Chapters Zero stood over Weil, exhausted after fighting the mad scientist. He was still finding it hard to believe that he was human. Never in his long lifetime had Zero met such a mad creature, even Sigma didn’t want the world to be destroyed during the EURASIA incident. But right now, he didn’t have time to worry about old problems; he had a station to stop, again. He headed for the controls and began to search for Ragnarok's pilot function.
"C'mon! Where is it!? It has to be here somewhere!" after some frantic searching, he heard s slight beeping sound. He turned to see that the new Cyber Elf had found the panel. A look of relief came over his face.
"Finally! Now, it’s time to end this once and for all!" He said. As he headed toward the panel, his instincts told him to dodge, barely missing a beam aimed at him. The controls however, weren’t so lucky due to the fact that unless it happens to be powered by a mad program, panels can’t move.
"What?! Weil, you..."
"hehehehe... I told you...I can’t die..." Weil said, slowly rising up from the ground. Then, several tentacles from the main core moved towards the madman, plugging into his back. As they did, a bright light formed around him, until finally, with a flash, the scientist reemerged in a monstrous form, having merged with the core of Ragnarok.
"Hehehehe...BWA HA HA HA HA! ITS OVER! NO ONE, NOT EVEN A CENTURIES OLD HERO, WILL STOP RAGNAROK NOW!" as he said this, Ragnarok sped up even faster than before.
A voice over Zero's com link came up. "Zero! There’s no way to stop it! You have to get out of there now or I won’t be able to get you out of there!"
Zero looked at Weil. "Humph...why is it that I have to kill you mavericks twice before you stay down..." he said calmly."Ceil..."
"Zero? What are you doing? If you don’t leave now, you'll never make it ba-!"
"Ceil...do you remember what we're fighting for?"
In the base, Ceil was taken aback by Zero's statement. She remembered how green Area Zero was after hundreds of years, and then she pictured what would happen to the rest of the world if Ragnarok crashed.
"Listen... Weil's connected himself to the core of Ragnarok. If I can destroy that, It should disintegrate before it even comes close to the atmosphere." he said calmly.
"BWA HA HA! You destroy the core! HA!" Weil said with a sneer. "In case you forgot, you're a Reploid, and I'm a human...and you know that a Reploid can never hurt a human. How will you adhere to your oath that you will protect humanity, when one of the very things you're sworn to protect is what you must destroy?!"
Zero was silent. Then, he grinned.
"Croire...head back to the base before it’s too late." The Elf looked at Zero with a worried expression on its face."I'll be fine; humanity needs you more than I do. Go now." the Elf nodded sadly before teleporting back to base.
"Whats this?" Weil said after the elf left. "Sending your Elf away? You must be crazy if you think you can beat me without it."
"I've survived several fights without a Cyber elf. I think this last one can be handled without one."
"But Zero!" Ceil called out from the cam link, "You don’t have to do that! If you hurry, you can make it with Croire to the-"
"I never cared about justice,” Zero interrupted Ceil." and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I won’t hesitate. I will destroy it! "
Weil was shocked at what he heard. Ceil was just as surprised.
"Z...Zero..."
"Ceil..." as he said this, he grabbed his saber from his belt."Believe in me!"
The screen went blank as Ceil called out to Zero one more time.
As Zero fought, he began to question what he said. Sure, he didn’t care if Weil was human or not, he would defeat him all the same. As he dodged another attack by Weil, he thought about why he had never cared for justice. was it because his creator was evil, much like Weil, or that he had been fighting for what was right for so long, he just didn’t care anymore. A shot clipped his helmet, knocking it off and shattering it. That was far too close, even for him.
As if that had ever stopped me before... he thought, jumping onto the glass dome that Weil was in.
"W...Wait! You can’t do this!" He yelled a look of fear on his face. "I’m still a human, even in this cybernetic body!" Weil said, desperately pleading with the red Reploid.
"Funny..."Zero said, aiming his buster at Weil's head, a cocky smirk on his face.
"You look like just another Maverick to me..."
At the base, the screen was now showing Ragnarok being broken apart.
"Ragnarok... is... breaking apart... “Rouge, the Operator said. As they watched it slowly turn red, it began to enter that atmosphere.
"At the rate its going," Cerveu, the head scientist said,” it will break apart before it even comes close to the ground."
"So we've won?" the Operator asked.
"Yes...Rouge, have you contacted Zero yet?"
The Operator quickly pressed a few keys on her console, trying to get his signal. She then shook her head, eliciting a moment of silence from everyone there. After a moment, Ceil turned away and headed out the command station.
"Ceil, wait!" Rouge cried out, but Cerveu stopped her.
"Let her go... she needs some time alone."
Meanwhile, Area Zero was full of activity. Someone had said that a shooting star was out, and everyone wanted to see it. As the inhabitants watched, more shooting stars were seen.
"Wow! There’s so many!" Typhon said a look of glee in his young face." Now my wish that Zero will save us will come true for sure!"
Neige smiled at the young boy. "Actually, I think your wish has come true. Those must all be from Ragnarok...Zero has won."
As she said this, Ceil came into the clearing.
"Ceil! Did Zero..."Neige began to ask, but then she noticed that she had been crying."Oh..."
Tornado, one of the young boys who had been with them to protect them from Weil's Reploids punched a tree he was near.
"Damnit! How could this happen!" he said." Reploids and Humans were beginning to get along, and now he's...he's just..."
"It's Ok." She said. "Zero told me that he has more lives than a cat, so I'm sure he'll come back someday." she said. She then looked at the sky.
"Zero... You believed in us... Now it's our turn to show you that your faith in us was not misplaced... Watch Zero... I'll make this world a better place... One where humans and Reploids can walk hand in hand, living in peace... Just come back someday..."
"I... I believe in you!"
How could this happen (it didn’t happen)
He lost (he didn’t lose)
Wait, he was still alive, able to make out thoughts. (I’ve never been more alive)
He had fused with Ragnarok completely, so that meant that he had become a program that had to be it. If so, he was in the Cyberstream.
