armor to justice, is that clear?” He said with great amounts of seriousness.

“I will, whether good or ill, I’ll bring him to justice.” Spike replies to what Grogar says.

“So why exactly are we here Grogar?” Ember asked.

“I brought you girls here because of your skills and professions. You all will act as Spike’s crew. You, Applejack, and Ms. Dash will act as his head mechanics of the Gundam. Princess Twilight will act as your mental health doctor. Ms. Pie as your group’s chef. And Ms. Shy will act as the physical medic of the group.” Grogar said truthfully.

“Heh, first honest answer I got from you all day… I never thought I’d see that happen.” Spike smirks.

“Grr… If your stepmother hadn’t raised you…” Grogar said with a little hatred.

“I’m glad she did, or I would have been your pawn. Though you have convinced me that Shining did something to cause this incident, I will find out the truth myself.” He replied with an intense glare at Grogar.

“Alright… But know this, if you falter in any way during your mission, we will find some creature else to pilot your Gundam. Understand?” He said with utter venom.

“Got it... “ Spike said, still glaring daggers.

“Good,” Grogar said with a snuff. “Now follow me.”

Grogar then began leading the group to what looked to be a hanger where they were astounded by what they found. “Is that...?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Grogar said. “It was to be Shining’s. But now, as I said, it’s Spike’s Gundam.”

Before them all, standing building high, was a Gundam. It was mostly white with red and white shoulder cover armor, blue wrist covers, blue and red side shin covers, red claw feet, green eyes, and a blue chest with a green translucent circle in the center. It had sharp claws for hands and a long metallic tail.

Ember looked to the gundam in amazement. “What’s it called?”

“The Shining Dragon Gundam.”

Everyone looked to see a dragon approach them. He had white horns curving down the side of his head and seeing him made Ember smile before hugging him. “Hi dad.”

“Good to see you daughter,” Torch said before shaking Spike’s hand. “Hello. Spike. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your family.”

“Thank you sir,” Spike said as Torch led them closer to the Gundam. “So this is my Gundam huh?”

“Yes. Your father helped me design it before all of this mess started. I’m sure he’d be proud to have you pilot it,” Torch said before handing a pad of data to Ember. “Ember? Here’s the design schematics to it. You and your mechanics will need to understand it to help Spike.”

“You got it dad.”

“Yeah. No problem. We’ll have these things down in no time,” Rainbow said with her usual confident tone.

“Do not get cocky Rainbow, you have to memorize all of the design schematics or risk a major malfunction.” Torch stated truthfully.

“Alright, alright, geez…” She rolls her eyes.

He sighs being annoyed at the response and he says to his daughter, “I know you will keep her and Applejack in line.”

“Yes dad, don’t worry, I’ll get them into shape.” She sternly glares at both Rainbow Dash and Applejack, causing the two mares to chuckle nervously.

Twilight was looking at the Gundam in astonishment. “Wow. It’s incredible. I can’t wait to see it perform.”

“You’ll see sooner than you think,” Grogar said with his serious tone.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, feeling a little on edge by Grogar’s tone.

“What do you think I mean? Before your traitor of a brother ran off, we weren’t able to test the Shining Dragon Gundam. And we can’t send it out to the tournament without fully testing it.” Grogar said with pure venom.

Spike darkly glared at Grogar, “I don’t know if I trust what you have in mind Grogar. I already told you I won’t kill Shining Armor when I find him.”

“Whatever your concern is. For now, get ready. You’re about to take your first test as a Gundam pilot.”

“What do you have in mind exactly for him to do?” Ember asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Grogar then walked away with a huff.

“Man that guy is a grouch. Might as well call him Grouchgar,” Rainbow said.

“Oh this is so exciting. Spike gets to pilot a gundam for the first time. I can’t wait!” Pinkie said with excitement.

“Don’t get too excited. You don’t know who is going to be Spike’s opponent.” Torch said with seriousness to Pinkie.

“Who is it going to be?” Spike asked.

“I am going to be your opponent.” Grogar said with utter seriousness through a sound speaker.

