Project Mechillionby RonocorianChaptersChapter One: A Strange Awakening.A Disturbing Truth.Chapter Two: Ride Of The Valkyries.Chapter Three: A Horrible Way To Go.Chapter Four: The Mysterious Mare.Chapter Five: An Old Soldier's Dreams.Chapter Six: Psychological Injuries.Chapter One: A Strange Awakening.Steelwing woke from his comfortable bed in Canterlot, uneager to rise from his warm cover and bed and squinting his eyes at the beam of light radiating from the window in his luxurious suite in the palace. Celestia had given him and seven other ponies these suites following their initiation into the experimental weaponry program that she was running after the incident at Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding with the changeling invasion that took place there. He stared in the mirror, unable to assure himself that his current situtation was even legitimate. He saw the reflection of his grey face, with his icy blue eyes and the various scars that decorated his face in an array of lines running from his forehead to his lower jaw, and along his jawline running into his sturdy but small neck staring back at him. He remembered how he got those scars, and shook his head as a flashback overtook him. "No, not now, flashbacks can wait till later." he thought to himself, knowing that he had places to be. Princess Celestia was not one to keep waiting. He threw his flight goggles around his neck, and quickly washed up before departing his room to reach todays training point, many thoughts went though his head. "What is this "Project Mechllion, what am i doing here" were two of said thoughts. What Steelwing didn't know, was that today would change his life forever. As he strolled down the clean white hallways illuminated by the gentle magical lights that rested on the walls, he saw many familiar sights, after all, he had served in Luna's Shadowguard for quite a time, one thing he wasen't used to however was the stares other ponies often gave him, the way they saw his face and quickly looked away, were they...intimidated? by this strange scarred pony walking before them? or did interest just get the better of them, his answer was quickly answered when ponies deliberately started avoiding him, making great effort to stay out of his path, maybe it was the scars, who knows. Whatever it was, he liked it. He arrived at his destination, and it was nothing short of breathtaking. "Holy Shi..." he thought to himself as he looked up at the 7 foot metal door infront of him, the door was solid steel, emblazoned with the insignia of Princess Celestia on the left hand side, and Princess Luna on the right, he looked for a way to open it, when he saw what looked like a scanner. He looked closer to investigate, it turned out his suspicions were correct, it was indeed a hoof scanner but as he scanned around the door, he also saw what looked like an optical scanner. Thats when it hit him, "Thats why they needed my eye and hoof yesterday" he chuckled to himself at the thought, how could he have been so stupid. Steelwing pressed his hoof onto the pad and positioned his eye onto the scanner. Scanning successful. An electronic voice boomed from the speaker. "Identification: "Rono" Steelwing, Codename: Four, Two, One, Ochelon; Division Alpha, Classification; Specialist, Pegasus. Access granted. The door slid open from a pivot in the middle, sliding apart from the left and the right, and the middle slowly retracting into the floor. He entered the room, and five pairs of eyes turned to look at him. Only four of those did he recognise; "Jak" Ironhoof, as he liked to be called, an earth pony with a brown coat and a white mane, he had a firm friendship with Ironhoof from the early days of childhood, a daredevil mercenary with a care for very little except the cash, and oh, he loved explosions too. But at the same time, one of the greatest tacticians ever to set foot in equestria. Him and Steelwing had seen combat together on more than one time. He also recognised "Jade" Shadowhorn, another familiar face, but they were more recent friends, Jade was however, a much more mysterious unicorn, with his dark coat and crimson mane he was a rather frightening sight, but a formidable magician in combat, some say he rivalled even the renowned Twilight Sparkle. Steelwing had seem him make items explode, just by looking at them, he knew there was more to it than just looking at the item but it was still pretty intimidating, some said his special gift was to speak to the dead, but Steelwing doubted this highly. Shadowhorn and Steelwing had also seen combat together, while serving under princess luna as two of the revered shadowguard. Steelwing knew that he was surrounded by the most deadly combatants in Equestria. And he trusted them both completely, having them here gave him a great sense of security, he wasen't going this alone this time. Of course he also recognised the familiar faces of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, Celestia beckoned him over with a nod of her horn. Luna smiled after seeing him and said in her unusually soft voice "It is good to see you again Steelwing." He replied to Luna with a similar greeting "It is also good to see you Luna, i am glad you are well, as with you Celestia." They both smiled at him, then turned to watch the door, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the last four ponies to arrive, Steelwing moved back into the group to talk to Shadowhorn and Ironhoof, and find out just what this was about. "So then guys, what the hell is this about?" he said with a slight chuckle." "Oh, you're going to like it. a LOT." Ironhoof replied." "Some kind of secret ultimate weapon." Shadowhorn said as he looked around the room suspiciously. "I guess that means that ill like it." Steelwing replied sarcastically Rono turned his attention back to Princess Luna and Celestia. "Excuse me your majesties, but what are we waiting for?" Luna was the first to reply "There should be eleven ponies here, us included, 9 of you" "So, we're erm...waiting on five others?" Steelwing stated "Quite" Celestia replied. Over the next five minutes Steelwing, Ironhoof and Shadowhorn got talking to the other ponies and discovered they were quite intimidated by their presence "Luna and Celestia have told us great things about you" a white pegasus simply stated "Oh?" Steelwing replied as he turned to look at the pegasus, as he looked into his eyes, the pegasus moved his head and stared at the ground. "Y...yes...sir" The pegasus said "Sir? why sir" Steelwing asked, confused at the time, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof shared his expression of confusion. "Didn't you know? you three are the team leaders, the other six of us are under your command" A orange unicorn replied shyly. "Team leaders?" Shadowhorn, Steelwing and Ironhoof all looked at each other with confused faces. "Thats right my little ponies." Princess Celestia said as she gently approached them, causing their faces to turn and look at her and notice the other five ponies behind her. "It is time to explain why you are here my faithful servants." They were led to an immense dark hall, the hall was dark as they entered, and as the lights flickered on, they saw what they had been recruited into, but they didn't quite believe it. "What the fuck..." Said Steelwing as he looked to Ironhoof and Shadowhorn, both their eyes wide and mouths agape much like his own, and before them, stood nine giant humanoid mech suits. three of each kind, one kind resembling that of a humanoid unicorn, with strange pipes coursing with orange, black and crimson fluid. "This is the Shadowhorn Decimator, a ten foot mecha that will amplify the pilots magical ability sevenfold, Shadowhorn, the mech has been named after you as you are the team leader of squad Omega. Codenamed Black Dusk." finished Princess Luna. "Moving on..." As they averted their gaze to the next set of mechs their eyes widened even further as they saw the earth pony version of the unicorn mech. It was bigger, bulkier and had a horrific variety of weaponry attached to the arms, aswell as this, they seemed to possess a faint but visible blue shimmer around them. "We call these the Ironhoof Juggernauts. Obviously due to the eight inches of steel armor plating we have fit them