And he knew what he had to do. Sigma had put his 'soul' into many pieces of his body whenever his got destroyed. That meant that maybe... (Yes! The remains of Ragnarok!)
His body may be gone for now, but eventually, Ragnarok would come together again. He could feel each piece resonating with his energy. He would have to make do with the energy of others, but what? (I hate this)
That’s it! Hate....
Anger
Bitterness
Anything that was Negative, he wouldn’t just use it to power himself (I shall feed on it)
The power of a God! What had been the name of Omega's creator's nemesis...? (Mega Man...)
Yes, how ironic. The Destroyer of the world would be called Mega Man! (I will be Mega Man!)
It would take millennia, but the payout would be so perfect. (The world will be mine!)
And the best part?
"You won’t be around."
Who said that!? X!? (Impossible!)
"I sense you are aware, Weil." X said, floating to the small piece that was Weil.
X! (Blue Light! Destroy Him!)
"Zero fought too hard to just let you come back. I can see that bits of you exist in the wreckage of Ragnarok as well. pity." With that, he raised a hand. "You won’t see what becomes of your plan as you. It will only be vague whispers. The plans will NEVER be yours. Now, Begone from this world, Maverick Human!"
A flash of light and the piece of the core with Weil inside disappeared.
Now that he was gone, X began to plan on how to stop what was left of him. Likewise, he too could not return to the world as he was. He had to rely on someone to take in his power. But he wouldn’t be able to do it alone. He would need help. The Guardians would be perfect, but they alone wouldn’t be able to stop Weil. He would need Zero to help, but then...who would stop Weil wherever he had sent him? And what of Zero's wishes? Centuries of fighting, and now he could finally rest for good.
He would have to worry about that later, that trick had drained what was left of him entirely. He would no longer be able to keep himself separated from the Cyberstream. Already, he felt his thoughts of self fading.
Ceil. She could help stop Weil as well; even better, she could give humanity his final gift. Their own Mega Men.
"How ironic. The idea of a mad scientist will save the world. But we won’t use Dark thoughts Weil. Courage and Bravery, things like that will be what make our Mega Man strong!"
"I only hope that someone can stop him, wherever he is." X said before vanishing into the cyberstream to go tell Ceil his plan.
Welcome to Equestria Zero!
"Uhh...man...that’s the last time I ever shoot a reactor point blank..." Zero moaned as his mind drifted through the darkness. He probably should have been used to the feeling he was having at that moment, but dying always seemed to bring out the biggest headaches regardless of whether or not he was ready for it.
"Still, at least Ragnarok has been stopped." He thought. "And maybe this time, I'll stay dead for good. I’ve never been so tire-"
"Zero..."
"...Huh?"
"Wake up Zero."
"Who...Who's there?!"
"You're still needed in a mortal realm Zero."
"What do you mean? WHO ARE YOU!?"As he this, he began to feel a pulling sensation.
"Zero, you're still needed. Only you can stop what’s coming for these beings."
Zero saw a bright light. "Listen, I appreciate that you would do this to help out Ceil and the others, but I'm sure they'll be able to do fine without me. To be honest...I'm done fighting."
"Zero, please, help these beings. You might not even need to fight."
Zero had a feeling that he could trust the voice. For now. "Fine...Just tell me what I need to do."
As he felt the pulling sensation pull him to life, the voice said "Wake up."
As Zero felt his return to the world of the living, he saw that things were WAY different from when he left Earth to take on Ragnarok again. For one thing, there weren’t any trees fitted with machinery, the air was clear, and he was in a meadow.
"...How long was I out?" He asked no one in particular. Seeing that nothing would help if he just stood there gawking, he decided to just move on. After walking for what seemed like hours, which translates to 20 minutes our time, he heard something incredibly soothing.
"Wow...is someone...singing?" He thought. Heading towards the sound, he saw a yellow horse with long pink hair lying down with many animals all around it.
"Oh! It must be a little girl behind that horse."
Walking up as not to disturb the animals, it became clear that there was no girl there. When he got right up to them, he received several huge surprises.
One, the horse had wings.
There came a time when even the most battle hardened people had no words to say. Zero had no such problem right then, as shown by his next choice of words.
"The fu-"
The animals, seeing a very different thing from the nice singing horse cursing, decided to flee. The horse, however, made a small 'eep' sound before dashing into a nearby bush in a way that would make even a cold hearted machine say "aww".
Seeing the mistake he made, Zero decided to walk up to the now hiding horse and try to communicate with it.
"Hey, don’t worry... I won’t hurt you. My names Zero, what's your name?" He said in as nice a voice as he could muster, which wasn’t very well, but still did its job as the horse climbed out the bush slowly.
"Um...it’s...." the next part was inaudible.
"Huh? Sorry, could you repeat that..." Zero asked.
"..Its..."her voice went even lower than before. Zero was starting to lose the small amount of patience he had.
"SPEAK UP!!"
If the horse was scared before, it was terrified now, as it pulled a fainting goat maneuver and fainted. Seeing that the one thing he could probably communicate with had fainted, Zero decided to move along the path. Or he would have if a rainbow streak hadn’t slammed into his chest at mach 2 speed.
"What’s your deal bozo!" the streak, or rather, a light blue winged horse with rainbow hair, yelled at the slightly fazed reploid. "Why are you yelling at my friend!? I was enjoying that you know!"
Taking notice that the thing she slammed into was most definitely not a probably well built pony, but an elf looking monkey that seemed to look like a girl. "Wait a sec, just what the hay are you anyway? Are you a spy or something?" it asked in an accusing tone.
"What’s my problem?" Zero asked in a fairly annoyed tone, getting up from the ground. "You ran into me for no reason!"
The blue pony scoffed. "No reason? You just made my friend faint."
"Oh. Well, I’m sorry." he said, surprising the blue pony.
"Eh...it’s cool then. So you wanna help me get her home?"
Just like that you trust me? He thought. Well, better not look a gift horse in the mouth. Literally so in this case.
"I guess so. My name's Zero by the way."
"I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony in Equestria! The pony you made faint is named Flutershy."
"Well that explains the quiet tone of voice then."
