Roughly hewn from the living stone, the benches lay in the open air, weathered by the countless rains and snows from time immemorable. Upon the benches, dragons of almost every variety sat, whispering among themselves and staring intently at the maw of a cave so massive that it made them feel minute by comparison.
After what felt like an eternity for many, an older, green dragon emerged. For a race with such longevity as the dragon, the fact that his scales had begun to grey spoke of countless centuries of wisdom. The sun slowly set, and it was only when it began to peek over the horizon that the elder finally began to speak to the gathering.
“Our great Empress Tiamat has weighed all in the balance. Equestria is flaring, burning with powers we do not, and perhaps cannot, understand. For a time, it was shielded by the deathless ones, who burned even our scales. Then, the wall of light prevented us from wiping it from our world. However, in these times, it merely fought with the desperation of a cornered rat. It held all the importance of prey, to be spared at the mercy of the hunter. It was insignificant, unimportant, and content with its mere existence.
These few hundred years have changed that. In the blink of her eye, they have changed the greatest of hunters into mere beasts to be hunted. She has given them time to change their course. In the last hundred years of grace she so generously bestowed, their ambition has only grown. They see our mercy as weakness. As of this moment, our mercy is at an end. We shall form the second Imperial army and burn these impudent equestrians to mere ash on the wind. This, Tiamat commands.”
Without warning, the pink array disappeared, leaving the hallway in darkness.
“Give me a second,” Mobile Armor said, “I’ll get some lights on.”
Flickering, a faint blue circle appeared.
“Is this the light you were talking about?” Iron wing asked.
“No. I’m still trying to find the main conduit switch.”
“Then what is that?”
“If we’re lucky, a short produced by the obvious structural damage.”
Glowing sinisterly, the circle moved toward them.
“And if we’re not?
“Then it’s the product of whatever that spell was.”
From the direction of the light, an unearthly wail burst forth, punctuated by the clatter of metal.
“Run!” Mobile Armor shouted, “Whatever that thing is, It’s not stable!”
Only a dull thud answered her. Iron Wing felt something slam into his chest. It was the blue light, which hovered mere inches from his face. With a click, the lights flared on, revealing a single purple eye staring at him from a yellow face. Around the eye, the yellow coat was stained with hints of pink.
“What happened to you, Lightray?”
Slowly, Lightray’s other eye opened, a rich and earthy brown. Gasping, he mumbled incoherently.
“Melting. Their heart is melting. The crystals are burning!”
Iron Wing silenced him with a hefty smack to the face, shouting, “Snap out of it Lightray!”
“We have to get him to Spiral Nexus. She might be able to tell us what happened.”
“On the contrary. You need to get to your match,” announced Patterner, materializing behind them.
“So you really want to keep the tournament going after this?” Mobile Armor cut in, “We’ve just discovered a relic of unimaginable importance and danger.”
“Of course. We need more Actuators. Should he choose not to go, he will be summarily dismissed from the tower.”
“Fine. I’ll go. I can trust you with the rest, Right?” Iron Wing announced, striding back toward the arena.
“Of course.”
“Spiral Nexus wants you to meet her on the observation platform. I suggest you hurry. I will move Lightray.” Patterner stated coldly.
“Give Iron Wing my new Aether, would you?” Mobile Armor announced, striding down the corridor.
“I thought you were going to pilot it yourself.”
“I’m not ready to say goodbye to him just yet.”
Dragons swooped down toward the machines on the ground, fire spilling from their jaws. Ducking behind a shield, a shining Icarus model weathered the heat. With a crack, it launched a long harpoon, skewering the scaled beast. Motors screaming in protest, it dragged the dragon down to earth, ending the fight with a swipe of its vibration edge. An instant later, it was ripped in two by a vengeful comrade of the fallen dragon.
One of the MAGI, a Murasame, slipped around the encroaching flames, depending on speed for protection. Whistling hellishly, one of its ribbons sank deeply into the chest of a dragon before withdrawing. The machine was already a distant blur as its opponent hit the ground.
“Lightning Count!” A nearby flight model called, “Thirteen hours until Nidhogg arrives. Backup machines are already en route.”
Above them, a dragon suddenly crumpled, bleeding profusely from its chest.
“Don’t waste time talking when you could be fighting,” the Murasame answered.