with. they also have state of the art melee weaponry and plasma shielding, although that, aswell as most of the content in these suits is still in its prototyped phase, but these things can take a pounding. Finally..." "The Steelwing Valkyries" finished Luna. "Imagine these as a giant flying pegasus fortress, and you have the suits that you can see infront of you. They can alter to adapt to ground fighting or air to air combat and can also function as a bomber. Steelwings mouth dropped. he was looking forward to controlling this. "As with Shadowhorn, the other set of mechs are named after you Ironhoof and you Steelwing as you will be leading your team of two wingmen under the codename Ragnarok, "Celestia's Might" for you Ironhoof. and Valkyrie, "Luna's Will" for you Steelwing. The controls are simple, imagine something to happen, and it does. Good luck out there, we're sending you on your first mission immediately, get ready to leave, you do so in two hours. you will be briefed in an hour and a half. I will see you then, i suggest you play around with your new toys. All three of the ponies looked in the direction of the others, curious of what the others wanted to do next. "Well. Its practice time, ill catch you guys up later." Said Steelwing, walking away. A Disturbing Truth.Steelwing walked towards the dark dock. There he saw the ultimate weapon that the EDF had invested so many bits in, the tool that would halt the changeling invasion. Ever since Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding the changelings had been gathering forces, amassing ready to reignite the conflict and finally defeat Celestia, thus conqurering all of Equestria. Steelwing had told himself from the start that he would stand and die before this happened. And with the sighting of multiple changeling BOWs he had thought that so much more likely. Now though, it seemed that they had a chance. They could fight back. Steelwing looked down below the foot of the mech, looking for a way to open it, and pilot the devastating machine. He was anxious to see what this machine could do, looking down he noticed a black puddle of oil, gently lifting a hoof into it, he noticed how it shimmered and how the colors of the oil gently moved like waves of a darker rainbow, it seemed it had been combined with water. Looking up he saw what he was about to pilot. Standing ten foot tall directly infront of him was the Valkyrie MK4, Steelwing was as tall as the foot of the machine and on the shin he could see a word and a pair of numbers sprayed in white over the grey overcoating that matched his coat. On the offpieces of armor, such as additional shin plating, and in the pleats of metal feathers on the wings, he could see strands of brown paintwork, matching that of his mane. "How very creative..." he thought to himself in the silence. For a hangar full of ten foot tall mecha killing machines, it was surprisingly silent, he relished this while he could, because soon, he would be in the warzone, flying over Ponyville to protect the "mane six" as they were known, not that they couldn't protect themselves, but the Elements of Harmony were the only key to this battle, if they lost them, they lost the war. As Steelwing looked again at the shin of the mech, he read the things sprayed on there "Valkyrie Four-Two-One" "Echelon" "Luna's Will" "Snazzy.." he said to himself in a silenced chuckle, Chapter Two: Ride Of The Valkyries.Three months had passed, ever since his introduction into the Echelon Two Zero project. And here he was, with new wingmen, but the same squad leaders cruising along the ground, thrusters at full power, reaching a speed of one thousand trots per second. "Steelwing!!!" A familiar voice screamed through the headset on Steelwing's head, he jumped with fright, Ironhoof never failed to dissapoint. "WHAT!" Steelwing shouted back. "Stop daydreaming! Combat ahead!" "Changelings, 200 meters ahead" Echelon Two-Two said in an official but shaky tone. "Now now ladies, i know its your first time out here, but dont lose your marbles!" Steelwing replied to them "WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Ironhoof screamed as he prepared his mech for combat, Steelwing saw it shift into battle formation, moving vast iron plates into position, ready to soak enemy fire. "Echelon squad, Transition, prepare for aerial engagement." Steelwing said as he felt the mech change shape, and slowly watched the floor shrink as the gargantuan steel wings extended and took effect. It was time, the princesses had said so, he eagerly checked the holographic HUD projected onto the glass of the cockpit, showing him all the important things he needed to know in fine blue writing. He had chosen blue as it had been his favorite color, he adored the night sky, maybe that was where his slight infaturation for Princess Luna's flank had come from. He quickly shaked the thought out of his head. Lower Chassis integrity - 100% Upper Chassis integrity - 100% Shield Status - 100% Thruster Output - 79% and increasing. All was good there. Next he checked the weapon status. Magical Reserves - 1000/1000 R/Shoulder Chaingun - 25000/25000 L/Shoulder Chaingun - 25000/25000 R/Arm Energy Blade - 1000/1000 (MG RSRV) L/Arm Rifle - 1250/1250 Rockets - 36/36 All was good there too. Steelwing was ready. "Echelon Two-Zero locked and loaded!" Steelwing called, alerting the others that he was ready. "Echelon Two-One locked and loaded!" "Echelon Two-Two locked and loaded!" "Echelon locked!" yelled Steelwing. "Ragnarok locked!" yelled Ironhoof in his rough voice. "Decimator locked!" yelled Shadowhorn finally. "Black Dusk, take immediate combat positions, Echelon, take point!" Steelwing yelled as he watched his wingmen soar forward and eagerly pushed the thrusters up to join up with them. "Ragnarok, Prepare for melee combat" Steelwing said. "Roger that. Ragnarok ready for grizzly" said Ironhoof in his typical gruff voice finally steelwing finished his order. "Decimators, support stance!" "On it....In position" replied Shadowhorn. Suddenly static burst through the mic. "This is ponyville delta one-one! we need immediate assistance! changeling BOW's have been deployed, is anybody out there?!!!" "This is EDI Black Dusk reading you loud and clear one one. fall back to point foxtrot two, will assist" replied Steelwing. "Well boys, looks like we have a job to do" finished Ironhoof, a rocket soaring past him. "Enemy sighted!" screamed Ragnarok One-One" Steelwing took the shot, using the zoom on his rifle his scoped in and took a changeling BOW clean out with a single hit of the 80mm particle slug. He watched down the scope as the changelings face moved from an expression of devious pleasure to pure terror as the slug soared towards his head. The last thing the monster saw was a large metal slug heading towards him, the last thing Steelwing saw of that monster was its head decompact into an explosion of violet blood and chunks of jelly like fluid that looked an awful lot like brain. "FUCK YEAH!!!" Ironhoof screamed as he saw the fireworks explosion, and that very moment the lines closed, the three juggernaut mechs collided heavily with the enemy battleline, drawing swords of varying colors and cutting down an entire row of them in a series of devastating cleaves that left the opposition in more pieces than you could count. or as Ironhoof would say. "Severely fucked up." "Echelon Soaring maneuver three one!" Steelwing called, below he could hear the screaming of the changelings as they got messed up by the burning magical energy swords, being enchanced by the Decimators outragous magical ability. Think of those swords as pure unicorn magic, solidified into a red hot blade that would melt skin, bone and armor alike. Steelwing winced at the thought. "Roger!" Echelon Two-One and Two-Two called. The three Valkyrie mechs flew over the enemies battleline and headed straight for the HPTs (High Priority Targets) dropping rockets and spraying minigun fire at the crowd of changelings below as they did so, skewering many of the smaller changelings into tiny bits or simply incinerating the others. Echelon squad sniped four HPTs over the next fifteen seconds, and Steelwing allowed himself a smug grin. "FUCK THIS SHIT!!!" Ironhoof yelled as he dispersed the energy blade and extended a large mini gun from out of the Juggernaut mechs right arm. "They're falling back!" observed Echelon Two-Two just before Steelwing watched his mech combust into a flaming meteor that flew towards the floor and exploded. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" were the last words that were ever heard leaving his mouth. "What the fuck was that!!!" Steelwing yelled down the team communicator. "Anti Air!" Screamed Echelon Two-One as he dodged a large missile flying up towards his mech, he doglegged right....straight into Steelwing. Steelwing screamed as the explosion of his rockets tore his mech apart and a large crack appeared up the centre of the cockpit glass. Two-One was a pile of rubble on the ground below and the floor was rapidly approaching Steelwing as he nose dived straight for the pathways of Ponyville "Steelwing!!!" shouted Ironhoof and Shadowhorn as he fell. "Thrusters Unresponsive" yelled the onboard AI "Structural Integrity - 23%" "Shield Status - Offline." it continued. The last thing Steelwing remembered was a large impact and the sound of shattering glass. He felt cold iron bars and sections of glass force themselves into his body just before he lost conciousness. Chapter Three: A Horrible Way To Go.Steelwing drifted back into a painful dark consciousness, awoken by the sound of arching electricity, he looked back on the event and realised he had practically nose dived into the floor at a good 1600 trots per second, he was incredibly lucky to be alive. Steelwing attempted to move his torso, only to be stopped by two cold shooting pains "ARGHHHH!!!!!" he screamed, as he realised he had been gored on two sharp cold steel poles, that had dug directly into his body, luckily missing all of the vital organs. One had embedded its self directly into Steel's left leg, and the other had passed entirely through his right shoulder, emerging out of the other side. The cold steel bit into his flesh, and he could tell by the increasingly light feeling that he was bleeding internally, Steel didn't have much time left. Steels blood coated the cracked glass of the cockpit, and as he opened his mouth to breathe, he found himself coughing huge pools of blood up, the movement of his lungs slowly pushing him futher onto the impaling metal spikes. "Euuuugh!!" he groaned, the cold biting into his insides once more, He.....He HAD to stay alive....Stay alive....Alive.... Steelwing started to black out as he saw 3 ponies rapidly approaching the front of the cockpit, their screams were muffled as he started to lose consciousness at an alarming rate. Steelwing reached down into the emergency kit he always kept in reach, and fiddled it open with his right hand, completely immobilised by the spikes. Steelwing met the lock on the box with success, opening it, only to find that the shot of adrenaline that he needed to stay alive was just out of his reach, breathing in deeply and painfully, he braced himself for what he was about to do. he pushed his body forward, slowly sliding himself off the spikes bit by bit, the whole time screaming curses that should never be uttered. He finally reached the syringe and jammed it into his arm with all the strength he could muster. He pushed down on the end of the syringe, releasing the adrenaline into his system and forced himself to hold on for another painful minute. He felt a surge of energy rush into his body as the adrenaline took effect, and he managed to will his head to look at the cockpit that the three other ponies were smashing at, trying to gain access so they may assist him, Steelwing was bleeding out fast, and they knew they had very little time before it was too late. A pony, a mare as far as he could see was bucking her way into the cockpit fast, and the reinforced glass showed heavy signs of pressure, small parts of glass started to be displaced, and the orange furred pony with the blonde mane showed no signs of exertion, she was giving it her all. The last thing Steelwing remembers was a large crack appearing before his body went limp and he blacked out once more. Chapter Four: The Mysterious Mare."Thankyou." Steelwing stated in between deep breaths. "No sweat." the blue mare said, Steelwing could have sworn he saw a smile at the pun she made. Steelwing tried to laugh but it came out as a spluttered choke. "I see what you did there" he said, grinning. "Wasen't bad eh?" she asked. "Steelwing, how are you feeling?" asked the purple unicorn. "Fucking fantastic, never better." he stated with a grin on his face. "Remarkable, even on the brink of death you still have humour in you." "Its a soldier thing" he returned. "Well, you've been in here a few days, your friends have been waiting for you to wake up for some time, thanks to you we won the battle, the changelings havent been sighted around Ponyville for some time now." "That's great" he said, looking at the purple mare. "But you are?" he asked in a intriqued tone. "Oh goodness, where are my manners!" the mare replied, looking horrified. "It's ok, i forgive you, we'll call it even for saving my life." he said with a grin, "Im Twilight, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rainbow Dash." she stated, pointing at the blue mare. "Im guessing you get that from your mane. But its nice to meet you both, and thankyou." "You, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof saved Ponyville, we owe you our thanks" she said to him in a serious tone. "Bullshit Twilight, you and Rainbow have been working hard to keep me alive. You're going to accept my thanks." Both ponies visibly were shocked at his argument. "Oh, and name is Steelwing. Echelon Two Zero. EDF Experimental Weapons Division. Luna's Will." he stated to them. "Experimental weapons?" Twilight asked. "Didn't you see the massive mech?" he smiled back at her. "Yeah, it was super awesome." Rainbow Dash said to him in a serious tone. "I guess it is, but we were sent here to assist you guys, i did my job, i can die a happy stallion." "You aren't dying, we owe you too much. Not on my watch" Twilight said. "Yeah, and you have loads to teach me!" Rainbow Dash jokily said. "Heh, maybe i will Rainbow, maybe i will, if i make it." "Really? and of course you're going to make it." Rainbow replied to Steel's comment. "You know, im not sure this time, i've had some bumps in my 15 years of service in the shadowguar...." "Wait! You're THE Twilight and THE Rainbow Dash?!" Steelwing said, looking visibly shocked. "You've probally heard of Equestria's best flyer." she said. "Yes, Yes i have." He finished. Chapter Five: An Old Soldier's Dreams.Steelwing stared at Rainbow Dash while her back was turned to him. "Erm Steel?" Twilight asked in a polite tone. "Oh! sorry, my attention had quickly derailed." he said trying to hide his embarassment at Twilight noticing him admiring her friend. "Its perfectly fine." she continued. "Im just finishing up my tests now, how do you feel?" "Much better Twi, the pain had subsided, although pain sucks, i can deal with it easily. Its a familiar thing in my line of work." Steelwing concluded. "It must take some guts. And some bravery." Rainbow dash added, staring admiringly at Steelwing. "Not really, i just have very little else. when you have no home, no family, you learn that this is your place, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof, well, those guys are my family. I have nothing to lose." Steelwing assured. "No family, no friends?" Twilight questioned. "Many were lost a long time ago, im older than i look, and my body shows it. As you can observe first hand." Steelwing jested, "Actually..." Twilight went red as she thought about what she was saying. "Actually you have a pretty nice body." Rainbow Dash finished up. Steelwing grinned at the complement. "Well....Thanks, it isnt too bad if you can get past the scarring here and there, and by here and there, i mean everywhere. Heh." "I like scars, but anyway, Steel, you're going to be stuck here for a while, you've been here two weeks already...Ironhoof and Shadowhorn are eager to see you, they were mostly uninjured in the combat, but wow, you have some amazing friends." "Sadly..only one of the wingmen survived the attack. They lacked your luck and skill, we buried them a few days ago. We thought you might want these." Twilight