Some few minutes later, Zero found himself being questioned by an Alicorn named Twilight Sparkle in a tree. A fact that still sort of amazed him.
"So Mr. Zero, what brings you to Ponyville?" she asked.
"I really don’t know. I just woke up in a meadow and wandered until I ran into Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. And you don’t have to call me Mr. anything. Zero is just fine Twilight."
"Thank you. Now let’s see..." She then unfurled a checklist labeled 'found person who doesn’t know where he is or why he's here'. "Do you have amnesia?"
"Not this time."
"Oookay...You know your name, do you know what you do?"
"I was Maverick Hunter a long time ago, but until recently, I was a Resistance Soldier."
"Resistance Soldier? Against what?"
"Neo Arcadia."
"Well, that doesn’t sound like something you should fight against, but I guess I had to be there..."
You don’t seem like you would last long... he thought. In the time he had spent in Ponyville so far, he could tell that this civilization of Ponies had never really seen a day of war or strife. He could tell he would like it here. But why would they need his help? Everything was perfect. Even the weather obeyed the whims of the Pegasi.
"Zero?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you knew what year it was."
"Well...it was 24XX last time I checked."
"Really? It’s the year 1003 AF."
"...that means after death right?"
"No, After Fall. What’s with that look?"
This was impossible. Somehow, he had come back to life in another dimension, or maybe way into the future. It didn’t matter, he was in a real bind if he didn’t even know how long he had been gone. Deciding to keep this fact hidden for now, he decided to just ignore it. "Nothing. Is that all you have to ask me?"
"Yes, thank you."
"You done Twilight?" An orange pony called from the front door.
"Yes Applejack, come in. Zero, I’d like you to meet my friend Applejack. Applejack, this is Zero."
"Well howdy, you ain't like anything Ah've ever seen."
"Heh. I've never seen talking flesh and blood ponies’ before." he said, remembering the Pegasus reploid he had fought trying to stop Ragnarok.
"Anyway Twi, Ah've got's me a small problem."
"What is it AJ?"
"Well...ya may want ta bring 'Supernaturals' with ya."
Mission 1-Battle at the farm
As Twilight looked for 'Supernaturals', Zero asked Applejack about what she did.
"Well, Ah run Sweet Apple Acres with mah family. We have the best Apples this side of Equestria, if not everywhere."
"Heh. That’s something I may have to check for myself."
"So Zero, if ya don’t mind me askin, just what are ya anyway?" Aj asked.
"I’m a Reploid, a Replica Android."
"A Replica Android? But that would mean you’re a robot," Twilight said from the back room where she kept the books she would read at the moment. "But you’ve done nothing to suggest that. In fact, if not for the obvious, I'd say you were a flesh and blood pony."
“I’m a robot that can think and act for myself, and show actual emotion."
"Really!?" Twilight said excitedly. "I have to study you!"
"W-weren’t you looking for something?" Zero said nervously. Being studied usually meant a part of him was coming off, and the technology did not look like he would be just put back together easily.
"Oh, right! I know it’s around here somewhere..."
"He he, if yer a robot, why would ya want to try mah apples, seein that ya don’t have to eat and all..."
"I might not need to, but apparently, sometime in 23XX, a scientist came up with a way for Reploids to be able to taste and turn food into energy." he replied, remembering that a few maverick recruits got him and X to get the upgrade, and the night of binge eating afterwards.
X...just where am I? are you even here? And why am I here?
"Aha! found it! Zero, why don’t you come with us? I'm sure you'll enjoy a walk through the town."
"That sounds good Twilight."
After a quick walk through town, as well as a few stares at Zero, the ponies and Reploid arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, only to hear some kind of roar.
"What was that?" Twilight asked.
"..."
"what’s wrong Zero?" Twilight asked when she noticed that Zero had stopped suddenly.
"...!" noticing a red shape on the ground a few feet away, Zero dashed towards it.
"What’s he runni- BIG MAC!"
"Uhn...AJ...that tree...crusaders..." he gasped.
He had seemed to suffer from a fight, one he had no chance of winning from the looks of it. guess this place isn’t as peaceful as I thought...but what could do this to someone so big, and what’s this about crusaders?
As if in answer, Twilight and Applejack looked at each other.
"Twilight, can you take big Mac to the hospital while Zero and I look for the crusaders?"
"Aright, you two be careful. I have a feeling whatever roared a few moments ago has something to do with this."
As Twilight picked Big Macintosh up with her magic, Applejack turned to Zero. "Y'all know how to call support right?"
"Yeah, just press the R button if I need you..."
"Good. Alright let’s get goin. Open doors by pressing up on the D-pad or with the control stick." with that, Zero and Applejack rushed into sweet apple acres.
As they went into the apple grove, they found a pink bow caught in a low hanging branch.
"Oh no, ah had hoped they weren’t here..."
"Who?"
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Mah little sister and her friends made it up to help each other find their special talents."
"I see. We’d better hurry then."
"Grrrr"
Surprised, Applejack and Zero turned around and saw a group of Timberwolves heading their way.
"What the...wolves made of wood?"
"Those are Timberwolves, but they shouldn’t be here!" Applejack explained. "They’re normally in the Everfree Forest!"
"...can you fight?"
"Yea, it shouldn’t be a problem takin care of em. It’s gettin them varmints to stay down that’s the problem.
"No problem. Let’s do it Applejack."
"Alright, the Y button is to use your main weapon, and X is your sub weapon. You can change how ya fight in the settings menu."
With that, a Timberwolf leaped at Zero, Intent on making this thing his next meal. Seeing that it was made entirely of wood, Zero simply rose an arm up to knocked it back.
The teeth sunk in, something that should not have happened, sending waves of pain through his arm. Quickly grabbing his saber, he cut the head from the body.
"Ok, that wasn’t supposed to happen." He said, gritting his teeth. He was made of metal, there was no way wooden teeth could pierce his armor, or his skin period.
Ignoring the pain, Zero, with assistance from Applejack, fought off the small group. "Whooee, that was some fancy blade work there partner, your arm okay?"
"I’ve had worse." Zero grunted. "Let’s keep going before more come out."
