Magic Augmentation Generator Infantry (M.A.G.I.)

by LordBarcha

Threnody and Cadenza

Generator Tower 23, also called the Pike of Uranus, stood its lonely vigil at the northern edge of Equestria. Sleek metal plating, magically fused into one whole coated the spire, stretching almost a half mile into the air. Smooth metal abruptly ended at the peak of an equally towering mountain, whose face was scorched and torn in a thousand places, hinting at its violent past. A piece of the sky fell, its once pristine blue sheen stained by black soot. Plates of armor folded back and legs extended, dragging the machine to a shuddering halt. Within the tower, an equally blue pegasus jerked to life.

“Captain!” he gasped, clutching at his side. Behind him, a glowing green circle faded into the floor.

“What did you find, Hazel?”

“Twenty three dragons, wearing imperial armor, heading straight for us. Ten winged, twelve serpentoid and one Ryu.”

Dull resignation settled over Captain Grave Digger and he strode over to a nearby array of runes.

“Prepare to spread the generator field to the maximum extent and scramble all non-independant MAGI. Move the microscale generator to the core of the tow-” he began, before the blue pegasus interrupted him.

“No. Move it to the Haze Lord. I’m going to sortie. If even one slips by, it means famine for half of Equestria.”

“But your nerves have yet to recover! Even an Actuator of your skills can’t hope to stop a Ryu. Please! Leave it to Nidhogg.”

“Nidhogg is on the other side of the kingdom. It can’t hope to arrive for two days at least. My death is acceptable.”

---

As the unearthly blue light faded, Nexus smirked.

“I suppose you were wise to give him such a machine. It served him better than my prototype ever could have. If he is capable of piloting such a beast, I am willing to make him an Actuator here and now.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Why ever not?”

“Did you see what happened down there? That was the aggression and skill of an animal. He needs to learn control. Next time, give him a Masamune. Pit him against the prototype you wanted to give him.”

Patterner abruptly materialized in the center of the room. He waved at a wall and a map appeared. At the center, a tower labeled “Generator #23” was pinpointed.

“There are twenty three dragons on their way to this tower. One of them is a Ryu.”

“How many MAGI units are assigned to the tower?”

“Almost forty tower dependants and three actuators are there. One of them pilots the Haze Lord.”

“That won’t be enough. How many other generator towers are in the area?”

“Generator twenty three marks the edge of our latest acquisition. The nearest tower is twenty miles away. There is no way to get tower dependants there without a microscale generator.”

“Give them my approval. Nidhogg will be dispatched. They’ll need to hold for at least a day without it.”

---

“I’m nothing if not observant,” announced Iron Wing, “I saw your reaction. You recognized that thing.”

“It’s a legend among MAGI developers,” Mobile Armor answered, “I’m from one of the most prominent families. I should know.”

“What is the legend? You have to tell me!”

“Twilight Sparkle was in charge of the first development for MAGI. She created machines that we still don’t fully understand. They all bear such names as, The Haze Lord, The Crimson Core, and The Merciful End. Of these machines, only four are presently held by the republic and of those four, only The Haze Lord and The Merciful End are active.”

“So this machine was made by Twilight Sparkle?”

“Even among Twilight’s work, The Mournful Lover is legendary. It is said she built if for the last alicorn. However, it disappeared after the first battle with the dragons. The account of my great grandfather declares that the sky went dark from the masses of the enemy, and that The Mournful Lover made it rain blood. Apparently Twilight couldn’t bear the carnage and vanished with most of her machines.”

“If these machines are so powerful, why don’t we use all of the ones we possess?”

“They are almost impossible to pilot. Three Actuators have tried to take on The Crimson Core in the last two years. One is paralyzed, another dead, and the last in an asylum, babbling about his unworthiness. Gentle Touch, the pilot of The Merciful End, goes into shock every time she comes out of the thing. She usually spends the next week locked in her room, weeping. Hazel Ray, the pilot of The Haze Lord, suffers from acute nerve damage very time he goes out in it. It’s not life-threatening from what I can tell, but it is cumulative. If he doesn’t recover between sorites, it gets much worse.”

“One last question,” Iron Wing chuckled, “You know a huge amount about MAGI operations. Indeed, you know more about it than me and I read every book I could get my hands on before coming here. I’d say you’re either already an Actuator, or possibly a developer. Am I wrong?”

“Oops!” Mobile Armor giggled, almost falling off of the bench “looks like I’ve been found out. I’m really here to test my department’s prototype. I still can’t believe it. We’ve been improving the designs of our machines for almost three hundred years, but we still can’t touch Twilight’s level of performance. If you want, you can come with me to check on the pilot of that machine. I have absolutely no idea why they would give an inexperienced pilot a monster like that.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I want to meet him now.” Iron Wing cried, leaping up.

