//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Unbreakable Shining Diamond And His Dogs 
// by PonyOfNi 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3


Now, a unicorn gathered her friends, completing a spell that was long left unfinished.

The spell's energies radiate throughout the world - and beyond. The cascading waves of magic, composed of almost every kind imaginable - unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, and even the basic elemental magic of harmony itself - reach to a green star high above.

The harmony shell surrounding the orbiting Gundam, which had frayed and splintered since Discord’s initial outbreak, shatters completely.

The giant machine twitches, and ports breath plumes of emerald green just once, and weakly.

It begins to fall, ever so slowly, towards the earth below.

Underground, buffered by huge mazes of stone tunnels that constantly shifted and changed under the paws of their masters, sat the City of Hierophant Pack. The Alpha kneels in contemplation at the pinnacle of the Black Tower, long repaired from the Elements’ incursion nearly a year ago, centered between of all Twelve Arcana’s alcoves.

And with a creak of ancient metal, a hiss of gas, and a flare of magic, the Gigant Machina raise fists simultaneously.


With Twilight


It’s flush with success and more than a little uncertainty that Twilight leans on her balcony, after her coronation.

She had just been trying to fix what she had broken - her friends’ cutie marks and destinies swapping so randomly because of her spell.

And when she’d finished the spell to help fix everything -


A flash of light, and there was nothing. Just her, and the stars - one bright and gleaming green.



She faced it, studied it as it flared for a moment - and it became a skull, huge and horrifying, and unlike any she had ever seen in any museum or lab. It was rounder than pony skulls, bore four huge canine teeth, and had green diamonds for eyes.



Its maw gaped wide and flew at Twilight, making her shriek in fear - until a familiar voice called.



“Twilight?”



And the skull disappeared, as Celestia faded into view.


With a shudder, Twilight glanced at the sky - and saw the green Dog’s Head star moving noticeably.

For a moment, she gaped, and then rushed back in.

“Spike!” She called, and almost ran into her number one assistant dragon as he stood up, rubbing his eyes blearily.

“Wha-”

“Spike! Emergency message to Princess Celestia!”

“Oh! Uh, right, right -” Spike shook himself a little more awake, and found quill and parchment. “- uh, ready!”

“Princess Celestia, I was resting on my balcony just now, and I noticed the last of the Dog’s Head stars moving in the sky -”


Later


“- and after I thought about that strange vision, I looked up in the sky and saw Diamond’s star moving. That’s when I wrote you.” Twilight looked up at her mentor and her mentor’s sister, both Celestia and Luna with tense expressions, eyes darting around the room - which now that Twilight was studying it, was bare of almost any metal, and...built with wood paneling over the marble and stone?

“Oh my...the...decor is quite...rustic…” Rarity chimed in, following Twilight’s gaze. She and the rest of the Elements were arrayed beside Twilight, all of them still a little woozy.

“I’m afraid the...unusual style serves a purpose beyond decoration. When Discord broke free, before you performed so admirably in reforming him Fluttershy, he saw fit to...inform me… of his ally’s abilities. Suffice it to say, this ‘Danny’ is as powerful and connected to the earth as Luna is to the moon, and I to the sun. Twilight’s vision during her ascension only lends some credence to the idea. Should he touch the earth again…”

“Shouldn’t we hit him now then?” Rainbow asked. “Just fly up there and WHAM! Hit him with the Elements again?”

“No Rainbow Dash, we cannot.” Luna responded. “Where Danny and his Gundam falls from now is an airless void. It would take too much magic to sustain your lives long enough to muster the Elements there.”

“Well then we’ll hit him while he’s falling in the air!”

“No.” This time Celestia. “He will be moving too fast and the air around him too hot to confront him as he falls. To follow him close enough to use the Elements as he falls, would result in the anti-magic shell around the Gundam disrupting any of our magics we use to defend against the heat and speed.”

“So...we need to hit him after he’s done falling...but before he hits the ground?” Applejack mulled the thought around, as did the others. 

“Well, it would be ideal, but I believe so long as we ‘hit him’ again before he musters his strength, the Elements should seal him away again before he has a chance to act.” Luna advised. “The only difficulties are his point of impact, and if the Arcana are active again.”

“Oh, he’ll hit just outside of Appaloosa.” Everyone turned to Twilight. She looked up from a book that she’d whisked out of nowhere. “Oh. Orbital mechanics. I brushed up on them...a month ago? Yes, a month. Calculated it as I was dictating the letter to Spike.” Everyone exchanged glances, shook their heads, and readied to move out.

Within the hour, they were on chariots drawn by guard pegasi, surrounded by more pegasi and guards in heavy transport chariots, racing towards the city of Appaloosa. Above, the green star began to burn, growing a trail of silver flames. 

