Fanfic / Pony Gear Solid

Pony Gear Solid is a crossover fan fiction between My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Metal Gear by Posh.

Metal Gear has fallen into the hooves of an Equestrian revolutionary, who, with the backing of his human mercenary allies, intends to use it to depose Celestia and crown himself ruler. Having crossed into Equestria in pursuit of this rogue weapon, the legendary Solid Snake must ally with the residents of Ponyville to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.

An exceptionally well-crafted story, Pony Gear Solid effectively combines the themes and ideas of both series while keeping all of the characters true to their depiction in the source material.

A non-canon spinoff exists called Equestria Gear Solid: The Definitive Experience, written by the same author (and co-written with DannyJ, of Borderworld fame). It's a raunchy and absurd Alternate Universe story about Snake and his family living in the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls universe, with a plot that mirrors the original story... sort of. Originally posted as chapter sixteen of the main story as an April Fools' joke.

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Pony Gear Solid contains examples of:

• Aborted Declaration of Love: Twilight's casual statement that she isn't attracted to mares (or jocks) inadvertently shoots down (what is implied to be) Rainbow Dash's declaration before she can spit it out.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Poor Chrysalis. By the time the Lord of the Flies is done with her, all she can ask for is a Mercy Kill.
• And I Must Scream: The ultimate fate of the ponies of Dodge Junction as well as Queen Chrysalis and her hive
• Arc Words: Snake's "I'm no good with kids." There's also Twilight's "I may as well have killed him myself"
• Awesome, but Impractical: The Model 500, which Snake regards as overpowered and too unsubtle for a sneaking mission.
  • Though it proves its worth when Twilight uses it to cripple the GEKKO's leg.
• Bait the Dog: We're reminded Chrysalis is still evil even after becoming a Tragic Monster when she says she still wants to brutally murder Twilight.
• Bat Deduction: How Snake figures out that the Patriots are once again controlling events from behind the scenes
  The answer was in his name. Trenton. As in Trenton, New Jersey, as in the battle of. As in Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas Eve to surprise and defeat the Hessians.
  Washington. The father of America. The quintessential patriot.
• Berserk Button: For Twilight, threatening her friends. Particularly Spike.
• Big Bad Ensemble: As of this writing, the story features Macbeth, a pony revolutionary who wants to take over Equestria so he can restore its military. Alistair Cain, Commander of the Pegasus Wings PMC that's providing him with a Metal Gear. Trenton, a cyborg ninja who is actually working for the Patriots, who appear to be the ones who facilitated the deal between the previous two. And last but not least, an unknown dark force that appeared in Equestria roughly the same time as the humans known only as the Lord of the Flies.
• Big Damn Heroes: Snake gets a couple instances of this, the first during the mane 6's fight against IRVING, and again during Twilight and Trenton's fight against monster-Chrysalis
• Break the Cutie: Each of the ponies learn first hand that War Is Hell.
  • Special mention goes to Cherry Jubilee, who got to experience the soul-bleeding of the entirety of Dodge Junction first hand. The poor thing is so traumatized afterwards there's nothing left of the person she was.
  I couldn't help wondering what sort of person Cherry Jubilee might have been like before. She struck me as similar to Applejack, but, somehow, even folksier. Her scars ran deep, but that smile was a glimpse of someone else. Someone vibrant, and vivacious. Someone I think I would have enjoyed getting to know – someone who, tragically, may have been lost forever among the sands of Dodge.
• Breather Episode: Chapter 15
• Call-Back: A number of them are made to both series.
  • The events of Stare Master are the basis for a fair amount of drama in the early chapters.
  • Pinkie's Motor Mouth abilities are once again weaponized, this time against a timberwolf.
  • When Snake meets Zecora, she refers to him as "a snake not made by nature." Several chapters later, a crazed Cherry Jubilee refers to him as the same thing, prompting Snake to wonder how they seem to know so much about him.
