Magic Gear Solid: Broken Balance

by Barrobroadcaster

Element of Surprise

Twilight Sparkle walked into the main hall of Canterlot Castle with her friends Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike at her side. They waded through the crowd of patrons and marveled at the lavish interior of the palace. The guests were relaxed, the sound of laughter and conversation filled the air.

"Wow", Rarity said as she took in the spectacle. "The castle looks even more regal than it did during the Grand Galloping Gala!"

"It's to be expected Rarity. Princess Celestia's birthday is much more of a special occassion.", explained Twilight.

"Hmm. If it's so special, I really should've designed some new dresses for us rather than just throwing on our old ones.", Rarity thought.

Twilight smiled. "You didn't have to do that; I'm happy I got a chance to wear my old one again!", she said.

"I must not've noticed when I was trying to sell all of my apple goods but it sure is fancy in here.", Applejack remarked.

"Mm-hmm.", Fluttershy agreed as she looked out a window nearby."They've even remodeled the gardens." No doubt, she was thinking of the animals that lived among the shrubberies outside the castle.

"The music's improved too! Looks like they got DJ PON-3 to rock the joint this time!", Pinkie pointed at Vinyl Scratch setting up sound equipment alongside Octavia. "I must've made an impression on them at the gala!", Pinkie said confidently.

"I think we all had an impression on them!", Twilight laughed.

"Yeah, hey has anypony seen the Wonderbolts?", Rainbow Dash asked, frantically twisting her head and looking around as she walked.

"They're probably getting ready for their performance.", Twilight thought.

"You think they'll stick around for the party?", Rainbow asked.

"We're here to see the Princess, not the Wonderbolts, Rainbow.", answered Twilight.

"Well, yeah I mean after we see the Princess.", Rainbow Dash said, still looking around but her stride never broke as she walked with them. Twilight smiled and shook her head; some things never changed. They reached the foot of the staircase to see Princess Celestia descending.

"Princess! Happy birthday!", Twilight called as she ran to greet her mentor.

"My faithful student Twilight, thank you so much. It's so good to see all of you.", said the Princess in a warm voice. "I'm so happy you all could come."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world Princess!", Rainbow Dash said. The princess smiled. She opened her mouth to say something when they heard several loud rumbling noises coming from the distance. They looked to the entrance to see one of the royal gaurds running through the doors towards them.

"Monster! Monster in the courtyard! The castle is under attack!!" the guard called. His shouts were punctuated by more rumbles, they became louder and the ground underfoot seemed to shake.

"Monster? What kind of monster?" asked the princess as the gaurd approached.

"I-I don't-",the gaurd's voice was interupted as an explosion ripped through the entrance hall. A hole was punctured high on the wall to the right side of the entrance. The crowd below was showered with dust and debris. Smoke billowed fourth into the hole and patrons began to panic.

"Quickly, we must get the guests to safety." the princess said, turning towards Twilight and her friends. "The five of you, escort them to the lower levels as fast as you can. Major Rook, assemble the gaurd and evacuate the guests outside. Twilight, come with me." Twilight didn't know what to expect, what was going on. She nodded nervously and feel in step behind her teacher. They trotted quickly through the crowd of patrons and exited into the courtyard.

"Exactly what have you done to my castle?" a booming male voice asked. The princess stopped and her mouth hung open for a split second before she continued on as if she'd recognized the voice. "Don't you try to run from me!" the voice shouted again.

Another explosion rocked the palace as they ran. Celestia and Twilight turned to the right as they exited and caught their first sight of the monster which was the apparent source of the voice. Twilight had never seen anything like it: it had a smooth dark grey exterior with streaks of orange all along its body. The sun shined off its polished surface. Two huge, backwards-bending legs supported a large, blocky body with a triangular horned head. Two stubby arms protruded from the sides and mounted on the right shoulder was one long, smooth rectangle that resembled a huge train rail. Fire blazed from the two horns atop the head and lightning-fast projectiles spat from their ends at fleeing ponies. The projectiles ripped through the running ponies, several fell, bleeding.

"What in Equestria is that?!" Twilight asked in shock.

"What is with this lukewarm reception for your returning regent? Lord Vice is back to claim his throne! You should all be rejoicing!", the monster shouted in a slightly mechanical voice. As it finished speaking, the right arm kicked back. The section of the courtyard wall it had been pointing at exploded and crumbled in an instant.

