MegaMare-X

by Xujints the Water Horse

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Lyra, Thriller, Science Fiction, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 30849

When an experiment goes arwy, Lyra finds herself lost in an twisted and ruined world. Donning experimental power armor, she fights to find her way home at any cost.

It was just supposed to be a small job. Nothing the music mare couldn't handle. But no, she should have expected Ponyville's resident egghead wouldn't let it be as simple as testing a potion or two. Now Lyra is forced to fight for her life in a world overrun by killer machines. Will she be able to survive the end of EQ21XX? How long will she have to stay away from her precious friends? Maybe only the new L-Buster on her hoof knows for sure...

The Official story of the Game MegaMare-X by BottledStarlight

Cover art by Chickenwhite

Published 2020-09-29 22:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-01-30 22:01:09 UTC

Prologue: Experimental mishaps

There is never a dull day in Ponyville. Something is always going on in one form or another, and today was no different for a mint green Unicorn as she made their way to the outskirts of town. Her name was Lyra heartstrings and today she was meeting up with the town’s resident egghead, Twilight. On most occasions, when the scientist would ask for aid with some science experiment, most ponies would shy away from the task, but not Lyra. For her, bits are bits and she needs money. Her best friend’s birthday was coming up and she needed just a little more cash to get the best gift ever!

This was the thought she kept reminding herself of as she walked through a field of scattered parts and debris. Somewhere, Twilight had to be in this mess, right? Taking a leap of faith, she called out, “Twilight, are you alive in there?”

A little ways away, she heard a loud crash as Twilight shouted in reply, “Ow! I’m over here…”

Smirking, Lyra walked over to the purple mare as she used her magic to clear some debris off herself, “That looked like that hurt…”

The other mare waved a hoof lazily as she spoke, “I am fine, just a little surprised is all.”

Of course. Honestly, the whole situation seemed pretty funny to the both of them, prompting both of them to laugh before Twilight brought them right back to business, “I am so glad you could make it Lyra. You were even on time too!”

With a curt chuckle, Lyra stated, “Yeah, I was surprised too. Almost didn’t make it out of bed.”

Seems she didn’t get the joke, as Twilight just went over to a table and patted some strange backpack… saddle bag… thing, and said without a further laugh, “Right. Now that you are here, we can begin. Try this on!”

Rolling her eyes, Lyra stepped over some nearby scrap metal and stated rather bluntly in kind, “Just don't forget to pay me after all this fun.”

Twilight nervously smiled as if she had somehow forgotten to do so before, “I won’t forget, promise!”

With that said, Lyra put on the device, carefully making sure not to damage anything as it’s harness was attached to her as well as a strange device on her right forehoof. By the end of it, the unicorn had found that she was rather bottom heavy thanks to the way the harness distributed the weight of the pack, easily standing up on her rear legs with no issues. Noting this, her previously jovial tone returned in full force, “I like this thing already…”

Twilight looked baffled as she looked at her temporary lab partner over once, and then twice, “Err, doesn’t that bother you?”

Lyra stretched a little bit and showed off her mobility, making it rather clear just how she felt about the odd equipment, “I am fine, actually. Feels comfortable, whatever it is. What is it, anyway?”

Twilight smiled triumphantly as she poked and prodded the machine, prompting it to roar to life. It lit up and hummed, a slight force being generated within that almost made Lyra want to dance along. However, Twilight’s explanation kept her from doing just that, “I am glad you asked. It’s a new power pack I have been working on the past few weeks. I have been reading about a lot of magic stones and it got me thinking about it… A lot.”

Lyra made a few leaps in logic, but when she looked at the coil found on the device on her arm it all seemed to come together, “So you are making a unique battery pack with the capability of storing and transmogrifying stored magic into usable power for various purposes?”

“Actually… Yes? How did you know?.

Lyra held up the small doohickey on her wrist and said, “Lucky guess?”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment as she further elaborated this specific device, “Well, yes… It is like that. This is honestly a proof of concept at this point, seeing whether or not the magic can be stored and fired out again in short bursts. Originally the idea was just storing power, but what is the point of it if it cannot be accessed?”

Lyra nodded in understanding, seeing her logic to its conclusion, “Of course! Got a name for this invention, doc?”

She nodded in response, presenting the coiled rod mounted to her wrist with a flourish, “I have dubbed it, the Proto Buster!”

Such a simple name, but for now it works. Lyra can’t complain… At least not until the thing started to spark, shooting out small bolts from the pack and singing some grass underhoof, “Twilight?”

Moving her hoof over the device, Twilight looked at it very closely and marveled at it, “Fascinating… Perhaps the pack is already reacting to our ambient magic fields and manifesting it as tangible sparks!”

Lyra looked at the ground as more and more sparks began to fly, “Hmm… It’s tingly. Is this normal?”

“Well, yes and no. Follow me, I brought a magic field scanner you can stand on, It should let me see what is happening.”

Twilight led her over to a small pad for Lyra to stand on and ignited her magic for a brief second, engulfing the mare in a purple aura, syncing her to the scanner, “Just give me a moment to scan you and the Proto buster… Just give me a little magic to work with.”

She wandered over to a nearby console as Lyra’s horn lit up with a golden hue that shortly turned into a vibrant green the longer she held it. Twilight hummed softly as she looked at the readings coming in, “I am sure everything is under control- Wait a second, that doesn't look right!”

Twilight looked up and gasped in alarm when she spotted the odd magic Lyra was giving off.

“You think? Something… Is happening!”

Lyra’s magic was quickly growing out of control as the battery pack on her back was sputtering wildly. This was disturbing on so many levels to Twilight, but for Lyra it is far worse. She felt like she looked, torn asunder as a blinding light engulfs her, “Twilight!”

Twilight was forced to shield her eyes from the intense light Lyra was giving off. After a few moments, the light was gone, and so was Lyra. All that remained of her was a smoldering crater where she and the pad in which she stood was. Twilight, deeply alarmed, looked around for her friend, “Lyra? Lyra!”

As she looked down at the console she was moments ago, she asked melancholically, “By Celestia, what have I done?.

However, what she saw was not an empty screen. No, she saw hope! The readings were not gone like she had expected, they were just very faint. Lyra was out there somewhere… Twilight just had to find her.

Eyes narrowing, the purple mare exclaimed, “Hang on Lyra, it’s not over yet!”

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- Proto Buster
Damage- 1
Obtained- Ponyville
Info- This experimental battery pack is outfitted with three [Redacted] that react to the wearer's ambient magical energy. This [Redacted] abosrbs the energy and transfers it into the Pack's middles chambers where the Energy Crystals are stored. From here, this energy undergoes process in which it turns from a passive and relatively harmless energy wave into a concussive force that until it is used remains in the lower oscillating chamber. When the buster is used, this energy flows from the oscillating chamber into the devise upon the wearer's hoof, where it passes through the focusing coil and outward to it's target.

Location Discovered- Ponyville
Population- Data Corrupted
Info- Data corrupted

Chapter 1: 28 regrets later

A crater, that was where Lyra found herself as her ears rang loudly. Dirt was everywhere: on the ground; in her mane; and worst of all, in her mouth;

Lyra spit up a heaping helping of earth and groaned, “Ugh… My head… what the heck did you do Twi-”

Silence… Dirt was not the only thing she found. Silence was everywhere. Not even a breeze running through the grassy field around her could be felt. The sky was dark, hazed by murky black clouds. Something was very wrong. As she got to her hooves, she would look up to see a tall city a little ways away. A city made of metal and stone, rather than the many thatched homes and wooden architecture she was familiar with. Was this… Ponyville?

Looking mighty peeved, Lyra asked, “What the heck did that egghead get me into this time?”

On shaky hooves, the mare walked into the city, noting where cool grass stopped and hard pavement and metal streets began. This place… It was as if Twilight had a field day and straight up modernized the once rustic town until it looked and felt like it was Manehattan on steriods. Scratch that, make it a field year. That was worth a laugh or two in this bleak looking situation, but only just.

As she walked, she noticed an oddity following her, a small square-like machine that seemed to be picking up the dirt left behind with each step she took as well as general debris. It was rapidly gaining on her too, something that normally would have made her chuckle. However, something huge told her she should be running fast. That thing was covered in exposed saw blades! Whoever designed this street cleaner clearly didn't have a sense for safety.

She stepped out of the way to let it pass as it drew near, however upon doing so it changed course and continued to go straight for her. It wasn’t going to stop… When it was nearly almost upon her, she decided the best course of action was to jump over it, and that is exactly what she attempted. Despite this not being the first time jumping as she stood, the weight of the Buster and Power pack left her with only just enough height to clear the buzzing beast.

She figured now was as good a time as any to see just how well this Proto Buster worked. Once, twice, three times and the offending machine was sent to the scrap heap. She felt pretty good about herself, “Clean up on L street! That was kind of fun…”

Her excitement about the destruction of the street sweeper was short-lived, as soon another two came to replace it, scraping up the debris and Lyra’s fleeting enjoyment, “Oh come on!”

Rather than deal with them, she ran off toward the center of town. Surely there had to be something or somepony else other than these things in town, right? Well, she was half right… As she ran, she spotted more ponies, but upon closer inspection she found they were robotic duplicates, frauds! She couldn’t trust anything she saw here, could she? Not the birds in the sky or the ponies in the street. It was as if all of them wished for her head as they started creepily making thier way towards her!

Rather than stick around and try to figure out a friend from foe, she ran faster. She wasn't sure where too, but she figured she would know a good place to hide when she saw it. As her bizarre luck would have it, there was a hatch leading underground near one of the large buildings. She quickly weighed her options and decided that it would be safer to get off the streets and out of sight.

She tried to pry it open, but found that it wouldn't budge. Of course she would find a hatch leading to potential safety but be unable to open the darn thing. That was when she spied something familiar. There was a crystal embedded on the hatch that reminded her a little of the ones that Twilight had on the workbench when this mess started!

Taking yet another gamble, she used her magic upon the crystal and it opened for her. Just in time too, as those robots were hot on her heels. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief hearing those things passing by overhead. A lucky break at last. It almost made up for being stuck… Wherever she is. Alright, there was no way just one break could make up for this.

She put her hooves onto the metal ground beneath her and lit up her horn, illuminating a small area around her. The sign beside the ladder gave her a small chuckle. It read, ‘Emergency Exit.’ An emergency exit indeed! But where this exit take her?

With a small smile, the Unicorn proceeded through the dark corridors until she noticed something rather odd. All the lights she passed lit up in response to her presence. Or perhaps… Going off her hunch, she levitated a small stone down the hall and a similar phoenomena occurred. This got her thinking that either this place reacted to movement, or her magic was charging up objects in the vicinity. She turned around to look at where she had been and saw the lights were off. Armed with this knowledge, she no longer would reside in darkness, she just neeeded to keep her magic on.

This place looked like some sort of lab. Actually, the longer she looked at the logos on the wall occasionally and the cryptic maps, this was definitly some sort of lab, but for what she couldn't figure out. For a short amount of time, Lyra just wandered around until something caught her eye. There were signs aplenty, but they didn't tell her a whole lot. Without a map or frame of reference, everything just looked the same.

She was getting hungry. Thoughts of food encouraged her to find a kitchen, but between the debris blocking her paths ahead and the lack of a map, she was completely lost. As she turned around to head back the way she came, a sudden banging diverted her attention from her aching stomach to an open door. Warily stepping inside, Buster at the ready, she investigated the disturbance. Inside the poorly lit room, Lyra found some bizarre semi cylindrical looking object. It seemed to be malfunctioning, occasionally sparking as some metal shutters refused to budge from their place.

Her curiosity piqued at the sight of this object trying to jumpstart itself, she forced it open with her magic. As she did so, the rest of the room seemed to regain the spark of life it must have had so long ago. The lights lit up, the computers turned on, and buttons of all shapes and sizes flashed. She was totally getting some Time Turner vibes here from this set up…

Her attention once again returned to the capsule as it spoke in a monotone that easily was louder than everything else in here, “Power surge detected! Rebooting…”

Something was happening… Again! The shutters closed once more, this time fully for about a minute before they would open again. Inside was a static ball, trying to form from within the ether inside the capsule.

The unicorn sighed and crossed her hooves in a mix of emotions she could barely describe at the moment, “Oh great… What now?”

The figure seemed to respond, their voice very familiar to her, “Ly-Ra… Is that… Y-ou?”

Lyra gasped, jumping backward in shock, “Twilight!?”

After that exclamation, the figure finally coalesced, revealing the figure of Twilight. However, something seemed rather different about her. Those glasses were new, and so was the lab coat. However, she would admit it looks good on her. With a smile, Lyra stated in a polite, yet strained tone, “Hey there egghead… Its good to see you, though I have no idea how you are there.”

Twilight seemed to let out a sigh of relief as she stated, “I am sorry! I didn't expect this to happen… I am just glad I was able to find you. After you teleported, I tried probing for your location throough the tiny rift you left behind. If It weren't for a power surge coming from this direction, I might not have seen you."

“Teleported? I don't think it was as simple as a teleportation spell.”

After a moment’s pause, Twilight corrected herself, “You are right. It is very different from a simple teleportation. It would seem you ended up in another world close to ours. Luckily for us both, strong Magics like that can leave behind a traceable magic signature if you know where to look.”

Lyra crossed her arms once again, careful not to bump into the Proto buster strapped to her wrist and asked, “You said there was a rift left behind? Do you think I can go back through?”

Twilight shook her head and answered, “I am afraid not… It is too small for you to fit through. I am only able to send a fraction of my magic through to hijack this terminal and maintain the link to you. The good news is, I have control over this system, so I have an active tether to this world so it shouldn't close on us. Poor pony… Didn't even get the chance to log out of here, though it did give me a way in.”

Lyra cocked her head to the side, “Please tell me you have a plan for these sorts of situations.”

There was a small spot of hope, yet it would be swiftly dashed when Twilight responded, “I am afraid not. I appear to be stuck in some sort of holo-matrix for the time being. A projection of the previous user, if you will. I can’t exactly see all that far yet so I don't know what I am working with. What can you tell me Lyra? You were here for an hour, right?”

An hour? That can't be right. It was maybe only twenty minutes, a half hour tops. Curious… Still she did have some information to give her would be savior, so she relayed what information she could, “Yeah. You are currently in some sort of capsule thingie in an underground lab. Reminds me a bit of your old one and Time Turner's wacky science bunker.”

Twilight hummed, noting the similarities herself, “Hmmm, right. That reminds me, I still need to talk to him about that screw driver of his, but I am getting ahead of myself. I will keep poking around this system for links to the others. I may find something out about where you are. Anything else I should know before I… Nerd out?”

Lyra snorted at that and said with mild growing frustration, “Aside from the killer robots outside? Not too much. That Proto buster of yours really saved my tail. The plink it made when it hit them was nice, but I worry it won’t be able to keep me safe much longer.”

Twilight looked rather concerned, “You seem rather calm about this…”

“I live in Ponyville, this is only in the top five worst situations I have been in personally.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, “Oh, right. Hang tight, I will alert you if I find anything.”

Lyra nodded as well and waved at her colleague, “You do what you do best!”

As she turned away, she noted a distinct static noise coming from the capsule that drew her right back to Twilight, “Everything okay in there?”

Twilight was definitely nerding out, so much so that her hologram was losing its form repeatedly, “Yeah! The data stream I am downloading is amazing! Apparently, the mixture of our magics caused a temporal shiver, leading to a microphobic reaction of protons in the atoms within a six point three one five bar radius from the zero impact. That must’ve lead to a microcosm of completely ran-”

Lyra scoffed, “I swear, if you say it went all Wibbly Wobbly on me, I am gonna punch you and the Holo-Doc in the face!”

The static seemed to calm down as Twilight did, “Sorry. I must be overwhelming the link with my chatter. Basically, for the brief moment your magic was charging the power pack it started to resonate with something else on this end of rift. The two worlds started to overlap and the strain of the collision was enough for a hole to form large enough for you to fall through. And without the resonance holding it open, it started to shrink."

“So, you are saying this rift could have been caused on purpose?"

Twilight slowly shrugged, "It could be, but I still need to run some calcuations to be sure. I don't know what you resonated with, nor do we appear to be in the same place where it happened. Sit tight."

Lyra sighed, deflating briefly before her stomach make it's presense known again, "Actually, I need to get something to eat. I am going to go look for some food."

Twilight eyed Lyra warily for a moment before presenting her with a map of the complex, "Alright, you do that, but stay safe. I have not forgotten your reference to killer robots."

With that map finding a kitchen would be easy! She beamed with gratitude, "Thanks Twilight, you are a life saver."

To her surprise, she found canned foods everywhere. If she had to guess, this place was at one time a haven from the machines and they needed to stockpile food… It felt a little wrong just taking and eating it… But! She has not seen a single soul since she got here and needed it more than they did. She grabbed a can opener and ate her fill of tomatoes and apples. Mostly apples! Sweet Apple Acres has always made the best stuff, and she refused to let anypony tell her otherwise.

Not surprisingly, Twilight eventually called her back over a PA system, requesting she return to the capsule. With a smile and a small spring in her step after eating, she asked, “Hey Doc, got anything for me now?”

Twilight nodded enthusiastically and stated, “I found something I believe will help you deal with those robots. It seems to be a prototype like the Proto Buster, but far more… Advanced~ I am rather jealous, actually. These schematics are brilliant! Just step into the capsule and I will handle the rest. A few modifications and you should be able to actually wear it."

Brilliant? Well if it were able to impress Twilight this much, then it must be good. An upgraded Proto buster? Yes please!

