Mechanical Revenge

I stopped in a forest on my way north to have a drink of pure water and to cool my head. Last time I was boiling mad, I got stoned because I couldn't think or see straight. As much as I hate the maggot princesses, I needed to keep a cooler head if I want my revenge. Rage is nice and all, but not so much if they got, as Discord put it, a "fix-all-the-things weapon".

I'm willing to bet that the poor saps who are the current Elements of Harmony don't realize that their "beloved" ruler is just using them as tools.

I shake my head before getting back into my mechon unit and continuing north. There was something I wanted to do, since I couldn't kill them on the first try...

Canterlot Castle

Everypony had agreed that both Shining Armor and Cadance were officially married, despite Celestia getting interrupted at the last second. Now, not only did they have to clean up after the changeling invasion, but also the attempt on Celestia's life by an otherwise unknown entity.

"Princess Celestia, what was that thing?" Twilight asked her teacher. She was still bristling with anger over that thing's interruption of her brother's wedding.

The solar princess sighed before looking at the bearers. "As you may already have heard from my initial shout of surprise, that thing is named Metal Face."

Rainbow huffed. "Yeah, but that's its problem?"

"Dare I say, that thing has the most vulgar tongue I've ever heard!" Rarity still looked incredibly insulted.

Pinkie also looked infuriated. "I don't like him! He's a meany-mean face who crashes parties! I hate party crashers and look what he did to poor Fluttershy and Rarity!" Applejack was off trying to once again comfort a traumatized Fluttershy while Rarity looked disheveled.

Celestia sighed again. "To answer your question, Rainbow Dash, I don't know why he has harbored such hatred for me and my sister."

"Did you encounter him at any point in the past?" Twilight had a curious look now.

"Yes... I 'met' him about a thousand years ago."

Rarity made the connection. "Did you use the Elements of Harmony on him? He was rather obstinate about not letting us get them."

"Allow me to explain. About a thousand years ago, back before Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon, we were always trying to defend ponies from any threats that may rise to harm them. At the time, we were young enough to think our power alone could save our ponies. However, two entities suddenly appeared in the frozen north; giant metal beasts with glowing eyes and lines all over their bodies."

Twilight nodded. "I'm guessing one of them was Metal Face."

"Indeed. Because of their intimidating appearance and dangerous... weaponry, Luna and I eventually tried to get rid of them in order to put pony's hearts at ease. It was then that we realized that we weren't unstoppable. Our attacks did nothing to them, and they simply shooed us away like we were flies." This got shocked looks from the element bearers.

"Is that why you told us that nothing would affect him?" Rainbow looked uncertain now.

"Precisely. Believe me when I say that we both tried multiple times to take them down, only for any and all but the most powerful, magic-draining spells to simply dissipate harmlessly."

Twilight gave Celestia a concerned look. "But... didn't you try to convince them to leave at one point?"

"My faithful student, do not let my mannerisms of today's age fool you. There was indeed a time when I was young and foolish, thinking everything could be solved with enough magic." This got a shocked look from Twilight. "I digress though. Every time we grew stronger, we went back to challenge them, only to be brushed aside."

Pinkie shot her hoof into the air. "Wait wait wait! Are you saying that Mr. Meany Face didn't try to kill you back then?"

"You are correct. On top of that, while they were able to brush us off easily enough, they always acted erratic, like they were not used to their bodies. On top of that, they always seemed to have a conscience, always trying to get rid of us while not harming us."

Celestia let out another sigh. "The turning point was a few days after we defeated Discord. Metal Face suddenly attacked us in a towering, blinded rage, screaming obscenities at us while actively trying to kill us. In our attempt to protect ourselves, we used the Elements of Harmony on him, turning him to stone as he cursed us and swearing his intent for revenge."

Fluttershy finally got up the nerve to speak. "W-what about the other one?"

Celestia shook her head. "It simply vanished. To this day, I haven't found the second metal beast. Perhaps it left him for different lands because of his sudden change, but I have yet to find out the reason being Metal Face's change"

Applejack huffed. "Well I say he should stay stuck in stone, considering the way he attacked you and insulted us."

Celestia nodded. "Like Discord, I have given him up as a lost cause. However, I must warn against trying to fight him without your elements and friends. He is an incredibly dangerous psychotic with nigh-invulnerable armor and dangerous weaponry. I will try to find a way to track him, so that we can end his spread of terror quickly."

