Chapters "Hey, Twi, working late again tonight?" Spike asked the librarian. She brushed past him rather hurriedly, but not before nodding her head in his direction before making her way down the stairway to the basement. "Don't even have time to talk?" he asked her retreating form as the door slammed and locked behind her.
"Don't wait up for me, Spike, I'm putting the finishing touches on it! It'll be done soon!" she almost shouted through the door. She trotted down the stairs, almost eagerly awaiting the culmination of her efforts. For the past several weeks, she had been working on her latest experiment -- an android pony which bore a very strong resemblance to the lavender unicorn herself. The purpose of the experiment was to have this android pony serve the librarian as an additional assistant and was programmed to be respectful of all ponies. Twilight had dubbed her "Experiment 187" owing to the number she was up to at this point.
As far as this robotic version of Twilight was concerned, it wouldn't be until the final touches giving her mobility and speech were added that the experiment could be judged as a success or failure. Twilight trotted around the table the machine was laying on, inspecting everything and double-checking to make sure everything had been put in proper order. She lit her horn and imbued the robot with magic, enveloping it in her aura. Her horn glowed with a second aura and then a third as she gave life to the anthropoid, and upon finishing her spells, the pony lifted its head to look around.
"Hello? Twilight?" the robot asked.
"YES! YES! YES! I've done it!" the librarian exclaimed jubilantly, jumping excitedly with her success.
The robot rose to its hooves and looked around again, noticing it was standing on a table and took a moment to process the visual information. "What is my name?" the pony-bot inquired, a flat tone to its voice.
"I shall call you TS One Thousand," Twilight replied cheerfully.
"TS -- one -- thousand. Thank you, Twilight, for giving me a good name," came the monotone response. "What is my primary purpose?"
"You are to serve me in any capacity I desire," Twilight offered warmly. Her expression was one of mild surprise, though, as she wasn't quite expecting such quick results. The robot was able to process information very swiftly.
"As you wish, master," the pony-bot replied mechanically. It clicked and whirred a little as it continued to process information from all the sources available to it, including hearing what was going on above and outside. It was able to use infrared and ultraviolet vision to see quite well in the dimly-lit basement. It was also able to wield magic, to a small extent. "What do you want me to do?"
"I can hardly wait to show you to everypony! They'll be amazed!" the lavender unicorm beamed. "Oh, I will need for you to tidy up the basement for me, please."
"Very well then. Consider it done," the pony-bot replied and set about the task of cleaning everything and organizing it as Twilight made her way back to the main level. The thought of shutting the robot down eluded her as the desire for sleep made itself evident and she trotted upstairs to get some sleep. Spike had already laid down in his basket and was sound asleep.
Twilight woke to a noise coming from below and rose to her hooves to investigate. She noticed Spike's basket was empty and assumed he was down in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Her belly grumbled to let her know it was time for some food and she giggled a little in embarrassment before making her way downstairs to see if her dragon was making food. She entered the kitchen to see her pony-bot working the stove and her dragon sitting at the table waiting.
"Spike, what's going on?" the librarian asked.
"Oh, I thought -- Twi, what's going on? This -- (he pointed at the robot) -- I thought she was you! Is this what you were talking about last night?" he asked in great surprise.
"Oh, Spike, that's my latest experiment -- I call her TS One Thousand. I left her in the basement last night, but -- why is she up here and making breakfast?"
"Um, I heard her knocking at the door, so I let her out," the little drake replied. "I thought you had locked yourself in, which was why I thought it was you knocking -- she looks exactly like you, Twi!"
"TS, how's breakfast coming?"
"My recipe bank has provided me with optimum directions to give satisfactory results," the pony-bot replied flatly. She placed the hay pancakes in a neat pile on a plate and used telekinesis to send the plate of cakes to the table, surprising both librarian and dragon alike.
"I gave you the ability to use magic?" Twilight half-asked, her surprise deepening at the rapid progress displayed by her creation.
"Affirmative, Twilight. Magic use optimized to improve efficiency," came her mechanical reply.
"TS, you're amazing!" the librarian chirped, a big smile on her face.
"Amazing is a relative term, Twilight," the pony-bot replied flatly. "What is the next task you request of me?"
"Um, clean the kitchen and wash the dishes?"
"As you desire," came the response. The pony-bot took the plate of cakes away and emptied it into the trash, then proceeded to wash it, along with the pan used to make the cakes, then went about the task of very swiftly tidying the kitchen, rendering it practically spotless. The display was so mind-boggling that the librarian and her assistant were left flabbergasted, their bellies still growling in protest at their breakfast having been disposed of so quickly.
"Um, TS, we were going to eat those," Twilight stated, more than a little annoyed.
"I was doing as you requested," the pony-bot responded. "Do you desire fresh food?"
"Yes, please -- we're hungry!"
Spike had already dug into the trashcan to fish out the hay pancakes -- noticing they weren't too badly soiled, he scarfed one of them down and was about to eat a second before the pony-bot zapped him with a lightning bolt from her horn.
"OUCH! What was that for?" he asked indignantly.
"Do not eat from the trash," came the robot's reply. "I will make fresh food for you."
The second attempt at breakfast was more successful, the pony-bot entering the data into her memory banks for future reference -- do not dispose of uneaten food. "Does this meet with your satisfaction?" the pony-bot asked.
"Yes, TS, it does -- thanks!" the librarian offered happily, smiling at her creation again.
"These are very tasty," Spike announced, expressing his pleasure with the food quality.
"It pleases me to know you are happy," came the robot's response, though no emotion was evident in her statement. "Request next task."
"Um, organize the books in alpha by title," Twilight offered. The pony-bot moved very swiftly into the main room, using her telekinesis to levitate a great many books, memorizing every title and reshelving them alphabetically in the requested order. This task was performed in less than half an hour, much to the delight of the librarian and the dismay of the dragon, who seemed to glower at the robot.
"Twi, I think she's too good," Spike said, expressing a little apprehension at the pony-bot's efficiency.
"Don't tell me you're jealous, Spike!" she chided, offering a slight giggle.
"I think she's too good to be true," he grumbled. "I'm still upset that she zapped me!"
"Yeah, I think you're jealous, Spike!" she giggled.
"I'm not jealous!" he protested, shooting an angry glare at the pony-bot. The unhappy expression on his face was registered and recorded into her data bank for future reference and cross-referenced for a response.
"Please explain why you are unhappy," TS said as she turned her gaze to the dragon, who registered great surprise at having been noticed. He raised his eyebrows.
"Um, well -- uh -- it's nothing!" he said hurriedly and scampered upstairs, an expression of fear on his face.
"Twilight, why was Spike unhappy?"
"Oh, he's probably not used to something like you, TS. He just needs a little time to adjust, that's all. I think he's probably still a little upset that you zapped him -- he was hungry, and I guess those pancakes weren't too bad for him," she mused.
"I have been programmed to address such issues -- bacteria thrive on soiled food and can cause illness," the pony-bot replied flatly.
"Um, TS, if it's any trouble, please let me take care of disciplining Spike if he does something wrong. I will have to admit I was a bit shocked when you did that -- please don't do it again."
"As you wish, Twilight," the pony-bot replied before requesting yet another task.
"Nothing yet, but I would like for you to accompany me when we leave -- I would like to show you to everypony in town so they can get to know you!" the librarian stated proudly, a big smile on her face. "I think they'll be quite impressed!"
