Mobile Fighter Equus Gundam

The screen is black for a moment before a male kirin with a red suit and an eye patch over his eye appeared sitting in a chair.

“Hello everyone my name is Stalker and I am what you call a Kirin. I am here to tell you about this event known as the Gundam Fight. Long ago, Planet Equus was overpopulated and the technology had advanced to the point where many inhabitants began moving out into space to live in space colonies. To prevent war between colonies, a proposal was made. The Gundam Fight itself. Each colony would send a representative fighter piloting a Gundam to fight in a tournament. The Gundams fight, and they fight, and they fight until only one is left standing to win the rights of leadership for the next four years over all of the other colonies. And this year’s tournament will be starting in what was left of the Crystal Empire. It’s been put into pretty bad shape, nearly destroyed, due a rebellion between two warring dragon tribes, one led by Sludge, who is dishonorable and willing to put people in danger and the other being the now honorable Garble, who leads a tribe that has offered to aid the Crystal Empire in trying to keep the peace and is the representative of the Neo-Bitaly. And his Gundam is known as the legendary Crimson Dragon Gundam, whose power has no rival. But will that change now, we will see today.”

Stalker then stands up, takes his red suit jacket and eyepatch off, and says, “Gundam Fight set! Ready!… GO!”

Chapter 1: Battle For the Crystal Empire

1 year earlier…

“Hey Flurry Heart, you here?” Candance said with concern. She was searching around a rather beaten up playground in worry.

“I’m here mom…” A young voice pops out. Cadence looks to see Flurry Heart walking from behind a jungle gym.

“Oh Flurry! You’re okay!” She comes running and hugging her daughter, “Where were you?! I was worried sick about where you were!”

\“I… I’m sorry mom… I was with some friends…” She said looking down.

“I know you want to spend time with your friends but… there are two dragon tribes that are fighting here. Garble is trying to help us but Sludge is intent on destroying the Crystal Empire. His attack is said to come soon. And I don’t want to risk you getting caught by one of Sludge’s gangsters. Be more careful.” She said with a worried face.

“I-I understand mom, how long until it does happen?” Flurry Heart asks.

“From the reports… 2 days…” Her mother answered with great worry.

“Oh no. There will be a lot of ponies killed if there’s no evacuation.” She said looking scared

“Exactly and it might be sooner… it might be even tomorrow. So that is why I want you safe Flurry…” Cadence said as she rubbed Flurry’s head. Flurry then clung to her mom, hugging her tightly with Cadence gently returning it.

“Mom?”

“Yes Flurry?” Cadence asked, trying to show a little comfort to her daughter.

“I’m scared. What if something really bad happens?” Flurry asked.

“Don’t worry. Don’t forget your father is going to be piloting the Gundam to represent Neo-Canterlot in the tournament this year. Not to mention he did say he had a project that could change the world and help make things peaceful,” Cadence said.

She made Flurry look to her and smiled at her while wiping away some forming tears. “Keep faith in your father that he will help put an end to all of this damage. Okay?”

Flurry sniffed a bit before wiping her eyes and looking to her mother with a small smile of her own. “Okay mom. I will.”

“Good. Now how about we get home and get some food in our bellies?”

Flurry Heart nodded before holding her mother’s hand and following her back home.

Present day

Flurry Heart laid in bed, fast asleep, clinging to a stuffed animal. She was sleeping peacefully when she heard her mother call out to her, “Flurry! Come down here, please!”

“Mom. I’m tired,” said Flurry, still sleepy.

“You have a surprise waiting for you,” Cadence said with a bit of excitement. Flurry sighed before getting up and rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. She made her way out of her room and soon came to the one Cadence was calling her from. “Okay mom. What’s the big su…?”

Flurry stopped talking when she found what Cadence was excited about. There stood her Aunt Twilight, Spike, and their friends. She let out a happy yell as she ran over and hugged Twilight. “Aunt Twilight! You’re here. It’s great to see you again.”

Twilight rubbed her niece’s head while smiling and returning the hug. “It’s good to see you too Flurry. Wow. You are getting big.”

Cadence smiled at the scene before asking, “So what brings you all here?”

“Because Spike’s competing in the Gundam Tournament as Neo-Canterlot’s representative!” Pinkie said in her usual excited tone.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow said.

“What?”

The pink mare’s statement confused Cadence and Flurry. “What? What’s she talking about?” Cadence asked.

“Yeah. I thought dad was representing Neo-Canterlot. Speaking of, where is dad?” Flurry asked with a little concern.

The two then noticed everyone gained concerned looks before Twilight said, “You two may wanna sit down for what you’re about to hear.”

Half an Hour later…

Cadence and Flurry stared at the group in disbelief. “No… No… It can’t be true. He wouldn’t do that,” Cadence said in disbelief.

“I’m sorry. We’re only telling you what Grogar told us,” Ember said. Spike noticed Flurry was trembling a little after the explanation.

“Flurry? Are you okay?” Spike asked with concern.

“What do you think Spike? I just… I can’t believe my dad would do that…” She said with great sadness.

“It does look bad for Shining… But… I can’t shake the feeling that there is more to what Grogar says but for now, it looks to be true.” Spike said with regret.

“No…” Flurry said, about to start crying. However, she stopped when Spike put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t lose hope Flurry. Like I said, there’s a chance Grogar hasn’t told us the complete truth. And I believe no matter what happened to Shining, he still has goodness in his heart,” Spike said, smiling at Flurry.