The Frozen North

As I approached the place I wanted to be, I kept getting an odd, foreboding sense of dread. I constantly shook it off, but it kept looming over me.

I hope it's still up...

I eventually reach my sister's grave, but I noticed through the blizzard that something was amiss. Disembarking, I quickly hurry over...

Only to find that her grave was dug up and her corpse, stolen. I once again became filled with so much anger that I let out a scream of pure rage.

Whoever did this... whoever did this... I will find you... and I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER UNTIL YOU CAN SUFFER--

"Ah, so you're the source of all that delicious hatred." I look over to see a shadow my size with a pair of red and green eyes.

"Sombra..."

"Why, yes I am. I, on the other hoof, am very surprised to see that you had another body inside of that metal being."

"Skip the pleasantries, why did you approach me? Perhaps you know who grave-robbed my sister's corpse?"

He seemed to take my attitude in stride. "Sadly no, I wasn't even aware this was your sister's resting place."

I clench my fist. "I swear, I'll find them and make them pay. I'll brutally kill them the way I plan on killing those maggot princesses!"

"Why the change of heart? I always thought you would eventually fight with them."

"THEY MURDERED HER! WE SPENT OUR ENTIRE TIME IN THIS WORLD, TRYING TO NOT BE A THREAT AND THAT IS HOW THEY THANK US?!"

My echoing voice got drowned out by the blizzard. Sombra remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I was sealed long before any of that happened. All I need to know is that, considering you want them dead, you won't be my enemy as well."

"An enemy of my enemy is my comrade..."

"That is enough for me. Promise to stay out of my way in my bid to retake MY Crystal Empire and I will reward you."

"Do whatever you want. Besides, what can you possibly reward me with?"

He chuckled darkly. "From my understanding, your last attempt at their lives failed. I can show you something that could help you immensely."

"... I'm listening."

"I must request that you act as my contingency plan. See, I would rather fail at reclaiming my empire and have those two killed than to succeed, only to be usurped by them again."

I cross my arms in impatience. "You're willing to fail as long as they die?"

"I know I won't fail. I just need... someone to take care of the dirty business outside of the empire."

"Well, I was going to do that anyways."

"Then, we have an accord. Follow me." He flies away a distance before stopping and waiting for me to get back into my mechon.

We flew south-east for a time until a familiar shape made itself known to me. "F-Face Nemesis? This is where I found her... dying."

"Ah yes, but that one isn't the only thing of interest. Have a look around before we continue."

Sure enough, I found other shapes past Face Nemesis. They were all face units, including Jade Face, Yaldabaoth, and several mass-produced faces. I got out of my own unit and opened them all up, only for the smell of decay to hit my nostrils each time. All of them had a corpse of a mechon-human in them.

These poor saps never even got to try out their new toys...

"If you're quite done, your... tools for success are further ahead."

When he finally stopped again, I looked around. "There's nothing here you--"

"There is. Stand where I'm currently at."

I did so and a loud alarm sounded off before the ground started opening. Looking down, I see what looked like a launching shaft. "Is this..."

"I have shown you your... "reward", now I must take my leave."

"You're not staying?"

I've already explored the place and it is nothing I can operate. Besides, I still need to gather my strength before I can release the Crystal Empire for reclamation."

I nod. "If the keys to my success lie in here, then I'm forever in your debt."

"Consider it paid once you kill those two wretches."

I nod before descending down the shaft, the entrance closing behind me.

I managed to get the first power generator online and, according to the scans I did, this place is very similar to the Central Factory on Mechonis. It had everything from a face maintenance bay with adjustable sizing to accommodate any size a face unit may be, an area capable of mass-production, and even many storage areas. I eventually got all of the generators back online and beheld the place in it's full glory.

I CAN use this place. If I can get Mechon production up, I can create an army to take those maggots down.

However, I don't feel that an army is necessary unless otherwise proven. I DO, however, need to repair and upgrade my face unit before anything else can be done.

When I got my unit into the maintenance bay, I gave it a once over and discovered a few faults in the system. They weren't the reason behind my lack of accuracy but they would become problems if they persist.

For some reason, I knew how to operate everything in this place, like I had been doing it for years. I didn't question it, only accepted that it will make things much easier.

After fixing my unit up, I realized that while there was storage, there was nothing in them. No spare parts, no raw material, nothing.

"Looks like those face units outside are going to get scrapped for parts..."