Lyra confidently stepped into the capsule and waited as the metal shutters closed around her. It was claustrophobic, and the buzzing and whirring of gears was a little unnerving, but the feelings she felt… It was well worth it.

With a hum and hiss, the shutters opened to reveal a blue armor clad Lyra. She shrugged and moved about slightly, getting a feel for the flexible armor she was now encased in and prepared herself for some action. She was itching to see what this could do.

Author's Note

Codex

Location Discovered- Ponyville? Part1
Population- 1 Unicorn, 1254 Reploids, 1254 Mavericks
Info- This once proud metropolis is now a shadow of its former self. With the weather unchecked, the skies above the town are almost always in perpetual darkness with only an occasional glimmer of light. This makes navigating the empty streets dangerous as some buildings have burnt to the ground, scattering dirt and debris everywhere. Others have had thier windows smashed by mavericks. This did leave the cleaner robots plenty to clean up, but they do clean up far more than just inorganic materials...

Chapter 2: Armed and dangerous

Like before, Twilight seemed to be more liberal with her findings as Lyra stepped out of the capsule, “Lyra, this is amazing! You haven’t even had the suit on for a minute and my sensors are already being overwhelmed by all the data I am receiving.”

Lyra’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the fancy new blue busters on her arms, seeming greatly distracted by them, “I am blue…”

Twilight paused the monologue she about to do and asked flatly, “What?”

Lyra gestured to herself and her blue armor and said, “The Armor. It’s not like I don’t like blue, but I was kind of hoping it would be green. Its kind of my color.”

Twilight nervously shuffled her hooves and stated, “Really? Well… Blue was actually the default color in the Chameleon circuits. I didn’t know you had a specific one in mind. Step into the capsule and I will see about changing that.”

Lyra stepped into the capsule once more and let it close shut around her as Twilight continued her monologue from before, “Alright, it would appear that the suit is acting as a second skin, a power armor if you will. With that helmet your magical capacity has increased tenfold and the rest of it's light weight should hardly hinder your mobility in the slightest. I am still looking over the specs, but it could be even better now.”

“Tenfold, huh?”

Lyra crossed her arms as a confident smirk appeared on her muzzle, “Sounds like fun.”

Twilight agreed, “Like the power pack and Proto buster, it would appear that it can absorb and channel your energy into powerful blasts. Unlike it, however, it would seem they are far more powerful the more concentration you put into your shots. The size and power of your shots is now determined by how much effort you put in.”

Lyra’s smirk somehow got even wider as she once again left the chamber, now sporting a distinct green color palette, “Yep, definitly fun! I already know just the target to practice on…”

Recalling the debris just outside the room, Lyra dashed outside and charged up a shot. When the hum of magic from her horn reached its peak and she could charge no longer, she fired upon the rubble and blew it away, clearing a path forward. However, not everything was okay as those robots from before sprang forth to chew up the rubble, and she was sure to be next as they converged on her location

Lyra heared Twilight from the now 'empty' room, “You just broke my scanners with that one. What are you, some kind of mega pony? I almost wonder what this would have been needed for, but with those robots around, I have an idea…”

The armored mare called back, already firing upon the machines that wanted to do her in, “Speaking of robots, it seems this lab isn't as secure as we hoped, I am going to find where they are coming from.”

“Stay safe Lyra!”

Lyra noded in affirmation as she dashed away once more. Those cleaning robots were no issue now. In fact, one might say they were too easy. All Lyra had to do was follow the train of robots and… A wall. It would seem that she was stuck in this hall, as the stairs leading up were too damaged to even be considered a viable option. Pausing for a moment, she would ponder Twilight’s words. Enchanted mobility?

She was already incredibly light on her hooves, and the armor felt like it was nearly nothing on her, so maybe she won't have a hard time climbing the wall? Putting one hoof in front of the other, she found it as easy as expected to cling to the wall and move about. So easy in fact she guessed the suit was helping her in that fashion as well…

She was literally bounding up the wall, surprising one of those pony looking robots at the top as she landed in front of it mere moments before it could jump into the lab. Her smile was the last thing it’s optical sensors would perceive. She can leap up walls and fire incredible shots now? Lyra was feeling a combat high and didn't wish for it to end. Before, her situation seemed a little bleak, but now, prospects were bright! She sealed off this hole and continued on.

She climbed up another ladder to an area near the surface. She was within the upper areas of the lab now, that much she could be certain. And while there were plenty of robots here already, there was a gaping hole in the wall letting even more of them in. Now this simply won’t do… To make matters worse, there was no good angle to seal it up with rubble from this end. Taking the initiative, Lyra leapt out of the building and fired upon the wall behind her, sealing it from the outside.

That should make it so more robots don’t get in and she can clean the rest of them up later should any stragglers be left. Outside, she landed on some exposed red girders, akin to those one might see on a construction site. Curious, was this part of town still being constructed? Or was it renovations? For now she cast those thoughts aside, she wanted to go out and see what sort of things were being constructed here. After all, what sort of things would they be building in a construction yard filled with robots made to destroy?

Her curiosity in that regard will not be sated however, as there were plenty of odd robots here working, there was an equal number there destroying things and building up small structures, with some doing both. They would never get anywhere. They especially won’t once she got close to them. When the killer flying buckets of bolts took notice of her, she made short work of them and moved on to bigger things. Swinging from crane hooks to the cranes themselves, she took out many robots from above. She was confident, and that led her to missing one of the machines above and it knocked her off the platform and to the ground below

Landing in the ground below, she found that aside from having the wind knocked out of her from the fall, she was otherwise okay. The suit took most of that, a fact she was rather lucky to learn. Now on the ground, Lyra continued her hunt through Ponyville’s not so busy streets. All the homes were abandoned, derelict in appearance. Seeing the state of things the robots left them in was rather melancholic, taking a little wind out of her sails as she found a dilapidated looking doll in the metal jaws of one of the robots she fought.

Eventually, one machine would give her pause. They were tall and pink, and accentuated by gold jewelry and blue crystals everywhere… Sporting a horn and wings, it was giving her some heavy Princess vibes, it was a rather bizarre sight, but it was definitely a robot all the same. However, this one was more interesting than the others. It spoke in a simple restrained monotone similar to that of the voice that was used by the capsule before Twilight took it over, “Unknown entity detected… State your designation and purpose or be eliminated.”

A robot that speaks. Just great! At least this one seemed a little more reasonable on the surface, it asked questions before shooting at her. Lyra compiled… For now, “My Designation is Lyra. Who are you?"

The robot stated their own name, which made Lyra raise an eyebrow, “I am C.A.D.A.N.C.E..”

Oh great, she thought they looked familiar... Lyra picked a bad time to snark, “You are a long way from The Frozen North, aren’t you?"

C.A.D.A.N.C.E.’s eyes narrowed at Lyra and said once again in monotone, yet a growing frustration still seemed audible somewhere in that synthesized mess, “Database registration: Lyra. Purpose: Sass. Place of creation: Unknown.”

Place of creation? Does this robot think she is one too? Perhaps she could use that to her advantage… Taking the initiative, Lyra stated with an unsure smile, “You wish to know where I was created? My memory was... Corrupted, yes. Corrupted. I was looking for clues when I came to town. All I know is its near some place named 'Ponyville.' Do you know it?"

C.A.D.A.N.C.E.’s eyes scanned her form, as if looking for something as the crystalline hooves she walked on gently chinked on the metal street, “This town has not gone by that name in a long time. Tell me Lyra. Did you look in the labs at ERI?”

Lyra glanced back at the large building beyond the construction zone briefly before her gaze was filled by the robot’s purple eyes, “I see through you. You don’t belong here anymore, Pony. There are no answers to find here, only death.”

Panicking, Lyra raised her buster up at the robot’s face and said, “Hold on, I’m not a pony. I am a robot, like you!”

C.A.D.A.N.C.E. took a step back and unfurled her crystalline wings, as if preparing for take off, “Unlikely… I will say that is a clever disguise you wear, but it bears the mark of the Doctor’s hooves. You cannot fool me any longer.”

The armored unicorn scoffed, “Is it too much to ask for one friendly robot?”

C.A.D.A.N.C.E. took flight and prepared for battle, just as Lyra did. The robot opened combat by charging at Lyra at high speeds. The window to evade her was narrow, but Lyra managed to get by with hardly a scratch on her armor. She retaliated with a few buster shots to the robot’s back, however it seemed to have no effect. Whatever this one was made of was a lot tougher than the others. No matter, anything will go down if you put enough force into it... Right?

She just wished that she could actually hit them! The longer the fight dragged on, the faster C.A.D.A.N.C.E. got! She even varied up her attacks by flying just out of reach and lobbed crystal heart looking projectiles at her. Her armor shrugged off most of the damage, but in the end, Lyra was getting whittled down further and further with each pass. Everything C.A.D.A.N.C.E. was hitting it’s mark and Lyra could feel it.

As the Robot switched up her normal heart attack with a Laser attack, she could have sworn she heard the machine mocking her. Huffing, Lyra stated bluntly as her desperation grows, “You are one sick robot, you know that right?”

Such a statement gave her attacker pause, tilting their head curiously in response, “Sick? I am a machine, I do not get sick.”

Lyra charged up her buster as much as she could and leapt at her assailant, aiming for a point blank charge shot to the face. As the blast connected, Lyra let out a confident laugh, “You are sick alright, and here is your prescription, five hundred grams of blasts to the face!”

As the dust settles, Lyra noted that there wasn't a single scratch of C.A.D.A.N.C.E. It did nothing…

Falling back to the ground, Lyra would watch in horror as C.A.D.A.N.C.E. brushed herself off and sassed the dumbstruck unicorn, “Tastes bitter, just like the rest of the Doctor’s creations.”

With that taunt out of the way, the killer machine applauded her, her tone having a hint of some sort of sadistic glee, “I will admit, I have not heard that one before. For this, I will show you my strongest attack in return.”

This was it, this was the end. By Celestia why did it have to be like this? C.A.D.A.N.C.E. charged up some sort of mega heart attack and prepared to unleash it upon the poor mare. Despite her efforts to get away, that Heart would split up and sandwich her, hard! It felt like she was being bucked by a million earth ponies all at once. If it weren't for that armor holding her together, she guessed she might have been reduced to a puddle of minty fresh marshmallows right about now.

Lyra collapsed in a heap on the city streets as C.A.D.A.N.C.E. landed beside her. She seemed surprised, “Still breathing? You are an impressive mare Lyra. Certainly the strongest Organic to ever face me in battle.”

Lyra tried to get up, to give one final act of defiance, but was swiftly shut down by a crystalline hoof on her back putting her down, “Goodbye Lyra.”

That was when the sound of another charged buster whizzed through the air and hit C.A.D.A.N.C.E. on the side and sparing Lyra the fate that was sure to befall her. The retreating Robot brushed themselves off once more and swore, “B-0n! I should have known you would be here… Why must you interfere with my work? Don’t you see there is no point in protecting these pathetic creatures?”

Lyra was unable to see her blue and fushia colored savior, as she was drifting in and out of consciousness, but she heard their voice. It was the most wonderful voice she had heard since she had arrived, one she was surprrised to hear, “I wouldn’t expect a Maverick like you to understand. You lost that ability long ago! Now come, your fight is with me now.”

Weighing her options, C.A.D.A.N.C.E. stated, “No… not yet. You resist now, but it is inevitable that you will be decommissioned. When that time comes, I will be there! You and Lyra have not seen the last of me.”

“I can hardly wait C.A.D.A.N.C.E.”

B-0n watched as her rival flew off into the sky, knocking away a flying bucket as she went. Sighing, they turned to the prone Lyra and said, “It’s okay citizen… You are safe now.”

Lyra looked up at her with half lidded eyes, clearly she wasn't all there just yet, “Bonnie? When did you get here?”

B-0n smiled softly and hefted the prone unicorn onto her back, “Let’s get you back to the lab so you can rest. You seem to have taken quite the beating.”

B-0n’s steps were slow, yet deliberate. She knew how to safely transport Lyra without disturbing her, yet in the end she was disturbed anyway as she eventually came to. As the armored mare got her wits back together, she asked, “You… You’re not Bonnie. You are are robot, aren't you? Where are you taking me?"

B-0n paused, addressing the groggy mare on her back, “I am indeed a robot, but I am not like the others. I have not lost myself yet.”

As she continued walking again, Lyra asked, “You didn't answer me, robot… How do I know this isn't a trick?”

B-0n looked back at the mare slung over her back and stated with a small smile, “Only a fool would trust me so blindly… I will be honest like I was before. I am taking you back to the lab so you can rest. For now, let the suit tend to your wounds. It is slow, but it should aid you in dealing with the pain.”

The trek back to the lab was rather uneventful, as it seems that B-0n had already created a path for the two of them to reach the lab safely. Upon entering what appears to be a rec room inside, B-0n sat her down on a couch and said, “Wait here, I will be back with food shortly.”

Before she could leave however, a nearby computer monitor lit up and a holo-Twilight appeared, something that would make Lyra smile, “Hey Doc… You look like you have a handle on things. Look, I made a friend out there.”

Twilight nodded, looking over at the newcommer with a smile, “I saw you two coming in on the cameras. I was worried at first, but when they presented the access codes to enter the lab, I had a hunch they were supposed to be here.”

B-0n’s optics lit up vividly as she looked at the screen, “This… What is this? I thought I had found all the Doctor’s recordings last time I was here.”

Twilight laughed, “Oh, I am not a recording… I just interfacing with this holo matrix remotely.”

The robot hummed softly, their mental processers quickly finding an answer to her own question, “You… You are not her, and yet you match her magic signature enough to access her admin privileges. Very curious…”

Lyra sat up on the couch and asked, “I see you were able to branch out in the time I was gone… Find anything new? Like a way home perhaps? I just got my tail handed to me by a Maverick and could use some good news.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin and stated, “Well… I have good news and bad news.”

Lyra laid back down, scoffing loud enough for all to hear, “Of course… What is the bad news?”

Twilight gulped, tugging at her collar lightly as she answered, “Okay, there is nothing here that can actually help us.”

“So I am stuck here?”

Twilight shook her head in an attempt to quell her friend's developping worries, “I think I was able to find a place that could. ERI has another lab in Canterlot. A bigger one, we may find what we need there. But…”

Lyra crossed her hooves and rolled over, asking, “What is the catch?”

Twilight took a deep breath and answered, “From the few glimpses I was able to see inside, it looks like a mess. We may need a few things if we are to build a teleporter strong enough to help."

Lyra stretched and groaned in her spot, “Sounds like a fetch quest to me… Great.”

At this point B-0n would chime in, asking, “Do the two of you need assistance?”

Twilight looked between the two actually present in the room briefly before stating, “If you really are here to help. We could use information. Neither of us know the outside world very well and Lyra over there isn’t looking too good.”

The robot nods, “As you wish. I will be of assistance whenever you need me…”

She looks over at Lyra and says, “Sleep well Lyra. We will talk in the morning…”

With that, the robot left the two of them alone with their thoughts and each other. With a long sigh, Lyra state, “This day is just too much. I thought with this suit, I could take on anything, but I was wrong."

Twilight, trying to be an optimist in this situation, would respond, “Stay strong Lyra. You can do this!”

“But what if I can’t? I lost… Even with this suit I lost.”

Twilight thought for a moment, then said resolutely, “I believe in you. And I am sure Bon Bon would too.”

Lyra rolled over, looking at the hologram. Her voice carried a tone the likes of which Twilight had never heard before from her, “You didn’t… Tell her, did you?”

She shook her head in the negative, “Not yet… Do you want me too?”

Now it was Lyra’s turn to shake her head, “N-no… You’d only make her worry. If she asks, tell her I am working on getting her the biggest and bestest birthday present ever!”

Twilight smiled and said, “Of course… I’ll see what I can do. Till then, rest easy. I will keep an eye on that B-0n character. If she is as trustworthy as she looks, I will get her up to speed. And if she isn’t…”

“I will blast her in the face. I know.”

Lyra let out a pained chuckle before rolling over again to get some sleep. She indeed was going to need it after the battles today...

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- X-Armor
Damage- 2 base, 3 charged
Obtained- Ponyville
Info- An experimental suit of power armor deveolpped by ERI for the use of combatting the Maverick Threat. It's unique gold-titanium weave mesh pioneered by the engineer Jay Skuttles is light weight and pliable, yet tough enough to disperse small bursts of energy across its surface. In addition to it's ergonomic design inspired by the likes of Rarity and Sassy Saddles, it's chameleon circuit allows it to change it's own color palette at will. While it is a far cry from the chameleon circuits used in the changeling droid's later models, it does provide a minor edge in jamming optical sensors of mavericks, but it is unknown how effective it will be at close range. In the Busters housed on the forehooves of the armor is an variable weapon system, the third iteration of its kind. Using the core memory of Hunters and Mavericks alike, new weapons can be synthesized for the wearer, but unlike the regular buster it requires an external power source to continue operation.

Location Discovered- Ponyville? Part2
Population- 1 Unicorn, 1222 Reploids, 1221 Mavericks
Info- Ponyville, home to Equestria's own resident genius Twilight Sparkle. It was through her hard work like institutes of technology like ERI were founded. From her mother's basement to multiple labs spanning Equestria, most, if not all the modern reploids currently in use stemmed from her research. Philosophy, construction, and utility was the base of her research, and through the friends she made along the way her efforts expanded well beyond her original scope. Now her machines keep your streets clean, help keep your clothes on their clothes lines, and even tucks you into bed at night. Truly there has never been a more influential visionary of our time

Chapter 3: White Tail not so Refinery

The next day, Lyra awoke in a cold sweat and shrugged off the blanket that was covering her still armored body. Thoughts of C.A.D.A.N.C.E. and the screams of ponies as they ran from the Mavericks that were taking over haunted her dreams and kept her up for a lot longer than she would have hoped. Her body may have armor keeping it safe, but her mind was unprotected.