Flurry sniffled a bit before smiling back at the dragon. “Thanks Spike.”

“So Cadence?” Twilight asked, “What’s been going on here in the Crystal Empire lately? Anything new happen?” The others then noticed as Cadence grimaced a little at Twilight’s question.

“Princess Cadence?” Pinkie asked.

“Let’s just say something new has happened here. Just not for the better girls,” Cadence said.

“Princess Cadence? Flurry Heart? Is everything… okay? Spike? Ember? What in Tartarus are you doing here?” A familiar red dragon coming into view.

“Garble?! Is… that you?!” Spike asked in shock.

“Yep. It’s been a while, huh?” Garble said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, it has. Not since we helped you show your true self to other dragons. How’s the poetry hobby coming along?” Spike said as he smiles back.

“Good. But on hold for now. As you can see, my gang and I have been trying to keep the peace from a dragon named Sludge. He’s a despicable dragon and trust me when I say, he is pure evil, do not trust him,” He said with a serious tone and look.

“Yeah. I know him. He tried pulling a trick on me once. Pretended to be my dad all so he could take advantage of my home,” Spike said with a bit of a hard look.

“And I remember banishing him for causing such a problem after getting the peace between dragons and ponies finally done,” Ember said.

Flashback

Ember stood firmly as she was pacing around her throne chamber. She appeared agitated as she waited. Not long after, two dragon guards came in while escorting an older male dragon with light green skin with blue scales from his head running down his back to his tail. He was also wearing torn up pants and a torn up shirt.

“We found Sludge, Dragon Lord Ember,” one of the guards said.

“Good,” Ember said. “Leave us.”

“As you say Dragon Lord,” the guard said before they all walked out.

Sludge scratched his belly a bit before asking, “So what do you want me for? Do you need me to find some food for the place or-?”

“Be quiet,” Ember said in a serious tone that made Sludge shut up along with the glare she gave him. “I have put up with a lot of your shenanigans, Sludge. Stealing from other dragons, being lazy during hunts. But lying about being another dragon’s father just to gain his lifestyle. And to Spike no less.”

“That little runt? Who cares about him? I just did what any other dragon would’ve done.” Sludge said as if were no big deal.

“No they wouldn’t. Dragons have never lied about family since it is one of the few things we do value. And lying to Spike to make him think you were his father instead of Bahamut was an unacceptable action! Especially considering Spike has been working hard with his father to help finalize the peace and alliances between ponies and dragons of our colonies,” Ember said with anger in her voice.

“Whatever,” Sludge said, stretching a little. “Can I go now?”

“Go?” Ember asked. “Yeah. You can go alright. Out of the Dragon Lands.”

“What?” Sludge asked, a bit confused.

Ember took a deep breath to try and calm herself before she spoke, “I’m sorry Sludge. But after your recent, out of line actions, especially to one who’s trying to help our people, you are hereby banished from the Dragon Lands.”

Ember the raised the bloodstone scepter and a spell covered Sludge for a moment. “As soon as your out of the Dragon Lands, that spell will prevent you from returning. It will only vanish from you when or if you realize how out of line your actions have been.”

“You can’t do this!” Sludge said. “I just did what any other dragon would’ve done.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Sludge,” Ember said. “I’m sorry. But you brought this on yourself. Guards!”

Soon, two dragon guards entered the room. “Take Sludge outside of the Dragon Lands and leave him there. And let everyone know that until he is able to return, he is not to be trusted.”

“Yes Dragon Lord Ember,” one of the guards said before they took Sludge by the arms, who began struggling, before dragging him out of the room.

Later outside of the Dragon Lands, the guards threw Sludge to the ground at the edge of the area before flying back in. Sludge tried to follow them, but the spell Ember put on him made it feel like he was flying into a wall every time he tried.

After many failed attempts, Sludge slammed his fist on the invisible wall only blocking him with a glare at the lands he had been banished from. “I’ll get my revenge on you Ember! I’ll make you pay for this one day! I swear it!”

Flashback ends.

“I haven’t seen him since. But from what you’ve said, he hasn’t changed at all,” Ember said.

“What’s he even doing here?” Twilight asked.

“He wants to wipe out all creatures. Ponies, dragons, griffons, you name it. He’s been gathering others who want to join him in causing trouble. That’s one of the reasons the Crystal empire is kind of deserted right now. They’re trying to avoid him as much as possible,” Cadence said with concern.

“That’s one of the reasons me and my gang are here,” said Garble. “While we’re not officially a part of the law here, the authorities have agreed to let us help track him and his goons down. After all, sometimes it takes dragons to find dragons.”

“That’s good that you want to help this place, Garble. If you need any help, just give me a call or whistle,” Spike said with a smile.

They all then heard a sudden growling like noise. They all jumped a bit when they heard it before they looked to Pinkie who smiled and rubbed the back of her head a bit. “Sorry. Guess I got a little hungry on the way here.”

They all chuckled a bit before Cadence spoke, “Garble? Why don’t you take them somewhere to get some food? I’m sure you could use a break yourself?”

“You sure?” Garble asked.

“Of course,” Cadence said. “Things are a bit quiet right now so I doubt it’d hurt if you took a small break yourself.”

“... Alright. I guess I could use a small break,” Garble said before looking at the group. “You guys follow me. I know a great place to get some food.”

“Lead the way dude,” Spike said before Garble began leading them out the door. Once they were gone, Flurry Heart sat down by Cadence.

