//------------------------------// // Boss Battle! Reaction: Twilight vs. Raider Phase 2 // Story: Magic Gear Solid: Broken Balance // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// Vice grinned as he looked at the monitor. He saw the world through Raider's eyes. Twilight was giving her quite the workout, not like the other ponies had. He'd been content to let Raider engage and complete the mission herself until Twilight proved to be a tad more resilient than expected. She'd managed to knock Raider around a bit so Vice himself had assumed direct control and was now piloting the cyborg pegasus just as easily as he piloted RAM only from his command center in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle instead of a cockpit. He watched the purple unicorn back away as he advanced Raider toward her. He couldn't help but find the irony delicious; he was about to kill the pathetic arcanist with her own friend. It was almost poetic. Vice was right to assume the pegasi would retalliate. If they'd attacked using the generator, the energy shield would indeed have collapsed and his army in Canterlot would've been defenseless against a pegasi attack from a fortified position. Once the shield was down, the pegasi could've used storm clouds to bombard his army into submission. Despite having armor immune to magic, his technology was still very vulnerable to nature. He considered adding rubber to insulate the armor as he fought Twilight. A project for another day perhaps. Twilight dodged the mechanical beast's attacks. What had happened to Rainbow Dash? What was going on? She was on the verge of tears again but the fear of being sliced in half kept her mind on the present. The cyborg slashed at Twilight with the blades on its wings giving her only seconds to dodge. It had Rainbow Dash's speed but nothing else. "Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it!" MANUAL OVERRIDE INITIATED an automated voice spoke. "Hahahaha! There is no Rainbow Dash any longer! Your little friend works for me now!" WARNING. REACTOR SAFETIES DISENGAGED the voice spoke again. The lights in the room changed to a dim red. On the center of the reactor, three rings spun and sank into the floor exposing raw blue elecrical currents spinning around the reactor. The cyborg swiped at Twilight again, scratching her cheek. Twilight actually felt a sting and examined the cut quickly. It wasn't deep but she was bleeding. What had this monster done to Rainbow Dash? The cyborg continued pressing the attack, its eyes narrow and glowing. "What have you done to her?! Stop it! I can't... I can't-" "Twilight! Throw her into the reactor!" Spitfire shouted. "What?!!" "Throw her into the reactor! It'll fry her!" Spitfire had managed to deactivate the reactor's safety features during the fighting. The Tri-Tesla reactor's inner components were now completely exposed. Incredible amounts of lightning surged through the three coils that rung around the machine. The air grew warm and filled with the sound of electric crackles. "But it's Rainbow Dash! I can't..." "Twilight, that's not Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire shouted with her eyes closed. The cyborg continued advancing on Twilight who was now teleporting about the room to stay out of range. She was getting exhausted and her magic power was draining. She couldn't keep dodging forever. "But..." Twilight argued. "Think Twilight! Rainbow Dash wouldn't do this! Would she?!" "No but-" "She would never betray her friends, she'd never hurt anypony!" "I don't, I just-" Twilight looked at the creature's eyes, glowing and mechanical. Her rainbow mane and tail that stuck out through spaces in the armor were the only indications that the technological terror attacking her was once Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash wouldn't do this Twilight. She'd want you to do the right thing! She'd want you to stop this!" "I... I..." Twilight shook her head. There had to be some way, some way to save her, do something, if only she had a spell, if only she had time to prepare, time to think, anything, her mind raced. A left wing hit Twilight right in the face and cut through a few hairs of her mane and sliced her lip. Another glancing blow but she tasted blood. "Be loyal to the true Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire practically pleaded with Twilight to get her to see reason. Twilight fought back the tears in her eyes but they fell anyway. She gritted her teeth and braced her hooves on the ground. Vice had enjoyed mocking the arcanist and chasing her around but he'd had enough fun. Now it was time to finish this, torch the reactor and fly his new toy home. He flipped up both wings on Raider high and splayed out in preparation to take off Twilight's head. Twilight was prepared for the attack and summoned an energy shield right before the blades came down on her. The wings bounced off the shield and the cyborg was knocked back. Using her magic, Twilight ripped the floor panels underneath the machine up and flipped it like a rug. The mechanical monster was knocked off its feet and flew backwards. Twilight quickly ripped two more pieces of pipe off the wall. She moved closer to the creature as it scrambled to its feet. She flipped the floor panel underneath it one more time, knocking it in the air again and then using the two pipe sections, smacked the cyborg into the reactor. Electricity exploded outward as the metal pegasus collided with the center coil, the electricity now surging directly through Raider herself. Explosions rippled through her armor and smoke rose from the mechanical components. Raider stuck to the reactor for a few seconds as the current passed through her chassis. A blue flash erupted from the reactor. Raider fell to the ground in a smoking, smoldering heap. "Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called as she ran over to her friend. What had she just done? The legs of the creature made mechanical pops as it struggled to stand. "It's not down yet! Finish it Twilight!" Spitfire called. The pegasus bot shook its head and finally stood, gears grinding as its wings flittered unctrollably. The lights in its head flickered and it stumbled slightly and fell again. "Wait! These implants are keeping her alive! If you disable them, she'll die!" the voice of Lord Vice spoke through the mouthpiece of Raider's helmet. Twilight almost stopped dead in her tracks as the implications hit her like a train. "No, she's already gone. And now I have to stop you!" Twilight's horn glowed as she prepared to do what was necessary. She gritted her teeth and held her head high. "Are you really going to do that Twilight? Kill your own best friend?" Vice said again. The eyelids on the creature moved downward into a look of sorrow. Twilight saw the chest of the armor expand as it lay in front of her. The cyborg was breathing rapidly, almost gasping for breath as it stared back at her. Twilight felt tears roll down her eyes again. She couldn't do this. She turned quickly and her horn stopped glowing. She held her head low as she took a step away and cried. "Pathetic." Vice said. In a flash, Raider lunged out at Twilight with both wings. Twilight turned and bucked the cyborg right in the face. Raider was kicked into the air and slammed into the reactor's bottom coil. One of its wing-blades stuck into the coil itself and electricity surged through the armor of the cyborg herself. The coils on the reactor glowed brighter from blue to white and then exploded.