Techorse

by Techorse

Chapters

Part 2 (chapters 5-9)
Part 3 (chapters 10-12)
Part 4 (chapters 13-17)
Part 5 (chapters 18-21)
Part 6 (chapters 22-25)
Part 8 (chapters 31-36)
Part 9 (chapters 37-41)
Part 10 (chapters 42-end)
Part 1 (chapters 1-4)
Part 7 (Chapters 26-30)

Part 2 (chapters 5-9)

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Part 3 (chapters 10-12)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 10

The next morning, the team got ready to continue their search for Wizard’s henchman.

As the ponies got out of their cabins, Pinkie Pie sang, “Good morning everypony! It’s a brand new day to start in a new way!”

Techorse laughed and said, “Pinkie Pie, I love your positive attitude! You’re making today so much better.”

Twilight felt her stomach growl and said, “We haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, and we left the saddlebags behind because we wanted to lighten our load. I’ll use a spell to locate plants we can eat.” Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment, and then she said, “Good news. There’s a grove of wild apple trees a few hundred feet from here.”

“Oh boy!” said Rainbow Dash, “I really could use some fruit right now. I can’t fly well without blood sugar.” The group of ponies walked out into the woods to find the fruit trees. Finally, they came across the large plants growing with dozens of wild apples on the branches. Techorse activated his saddle’s robotic arms, and picked a large yellow apple from one of the trees. He handed it to Twilight and said, “Here you go.” Twilight quickly ate the yellow apple and thanked Techorse for it.

Applejack said, “Wait a minute. We’ll be here all day picking them one at a time.” She then jumped in front of one of the trees, turned around, and gave the trunk a mighty kick with both of her hind legs. The tree gave up all its fruit at once, and apples littered the ground.

“That is some talent you got there.” said Techorse with an impressed tone.

Applejack flicked her tail and said, “Aw, thanks. When you farm apples for as long as I have, you learn to get ‘em off the tree in one buck.” Rainbow Dash, seeing the mass of fruit, dove into the pile and started gorging herself. Rarity rolled her eyes at the pegasus’ rude behavior, and daintily started taking small bites out of a single apple she had picked out for herself. The others ate like normal ponies, one apple at a time in a few large bites. Techorse would not eat the core of the apples like the others were.

Twilight pointed this out, “You can eat those you know.”

He replied, “I didn’t know that I could. A human can’t digest most of an apple core. Guess I forgot I’m a pony.”

She said, “Well, you learned something new. If you don’t like seeds though, you don’t have to eat the core.” After the entire party had eaten their fill, they began to walk around again to find the human terrorizing the forest.

Twilight began to notice that the forest was beginning to thicken again. It started out initially very thick with trees, but had thinned out a bit as they got near bodies of water. In this section of the forest, the trees were growing closer together again, and they had to stay exactly on the path in order to prevent getting lost in the tangle. Eventually they wandered into a more open space. The trees here had been cleared away, as it was in too perfect of a circle to be caused by nature. Even in this forest, where ponies didn’t normally interfere with processes, something had to have caused this clearing of trees.

“I know this place.” said Twilight, “we’ve been here before. It’s also very close to the entrance of the forest. I think we’ve been walking along the edge, rather than headed for the middle.”

“Oh that’s just great.” said Rainbow sarcastically, “we’re going in circles looking for one guy in this huge forest. We’ll never find him.”

Fluttershy admitted, “I hope we don’t. He sounds scary, out here hunting innocent creatures.”

Rarity looked at her and said, “He’s actually looking for us ponies, my dear. He isn’t after the animals, I’m sure.”

Pinkie Pie hopped alongside the two and said, “Besides, if he catches animals, he’ll just send ‘em to that crazy factory over the mountains. Right, Techorse?”

Techorse said, “Oh yes Pinkie Pie.” He then thought, “But if I remember who was at that table a while ago, I know who’s in these woods. He doesn’t exactly spare animals.”

“Uh-oh”, said Twilight, stopping the party in its tracks.

“What is it now?” asked Applejack. Twilight pointed out a very large, spread out cluster of cyan flowers on the ground.

“Poison joke. Don’t touch it.”, she said.

Techorse asked, “What is it?”

Pinkie Pie got her face right next to Techorse’s and said with an annoyed tone, “Only the most evil plant in existence! It makes you act weird, talk weird, or change into something silly looking.”

Techorse, trying to break away from Pinkie Pie, said, “Oh, I thought you were going to say it was deadly to touch. Well, that’s not so bad.”

“Don’t be so sure.” said Rarity, “It messed with my hair when I touched it. It shrank poor Applejack to the size of an apple. Pinkie Pie’s tongue swelled up. Rainbow Dash lost her balance, and Twilight’s horn wilted.”

Techorse asked, “What happened to Fluttershy?”

She replied, “I don’t like to talk about it.”

Twilight said, “Well, there’s no way around these plants. The path’s on the other side of them.”

Techorse came up with a plan and announced, “I know what to do.” There was a mechanical noise, and the twin laser cannons came out of Techorse’s saddle. “Time for a little gardening.” he said as he took aim at the blue flowers. Techorse shot laser bolts at the plants, blasting them away. Eventually, a path right through the poison joke was cut.

Twilight was impressed by the creative use of the weaponry and said, “Wow. That was easy. Thanks.”

He said, “You’re welcome. Sorry to disturb nature, but they’re plants right? They will grow back.”

They crossed the scorched earth Techorse had left behind and continued their trek into the woods. As the team went by, they heard the familiar zapping sound the robots made when they fired their guns.

Twilight pointed and said, “The human’s over there! We need to follow that sound to the northeast.” They started galloping in that direction. Eventually though, they grew tired following the zapping noise and collapsed on the ground.

“Phew.”, said Applejack, “I need a rest.”

Rainbow Dash said, “I actually agree with Applejack. I’m tired for once.”

Twilight reluctantly agreed with them, “Well maybe we can rest in a bit. But we have to keep following the noises.”

“We could if we could see anything. It’s darker in here than when we first entered the forest due to the number of trees.” said Techorse.

Pinkie Pie took notice of a ray of light and shouted while pointing in the direction of the rays, “Guys, look! I see light! We can go over there.” They got up and walked over towards the light source. Passing through the bundles of twisting trees, the team came across a very large hollowed out tree stump.

Twilight recognized their location and said, “Wait a minute, I know where we are. This is Zecora’s house.”

Techorse asked, “Who’s she?”

Pinkie Pie darted in front of Twilight and said, “She’s a zebra who lives out here in the forest by herself! She used to come into town once in awhile and scratch at the ground. At one time she acted so strange none of us trusted her. In fact, she seemed so evil I wrote a song about her! Here it goes: She’s an evil enchantress who does evil dances!”

As Pinkie Pie burst into song, Rainbow Dash shook her head in annoyance and told Techorse, “Zecora acts differently from us ponies, but she’s not bad. She cured us of our poison joke problem. She’s just misunderstood because she’s not from Ponyville.”

Twilight said, “Rainbow’s right, Techorse. Zecora is very friendly and won’t hurt anypony. We just thought we’d let you know so you didn’t think she was an evil witch of some kind.”

He understood clearly what they were saying and replied to them, “Sounds to me like she’s just following her people’s customs. On Earth, we try to learn how to respect that early on. It’s interesting to know there are sentient zebras living here on Equestria as well. You know, I’d even like to meet her if she’s home.”

Twilight pointed to the top of the house and said, “There’s smoke coming from the chimney. She probably wouldn’t leave a fire unattended, so she’s probably home. Let’s go.” The ponies walked up to the door to introduce Techorse to Zecora.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was still singing, “then she’ll gobble you up in a big tasty stew, so watch out! See Techorse, that’s what we used to think of Zecora until we got to know her better.” Pinkie Pie noticed everyone had left her for the house. “Oh come on!” she said, huffing and walking off.

Twilight knocked gently on the door with her front right hoof. The door opened, and Zecora took a look at her friends. She was wearing her typical gold rings on her ears and neck.

“Come inside.” she said worriedly, “you need a place to hide.” Everypony filed into the zebra’s humble tree home. Inside were dozens of tribal masks Zecora had collected from her people. In the center of the room was the fireplace, where a cauldron was boiling something down.

“It’s good to see you again, Zecora. But you seem worried. Is something wrong?” asked Twilight.

Zecora looked around nervously and replied, “Life in the forest has been no fun. A weird creature had me on the run.”

Applejack said, “Zecora, did you get a look at this creature?”

Zecora nodded and continued in her rhyming voice, “This beast I saw was very new. It stood not on four legs, but two.”

Techorse took in the information and said, “I know what she means, even though she talks like she’s Doctor Seuss’s wife. That creature you saw, did it have white skin?” Zecora simply nodded, but said nothing.

Rainbow Dash shouted, “You saw the human! He’s who we’re out to stop! Which way did he go?”

Zecora turned to her cauldron and said, “The creature that you seek is not tame and is not meek. He stopped by here for a minute or two, then went back in the forest without further ado.”

Techorse asked another question “Was this guy carrying a metal tube? What was he wearing?”

She answered, “The creature carries a metal stick. Anything it hits vanishes quick.”

“This is definitely one of Wizard’s men. He has a teleporter beam with him too. We must be careful.” said Twilight.

Fluttershy took a look into the cauldron and asked, “What’s cooking in the cauldron today, Zecora?”

She answered, “An old recipe that’s for sure. This is a pot of forgetfulness cure.”

Twilight explained to Techorse, “Zecora typically collects plants and boils them to make natural cures for diseases and ailments found here on Equestria. They can really come in handy.”

Applejack said, “But right now we don’t really need any potions. What we need is a hint to find that man huntin’ our friends.” Just then, they heard a zapping noise outside, followed by an angry shout.

“That’s your hint. Let’s go outside and see if we can find that guy.” said Twilight.

They all walked outside, including Zecora, to find out where that noise had come from. But when they exited the house they couldn’t see anything but trees and vines.

“Well, whatever that noise was, it’s gone now.” said Rarity.

She spoke too soon. A red beam of light shot out from the bushes, and narrowly missed Rarity’s body. She jumped out of the way and shrieked loudly. A large machete cut through a group of vines, and from them emerged a man. This man was tall, had blond hair, and was wearing a pith helmet.

“It looks like I’ve finally found you ponies. It sure took a long time in these huge trees. But that’s ok, the forest is my personal playground, the woods my home.” said the man as he gave them a smile.

“Hunter.”, said Techorse with a vengeful tone.

Hunter cackled and replied, “Well, if it isn’t private Techman. Look at you; you look absolutely ridiculous as a pony. With that green coat and red topped saddle, you kind of look like Yoshi!”

Techorse looked around and replied, “Um, who is this Techman you speak of? I’m just another pony like these girls!”

The human laughed again and said, “Don’t lie. Wizard’s told everybody about your little transformation, Techman. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to do a little more hunting before I come back for you. So many animals to hunt out here, I’m having a blast. But I have yet to bag my first animal.”

Twilight shouted at him, “Not so fast, Hunter. You’re not going anywhere!”

“Is that so?” said Hunter, “I don’t believe I take lip like that from purple ponies.” He raised his teleporter gun. This one was a little different in that it was shaped like an old bolt-action rifle from an era long past. In contrast to the design’s age, the gun also featured a rather modern scope.

Hunter took a shot at Twilight, but she rolled to dodge the beam. The bolt struck a small rock nearby and sent it away in a flash of light. The human moved to the right to take another shot at another pony, but he was stopped by Rainbow Dash knocking him over with a tackle. Hunter used the butt of his gun to push Rainbow Dash off of him and then fired his teleporter beam again. The beam was rather large, but the ponies were fast enough to avoid the blasts. Hunter could feel that he was losing; he knew he had to find a way to deal with the ponies quickly, or else he would fail. All of a sudden, a wooden vial hit him and as soon as the contents wet his shirt, large ice crystals started to spread across his body. The chill put Hunter in a panic, and he yelled out as he started to try to break the crystals off his body. Zecora smirked as she watched the ice potion she threw take effect on the human’s body.

“Good shot, Zecora!” called Applejack as she moved in to attack Hunter. Moving in front of the human, she landed a kick right in the middle of Hunter’s chest. However, the ice crystals protected him, and they simply shattered.

“Thanks, dumb blonde.” said Hunter mockingly as he clubbed back Applejack with his gun. Hunter then screamed in pain as a hail of laser bolts from Techorse’s guns started burning holes in his suit and skin. He eventually got out of the line of lasers, and fired a beam at Techorse. He narrowly dodged the blast, but was forced to stop firing his laser cannons to do so. Hunter tried to collect his thoughts and assess the battle unfolding, but a pounding headache overtook him. He realized Pinkie Pie was hopping up and down on his head, attempting to knock him unconscious.

“Stop… Attacking…. My… Friends!” was her cry as she desperately tried to knock out the human. Hunter pushed the pink pony off his head and threw bolas at her legs. They tied her up, and Pinkie Pie fell down with a thud.

“Alright kids, playtime’s over.” said Hunter with a sneer. It was then Twilight Sparkle noticed a glowing crystal hanging from Hunter’s neck. It started to glow a red color in a more intense fashion. Hunter continued, “Since I can’t beat you myself, I’ll use Wizard’s mind control beam to make you fight yourselves!” The crystal glowed an intense color, and then the gun glowed green. Hunter aimed and fired his mind control blast. The green blast was avoided by most of the ponies, but Zecora was caught in the energy. “Alright zebra”, said Hunter, “You take care of these little ponies while I continue my hunting trip.” Then, with dark laughter, he turned around and walked away. Zecora’s eyes were glowing an eerie green, the same color as the mind control ray. She turned around and began to throw potions of various kinds at the ponies in front of her house.

“Zecora, it’s us!” wailed Fluttershy as she tried to dodge the vials.

Pinkie Pie said frantically while hopping around with the ropes still on her legs, “She can’t hear us because she’s a zombie!”

Twilight replied, “No Pinkie Pie, she’s only under that hunter’s control!”

Techorse confronted the zebra and tried to reason with her, “Zecora, I don’t want to hurt you. You’ll have to fight against the mind control to regain control of your body! I know you are still in there!” A red potion fell in front of Techorse and surrounded him with a ring of fire. The flames separated him from his friends, and the heat from the fires shut down the sensitive circuitry of his saddle.

“Sorry Zecora, but I have to do this.” said Applejack, running up to get a hit in. Unfortunately Applejack was bad at evasive maneuvers and was hit by a light blue vial. She immediately shrunk down, which sounded not unlike a plumber being hit by a sentient turtle.

“Aw shoot”, cried Applejack in a midget voice, “that one had poison joke in it.” Zecora tossed a glass jar at the tiny Applejack. It fell over her, leaving her trapped.

“Twilight!” shouted Rainbow Dash, “use your magic to stop the mind control!”

Techorse called out from inside the fire, “She’s right. That mind control is magic based, the gun simply served as a focal point for Wizard’s magic. You can stop it!” Twilight Sparkle’s horn started glowing as she prepared to try and remove the mind control spell. She was then promptly struck with another light blue vial, and her horn flopped over in her face.

Twilight exclaimed, “Oh no, I’ve been poisoned too! My magic’s useless!”

Rainbow Dash finally shrugged and said, “I guess it’s up to me.”

Rarity complained to her, “Oh, thanks! Am I worthless now?” Rainbow Dash ignored Rarity and flew at full speed towards Zecora, and managed to knock the zebra backwards inside her house. She fell into the cauldron of liquid she had been brewing since the ponies had arrived at her home. Immediately Zecora became lucid after drinking some of the liquid. She shot up from the cauldron because of the water temperature, and saw Rainbow Dash looking at her and breathing heavily.

Zecora said, “I assume from your breathing a ton that we won?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and answered, “The guy got away.”