Celestia had her teeth gritted as she weighed her options. "We've got to do something!" Twilight shouted. The monster must've heard her because it turned to face them both.

"Why, Princess Celestia! So good to see you." the voice addressed her. The rail and horns on the mechanical beast adjusted to point at them both with a metallic buzz. Without warning, they opened fire on the two ponies. The violent volley would've incinerated them if Princess Celestia hadn't blocked the attack with an energy shield at the last second.

"Clever. Not clever enough." the voice said. Princess Celestia panted behind the shield; the attack had almost been too quick. The rail pointed downward to the ground just before them and fired again. The shockwaves traveled through the cobblestones beneath their hooves and knocked both of them to the ground.

"Let's see your magic block this one." the voice announced. A mechanical buzz filled the air and rail glowed a bright red-orange. At the last second, a rainbow bolt slammed into the rail from above forcing it to point at the machine's feet. An explosion erupted from where the machine was standing and it staggered backward before falling.

"Abominations! You defy the true king of Equestria!" the voice raged. Rainbow Dash landed next to the princess and Twilight. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy appeared from inside. Royal gaurds rushed from around the castle to aid to the wounded in the courtyard.

"Sorry I was late. Man, that thing is pretty tough." Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her back leg.

"Is anypony hurt?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're fine. The ponies in the courtyard need help." Celestia said as she stood.

"What is that thing princess?" Twilight asked.

"We are about to find out." the princess declared, her voice filled with a firey determination, a ruler's rage.

"You fools! This is my kingdom! This is my castle! And I am your king!" the voice yelled in defiance. The machine remained still on the ground though as the Princess, Twilight and her friends quickly approached.

"Who are you?! Why have you attacked Equestria?! Answer me!!" the Princess shouted as she reached the foot of the creature.

"Gotcha." the voice whispered. The head twisted to face the princess and a red beam shot out from its mouth. The Princess's reflexes were fast enough to block the attack but the shield she threw up wasn't strong enough to deflect the full blast. The laser blasted the princess in the underside and knocked her across the courtyard. She tumbled to the ground, smoke rising from her where she landed.

"Princess!" Twilight yelled. The ponies ran over to the princess. Twilight quickly examined her and looked to Fluttershy. She was unconcious but appeared to be alive. A black scorch mark on her underside was the only sign of injury.

"Ahahahahaha!" the monster cackled. The shoulder rail pressed to the ground and acted as another limb, combined with its legs it slowly stood. Twilight and her friends turned to face the beast.

"What's this? Why are Earth ponies working with the lesser races?" the voice asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Why have you attacked Equestria?!!!", Twilight screamed in pure rage.

"Attacked? I'm here to liberate you! Don't you see? This is the day of your deliverance!", the stubby arms threw back in display as the voice declared its intentions.

"What the hay are you talking about?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"I am Lord Vice, heir to the throne of Equestria as decreed by the chancellor of the Earth ponies! Only an Earth pony can be the true king and I am here to reclaim our right from this dynasty of usurpers!", the voice announced.

"Princess Celestia is the rightful ruler of Equestria!" Twilight shot back.

"An alicorn ruler?! Disgusting! Earth ponies are superior to the other races in every way! Through the magic of Earth pony technology, we shall dominate Equestria and free our brothers and sisters from subjugation by the lesser beings! Now stand aside while I finish off this filth with the power of science!" the rail lowered to point directly at the princess.

"We're not letting you hurt the princess!" yelled Twilight. Her friends stood firm with her and around the princess's body, determined.

"You would stand with her?! Than you shall die!!" the voice shouted in fury. The horns unleashed a volley of fire at them. Rarity and Twilight both erected energy shields in front of them, blocking the deadly barrage. The rail began to glow red again. Rainbow Dash sprang fourth from behind the shield and began to climb into the sky. The rail glowed brighter until it was just about to discharge. A sonic boom cracked through the air and Rainbow Dash rocketed down right at the rail. She was just about to smack it into the ground when a red beam flashed right above the rail, shooting the pegasus out of the sky. She fell to the courtyard in a heap. The machine turned to her.

"Well, isn't this one particularly talented? But a talented nuisance is still a nuisance. Goodbye, my dear." The rail pointed at Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy smacked it from the top just as it fired, enough to just barely change the direction of the blast. The ground just before Rainbow Dash exploded and the blue pegasus was blasted to the courtyard wall.

