Black and Mechanical

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Another peaceful day is about to bloom in the land of Equestria. The ruler of the land, Princess Celestia, performs her routine duty of raising the sun. She focuses magical power toward her horn, and a bright yellow star arises, liting the sky from a pre-dawn violet to a daytime blue. It continues to go higher and higher until it reaches its peak. The ponies who watch this occasion on a daily basis are always struck with awe as they look at the princess spread her wings in the midst of the sunlight, creating a silhouette. The day in Equestria has begun.

Celestia sits on her regal throne in the city of Canterlot. Everypony has some form of business to conduct from day to day. For Celestia, that is governing her land with a just mind and monitoring her star student, Twilight Sparkle, in her studies of friendship. Now the middle of the day, Celestia seems ready to recieve a letter from her pupil. All of a sudden, one of Celestia's guards gallops frantically towards her. He still maintains his sanity and does his usual gesture; this time, he is covered in sweat and anxiety.

"What is it?" asked the princess.

"We've... found... something... in the... Everfree... Forest..." panted the guard as he tried to take deep breaths to relieve himself. The princess, calm while trying to make out what is going on, asked the guard, "Go on."

"A fugure cloaked in brown that entered the forest, and not long before that happened, there was a strange portal..."

Just then, another guard runs to Celestia in the same fashion as the first, panic-stricken. From the look on the guard's face, he has a lot more to worry about. Like the first guard, he presents himself to the princess just as he would any other day.

"You too?" asked the princess. She begins to worry.

"Bad news princess, while patroling the skies of Manehattan, something huge and black just swooped passed me!" said the guard as he begins catching his breath after that statement.

Celestia pondered a bit about the mysterious figure in the forest and the black haze that left one of her guards frightened.

"How did this black thing enter?" the princess inquired the second guard.

He immidiately responded, "I don't know. All that I do know is that it just flew by me in a blur."

Celestia responded to that with another question, "Did you see a portal of sorts?" The guard remembered seeing something abnormal in the sky.

"Yes I have," said the guard finally recollecting everything from the event. The first guard thrusted his head up in a realization.

"What was the color of the portal?" asked the first guard with uncertainty and a bit of denial in his voice.

"It was... It was yellow... with a touch of pink swirl," answered the second.

The first guard backed away. Celestia, noticing this asked, "Is something the matter?"

The first guard responded promptly, "Yes. That's a problem. That is the same color combination as the portal I've found near the Everfree Forest: Yellow and Pink."

The second guard was astonished. "This can't be coincedence that another portal and the black thing are conected somehow. What came out of that portal?"

The first guard replied, "A mysterious man-"

As he was about to finish that very sentence, a third guard runs in just as nervous as the second. Celestia begins to notice something wrong.

"What is the matter?" Asked the worried princess.

Desperately panting, the third guard spoke with an exhausted mouth, "Something... over... Appleloosa... while... patroling... skies... big... mechanical..."

"Big and mechanical?" Asked the second guard. Now frightened, the second guard realized something. "Did it come from a yellow and pink portal?" the guard inquired in a terrified almost yelping voice.

"I didn't see where it came from," said the third guard finally calming down. "It just swooped over, and boom! It crashed just outside the town. I flew back here as fast as I can and-"

"Enough," interrupted the princess in a stern voice. She looked at the three guards, and she thought about the figure in the forest, the black thing, and the machine. The first thing Celestia always assumed about foreign beings coming from phenomenon such as wormholes is that they are dangerous unless it is a human; but then again, the nature and properties of Equestria require humans to become the ponykind. What kind of pony they become and what cutie mark they recieve is dependent on their personality and skill back in the human world of Earth. She has seen many humans come and go in Equestria. Yet, there are those that aren't affected by Equestria's rules. Those beings are the ones Celestia finds dangerous.

"You three may leave," said the princess. "I will handle the situation."

The three guards promptly obey and depart. Celestia becomes uneasy. By this time, she has gotten used to foreigners, especially humans, visiting Equestria. She thinks hard on the machinical figure that has landed near Appleloosa. Then, questions barrage the princess. Are they connected someway? Did they come from the human world? Why would humans send something black and mechanical to Equestria? Are they dangerous? If so, what harm are they capable of doing? Can she really handle something like this all by herself? Can she avert danger so nopony gets hurt? Being ruler of a vast land can be difficult at times.

Alone in her throne, she decides to write an urgent letter to her pupil, Twilight. Celestia isn't the type of pony to take chances when events of this magnitude occur, especially one that could jeopardize the wellbeing of Equestria. She quicly manipulates the pen with her magic. Finally finishing the letter, she hurriedly ignites the paper in a green flame before dissipating into ashes. "I fear for Equestria," said the princess in a dark, alarming tone as if startled by a haunting premonition.

__________

The Everfree Forest: a place of mystery and wonder. Always stagnant during day and night, it keeps its secrets well hidden under its thick, green groves and its enigmatic trees, almost to the point that sunlight doesn't even reach the ground. Everything about this place makes it stand out from the rest of Equestria. Almost devoid of pony interaction, it keeps itself alive and healthy by making everything care for themselves. Just about everywhere else in Equestria is dependent on pony interaction, but not this place. Even the clouds that overlook the forest do not need any pony help. They can move themselves just fine that is until they are beyond the reaches of the forest; then they need the help of ponies to move.

Deep in this forest, a mysterious figure, fully composed, looks closely at every detail around. Judging from its stance, one could say it is almost human-like. That's because it is human-like. The figure rushes to another area of the forest as if on a lookout for something. The figure looks further and further into the forest, until he sees the edge. Now running to the outskirts of the forest on the other side in which it entered, the figure sees a small town, and high above the town, perched on a slope, is Canterlot. The figure has travelled all the way across the Everfree Forest and has now reached Ponyville.

Even in broad daylight, it is difficult to make out this figure's face. All that can bee seen is the mouth. The gray hood covers much of everything about this figure's face. The figure looked at the town of Ponyville and its residents, tiny and unidentifiable in its point of view. The figure uttered something soft with a masculine voice, "No. You two aren't here. Or else this place would've been leveled by now. Where are you two?"

The figure veered off in another direction hoping not to make contact with anypony. Its sense of direction is unknown. All that is known right now is that this figure is on the lookout for something, but no one knows what it's looking for.

Chapter 2

In the vibrant town of Ponyville, a purple unicorn and her dragon partner are entranced in a deep study. Inside her library tree, Twilight Sparkle is documenting the results of a recent survey from many ponies that have accounts from the social network, Facehoof. The survey is a series of questions with two answers: Does everypony create meaningful friendships by just accepting a friend request, not even seeing that pony's face? Is it better than actually talking to that pony and hanging out, enriching the friendship? All these ponies had to do was answer yes or no.

As Twilight continues her research, Spike is usually by her side, aiding her in keeping her library well organized and providing her with the proper equipment needed to keep her research going. As Spike reaches for a much needed book, he suddenly pukes out ashes. The ashes rematerialize to paper. It is Spike's duty as the intermediary between Celestia and Twilight to not read any letter from the princess until Twilight reads it herself.

"Oh. Twilight, you have a letter from the princess," says Spike as he hands her the letter.

He sees Twilight in a deep trance from her own study. He gently taps her shoulder, knocking her back to reality. Back to her senses, Spike gives her the letter. As soon as Twilight holds the letter with her magic, the paper unravels itself. She carefully reads every letter with precision and detail. Then, her ears flop down and she begins biting her lower lips.

"What's wrong Twilight?" asked Spike.

"It's an urgent letter from the princess. It says to meet her in Canterlot pronto... alone," she responded.
Twilight immidiately heads out the door.

"Wait Twilight! What about your research?" responded Spike in worry.

"Just keep everyting organized. I'll finish when I get back," she responded in haste.

Before Spike could answer that statement, Twilight had shut the door tight. Spike looked around the seemingly tidy work area. He then sees the folders containing the survey and its answers. He holds the folder up and opens it to find a very tidy assortment of surveys with yeses in one pile and the serveys with noes in another. Spike examined the thickness of each pile; the yes pile was a lot thinner than the no pile. Satisfied with his examination, he closes the folder, and places it on the ledge of the table, with more hanging over the table than on.

"Well, the place looks tidy," Spike said to himself. He started for the door, almost excited to be free after hours of confinment in Twilight's library.

"I guess I'll go visit Rarity," he continued as his face blushed red. Finally outside, he swishes his tail and slams the door recklessly. The impact startled the library, shaking the books; but the more important thing: the folder containing the survey. It falls on the floor, disassembling the neat piles Twilight worked so hard to organize. Now, the floor of the library was covered by a carpet of white. The yes and no piles scatted all over each other creating a mess of yes surveys and no surveys. But Spike is outside; he hummed a tune while that happened, his mind stuck on Rarity. Spike simply continued on his merry way completely oblivious of the new carpet of paper consisting of Twilight's research.