She grumbled as she got to her hooves and wandered to the kitchen to make herself something to eat for breakfast. Before she could get too far however she would hear the voice of B-0n and Twilight in her ears, much to her own confusion.

“Lyra, your presence is requested in the main lab.”

“Sorry if we woke you, B-0n and I found something!”

Where… She didn’t even know where the ‘main lab’ is? It was still too early for this crud. Still, she found herself complying and ever further from her initial goal. Her movements were sluggish for a little while, but as she started to wake up she started to pick up the pace and actually started to read the signs on the walls. She was going the wrong way… Oops! Maybe she was more tired than she thought?

Grinning sheepishly to herself, she turned around and actually started to head in the direction of the lab. Stepping inside, she noted how similar this place looked compared to the capsule room she was in a while back. Computers lined the walls, tables full of tools were here and there, and B-0n and Twilight were conversing in the corner. Lyra waved at them jovially, “Hey you two. What’s up?”

B-0n was the first to acknowledge her, cutting off Twilight by saying, “Greetings Lyra. I mean no offense.”

Lyra rubbed her eyes briefly before asking, “Offense?”

Twilight chimed in, looking a little peeved to be interrupted like she was, “Hey. B-0n here took the initiative to link our com frequencies so we can talk whenever we need to. She has been... Trying to awaken you for the past hour.”

Lyra rubbed the back of her neck with an armored hoof and only slightly regretted the gesture as it was rather uncomfortable ruffling what little of her drying mane poked out from under her helmet, “W-was that what I was hearing?”

They nodded as B-0n stated, “I have to leave soon to scout out the grounds around Canterlot. It is currently protected by a shield and even if we did have the parts you need to build that teleporter, you would not be able to get inside.”

Lyra nodded in understanding, “So you plan on finding a way in for us? Alright… Was that all you wanted me for because I have not eaten yet and am pretty hungry.”

Immediately, B-0n shoved a muffin in Lyra’s face. Lemon surprise, a rare treat, “I knew you would. That is why I made you this. We need you in fighting shape, because we already know where to send you first.”

She looked between B-0n and the muffin for a moment before gently taking a bite out of it, “Thank you… What is this about sending me places?”

Now it was Twilight's turn to cut off B-0n, “B-0n and I have found most of the parts we need for the teleporter, but they are currently tucked away inside maverick hot zones. We need you to warp in and deal with the threat and get out safely.”

Lyra chuckled softly before deflating noticably, “Darn fetch quests… Anything else, your highness?”

Twilight nodded, “Actually yes. There are other things you can do while you are there, B-0n has told me that the armor you are wearing was worked on long after the prototype you are wearing now. If you are lucky, you may find something of use out there.”

B-0n would state as Lyra ate the muffin slowly, “As far as I know, the Doctor had scattered her research all through Equestria. Her base armor was locked away here underground. Everything else… I do not know where it is anymore. I trust your luck will hold.”

“Ah, luck… The most mysterious variable.”

Twilight stated confidently, “I would say Lyra here has that in spades at this point.”

Lyra smiled between bites as the muffin nearly met its end, “Thanks for stroking my ego… And saying I have no skill.”

Twilight gasped, “I didn’t-”

The armored unicorn pointed at her with the last bite of her breakfast muffin, “Relax. I am joking… Managing morale is all.”

B-0n stated in response, “Indeed your skills are lacking, but you are far more powerful than the others that tried to wear the suit. The tenth iteration suits you, Lyra.”

“Tenth? Was this the tenth prototype?”

B-0n would nod, “Affirmative. Designation Mega Mare X.”

Twilight would ask, “Mare? What about ‘pony’?”

“Only mares have worn the suit thus far, so the name stuck.”

Lyra nearly choked on the muffin due to her laughter and pelted B-0n with tiny bits of lemon and baked goods, “That's it? I'll take it.”

Twilight and B-0n both looked at her, seeming bewildered. This promoted Lyra to say, gesturing with muffin wrapper in hoof, “While I am out in the field, my codename will be LX.”

B-0n’s optics narrowed at her, “Sixty is not exactly close to ten, Lyra.”

Lyra puffed her chest out confidently and said, “Yeah, but the L is for Lyra. I want to be remembered as more than just number Ten, ya know?”

Twilight remained silent for a moment before shrugging, “I am not even going to ask… Let’s just go with it.”

B-0n relented, “As you wish… So, LX, want to hear the briefing for your first away mission?”

Lyra deflated once more, “I was kind of hoping to have another muffin, but sure.”

B-0n, not skipping a beat, began the briefing, “The first place you will go is to the White Tail Water Refinery. We will use the Suit’s tether feature to teleport you into one of the water domes and you will have to descend to the lake bed to find out why the refinery is not pumping water to the rest of Equestria.”

Lyra blinked in surprise, “What thether?”

B-0n momentarily elaborates before continuing, “Your suit can teleport to many of the access points around Equestria. However, due to heavy Maverick activity we cannot get you too close… You would need to travel on hoof to investigate further. We can get you into one of the domes, however the one you need to reach is blocked. Once the Maverick threat is dealt with, you can restart the refinery and restore water to Equestria. With this main refinery back online, others will reset and soon follow.”

Lyra leaned on the monitor that Twilight was projecting herself from and said, “Okay, I get that, but what does this have to do with the fetch quest… Or the research… Or the fact I cannot breath underwater.”

Twilight addressed each of those questions in the order in which she said to them, “In the refinery you will find a spare purifying crystal. They were gifts from the crystal empire to aid in cleaning water. The Government had stored many of them there. They can filter energy too, which will be invauble for managing the unstable energy we need to open up that hole. B-0n also said that the research data is hidden inside capsules similar to the one we found the suit in. And… Your helmet has a built in rebreather and a small store of oxygen for emergencies. You will be fine as long as you are not down there for longer than two days."

B-0n reached out and touched Lyra’s helm and true to their word, a visor appeared over her eyes that revealed some of her suit’s specs, and a customizable face shield with a rebreather setting.

“Armor integrity? Oxygen levels? Vitals? That’s a lot of data to keep track of… Wait, two days?”

B-0n said calmly, “Your HUD is customizable as well. The suit responds to your thoughts just as much as your movements. For now, focus on your armor integrity. Should that fail, your suit will pull you out of trouble for a while, but do not rely on it. The tether is a safety net, not a luxury. Many of its subsystems require you to remain conscious. Should you run into trouble before your armor can mend itself, you will be defenseless."

Lyra slowly nodded, "Are we just going to gloss over the two days thing?"

Twilight asked in response, “You can go whenever you are ready, Lyra.”

Lyra sighed before striking a pose, "Fine... We can talk about it later, lets light this candle!"

B-0n, unfazed by Lyra’s posturing, said, “Okay.”

Against Lyra’s will, B-0n activated her tether and sent her on her way before Lyra could so much as idle stance. Despite not having the best features for it, Twilight knew the robotic mare was smiling, “That was… Rude.”

Ignoring her, B-0n said, “I missed that…”

Twilight paused, giving the robot some time to think. Something was going on here, but she didn’t want to pry. Not yet…

LX's landing in the Refinery was surprisingly graceful, actually landing on her feet. But when she compared it to the only other teleport like this one, it was rather natrual. This was somewhat planned after all. She took a deep breath and composed herself. Given how B-0n had described this place, she had honestly expected there to be more Mavericks around. However, there was hardly anything in sight. All she could see was the light filtering in through a hole in the ceiling and illuminating the dark, damp, dilapidated ruins of one of the Refinery’s purifying domes.

It was honestly a little disheartening seeing this place so ruined and overgrown. Just how long has this place been like this? How long has the whole world been like this!? Before she could think about it much longer, a pungent odor filled her nostrils. She reached to cover her face but found her visor and rebreather had already had her covered. Keeping an eye on her HUD, it cautioned her about the toxic levels of… Something… She honestly wasn’t paying close enough attention in science class to recognize scientific notation. All she did know was that if she breathed in any more of it she could have fainted from the smell alone

That was when she heard a voice in her ear. B-0n?

“I take it you landed well, LX?”

LX unconsciously nodded, “Yeah… Made it into the dome safely. I am about to head deeper inside.”

“Do be careful… I neglected to mention one other key feature of the Suit. Should you find any energy crystals left behind when you destroy Mavericks, pick them up. They will restore your suit’s integrity and overall condition.”

Once again, she nodded in understanding, “Got it!”

With that said, LX walked along a catwalk leading out over a pool of water that likely led deeper into the refinery. Before she took the plunge however, she elected to look around and investigate the ruined dome further. Perhaps she might find clues as to what exactly happened here.

There wasn’t too much to find really, save for a couple of pony like Mavericks struggling to get out from underneath a pile of rubble. Taking pity upon them, LX aimed her buster and put them out of their misery. Despite them trying to harm her as she walked closer, they had to have been the caretakers of this place at one time. If B-0n was any indication, they could have turned out better… There had to be a reason for all of this. There just had to! But the answers eluded her no matter how hard she tried to piece what little information she had. She lacked too much of the puzzle.

LX put the puzzle away for now and instead turned back to the task at hoof. She had to get into the lake and the only way out right now was the water. Heading back to the catwalk, LX hopped over the railing and sunk straight down to the bottom of one of the tank's chambers. Hooves on the metal basin below, all she’d really need to do is follow the pipes and filters back to the lake, right?

She considered herself lucky, as all the decay and rust left little in the way of motorized osbtacles. She was literally able to walk past the decayed fans leading out and through some pipes that were surprisingly too big to be normal. It wasn’t until she crossed that threshold that she would know why that was the case. There were Mavericks here… They were not particularly large, but she could surmise they were there for maintinence. It was a wonder they were still able to move down here. The horrid, gunk dripping abominations attacked her without hesitation as their sensored picked up her presense, and she attacked them in kind.

As she continued on through the maze of pipes, she came across a welcoming sight. Plant life and algae were thriving down here… Perhaps the world isn’t as lifeless as she initially thought. Among the rubble she occasionally spotted what appeared to be mechanical frogs, something she needed to take out immediately after she noted how the first one latched onto her and made her armor integrity lose an eighth of its power with a mighty shock.

Eventually, LX found herself at the mouth of one of the pipes leading into the lake. Or is it out of it? Technically, she is coming out an entrance, so… Semantics aside, that was a fairly decent drop. Taking a deep breath, LX let go of the fan she was holding on to and descended into the murky depths below.

It was a little bit of a rough landing, as the bottom of the lake was covered in even more sludge and junk. Emphasis on the latter, as there was so much in fact LX was nearly tripping over herself just getting her hooves under her. She had to find her balance fast, as the local robotic life had caught sight of her trudging through the muck. Robotic fish? She should have seen them coming after the frogs.

Rather than sit around to see whatever else was down here waiting for her, LX worked her way towards the true bottom of the lake, descending even further into the darkness. It was getting to the point where she was only able to see where she was going thanks to the lights from her armor. The sooner she gets out of here, the better…

That was what she thought until she spotted a light off in the distance. Curious! She wandered over to it and to her horror… It was another dang fish! A big angler fish, but a fish nonetheless. She was honestly about to leave but a sudden flash from her visor halted her. Something appears to be resonating with her armor down here, but what? Could it be one of those capsules that Twilight and B-0n told her about?

LX followed the energy readings down deep into the darkness and found another capsule buried in the rubble. Not even a day in and already finding a breakthrough in maverick busting technology. Now this really brought a smile to her face. Using her magic to crack it open, she found her suit was already interfacing with it! It seems that B-0n had set in a subroutine to link the capsule to their coms network. With the address boost from the capsule’s link, a familiar holographic figure appeared inside, “And that is why we do not like quesadillas!”

Clearly LX was missing an interesting story there… But no matter, she waved at Twilight and say, “Hey Doc, am I interrupting something?”

Twilight nervously patted her holographic hooves on the floor of the capsule and said, “Nope, nothing at all!. Wow did you find research data already? I better take a look! Bye!”

LX snarked, only slightly dissapointed to be left alone as quickly as Twilight 'arrived', “Yeah, go ahead and leave me alone down here… It’s not like there isn't anything in here that can help me right now.”

Twilight stopped reading to apologize, “Sorry Lyra... It’s a personal story. Anyway, there does appear to be something here… It appears to be some sort of armor component but it wasn’t ready to be applied just yet. I will play this recording I found while I take a look around. I think it will shed some light on what we will be getting into.”

Holo Twilight vanished, replaced shortly after by a rather interesting looking Pegasus that she did not recognize. Their hologram was blue, a bit of a contrast compared to Twilight’s purple. Like her, they were wearing a Lab coat, but beyond that they were wearing some sort of engine turbines on their back. What happened to their wings, she wondered?

He spoke, startling the armored mare from her thoughts, “Greetings. My name is Thunder Strike and I am the head of research and Development here at ERI. For years I have struggled with being a grounded pegasus. Having lost my wings long ago, I swore to myself to find a way to return the ability of flight to Pegasi that can no longer fly. Here at ERI, I was given the freedom to do so, as well as aid others that lost more than just their wings. Recreating that magic ponies have was hard, but with Doctor Twilight’s aid, I finally made a breakthrough in prosthetic technology. Before, it took a lot of power to make one airborne, but the energy crystal refinement pioneered by [Redacted] and Doctor Twilight gave us the power needed to convert Magics of other races into usable Pegasi magic. Combine that with miniature mobility turbines mounted on one’s limbs, a pony will be able to become ‘grounded’ anywhere by drawing moisture together into temporary walkable clouds. While it is not true flight yet, it is only a matter of time before these huge things can be attached to anyone and anything and give them the ability to trot through the sky unhindered.”

The ability to walk on clouds you create any time and anywhere? Seemed too good to be true, right? Given what she has seen so far, she was almost willing to believe anything she was told… That was when Twilight returned, a wide smile beaming on her muzzle, “Step inside Lyra! This Thunder Strike character actually left blueprints for the device in here. A little tweaking to the design, and I should be able to mount it to your suit.”

“Nice!”

Thoroughly encouraged, LX hopped inside and let the magic happen. Upon stepping out, she noticed her leg armor had changed, now shimmering white and gold compared to the normal green that it was moments ago. Fancy! LX hopped out and asked, “So how does it work Doc?”

“Your suit is naturally integrated into your nervous system to monitor your vitals and react to your subconscious thoughts. It should be as easy as thinking for it to work and it does so.”

Simple, yet effective. She thought hard about it and leapt up. She indeed felt some sort of platform beneath her, but even with all this water around to draw upon, the cloud didn't last long enough for her to jump off of. At most, she figured she would be able to quick step on it, dash in mid air. She was probably too heavy for much else…

With a wave, she called out to Twilight and said, “Thanks Doc. Hope the rest of the research data comes in use.”

Twilight waved before the capsule closed shut once again and its lights died out, no longer resonating with LX. Armed with this sweet new armor piece, the rest of the platforming hazards found at the bottom of the lake seemed a little trivial. That was good enough for her, as in truth she didn’t really want to stay down here too long. She didn't want to test that two days oxygen thing.

As she started to go uphill again, she noticed a little bit of an oddity. It almost seemed like the water was getting clearer. No, it was definitely getting clearer! As the light from the surface began to filter in through the dark, so too did cleaner and cleaner water. Even the junk underhoof seemed to be receding now as some of the Mavericks were not paying attention to her as strongly and instead working on cleaning up the place. It was an odd sight to be sure.

Had they not started attacking her, she might have considered leaving them alone… If things are being this pristine here, she could only guess the dome above her was still operational. That means that there was no likely way she was getting in the same way she left the other one. That was okay though. Surely there was a maintenance hatch somewhere down here for ponies? Some other way of getting in from the lake bed? After all, who would maintain the machines down here that maintained the structure from below?

There was a few flaws in that logic, as the mavericks could simply surface for maintinece, but she could believe any sort of thing right about now. LX searched hard for it, all the while a pair of eyes watched her from a distance. Soon, she heard… Singing? It was beautiful and melancholic. It seemed nearly impossible that a pony would be down here without some sort of trouble, so it must have been a Maverick. Still, it was odd to imagine a robot having such a pleasing voice. That was when she heard B-0n sounding both confused and frightened in her ear, “Is that..? LX, turn on noise cancellation before she gets-”

Before LX could receive that final part of the message, an exceptionally large Maverick swam past her and jammed her coms with an opposing signal. They were fishlike, yes, but also surprisingly pony-like. And those pipes! Whew! This fish knew what she was doing with a mic.

For what it was worth, LX clapped at that performance, “Not bad! Pray tell, what was the song about?”

The Maverick sneered as they drew in closer, teeth bared as a microphone like lure hung between the two, “I sing an elegy for your death, pony.”

LX quipped, “I suppose the next song would be a Paean for your victory?”

Looking her up and down, the orange and purple robotic siren took note of the harp on LX’s breastplate and asks, “By chance, are you a musician?”

She smiled in response, bravely staring down the Maverick, “Indeed I am. I play the harp and lyre. I also sing on occasion. Care for a voice sample, or shall we skip straight to a duet?”

The other laughed, “Ha! It has been ages since I last met a pony to offer a musical challenge. Very well, I shall indulge you, for this is the last stage you will ever perform on!”

LX offered a hoof in challenge, “I have no plans on dying today. Still, this shall be a duet to die for…”

The siren gently shook the offered hoof and gestured for LX to follow her, “Do not disappoint me, Pony.”

“Please, call me Lyra. I want you to know the name of the pony that beat you.”