“Mom?”

“Yes Flurry?”

“Do you think it’s true? Do you think dad did all of those things?” Flurry asked, a bit worried with a small tear in her eye.

Cadence remained silent for a moment before sighing. “To be honest sweetheart. It’s hard to tell what the real story is. But I do know this…”

Cadence carefully wiped the tear from Flurry’s eye before smiling. “Your father is a good stallion, and he would never do anything without a good reason. If something did happen with him, I’m sure it’s because he was trying to do the right thing. Just have faith in him. Like Spike and your Aunt Twilight.”

Flurry sniffled a bit but smiled afterwards. “Okay mom. I will.”

“Good. Now how about we get you a bath?”

Meanwhile, Garble was leading the group through the streets while the group was looking around.

“Wow. Cadence was right,” Rainbow said looking around. “There aren’t many out around this time huh?”

“Not really,” Garble said while he didn’t have to look around. “Sludge has been causing a lot of trouble around here. He’s been making a gang of his own to help him. Any creature who wants to cause trouble. Griffons, ponies, dragons, even yetis. Any of them who want to be bad and do damage.”

“I knew Sludge was trouble. But this overkill.” Spike looked around himself to see vandalization.

They soon arrived at a building with an italian like decor on the outside. “Wow. Fancy looking,” Rainbow said.

“Just wait until you try the food,” Garble said with a small smirk. “Even for us dragons, living in a place like the Crystal Empire, we have plenty of gems to be put in our food.”

However, not long after the building came into sight, they heard a ruckus going on inside followed by a chair being thrown out of the door. They also heard more commotion going on before running to the door.

Inside, a young earth filly with a tan brownish fur coat and a red mane and tail in black shorts and a red shirt with a scissors cutie mark on it was behind a pink earth mare with a yellow mane and tail wearing blue jeans with a white shirt with a sunflower on it, with the older mare standing protectively in front of the filly. Around them, a griffon, a dragon, and a yeti were making a mess of the place.

The griffon knocked another chair back before glaring at the mare. “Okay Sunflower. Now how about I ask you again. You pay us the money for our protection or we keep tearing up your store until we have to turn our sights on you and your little sister there.”

“You’re not gonna touch Babs!” Yelled the mare known as Sunflower. “I won’t pay anything. Especially since you gangsters are the only trouble in the Crystal Empire!”

“Wrong answer sweetheart,” the dragon said before glaring at the two with a smirk. “Looks like-ah!”

The dragon was cut off by Garble putting him in a headlock from behind and pulling him back a bit. “I think you guys have outstayed your welcome at this place.”

The griffon and the yeti turned to Garble before the yeti said, “Well look who it. The princess’s little dragon assistant. You think you can tell us what to do Garble? Well guess what. You’re wrong!”

The yeti made a run at Garble, only to be knocked to the ground by Spike. Spike looked to Garble with a smirk. “Couldn’t let you have all of the fun.”

Garble smirked back before seeing the griffon run at him with a knife in his hand. Garble pushed the dragon to the ground before dodging a left swing of the knife and then dodged a right. He then caught the griffon’s hand and slammed it to his knee, making the griffon drop the knife. The griffon then tried to throw a fist, but Garble kneed him in the stomach before he could and then followed with a right cross that sent the griffon to the ground.

The yeti then picked up a meat cleaver before running at Spike and swinging it around, with Spike dodging each swing easily. Spike eventually caught the yeti’s arm and twisted it behind his back before kicking him to the ground. He turned around to see the dragon making a run at him, and the dragon almost reached him only for a frying pan to be thrown at his face and knocking him back down to the ground. Spike looked over his shoulder to see Ember was the one who threw it and was giving him a thumbs up, which he returned.

Garble then dodged a punch from the griffon again before knocking him into the wall. He then grabbed the griffon by the neck and was about to punch him as hard as he could, only to be stopped by Spike. “What? What’s the deal Spike?”

“They’ve had enough. Let him go and let them get out of here. It’s obvious they know they can’t handle both of us,” Spike said.

Garble seemed hesitant for a moment before letting the griffon go. The griffon slid to the ground before looking up at the two glaring dragons before Garble said, “Beat it.”

The griffon glared back before he and his two friends made their way out of the building as quickly as possible. “This ain’t over Garble!”

The two dragons and their friends watched as the gangsters ran off. After that, the mares and Ember all began entering. “Well… That was something,” Applejack said, as they all looked over the damage.

“Applejack?”

Applejack looked to Sunflower, who seemed happy to see her. “Well howdy cousin Sunflower. It’s been awhile,” Applejack said while sharing a hug with her cousin. She was soon hugged by Sunflower’s sister, Babs soon after. “And you too Babs. Boy you’re getting taller and taller every time I see you.”

“Good to see you cuz,” Babs said before Sunflower looked to Spike and Garble.

“Thank you. Both of you,” Sunflower said.

“No problem,” said Spike.

“So…” Garble started. “What was that all about?”

Sunflower held Babs close before speaking, “Some of Sludge’s lackies. Sludge forced his protection onto my restaurant. Those guys came for money, I refused, and it led to that.”

Garble sighed and rubbed his eyes a bit. “Of course. Once again Sludge is the issue.”

“But that’s over now,” Sunflower said as she smiled to them all. “As a thank you, allow me to cook you all some food. Free of charge.”

“I guess we can allow that,” Ember said with a smile.