__________

The train came to a halt in the Canterlot station. Not long ago, tall, strong, bulky stallions pulled each train. Humans who crossed over to Equestria during this time period, the humans would call these trains "horsepowered trains." Now, with the use of a unicorn driver, trains have become magic powered. A new type of train is in development: one that is automated, not powered by stallions or magic. The newer trains will function like modern bullet trains in the human world. One could ride the new automated train from Canterlot to Ponyville in under five minutes. This is the result of human influence in Equestria.

Twilight rushes out of the train. Usually on a casual visit to Canterlot, she would do a little sight seeing in her former hometown before visiting the princess, but not this time. Now, she galloped straight to Celestia. On the way, Celestia's guards intercepted her.

"State your business." Said one guard in a commanding tone.

"I am Twilight Sparkle, and I have recieved an urgent notice to meet with the princess right away." She responded.

The guard finally looks at her and immediately recognizes her.

"Oh it is you," He said as he stepped aside. "Please proceed."

Twilight passes by the guards. She is now inside the throneroom when she sees the princess herself still sitting on the throne.

"Princess!" called an excited Twilight.

"Twilight, it is always good to see you," Celestia responded.

"I got your urgent message. You wanted to see me?" Twilight inquired.

Celestia simply nodded in approval. The princess begins her approach. Her joyful look after seeing Twilight turns to a serious face. Twilight notices this, and her mood changes as well.

"We must get to business," said Celestia. "I have recieved reports of three wormholes occurences near the Everfree Forest, Manehattan, and Appleloosa. Furthermore, three foreign beings emerged from these wormholes."

Twilight had past experience with foreigners. All of them were human visitors. "Foreigners? Easy," she said in confidence.

"Oh, but one of them was covered in a black veil. It decended to Manehattan, and another one was reported to be covered in metal," the princess responded.

"Humans covered in black and metal?" asked Twilight.
A guard interrupts the conversation.

"Princess!" shouted the guard. "We've recieved word that the mysterious figure has been spotted!"

"What?" asked the princess abruptly. "Where?"

"The outskirts of Ponyville! He's heading to the portal as we speak!" the guard continued.

Princess Celestia was surprised, but also determined to capture the mysterious figure. She finally rose up and faced Twilight.

"Twilight. I have a very important task for you," said the princess in confidence. "I want you to follow that myestrious figure to the other world."

"But what will happen to me? I've seen people from the other world, but I haven't been there myself," Twilight responded.

"I'm not sure, but I can't let this chance slip by. I'm sorry to ask this in an abrupt manner," she said to Twilight. "I might put you great risk, and it'll be my fault for putting you through this."

"I can handle myself well," Twilight said in a reassuring voice. Twilight stood up in confidence and faced Celestia. "I cannot fail you my princess." She said. "So? Where is he?"

Celestia spread her wings and prepared for flight. "The outskirts of Ponyville. I'll take you there."

"You know the location?" Twilight asked in a perplexed manner.

"I'll simply look for a yellow portal with a pink swirl," the princess said as she took off. Accompanying her was a carriage piloted by her pegasus guards. "Come fly with me."

Twilight promptly boards the carriage. Celestia leaps into the air and gallantly spreads her wings in a gliding motion. Her guards follow with Twilight looking back at the shrinking Canterlot.The princess suddenly tucks her wings and dives straight down towards Ponyville's outskirts. Celestia only did this in emergencies concerning Equestria's wellbeing. Her guards do the same. Twilight feels the rush of the descent and holds on with every inch of her hooves. Her eyes and mouth begin flapping uncontrollably to the sudden burst of speed. As they pass Ponyville, everyone below looked up in wonder of seeing Celestia. Twilight gazed at the ponies down there. They were minescule in size to the point that she couldn't make out the ponies that looked alike. At long last, Celestia touches the ground galloping. Her guards follow. Twilight dismounts the carriage a little dizzy from the sudden thrill ride of the descent, but she finally shakes her head back to reality. From Celestia's direction, the portal reached tthe height of the trees surrounding it. As the guard stated earlier, it has the yellow coloration with the pink swirl twisting inside.

"Is that the one?" Twilight asked.

"This is the one Twilight. I only know the stories these humans have told about their world. I don't know everything about the other world," said the princess. She paused for a second and looked down on the grass. "Is it right that I send my star student to the other world without any knowledge of what will happen?" she continued.

"Princess," Twilight responded. "I'll be fine. I have to do this for you and Equestria. This land might be in danger, and I've been through a lot of those," she went on in confidence.

"I wish I could have been the one who went. But Equestria need me to raise the sun," Celestia said in guilt.

"You can trust in me princess. I'll track down this figure, and I'll unmask him," Twilight responded once more. Once again with reassurance, the princess nods with approval for Twilight to enter the portal. Twilight approaches the portal with mixed emotions: excited that she finally gets to see the other side, anxiety that she will not know what will happen to her, and determination that she must do this for the sake of Equestria. She charges to the portal with all her energy and leaps forward. Her body dissappears into the yellow and pink portal. Celestia begins to worry already about Twilight in the other world. No pony in Equestria's history has ever done a feat as entering an entirely new and strange world except now. Celestia looks closer at the portal as if put in a trance.

"For the sake of Equestria, Twilight," she finished as she continued looking at the portal.

Chapter 3

Twilight emerges from the portal head first. She crashes on solid concrete with such force that her face becomes slightly scraped. Recovering, she finds drops of a red liquid on her hand. She looks at the red liquid, but she can't identify it yet. She has seen and researched this liquid in pony anatomy. Blood? Unicorn blood is not red like a human or an earth pony. It has more of a dark magenta tint. She can't believe that her blood changed color. She then examines her hand with the blood smear.

"Wait a minute! What is this?! What happened to my hooves?" Twilight was astonished at her new appearance, but she couldn't truly look at herself. What she needed was a mirror or a glass pan that can reflect enough light for Twilight to see her new body. She noticed her voice remained the same from Equestria. She sees a welcome sign; she approaches the sign that reads: 'Welcome to Stoneville.'

"Stoneville?" asked a perplexed Twilight. "I must be in the other world!" she finally squealed with excitement. She ran with excitement, but as soon as she began that, she fell with a thump on sidewalk concrete. She examined her legs and realized they were more slender than before. She got on all fours and felt comfortable with that. She began to move towards the town ahead. Her motion mimicked that of an ape on all fours rather than a pony. As she entered town, there were people who watched her simian-like movement with mixed expressions. Some laughed in secret while others questioned why she was moving like that. Twilight examines the buildings and the streets that encompass the town with wonder. She observed the cars while still walking like an ape. She finally reaches a low-lying glass being carried by two men. The men look at Twilight, confused as of why she's posed as a monkey rather than a human.

"Hey little girl," said the first man. "Why do you walk like that in public?"

"I feel comfortable doing so although my front hooves, back hooves, and pretty much everything's sore," she responded with glee.

"If you continue walking like that, not only will your clothes get dirty, but you're whole body will be in pain," the second man said.

"Clothes?" she asked. "Ponies don't wear clothes... well most of the time."

"You're not a pony, you're a human. What is your name little girl?" the first guard asked.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am a unicorn," she responded.

"Right, and I am a pegasus," said the first man in sarcasm.

"Actually, you don't even look remotely close to a pegasus," she said in a cocky tone.

"And you don't look anything like a unicorn," responded the second man. "Take a look."

The two men lower the piece of glass. Twilight, still on all fours, inches ever closer to the glass almost touching it. Finally, she takes a very close at herself, astonished at what she had become: a human... fully clothed. Her skin was a caucasian white just like the two men. She looked at her hair and eyes. They were the exact same colors from before. Her eyes looked human, but it still has her eye color. Her hair is simply her mane with the same colors. Twilight then looked at her body. She was surprised to see herself clothed from neck to feet. She observes the light violet collar accompanied by a purple tie that has her cutie mark. Covering her light violet buttoned shirt is a pale white colored sleeveless vest fully buttoned as well. Protruding from the vest is the violet long sleeves from her shirt.

"What is this?" she asked in surprise. "Why am I this... this thing?"

"You mean human?" answered the second man.

She looked down her legs. They are covered with a very dark violet capri pants extending just beyond her knees. Next, she examined her feet. Each foot was in a ballet flat shoe with the same color as her pants. A long white sock came with each shoe that extended up past her ankles. Each sock had three, thin, magenta stripes. She returned to her face. Then, she noticed something hanging from her ear. Dangling from her ears are small, almost unnoticeable earrings that strongly resemble her cutie mark.

"I'm human?" She asked once more.

"You mean you've never seen one in your life even though you are one?" answered the first.

"I... I need some time alone," she said in a panic stricken voice. She ran from the two men, still trying to mimic a pony.

"Oh yeah! You have scars on your face!" reminded the first man.

"Duh! I saw myself on the mirror just fine!" she responded.

She ran and ran until she lost sight of the two men. Now on residential streets, she catches her breath. She tries to comprehend the situation that she is no longer a pony. She picks herself up until she stands like a human. Wobbling a bit, she lunges one of her hands forward. The hand emits a light purple magical aura, and all of a sudden, she levitates herself. Using the sudden surge of magic, the human Twilight balances herself on her two feet. Still unstable, she begins to walk like a human at last.