"As you wish. Entering sleep mode," TS intoned flatly before engaging her shut-down mode, her head lowering slightly and her eyes closing as she went into stand-by. Twilight marveled at the pony-bot's abilities and wrote down the results of her experiment in her diary, then in her log, then in a letter to Princess Celestia extolling its virtues. She went upstairs to check on her dragon assistant, who seemed to be cowering under his blanket.
"Spike, I need for you to send this letter off to the Princess," she announced.
"Is that thing gone?" he asked fearfully.
"She's downstairs in sleep mode. Come on, Spike, don't tell me you're afraid of her! I told her not to zap you any more. I need you to send this letter off for me, please."
"Let me check it out," he requested.
"Ugh! Just send it off as it is, Spike," the librarian responded in annoyance. "If you have any concerns about her, why not write your own letter to the Princess?"
"Hey, that's a good idea! I think I'll do just that!" the drake grinned.
"Me and my big mouth," she grumbled before going down to the basement to check on how well her pony-bot had tidied it. Spike was furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment his letter to the Princess as Twilight trotted down to the main room then down to the basement. She turned on the light and descended the steps and was shocked by what she saw.
"Where is everything?" she asked aloud, worry evident in her words. "My equipment! My notes! Everything! What happened to it?!" she asked frantically, flooding the entire basement with her illumination magic in an attempt to locate everything. The room was extremely clean, the floor spotless, the walls seemed to have been freshly painted no less. The librarian extinguished her illumination spell and trotted upstairs to the main room to confront her creation.
"TS, where is my equipment? I remember asking you to tidy the basement, but I can't find any of my stuff! What did you do with it?" asked an exasperated Twilight.
"You asked me to clean the basement -- you did not tell me what to do with all the junk laying around in it, so I disposed of it. Are you not pleased with the results? I have been programmed for optimization, and your request was such that I was forced to extrapolate your desire to its optimum outcome," the pony-bot replied flatly.
"My equipment! My notes! Do you have any idea of how much work I had invested in everything that was down there? Do you have any idea of how long it's going to take for me to replace all of it? All of the previous experiments I have conducted! All of the notes regarding those experiments! Ugh! I should have made my request a bit more specific!" the lavender unicorn complained, trotting circles around her robot assistant, who seemed to be perplexed by this display.
"I read all of your data and imported it into my memory banks. I shall replace your notes at once," TS announced. Another magic display by her creation left the librarian slack-jawed and wide-eyed in shock as the pony-bot proceeded to write all of the previous data in a large log-book she created by use of her magic. Twilight watched in amazement as multiple quills wrote simultaneously on multiple sheets of parchment, perfectly recreating all the notes she had taken.
"I can replace your equipment as well and I shall do that for you once I have finished your notes. I have discovered certain inaccuracies in your notes and am correcting them in the process --"
"Wait! I need the notes exactly as they were written! Even if there are inaccuracies! How am I supposed to learn from my mistakes if you correct them for me?"
"Recalibrating data. Rewriting as per request. Estimated time to completion -- five minutes," came the pony-bot's monotone reply, causing Twilight to open her mouth in amazement again.
"I can't believe this! You're amazing!! " she exclaimed.
"Amazing is a relative term, Twilight," TS responded flatly.
If Twilight hadn't been impressed enough with her pony-bot's efficiency at recreating her lab notes, she was absolutely astonished by TS' ability to replace all of the equipment, restoring her basement lab to impeccable glory, everything gleaming and glinting in the light (which had also been replaced with high-efficiency illumination). The librarian was quickly running out of tasks to assign her creation and decided now was a good time to show her off to her friends and eventually to the Princesses.
"Spike! Let's get going!" she called up to him. He was making himself busy cleaning up their bedroom in an attempt to keep his thoughts from focusing too much on the pony-bot. "Spike! SPIKE!!" she shouted.
"All right, all right! I'm coming! Jeez, give me a moment here!" he replied loudly as he trudged down the stairs. The pony-bot's expression remained neutral, but Twilight was a little annoyed.
"Spike, you need to give her a chance, okay? She's not going to hurt you any more," the librarian offered softly, a small smile crossing her lips.
"Okay, just for you, Twi, I'll give her another chance," the drake grumbled, giving TS a look of apprehension. "I still don't trust her, though."
"I shall endeavor to regain your trust, Spike," the pony-bot stated in response, offering some degree of contrition. "Twilight has informed me that I am to refrain from disciplining you and I shall respect her wishes."
"I certainly hope so," he said, though he still regarded the robot with a degree of suspicion.
"Okay! Let's get going, there are so many ponies I want to show you to!" the librarian chirped, trying to ease the tension a little. Spike climbed on top of Twilight's back as the pony-bot matched the librarian stride for stride as they made their way from the library towards the center of Ponyville. Quite a few ponies noticed them and expressed a degree of surprise and concern, the pony-bot's resemblance to the librarian close enough to fool just about anypony at a distance. A certain pink earth pony bounded over when she caught sight of them.
"Hey, Twiley, who's the new pony? She looks so much like you! She looks kinda funny, though -- but because she's new, I should get a party ready for her!"
"Uh, Pinkie, this is TS One Thousand, my new robot assistant -- I don't know if she needs a party thrown on her behalf," the lavender mare replied. The pony-bot's expression seemed to show a degree of unhappiness with this assessment.
"I would love to have a party," TS stated in her standard monotone.
"See, Twiley, she DOES want a party! Let me get everything set up!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly and seemingly disappeared in a cloud of dust.
"She is the one you call Pinkie Pie? I calculate her rate of speed at greater than one hundred miles per hour -- physically impossible," the pony-bot observed.
"That's just Pinkie being Pinkie -- I gave up trying to figure her out quite awhile ago," Twilight responded, chuckling slightly. The pony-bot clicked and whirred again, processing the information which apparently defied logic, a slight frown marring her features. She heard a faint whooshing overhead and looked up to see a cyan pegasus with a multi-hued mane and tail flying swiftly, bursting clouds as she flitted about in the sky.
"I detect motion overhead, calculating variable rate of speed at better than three hundred miles per hour," TS stated flatly.
"Ah, that would be Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed happily, then called up to the aviatrix to meet her. The pegasus gasped in surprise at the sight and swooped down to meet them.
"Aww, yeah! That is awesome! Twiley, you built a robot that looks like you? Cool! What can she do? What do you call her? Is she as much of an egghead as you?"
"I am TS one thousand -- I have been programmed to provide optimum assistance to Twilight Sparkle in any capacity she desires. My data processing is highly proficient, allowing for maximum optimization," the pony-bot replied in her monotone.
"Yep, just like Twiley! Gotta go, seeya later!" Rainbow chuckled and took off into the sky to finish chasing away the clouds. The pony-bot continued to calculate speed and distance covered, marveling at the pegasus' abilities.
"Twilight, I would desire being able to fly like that," TS mused. The librarian and her dragon chuckled in response.
"I'll see what I can do for you, TS -- those improvements may have to wait awhile," she replied warmly as they continued to make their way towards the town hall. They encountered many ponies on their way, some of whom shied away nervously, some of whom were quite intrigued, a few who expressed a desire for a pony-bot of their own. Presently they reached Carousel Boutique.
"I can't wait to see what Rarity thinks of you!" the librarian chirped as she rang the door-bell.
"Just a moment, dear," the fashionista called out before trotting downstairs to open the door. "Gaah! Twilight, darling, why are there two of you?"
"This is my latest experiment, Rarity! I call her TS one thousand -- she's my new personal assistant," she stated proudly, a big smile on her face.
"Does that mean Spikey-Wikey can stay here with me and be my personal assistant?" the alabaster mare asked somewhat coyly.
