Falling Stars
(also available at FF.Net) by Rokas/Maddog3060 is a BattleTech/My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic crossover. Not to be confused with the Fallout 3/Lucky Star crossover of the same name.
A misjump brings two very different mercenary companies to Equestria: James McKenna VII's Dark Horse Brigade and Garth O'Connell's Desperadoes. When the latter takes a piratical interest in the planet, the former finds itself at a crossroads.
Compare and contrast The Thessalonica Legacy.
Falling Stars provides examples of:
- Alternate Universe: By author decree the Word of Blake uprising did not occur.
- Anyone Can Die: Named characters can and do bite it abruptly from an unlucky hit.
- Artistic License – Biology: Simply hanging out with humans was apparently sufficient for Rainbow Dash to gain some of the digestive flora necessary to digest meat.
- Bad Boss: Garth is a snappish sort who scolds his men for the slightest falling out of line and is willing to throw them into the grinder to save his own arse.
- Batman Gambit: In chapter 18, James tricks Garth into sending Desperadoes 'Mechs into flank the former... which puts them right in a trap.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: In chapter 18, some questionably sane pony engineers bring an ancient ballista to the fight against the Desperadoes.
- Carnivore Confusion: Rainbow Dash finds bacon wonderful, disturbing the others. The humans spend some time telling Equestrians that animals in their world are not sapient like them.
- Les Collaborateurs: Various ponies throw their lot in with O'Connell, including Trixie.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Pegasus-dropped rocks cannot One-Hit Kill a 'Mech, but in sufficient numbers they can do real damage.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The Desperadoes 'Mechs (all of them, plus the Dropship) severely wounding Celestia. It should be noted that they only succeeded in doing so after ten minutes of sustained fire, and Celestia got in some good hits of her own.
- Fake Defector: Seabreeze.
- Fish out of Water: Premise of the story. A freak accident sends a whole spaceship of Humans and their technology hurtling into an alternate reality Earth.
- Hand Cannon: Ivan's 18mm pistol.
- Heroic BSoD: Fluttershy after witnessing O'Connell's first assault. Even initially learning of "friendly" humans like the Dark Horse Brigade leaves her paranoid, given how "unlikely" something as fragile as humans could be apex predators yet so adept at killing.
- Holding Back the Phlebotinum: Princess Luna has deep reservations about using the Elements of Harmony against the Desperadoes for two major reasons. The first is that it simply may not work, as they have never been used to do active harm to a living being. The second, and likely the more important reason for Luna and the ponies, is that there's the chance that if they do work, the Elements may very well kill the Dark Horse Brigade along with the Desperadoes. By erasing them from existence.
- Horror Hunger: Rainbow Dash eats meat...and loves it. Twilight is horrified.
- Humans Are Cthulhu: Twilight is weirded out by the idea of a universe functioning without magic, which is apparently one of the fundamental forces of Equestria's universe alongside gravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces. More directly, Fluttershy is disturbed that creatures with no obviously predatory attributes are so adept at killing though it's Ivan who breaks her out of her Heroic BSoD.
- Humans Are Warriors: Given that it's the BattleTech universe, this is a given. Most ponies can barely comprehend how Humans so easily kill, and that in fact, the Human demesne is so large it involves hundreds of millions fighting in huge galaxy spanning wars. Fluttershy recognizes this in ways other ponies don't, and it terrifies her.
- Humanity Is Infectious: Discussed between James, Rodriguez, and Melissa in chapter 12. Melissa questions that they are a corrupting influence on ponies, while Rodriguez believes they are educating on them the harsh reality beyond Equestria's safe borders.
- Last-Second Chance: In chapter 18 Rainbow offers a disarmed griffon a chance to flee. The other takes it.
- Moral Myopia: A Desperadoes pilot gets his jimmies rustled when Rainbow Dash blows up his wingman, not caring about the casualties they have inflicted on the ponies.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: Ivan, who can carry and use a massive Gatling Gun meant for Powered Armor and wrestles a manticore. And TAMES it. In midair.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: McKenna and the Dark Horses generally spend a lot of time explaining that Humans aren't always bastards.