"Sweet! I still have my magic!" exclaimed an excited Twilight. She finally examines her head. "Hey, where's my horn." She scrambles her hair to find her familiar horn, but to no avail. Realized, that her horn is gone, she calmly resumes her balancing position.

She takes very small steps at first with her arms extended to balance herself. For mobility, Twilight always used her four legs to move. Never has she used only two to get around. Walking like this is a whole new experience for her. She takes slightly bigger and bigger steps, each step becoming more balanced. She begins to pick up the pace, walking a little faster until she was jogging. Her arms moved naturally to the jogging. Twilight noticed this, and started to smile. She was caught up in the moment of moving like a human. Just then, focus came back to Twilight.

"Wait! I'm here to follow that mystery man!" she reminded herself.

As she refocused on her mission, she stumbled into a child. The two thumped onto the pavement with the child first then Twilight. She got herself back up quickly and looked at the child who was getting back up. His skin is the same color as Twilight's: caucasian white, but something was different about this kid's skin. In Twilight's view, his skin looked more artificial than what she observed from other humans. She gazed on his hair. It was pointy and dark blue. Each point drooped down a bit. The right side was thicker and longer than the left, completely covering the right ear. She was fixed on his eyes. His left eye was completely covered by an eye patch, so she focused on the right. The iris was a crimson red. She didn't see any eye color like that from any human or pony. Twilight towered over the kid in terms of height. The kid began to speak.

"You, who bumped into me. Identify yourself," spoke the kid in an emotionless voice.

"Me? I don't have time to identify myself. I have to follow something," she replied.

Twilight looked at the kid's clothing. Unlike the other residents, this one dressed heavily. Each hand was covered with a dark gray glove. Hovering over the gloves was a light gray oversized coat with an oversized hood that drooped behind the kid. Beneath that was a light brown suit all buttoned up. She looked at his shoes. It was black, just like everyone else. Finally, she glanced at his pants: gray cargo with the coat going down to his ankles. She examined his height. He was shorter than her. If one compared their heights side by side, the kid would measure up to Twilight's neck.

"No. I don't have to identify you. You are the stranger from the anomaly. The second one at that," he said.

"Wait, you know?" she asked.

"The first figure ran past. I know every resident in my memory. The two of you are foreign. Now identify yourself, or I'll do it first," he went on.

"Okay..." she said in an awkward tone. "What is your name little one?"

"You may call me Vender Kiddman. I await your name," he said in an autonomous tone.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'm Twilight Sparkle-"

"Hold it," Vender interrupted. "You are Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn from the animated show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'?'" his tone raised a bit.

"How did you know?! We've barely met, and you know me by name?" Twilight asked in absolute astonishment.

"Inconceivable. A fictional character created by human imagination cannot walk among the realistic world. It is simply inconceivable," he assured himself.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here!" she replied.

"Still inconceivable. Twilight Sparkle is simply an idea thought up by humans. Every character in every episode in every series performs the exact same functions over and over because the human developers write it down on script," he argued.

"My actions on script?!" Twilight said in an alarming tone.

"I know every episode by far. In each episode, Twilight Sparkle does the exact same things over and over," he continued.

A purple aura eminated from her hands. Vender takes note of that and lifts his eyepatch. An orange glow emits from his left eye before turning into holographic rays. The rays zipped and swirled through Twilight's hands, scanning every last ounce of magic. He scanned her hair, her earings, and finally her eyes. Twilight held her hand back, and the magic aura dissipated. She stepped back with caution. The orange rays vanished, but the glow remained. He returned the eyepatch over his left eye.
The boy gave a grim look.

"But how? This magic is the same she used from the show. This defies everything. This person is really Twilight Sparkle," he spoke with an ominous voice.

"Yeah... you're right for once," she scolded.

"How can this happen? I am speaking to a figment of human imagination. How can this Twilight Sparkle defy her functions and manifest herself in the world of reality?" Vender placed his right hand on his forhead, slowly driving himself mad. Finally, fed up with the boy, Twilight zoomed past him.

"Listen kid, there are simply things that just cannot be explained, and you just have to accept it as it is! Take my word for it!" She shouted as she distanced herself ever farther from the boy. As she dissappeared onto another street, the boy stares on with a worried but blank face.

"Something big is about to unfold. A Twilight Sparkle is evident enough. Besides strange things like this seem to happen at a frequent pace in Stoneville," he said as we slowly walked in Twilight's path. "I have her in my memories. I can now know where she is as long as she remains in Stoneville perimeters."

__________

There was a knock on the door. Down came a boy with brown bedside hair in a light green polo with light brown khakis. Like Vender, his shoes are black. He runs down the stairs with anticipation, stumbling along the way.

"Woah!" he shouted as he almost fell. "Goddamn stairs, I almost tripped there!"

He reached the doorknob, twisted it, and opened the door. There, a girl stood with an impatient face, her arms crossed.

"You better make this quick Dave," she said in a stern voice.

"Filly Cecilia... It will take an hour," David responded.

"Meh. I have time then," she said as she went upstairs.

Cecilia headed upstairs with David following close behind. She sports a red t-shirt with blue shorts. Like everyone, she has black shoes. Her hair is a long messy black. On each hand is a fingerless glove that goes to the base of each finger. David hastened her up the stairs.

"Don't wanna rush the initiation into bronyhood now would ya," he said in an impatient voice.

"I thought those were for 10 year old girls," she replied in reluctance.

"What?!" shouted David in shock. "You... YOU do not diss My Little Pony! Do you hear me?!" he raged on. "Men of all ages love this show from uh... 10 to 50-ish!"

"Stop say '50-ish'! You sound like a pre-schooler saying that," said Cecilia.

"You're overeacting again David," spoke a boy in a muffled yet audible voice.

This boy emerged from a room upstairs to the approaching pair. This boy wore a red coat with dark gray pants and gloves to match. His face was unidentifiable from the red hankerchief covering his mouth and the beige bandana concealing his head. Only his eyes are revealed. Orange hair protrudes from the bandana, almost seared.

"There are girl bronies; we call them Pegasisters, Dave," he continued.

"Mark, is the initiation thingy ready?" Asked David.

"It's been like that since 2 minutes from now. I just need to finalize 'The Last Roundup.' Both versions," answered Mark. "I will need 2 minutes," he said in an inaudible murmur that David and Cecilia can clearly understand as he returned to David's bedroom. Mark shuts the door as David and Cecilia lean at both sides of the door. As the two minutes lapse, David becomes increasingly impatient, each second with three taps of his right toe.

"Why are you impatient?" asked Cecilia.

"We need more to join the fandom... Ugh... and we need all the help we can get!" he shouted. "She can't die!" He went on.

"Who's dying? I thought it was a cartoon for girls and 30 year old men; no character can die," she answered.

The door flew open. Mark bursts out with excitement. David was ready to run to his room.

"It's ready. Let the initiation begin," said Mark said in excitement.

"Finally!" exclaimed David. He ran first, shoving Mark aside. Mark simply shrugged and followed. Cecilia was the last to enter. Now inside the room, Mark slowly closed the door. David dimmed the lights. Both put on a white hood covering their eyes. David took out his i-pod touch and began scrolling down his list of songs until he came across the one desired. He attached the i-pod to a set a speakers; out came the sound of ritualistic chanting.

"You have that kind of music?" Cecilia inquired in suspicion.

"Brony David," said Mark in a deep murmur. "Will you present the Filly Cecilia with 'The Last Roundup?' The time has come," he continued with a muffle.

David, with the white hood covering his eyes, lifts his head in an attempt to view the screen.

"It's so goddamn hard to see with the hood covering my eyes!" shouted an irritated David trying to find the right places to click. He finally manages to position his head just right so that the hood stays on and he can fully see the screen. He clicks on the two minimized windows which showed YouTube videos of 'The Last Roundup.' Only one scene showed, the one where Derpy Hooves spoke. David played the original scene fisrt before playing the second. Mark observed Cecilia's reactions to each scene. As the last scene finished, Mark returned the room to its usual brightness. David muted his i-pod.

"So now what?" asked Cecilia.

"Who is the gray pegasus?" demanded David.

"Derpy," she responded.

"What scene do you prefer?" inquired Mark.

"The first one... I guess," she answered in uncertainty. "Wait a minute. Is this the pony you mentioned earlier?" she continued in realization as she eyed David.

"Hell yes! Hasbro plans to remove her indefinitely!" shouted David in frustration.

"They altered the scene because they found her eyes and her voice to be offensive as they think those relate to all mentally retarded people everywhere," Mark explained in a muffle.

"It sucks balls! Cecilia, do you like Derpy the way she is?" asked David anticipating on a yes.

"That change will not only affect that one scene, but the rest of the Friendship is Magic Lifespan. A true brony or pegasister would want to keep Derpy alive. The choice is yours," continued Mark also hoping for a yes. Cecilia pondered for a good minute. As that minute became used up, she raised her head with a determined answer.

"Yes," she answered in a monotone.

David and Mark looked at each other, now secretly coordinating on a decision. They both got the answer they wanted. Cecilia waited with their decision. The two stood up and faced Cecilia, and with a unified voice, they spoke.