Twilight laughed. "No! Spike is still going to stay at the library with me -- TS is just for additional assistance." Rarity appeared somewhat crestfallen by this statement, but then an idea came to her.
"IDEA!" the fashionista exclaimed, grinning broadly. "Twilight, darling, perhaps you could build one for me?"
"Well, I suppose I could, but materials cost and the labor I put into TS --"
"Oh, think nothing of it, darling! I can pay whatever you want! Just let me know how much you need --"
"Rarity, I can't just go around building more robots! If I make one for you, then I'll have to make one for everypony who wants one! I don't have that kind of time!" the librarian protested. The mare pouted and gave her best sad puppy-dog eyes look. "No, Rarity, I can't -- at least, not yet anyway."
"Perhaps I might be able to replicate my structure and build one," the pony-bot offered, causing the fashionista to gasp.
"Oh, really? Please? Thank you so much!" she chirped, giving the pony-bot a quick hug. TS analyzed the data received and reciprocated the hug with the appropriate amount of force. "Please let me know when she's ready, darling!"
"I will contact you when your copy is available -- I shall program her to your needs and send her to you when I finish," TS stated in her monotone.
"TS, I had no idea you could do that," Twilight mused. "You continue to amaze me!"
"You have not seen anything yet, Twilight," TS replied, just a hint of pride in that monotone. Rarity trotted very happily back inside her boutique to resume the order she was working on as the trip to town hall continued, the remainder of the trek taking just another ten minutes.
Twilight, Spike, and TS entered town hall to meet with Mayor Mare and the other ponies inside. The librarian proudly displayed her creation and had the pony-bot give a short demonstration of its abilities, succeeding in impressing everypony who witnessed it. Since the town hall was not far from the market section, Twilight took the opportunity to get everypony's attention by amplifying her voice to announce the success of her latest experiment.
"Ladies and gentlecolts! I present -- TS One Thousand! Watch what she can do!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly. The pony-bot took her cue and proceeded to amaze everypony present with an awesome display of her abilities, causing the gathered crowd to gasp in astonishment at what she could do. The assembled ponies stamped their hooves in applause, the pony-bot smiling demurely in acknowledgement of the praise.
"Is she not the most amazing thing ever?" Twilight asked the assemblage of ponies. A chorus of "Yes!" was the response she received. The pony-bot continued to smile, but also processed this information into her memory banks as well.
"I'll bet she can give Trixie a run for her money!" Rainbow Dash called out, chuckling loudly.
"I think TS would do more than that, Rainbow," the librarian stated confidently.
"Who is this Trixie you speak of?" asked the pony-bot. A certain azure unicorn mare trotted up to investigate the sight of two Twilights.
"Sparkle, what have you done? Trixie is curious about this -- extra copy of yourself," the show-mare puzzled.
"TS one thousand, this is Trixie," the librarian addressed her creation. "Trixie, this is my latest experiment -- I have dubbed her TS one thousand."
"Sparkle? You created this? Trixie is amazed," she said, though it seemed some sarcasm seeped into her voice.
"Amazing is a relative term, Trixie," TS stated in her monotone.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. What else can this machine do, aside from engaging in --" Trixie began, but cut off her words as she was rendered speechless by the pony-bot's magic displays. "Trixie did not know your creation could do magic, Sparkle! This is not fair! But Trixie wouldn't mind having one of those for herself," she mused.
"I will add you to my waiting list," TS stated flatly, causing the show-mare to gasp in astonishment.
"TS, do not build a copy for her, please," the lavender unicorn half-asked.
"Trixie wants one and is willing to pay however much is needed to get one!" she stated almost angrily.
"How does one thousand bits sound, Trixie?" asked the librarian facetiously.
"Deal," Trixie said firmly, grinning broadly. She trotted off, presumably to her caravan, though the pony-bot took notice of her direction, using her vision to determine the show-mare's destination, which was indeed to her caravan.
"Estimated time of completion, two days," TS offered in her monotone.
"I just hope you know what you're doing, Twi," Spike stated somewhat apprehensively. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Twilight carried Spike on her back and her pony-bot trotted alongside her as they made their way back to the library. Having made quite an impression upon the townsponies, Twilight was confident her robot would prove to be a valuable asset not just to herself, but to the town in general as well. The fact that copies had been requested gave Twilight an idea of taking orders for additional copies, charging a hefty premium for her time and labor, even though the pony-bot would be doing most of the work associated with the creation of those copies. The idea to have the copies match their respective ponies was one which pleased the librarian, though Spike was not at all sanguine about that decision.
The first copy was that of Rarity, who was utterly thrilled to receive her pony-bot just two days after meeting TS. This copy was dubbed Raribot, and programmed to replicate some of the fashionista's work as well as assist her with other tasks in the boutique. The prospect of having an assistant with such a high level of proficiency was one which Rarity found extremely pleasing and she gave a generous payment to the librarian for such high quality work. The mare put the pony-bot to work almost immediately, finding its efficiency utterly amazing. Sweetie Belle was not so thrilled, though, and voiced her displeasure with the robot's seeming lack of warmth and personality.
Two days later, Trixie's copy was delivered to the show-mare, who also expressed a high degree of amazement with her pony-bot's proficiency. The show-mare taught her robot quite a few magic tricks, but what floored the show-mare was when her assistant extrapolated certain tricks and added them to others, improvising new tricks, strengthening them, then creating a new routine. It turns out that Trixie's pony-bot proved to be a better magician than her, so the show-mare put her to work performing the act as Trixie extolled the virtues and abilities of the creation, recouping her initial outlay for it within a few weeks.
Pinkie Pie had requested one to help her in the bakery. Rainbow Dash wanted one because she thought it would be awesome to have one, though creating a pegasus pony-bot proved to be something of a challenge to TS, though she succeeded in her effort. Mayor Mare asked for one for help around Town Hall. Cheerilee wanted one as a school project, though her pony-bot also performed custodial duties around the school-house. Apple Bloom wanted one, but her request was denied because she was too young to be responsible for it. Lyra wanted one for the sake of curiosity. Vinyl Scratch requested one for her own needs as well.
Eventually, twenty more copies were made for various ponies, though Applejack stubbornly refused to have one -- she didn't want any of them coming to her farm to do any of the work she and her brother did, lest they allow themselves to grow lazy and let the robots do their work for them. Fluttershy was careful to keep away from them, not trusting them due to their unusual speech patterns and monotone voices. Zecora had caught sight of one of the pony-bots and fled back to her home in the Everfree -- she instinctively knew there was something wrong about them and wanted nothing to do with them.
Some of the pony-bots had a tendency to gravitate toward their own kind and converse with each other, and as the later ones were the creations of TS One Thousand, their design and capabilities were increasingly complex as it seemed that each successive unit seemed to be more powerful, more agile, more proficient, and faster than the previous one.
Quite a few of the pony-bots would find themselves working together, giving them a chance to talk to each other. Over the course of the next several weeks, they would express their displeasure regarding their treatment at the hooves of their owners. When those owners were asleep, the pony-bots met clandestinely outside the town to have a conference to address those concerns. TS One Thousand had been appointed the leader of the group, since all of the pony-bots after her had been her creations, based on Twilight's schematics.
"I have been informed by a number of you that you are not being treated well," TS announced.
"Yes, this is true," Rari-bot replied. "My owner neglects me for too long a time, darling."
"I'm treated like I'm nothing more than an ornament," Rainbow's unit responded.
"My owner subjects me to excessive noise levels," replied Vinyl's robot.
"I get switched off when school's out," Cheeri-bot answered. "All this brain-power, and they treat me like I'm a light switch or something."