  • On more than one occasion, Snake tells the ponies "You're pretty good."
  • When Twilight expresses desire to go to Dodge Junction and into an obvious trap, Snake tells her that Trenton is "playing her like a damn fiddle!"
  • Applejack angrily refers to Snake as a "son of a diamond dog" when they first meet.
  • XMG IRVING-00 serves as both this and a Call-Forward, being a prototype GEKKO outfitted with The Boss' AI
  • Upon his return to Ponyville with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Snake asks the rest of the mane 6 whether he kept them waiting.
• Cooldown Hug: Twilight gives one to Rarity while the latter breaks down over Spike's coma and Rainbow Dash's presumed death.
  • Later, she gives another to Cherry Jubilee.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Snake, of all people, fills this role as he slowly warms up to the cuddly ponies. Despite his insistence that he's not.
• Dirty Coward: Trenton's favorite battle tactic is to use children as meat shields. When Applejack calls him out for doing so, he simply replies "The tactic works." He probably learned it from his bosses, the Patriots, who also like to threaten children to get people to obey.
• Disney Death: Rainbow Dash is crushed by falling rubble and her friends are forced to flee and leave her before the whole place comes down. But several clues seem to indicate that she's Not Quite Dead, and indeed, by chapter 14 she's back with Twilight and Snake.
  • Similarly, IRVING appears to suffer a Disney Villain Death, but shows up a couple chapters later. Of course, by this point all it can do is ask for a Mercy Kill.
• Doomed Hometown: Dodge Junction for poor Cherry Jubilee.
• Enemy Mine: Twilight teams up with Trenton in chapters 13 and 14 as she goes up against golem-Chrysalis. She spends every second of their temporary alliance (understandably) distrustful and resentful of him.
• Fire-Forged Friends: A mutual respect gradually builds between Snake and the Mane Six after several close calls.
• Flashback Cut:
  Apple Bloom: Don't sound like you're very close, iffin' you're talkin' 'bout your brother like he ain't even alive. He ain't nice to you?
  (Flashback to Liquid killing Gray Fox and taunting Snake.)
  Snake: Not especially, no.
• Giggling Villain: Macbeth, being insane, suddenly breaks into shrill laughter during his Motive Rant.
• Got Me Doing It: Twilight catches herself repeating statements as questions at one point. She blames it on Snake.
• Healing Factor: Many of the enemies the heroes face have one to some degree, including Trenton and IRVING, but special mention goes to monster-Chrysalis, who could regenerate entire limbs in seconds.
• Hidden Depths: Who knew Pinkie was interested in big mystery novels?
• Humans Are Warriors: Despite lacking the advantages of magic or even technology, humans still managed to send an invading alicorn god-emporer and his army packing millennia ago.
  Discord: The first thing you should know is that human beings are special. And I don't toss that word around lightly. To see a people so brilliant, so capable, so driven to plumb the mysteries of the universe – if they ever put their heads together, they could do wonders, Luna. Miracles to rival the Elements, even creation itself! But – and here's the funny part, They squander their gifts on petty little turf wars and philosophical pissing contests. Wars over this god or that, over who has the right to some virgin bride's maidenhood, over whether they'll have ham or mutton for dinner. No matter is too trivial, no prize too small. And all their drive to understand and create has ever gotten them are new and exciting ways to destroy one another. Even in my experience, that's not something you see every day.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Twilight attempts this with Queen Chrysalis of all people. Even more, it actually works... until the Greater-Scope Villain simply assumes direct control.
• Mercy Kill: Snake performs one on a wounded timberwolf after a fight with a pack of them. Some time later, a heavily damaged IRVING shows up asking Fluttershy to do the same. Both events seriously affect her.
  • Again, Snake and Cherry Jubilee both perform one on Queen Chrysalis. Or rather, what was left of the abomination she was turned into.