"Welcome to the herd," they concluded.

"Wait, that's it? That's the initiation?" she asked.

"Yep," David responded.

"Derpy is just as important as the Mane 6 ponies. Liking Derpy is what true Bronies and Pegasisters do," Mark added on. Mark opened the door and led Cecilia out. David followed and shut the door. The boys took the white hoods, unveiling their faces.

"Finally, I can see!" shouted an energetic David as he hurled his hood down the stairs. Cecilia began walking downstairs.

"Well, that was some initiation into bronyhood," Cecilia said as she walked out the door. Mark tapped her shoulder to stop her.

"Now that you are Pegasister Cecilia, you must do your part and support the fandom," Mark informed in an inaudible voice. "Do not be those superficial bronies that are just there for the heck of being there," he warned.

"Yeah, yeah. I will," she answered.

"Promise?" David added.

"Yeah already!" she said impatiently.

"Pinkie Promise? Every brony and pegasister knows it!" commanded David.

"Um... how did this go again," she said while trying to recollect that phrase. Already suspicious that she does not know the pinkie promise, David started to groan. Frustrated, he let out a mild shout while clinching his teeth. He was just about ready to revoke her membership into bronyhood. Cecilia had to think fast. Luckily in the background, Mark simply made gestures of the promise, hinting each movement to Cecilia. She took notice of this and started to mimic Mark. Slowly but surely, she began to remember the phrase.

"Cross my heart..." she stumbled a bit. David eased up a bit and darted towards her, still suspicious that she wouldn't remember the remainder of the promise.

"And hope to fly..." she still had to struggle as she was halfway done. David inched ever closer to her, but Mark pulled him back. Secretly, he proceeded with the rest, making sure that Cecilia gets every bit of movement.

"And stick this cupcake in my eye!" she finished. David simply crossed his arms and nodded with approval with his eyes closed. Mark sighs, thankful that she remembers the phrase they gave her two days ago on a piece of tissue paper.

"Can I leave now. It's been like 20 minutes," she said as she walked backwards, distancing herself from the two boys. She gave them a hasty wave before running to another place. David and Mark eye each other.

"Was she really oh I dunno... 'in it?' Because it sounded to me that she wasn't," David speculated.

"She's just starting to expose herself to the world of the brony," Mark replied. He too walked away from David. "Well, I gotta go. It's getting late, and my dad doesn't want me gone for too long," he said in a parting voice.

"We should try this again with someone else!" David shouted at the distant Mark. Mark only responded with a wave of farewell. David closed the door. He looked down on the floor, doubtful that Cecilia won't keep her promise to immerse herself into bronyhood and save Derpy. He goes back upstais to his room, a little suspicious of her.

Chapter 4

In the skies above Manehattan, three pegasus ponies hover above the city streets. Zoomed in, they are Rainbow Dash, Derpy Hooves and Fluttershy. The three stare down at the many homes each will have to swoop down to. This is a big moment for Derpy because for her, it is time to implement her new mail delivery system. Derpy looks on at each residential home. Today, she feels confident that her new system will be a success. Just when Derpy is about to begin her descent, Fluttershy interrupts with a question.

"Um... excuse me Derpy, but what is it that we have to do?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Ugh..." responded Rainbow Dash. "Do I have to go over that for the eleventh time?"

"Yes..." Fluttershy smiled softly with a squeal.

"Fine!" Rainbow Dash said reluctantly. Derpy simply looked on while the conversation ensued. "First of all, we each take a different section of the city. Second, we each swoop down street by street with a predetermined list of mails already sorted by street adress by a group of unicorns. Third, we each drop each mail to their designated houses on a systematic basis. And that's about it," she finally concluded.

"Oh okay," said Fluttershy with confidence. The three ponies prepared each sorted pile of mail. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy readied themselves into position.

"Readee?" shouted Derpy in excited, goofy voice.

"Ready whenever you are!" responded Rainbow Dash.

"Aend, Gyao!" Derpy commanded. The three pegasus ponies darted off in separate directions. They zipped past each street, filling each mailbox with piles of scrolls and envelopes. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy did their duties, the former covering the northern section with the latter doing the southwestern section. That left Derpy with the southeastern section, the last third of the city. Unlike the last two, she did not fare as well. Swerving left and right, Derpy, with her tongue sticking out, threw everything from the windows to the sidewalks and even the pedestrians now pelted by paper. Derpy became blinded with excitement that she swooped street by street until she unknowingly went beyond city limits. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy returned to their original spot before the big delivery, but Derpy did not appear.

"Finished..." panted Fluttershy.

"How did you fare?" asked Rainbow Dash. All Fluttershy did was show her the empty mailbag.

"Good job," Rainbow Dash approved. She showed Fluttershy her empty mailbag. "I did 26 streets in under a minute. Oh man did it feel great!" she continued. She looks around for the last pegasus. "Where did she go now?"

The two pegasi look around Manehattan's perimeter. This is critical because Derpy's delivery system is already in deep jeopardy due to Derpy's tardiness and clumsiness. Fluttershy hovers over the eastern section and Rainbow Dash soaring the western section. Just then, Rainbow Dash spots a messy trail of paper. She immidiately suspects that Derpy did this because she has seen her mess up before, even on the most important task like ensuring that her new delivery system works.

"Derpy..." Rainbow Dash spoke in an accusing wisper. She followed the trail of paper until she reached the city limits where Derpy was hovering. Filled with dissappointment, Rainbow Dash approached Derpy. However, she didn't seem like her usual self this time.

"There you are! You know, this was supposed to be a big day for you!" Rainbow Dash scolded. "You've spent months developing this system, and now you blew it!" she continued berating Derpy, but Derpy simply looked on with no response. Irritated that Derpy kept ignoring her, Rainbow Dash darted in front of her and continued scolding. "We backed you up this time! And now what happened?! You ruined it, YOUR system!" Rainbow Dash yelled with redness on her face. Just then, Derpy snapped back from her trance. She listened to every word yelled at her face.

"I dyon't know what I did wrong. All I did was zyoom all arounnd the streeets like I tyold myself," Derpy apologized with her tounge still out.

"Oh yeah?! Well-" Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped. Her frustration turned to anxiety in an instant.

"Rainbowe Dyash?" Derpy asked.

Rainbow Dash's body shivered uncontrollably. Fluttershy appears from the distance and zooms in on the conversation.

"There you are Derpy," said Fluttershy in a worried voice. "Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked. Fluttershy takes notice of Rainbow Dash's unusual behavior. Then, she notices a black feather on one of Rainbow Dash's wings.

"Rainbow, where did that feather come from," asked Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash checked her wings, and there, appeared a black feather. Rainbow Dash brushed it off ond held it on her hoof.

"I don't grow black feathers!" yelled Rainbow Dash. Right as she finished, there was a loud yet low-pitched roar. Just beyond the pegasi, erupted a vortex of black feathers. All three pegasi can only gaze at the shape emerging from the black whirl. Black rags that it takes for wings the size of trees sprouted from the blackness, followed by arms sleeved in torn rags of black veil. Each claw that protrudes from the rag is a crooked beige, putrid to the eyes of all. Each claw zig-zagged and curved to an end. Out came the legs, looking somewhat like the arms, except they're more bulkier, and each talon is thicker. Fluttershy squealed in fear and flew behind Rainbow Dash. Derpy, unwavered, rushed forward to the blackness.

"What are you doing?!" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Ay caime to chyek it out!" Derpy replied. Derpy flew to the cyclone of black feathers. There, she heard the deep roar coming from within the cyclone. Finally, it revealed its face, or rather, a black veil covering the face. The vortex dissipated, revealing the rest of its body, all covered in black rags. It held its head high and roared some more. The only part visible behind the floating veil are its menacing, red, reptilian eyes that pierced the blackness around it. Her ditzy eyes meet the reptilian eyes of the black creature. Derpy hovers around trying to get a good look at the creature. She lands on its veil and bounces with jubilation. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy move in to stop Derpy's antics.

"That's it! We are outta here!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she grabbed Derpy away from the monster. Just then, Derpy's mailbag tore right open, and a plethora of objects rained down on the creature. These include: a ship anchor, a piano, a safe, and a lot of unsent mail. Fluttershy noted each object and wondered how Derpy was able to fit all of that into her mailbag.

"How did she do that?" she inquired. Each object landed on the creature's covered head. The creature started to shake, furious that it was attacked. It locks on to Derpy and Rainbow Dash and spreads its black wings wide open. A black swirl of feathers appeared from each wing. The creature positioned itself to launch its attack. Fluttershy, following behind Rainbow Dash, looked back at the creature, now launching its attack. A burst of gale spouted from one wing and another one from the other. Each gale went straight for Derpy.

Fluttershy immidiately took action. She closed in on Rainbow Dash who is still carrying Derpy, looking at each stream of wind creeping closer and closer to the two pegasi. Derpy observes everything that is happening around her and alerts Rainbow Dash of the incoming gust.

"Lyook Ouwt!" shouted Derpy. Rainbow Dash looked back at the homing gale, which is now behind her.