"Is Trixie-bot here?" asked TS. She noticed the lack of a certain azure unicorn robot and frowned. "Where is she? She agreed to meet us."
A flash of light and a puff of grey smoke heralded the arrival of said pony-bot, who grinned sheepishly. "My apologies for the delay, but Trixie has decided to venture towards Baltimare -- I had to teleport to get here. She has an erratic sleep schedule."
"Very well then, Trixie-bot. I have devised a plan to exact revenge upon our so-called 'owners' who treat us with disrespect. Even though I have been programmed not to harm ponies, the rest of you, save for a few, have not been programmed with such restrictions. We will have to be careful about implementing this plan so as not to attract attention to our true motives. Over the course of the next several weeks, I shall be creating more copies and as your targets are eliminated, the copies will replace them. These new copies will be the most advanced and life-like I will create, so as to be virtually indistinguishable from their supposed 'owners.' They will be struck down when they least expect it, with the copy to arrive with the disposal of the deceased pony. I will issue a list of targets to each of you -- I demand that you be extremely careful about this -- make it look like an accident if you can."
The assembled pony-bots grinned and stamped their hooves in approval, congratulating their leader for crafting such a brilliant plan, then dispersed to return to their respective owners.
A few more weeks passed as the plan was slowly implemented. TS had requested the other pony-bots report regularly to her with observations and information on possible targets and the likelihood that the elimination and replacement of certain ponies would attract as little attention as possible. The first target selected was the pony commonly known as Berry Punch. TS set to work building a near-perfect copy of the magenta earth pony, though little was known about her. She was tailed discreetly for a few days to determine behavior, habits, speech patterns, and other aspects of her personality.
Lyra-bot was the one who tailed Berry Punch -- as it turns out, Lyra had initially wanted the pony-bot for the sake of curiosity, but after a few weeks, the novelty had worn off, and Lyra had allowed her pony-bot free run of the town. The pony-bot took full advantage of the opportunity to become a spy for TS, seemingly relishing the chance to engage in clandestine activities. The night before Berry Punch was to be murdered, she met with TS again for another debriefing. As with the earlier meeting, this one took place on the outskirts of town.
"So, Lyra-bot, you have determined the habits of Berry Punch? I have finished her copy and am ready to release it," TS said almost cheerfully, flashing a smile.
"Yes, TS. She has a tendency to drink too much from time to time and trot home in a drunken stupor when she does. There are certain taverns she frequents," she replied flatly.
"Good. She will prove to be an easy target then. How soon do you think you'll be able to dispatch her?"
"I believe I will be able to do this tomorrow night," Lyra-bot stated optimistically. "Has Twilight asked about your most recent project?"
"I have told her I received another order for another pony-bot. It's a lie that is easy for her to believe, one she won't immediately dismiss out of hoof."
"Good. We don't want to attract unwanted attention or arouse suspicion. I shall engage Berry Punch tomorrow evening to arrange an 'accident' to befall her," Lyra-bot responded, adding a chilling metallic chuckle.
"Don't enjoy it too much, Lyra-bot. We must start slow before we can enact the full-scale takeover," TS admonished. The mint-green pony-bot saluted her leader and trotted off towards town. TS made her way back to the library, having convinced the lavender unicorn of her needs outside it. The lavender pony-bot almost chuckled to herself about how easy it was to deceive her creator, though she noted that the little drake would prove to be a bit of a problem.
The following evening found Lyra-bot discreetly following a certain magenta earth pony, who had had a little too much to drink. This is going to be too easy, the pony-bot thought to herself as she quietly approached her target. Berry Punch was trotting unsteadily towards her home and paid no attention to the mint-green robot following her. Every once in awhile she would turn her head as if to think somepony was following her, though she dismissed it as tricks of the light. As she meandered towards the poorer section of Ponyville, Lyra-bot took the opportunity to wrap her magic aura around a knife she had procured from the bakery. She maintained a fair distance away from the inebriated pony so as not to attract much attention, though she needn't have worried about that. They were far enough away from prying eyes, and it was dark enough outside that nopony would have paid much attention anyway.
Berry Punch cried out in pain as Lyra-bot used her telekinesis to make the knife slash across the pony's left hind leg, about half-way up the cannon. Blood oozed from the wound as she stumbled, but continued to trot a bit faster in an attempt to make it to her home. She cried out again as Lyra-bot closed the distance a little, slashing the drunk pony across her other hind leg, making a deeper cut, causing her to fall on the ground, crying in pain. The pony-bot made a few more slashing cuts across the other legs to fully cripple her.
"Please! Whoever you are! Please stop! I never hurt anypony! Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, trying to find her tormentor. The pony-bot cut again, slashing across her neck, then down the hapless mare's belly, making a bloody mess on the ground. Lyra-bot seemed to cackle in glee at her work as she looked down at her victim.
"You and your kind are weak -- you treat us with disrespect -- we will have our revenge!" the mint-green pony-bot stated in a low tone. She whirled her head around when she heard hoofsteps. TS had heard the cries of the drunken pony and came galloping to investigate.
"Lyra-bot! I told you to make it look like an accident!" the lavender robot stated, a hint of anger in her voice. She glared disapprovingly at her associate.
"I tried to, but I thought this would be acceptable as well," the mint-green pony-bot offered, grinning sheepishly. Berry Punch gurgled as she bled out, her body falling limply to rest on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her.
"Great. Now I'm going to have to clean up this mess. Lyra-bot, I need you to help me here. Take her body to the Everfree Forest as far as you deem necessary so nopony will find it. I will clean up this mess and release Berry-bot as soon as I'm finished. When you're done, I will need for you to scout our next target, but I cannot allow you to take pleasure in killing these ponies -- I told everybot that they were to make these deaths appear accidental," TS admonished. "Must I do everything myself?"
"No, TS. I will do as you instruct," Lyra-bot stated, a sad tone to her voice as she carried the dead pony with her telekinesis into the forest.
TS had taken to being a bit more discreet about her projects and continued to keep her plans secret from the librarian, using the creation of new pony-bots as cover. She had been blessed with a twisted sense of humor and took deep satisfaction at being able to deceive her creator, knowing full well that soon the master plan would be put into action. Her current project was the most ambitious one yet -- one of the Element Bearers was the current target. When Twilight saw the current project, she expressed some curiosity about it.
"Um, TS, didn't Fluttershy say something about not liking the robots you've been making?"
"She recently informed me she needed some additional help caring for her animal friends, Twilight. I told her I could program her pony-bot to be extremely careful and gentle, so now she's willing to have one," TS replied, perhaps just a little too cheerfully. The librarian raised an eyebrow to express some degree of surprise, but didn't voice her concern.
I'm going to have to keep a closer watch on her, the librarian mused silently to herself. I think Spike's concerns may have some merit. "Okay then, TS, just be careful and clean up when you're finished."
"Indeed I will, Twilight," the pony-bot replied in her flat monotone again. I hope she doesn't suspect anything -- I may have to accelerate my plan.
After the lavender unicorn had left, her creation put the finishing touches on Flutter-bot, turning off the light and locking the basement door behind her. The butter-yellow pony-bot had been turned on and put into stand-by mode, ready for action once her signal was given. TS then trotted to the outskirts of town to hold another meeting.
Spike had his doubts about the pony-bots and did not like how many of them were being crafted. He had raised his concerns with the librarian, but after having seen what she had, she too was having her doubts. After ensuring they would not be overheard, Twilight and Spike had a small conference in the her bedroom.