handed Steelwing two pairs of dogtags, engraved with the information about the wingmen he had lost that day, Steelwing's expression changed to sorrow and hurt." "Im done with the tests, you should have some time alone..." Twilight walked out. "I guess shes right, you call me if you need me Steel." Rainbow added as she turned and proceeded to turn around. "Rainbow...you...you dont have to go if you dont want to." Steel called out. Rainbow turned around and looked at him. "What do you mean Steel?" "I mean ive seen the way you look at me, its like you're asking yourself what my story is, if you want that, you just gotta ask." Rainbow walked back over to Steelwing, and over the next three hours they proceeded to talk until the sun went to set and Luna's beautiful moon started to rise. They spoke about Steel's exprience, the horrible things he had seen, and what his ambitions were, Rainbow also mentioned a lot how "cool" or "awesome" some of Steels or attributes were. In turn Rainbow also gave glimpses into her own life, but Steel promised he would teach her many things she thought impossible. They talked about her idols, the wonderbolts and how Steel personally knew Soarin and had "history" with her. Rainbow was particularily interested in that subject, but she also discussed what Ponyville was like, how at home she felt and how it was like to have a home, a few jokes even made their was across the convorsation about how much Twilight had been visiting Shadowhorn's new residence over the other side of town. "So she keeps visiting him? Hah." Steelwing commented, reaching for a potato chip. "Yeah, she goes really red everytime we bring him up in a chat or anytime she sees him, its really funny!" Rainbow replied. "I envy her though, those two could really be something if what you say abuot him is true, ive never had that." Steel almost dropped his crisp at the comment. It was unusual for Rainbow to be open to anyone, especially strangers. "You havent? Hell, that makes two of us, ive had the occasional fling but i guess the scars put the mares off. I dont blame them, im not exactly the looked, but you...you arent an ugly mare, you're quite the opposite." Rainbow blushed at the comment, Steel quickly commented. "Oh look, now you're going red just like Twilight." "No...No...Wait!...No fair." She sulked, head down at the floor. "Rainbow, relax, i think you're lovely." "I can't wait to spend more time with you. "Steel added. She went a darker shade of red as she spoke. "I better get off to sleep Steel, im needed for weather control in the morning, ill see you soon ok?" "Hurry back" he added. "Ill be as fast as i can, see you tomorrow." she spoke, learning over to kiss him on the cheek. Steelwing's cheeks flustered red hot as he felt her lips touch him. "Erm...Yeah...see you tomorrow...." he stuttered. Chapter Six: Psychological Injuries.It was a chilling and black night as Steelwing stepped outside of Twilights cottage for the first time in many a day. He shivered as the breeze shifted its self though his mane, touching the pores of his skin like an ice sheath. The bandages around his torso held the warmth that he body emitted, their fresh white material being the only thing that was visible in the moons glow. Steels grey coat just masked him, and his dark blue hair did nothing to assist in making him more visible. He took a painful step forward and walked down the path, his wings were still bound and as he tried to push them open, the force against the bandages only caused strain and he winced as a twang of pain rushed through his body. He walked down a long dark grey gravel path, heading to the outskirs of ponyville to the wreckage of a mech that still lay embedded into the floor. The force of the crash had killed the pilot instantly. The other wreck was no where to be seen, but the pilot was confirmed K.I.A. Steelwing approached the dark cracked cockpit, moonlight reflected of the surface of the glass container, but there were no contents. He took a seat by the glass and lifted a hoof to touch it. It was cold. So very cold. "The touch of death is rarely warm. It sweeps across the world, leaving devastation. Weeping families. Grieving families. Orphans. Why has it never opened its hoof to me. Why does it claim the innocent when i walk freely, i bear a thousand hideous acts, and yet it claimed you both. What makes me worthy." Steelwing whispered in the night air. No reply came. A cold gust of air was the only reply that Steelwing got. He saluted, and a white glimpse shone down his cheek as he lifted his arm. "May Luna's eternal moon and Celetia's immortal sun guide you." "Rest in piece soldier. You will be remembered." Steelwing turned his back and walked away, a cold gust moving his mane and making him shiver as he turned. There he saw something unusual. Two ponies cuddling in the night sky, it was a beautiful sight, the silouette of the moon surrounded their forms as they sat embracing on a hill. Steelwing longed for this, he had his fair share of action on the field. But he longed for so much more. A pony to call his own. Thats when he noticed who the ponies were. It was undeniable, there on the hill, embraced in a lovers grasp. Were Twilight and Shadowhorn. Steelwing watched as Shadowhorn grabbed Twilights left foreleg, lifted it, pulling her from the ground, and learnt forward to kiss her. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss, and suddenly, Steelwing felt warm, he could see the tear from Twilights left eye, glistening in the moon's glow. And he watched as Shadowhorn lifted a hoof to wipe the tear away. Stood right before him, was love. And he knew what he had to do. It was time to tell Rainbow Dash how he felt, it was time to shield her from the cold nights, it was time for Steelwing to be happy. Steelwing left for Rainbow Dash's house. and as he arrived there, he noticed he would have some trouble flying himself up there. He cursed silently and mocked his own stupidity in forgetting that his wings were broken, and he lowered his head and turned to walk away, he heard a twig snap behind him. Adrenaline surged into his body, and he drew his jagged combat knife from the bandage around his torso, whatever it was, he was ready. He turned to face the opponent, and there standing before him was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. There, stood Rainbow. "Wha....Rainbow?!" "Im sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" she eyed the knife carefully. Steelwing noticed this and looked down at his right hoof at the jagged blade that lay there. "Oh..Oh my god, im sorry, I thought I was under attack...old soldier thing" "Its ok Steel, you're shaking, are you ok?" Rainbow asked with a concerned look "And wait? why are you out here again? watching me catch some late night stunts I bet!" "Actually, I did come looking for you. I...I missed you.." he said, looking at the floor. Waiting for it to swallow him. "Why were you looking for me Steel? is something wrong?" she asked, looking more concerned than ever. "I just wanted to thank you, for taking care of me, I was out here heading back to the old ship wreck...I wanted to say goodbye one more time. I failed them and they atleast deserve a goodbye, it should have been me. But i saw Twilight and Shadowhoof kissing and i thought of you." Rainbow Dash blushed at the complement, he cheeks going a deep shade of crimson-pink, the same shade as her eyes. Steel had never seen a more beautiful sight. "You didn't fail them Steel. And im glad you're here, ive been thinking about you a lot." she admitted, blushing more than ever, and the shade on her cheeks now changing more to the color of the red in her mane. "You have?" Steelwing questioned, wondering if it was possible he misheard that. "Yes, i have, hop on my back, lets go inside, you can stay at mine tonight." Steelwing did as he was told and almost passed out from the pain as Rainbow took off. He forced himself to enjoy the flight until he began to black out. "Steel!" was the shout that forced him out of semi-consciousness, he forced himself to concentrate on Rainbow's mane. "Such....a...beautiful mane...." Steelwing's world went black and the colors faded as the night took him once more. He passed out in the high altitude, not knowing what would happen next.