Chapter 11

Zecora cured the ailments of the team. The poisoned ones simply had to wash away the poison joke fluid, but the others had more complicated problems. For starters, putting out the ring of fire around Techorse required the sap of a special tree, as water only made the oil-based fire spread around. It then took the team several minutes to find out where Fluttershy was. Apparently, Hunter had scared her off, and she had hid inside the bushes around Zecora’s house to try to protect herself. Sadly, she had picked the wrong bush, and was forced to pick a large number of burs out of her coat. Afterwards, it took another 5 minutes to untie the ropes binding Pinkie Pie’s legs. Techorse could have used his robotic hands, but the flames had overheated his battle saddle and shut it down. The fire had also melted the red polyester cushion away, leaving the entire saddle a less than pretty pewter-gray color. The only one who managed to get away completely unchanged was Rarity, who had done absolutely nothing to assist in the battle in order to avoid scraping her hooves on the hard ground. In total, about a half an hour was wasted recovering from this failed attempt to stop the human’s hunting in the forest.

After recovering, Twilight Sparkle announced, “Alright everypony, we have to get back out there and find Hunter before he gets another chance to attack.”

Rainbow Dash complained, “But he could be anywhere by now! He could have escaped so deep in the woods we’ll never find him!”

Techorse put on his saddle and replied, “Rainbow Dash, I hate to break it to you, but Hunter is dumb. It’s likely he assumed Zecora finished us off and is hunting nearby.”

Fluttershy shivered at the thought, “He nearly, f-finished us?”

Applejack answered sharply, “If you hadn’t run off, you woulda known this, Fluttershy!”

Rarity added in, “He nearly did get us though. I almost singed my mane trying to get out of the way of his dreadful attacks!”

“Can’t you see though? The human didn’t finish us. He left to go hunt for more animals. This gives us a chance to stop him again.” Twilight said.

Techorse added, “Hunter has made a critical error by not making sure we lost. We can attack him by surprise this way.”

Pinkie Pie couldn’t resist trying to communicate her own idea. She asked out loud, “Hey, what if we lured him into a trap? I could set up a line of cookies, and put a large pile under a huge cardboard box propped up by a stick! When he tries to get the pile, I pull the string attached to the stick, and we catch him!”

Twilight shook her head and said, “Pinkie Pie, he’s not that stupid.”

“Maybe not.” said Techorse, “But I do like the idea of laying a trap for Hunter. Perhaps, with Zecora’s help in choosing the right spot, we can make the hunter become the hunted.”

The seven ponies, followed by Zecora, went out into a place they knew small animals tended to roam. Knowing Hunter liked going for small game first before moving on to larger prey, they dug a deep pit in the ground, and then covered it well with dirt and leaves. The trap could support the weight of a rabbit or squirrel, but a human such as Hunter would be too heavy and fall right in.

Twilight said to Zecora, “Thanks for all your help Zecora. It’s probably best you head home now. We’ll take it from here.”

“Be careful my friends.” said Zecora, “Or you will surely meet your ends.” She then sadly walked off, as if to indicate she knew they were toast.

Techorse said, “Alright, Twilight and I have a plan to catch Hunter off guard. Hunter has left tracks with his boots. We’ll simply find him by following the tracks. Once we find Hunter, we’ll have him chase us through the forest back to this spot. Lure him over the trap, and we have him down the hole!”

“Then what?” asked Rarity, “Do we simply leave the creature down there?”

Twilight said sternly, “No, and don’t call them creatures Rarity. Remember that Techorse is really a human, and I think he’s proved not every human is bad.”

“He’s pony enough to me.”, Rainbow Dash said confidently.

Techorse felt his heart sink again, but refused to show it on his face. He said, “Rarity’s right. I’m just an evil creature at heart.”

Rarity corrected her statement, “Actually, I said this Hunter fellow is a creature. You, good sir, are most definitely not like him!”

“Well, that’s a little better.”, said Techorse, picking himself up.

The ears of the ponies perked up as they heard a cry for help coming from beyond a clump of trees.

“Help me! He’s trying to get me!” called the female voice as it drifted towards them from across the forest.

Twilight said, “That sounds like someone in trouble. Maybe finding Hunter’s going to be easier than we thought.” Pinkie Pie, busy laying cookies on the trap, turned her head and listened.

She gasped loudly and shouted, “Oh no, that sounds like Butterscotch’s scream of terror! We have to help her!” Butterscotch was a young earth pony who often visited Pinkie Pie’s bakery for a treat and a talk. The small blue pony with a curly yellow mane frequently got herself into trouble, but now she was in mortal peril. Pinkie Pie took off at her traditional speed of cartoonish blur.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and said, “I’ll follow her.” She flew off to go help Pinkie Pie.

Techorse deployed his turbofans, but looked back at Twilight and asked, “Should I take off too? Or should I walk with you?”

Twilight quickly answered, “Go ahead and follow them. Make sure they don’t get spotted, or we’ll lose the element of surprise.” Techorse nodded and with the whir of fan blades, he lifted into the air and flew after Rainbow Dash.

Twilight, already galloping after them said, “Try to stay with me. We’ve got to make sure we get the drop on the human.”

Applejack replied, “You got it, Twilight. Formin’ on your lead.”

Rarity called out, “Right behind you! Please wait up!” Poor Fluttershy was left standing alone. She had wings, but was often too afraid to fly very fast.

“Oh dear.” she said as she sorrowfully walked after the cloud of dust her friends were leaving. In the meantime, Pinkie Pie had already spotted where she heard the cry coming from. She could not see too well in the darkness of the woods, but she could see the silhouette of a small pony out in the open. Pinkie Pie hid in a bush, took out a pair of binoculars, and got a closer look at the pony. It was too dark, however, and she couldn’t tell if it was really Butterscotch or not.

Rainbow Dash darted down into the bush and whispered, “Pinkie Pie, what are you doing? You’re going to give us away and ruin the plan!”

Pinkie Pie shoved the binoculars at her friend and answered, “Look for yourself! Butterscotch is standing right there all defenseless. If we don’t do something, she’s history!”

“Pinkie, I can’t tell if that’s her or not! It’s too dark.” Rainbow replied as she looked through the binoculars.

Techorse landed in the bush and said quietly, “It’s too dangerous to rush ahead like this. We have to stay together.”

Rainbow Dash put down the binoculars and said, “Techorse is right. Let’s wait for the others.” They waited for a moment, and the team assembled inside the bush.

Rarity was the first to ask a question, “Did you find the little one? Is she ok?”

Pinkie Pie answered, “She’s standing right there in the open! Hunter’s going to nab her for sure!”

Twilight Sparkle squinted and said, “Pinkie Pie, I can’t see well enough to know if that’s her or not, and if I use my magic to light up the area, it will give away our position to Hunter.”

Applejack asked, “Why isn’t she moving? If she was in trouble, wouldn’t she be runnin’ around in a worry?”

A voice came from the silhouette, “Help me Pinkie Pie! Please! Anybody, please help!”

“See! It really is her! I’m going to help her!” shouted Pinkie Pie, already running for the outline.

Ok, it must be her. That’s Butterscotch’s voice. Everyone to her rescue!” said Twilight, thoroughly convinced. Six of them were running straight for the silhouette.

“Wait a minute”, said Fluttershy. But it was too quiet for any of the others to hear, and they were already too far away. She galloped a bit to try to catch up and tried to muster up a louder call.

She tried to shout, “It might be a trap!” But it was too late. As Pinkie Pie approached the silhouette, the cloud blocking the sun moved, and revealed the figure. It was actually a doll that looked like a pony made out of feed sack. Behind it was a tape recorder playing clips of Butterscotch’s voice. The group of six ponies bunched up around Pinkie Pie, unable to stop in time.

Steel bars emerged from the ground around them. One of them screamed, and the others simply looked around in confusion.

“It’s a trap!” shouted Techorse, stating the obvious. Rainbow Dash tried to take off vertically, but the steel bars bent at the top and formed a cage, preventing her escape. The rest of the cage rose out of the ground on a thick base pole. The only one not trapped inside was Fluttershy, who watched her friends get trapped in horror. She stared at the cage with a look of horror on her face.

“What now?” asked Twilight as she heard evil laughter. Hunter emerged from behind a tree and walked over to the cage.

“You morons fell right for my trap.” he said in glee that his plan had worked.

“What have you done with Butterscotch?” Pinkie Pie demanded angrily. She tried to bite Hunter's arm through the bars, but Hunter simply stepped backwards to avoid her teeth.

Hunter replied while looking at his rifle, “I teleported her to the factory. She was a tough one to shoot. But I eventually plugged the little sucker. Before she went, I managed to get a recording of her voice on my tape recorder. I used it to make this trap you’re stuck in right now.”

He then looked at Techorse and said, “Oh, and Techman, you really thought I would fall for that stupid pitfall trap? I was spying on you the whole time you made that idiot plan. So I decided to mastermind my own. You will always be my prey, you dumb ponies.”

Applejack said with rage, “When I get out of here, I’m gonna kick you so hard you’ll learn what your spine tastes like!”

Hunter teased her, “Ooh, the southern belle is making threats. You really are the dumbest of them, aren’t you? Not much of a brain under that hat.”

Twilight defended her friend, “Like you’re any smarter for messing with us. I’m going to bend these bars with a little magic, and then Applejack will take care of you.” She tried to bend open the cage, but in shock realized she could not.

Hunter said, “Nice try missy, but these bars are protected by Wizard’s power. Even if you know magic like him, it’s probably much weaker.”

Twilight sat back and thought, “He’s also probably willing against me breaking the bars as well.” Hunter stepped forward and turned around his teleporter gun, then stuck it between the bars of the cage and started poking at the ponies.

“Sure are some pretty fine specimens. I especially like the ivory one over here in the corner.” He said as he shoved the wooden stock of the weapon into Rarity’s gut. She exhaled sharply as the wooden handle squished her belly in. Techorse saw this as a chance to use his robotic hands to grab the gun. Hunter reacted quickly and withdrew his rifle from the cage. He then touched a button on the side of the cage, causing a mild but painful electric current to surge through the occupants. Techorse’s battle saddle shorted out, and the arms retracted quickly to prevent damage. Hunter laughed as the girls tried to fix their frizzy manes from the electric shock.

He said, “Well, I have you where I want you. I can do whatever I want from here.” Hunter then realized one pony was missing. Fluttershy was observing Hunter torment her friends from a “safe” distance. But seeing her friends suffer and hearing Hunter’s arrogant words finally flipped a switch in her mind that for the sake of all that exists, should never be flipped.

“HOW DARE YOU!” screamed Fluttershy as she flew towards the man. “How dare you hurt my friends like this! You may be a big human, and you may be strong, but you’re not entitled to do whatever you want!”

As Fluttershy chewed out Hunter, Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight, “This is a repeat of what happened with that dragon we fought last year. Remember?” Twilight nodded her head and looked at the scene unfolding.

Fluttershy continued her tirade, “Furthermore, you are just a bully and bad person for hunting for animals that don’t deserve to be hunted. They do nothing to you, and yet you have to take them as trophies, just for fun! You free my friends this instant, or you’ll be sorry!” Hunter drew his machete and took a swing at Fluttershy, who was hovering inches in front of his face. Fluttershy grabbed the blade with her teeth and flung it to the side, where it embedded in the ground.

“Wow.”, said Techorse looking on in amazement.

Fluttershy screamed, “I’m not asking again! Let them go, or else!” Fluttershy’s look went from outraged to confused as she watched Hunter start laughing like crazy.

“Or else what?” the human asked. “Shoot me? You don’t have any guns. Are you going to eat me? You’re a vegetarian! Love me to death? You’re all just a bunch of peace-loving vegetarian hippies!”

Twilight bumped Techorse and whispered to him, “Prove him wrong, Techorse. Use your lasers.”

He replied with frustration, “I can’t, that electric shock fried my saddle and it needs time to reset.”

Fluttershy screamed, “I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice!” Fluttershy gave Hunter her taming stare. To her horror, the soul-piercing move had no effect. Although Hunter had shrunk back a little bit, perhaps in expectation of Fluttershy having heat vision, he too realized the stare was harmless to him.

Hunter spread his arms and said, “Well miss, I admire your courage. You really had me going there that you were actually a threat.”

Fluttershy landed, turned around, and ran off back into the woods screaming, “You’ll see you monster!” Hunter simply put on a smile and shook his head in disbelief.

He said, “What a coward. Didn’t even have to use my teleporter rifle.” He then turned to the cage and addressed his captives, “Now that that issue has been settled, time to deal with you guys.”

Rarity asked in a scared voice, “W-what are you planning on doing with us, exactly?”

Hunter pointed his teleporter gun at her and replied, “Well, I could just teleport you all to the factory. But chances are you’d make the best of that and sabotage it.” He then looked at Applejack and continued, “I could also make you my personal pets. Back on Earth you’d be good at hauling my hunting equipment for me.” He looked at Techorse and said, “I might release you into a closed arena and let other people pay me to hunt you.” The man then put on a sinister expression and said darkly, “But I think I’ve enjoyed hunting you myself. You’ve really been a challenge to capture. So now that I’ve completed my mission and captured you, I think I need a reminder of my success.” He walked over to his machete and wiped the mud off of it, then carried it back to the cage. Hunter looked at his reflection in the blade and said, “I think I’ll make all of you into seven very colorful hunting trophies. I’ll hang them all in a row in my collection, right under the exotic creatures section.”

Rarity asked nervously, “What does that mean?” Hunter put the tip of the machete under Rarity’s chin and lifted her head up to make eye contact with him.

“It means”, he said cruelly, “I’m going to cut off your pretty little head, stuff it, attach it to a plaque, and hang it on my wall to remember the day I beat you.” Rarity gulped, and Rainbow Dash put her front hooves over her neck.

“Not today!” came a voice from behind Hunter. He span around to look at who had said that. He then heard a roaring from the trees. Several tree trunks splintered immediately as a large beast emerged from them with Fluttershy riding on its back. The beast resembled a lion with the tail of a scorpion. “So, you like hunting big game?” asked Fluttershy, “then try this manticore on for size!” Hunter’s eyes dilated in surprise, but he quickly regained his train of thought and raised his gun. Pulling the trigger, the beam shot out and struck the manticore dead center. Nothing happened. Hunter started backing up and fired again and again, but the manticore would not disappear.

“What’s the matter?” asked Techorse in a mocking tone “Is your teleporter beam too weak to teleport a beast of that size? Let’s see you beat him, if you really are the master hunter.”

“Get him!” ordered Fluttershy. The beast charged forward at Hunter. The human screamed in terror, but he backpedaled and fired his gun constantly hoping he would at least hit Fluttershy. But the manticore had already closed the gap, and its right claw came down on Hunter’s chest. His shirt was immediately torn open at the front, revealing a bulletproof vest he was wearing underneath. The manticore struck with his other claw, and to Hunter’s horror the claw tore the bulletproof vest off in one swing, leaving him bare-chested. He fell to his knees in front of the creature, and looked up helplessly at Fluttershy. The manticore reached up with his right paw to deal the finishing blow to the human. Hunter immediately dropped his rifle and began pleading with Fluttershy.

“Please don’t kill me!” he wailed. “I’m sorry! I really am!”.

“It’s too late for that.” said Fluttershy coldly, “You’re finished”.

“I wasn’t going to do anything to your friends, I swear!” said Hunter in tears.

“I heard you quite clearly mister. You were going to turn my friends into stuffed animals. You meant what you said.” said Fluttershy.

Applejack threw in, “And he called me a dumb blonde!”

“You shouldn’t kill me just for threats!” reasoned Hunter, “after all, I did mean it about you loving peace. It’d be a shame to wreck your reputation just to get rid of me! Aren’t you guys supposed to be loving and caring?”

“Maybe you should have thought about the consequences before you decided to torture my friends.” said Fluttershy, intent on letting the human die.

Hunter shut his eyes and screamed, “Please, have mercy! I’ll give up hunting and pick a new career! I’ll become a vegetarian, whatever it takes, just please don’t do this to me!”

Twilight knew the human was telling the truth and said, “Fluttershy, that’s enough. Do not do what I think you’re about to do! Calm down and tell him to let us out of this cage.”

Fluttershy dropped her eyelids a bit. She did feel a little bad about how far she had taken the situation. She had initially only wanted to teach the human a lesson, but here she was about to show every pony she knew what this man’s internal organs looked like. Fluttershy said to Hunter, “let my friends go now, and I won’t tell him to finish you.” Hunter took a key out of the tattered remains of his shirt and unlocked the cage. The friends filed out of the metal container and looked at Hunter. Fluttershy got off of the manticore and said to Applejack, “Tie him up so we can take him to prison.”

