The Scrapyard

Twilight galloped down the long hall, every time she thought she was finished crying, fresh tears would come pouring out of her eyes.

She couldn’t believe the way The Doctor was handling the situation-he really was an alien.

But that didn’t matter right now.

Right now all she wanted was justice for what had been done to Rainbow Dash and if she had to, she was going to use her own two hooves to get it.

It was at this moment that she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was going before she slid to a halt at the end of the hallway.

There appeared to be a metallic door that had been broken down.

Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Twilight slowly entered the room as she looked around.

She gasped in horror at what the room held.

There was a metallic slab in the center of the room with leg restraints and a series of filthy surgical tools suspended directly above it.

Lying on floor around the room were destroyed Cyberponies.

“Do you like it?”

Twilight turned around to see another Cyberpony that was slightly larger than the others with a long, pointed horn and wings that appeared to have metallic feathers.

“I was hoping to save the surprise, but you are just too impatient…” It continued. “How do you like it?”

“It’s monstrous,” Twilight spat. “Why would you do something like this?”

“You should know that better than anyone Princess Twilight.” It replied. “We are intellectually superior to everyone, but each other…and with knowledge comes power-we are gods, and we deserve to be treated as such.”

“Through enslavement?” she challenged. “You murder and brainwash people just so you can validate your ego?”

“When it came to your prismatic friend, it was you who did the killing.” It pointed out.

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight whispered menacingly. “Who do you think you are?”

“My previous identity is irrelevant-however, I like to be known as the Cyber King.” It replied.

“And I hardly think you are one to pass judgment on me when it comes to matters of manipulation.”

“What are you talking about?” she demanded.

“Have you forgotten so easily?” The Cyber King asked, slowly moving towards her. “The ‘Want-It, Need-It’ spell you cast to cause general mayhem and destruction to achieve your own selfish ends of maintaining your good standing with Princess Celestia?”

With everything that had been going on, she had almost forgotten about that incident and she would have been okay with that, as it wasn’t one she particularly proud of.

“Your ascension into royalty and becoming an Alicorn was also due to your own self-centeredness.” It continued.

“Starswirl the Bearded’s unfinished spell was one which you cast without even contemplating consequences, making the entirety of Ponyville miserable and giving your ‘friends’ an identity crisis…yet, for some reason they chose to forgive you once you rectified your mistake and you became a princess.”

“Because I realized how important our friendship truly is!” she protested. “And that was the key to fixing the spell!”

“I’ve been watching you for a long time, Twilight Sparkle.” It continued, condescendingly. “And achievement has always been first and foremost in your mind-I believe that your ‘friends’ have been nothing, but pawns to earn constant approval from your mentor.”

“That’s not true!” Twilight protested.

“Perhaps it isn’t,” The Cyber King agreed. “But, I couldn’t take that chance and I had to sever one of those dead weights keeping you from your true potential-”

It was cut short as Twilight magically lifted the metal slab from its bolts and threw it at the creature before it was thrown aside, causing it to slide against the wall.

“You’re sick,” Twilight growled. “And I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done to Rainbow Dash!”

“And what would that be?” The Cyber King asked, mockingly.

Instead of replying, she pulled the device full of surgical tools down on the creature.

Breathing heavily, Twilight looked down at the device.

She knew that the Cyber King was still there and if he wanted to play opossum, that was fine by her; she wouldn’t be satisfied until she made him suffer through every ounce of pain and agony that he put Rainbow Dash through.

“Does it hurt?” she taunted venomously.

Much to her surprise, this comment was greeted with laughter as the Cyber King slowly lifted itself back up, pushing the machine off him.

“Cyber Units can’t feel pain.” It replied as its foreleg transformed into a chainsaw before it charged towards her.

Twilight cast a shield spell before it could reach her, the rotating blade colliding with the magical field sent violet sparks flying as the Cyber King tried cutting through the shield.

Sweat began dripping from Twilight’s forehead as it became increasingly difficult to maintain her concentration and keep the spell up against the Cyber King’s assault.

Unfortunately, since it was a machine now it would be able to keep the same amount of pressure on her without tiring out and as soon as she did the shield would fade and it would be all over.