Chapter One: A Strange Awakening.Steelwing woke from his comfortable bed in Canterlot, uneager to rise from his warm cover and bed and squinting his eyes at the beam of light radiating from the window in his luxurious suite in the palace. Celestia had given him and seven other ponies these suites following their initiation into the experimental weaponry program that she was running after the incident at Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding with the changeling invasion that took place there. He stared in the mirror, unable to assure himself that his current situtation was even legitimate. He saw the reflection of his grey face, with his icy blue eyes and the various scars that decorated his face in an array of lines running from his forehead to his lower jaw, and along his jawline running into his sturdy but small neck staring back at him. He remembered how he got those scars, and shook his head as a flashback overtook him. "No, not now, flashbacks can wait till later." he thought to himself, knowing that he had places to be. Princess Celestia was not one to keep waiting. He threw his flight goggles around his neck, and quickly washed up before departing his room to reach todays training point, many thoughts went though his head. "What is this "Project Mechllion, what am i doing here" were two of said thoughts. What Steelwing didn't know, was that today would change his life forever. As he strolled down the clean white hallways illuminated by the gentle magical lights that rested on the walls, he saw many familiar sights, after all, he had served in Luna's Shadowguard for quite a time, one thing he wasen't used to however was the stares other ponies often gave him, the way they saw his face and quickly looked away, were they...intimidated? by this strange scarred pony walking before them? or did interest just get the better of them, his answer was quickly answered when ponies deliberately started avoiding him, making great effort to stay out of his path, maybe it was the scars, who knows. Whatever it was, he liked it. He arrived at his destination, and it was nothing short of breathtaking. "Holy Shi..." he thought to himself as he looked up at the 7 foot metal door infront of him, the door was solid steel, emblazoned with the insignia of Princess Celestia on the left hand side, and Princess Luna on the right, he looked for a way to open it, when he saw what looked like a scanner. He looked closer to investigate, it turned out his suspicions were correct, it was indeed a hoof scanner but as he scanned around the door, he also saw what looked like an optical scanner. Thats when it hit him, "Thats why they needed my eye and hoof yesterday" he chuckled to himself at the thought, how could he have been so stupid. Steelwing pressed his hoof onto the pad and positioned his eye onto the scanner. Scanning successful. An electronic voice boomed from the speaker. "Identification: "Rono" Steelwing, Codename: Four, Two, One, Ochelon; Division Alpha, Classification; Specialist, Pegasus. Access granted. The door slid open from a pivot in the middle, sliding apart from the left and the right, and the middle slowly retracting into the floor. He entered the room, and five pairs of eyes turned to look at him. Only four of those did he recognise; "Jak" Ironhoof, as he liked to be called, an earth pony with a brown coat and a white mane, he had a firm friendship with Ironhoof from the early days of childhood, a daredevil mercenary with a care for very little except the cash, and oh, he loved explosions too. But at the same time, one of the greatest tacticians ever to set foot in equestria. Him and Steelwing had seen combat together on more than one time. He also recognised "Jade" Shadowhorn, another familiar face, but they were more recent friends, Jade was however, a much more mysterious unicorn, with his dark coat and crimson mane he was a rather frightening sight, but a formidable magician in combat, some say he rivalled even the renowned Twilight Sparkle. Steelwing had seem him make items explode, just by looking at them, he knew there was more to it than just looking at the item but it was still pretty intimidating, some said his special gift was to speak to the dead, but Steelwing doubted this highly. Shadowhorn and Steelwing had also seen combat together, while serving under princess luna as two of the revered shadowguard. Steelwing knew that he was surrounded by the most deadly combatants in Equestria. And he trusted them both completely, having them here gave him a great sense of security, he wasen't going this alone this time. Of course he also recognised the familiar faces of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, Celestia beckoned him over with a nod of her horn. Luna smiled after seeing him and said in her unusually soft voice "It is good to see you again Steelwing." He replied to Luna with a similar greeting "It is also good to see you Luna, i am glad you are well, as with you Celestia." They both smiled at him, then turned to watch the door, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the last four ponies to arrive, Steelwing moved back into the group to talk to Shadowhorn and Ironhoof, and find out just what this was about. "So then guys, what the hell is this about?" he said with a slight chuckle." "Oh, you're going to like it. a LOT." Ironhoof replied." "Some kind of secret ultimate weapon." Shadowhorn said as he looked around the room suspiciously. "I guess that means that ill like it." Steelwing replied sarcastically Rono turned his attention back to Princess Luna and Celestia. "Excuse me your majesties, but what are we waiting for?" Luna was the first to reply "There should be eleven ponies here, us included, 9 of you" "So, we're erm...waiting on five others?" Steelwing stated "Quite" Celestia replied. Over the next five minutes Steelwing, Ironhoof and Shadowhorn got talking to the other ponies and discovered they were quite intimidated by their presence "Luna and Celestia have told us great things about you" a white pegasus simply stated "Oh?" Steelwing replied as he turned to look at the pegasus, as he looked into his eyes, the pegasus moved his head and stared at the ground. "Y...yes...sir" The pegasus said "Sir? why sir" Steelwing asked, confused at the time, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof shared his expression of confusion. "Didn't you know? you three are the team leaders, the other six of us are under your command" A orange unicorn replied shyly. "Team leaders?" Shadowhorn, Steelwing and Ironhoof all looked at each other with confused faces. "Thats right my little ponies." Princess Celestia said as she gently approached them, causing their faces to turn and look at her and notice the other five ponies behind her. "It is time to explain why you are here my faithful servants." They were led to an immense dark hall, the hall was dark as they entered, and as the lights flickered on, they saw what they had been recruited into, but they didn't quite believe it. "What the fuck..." Said Steelwing as he looked to Ironhoof and Shadowhorn, both their eyes wide and mouths agape much like his own, and before them, stood nine giant humanoid mech suits. three of each kind, one kind resembling that of a humanoid unicorn, with strange pipes coursing with orange, black and crimson fluid. "This is the Shadowhorn Decimator, a ten foot mecha that will amplify the pilots magical ability sevenfold, Shadowhorn, the mech has been named after you as you are the team leader of squad Omega. Codenamed Black Dusk." finished Princess Luna. "Moving on..." As they averted their gaze to the next set of mechs their eyes widened even further as they saw the earth pony version of the unicorn mech. It was bigger, bulkier and had a horrific variety of weaponry attached to the arms, aswell as this, they seemed to possess a faint but visible blue shimmer around them. "We call these the Ironhoof Juggernauts. Obviously due to the eight inches of steel armor plating we have fit them with. they also have state of the art melee weaponry and plasma shielding, although that, aswell as most of the content in these suits is still in its prototyped phase, but these things can take a pounding. Finally..." "The Steelwing Valkyries" finished Luna. "Imagine these as a giant flying pegasus fortress, and you have the suits that you can see infront of you. They can alter to adapt to ground fighting or air to air combat and can also function as a bomber. Steelwings mouth dropped. he was looking forward to controlling this. "As with Shadowhorn, the other set of mechs are named after you Ironhoof and you Steelwing as you will be leading your team of two wingmen under the codename Ragnarok, "Celestia's Might" for you Ironhoof. and Valkyrie, "Luna's Will" for you Steelwing. The controls are simple, imagine something to happen, and it does. Good luck out there, we're sending you on your first mission immediately, get ready to leave, you do so in two hours. you will be briefed in an hour and a half. I will see you then, i suggest you play around with your new toys. All three of the ponies looked in the direction of the others, curious of what the others wanted to do next. "Well. Its practice time, ill catch you guys up later." Said Steelwing, walking away.