Techorse then remembered something, “Wait a minute, I’ve got a better idea. Hunter, find that vial of blue fluid Wizard gave to you.” Hunter took the vial out of his pocket.

“Now”, Techorse said, “When you pour this over your head, you will be transported back to Earth. Wizard said there’s no penalty for quitting, so go ahead and do it. Quit, leave this planet, and never come back again.”

Hunter wept, looked at the ponies and said, “thank you for sparing me, and showing a little love.”

“Hey”, said Rainbow Dash, “it’s what we do.” Hunter then unscrewed the cap on the vial and poured the liquid over his head. He then vanished in a large blue cloud of smoke. All that was left on the ground was the crystal given to him by Wizard. Techorse walked up to it and smashed it to pieces with his hoof. As Techorse watched the red color drain from the fragments, he smiled. He knew Wizard had lost a way to take control of the planet.

Wizard was looking out one of the space station’s gigantic windows. He looked down at the planet below with contempt. As the goateed man watched the surface, a warning tone sounded throughout the room. Wizard turned around and walked over to his map of the surface. He sat down at the table and took a look at the location of the ponies. The older man watched with anger as the figure of Hunter melted and evaporated into the air. He clenched his fist and looked around at the table to decide his next move. Noticing a settlement in the desert, Wizard smirked and plotted the strategy to capture it. Moving over to a large model representing the factory he had planted behind the mountains, Wizard picked up a handful of models representing robots and moved them over to the settlement. He then turned around and walked over to a pillar with a metal disk on it. His hands glowed, and he touched the disk. Immediately, Bossman appeared as a hologram before Wizard.

“Bossman”, ordered Wizard, “ramp up production of robots to 60% capacity. None of the others are building portals except the general, so we have to ship robots manually. Send the new robots over to the desert and have them attack the pony settlement there. It will lure my targets over, where one of our men can take care of them.”

Bossman said, “Excellent plan, except that the factory is not ready to produce at that speed yet. We’re only up to 20% capacity, and the mining probes can’t dig up enough metals to produce that many robots!”

Wizard shouted at Bossman, “Just turn the dials and speed everything up! We need to strike now!”

“Alright”, Bossman replied, “I’ll make as many robots as I can and send them over. But we won’t have any reserves to attack their capital cities with.”

Wizard threw his arm over to the side and said, “That matters little. Get a large enough army to handle these seven ponies I’m concerned about, and we won’t need very many robots to handle the cities.”

Bossman smiled and said, “Is Techman’s little party wrecking our machines? Those idiots have no chance of stopping us.”

Wizard leaned closer to the hologram and said menacingly, “Listen you fool. Hunter just quit, his crystal was shattered seconds ago. He’s back on earth now recovering from what Techman did to him. If you don’t want to suffer the same fate, I suggest you follow my orders and send out those robots.”

Bossman’s eyebrows lifted and he replied, “Hunter quit? Maybe those ponies are a bit of a threat after all. Alright then, Wizard my friend, I will try to ramp up production and send some robots into the desert. But I think I can only manage about 40% capacity.”

“Fine.” said Wizard, “Just make sure a good number are headed for the desert.” Wizard shut down the hologram disk and turned to face his map. He took a look over at the desert and looked at the railroad there. A small figure representing a train was moving towards the city. Wizard said, “Soon Gunslinger will arrive there in his train and begin loading up the natives. If Bossman proves competent, he will get an army of robots to back him up.” Wizard leaned back in his chair, and rested his hand on his chin, “Gunslinger will do better against the ponies than Hunter.”

Chapter 12

“Alright Fluttershy!” cheered Rainbow Dash. “You got rid of that human once and for all.” Everypony cheered for Fluttershy’s victory against Hunter.

After it quieted down, Techorse said, “We managed to beat Hunter. But, there are still 5 other men out there attacking your planet. Let’s figure out where the next one is so we can stop him.”

Twilight gave her response, “Hold on, Techorse. We need to rest a bit. Since we’re so close to Ponyville, let’s just go back and spend the day recovering. Tomorrow, we’ll head back out to find the next human.”

Rarity said, “Twilight Sparkle is right. We need to clean up a bit. I probably smell terrible after all this.”

“No you don’t”, said Applejack, “You take good care of yourself Rarity.”

“Ugh”, Rarity answered with a sniff, “you're only saying that because you never think you need a bath, Applejack.”

“Let’s not get at each other’s throats.” said Twilight, looking back and forth at Applejack and Rarity.

Fluttershy agreed, “We need to stay on each other’s good side.” The manticore purred and sat down with a thud on the ground, drawing attention away from the argument.

“Saaaay!” said Pinkie Pie, “Isn’t this the same manticore from a while ago? When we first met?”

“Yes”, said Fluttershy as she scratched the beast behind his right ear, “this is him. I found him having a drink from a river, and begged him to help us stop Hunter. He said he’d be glad too, because Hunter was scaring his friends away.” Fluttershy turned to the beast and said, “You can go now. Thank you so much for helping us.” The beast bowed and walked slowly back into the thick stands of trees.

Techorse asked curiously, “So, how long have you girls known each other anyways? When did you all meet?”

Rainbow Dash whipped her rainbow hair eagerly and answered, “I can tell you the story! Come back to my cloudhouse and we can talk and snuggle.” Rainbow Dash realized her mistake and added quickly, “I mean, share stories!”

Techorse snickered a bit at Rainbow Dash’s Freudian slip.

Twilight said, “Techorse, I can tell you what you need to know. I just have to bring you a book from the library to explain it better.”

He looked at her and replied, “That sounds great Twilight. Come over to the castle tonight and we can talk.” Rainbow Dash pouted and glared at Twilight Sparkle as jealousy overtook her.

As the ponies turned to walk back towards Ponyville, Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash, “Don’t get green with envy because Techorse chose Twilight over you. His smarts are like Twilight’s, and he hopes that’ll help her explain our friendship better.”

Rainbow Dash said, “Well, I still don’t see why he can’t talk to me instead.”

Applejack put on a smirk to tease Rainbow Dash and said, “You do have a crush on that guy. Just admit it.”

She said angrily, “I do not! I’m looking for a great sidekick, and I think Techorse is perfect for that!”

Applejack smiled and said, “Sure, you just wanted to snuggle with him. I heard you say that.”

Pinkie Pie interrupted the argument, “Hey! I’m having a party at my place to celebrate our first victory! Want to come?”

“I guess I’ve got nothing better to do”, said Rainbow Dash sadly.

Applejack answered, “Of course, Pinkie Pie. But then I’ve got to check up on the farm first.”

As the team split up to go back to their homes in Ponyville, the three young mares looked at them from behind a tree.

“Aw shoot. We were too slow. The older ponies already beat the human.” Said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo told her friend, “Don’t worry. There are more humans around here causing trouble. I’m sure we’ll get the chance to take one of them down and earn our cutie marks.”

Sweetie Belle looked around and asked, “Should we just go back to Ponyville then? I don’t think Rarity’s going on another adventure until she cleans up a bit.”

Apple Bloom answered, “Probably. We’ll just take a break, and then follow ‘em again next time they leave.” The three young ones started walking back in the direction of Ponyville.

Back at the castle, Techorse was waiting for Twilight Sparkle’s arrival. He entered the front gate of the castle and watched as the massive wooden door closed behind him. Losing a little less than half his height in becoming a pony made everything seem massive to him.

PAL’s android form walked up to him and said, “Master! You’re alive!” The machine ran forward and hugged his creator.

“Don’t you have any confidence in me PAL? I promised I’d be back.” Techorse replied. The machine released his master.

“Sorry, I’m just so glad my best friend is ok.” said PAL as he stepped back.

Techorse said, “Listen, PAL. Twilight Sparkle’s coming over in a few minutes to talk. Is the castle clean?”

PAL nodded and said, “I’ve kept the castle in shape for your return. It’s clean, the metal bins have been filled by the probes, and your lab is in top condition.” PAL looked over at Techorse’s saddle and said, “That looks horribly out of repair.”

He replied, “Yeah, can I get you to repair it for me? The blueprints are in the database. Just connect to the central computer and download them.”

PAL removed the saddle from Techorse’s back and said, “Of course master. I’ll have this patched up in a jiffy.”

As the robot turned to leave Techorse asked, “One last thing, PAL. How’s the castle library doing?”

The robot responded, “Nothing’s missing or damaged if that’s what you’re asking. I just dusted the collection, so it should be clean too.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Within the hour, the doorbell rang at the front of the castle. Techorse ran over to one of the castle walls and threw the switch hanging there. The drawbridge lowered gradually and gently touched down on the path outside. Twilight entered wearing a bag on her side.

She walked through the open gateway and greeted Techorse, “Hey, thanks for inviting me over.”

He said, “No problem, Twilight.” Twilight and Techorse began their walk deeper into the castle.

“Wow”, said Twilight, “you know, when I was last in here, I was just running after you. It’s actually pretty nice in here once you stop to look around.”

Techorse explained the atmosphere of the castle, “When I designed this castle, I didn’t want it to be a creepy place. There’s plenty of electric lights powered by solar panels on the roof.”

Twilight asked, “What’s a solar panel?”

“Oh”, he answered, “It’s a piece of equipment that takes the sun’s rays and turns it into electric power. During the day, the panels gather energy and put it into a large battery underneath the castle. That way, I can run the lights all night without burning a drop of fuel. Green and happy.”

Twilight marveled at the technology, “You don’t see electric lights much out here. I mean, we have them in the cities, but they’re connected to a power plant. They’re relatively high tech.”

Techorse frowned and said to her, “This is basic technology back home on Earth.”

Twilight, still looking around, continued “I guess humans are very smart then. But I still wonder why they need all this technology.”

He answered, “When you don’t have wings and it’s very difficult to learn magic, you use your brain to invent machines that complete those tasks.”

“Did you invent the solar panels?” asked Twilight.

“No.” replied Techorse humbly, “I just used them as a part of the castle’s wiring.”

Twilight asked another question, “So, how did you even build this place? I saw it fall from the sky, but it was already in one piece.”

Techorse answered, “Wizard gave us all a choice as to how we wanted our base of operations to look like. I designed this using a computer, an electronic machine that works quickly with data.”

Twilight asked, “Like PAL?” Techorse nodded, “PAL is a special type of computer. He’s a robot that’s been programmed by me to interact with others like a real person.”

“Programming?”, yet another question from Twilight.

Techorse patiently continued his explanation, “Machines need instructions in the form of a special language called code. We have to write it, like an instruction manual, to get machines to do what we want to.”

Twilight said, “Wow. You really are a smart pony.” Correcting her mistake, she continued, ”I mean human.”

“Don’t worry”, he responded, “I’m pretty much a pony now. Just call me that.” They arrived at a red door, ending the awkwardness. Techorse looked at the rounded knob and said, “I have to refit this place for hooves.” He turned the knob with his teeth, swung open the door, and walked in with Twilight following him. Twilight’s mouth hung open a bit in joy as she looked at the room. It was an open room with multiple bookcases on the walls, each with 3 shelves. A few hundreds of books of various types were neatly arranged on them. In the center of the room were brown leather chairs to sit and read on. “Welcome to my library.” said Techorse, “Do you like it?”

Twilight said with great joy, “I love it! Where did you get all these books?”

Techorse replied, “Wizard said we could have anything we wanted. So, I added in a library to my design. All the classic stories of Earth history are here, as well as plenty of general informational books.”

Twilight’s horn glowed, and she picked up a book about plants that live on Earth. “So much to learn about your planet from these books.” she said, “can I take some back with me?”

“Yes, but do not add them to Ponyville’s library”, warned Techorse, “The information is useless to Ponyville, and all of the fictional stories feature humans as main characters, so no pony would understand them.”

“Don’t worry Techorse. I wasn’t planning on it.” she said.

He asked, “Hey, do you want something to drink while you read? I built a carbonator and can make us soda.”

Twilight actually was feeling a little thirsty, so she said, “Sure. What flavor?”

Techorse answered, “Just pick a fruit juice and I can make fresh soda in no time.”

Twilight thought for a second, walked past Techorse, and answered, “Orange soda.”

“Ok”, he replied. As Techorse turned to leave, he looked back at Twilight reading the books she had taken off the shelf. He looked at her straight hair, mostly a darker purple color than her skin, with a pink stripe and a purple stripe down the middle. Techorse watched her curved tail flick as she took in the information from the books. He followed it down to the base, and glanced at her cutie mark, a large pointed star with five smaller stars surrounding it. Techorse then turned away from admiring Twilight and felt an interesting emotional feeling inside him. Sighing once, he exited the library to the right and began his walk down the hallway. Techorse entered the kitchen of the castle, which contained an oven with a stove, a microwave, a refrigerator in the corner, and a center counter with the carbonator. Opening the refrigerator door, he took out a carton of orange juice and poured its contents into the opening of a machine. Techorse put down two glasses filled with ice in front of the faucets at the front of the machine. At the press of a red button, the machine whirred for a moment before neatly dispensing two glasses of bubbling orange soda. After the drink was dispensed, the colt took two red plastic straws and placed one into each drink.

Techorse was really starting to miss his battle saddle’s robotic hands at this point. It took him a while to figure out how to grab the glasses and put them on a wheeled tray. Getting used to having no hands, he began pushing the tray with his head back towards the library. Along the way, he passed a computer monitor that displayed the status of various parts of the castle. Techorse noticed something unusual on the screen out of the corner of his eye and stopped pushing the cart.

He looked at the screen and asked, “PAL? You in the central computer?” A robotic face appeared in the corner of the screen.

“Been so for about 10 minutes”, replied the icon representing PAL, “What do you need to know?”

Techorse asked, “It says here the castle’s roof hot tub has been turned on. Is there something you want to tell me PAL?” The icon disappeared, and PAL’s android form walked in.

“Well master, I don’t know. It must be an electrical short.”

The pony looked up at the robot and scolded, “Don’t play dumb. I know it’s one of the tactics I built you with, but it helps me tell when you try to lie. What’s going on?”

PAL said nervously, “I was in the central computer, looking around the castle, and I happened to notice you and Twilight in the library through the surveillance cameras. It doesn’t take high-end thermal scanners to know you’re in love with that girl.”

Techorse said sternly, “PAL, I’m not Captain Kirk. Twilight Sparkle is my friend, not some alien babe.”

PAL quickly shook his head and waved his hands sideways, “Master, I didn’t mean it like that.” He stopped motioning and put a hand behind his head. The robot continued, “I mean you really love her for who she is! I just thought I’d be helpful by offering a more romantic atmosphere on the roof of the castle.”

Techorse looked at the ground in embarrassment and said, “Well, I appreciate your ‘help’. But I don’t think Twilight wants a romantic relationship with a pony who’s actually a human.”

PAL put a metal hand on Techorse’s “shoulder” and said, “To her, you are a pony. You might as well tell her you love her and get it over with.”

He said to the robot, “I’ll think about. But don’t spy on me again PAL.” The machine nodded and walked off.

Techorse returned to the library with the tray in tow. He said, “I brought the sodas.” Twilight put down the book she was reading and took a large sip from the glass closest to her.

“This is really great! We have sodas in Ponyville, but they have to be made in batches in other cities.” she said as she enjoyed the orange drink.

Techorse said, “Thanks, Twilight.” After a short pause, he continued, “So, what book were you reading there?”

She held up the novel and replied, “It’s called The War of The Worlds.”

Techorse said, “Yeah, that one’s kind of related to your struggle against humans isn’t it? Giant machines shooting laser beams at defenseless people.”

Twilight looked up at him and said, “It is a little different. In this story, the humans are all good, and the invaders are all evil. I know one alien who’s not so bad.”

Techorse changed the subject, “Twilight, the reason I asked you over here is to learn how you became friends with the others. Can you tell me the story now?”

She answered, “Of course. Let me get out the book I brought.” Twilight opened her saddlebag and took out the old, worn out book. Using magic, she laid it down on the table next to Techorse and turned the pages. “This is a book of prophecy I’ve kept with me since I came to Ponyville. It was written by princess Celestia’s servants more than a millennium ago.”

“Oh, the princess! This is the same one who’s royal guard has her safe in her castle, right? You know, from the letter earlier?” said Techorse, remembering what Twilight had said.