---

Hazel stepped forward. Before him, a strange, multi colored circle glowed.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Grave Digger pleaded, “You’re one of our most valuable Actuators. We could easily pull The Haze Lord back and get you to safety.”

“You would all die. I’m one soldier. Nothing can make my life any more valuable than yours.”

“Then you’ve forced my hand,” the captain stated, “This is a direct order. Take your machine and run.”

Hazel answered calmly, stepping into the circle, “My life has been defined by loyalty. Loyalty to my friends and family, loyalty to my country, and loyalty to my comrades. I cannot betray my fellow soldiers. Indeed, I cannot betray the innocents who I have sworn to protect. Even if it means that I die, it is worth it to save them.”

Immediately, his face became blank and unresponsive as his mind was transported elsewhere. Along the tower’s sides, hatches opened, and MAGI units emerged into the thin air. Their armor was sleek and aerodynamic, aiding them as they spiraled around the tower. At the tower’s peak, it slowly split open, allowing a single machine egress. Unlike the other machines, this one gently glowed, hovering in midair. First a sickly green, then a deep blue, and finally a violet.

Hazel opened his eyes and spread his wings. A flickering ghost of pain flowed down his limbs, but he ignored it. Gagging, he felt a tightness in his chest. The air was too thick. He couldn’t breathe. His vision felt horribly limited. Only a dozen miles were within sight, the rest obscured by the haze. Instinctively, he pushed himself off the spire of the tower, soaring higher. Eventually, the sky faded to a deeper shade of blue, then nearly black.

They don’t realize it, he thought as he came to a halt, The air is too thick down there. They live in an eternal haze with nothing to protect them and nothing to clear it away.

In the distance, a coiling shape became clear, resembling a mountain more than a living creature.

That will be the Ryu. It’s almost a mile long. I have to slay it.

He thrust himself forward, building momentum as he screamed downward. An alien presence pushed at his mind, bringing with it ambition and desire. He had to go faster. Be the best, the fastest. With an echoing crack, the sky lit up as he broke the sound barrier. From the heights of clarity, he witnessed MAGI tearing through the attacking dragons. He caught a glimpse of one of the MAGI as it was shattered, scattering uneven chunks of metal down onto the ground below.

I can see everything from up here. Escape from the pressure of the ground. Fly higher. No. I have to focus.

As he flew faster still, the sounds of the battle filtered up to his ears. Screeching metal, sickening squelches, and the crack of broken scales assaulted his senses. A limb extended, almost of its own accord, revealing a long beam saber. Clashing with another MAGI, a dragon flashed by him, barely even visible at Hazel’s velocity. The saber didn’t so much as tremble as it cut cleanly through scales, muscle and bone. Two halves of the dragon slowly crumpled to the mountainside below. Looming ever closer, the Ryu filled his vision.

Something pressed against his mind again, this time an image. Flickering flames devoured the buildings as a group of pegasi fled in terror. They were clad in blue and yellow. A burst of fire prevented him from witnessing anything further. Violet obscured his vision, bringing pain with it.

No. Not yet.

Something slammed into his side, crumpling his armor like paper. He was falling through the thick, blinding air.

Is this it? Is this all I can do for them?

To his shock, a voice answered him. Did you really mean what you said about your life being meaningless compared to all others?

Hope surged through him. Yes.

Then sing. Sing the Swan Song and burn

The words came to him of their own accord. He wasn’t sure if he screamed it, or merely thought it, but the words echoed nonetheless.

“Limiter Removal!”

---

Grave Digger stared down at the screen. His MAGI seemed to hold the advantage for the moment. Of twenty two minor dragons, three had fallen. For their destruction, he had seen four machines fall. However, the Ryu drew ever nearer. It floated in the skies above, a mile long coil of muscle and thick scales. His mind couldn’t quite register the size. It simply looked too massive. Then, one of the MAGI crashed into one of its coils, not even scratching the scales.

A dull boom shook the tower. As the captain watched, a rainbow burst across the sky. Three more dragons fell, taking another two MAGI with them. Stepping gingerly into the room, a yellow earth pony cleared his throat.

“Lieutenant,” Grave Digger greeted, not looking up, “I thought I ordered you to get out of here.”

“I had to give you a message first. It’s from Spiral Nexus.”

“What does she want? Doesn’t she know that we’re fighting a battle.”

“She said to warn you about the feedback filters on on the tower’s generator. You need to shut it off now.”