“Great,” Sunflower said. “Just give me a moment to get the kitchen cleaned and prepared. In the meantime, have a seat and take a look at our menu.”

Sunflower and Babs walked back into the kitchen while the others sat down. Everyone, except Garble. “Garble?” Spike asked.

“I’m gonna go and tell Cadence about what’s happened. Sooner she knows about this, the sooner something can be done,” Garble said.

“Want me to come with you?” Spike asked.

“Nah,” Garble said holding his hand up. “You guys stick here. Enjoy some food. I should be back quickly.”

Spike sat back down while Garble walked out and flew off. “Alright then. Let’s chow down.”

“Yay!” Pinkie said before looking at her menu.

Meanwhile, with the gangsters, they were running until they came to a building that appeared abandoned on the outside.

“So… Who’s gonna be the one to tell the boss?” The dragon asked.

“Not it!” The griffon yelled.

“He freaks me out,” the yeti said.

“Fine,” the dragon said. “I guess I’ll tell him then.”

The three gulped before entering the building. They saw a lot of creatures, dressed similar to them sitting around doing their own thing as they made their way through the place until they came to a door with plaque that says “Boss” on it. They pushed the door open and walked in to hear the sound of crunching. They approached a desk where the chair was facing away from them. And it was also where they could hear the crunching from. The dragon gulped before asking, “Ummm… Boss?”

The crunching immediately stopped and the chair turned around to show a dragon with light green body scales and blue head and tail scales was eating a bowl of gems. Unlike Spike and Garble, this dragon was far from fit. It was Sludge. And by the looks of it, he hasn’t changed over the years.

He took another handful of gems in his mouth and ate before letting out a loud belch. He wiped some drool off of his mouth before slamming the bowl to the desk before picking up a cup of water. “Yeah? What do you want? Did you get the money from that chef pony?”

“Well...” the dragon started. “Not exactly.”

The three jumped when they heard a breaking sound. They looked to see their boss had crushed and shattered the cup in his hand before he looked to them with a glare. “What?”

“Mr. Sludge. We’re sorry it was just-.”

“You mean to tell me, you ran from an Earth pony and her little brat sister?!”

“But Sludge,” the griffon started. “She wasn’t alone.”

The yeti then said, “Yeah! Garble was there. And he had another dragon with purple and green scales to help him out.”

“I don’t care-! Wait. Did you say he was purple and green?” Sludge asked.

“Yeah,” the griffon said.

“Was anyone with that dragon?” Sludge asked.

“Yeah,” the yeti said, “There were five mares and I think your old Dragon Lord, Ember. And from how he fought, we think he might be a Gundam fighter.”

Sludge remained silent for a moment, worrying the three in front of him. However, their worry became confusion when he started laughing.

“Mr. Sludge?” The dragon asked.

“I don’t believe it. Never thought I’d see Spike again,” Sludge said with a smirk.

“Spike?” The yeti asked.

“Yeah,” Sludge said. “A long time ago, when he was still a young teenager, I almost tricked him into believing I was his father instead of his real one. The dragon who married that Princess Celestia, Bahamut. I almost did until an annoying purple alicorn, some student princess of Celestia’s, got in my way and ruined everything by telling Celestia and Bahamut. They came to the next meeting I made with Spike and exposed everything. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Spike messaged Ember about it and that’s what lead to me being banished from the Dragon Lands by her. So now I can get revenge on Spike and Ember, and get rid of Garble all at the same time.”

“Sludge?” The yeti asked.

“What?”

“Does this mean you’re not mad about us getting the money now?”

Sludge stayed silent for a moment before smirking. “No. No. I’m not.”

“Great,” the dragon said with relief. “I was scared for a second that you’d-.”

“But,” Sludge interrupted. “Only if you do another job. And this time, don’t fail. Because if you do again.”

Sludge picked up a knife from his desk and threw it to where it shot between two of them and struck the wall, emphasizing their punishment if they fail.

“Get the picture?”

The three quickly nodded before coming closer where Sludge began whispering in their ears.

Meanwhile, Spike and the girls were leaving Sunflower’s restaurant. Pinkie Pie licked her muzzle clean before doing the same to her fingers. “Wow. That was some of the best cooking I’ve ever had.”

“Same here,” Applejack said. “I forgot how good Sunflower’s cooking is.”

Twilight was carrying a plate wrapped up. “I hope Cadence and Flurry like the food we bring them.”

“I’m sure they’ll like it just fine, Twilight,” Ember said while doing a bit of stretching.

“It was good,” Fluttershy said in her quiet tone. “Very good.”

Rainbow gave a small belch while she flapped by them with her wings. “I’ll say. I haven’t had food that good since I first started being a Wonderbolt. What did you think Spike?”

Spike remained silent.

“Spike?” Rainbow asked again.

When he didn’t answer a second time, they looked to see him looking at a photo he was carrying. It was a picture of him as a child with Celestia and Bahamut, who’s shoulders he was riding on. And with them was a smiling Luna.

Ember slowed down to stand beside him before looking to him with sympathy. “We’ll get them free Spike. I promise.”

Spike looked to her for a moment before smiling. “You’re right. We will.”

They soon arrived back at the castle and headed for Cadence’s room. Twilight said, “Hey Cadence. We’re back and we brought some-.”

Twilight stopped talking when they all saw what was before them. It even caused Twilight to drop the food she was carrying.

The room was a mess. There was broken glass on the ground from a broken window, a butch of furniture torn apart, broken vases and pictures, and what worried them the most was Cadence was unconscious and Flurry Heart was no where in sight.