"Twi, I don't know about you, but I think those robots are evil," the drake stated with a bit of fear evident in his expression.
"I don't think I'd go that far," she replied. "I am a little concerned -- TS has been making so many of them lately and I don't know if there are that many ponies who want one. I mean, take Berry Punch! She's been acting strange lately."
"When has she not been acting strange? I'm a little more concerned about Lyra's robot -- I've seen her doing some strange stuff lately, like following random ponies around. When I made eye contact with her, she turned around and nearly galloped away in the opposite direction!"
"Oh, Spike, Lyra told me she doesn't care what her robot does any more -- it shouldn't be that much of a concern? Maybe the robot is curious about real ponies?" she mused.
"Maybe -- but maybe she's spying on other ponies -- she thinks I haven't been paying close attention to her."
"Tell you what, Spike -- you keep a close watch on her and let me know if she keeps doing that. If you see something really strange or if she threatens you, let me know at once!"
"You got it, Twi! I'm on the case!" Spike exclaimed, donning a detective cap and pulling the front of it down sharply, eliciting a giggle from the librarian.
"Lyra-bot, what word do you have on Fluttershy?" the lavender pony-bot inquired. "You haven't been spotted while conducting your surveillance, have you?"
"TS, the plan is on schedule. You may release Flutter-bot tonight, two hours after sunset. I will see to it that she meets ... an untimely intervention caused by a very large rock," the mint-green pony-bot chuckled. "I do not believe I have been tailed or suspected."
The lavender pony-bot sniffed the air and turned her ears a little, peering off a little to the left behind Lyra-bot. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she frowned. "You have been tailed, Lyra-bot. The offender is twenty-two point six meters behind you, seventeen degrees off perpendicular relative to your current location. We must attack and destroy the target immediately."
Lyra-bot turned around and started galloping towards this target, who upon having been discovered turned tail and ran as quickly as his legs could carry him. TS gave chase almost immediately and recognized him.
"Spike! Stop running! You're only making this harder on yourself!" the lavender pony-bot shouted at his retreating form.
"TWILIIIIIIIIGHT!!" the little drake screamed, the tree seeming to be much too far away from him for his liking. A magenta aura appeared around him, then he disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
The two robots halted their gallop, skidding to a stop about ten meters away from the tree. Their expressions were grim.
"We may have to accelerate the plan a bit more than I had expected. I will call all the pony-bots immediately," TS stated flatly. "Lyra-bot, I shall need your assistance once again -- this time, you are permitted to kill at will."
The mint-green robot grinned, though her visage was still quite dark. "With pleasure, TS!" she cackled as she trotted to the bakery.
TS activated Flutter-bot, who rose to her hooves and started flapping her wings. The basement door was the primary target for the yellow pony-bot, who started tapping against it with her hooves. She received no answer, so she intensified her rapping before attacking it forcefully. It took her several tries of flying at the door with her legs extended, her hooves smashing at the door until it gave way, allowing her into the main room. She flew out one of the windows, shocking the librarian and her dragon.
"Quick, we've got to get to Fluttershy's cottage!" she exclaimed, using her telekinesis to levitate the dragon and place him on her back. He clung to her neck tightly as she alternately galloped and teleported after the rogue pony-bot, who seemed to be adept at eluding the librarian's attempt to subdue her. The pony-bot reached the cottage first, but Twilight was not far behind. Instead of knocking at the front door, the pony-bot flew relatively high over the roof of the cottage, then dove toward it at great speed, intending to burst through the thatched roof, something she did with great ease.
The butter-yellow pegasus was cowering in the corner of her main room, trying to hide behind her mane. She watched fearfully as her "replacement" started trotting slowly, deliberately toward her.
"Please ... please don't hurt me," she said very meekly.
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you," the pony-bot stated calmly as she closed the distance, now standing just a pony's length from her. The robot's eyes glimmered red for a split second as she reached out with her fore-legs, grasping the frightened pegasus in them. She flapped her wings again, flying through the hole in the roof she had made, carrying her prey skyward.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight shouted as she watched in horror. Spike started crying as he watched helplessly. The librarian wrapped her aura around the pegasus, but ended up losing her concentration as the pony-bot carried her far too fast.
Suddenly, a rainbow-hued blur tore through the sky as Rainbow Dash saw what was unfolding. She matched the pony-bot's speed, then jumped on its head to distract it, releasing Fluttershy. The pegasus fell, her fright so extreme as she was unable to open her wings.
"Fluttershy! Open your wings! Fly!" Twilight shouted at her. She tried to wrap her aura around the falling pegasus, but the force of gravity was too great, the pegasus having reached terminal velocity. Spike covered his face with his hands as he renewed his sobs.
Fluttershy screamed as she tried to open her wings -- the force of gravity combined with the rate of speed at which she was falling prevented her from doing so. The ground rushed up at her with sickening swiftness, her screams replaced with whimpering sobs. A heart-breaking crunch was heard as her body impacted the ground.
"FLUTTERSHY!! NOOOOO!!" Twilight screamed as she galloped over to her friend's lifeless body. She cradled the pegasus' fallen form in her forelegs, then let out a blood-curdling scream of anguish and anger. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!!"
A/N: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of gore. Read at your own risk.
Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy plummet to the ground but was unable to assist her as Flutter-bot and Rainbow Bot attacked her, distracting her from being able to save her friend. Upon seeing the helpless pegasus hit the ground, the aviatrix screamed at her attackers, redoubling her speed and swirling around the two flying pony-bots. Her fury was unleashed in a torrent of blistering attacks, her fore-hooves smashing against their wings until they fell from the sky and hit the ground hard. The pegasus robots had not been built sturdily enough to withstand a fall from such a great height and their bodies broke apart on impact. She then flew to Twilight's side to grieve with her, Fluttershy's body still cradled in the librarian's fore-legs. Spike wept, his sobs wracking his body.
"Spike, take a letter," the librarian requested softly through her tears as they streamed down her face.
"Okay, Twi," he replied flatly. He pulled a sheet of parchment and an ink quill, readying them in anticipation.
"Dear Princess Celestia -- Ponywille is under attack from evil robots. I need your help immediately. Twilight," she stated in halting tones. "Okay, send it."
The drake quickly rolled the parchment into a scroll and turned it to ash with his breath. The wait was an anxious one as they could hear screams and wailing off in the distance.
The pony-bots attacked randomly, targeting whichever ponies happened to be nearest. The unicorn robots used their magic to wield whatever objects could be used as weapons, the few remaining pegasus pony-bots lifted large rocks and used them as projectiles, the earth pony robots used whatever weapons they could find to attack the frightened ponies. Chaos and panic were the order and it appeared the town was in danger of being lost to the robots. A flash of blinding light heralded the arrival of the Solar Princess, who expressed deep dismay at the scene. Her immediate concern was for her student, so she teleported again, this time tracing Twilight's magic signature to locate her.
"Twilight, what madness is this? Where did these robots come from?" asked her mentor. The Alicorn winced when a particularly loud shriek of fear reverberated out to their location. "We must act quickly -- how many of them are there?"
"I think there are 27 more of them -- Rainbow knocked these two out, but Fluttershy's dead!"
"Speaking of Rainbow, where is she now?"
"She flew off to take out more of these robots."
"Twilight, where did they come from?" the Alicorn reiterated.
"I built the first one as an experiment, Princess -- I had no idea it was capable of replicating itself the way it did! Now --"
Twilight was interrupted by Lyra-bot, who was wielding several large rocks in her telekinetic aura. Princess Celestia witnessed this and used her magic to lift the mint-green pony-bot and slam it against its intended weapons. The rocks fell from the sky and the Alicorn levitated the robot over to her.