“He’s entered the atmosphere!” Twilight called to the rest, pointing at the falling star, only to nearly fall out of the chariot when three giant forms buzzed the formation.

“No! The Arcana!” Luna cried.

“The Chariot, the Star and...the Hanged One.” Celestia listed off, glaring at the three as they circled back to face the ponies.

Chariot was bronze-colored machine, designed with solid armor plates and two red glowing eyes that matches the flames belching out from the back-mounted devices that allowed it to fly.

The second, Star, was colored in blued steel, of a lighter build, and had bright white-blue eyes and flames, but with six of the devices attached to feet, hips, and back.

And leading them was the Hanged One, a nearly skeletal machine, colored black with strange curved patterns on the surface, and a light eerie green color to its eyes and two flight devices’ exhaust.

“Well, what have we here? The Pony Princesses, Celestia and Luna...and with a new one…” The Hanged One’s voice growled like the approach of a thunderstorm, bringing hairs to stand on end. Twilight huddled closer to Celestia as the three machines leered at her, the arrow-sharp gazes of green, blue, and red burning into her fur.

“Enough Hanged One! Reserve your ire for me, and leave her alone!” 

“Oh, but that is something I cannot do Celestia. For you’ve given her the weapon that defeated us 1500 years ago. Whatever befalls her as a result, is on you.” The Hanged One growled harshly, a grasping paw clenching into a crushing fist accentuating its words. 

“And what might that be? When did the Arcana become monologuing villains of foalhood tales with naught but words in place of action?” Luna challenged the three Gigant Machina, drawing a snarl from Chariot, who reached for a large weapon on its back before Hanged One raised a paw.

“Indeed, this buzzing and spouting of words would never have come in the past. Before, all you would have heard of us would be the snap of gunfire and the howls of beams...but as you surmise, we are forced to be more sparing in our conflict.” 

“And why’s that hah!? You too chicken to come at us!?” Rainbow Dash shouted. Chariot growled again, and angled to dart forth, only for Star to grab at its shoulder and hold the giant flying metal dog back. 

“No, merely an efficient use of resources. Why use rare magics and valuable bullets, when simple words will suffice?” At the Hanged One’s words, Twilight’s eyes widened and darted to the falling star, which was just beginning to come into view - behind the three Arcana.

“Look! They’re stalling us!” The others started, glancing at the star as the Dogs flew away, howling laughter left in their wake. With a scream of anger, Rainbow leaped out of her chariot to go dashing after them - only for Celestia’s magic to grab her and sit her back in it.

“We cannot afford for the Elements to be separated!” Celestia said to Rainbow Dash’s barely controlled outrage. “You six are the only answer we have to Danny and his Gundam! If you become separated and vulnerable and the Arcana take any one of you, all of us will be at his mercy!” 

At that, the six collectively gulped in fear, as the convoy resumed its flight. As they approached, the star fell ever further and further, until an enormous thunder sounded with its impact. The shockwave burst through the air, shaking the chariots and their escorts.

“Ah think he’s landed.” Applejack remarked dryly. 

The pegasi rushed ahead, and the convoy of ponies arrived to find the three flying Arcana circling the dust-strewn impact crater. The three Arcana noticed them and arrayed themselves between the crater and the ponies, landing with rough thuds, and assuming wide and low stances, hands out with diamond-tipped claws glinting threateningly in the twilight.

The pegasi and those with chariots carrying guards landed first and foremost, the guardsponies arraying themselves in defensive formations opposing the Arcana as the chariots bearing princesses and Elements landed behind and unloaded their precious passengers.

As the princesses and Elements formed up behind the guards, all present ponies were buffeted by a wall of noise as the three Arcana growled at them. And as they flinched, the ground rumbled, and the other nine Arcana erupted out of the earth.

It was an array of machines bearing colors from all across the spectrum, and wielding various instruments of war with ease and practice. The Arcana, all twelve now present, took a step forward, looming over the ponies, who took an instinctive, step back.

Even as they did so though, unicorns lit horns with magic, earth ponies set spears in place, pegasi readied bow and arrow, and the Princesses’ magic glared like sun and moon had set among the gathered forces.

The two forces, one larger in stature, the other in number, and neither quite sure how the other measured up in terms of raw power. The air was tense, filled with anticipation at the battle to come, one sure to be filled with danger and destruction like none had seen in millennia. 

And then with a snap, all found themselves shifted to the side, set in chairs - especially enormous mahogany ones for the Arcana in their Gigant Machina - and with sets of tea before them, ponies arrayed to the left, and dogs to the right.

“Oh come now! We can’t have anypony - or anydog - messing up Danny’s return!” Discord popped into existence, a red carpet rolling from his feet up to and over the lip of the crater.

“Oh no. Discord.” The simultaneous sound of many appendages slapping over many faces sounded - becoming especially thunderous with the Arcana slapping their metal paws over their muzzles. For a brief moment, pony and dog shared views.