“What?!” Spike said with great shock.

“Yes I am going to be your opponent Spike. I’ll be remote, mind piloting a dummy gundam to face you as your first opponent.” He said with complete seriousness.

“That… is not going to be easy.”

“But isn’t that unfair?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. Spike isn’t as experienced as Shining is or as you are. Won’t it be too difficult?” Fluttershy asked.

Grogar was about to respond in his angry tone but Torch cut him off, “That’s the reason Spike should face Grogar. There will be opponents with as much experience, if not more than, Grogar. In order to make sure Spike is ready, facing someone like that will prepare him for what is to come.”

Spike seemed hesitant for a moment but eventually accepted the circumstances. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Grogar said smirking. “Torch. Get Spike into the gundam and have him outside in it. And also get his new crew to their stations.”

Grogar then walked off while Torch reached for one of his console’s buttons and pressed it. They all then watched as the roof above them began opening above the Gundam. “Spike. In your fights on Equus, you’ll be using the Corelander most of the time, but for now, take the elevator up to its cockpit. We’ll walk you through activating the mobile tray system once you’re inside.”

Spike nodded before looking to the girls where Twilight said, “Good luck Spike.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Spike said with a smile before he walked over to the elevator leading up to the gundam’s cockpit. As the elevator rose, he watched as Torch led the others to computers. Soon, he reached the cockpit and looked inside. It looked dark and saw a large ring like device above it. He climbed inside before the hatch shut, and he felt a jolt for a moment. He looked outside to see the Gundam was being raised out of the hanger and above the ground, before the hatch shut. The lights then started coming on before the comlinks came on with Ember asking, “Spike? You inside?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m here,” Spike said as he looked around the inside of the cockpit. “So what do I do now?”

“Just stand in the middle, and be ready. Once the mobile tray system is activated, it won’t be easy getting through it,” Torch said as he spoke through the com as well.

“Ummm okay,” Spike said as he stood below the middle of the mobile tray ring above him. Not long after, it soon started rotating slowly before lowering down towards him as it started covering him in a black like fabric. However, it also made Spike struggle to just stand up as it moved further down. “Ahhhh!!! It feels like it's trying to pull me apart!”

“Spike!” Rainbow said over the com. “Relax. It hurts because you’re trying to fight it. Just calm down and let it flow down.”

Spike gritted his teeth for a moment before taking a deep breath and standing up slowly. He remained calm as the ring continued rotating and moved further down Spike’s body, covering him in a black suit with a red circle on the chest, yellow antennas on his wrists and shoulders, and a blue collar around his neck. “Whooo. Glad that’s over.”

The ring then raised up before opening in the middle and spreading to the walls while multiple screens appeared around him while a computer voice said, “Mobile tray system checking brain waves, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature, metabolism. All green.”

“Alright Spike. You now have full control of the Shining Dragon Gundam through your control suit. Lift your right hand and flex your fingers,” Ember’s voice said.

Spike did as instructed and lifted his right arm, noticing as the Gundam did the same. “Wow. This is incredible.”

“This technology is more advanced than you think Spike, instead of you piloting a standard cockpit with buttons and other controls, this allows you to control the Gundam itself with your claws, feet, tail and your entire body.” Torch said truthfully.

“Enough wasting time, let’s get on with the fight!” Grogar growled.

“That is enough Grogar, he needs to get used to the controls, once he does, you will be able to fight him!” Torch yelled at him.

“What better time to get used to the controls than in a fight?” Grogar stated knowing that he is right.
Soon a mobile suit with a gundam head with ram horns, red upper body armor and blue lower body armor, and center camera eye landed in front of the Shining Dragon Gundam.

Twilight was angered and said, “Grogar! See reason and-!”

“It’s okay Twilight,” Spike said. “He’s right. I need to learn fast and this may be the best, probably the only way to learn fast enough.”

“Spike? Are you sure?” Ember asked.

“I am,” Spike said with determination. “Alright. Grogar. Let’s do this.”

“Good. Now let’s start properly. Gundam Fight! Ready!” Grogar said, getting his puppet into stance.