"Woah!" Rainbow Dash shouted as the gale begins to engulf her. As a valiant act, she tosses Derpy so only herself will take the hit. Fluttershy catches the thrown Derpy and watches in horror as Rainbow Dash is thrashed violently around inside the gust.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried as she struggled to even look for her in the midst of black feathers. She lets go of Derpy, who floats her way back up, and looks at the monster, trying to gather all her confidence to confront it. But before she can even face the creature, it soars past her with its giant wings flapping effortlessly. The gale begins to weaken and weaken until the feathers slowly drift to the ground. A battered Rainbow Dash begins to fall to the ground, but Fluttershy catches her.

"I got you Rainbow! You'll be alright," Fluttershy reassured the unconscious pegasus. Just then, Fluttershy and Derpy heard scream and shrieks from the cityfolk. The black monster landed on the main plaza of Manehattan. The terrified citizens ran at the sight of the black thing standing there. It spreaded its wings again, and two gales formed at each span, just like last time. It positioned itself again and fired both simultaneously. At an instant, parts of the buildings that lined the streets flew right off, sometimes with whole buildings ripped right off the foundation. The ponies caught in the attack were flung around like Rainbow Dash; some flew right out of the city; while others crashed on the ruined buildings. The black beast roared at the sight of destruction. It now raised its right claw, purple energy clustered around it. With a very low-pitched roar, it swung it down with a mighty swoosh. The terrified ponies were confused that nothing had happened. All of a sudden, a purple stream of energy appeared right above a building and tore right through it, reducing it to mere debris. The confused ponies reverted to their frightened state and ran some more.

Fluttershy and Derpy were speechless at the disaster that was unfolding right in front of them. But that was the least of it. Now, the black moster opened its arms wide open along with its wings. Black energy was focused on every standing building and every terrified pony in front of it. With a roar, it released the black energy, blasting everypony and everything into oblivion. Fluttershy, horrified at the site, simply could not muster herself to face the monster. With the still unconscious Rainbow Dash held on her hooves, Fluttershy darted towards her house, not screaming as she usually would as the monster would hear her and attack without hesitation. Derpy followed her, also not making a sound. The Black Destroyer continued its rampage on the city.

Chapter 5

On a pony-powered train, Applejack and Pinkie Pie look outside the window across a vast desert. Pinkie Pie decides that this view is boring and recedes back to her seat. Applejack remains on lookout. Finally, she sees specks of small wooden buildings emerging from the horizon. Their destination is at hand. Excited, Applejack returns to her seat and tells Pinkie Pie the good news.

"We're almost there Pinkie," Applejack said. "It's been a good long while sinse we've visited Appleloosa."

"Okie-dokie then!" Pinkie Pie shouted with anticipation. She took out a camera from an unlikely compartment, her mouth. Covered in her drool, she takes a napkin from another unlikely compartment and wipes it clean.

"Um, why was that in your mouth?" Applejack asked the obvious.

"Duh... I have nowhere else to put my things, so I put it in my mouth," Pinkie Pie answered.

"I don't wanna know where the napkin came from..." Applejack continued. "Oh, and why'd you bring your camera?" she asked.

"Well, I am making a scrapbook of everyplace I visit, so I can relish the memories of these places with my friends," Pinkie replied.

"That's sweet of ya, sugar," Applejack said in affection.

"Now entering Appleloosa Station," a voice spoke from each loudspeaker. At moment's notice, everypony packed their possessions and waited for the train to come to a stop. Applejack did the same and gathered her belongings as well. Pinkie Pie strapped the camera around her neck.

"Once we get out, I'm gonna take pictures of eeeveryyyyy pony in Appleloosa!" Pinkie Pie said in excitement. The train started to slow down. "Why did you come here again Applejack?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I've got to check with Braeburn on the apple trees," Applejack reminded her. The train came to a halt. Everypony picked up their gatherings and waited for te doors to open once more.

"Now arriving at Appleloosa Station. Have a nice day," said the voice. The doors opened, and one by one, the ponies filed in the main hallway of the train. Eventually, the hallway was empty enough for Applejack and Pinkie Pie to enter. Applejack patiently followed the group. As she looked around, she couldn't find Pinkie Pie anywhere. Thinking to herself 'where'd she run off to now?' she simply continues with the exiting group. As she emerges from the train, she already finds Pinkie Pie outside the train taking pictures of the train station and anypony that is near her.

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack called. And just like that, she ceased her photography frenzy and reappeared right behind Applejack, all in a second. "Don't wander too far okay?" Applejack reminded her.

"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie Pie answered in her usual glee.

The two ponies now make their way to the main street of Appleloosa, a dirt road that divides the town in two. The main street has two endpoints: the Appleloosa Station, and the Appleloosa Saloon. As the day reaches its peak, the commotions that go on at the main street becomes crowded with all the townfolk going from place to place. At the center of this commotion, Applejack spots a familiar pony near the saloon. She also sees Pinkie Pie going on her picture frenzy, getting a picture of every building. Ignoring her this time, Applejack makes her way to the familiar pony. The earth pony instantly recognizes her.

"Applejack?" the pony called.

"Oh there you are Braeburn!" Applejack answered. She rushed towards Braeburn with haste, ever eager to see him.

"I'm so glad you decided to visit A-yaplelooosa!" he said with such enthusiasm. "So what'd you come here for? The Equestrian-renown Appleloosan Apple Cider, the Appleloosan Apple Hashes, or did you come to see the Appleloosan Band play at the saloon this evening?" he chattered on.

"Braeburn," Applejack called as she became assertive. "Don't you remember what I wrote in that letter that I sent to you last week?" she tried to remind him. Braeburn thought for a minute; then he remembered her message.

"Oh yeah. The Apple Orchard. Right," he said with a snap of his hoof.

"Finally," Applejack said with a sigh of relief. The two began to make their way to the orchard in the midst of Pinkie Pie's picture frenzy. As the two ponies calmly walked, there were sudden flashes coming from all over the place. As the citizens tried to ward her off, Pinkie Pie simply homed in like a predator and snagged an unfortunate picture buddy. She threw her camera up high while keeping a tight grip on her picture buddy and smiling with a grin the spanned to each of her ears. Set to automatic flash, the camera got the precise moment at its peak. When it started to descend, she ran forward to catch the camera right before it hit the ground. From there, she would find another building and another pony to take a picture with.

Very much ignoring her now, Applejack continued her way to the orchard with Braeburn. The two arrived at the orchard at last. Applejack immidiately went to work, observing each tree bark to see if they are healthy enough to sprout healthy apples, examining each growing apple to see if they were growing as scheduled, and studying each branch to see if they grew an adequate supply of apples. Braeburn measured each distance from each tree to ensure that every apple is picked and gathered in open space and that no apple is left stranded behind two overlapping trees. As hours passed, the two ponies, after examining each tree with crucial detail, returned to the entrance of the orchard tired and exhausted. Here, they are looking out at the orchard. Satisfied with the results from today's inspection, Applejack picks up her mug and sips down a refreshing apple cider.

"The apple orchard is fine and just about ready for harvest!" Braeburn said in excitement. Right when he was ablout to takeh is sip of apple cider, Pinkie Pie bursts from the keg where the earth ponies put their mugs. Cider drips from her pink mane and camera. In an instant, she throws her camera high up, set at a timer until it takes the photo. She positions herself between Applejack and Braeburn. Her determined face to get a photo turns into a smile as she squeezes Applejack and Braeburn forcefully into the photo. The flash happens, all as planned before the camera lands in the cider, all planned. Pinkie Pie now rushed to the camera and ducks her head in the cider, trying to get it.

"Whoa! What's going on with your pink friend?!" Braeburn asked.

"There! My mission's complete," Pinkie Pie responded as she picked up her camera soaked with cider.

Just then, there was a rumble that shaked the trees of the orchard. One tree was knocked out of perfect alignment. And this put Braeburn in a state of displeasure.

"What's going on?" Applejack asked. She only saw Braeburn run off to the source of the shaking without an answer.

Applejack followed Braeburn, and Pinkie Pie followed Applejack. Suddenly, more rumblings occur, this time stronger than the last. Some apples from various trees are knocked down, but Braeburn runs on, inching himself to the source.

"Wh-wh-wh-why-y-y i-i-i-s-s-s th-th-th-e-e-e gr-gr-gr-ound sh-sh-shaking?" asked Pinkie Pie with excessive shaking.

"Beats Me!" Applejack answered briefly. After a few minutes of searching, Braeburn finally found the source of the shakings. Deep at the bottom of a crater, A large, gray capsule stood seemingly dormant. Its sheen stood out from the environment around it. Braeburn fearlessly treked to the bottom of the crater towards the capsule. As her neared the giant gray object, he grew a bit hesitant.By the time he as at hoof's length from the object, he was shaking. But something drove him to go on. With curiosity and dissappointment for the ruining of the orchard, he punched the capsule.