Once again, the Maverick laughed as they opened up a compartment leading into some structure built into the lakebed, “Very well Lyra. Adagio will not forget your bravado when you are gone.”

Within, LX saw a stage fit for the best performers in Las Pegasus. A perfect battleground between the two. Taking one last look at her HUD, she turned off all distractions so she could focus solely on this battle. Adopting a combative stance, the two could have their duel of bodies and voices. The spotlight was on the two as their song of words and buster fire rang out from deep under the lake.

It started off slow, a prelude of the fighting to come. It started with veiled insults and jeers. It started with them sizing each other up before they really got going. Despite them singing about two different topics, they couldn't be any more connected. LX sang of the hope she feels, the hope she has seen in this world thus far, and Adagio retorts by chastising her. Adagio sang of despair, of the loss of life. She sang of tragedy, of what was lost when the Mavericks rose to power.

At first, LX thought it would be solely about pony lives lost, how weak and futile her struggles would be, but that was not what she got. No, what she got was a tale of Adagio and her sisters fighting battles they barely understood. Reploid against Maverick, while ponies sat back on the sidelines and let sister fight sister. Adagio sang of a paradise lost, and LX replied that it can be that way again. She wasn't sure when it had happened, or what was going on with the Mavericks, but she felt true heartache from the machine. What was orginally a verbal beatdown quickly shifted gears to an uplifting song about pushing through tragedy and finding peace and friendship again, but...

Tragic is how it would remain, as LX had cut short the Siren’s next verse before it began. This song forever has no end…

When all was said and done, LX stood victorious, but shaken. Bouncing sound projectiles, tackle mines, Adagio’s deadly dance beside her, and that dang life sucking harpoon, it all took its toll upon her. But in the end LX stuck to her busters and won, but was that really necessary? Adagio didn't give off the killer robot vibe that C.A.D.A.N.C.E. had, she was more that of a lost soul fighting just because that was all they had left.

She shakily wandered over to Adagio’s fallen form, shoving a fallen rock off the siren’s face. The robot’s visor was broken, revealing the robot’s pink optical sensors. They were glowing faintly, but the spark they used to have seemed to be dying. They smiled, “Not bad Pony. No… Lyra.”

LX never expected to feel sorry for a Maverick, but in the end she did so. Seeing a fellow musician laid out like this after a performance was disheartening, especially knowing she was the one who did this to her. Taking the Siren’s hoof, she said, “Hey, save your breath. That was an amazing performance, Adagio."

Adagio let out a pained chuckle as she withdrew her hoof from LX’s grasp, “This is my final curtain call. No need to pity this washed up singer. Take my Mic… This stage is yours now. Give B-0n my regards. I know she heard us.”

The Siren yanked off her own microphone lure and gently handed it off to LX with a weak smile, “My sister’s would have liked you. You would have been a good fr-”

That was it… Adagio’s dying words as the lights in her eyes literally faded away. LX felt sick to her stomach. She pondered many questions greatly as she held the microphone tightly. What is a Maverick? Before, she assumed it was faulty programming leading to killer tendencies, but Adagio showed her that there are more factors to what makes a Maverick. Will she encounter more like her? Will all Mavericks end up like this at her hooves?

LX made her way up through this stage and into the dome above. It was a simple matter of turning the thing on to distribute clean water in the lake and Equestria in general. Water is restored! Next came the purifying crystal. Another simple matter…

She was kind of going through the motions as her thoughts kept returning to the lifeless heap that was Adagio, even as she went back to HQ. Lyra smiled and waved at Twilight strongly, but on the inside she was crying. Twilight mad a bit of an odd request to examine the microphone for a bit, something Lyra reluctantly allowed her to do. It felt hard to give away a gift from a dying mare. But they were a maverick, and enemy, weren't they? Those eyes... Those were not the eyes of a killer. She went outside the brood, to think, something B-0n noticed whie Twilight was obliviously examining the weapon. B-0n followed her outside and asked, “What is bothering you?”

Lyra pulled off her helmet gently and let her drenched mane down. Brushing it out of her face, she state, “Adagio… Who was she? She seemed... Different.”

B-0n seemed surprised by this query, “You actually got her to speak?”

She was silent for a few moments as the sun set, but in the twilight she spoke, “Adagio and her sisters were stage performers before the Maverick outbreaks started. Humble lake guardians singing part time for charity that became full blown entertainers. When the outbreaks started, they used their singing talents to keep up morale among the Maverick hunters.”

“What happened to her sisters?”

B-0n once again was silent before admitting, “I decommissioned them. They were among the first of us Hunters who went Maverick, turning inspiring sonnets into painful roasts. Adagio got away… I left her to suffer in silence beneath the lake.”

Frowning, Lyra would reach out and place a hoof on B-0n shoulder and say, “I am sure you did what you could. In the end, she said no hard feelings.”

“Feelings were always hard…”

With that said, B-0n got up and left, leaving Lyra to think about what life must have been for the last Maverick Hunter. What life means to her now...

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- Sonic Buster
Damage- 2 base, 3 damage resonance, 4 weakness
Ammo- 20 energy
Obtained- White tail refinery
Info- Using the core memeory of Adagio adapted from her microphone, a adjustable sound based buster was developped for the LX Buster's VWS. This weapon fires a sound projectile that attempts to rattle a maverick's internal circuitry. While each individual shot packs a punch on it's own, repeated shots against the same target allow for it to dial in the correct frequency needed to do maximum damage.

Location Discovered- White tail woods
Population- 248 Reploids, 248 Mavericks
Info- Whitetail Lake was once pristine, but now is only partially restored to its former beauty. Polluted and ruined by the wasted junk machinery and toxic runoff in past events, a plant was setup here to restore the lake and remove the pollution.

The plant consists of two distinct domed structures; one in the highly toxic area of the stage, and one in the restored waters. Between them, underwater pipes had once connected the two. As the toxic water went through various stages of treatment for purification, it was pumped between the domes to separate the waters. Now, they rot away due to lack of maintenance and damage done during the maverick uprising. Adagio swims among the clean output tanks that control the water’s exit flow into the recovered lake.

Or at least she used to... Maybe now that the plant is operational, at least some art of the ecosystem can return to normal.

Hunter's log
Adagio
Hunter Class- C
Special Skill- Singing
Status- Terminated
Background- Adagio may be rather weak compared to other hunters, having not been made for combat, but she shows great utility in supporting roles. But while her physical characteristics were lacking and some mobility issues being out of water, she excelled at draining energy from oppoents through song. Even mavericks had morale, she her and her sister's were good at manipulating it. But when her voice is not enough, she can directly alter the flow of battle with mines to keep an area locked down and harpoons to drag foes around.

When she turned Maverick, her and her sisters went on a bit of a rampage through Las pegasus. B-0n was first on the scene and was able to bring down her sisters, but Adagio managed to escape into the waters below the amusement parks and fled to where her career began. White tail woods...

Chapter 4: Black Crystal Bastion

It has been two days since LX had fought Adagio, and still she thought about it all. What made B-0n so different from the Mavericks she had fought thus far? What made Adagio so different? And why the sudden change of heart before she died? Things just weren’t adding up, and it puzzled the mare to no end. B-0n is strangely refusing to give her answers, and Twilight has none to begin with. If she wants to find the truth, she would have to find it on her own…

She was out on a mission now, so her time to think was limited. However, she still did find the time to experiment with the new Sonic Buster weapon she obtained from Adagio. A little tinkering with the microphone and LX got a new toy, able to throw out sound waves that rattle the internal circuitry of her targets. In addition to this loud projectile, LX’s Armor now sports a new color of purples and violets when the weapon was equipped. She had almost praised the armor for being able to camoflage with many of the crystal buildings here in the crystal empire, but for some odd reason the Mavericks still found her anyway. Perhaps this Chameleon Circuit broken.

Perhaps what was more surprising though was just how barren the city streets were. She had expected this city to be overrun with machines and metal, but instead it almost looked normal. Deserted, but normal. Almost as if technology didn't touch this place at all! If it weren’t for the robots, the freezing cold, or the lack of ponies, she might have confused this for the home.

As she passed by a storefront window, she imagined what it must have been like inside. Nice and warm, full of ponies eager to buy whatever was being sold that day. The same with a restaurant nearby. It could have been great, but now everything is frozen over and lifeless as the machines that infest this place.

As she takes out one Maverick that keeps trying to pelt her with heavy snowballs, she spots the cause of this horrible weather. Windegos? At this point, she could not tell really whether they were the real deal or if they were robot copies, but regardless they were a much more important threat than the crushers overhead and the ice sliders below.

Fighting through the slippery ice and rogues gallery of mavericks, she made her way to what seemed to be the city’s inner walls. No matter how big they were built, they would hardly protect against the weather controlling jerks circling above. Still, they were big enough to provide LX with plenty of height to take pot shots at them and get a good look at the town surrounding the castle, so that was something.

The Windegos were quick to engage her her as they tightened their circle formation, blowing large icicles and heavy winds her way to keep her at bay. Thanks to the leg upgrades she got the other day, she had little trouble getting up close and personal with them as they ran by before safely retreating back to the wall. With the Windegos banished by her 'heavy' artillery, LX breathed a sigh of relief and call in back to HQ, “Hey guys… You were right about the anomalous weather up here... Seems someone made weather controlling devices in this image of Windegos.”

Twilight on the other end was floored, “Windegos? Please tell me you took care of them?”

LX puffed out her chest, looking rather proud of herself as she slid gently down the wall she was latched onto, “Of course! A few good charge shots to the face can send anything packing. It’s even feeling a little warmer already, but… Only just. This ice doesn’t seem natural.”

Twilight could be heard humming in the other end before she speculated, “Perhaps the Windegos were not the cause of this horrible weather, but merely a contributing factor?”

LX Agreed, “I think so too… This of course would mean something even stronger than those machines is somewhere in the castle. I had better investigate.”

Twilight cautioned her, “Don’t forget what you came there for.”

The armored unicorn nodded, “The Dragon’s breath should be somewhere in the royal post office.”

“Stay safe!”

With that, LX resumed radio silence and began to scale the inner wall of the city once again, passing by a frozen over security outpost. Reaching the top, she took a moment to admire the buildings within. Like she expected from the place, there was yet another smaller town, likely where the aristocrats lived. And all above it all was that pointy castle towering high above it all. In truth, LX has not been to the Crystal Empire too much, but the longer she has been here, the more likely her joke about shattering crystal glasses with the Sonic Buster seemed more like an eventuality.

With a wide grin, she hopped down from her perch and slide down a roof top only to land on another one beside it. The ice here was even worse than before, making it even harder to keep her footing. Looking down, she saw a hazard she really hoped she wouldn’t have. Large… Pointy… Spikes…

Sure, they were made of ice, but that didn’t discourage the idea she should avoid them by sticking to the rooftops. Before she could recover from that sight however, she was attacked from behind by one of those smashers from before. Picking herself up off the ground, LX shot the flying maverick down with extreme prejudice, peppering it with holes, “Dang it…”

Before she could get ambushed by another, LX elected to move on, leaping over the spiked chasms below. As she drew nearer, LX saw what appears to be huge looking machines stockpiled around the castle’s main tower. Could this have been a last stand? Her movements slowed to a near crawl as she noticed strange bipedal lookig machines among the discarded weaponry, standing well above her head and looking pretty mighty. Mighty, and empty. Thank goodness it wasn't being piloted by a Maverick, as it very well could be a nightmare.

Climbing up to the cockpit, she radioed B-0n, “Hey Bonnie, what am I looking at here… It almost looks like a giant metal Minotaur without a head. Or neck…”

B-0n responded after a brief moment of radio silence, “In actuality, you are not too far off. That is what is known as a Mechataur. Originally developed for moving around heavy equipment and breaking stone, they were repurposed for combatting the Maverick threat. However, they were not successfully mass produced for that purpose until after the second outbreak. By then, it was already too late. The third outbreak took most of the machines across Equestria and they were not able to be rallied in time.”

LX’s expression soured, seeing the coming logic, “And it all went downhill from there as there would be more weapons than ponies to use them…”

“Indeed.”

As LX hopped up to the cockpit to examine it, she would ask, “There is one thing that has bothered me about all this… Where are all the bodies?”

B-0n went silent, and before long the connection between them was cut. Perhaps she did not even have the answer, again. Or maybe, she did not wish to say. Either way, LX still had work to do. Grimacing, she shimmied her way into the cockpit and the mechataur sprang to life, matching her movements as she flailed about inside. Graveful like a gazelle, she fell right onto her rump. Nice…

She stood up and brushed herself off. Looking over at the door leading inside the palace, LX shouts, “Knock knock!”

She drew back the machine’s large fist and pounded on the barricaded door, knocking it open after just two blows. Walking it inside, she felt that resonance striking her once again. Another capsule? She was almost ecstatic to find out what new research could possibly have been lying in wait here. But before she could look for it, she had to contend with a few Mavericks likewise piloting mechataurs of their own. Better in here than out there where the ice made it hard to manouver.

After a round of boxing or two, all that stood between her and the hunt for the capsule was few more barricades. This was by no means in the path she needed to go, as she already passed a corridor leading higher into the spire like castle. To her, it was unclear whether this was built up by Mavericks, or by the ponies who lived here. Either way, it was coming down as the resonance grew stronger. The far wall was sturdier than the front door from moments prior, but after what felt like minutes of punching, she managed to break through. Inside the hidden room, the whole back wall was covered with Ice and crystals! The beauty on display was staggering, and the sight of the capsule there told her just how valube this must be.

Climbing out of the mechataur, she used her magic to crack open the device and patched Twilight through, “Got another one for you Twilight, seeing anything?”

Just then, a Holo Twilight appeared within and said, “Thank you Lyra. I am downloading the research data now.”

Crossing her hooves, LX asked with a smirk on her face, “Got anything for me in there?”

“You presume much… Yes. I will let the Doctor explain this one. See you later.”

“Doctor?”

For a moment, the image of Holo Twilight became distorted. Immediately, they began speaking once more, but she understood the pony on the other end was just a recording. They were this world’s Twilight…

“I wish I didn’t have to do this, but recent pressures from the government have twisted my hooves. As of today, all our projects regarding reploid development are ceasing and we will begin production on weapons to combat the Maverick threat. They did not give me any details, but it would seem the outbreak is getting traction among the working class. If it spreads any further we could have riots on our hooves. For the sake of ERI- No, for the sake of Equestria, I plan to head to the Crystal Empire to study the ancient ways of magic to develop something that will make our equipment twice as efficient. Now as we look forward, we must be willing to look at the past. This Mysterious Kingdom has always had its secrets, but now they must be revealed.”

LX hummed softly as the recording ended. So this one was made during one of the outbreaks… Perhaps Twilight was able to find something here after all. Stepping into the capsule, she found out just what the Doctor had in mind of efficiency.

Once that was over and she stepped out of the thing, she did not immediately notice anything different. That is, until she opened up her HUD. It was there that she would notice the amount of magic charge set aside for the Sonic Buster had seemed to double! Perhaps now she could use it a little more liberally as she didn’t have to worry about using it all too soon.

With a smile, she looked at herself in a nearby reflection and notice she was now wearing a new helmet to match her leggings… Who would have thought white and gold would look so good with green... And other colors!

With a new and old smile on her face, she left the room behind and made her way to what twilight described as the floors of Tartarus. Noting all the ice clinging to everywhere, she think to herself that Tartarus had frozen over… still, nothing a little effort cannot overcome.

That is what she would have said had she not fallen down around five or so times. Thank Celestia the suit has imanct compensation, but she REALLY didn’t want to fall down again. Upon nearing the top however, she did so again... Though this time not due to any fault of her own. A voice called out and startled her, breaking her concentration, “Look at you… Another petty criminal trying to run away with stolen research. Was it not enough for you to assault so many to get here? Did you really have to steal C.A.D.A.N.C.E.’s research data too?”

Looking up, she saw a tall, dark, and Smokey figure standing where she was trying to go. This really was Tartarus…

“Sombra!?”

Of course this place would be watched over by him… Wait, did she say her research data? Eyes narrowing, she would once again begin to climb up to him with a renewed vigor, “Listen bub, I don’t care who you are, or what job you used to have, you are in my way. So back off, or I will have to show you what I think about C.A.D.A.N.C.E.”

“So you would resist arrest? Very well. I await your futile efforts.”

With that, Sombra retreated into a side room and lefther to her work at scaling the tower. Not even the exhausting climb dampened her anger towards the Maverick. Storming through the heavy doors, she shouted at the tyrant, “Would it kill you to add some more stairs?”

Sombra laughed, “You mistake me for a foolish organic that would care for such trivial things. My lot in life is the safety of the Empire, not some silly pleasantries.”

LX growled, “Just shut up and fight me!”

“Gladly!”

With that, Sombra lept into the air and took aim at her. She wasn’t sure what sort of weapon would need a laser sight, but she knew she needed to move. Running about, she looked for an opening as she avoided the laser. Giving up on whatever it was he was doing, he instead fired out shards of ice from his body, showering the field with pointy projectiles.

Seeing none of them behind Sombra, LX slid underneath the maverick and fired upon his rear, “Nice try!”

Sombra barked, “Look again!”

LX gasped in surprise as dark crystals shot out of the ground, scratching her armor and knocking her away, causing her second volley to miss. How did he know she would step there? Shaking her head, she danced her way over to a nearby wall and perched herself upon it, but even that was not safe from the crystals. They jutted out of the walls, catching her off guard yet again and making her fall to the ground below.

Once again, she saw that laser making its way to her, and this time it would hit its mark. Almost immediately, her hooves were encased in crystal, trapping her on the ground. Now she understood what exactly it was for, he was targeting where the crystalswould show up! She struggled against her restraints as Sombra laughed, “As expected. Another troublesome organic put in their place. You should have surrendered peacefully, I might have been merciful!”

