The Machine Dragon

The Crystal Empire, half an hour earlier

Numerous guards were immediately dispatched, going from house to house to give the shocking news of an incoming monster attack. The citizens of the Crystal Empire were ushered from their homes within the hour. The only major train station the city had was stuffed to the brim with confused ponies. There were no shelters or any fortified defenses in the event of an emergency such as this, so the evacuation crew did the best they could with what they had.

Foals hugged their parents, and those same parents comforted their children. Talks of Sombra returning obviously echoed throughout the crowd, however it was all silenced when Princess Cadance herself appeared, flying above the dense crowd of ponies as she looked down on her subjects.

“Everypony!” she shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice, and immediately all eyes were drawn to the alicorn. “A great dragon is approaching the kingdom from the west! I need you all to evacuate in an orderly fashion!”

Her words drew a sea of gasps from the gathered ponies; they all understood the severity of the situation immediately. While Maguma wasn’t exactly a dragon, the semantics didn’t matter. Shortly after her announcement a large train arrived in the station, quickly opening its doors and ushering in the crowd. Few of them brought luggage, given how sudden the orders had been placed, which was a blessing in disguise, given the fact it allowed more civilians onboard.

On the western outskirts of the city, hundreds of guards were rushing about to secure the area, turning the rolling hills into a fortified battleline. What had once been a peaceful field was now dotted with numerous ballistas and cannons. A small command tent had quickly been set up at the rear of the defenses, inside of it, Shining Armor sat perched over a sturdy wooden table, a large map laid out before the Guard Captain. A hoofful of guards were standing behind him, ready to be called upon when needed.

Half a dozen Crystal Ponies were in the middle of leaving his tent, having been dispatched by the Captain. Right before the flap-like door fully shut, a blue wing suddenly grabbed it, hoisting it open. Rainbow Dash poked her head inside and then fully entered. She was covered head to hoof in armor, similar to the time she jousted with Fluttershy. Behind her, an orange pegasus stallion entered.

“Shini—Captain Armor, uh, Sir!” she snapped to it, letting her Wonderbolts training take over, despite how weird it was to be under the command of Twilight’s brother of all ponies. “Flash Sentry and I scoured over the eastern wing of the city, no civilians in sight, Sir!”

Flash himself gave a nod of affirmation, “Aside from a few pets being left behind, everything looks to be in the clear, Sir!”

“Make a third check, Rainbow Dash. Sentry, go join up with the rest of your squadron,” Shining Armor said, his eyes on a small pile of notes which he was magically flipping through.

“Yes Sir!” Flash said, giving a salute before immediately ducking out of the tent.

Rainbow Dash herself stayed behind, a look of uncertainty on her face. She fidgeted a bit, standing mostly still as her eyes dotted around. Finally, she spoke, her tone equally as uncertain, “Uh, Sir, are you sure you don’t want me out there helping the guys on the frontline? Not to question your orders, but I think they could use a bit of speed!”

“The order is still the same, Rainbow Dash,” Shining said, quickly jotting down several notes and commands on a big piece of parchment paper. He handed it off to a pegasus mare, who immediately grabbed it with a forehoof. “Take this to the front lines.”

“Right away, Sir,” she said with a nod, bolting past Dash and out of the tent.

Rainbow watched as the other mare left, her speed making the pegasus’ multicolored hair billow about a bit. After a moment, Dash turned back towards the Captain, “Shining Armor, Sir, you’re… you’re not doing this because of Twilight, are you?”

Shining stopped writing for a moment, his quill hovering in place as he partially looked up from his papers. His face was cold and serious, not the typically warm Shining Armor who Rainbow Dash was used to.

“If I had wings and speed like yours, I would be out there escorting civilians away at this very moment; the Crystal Ponies are my subjects after all,” he said simply. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was stern, authoritative.

“Right… sorry, Sir,” she nodded, her tone understanding as she turned to leave.

“Be safe out there, Rainbow Dash,” Shining Armor stated, returning to his notes and written commands.

She gave a soft nod over her shoulder at his words, before quickly leaving. Rainbow Dash vanished into the frantic crowd of numerous guards and soldiers, who were all readying themselves for the oncoming battle.

Where possible, the Element Bearers did their best to support the troops: Rarity was rushing around, quickly repairing any minor rips or tears to the guards’ uniforms. Applejack was using her powerful frame to haul a gigantic cannon by herself, alongside Pinkie who was singlehoofedly pushing a ballista.