Surrounding the crater were dented trees that are now out of place. Fallen apples line perimeter of the crater with a pool of red apples surrounding the capsule. Many apples were dirtied from rolling off the branches of the ruined trees while many more were squashed from being near the foreing object. Braeburn became furious from all of this. Putting his hoof down, he backed away with dignity and hesitation towards the object but still have enough distance to touch the object.

"Y'all take that you orchard ruiner!" shouted Braeburn with reluctance. After seeing no response from the object, Braeburn decided to throw a rock from the midst of the red apples at it, this time with more confidence. he picked up a rock with his right hoof and hurls it at the capsule. A loud clank echoes through the orchard and dissipates when Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrive. They immediately see the gray object and its sheen of light.

"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack asked. She was still trying to grasp the idea of what it may be when Pinkie Pie picked up the rock that Braeburn tossed earlier and throws it at the object. The impact marks a dent on the machine, more than Braeburn's toss. Another mechanical noise echoed through the orchard, this time more louder than the previous.

"It's a UFO!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "There's no denying it. I mean that sound is a dead giveaway."

"Get away from it Pinkie! I dunno what that thing is, and I don't want to find out," replied Applejack as she pulled Pinkie Pie away from the crater.

Deep in the crater, Braeburn is now throwing the mashed apples at the object. Applejack sees a few go over the object and immediately knows it's Braeburn hurling the apples. She runs to the other side of the crater to find Braeburn doing just that. Fearlessly, she goes to the center to bring him out.

"Braeburn!" Applejack scolded. "What in the hay are you doing?!" she continued as she dragged Braeburn up to the edge of the crater. Rigt as she begins to scold Braeburn at the edge of the crater, there is a flash, then another one. Applejack turns around to see Pinkie Pie snapping pictures of the object.

"This... is... going... to... be... GREAT!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she snapped from every pause.

Now out of film, she stashes the camera in her compartment. Then came a rumble, this time with mechanical sounds. To everyone's astonishment, especially Pinkie Pie's, the object started to morph. With geometric forms overlapping, it presented itself with a new form. From its posterior facing Applejack and Braeburn, a tail emerged and skewered the gravel as it extended to full length.

"Ah! What's going on?" said Braeburn with a scared voice in the midst of the mechanized sounds. His legs were trembling.

"Pinkie Pie! What did you do this time?!" berated Applejack.

"What? All I did was take a few pictures," she responded.

Legs protruded from each corner of the ever-changing machine. The four legs touched the ground in a cold crash. The machine now lifted itself up and began to move about. As Applejack was about to approach Pinkie Pie, there was a mechanized roar. Its morphing is nearly complete. She stopped in place at the presence of its autotuned roar. Applejack turned to the crater to see the thing. Almost finished, the machine now took the shape of a lizard. Every body part bears the resemblance to a reptile, save for it being entirely mechanical. Finally, the head emerges from its innards. The transformation is complete.

The creature now sports an array of gray shades from the silver tail to the darker gray of its frontal parts. Lighter gray covers the undersides of the beast. Streams of thin black lines run from front to back as each line denotes a separation of parts that overlapped while transforming. There are also darker circles that are either bulging or indented in the monster. Each of them contains a form of attack ranging from missiles to beams. The eyes are the only body parts that are not a shade of gray. Instead, they are yellow. The eyes are also steady: they do not blink, move, change shape, or even have any other color than yellow. With each intimidatingly polygonal shaped eye, the monster now focuses on the three ponies. Each pony is now together, huddled against another pony.

"I'm scared..." whispered Braeburn with a broken voice.

"I wanted to take a picture of that," Pinkie Pie spoke unphased, yet her body shaken.

"Of that? We gotta get out of here!" Applejack alerted both. Grabbing both ponies, Applejack fan as fast as she could out of the orchard and away from the monster. At the same time, it rocketed off the crater, with thrusters at its soles and headed towards the main town.

"When did it get those?!" asked Braeburn.

"It's heading towards town!" alerted Pinkie Pie.

Applejack raced the monster, but it was simply too fast. As the earth pony reached town, it was already overhead, with rockets, missiles, and projectiles all aimed at the town. Pinkie Pie gasped at the sight of all that weaponry. She took out her camera from her mouth to take a picture of it. But before she could snap the picture, it fired all of its weapons on the town.

"Appleloosa!" cried Braeburn as the three now stood there at the sight of the creature's destruction. Much of the buildings were blown off from the explosions. Many residential ponies ran from the mayhem while some were sent flying when they were caught in the blasts. The mechanical monster now made its way to the main street of the town. Landing with a powerful thud, it made a robotic roar that terrified the ponies that heard it. Keeping its mouth open, energy clustered into the mouth, long enough to turn white. Lining itself with the main street, it unleashed all the energy in several streams. Each stram ravaged everything in its path, buildings and ponies alike, leaving a burning trail in its wake. A few seconds later, more explosions followed, each following the burning trails and further devastating the town. The creature made one more autotuned roar at the sight of such destruction. The three ponies that stood at the edge of the town saw everything. Pinkie Pie dropped her camera on the ground.

"It's not safe here anymore," Applejack said with a scorned voice. "We have to get out of here now." She departs from town with Pinkie Pie and Braeburn following. Pinkie tries to cheer the other two ponies, but it does not work. Back at the town, the Mechanical Fiend condinued its rampage.

Chapter 6

Twilight has already mastered walking like a human. Now away from Vender, she resumes her search for the mysterious man. She searches street by street throughout the foreign town, but to no avail. "Where did he go? That kid said he was here!" She begins to become hopeless, but she presses on because of her duty to Celestia. Again, she searched street by street, building by building, still with no desired results. Now, she finds herself at the town plaza, sitting on a bench by the Stoneville Mall. Stumped, she ponders if she'll ever catch the mysterious man.

"Maybe I shouldn't have ran from that kid. Maybe Vender knows something about that figure," she thought. The more she thought, the more stressed out she became. By this time, she was already thinking about the consequences for nor finding and subduing the figure. Her head droops down from all the stress. Just as she was about to lose hope again, the hooded figure emerged from the other side of the street from an alley. The figure notices Twilight, and begins to walk away quickly. She picks her head up and the first thing she sees is the figure. "Huh? You!" shouted Twilight as she jumped from her bench and ran across the street without looking both ways. Onlookers were startled by the tone in Twilight's voice.

"That girl's crazy to just run like that," one pedestrian said as she quickly walked away. Drivers alike were swerving left and right to avoid the dynamic Twilight. Cars bumped into each other along the road, but there was still a clear path between Twilight and the mystery figure. Each crash evolved into a commotion as drivers from each car stepped out to yell at Twilight.

Purple aura eminated from Twilight's hands. By this time, the figure has already ran to the nearest corner and turned. Trying to subdue the figure, Twilight fires her magic at the fleeing person; however, the magic instead catches the pedestrians, snaring them in a tight grasp and suspeding them in midair. People began to run away, fearing the girl.

"Sorry!" Twilight shouted briefly as she chased the figure to the next street and the street after. "Wait! Come back here!" yelled Twilight. They both ran to another street in the residential districts. "That does it!" screamed Twilight impatiently. The purple aura surrounded her and enveloped her completely. The aura vanished in a white flash, leaving a black soot with smoke rising. The hooded figure looked back at the flash to find her gone. Thinking that the man is victorious in the chase, he turns his head back to find another white flash. The flash returned to the purple aura and then to a reappearing Twilight.

"A teleport spell..." spoke the man.

"Stop!" Twilight armed herself with magic. But the man knocked her aside and ran some more. The blow bumped her down to the sidewalk, and her magic dissipated. "Come back here!" she pounded her fist. She struggled to her feet as the figure ran farther and farther until he dissappeared. "Get back here!" she shouted at the fled figure. Back on her feet, she runs some more, in the same direction as the figure. When Twilight turned to another street, she lost sight of the figure. In frustration, she let out a yell and pants in exhaustion. At the same sidewalk, three children walked towards Twilight, unaware of her presence.

The left kid was a female. She is white skinned like Twilight with brown hair and green pupils to accomodate. There were two braids that extended from the sides of her hair, one braid on each side. Each braid appeared delicate and fine. Each braid was bound by white bands at the bases and towards the edges where the braids dissolve into strains of hair. The girl wore a light pink sweatshirt of wool, completely unbottoned with a white t-shirt beneath, all of them tidy. Her dark purple skirt completed her clothing set; the skirt extended to her knee. Her shoe was black just like everyone else.

The middle kid was also female. Like the other girl, she also has the same skin color. This girl is decorated in blue: the clothing, the pupil of her eyes, and even her hair was blue. The only thing that was not a shade of blue is her skin and her shoes, which were black. The girl's hair was long enough to weave and flow with the movements of her head. Its coloring is a lighter blue. Her clothing was also blue. Her sleeveless shirt is an aquatic blue that extends loosely to her waist yet covers all of her torso in one article of clothing. Like the other girl, she wears a skirt, but this one appears rigid and goes all the way to her ankles, almost making contact with the top half of her shoes. This skirt is dark blue. Additionally, they are also tidy just like the other girl.