Twilight ran over to her and held her up. “Cadence. Cadence wake up!”

Cadence began to stir a little before opening her eyes. “Twilight?”

“Yeah. It’s us,” Twilight said as she helped Cadence up and to a chair.

Spike approached her before asking, “Cadence? What happened here?”

“Sludge… Two of his gangsters,” Cadence said as she fully regained consciousness. “They slammed into the room. A yeti and a griffon. They attacked our home. I tried to take care of them myself while Flurry went to hide in her room but…”

“What about Garble?” Ember asked. “He said he was on his way here when we got to the restaurant earlier.”

Cadence rubbed her head a bit. “I… I remember him arriving right as I blacked out. But after that, I don’t know.”

“Girls!” Pinkie yelled running down, only for once, she was in a panicked state.

“What is it Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.

“I went upstairs to make sure Flurry was okay. But… SHE’S GONE!!!”

“WHAT!?” All of the others yelled at once.

“Yeah. Her room is torn up and all I found was this,” Pinkie said before pulling out a piece of paper. Twilight quickly took the paper in her magic and looked to it.

“Oh no…” Twilight said as she read over the message.

“What is it Twilight?” Fluttershy asked in concern.

Twilight took a small gulp before reading the message out loud, “It says, ‘Flurry Heart is ours. If you want to see her or Garble again, you must send Spike to meet me in the plaza of the Crystal Empire. If he doesn’t show, the filly will die. Sludge.’ This isn’t good?”

“What do we do?” Rainbow asked.

“I think there’s only one thing to do,” Spike said. “I’m going to the plaza.”

“Spike?” Ember asked. “Is that really wise?”

“Yeah,” Applejack said. “Surely you can tell like the rest of us that no good varmint Sludge is setting a trap.”

Spike sighed before saying, “I know that. But right now I don’t think we have a-.”

“APPLEJACK!!!”

They all turned to see Sunflower running toward them. She stopped to catch her breath while Applejack approached her for support. “Sunflower? What’s up?”

Sunflower was panting as she tried to speak, “The dragon... After you left… He came back… Took her…”

“Took who?” Applejack asked concerned.

Sunflower finally caught her breath but also began crying. “Babs… That dragon took Babs…”

“What!?” Applejack yelled. “That varmint took Babs?”

“Seems like Sludge is serious,” Spike said. “Looks like we don’t have a choice. I have to go meet Sludge at the plaza. It’s the only chance we have to save Babs and Flurry.”

“But Spike-,” Twilight started.

“There’s no other way Twilight,” Spike said. “I don’t like it, but I’m not going to risk Flurry and Babs. But while I’m keeping him occupied, that might give you guys an opening to get them away from Sludge.”

This left them all silent for a moment before Rainbow said, “I hate to say it, but he makes a fair point. Him keeping Sludge’s attention should let us get those fillies out of harm’s way.”

“Then it’s settled. See you when you get there,” Spike said before he took off running out of the room before anyone could stop him.

“Spike!” Twilight yelled, but was unheard. When he was out of sight, Twilight sighed. “I swear. He can be so stubborn sometimes.

Later that day.

Sludge was sitting on an abandoned stairway to a building, munching on a bucket of gems with Flurry and Babs, both tied up and glaring at him.

“What’s your problem man?” Babs asked in a stern tone.

“Simple. Your sister doesn’t pay me the money she owes, she pays for the consequences of her actions,” Sludge said with gems in his mouth.

“You mean for protection that you forced on us you tub of lard?” Babs asked in a smart elek way.

“You little brat!” Sludge said glaring at Babs and smacked her to the side and against the wall with his tail.

“Leave her alone you jerk!” Flurry yelled.

“Or what?” Sludge asked while taking a tight grip on one of Flurry’s wings. He even plucked a feather from her wing and began using it to pick his teeth with.

“Spike’s gonna beat you to a pulp when he gets here,” Flurry said defiantly.

“Don’t bet on it,” Sludge said smirking. “Even when he does show up, like you two, he won’t make it out of here alive.”

Babs sat up and looked to the mark on her cheek from Sludge’s tail. “You sound confident for someone who’s so lazy he can’t fight for himself.”

Sludge glared at the filly as he stood over her. “If you don’t shut your mouth, I’m gonna tear out your tongue you little-.”

“SLUDGE!!!”

Sludge turned his sights around to see Spike flying in before landing and folding his wings. Sludge smirked before saying, “Well hey Spike. How ya been? Been a long time huh?”

“Not long enough Sludge,” Spike said with a bit of venom in his voice.

“Awww,” Sludge said in fake hurt voice. “Are you still mad about when we first met?”

“You mean when you lied to me and tried to convince me you were my real father instead of Bahamut just to take advantage of me and my home? Yeah. I’m still mad!”

“You really need to learn to get over it,” Sludge said before eating more gems.

“Maybe if you hand over the fillies you’ve kidnapped, I might consider going easy on you,” Spike said with a bit of anger.

Sludge remained silent before laughing, some of the gems he was eating were being spat out from this. “Yeah right. You didn’t think I’d just hand them over did you? Boys!”

Not long after, many of Sludge’s gangsters, some being unicorns with magic in their horns and the rest with crossbows, aimed at Spike.

“Open fire boys! Wipe him out!” Sludge yelled out.

All of the unicorns began firing their magic and the rest fired arrows at Spike as he was covered in smoke from the magic blasts.