Spike himself was forced to stay in the far rear of the defensive lines. He was exclusively able to help pass medical equipment to doctors, only being allowed to stay due to his own persistence and the fact his presence alone was a moral boost; he was the two-time Hero of the Crystal Empire! Heroes wouldn’t go and abandon the public, now, would they?

Fluttershy was the only pony who wasn’t properly in the fray; she was flying around the grassland, trying to see if there were any innocent creatures who needed to be evacuated. Thankfully, given the isolation of the Crystal Empire meant there were few squirrels or cats or even bugs to inform. The mare’s mind was swimming with thoughts of both Discord and the fact the guards were about to attack a large mon—animal, for lack of a better word. There was a sadness in her heart, for the ponies, the innocent creatures, and even Maguma itself, as she knew what lay ahead for the approaching behemoth.

The hour ticked by in no time, and before long, the battalion of ponies in the icy exterior of the Crystal Empire’s limits spotted the walrus-like creature in the snow. The blizzard wasn’t kind today; the fog obstructed visibility and movement, meaning only a few dozen cannons were placed outside of the Crystal Heart’s area of influence.

A pegasus briefly removed his thick, restrictive jacket and took to the air, shivering as he pulled up a pair of binoculars.

“Can you see anything!?!” a fellow soldier called upwards; his voice barely audible over the howling winds.

“The monster’s roughly half a k-kilometer and ap-approaching!” shouted the freezing pegasus, quickly having to dive back downwards, landing and quickly wrapping himself back in his thick jacket.

Several soldiers quickly surrounded him, leading him back towards the protective barrier of the Crystal Empire so he could get some proper warmth. As this happened, dozens of unicorns began to magically roll their cannons forwards, loading and readying them to fire.

There was a chill in the air that wasn’t from the snow as everypony looked on in silence. In total there were maybe a hundred of them, give or take. They all watched the mountains in the distance intently, ready to fire when needed. Everypony’s breath became frigid and visible in the unforgiving snow. Some of them shivered as they waited.

After a mere few minutes of nothing but waiting in a cocktail of mental agony and delirious uncertainty, it finally happened.

REEEGGGOOOOOAAAR!!!

Maguma’s roar thundered across the ice; they heard him bellow before they heard the thump, thump, thump of massive, approaching feet. And then his head crested above a small hill of snow a hundred or so meters away.

And then the thundering of the artillery began…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

All of them firing at once didn’t match his roar. Dozens of small explosions pelted the Terror of Antarctica's leathery hide. He simply let loose another furious, elephantine roar and continued on. His four powerful legs caused a miniature avalanche as his entire body pulled itself up over the hill.

The cannons continued unloading in vain as he continued trudging forwards…

While the snow protected the ponies inside the empire proper from the heat, it didn’t help with the sound. Many guards were used to the intense sound due to training exercises, however a few of the newer recruits and the Element Bearers weren’t as experienced with such an intense cacophony of BOOMs!

Rarity flinched, approaching Applejack as the two stood behind a line of soldiers.

“My goodness; surely the beast couldn’t survive a volley like that!” Rarity managed over the sound of explosions, her face scrunching in concentration. Moments later the fashionista brought up a hoof to rub at her ringing ears.

Applejack looked away from the unicorn and towards the edge of the Crystal Empire, “I ain’t sure… hopefully it did some damage to ‘em.”

Everypony continued listening on as the sound of artillery fire continued, explosions ringing out beyond their line of visibility. It was about five total minutes before everything slowed down, the blasts finally drawing to a close…

And then a flood of retreating guards came rushing in.

Dozens and dozens of them were running like a swarm of bats out of Tartarus, quickly rushing towards the second lie of cannons. There was about three hundred meters between the Crystal Heart’s barrier and the defensive line, and many of the soldiers cleared it in record pace. Pegasi had ripped off their jackets to fly, some carrying their companions when possible.

That meant only one thing.

Thump! Thump! Th-UMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Moments later, a gigantic, webbed foreclaw passed through the magical barrier, slamming into the snow with an earthshaking THUMP! Maguma’s upper body followed. Since the creature wasn’t magical in nature, the Crystal Heart couldn’t stop the walrus-like beast as it continued its path of destruction.

More mortars fired and this time they were so loud even Rainbow Dash heard them from across the massive field and in the city itself. The pegasus mare burst out of the small, abandoned home she was searching and took to the air. In the distance she watched as magical projectiles impacted across Maguma’s body, leaving only minor scorch marks as the beast continued ahead.