“GO!” Spike yelled as the Shining Dragon Gundam ran at the puppet.

Grogar’s dummy Gundam tried to make the first hit but Spike’s Gundam deflected the first hit and then Spike’s Gundam landed the first blow intensively. As the dummy Gundam staggered back and regained its composure, it then landed a successful blow on Spike’s Gundam. And then Grogar yells out his main attack, “Rapid Ram Jabs!”

And the dummy Gundam threw a flurry of jabs and punches and it causes Spike to make his Gundam dodge as he thinks, ‘Damn! If the Gundam Fight is this hard, it is going to be challenging!’

Spike then made a charge for Grogar’s gundam, but the dummy gundam was ready. The Shining Dragon Gundam threw a fist, only for Grogar’s to catch its arm before throwing Spike over its shoulder. Spike’s Gundam quickly got back to its feet before Grogar’s began its rapid assault once again. Grogar’s gundam struck with a right cross, followed by a left one, then grabbed the Shining Dragon Gundam by the shoulder before landing a punch to its face with its right fist. The dummy then grabbed Spike’s Gundam’s head before kneeing it in the face three times before kicking it in the chest and pushing it back. Spike looked up just in time to see Grogar’s dummy gundam charging right at him and sent him and his gundam into the air with a double uppercut and then flew above him to send him back to the ground with a tornado axe kick. The others watched in worry as the smoke cleared to show the Shining Dragon Gundam on one knee, barely holding itself up before Grogar’s dummy landed in front of him.

“Is that the best you can do?” Grogar’s voice asked over the dummy gundam’s speaker. “Is that all you have to offer? If so, I might as well make sure you can’t embarrass our colony with these iron horns.”

The dummy gundam’s horns then began glowing red before it reared its head back. “Buster Blast!” Grogar yelled out before he fired a powerful beam right at Spike, who crossed his gundam’s arms in front of him to block the attack, but he still struggled against it.

“If this is all you can do, your family is doomed and Shining Armor will release his weapon all over the world!” Grogar said as he kept on intensifying the blast. Spike gritted his teeth as he kept struggling to hold out against the blast.

“Grogar! That’s enough!” Torch yelled into the coms. “He’s had enough! Stop the fight!”

“Silence!” Grogar responded. “If he can’t do any better than this, he has no right to even go after Shining Armor or attempt to save his family. Let alone take Shining’s place in the Gundam Tournament!”

Spike continued gritting his teeth as he kept listening. “No… I won’t… Lose!”

After he said that, Spike’s hand began glowing a bit with a symbol of a king with magic wands behind him appearing on it. And along with that, the computers began going off, causing Ember to run to it along with the others.

“Ember? What’s going on?” Twilight asked with worry.

“I… I think Spike’s activated one of the Gundam's weapons,” Ember said.

“Grogar…” Spike said as he slowly got his gundam to its feet. “You may have those iron horns… BUT I HAVE THESE GOLDEN TALONS!!!”

Spike then raised his right hand against the blast as, to everyone’s surprise, his hand began to glow green. And along with that, the face cover of his gundam opened.

“He’s done it…” Torch said in disbelief. “He’s managed to activate it.”

“Activate what Mr. Torch?” Fluttershy asked with worry.

“The Shining Dragon Gundam’s main attack.”

“Shining!” Spike said as the booster on the back of his gundam began pushing his hand through the blast as it glowed brighter and brighter.

“CLAW!!!” Spike yelled out as he gripped the dummy gundam’s head with powerful might.

“Arrrrgggghhhh!!!” Spike yelled out. Electricity began to surge from the dummy as Spike’s grip grew tighter until finally, the dummy gundam’s head was crushed completely and destroyed, causing its body to then fall down in defeat. The Shining Dragon Gundam’s face cover then retracted back while its hand returned to normal and let out smoke as it began to cool.

Inside the cockpit, Spike was panting a bit while looking at his hand. “I did it…” Spike said before he clenched his fist shut. “I’ve proven myself. I will find Shining Armor, stop the Devil Gundam, win the Gundam Fight Tournament, and earn my family their freedom!”