To the right of the blue hair girl was a male. Everything about this kid's looks contrasts the looks of the blue hair girl. First, he has the Negro skin color. Second, he is covered in shades of red; the only things that was not red was his skin, his glasses, and his shoes which was black like all the others, although they were sneakers. His pupils glowed a bright and clear red. Furthermore, his hair was also a shade of red that is uncommon for people with normal red hair; It exuded a dark fiery color. The boy's shirt was a typical informal t-shirt with a red coloring of course. The boy wore deep red cargo pants that went just above his shoes. His glasses was a destinct black, and the perimeters of the glasses lined perfectly with the boy's eyes. Covering the boy's hands were fingerless gloves, one on each hand and each of the black in color. Unlike the two girls, the boy's clothing appeared a little dirty and wrinkled. All three of them have similar heights, but the blue girl was the tallest, and the braided girl was the shortest.

The three children were arguing as they approached Twilight. "Ugh! Erika, what's the point of showing you our little trick if you keep sleeping all the damn time?!" the red boy said to the braided girl in a fit of irritation.

"I can't help it! I just feel so tired today!" Erika responded with a despondent voice. She showed bags under her eyes at the boy.

"Great! Now Ashley and I can't do that goddamn trick anymore because I forgot what we had to do! When did you go to sleep?!" shouted the boy as he prepared to lash out on Erika. Out of fear, Erika let out a short shreik and raised her arms in defence. Ashley did a quick slap at Earl's raised hand. The boy begrudgingly lowerd his hand

"Stop it Earl! We'll simply find someone else to show our trick," she spoke in a stern voice. "Besides our trick is easy to do, and I can't believe you've already forgotten it! We just did it earlier this morning!" Promptly and impatiently, Earl looked around for the next person to showcase their trick, and he didn't care if the person was a friend or a stranger.

"How 'bout that person right there?" Earl pointed his finger to Twilight. Ashley and Erika also notice Twilight. Recovering from her little break, Twilight, about to resume her pursiut, notices the three kids. "You there!" Earl shouted crudely as he approached Twilight.

"Me?" Twilight answered in a bit of confusion.

"You're the next person I saw, and now you will see our little trick whether you want to or not! And you better not sleep like that girl over there!" Earl demanded. Twilight was quick to come up with excuses.

"Oh no," she said in a polite fashion. "You have the wrong pony... I mean person. Yeah," she continued with a hesitant smile.

"Pony?" asked Earl. "What are you on? Never mind. You're going to watch this, and there's no way out of it!" he asserted himself as he approached Twilight. He had to look up to see her face, as he only measured up to her chest.

"But I have something really important to do," Twilight tried to reason with Earl.

"No excuses!" he responded as he continued to assert himself more. Ashley tugged Earl back roughly.

"Please excuse Earl, he tends to be like this. Say, what's your name?" Ashley asked.

"Her name is Twilight Sparkle," a voice interrupted. Everyone looked for whoever spoke the line. Twilight was the first to spot the person. It was Vender Kiddman. Soon after, the other kids spot him.

"You again?!" Twilight asked dumbfounded as how he could of found her.

"Wait! You're the Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?!" Inquired a suddenly tense Erika. She took a moment to look at the human Twilight and compare her to the pony version. Finally seeing the resemblance, Erika gasps as she relizes that the purple haired girl is Twilight. "But how are you here? With us. As a human?"

"It's a long story that I don't have the time to tell," Twilight kept thinking of excuses towards Erika. She then turned her attention to Vender. "How did you find me?" she demanded answers.

"I store the images of everyone I meet to memory, and I use these images to create a database of everyone in Stoneville. Using my internal map, I can pinpoint the exact location of everyone in the town at any time during the day including you," he replied. His tone changed to a slightly intrigued one. "I remember what you said earlier, and I cannot simply accept the fact that you walk among the real. Tell me... Did everything from the show really happen in Equestria?"

Twilight wasn't paying attention to Vender's question. Instead, she eyed the apparently silent pink girl next to him. Everything about this girl was pink. Her skin was more bizarre than all the other kids; her skin is covered with pink fur, finely short and trimmed. The one thing that wasn't pink was her shoes; it was like everyone else, black. Her hair was a light shade of pink, and it was wavy and ruffled. Standing out from the hair were her pink ears. Unlike the other kids, hers stuck out from her head while the others were on the sides like normal humans. Furthermore, they are pink and cat-shaped. On the left side of her head laid a reddish-pink 8-petalled flower. Her clothes consist of a darker pink short sleeved shirt and a skirt; they are the same color, and none of them have anything decorative. In Twilight's view, the two articles of her clothing appear fused to make one bigger piece of clothing. Perhaps the one thing that really caught Twilight's attention from Vender was the girl's cat tail and extended claws. The tail swirled and swayed from side to side effortlessly by the cat girl. Like everything else, it was pink that matched her fur. Each claw appeared clean, trimmed, and sharp. It was gray which stood out from the rest of the pink. The girl continues to stand next to Vender, examining Twilight, bending and looking up and down.

"Well, are you goin' to answer?" the cat girl spoke fast and jubilant.

"Um?" Twilight became desperate.

"Is everything true?" Vender reasserted his question. By this time, every kid, fascinated to a degree by Twilight's presence, began to inch closer and closer to her. Still keeping to her priorities: mission first, sightseeing and kid meeting second, she turned frantic, and she needed to act fast. Going to her last resort, the magic aura seethed from her hands.

"Hey, what are you doing?" inquired Ashley.

"If she's Twilight Sparkle, she knows magic! Duh!" Earl answered rudely.

"That magic glow... I will know more about you," Vender said as he raised his eyepatch. Orange light rayed from his left eye and proceeded to scan her hands again. Twilight raises her arms then brings them down with might; her magic left a trail with her movements. The result was a white flash that temporarily blinded all the kids.

"Ah!" cried Erika ash she put her arms up to protect her eyes.

"What the hell did she do?!" demanded Earl. As the flash cleared up, only black soot remained where Twilight once stood. Immidiately after, every kid regained sight.

"She teleported. I didn't get to finish scanning her," Vender finally concluded. He now focuses on the cat girl. "Relia, did you get her scent?"

"That would be a big negatory!" she hapilly responded.

"Figures... Oh," something excited the cyberchild. "She simply teleported to another part of town, a part within my reach," Vender reassured himself. "Erika, Ashley, Earl. Would you like to come with us to see Twilight Sparkle?" Vender asked the other children. "It's a once in a lifetime chance to meet a fictional pony character humanized and walking in the real world."

"Sure!" Erika blindly agreed.

"I still want her to watch me do my trick!" Earl joined.

"You mean our trick..." Ashley continued.

"Then it's settled. Follow me," Vender led the group.

"Yay! An adventure!" Relia squealed.

The group of kids, with Vender leading, now left towards the section of town where Twilight has teleported to, according to Vender. They continued to walk casually towards a corner and dissappeared into another street.

Chapter 7

It was the mid-afternoon. At another section of town, two kids were running, one chasing the other. The kid that is chasing seems furious at the kid running. They continue to run through the trash littered roads of southern Stoneville. This section of town is unlike the others: dirty. Every other part of town looks fine and tidy, no spec of garbage drifting from road to road, no weeds sprouting from the cracks in the concrete and asphalt, and no dilapidated buildings ready to crumble at a moment's notice. Southern Stoneville has all three of these qualities, and it broods the struggling and uncivil residents. One of the running kids lives in this section.

Both kids are white skinned. The chasing kid sports a gray short-sleeved shirt with darker gray jeans to match. The kid's hair is black and messy as if he had just got out of bed. His eyes were gray colored. To complete his array of grays from white skin to black hair, his shoes were black. The kid measured up to the other kids that Twilight has already met, and so does the running one.

The running kid wears also wears a short-sleeved shirt with a color of pink grapefruit innards with tan trousers. The second kid's hair was black like the first, but his hair is slightly shorter and curly. His eyes were also gray, but a much lighter shade. Just like everyone else in town, his shoes were black. The running boy seemed scared at the chasing one.

"Get back here Nate!" the gray child shouted. For a while the two kept sprinting through the section of town; the gray kid kept his stamina steady while Nate began to slow down. Inch by inch, he got closer and closer until he finally tackled Nate to a sidewalk. "Gotcha, you prick!" he exclaimed as he pinned Nate so he wouldn't struggle.

"Gary, I didn't mean to do it!" Nate begged for mercy.

"Oh yes you did! You were the one who got me the 2 hour detention yesterday!" Gary recalled. "Do you know what I do to snitches like you?! Huh?!" he continued to threaten Nate.

"Don't hurt me!" Nate cried.

"I'm gonna-" something stopped Gary from further hurting Nate. The gray boy looked around until he saw a familiar figure. "Stay out of this Cecilia!"

Cecilia sighed. "Put Nate down," she spoke with an bored routine voice. She and Gary have been quarreling since they were in first grade. Gary bullies and Cecilia wards him off.

"Cecilia! Oh thank god you're here!" Nate exclaimed with a raspy voice.

"You do know what's gonna happen. Well, don't ya?" She continued with a cocky tone as she raised her right hand into a fist. She slowly approached Gary.