“Is she mad? That will destroy our defences.”

“She said it had something to do with The Haze Lord.”

“Do it.”

In the distance, he witnessed Hazel’s machine as the Ryu batted it aside. It had barely annoyed the monster, much less scratched it. Behind him, he heard Hazel mumble something, then shout it,

“Limiter Removal!”

Immediately, the glowing control circle began to shine brighter, flickering in a thousand colors like a ravenous flame. Outside, The Haze Lord underwent the same transformation, a corona of light forming around it. As the circle grew brighter still, the Lord’s beam saber grew in length and width. Prismatically glowing, it dwarfed the machine creating it.

With all the speed of a bolt of lightning, it launched itself at the Ryu, saber slicing through scales. Then, the machine screamed and fell, followed in turn by the smouldering chunks of the slain dragon. Inside the tower, Hazel gasped and jerked back to awareness. His eyes shone with the variety of a rainbow, and flames of the same hue wreathed his form.

“I did it,” he whispered, smirking, “I protected them. I’m sorry, Captain, but it looks like you won’t be able to court martial me.” His knees buckled. Only grey ash reached the floor.

---

Spiral Nexus jerked violently in surprise. A display over her eye flickered for an instant, then she announced to the group,

“The Haze Lord is now without an Actuator. Generator #23 has fallen.”

“How many of the dragons survived?” General Conduis-Moi demanded,

“Five. The Ryu fell in battle. Hazel died from a magic overload due to tapping the full potential of The Haze Lord. He was loyal to the end.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” the general responded.

“If you really want to know.”

“You showed up here fifty years ago with a number of unpublished works that you attributed to Twilight Sparkle. Back in those days, I hadn’t even been born. You look exactly the same now as you did back then. You’ve just shown some kind of very tangible connection with Twilight’s machines.”

“Are you going to ask the question? I’m busy.” Nexus stated, cutting him off, “I know exactly where you’re headed with this.”

“Who or what are you?”

“The Sixth.”

---

Mobile Armor slammed her hooves against the wall repeatedly, shouting, “Patterner! Get out here! I know you can hear me!”

A crimson draconequus appeared behind her.

“I know you just appeared behind me, Patterner,” she announced, “I’m also reasonably sure you took the form of something I hate. I’m going to turn around now. If I don’t see you, or if you’re in an even mildly offensive form, there will be consequences.”

As she turned, the now cowering draconequus shifted into kitten. “Can’t you be a little more forgiving? Do you have any idea how dull this job is? Your nagging is almost as bad as Celestia’s.”

“I’m sure you prefer it to your old, mossy perch. At least you’re doing something.”

“What did you need? I’m very busy.”

“Take us to the pilot who won the last match.”

“Why should I?”

“Because Spiral Nexus taught me her signature disciplinary spell.”

“Just follow the line.”

After giving Mobile Armor a hand sign obscene in at least fifteen countries, Patterner vanished, leaving a red line behind.

Mobile Armor looked at it suspiciously, then demanded, “This had better be the shortest possible route.”

Blurring for an instant, the line reformed, pointing them in a completely different direction.

“Is he always that difficult to work with?” Iron Wing asked, trying to stifle a giggle.

“He loves being in a position of power, so he acts very serious when someone is under his thumb. However, I’m not, so he tries to keep as far away as he can and generally makes trouble.”

As the two turned a corner, a gentle pink glow began to light the walls. Long trails of pink runes, crept along the otherwise featureless walls. Closer examination showed each rune to actually be composed of thousands upon thousands of much smaller runes that overlapped to form a more complex whole.

“Is this normal?” Iron Wing asked, gently prodding one of the sigils.

“Do you know how formulaic magic works?”

“Not really.”

“The concept is quite basic. Magic is heavily based on the mentality of the user. Examining it scientifically bound it to a set of rational rules. Magic arrays allow non-unicorns to manipulate magic. Basically, the more complex the array, the more autonomous control it has. A simple, magic conductive circle can allow an earth pony to do telekinesis, provided they have a magic source. Another, more complex array will do telekinesis in a specifically defined way on its own.”

“So complexity equals autonomy?”

“Precisely.”

“So what does this array mean?”

Mobile Armor shuddered, carefully avoiding the glowing symbols, “I have absolutely no idea.”

Finally, the source of the light came into sight. A pale, yellow pony lay at the center of the array, gently twitching. Around him, the flat metal plates were warped and twisted, smoke curling from their edges.

Iron Wing gasped in recognition, “Lightray?”

---

A/N: Once again I thank LL and ambion for their assistance tweaking this chapter.