“Hey, come on guys, I’m trying to help here! We had a whole episode about it, right Fluttershy!?”

“Right…” Fluttershy, shrinking behind her mane, murmured in response. 

“Right! Now, after that whole bit, I came to a realization! While Fluttershy there is the first one who actively tried to become my friend, there was one being on this earth that had treated me like a friend for a long time: Danny! Right guys?” Discord waved to the Arcana.

“Well, he called you many things…” One Arcana at the from said, one Rarity recognized as the very one the Hierophant Alpha had tried to get her to revive, even wielding a larger version of the same black spinel-topped staff. “Acquaintance -”

“Buddy!” Another, with hefty build of dark iron and hammer slung across its shoulders called.

“Random-ass jerkwad!” Chariot shouted.

“ADD-afflicted dick!” Hanged One added.

“Filthy ramen-thief!” The last was a tan machine with a black arm and a white arm, a long curved blade sheathed at its hip.

“Yes, yes, yes, all terms of great endearment from him!” Discord gleefully proclaimed, eye twitching. “Anyway, I figured as the only one who had friendly relations with both sides -” Celestia facehoofed, and several of the Arcana made gestures that the ponies could only assume were insulting in nature. “- that I would be best suited to ensuring he came back and everything went in...ugh...harmony. If everyone is amenable?”

“If...if you are sure you can convince him to act peacefully...I’ll allow it.” Celestia spoke.

“We follow the Great Master’s will. If it is peace, we will follow him in laying down arms.” The Hierophant Arcana spoke, tapping its staff against the ground for emphasis. “But if the Shining Diamond calls for war…” A cacophony of clicks, whirs and snaps sounded from the Twelve, bringing reflexive shudders from the ponies.

“Right, well, I’m sure I’ll be able to talk him into it!” Discord snapped his fingers, and the crater smoothed itself out. 

“Oh. Oh dear.”

The Gundam...was not intact.

Where the Gigant Machina of the Arcana had come through the atmosphere unscathed, preserved down to the paint by the magic of the Elements that kept them sleeping, the Gundam had suffered severely from re-entry.

The Gundam’s head was gone, along with the V-shaped crest. One arm gone as well, and the hull was warped and molten, steaming in the air. The legs couldn’t be seen, but judging by how the torso rested against the ground, they were presumably missing too.

All present were interrupted in their staring by loud clanks from the Gundam, as two objects rose from the back. They were two tall, bipedal machines, one as tall as Celestia, and the other a head above that. 

“Hey! Spyglass, Briareos!” Discord called out happily, waving at them. Both machines looked up, revealing heads with one central eye. Spyglass was the smaller, with flatter shapes and fins off of his head, and just the one eye. Briareos was the larger, with smoother plating and several smaller eyes around his central one.

The two then proceeded to ignore Discord, moving to the front of the Gundam’s torso. Discord frowned, snaggletooth pricking out of his lips and gnawing on the lower, and drifted closer to them.

Briareos reached up and grasped something near where the collarbone of the Gundam - if it had a collarbone - would be, and pulled. 

The molten neck-stump and back-plates folded away from each other, unleashing a horrible stench among all gathered - one heavy with death and decay.

“Oh...Danny...no…” Discord’s voice quavered, something none of those present had ever even conceived of hearing from the Spirit of Disharmony.

Briareos reached into the Gundam, and lifted out a skeletal structure of metal surrounding what could only be a long-dead corpse - the ponies had never seen any creature that matched the body structure, but they could tell it was dead, from the empty eye sockets, to the wispy white strands of hair waving from a withered scalp, to the parchment-dry wrinkled skin. 

After a moment, the Arcana simultaneously raised their heads and howled, a long note of grief and sorrow rumbling the very earth beneath the ponies’ hooves - causing Spyglass to snap its head up.

“Arcana! At ease!” The barked order snapped the Arcana out of the howl, directing their attention to the smaller machine, with its stilted speech and mechanical voice. “Father has died. We are enacting the Lazarus protocol.” 

The announcement only drew confusion from the Arcana, as the eyes of Spyglass and Briareos dimmed, losing the emerald glow of life. Then an aura of deep green surrounded their bodies, snapping open panels and withdrawing some small blocks from the machines. 

The glow proceeded to engulf them, and the body lying between. Shocked gasps came from the ponies as the body began to move, climbing to its feet - until Twilight noticed something.

“He’s not moving himself! The magic is moving the exoskeleton!” The onlookers looked closer, and saw the truth - the emerald magic that covered Spyglass and Briareos’s bodies was also engulfing the metal skeleton around the body, moving it instead of the corpse, whose head flopped lifelessly side to side as it moved. 