“SPIKE!!!” Flurry and Babs yelled.

Sludge smirked at the sight of the smoke as his men stopped firing. However, his smirk quickly left when the smoke cleared to show Spike had taken no harm. The magic shots only hit the ground along with some arrows while some of the arrows were caught between Spike’s claws. “What the!? How did you-?!”

Spike grinned as the crest from his fight with Grogar appeared on his right hand again. The sight of it made one of the unicorns to gasp in fear. “Oh man. Boss. That crest! It’s the crest for the King of Sorcery! I’ve heard it used to belong to the unicorn who leads the Supreme Magic Sorcerer School for his magic and fighting skills! I heard rumors that he passed it down a student of his!”

An earth pony turned pale from hearing this. “So wait, are you saying that this dragon is-?”

“Yep,” Spike said before throwing the arrows aside. “I was trained by the unicorn who bears that title. And that’s why I’m not quitting until I get my friends back.”

“This is crazy!” One of the gangsters, a pegasus, yelled before dropping his crossbow. “I didn’t sign up to fight a legend! I’m outta here!”

“Get back here you worthless pony!” Sludge yells at him.

Soon after, his other gangsters took off running as well. Sludge groaned before saying, “Why is good help hard to find these days?”

“SLUDGE! Give Flurry and Babs back or else I’m coming over there and RIPPING your wings off!” Spike yelled out.

Spike’s threat seemed to unfaze Sludge. The larger dragon then smirked laughed a bit.

“What’s so funny?” Spike asked.

“Spike. I may not be a fighter, but I’m smart enough to have a backup plan when it comes to facing one. Let me show you,” Sludge said before snapping his fingers.

This confused Spike until, from the shadows, Garble walked into view. However, Spike noticed he was wearing some kind of helmet with a black mane, eye covers, and red horns on the forehead.

“Garble? What are you doing?” Spike asked.
However, Garble remained silent. This made Spike feel uneasy before he glared at Sludge again. “What have you done to him?”

“I got a little creative,” Sludge said with a smirk. “One of my guys found that helmet hidden around parts of the princess’s castle. After a little research, we found out it was an old controlling helmet from the old ruler of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra. Turns out whoever is forced to wear it can be controlled by who put it on them. Simply put, Garble is now my puppet.”

“You sick bastard!” Spike yelled out.

“Hey. It’s what I do,” Sludge said. “Garble. Get rid of him. And do it with your Crimson Dragon Gundam.”

The controlled Garble simply nodded before suddenly, the ground rumbled a bit and Garble was soon lifted up by a metallic dragon like hand while most of the abandoned building fell to the ground to reveal a Gundam.

Like Spike’s it had a metallic dragon tail and two dragon claw feet. It also had a sheathed axe on its back. The Gundam lifted Garble high enough for Garble to jump into the cockpit. Not long after, the Gundam lifted its foot to stomp on Spike.

“Corelander!” Spike yelled out before the corelander of his Gundam came to him and he grabbed onto it before the Crimson Dragon’s Gundam stomped on the ground. Spike stood on top of it as Garble began controlling the Gundam with his control suit and began following Spike. He then began firing at Spike with his Gundam’s vulcan forehead guns, with Spike doing everything he could to dodge the shots. “Oh boy. Garble’s under Sludge’s control and now he’s being forced to attack me with his Gundam. Guess I only have one option.”

Spike then stood up on his corelander and snapped his fingers as he yelled, “Rise Shining Dragon Gundam!”

Instantly, not too far away, a Gundam storage capsule rose from the ground and opened to reveal the Shining Dragon Gundam in a kneeling position before it rose to its feet.

(Based off this but with dragon claws for hands and feet and a metallic dragon tail.)

Spike’s corelander turned to face the back of the Gundam before Spike jumped into it as it shifted to dock with the inside of the robot’s back. Once inside, the mobile tray system activated and moved to get Spike into his control suit before opening in the center and spoke with its computer, “Mobile tray system checking brain waves, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature, metabolism. All green.”

Spike did a few movements to test the Gundam’s responses before facing the Crimson Dragon Gundam. “I really don’t wanna fight you unofficially Garble. But right now, I don’t have a choice.”

The Crimson Dragon Gundam and Shining Dragon Gundam charged at one another and locked hands, both trying to overpower the other. The Crimson Dragon Gundam then reared its head back and headbutted the Shining Dragon Gundam in the forehead before following up with a punch to its chest. The Shining Dragon Gundam then countered by blocking its next punch and pushing it back with a kick before throwing a punch back. The Crimson Dragon Gundam then ducked to evade a kick before tackling the Shining Dragon Gundam into a building. The Crimson Dragon Gundam then held it down while the Shining Dragon Gundam was trying to hold it back.

“Come on Garble! Fight it!” Spike said as he struggled to hold him back. He then ducked to dodge another punch before moving around and grabbed Garble around the waist to lift and slam his Gundam down to the ground. Spike then moved back and drew his Gundam’s beam sword which ignited a pink beam before raising it to block the Crimson Dragon Gundam’s axe. “Garble!”

Garble remained silent before pushing Spike’s sword up with his axe and then spun to slash Spike in the knee with it. Spike felt the pain from it due to his battle suit and he backed up, which gave Garble the opportunity to then kick the Shining Dragon Gundam to the back and hold it against the building.

“That’s it Garble! Kill him! Get rid of him!” Sludge yelled out.