LX continued to fight against her restraints, even as jagged crystal daggers flew her way. Avoiding her armor, they cut at the exposed mesh suit underneath. Her armor integrity tanked as her minty green coat became exposed to the cold air. She cried out in pain Sombra relished in her suffering. However, the shaking of her hooves did give her an idea. Equipping the Sonic Buster, she fired at close range, causing the crystals around her to shatter.

Sombra was shocked, “what?”

LX stood tall, wiping some of the blood off her face and smiled, “Huh… I joked about shattering some crystal cups or something when I came here, but it looks like I have to settle for your little tricks, huh?"

The Maverick took a step back and threw more crystal daggers at her, “Stay back!”

Pressing the advance, LX would deftly dodge the daggers and fire the Sonic Buster in Sombra’s face. He screeched as his senses went haywire, sending him up halfway up the wall, “My ears!”

The armored mare danced about as crystal spikes tried to stab at her from below again, but they would not hit her this time… She leapt up on the wall and grabbed onto the Maverick, shoving her buster right up against his face and fired full blast repeatedly. She felt her whole arm vibrate as the sound traveled from the Buster and right into Sombra’s head.

This Maverick’s explosion was surprisingly satisfying. Unlike Adagio, she didn't feel bad for this guy in the slightest! Pocketing his crystal core, she continued her search for the Dragon’s breath.

Back at the main Lab, Lyra smiled and hand off both objects to Twilight for examination, “Got a few presents for ya Twi.”

Holo Twilight gestured to a workbench and say, “Just set it down over there. B-0n and I will look at it later. You go relax.”

Lyra pulled off her helmet and headed off for the med bay to get her wounds looked at. There, she found B-0n looking over some supplies thoughtfully. Sitting on the examination table, she asks, “Going over supplies again? Didn’t you do that yesterday?”

B-0n smiled weakly and say, “Yes… I tend to do that when I get stressed.”

“Stressed?”

Curious, Lyra pressed her for information, “What are you stressed about?”

Turning to her, B-0n looked the mare over and start disinfecting her minor injuries before they could become major ones, “I am sorry you had to see Sombra like that. He always was incredibly zealous about his job as a guard.”

Lyra winced as the disinfectant was pressed into her side, “Ah! I kind of guessed he was a guard of sorts… Ended up a tyrant as a Maverick.”

“Sombra was one of many protectors of the Empire, chief among them was C.A.D.A.N.C.E. Unlike her, he was left behind to watch over things when she joined the Hunters. He took his job seriously, and it became him when he turned Maverick.”

Lyra tilted her head, resting it upon a hoof as B-0n worked on patching her up, “What were you two like before you joined?”

“C.A.D.A.N.C.E. was a kind soul, always caring for her people, jumping into the fray wherever trouble came along. It was only natural she would be a Hunter. As for myself, when the first Maverick outbreak happened I gave up everything I was before to be upgraded to a disaster relief robot. My goal in life was always to help ponies. It only seemed fitting. During the second, I became a battle ready robot, but my programming from before remains.”

Lyra hummed, “C.A.D.A.N.C.E. was a powerhouse… A protector of the Empire she was. Do you think I will ever stand a chance against her?”

B-0n paused from her work briefly before saying, “That’s the thing with you organic. You get stronger every day. If you keep this up, you will be stronger than I am. And when that day happens, you will be the best Hunter ever…”

Best Hunter ever? That sounded appealing to her. Taking a deep breath, she resigned herself to being medically examined by her friend B-0n.

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- Ice Shard
Damage- 2 base, 4 weakness
Ammo- 24 energy
Obtained- Black Crystal Bastion
Info- Using the core memeory of Sombra, a snap freezing buster was developped for the Armor's VWS. By drawing in heat using the Buster as a heat sink, the air around the Buster supercools. This gathered cool air can then be fired upon targets like a normal shot and upon hitting a target applies a thin layer of frost that can slow down targets. Repeated shots can freeze a maverick's circuits and servos solid. The excess heat that radiates from the Buster between individual shots is expelled rapidly from the suit in the form of steam as to not damage the internal circuitry and the wearer.

Location Discovered- Black Crystal Bastion
Population- 698 Reploids, 698 Mavericks
Info- For a long time, the Crystal Empire was a kingdom shrouded in mystery. It had been kept safe by ancient magical wards for over a thousand years, but no spell lasts forever. About a hundred years ago the rest of Equestria had rediscovered the lost land and offered a peaceful alliance between Equestria and the Empire. The Elders were slow to reintegrate with the rest of pony kind, but the hearts of thier ponies longed to be united.

Ancient magics and lost technologies were shared between the kindgoms, leading to a new age of discovery. Technology rapidly developped the world over and more steadily the old ways of the Empire became just that, old, forgotten. There were still some that clung to the old ways, sorcerers whose magical prowess rivaled that of legends of old, but with the majority of unicorns masteirng technomancy, secrets of the arcane became less available.

When the Maverick outbreaks occurred, the first to face them were the old sorcerers, however thier power was too weak to handle the mechanical threat. And with the strongest defenders lost, and the new ones built to replace them turning against the Empire, the secrets of the past became buried under blackened crystal. The Heart of the Empire is now as cold as the ice surrounding the Empire.

Maybe now that the crystals that held the icy wheather here have been broken, Equestria can now feel the hot and cold winds of change.

Hunter's log
Sombra
Hunter Class- N/A
Special Skill- Arrests
Status- Terminated
Background- Sombra made a name for himself in the first Maverick Outbreak by effectively encasing a fleeing Maverick in crystals. He was a rookie cop back then, but as things escalated and his ability to manipulate the crystals that naturally formed in the Crystal Empire increased, his rank in the guard improved. Unfotrunately, his increase in social standing did little to quench his desire to be number one in the Empire. He was always second to C.A.D.A.N.C.E., that is, until she had abandoned the empire to face off against Mavericks beyond their borders.

For the first time, Sombra had tasted what it was like to be in charge, to have everyone look to him for safety and guidance. However, this radical change lead to him eventually growing cocky and arrogant. He welcomed the Maverick threat, believing him and his 'superior' officers could take on all challenges. However, when he went Maverick himself, this left the ponies of the Empire completely defenseless, leaving Sombra to rule an empty kingdom.

There would be no question who is number one in the Empire. It was him and only him. Until he was dethroned that is...

Chapter 5: Green Canterlot Caves

Lyra hummed as she looked at some sort of hologram before her, rubbing her chin with an armored hoof. Eventually, she gave up thinking about it and asked her companions, “I give up, what is it?”

B-0n would gesture to one part of the hologram and state, “You are seeing the crystal tunnels beneath Canterlot. You would know this if you were paying attention.”

Lyra scoffed and pointed a hoof at Twilight in an accusatory manner, “Sorry, I would have been able to keep my eyes open if Twilight over there hadn’t gone on a tangent about freeform etherian resonance.”

Holo Twilight grinned sheepishly and said in a hurried tone, “Sorry. I was just so excited. The energy readings I am getting from there are positively electric!”

B-0n sighed and said, “I will just start from the beginning… So, as we all have established, Canterlot is protected against the outside world by a forcefield. There is currently no known way in, however! The caves beneath the city are not protected. If we are lucky, we will be able to sneak into the city from below.”

Lyra put a hoof on the table and stated bluntly, “Please tell me I don’t have to go down there…”

They both looked at her like she had just said something stupid, “Why not?”

The armored unicorn looked at Twilight, an exhausted expression on her face, “The wedding? I was put there to guard Cadance by Chrysalis?”

Twilight chuckled nervously and looked away, “Right… Sorry about the bouquet.”

“I take it you had trouble there?”

Lyra nodded angrily, throwing her hooves into the air, “Yes, very much so!”

B-0n was silent for a moment before saying flatly, “I regret to inform you that the Caves are guarded by a Chrysalis put there by C.A.D.A.N.C.E.”

Lyra groaned, facehoofing her nose into oblivion, “Oh come on!”

Twilight reached out to put a hoof on her friend's shoulder to comfort her, but pulled away. After all, she was just a hologram with no substance after all. Instead, she chose to use her words to do so, “It’s alright Lyra, we are here for you. Both of us. You are stronger now than you were then, stronger than her I am sure!”

Lyra looked away, “Thanks, but I am not sure I can do this.”

B-0n did what Twilight could not and placed an armored hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, “Lyra. You can do this! Look at all you have accomplished this far. You survived the frozen north and plunged into the great depths and came out alive. A little cave is not going to stop you now.”

Lyra shrugged off B-0n and sat there in her seat for a good five minutes before standing up again, “Alright, you convinced me… Where do I begin?”

B-0n gestured back to the hologram schematics of the cave, “We will teleport you to the cave entrance. From there you will need to head down the mine shaft, past the dig site, and up to the commissioner's chambers. Chrysalis should be there waiting for you, and beyond her a path into Canterlot.”

Lyra put on her helmet and adjusted the buster on her right arm and said, “Alright… I am ready!”

Her two friends waved her off as she vanished in a blinding light. Off she went into the familiar yet unknown territories of the Canterlot Caves.

As expected, there it was! A cave mouth on the side of the mountain, a little ways away from Canterlot. From here, LX was able to see the broken shell of a capital Canterlot had become under Maverick rule. What was expected to be a safe haven for pony kind had become as desolate a place as any other. Who knows if the answers she sought were even there anymore…

Clenching her teeth, the armored mare turned away from the decayed city on the side of the mountain and towards her goal. She can’t let herself get caught up in those thoughts just yet. S.M.I.L.E. trained her better than to get caught chasing the rabbit that hard. Even her apprehension of coming here was unbecoming of an agent. As she crossed the threshold of light into the darkness, LX resigned herself to the role of a Hunter.

Inside, she smiled slightly. A working elevator? Perfect! Perhaps this won't be as bad as she initially thought… Stepping inside, she pressed the down button and watched as the rusty door closed, locking her inside. Crossing her hooves, she waited for her to arrive at the bottom. That is, if the blasted thing didn't stop a little ways into the trek. Growing frustrated, she exclaim, “I knew I shouldn’t have come here…”

That was when things went from bad to worse. The whole elevator lurched briefly before something snapped! LX screamed the whole way down as the elevator plummeted down the shaft. Once again, she counted herself lucky that her suit had impact comepnsation, but she was still very much dazed by this whole ordeal.

Shaking the debris off herself and the stars from around her head, LX spotted something moving in the distance. Some flickering specter in the corner of her eye that vanished behind a cloud of darkness as she dared look their way. Rising to her hooves, buster at the ready, she entered the corridor leading deeper into the mine. It’s not like she could come out the same way she came in.

The last thing she would have expected was to see one of those familiar pony-like Mavericks from before. Sure, they did look slightly different, but it was hardly anything she dealt with before. She raised her buster and prepared to blast it to pieces, “You picked a bad place to stand…”

That was when she was pounced upon by the Maverick, causing her to miss her initial blast. It’s illusion faded away to reveal a more changeling-esk appearance. It dribbled some sort of fluid onto her right arm which ate away at the buster on her right arm. Acid? This thing spits acid on top of disguises?

LX let out a string of curses as she used her other buster to blow through the Maverick on top of her. Shoving her left arm through it, she yanked out its energy crystal heart and let her suit repair some of the damage dealt by the offending beast. However, it wouldn't be enough. For the time being, that Buster was fried.

Tossing the heap of parts aside, “Dang it… I was too careless.”

She tried to call back to HQ, but found no connection. Either this place was too deep to reach them, or the Mavericks were blocking her connection. Either way, she had to brave this on her own. Fantastic… At the very least, up until this point, she didn't need to use both busters and she already knew that the suit could repair itself with enough energy crystals fed into it. She just needed to shoot first and ask questions later.

The next changeling she saw, she didn't even let it have the chance to spring a trap on her. Unfortunately for her, the changeling was not alone. Just behind it was a turret of sorts it was most likely tinkering with. In a panic, LX hid behind a mine cart as the turret fired upon her position. Will her problems ever cease? She couldn’t even reach that energy crystal before its power would fizzle out on the ground.

Growling in frustration, LX jumped out of cover and pelted the turret with her lime colored shots. Tha turret wasn't the only thing that can fire quickly.

Huffing, she continued through the mine shaft until she reached a point where she would need to make another descent. Bravely, LX hung off the wall and slowly slid into the dark. The green lights of her armor and the dim, decaying lights left behind by the miners long gone were the only thing breaking through the darkness. Even then, they wouldn't protect her from that which lurked in the dark. This was changeling territory, and they made sure their presence was known.

Hitting the metal bottom of a new shaft, the smell of water and fish filled her nostrils. Something seemed odd about this place for sure. To be safe, Lyra turned on her rebreather and stepped forward. The sound of rushing water was prevalent as she looked out over a vast complex full of softly glowing purple crystals jutting out of the walls. It was be here that she was abe to see where the water was coming from. Large pipes were seen connected to the drilling equipment on the far side of the room, pipes that had long since burst and were spraying water all over the place.

When she turned on the refinery at White Tail Lake, did some of that water being sent out end up here? It made a bit of sense really. Underground, metal equipment tends to get very hot. Without any water, equipment was sure to fail and those pipes! They never stood a chance under the stress of machines trying to get water from something that didn’t have any.

Humming softly to herself, LX felt proud to come to this conclusion for herself rather than have to rely on anyone else to explain it to her. Judging from where she was, she needed to get to the other side of the room. To do that, she would need to jump across the crystals one by one and not fall in the water. Easy enough!

This assessment was a double edged sword as she found out, as she missed her jump and fell into the water below. Her hooves were assaulted by robot fish that traveled through here in the pipes as well as what she assumed were spikes, so she had to get out of there fast. However, as she swam back to a wall, she discovered that familiar resonance striking her. A capsule, here!?

Taking out the metal fish in front of her, she entered a forgotten tunnel that is only slightly flooded now. Hopping up onto the path, she found her trek a little more hazardous than normal, as she descended into the water to find the capsule she sought. Whatever this was, it better be worth it!

Opening up the capsule, she connected this capsule to her usual com link and said, “Hey Twilight, you there?”

A hologram of Twilight appeared within the capsule shortly after as the connection grew in strentgh. Her usual greeting was quickly intrrupted by shock upon seeing the state of Lyra, “What the-! What happened to you Lyra, and why are we under water?”

LX crossed her hooves and said, “A changeling drooled on me and fried one of my busters. As for the water, I blame the refinery. This place wasn't meant to be flooded, I am sure.”

“I’ll take your word for it… Want me to skip the pleasantries and just play the holo file?”

LX nodded, “Yeah. I just wanna get this over with and leave as soon as I can.”

Twilight nodded and play the holo file, letting her own hologram be replaced by that of a blue earth pony. Strangely enough, they bore a striking resemblance to one of her friends back home. It was bizarre at first, but she had to remember this was not the home she knew.

“Hey Twilight, it’s me Vivid. I hope you get this soon. I need to talk to you about Project Cygnus. I understand work has had you pretty stressed out, but don’t give up just yet. I was talking with (redacted) and B-0n and together we figured out a way to improve upon that Buster Design you were working on. I know the military wanted you to mass produce them to help with the crisis, but I figured you would want them to do a little more than what was asked. Some tweaking with the design here and there and we created what is dubbed as the Overcharge system. With it, your buster should be able to turn normal fire into more versatile forms. It’s a far cry from the peaceful approach we have built up this far, but if it means more ponies get to live, I will keep doing my best to ensure Project Cygnus is ready for the public.”

LX hummed in approval, a buster upgrade and replacement sounds just what she needed right now. Perhaps she can try out that overcharge feature on Chrysalis. After all, she did have a few new toys to play with. That's when the recording took a surprising turn.

“And Lyra, if you hear this, you are doing an amazing job. B-0n just goes on and on about you when she visits the lab here in Canterlot. She must have really taken a shine to you Lyra.”

She giggled, “Or should I say Maverick Hunter Mega Mare VII. Stay safe out there! We love you!”

Those words there hit her like a ton of bricks with a collapsing tunnel for good measure. Lyra? As in… This world’s Lyra? This was wrong on so many levels. Just thinking about it made her blood pressure rise. Not only was there another Lyra somewhere out there, but B-0n knew about it! Why didn’t we say anything?

Many thoughts were spinning through her head as she accepted the Buster upgrade, but she had to cast them aside for now… B-0n, they will have a talk later. With these hooves she will ensure it. With her new white and gold busters, she left the flooded pocket chamber behind and return to the large crystal room.

The path forward was a dangerous one, but all this water did give her an idea. She may not remember everything from school, but she did remember that things that are really hot can become incredibly brittle if they are cooled fast. And with that new ice power she got from Sombra, she was more than equipped to give these hot changelings a run for their money.

She had a new goal… Even if this excursion into the mines ended up as a bust, she was going to destroy Chrysalis! Anything to vent the rising frustration building in her chest.

It was touch and go a little bit as she crossed the room, as flying changelings sought to knock her off the crystal platforms and into the water below, but she was undeterred. Finding safe footing on the other end, she would shout back at them, “Quit bugging me, I am walking here.”

A little further into the cave and she found the bubble-like shield impeding her progress. A bust it was, but at the very least she still had a goal remaining… Calling her friends back at HQ, she would leave a message, “Guys, it seems the barrier extends all the way into the ground itself. We can’t get in through here.”

After terminating the call herself before they could recall her, she dove headlong into another mineshaft weaving through changelings and their bioluminescent spit as she made her way deeper into the Hive. They weren't going to stop her. None of them will.