The smell of burning meat arose then, making ponies retch as the metal of both the exoskeleton and the machines’ bodies began to glow. The bodies of Briareos and Spyglass walked into the corpse, and their bodies began to melt apart and merge with the exoskeleton, itself beginning to melt into the corpse.

The horrid smell increased, as the glowing, silvery metal engulfed the body head to toe, removing flesh and hair, and searing bone. The liquid metal condensed, forming fibers connecting the metal-covered bones that congregated into artificial muscles, then covered by armor plating. 

Soon, an armored skeleton of a machine stood before all. Its head, a silver skull, raised to look up at the sky, with twin gemstone-like eyes glowing bright green. It looked down, raising a claw-tipped hand that shook, and slowly clenched into a fist. Then it relaxed it and tested each finger individually, curling and uncurling and moving them around. 

Soon enough, it finished its tests and straightened in posture, and its head swiveled around, gaze locking on the princesses. A single hand raised, one finger extended in a clawed jab of a point at the three.

“Celestia. Luna.” The voice was deep and emotionless, with virtually no unnecessary inflections in it. “How nice of the killers to visit the deceased.” At that, the Arcana instantly rose, growling as the ponies collectively gave shocked glances at the two princesses. Discord, uncharacteristically, seemed at a loss for words, his look switching from the skeletal machine and the princesses. 

“D-Danny, we had no intention of -” 

“What you intended has no bearing whatsoever.” The mechanical voice interrupted Celestia. “All that matters is that you and your sister imprisoned my Arcana in space for 1500 years, ripping them away from their families and friends - and consigned me to a slow, dreary death. One hundred years to starve and die, and fourteen hundred to rot.”

The princesses’ jaws dropped in horror at the thought of such a drawn-out demise - mirrored by the Elements beside them. As they did so, the skeleton - Danny, crouched down and plucked the small blocks that had been taken out of Spyglass and Briareos, holding them in hand. Luna shuddered and acted again, stepping out of her chair and moving to stand before Danny. As she approached, the Arcana gave off thunderous snarls, but she ignored them. Close up, her horn came just to Danny’s chin.

“Danny, we are sorry for the terrible -”

“Sorry is not enough.” Danny interrupted, free hand coming up to point accusingly at Luna. “My nation is ruined, and many, if not most of my dogs have died as a direct result of you and your ponies. And if I recall correctly...neither me, nor any of my Diamond Dogs, ever surrendered to Equestria. Meaning…” The Arcana rose to full height, having formed up directly behind Danny so that they loomed over Luna. “That strictly speaking, Diamond Dogs and ponies are still at war.” A vast array of weapons came to bear - a scythe with a blade of chipped obsidian, a steel hammer with a glowing gray emerald set in its head, two enormous black iron revolvers, a gigantic gold gatling gun, and many others, all prepared to be put to use.

Luna’s expression hardened.

“Very well. If it’s war thou wishes for, it is war thou shall have! Elements!” Luna vanished in a flash of teleportation, as guardsponies rushed to assemble into formation. Quickly enough, the Elements were front and center, Celestia and Luna just behind and guards on the flanks and sides.

The Elements glowed and their bearers lifted into the air as the magic engulfed them. The Arcana moved to bring their weapons to bear on the six ponies - only to be halted by the raised hand of their leader. The light reached a crescendo, as the Element of Magic gathered all the powers of the others and blasted forth the almighty power that banished, then purified Luna, twice imprisoned Discord, and once ensnared the thirteen before it. The beam engulfed Danny and the Arcana, raging for a full second before slowly dissipating.

Revealing a wall of stone. A craggy barrier half again as tall as the Arcanas' Gigant Machina, which sunk into the earth a moment after, revealing Danny and the Arcana behind it, completely unaffected. 

The ponies gaped in shock, mouths dropping open all across the Equestrian force, before Danny lifted a hand, clenched it into a fist, and brought it down.

Every pony wearing or holding anything metal was thrust into the ground then - even the princesses. The only ponies left standing were the Elements - right up until skeletal arms of stone reached up and grabbed them, forcing them to lay on the ground, legs splayed out as with the other ponies of the Equestrian forces.

Parts of the earth turned silvery and liquid, crawling over the ponies and engulfing their bodies, leaving only the face uncovered before solidifying into a lawn of pony statues, with pegasi wings firmly bound, and unicorn horns capped with metal. 

“I would not advise any unicorns to try to attempt magic.” Danny warned. “The metal you are bound in will drain it away and turn it into heat - I would be especially careful of the alicorns attempting any spells, unless you want to cook your friends alive.”

Several of the unicorns scoffed and lit their horns - only to stop when they felt a notable rise in heat around their faces. 

The skeletal machine returned to the broken remains of the Gundam, holding the two blocks in its hand, as a rumble shook the ground and sent dust into the air.

By the time the dust had cleared, Danny, the Gundam, the Arcana, were gone.