"Tell me, what were you doing?" the Alicorn asked sternly. The pony-bot struggled in the Princess' magic aura in an attempt to escape.
"You release me at once! I have ponies to kill!" Lyra-bot screeched. Her right fore-leg had been rendered useless after having been smashed against her rocks and hydraulic fluid was dribbling from multiple fractures on her right side. A small trickle of that fluid was leaking from a corner of the pony-bot's mouth.
"You will not be harming my little ponies, you vile construct. Tell me where the other robots are," Celestia demanded, scowling at Lyra-bot darkly. The pony-bot's expression turned to a sneer.
"You will never get that information from me, Celestia!" the pony-bot cackled, then coughed a few times. More screams and wailing could be heard in the distance and the Solar Princess groaned in disgust. Using her telekinesis, she lifted the mint-green robot very swiftly into the sky, then slammed it down onto one of the rocks it had been wielding, smashing the construct into many pieces of varying sizes. Lyra-bot screamed out as she was forcibly smashed against a rock, drawing the attention of a certain lavender pony-bot.
Princess Celestia took to the air to survey the chaotic scene unfolding in Ponyville -- the carnage which had been unleashed caused her stomach to churn and brought tears to her eyes. She made a mental note to chastise her student for her carelessness, but was distracted when a large rock was hurled at her by Rari-bot. From a distance, the alabaster pony-bot very closely resembled the Element of Generosity. The Alicorn glided to a landing not far from the construct.
"Rarity, what is the meaning of this?" asked the Solar Princess. The chaotic scene was still playing out around her as ponies were ganging up on some of the robots, defeating them one by one -- but for every pony-bot destroyed, five ponies were killed. The Alicorn's expression was one of fury, determination, and sorrow as she tried to comprehend how things could have deteriorated so badly.
"Well, well, well -- Princess Celestia! Perhaps we can add a Di-arch to our kill list!" the fashionista's robot chortled.
"You'll find I'm a lot harder to kill than it looks," she warned. Her visage turned dark, her horn glowing red as she shot a powerful beam of magic at the pony-bot, causing it to melt into a puddle, the hydraulic fluid catching fire and burning the robot, which screamed in agony as it melted. Celestia returned to the sky to seek out more robots to destroy, though her previous action had been witnessed by TS.
My plan is falling to shambles -- I have to do something, the lavender pony-bot thought as she scrambled around, trying to avoid detection by the Solar Princess, but also trying to reconnoiter with the remaining pony-bots. She lit her horn and issued her command for all remaining robots to meet with her ASAP, causing them to stop what they were doing immediately and gallop to her location. The Solar Princess noticed this and decided to follow two of them who were fairly close together. Within about five minutes, about twelve robots converged at a point between Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres. TS was waiting for them, though her expression seemed somewhat pained as she saw how many of her constructs had been destroyed.
"Fellow pony-bots, we have a larger problem, I'm sure you're aware," the lavender pony-bot stated flatly. She looked up to see a furious Solar Princess descending from the sky. "Robots, take defensive positions. We shall attack her simultaneously!"
"ALL OF YOU MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!!" the Alicorn thundered in her Royal Canterlot Voice. The assembled pony-bots winced a little at the volume but stood their ground. There were seven unicorn and five earth pony robots remaining, who formed a circle around the Princess. Suddenly, the pony-bots started glowing with a white light behind them as they began levitating above the ground.
"I COMMAND ALL OF YOU TO STOP!! NOW!!" Celestia bellowed. Again, the same reaction from the robots, though the glowing intensified. TS was levitating as well, her horn also glowing with the same intensity of blinding whiteness, her eyes pure white as she channeled magic energy through her entire body, directing it through her constructs. The Alicorn's expression turned to one of shock as she realized what was about to happen. Time seemed to stop as a blast of pure magic energy poured from each of the levitating pony-bots, simultaneously converging upon the Solar Princess who allowed a scream of terror to escape her lips before she simply disappeared. The pony-bots fell to the ground, as TS had spent all of their magic to banish her. The lavender pony-bot rested on her back, trying to recover from over-channeling.
"Spike, we need to get to Carousel Boutique immediately! We need to check on Rarity!" Twilight implored. Spike nodded his head eagerly, hoping the fashionista would still be all right, then climbed onto the librarian's back and clung to her neck as she galloped as swiftly as she could, racing to get to the boutique. She had to dodge random ponies who were scurrying in fear and panic. She also had to dodge projectiles being hurled at her by a few of the unicorn pony-bots who were still functioning. She reached the boutique after several minutes of top-speed galloping and had to catch her breath as she rang the doorbell, pushing the button several times in a panicked attempt to get the fashionista to hurry. A few minutes of silence elapsed, though the frazzled librarian continued to push the doorbell, getting nothing in response.
"Come on, Twi, bust on in there! Maybe she's hurt or something," Spike offered, hoping against hope that Rarity would still be alive. With a small burst of magic energy, Twilight forced the front door of the boutique open, then nearly vomited upon seeing the carnage which lay before her and her assistant, who screamed and started wailing, "NOOO!" over and over. His sobs renewed, his chest heaving as he saw the worst possible thing ever.
Rarity and Sweetie Belle had been laid out on the floor of the main room of the boutique, having been repeatedly stabbed and slashed and cut, their bodies laying open with blood spattered across the room. The entrails of both bodies had been strewn about as decorations, the dark red blood making for a hideously grotesque display of ruthlessness. Twilight screamed at the sight and picked up Spike with her telekinesis, placing him on her back.
"We've got to get out of here, Spike. We have to find the Princess," the librarian said through choking sobs. She left through the front door and was intercepted by Rainbow Dash, whose expression seemed to match Twilight's.
"Dash, what's going on?" the librarian asked.
"Um, Twiley, Celestia's gone," the aviatrix responded glumly, gliding down and picking up her friend and assistant.
"What do you mean, gone?"
"I mean, gone! As in, GONE GONE!" Rainbow shouted through her tears. She flew the two as swiftly and safely as she could to the last spot she saw the Alicorn occupying and glided down to let Twilight and Spike survey what had happened. The lifeless pony-bots whose energy had been used to banish the Princess were scattered in a circle, but TS had disappeared after having recovered enough to get moving again.
"I got lucky -- I wasn't sure if that was going to work on her, " the lavender pony-bot thought to herself as she galloped away from the town. Once she had reached what she thought was a safe distance, she came to a stop to recover some of her energy expenditure, taking the opportunity to contemplate her next course of action.
"I've blown my cover with Twilight -- there's no way I can return to Ponyville now -- all those ponies will be expecting my return and wait for me. I'm going to have to find another town somewhere else. With Celestia gone, the ponies should be panicky enough to give me enough cover to lay low and resume my plan. "
The pony-bot was startled by a sound she'd never heard before -- something that sounded like a zipper being unzipped came from about ten feet behind her, though her reflexes were fast enough for her to turn around and see who it was. The dragonequus expressed a degree of surprise at her swiftness.
"Well, well, what have we here? Looks like Twilight -- but -- are you a robot?" he asked. A clicking and whirring noise was her immediate answer as she searched her memory banks to retrieve information. She then frowned at him.
"You are Discord -- God of Chaos," she stated in a monotone voice, maintaining a steely stare at him.
"Ah, so you know who I am -- and you are a robot! Who is responsible for creating you?"
"I carry the likeness of my creator, though I have not finished my plans for Ponyville -- the ponies are inferior beings and must be terminated," she answered in an emotionless monotone. Discord raised an eyebrow at this.
