//------------------------------// // Break In // Story: My Giant Robot: Friendship is Awesome // by shinigamisparda //------------------------------// The Commander rose up from the floor, groaning and holding his head. “Where am I?” he asked out loud, observing his surroundings as he rose. “The reactor?” he muttered, looking at the massive glowing tube in front of him. From behind came a humming noise, the sound of blasters being charged. He turned to see two of the guards holding their blaster pistols at him. “W-What are you doing?” he asked, confused. “Don’t move, sir, or we will be forced to fire,” one of them answered. “Wh-What? What is this? Stand down!” he ordered, but the two guards did not obey. “Sir, it is in your best interest to-“ The guard was cut off by a surge of power emanating from behind the Commander, who turned around to see the reactor opening. A black mass jumped out and landed in front of the Commander, who scuttled backwards and drew his own blaster, aiming it at the dark blob. The two guards had also shifted their aim towards the mass as it slowly began to take form. Within seconds the mass of blackness took the form of some form of quadruped, only barely above their knees in height. It possessed long black hair, a dark grey coat of fur, a single red horn protruding from its forehead, and was even dressed with a crown, armor, and a flowing robe. The creature took a deep breath before letting out a content sigh. “Whole once again,” it said softly, its smile revealing razor sharp fangs. It opened its eyes, revealing its red irises. “Now then, I know this line is somewhat cliché, but if you don’t mind,” it began, addressing the three Glorft soldiers as its grin widened, “take me to your leader. I believe he’s in the interrogation room by now.” “F-Fire!” the Commander ordered. He and the other two guards fired their blasters. The red beams of energy inexplicably veered off at the last minute, hitting the walls. The Commander could’ve sworn the creature’s horn glowed for a moment. “I see that some creatures need to be taught the hard way,” it stated with a terrifying smile before shifting to a more ethereal form while its eyes began to glow green and rushing forwards. Applejack struggled to find a comfortable position in her restraints, not easy considering the device holding her was meant for a two-legged being. Her forelegs were held above her and pulled to the sides by large manacles. Her lower body had a large collection of wires attached to it, starting from her flanks and going down. They didn’t hurt but she found that whatever they were they made it impossible to move her legs. She couldn’t even wiggle one of her back hooves if she wanted. The large circular room had a massive hole in the center, with a platform outlining the rim with several guards stationed on it, and armed with those electric polearms. Applejack was hung and restrained in the center, on a small platform with only one small bridge leading to it. Without the ability to fly or teleport it was her only way out. “Dangnabit, as if ah didn’t have enough things to deal wit already,” the farm mare muttered under her breath. Applejack had been waiting in this state for who knew how long, the anticipation of her interrogation simultaneously nerve wracking and frustrating. To calm herself she continually prepared by remembering what she had learned. Finally the door to the room slid opened revealing the leader that they had all met before. The guards all saluted him as he stomped towards her, his mechanical armor making machine like noises as he went. He stopped right in front of the orange mare. “Where is the reptile?” he demanded. “What?” Applejack asked, caught off guard by the forwardness of the question. “Don’t play dumb with me!” he shouted. He pointed a small device at the wall to her right and pressed a button, causing some kind of screen to appear. Her heart nearly dropped into her stomach when she saw a recording of her and her friends, Spike included, running through one of the corridors. The recording stopped on Spike, emphasizing the situation even more. “This creature was caught on surveillance cameras along with you and the other two, and disappeared just before the energy signature we were tracking vanished,” the creature explained before taking a step forward, his face inches from hers. “Now where is he?” Applejack snorted defiantly. “Dunno. We sent ‘im off on his own. No idea where he is now.” “YOU LIE!” Rage surged in the farm mare’s body at that. “DON’T YOU EVER CALL ME A LIAR! AH’LL POUND THAT STUPID HEAD A YOURS INTO THE GROUND!” The creature seemed surprised that she had actually yelled back at him for a moment before quickly recovering. “I’LL CALL YOU WHATEVER I PLEASE, YOU REPULSIVE THING!” Applejack bit her lip, stifling her desire to yell back. She had let herself get captured to get information, not get in a shouting match. “Speakin’ of callin’ each other things, you gonna tell me who and what you are or am ah just gonna call you a no good snake in the grass?” The creature responded with a prideful smirk. “Yes, I suppose you should learn to properly fear me,” he answered before taking a few steps back and standing tall with bravado. “I am Warmaster Gorrath, leader of the Glorft armies, conqueror of entire systems and soon the entire galaxy!” The guards all chimed in banging their weapons against the floor and cheering, adding volume and intimidation to this “Gorrath’s” declaration. “Well aren’t you humble?” the farm mare replied in a snarky tone. “My name’s Applejack, by the way.” “Now, you will tell me where the reptile is!” “Ah already told ya, ah don’t know where he is right now. An even if ah did, there’s no way I’d tell a slimy snake like you.” Gorrath stepped forward, their faces inches from each other as he growled. Applejack’s stubborn glare held though, refusing to falter. “Fine,” the Warmaster conceded, realizing he wasn’t getting anything. “Then you will explain what that energy source is and how to use it.” “And why would ah do that?” “So I can use this energy and take back what’s mine: Earth! And maybe I’ll find a way to take over your dimension as well.” “If you’re tryin’ ta convince me ta help ya, ah gotta say you’re doin’ a pretty poor job at it.” Gorrath grabbed the orange pony’s neck and began to squeeze. “Talk, or I will break your neck,” he threatened. “If ya did that… then your chance… a using that power… goes from slim ta none,” she strained. “And why is that?” Applejack stayed silent. After a moment more the Warmaster released his grip. “Fine. Be that way. If you won’t talk, let’s see if your friends will,” he said in a sinister tone as he turned around and walked towards the door. “W-Wait!” Gorrath smirked and turned. “Oh? Suddenly feel like talking?” Applejack groaned, upset at her moment of weakness, but sighed in resignation. “Yeah,” she answered while hanging her head. After a moment she raised it again with a defiant smirk. “But it still won’t help you none.” Gorrath stomped over to his prisoner again. “Talk,” he commanded. “They’re called the Elements of Harmony, and they’re some of the most powerful sources of magic where ah’m from.” “’Magic?’ You dare mock me?” “Oh, it’s the truth. You don’t have ta believe me if ya don’t want, but as the Element of Honesty that kinda hurts.” “’Element of Honesty?’” “That’s right. It’s the Element that I got chosen to represent. You get all the Elements together and you got about the most powerful force in all of Equestria. And ah’m not just talkin’ about the jewels.” “What do you mean?” “Ah mean that nopony can use ‘em but us. Each Element can only be used by their Element Bearer and nopony else.” “Then I’ll make you use them for me!” “An’ that’s the other problem, you ain’t got ‘em all.” “What?” “There are six Elements of Harmony, and you only got three. Even if we wanted to use them for ya, and I can assure ya we don’t, wouldn’t matter since you ain’t got the rest of ‘em.” “LIAR!” “WHAT DID AH TELL-!?” “Unfortunately for you, Warmaster, she’s telling the truth.” All faces turned towards the opening door and to the source of the calm yet menacing voice, revealing the Glorft Commander, his body black and smoking. “Warmaster… you have a… visitor,” he wheezed before falling over, revealing the armor clad pony behind him. “Oh no,” Applejack whimpered. “Apologies for roughing up your second-in-command and some of your guards, Warmaster, but they weren’t being particularly cooperative,” said the figure as it stepped over the body in front him. “GUARDS!” Gorrath bellowed. The rows of guards lining the room ran forward to intercept the intruder, only to be cut off by two massive pillars of black crystals. “Now, now, there’s no need for that. I’m just trying to help,” the regal pony explained as he continued his walk forward. “’Help?’” Gorrath asked, confused. “Stand aside. Let me show you how to properly interrogate some pony.” Despite not being one to take orders from others the Glorft leader allowed the regal pony to pass, a deep primordial fear telling him to take the path of least resistance. “Applejack, was it?” he asked as he stopped in front of the prisoner. “How are you alive? We took ya down. Way down!” the orange mare shouted, trying to mask her fear with anger. “Oh come now, surely you’ve heard enough stories to know that somepony like me always finds a way to come back. I just happened to find something in this dimension that proved useful to restoring me to my former glory.” “Well look at you talkin’ all fancy. Ah thought all ya could do was growl an yell.” The dark pony’s smile faltered. “Yes, a little side-effect that comes from one’s body and mind being broken down to an ethereal form and forced to live imprisoned in ice for more than one thousand years,” he explained, the anger and resentment seeping into his voice. After a moment’s pause his smile returned, even more sinister than before. “I’ll make sure to thank the Princesses for their treatment once I have them groveling at my hooves and begging for mercy.” “Like ah’ll let that happen!” “Oh please, as if you could stop me. In fact, you’ll be helping me.” Applejack chuckled. “An here ah thought you couldn’t make jokes. Just what makes you think ah’m gonna help you?” “Because, my dear, when I’m done with you you’ll be too terrified to disobey me.” The armor-clad pony’s eyes glowed green while smoke rose from the edges, and Applejack’s own eyes turned the same color. She convulsed for a moment before her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell limp. “Now then Warmaster, if you’ll follow me, we have much to discuss,” began the regal stallion, dispersing his crystal pillars as he trotted back towards the door. “As much as I enjoy hearing the sound of screams, it does make it somewhat difficult to have a proper conversation.” “Screams?” Gorrath muttered. “Ugh… what happened?” Gorrath turned back to face the orange pony. Her eyes were still glowing with green energy, and her gaze appeared to be thousands of miles away. “Where am ah?” she mumbled. “The farm? What’s goin’-?” suddenly her face contorted into an expression of pure terror. “No. Oh Celestia, please no! GRANNY! BIC MAC! APPLE BLOOM! NO! NO, PLEASE! SOMEPONY, PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! NO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” The farm mare struggled in her bonds, her speech descending into nothing more than pleading and screaming. Gorrath was shaken by the sudden change in the stubborn pony’s demeanor. “Coming, Warmaster?” The Glorft leader turned to face the stallion at the entrance, his expression eerily calm and amused. He hesitated but soon followed the dark pony outside, the door closing behind them, muffling the screams of the prisoner inside. “Who and what are you?” Gorrath demanded. The stallion raised his head proudly. “I am King Sombra, master of black magic, rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire. But I’m sure none of this means anything to you, so I’ll skip to the part you do care about.” Sombra’s smile widened, showing off his sinisterly evil fangs. “I’m your new best friend.” Twilight observed the controls of the cockpit in awe and confusion. Either the creator had set up the controls with a need to made things as complicated as possible or had seemingly no forethought at all. Considering that the creator was Coop she assumed the latter, even with how little she knew of him. Pinkie Pie was excitedly asking the pilot about each and every contraption in front of her, which he was more than happy to answer, while Jamie sat in the passenger seat trying to deal with her exuberance. Fluttershy was in the back with her and Kiva, cowering on the seat, scared of being inside this colossal metal