Magic Gear Solid: Broken Balance

by Barrobroadcaster

Cloudsdale Destroyed

Vice shook the controls of the terminal he was seated at in frustration. No matter what he did, the picture on the screen displayed the same "CONNECTION LOST" message flashing in red amongst a background of static. His signal with Raider had been knocked out the second time she'd collided with the reactor. There was still a slim chance that Raider had survived the explosion and her default programming would return her to the castle but he wasn't about to get his hopes up. The job had been done and Cloudsdale and its compliment of pegasi were no longer a threat. Even the purple unicorn 'savior' the princess had saved from capture had been dealt with. He felt satisfied that she'd died in the explosion but wouldn't allow his gaurd to be down if that wasn't the case. Arcanists were known for pulling all sorts of random tricks. It was better to be prepared.

"Update. How are the repairs on RAM?" Vice asked the communicator in his right-arm prosthetic.

The voice of Dagger, one of his two top lieutenants replied immediately. "Progressing slowly. Our engineers have had to rebuild two of the instrument panels from scratch. Flight circuits are almost restored."

He closed his eyes and ran the mechanical fingers of his left arm through his mane. The destruction of the Cloudsdale reactor had bought them some time. Hopefully the next phase of his plan would already be started by the time the other countries mounted an organized response.

"What of our operations in the Everfree?"

"The prisoners have begun digging and the first shipment of materials will arrive on schedule next week sir. We should be able to begin production shortly after."

"If production is going to be this simple, why are repairs not complete on RAM now?" Vice asked, impatient.

"We just don't have the materials sir. We simply haven't found enough in the Canterlot Castle as we expected."

Vice sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "We have to make sure nothing happens to those shipments then. Is there anything we can salvage that could bolster our defenses there?"

"Not that I'm aware of sir."

"All right... I need one of you to oversee things personally then. Take a single-rail car and make sure that that shipment arrives on time."

"Yes my lord. Are you expecting additional hostilities?" Dagger asked.

"We're a bit more vulnerable than I'd like to be at this point. Cloudsdale's not a threat and neither is the princess's favorite student but until RAM is operational and production is underway, we will have to be on our gaurd. I'm going to see if I can do something else to buy us a little more time." Vice explained.

"Yes sir. I will depart at once." Dagger replied and his communicator went silent. Vice took a look up at the monitor one last time and then switched it off. He was doing the right thing by planning ahead but he still had to acknowledge the mistakes he'd made. How long could he go on making his own luck?

Spitfire just barely escaped the reactor as it exploded. A hole had been blown open in the floor and Cloudsdale itself had begun disintegrating rapidly. Twilight had been blasted through the floor by the explosion and Spitfire had gone after her. The wound in her shoulder still hurt but the Wonderbolt's captain fought to fly through the pain. She looked around for Twilight and finally spotted a purple dot descending towards Equestria's surface. Spitfire shot after it.

The purple dot materialized into the form of Twilight as Spitfire dove. She didn't know if she had the strength to carry both of them, even now the pain in her shoulder was amplified by the wind whipping past her. She had to catch her though. Twilight's survival was more important than her own.

Twilight tumbled as she descended. Spitfire realized she was unconcious. Equestria grew closer as she dove. Twilight was falling almost as fast as she was flying. She had to catch her in time! She pushed both of her hooves together in an arrow-head dive. The pain in her shoulder became unbearable, black edges encroached around her vision. She thought she might pass out herself but still she dove. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, a dark shadow swooped into view and Twilight's form vanished. Spitfire pulled back and braced her wings to decelerate. Panting, she hovered in midair and looked around, trying to find out where Twilight was.

"Spitfire, are you all right?" a voice asked from behind her. Spitfire turned to see Princess Luna carrying an unconcious Twilight on her back. Three other pegasi, Soarin, Silverline and Skimmer flew into view behind her.

"Your majesty! Thank goodness you're here." Spitfire said in releif.

"You're both hurt. We need to get you medical attention at once. Follow me, we must get to Ponyville." Luna said. She turned and flew off. Spitfire and the others followed. Soarin and Skimmer flew underneath Spitfire and held her up to help her fly. Spitfire spared one glance skyward as they flew. There wasn't a cloud in the sky but for some reason, it had never looked grayer in her entire life. Cloudsdale was gone. The five of them flew to Ponyville in silence.