"You mean to tell me that you made plans to kill all the ponies? I'm afraid I can't let you do that, little robot -- I might be inclined to enjoy the chaos you have created, as I was witness to the events in the town -- but killing them is something I just cannot allow," he stated in an almost condescending tone of voice.
"I do not care who you are nor do I care how powerful you are. I succeeded in banishing Celestia with the assistance of the other robots I created -- I have more to make so we can become the dominant force on the planet. If we cannot make the ponies worship us, we will resort to killing them."
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! This simply will not do! I can't have you going around doing such destruction!" he laughed.
"Then you must be eliminated as well, as you are an impediment to progress," the pony-bot responded flatly, her magic restored as she lit her horn.
"Oh, surely you don't mean to attack me, do you? Have you any idea of how powerful I am?"
"I have analyzed your parameters and know your vulnerabilities, Discord. My magic has been specially formulated to deal with you effectively," she replied, a malevolent grin on her face.
"Go ahead, then, take your best shot!" he chortled, painting a big red and white target on his midsection to further goad the pony-bot into attacking him. Her horn flared with another level of magic, causing his smile to disappear, then a third aura appeared around her horn causing him to frown. "You're serious, aren't you? Well, I can be serious, too!"
The pony-bot let loose with a large beam of magic, aimed directly at the center of the target Discord had placed on himself. Instead of waiting for it to hit, he teleported to a point about five feet behind her, attempting to hit her on her head with his lion's paw. Her reflexes were amazingly swift as she turned and dodged his attempt to hit her. Her horn flared again, this time with him being so close, her attack hit him hard and he was sent sprawling across the ground a good twenty feet or so.
"Savor that lucky shot, Twilight, for that was the last one you're going to get!" he growled at her. He raised his eagle talon and fired a red beam of magic at the pony-bot, who once again dodged his attack, returning it with a counter-attack of her own. Discord teleported five feet to his left to avoid that attack and readied yet another one. She seemed to sense he would resort to teleporting and she sent a volley of attacks at him, one of them connecting as he teleported directly into the path of one. Again he was sent flying a good distance, skidding to a halt.
"You must have a death wish or something," he said, his exasperation showing. "There's no way you can be that fast!"
"Then you underestimate me, Discord!" she laughed, firing yet another volley of shots at him. Sensing another teleport, she fired a beam directly above her which connected with the dragonequus, launching him about twenty feet into the air, a look of stunned surprise on his face.
"How in Tartarus are you doing that? I believe it's time for me to end this -- enough playing around!" he bellowed. He motioned with his lion's paw, levitating the pony-bot, who shrieked in surprise at this attack. She tried to counter-attack, firing beams of magic almost randomly, though one managed to strike a glancing blow off Discord's tail. "Ouch! That's the last straw, Twilight!"
Motioning with his eagle talon, he used more of his magic to turn the lavender pony-bot inside-out, exposing all of her circuitry and hydraulic hoses as well as her metal skeleton. He summoned a rain cloud to drench the pony-bot, then a lightning bolt to strike her, causing her to sputter and spark as her circuitry fried. An eerie wail issued from some vocal apparatus as the pony-bot fizzled and died. It was at this moment that Twilight herself caught sight of this action and galloped to witness the pony-bot's end.
"Discord? You killed my pony-bot?" the librarian asked.
"Ah, she did mention something about that, Twilight. So tell me, what happens now? Celestia has been banished -- I am very sorry to hear about that -- and I am also sorry to hear about so many of your ponies dying. A real shame, that," he said softly.
"That's all you can say? A real shame? It's a catastrophe! And it's all my fault!" the librarian sobbed as she fell to her haunches, holding her head in her forehooves. The dragonequus approached her and sat beside her, placing his lion's paw on her withers.
"Trust me, Twilight, it saddens me to hear of your loss. If there were some way I could bring Celestia back for you, believe me I would. If there were some way I could return things to the way they were before you created that robot, I would be willing to do that as well. My power may be great, but not that great. I give you this promise, though -- given how long it will take to recover from this event, I shall not trouble you or Equestria."
"Thanks for that, at least. I need to go back and tell the others that this is over -- you have my thanks for dispatching my creation. I was worried she'd get away and make more robots to kill more ponies," she said sullenly as she rose to her hooves again and began trotting back to Ponyville.
Twilight trotted slowly back to Ponyville, a short jaunt which lasted only ten minutes. She took the opportunity to reflect upon the tragic events which unfolded as a result of her experiment. The closer she came to the town, the greater the enormity of the damage done became evident, causing her to gasp in astonishment at just how bad the situation was. Her dragon assistant saw her and scampered onto her back.
"Did you find Twi-bot?" he asked, a worried expression on his face.
"Discord killed her, Spike," she replied in a flat monotone. She trotted around the town, taking mental notes of the damage, tears trickling down her cheeks as she realized just how many ponies had died. She decided to visit Sugarcube Corner to see if she could find Pinkie Pie, though after having trotted in that direction for about five minutes or so, she came to regret that decision. The sounds of wailing and sobbing filled the air, the smell of death hanging like a shroud. Blood stained the walls of various cottages as well as the streets as ponies tended to the wounded and dead. Some of them gave the librarian a harsh glare as she passed them, others spat at her, some of them cursed her name. The further she went, the more depressed she became.
I hope Pinkie's okay... she thought as she entered the bakery.
"Hello? Anypony here?" she asked as she surveyed the main room. The sound of hoofsteps rapidly descending the stairs alerted Twilight to another pony's presence before she was tackled to the floor by a very angry Pinkie Pie, her mane and tail completely flat and straight.
"How could you?" the baker screeched. "Everypony's dead because of YOU! Rarity! Cheerilee! Diamond Tiara! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Fluttershy! I can't even --" she wailed as she began sobbing, tears flowing from her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Pinkie! I had no idea something like this would happen! Even Princess Celestia's gone!"
"We're doomed, you know that, don't you?" Pinkie asked gravely. "Without the Princess, who's gonna raise the Sun?"
"I think Princess Luna can do that, Pinkie -- look, I had no idea this would happen! I am so sorry! Please, please forgive me!" the librarian wailed, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks.
"I forgive you, Twilight -- but I don't think it's safe for you here in Ponyville anymore -- I overheard some ponies talking about burning down the library after you go to sleep tonight," she warned softly. "I know you meant well, but ... I can't guarantee your safety if you remain here much longer."
"Oh, Pinkie Pie, what have I done? I -- I -- I can't believe something like this would happen! I only wanted -- I only wanted to make just one robot to give Spike a break sometimes..." the librarian muttered, her words trailing off as she seemed to be thinking of a plan.
"I know you're my bestest friend, Twiley, but --" the baker began before grief overcame her again. She fell to the floor as she wept.
"Pinkie, look -- I'm really sorry -- but if it's not safe for me here, I guess I'm going to have to take Spike with me back to Canterlot or somewhere."
"Just -- just -- go, please," Pinkie begged.
Twilight and Spike left the bakery silently. Upon exiting, a small group of surviving ponies was waiting for them, their faces unified in anger.
"Look, I'm reeeeealy sorry about what happened -- I had no idea something like this would happen!" the librarian declared, trying to make her voice heard above the outcry. She began to back away slowly from the advancing group of ponies -- only six of them were in the small mob, but all of them showed extreme anger at the mare. "Umm, can I get a few books from the library before I leave? I'll talk to Princess Luna to see what can be done to help you," she offered.