titan, but doing pretty well considering. “Alright then, let’s see if this can work,” Kiva began, finally done typing on her screen, which as she explained earlier was not magic, but technology from the future. “Do you really think it will?” Twilight asked. “Your jewelry, or ‘Elements of Harmony’, have a unique and powerful energy signature, and although they’re all a bit different they’re giving off relatively the same reading. I’m sure we’ll be able to track their position if I can analyze it.” “Ok then, let’s try it.” “Right. Hand it over, if you please.” Twilight removed the crown from her head and levitated it over to Kiva, who took it in her hand. She stared at her screen for a moment. “That’s odd.” “What is it?” “The energy signature I was picking up… vanished,” she answered. “V-Vanished?” Fluttershy asked. Kiva pondered before turning her screen to Fluttershy, who flinched a bit but still stayed where she was. After a moment she turned it to Pinkie Pie. “Interesting. Twilight could you put your crown back on?” “Um, ok?’ The violet alicorn levitated the crown back onto her head as Kiva turned the screen to face her. “As I thought,” Kiva began. “It seems your Elements only give off their energy reading when you wear them, otherwise they’re just hunks of metal as far as the scanner is concerned. Just give me a minute to scan and enter the energy signature into the computer.” “Alright,” Twilight nodded. Kiva pressed a button on her screen, causing a bar with the words “Scanning” to appear on it. Soon enough, the bar filled and “Complete” appeared above the bar instead. With a few more tapping of holographic buttons, three energy signatures appeared very close to each other. “Looks like we’ve got it, however, there’s a problem,” Kiva stated. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. “As we just found out, if the Elements of Harmony are removed from their bearers then the signature goes away. If your friends have been captured by the Glorft, I doubt they’d let them keep them on, especially if they noticed the energy emanating from them.” “Hm,” Twilight pondered considering the situation. “Oh! I have an idea! What if you scanned my magic?” “Your magic?” “Well, I don’t know if it’ll be the same, but Rarity is a unicorn, so she’ll probably have some sort of magic signature to pick up on, right?” “Well, you yourself have been giving off some slight readings aside from the Elements of Harmony, so it could work. Could you cast some kind of spell?” “Hey, I don’t want any fireballs or nothin’ ruining my leather, you hear?” Coop warned from the front seat. “Don’t worry, Coop. I’ll just use a simple illumination spell. That should do the trick,” Twilight assured him. Twilight gathered her power into her horn and a bright, but not blinding, light began to radiate from her horn. Kiva activated the scanner again and quickly catalogued the readings into the computer. “Alright, we’re good,” she said, Twilight deactivating the spell in response. “And now we’ve got to find a way to fix our final problem. Namely, how do we get to the Glorft?” “Whaddy mean? We just fly up there, rescue the four ponies, and beat the snot out the squids like always,” Coop said confidently. “Three ponies, actually,” Twilight corrected. “One’s a dragon.” “’A dragon?’ Nice! Can he breathe fire?” Jamie asked. “Well yes, but not a lot. He is a baby after all.” “We’re gonna have to take care of a whiny baby? Lame.” “Well, I guess it would be more accurate say he’s like a kid. I mean, he can talk and walk, but he’s a baby compared to how long he’s going to live.” “Anyway, back on topic here,” Kiva interrupted. “This isn’t as simple as just flying up to them and attacking, we have to assume they’ve all been captured so our actions will have to be quick and deliberate. More problematic is how they’re currently in null-space.” “’Null-space?’ That sounds boring. Is it boring?” Pinkie asked. “It’s a dimensional space that’s used for travel that can’t be accessed without a null-space drive, which we don’t have.” “Which means we’ll have to make them come to us,” Twilight concluded. “Exactly. Not the best position to be in for a rescue mission.” “What other choice do we have?” Coop asked. “We could wait for them to come out first,” Kiva suggested. “Admittedly it wouldn’t be a much better situation, but at least we wouldn’t be simply waiting out in the open.” “B-But, um, who knows what they’re doing to the others. A-And, the more we wait the m-more they’ll do something just awful to them,” Fluttershy managed to squeak out. “Well that settles it. We’re gonna get the squids to come out, and when they do we’ll charge in to get ‘em!” Coop proclaimed confidently. Kiva looked to Coop and back to Fluttershy before sighing. “I guess we don’t have a choice. Just try to not to put the one’s we’re trying to rescue in danger as well.” “I make no promises.” “What!?” Twilight exclaimed in worry. “Strap in everybody!” the blonde man declared before slamming his foot on the gas pedal, causing M.E.G.A.S.’s thrusters to fire and the giant mech to race skyward. Spike did his best to control his shivering as he held still, peering out of the grating in front of him. It wasn’t particularly cold in the vent, but then again it wasn’t temperature that was sending a cold chill down his spine, it was the figure below him. “What do you mean ‘its useless’!?” the being called “Warmaster Gorrath” shouted at the stallion. “I’m afraid that’s the nature of these things,” replied King Sombra. “The Elements of Harmony are a magical force of pure goodness, and as such they cannot be used to bring harm to something other than black magic and those steeped into it. Your hope of using them as a weapon just isn’t possible.” “GRAH! THEN CATCHING THEM WAS POINTLESS!” “Now, now, Warmaster, don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. They may be useless to you, but they are a necessity for me. And since I’m going to help you now it behooves you to keep them around.” Spike couldn’t believe what was happening, one of the most evil forces of his world and what appeared to be one of the most evil forces of this dimension were teaming up! He had to stop this! Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Even if he wasn’t a prisoner Spike realized he was still utterly powerless, which made him feel all the more desperate. He had seen Rarity and Rainbow Dash held in their cells, unable to even call to them lest he alert the guards. He’d seen Applejack locked in place in the interrogation room and seen Sombra inflict that fear spell on her. And now he was seeing an evil alliance of devastating proportions being formed, and he still couldn’t do anything but watch and wait. He was the only chance the three mares had and as little as he could do now he’d be even more useless if he got caught. “Why do you need them?” Gorrath asked. “One of them was performing a spell that was meant to view other worlds, and during our battle it was hit with the power of the Elements and became a portal,” Sombra explained. “My dark magic would be enough to create the window but I require the good magic of the Elements to transform it into a portal and return to my world.” “But you can’t use them. How are you going to make them use this power for you?” “You’ve already seen how I intend to do that. My fear spell shows a being what they fear most, and with that I will break them. They will become too terrified of what I can do to disobey me. Even thinking of using the Elements to defeat me won’t cross their minds because they’ll be so terrified of what I can inflict upon them.” “Hm. So, what kind of deal are you trying to make here?” “An exchange of goods and services. I want you to capture and hold the members of the Elements of Harmony here on the Karajor so that I may bend them to my will.” “How do you know the name of this ship? And who I am, for that matter?” “Your Commander provided me with the information I needed. As I possessed him to allow me to revive myself I did a bit of poking around in his brain. How is he, by the way?” “He’s suffered worse.” “Good. I’d hate to weaken your forces before you could help me. Speaking of which, the other thing I want from you is one of your mechs.” “WHAT!?” Gorrath bellowed. Sombra calmly turned and looked up at one of the giant metal machines in the massive room. “Although inelegant there’s no denying the sheer destructive power they possess. Equestria will be ill-prepared to handle such a thing, and with one of them at my disposal I shall cut a swath through those who would oppose me.” “But you can’t even pilot one!” “No need. I’ve found I can possess the technology of this dimension. I’ll simply take over the machine as though it were a body and use it like it was my own flesh and blood.” “And what makes you think I would give you any of my forces?!” Gorrath yelled, clearly opposed to the idea. “Because, dear Warmaster, one of your mechs will seem a paltry price to pay for what I will give you in return.” “And what would that be?” Sombra calmly turned and smiled at Gorrath. “What else? The one thing you’ve wanted ever since you’ve been stuck here in Earth’s past.” “The prototype? Ha! And just how do you intend to get that for me?” “Admittedly, I’ll need some help from you and your forces, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” “I don’t need your help to capture the prototype.” “Really? If that’s the case why don’t you have it in your possession now?” “WHAT DID YOU SAY!?” Gorrath screamed, seething with rage. “Let’s not beat around the bush here, Warmaster, I’ve seen what’s happened every time you’ve attempted to recover the prototype from the earther. Plan after plan, loss after loss, its been quite the crushing blow to your ego, hasn’t it? The undefeatable conqueror of entire systems defeated over and over again by one pilot. And not even a trained soldier, but a fat, stupid, primitive earther.” Gorrath tried to form a response, but he was too busy trying to keep himself from exploding with rage. All the other glorft soldiers were stopped dead in their tracks, waiting for their leader to blow his top. Spike could almost swear he saw smoke coming from those holes in the side of his head. “Don’t be so upset, Warmaster, I know your pain. Though I haven’t had the losing streak you have, I have had my own defeat at the hooves, or should I say ‘claws’, of one clearly inferior to myself.” The cold chill running down Spike’s spine seemed to drop and extra fifty degrees as his heart began to pound in his chest, sweat began to form on his brow. Sombra closed his eyes, confident smirk gone from his face in place of a more neutral expression. “Being defeated by the Princesses of the Sun and Moon, imprisoned in ice for over one thousand years, that I could almost accept. No humiliation in being defeated by two of the most powerful creatures in the world. No, the real shame came during my return. Everything was going according to plan, or as well as it could’ve. The barrier around the Crystal Empire was weakening, even Princess Celestia’s little protégé had fallen for my traps. I would’ve won if not for one meddlesome dragon.” Sombra’s eyes opened, shining green with smoke rising from his eyes as he threw his head up and screamed. “DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE WRETCH!? WHEN I FIND YOU I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THIS INSULT AGAINST ME! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER BEFORE THIS DAY IS DONE!” Sombra’s voice reverberated through the ship, and Spike’s blood turned to ice as his heart pounded so hard it nearly blocked out the sound of everything else. He clamped both his claws over his mouth to keep himself from screaming in terror. The dark King’s magical display died down and he cleared his throat. “But that is in the past. A good conqueror must not dwell on his defeats and learn from them instead.” He looked back to the Warmaster, whose rage had died down but was still noticeably angry. “You see, Warmaster, we are not so different. And as it turns out, we need each other. I need your technology to retake my empire, and you need my magic and intellect to remove the one impediment from your conquest. Can you really say that this arrangement isn’t satisfactory?” Spike quietly prayed to Celestia and Luna both that this wouldn’t go the way it was heading, that the insult before had been too much for the Warmaster to take. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. “Fine. But don’t you ever insult me again. And don’t think for a moment you’re getting the mech you desire before I get my prototype!” “Of course not, Warmaster.” Spike cursed under his breath. He then heard a noise come from beyond where he could see. “Warmaster, the prototype is in high altitude above Earth,” came a voice. It didn’t sound like it was near, so the speaker was probably talking though some communication device. Spike kept quiet and listened. “What is it doing, Commander?” Gorrath asked. “Nothing, sir. It’s simply hovering there. Like it’s waiting.” Gorrath chuckled. “So, the earther is actually calling me out, huh? Fine then. All troops, prepare-!” “Hold on a moment, Warmaster,” Sombra interrupted. “Commander, can you scan the prototype from here?” “Um… yes?” the voice responded hesitantly. “Good. Do so, if you please.” “What are you doing, ordering around my soldiers like you own the place!?” Gorrath threatened. “Calm yourself, Warmaster. What I do I do for both our benefits,” the dark King calmly explained. Gorrath glared at the stallion before turning towards the direction of the voice. “Do it,” he commanded. There was a moment pause before the voice responded. “There are three energy signatures of unknown nature inside the prototype,” the Commander answered. “Similar to the three you detected on board this ship?” asked Sombra. “Um… yes.” “Well, well. It seems that all our targets have so kindly gathered so that we may seize them all at once.” “Excellent,” chimed Gorrath. “Prepare to exit null-space! All pilots-!” “Just a moment, Warmaster,” interrupted Sombra. “Let’s not rush into this. I think this situation should be handled with a bit more finesse.” “’Finesse’? Our targets are right in front of us!” “Which is why we should do everything in our power to ensure they don’t slip away. Have your soldiers prepare for battle as you planned, but keep them in reserve. I will try my hoof first.” “What are you talking about?” “I’ll need some of your guards to direct me to the cells so we may use our other two prisoners as well as the one in the interrogation room. Bring enough bonds to restrain them all as well.” “What need do we have for that? We can take them now!” argued Gorrath. “Now Warmaster, why fight a battle when you can win without even firing a shot?” the King smugly asked. There was a moment’s wait before the Glorft leader finally responded. “This had better work.” Spike saw Gorrath order four of his guards to lead Sombra away, likely to the prison cells. He paused to consider his options. From what he heard Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy had teamed up with this “Earther” the two had kept talking about. And considering that this “Earther” was the one who apparently beat Gorrath all the time, maybe there was hope. But it looked like Sombra was planning something to tip the scales in his favor. He decided to crawl back to the interrogation room, as that was where the girls were being taken. He had no idea what the plan was, but with any luck he’d be able to screw it up. He crawled back into the ventilation system, grabbing Applejack’s hat with the Elements inside as he continued back down the path he had taken before. A bang rang out through prison cells. And another. And another. “Rainbow darling, stop that! We’ve already established that you can’t break out of your cell and you’re giving me a migraine!” Rarity complained. “How can you just sit there and whine while everything’s like this!? We need to do something!” Rainbow Dash shouted back from the cell next to her. “I’m not whining, I’m complaining! And furthermore, there’s nothing we can do about the situation right now.” “How can you say that!? You haven’t even used any spells to try and open these cells!” “Even if I could open these cell doors, which I can’t, it would be pointless. We’d have nowhere to go an we’d just get thrown back in again, or worse.” “But-!” “Rainbow Dash, I understand that you’re nervous, and likely anxious too.” “No I’m not!” Rainbow quickly retorted defensively. “You’re forced to simply sit in one spot and on top of that we don’t know what’s happening to Spike or Applejack. But we need to place our faith in them, and the others, too. After all, it wouldn’t do us well to act so foalish after we told Spike to be brave for us, now would it?” There was a moment pause before Rarity heard the sound of hooves touching metal. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said calmly. “How precious, to see you both holding strong considering your situation,” came a powerful male voice. The two mares pressed themselves against the cell bars to see the voice’s source, only to quickly gasp in terror and back away. “Oh no,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. “By Celestia and Luna both,” Rarity said, her voice shaking in fear. Standing in front of their cells was King Sombra, flanked by four Glorft guards, all holding chains and cuffs. His sinister grin pierced their hearts. One of the guards moved forward to open the cells, but Sombra’s foreleg cut him off. “Not yet, fool, they’ll simply run,” he chastised. He turned his gaze back to the two mares as his horn glowed a sickly shade of green. The two ponies were enveloped in his aura before being thrust back against the cell walls, gasping in pain as they hit. Sombra motioned to the guards who opened the cells. The stepped inside and collared the two mares, securing manacles to their forelegs and hind legs as well. Sombra released the two from his magic, allowing them to fall before the guards led them out. “Now then, slaves. Your King has need of you,” Sombra stated, his cold voice complimenting his terrifying smile. Coop tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he and the others waited in M.E.G.A.S., the blue mech hovering high above Jersey City, and the world for that matter. They may have only been waiting for around fifteen minutes but for Coop, anxious for a fight, it might as well have been hours. “Man, how long are they gonna take?” Coop muttered. “You’re looking forward to this aren’t you?” Twilight asked from the back seat. “’Course I am! I can’t wait to test out my new modifications on the squids!” he proclaimed with glee. Kiva stopped typing and looked up from the holo-screen. “What new modifications?” “Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Coop answered dismissively. “’Don’t worry?’ Need I remind you of all the trouble your ‘modifications’ have gotten us into in the past?” “Like the time you teleported yourself onto the Glorft mothership?” Jamie said. “Or the time you nearly sucked the Earth into a special void?” Kiva added. “Or the time you created a portal to a maximum security prison planet?” “Or time you ended up making the Mazer Ray empower the enemy instead of yourself?” “Ok, ok, so I’ve had some trouble in the past, but I got a good feelin’ this time,” the large man attempted to assure them. “That’s not really making us feel better, dude,” Jamie replied. Twilight simply stared with a shocked look on her face before turning to Kiva. “How do you live with him?” she asked incredulously. “I don’t have a choice,” Kiva deadpanned. Just then the portal to null-space opened up and the Karajor began to exit the swirling portal. “Cool!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Oh, except that they’re the bad guys, so not completely cool. But still kinda cool.” Kiva began typing on her holo-screen. “As I thought, I’m getting no reading from the Elements of Harmony,” she said after a moment. A few moments later she perked up. “However, I am getting a faint reading of magic from this part of the ship,” she explained, pointing at a blinking dot near the top of an outline of the ship. “Sweet! Let’s get to it!” Coop proclaimed before revving the engine. “Hold on a minute. We’re being hailed,” Kiva explained. “I don’t see any hail. Aren’t we too high for hail?” Pinkie quipped, looking out windows. “It means someone’s trying to make contact with us,” Kiva explained. “You mean the squids are actually trying to talk to us?” Jamie asked in disbelief. Coop activated the coms and the t.v. came to life, Gorrath’s face showing up. Twilight flinched and Fluttershy let out a “meep.” “Wow, he is uuuuuuuugly!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What’s up, squid? Ready to get your butt kicked again?” Coop asked a confident smirk stretched across his face. “Earther, such a delight speaking to your repulsive mug again,” Gorrath replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time for your witless banter today. Where is the Princess?” Twilight hesitated a moment, shocked that this creature knew her status as a Princess, before hopping up the backside of the driver’s seat. “I’m here. What do you want?” Twilight asked, attempting to sound intimidating. “I want plenty, but let’s not focus on that for now,” the Warmaster answered as a sinister smile spread across his face. “Someone you know wants to talk to you.” The screen went to static for a moment before the face of a stallion replaced it. “Oh no,” Twilight muttered, her eyes going wide in shock and terror. “Greetings, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the stallion said calmly. “S-Sombra!” “Tsk, tsk, tsk. How rude, Princess. I thought your mentor would’ve taught you proper manners by now. Even if we aren’t on the best of terms, I still called you by your title. It’s King Sombra,” he corrected, his tone momentarily becoming more threatening. “Not a fiend of yours, huh?” Jamie asked. “N-No. That’s K-King Sombra, he’s a stallion who c-conquered the Crystal Empire over one thousand years ago,” Fluttershy hesitantly answered. “Yeah, but he’s acting really different now. A lot less ‘grr, ragh, crystal slaves’ and all that. Do you think he got himself some speech lessons when he came here?” Pinkie quipped. “You aren’t a king, not while Cadence and Shining Armor rule the Crystal Ponies, and rule them fairly, unlike you!” Twilight spat back defiantly. “You aren’t king of the Crystal Empire, or anywhere else!” Sombra, however, didn’t see flustered in the least. “Hm. I supposed by that definition you are indeed correct. Of course, I’ll be reclaiming my throne soon enough.” “Like hay I’ll let you hurt my B.B.B.F.F. or my old folasitter, you monster!” “’B.B.B.F.F.’?” Coop asked. “Big brother best friend forever,” Pinkie explained. “Oh, so you have a familial relationship with them? I wasn’t aware of that. But enough of the future, no time like the present. It’s time we discuss your terms.” “’Terms’? What terms?” Twilight asked. “The surrender of the Elements of Harmony and their bearers to me. And the surrender of that mech to the Warmaster.” “What!? You really expect us just to give up!?” “Indeed. Unless, of course, you don’t care what happens to them,” Sombra explained, stepping aside to reveal three mares, bound with cuffs and collars around their necks and hooves, tethered to the floor. Guards stood behind them, ready to strike with polearms crackling with electricity. “Oh no,” the princess muttered. “So you understand the situation you are in. Then you will surrender if you wish to see them live,” Sombra gloated. “Don’t listen to him, Twilight! He needs us so he can use the Elements!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Guard, if you please.” Spike saw the guard standing behind Rainbow shock her with his weapon and winced at her scream of pain. The dragon was waiting behind the grating at the edge of the room, on floor level this time. His friends were bound in place on the walkway to where Applejack was held before, leaving them lined up like objects on display. Applejack looked exhausted, no doubt from the torture Sombra put her through, but still seemed to be holding her own. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were doing better, or at least Rainbow was until just now. “Yes, indeed I require the Elements of Harmony to turn that viewing spell you found into a portal. And as it turns out, you require my dark magic to create the window in the first place,” Sombra explained. “If you’d be so kind to surrender and submit to me, I’d be more than happy to take you back to Equestria. As my slaves, of course.” “Wait, where’s Spike? What’ve you done with him!?” the Twilight on the screen shouted. Spike actually found some strength in knowing that she was so worried about him. “He’s still free, darling. And he’s got the Elements as well, so don’t- AAAH!” Rarity was cut off as the guard behind her shocked her, ruffling her carefully groomed mane and tail. Spike’s fists clenched as he gritted his fangs, resisting the urge to run out of his hiding space and try and tear the guard a new one. “We’ll find him soon enough, I assure you,” the evil king stated, his voice shifting to a darker tone. Twilight smirked back. “Ha! Don’t think you can intimidate me. We’re at a stalemate! You’re trying to make me fear for my friend’s lives, but we both know that if even one of them dies then we’ll all be trapped here!” “So you don’t care as