A Disturbing Truth.Steelwing walked towards the dark dock. There he saw the ultimate weapon that the EDF had invested so many bits in, the tool that would halt the changeling invasion. Ever since Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding the changelings had been gathering forces, amassing ready to reignite the conflict and finally defeat Celestia, thus conqurering all of Equestria. Steelwing had told himself from the start that he would stand and die before this happened. And with the sighting of multiple changeling BOWs he had thought that so much more likely. Now though, it seemed that they had a chance. They could fight back. Steelwing looked down below the foot of the mech, looking for a way to open it, and pilot the devastating machine. He was anxious to see what this machine could do, looking down he noticed a black puddle of oil, gently lifting a hoof into it, he noticed how it shimmered and how the colors of the oil gently moved like waves of a darker rainbow, it seemed it had been combined with water. Looking up he saw what he was about to pilot. Standing ten foot tall directly infront of him was the Valkyrie MK4, Steelwing was as tall as the foot of the machine and on the shin he could see a word and a pair of numbers sprayed in white over the grey overcoating that matched his coat. On the offpieces of armor, such as additional shin plating, and in the pleats of metal feathers on the wings, he could see strands of brown paintwork, matching that of his mane. "How very creative..." he thought to himself in the silence. For a hangar full of ten foot tall mecha killing machines, it was surprisingly silent, he relished this while he could, because soon, he would be in the warzone, flying over Ponyville to protect the "mane six" as they were known, not that they couldn't protect themselves, but the Elements of Harmony were the only key to this battle, if they lost them, they lost the war. As Steelwing looked again at the shin of the mech, he read the things sprayed on there "Valkyrie Four-Two-One" "Echelon" "Luna's Will" "Snazzy.." he said to himself in a silenced chuckle,
Chapter Two: Ride Of The Valkyries.Three months had passed, ever since his introduction into the Echelon Two Zero project. And here he was, with new wingmen, but the same squad leaders cruising along the ground, thrusters at full power, reaching a speed of one thousand trots per second. "Steelwing!!!" A familiar voice screamed through the headset on Steelwing's head, he jumped with fright, Ironhoof never failed to dissapoint. "WHAT!" Steelwing shouted back. "Stop daydreaming! Combat ahead!" "Changelings, 200 meters ahead" Echelon Two-Two said in an official but shaky tone. "Now now ladies, i know its your first time out here, but dont lose your marbles!" Steelwing replied to them "WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Ironhoof screamed as he prepared his mech for combat, Steelwing saw it shift into battle formation, moving vast iron plates into position, ready to soak enemy fire. "Echelon squad, Transition, prepare for aerial engagement." Steelwing said as he felt the mech change shape, and slowly watched the floor shrink as the gargantuan steel wings extended and took effect. It was time, the princesses had said so, he eagerly checked the holographic HUD projected onto the glass of the cockpit, showing him all the important things he needed to know in fine blue writing. He had chosen blue as it had been his favorite color, he adored the night sky, maybe that was where his slight infaturation for Princess Luna's flank had come from. He quickly shaked the thought out of his head. Lower Chassis integrity - 100% Upper Chassis integrity - 100% Shield Status - 100% Thruster Output - 79% and increasing. All was good there. Next he checked the weapon status. Magical Reserves - 1000/1000 R/Shoulder Chaingun - 25000/25000 L/Shoulder Chaingun - 25000/25000 R/Arm Energy Blade - 1000/1000 (MG RSRV) L/Arm Rifle - 1250/1250 Rockets - 36/36 All was good there too. Steelwing was ready. "Echelon Two-Zero locked and loaded!" Steelwing called, alerting the others that he was ready. "Echelon Two-One locked and loaded!" "Echelon Two-Two locked and loaded!" "Echelon locked!" yelled Steelwing. "Ragnarok locked!" yelled Ironhoof in his rough voice. "Decimator locked!" yelled Shadowhorn finally. "Black Dusk, take immediate combat positions, Echelon, take point!" Steelwing yelled as he watched his wingmen soar forward and eagerly pushed the thrusters up to join up with them. "Ragnarok, Prepare for melee combat" Steelwing said. "Roger that. Ragnarok ready for grizzly" said Ironhoof in his typical gruff voice finally steelwing finished his order. "Decimators, support stance!" "On it....In position" replied Shadowhorn. Suddenly static burst through the mic. "This is ponyville delta one-one! we need immediate assistance! changeling BOW's have been deployed, is anybody out there?!!!" "This is EDI Black Dusk reading you loud and clear one one. fall back to point foxtrot two, will assist" replied Steelwing. "Well boys, looks like we have a job to do" finished Ironhoof, a rocket soaring past him. "Enemy sighted!" screamed Ragnarok One-One" Steelwing took the shot, using the zoom on his rifle his scoped in and took a changeling BOW clean out with a single hit of the 80mm particle slug. He watched down the scope as the changelings face moved from an expression of devious pleasure to pure terror as the slug soared towards his head. The last thing the monster saw was a large metal slug heading towards him, the last thing Steelwing saw of that monster was its head decompact into an explosion of violet blood and chunks of jelly like fluid that looked an awful lot like brain. "FUCK YEAH!!!" Ironhoof screamed as he saw the fireworks explosion, and that very moment the lines closed, the three juggernaut mechs collided heavily with the enemy battleline, drawing swords of varying colors and cutting down an entire row of them in a series of devastating cleaves that left the opposition in more pieces than you could count. or as Ironhoof would say. "Severely fucked up." "Echelon Soaring maneuver three one!" Steelwing called, below he could hear the screaming of the changelings as they got messed up by the burning magical energy swords, being enchanced by the Decimators outragous magical ability. Think of those swords as pure unicorn magic, solidified into a red hot blade that would melt skin, bone and armor alike. Steelwing winced at the thought. "Roger!" Echelon Two-One and Two-Two called. The three Valkyrie mechs flew over the enemies battleline and headed straight for the HPTs (High Priority Targets) dropping rockets and spraying minigun fire at the crowd of changelings below as they did so, skewering many of the smaller changelings into tiny bits or simply incinerating the others. Echelon squad sniped four HPTs over the next fifteen seconds, and Steelwing allowed himself a smug grin. "FUCK THIS SHIT!!!" Ironhoof yelled as he dispersed the energy blade and extended a large mini gun from out of the Juggernaut mechs right arm. "They're falling back!" observed Echelon Two-Two just before Steelwing watched his mech combust into a flaming meteor that flew towards the floor and exploded. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" were the last words that were ever heard leaving his mouth. "What the fuck was that!!!" Steelwing yelled down the team communicator. "Anti Air!" Screamed Echelon Two-One as he dodged a large missile flying up towards his mech, he doglegged right....straight into Steelwing. Steelwing screamed as the explosion of his rockets tore his mech apart and a large crack appeared up the centre of the cockpit glass. Two-One was a pile of rubble on the ground below and the floor was rapidly approaching Steelwing as he nose dived straight for the pathways of Ponyville "Steelwing!!!" shouted Ironhoof and Shadowhorn as he fell. "Thrusters Unresponsive" yelled the onboard AI "Structural Integrity - 23%" "Shield Status - Offline." it continued. The last thing Steelwing remembered was a large impact and the sound of shattering glass. He felt cold iron bars and sections of glass force themselves into his body just before he lost conciousness.