- Mythology Gag:
- Flash Sentry briefly appears in chapter 18.
- Also in chapter 18, Rainbow mentions being able to remember something that she overflew while not actively paying attention.
- The Needs of the Many: When James is informed that the Elements of Harmony may very well erase him and the Dark Horse Brigade from existence along with the Desperadoes if they are used, he tells Princess Luna to use them if he and his mercenaries fail to stop O'Connell, as he considers the lives of himself and his company a worthwhile sacrifice as long as the thousands of ponies they promised to protect remain safe. Luna and the rest of the ponies at the briefing are visibly moved by this.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In chapter 17 Applejack is surprised that Rainbow is patient enough to help test a complex new piece of equipment.
- Outside-Context Problem: The BattleTech side.
- Rage Breaking Point: Twilight reaches it in chapter 17.
- Redemption Demotion: Luna can't use some of Nightmare Moon's powers like turning into an immaterial wisp.
- Redshirt Army: Equestria's military. No surprise given that they're fighting humans with tech that is considered millenia old by humans.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Apart from Celestia and Luna fighting the invaders, Twilight discusses this by saying that she doesn't deserve to get wings if she stays behind and lets others fight for her.
- Scifi Writers Have No Sense Of Scale: A smaller one, but Celestia's engagement with the Desperados is stated to have been around 10 minutes. From the scene described, the battle couldn't have lasted more than two or three.
- Shoddy Knockoff Product: Invoked. The Dark Horse Brigade is an In-Universe riff of the much more famous Eridani Light Horse Brigade.
- Shout-Out:
- James says the original Chew Bubblegum line before going to town on griffon attackers.
- Luna uses a Shoryuken.
- Ivan introduces the Ponies to his Bearhunter Autocannon named Sasha.
- Ivan has a cousin Zangief who wrestles bears and knows moves good for if caught in a Street Fight.
- “And may the Force be with you,”
- Take That!: Twilight reacts angrily when Luna accidentally lets slip that Celestia had plans for Twilight.
- Taught by Experience: Rainbow Dash has learned to fight manticores.
- Too Dumb to Live: By Celestia of all ponies, but averted at the last second. Despite the enemy being obviously overwhelming, and possessing a clear technological superiority of which was visibly demonstrated; Celestia attempts to fight an entire Battalion of mechs by herself. But beyond that, she stands still, right in the open with no cover, apparently in the belief that her shielding spells are just that good. She's proven wrong and nearly gets killed for it. Of course, her enchanted armor does take quite a bit of punishment, so she probably just got complacent.
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: Luna in chapter 17."I, Luna Nightbringer, Mistress of the Moon, Duchess of Yoke, Consul of Cloudsdale, Viscountess of Maremansk, Baroness of Las Neighgas and Salt Lick City ..."
- The Unexpected: Changelings in chapter 18.
- We Have Become Complacent: Twilight comes to this realisation in chapter 17, recognising the Medieval Stasis and Schizo Tech that has befallen Equestria.
- We Have Reserves: Inverted. O'Connell realizes that he can't repair all the battle damage the Equestrians will inflict on his mechs, since he can't manufacture replacement parts. He has to win a decisive victory against the ponies soon, and crush their morale so they don't even try to fight back anymore.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Equestrians are notably horrified by the thought of Humans killing animals to eat. Explanations are made that Human animals lack the apparent sentience of Equestrian ones. Of course, someone then points out that ponies kill plants; to eat lesser lifeforms is just the way of life.
- What We Now Know to Be True: Sort of. At one point Humans point out that stars and the sun are the same, and explain Heliocenterism. The ponies object to the Human's contradicting their Geocenterism model, influenced by the Princesses. Princess Luna immediately changes the subject.
- The Worf Effect: Celestia, who has basically been the establishing presence who has kept Equestria at peace by essentially acting as her country's 'Nuclear Option' against would be enemies, is overpowered in her first fight with the Desperados and nearly killed in Equestria's worst defeat in history. Although she gives them a few good licks of her own.
- You Monster!: Directed by Celestia toward O'Connell after he informs them he's there to rob them.
