Equestrian Techno-Wiz

by Wildcard25

Laying siege to the Crystal Empire

As the sun rose over Ponyville, Iggy was in his bed in the castle suite, until both Gizmo and Machina started up after a night of charging. The two robots went over and pulled the covers over their creator, as Machina spoke.

"Rise and shine, father."

"Yes, sir. It's such a glorious morning." Gizmo added, as he gently opened the drapes, letting the sun shine in.

Iggy groaned, as the sun shined on his face. He finally woke up, "Morning."

"And how was your sleep?" Machina inquired.

"It was good." he yawned.

"Well, you better get ready." Gizmo stated.

"Right." he grabbed his clothes and went for the bathroom to get ready.

Once he was dressed, he went down to the dining hall for breakfast. He and his robots were greeted warmly by the staff before being served. Once he finished he got up, as the princesses entered, "Good morning princesses." he greeted them.

"And a good morning to you too, Iggy." Celestia greeted him.

"And what exactly do you have planned for this day?" Luna inquired.

"The girls are taking us to the Crystal Empire today," he began, "It'll be the first time I set foot in it."

"Yes, so far you've seen Ponyville and Canterlot. Seeing more of Equestria would be good for you." Celestia nodded.

"Me and Machina." Iggy put in, as Machina nodded.

"Speaking of, we better get to Ponyville now." Gizmo spoke up.

"Right, well we'll see you later princesses."

"Have a good day, all of you." Luna relied.

"Let's roll!" Iggy said to his bots, as he roller bladed off.

"Oh, I'm rolling!" Gizmo wheeled after him, with Machina galloping behind him.

When they arrived outside the castle, Iggy's boots shifted into rocket mode and he flew into the air, followed by Gizmo activating his thrusters, and Machina activating her own.

Meanwhile in Ponyville, a portal opened up and Cynthia came out of it, "Ok, now to get to the library and meet up with the others." she started walking, until she heard the sound of thrusters.

She looked above, seeing Iggy, Gizmo, and Machina touch down in front of her, "Morning, Cynthia."

"Morning, Iggy." the two kissed.

"A pleasant morning to you, Ms. Cynthia." Machina greeted her.

"And a good morning to you, Machina, Gizmo."

"Come on, let's get to the library." Iggy said, as they walked to the library.

When the group reached it, they saw their pony friends and Spike waiting, "Hey, guys." the genius greeted them.

"Good morning!" Pinkie beamed.

"Are you all ready to see the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked.

"You bet." Iggy nodded.

"Well, let's go!" Rainbow announced, as they started heading for the train station. As they left the library, a single changeling popped out of a bush, before flying off.

Meanwhile in the Badlands, Chrysalis was juicing up Jack with a little more Changeling magic, "There that should be enough." The queen said.

"Thanks for the recharge, Chrysalis." Jack said.

"I wouldn't need to give you a recharge if you weren't wasting it by turning yourself into either Iggy or Cynthia and using their voices to say things only you would want them to say!" she said firmly.

Jack cringed, but spoke up, "Come on, haven't you ever wanted to hear your enemies say something that they wouldn't say willingly?" When he saw Chrysalis looked sheepish, he gave a widen grin, "You do it too, dontcha?"

"Shut up." she answered, while looking away.

"Come on, you don't have to hide it from me. We're both villains here."

"I could hardly call you a villain, unless you do something really evil." she replied.

Jack frowned at her mockery, "If I had the opportunity I would show you I can be just as evil as you!" Suddenly the changeling flew in and whispered something into Chrysalis' ear, making the queen smirk and Jack confused, "What is it?"

"Opportunity." she answered.

Far from Canterlot the train from Ponyville pulled into a station outside the Crystal Empire. When the group got off, they walked along the path leading to the entry way of the Crystal Empire. As they walked, Cynthia spoke, "So this kingdom was once ruled by a tyrant until, the princesses turned him to shadow and banished him into the arctic?"

"That's right," Twilight nodded, "But before Sombra's defeat he cast a spell to make the kingdom disappear, until a thousand years later both he and the kingdom returned."

"But we did our part in saving the Crystal Empire, especially me." Spike smiled.

"We know, already. Jeez, you'd think you'd be tired of boasting that story by now." Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"And just how often do you not boast about all your accomplishments?" Rarity retorted.

"Point." Rainbow admitted.

When they arrived into town, Iggy, Cynthia, and the two bots looked around seeing the kingdom and it's crystal pony inhabitants, "Wow, it's like a crystal paradise." Iggy gasped.

"It's beautiful." Cynthia added in awe.

"Indeed." Gizmo agreed.

"Wait till you see the castle." Rainbow said, as they continued on.

When they reached the castle, Iggy saw the rotating Crystal Heart, "Is that the Crystal Heart?"

"Yes, it's what helped defeat Sombra, and now protects the empire from unwanted entities." Twilight explained.

"Twily!" Shining called, as he, Cadence, and Neira came out of the castle.