"Coordinated, very coordinated." the voice spoke again as the left arm swung round and batted Fluttershy out of the air. The yellow pegasus dodged the arm. The two horns then opened fire on her, ripping through the air and her wings. Yellow feathers flew everywhere as Fluttershy fell to the ground. The machine lifted a giant leg high to crush the helpless pegasus at its feet. A lasso wrapped around the leg in midair and pulled tight. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight yanked on the other end of it and the machine lost its balance. It began falling on one side but caught itself with an outstretched arm. The voice laughed again. The rail pointed at the ponies pulling on the rope and fired.

Twilight and Rarity both brought up magic shields again but at that close range, the shields weren't able to absorb the shot. The shields disintegrated and the ponies flew back and crashed against the walls of castle. Twilight fought to stay awake. Her head hurt, her body burned and ached but still she fought to stand. She struggled to keep one hoof steady on the ground but her back legs wouldn't yield to her.

"That was impressive. It seems you've learned to work as a team and effectively too. I was not expecting this." the machine walked forward towards Twilight and the others as they lay by the entrance. Twilight turned her eyes to each of her friends. Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity were unconcious in front of her. Fluttershy remained still in the middle of the courtyard. Twilight could just make out Rainbow Dash's shape in the middle of a blackened mark on the courtyard wall.

Twilight crawled over to the body of her teacher. Her eyes opened as she crept near her.

"I'm sorry. I... I'm so sorry." Twilight apologized.

"No." Celestia replied with tears in her eyes. "I am." her horn glowed and Twilight was engulfed in a field of magic. A flash of purple-pink blinded her for a split second before she materialized in the middle of the Ponyville Hospital. Twilight's legs buckled underneath her and she collapsed to the floor.

"And what exactly was that supposed to do?" the voice asked back at the castle courtyard. The machine stopped moving towards the Princess and the head dropped down to floor. The head opened up to reveal a single brown stallion. The colt walked upright as he exited the head of the machine. Princess Celestia looked up at him. Adorning his two front hooves were grey prosthetics with five small protrusions on each end, hands. He wore similar devices on his back legs and a mask that covered the top of his head. He smiled at the princess as he stopped in front of her showing a set of white teeth.

"My, my. The strange things that do happen in my absence. You should be proud of yourselves; you fought bravely. But really" the stallion gestured over his shoulder. Celestia peered into the distance to see black skinned creatures, diamond dogs, approaching from the darkness. They wore similar grey attachments on their paws. "You never stood a chance.", the stallion ended the sentence with a shallow chuckle. Celestia gritted her teeth as she summoned the last of her magical power. With her last ounces of strength, she fired a magenta beam past the stallion in front of her. He turned his head to see the beam collide with the open cockpit of his machine and explode in a bright pink flash. Celestia passed out as two diamond dogs rushed towards the machine.

"What happened? What did you just do?" the stallion asked, grabbing the princess. "What did this arcanist do?!", he shouted over his shoulder.

"She fried the controls. System's inoperable." the dog soldier answered.

"Of all the lowest, arcanist tricks!" the stallion threw the unconcious Celestia to the ground and walked over to his two lieutenants.

"This is going to take some time to fix my lord. We won't be able to keep to the timetable." the first dog said as he examined the machine's cockpit.

"Our forces will be at a disadvantage engaging the pegasi sir." stated the second, standing at attention beside him.

The stallion folded his arms and placed a hand on his chin, thinking. "I'm aware of that Razor; I have no intention of throwing away good soldiers." He stopped to think at the words he'd just said and looked around at the ponies who had stood against them.

"Shall we set up occupation of the Ponyvile instead Lord Vice?", Razor asked/suggested.

"And leave ourselves open to retaliation from the pegasi? No, I think not. Dagger, begin repairs on RAM and get it operational as soon as possible. Razor, gather these five and prepare them for processing." Lord Vice ordered.

"Yes my lord." Razor bowed and marched off to execute his leader's commands. Lord Vice turned and stepped over the fallen ruler before him as he walked into the castle beyond. He allowed himself a smile; it was good to finally be back home.

Author's Note:

This is going to be quite a long crossover so I wanted to start things off with a bang.