It wasn’t extremely fast, but the beast’s sheer size made it easily able to cover more ground. By the time it was about a hundred and fifty meters from the line, the soldiers began to back their cannons up, only stopping to reload and fire when necessary. Cannonballs clinked into place, and the gigantic guns were steadied, both magically, and physically. They loosed another volley at the great walrus, another cacophony of KABOOMs! ringing out.

One of them got a lucky shot, as suddenly a cloud of flames engulfed Maguma’s face, making the beast give a thundering roar. It instinctively kicked out a forelimb, scraping a large, webbed claw along the ground. This action wound up throwing a gigantic cloud of dirt and debris into the air, sending them right at the puny creatures who had dared to attack the semi-aquatic monster.

Dozens of ponies jumped out of the way as broken logs and large boulders rained down. Several pieces of ordinance were crushed by the debris. The wooden wheels of them were especially vulnerable, as rocks pelted them, snapping through the weaker timber and leaving dents in the metal. To add insult to injury, the cloud of dust itself continued to remain for a few seconds, partly throwing off the aim of several more precise pieces of artillery.

Some ponies even wound up taking the brunt of the blow, with rocks and chunks of wood striking them, knocking some unconscious and denting the armor plates of others. Still, this victory didn’t stop Maguma, as it approached, the cloud of debris dying down around it as it moved onwards.

Suddenly though, a large blast of blue energy struck the beast in the chest!

KA-BAAAM!

For once, Maguma actually stepped back, a larger burn mark now adorning its leathery hide. It growled, looking upwards at the small speck that had attacked it, its large, greenish-blue eyes narrowing in anger.

Princess Cadance glared back at the beast. Her fiery gaze was one of a princess prepared to do anything for her kingdom. As if to prove this, she immediately loosed another attack, aiming for the monster’s eye.

Maguma wasn’t the smartest of creatures, but even it had a survival instinct. As quickly as it could, the walrus ducked to the side, moving its head out of the way and letting the spell strike its left shoulder instead. It let loose a thundering howl as the energy crackled across its hide; another large scorch mark was now blatantly visible on the monster’s skin.

The beast roared, reaching up its right forelimb, clawing at the wound as if that would somehow make the pain stop. The intense display of magical power made many soldiers give a round of cheers and hoofpumps.

The four-legged creature itself gave a low grunt. It scraped its claw across the ground once more, throwing up another cloud of dirt. Cadance’s eyes narrowed further as she dodged around the rocks and trees the beast had thrown towards her. From below, Shining Armor had exited his command post, and was watching intently, a small bead of sweat running down his brow.

Cadance herself grabbed an oncoming rock and threw it right back at the arctic monster, with it plowing through the smokey field of debris. However, Maguma saw the approaching boulder and quickly swatted at it, sending it right back towards the alicorn, whose eyes widened in shock.

She quickly activated a shield spell, with the rock colliding against it and shattering into tiny pebbles, which immediately rained downwards on the demolished earth below. To draw some attention away from the princess, Shining ordered his troops to fire again; large ballistae launched log-sized wooden spears tipped with iron arrowheads at the kaiju.

One struck Maguma in its singed chest, snapping in half. Despite the fact this did little damage, the monster focused its attention on the ponies below, who had managed to somewhat retreat, letting them focus their cannons back on the monster.

Maguma growled and charged forwards, with a snarl. In a few minutes, the beast would barrel right through the second line of defenses, and the death toll would surge. Cadance blasted down at Maguma, causing house-sized explosions to belt out across its back. She continued applying pressure, attempting to slow it, however this only made the creature speed up its pace, its massive foreclaws slamming into the grassy ground and ripping up huge chunks of earth as it moved!

The soldiers below began to retreat once more, with Applejack, Pinkie, and even Rarity now doing their parts all across the frontline in an attempt to pull both the artillery, and the guards out of the beast’s path. Far in the back, Fluttershy was now bracing broken limbs, and sterilizing wounds along with several field medics; Spike passed her forceps and tweezers and used his dexterous hands to aid the pegasus when needed. Rainbow Dash was about ready to fly right up to the monster and deck it in the face, only being stopped by the fact even in her angered state, she knew she couldn’t take something that big. Shining Armor himself was being held back by no less than half a dozen guards to insure he didn’t rush to the frontlines to help his wife fight the monster.

This was the state of everypony when they heard it.

None of them could compare the sound to anything from their world, however if they had been familiar with military equipment, they would’ve recognized it as something similar to a jet engine…

Multiplied by at least a hundred-fold.