She nodded and said, “Yes. She and her sister have ruled Equestria for as long as most ponies can remember.”

Techorse figured, “Not even a human’s lifespan is that long. I sense magic is at work here.”

Twilight confirmed his theory, “Our happiness and joy keeps them alive somehow. They’re such noble and kind leaders that they’ve been able to stay alive forever.”

Being an ex-American, Techorse asked in a confused tone, “Being ruled by two leaders with total power has never bothered you? It would drive humanity to revolution very fast.” She shook her head and continued, “They’re so fair to us that there aren’t any complaints. But so you know, we also have an elected board too for most legal issues.”

“Ok”, said Techorse wanting to get to the point, “learning about the princesses is great. But how did you all become friends?”

Twilight raised a hoof at him to tease his impatience and said, “I was getting to that. You see, I am the star student of princess Celestia’s magic school. In the past, I spent my days studying in Canterlot’s royal library. Because I didn’t have any social life, however, the princess sent me out here in Ponyville to make friends. I then ended up making friends with the others, after some interesting events.”

Techorse took a look at the prophecy book and said, “I’m reading here something quite dark. It says the princesses didn’t exactly get along in the past.”

Twilight said, “Sadly, Luna became jealous of her sister. Because she controls the night and Celestia controls the day, ponies would play during the day and sleep right through the night. This rejection made her bitter.”

Techorse, ever the scientist, said, “That’s ridiculous. Sleep is absolutely vital for life, even more so than exercise. Sleep repairs your body and keeps you from going nuts due to exhaustion.”

“But she wouldn’t think of that. She craved attention, and it wasn’t good enough for her that sleep was necessary for life. Anyways, she got so violent that princess Celestia used 5 Elements of Harmony carved out of magical stone to banish Luna. Each of these Elements represents a single characteristic of harmony. A sixth element exists when the five are brought together.”

Techorse took a look at the diagram in the book and said, “I’ve got the perfect place for this image. Bring the book and follow me!” They walked down a narrow hallway and entered a small room with a table with a light blue wire-grid on it. He instructed, “Twilight please lay the book down on the table with the picture facing up.” She did so, and a blue beam came from a box in the ceiling that swept across the book.

“Scan complete”, read a plain voice not belonging to PAL. “projecting hologram”. The six crystals in the picture were displayed holographically, floating above the book in the air. The five outermost crystals spun around the middle one.

Techorse took a look at Twilight’s awed expression and said, “Holographic book display. Like it?”

Twilight regained composure and replied, “It’s pretty neat. But let me finish what I was going to say. Princess Celestia used these 6 elements to seal Luna inside a prison on the moon. She stayed there for 1000 years. I was in Ponyville when the 1000 years expired.”

He interrupted her, “So Luna predictably came back and tried to destroy you all.”

Twilight nodded and continued, “She cast a spell to make it night forever. That’s when we became friends. We set out to stop Luna by finding the element stones and banishing her again.”

Techorse said, “But you must have failed if Luna is still here on the planet.”

She shook her head, “No, we found the elements. But we didn’t use just the plain stones. Along the way, we learned each of us represents one of the six elements by our behaviors. Pinkie Pie represents the element of laughter. Rainbow Dash represents loyalty. Fluttershy represents kindness. Rarity represents generosity, and Applejack holds honesty as her element.”

“Leaving you.” he said, curious as to what Twilight represented.

She said, “I represent the combination of all elements, magic. When the elements combined, the stones changed into wearable artifacts, and a beam from them took out Luna’s evil form. All that was left was the real Luna, and she was sad about what she had done. Now the sisters co-rule Equestria in peace. After that, we decided to put the artifacts away for safekeeping, figuring that once Luna’s evil form was down, we wouldn’t need them again for another millennium. However, sometimes we’ve had to use them again.”

Techorse frowned in guilt and said, “No wonder you were crushed when I told you magic was an advanced process of the mind. The truth must have made you think you were unimportant.”

Twilight looked at Techorse with hope in her eyes and said, “No, it’s because I realized that my friends helped me defeat Luna by concentrating our emotional thoughts and desires at the same time. You’re right that magic is of our minds. But what you don’t know is how strong friendship truly is in respect to magic.”

“I know what you mean.” he said, “You made friends, and together your combined will and spirit beat evil at all odds. Now, I think it’s time for you to do it yet again. We need to get those artifacts out of storage and use them against Wizard.”

She said with uncertainty, “I don’t think they can beat Wizard. The elements were designed to banish evil magic, not get rid of it. I’m sure Wizard can simply break its power.”

In frustration, Techorse shouted, “Twilight, make up your mind. Is it the elements that beat Luna that day? Or was it you and your friends’ ultimate will and emotion? If it’s the latter, we can beat Wizard. I know it!”

The hologram table’s voice came back on and announced, “Another layer of ink has been detected underneath of the picture. Should I display it as a hologram?”

Twilight asked, “Another layer? What does that mean?”

He explained, “The computer has found out that this picture has been painted over another one. It’s going to scan underneath and display it as a hologram. Go ahead, computer, display second layer.” A buzz was heard, and then, to Twilight’s shock, a seventh crystal floated from the book, and rested underneath the central crystal.

Techorse asked, “What is that?”

“Text display initiated.” sang out the computer. The text of the second ink layer appeared in front of the two ponies.

Techorse read, “I cannot know if what I’m doing is right. Should I banish my sister to end this nightmare? To know, I have created a seventh element of Harmony. It’s not needed for the banishing spell, but I will use it to let me know if I’m doing the right thing here. Is this really the reality I want? This element can destroy evil magic when combined with the others instead of banish it, but I don’t plan on using it for that. This separation will cause great sadness for both of us, and I don’t want it to be permanent.”

Twilight Sparkle stared at the text, and then sat on the floor.

Techorse sat down next to her and asked, “This is Celestia’s writing, isn’t it? What does this mean?"

Twilight said slowly, “There… There’s a seventh element of harmony. It can destroy bad magic rather than banish it.”

“If there’s a seventh one and it can destroy bad magic,” figured Techorse, ”maybe it can be used to defeat Wizard. He’s pure bad magic, down to the core. Of course, we do have to find the pony that represents this element first.”

Twilight Sparkle looked Techorse in the eyes and said with joy, “It’s you! You’re the seventh element!”

Techorse sputtered and said, “What? No, it can’t be. I’m not a pony, I’m a human, remember?”

Twilight replied, “That doesn’t matter. You're a pony now, and you’re friends with the six other element holders! You must be it.”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Ok, let’s say I am this seventh element. The text says it’s unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary for banishing Luna. But necessary for destroying bad magic forever!” said Twilight, attempting to stay optimistic. Techorse took a look at the seventh crystal floating underneath the ring of 6.

He then shut off the hologram projector and said, “Thanks for telling me this. Now, I really have to think hard. If I am this seventh element, we need to find out what it is before I can use it.”

Twilight said, “Tomorrow we can meet and tell the others this news. They’re going to be thrilled. In the meantime, I’ll write the princess and ask about this.”

Techorse, who was mistrusting of world leaders, said, “She’ll deny existence of the element. We need to keep our knowledge a secret from the princesses for as long as possible.”

“Why?” she asked him, “Shouldn’t we just ask so we can win this struggle quickly?”

Techorse answered, “I don’t want to cause trouble by revealing my knowledge of the element to the princesses. What will Luna think of her sister if she finds out there’s something she made that could have been used to kill her?”

Twilight reasoned with him, “But we can still ask Celestia about them to try to get a little more information. We just have to keep this knowledge from Luna.”

He finally caved in and said, “Ok, go ahead and write to princess Celestia. In the meantime while we search for what the element is, we need to plan out our attack against Wizard’s remaining henchman. Their lack of magic will make them invincible to this super weapon.” Twilight nodded her head in agreement.

After a moment of silence she said, “Well, that’s pretty much our story anyways. I need to get home.” Techorse walked her out to the front door and watched her leave back for her library. The drawbridge started going back up, and Techorse turned around to head for bed and think over the shocking information he had learned. As she walked away, Twilight paused and looked back at the castle. She thought, “I should have told him I loved him once I knew he held an element, but he wouldn’t have understood. He keeps thinking he’s a human, so he probably doesn’t want a relationship with a pony.” Twilight hung her head and walked off into the miserable night.

Part 4 (chapters 13-17)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 13

A train was headed down a railroad out in the desert of Equestria. It was about 30 cars long, all pulled by a very large steam engine. All of the cars on the train were a boring tan color and had a steel roof, but the steam engine was a bold red and gold color. At the controls of the engine was Gunslinger, a man determined to make a large wad of cash from the sale of the ponies he was going to collect. He was a reasonable guy usually, but if there was anything Gunslinger didn’t like, it was help from others. He did everything on his own, and did not accept any assistance in his work for fear that person might want some of the prize. Deception was his way of life, he lied to get what he wanted, and nobody complained because he was too quick of a shot. Gunslinger twisted the toothpick in his mouth violently as he looked around him in anger at all the extra help that he had been given by Wizard.

He thought to himself, “I don’t need those robots to help me. I can round up these ponies without the help of those darned machines.” The steam train was being flanked by a team of 80 robots from Bossman’s factory. They kicked up a large cloud of dust behind them as they kept up with the speed of the train.

Gunslinger picked up an intercom device and spoke into it to address the robots. “Listen up”, he barked, “Once we get to the town, you split up into two teams of forty. Half will attack the settlement; the others should go around picking off those tryin’ to escape.”

The robots immediately complied with the instructions. The group to the left of the train moved away towards the valleys, in order to go around the settlement and cut off escape. The other half of the robots stayed at a pace with the train. Gunslinger addressed his remaining troops, “Ok, you machines that stayed with me need to not go around like hogs in a garbage bin when we get there. I want to prove I don’t need your teleporter beams to capture the ponies. Once we arrive, you are to pretend you have live rounds in those cannons. Use your fist to convince them to board my train. Then we’ll ship ‘em back to the factory by hand. That’ll show old Wizard I don’t need no fancy beams to get my work done.”

One of the robots replied, “Boss, this is Unit 1. My last experience with the natives was less than optimal. I sort of got destroyed. What if the natives have a way of defeating us?”

Gunslinger had never thought of that before, and after coming up with a plan he replied, “Well, if you start takin’ losses, you can use your beam. But don’t simply flatten the place lookin’ for ponies. It ain’t necessary.”

“Understood, will comply.” replied the machine. Gunslinger locked the intercom back in place and adjusted a few levers on the train to make it use fuel more efficiently. He took a look at the settlement in the distance. It was an old western styled town, teeming with ponies worth sweet, cold cash.

The western styled man thought, “Those ponies will be good working animals. Out here they've learned hard work to survive and expand their little homes. They’ll be worth a mint back on Earth.” He noticed a sign up ahead, a large wooden one.

“Appleloosa, 150 miles”

Gunslinger laughed. “This is gonna be fun.”

Chapter 14

Back at Ponyville, the team had agreed to discuss their plans to bring down the next human. They had chosen to meet once again in front of the library in case any more messages had come from the princess. As the town clock struck 9 in the morning, Twilight looked around.

“Where are they?” she asked out loud. The nine tones from the clock rang out through the town, cutting the silence. Life had been pretty quiet there; they were still recovering from the attack by the six robots. Nearly one third of the town’s population had been teleported into the factory. The first to show up was Techorse, who landed next to Twilight.

“I used my turbofans to get here as quickly as possible. Looks like I’m still late.” he said.

“Not as late as the others”, said Twilight with a bit of annoyance.

Techorse tried to help by saying, “You definitely said nine o’clock to me. Did you tell the others?”

“Uh-oh.”, said Twilight realizing it was her fault, “I don’t think I did. But I did tell them to meet here, so they’ll get here eventually, right?”

Techorse retracted the fans and suggested, “Well, while we wait, we might as well talk. Did you get a response from the princess yet?”

“No. I sent out a letter last night, but I haven’t got anything back yet. The princess must be in a stronghold of some kind and has no way of sending a letter back.”

He got an idea and asked, “Can I send a letter? I brought something the princess can use to contact us faster.”

Twilight hadn’t thought of it before, but perhaps in a time of emergency such as this invasion, a faster method of communication with princess Celestia was necessary.

So she responded, “Sure, but I don’t think you can send objects through.” They walked back inside and found Spike sleeping in his bed upstairs. “C’mon Spike, it’s time to wake up.”, said Twilight, nudging the dragon with her horn. Spike rolled over and pulled the covers back over his head.

“It’s Saturday.” He said sleepily.

Techorse said to him, “Spike, get up. It’s 9 o'clock in the morning, and I need your help.”

Spike finally rolled out of bed and replied, “Oh hey, Techorse! Good to see you again.”

Twilight coughed in annoyance and said, “Oh, so you’ll get up for him?”

The dragon answered, “I’ll get up to see that invention of his work anytime.”

“You mean this one?” said Techorse as he extended his robot arms out of his saddle.

Spike said, “Yeah! That thing’s awesome! Can we go outside and see the laser cannons in action?”

Techorse answered sternly, “No, the laser cannons are not a toy, I can’t just start shooting with them. Besides, I need you to do me a favor. Can you send objects to princess Celestia?”

He thought about it and said, “That might be hard. Not everything burns as easily as paper does.”

Twilight thought of something and said to them, “As long as it’s pretty small, I’m sure I can teleport the thing to the princess with a spell. You’ll have to send a letter warning about it first, I don’t want it to drop on her head.” Techorse’s robotic arms disappeared for a moment and retrieved a hologram disk.

He said, “This is what I’d like to send. It’s a hologram disk activated by magic. It allows for instant communication with the bonus of being able to see who you are talking too. I thought that if I kept one in my saddle and gave the other to the princess, she could contact us anytime she’d like to. We might be able to get information from her about Wizard’s minions whereabouts this way.”

Twilight asked, “But how will she use it?”

He explained how the device worked to her, “Well, Wizard would touch the disk with his hands to activate it. From the picture you showed me, I know the princess has a horn. Since the disk is activated by focal point contact, it should work fine.”

“Ok, that makes sense. Now write that letter.” said Twilight, pointing to a desk.

Techorse put the disk down on the writing desk and took out a piece of parchment. Spike tried to hand him a quill, but he turned it down.

“No thanks”, he said as he brought a weird looking metal stick out of his saddle.

Twilight looked at the strange device and asked, “What is that thing?”

“Ballpoint pen”, replied Techorse, “ponies never invented it because you don’t have thumbs to click the button.” Techorse began writing his letter with the robotic arms. After about two minutes, he clicked the button again on the top of the pen and stashed it back in the saddle. “There”, he said, “I’m sure this note will provide plenty of instructions.”

Twilight took the letter and read it, “Dear princess Celestia, this is Techorse writing, a friend of Twilight Sparkle’s. I know she has told you some things about me. Hopefully I can prove of some use to you as I help you stop this attack on your planet. In order to be of better service, I have asked Twilight Sparkle to teleport you a communications disk. In order to talk with me at any time, simply activate the disk by tapping it with your horn, and thinking about me, Twilight Sparkle, or one of our friends. The disk will automatically locate us and place a call. Once we pick up, you will be able to see us, and we will be able to see you. We can then talk about issues or receive orders. Tap the disk again with your horn to finish the call. I’m hoping this disk will allow for faster communication between us so that we can coordinate better against the enemy. Thank you for your time, Techorse.”

“A little informal, but I guess it will do.” critiqued Twilight.

“Alright Spike, send this out.” Spike took the scroll, lobbed it in the air, and then breathed fire on it. Immediately it was consumed and disappeared.

Techorse turned his head curiously and said, “I was wondering how you got letters to the princess so quickly. You have a living fax machine.”

Spike asked him with confusion, “A living what?”

The smart colt shook his head and replied, “Never mind, it’s a human invention.” Twilight turned her attention to the small disk. She concentrated on it really hard, and thought as carefully as possible in order to make sure it teleported into the princess’s throne room. The disk then disappeared in a bright flash.

“Well, did it work?” asked Techorse.

Twilight said, “The only way to find out is if the princess writes us back saying she got it, or she uses the disk.”

Techorse said while looking at the machine he was wearing, “Well, if I get a call, the other disk will start making sound from inside my saddle.”