Screaming forward, the machine became a blur of motion. Almost seeming to fly from one point to another. As it mounted a nearby hill, the sparking remains of Generator Tower 23 came into sight. Uncontrolled magic twisted around the ruin, boiling away stone and metal.
“You don’t understand! They sent The Merciful End!” The flight model shouted, before streaking away from the battle. As it left, a glimmer of gold came into sight. With it, a few notes of music drifted across the battlefield.
And the world stopped.
Mobile Armor stepped through the door, which silently closed behind her. Glowing green runes appeared on the door, sealing it. Aside from the runes, the room was dark, lit only by the battle visible through the floor.
“Look at you,” came the voice of Spiral Nexus, “You’re so young. I’m quite envious.”
“Why did you give that relic to Lightray?”
In the darkness, a blue light blinked on.
“Because she asked me to.”
“You say that as though it can think,” Mobile Armor stated flatly.
“Don’t call your grandmother an it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Princess Mi Amore Cadanza, Empress of the Crystal Ponies, immortal alicorn, and eventually, The Mournful Lover.”
“How do you know this? There’s no possible way anyone could know!” she shouted again.
The clicking of steel on glass rang in the aftermath of Mobile Armor’s panic.
“Twilight Sparkle, Personal Student of Celestia, Second Princess of Equestria, Founder of the Equestrian Republic, Element of Magic, Developer of MAGI, The Sixth, and eventually, Spiral Nexus.”
Lights flared on, revealing a sleek machine resting in the center of the room.
“On a side note, also your great aunt.”
Mobile Armor’s eyes rolled back into her head she collapsed.
“Too much?” Twilight asked Patterner as he appeared in the center of the room.
“Definitely too much.”
Reynardine slowly flapped his wings, soaring over the crackling nexus of magical power below him.
Look at it. he thought. I don’t think they understand the implications of what they’re creating. When the tower broke, it was hot enough to melt our scales. We swim in lava. It’s only become more violent since then.
Swooping down, he struck one of the machines, breaking it into two pieces. Dull, throbbing pain came with the blow. Even a dragon couldn’t break metal without consequences. Beating the air with his wings, he dragged himself back into the sky. To his left, a fellow dragon jerked and crumpled to the ground far below.
They have to be stopped. Any race that so relentlessly pursues power must be stopped.
In the distance, a glimmer of gold broke his train of thought. As it drew nearer, an unearthly sound touched his ears. Slowly it became clearer, an eerie, wailing chorus.
Is someone singing?
Waxing louder, the source drew nearer. With a sickening crunch, he struck the ground.
When did I stop flying? What is this?
As it grew closer still, emotions started to form in his mind. First, anger shot through his veins like lava, eating at his already decaying thoughts. Though he wanted nothing more than to leap up and tear through his enemies, his body refused to move. As suddenly as it had come, the rage vanished, leaving him empty. Grief struck in the aftermath, bringing tears to his eyes. Gasping, his limbs slowly went limp. Emptiness in his heart lined his limbs with lead, paralyzing him. Finally, guilt poured into his mind on the chords of the song, carving away his hopes and righteousness and leaving him a sobbing shell. And still, the song grew louder and stronger.
Mustering what little remained of his strength, he looked up at the golden figure standing above him. Long and delicate, the machine standing over him looked impossibly out of place. Perfectly crafted golden armor plates covered the MAGI, which looked almost gentle. Delicately crafted wings gently fluttered as it strode forward with an almost angelic gait, still singing its mournful song. For a split second, he caught sight of it’s face.
Is it crying?
Then he looked into it’s eyes, and felt himself plunged into the merciful silence of oblivion.
Mobile Armor gasped and bolted upright. The first thing she saw was the metal face of Twilight.
“You’re still Twilight?”
“That would be correct.”
“And my grandmother is still a MAGI?”
“Equally correct.”
With another gasp, Mobile Armor fainted for a second time. Leaning on Twilight’s shoulder, Patterner chastised her,
“Still too much. You owe me dinner. For the record, there’s no possible way hitting the floor like that can be healthy.”
“Knock it off, Patterner.”
“I’ll double the wager that she faints again when my reveal comes around.”
“If you insist.”
“Now. Let’s talk planning.”
“The Haze Lord is on its way, We’ll wait for it to arrive, then put the plan into motion.”
“And what about The Inverse Logic? You’re not planning on letting that abomination see the light of day again, right?”
Twilight grinned.
“Right?”