Cadance stopped firing. The guards stopped letting loose volleys of cannonballs. Rainbow Dash stopped before she’d even reached the battlefield as she stared upwards, a massive shadow overhead. Said shadow moved shockingly quick—Wonderbolt-tier quick.

The false sun glinted against something metal, making those who stared upwards at the approaching mass squint their eyes at the massive, metallic frame approaching. Even Maguma itself stopped its approach, backing up several dozen meters as the large figure approached the smaller walrus-beast.

Everypony watched on in utter silent bafflement and shock as the great, flying beast landed. A massive THOOM! rung out when the robotic dragon’s feet made contact with the ground. Even when landed, the behemoth’s large frame glowed, light shining off of its metal exterior. It was one hundred meters of pure ancient power, unwillingly merged with the most advanced technology humankind had to offer.

Like a great armor-clad knight, the bipedal monster stood only a few hundred meters before the much smaller kaiju. The creature had placed itself right in between the retreating line of guards and Maguma. Its long, powerful tail swished back and forth as it stood guard, a living blockade between the great pony-built city, and its would-be destroyer.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack stared onwards wide-eyed. Sadly, Pinkie wasn’t anywhere near any of them to close their gaping maws; too busy helping lug several more soldiers to safety as they laid slumped over her strong earth pony back. Spike only managed to peek out the opened end of the medical tent, having to sadly ignore the kaiju brawl to help the wounded.

Cadance was still hovering in the same general position, though she’d been partly flung off course by Kiryu’s arrival, as his entrance caused a powerful gust of wind the princess hadn’t been expecting. When she stabilized, she was shocked to see the metal dragon staring upwards at her. She was only about twenty or so meters above the machine.

Kiryu’s deep, red eyes stared down hers, while the Princess of Love remained calm and stern, uncertain at his next course of action. The staredown lasted right up until Kiryu reached up a claw, and extended his index claw, pointing it right at the pink alicorn. Moments later, he then motioned with his thumb, giving the universal “get lost,” motion.

Cadance would’ve been offended had the situation not been so dire. As it stood, she flew downwards, hovering mere meters from Kiryu’s face. The Mechagodzilla focused on her as Maguma stamped its forelimbs in an intimidation attempt, acting as if it would charge down the machine. Kiryu simply stood his ground, almost ignoring the behemoth as he treated the smaller monster like nothing more than a yapping dog.

“I thank you, Kiryu, for placing yourself in the line of duty to protect my subjects,” she spoke, her tone regal, loud, almost to the point she was using her Royal Canterlot Voice to ensure the mecha heard her. “If I can do anything for you, please let me—”

Kiryu did the same motion with his thumb, making the princess silence herself, giving a nod before she turned and flew off. He watched as she left, once she became a spec in the distance, only then did the machine dragon focus his sights downwards at Maguma.

The arctic beast glared upwards. Despite the walrus kaiju’s smaller physique, being only half as tall as Kiryu and looking even smaller on all fours, it refused to back down. Instead, the kaiju reared up and let loose a familiar high-pitched roar. Sounding like an elephant mixed with a lion, it trumpeted and threatened the larger mecha, even rearing up to appear more intimidating.

REEEGGGOOOOOAAAR!!!

Kiryu’s red eyes glared down at the smaller beast. He straightened his back up, making himself appear even larger. His bulky backpack and rocket launchers added to his intimidating physique. The machine moved too naturally, almost like a predator that had done this same song-and-dance before.

And then—

SSSKKKKRRRREEEEEEOOOOOOOOONNNKKK!!!

It was like the sound of rending, tearing metal ringing out only to be overpowered by a deeper, bass-like roar of utter fury. Everypony watching the spectacle immediately covered their ears. While the cannonfire and Maguma’s bellows were eardrum-bursting in their own rights, the power of Kiryu’s made them feel like specks… well, more so than they already had been since the walrus’ arrival.

Inside of Kiryu’s cockpit, Twilight had to magically cast a spell on her ears, lest they begin to bleed from her close proximity to the roar. One sentence was on the monitor’s display the entire time.

“COVER YOUR EARS.”

Maguma himself slinked back. While he’d fought the metallic kaiju before, this was… different. He felt like a prey animal staring down an apex predator. Lower on the totem pole by far. The Terror of Antarctica took a step back, now utterly unsure on how to continue…

Kiryu made the choice for the smaller behemoth by bringing up a knee and activating his rocket thrusters, sending himself surging forwards.