There was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it.” said Spike. He walked over to the door and opened it for the guest. Immediately his expression went from a bored one to a happy and mellow one.

“Oh, hello Rarity.” said Spike in a smooth tone.

Rarity, a little confused by Spike’s change in voice, said, “Oh, hello Spike. Is Twilight here?”

Spike replied, “Yes m’am. Right in here.”

Twilight looked at Rarity and said, “Uh-oh. If Rarity’s the first one up, we’re probably in trouble.”

Rarity started to talk about last night, “I simply could not sleep. Not with all the terrible nightmares I had last night.”

Spike rushed over with a pillow for Rarity to sit on and asked, “What nightmares? You can tell me anything, Rarity.” Rarity tried to ignore Spike, but couldn’t ignore his kindness, and sat down on the large pillow.

“Well”, she said, “I kept falling asleep, having a terrible dream, waking up, and then falling asleep again.”

Twilight asked, “But what was the nightmare about?”

She put a hoof up to her head, looked upward and answered, “Oh it was awful. That fellow in the woods kept chasing me down in a building of some kind with lots of winding corridors. I tried to escape, but eventually he caught me and… and…”

Techorse gave the answer, “He lopped off your head with his machete.”

Rarity put her leg down and nodded with tears in her eyes, “I kept waking up, but sometimes I got as far as being hung on the monster’s wall.”

Spike held one of Rarity’s hooves in his hands and said, “There there, Rarity. Twilight said that human is never coming back.”

Rarity said while sobbing, “I know, but If we lose to these humans, I don’t want to end up as a stuffed animal.”

Twilight comforted her friend, “Rarity, not all the humans are as cruel as Hunter was. Wizard is definitely the worst, but I’m pretty sure the others just wanted to make pets out of us. You’d end up in a great home, not as someone’s trophy.”

Techorse added with strong emotion, “And we’re not going to lose. I’m going to fight to the last breath, the last ounce of energy, and the last drop of blood to make sure your planet is safe from Wizard.”

“Overly dramatic.” said Twilight, rolling her eyes.

He admitted, “Ok, that was dramatic. But this is a very serious situation we have here on Equestria.”

Rarity said to him, “I’m so glad we have you, Techorse. At first, I thought you were just some male ape with no heart. Now I see you truly care, especially when you tried to grab that gun from that hideous man.”

“I’m glad you changed your mind about me. To be honest though, I sort of overheard you say those things about me earlier. It hurt my feelings, and I was determined to prove you wrong. Sorry about that.” he replied.

She said with surprise, “You were eavesdropping on me that night? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said those things about you anyways.”

Spike stroked Rarity’s mane gently and said to her, “I’m sure Techorse can forgive you.”

Twilight had enough of Spike’s loverboy behavior and commanded, “Spike, go upstairs please and let us talk.”

Spike reluctantly said, “All right. Goodbye Rarity.”

Rarity answered, “Before you go, I brought something for you in my bag.” Rarity took out an emerald and threw it to Spike. “I felt a little sorry for you; after all, you couldn’t come on any of our adventures. Thought this delicious emerald might cheer you up.”

Spike sighed in happiness, said “Thanks Rarity”, and then could be heard squealing in delight as he hurried upstairs. Techorse made the connection that Spike secretly admired Rarity, but decided the topic wasn’t important enough to bring up.

“Anyways” said the remaining male, “We’re going to have to eventually face Wizard’s next minion. So we’re back to square one trying to figure out which one and where he is.”

Twilight asked, “Do you have any leads? Remember anything from the past about the other humans?” Techorse thought for a second, then snapped the fingers of one of his robotic hands.

“As a matter of fact, I do remember one of them saying he was going to use a railway to deliver ponies to the factory without the use of those teleporter beams.”

“There’s only one railway which leads to the location of the factory.” said Twilight, “but it doesn’t lead through any of the larger cities in Equestria. He won't get that many ponies.”

Techorse said, “I forgot the guy's name, but he probably wouldn’t simply want to capture the most ponies. He’d want to go for the ones worth the most money.”

“The most beautiful ones.” whimpered Rarity.

Techorse raised a hoof and said, “Either that or the ones best suited for hard labor. This guy seemed tough enough to try and make workhorses out of us.”

Twilight began to notice Techorse was using the term ‘us’ to refer to ponies rather than ‘you ponies’.

She told him, “The only ponies that would be suitable for hard labor would be earth ponies like you and Applejack. They’re the only ones strong enough to resist the weight and stress of hauling.”

Another knock on the door brought the conversation to a halt again. Twilight walked over and opened it. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash entered without even saying a word.

“So”, said Rainbow Dash after settling in, “where’s this next human we’re gonna fight?”

Twilight said, “We were just talking about that, Rainbow. Techorse thinks he knows where one of them is, using the train tracks in Equestria to ship captured ponies back to the factory.”

Fluttershy said with a droop of her ears, “That’s awful.”

Rarity added, “Worst of all, this beast wants to only take the ponies worth the most money. He’s going to start either with us beautiful ponies first, or take all the laborers. Either way, it’s going to be simply dreadful.”

Techorse nodded and said, “I hear you, Rarity. Removing the earth ponies cuts off your strongest fighters against the robots. If this guy gets away with his plans, you’ll be left with ponies who are unable to hold their own.”

Rainbow spread her wings violently and said, “As long as we Pegasus ponies are left, we’ll always have the sky!”

Twilight warned her, “Wizard will probably find a way to attack your floating cities too. No pony is safe.”

Fluttershy quietly suggested to them, “If this human is really using a train, can’t we just take away the tracks?”

With a shake of his head, Techorse answered, “Blowing the railroads up would cause way too much collateral damage. I don’t think you’d be too happy having to build the railroads all over again to stop this one guy. What we need to do is search the railroads for him and then force him to use that potion and return to Earth.”

Rarity protested, “But there are miles and miles of railroad. We can’t possibly search every last square inch.”

“We’ll simply have to wait until a town comes under attack, and then go rescue it. There’s really no other way.” said Twilight sadly.

Rainbow Dash thought of an idea and let it out quickly, “What if we were to figure out where his train was headed, and then wait for him there? We could stop him before he even started attacking!“

Techorse said to her, “Great plan, but there’s many cities those railroads are connected too. We have no idea which one this guy’s going to pick.”

Twilight answered, “We can make a guess, though. Didn’t you say this human wanted the strongest ponies first?”

“Yes, I did.”

She continued with her idea, “Logically then, as we just said, he’d pick a town populated mostly by earth ponies.”

Fluttershy asked, “If it’s ok with you guys, I think we should ask Applejack. She has a big family you know, and they’re almost all earth ponies. I’m sure if we asked nicely she could tell us which town we should go to.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, she’s going with us again, isn’t she?”

Twilight was annoyed with her attitude and told her, “We need the entire team in on this, Rarity. Just try to get along with her for once.”

Techorse said, “It’s settled then. I’ll go ask Applejack for some information, then be back with the results.”

“And bring her back in tow. She and Pinkie are as late as ever today.” said Rarity. After getting instructions from Twilight on how to get to the farm, Techorse stepped outside and turned on his turbofans. He lifted off and began his flight.

Chapter 15

Gunslinger’s train had reached the outskirts of the pony town. He switched the track ahead and pulled the train to a stop on an emergency track away from the town. After the train came to a complete stop Gunslinger jumped off of the engine and took a look at the town from the mesa he was stationed on.

One of the robots pulled up and addressed his commander with his speaker, “Why are we stopped here? Didn’t you want to use the train to haul away the natives?

Gunslinger patted the robot on the side and answered, “Well, I reckon there’s no reason to get hasty. I say we pay a little visit to the town, let ‘em know what’s comin’ up to scare ‘em. Then we keep our promise and take every last pony in one easy strike. You just make sure those others get around to cuttin’ off their escape.”

The robot said, “Your plan will work. It’s so deceptive. The ponies will either have to board the train or be captured by teleporter cannon. They’ll have no choice.”

Gunslinger swung his fist in an arc and said, “That’s where we’ll get ‘em. We’ll make those ponies think they have a chance to escape, and then crush their hope with our pincer strategy. They won’t see it comin’.” The human stood in front of the robot and said, “Make sure you follow behind me into town, but don’t take a single shot unless attacked first. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” Gunslinger tipped his ten gallon hat and scratched his mustache. “I need you guys to scare them good, not blast them to pieces.”

“Affirmative.” hummed the machine, “I will instruct my half of our forces to follow you slowly into the town.” It then radioed out, “This is Unit 1 to all my team. Do not attack natives unless attacked first. Follow our leader closely until he orders an attack.” Unit 1 received 39 reports back from the units under his control. Gunslinger started walking casually into the western styled town.

As he walked passed saloons, homes, and businesses, he thought to himself, “I could get used to this place.”

The ponies in the town were actually ignoring Gunslinger for the moment. They had gotten used to non-pony creatures passing through the town, and were not too concerned despite the human’s unique appearance. Eventually, Gunslinger stopped in a wide open area, and then got up on a crate. “Hey, can I get Y’alls attention?” he asked. The ponies ignored him and continued on with their business. Gunslinger looked around, rubbed sweat out of his mustache, and asked again in a harsher tone, “Listen up! I’m taking this here town, so you best pay attention if you want to survive!” After being ignored again, he lost it. Gunslinger reached into his left holster, pulled out a large, heavily modified revolver, and pointed it up.

BANG

The teleporter burst in the air finally managed to get the attention of the townsfolk. Gunslinger replaced his gun, then smirked and said, “Finally, I have you ponies’ attention. Now listen to me you animals. I’m taking over this here town! You are now my property and will follow my orders if you know what’s good for you.”

An older pony with a mustache stepped forward out of the crowd and said, “This here’s my town, outlaw. You lookin’ for trouble?”

Gunslinger noticed the star on the pony’s vest and said, “I assume you are this town’s sheriff?”

“You’d be right about that.” replied sheriff Silverstar, “Now what do you want?”

The man answered, “I think you heard me pretty good. This town’s mine now, so tell your folks that if they want to come out of this ok, they’d best follow my orders.”

The sheriff spat on the ground and then replied angrily, “I took this job as sheriff to teach outlaws like you some manners. If you want to take this town, you’ll have to put me through the undertaker first.”

Gunslinger laughed and said, “That can be arranged.” The townspeople started running behind objects to get some cover, in light of the ensuing duel. All that was left was the sheriff and Gunslinger, facing each other off in the streets. In order to prevent distraction, one of the ponies crushed a tumbleweed under hoof before it could roll across the street.

Gunslinger drew his thumb across his face, and twitched his other hand in front of his left holster. Silverstar drew his hoof across the ground, like a bull about to charge. After a few moments of staring, the fight began. The sheriff fired first, quickly knocking an apple out of his holster and kicking it at Gunslinger. Gunslinger took the fruit to the chest, and it knocked him down.

“Ha!” shouted the sheriff, “looks like I win.”

Gunslinger got up, and as he brushed himself off, began laughing heavily and evilly, “That ain’t no bullet, pony. I’m still in this.” Silverstar backed up a bit, and then kicked another apple at Gunslinger. The human ducked this one, and it splattered harmlessly against a post on a building. Although he still had 2 more apples, the sheriff began running towards Gunslinger, attempting to ram him. Gunslinger spread his legs apart and crouched a bit, anticipating this move. Sheriff Silverstar ran closer to him. The human then drew his twin revolvers with lightning speed and fired a pair of shots. The twin red bolts hit Silverstar in the body, and he disappeared in a flash of light. The ponies of the town gasped, but could not scream as they stared at the spot where their sheriff had once stood.

Gunslinger then put his guns back, and shouted at the crowd, “Now that I’ve won this little match, this town’s mine. You now follow my orders. Tomorrow mornin’ I’m bringing around my train to your station. Be there at 11 o’clock sharp, and board the train. Surrender yourselves as my property, or you will suffer a worse fate than your sheriff.” The robots had arrived to back up Gunslinger, and they pointed their cannons at the scared townsfolk.

As Gunslinger continued to instruct them, a yellow male pony with an orange mane watched with anger.

He turned to a train engineer on his left and said, “This no-good stranger thinks he can come here and wreck our town, and take us as his slaves. We’ll stop him, but we need to keep the others safe first. Get as many folks out of town as you can on the train.”

The engineer looked at the robots and replied, “But Braeburn, those metal monsters will take us out before we can even get started loadin’ the train!”

Braeburn let his hat sink over his face a bit and said, “Steamer, we have to try. I’m going to make sure we get as many ponies out of here as we can before tomorrow morning.”

Steamer nodded his head, “I’ll start loadin’ up. Can you provide a distraction of some kind?”

The cowboy-dressed pony took a look at Gunslinger and said, “I’ll do my best. I ain’t scared of him.” The engineer pony stealthily moved away to begin evacuating the townspeople. Braeburn started walking up to Gunslinger with anger in his eyes.

He thought to himself, “Appleloosa’s fate is in my hooves. We’re probably done for.” Braeburn said bravely to Gunslinger, “Why are you doin’ this to us?”

Gunslinger looked down at the pony and mocked him, “Well, you sure are a brave little guy for standing up to me, considerin’ I just blasted your sheriff sky high.”

Braeburn gathered his courage and yelled, “I’m not scared of you, and I don’t see how you expect us to just show up and let ourselves be taken by you.”

Gunslinger grabbed him by the leather vest he was wearing and said to his face, “Listen pony, I run this place now. You will follow my orders or I’ll have you made into glue, boy.” As Gunslinger was talking, the ponies were slowly slipping away at the commands of the engineer and his crew.

Gunslinger spat in Braeburn’s face and said, “As of now, I’ve got 40 more robots where these came from comin’ in from the valley. Even if you manage to get away from these 40 here, those will cut you off. Either way, I win. Now dance, you little 4 legged animal.” Gunslinger then threw Braeburn down into the dirt, and drew one of his revolvers. Braeburn took off running in a zigzag pattern as he tried to avoid the blasts. He narrowly escaped. The human then noticed that while he had been talking, the ponies had all slipped away. Gunslinger took off his hat and slammed it into the ground, realizing he had been duped.

The man ran up to one of the robots and ordered, “Find those ponies! Do not let them get away!” Just then, he heard a steam whistle, and noticed a train leaving a station in the distance. A third of Appleloosa’s ponies were attempting to escape on the engineer’s train. Gunslinger pointed to the steam rising from the train’s stack and yelled, “Get a dozen or so of your robots out there and stop that train! I’ll bring mine ‘round with the teleporter super cannon, and try to head ‘em off.”

“Roger”, said the machine, and it rolled out with 11 other robots to go after the pony train. Gunslinger ran back for his steam engine. He wasn’t about to lose his quarry due to a little distraction. They would pay for their lack of cooperation. As Gunslinger took off, a group of three buffalo were watching from a nearby hill.

The largest one in the middle said to his companions, “Brothers Quickstrike and Great Hope, the ponies have found themselves in a time of great sorrow. I know we’ve had troubles in the past, but if these metal beasts and their master of two legs finishes the ponies, our ancient stampeding grounds are the next thing to go.”

“What is your plan, brother Thinking Bear?” asked Quickstrike.

Bear replied, “We need to tell the chief about the metal beasts entering the valley. We must assist the ponies this time.” The buffalo turned around and began the walk back to their camp.

The engineers had about a 5 minute head start against Gunslinger’s robots. The train was picking up speed, but its coal powered engine could not move it fast enough. As a result, Steamer and his 3 best stallions were physically tied to the front of the train, pulling it along. Behind them, they could see the outline of the 12 machines catching up to them.

“What’s the closest town we can get too Promontory?” asked Steamer.

“No clue, sir”, replied his comrade, “far as I can tell, we just keep runnin’ until we get somewhere”. Steamer looked back at the robots getting closer.

He thought, “If those machines catch us, it’s over for every last pony on this train.” But he wouldn’t think about that fate, no matter how much his legs hurt, or how hard his heart beat. The earth pony was determined to save the ponies aboard his train. He looked at the tracks running parallel to the ones he was on, and saw another train approaching from behind. “Great, another train has pulled away! More ponies are safe.” he said. But his expression changed from happiness to horror as he watched a green box car on the other train open up to reveal a gigantic cannon. Pink particles began to charge up at the tip of the cannon as it began to glow a bright red color.