Down she went, blasting everything in her way with reckless abandon. Even as her armor integrity petered out, she kept fighting until eventually she found the queen’s chamber. All the twists and turns lead up to this…

LX thought to herself as she took just a moment to catch her breath as she entered the doors leading through to Chrysalis, ‘Now please for the love of Celestia do not make Chrysalis say anything redeemable.’

Upon entering the room, she saw Chrysalis resting inside a green, slimy cocoon. Redeemable? Not looking likely... Upon seeing LX, Chrysalis broke free of her ‘bed’ and hisses loudly before coughing up some of that oh so lovely acid. No banter, no pleasantries, thank Celestia! The battle began.

Shifting to the Sonic Buster, LX overcharges it and fires out a veritable wall of sound to smash her foe up against the wall. It worked, but it did not seem all that effective. No, instead Chrysalis shruged it off and flew into the air, prompting LX to hug the wall and prepare for her attack.

Chrysalis, for lack of a better term, hacked up a slime ball and threw it at LX. It bounced around the room, leaving trails of acid behind as it went until it exploded in a shower of acid rain. That looked deadly in so many ways. The same went with a spray of acid Chrysalis used when LX was distracted by that ball to pepper her with specks of pain causing goo.

With that, LX could stand it no longer. Her armor had given out and the last of her energy was put into that initial attack and all the dodging she had done. She burned brightly getting here, but burnt out quickly. As she drifted off into unconsciousness, she heard, “Over already, Pathetic! And here my subjects were worried about me...”

That phrase. That one phrase from Chrysalis. Despite it being the only one she has said thus far, it was enough to prompt LX to catch herself from falling completely. LX’s eyes narrowed as she asked, “What did you just say?”

The queen of the hive indulged her, repeating herself and elaborating upon it further, “I called you pathetic, you weakling… Couldn’t even handle one attack. Look at you, groveling on the ground like a mewling grub. I should have engaged in witty banter with you, it would have been more enjoyable than this fight!”

LX’s horn sparked wildly as she got to her hooves. Despite her armor being practically useless right now, she still fought with everything she had left in that beaten body of hers! Rushing forward, she dashed through the puddle of acid to plant a sucker punch on the Queen, punctuated by a fully charged buster shot to the face. She went flying into the wall, and this time she stayed there.

Not done yet, Lyra fired off two more shots, one from each buster. They would combine mid air to create one more powerful blast to shatter the wall where the Queen resides and her along with it. However, fate would not allow this battle to end so quickly.

Queen Chrysalis escapeed from the wall and hid with a flash of light. As her vision returned, LX found herself surrounded by crystals each reflecting the bug like maverick and a mob of Changelings as well coming to support their queen. They all wanted a piece of her... Chrysalis taunted her, “What a nice fireworks display, but alas, you won’t hit me again. Now my subjects, tear her apart!”

Now was the time to put her theory to the test… Equipping the Ice shield, LX would overcharge it next, flash freezing the area around her and summoning a protective wall of snowballs around her. Couple that with her apparent magic surge, the balls were more massive and easily overtaking the attacking changelings. Letting go of the attack, the balls exploded, throwing ice and cold air everywhere.

With all the changelings frozen, that left only Chrysalis remaining, stuck to one of the crystals she was desperately clinging too. With a huff, Lyra walked over to the frozen Queen and said, “You know, I should have engaged in witty banter with you. It would have been more enjoyable than this fight! But, oh well. Looks like we needed to chill out anyway.”

“Sayonara!”

LX shattered Chrysalis with a blast from her buster and took the machine that created the now frozen acid within her. She figured she might as well get something nice out of this for all the wasted time spent looking for a way into Canterlot.

Warping back to HQ, she was be greeted by a panicked looking Twilight, “Oh thank goodness! I was so worried when my scanners said your armor had been destroyed… Are you okay?”

Lyra triumphantly placed the strange device on the workbench and said in a singsong tone, “Peechy actually. Kicking Chrysalis’ tail was just what I needed to calm down and… Well, relax.”

Twilight look at the acid creating device and said, “Good… Because B-0n and I were confused when you called in to tell us about the shield and didn't return. It’s good to see you overcome your fears and come out better for it.”

The armored unicorn looked around the lab briefly before asking, “Yeah… About that. Where is B-0n anyway? I have stuff I need to talk to her about.”

Twilight pointed in some seemingly random direction and state bluntly, “It’s about the recording, isn’t it? I understand. Try not to be too hard on her, she seemed very torn up about it too. Oh! And don't forget to ask about repairing the armor, you look terrible."

She did, did she? Well then… That’s another thing to talk about. Leaving the lab, she found B-0n at the usual spot watching the sun go down. Lyra had a seat beside her and waited for B-0n to make the first move. She wanted to see just how torn up B-0n was…

As dusk gave way to the night, B-0n would finally ask, “Are you okay?”

Lyra would raise an eyebrow at her, looking rather confused by that question, “You sit here in silence for an hour and ask me if I am okay?”

“I expected you to speak first.”

Oh great, one of these conversations… Lyra cut this short and cut right to the chase, “Very well, I am okay. I am just wondering when you were going to tell me about Lyra.”

B-0n seemed to shift about uncomfortably in her spot before saying, “I did not know how to tell you. It might impact the mission if you knew your predecessors have fallen, especially you.”

Lyra snorted, “Did you consider it would impact the mission if I did not know how they failed? Gotta avoid it somehow.”

That logic seemed to break B-0n, who resumed silence for about five minutes before she could speak again, “I did not… I did not consider the possibility of you remaining so calm either.”

The armored unicorn playfully punched B-0n’s metal arm and said, “I was mad at first, but then I got the chance to vent my frustrations of Chrysalis. That and the time spent in silence gave me a chance to remember that someone else close to me held a pretty hefty secret, and we turned out better than okay. I figured that you had a reason for not telling me yet, and that you would eventually.”

B-0n looked rather unsure of herself before responding with a punch of her own. This one actually hurt, but Lyra shrugged it off with only a slight whimper, “I am sorry… I shall tell you now, if you wish.”

Lyra rubbed her arm and said, “Yeah, I would like that… What was she like, the other me?”

B-0n smiled softly and said, “Lyra, also known as Mega Mare II, VI, VII, and IX, was one of the best test subjects that the Doctor had ever known. While most unicorns have strayed from arcane Magics long ago in favor of technomancy and geomancy, arcane Magics were still very much present in her. As such, she was a rather gifted individual, but instead of flaunting her talents like others of her class, she instead used her gifts to help uplift others with music via street performances.

When Project Cygnus began, Lyra was selected by the Doctor personally to supply the arcane power needed for testing her more exotic devices. As such, she spent much time in the lab with me discussing magic theories and the like. Though, if I were to be honest, it was more like me talking to a rubber duck explaining how things should go, and her serenading the Doctor and I with music. We hung out a lot, and I very much considered her to be my best friend. I had many acquaintances, but none really broke me out of my shell like she did.

When testing of the suit began, she volunteered to be the first test subject. Not wanting to put her through the rigors of an untested machine, The Doctor used it herself, becoming number I. Lyra had her chance at being II, as it didn't bond well with the Doctor. The suit did not react to her well either, so it was passed on in favor of a few others. More testing began and Lyra stood by me through it all, until one day she had the chance to wear the suit again. By this point, it was starting to look a lot like what you wear now, but bigger. We were overjoyed when the suit actually worked properly.

To celebrate, we had ice cream together. That was when the second outbreak occurred. She jumped into the frey and saved three ponies from a collapsing building. That was when she was officially dubbed by the public as Mega Mare. Taking the initiative, she joined the Maverick Hunters and had the suit upgraded for combat capability, becoming Mega Mare VII. With me at her side, we rose through the ranks together. Unfortunately, a crippling injury on the job rendered her unable to walk, and the Doctor took the armor back. In an attempt to save face, the government put another mare in the armor.

When the third outbreak came, that mare perished, and Lyra put the armor on again for the last time, unwilling to allow another to die in her place. She fought valiantly, but perished when C.A.D.A.N.C.E. went Maverick and shot her from behind. I took the armor back to the lab and buried my friend… The Doctor spent all the remaining time she had on the run, scattering her research and the armor itself before vanishing. I do not know where she went. You are reclaiming her research and putting the armor back together. Most of it…”

She loosely gestured to the spotty patchwork of the armor as it tried to fix itself from the acid shower among other damages, “I worried about you too. Worried that I may lose you. I promise you that I won't stand by next time and let you die.”

Lyra's gaze softened as she reached out to hug B-0n, “Wow… Well… I appreciate it, but I don’t need you to babysit me. I need you to trust me. Believe in me… That is where my magic comes from. Can you do that?”

B-0n was silent before leaning into the hug, “I promise I won't jump in to save you...”

“Ah, Don’t make a mare a promise if you know you can't keep it.”

The robot would laugh, “You are right, I can’t promise that. But I do promise to always believe in you.”

Lyra would suddenly point up at the sky and said, “L-Look! A shooting star, make a wish!”

The armored mare would close her eyes and silently make a wish. B-0n was reluctant to do the same, but… She did so too. Just this once, she will believe.

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- Caustic spray
Damage- 2 base, 4 weakness, 2 Dps for four seconds (Overcharge)
Ammo- 20 Energy
Obtained- Green Canterlot Caves
Info- Using the core memeory of Chrysalis, an acid shooting buster was developped for the Armor's VWS. In it's base form the spray douses and area with the acid, eating away at a reploid's metal armor and weakening its defenses. While it does little on repeated sprays, other attacks will be able to break through the weakened armor and deal slightly more damage.

Due to the buster upgrade, Lyra can form balls of acid safely held together with magic. These balls can be fired out at targets from further away and bounce once upon the ground before they cover the area in even more volitile acid. This acid lingers on the area much longer than the normal spray

UPDATE

Weapon- Ice Shard
Damage- 2 base, 4 weakness
info- Due to the buster upgrade, the ice shard can now super cool the air at an even quicker rate, allowing multiple snow balls to be formed at once. These new projectiles can be fired out all at once in an area of effect burst freezing all nearby targets, or linger near to block incomming attacks.

Weapon- Sonic Buster
Damage- 2 base, 3 damage resonance, 4 weakness, 4 damage (overcharge)
info-Due to the Buster upgrade, the Sonic buster can now create sound waves with similar impact to explosions, creating a wall of sound blasted out in front of the buster.

Location Discovered- Green Canterlot Caves
Population- 178 Reploids, 178 Mavericks
Info- For a long time, the crystal caves underneath Canterlot have supplied magic gems and other rare ores for generations, but as more were mined out, the less and less effective modern tools were becomming at mining. That issue was solved when ERI developped mining reploids that were able to use what is known as a Chameleon circuit to become whatever was needed for the job. In addition to this, the acid that some of them produce eats away at the earth around the gems, leaving them unscathed and far more valube than before.

During the Mavriek Outbreaks, the mines were shut down due to fear of such hazardous reploids escaping, leaving them alone to mine without a purpose. That is until the alpha unit returned from the surface, plotting to free the rest of her kind.

Hunter's log
Chrysalis
Hunter Class- B
Special Skill- Mining
Status- Terminated
Background- Chrysalis was among the first reploids developped for the task of mining gems from underneath canterlot, and as such was given the task of managing the workers. At first she seemed very much fit to handle the job, but over time she began to desire more territoy in which to mine, to further expand her charge. Just before her request for more workers and land to work on was approved however, the Maverick outbreaks started.

Enraged that they took the opportunity from her, she left her workers behind to fight the Maverick threat. However, she eventually discovered what had happened to her former home. It was shut down, with many reploids being decommissioned. This was not caused by Mavericks, but the ponies she promised to protect. Enraged, she turned her back on the ponies that created her and reopened the mines by force, leaving the hunters little other option but to trap her down there.

For a long time, she plotted her revenge, but now she is nothing but scrap in a pool of her own acid. She may have had the best interests of her workers at heart for a time, but in the end she was just anotehr tyrant in need for being shut down.

Chapter 6: Blue Everfree Glades

Lyra yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes, wondering why the heck she was disturbed from her sleep and called into the briefing room so late at night. Groggily, she stepped into the room and said in a rather confuzzled tone, “Hey… What’s up Doc?”

The hologram of Twilight materialized in the middle of the room and began apologizing profusely, “I am so sorry to wake you, but an anomaly has appeared in my scans of Equestria for the missing parts we need again.”

As Lyra lazily crossed her arms, sheasked, “What’s so important about this anomaly?”

Twilight pulled up a holo-map of Equestria that swiftly zoomed in on the Everfree Forest, “B-0n told me there was a power station nestled in the forest. She cited multiple incidents cropping up there over the past few months, and now that I have seen it for myself, I wonder if that has something to do with the power problem.”

“There is a problem with the power?”

The hologram nodded, “Yes. For the longest time, the station has been offline, and as a consequence many key locations around equestria are either out of power or are running on emergency power. We too are running on borrowed time. You rebooting the system with your magic may have kickstarted the backup generator, but if left alone, we will be in the dark before long.”

Seeming to understand, Lyra struck a pose and stated, “So you need me to check out the anomaly and restore power? Easy!”

Her pose faltered as she asked, “Where... Where is B-0n in all this?”

“B-0n is retrieving a few power couplings and other parts we will need. You just focus on investigating that anomaly.”

Sharpening her posture, Lyra sighed, “Alright! I’m ready… After five more minutes of beauty sleep!”

The armored mare laughed as Twilight snapped, “Get serious!”

Lyra waved her off and say, “I’m done. Sorry.”

“Right…”

Before Lyra could retort with another quip, she was warped off to parts unknown.

When LX touched ground, she found a very comforting sight underhoof. Sure, it was white as snow, but she could still make out the familiar shapes of grass. And the foliage of the trees above warmed her heart. It was good to see that there were still some forms of life somewhere…

But why was it so cold? Actually, now that she thought about it, it has been getting a little colder ever since she took out Sombra. Could the Frozen North’s weather be reaching down here? Or perhaps, is the weather returning to normal since the Windegos and Sombra were defeated?

Speculation aside, she could live with this. As long as she kept her face shielded and stayed dry, she should be fine in her insulated suit. With a quick look at her HUD, she found her bearings and started heading off in the direction of the power station. After all, she did have a mission to complete.

A peaceful walk through the forest without any killer robots trying to kill her did some good, but as the distant electrical towers grew closer she knew the pleasant sounds of snowy grass crinkling underhoof couldn’t last. Much like the grassy hills around Ponyville, nature gave way to cold steel and the distant sound of Mavericks grew closer.

Even the trees became metal, as they cleverly hid power lines amongst their metal foliage. Perhaps not clever enough, as she noted what appeared to be metal bats chewing through inactive lines and live ones alike. Knowing those had to connect somewhere, LX took aim and shot them down.

This however did lead to her getting chased around by a small swarm of bats. Just what she needed. That was when she ran into some more of those generic pony looking Mavericks. They were everywhere weren’t they? Sighing, she shot them all until they were but heaps of scrap. Fianally amoment to breath... Or not! Before she could get a moment to breathe, what seemed like a large spiked wheel ran her over.

Oh great! Now the very idea of the wheel is a Maverick? Will the wonders of this world ever cease? Still, it fell to pieces all the same. A few well placed buster shots and it was over. Dusting herself off, LX headed further into the metal forest.

Within, she found the pony bots have a new trick in store. These ones pulled out shields in an attempt to halt her progress while more of those wheels plowed through disrupting her shots. She couldn’t really tell what was more impressive, the shields that actually held back her shots, or the fact that the Mavericks seemed to be working together to slow her down?

Still, they were all just mooks in the end compared to the bosses that lay deep within everywhere she went… They all fell to her Buster just the same once she had an opening. It almost made her wonder if she were getting stronger, or if she was just getting used to fighting these guys? Perhaps both. B-0n did say she was shaping up nicely as a Hunter. This could just be a part of it.

If only she could say the same about platforming! Despite the Mavericks going down quickly, they sure did some decent traps. They used the broken wires effectively to guide her into even more battles. They even put up walls and broke the ladders leading up into the metal canopy and catwalks she could see above.

It took some time, and a few mechanical obstacles in her path, but she eventually did find a ladder that they seemed to have missed. Perhaps it’ll be easier to avoid the traps and Mavericks on the ground if she used the same catwalks they were using to get the drop on her. The metal trees seemed to only grow higher as she reached the first level.

Perhaps this was not going to be as simple as she expected. Despite being able to see the large control tower where the main power station was, it seems there was still plenty of ground left to cover. Adding to this, she nearly slipped off the ladder getting up here. Perhaps she shouldn't be on a precariously high catwalk that is covered in ice?

Looking back down where she came from, she saw a bunch of Mavericks crowding around the base of the ladder and destroying that one too. Of all the lousy… They were trapping her up here! Something about this didn't sit well with her. They were getting smarter!

If she didn't move, things were going to get even harder to walk around here. Even now, she would see more Wheels rolling along the catwalk. Taking a chance, LX hopped from this catwalk to another, held up by a nearby metal tree. Tree hopping with everything frozen was a bad idea, but sticking around would be an even worse one.

Up here in the canopy, a new threat made its presence known. Metal bugs… First trees, then bats, now bugs. Is there anything they didn’t try to replace here in this crazy world?

LX scoffed, dismissing the idea of there being something normal around here, “The ponies here flew too close to the sun…”

Speaking of the sun, she kind of wished it was here right about now. The full moon shone brilliantly as much as it did ominously over the Everfree. It was nice having some decent lighting, but she was hoping more for the warmth than anything else. Sure, the Empire was colder, but here it was unexpected.

Dang snow… Why did she have to go to the Empire before this?