Everypony watching gasped with utter shock as Kiryu’s clawed foot made impact with the bottom of Maguma’s chin. The walrus’ long tusks scraped against the metal, but did little else as the machine dragon easily punted the smaller kaiju. The force of the beast’s blow sent the creature tumbling upwards through the air.

It was a spectacle, with the beast’s four limbs flailing about as it was launched easily twenty to thirty meters into the air. Immediately, gravity took hold of the several-thousand-ton beast, and moments later, he slammed right down onto his back, grunting and bellowing as he did.

Maguma took a few seconds to flip itself back onto its four legs. It trumpeted another battle cry as it rushed down Kiryu, its mouth opened wide to bite at the bionic monster. However, the machine dragon turned on a dime, its massive, armored tail acting almost like a building-sized baseball bat as it slammed into the right side of the kaiju’s head.

The arctic terror was seeing stars as its entire body jerked to the side, the smaller behemoth being knocked completely off balance as it tumbled, doing a full roll and then landing back down onto its stomach. It lifted its head to shake off the ringing in its ears. As it did, Kiryu ducked down, bringing back its right fist and then shocking Maguma by giving him a harsh uppercut which rattled the beast’s skull.

The gigantic mecha’s forearm-mounted railguns cut deeply into the walrus’ leathery skin. It seemed the twin cannons were bladed as well, as Kiryu brought his left arm forwards. His claws and his gigantic blades sliced across Maguma’s face, knocking the creature back onto its side as blood seeped from several new cuts in its face. Its greenish-blue eyes blinked as it looked upwards at the gigantic monster standing over it.

Kiryu gave him no time to rest, as suddenly the Mechagodzilla’s mouth opened wide. Many ponies looked on, knowing what this meant; when a dragon opens its mouth, you’d better be out of the way.

Vvvvvrooooom-SHOOOOM!!!

The Twin Maser Cannons did their job smoothly, as a spiral of yellow, electrical energy blasted forwards and slammed right into Maguma’s chest, pushing the monster back several meters before it slammed into a large hill, which stopped its momentum. Dirt and rocks and trees tumbled down onto the flailing walrus as Kiryu continued his assault.

The electricity-like blast surged across the kaiju’s skin. An explosion easily three times bigger than anything Princess Cadance had thrown at the creature suddenly erupted as Maguma trumpeted out a roar of agony. Charred chunks of flesh flew outwards, raining to the ground as the powerful attack left a deep, gaping wound in the arctic creature’s chest. Only then did Kiryu’s beam conclude.

Inside the cockpit, Twilight watched as the console flickered, traces of static eating at the machine’s display.

Battery Percentage: 12%

Maguma continued laying there, groaning in agony as blood poured from its newfound chest-cavity. Despite the fact this was a good thing for the ponies, many of them looked on with shock; even a few of the hardened guards narrowed their eyes, steeling themselves as the monster weakly flailed its limbs. Fluttershy had even put in earplugs by now, not wanting to hear the sounds of a dying creature as she worked to save lives. Her face was painted with a deep, grimacing expression.

Maguma growled, flailing out its lower legs towards Kiryu, who stepped back so as to not get tripped up. The machine dragon then leaned down, grabbing Maguma’s lower right leg mid-kick. Without a hint of effort, the Mechagodzilla turned and tossed the behemoth towards the edge of the Crystal Hear’s barrier.

Maguma howled all the while it flew through the air, its limbs kicking out as it passed through the shield against the elements. The amazing display of strength left the crowd of onlookers even more wide-eyed than anything that had come before. The robot was unstoppable!

Inside Kiryu's cockpit, Twilight managed to get up to her hooves, forcing herself into a sitting position in the pilot’s chair as the monitor showed a single sentence.

“STRANGE. IS THIS WHAT MAGIC CAN DO?”

The machine dragon began to move forwards, following the direction he’d thrown Maguma. This wound up making the inside of his body rock back and forth, with Twilight securing several seatbelts around her chest before she replied.

“It's the Crystal Heart!” the alicorn answered, not meaning to shout, as her ears were currently plugged.

“IT IS UNNATURAL.”

She merely frowned as she heard the dull thump, thump, thump, of the metallic goliath’s footsteps. No cameras were active in the cockpit, whether because they had been damaged by the power surge or because Kiryu didn’t want her to witness the fight, she didn’t know.