“Pick up the speed”, Steamer ordered, “there might still be a chance.”

Chapter 16

Techorse landed at the entrance of Applejack’s farm. He retracted his turbofans and entered the gate. The green colt nearly blended in with the sheer amount of plant life at the farm. As he walked down the lane past the apple trees, he gave a curious look to a smashed robot missing most of its metal plating. Techorse decided to ignore the scrap metal and continue his hunt for Applejack. As he walked closer towards the barn, he heard a thumping noise coming from one of the many orchards. Deciding to investigate, he took a right turn, jumped over a whitewashed fence, and galloped off in the direction of the noise. It didn’t take him long to find Applejack kicking the trees to remove their fruit.

Techorse thought, “I’ve found her! But, should I let her keep working or interrupt now?” He decided to watch for a little while to see how Applejack worked her trade. Watching closely, he observed Applejack position buckets under the trees so that when the fruit fell off, the maximum number would enter the buckets instead of hitting the ground. She would then give a mighty back-kick as she did in the forest to cause the fruit to fall off the branches. After this, Applejack would put the buckets on a special mount on her back to carry them back to a wagon. Techorse assumed she simply took the apples to the barn for storage.

He thought now would be a good time to ask Applejack about the various towns, so he walked up behind the orange pony and said, “Oh hey, Applejack. Glad I finally found you.”

Startled by the surprise greeting, she turned and met him with a hoof to the head, and Techorse fell over backwards.

Applejack looked at her “attacker” and said with relief, “Techorse! Don’t scare me like that! Thought you were a snake or somethin’ ”

Techorse got up, rubbed his head with a front hoof, and replied, “I think it’s more that you weren’t expecting me to find you working. I thought we all agreed to meet at the library again.”

Applejack’s ears drooped, and she frowned.

“I’m really sorry. I just have so much to do.” she apologized.

Techorse replied, “I know, I know. You do have a lot of work as a farmer, and I can’t blame you for trying to catch up. I can get some of my inventions from the castle to help you pick the apples faster if you’re really worried about falling behind. But right now, the team needs your help. This invasion’s far from over.”

Applejack tried to be nice, “I really appreciate you offerin’ to send me a machine. But here at Sweet Apple Acres, we don’t use much technology. It seems so cold, y’know.”

He looked over to the side and said in agreement, “Impersonal agriculture is a bad idea. But at least you’re being honest that you don’t like my inventions.”

Applejack said, “Aw, Techorse, I don’t hate all your tools. That saddle’s really come in handy lately. I just like doin’ things by hoof myself.” Techorse extended the robotic arms from his saddle and picked an apple missed on the tree to the side of them and placed it in a bucket.

“I understand”, he said.

As the mechanical arms retracted, he asked the important question, “Look, the real reason I came here is because we’re trying to figure out where Wizard’s next henchman is. I know one of them has a train, and is trying to use it to ship ponies back to the factory by hand. It turns out he doesn’t like using lots of technology either. “

Applejack looked over at the remains of the robot she and Big Macintosh had destroyed. She then returned to make eye contact with Techorse and said, “If he has a train, he could be attackin’ any town near the tracks. So why did you want to ask me where he might be headin’?”

Techorse replied, “I know this particular guy said he wanted to sell a top breed of workhorse. He’s probably going to be going after a town full of earth ponies like you and me. Do you know any towns inhabited by earth ponies that are connected to the railways?”

She thought about it, and then grew frightened.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” he said with worry.

Applejack nodded and said, “Just one. Appleloosa. Another apple farmin’ town out in the desert. I have a relative who lives out there, Braeburn. Oh gosh, Techorse, what if that human goes after him and the Appleloosians?”

He answered, “We’ll find that human and bring him down like we brought down Hunter. I won’t let him hurt your relative.” Techorse then chuckled and said, “Here I am trying to be the tough manly man. Who am I kidding? I’ll try my best, but we need you and the others to make this work.”

Applejack said, “Oh, ok. I’ll come with you.” She looked back at the trees still bearing fruit, “But I still wonder how we’re going to get the harvest in.”

Techorse said, “I’m sure PAL won’t mind helping your brother harvest the apples. He thinks we’re all infinitely cute, so he'd be happy to help you out. Just make sure he doesn’t end up like that scrap pile over there.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he and Big Macintosh will get along just fine.” replied Applejack with a smile.

It really wasn’t a long walk back to the library, but Techorse had to make a detour to the castle to get PAL to go help Applejack’s family. After stopping in, Techorse and Applejack continued back to the library on foot. Techorse almost always refused to fly when others had to walk. Eventually, they got back to the library, and the team had assembled. It seemed that Pinkie Pie had finally gotten up and found her way to the tree building. Her excuse for being so late was typical of her, she had gotten a jar of molasses stuck on her leg during breakfast and had spent an hour trying to get it off.

Twilight saw the two approaching and asked, “So, did you get any clues as to where the human might be?”

Applejack answered, “I have a feelin’ he’s going to attack Appleloosa next. It’s right by the railroad, and it’s filled with earth ponies.”

Twilight replied, “We’ll head for the train station then and board the next one to Appleloosa. Hopefully we’ll get there before anything really bad happens.”

“And then we’ll kick that human’s sorry butt!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she kicked the air.

Pinkie Pie finished licking the rest of the molasses off her front leg and then tried to say something, but the sugary syrup was making it hard for her to communicate.

“What is it, Pinkie Pie?” asked Fluttershy gently. Pinkie Pie swallowed hard to try and force the molasses down her throat, but started coughing from the heavy syrup.

Techorse panicked, “She’s choking!” Extending his robot arms, Techorse worked quickly to wrap them around her waist. He then squeezed hard, Pinkie Pie coughed, and the glob of molasses trying to drown her flew out of her mouth and away from the group.

“Ewww!” exclaimed Rarity in disgust as she recoiled.

Letting go of Pinkie Pie, Techorse looked with surprise and said, “Hmm, that maneuver actually worked. Usually it’s to stop a human from choking.”

Pinkie Pie turned to Techorse and said, “You saved my life, Techie!”

“Techie?” asked Techorse with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah, that's my new nickname for you!” giggled Pinkie Pie, “I'm getting tired of saying Techorse over and over again!”

Rainbow Dash said impatiently, “We don’t have time for this!”

Twilight told her, “Be patient. Now Pinkie Pie, calm down and tell us what you were going to say before you nearly suffocated.”

The Pink Pony bounced up once and said, “If we’re going to Appleloosa, I’m going to bring my western dress!” The other ponies except for Techorse groaned at this.

Techorse asked, “Ok, what’s wrong now ladies?”

Rarity whispered to him, “Pinkie Pie started singing last time we went, and it was simply terrible. Don’t encourage her at all please.” Twilight tried to convince Pinkie Pie not to bring her dress. Eventually she agreed, but wasn’t too happy about it.

Techorse then asked, “Shouldn’t we get going to catch the next train out of here?”

Applejack responded, “That’s right. We’re gettin’ off track. Let’s go now before we’re too late.”

The team made their way to the train station, and then sat down on benches to wait for the train. It was at that time about 10:30 in the morning, and the train was supposed to arrive at 11:00. So they waited. Unfortunately, 11 came and went, and the ponies grew board as the late train failed to show up for another 2 hours.

Rainbow Dash whined, “Ugh, Twilight, it’s 1 in the afternoon and the train still isn’t here. We could have flown there by now.”

“This sun is making me sweat. I hate getting all sweaty!” complained Rarity as she tried to dab her forehead with a towel.

Techorse said, “2 hours late means something happened. I’m just surprised the station attendants haven’t done anything to try and find out what happened to that train.” Fluttershy took a glance down the railroad tracks in front of them, and saw a small figure crawling around in the dust.

“Guys”, she said quietly. The others were still arguing about whether to simply walk or call off the trip.

“HEY!” shouted Fluttershy, finally getting up enough energy to speak. Everypony stared at her, and she dropped her ears. “I’m sorry, that was way too loud, but I see something down the tracks over there.” she said gently. Techorse extended his turbofans and looked out at the shadow.

“It’s a pony! He’s limping!” he said while squinting his eyes to get a better look.

Twilight said, “Then let’s go help him out.” They all galloped over to meet the limping figure in the dirt. When they caught up to it, they found Braeburn’s engineer crawling on the ground. Steamer was absolutely caked with filth, and had obvious injuries to his left back leg and torso. He collapsed on the ground into the dirt near the railroad tracks.

Fluttershy held the injured pony in her front legs and asked, “Oh dear, are you ok?”

He looked up at the ponies looking over him and said, “It was absolutely terrifying. Every last one of us, gone. I’m the only one to survive. The others, vanished in light.”

Twilight ordered, “He’s delirious. We should give him something to drink.” Pinkie Pie produced a flask of water out of her saddlebags and gave it to the parched engineer.

After the pony drained the water, he was able to talk more clearly. “Do not head down these tracks.” He warned.

Applejack said, “Take it easy, and just tell us what happened, mister.”

Steamer recognized Applejack and said weakly, “Oh, it’s you miss Applejack. Good to see you.”

Applejack gave him a confused look and asked, “How did you know my name?”

He replied with a cough, “My best friend is your cousin Braeburn. He sent me and the other engineers on a mission. I done failed it.”

Rarity asked out of curiosity, “What mission?”

The engineer nodded slowly and continued, “Appleloosa’s bein’ raided by this scoundrel goin’ by the name of Gunslinger. He’s tryin’ to capture all the ponyfolk. We had heard about Ponyville’s attack, but we thought for sure we’d be safe.”

Techorse finished his sentence, “But you got attacked anyway, and tried to escape.”

“Yeah”, said Steamer, “thanks for finishing that for me. I’m really too weak to talk much.”

Pinkie Pie said, “That’s what Techorse is really good at, getting the last word!”

Techorse glared at Pinkie Pie as Applejack asked, “What exactly happened when you tried to escape?”

The engineer answered after clearing his throat again, “We loaded up a train with ponyfolk, then tried to escape back here. That weird man sent these metal monsters after us but soon came after us with his own train.”

Twilight asked, “and then what happened?”

Steamer looked around a bit and said, “The train grew this giant cannon, and it hit the train with a gigantic stick of red light. Every last pony in the train was gone in an instant.”

Techorse said in awe, “That’s the largest teleporter beam yet. It got an entire train at once.”

The injured pony continued his story, “Then the robots caught up to us. I managed to escape, but my 3 best engineers sacrificed themselves to make sure I got the message here. Please, help us.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to get you some medical care, and then we’ll help Appleloosa. I promise.” said Twilight. So, they brought Steamer back to Ponyville’s nurse, where she agreed to watch the stallion as he recovered from his injuries.

“He’ll make it.”, said nurse Redheart, “but he must have been in some harness of an accident.”

Twilight said to her, “We’ll be back to check up on him.” The nurse nodded and went back to taking care of the sick and injured of Ponyville. Twilight turned around and left the small hospital building, and went back to the team.

“Alright”, said Twilight, “now we have to make the trip to Appleloosa. Pack plenty of supplies in your saddlebags, and meet back at the train station. We have to leave as soon as possible, so don’t dawdle.” Within the hour, they had met at the station. Applejack had suggested they borrow a couple of pump-cars to try and cut down on travel time. The team split up into pairs to push three separate cars along. This left Rarity tagging along on Techorse and Applejack’s car. She would rotate out with the others, if they could convince her to damage her hoof polish to do so. Although the handcars were well oiled, it was usually an overnight trip to the town, and they wouldn’t make it there until after the night. Twilight Sparkle noticed the track split up ahead and wondered which way she should throw the switch.

She said to the others, “Let’s just leave the switch as it is. I’m sure if the engineer got back this way, the switches are in the right place to take us to Appleloosa.”

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bad decision. The pump-cars turned away from the straight track and deviated in a parallel line. Eventually, they went downhill, which gave the ponies a break from pumping.

“Well that’s a relief.” said Rarity, “I get a little ease from my turn.” But the hill turned out to be much steeper than the ponies could have expected, and the cars began wildly going out of control.

“We’re gonna crash!” wailed Pinkie Pie, as she was flung up and down by the rapidly moving handlebar she was gripping.

“Hold on!” said Techorse loudly, gripping onto the car with two hooves and two robot hands. The cars zipped around the downhill slope, and then went through a canyon. They passed over a very deep ravine with just a narrow rail bridge over it.

“Don’t look down”, mumbled Fluttershy as she covered her eyes. Rainbow Dash was still trying to control her car, and accidentally let go of the handle. She screamed and fell backwards into the pit.

“Rainbow!” screamed Twilight after her rapidly falling friend. The cyan pony flew back up onto her car and said, “Forgot I could fly didn’t you?”

Twilight laughed and said, “Yeah. Sorry.” The cars were still moving at a very fast pace, and they shot across the rest of the bridge at breakneck speed. Eventually, something caught Applejack’s attention. She saw a sign warning that the track ahead had been cut.

“Aw shoot, the line’s out up ahead!” she warned. The switch to change track was approaching fast, and one of the ponies would have to throw it. Techorse drew his laser cannons and took aim. He fired a single laser bolt at the lever and managed to knock it into place. The track changed rapidly, and the cars veered away from the broken section.

“Alright Techorse, good shot!” called Rainbow Dash. Techorse gave her a smile as the laser cannons retracted back into his saddle. Twilight Sparkle then looked ahead and saw that the track turned into a ramp.

“Did we switch it the wrong way?” she asked in terror.

Techorse looked at the ramp and said, “Oh come on! They’re both out, aren’t they?”

The cars went off the track and went flying in the air. The ponies who could fly grabbed those who couldn’t and waited for the cars to lose to gravity. The forward momentum was great, and they were flung a very long way by the jump. Eventually they touched down safely and watched with annoyance as the carts smashed to pieces on the ground.

“Everypony ok?” asked Twilight as her hooves touched the soft desert sand.

Techorse retracted his turbofans and said with regret, “I should have listened to Fluttershy. These tracks are in such poor shape, blowing them up would have improved them.”

Rarity started complaining again about her vanity, “Now I’m all dusty.”

Rainbow Dash got fed up with Rarity’s constant whining and said to her, “Well at least you’re not all bloody! We barely made it out of that one.”

Fluttershy drooped her head and asked, “Are we walking the rest of the way?”

Twilight answered her, “I guess so. We just lost our transportation.”

Applejack found another sign and said, “It ain’t so bad. This sign says Appleloosa’s just 30 miles away. It’ll take us the rest of the day, but we’ll get there.”

Pinkie Pie said cheerfully, “We’re going to make it! I’m so excited to catch up with the settlers!”

Twilight shook her head, “I’m sure they’ll remember you, Pinkie Pie.” It didn’t take them very long to find where the tracks left off and start walking towards the town. However, problems arose very quickly. For one, the sun was very hot, and there wasn’t enough cloud cover to provide even a hint of shade. The ponies were sweating buckets, which of course caused Rarity to beef about her hair getting damp and weighed down.

Dehydration began to grip them as they walked in the desert sun. They had already finished off all the water supplies they brought with them, and the heat was really starting to take its toll.

Twilight panted a bit, “If we don’t want to collapse, we have to find water soon. Techorse, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, since you can fly, go find some water and bring it back.” After loading up on the canteens, the three ponies took off in search of water. Of course, Techorse and Rainbow Dash took the lead, with Fluttershy barely able to keep up.

Rainbow Dash said in a dry voice, “Man, I’m so thirsty. If there was even one cloud in the sky, I could get us a glass of rainwater.”

Techorse said nothing and adjusted his turbofans forward to increase his flight speed. Down on the ground, Gunslinger was busy taking his train back to the location outside of town he had originally parked in. However, he noticed the three flying in the sky above him.

Using a pair of binoculars, he got a closer look at Rainbow Dash, “Hmm, it’s those ponies Wizard warned me about. Well, I’ve got a little surprise for them.” Gunslinger pressed a large button on his control panel and threw a large yellow lever. A green box car on the train opened up, and the large teleporter cannon emerged from it.

Techorse, looking down, noticed the train, “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, that’s Gunslinger’s train! He’s taking out that cannon the engineer talked about!” Fluttershy started whimpering and her wings seized up. She started falling down towards the ground.