And so, the duo made their way through the apple grove, with Zero shooting the Timberwolves from afar when he had the chance. As soon as they came towards a clearing, several crashes were heard, followed by a sky splitting roar.
"GRRRRRROOOOAAAR!"
"Somepony help us!" a young girl cried out in terror. Wait, I should probably say filly here... Zero reminded himself.
"Applebloom! Hang on!" Applejack cried, rushing ahead.
"Wait! tch...that mare is going to get herself killed!" as he ran into the clearing, he saw an apple tree, its roots slightly above ground, forming a cage around three frightened fillies.
"Hang on, we'll have y'all out soon, ya hear! Zero, cut those roots so we can save them."
"..."
"Zero! What are ya doin!?"
"...that’s no tree."
Before Applejack could dispute this, two red eyes opened on the front of the tree. Two of its branches shed all their leaves, revealing a five fingered claw. Just above the fillies’ heads, a mouth formed.
"Think you can take it Zero?" Applejack asked uneasily.
"...I've faced a god of destruction. A tree will be a cake walk for me." Zero said, pointing his buster gun at the Tree Monster.
The Creature, seeing two more things to devour, reached into the foliage that was left at the top of itself, pulling out several small Timberwolves to throw at them. Shooting two of them down, he was barely dodged the last one.
"Applejack! It’s tryin to eat us!" one of the fillies, an off white unicorn, cried.
"Zero!"
"Gotta save them first then." he said, pointing his buster at the roots
The tree monster then pressed its claws to the ground, shooting tree spikes under the orange mare and Reploid.
"Gah! I can’t get a good shot like this!" Zero said. This would normally be the time he would go all out, but the combination of pain going through his arm and the fillies being somewhat in the way kept him from doing so.
"Zero, Applejack, Get back!"
A magenta wave of energy shot from behind them, hitting the tree monster squarely between the eyes. Roaring in pain, the monster didn’t even notice a flash underneath him twice, leaving his gage of roots empty...
Another flash and Twilight was standing next to Zero and Applejack. "Sorry that took so long, still, I can’t believe that an Ent is here."
"That’s what that is? Ah thought it was some kind of Timberwolf mother or somethin..."
"It doesn’t matter too much now, let’s take it down!" Zero declared.
"Alright, you can press L to call me in, although..."
"Although what?"
"I'll tell you later, let’s go." Twilight said. Soon, the battle as back on. Without having to worry about the fillies, Zero could go all out, and the Ent was soon showing signs of falling.
"Now's our chance!" Twilight called. "Press L, R, and your main attack button to do a Harmony Strike!"
"Harmony Strike? Twi, what are ya..."
"You'll see Applejack. Just gather energy for the attack Zero."
"Alright!" gathering up energy, Zero suddenly felt two distinct emotions boil to the top of his being. The first being the pride of a hard honest day’s work, the second being something he had felt, though he didn’t show it much, in the resistance base, a feeling of camaraderie. A second buster appeared on his other arm, surprising him slightly, but he knew what to do.
"Here we go, HARMONY STRIKE!" shooting a full charge shot from both busters, one orange and one magenta, Zero then rushed in and gave a mighty slash with his saber, causing the Ent to be split diagonally.
"Gggguuuoh...."a bright light soon began to radiate from the split, engulfing it and revealing a normal apple tree.
"Hah...hah...what was that?" Zero asked, turning around to see that Applejack was wearing a gold necklace with an orange apple in the middle of it, and Twilight was wearing a tiara with a magenta star shaped gem. "And where did those come from?"
"That was a Harmony Strike. I didn’t even know of it until I saw you. The Element of Magic, that’s this big crown thingy on my head, just gave me the idea.
"So that’s what those are...Elements of Magic?"
"No sugarcube, Twilights got the Element of Magic, mine's the Element of Honesty, an' there are four more, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter."
"Collectively, they're called the Elements of Harmony. The reason why that Ent didn’t just fall like a sack of wood was because the Elements changed it back to a normal apple tree."
"I think I get it. Either way, you two did well for a couple of ponies with no battle experience."
"Well, they weren’t no gods of destruction, but we have faced two gods before." Applejack bragged.
"Either way, let’s go check on the crusaders and Big Mac." Twilight said, teleporting them out of the grove.
A few moments later, the group was gathered in Ponyville Hospital with the CMC and Big Mac.
"We're sorry Big Macintosh," Applebloom sniffled. "We didn’t mean for ya ta get hurt..."
"It’s fine. I'll be ok." Mac told the young fillies. "Thanks fer rescuin them Zero."
"It's nothing." the red Reploid replied as Nurse Tenderheart wrapped a bandage around his arm.
"Don’t give me that mister, you’re lucky that your arm didn’t get ripped off by that Timberwolf." the nurse growled, then turning to the injured red pony. "Now I need for you to take it easy for a few days until your wound heals up, understand?"
"Eeyup."
"Other than that, you’re both free to go!" Tenderheart smiled.
After saying goodbye to the apples and the CMC, Twilight and Zero walked back to the library, discussing the ponies’ adventures. "So, you mean to tell me that this 'Discord' thing can alter the laws of Reality at a whim, and happens to be on your side now?" Zero asked the mare after hearing about Discords reforming.
"Yes, as far as I know. So far nothing bad has happened, and he appears to have completely turned a new leaf." Twilight replied. "Anyway, I have to ask, what was that green sword thingy?"
"What, this?" Zero asked, pulling out his Z-Saber. "This is the Z-Saber, my main weapon of choice."
"I see..." Twilight noted how the energy coming out was some kind of plasma based energy, but kept its triangular shape and length. "Fascinating, and the thing that went 'pew pew'?
"That was my secondary weapon, the Z-Buster." he said, pulling out his blaster.
"Where did it come from, if I may ask?" Twilight asked as she gave the gun a look.
"I needed it more than its last owner. Let’s leave it at that."
"OK and what about the other one?"
"Honestly, I have no idea how that happened during the Harmony Strike. This seems to be like my older body in that regard."
"Wait, what do you mean 'older body'?
"Yeah, and what flavor cake do you like?" a pink mare asked.