The Shining Dragon Gundam stood proud as the others watched in admiration.

“Well done Spike…” Torch said. “Well done. You have proven yourself ready to be our representative Gundam fighter.”

Later that day, Twilight stood in an office inside of the building. On the desk was a name plaque that read “Shining Armor”. Beside it was a picture of her as a little girl. With her was her sister-in-law, Cadence, an alicorn like her with pink fur and a long pink, yellow, and purple mane, and a crystal heart cutie mark on her skirt. Cadence was holding her daughter, Flurry Heart, who was laughing with a tight grip on her mother’s mane, with Cadence holding a forced smile. Along with them was Spike, who was even younger than Twilight at the time. And he was riding on the shoulders of a white unicorn with a blue mane and a blue and pink shield cutie mark on his shirt. She picked up the picture and placed her hand over the stallion as some tears formed in her eyes. “Shining Armor.”

“Hey.”

Twilight looked behind her to see Spike walking in. She turned her gaze back to the picture as Spike walked to her side and looked at the picture himself. “We’re going to find him Twilight. I promise.”

Twilight stared harder at the picture before looking down a bit. “Spike?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you believe what Grogar said? About Shining Armor taking the Devil Gundam to Equus to bring harm to others?”

Twilight waited for Spike’s answer, but after a bit of silence, she turned to Spike who appeared to be deep in thought. “Spike?”

“Twilight,” Spike started before letting out a sigh. “I honestly don’t know what to believe anymore. I know Shining would never try to bring harm to others no matter what, but with what Grogar has said and the state my family is in, it presents a hard counter argument.”

This made Twilight feel nervous. Had Spike lost faith in Shining Armor?

“However,” Spike continued. “There’s one thing I do believe. If Shining Armor did do any of that himself or if something made him do it, I believe there’s still enough good in his heart to break him free and bring him back to us.”

Twilight smiled a bit while some tears of joy ran down her cheeks before she hugged Spike, who returned the embrace. “I really missed you Spike. It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back Twilight,” Spike said before they broke their hug. “Now come on. Let’s go meet up with the others and get ready to head out.”

“R… Right,” Twilight said looking at the picture one more time. She was about to put it down, but Spike put his hand over hers before she did. “Bring it with us. I don’t think it will hurt.”

Twilight smiled again before holding the picture in her arms as she followed Spike out of the office. They both continued walking until they found the others standing by what appeared to be a shuttle with Torch standing by them as well. “This shuttle will take you down to Equus. The tournament will start tomorrow and your Gundam will arrive by then in its transport carrier.”

“Thanks dad,” Ember said as she stood by the entrance to the shuttle.

“So where’s Grogar?” Spike asked as he looked around.

“He decided he didn’t need to see you off.”

“That’s the first good thing I’ve heard about him all day,” Rainbow said with a huff.

“Oh by the way,” Torch said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with names of places on it. “This is a list of places where some claim they’ve seen a stallion match Shining Armor’s description. May help give you some clues to finding him. Your first stop will be the Crystal Empire. You’ll be met by Princess Cadence and her daughter, Flurry Heart.”

“That’s good to hear,” Twilight said before something came to mind. “Have you or Grogar told them?”

“No,” Torch said with respect in his eyes. “I believed it’d be better if someone in the family told them.”

“Thank you Torch,” Spike said shaking his hands. “Keep an eye on my dad, mom, and Aunt Luna for me. I don’t trust Grogar enough around them.”

“You have my word Spike. And good luck,” Torch said with a small smile. “Now get going. You don’t have a moment to lose.”

Spike nodded. “Right,” the dragon said before he and the girls loaded up into the shuttle. The shuttle ignited and began taking off, with some of the girls waving goodbye to Torch.

As the shuttle entered outer space to head for the planet of Equus, only one thought was running through Spike’s mind. ‘Dad. Mom. Aunt Luna. I promise. I will find Shining Armor, stop the Devil Gundam, and earn you your freedom from your statue states. I swear I will not fail.’