“Not again!” complained Rainbow Dash as she dove down to save her friend. Gunslinger picked up a joystick with a television monitor on it and could use it to see what the cannon was pointed at by looking at the monitor.

He tried to line up Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in his crosshairs. “They’re makin’ this too easy.” he said with a laugh.

Techorse thought, “I’ve got to do something, or Rainbow and Fluttershy are doomed!” He started to circle around the pair in the sky, attempting to throw off Gunslinger’s aim.

Eventually, the cannon began to charge up. The particles were accumulating, and the gun was glowing. “He’s going to fire!” screamed Rainbow Dash, “you have to try to fly for yourself or we won’t be able to dodge it!” Fluttershy opened her eyes, and then attempted to spread her wings again. She couldn’t make herself fly, but it worked enough to let her glide away. The cannon then fired its beam at the three ponies. A huge bolt of teleportation energy was ejected from the gun, and the huge ray made a streak through the air as it approached its targets.

“Gotcha!” shouted Gunslinger. Techorse took action, and directed as much power as possible to the turbofans. He managed to grab Fluttershy and pushed her forward, out of the way of the gigantic beam.

“How did that miss?!?” questioned Gunslinger furiously as the huge energy bolt dissipated in the air without claiming a single pony. He then looked forward and saw an approaching tunnel. “Aw, shoot.”

Rainbow Dash gave a whoop as she watched the train’s cannon get torn off by the low clearance of the tunnel. The metal tube detached from the train with a sickening crunch and bounced around in the dirt for a bit before losing containment and going up in a large fireball.

Techorse laughed, “Ha! The cannon’s history!”

Rainbow Dash pointed downwards, “There’s water too! I see an oasis over there.”

Fluttershy simply sighed and watched as her two friends descended to gather the water supplies. “I wish I hadn’t been such a coward.” she thought as she followed them.

The three friends brought the water back to the others, where everybody had a good and long drink.

“Phew”, Applejack finished the last swig of her water in her bottle, “we really rode hard and put away wet that time.”

Techorse said, “Besides getting the water, Rainbow Dash here tore that gigantic cannon right off of Gunslinger’s train. Way to go!”

Rainbow Dash admitted, “Well, the cannon sort of got ripped off by a tunnel. You’re the one who distracted him and managed to save Fluttershy.” Fluttershy lowered her head and tried to look as small as possible to avoid being berated for yet another act of cowardice.

“Either way”, said Twilight, “That gun is out of commission. We’re one step closer to beating this guy and saving Appleloosa.”

Pinkie Pie cheered, “So what are we waiting for? Let’s gear up and head into the town.” The cool drinks had refreshed the ponies enough that they were able to make good time into town, and arrived just as the sun began to set. Arriving in town though, they were immediately struck with worry as they didn’t notice too many ponies out in the streets. It was not a ghost town in any way, but the locals were indoors, locked up and trying to stay out of sight.

“Where is everypony?”, asked Twilight, “or any other resident for that matter?”

Techorse took interest in the abandoned state of the town, “This is more than a pony settlement?”

Applejack answered, “You bet. Besides us apple farmers, there’s a native herd of buffalo livin’ around here. We had our problems, but we get along now. No thanks to Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie looked angrily at Applejack and protested “It’s not my fault they hated my song. You try preventing a war sometime.”

Chapter 17

They passed the rows upon rows of wooden frontier buildings, but still couldn’t find a single resident to talk to. Eventually, night fell completely and they were stuck in the dark. Twilight used her magic to cast a little light, and they continued looking around for a place to stay. As they walked by the homes and shops, they heard a familiar voice.

“Hey Applejack, over here!” They followed it behind the large wooden inn and found Braeburn looking around nervously.

“Braeburn!” shouted Applejack, “You’re ok!”

Braeburn hushed her, “Quiet! The metal monsters are patrolin’ around makin’ sure we don’t try to leave.” Techorse now knew what that rumbling noise was. It was the tank treads of the robots patrolling the dusty streets. “Here, follow me into the inn. You can spend the night here. The owner tried leavin’ on the train, so he won’t need the place.” The team followed Braeburn around into the inn, where they decided to try and enjoy dinner in peace. The main room of the inn was painted a gray color on the wall, but had a great hardwood floor with a beautiful crimson throw rug. On the walls were paintings of the scenery that could be found around Appleloosa, including fields of flowers and mesas. A large stone fireplace sat in the middle of the room, and Braeburn got a fire going in it after he had shut the door. It was very dark inside the inn, only a couple of candles were available to keep the place lit up besides the fireplace.

After eating a light dinner, Applejack tried to get more information from Braeburn about what had happened in the town. He explained to her what had happened, how Gunslinger came to town simply announcing he was going to take every pony by train to the factory. He also talked about the fateful duel which had apparently killed the sheriff. But Techorse offered some comfort by explaining the concept of the teleporter guns, and assured Braeburn that the sheriff was simply in captivity.

Braeburn finished his story soon after, “So that’s when I decided to provide a small distraction to allow the townsponies to escape. But we only managed to get one train out. He headed for Ponyville in order to get you, Applejack, so you could come and help us out. Did he make it?”

Applejack frowned and said sadly, “He made it. But nopony else did.” Braeburn became depressed and asked, “What happened?”

Twilight answered, “That human chased after the train with his. A gigantic version of the teleporter gun he carried captured every single pony aboard the train in one shot. The engineer’s friends were then captured by Gunslinger’s robots. By the time he got back to us, he was in a critical condition.”

Braeburn sat back and was silent in sadness and shock as to how horribly his plan had failed.

Techorse tried to help cheer up his friends, “But the good news is, Rainbow Dash and I destroyed that cannon. Now all that’s left are those robots. Can you tell me how many of them are left, Braeburn?”

He shook his head and said, “Nope. Can’t say how many he has. But I do know one thing. He just lost a great deal of them.”

“How?” asked Rarity, “did you cowponies fight back?”

Braeburn answered, “The buffalo actually got ‘em. They said about 40 of them came through their camp in the valley. After receiving word that they were after us ponies, they decided to help and attack the robots. They smashed every last one to bits.”

Rainbow Dash asked curiously, “Hey, why didn’t the robots try to stop the buffalo?”

Techorse looked at her and answered, “Robots must be programmed to do exactly what you want them to do. They don’t normally think, Rainbow Dash. Gunslinger must have told the robots to attack ponies specifically. Because that’s all they were told to do, the robots didn’t know if they should defend themselves from the buffalo and were easily destroyed.”

Braeburn asked with surprise, “You know how these metal monsters work?”

Techorse took a sip of milk from his glass and answered, “Yeah. This is a long story I’m going to have to tell you, but it’ll explain everything. My name is Techorse. I used to be one of the humans like Gunslinger. I was turned into a pony by the master of the humans, Wizard. Now I’m on your side. These robots you see were designed by a human, and work with electricity and circuits, which I guess are hard to come by out here. Because they are made from parts, they must be instructed to follow a set of rules called code. They will never break this code unless it is changed, so that can be taken advantage of. It seems your friends the buffalo found this out and scored an easy victory against the machines.”

“Wow”, said Braeburn, “you sure have a smart friend here, Applejack.”

She said to her cousin, “Well Braeburn, he was one of those humans, and they are smart. But this one is a great pony though, isn’t he?”

Braeburn smiled at Techorse and said, “I couldn’t tell you were one of those humans until you told me. Maybe it’s just because you’re a lot nicer than that man.”

Twilight said, “Well, he did prove himself to have a heart for us. I just wish there was any way we could change him back.”

Techorse looked into Twilight’s eyes and said, “I really don’t care anymore. I don’t mind if I stay a pony forever, so long as this planet stays safe from Wizard.”

Rainbow Dash got sick of the emotional mush and said, “Break it up, you’re going way off topic here!”

Twilight replied, “Sorry Rainbow Dash.” She turned to Braeburn and asked him, ”Anyways Braeburn, do you have any idea where we could find Gunslinger?”

He answered, “Sure, but why do you want to know?”

Rainbow Dash interrupted again and said, “We’re gonna take down that slimy human!”

Braeburn said to her, “You’re awfully brave. All I know is, he told every pony in town to be up tomorrow to leave at 11 o’clock in the morning. He’s going to make us all board his train and get shipped back to that factory.”

“Well then”, said Applejack, “I guess we know when we’re gonna make our little attack against this no good man.”

Rarity proposed, “We should lay a trap for him. I’m sure a little distraction of some kind to lure him away from his train would make him an easy target for Techorse’s cannons.”

Techorse popped the weapons out of the saddle and said, “Not sure if these things are powerful enough to bring Gunslinger down. What we need to do is make him use that blue potion so he leaves this place forever.” Retracting the guns, he continued, “But what I do know is that we can’t afford to lose this skirmish. He plans to take every last occupant, and we won’t get another chance to save them until we attack the factory if we fail now.”

Twilight added, “We also need to work as quickly as possible and as close to 11 as possible. Those robots will close in on us the second Gunslinger comes under attack. We need to defeat him quickly so he doesn’t call for backup.”

Fluttershy asked almost instinctively, “Does he plan on capturing any animals?”

Braeburn answered, “As far as I can tell, he just wants us ponies.” The group listened to a crashing noise outside and realized Pinkie Pie was missing.

Rarity asked, “Great, where on Equestria did Pinkie Pie go now?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “I’ll go find her.”

“It’s dangerous to go alone, take this.” Said Techorse, as he tossed Twilight a flashlight he was keeping in the cargo hold of his saddle. Twilight picked up the flashlight with a little magic and went outside. She turned on the light, and found that the halogen bulb was far brighter than her light spells she usually casted for the situation. She scanned the dark alleys for Pinkie Pie, hoping she was ok. After being spooked multiple times by the noises of the night, Twilight found Pinkie Pie going through a stockpile of apple pies in a bakery.

“Pinkie Pie!” called Twilight Sparkle, “what are you doing out here? There are robots just waiting to send you to that factory!”

Pinkie Pie looked up and said, “I’m collecting ammo! These pies goo up those robots and slow them down. The only other weapons we have are apples and rocks!” Twilight knew Pinkie Pie was in reality still hungry from dinner and was shoveling down treats again.

She asked, “If you’re collecting pies for the town ponies to throw at the robots, then why is there pie filling all over your face?”

Pinkie Pie said without any delay, “Premature detonation.”

“They’re pies, not bombs.” snapped Twilight, “you need to quit wandering off for snacks before you get yourself hurt.” Pinkie Pie dropped her ears, apologized, and followed Twilight Sparkle back to the inn. A pair of shadows loomed in the dark alley of the bakery. Unit 7 and Unit 8 were there, ready for action.

“Unit 8”, transmitted Unit 7, “Should we engage the ponies?”

Unit 8 replied, “Negative Unit 7. I am taking images of these ponies to transmit to Gunslinger. I believe these are two of the same ponies that destroyed our first units back in their home town. Perhaps the boss can use this data to strengthen his plan.” The two robots waited until Pinkie Pie and Twilight had gotten a good distance away. Then, they turned around and began rolling back to find Gunslinger.

Twilight Sparkle re-entered the inn to find only Applejack left in the room. “Oh, thank heavens you’re both ok.” She said.

Twilight sighed and said, “I found Pinkie Pie stuffing her face again. I’m really surprised you never gain a single ounce from all the sugar you wolf down, Pinkie.”

Pinkie Pie replied, “I’m really active!”

“We know”, said Applejack with a gruff undertone.

Twilight asked, “Now where did everypony else go?”

“To bed, we wanted to get up early tomorrow to make our battle plan. Each of us has our own room in the inn. C’mon, I’ll take you two to yours.”

Applejack got them both into their rooms, and then went into her own to retire for the night. She took off her hat and put it on the post of her bed, and then opened the window of the room to let the cool air of the desert night flow in. Applejack looked out at the stars in the cloudless night sky, and wondered how people as evil as Wizard and his minions could have come from a place beyond them. She decided the best action was to simply get some sleep for tomorrow’s ensuing battle, and blew her candle out.

Thirty miles away on a hill, Gunslinger took a portion of ham out from a spit in his campfire and began cutting himself a piece of it off of it with a knife from his belt. He thought to himself as he took a bite, “This pork chef Roy gave me sure is good.” He rested his head back against the side of his train, and looked down at Appleloosa. He had a great view of the township from the top of the hill. The human took notice at the lack of lights in the buildings and knew he had scared the residents into doing nothing. Every once in a great while there would be a zap to break the silence, evidence a pony had failed an attempt to escape in the cover of night. Gunslinger tipped his ten gallon down over his green eyes and black mustache. “I’m gonna get some rest for tomorrow. Gonna be a hard day haulin’ all those ponies back to Bossman.” After about 30 minutes of sleep though, he was startled by an electronic voice.

“Commander, your attention is required!” Gunslinger shot up and drew his revolvers.

He pointed them at the robot and said angrily, “Aw shoot, you bucket of bolts. You woke me up, so you’d better have a good reason!”

The robot printed out a picture of Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. “I spotted these two ponies in town.” he said. “They match the descriptions of the ones who destroyed units 1 through 6 in Ponyville.”

“Any other bad news?” asked Gunslinger.

“Affirmative”, replied Unit 7, “Units 40 through 80 were completely destroyed by a native tribe of sentient buffalo. Their orders were to only attack ponies.”

Gunslinger shouted furiously, “I said you could use your teleporter beams if you were attacked first! Why didn’t they at least put up a bit of a fight?”

“They did”, answered Unit 7, “Our teleporter cannons are too narrow-gauged to teleport the buffalo. Their team was wiped out without their weapons.”

Gunslinger said angrily, “From now on, use your fist against any of these buffalo. If that don’t work, rip out a board from a building and use it as a club. Do not let them ruin our plan.”

After a slight pause, Unit 7 asked, “Sir, without units 40 through 80, we don’t have anything cutting off pony escape on the other side of the town. What should we do?”

Gunslinger replied, “Pretend. We lie that we still have robots surrounding them. After a couple ‘demonstrations’ of power, those varmints will still board my train. Go regroup and prepare to back me up tomorrow.”

“Yes sir”, replied the machine as it sped away. Gunslinger then sat back down and leaned up against his train again.

“Darned machines”, he thought as he watched the robot move back into the town. “I really didn’t need these contraptions. One man can do what 100 of these morons can.” Gunslinger then tried to go back to sleep. He was being watched, however, by three young ponies hiding behind a cactus.

“Ok”, whispered Scootaloo, “we found the human. Now what do we do?”

Apple Bloom answered, “I brought some rope to tie him up. But we need him completely asleep first.”

Sweetie Belle then said, “I’ll sing a lullaby to make him fall asleep.”

“Ok”, said Apple Bloom, “but make it quiet and wordless er else he’ll find us!”

Sweetie Belle began singing a short and pleasant sounding tune. Gunslinger was groggy from being woken by the robot, and started drifting off. As soon as he was out, the three ponies got close to him and took out Apple Bloom’s rope. They started to tie up the man’s hands and legs while he slept. After they got finished with his hands, however, Scootaloo accidentally got a little too close to the campfire and a stray speck of ember hit her side.

“Ouch!” she screamed in pain as she brushed off the red hot particle with her wing. Apple Bloom covered her friend’s mouth, but Gunslinger had already woken up.

He was initially startled by the three youngsters at his sides and feet. Gunslinger got up, and noticed his hands were tied up in front of him.

“What the?”, he said in a confused manner. He then noticed the small ponies running around with the ropes around his legs, trying to trip him up. Gunslinger jumped out of the ropes around his legs to foil the attempt at tripping him. The three girls screamed and started running away, but Gunslinger reached down with his tied up hands and pulled out one of his revolvers. The Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves trapped between Gunslinger and a large boulder.

He pointed it at Apple Bloom and asked, “Who are you, and what are you three doin’ out here?”

Apple Bloom answered with anger in her eyes, “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’re here to stop you!”

Scootaloo added in, “Yeah! We’re going to take you down and earn our cutie marks!”

Gunslinger thought about simply pulling the trigger and ending the stupidity, but changed his mind, “There’s no fun in that, and I could use a little entertainment!”

He said, “Well, you got me girls. I don’t shoot little kids, and you have my hands tied up.”

Gunslinger dropped his revolver on the ground. He then knelt down in front of the foals and questioned them, “Now why did you tie me up? Why do you need to capture me?”