"It’s a long story and...Wait where did you come from?"
"Sugarcube Corner! My names Pinkie Pie and I wanted to give you a party earlier, but you were busy with twilight and I didn’t want to bother you, so I waited but then you had to do the first stage, and now you’re here, so I came to invite you to your 'Welcome to Equestria and I’m glad the Writer is going to write a party this time' party!"
"...out of all of that all I understood was that you're name is Pinkie Pie and that you're throwing me a party."
"So are you gonna come Mr. Zero?"
"Sure, I have free time."
"Whoo hoo! I'll see you in a few then!"
Needless to say, the party was as good as a pinkie party can get, and better.
"Enjoying yourself Zero?" Applejack asked.
"...I’m actually kind of bored."
Almost. Zero was never one for parties, and he was only here because it seemed Pinkie put a lot of work into the decorations and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
"Well, why don’t you try pin the tail on the pony?" Pinkie asked as she trotted by, blindfolded and nearly sticking a purple tail on the red Reploid.
"I have a 5% miss margin. It wouldn’t be fun if you know you’re going to win."
"Pleeeease?" pinkie pleaded, taking off the blindfold and giving him her best puppy dong eyes.
"...still no."
"Rats, oh well, there’s other things to do like-"
"TWILIGHT!" a young dragon yelled, bursting through Sugarcube Corner's door, along with a white unicorn with elegant purple locks. "I just got an urgent summon to Canterlot for you and the girls!"
"What for?" the purple Alicorn asked, grabbing the letter with her magic.
"Urgent Princess business was all it said... Twilight darling, who's this?"
"Oh right, Spike, Rarity, this is Zero. Zero, the dragons name is spike, and the unicorn is Rarity. I'd introduce you better, but we have to go. Some strange metal was found near the castle filled with energy of some kind."
"...I'm coming with you guys." Zero said.
"Alright then," Twilight sighed. "Everypony meet at the station in 10 minutes."
Meanwhile at the palace, the Royal Sisters were waiting for the arrival of the girls and Discord.
"Where is that blasted chimera!" Luna fumed. "We have been waiting ages, and if this is what we think it is, time is short."
"Patience Luna, this is probably nothing to worry about." Celestia said as she paced in front of a door that was sealed with a powerful rune. "Luna, is it still sending you...?"
"It hasn’t stopped yet...Tia I'm scared. I haven’t heard whispering like this since I became..."
"Well isn’t this precious?" a slightly deep, yet maniacal voice said in mock sweetness.
Luna whirled around, feeling her anger start to boil at that voice. "Discord! Where have you been you stupid-!?"
"Oh settle down, now what is it that you need me to come here from my little spot of chaos?"
"Do you not feel that?" Luna asked.
"What, the positively filled to the brim room full of Negative energy? Nope."
"Discord...now is not the time to be playing around." Celestia calmly stated.
"Oh all right, take all the fun out of being Chaotic why don’t you?" the three somewhat gods of Equestria walked up to the sealed door, preparing to do whatever it took to make sure it didn’t cause any trouble. If all else failed, Celestia had sent for Twilight and the elements in case anything needed a quick rock nap for a millennia or so.
Turning to the guards by the door, she asked them not to let anypony except for themselves or the Elements to come through... or out.
Half an hour later in Ponyville, our heroes and Reploid walked up to the train, ready to see what Celestia needed them for.
As they did, a wave of magic swept through the land, chilling anything magically inclined to the bone.
"What’s wrong?" Zero asked, not feeling the magic take such a chilling turn.
"I don’t know..." Twilight said, visibly shaking. "But I think we need to hurry to Canterlot, NOW."
"Why, I don’t see anything wrong with it from here." Zero said, looking in the distance to the city on the mountain.
"Trust us Z, something bad happened in Canterlot."
"I don’t think today's gonna be as fun as I thought..." Pinkie said, her eyes showing fear.
"Wait!"
Turning around, the group saw Spike running to them with another message in his claws. "This just came a few minutes ago! It’s even more urgent than before!"
Taking the letter from the dragon, Twilight began reading the note. FIND SOMEWHERE SAFE AND HIDE. as she read this, the sky began to darken to a dull red. Ponies began to panic while the animals ran away to somewhere safe.
"...You all stay here." Zero said his face in a deep scowl. "I'll see what’s going on in Canterlot."
"No Zero. As a Princess of Equestria, I have a duty to protect everypony, you stay and-"
"In that case, I pledge myself to your service until this situation calms down."
Everyone was taken aback by Zero's sudden declaration. "Zero, do you know what you’re doin'?" Applejack asked as Zero began to uncouple the train engine from the passenger cars.
"Yeah, go to Canterlot, beat down whatever it is causing this, and then come back."
"Well you aren’t goin alone big guy!" Rainbow Dash said, flying in front of his face. "C'mon, we got a capital to save!"
"You're going to need somepony who knows their way around the city, I’ll go too." Twilight declared. "Girls, can you get everypony to a safe place?"
"We could all hide in Sugarcube Corner's basement!" Pinkie saluted, somehow gaining a WWII soldiers helmet.
"Good. Get going!"
Nodding, the Canterlot team prepared to go to the capital to get to the bottom of whatever happened.
This place was strange, not at all like Cyberspace...or where he had been. (DeST0y iT AlL)
"No...Not yet. I must thank you three," the figure said to three statues in the room. "You have given me more powers than I had before."
"I know you sent a letter to some...whatever you all are, but they will be no help to you all."(I wILL AnihaLATe theM)
Save your energy...we need it for making a few...renovations. Such archaic buildings and weapons, I will make a proper army." he said, walking out to a balcony. Seeing something that wasn’t the Princesses, the ponies on the street looked up in a mix of awe and pure, unadulterated fear.
"Your Princesses have fallen, little ponies. I will be your ruler from now on." he said, raising his hand to the sky. A ball of red energy formed, before he threw it at the frightened ponies. From the holes they made, strange things began to crawl out. Some were blue, with a bright red eye in the middle of their faces; others were purple, with a black visor hiding their faces. Each of them had some variation of a weird barrel or rod on their arm, and some of the purple ones had the barrel on their shoulder. And they were all attacking the ponies that were still there.