“You’re a sick monster!” Flurry Heart yelled.

“I’m getting tired of listening to you both,” Sludge said before looking at the two and licking his snout. “Watching this fight is making me hungry. And I’m in the mood for a little filly. Let’s see…”

Sludge looked between Babs and Flurry before stopping at Flurry. “I think I’ll start with you. I kinda want to see what magic tastes like.”

Sludge reached over and took Flurry in his grasp with Babs yelling, “Leave her alone you sick freak!”

“Wait your turn brat,” Sludge said before taking a grip on Flurry’s wing. “I’ll start with this as an appetizer.”

“No. Somepony help!” Flurry yelled out as Sludge’s grip on her wing tightened.

Spike could hear the screaming and looked down from his Gundam. “FLURRY!!!”

“And now,” Sludge said. “Let the wing go pop-AAAGGGGHHH!!!”

Before Flurry knew it, a golf club came out of nowhere and smacked Sludge right in the face, resulting in some of his teeth being knocked out and him dropping her.

“Ow! Who did… that?” Sludge asked before he looked to see Applejack beginning to untie Flurry and Babs.

But what made him nervous was seeing Cadance, who held the golf club, and Sunflower holding a mallet. And both were so red, one would mistake their fur color. “Ummmm… Hello?”

“You!” Sunflower said through gritted teeth. “You tore up my restaurant! Demanded money for unwanted protection! Kidnapped my sister! And then planned to eat her?!”

“Wait,” Sludge said holding his hands up defensively. “That was just a joke. I wasn’t going to do so.”

Sludge then looked to see them look at the two fillies and became even more furious when Sunflower saw the bruise on Babs’ cheek and Cadence saw the missing feathers on Flurry’s wings.

Sludge, terrified, spoke again, “Look. Can’t we talk about this?”

“You wanna talk?” Cadence asked with a glare and mad grin. “Okay. We’ll talk. But me and Sunflower plan on talking with these!”

Sludge then watched as the two mares came at him with their weapons while he screamed out loud. Applejack just finished getting the fillies untied just as the others arrived. However, they got there just in time to see the shadows of Cadence and Sunflower beating down on Sludge. Cadence’s club slammed down on his wing while Sunflower’s mallet came down on his tail, making him scream more. With his mouth open, Cadence swung for his face, knocking more of his teeth out before Sunflower hit him in the eye, which likely caused a black eye.

After many minutes of beating, Cadence and Sunflower finally stopped and took a breath while they and the others looked to see the beaten down Sludge, laying barely conscious.

“If you ever come near Flurry again, that’ll be just the beginning Sludge!” Cadence said with venom in her voice.

“The same goes for my restaurant and ESPECIALLY Babs!” Sunflower followed with.

Sludge couldn’t reply. Just lay there trying to stay conscious.

“Mom!”

“Sis!”

Cadence and Sunflower turned around to be embraced by Flurry and Babs, with them returning the embraces. “Thank Celestia your safe Flurry.”

“You too Babs. I don’t think I could handle losing you.”

“I’m fine sis. Thanks to you and Princess Cadence,” Babs said.

This happy moment, however, was interrupted by a loud crash. They all looked up to see Spike was still struggling against Garble.

“Spike!” Ember cried out.

Spike looked down to see the other, relieved to see the two fillies were safe. “Good. That’s one problem fixed.”

Spike then felt his control suit put a lot of pressure on his gut from the Crimson Dragon Gundam striking the Shining Dragon Gundam in the gut. “Now to take care of the other. Wait. The control suits. That gives me an idea.”

The Crimson Dragon Gundam then threw another punch only for the Shining Dragon Gundam to slip behind it to dodge.

“If I can strike his Gundam’s head unit with just the right amount of force, his mobile tray system and control suit should strike the mask with enough force to damage or deactivate it.”

The Crimson Dragon Gundam then turned to face the Shining Dragon Gundam and began rapidly throwing more punches. However, instead of fighting back, Spike began dodging the punches. “That’s it. Just gotta wait for the right moment.”

Spike continued dodging the strikes before pulling back to dodge a right cross and saw the head unit unguarded. “NOW!”

Using the wrist covers’ boosters as extra propulsion, the Shining Dragon Gundam shot its fist forward and struck the Crimson Dragon Gundam right between the eyes. This caused the Crimson Dragon Gundam to stagger back a bit. Inside of its cockpit, the mobile tray system caused the attack to also strike the mask as well. The mask began blinking on the eye covers as Garble held his head a bit.

Spike watched as the Crimson Dragon Gundam held its head for a moment before it seemed to relax. “Garble? You there?”

The Crimson Dragon Gundam looked to him while inside, Garble raised his head and slowly reached for the mask. And instantly, Garble pulled it off before smiling at the Shining Dragon Gundam. “Yeah dude. I’m here. I owe you one Spike.”

“No problem,” Spike said. “However, you can thank me one way.”

“What’s that?”

“By us finishing this as an official Gundam match,” Spike said. “The tournament just started today and I’m itching to have my first official fight. So what do you say?”

Garble remained silent for a moment before smirking himself and taking his fighting stance. “You got it Spike. Gundam Fight! READY!”

“GO!” Spike yelled out as the two charged one another once again. They both collided arms and for a moment before pushing away from each other. Spike threw a kick that was blocked by Garble, who then countered with a punch that Spike blocked as well. Spike countered with a right cross that Garble blocked before throwing a swing of his tail that Spike blocked with his arms before skidding back a little. He then used his boosters to dodge the next barrage of Garble’s attacks.