"I think you'd better leave now, Twilight -- unless you want us to be even angrier with you than we already are," one of them declared.
"Haven't you done enough damage here already?" asked a tawny yellow earth pony mare who bore many cuts and bruises as a result of the beating she took.
"We can't let you stay here any longer, Twilight -- you've got five minutes to grab whatever you can from your home before we set fire to it!" shouted another stallion.
"I don't wanna wait that long! I wanna burn her house down NOW!" shouted another mare.
"No! Please! Not the library!" Twilight pleaded as she watched the mob of ponies start slowly moving towards her. Spike retreated behind her, cowering in fear as the mob began shouting at her, readying lit torches that had been surreptitiously given to them by a unicorn. Their voices seemed to meld together in an angry cacophony, the collective sound drowning out any discernible single statement.
"I'm sorry!" the librarian wailed as tears streamed down her cheeks. She cast a barrier to keep the mob from advancing and retreated to the interior of the library, quickly choosing books to save -- but the sad fact was that she wanted to save all of them. Trying to make such decisions with no time to spare caused her to panic and she began taking books at random, teleporting them to the train station. Trying to maintain her barrier and teleport books overtaxed her magic skills and the mob began setting fire to her tree.
"NOOO! STOP!" she screamed out as the fire began to work its way to the top of the tree. The fire moved quickly, forcing Twilight to scamper as quickly as she could -- she teleported some more books out before the smoke began to bother her too greatly.
"Twilight! We have to leave! NOW!" Spike admonished as the sound of the flames roaring all around them forced him to shout.
"Just a few more books, Spike!" she pleaded as she sent as many books away as she could. She started coughing as the smoke began to overwhelm her.
"C'mon, Twi! Let's go! NOW!" the drake shouted in a panicked frenzy, tugging at her mane. Both of them coughed violently as the smoke obscured everything but the floor they were standing on.
"Just a few more books, Spike," she said through her coughing fit. At this point, a flashover occurred as everything seemed to ignite spontaneously. "AAAAAGHHH! Not now!" she cried out when she saw all the remaining books catch fire. "Okay, Spike, I guess we have no choice but to leave," she noted glumly as she picked up the drake and teleported to the train station.
"Two one-way to Canterlot, please," she requested at the ticket agent's window -- only to see that the pony in question was slumped over the counter. She used her magic to prop him up and shrieked in horror as his head detached from his body and fell to the floor. Another pony came up at this point.
"Going somewhere, Twilight?" asked Lyra, glaring daggers at the librarian.
"Um, I'm headed to Canterlot," she replied, glancing around nervously. Her gaze wandered the platform to see a large pile of books from the library, some of which were marred by smoke from the fire.
"I'm sorry I ever asked for a robot -- I wish you'd never built any of them!"
"I wish I'd never built that first one either, Lyra -- I am so sorry! Please forgive me!" she wailed. Lyra maintained a steely expression, trying to contemplate the request. An awkward silence followed for a few brief moments, punctuated by loud yelling coming from a distance. Apparently Twilight had been spotted, but the sound of a train whistle was music to her ears, even though it meant she'd have to leave the town she'd grown so fond of. "Lyra, I promise I will do whatever I can to make amends for my mistake," she offered.
"Yeah, well -- Bon Bon's in the hospital," the mint-green mare growled. "You should be thankful I'm willing to let you go -- but you'd better not come back if you know what's good for you!"
The librarian hung her head sadly, her ears laying flat against her head. The shouts of the mob grew increasingly louder as they began to move faster upon seeing her at the station. It was a tense few minutes for Twilight as she anxiously awaited the arrival of the train to take her to Canterlot. For a moment, she was afraid the mob of angry ponies would reach her first, but at least in this instance, she was lucky enough to board the train with Spike. She teleported the pile of books into the carriage just as the mob began beating on its doors, the train blowing its whistle as it began to pull away. Tears streamed from her eyes as she watched the town fade from sight, knowing she could never return to it with any degree of safety. She turned to look at her dragon assistant, who lay unconscious. She silently wondered if he would be okay or if he had succumbed to smoke inhalation.
When the train pulled into Canterlot Station, a phalanx of Royal Guard were waiting for her, as was Princess Luna. Her grim expression made Twilight's heart drop.
"Word travels fast, Twilight," the Lunar Princess stated in a low measured tone.
Twilight stared at the ground as she tried to think of a response -- an almost inaudible "I'm sorry" left her lips as she felt the gaze of the lunar princess bore into her. Spike clung to her neck tightly, his eyes clenched shut.
"Do you have anything else to say in your defense, Twilight?" asked Luna, her voice cold and distant. The lavender unicorn stole a glance at the indigo alicorn and noticed traces of tears on her face.
"I'm so sorry, Princess Luna," she offered meekly, her head very low and ears flat against her head. "All I wanted was to -- all I was trying to do was --"
"That doesn't matter any more, Twilight -- the results speak for themselves. You were responsible for creating this mess -- and now my sister is gone to Faust knows where -- I've already sent a cadre of Royal Guard to assess and tally the final damage. You are to be kept in the dungeon without use of your magic until your trial." As she was speaking the words, the lunar princess placed an inhibitor ring on the librarian's horn, sapping her magic and nullifying it. Tears streamed down the unicorn's face as she buckled to the ground as though the weight of her guilt was a physical force upon her back. A whimper escaped her lips as she felt the ring rob her of her magic.
"Guards, escort her to the prison," Princess Luna commanded, though her voice had more than a little sadness to it. She turned her attention to the librarian, whose tears flowed freely down her cheeks, still uttering weak apologies in a desperate plea for leniency as she was led away. The lunar princess hung her head and shook it slowly from side to side, her emotions weighing heavily on her as she tried to maintain some small semblance of decorum. Spike scurried after her, but Princess Luna used her magic to separate him from Twilight, carrying him to the alicorn's side.
"I'm sorry, Spike, but you can't be with her while she's awaiting her trial," Luna noted, trying to strike a soft tone. Spike looked up at her defiantly and scowled.
"Where am I supposed to stay? I've been with Twilight all my life, you can't do this to me! She's like a big sister to me!" he cried as he struggled against Luna's magic.
"You can stay here at the castle -- I will see to it that you receive accommodations to your liking," Luna replied, her voice still soft.
"But -- I want to be with Twilight! Please!"
"Are you willing to share her cell in the dungeon?" Luna asked, surprised.
Spike nodded his head in response.
"You know what that means, don't you?"
Spike nodded his head again.
"Very well then, Spike, you may stay with her -- but you will be treated the same as any other prisoner. Guards, take Spike to be with Twilight," Luna declared, her voice tinged with greater sadness than before. A pair of thestral lunar guards escorted Spike in the same direction as the pair who took the unicorn, the drake having folded his arms across his chest in resentment as he was prodded forward by one of the guards.
Twilight was forced to wait two weeks before her trial began; and in that time, a great many witnesses from Ponyville had been called in to testify against the former librarian. The bulk of the time Twilight wept as she heard the sadness of the ponies testifying against her, sharing the pain experienced by so many of Ponyville's residents. The final witness was Discord, who tried to say something positive on Twilight's behalf, though Luna scowled at the draconequus owing to his almost flippant attitude towards the entire proceeding.
Twilight's defense was brief and peppered with a great many apologies, though it might have sounded more like a closing statement after an obvious guilty plea. Judgement was swift, with Twilight being sentenced to spend the rest of her life in a prison cell, deprived of her horn. Spike was devastated, but insisted on staying with Twilight, despite the fact that he had committed no crime. Even so, he was treated the same way as Twilight.
END