Chapter Three: A Horrible Way To Go.Steelwing drifted back into a painful dark consciousness, awoken by the sound of arching electricity, he looked back on the event and realised he had practically nose dived into the floor at a good 1600 trots per second, he was incredibly lucky to be alive. Steelwing attempted to move his torso, only to be stopped by two cold shooting pains "ARGHHHH!!!!!" he screamed, as he realised he had been gored on two sharp cold steel poles, that had dug directly into his body, luckily missing all of the vital organs. One had embedded its self directly into Steel's left leg, and the other had passed entirely through his right shoulder, emerging out of the other side. The cold steel bit into his flesh, and he could tell by the increasingly light feeling that he was bleeding internally, Steel didn't have much time left. Steels blood coated the cracked glass of the cockpit, and as he opened his mouth to breathe, he found himself coughing huge pools of blood up, the movement of his lungs slowly pushing him futher onto the impaling metal spikes. "Euuuugh!!" he groaned, the cold biting into his insides once more, He.....He HAD to stay alive....Stay alive....Alive.... Steelwing started to black out as he saw 3 ponies rapidly approaching the front of the cockpit, their screams were muffled as he started to lose consciousness at an alarming rate. Steelwing reached down into the emergency kit he always kept in reach, and fiddled it open with his right hand, completely immobilised by the spikes. Steelwing met the lock on the box with success, opening it, only to find that the shot of adrenaline that he needed to stay alive was just out of his reach, breathing in deeply and painfully, he braced himself for what he was about to do. he pushed his body forward, slowly sliding himself off the spikes bit by bit, the whole time screaming curses that should never be uttered. He finally reached the syringe and jammed it into his arm with all the strength he could muster. He pushed down on the end of the syringe, releasing the adrenaline into his system and forced himself to hold on for another painful minute. He felt a surge of energy rush into his body as the adrenaline took effect, and he managed to will his head to look at the cockpit that the three other ponies were smashing at, trying to gain access so they may assist him, Steelwing was bleeding out fast, and they knew they had very little time before it was too late. A pony, a mare as far as he could see was bucking her way into the cockpit fast, and the reinforced glass showed heavy signs of pressure, small parts of glass started to be displaced, and the orange furred pony with the blonde mane showed no signs of exertion, she was giving it her all. The last thing Steelwing remembers was a large crack appearing before his body went limp and he blacked out once more.
Chapter Four: The Mysterious Mare."Thankyou." Steelwing stated in between deep breaths. "No sweat." the blue mare said, Steelwing could have sworn he saw a smile at the pun she made. Steelwing tried to laugh but it came out as a spluttered choke. "I see what you did there" he said, grinning. "Wasen't bad eh?" she asked. "Steelwing, how are you feeling?" asked the purple unicorn. "Fucking fantastic, never better." he stated with a grin on his face. "Remarkable, even on the brink of death you still have humour in you." "Its a soldier thing" he returned. "Well, you've been in here a few days, your friends have been waiting for you to wake up for some time, thanks to you we won the battle, the changelings havent been sighted around Ponyville for some time now." "That's great" he said, looking at the purple mare. "But you are?" he asked in a intriqued tone. "Oh goodness, where are my manners!" the mare replied, looking horrified. "It's ok, i forgive you, we'll call it even for saving my life." he said with a grin, "Im Twilight, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rainbow Dash." she stated, pointing at the blue mare. "Im guessing you get that from your mane. But its nice to meet you both, and thankyou." "You, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof saved Ponyville, we owe you our thanks" she said to him in a serious tone. "Bullshit Twilight, you and Rainbow have been working hard to keep me alive. You're going to accept my thanks." Both ponies visibly were shocked at his argument. "Oh, and name is Steelwing. Echelon Two Zero. EDF Experimental Weapons Division. Luna's Will." he stated to them. "Experimental weapons?" Twilight asked. "Didn't you see the massive mech?" he smiled back at her. "Yeah, it was super awesome." Rainbow Dash said to him in a serious tone. "I guess it is, but we were sent here to assist you guys, i did my job, i can die a happy stallion." "You aren't dying, we owe you too much. Not on my watch" Twilight said. "Yeah, and you have loads to teach me!" Rainbow Dash jokily said. "Heh, maybe i will Rainbow, maybe i will, if i make it." "Really? and of course you're going to make it." Rainbow replied to Steel's comment. "You know, im not sure this time, i've had some bumps in my 15 years of service in the shadowguar...." "Wait! You're THE Twilight and THE Rainbow Dash?!" Steelwing said, looking visibly shocked. "You've probally heard of Equestria's best flyer." she said. "Yes, Yes i have." He finished.