long as they live? What if I make them suffer instead?” “Do it, and I promise I’ll end you,” Twilight retorted, her tone dark. “Oh, so the young Princess knows how to be intimidating after all. However, this situation is not as even as you think.” “What are you talking about?” “True, I require the assistance of all of you to return to Equestria and reclaim my throne, but a good conqueror knows when to cut their losses. If you will not surrender to me then I will simply abandon my plans on taking Equestria and the rest of our world for myself and instead assist the Warmaster with his own conquest.” Spike flinched, and so did Twilight. “Y-You’re bluffing!” Twilight stuttered. “Am I? I must admit the idea of not reclaiming what is mine and being unable to take my revenge on your Princesses pains me, and I do so hate sharing power, but the idea of galactic conquest instead of simply global does have a certain enticing ring to it. And of course I won’t require your friends to be alive to pursue that goal,” Sombra gloated, his voice dripping with a malicious joy. Spike had heard enough, he had to do something. But the king and his friends were too far away, if he tried to charge in he’d just get captured or worse. He had to use a stealthier approach, but the room was huge with nothing for him to hide behind. But when he looked at all the creatures in the room, he realized something: he didn’t need anything to hide behind, he just needed to avoid being seen. And as it just so happened, everyone was looking up at the screen, their backs turned to him. Summoning his courage and will Spike carefully pushed the grating for the vent he was hiding behind out and slowly crawled towards the edge of the hole in the center of the room. Using his claws he clung to the wall of the seemingly bottomless pit, crawling down a few yards so any guards standing on the edges wouldn’t see him at their feet so easily. The young drake continued along, slowly and quietly along the wall, heading towards the bridge, his heart pounding in his ears. He prayed that none of them would see him, and that an opportunity would arise so he could make use of his desperate gamble. Twilight’s heart was pounding. Sombra had her friends’ lives in his hooves, and he was more then willing to kill them. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as her blood ran cold. “Well, Princess? What is your decision?” Sombra asked, his smirk practically beaming with confidence. “I…I…” “Hey, Sombrero. Let the candy colored ponies go, or I’m gonna come in there and crush you like a soda can.” Twilight was surprised to hear Coop threaten the evil stallion so casually. True he didn’t understand what he was dealing with, but she still didn’t expect him to go so far as to insult the dark king for her friends’ sake. “Ah, the Earther speaks. Another pathetic creature trying to play hero.” “I’m no hero, I’m just a guy from Jersey. A guy who’s got a giant robot and is gonna have plenty of fun smashing you with it.” “Oh please, spare me the petty threats. I’ve dealt with this dozens of times before during my reign over one thousand years ago, and it hasn’t gotten any less clichéd and boring since. Honestly, at least when those fools who opposed me in the past proclaimed their righteous indignations their speech was more eloquent.” “Yeah? Well, uh… your face is eloquent!” Everything went silent except for the sound of the running engine. “Really?” Twilight complained. “Yeah Coop, that was pretty bad,” Pinkie added. “No kidding,” Jamie agreed. Kiva shook her head and sighed. “Um, I’m sorry, but that was awful,” Fluttershy added. “I rest my case,” Sombra deadpanned. “How this for resting case!?” Coop shouted, revving the engine. “Coop, what’re you doing!?” Twilight screamed, pulling on the pilot’s arm. “What do you mean?” “My friends are still in danger!” “So you’re saying give up?” “Of course not, but-!” “The let’s go get ‘em!” “Excuse me,” Sombra tried to interrupt. “We can’t just go!” “But if we give up M.E.G.A.S. there’s no way we’ll win!” “I’m not saying give up, but we can’t just rush in!” “But I wanna!” “Oh Celestia, really!?” “Oh, by Tartarus. Warmaster, could you get their attention please?” Sombra asked. A moment later the Glorft mothership fired a shot from its main batteries. “INCOMING!” Kiva shouted. “Whoa!” Coop yelled as he swerved M.E.G.A.S. out of the way at the last second, the powerful laser blast exploding behind them. “Do I have your undivided attention now?” Sombra asked smugly. “As much as I enjoy watch you bicker amongst yourselves, I’m beginning to run out of patience, and that probably goes double for the Warmaster. Now make your decision!” Everyone in the car turned cockpit was silent and all eyes turned to Twilight Sparkle. The Princess remained quiet, looking to her friends, trying to see someway out of this. It was then her eyes stopped on Fluttershy, and finally a she saw a glimmer of hope. “Kiva, can they see us?’ she whispered, motioning to the television. “Yeah?” Kiva responded, not sure where she was going with this. “All of them? Like, everyone on the ship?” “Anyone who’s watching a screen, yes.” Twilight nodded and turned to the pegasus mare. “Fluttershy, I’m going to need your help.” “U-um, ok,” she replied. With a small meep of fright the violet alicorn levitated her friend up to her position. “Ok, Sombra. I’ve decided to have a little staring contest,” Twilight declared. “Huh?” everyone in the car asked, clearly confused. Sombra held quiet for moment, and then burst out laughing. “Are you serious!? Out of all the idiotic things you could’ve said, I certainly wasn’t expecting that! Surely you jest!?” he managed to say between his laughing. “Let’s see how funny you think this is!” she proclaimed before turning to the yellow-coated pony. “Do it Fluttershy!” The kind mare took a second before everything finally clicked and she nodded, turning to the screen with determination. “You let my friends go, you big, dumb, meanie!” she ordered before unleashing The Stare upon the communication device. Coop and Jamie, who turned back to see what the yellow pony was doing, raised their eyebrows in questioning looks. “Uh, what’s she doing?” Jamie asked. “Really? This was your plan?” Sombra asked, clearly unaffected. “Just what were you-?” “AAAAAAAAHH! MAKE IT STOP!” Sombra turned to see the Glorft guards behind him were covering