Kiryu soon stepped out of the barrier of the empire. The frigid elements immediately slammed against his body, as if it felt any different from the warmth. It was all the same to the machine. Snow piled up on his muzzle, making small piles below his prosthetic eyes. His gaze was filled with the familiar sight of the arctic wasteland he’d been buried under for so long

“NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO LEAVE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE.”

Twilight frowned at the monitor, looking almost offended at the idea of abandoning the mecha. She instead reached up a hoof and tightened the straps around her waist, “I’m not just going to leave you! Especially after all you’ve already done!”

The display was unchanging for a few seconds, as if Kiryu was debating on what to say. Soon though, the binary flickered into action once again.

“SENTIMENTALITY CAN BE SEEN AS A WEAKNESS.”

Twilight only gave a soft, almost defeated sigh as her response. Still, she remained inside, unmoving as the machine trudged forwards.

The dragon had thrown Maguma the equivalent of a dozen city blocks or so. Currently, the creature was flat on its back, half buried in a heap of snow. The avalanche the monster’s impact had caused revealed the jagged, rocky cliff face the walrus had slammed into. The creature’s chest was still severely wounded, the gaping hole being partially charred from the power of the Twin Maser Cannons. One of its tusks had now chipped off, and laid sticking upwards out of the icy ground, no doubt having broken when the beast collided with the cliffside.

Kiryu stared down at the monster, who raised one of its forelimbs up in an attempt to swat at the Mechagodzilla. There was almost a sense of sadness as the machine stood there, gazing upon the downed behemoth. Unlike so many others, he didn’t see a monster, just a scared, tragic being that was born too big, too strong, and had lived too long…

Now here it was, dying in a world which wasn’t even its own.

There was a whirring sound building inside the Mechagodzilla’s. Kiryu straightened himself up, his mouth opening as a massive amount of his energy supply was directed to the Twin Maser Cannons. Twilight herself watched as some of the lights inside the cockpit went dark. The display was glitching, but she could still see traces of it.

Battery Percentage: 8%...

…

7%...

6%...

“Kiryu?” she questioned, looking at the screen in concern.

He didn’t respond back.

Outside, the cannons within the mecha unit’s mouth surged with intense energy. After a moment, the same bright yellow spiral flew from his maw yet again. Maguma wasn’t even able to move to avoid the blast before it slammed into him, entering inside the hole in the walrus’ chest. He pulled back to roar in pain as the power output became too much for the organic creature to endure…

KA-BOOM!!!

The Terror of Antarctica was enveloped in a gigantic blast. The fireball grew so massive it engulfed the entire cliff face as Maguma let loose one final roar, which echoed across the mountainous, frigid landscape. The trumpeting howl mixed with the explosion, creating a bizarre cacophony of sound which was so powerful it caused a few avalanches on some nearby mountaintops.

As quickly as it came, the Twin Maser Cannon sputtered to a sudden stop, the stream dying within a fraction of a second. Kiryu’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before he forced his upper jaw into place, closing it. In front of the metallic creature was… nothing. Nothing but ash and a few large, burning cinders had been all that remained of Maguma’s body. The kaiju’s tusk had been singed, but it remained sticking out of the ground, the only true reminder the behemoth had once been there; had once lived.

A monster would’ve roared in victory.

Kiryu remained silent.

Inside, Twilight had been bracing herself against the chair, as everything was rumbling from the power of the blast. Since everything had calmed down, the mare slowly opened her eyes, finding she was, much to her relief, still alive. However, the lights were still off, with only the flickering monitor illuminating the cockpit.

Battery Percentage: Error…

“K—...Kiryu? Are you alright?” she questioned.

After a moment, words began forming, at a slow, glitchy pace.

“THE ENERGY YOU FLOODED MY SYSTEMS WITH IS FINALLY WEARING OFF…”

Twilight looked on, as the 0s and 1s then began to dissipate, and create another sentence.

“SAYONARA, MISS SPARKLE.”

“W-wait. Kiryu, I’ll bring you back as soon as I can, I promise!” assured the mare, her horn lighting up. “After all you’ve done to protect us, you deserve to—”

The binary formed into one final series of words, ones which crystal clear despite the intense flickering of the screen.

“DON’T. I BELONG LIKE THIS.”

And then, after a few seconds, the monitor turned off, leaving the mare in nothing but empty, uncaring blackness.

He was gone.

Outside, dozens of soldiers watched as the machine dragon lowered its head. His arms and shoulders slumped down. He only stayed standing due to the sheer strength of his reinforced legs. Finally, the machine was fully still, with snow pelting against its frigid, metal exterior as Kiryu’s red eyes faded, going completely dark…