Twilight giggled as she hugged her brother and sister-in-law. Neira went to Spike and nuzled him, before seeing Machina, "Machina! She galloped to the robot pegasus and nuzzled with her, as the robot nuzzled her back.

"It's good to see you again, my friend." Machina said.

"Come and meet my parents," Neira went behind her and pushed her forward to the royal couple, "Mom, dad, this is my friend Machina."

"So you're the one that helped our daughter when she was lost?" Shining Armor asked, as she nodded.

"We're ever so grateful to you for protecting her." Cadence said.

"It was my pleasure Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza..."

"Princess Cadence is fine." the Princess cut her off, and the robot nodded.

"Come on, I want to show you all of the castle." Neira tugged Machina along, as she followed.

"She's right, how about a tour of the castle, you two?" Shining asked Iggy and Cynthia.

"Sounds great." Iggy answered.

"Yeah." Cynthia agreed.

"Come on." Spike said, as they all went inside the castle.

Back outside the Crystal Empire, Chrysalis and Jack were watching from behind a bush, with a whole armada of changelings on standby.

"Ok, Jack. You know the plan?"

"Of course. I sneak into the empire, snatch the Crystal Heart to lower the barrier protecting it, and you all fly in like the place is yours." Jack explained.

Chrysalis nodded, "Couldn't be simpler. Do this Jack, and I promise you you'll have dominance over your world just as promised."

"Yes! But are you really sure the barrier that protects the Empire will let me in?"

"The barrier which protects the empire is supposed to keep all evil entities out of it. I do not think it will apply to your species though."

"So you're going on just a guess?" he asked dryly.

She sighed, "Look, we don't have all day to discuss this. Now get to work!"

"Yes, ma'am." Jack nodded, as he used the changeling magic given to him to assume to form of a pony.

He trotted up to the entrance and looked at the arch way, before he cautiously put a hoof through it. When he saw his hoof could go through it he crossed over and was officially in the sanctuary of the Crystal Empire, "It worked! Ok, Jack. Now it's time to put the plan into motion." he started trotting along to the town.

Soon Jack was wandering through the town of them empire seeing all the inhabitants, 'Whoa, their coats sure do sparkle like crystal. Wonder how they do that?' he thought, but shook it off, 'Focus, Jack. Chrysalis needs you to do this. Remember what's in store for you if we pull this off.' he smirked.

Soon he reached the castle, and saw the Crystal Heart, "There it is. The Crystal Heart. The Empire's sole defense. And right for the taking," he saw no pony was watching, and dropped his disguise before using his jet pack to fly up to the crystal hearts level. He reached out and grabbed the Crystal Heart, before tugging it out of its spot.

With the Crystal Heart removed from place, the barrier suddenly became visible and then started dissolving, much to the confusion of the Empire's inhabitants. Form inside the castle, the happy human couple were enjoying the tour, until Pinkie looked out the window, "Hey, is that supposed to happen?"

They looked out, and saw the barrier vanishing, "No, it's not." Shining Armor answered.

"What's going on?" Applejack asked.

"The barrier that protects the empire is vanishing." Twilight answered.

"But how?" Rarity asked.

"Something must be wrong with the Crystal Heart." Cadence deduced.

"I'm scared." Neira trembled.

"It's ok, Neira, everything will be fine." Spike comforted her.

"Machina, stay in here with Machina. We'll check things out." Iggy instructed, as she nodded. The group took off.

Back outside the castle, Jack while holding the Crystal Heart under his arm looked up seeing the barrier dropping, "Yes, mission accomplished."

"Hold it!" he turned and saw the calvary.

"Jack!" Iggy called.

"Well, hey there, Iggster!"

"Who is that?" Cadence asked.

"Jack Mcallister. He's been giving us trouble as of late." Twilight explained.

"Look what's he got!" Fluttershy gasped.

They saw the Crystal Heart under his arm, "The Crystal Heart!" they gasped.

"Return the Crystal Heart right now!" Shining demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that now, man. I have orders I need to be true to." the evil boy genius answered, while tucking the Crystal Heart into his coat.

"Orders, from who?" Cadence asked.

"See for yourself." he answered, as they all looked up seeing the whole Changeling army flying overhead.

"Whoa, nelly." Applejack gasped, as she grasped her hat.

"The Changeling's!" Shining Armor gasped.

"Which means she isn't too far behind." Cadence gasped in worry.

"Correct, Princess," they looked up seeing Chrysalis lower herself down form the sky and floated besides Jack, "Well done, Jack. You've made me and my Changelings proud." she smiled.

Jack smiled brightly, "My pleasure, Chrysalis."

"And now that the empire is defenseless, we shall take it for our own!" the Queen announced as she started a maniacal laugh, with Jack following.

The others watched in fright, knowing this was not going to be easy work like it was last time, but somehow they would have to find a way to defeat the Changelings, their queen, and Jack.