"Hear me, Foolish Mortals of Equestria!" he cried over the screams of terror and pain. "Hear me and Despair! I am your new God, Lord Weil! And all shall bow to my will! Hee hee hee, MWA HA HA HA HA HA!"
As the train came through the tunnel, Twilight and Rainbow were contemplating what about what was going on.
"Think Discord went evil again?" Dash asked as Twilight shot down her 'Princess Celestia went nutzo and wants to kill us because we're supposed to replace her' idea.
"I doubt it."Twilight shook her head. "It's strange, but I don’t sense either of the Princesses or Discord's magic."
"That’s not good, is it?" Zero glanced back before turning his head back to the front of the train.
"No, it’s-" a group of rockets hit the front of the train, throwing the three back.
"What was that!?" Rainbow asked, as she got back up.
"Those were...Variants!"
"What!? What’s a Variant" Twilight asked as another salvo hit the train. Up ahead, 4our of the purple Reploid's with black visors were hovering, preparing to fire once again.
"Those, more specifically a Variant Missile." Zero explained. "Get ready to fly you two." with a strong punch, Zero knocked the emergency door from the roof and began climbing the ladder.
"Hang on a second! Do you want to know about Passive and Active Abilities?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah."
Your pony friends know the power that comes from working together, and that manifests as Passive and Active Abilities. Passive Abilities are based on what type of pony you are partnered with. Earth ponies give you extra health, Unicorns give you Buster Plus, and Pegasi give you the ability to air dash, as well as a double jump. Be aware that you cannot do an air dash after double jumping, or vice versa. You can, however, do a dash double jump. Active abilities are what the pony itself gives you. Rainbow Dash, for example, gives the Speedster active ability, increasing your running speed. To see what abilities you have from your partners, tap the pony you want to check on the lower screen. The more you use a pony as a partner, the stronger their Active Abilities become.
"If we see anypony, they may want to join us. But... you won’t be able to partner up with them until you finish the mission."
"Got it. Let’s go!" the V-Missiles had landed to jump in, only to be lifted by telekinetic energy and being thrown on the tracks. Zero, Twilight and Rainbow all jumped out of the train to its roof, just in time to see what another train rushing past them towards Ponyville.
"Oh no! The girls-"
"Will be fine Rainbow Dash! We'll try to hurry, focus on the mission for now or you won’t be able to help them at all!" Zero warned.
"Tch! fine...but whoever’s causing this, is going to pay if something happens to Ponyville!"
"Get ready to fight..." Zero said as they came to a roadblock of V-Fires, Missiles and Pantheon Flyers.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Weil and four others were watching the train approach from a video feed in the V- Missiles heads.
(Zer0! KILl HiM!) "No, there’s another Alicorn with him. Hmmm, No one ever said taking too much power hurts." He mused
"Master, should we eliminate him?" a female voice asked from behind him.
"No, we should wait for him to get here first. I want to see how strong he’s become...:" a deep voice argued.
"Zero..." a youthful voice said this time, worried.
A fourth figure was simply silent, though a grin could be seen on his face.
"We will wait Beta." Weil said to the female after a moment. "Prepare the room, Royalty will soon be here."
"And be sure to show off our decorations ..."
Canterlot station was in ruins from the pantheons and Variants attack earlier, scorch marks and places where missiles had impacted scouring the ground. The station itself was burning to the ground as a battle marked train pulled up to the group that was supposed to be watching the area. A curious Pantheon Hunter walked up to it, wondering if anything was alive in there. If it was injured, it would be an easy kill.
They were not as a beam of magic left it without a head, and a rainbow blur slammed into the group scattering them like bowling pins. A red Reploid jumped from the train with a purple Alicorn, as the blue Pegasus flew back to them.
If we follow this path, we should be at Canterlot Castle in no time." Twilight informed the party.
"Man! This place looks like a war zone, what happened!?"
"Weil...Let’s go."
MISSION START
Back in Ponyville, the others were sitting at Sugarcube Corner, waiting for any news from Canterlot.
"...you guys remember when we used to do stuff?" Pinkie asked.
"Pinkie, me and Zero just fought a pack of Timberwolves and a giant evil apple tree... Ah think that qualifies under stuff we usually do."
"I don’t mind not doing hero things...it's not as scary." Fluttershy muttered.
"Well, I’m wondering what it was that made Celestia tell us to hide..." Spike said as he munched on a cupcake. "I bet a shot from the Elements would set it straight."
"I don’t know darling... that magic I felt was terrifying." Rarity shivered. "I don’t think the Elements alone can stop whatever that was..."
"I know...my Pinkie sense didn’t even know what to do when that wave hit."
Fluttershy whimpered. "I hope Twilight and Rainbow are okay...do you think Mr. Zero will protect them?"
Trotting to the yellow Pegasus, Applejack placed a hoof on her friends shoulder. "Don’t you worry none, after fighting alongside Zero, Ah don’t think anything in this world could beat him."
Dashing from the Train station, Zero, Twilight and Rainbow ran for the castle. Along the way, they fought off waves of Pantheons and Variants, as well as a few new forces that had appeared. "Gah, that thing with the propeller almost clipped my wing!" Rainbow grunted after saving a family from a Gyrocopter that was trying to snipe at them.
"We have to keep moving! Twilight, are we close to Canterlot Castle?"
"Just a few more blocks and we'll be there Zero." Twilight panted, having managed to pierce a Pantheon Hammer's shield with a continuous beam of pure magic. "Hopefully, nothing too bad has happened."
"With Weil, you should always be prepared for the worst." Zero warned the purple Alicorn before dashing up to a Variant Claw and tearing its claw off with his Z-Knuckle and throwing it to Twilight, who teleported it back to the train. After they had arrived, they had managed to save a Noble Twilight had gone to school with named Techno, who had brought them up to speed on what had happened.
"It was so fast..." he said as he cought his breath. "one moment, this ape thing calling itself Lord Weil in a glass tube comes onto the Balcony of the castle claiming to have defeated the Princesses, the next, and robots are attacking everything that moves."