Chapter Five: An Old Soldier's Dreams.Steelwing stared at Rainbow Dash while her back was turned to him. "Erm Steel?" Twilight asked in a polite tone. "Oh! sorry, my attention had quickly derailed." he said trying to hide his embarassment at Twilight noticing him admiring her friend. "Its perfectly fine." she continued. "Im just finishing up my tests now, how do you feel?" "Much better Twi, the pain had subsided, although pain sucks, i can deal with it easily. Its a familiar thing in my line of work." Steelwing concluded. "It must take some guts. And some bravery." Rainbow dash added, staring admiringly at Steelwing. "Not really, i just have very little else. when you have no home, no family, you learn that this is your place, Shadowhorn and Ironhoof, well, those guys are my family. I have nothing to lose." Steelwing assured. "No family, no friends?" Twilight questioned. "Many were lost a long time ago, im older than i look, and my body shows it. As you can observe first hand." Steelwing jested, "Actually..." Twilight went red as she thought about what she was saying. "Actually you have a pretty nice body." Rainbow Dash finished up. Steelwing grinned at the complement. "Well....Thanks, it isnt too bad if you can get past the scarring here and there, and by here and there, i mean everywhere. Heh." "I like scars, but anyway, Steel, you're going to be stuck here for a while, you've been here two weeks already...Ironhoof and Shadowhorn are eager to see you, they were mostly uninjured in the combat, but wow, you have some amazing friends." "Sadly..only one of the wingmen survived the attack. They lacked your luck and skill, we buried them a few days ago. We thought you might want these." Twilight handed Steelwing two pairs of dogtags, engraved with the information about the wingmen he had lost that day, Steelwing's expression changed to sorrow and hurt." "Im done with the tests, you should have some time alone..." Twilight walked out. "I guess shes right, you call me if you need me Steel." Rainbow added as she turned and proceeded to turn around. "Rainbow...you...you dont have to go if you dont want to." Steel called out. Rainbow turned around and looked at him. "What do you mean Steel?" "I mean ive seen the way you look at me, its like you're asking yourself what my story is, if you want that, you just gotta ask." Rainbow walked back over to Steelwing, and over the next three hours they proceeded to talk until the sun went to set and Luna's beautiful moon started to rise. They spoke about Steel's exprience, the horrible things he had seen, and what his ambitions were, Rainbow also mentioned a lot how "cool" or "awesome" some of Steels or attributes were. In turn Rainbow also gave glimpses into her own life, but Steel promised he would teach her many things she thought impossible. They talked about her idols, the wonderbolts and how Steel personally knew Soarin and had "history" with her. Rainbow was particularily interested in that subject, but she also discussed what Ponyville was like, how at home she felt and how it was like to have a home, a few jokes even made their was across the convorsation about how much Twilight had been visiting Shadowhorn's new residence over the other side of town. "So she keeps visiting him? Hah." Steelwing commented, reaching for a potato chip. "Yeah, she goes really red everytime we bring him up in a chat or anytime she sees him, its really funny!" Rainbow replied. "I envy her though, those two could really be something if what you say abuot him is true, ive never had that." Steel almost dropped his crisp at the comment. It was unusual for Rainbow to be open to anyone, especially strangers. "You havent? Hell, that makes two of us, ive had the occasional fling but i guess the scars put the mares off. I dont blame them, im not exactly the looked, but you...you arent an ugly mare, you're quite the opposite." Rainbow blushed at the comment, Steel quickly commented. "Oh look, now you're going red just like Twilight." "No...No...Wait!...No fair." She sulked, head down at the floor. "Rainbow, relax, i think you're lovely." "I can't wait to spend more time with you. "Steel added. She went a darker shade of red as she spoke. "I better get off to sleep Steel, im needed for weather control in the morning, ill see you soon ok?" "Hurry back" he added. "Ill be as fast as i can, see you tomorrow." she spoke, learning over to kiss him on the cheek. Steelwing's cheeks flustered red hot as he felt her lips touch him. "Erm...Yeah...see you tomorrow...." he stuttered.
Chapter Six: Psychological Injuries.It was a chilling and black night as Steelwing stepped outside of Twilights cottage for the first time in many a day. He shivered as the breeze shifted its self though his mane, touching the pores of his skin like an ice sheath. The bandages around his torso held the warmth that he body emitted, their fresh white material being the only thing that was visible in the moons glow. Steels grey coat just masked him, and his dark blue hair did nothing to assist in making him more visible. He took a painful step forward and walked down the path, his wings were still bound and as he tried to push them open, the force against the bandages only caused strain and he winced as a twang of pain rushed through his body. He walked down a long dark grey gravel path, heading to the outskirs of ponyville to the wreckage of a mech that still lay embedded into the floor. The force of the crash had killed the pilot instantly. The other wreck was no where to be seen, but the pilot was confirmed K.I.A. Steelwing approached the dark cracked cockpit, moonlight reflected of the surface of the glass container, but there were no contents. He took a seat by the glass and lifted a hoof to touch it. It was cold. So very cold. "The touch of death is rarely warm. It sweeps across the world, leaving devastation. Weeping families. Grieving families. Orphans. Why has it never opened its hoof to me. Why does it claim the innocent when i walk freely, i bear a thousand hideous acts, and yet it claimed you both. What makes me worthy." Steelwing whispered in the night air. No reply came. A cold gust of air was the only reply that Steelwing got. He saluted, and a white glimpse shone down his cheek as he lifted his arm. "May Luna's eternal moon and Celetia's immortal sun guide you." "Rest in piece soldier. You will be remembered." Steelwing turned his back and walked away, a cold gust moving his mane and making him shiver as he turned. There he saw something unusual. Two ponies cuddling in the night sky, it was a beautiful sight, the silouette of the moon surrounded their forms as they sat embracing on a hill. Steelwing longed for this, he had his fair share of action on the field. But he longed for so much more. A pony to call his own. Thats when he noticed who the ponies were. It was undeniable, there on the hill, embraced in a lovers grasp. Were Twilight and Shadowhorn. Steelwing watched as Shadowhorn grabbed Twilights left foreleg, lifted it, pulling her from the ground, and learnt forward to kiss her. Their mouths met in a passionate kiss, and suddenly, Steelwing felt warm, he could see the tear from Twilights left eye, glistening in the moon's glow. And he watched as Shadowhorn lifted a hoof to wipe the tear away. Stood right before him, was love. And he knew what he had to do. It was time to tell Rainbow Dash how he felt, it was time to shield her from the cold nights, it was time for Steelwing to be happy. Steelwing left for Rainbow Dash's house. and as he arrived there, he noticed he would have some trouble flying himself up there. He cursed silently and mocked his own stupidity in forgetting that his wings were broken, and he lowered his head and turned to walk away, he heard a twig snap behind him. Adrenaline surged into his body, and he drew his jagged combat knife from the bandage around his torso, whatever it was, he was ready. He turned to face the opponent, and there standing before him was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. There, stood Rainbow. "Wha....Rainbow?!" "Im sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" she eyed the knife carefully. Steelwing noticed this and looked down at his right hoof at the jagged blade that lay there. "Oh..Oh my god, im sorry, I thought I was under attack...old soldier thing" "Its ok Steel, you're shaking, are you ok?" Rainbow asked with a concerned look "And wait? why are you out here again? watching me catch some late night stunts I bet!" "Actually, I did come looking for you. I...I missed you.." he said, looking at the floor. Waiting for it to swallow him. "Why were you looking for me Steel? is something wrong?" she asked, looking more concerned than ever. "I just wanted to thank you, for taking care of me, I was out here heading back to the old ship wreck...I wanted to say goodbye one more time. I failed them and they atleast deserve a goodbye, it should have been me. But i saw Twilight and Shadowhoof kissing and i thought of you." Rainbow Dash blushed at the complement, he cheeks going a deep shade of crimson-pink, the same shade as her eyes. Steel had never seen a more beautiful sight. "You didn't fail them Steel. And im glad you're here, ive been thinking about you a lot." she admitted, blushing more than ever, and the shade on her cheeks now changing more to the color of the red in her mane. "You have?" Steelwing questioned, wondering if it was possible he misheard that. "Yes, i have, hop on my back, lets go inside, you can stay at mine tonight." Steelwing did as he was told and almost passed out from the pain as Rainbow took off. He forced himself to enjoy the flight until he began to black out. "Steel!" was the shout that forced him out of semi-consciousness, he forced himself to concentrate on Rainbow's mane. "Such....a...beautiful mane...." Steelwing's world went black and the colors faded as the night took him once more. He passed out in the high altitude, not knowing what would happen next.