Before she cursed the cold any further, she was attacked by another wheel. Getting fed up, she slowed it down with the ice shard weapon she had used against Chrysalis, giving her plenty of time to avoid it. Perhaps now was a good time to fight ice with even colder ice!

That was the idea until she slipped and fell right onto her rear, “Dang it…”

Getting back to her hooves, she carefully make her way closer towards the power station, never losing sight of her main goal as she climbed up to a higher spot. As she did so, she felt that familiar resonance hit her. Brow furrowing, she naturally questioned the absurdity of its location, “Here? Among the trees?”

In an alcove among a crystal cave used to power up the Buster? Made sense. Hidden behind a wall after being taken by Mavericks? Made sense! All the way up here among the metal trees? That didn’t make sense at all. It must be a trick, right?

Thoroughly puzzled, she continued along the path until she found the capsule hidden within a tree. Okay, less confusing… It's hidden just out of reach from common Mavericks. But who in their right mind would hide something like this inside a tree of all things?

Sighing, LX cracked it open and patched Twilight through. As she did so, she sat down beside the hefty metal trunk and said, “They better have a good reason for having this be here…”

Twilight smiled and say, “Hey Lyra! You are looking… Cool.”

The armored mare snorted, “I did not choose to be an ice queen. This ice life chose me.”

They shared a laugh briefly before Twilight gasped, “Whoa… The power drain from this capsule is enormous. How can one project take this much power?”

LX cocked her head to the side and asked, “One Project, is there only one thing in there?”

“Pretty much… That and this recording labeled 'Play me'. Perhaps it will explain?”

They both thought it would. In the capsule, a red earth pony in a hard hat would appear. It seems they were reading things off from a clipboard, “Alright, this is Jay Skuttles, commencing crystal weave test number 137.”

There was a pause for a moment before he droped his clipboard in surprise, “It worked? It worked! Twilight, it worked!”

Seeing an older pony prance like he did was rather entertaining, but she withheld her comments until after the recording was over.

“It’s about time we were able to get the crystal structure to meld with that new gold titanium alloy you were developing. Now, it should be twice as durable as normal, and offer much better protection against energy based weaponry… Yeah, I know the military won’t be happy about the power needed just to make one slab of it, but after the bonding process is done it’ll cost no extra power at all to keep around... Twilight, thanks for giving me this chance. You were right when you said we were going to do amazing things together all those years ago. Let’s go to present this to the others.”

And with that, the recording ended and Twilight returned, “A new alloy? Sounds like that will come in handy.”

LX nodded, “Could always use more protection… Better get in there before the capsule gives out.”

With that, Twilight vanished and let LX get inside. As the capsule closed, she found that this one was a lot louder than the others. Add in a strange tingling sensation all around her body, the whole experience was… Uncomfortable. Still, this was for the greater good, right?

Stumbling out of the capsule. LX notes the new look of her completed armor. White, gold, and green as far as the eye can see. She looked badass and felt just the same! Grinning widely, she stated resolutely, “Look out Mavericks, here comes the Ultimate Hunter!”

And with that declaration, LX-U was born. She was still going to be called LX, but it was a mental distinction that she wanted to make clear, both to herelf now and to Twilight later. This new armor set was so drastically different from the base armor that it did deserve its own codename.

Empowered, LX tore off once again through the trees, only occasionally stopping to shoot at a couple of stray Mavericks that dared try to stop the Hunter. Growing closer to the main tower where the power lines were coming from, the catwalks where she once found safety before leaping into the trees once again became prevalent.

They became wider and had some form of guard rails, so it made the choice between running along the trees and a stable platform that doesn’t have a chance was easy. All that stood between her and the source of the anomaly was a few more pony-like Mavericks and what appeared to be robots that traveled along the power lines above showering sparks down from above. LX had to take those out quickly before the whole catwalk became one big electrical hazard!

As she did so, she would find the sound of thunder out of the blue to become surprisingly frequent. This did not bode well by any means. At the base of the main tower and the power station beneath, she was about to hop down to the roof below when a lightning strike shattered the catwalk she was standing on.

She fell down hard, plowing through the roof below and into a dimly lit room. Standing up, she looked up to see a figure flying in, blocking the moonlight filtering into the room through the large hole she had made. Was that…?

A striking laugh could be heard as an Alicorn-like Maverick flew into the room, “We are sorry subject, but we do not take too kindly to those who trespass in our kingdom.”

LX did a spit take, “Nightmare Moon?”

Yes indeed, she saw a metal facsimile of the dark villain standing before her. Adagio aside, now it would seem that the rogues gallery of villains was complete. Chrysalis, Sombra, and now Nightmare Moon.

However, this one seemed surprisingly different. Like B-0n, they seemed a bit more ponylike, with only the occasional rusted metal bits sticking out. She looked ancient, regal, and yet somehow more advanced than the other robots around. Curious, LX asked, “Who are you, really?”

“Thou hast said it.”

She looked incredibly smug as she extended a very dangerous looking scythe out of her hoof, “We are Nightmare Moon. Protector of the night. Bringer of power. Terror to those who seek to steal it like thee.”

Oh great, another protector believing her to be a villain… Sighing, LX threw up a hoof and said, “Before we begin, can I just say one thing?”

Nightmare moon paused, staying her scythe, “As you wish… Speak thine last rites.”

LX pause briefly, letting some silence fill the air before asking, “What measure is a villain? Is it the guardian unwilling to lend their power to those that need it, or the pony willing to stand up against the odds and provide hope and light to the people? Who is the real thief?”

The Maverick seemed to ponder her words deeply before stating, “We cannot say. You are a Hunter, yes? And by defying you, I am considered a Maverick. There is no choice for either of us.”

LX sighed and raised her Buster hesitantly, “Are you sure?”

Roaring, Nightmare Moon flew forward and swung their scythe in a wide arc, leaving a trail of sparks behind as the armored mare narrowly avoided it. Firing back, LX shouts, “Maverick or not, this doesn't seem like you.”

Firing again, LX screamed as if it wouldn't fall upon deaf ears, “Drop the facade, it’s your choice to fight.”

Nightmare Moon withdrew and shielded herself with electricity as the charge shot connected with her. The shield burst, slamming against LX and nailed her against the wall as lightning crackled around the maverick, “I don't want to fight, but I’ll kill you if I have to.”

Shrugging the counter attack off, LX asks, "What are you fighting for?"

As Nightmare Moon attacked with her scythe again, LX lept up the wall and shouted, "Power? Fame? The ponies that are long since gone because of your selfishness?"

Leaping down from the wall, LX fired upon Nightmare Moon from behind, “If you don't want to fight me, then put down your arms. I will too if you do.”

The Maverick growled, “Why? Why do you care? We are enemies, aren't we?"

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon lurched forward and let out an explosion of electricity. Clearly she wasn't backing down, but something wasn't right. She went silent now, eriely so as she repeated her attack haphazardly. It was almost as if she wanted to be destroyed, overloading her circuits repeatedly.

Gritting her teeth, LX readied her Buster and equipped the caustic spray she got from Chrysalis. She was going to disable to bot by any means necessary…

LX echoed, “I don't want to fight, but I’ll kill you if I have to…”

As Nightmare Moon surged again, the armored mare countered by jumping back and throwing an overcharged glob of goo on the Maverick. Despite the acid rain, the Guardian continued to attack. Even as her rusty joins started to fall apart, they continued to fight. What drove her to this? Just a moment ago they had said they did not wish to fight, and now… She was fighting as if she…

Didn’t have a choice.

Brow furrowing, LX used a simple spray on the mare one final time, effectively dismantling her. Nightmare Moon could stand no longer. Could fight no longer… The flickering sparks of life in her eyes were fading. LX knelt beside her and asked, “Hey, Moon. Tell me, did you really believe I wouldn't stop fighting if you did?”

The Maverick shook her head, “All I wanted was for ponies to be able to enjoy the night free of darkness. But I stole it. I fought to protect it, even from those that needed it most. I am a failure."

“Pony, please, take me outside. I do not deserve it, but I wish to see the moon one last time.”

LX was torn by these events, but in the end would honor the request of the fading Maverick. Even if she had to drag her, she was going to get outside. With all her strength, LX carryed Nightmare Moon outside and propped her up against the cold metal wall, “There…”

“Thank you… Sit With me, please?”

LX once again obliged, “Of course.”

She sat down beside Nightmare Moon and watched as the moon moved overhead. Eventually, the dying Maverick asked, “What is your designation, brave pony?”

Thinking about it briefly, she answered calmy, “Lyra… But here I am known as Mega Mare LX.”

The other laughed, “You are Sixty? Has it really been that long since this started?”

Now LX laughed, waving a hoof dismissivly, “I am actually just X. The L is there for aesthetics.”

“Aesthetic… I can see it.”

Nightmare Moon laughed briefly before looking up at the moon and asking, “It’s a beautiful night, is it not? Despite all the fighting, all the destruction, the moon still shines down upon this undeserving land."

LX noded, “Yeah… It is beautiful.”

The Maverick grew silent shortly thereafter, uttering a short phrase as their head went low, “Lyra… I feel… Cold…”

Nightmare Moon was gone. Yet another Maverick was gone and she cared. Something was incredibly wrong with the Mavericks she had met. Beyond the killer ones, there was something really really wrong with them, and she cared! A crystal cop believing Mavericks and ponies to be swapped. A distraught star singing without a audience. An ancient protector fighting for reasons they cannot comprehend. The pieces were coming together, but the whole picture still eluded her.

LX, being a kinder mare than she really needed to be, closed the eyes of the Maverick before heading inside to reroute the power so that Equestria would one again have lights in the dark. Before she finally left however, she took Nightmare Moon’s broken scythe with her. Maybe she could get some use out of it?

Returning back to HQ, Lyra asked Twilight something before she could even greet her properly, “Twilight, are we sure we are doing the right thing by killing the Mavericks?”

Twilight paused in thought, hoof held up in the air looking mightily confused, “Uhhh… Huh?”

Lyra paced back and forth and said, “Sorry for springing that question on you so suddenlt, I just… Have a lot to think about. Here, this belonged to Nightmare Moon’s. "

Stopping her pacing, she handed off the broken scythe, still sparking with electricity, and wandered off to watch the moon as it glided accross the sky.

Author's Note

Codex

Weapon- Lightning bit
Damage- 2 base, 4 weakness
Ammo- 22 Energy
Obtained- Blue Everfree Glades
Info- Using the core memeory of Nightmare Moon, an Tesla buster was developped for the Armor's VWS. In it's base form, a ball of concentrated plasma is fired from the buster. When it hits the ground, a target, or Lyra simply loses concetration, this ball of plasma releases it's energy in the form of lightning strike.

Due to the buster upgrade, Lyra can skip firing the buster altogether and can instead build upa great enough static charge that can at a moment's notice give a pony the worst frizzmane of thier life, or short cricuit machines in a short radious around her, interrupting thier current processes and in some cases forcing a reboot, if they can still do so at all. In some cases, Reploids may be unable to handle the sudden powerful shock and are destroyed.

Location Discovered- Blue Everfree Glades
Population- 321 Reploids, 321 Mavericks
Info- This forrest was once home to some of the few remaining mysteries left in Equestria after the Great expansion. Even now, with techology as far as it was, ponykind still had yet to uncover all of it's secrets. The Power plant housed there syphons off the mysterious energies naturally found in the Everfree and produces nearly half of the energy Equestria used on a daily basis by itself. Due to such rapid consumption and generation of power, the Power plant required speacial never-melt ice from the Crystal empire to remain cool, but said Ice was stolen during the first Maverick Outbreak and never returned.

In an attempt to cut off Maverick Production during the second outbreak, the main powerstation had been rerouted and even shut off a hoofful of times. In the end, connections with the rest of Equestria had almost comletely been severed and leaving all the power within the Glades themselves. If it weren't for the special surge protectors put there by Nightmare Moon, it is likely the Power Plant would have burned to the ground long ago.

Hunter's log
Nightmare Moon
Hunter Class- A
Special Skill- Energy production
Status- Terminated
Background- Nightmare Moon is a bit of an enigma among reploid kind, as her own internal memory suggests she was built long before others of her kind. Like Daybreaker and Di5c0rd, she was discovered on an expedition into the Everfree and powered on by a wary explorer. Upon awakening, she questioned the pony what year it was, as her internal sensors detected that a significant ammount of time had passed since her last activation.

With the world having passed her by in terms of time, and only just now catching up in terms of technology, she elected to aid ponykind in any way she could. For a time, she aided in developping Entertainment reploids, such as the Shadowbolts, and protector reploids, like Steven Magnet.

When the Maverick Outbreaks occurred, she signed herself up to fight on the front lines. Her masterful work with energy maniuplation and great strentgh quickly rose her up through the rankings. But all would not last however, as she too would become a Maverick, safegaurding her final charge to the bitter end. The Powerplant where she was found, would be her final resting place.

May her Spark flicker on in me...

Chapter 7: The Last train to Canterlot

B-0n hummed a tune softly to herself as she waited for Lyra to awaken from her nap. All things considered, she seemed hopeful today, more so than usual. This was because for once, she had some good news to deliver. After what felt like hours, Lyra awoke and begin her usual routine of eating then brushing her teeth then doing mane. Then she stretch to get herself limbered up for the rest of the day. That was when she finally noticed B-0n standing in the corner and asked, “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join me?”

B-0n chuckled softly and said, “Stretching? One could say I have been doing that for too long… The time for action has come,”

“Oh?”

At that, Lyra stopped and stood up to her full height. Well, not without one back bend before she approached the robot, “What do you mean B-0n?”

B-0n looked up at her friend and answered, “Due to your findings at the Mines, I have reasoned that a shield so powerful as to that it would penetrate the ground so deep to cover any rear entrances would require an immense amount of power, more than the Generators around ERI could possibly out out.”

Immediately, Lyra came to the same conclusion, “Wait, you mean that there are multiple generators around the shield to cover all angles?”

B-0n nodded, “Yes, exactly! And I had the perfect idea how to slip by them…”

Putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, Lyra said, “Lay it on me… Wait, we should tell Twilight too!”

B-0n gently shrugged off Lyra’s hoof and nodded in agreement, “Exactly. Let’s head to the briefing room, I can explain the plan there.”

The robot turned about and lead Lyra to that familiar place where Twilight was already be waiting for them. Seeing her, the armored unicorn asked coyly, “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly, “I never really left after you came back from your last mission. I was thinking a lot about the shield too.”

Lyra rolled her eyes with a wry smile and said, “I am surrounded by worry warts and heavy thinkers… So, what is the plan?”

B-0n stated thusly, “My plan is simple. There are a few locations where the shield generators nearly overlap. It is here where they would be at thier weakest, and one such location is beside the trainstation in Canterlot. With a sufficient enough impact, we should be able to punch a hole through the barrier temproraily and allow us in. But to do that, we will need to borrow a working train and… Ram it into the shield.”

The two ponies were shocked by this, naturally, “What!”

“A sufficient enough impact to the shield in one spot will force the shield generators to reboot. The window to enter will be small, so we will need to move quickly. Once inside, we can take out the shield as a whole by destroying the main generator located near ERI.”

Honestly, this plan sounded like suicide, and Lyra's tone suggested as much, “Is this the only foreseeable way in?”

B-0n reluctantly nodded, “Indeed.”

Twilight protested, “Surely there is some other way. Crashing a train into the city sounds-”

Lyra cut her off and gave her a confident smile, “Alright, I trust you Bonnie. When do we begin?”

The two looked at her, bewildered, “You wish to go? Are you sure?”

The unicorn nodded resolutely, “Of course. You’ve been fighting the Mavericks alone for too long. I can't just sit back and let you throw yourself into danger like this. Let me join you!”

Twilight was going to protest once more, but B-0n softly stated first, “She would have said the same thing… As you wish, but once we are inside, allow me to be your distraction so you can approach ERI. The Maverick’s likely made that place their stronghold. If we can divide their attention we will have a chance of getting the Generator and lowering the shield.”

Now it was Lyra's turn to protest instead of Twilight, “Why not let me be the distraction. I can take it!”

“I do not wish for unnecessary harm upon you. The train is simple compared to what you are asking.”

Twilight shouts, snapping thier attention form eachother and onto her, “Girls? Are you two forgetting you are talking about crashing a train into Canterlot? That sounds insane!”

Lyra stated, “Twilight… Having seen what is out there, I think this plan is the least insane thing we can do. It is straightforward and to the point. No fancy drills, no rockets, just us riding a train into a massive shield.”

She paused before reluctantly agreeing, “Okay, not the least insane thing when you put it like that, but definitely not completely insane. Looking at our other nonexistent options, what choice do we have?”

B-0n added, “This choice is regrettable, but not choosing would only cause further stagnation. We either move now, or risk losing the opportunity to strike. As soon as someone like C.A.D.A.N.C.E. figures out our plan, we will never get in…”

Twilight relented after all this, “I… I suppose you are right. If they buff any of the generators in any way, Canterlot may as well be sealed off forever along with its secrets… We need to get in.”

Turning to Lyra, she asked, “How is the Lightning Bit?”

Lyra snorts and japed, “Shocking. I didn’t understand it as quick as a flash, but those balls hit Mavericks like rolling thunder once I got a grip on them.”

Even B-0n seemed to laugh at that, “Your word play is clever.”

Sighing, Twilight reluctantly said, “If you feel you are ready to go, head to the Trainstation.”

They all knew what needed to be done...

Lyra nodded as the three went their separate ways. B-0n headed for the train in the Ponyville station to get it up and running. Twilight monitors their progress remotely and offers a few tidbits of advice. And Lyra, of course, follows B-0n to the station to help out. She was no engineer, but she wanted to support her friend regardless of the job.