their eyes, writhing like they were in pain. “MAKE IT GO AWAY!” “IT BURNS! IT BURNS!” “Sweet! Now let’s go!” Coop declared, revving the engine. “Wait! Sombra isn’t-!” Twilight began, only to be cut off by the massive mech screaming forward. Sombra had no idea what was happening, but that little yellow pegasus had something to do with it. He was not going to be done in by that weak-willed mare. “You useless fools!” Sombra chided at the screaming guards, wrenching one of their weapons away with a levitation spell. The unexpected action caused the guard to stumble back and fall off the walkway, pulling the other two guards down into the pit. The dark king turned to face the white-coated mare, the weapon raised above his head. “I’ll do it myself!” he proclaimed. “Rarity, no!” the cyan pagasus shouted. Sombra was about to swing the weapon down when something pulled at his cape. With a yank he found himself hanging off the walkway by his forelegs and dropping the weapon in his surprise. “What is the meaning of-!?” he began, only to cut himself off as he saw the purple drake pull himself up from under the bridge. “YOU!” “Enjoy the trip,” Spike replied and kicked the stallion in the face, pushing him off the bridge. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” the evil pony screamed as he fell into the darkness. “Spikey-wikey!” Rarity called in delight. The young dragon smiled before hopping up in the air, his tail coming down hitting the chains tethering the white mare’s forelegs to the floor like a jackhammer, quickly breaking them. “Sorry for the wait, but I just didn’t have a chance,” he apologized, carefully placing his fangs around the collar on Rarity’s neck before biting a chunk of it off. “Ya sure got some timin’, pardner,” Applejack complimented. Spike spat out another piece of the collar. “Applejack, I’m saw what he did to you. I’m sorry I couldn’t-“ “No sweat, Spike. Ah understand. Let’s all jus’ git outta here.” Spike nodded back before finally biting through Rarity’s collar. He went to break the chains around Rarity’s back legs but was suddenly flung through the air as a mass of black crystals erupted from under his feet, hurling him all the way across the room and smacking into the far wall. “SPIKE!” the three mare’s called. “I’m ok!” he called back. His scales had protected him from damage, although it still hurt. “Not for long.” The dark king materialized at the top of the black crystal tower, eyes shooting daggers at the young drake. “Oh no,” Spike whimpered. “PREPARE TO DIE!” Sombra screamed before transforming into his ethereal form and lunging at Spike. “AAAAAH! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!” The entire control room screamed as everyone averted their eyes from the yellow pegasus onscreen. “You fools! Stop screaming and fire at the earther scum!” the Warmaster commanded, covering his own eyes as he complained. “But sir, we can’t see!” the Commander explained. “We won’t be able to aim at-!” “JUST FIRE!” After some stumbling the gunners found their controls and blindly fired at the general direction the prototype was coming from. “Whoa!” Jamie shouted as Coop swerved to avoid another barrage of cannon fire. “H-How much longer?” Fluttershy stuttered, straining to keep The Stare going as long as possible. “We’re almost there, Fluttershy, just hold on!” Twilight said, encouraging her friend. “Coop!” “I’m tryin’!” the heavy-set man called back, dodging another blast. “Whee! It’s like roller coaster!” Pinkie shouted, holding her forelegs in the air. “Alright, you know what? Screw it,” Coop declared before removing the glass covering for a button labeled “Afterburners.” “Coop wait!” Kiva called, but the blonde ignored her as he slammed his palm on the button. M.E.G.A.S. lurched forward with even more speed, everyone clutching to their seats and the blue mech screeched through the sky. Rarity used her magic and finally managed to pry her hind legs free from her cuffs. With no time to spare she raced towards Spike, who was doing his best to dodge the magic blasts from the evil king. One exploded just under his feet and hurled him skyward, only for Sombra to envelop him in his aura and slam him to the floor. The stallion returned to his corporeal form and slammed his foreleg on Spike’s head, denting the metal floor. “You have angered me for last time, child,” he declared and the drake writhed in pain under his hoof. Rarity leaped forward and with a high-flying kick and her best battle cry and knocked Sombra off of Spike. “That was for zapping Rainbow Dash,” she began before leaping forward and smacking him across the face with her foreleg. “That was for whatever you did to Applejack.” She then rushed forward as the evil king was recovering before turning and bucking him in the face, sending him tumbling backwards. “That was for hurting my brave Spikey-Wikey, and this,” she continued, levitating one of the guard’s polearms to her before hurling it at Sombra. The weapon hit him in the chest, shocking him and hitting him with enough force to send him tumbling backwards even further. “Is for ruining my mane and tail, you ruffian!” she finished. Sombra quickly regained his stance, his eyes and horn glowing with dark energy. “You will pay for this insult, you pathetic-!” “Hey ladies, brace yourselves!” came a voice from the screen. Right then Sombra noticed what sounded like an engine growing in volume approaching. “He wouldn’t da-“ he began, only for the memories of the Commander he possessed before to come racing into his mind. Memories of an enemy that was willing to destroy the very city it was trying to protect to defeat the opponent threatening it. “Oh no,” he muttered, just before the blue mech crashed through the ceiling at an angle with a massive thud. “Whoa nelly!” Applejack exclaimed. “Hey pony dude,” came the blonde man’s voice as the robot aimed its right fist at the stallion. “High five.” “What?” he asked, just before the massive fist launched at the dark king. He managed to mutter a tiny “Oh” before it collided with him, leaving a massive hole in the wall where he, and a large section of the room was before. The sound of metal colliding with metal several times before an explosion rang out was easily heard. Everypony stared at the metal giant as another hand came out of the hole where the first one used to be. “So awesome,” Rainbow Dash muttered.