• Must Have Nicotine: Snake has trouble having a smoke when he wants one, considering Twilight keeps taking his cigarettes.
• Oh, Crap!: Upon seeing Solid Snake in Equestria for the first time, Commander Cain immediately orders a retreat and levels the entire castle they were in. Considering he was there for the fall of Zanzibar Land, the reaction makes sense.
• Our Zombies Are Different: The ponies of Dodge Junction have been turned into "golems": a by-product of the process of bleeding their souls from their bodies.
• Parrot Exposition: Snake does it as much here as he does in his home series, to the point where he even gets some of the ponies doing it. After reuniting with Snake when they'd been separated for a couple of chapters, Twilight privately admits that she missed her "growly echo".
• Private Military Contractors: True to form for the Metal Gear franchise, the main enemy faction is one such group called Pegasus Wings.
• The Reveal: Chapter 17, Where Trenton's true identity is revealed to be Paz Ortega
• Rock Beats Laser: Averted hard when Pegasus Wings attacks Canterlot. The pony military's spears and bows are simply no match for Pegasus Wings' armored vehicles and automatic weapons, despite being outdated by the standards of most modern human militaries. And that isn't even counting the small army of prototype GEKKO they deploy. Of course, much of Pegasus Wings' success in the battle is owed to the fact that they had a solid plan of attack and the element of surprise, and that Equestria's military was severely neutered by the Pax Equestria demilitarization laws. Macbeth even notes that Equestria might have fared better against them under different circumstances.
• Samus Is a Girl: Trenton, aka Paz Ortega
• Shout-Out: To works both within and without the fandoms.
  • Pinkie Pie quotes Sherclop Pones when deducing where Apple Bloom ran away to.
  • Why are all the guns so poorly maintained and prone to jamming? Because they're from Far Cry 2!
  Captain Case: Can you even find Bowa-Seko on a map?!
  • Pinkie Pie dons a lab coat and clown nose and calls herself Patch Pinkie when trying to lift Snake's spirits in the hospital.
  • After Snake turns the Humvee into a car bomb, Pinkie decides to name it Explodey McGee, who was a major character in Human (which was written by PGS's editor, DannyJ)
    • The same chapter also has a reference to the Sunheart Company from Dragonfall, another of the editor's stories, which the author edits for in turn.
  • "Maiden of the Stars" is used as an epithet by one character.
• Taking You with Me: Commander Cain attempts this against Trenton. It doesn't work.
• Tearful Smile: Rainbow Dash as she thinks she's about to die.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Snake and Rainbow Dash butt heads constantly and come to blows at one point. Happens again between he and Twilight after Twilight manipulates him into escorting her to Dodge, putting a serious strain on their tenuous friendship. Then Twilight teams up with Trenton for a chapter and a half.
• Titled After the Song: Many chapters are named for either the title or lyrics from songs on the various Metal Gear soundtracks.
• Tragic Monster: Queen Chrysalis and her hive after they become golems.
• Would Hurt a Child: Trenton, who breaks a stand-off by threatening to test his sword's edge on Spike.

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Equestria Gear Solid: The Definitive Experience contains examples of:

• Accidental Misnaming: Principal Cinch refers to Twilight Sparkle as "Spickle-Spackle."
• The Ace: Trenton, a skilled athlete and left-wing intellectual. Also, as part of the "everything you know is wrong" ethos of the story, is a philanthropic gentleman.
• April Fools' Day: The story was originally written as chapter 16 of the main story, published on April 1.
• Black Comedy Rape / Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Happens to Snake at the end, courtesy of Midnight Sparkle.
• Comedic Sociopathy: The whole story runs on it.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Twilight. Multiple times.
• Moe Anthropomorphism: In this story, "Metal Gear" is just a sweet high school girl Snake is constantly trying to cock-block.
• Villain Protagonist: In both series canon and the main-line story, Solid Snake is a noble, unambiguously heroic figure. Here, he's a self-centered misogynist who ruins the lives of multiple people over petty grudges.