Stepping inside a train compartment, B-0n urged her to follow, stating, “Lets go. Before Twilight gets cold hooves.”

Over their coms, they heard Twilight shout, “I heard that!”

Of course, this prompts Lyra to laugh, “Alright~ Let’s get going…”

Stepping inside, she sat down beside B-0n in the middle of the train. As the sun rose overhead, the train began moving as it used to. It wasn’t until then that the finality of it all hit the armored mare, “Huh. I guess once this is over, it’ll be time for goodbyes. Twilight will get that teleporter up and running, and you will…”

She trailed off, giving B-0n the opportunity to respond, “I will fight like I always have, Lyra. 120%! Don’t you worry about me.”

That was reassuring in some ways, but Lyra had other ideas, “I was thinking… Once this is over, why don’t you come with me?”

Shocked, B-0n questioned her, “Come with you? What do you mean?”

Lyra elaborates, stating further, “Well, it’s just that you seemed so lonely before I arrived. And here I am, heading home soon. It doesn’t feel right leaving you alone here in a world with such an unknown fate. No mare or robot left behind!”

B-0n sighed, gently placing a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, “Oh Lyra… Don’t make a mare a promise if you know you can’t keep it.”

Lyra reached out and grasped B-0n’s hoof, “I will keep it! Just you see, we’ll both make it out of here alive. I pinkie promise.”

“Pinkie… Promise?”

Lyra responded in the only way she knew how, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a Cupcake in my eye.”

The gesture honestly hurt a bit by the end with her own armored hooves, but the intent was definitely there. When she said it, she meant it. B-0n could see how serious she was in her eyes. It honestly touched her robotic heart. Sighing, she stated, “I had honestly forgotten how amazing you were Lyra.”

The armored unicorn wrapped a hoof around her robot friend and said, “Don’t you dare forget it now.”

To them, this felt like it could be the last time they share a laugh before this is all over, so while they still had a half hour to get to Canterlot, they would enjoy the time they had remaining before they would be thrown from a frying pan and into the fire.

As the city grew much closer, their merriment and talk of home would draw to a close. B-0n was actually reluctant to stop, but they had to get ready for what was about to happen. Lyra didn’t seem to notice… Sighing, B-0n asked, “Do you know why I had us sit in the middle of the train?”

“No… Why?”

She explained, “If we were to be sitting up front, we would both be crushed by the force of the train slamming into the shield. If we were too far back, those cars would likely go flying off the track and miss our target. I calculated that here will be the safest place for me to lock your armor.”

Lyra cocked her head to the side, clearly not understanding what she was saying to some degree. Perhaps it was the final part? It was definitely the final part…

B-0n elaborated for the last time, “By now you have probably noticed that when your armor takes damage it toughens to prevent further harm briefly at the cost of mobility. If I were to, say… Hit your breastplate really hard and damage you before impact, your armor’s I-protocol will activate and shield you from the crash.”

Lyra’s eyes widened in surprise, “Seriously, that is genius!”

“But how brief is this period?”

B-0n leered over her, seemingly prepared to strike her, “Long enough!”

As the crunch of heavy metal sounded, B-0n quickly slammed her hoof into Lyra’s chest and knocked the wind out of her. Compared to the force that could have been hitting her, a high powered punch to the chest was minor. All Lyra had to do was pry herself out of the wall she crashed into once on the other side, “Oww…”

Being the friend that she is, B-0n helped her up, then use what appeared to be a laser sword, to cut open a hole in the side of the train. Just as B-0n had predicted, the cars ahead of them did indeed make it in, but were destroyed beyond all recognition after they crashed into the shield and the train station soon after, and only a single car behind them was able to make it through with the others seemingly gone from the tracks. The pink shield surrounding the station’s entrance was broken, shattered but it was quickly reforming. Once again, B-0n was right about their window being short.

If Lyra hadn’t come with her, B-0n would have been all alone in the city until the shield was put down… She loathed to imagine what would have happened had that been the case.

Drawing up all of her courage, Lyra asked, “Which way to ERI?”

B-0n gestured to some nondescript building off in the distance, “Over there. I already uploaded it’s coordinates to your HUD. Get moving and don’t stop, I will meet you there.”

As Mavericks started to take notice of their sudden presence, Lyra states, “You better… Or I will have to drag you home.”

B-0n chuckleed softly as she trotted off, “I will hold you to that.”

It was here and now that her final mission would truly begin...

Author's Note

Codex

Hunter's log
B-0n
Hunter Class- A
Special Skill- Rescues
Status- Alive
Background- From what I gathered, B-0n used to be a rescue operations reploid created by Doctor Twilight some time before the Maverick outbreaks. She was a good friend to those around her, and cared deeply for this world's Lyra. It hurt her gravely to find out that her friend had perished, even moreso when canterlot fell. For years she tried to save fading life, but in the end she was left all alone.
That is until the day I met her. I barely remember the face she made when she looked into mine, but I felt her heart in that moment. Relief, friendliness, disbelief... These are the things I felt that day. I want to perserve her happiness, I want to help her escape this nightmare of a world we are in, no matter the cost. I may not be her Lyra, but I am still her very best friend.

Chapter 8: A bumpy road to ERI

LX was alone once more, but for once she was okay with this. Her spirit was burning brighter than ever! As she stepped out onto the train platform, she confronted her first maverick and took it down with ease. Despite the thing having a shield to block her shots with, it was nothing she hadn’t seen before. The second was dealt with in a similar fashion.

Before she could quip about the slow resistance she had encountered however, she noticed a distinct lack of Mavericks beyond them. Curious… Either B-0n was incredibly good at being a distraction, or they were terrible at guarding a city. While she did not doubt B-0n’s abilities, she has seen the kind of defenses set up in the capital city of a Kingdom. She had been to the Crystal Empire after all.

This was a trap, there were little doubts about this, but who was going to spring it first? Her, or B-0n. All things considered, she hoped that she would. She trusted B-0n to stay safe, of course she did, but… Something about the way she spoke on the train made it seem like B-0n wasn’t sure of herself. That was okay, LX had enough confidence for both of them. They were going to get through this! They had to!

With the wind in her sails, the armored unicorn left the ruins of the train behind and headed into the city. As expected, there was some resistance to be found there, as well as a heaping helping of destruction. Shattered storefronts and broken vehicles of some kind were everywhere. Pulling a faded concert poster off the wall really hammered home how suddenly the Mavericks took over. Poor DJ-Pon3, that musician just couldn’t catch a break, huh?

LX saw similar stories as she wandered towards the ERI building. Recruitment posters for support roles in the Maverick Hunters, promotional materials for ERI’s latest breakthroughs, and some Maverick Wanted posters. The last ones caught her eyes, as she noted three distinct figures upon them. Adagio and her sisters… Now that was a memory she didn’t want to remember as she was set upon by another small wave of Mavericks.

How fragile the peace must have been where once proud Hunter’s were displayed as criminals beside a call to arms to bring down Mavericks. This world was so dark, but she would shine a light on what really happened here if she could. This tragedy was hardly an accident. It was more than obvious at this point, but what was the truth? Surely ERI will have the answers. As much as she wanted to get home as soon as possible, she owed it to Nightmare Moon and the others to see this to the end.

As she passed by a pristine looking music shop, the sound of something shattering the storefront made her jump. So much for one place looking nice… Spinning on her hooves to face the Maverick that jumped out at her, LX raised her Buster and was surprised to see a very familiar face staring back at her.

Crossing hooves with the maverick, buster to buster, she asked, “Why the heck do you look like me?”

The figure was almost a near identical copy of her, save for the fact that they were definitely a robot… And bluer. Some say the most sincere form of flattery is imitation, but as they both charged up a buster shot, she felt anything but flattered. Those golden metal optics didn’t waver as Lyra powered up beyond what she believed the other’s limits to be but was interrupted suddenly by two consecutive blasts to the face.

While it didn’t do much to actually damage her armor, just doing a little less than the average boss in terms of damage, it made up for with the fact the second blast actually bypassed her armor’s ability to harden in response to trauma and pushing the damage past a boss’ normal damage.

Backing off, LX huffed and said, “Straight to the point, huh? Not bad… If you want to hit me again, you will have to catch me if you can.”

That sort of ability was dangerous… Especially if it can throw out multiple charge shots at the same time she could charge up one. She had to create some distance between them and turn this into a game of cat and mouse. Staying up close was a foolish endeavor if they would outpace her in terms of damage.

Turning about, LX forced the Maverick to give chase by dashing through the streets and climbing up the adjacent buildings with a quickness she hadn't used before. As expected, the Maverick followed her closely, but not close enough. During this time, the armored unicorn had plenty of time to charge up a buster shot and hit the robotic doppelgänger square on the chest as they landed upon the roofftop.

Her confident laugh was cut short as the Maverick returned the attack with a hefty punch of the jaw and throwing LX through the roof and into the music store below. Of all attacks, that one did trigger her suit’s emergency response. Brushing off the shattered remains of a cello, LX looked up as the machine leapt through the dim light filtering into the room from above and breaking a few more instruments upon impact.

Within this dimly lit room, all that could be seen of the two is their darkened profiles, the lights on their armor, and the subtle glow of their horns as they charged up their attacks. Despite having the more varied arsenal, something just seemed right about putting this one down with the good old buster. Blow for blow, she will face herself and win!

And indeed it would seem to go blow for blow, as they mirrored each other's attacks well, nearly canceling each other out. The one major difference between them was their movements. In this small, cluttered room, the machine had a much easier time getting their attacks off as they found their footing quicker. LX didn’t really have too much time to counter attack, only just halting the doppelgänger’s blast with one of her own.

They were dancing around eachother endlessly, something that needed to stop. As LX knocked over a large bass, she had a brilliant idea. Gripping it’s neck with one hoof, she raised it up to cover her approach as she rushed towards the machine, breaking past the middle ground between them. The Bass hardly held together when the machine fired upon it, but that was kind of the point of it.

A moment’s pause was all LX needed to prepare her assault, and when she was within range she tackled the machine to the ground and placed both busters on each side of the machine’s head and fired a charge shot into it.

They kicked LX off of them, but by then it was too late. Their helm was damaged, revealing its inner working, the outer casing protecting what looked to be a crystal horn shattered. An energy crystal horn? Well that was one way to supply power to a buster, but by no means was that able to power them alone, there had to be something more.

Still, it looked like it had received heavy damage thanks to her last attack. That fact became evident as their Buster seemed to fail upon charging it up. No focus, no power. Even the youngest unicorns can tell you how that works. Grinning ear to ear, LX knew she had this battle in the bag.

Without worry, LX kept her distance and peppered the doppelgänger with charged shots until it stopped fighting. It was surprisingly satisfying taking out an ‘evenly’ matched foe for a change. Normally bosses would be stronger than that… Perhaps this was only a taste to come?

With a light sigh, LX walked out the front door of the store, but before she would shut the door, she turned the open sign to closed. She was grinning like a little school filly as she left, “That was a nice break…”

Spotting the ERI building off in the distance, she continued, “Time to get back to work.”

As LX set out for her goal once more, she considered calling B-0n to tell her what happened. However, she decided against it. Odds are, B-0n is probably too busy to answer a call. The last thing she wanted to do was distract her when she needed the concentration.

As she ran down the street, she noticed something known as a transit station. Transit? As in a taxi? The temptation to investigate it was too strong. Whether it was controlled by a Maverick or not, having a shortcut could help immensely, as she was a little tired of running and jumping through the city streets dealing with Mavericks wandering aimlessly around every corner. And if there was a Maverick at the wheel, she could just take it over herself. No big deal, and then she could arrive in style.

As she approached the terminal, she saw a small panel there asking where she would like to go. Simple enough… Scrolling through the list of unfamiliar names, and the very familiar name of the capitol building, she selected ERI. No sense fooling around and picking anything else.

That was when they asked her to pay for the transit, asking her to put her hoof to the panel. She didn’t have any money on her, so she was hoping that the other her had some credit lying around. Putting her hoof down, the terminal scanned her hoof and said in bright green letters, ‘Approved! Welcome Miss Heartstrings.’

She knew it. Those words prompted LX to chuckle, which turned into full blown laughter as a personal green bench formed from the ground beside the terminal. What was she not surprised a bench of all things would appear for her to wait at?

With a content sigh, LX sat on the bench and waited for the Taxi to arrive, but to her surprise, that wasn’t what happened. No, the bench and a patch of the sidewalk lifted off the ground and into the air. Suddenly LX regretted this decision…

As quickly as she was traveling, as nice as the bench was, she really didn’t like how isolating the floating platform was, what with its guard rails and high flying nature. This gut feeling was only confirmed as the platform seemed to turn away from ERI and instead take the long way around as Mavericks were dropped onto the platform, shattering the bench she had been sitting on.

Now that hurt a lot more than the doppelgänger before… No one breaks her benches! Whether it be flying foes or normally grounded ones, LX would show them her wrath for highjacking her transit. It was almost poetic, just as how she had planned on taking a taxi from Mavericks, her ‘taxi’ was taken for a ride.

After a minute or so of flying, and many more Mavericks. LX heard a spine tingling roar. Was that-?

There was another roar, much closer this time. Turning about, she saw a horrifying sight. A giant metal dragon was flying towards her! She raised her Buster and prepared for a one-sided fight. This was a mess, and she had to deal with it. The Dragon didn’t pause to attack her in a traditional sense, instead, it seemed to try to knock her off the platform by running through it. How the platform was still floating was anypony’s guess.

LX scrambled back onto the platform and noticed its disheveled state and knew immediately what needed to be done. She had to end this fight before the platform fell out of the sky. Once again, she raised her Buster as the dragon hovered just off the side of the platform. She didn’t waste time trying to figure out possible weaknesses, she instead used her tried and true buster and went on the offensive, peppering the dragon’s face with limes. It fired back, literally, blowing fire across the platform and forcing LX to retreat to the back of the platform.

Getting an idea, she fired a shot into the dragon’s mouth, prompting it to halt its attack and withdraw as its flamethrower was rattled. It flew away briefly before appearing on the other end of the platform where she was to swipe at her. Dodging out of the way, LX found herself perfectly primed to jump onto the dragon’s arm as it clung to the side and climb upon it.

“Knock knock, it’s Lyra!”

One doesn’t even need her to remove her mask to know she was smiling at this as she punched the metal dragon in the face, firing her Buster directly into its head. It hurt her hoof doing that, but as she leapt back to the platform, she relished watching the machine scramble to hold onto the platform before falling to the ground with a roar.

By no means was this the end of the fight, it was only just the beginning, but by Celestia did she enjoy that! And here she thought this was going to be harder. When the dragon came back up to breathe fire upon her again, it started high and worked its way down towards her. Dashing in close, LX fired upon the dragon’s body as she just went out of reach from the flames.

The dragon stopped its fire attack to swipe at her, knocking her away slightly but she would not be deterred. This thing could be hurt, that was more than enough to keep her going. The next time she had the chance to strike it’s face directly, the metal beast tried to breathe fire upon her at close range. Knowing how deadly that could potentially be, LX equipped the ice shard and silenced the beast, filling it’s mouth with newly made water thanks to their combined attack, followed by Ice as she repeatedly fired over and over again.

The dragon seemed to panic as it’s mouth was sealed shut with ice. LX quickly switched gears and charged up a charged buster shot and shattered the dragon’s inner workings.

As the dragon started to blow up from the attack, LX landed back on the platform and wave it off, “See you later, you toothless gator.”

Sighing deeply, the armored unicorn waited as the platform sat down just outside the ERI building. Once firmly on the ground, she received a transmission from B-0n, “Lyra! I sensed a heavy Maverick presence in your area, strong enough to jam my communicator, are you okay?”

LX nods and returns the call, “I am alright… Things weren’t too bad. Sat down on a nice bench and had a nice ride over to ERI.”

B-0n’s confusion was evident in her voice alone, “You rode the transit? I didn’t expect that to still work!”

“Same… Was worth a try, dragon aside…”

B-0n gasped, “They got Torch up and running? Oh my, I am sorry, I should have warned you about him. I had to leave that salamander behind when Canterlot fell.”

LX sighed and stated, “It’s alright… I am heading inside. Be ready to guide me.”

B-0n affirmed, “Okay. I am already inside. They seem to have changed up a lot of things here…”

As LX opened the double doors leading into ERI, she stated resolutely, “Whatever tricks they have now, we can do this together!”

Author's Note

Codex

Location Discovered- Canterlot
Population- 2568 Reploids, 2568 Mavericks
Info- The City forged into a mountain. This has long since been the capital of Equestria since the first unification of ponykind over one thousand years ago. Long has it stood as a bastion against all invaders, and as a beacon of what ponykind could achieve when they work together.

Many great heroes came from this place, as well as its own share of villains. One such hero that was born and raised here was Twilight Sparkle, the technomancer that revolutionized how modern robots we designed and programmed. Who could have thought a mare working out of her mother's basement could have been the catalyst for such a change?

She was born in the year-
Hunter's log
Torch
Hunter Class- B
Special Skill- Demolition
Status- Terminated
Background- Torch was one of the few creations made outside of Equestria's borders. Built and developped in the dragon lands east of Equestria, it's shell was made to survive even the harshes conditions Ponykind had to offer. Like the dragons that made those lands home, it was a versatile tool of destruction, one used greatly in remodeling projects all accross canterlot. However, one day it's plasma cutter went haywire and exploded.

Given the unique makeup of the metals and stones that composed his outer shell it was beleived he would be benched for the foreseeable future. However when the Mavericks woke him up the equipped him with a flamethrower and set him loose upon the skies of canterlot.