From the ground, the girls couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. Flurry asked, “Wait. Spike got that mask off of Garble. So why are they still fighting?”

“It’s a matter of pride for the sport.”

Everyone turned to Ember as she spoke, “When Garble fought the first time, it was because he wasn’t in control of himself and the match was unofficial. But now that he’s free of that mask, Garble and Spike want to finish it with an official match. Not out of defense, but out of respect for the sport as Gundam fighters.”

Garble then threw a kick that was caught by Spike who tried to trip him, but Garble jumped to dodge it and used his other foot to push himself back again. Spike then charged at Garble again and the Shining Dragon Gundam threw a right cross that the Crimson Dragon Gundam blocked, but the Shining Dragon Gundam then countered by doing a left cyclone back kick that was also blocked but still pushed Garble back. “Not bad Spike. Not bad at all.”

Garble then charged in and gave Spike a body tackle that knocked him to the ground. “But not good enough. Now let’s see if you have what it takes to handle this!”

The Crimson Dragon Gundam’s hands began to glow red as he threw them into the air. “Crimson! Eruptor! BLAST!” Garble yelled as he brought his two fists together in front of the Gundam and fired a powerful red beam from them. The Shining Dragon Gundam crossed its arms to block the attack. The attack was able to push the Gundam further back. “Looks like I win this one Spike.”

“Don’t be so sure Garble!” Garble looked to see the Shining Dragon Gundam getting to its feet and holding back the blast with its hand.

“What the-?”

Spike’s right hand began to glow with his King of Sorcery crest. “This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its shining grip tells me to defeat you!”

The Shining Dragon Gundam’s hand began to glow green as it began pushing through the blast with its hand and boosters. “Here I go! SHINING CLAW!!!”

The Shining Dragon Gundam pushed through the blast and eventually took a strong grip on the Crimson Dragon Gundam’s head.

“Wow. This is some kind of power,” Garble said.

“Garble?”

“What?”

“Recite the Gundam Fight Tournament’s two primary rules,” Spike said as his Gundam’s grip forced Garble’s to its knees.

“A pilot must not aim for an opponent’s cockpit,” Garble started. “And as long their Gundam’s head unit isn’t destroyed and disqualified, then the fighter may continue fighting in the tournament for as long as they want.”

“Good,” Spike said with a smile. He then released the Crimson Dragon Gundam’s head before the Shining Dragon Gundam’s hand stopped glowing and let out steam as it began cooling off. This action confused Garble.

“Spike?”

“You fought good and fair Garble,” Spike said. “And I wouldn’t mind facing you again sometime. So for now, I’ll take the victory I have and spare your Gundam’s head.”

Garble was a little surprised but smiled gratefully. “Thanks Spike.”

The girls down on the ground watched with smiles as the match ended with the sun shining down on the two Gundams.

The next morning.

After a bit of sleep, the girls and Spike were preparing to head off. Since the corelander was only built for two, Cadence provided another hover vehicle as a means of transport for the rest. They loaded up their stuff as Sludge was being escorted away by some guards before Spike stopped them for a minute.

“Sludge?”

“What? What do you want?”

Spike then pulled out the picture of Shining Armor they brought with them. “Shining Armor. Princess Cadence’s husband. Have you seen him?”

Sludge took a look at the picture for a moment before looking away. “Of course not. I’d want no business to do with him.”

“I see,” Spike said putting the photo away while the guards took Sludge away. Spike then walked to his crew with Cadence, Flurry, Babs, Sunflower, and Garble.

“Spike,” Sunflower said. “I can’t thank you enough for risking your life to save Babs.”

“Yeah. We owe you one Spike,” Babs said with a smile.

“No problem kid,” Spike said while Garble approached them.

“So where are you guys off to now?” Garble asked.

Twilight was looking over the list of countries. “I think we’ll head to Neo-Amareica next. It’s the closest one.”

“Good idea Twilight,” Applejack said. “I’ve been eager to visit one of the best countries in the world.”

“Yay,” Fluttershy said in her soft voice.
“Yes indeedy,” Pinkie said.

“I wouldn’t mind that myself,” Rainbow said. “Matter of fact I think my old Wonderbolt squad mate Thunderlane is there. I’m sure he won’t mind if we crash with him for a while.”

“Good idea Dash,” Ember said before looking at Spike. “What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me,” Spike said. “Let’s get ready to head out.”

“Hold on,” Cadence said as she and Flurry.

Flurry held up what appeared to be a green headband to Spike, “Mom and I made this for you. We were going to make a red one for daddy, but since you’re fighting in his place, we made it green for you.”

Spike smiled before taking the headband and tying it around his head. Flurry then asked, “Spike? Do you promise to bring dad back to us?”

Spike kneeled down and rubbed Flurry’s head. “I do promise Flurry. And in the meantime just keep believing in him like I said. Okay?”

Flurry smiled and nodded before Cadence hugged Spike. “Be careful out there Spike.”

“I will Cadence,” Spike said before he broke the hug and turned to his crew. “Alright girls. Let’s get going.”

The girls nodded and loaded up the transport while Ember and Spike took the corelander. They waved bye to Cadence and the others as they drove off. While Ember piloted the corelander, Spike sat in the back with the picture of Shining Armor in his hand. ‘Shining. For you and your family, I will find you and get you back to them. I will save you my brother. That’s a promise.’