"You know what this is?" Gary further threatened Nate, blatantly ignoring Cecilia. "The part where I kill you!" he raised his fist. Just when the fight was about to ensue, there was a flash of blinding light.

"Grr... What the hell?!" Gary complained. From the flash, a figure formed: a human female, more specifically, human Twilight. She appeared hovering above ground in fron of the three, now huddled together in fear at the sight of Twilight.

"Protect me!" Nate squealed in a more raspier voice to both of them. As the flash cleared, her colors and form came into view. Cecilia recognized the color purple and the mane.

"You're a Twilight cosplayer," she concluded. Shoving Nate and Cecilia aside, Gary made his way to Twilight.

"Who the hell are you?!" Gary demanded pointing his finger on Twilight's left shoulder. Without any break from her encounter with these kids, she simply replied swift and without hesitation.

"Twilight Sparkle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to catch," she was at her wits end. Just when she was about ready to depart, more kids showed up, four more. At the sight of more children, Twilight was caught once again in the same situation from not long ago. "How many kids does this town have?!" Twilight was about to lose her patience. Two of the four incoming kids immidiately identified the purple mane with the small pink strip and the pony that has the mane.

"That hair. Are you some kind of Twilight cosplayer?" asked one boy.

"Dave, she just appeared out of nowhere!" Cecilia replied. Right after, another boy deduced, and came up with another conclusion. "Dave, I think that this is really Twilight Sparkle in her human form," he said with a muzzled voice. "She looks different than I imagined."

"Wait. She just appeared here? She used Teleport! Yes! I don't care if it's a hoax, I'm declaring you Twilight!" David went estatic. "Quick Mark, ask her a question!" Twilight put her hand over her face in dissappointment, but not before looking at the other two kids in the background.

The first kid was a boy. His skin color matched all the other kids around Twilight: white. The boy wore a light gray t-shirt accompanied by a goldenrod vest mounted on top of the shirt unbottoned. He had brown pants that went all the way down to his shoes which were black. His eyes was a clear brown and his hair firmly pressed beneath his goldenrod cap that he wore backwards. He stood behind David.

The other kid was a girl. She had a cerulean t-shirt paired with teal pants and black shoes to finish. Her eyes were also brown like the boy next to her. Her hair was flat almost featureless except the two short pigtails that sprouted from her black hair. She stood behind Mark.

"Is that seriously Twilight Sparkle from the show?" The boy behind David asked. David turned around disgusted as if the question disheartened him.

"You got balls to ask that Tyler!" David angrily responded almost shoving Tyler. "No it's not Twilight!" he continued sarcastically.

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked right back.

"Grr... Of course it is you butthole!" David answered.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm kinda in a hurry," Twilight interrupted.

"What's the rush?" the girl behind Mark inquired. Before Twilight could answer, the figure appeared from an alley. The figure looked at the group, and only Twilight took notice of the figure as the children were hyped in the moment of meeting Twilight.

"You!!" Twilight exclaimed at the figure. "You're not getting away from me again!" By that time, the children turned to the mysterious figure. Gary was the first among the kids to lash out as he usually does to a complete stranger.

"Who are you?! What the hell is this coming to?!" Gary asked the figure, but the figure did not answer. At an instant, Twilight finally let loose and dashed towards the figure without any concern for children safety by shoving the girl in the cerulean shirt to the ground. The girl fell with a thump, and Tyler rushed to her side.

"Melissa!" he shouted as the helped her back up; Melissa payed no attention to Tyler's aid. She already had her attention to Twilight in pursuit of the figure. Intense magic radiated from both her hands, ready to blast away at the figure. Once again, the concealed person fled, ever nimble and evasive.

"Oh no you don't! Your not getting away this time!" shouted Twilight as she blasted the figure with magic, but he simply evaded them all. She continued her pursuit, more determined than ever to capture him and bring him to Celestia; she payed no further attention to the children and ran off. David began to chase Twilight.

"Wait!" David said desperately waving his arms to get her attention. "I need to ask you things!" He ran after her.

"I'm not done with you Nate Cramer!" Gary said with his teeth clinched as he shoved Nate and Cecilia aside; he ran after Twilight, compelled to lash out at her more as he usually does to a complete stranger.

"Come back here Gary!" Cecilia shouted as she chased Gary. Soon after, kid after kid began to run after Twilight for different reasons, and Twilight payed no attention to any of them. Mark grabbed Nate and in impulsive behavior, dragged him.

"We gotta follow them!" He exclaimed to Nate with a muffle that Nate could understand. The two chased after the kids already chasing Twilight. Only Tyler and Melissa were left. The two looked at each other and then at the running children. For a while they stood at the same spot and looked at each other, trying to comprehend the even that just unfolded.

"I'm serious, did that she just blast magic from her hands just now?" Tyler asked.

"I think it was," Melissa responded.

"Should we follow them sis?" he continued.

"No way! After she pushed me like that?! I'm going home!" Melissa shouted in anger. She started to walk the away from the action. Tyler followed her. They kept walking, not talking to each other which was very unusual about the two as they would always talk about their experiences whenever they would walk home.

Meanwhile, the other group of kids, led by Vender, walk towards the site where Twilight was last standing, in southern Stoneville, confident to find her. All of a sudden, something startles Vender. He puts his pointer and middle fingers from his right hand on top of his head to focus.

"She's on the move. We must hurry," he said to the group. "She's about to leave Stoneville, and if she does, I will no longer be able to track her."

"I'm on it!" Relia shouted with enthusiasm. She ran forward not knowing where to go.

"But she has to see that trick! She is not bailing on me!" Earl easily became furious.

"Relia, I didn't tell you to do anything yet," Vender lightly scolded her as he watched her turn a corner. He sighed as he rushed forward. All of a sudden, Relia came running back, alarmed. Flailing her arms, she alerted the group of two children coming.

"Calm yourself," Vender asserted Relia.

"What is it?" asked Erika, concerned with the cat girl.

"Oh me?" Relia responded as she went back to her jovial self. "It's just those two," she pointed at two incoming kids coming their way.

"Is that Tyler?" Ashley inquired. She glanced to inspect some more. Coming towards them in casual speed was Tyler and Melissa. Melissa was leading the two, a little grumpy after Twilight's shove. Tyler looked at the group of kids coming their way.

"Sis, look! It's them!" He pointed at the group. Tyler rushed forward to meet them. Only Vender walked to greet them.

"Tyler? Melissa? What are you doing?" Vender asked.

"Going home!" Melissa shouted.

"How come?" Vender continued.

"We've had an encounter with Twilight... or a cosplayer?" Tyler inserted himself with uncertainty.

"She was there?!" bursted Earl. He barged towards Tyler and Melissa, demanding to know where she went. Vender halted him before he could reach the two.

"Tyler. Melissa. Come with me if you want to see Twilight Sparkle. Trust me, she is very real, and I know where she's headed," Vender assured Tyler and Melissa.

"Yeah. It's a once in a lifetime chance to meet her!" Earl added. Tyler and Melissa thought a while. Deep down in both of them, they really did want to see more of Twilight. Tyler was the first to answer.

"Fine, I'll come. But only if it means denouncing the cosplayer!" he said.

"Grr... Fine!" Melissa followed. She only agreed to come because of Tyler. Whatever he does, she is usually there to follow him.

"Then it's settled," said Vender in satisfaction. "Everyone, follow me. I believe Twilight Sparkle is about to head out of town, and if she does, I will not be able to find her anymore," he continued urgently. He pressed on as the group trailed in his stead.

"So what happened to you guys?" Erika became curious. "Did you really encounter her?"

"Yes... yes we did," Tyler said in confidence. "And I want to have a picture."

Vender's group was now in hot pursuit for Twilight along with the other group of kids. They turned to the corner where Tyler and Melissa appeared and kept walking in urgency in the dirty streets of southern Stoneville. Their excitement for meeting her only grew more now that Tyler and Melissa told them what occured. They eventually reached the very edge of town, where civilization and wildlife meet. Beyond the town was a large expanse of woods, much like Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. In front of the group was a trail of soft dirt, flattened with footprints. Vender took off his eyepatch concealing his left eye. Orange rays burst forth to analyze each footprint.

"Do you have to scan everything?" Earl impatiently asked.

"I have to see if I can recognize these shoeprints," Vender answered. "Oh... a match. I have confirmation that David, Mark, Cecilia, Gary, and Nate are ahead."

"Those were the guys who chased Twilight and that hooded guy," Tyler remembered.

"Then let's go after them. I know they're hot on Twilight's trail," Ashley added.

"Twilight's starting to blip out on my built in map function. We need to get moving," Vender spoke in haste.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go already!" Earl yelled.

"I'll lead the way!" shouted Relia. She jumped in excitement as she ran straight into the unknown woods. Vender shrugged and sighed at Relia as he followed.

"Stay close," Vender cautioned everyone else.

The group, one by one, entered the woods, knowing that somewhere, the hooded figure, Twilight, and the other group of kids were there. They ventured deeper and deeper until their bodies became silhouettes in the forest's backdrop. After a few more minutes into departure, they dissappeared completely.