“It doesn’t have to end this way.” It commented with surprising volume as Twilight could hear it over the roar of the chainsaw.

“With my technology and your knowledge we could make Equestria our own; a place without pain or disease…even death itself could be a thing of the past…with two gods working together there is no end to the possibilities.”

“I’m not…a god…or a goddess….” Twilight panted, struggling to maintain the barrier while draining her last reservoirs of magical energy.

“And neither are you!” she shouted before releasing a magical blast from her horn.

That was a gamble as she had to obliterate her own shield and sacrifice the remaining magical energy she still had, but if she carried on like she had been it would have only been a matter of time before the Cyber King broke through her shield and then she truly would have been out of options.

Her desperate plan seemed to have paid off, however as the chainsaw seemed to have been destroyed with nothing left of it, save for a burned and melted stub of the Cyber King’s foreleg, which was smoking from the damage.

To her dismay, the Cyber King was still standing despite the setback…and she was all out of power.

Twilight’s body collapsed from exhaustion as her heart raced in her chest, not only from the strain the spells had on her body, but from the terror of knowing that she was about to die and out of frustration for failing Rainbow Dash and letting this monster continue its twisted practices.

“Compassion is a weakness that defies all logic,” The Cyber King spoke, pressing its remaining metallic fore hoof against Twilight’s throat.

“Despite your immense power, you choose to waste it defending those which hinder you. You are superior, yet you wish to be treated as an equal…Why would you be accepted into godhood, if you refuse to delete all weakness?” It asked.

At this point, it lower its horn to Twilight’s face as red magical energy began building up.

“Do you like it?” It asked, rhetorically. “The Cyber Unit I salvaged had much data on the weaponry of other worlds and from that I’ve been able to make a few calculations of my own…I’ve even been able to harvest the magical residue from the fresh corpses I’ve converted into Cyber Units.”

Twilight merely glared at it with a mixture of defiance and disgust.

“This is your final opportunity to submit,” The Cyber King warned her. “If you do not take it, you will be deleted.”

“Never.” Twilight growled adamantly, “Even if you kill me know, someone, somehow will find a way to stop you.”

“I have planned for every possible contingency.” It replied, as the electrical red energy at the tip of its horn began crackling and burning even more intensely.

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to turn away from the horn.

“Get off her!” A raspy voice shouted, causing Twilight’s ears to perk up and her eyes to shoot open before a cyan blur slammed into the Cyber King, knocking it to its side.

The blast it had been charging up had dissipated during the collision.

Rainbow Dash was above the Cyber King, keeping its remaining foreleg and head pinned to the floor.

“Impressive…” The Cyber King complimented, facing away from Dash due to the way she was pressing down on its metallic skull.

“Using the golden element within your pendant you were able to damage my cybernetic exoskeleton earlier and now it appears you have somehow eluded my Cyber Units…you are far more resourceful than I had calculated…and I am now beginning to see why Twilight Sparkle would be interested in you as a subject.”

“Shut up.” Dash growled.

“Rainbow Dash!” The Doctor galloped towards her before pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver and holding it over the Cyber King before it whirred to life.

“That’s good…” he commented. “Just him there for a few moments longer and I can have all of his systems deactivated.”

“What?” Twilight choked, struggling to get to her hooves. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

“No.” The Doctor replied. “He’ll still be alive, just immobile so he can never hurt anyone again.”

“WHAT!?” Dash exclaimed in outrage.

“You’re going to let him leave after everything he’s done!?” she protested. “After what he tried to do to me? When he just tried to kill Twilight?”

“Yes, but we’re not letting him go free, either.” The Doctor replied. “And honestly I’m surprised at you, Twilight-why the sudden change of heart?”

“I…” she paused.

Why didn’t she want them to kill him?

Now that she knew Rainbow Dash was alive it seemed like a waste to kill him after all of the other deaths that had transpired here and if he was disabled, he wouldn’t be able to cause any further damage.

“There’s already been enough killing.” She responded. “Another death isn’t going to bring any of the others back.”

Rainbow Dash still looked dissatisfied, but she reluctantly agreed with Twilight’s judgment as she didn’t press the matter any further.

The Doctor began breaking through the Cyber King’s firewalls and disabling its systems one by one.