"That is definitely not good...Techno, do you think you can fix a train that’s at the station, you'll know if you see it."
"Sure thing Twilight! And Zero, I noticed you took that part from that machine...if you send them to me, I think I can make you some new items."
"Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"So do you really think that Techno guy can fix the train up in time, and make Z some cool stuff like he said?" Rainbow asked.
"I know so. Tech would never betray me."
"He has a crush on you doesn’t he?" Rainbow teased the princess.
"N-No...okay maybe I worked on a midterm project with him once and he's been smitten ever since... but that means nothing! What about you and-"
"Zip it you two! Canterlot Castle is ahead." The Castle had seen better days, as the courtyard was marred with spots where Weil's forces had attacked and fought the royal guard. s\Several corpses of both sides dotted the area, causing the ponies following the red Reploid to gag a bit in disgust.
"This is horrible...even his own forces are still here..."Twilight said sadly.
Rainbow growled."The throne room is just ahead, and I bet you anything the Princesses are kicking his butt right now!"
"...I don’t think so." Zero said as he noticed something amiss with some of the Reploid remains. "There's no sign of a struggle...and some of these Reploid's..."
"What about em Z?" Rainbow arched her eyebrows.
"...they weren’t killed by magic, these are Plasma marks." He said, pointing to a Pantheon hunter that was missing its head.
"You finally made it..." a young voice said from above them. Looking up, they saw a cloaked figure about Zero's height sitting on an archway, a cowl concealing his face from the eyes up, although some kind of scar could be seen. Jumping down, the youth chuckled darkly. "I was afraid that you wouldn’t make it here."
"...You aren’t good at the evil thing are you?" Rainbow asked.
"What do ya mean? Most of these guys were killed by me! And anyway, what do you know, you obviously don’t remember who I am."
"Zero, do you know this creep?"
"...There are still a few names from my past I can’t quite recall. I'm certain I hard his voice before though."
"Tch, figures." the youth sighed. "Oh well, it’s not my place to fight you here, that’s Alpha's job."
"Alpha... Who's that?" Twilight inquired.
"And for that matter, who are you!?" Rainbow demanded, causing the youth to laugh.
"Ha ha ha, dude if you weren’t so cutesy, I'd actually take that as a threat." the Youth said in between his giggling, irking the chromatic Pegasus. Deciding she had enough, she decided to kick his face in, only to be held back by Zero.
"You still haven’t answered." Zero said calmly, letting Rainbows tail go from his grasp.
"Ugh, fine...I do have to do so anyway since I’m in the presence of Royalty." the Youth rolled his eyes. "My name is Theta. If you live long enough, I'll tell you my real name. Just know that Weil has a trap for you guys set up after Alpha if you can get past him...but you know that, didn’t you Zero?"
"Thanks for the heads up. Now go before I take you out right now."
Theta smirked under his cowl. "Still the same after all these centuries...well, Alpha has been wanting to fight you for a long time now...even longer than I knew you actually. Laters!" with that, Theta's body converged into a bright light and teleported away.
...so they have a transport system...that’s not good. Zero thought to himself. And who is this Theta...or Alpha. It can’t be Sigma, Weil made sure he was gone for good when he was on our side...so who is it?
"Zero, snap out of it!"
"Hm? What is it Rainbow?"
"You heard what that Theta guy said about a trap right? Should we go or leave?" Rainbow asked, eying the castle gate warily.
"Rainbow, you already know the answer to that," Zero stated walking towards the gate. "Besides, you'd probably just go in by yourself even if we left anyway."
Sticking her tongue out at the Reploid, Rainbow flew through the gates. Flying up high, she searched for enemies hiding out. Seeing none, she motioned for Zero and Twilight to move in. "Think he ran?
"No...Something’s here. I can feel it." Zero said.
"What do you mean? Pegasus eyes are almost better than an Eagle." Twilight argued.
"Yeah...she didn’t see anything. But that’s not the only way to 'see'...Right Alpha?"
"Dude, no one was here! Can’t you see tha-?"
Just then, something began whistling a sad tune. Zero felt he had heard it before...and that he should dodge two steps to the left as a large ball of Plasma was shot from above them. "You were saying, Pony?" the Reploid asked, moving from the shadows above them. "So you guys are the Heroes...doesn’t do well that I got the drop on you."
"So...you're Alpha...you seem familiar."
"Humph. I was around before you were even designed, kid. Allow me to give a proper introduction." tearing off his cloak, Alpha revealed that he wore a grey jumpsuit, his arms and legs were crimson. A yellow scarf was around his neck, and a Crimson helmet that had shades built in that covered his eyes. His left hand had a white and red shield, and his right turned into a cannon "I am DRN000, Protoman, and it’s time to for you to pay for what you caused Zero."
"Zero, what’s this guy talking about!?" Dash asked as Alpha began firing on their position.
"I don’t know...I've never met him before..." Zero said, shooting his buster at their attacker. And yet, I feel that we have met before...
Blocking the shots with his shield, Alpha began charging his arm cannon, but stopped as Twilight began throwing rocks at him from above with her Telekinesis. Jumping back a few feet, he took aim at the young princess and fired a large plasma shot at her.
Twilight evaded by teleporting to a spot just behind Zero. "Protoman, it doesn’t have to be this way... Why don’t we stop and talk it out?"
"Save your breath Twilight." Zero scolded. "If you're going to be a leader, you should know when talk will get you nowhere but six feet under."
"He's right you know... You should focus more on DEFENDING YOURSELF!" a furious barrage of plasma shots came from Alphas Arm cannon, causing Twilight to quickly create a shield.
"Zero, I can’t hold this up for long!”
"Don’t worry Twi! I have an idea! Let me pass through and go for that guy!"
"Rainbow are you crazy! He’ll-"
"Let her out Twilight, I get what she wants to do."
"Alright...whatever you have planned, it better work..." Letting the shield down at the top, Rainbow rocketed at the Crimson robot, drawing his aim at her. Using all of her skills as an athlete, Rainbow dodged each of the shots, narrowly getting hit a few times.
"Hey bolt for brains! What does a beam saber sound like?"
