For a short period of time in Equestria's history, machines gained a level of importance never seen before or after. The knowledge of their design and the tools that made them existed in symbiosis with the war that created the need for them in the first place. Secret research bases were built all over Equestria, each developing newer and better ways of halting the invasion and turning the tide of war.

In one of those bases, Captain Blackstone was overseeing the launch of a an experimental machine, but there is no such thing as a perfect first try. When things go wrong, everypony must sometimes remind themselves why they're doing the things they're doing. Even a Captain of the Royal Guards.