The hum of Zero's saber played through the air, slashing Alphas’ buster from his elbow.
"Gah! Y...you...!"
Now’s our chance for a Harmony Strike! Zero thought, gathering energy, like before, he felt the bonds of friendship, but this time, he felt a jolt of electricity bonding him to the ponies. so this is what Loyalty feels like? releasing the energy, the two buster guns appeared on his hands. "Harmony Strike-RAIKOUSEN!" firing a magenta and light blue charge shot, zero then rushed in, his saber charged with Electric energy to spear Alpha.
What he did not expect was a sphere of dark energy moving at him from the side, stunning him where he was...
"Zero, watch-AUGH!" the two mares were also hit by the dark energy sphere, capturing them as well.
"Hey, what gives? We were about to win!" Rainbow complained.
"Hee hee hee... Alpha did good playing you for the foals and fool you are..."
"That voice...show yourself Weil!"
A bright flash revealed the mad scientist next to Alpha. "Hee hee hee...Bwa ha ha ha ha! Foolish Reploid... did you not think that this was a trap all along?" the sadistic doctor sneered.
"Jokes you jar head! We knew this was a trap!"
"Rainbow! Not helping!"
"No, let the idiot speak..." Weil taunted, "It may well be the last time she does so."
"Tch...You dirty no good..."
"Where are Celestia and Luna?" Twilight asked.
Smiling a smile that sent shivers through the ponies spines, Weil motioned as though he were raising something from the ground. From it, the statues of Celestia, Luna and Discord appeared. The only difference was that none of them had horns or wings, and expressions of surprise, shock and fear on their faces.
"Princess! What did you do to them, you monster!" Twilight cried.
"I merely drained them of their magic little pony..." Weil said, floating towards the young princess."Just like how I will drain every single being on this planet."
"And Monster, hah! Child, I am no Monster...I AM A GOD!" snatching her horn, Weil's arm was coated in red and black electricity. Screaming, Twilight felt her magic being drained.
Zero knew he had to do something quick, or his new charge would end up just like her rulers. "Weil! Let her go, she did nothing to you!"
"Don’t worry, Hero, I'll let her go..." tightening his grip on her horn, Weil’s grin became frightening. When’s she’s a dry husk of a pony!"
C’mon Rainbow! You can’t let your friend get drained like the princesses. How can we free ourselves and get outta here? the rainbow maned mare thought furiously.
Alpha? No that guy looks winded, so I doubt he'd be any help...that and he's working for jar head.
A guard...no wait most of them are gone. Damn! How can we...
She got an idea.
One that would be suicide in most instances, but she had no choice now.
Twilight felt the Earth Pony Magic go first. Then her wings began to fade, signaling the end of her Pegasus magic. If something didn’t go in their favor soon, she'd be just like Celestia and Luna. She had no idea what it was like for Discord, as the being was almost entirely nothing but chaos magic. Actually, this must have been torture for him.
And here comes another bolt of pain, and there goes her Pegasus Magic.
It was over. This Madman would absorb everyponies magic and turn Equestia into a wasteland, and there was nothing anypony could-
"I HELPED PINKIE PIE SNEAK INTO TWILIGHTS CHOCOLATE CANDY STASH!"
Weil stopped draining Twilight right then and dropped her to stare at the Pegasus.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Rainbow... I normally would let this be bygones, but I swear that if we survive this, I'm going to kill you-"
"I just broke a Pinkie Promise Twi."
"Oh. Well in that case, I’ll let you guys live."
"Amusing as your little banter is, what is this Pinkie promise you speak of? Weil asked, his eyebrow raised.
"RAINBOW DAAAAASH!!!!"
Zero was confused. That shout sounded like ... "But she was in Ponyville...it couldn’t be-"
"YOU PINKIE PROMISED!"
It was like a Demon from the deepest regions of the darkest part of Hell had decided to rise up and take on the world. A pink, frizzy haired pony shaped demon, but still.
"What is this? And where did you come from little Horse?" Weil asked, not even fazed by Pinkie's sudden appearance. Well, maybe little confused he admitted to himself, but unfazed all the same.
"Oh Hi! My names Pinkie Pie, I came from a rock farm 20 miles south of Ponyville! Who are you...and why were you holding Twilight like that?"
"Pinkie, He's a bad guy!" Rainbow warned the pink mare. "He wants to drain everypony of their Magic!"
"WHAT! Okay you big dumb meanie! Nopony messes with my friends!" whipping out her party cannon, Pinkie fired it at a now confused Weil.
raising his arm to protect himself from the deadly confetti (you stand in front of a cannon launched barrage of party supplies and see if you come out unscathed), he didn’t notice that Pinkie had freed his captives and was now bolting for the door.
"What are you doing Alpha!? Get them!" a now furious Weil commanded.
""Ngh...You won’t get away!" though he was heavily damaged, Alpha sill gave chase.
Seeing a pursuer, Zero quickly shot his buster, causing alpha to stop and raise his shield, giving him and the ponies’ time to escape.
"How did you get here so fast?" Zero asked once they were nearing the train station.
"Cadence teleported me here so I could get you guys, how else did you think I did it?" Zero decided to ignore any other possibility.
"Cadence?"
"Yep, your brother had a train bought to Ponyville so we could escape to the Crystal Empire not long after you guys left."
"That’s good... looks like we won’t have to worry about Weil's forces attacking Ponyville and worrying about you guys." Rainbow sighed in relief.
"What! That meanie was going to attack Ponyville! Now he really isn’t getting a party!" after rounding the corner, they found their train had been fixed, and Techno was waving wildly to get their attention.
"Almost there...!" grabbing twilight, Zero suddenly tossed her towards the train, before turning around. "Rainbow, Pinkie, We have company."
"Ooh, really? Who is it, no let me guess, its-"
A giant of a Mechanaloid burst through a building on their right, training its eyes on them. Its left arm had a spike crackling with electricity for a hand. Its other had a large flamethrower. Its body was an icy blue, and gave off vapor waves ever few seconds.
"Great. One Elemental Golem was bad enough, now it’s three in one..."