Sweetie Belle walked up to him and explained, “We heard there were these strangers called humans kidnapping ponies! We thought we could earn our cutie marks by stopping one. We found you.”

Gunslinger didn’t know what they were talking about, but said calmly, “Well, maybe you should see if you’ve earned them. After all, you did manage to beat me good.” Apple Bloom stared at her flank and frowned. It still bore no symbol, nor did her friends.

“No, I guess beating a human didn’t earn us our cutie marks. Aw, we’re never gonna get ‘em.”

Now the western man decided to put his plan into action.

“Ok”, said Gunslinger, “Now that you know you didn’t get your marks, would you mind untyin’ me? These here ropes aren’t very nice.”

Scootaloo said, “No way! We still have to take you back to Rainbow Dash so she can bring you to justice.” Gunslinger tried his hardest not to burst out laughing at the youngsters’ ridiculous plot. However, the ropes around his hands really were too strong to break without them being untied, so he needed to continue to bait the youngsters.

Gunslinger laughed, “Well with that name she must look like a painting, bunch of colors and everything.”

“No!” said Scootaloo, angry the man had made fun of her idol, “she’s cyan, has a rainbow mane and tail, and does not mess around!”

Gunslinger immediately went from laughing to angry. He thought, “That’s the one that wrecked my train’s cannon! That stupid light blue rouge cost me my biggest threat against these ponies. Well, maybe if this little one knows her so well, she can make great bait to lure Rainbow Dash out, so I can take some revenge. When I’m done with her, I’ll make myself a cyan vest.”

Gunslinger then looked at the three girls, who were starting to get a little worried over Gunslinger’s new anger. He looked up at Apple Bloom and lied, “Sorry, I just don’t like the sound of this Rainbow Dash. She sounds a little scary.”

“That’s right!” said Scootallo, “she eats bad guys like you for breakfast!”

Gunslinger knew he would be here all night unless he did something, so he said to Apple Bloom, “Well, I suppose you got me. But wouldn’t it make more sense to let Rainbow Dash handle me herself? I’m sure she’d be awful upset if she learned she’d been outdone by a bunch of little girls. No offense.”

Apple Bloom replied, “We’re takin’ you in ourselves, mister. You’re comin’ with us.” Gunslinger thought once again that he should simply get out his other revolver and end this, but was having too much fun to end it now.

Gunslinger said, “Wait! I need to git my surrenderin’ papers.”

“Your what?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“My surrenderin’ papers. I got to sign them to let you ponies know I give up. Without them, you haven’t really won yet.” said Gunslinger as he stood back up.

Apple Bloom bought into the idea and said, “Well, go get ‘em. But don’t try anything funny.”

Gunslinger said, “That reminds me. While you're here, I might as well just let you borrow the train to take us into town. It’d be much faster.”

“Ok”, said Apple Bloom, “but hurry up.” Gunslinger then went behind his train and got into the seat. He pulled an extra knife out of a compartment and cut the ropes around his hands. The man then looked around for what he needed to finish his trick, and then picked it up and went in front of the steam engine, where the light of the campfire did not reach, making it hard to see.

“Alright.”, he called out, “come around to the front of the train, I got my papers.” The three young ponies ran around the front of the steam strain and straight into a gigantic canvas bag Gunslinger was holding.

“Gotcha!” he called out as he closed the bag and tied it off with a section of rope he saved. Immediately he heard shrieking from the ponies trapped inside.

“Let us out!” demanded Sweetie Belle.

“Sorry girls”, said Gunslinger, “I’m ‘fraid you’re stuck in there until we get back to the factory.” Gunslinger picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. The ponies were kind of heavy, but Gunslinger was laughing too hard to notice.

“Surrenderin’ papers”, he chuckled to himself as he walked back along the train, “you youngsters are as dumb as dirt.”

Scootaloo said from inside the bag, “I thought you said we beat you!”

Gunslinger replied, “I lied you moron. You really thought you could stop me? I just played the entire thing like a hand of poker, fer my own entertainment.” Gunslinger opened the door on one of the passenger cars and threw the bag in. He then shut the door and said, “Don’t worry, the bag’s not sealed that tight. You won’t suffocate.” The man then laughed evilly as he turned away to go back to sleep. Apple Bloom took a look around inside the dark canvas bag.

She then said sadly to her friends, “Gee girls, I’m awfully sorry I got us into this mess. But I’m sure someone will come lookin’ for us.”

Part 5 (chapters 18-21)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 18

The sun had risen over Appleloosa and heated the outdoors to an unbearable 91 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot, but the urge to save their town was hotter, and the citizens began stockpiling pies, rocks, and any other things they could find to defend their home against Gunslinger. For you see, losing their sheriff had made the townspeople less than happy. Despite their fear, they would not board that train now, the anger in their hearts had motivated them to take a stand. The colts and mares of Appleloosa would fight until the bitter end against those robots, even if it meant the destruction of their home. As the team went to the train station, Twilight took notice of the citizen’s activities.

“They’re gathering weapons.” said Twilight, “The ponies are going to try their luck against the robots.”

“Better than boarding that train.” replied Rarity, “It’s probably cramped in there.”

Pinkie Pie couldn’t resist justifying her binge last night and said, “I told you we were going to need those pies! You should have brought some.”

A brown colt with a silver mane approached Pinkie Pie and said, “Ah! It’s you again! Listen ma’m, we need your help. When the robots arrive, please start singing as loudly as possible. We want them to fall right into our traps.”

Twilight Sparkle nudged the colt out of the way and said, “Very funny, but she’s not here to start another war, mister. Keep moving.”

Rainbow Dash grew increasingly curious at the sheer number of traps and throwing objects the townsponies had built up to do battle with the robots. Most every building had a bag of bricks ready to use to put some dents in robot armor. Others had built up tank traps out of wood and concrete to stop the tracked robots whenever possible. A few had copied Applejack’s log trap design and hid them inside the alleys between the buildings. The entire town was well-prepared, but there was still fear in the faces of all the ponies. They knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, even if they won the upcoming battle. Braeburn led the 7 around to the train station, where they looked at the clock.

“It’s 10:57.” he said, “3 minutes before this place changes forever.”

Fluttershy tried to comfort Braeburn, “Everything will be ok.” She said, “Trust me.” Braeburn went over to an apple barrel, and then placed 6 apples in his holsters. He looked like a man at the Alamo, with the sad expression indicating lack of hope.

He then said, “Look, it’s been a good time, but with the sheriff gone, everypony wants me to lead ‘em. Goodbye.” Applejack hugged her cousin.

“Take care, Braeburn”, she said, “Come back in one piece.” Braeburn broke away from Applejack, then nodded and galloped away to go lead his ponies.

3 minutes can seem like an eternity when all heck is supposed to break loose after them. In fact, it was causing great impatience amongst the friends, especially Rainbow Dash.

“Where is that human?” she demanded.

Techorse said to her, “Just wait a minute. When he gets here, you’ll get your chance to attack.” Rainbow Dash jumped up into the air and used her wings to hover.

Twilight said, “Look girls, this is probably the most dangerous battle we’re going to face. If any of us get captured, it will be up to the rest of us to finish our mission.”

Techorse extended his laser cannons and said to Twilight, “But none of us will get captured. I’m going to make sure of that.”

Rarity announced, “That’s a good thing. I’m in a terrible condition to be captured, all sweaty from this heat.”

Techorse shook his head and continued looking down the track. On the well-lit horizon, a cloud of dust was flanking a dark metal cube shaped object.

“That’s him!” shouted Pinkie Pie, “I gotta go tell somepony!” Pinkie Pie disappeared in a blur.

“So much for her helping us”, said Twilight with a big sigh.

Rainbow Dash volunteered, “I’ll go after her.”

“No!” said Techorse, “She’s going to give the citizens warning. Because Gunslinger’s a little early, that’s too important to give up. Without this knowledge, the citizens won’t see it coming.”

Pinkie Pie was already hopping through the streets, warning, and shouted, “He’s here! They’re coming! Break out the comfort food!” The citizens dove for their makeshift traps and weapons. They assembled in a line with their pies, apples, and stones, and began marching forward to meet the robots in combat.

Gunslinger’s train pulled up to the station, along with his forty robots. The human stepped off the front of the steam train and was met with the six ponies staring right at him.

“Gunslinger,” said Techorse like a comic book hero, “are you ready to give up, or are we going to have to make you?”

Gunslinger looked at the ponies and said, “Hey, if it ain’t Techman the pony.”

Techorse gave him a dirty look and said, “My name’s not Techman. It’s now Techorse. You have a problem with that?”

Gunslinger flicked the rim of his hat, “Not a bit. It’s just funny how you’ve been reduced to one of them.”

Fluttershy said, “That’s what the last human said, before he quit.” Gunslinger took out a revolver and pushed the barrel in Fluttershy’s face. She ran away screaming, disappearing around the corner of one of the buildings nearby.

Gunslinger replaced the gun in his holster and said, “What do you ponies want anyway?”

Rainbow Dash flew and pushed her nose into Gunslinger’s face, “We’re here to stop you from getting what you want! Not a single pony in this town is getting on your train!”

Gunslinger pushed her back with both arms and shouted, “You pretty ponies think you can stop me from loadin’ up my train? I think you won’t, cause there’s only one thing pretty ponies are good for.”

He then jumped up in the air, did a flip, and landed on Rarity’s back, nearly knocking her down with his weight. The human then smacked her bottom hard and yelled, “Giddyup!”

Twilight said ominously to him, “Big mistake.” Rarity’s left eye twitched, and then she flew into a rage.

“IT. IS. ON!!!” she screamed, and with a large buck kicked Gunslinger off into the dirt. Rarity turned on the man and pounced on him.

“How dare you treat me like some little tart!” she yelled as she beat on the human with her front hooves. Gunslinger pushed the enraged pony off of him, and then jumped back onto his train.

“You ponies are crazy!” he yelled, rubbing a sore spot on his face left from the many impacts he had just suffered. Pointing to his robots, he told them, “Regardless of your little attacks, I’ll be takin’ this town anyway.” Just then, a group of 50 ponies approached him. Leading them was Braeburn.

“Wait!” called Braeburn, “We’ve decided to try a settlement. We 50 ponies will go with you if you don’t attack the town.”

“No Braeburn!” cried Applejack, “Don’t do it!”

Braeburn said to Applejack, “Our town can’t handle this attack. We’ve seen the robots. There’s no other way, I’m sorry.”

Gunslinger considered the proposal calmly. The man stroked his mustache once, and then nodded his head.

“Ok, I’ll take that deal. I’ll save on robots that way.”

He opened the doors on the train cars, and filed the 50 citizens in, while the 6 ponies watched in horror as by this time, Fluttershy had returned. The second the last pony was in the train, Gunslinger locked the doors and then ordered his 40 robots to attack the town via his communications device in the steam train.

Applejack shouted at Gunslinger, “We had a deal! Look here, mister, I’m gonna lay you out if you so much as hurt 1 Appleloosian.”

Gunslinger said in a mockingly cute tone, “Aw look, the little cowgirl pony wants to stop me. It’s so adorable, I might just puke.”

Twilight shouted, “The townsponies willingly boarded your train! But you’re still ordering your robots to hunt the others out. What is wrong with you?”

Gunslinger said plainly, “I lied to ‘em. Even if they all showed up, I would have sent the robots out to pick up the rest of ‘em. Deception is just how I get things done ‘round here.” The man straightened his leather vest with one hand while working with his train's controls with the other. “Now that I have half of ‘em, the other half won’t be able to stop those robots.” He then laughed evilly and started up his train’s engine.

“Take care.” he said, “I’ll be back for the rest of ya later.”

Techorse opened fire with his laser cannons, missing Gunslinger and marking the steam train with laser burns. The train was slowly pulling away, but it had to turn around on the track ahead before it could make its way back to the factory.

“Let’s board the train”, said Rainbow Dash, “make our way to that engine, and beat the crud out of him!”

Twilight said, “That’s a bad idea! What if we fall off?”

As the train passed, in the front most car before the steam engine, three voices called out, “Help us!”

Applejack said with a confused tone, “Apple Bloom? That sounds like Apple Bloom!” She ran alongside the train, and watched in horror as her little sister and her two friends poked their heads out the windows of the train car.

“Applejack! You’re here!” said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo called out, “Please save us!” Sweetie Belle simply nodded and looked down. Gunslinger looked in his rear view mirror and noticed Applejack trying to follow. He took out a revolver and fired a blast backward. Applejack dodged it, but the train was gaining enough speed that she fell behind. She fell back to her friends.

“What happened?” asked Rarity.

“He has Apple Bloom and her friends!” said Applejack with an expression of rage on her face, “now he’s done it!” Applejack got a running start, and then jumped onto the top of the caboose of the train.

Techorse extended his turbofans and said, “We’ve got to keep up. If we beat Gunslinger, I can stop the train with my robot arms.” The others jumped onto the caboose and watched as Techorse started flying up towards the lead car. The train was a good 20 cars long, but Applejack was fast, skillfully jumping between cars and moving up.

One robot standing on the roof of a building took notice of Applejack and jumped down onto the train. At this time the train had almost entirely left the town, and was making its way back to the factory through the desert. The robot raised its cannon and took a shot. The particle beam narrowly missed Applejack and went over the top of her, filling her ears with a quick zapping noise. She noticed a water tower designed to resupply the passing trains looming overhead. Applejack ducked to doge the spout and looked back. Seconds later, the robot hit the spout and was destroyed, shattered into dozens of components by the impact. Applejack, still enraged over the capture of her sister, continued the run to the head of the train. There Gunslinger was sitting in the command chair of his steam engine, and was determined to make it back to the factory. He picked up the red crystal Wizard gave him, and touched the control panel of the train with it. The crystal glowed an intense red, and the train doubled its speed within seconds. The human noticed in his mirror that Applejack was catching up to his engine. Gunslinger drew his revolvers and climbed up a ladder at the back of his command cabin. He stood on the roof and saw Applejack coming closer. Using his revolvers, the human fired teleporter blasts at the orange pony. But Applejack dodged each and every shot he fired with great skill. Finally, she stopped one car away from the human.

“Stop this train now!” she demanded, “or you’re gonna get it!”

Gunslinger said to her, “Look m’am, you’re the one who’s gonna get hurt. See these revolvers? I modified them myself to fire those teleport beams, and just for irony, they’re Colt-45’s.”

Applejack answered, “I don’t care what you call ‘em. You’re gonna pay for ponynapping my little sister.”

Gunslinger threw his hat away so he could see his target better, “I’m afraid you’re about to follow in her steps miss.” The human opened fire again, but even at this range, he simply could not get a hit in. He panicked as Applejack got closer and closer and he blasted away, desperate to hit her. But she eventually reached him. Applejack jumped up into the air, clearing the last gap between the cars, and landed directly in front of Gunslinger. As he tried to lower his revolvers to shoot, she quickly turned around, braced her front legs, and gave him her trademark buck to the chest. The impact sent Gunslinger flying over the side of the train, but the blow to his lungs meant he could not scream as he hit the desert ground from a train going at 80 miles per hour. The human tumbled away in the dirt. Techorse arrived, having caught up, and jumped into the steam engine’s control room. Using his robot arms, he moved some controls, and the train came to a stop within the minute. Applejack and Techorse stepped off the train and went back to find Gunslinger. They found him being stood over by their friends. The man was extremely injured by the impact from falling off the train, and he could not move or speak. Already the landing had shattered his red crystal. Twilight Sparkle searched his pockets, and found the blue potion she saw Hunter use earlier. She unscrewed the cap with her magic and then poured the liquid onto the human. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the same as Hunter.

Applejack reared up and cheered, “Yeeha! Another human goes down!” After this, the train was unlocked, and the ponies on it filed out. Braeburn stepped off, and ran over to give Applejack another hug.

“You did it Applejack!” he said.

Pinkie Pie had also arrived on the scene, and said happily, “We did it too, the robots are history! I distracted them with a song, and the others smashed them to bits!” The team laughed, finding it funny Pinkie Pie managed to save the day with her songs. The Cutie Mark Crusaders approached the team with their faces downcast and their ears drooping.

“We’re sorry we got into this mess, Applejack.” said Apple Bloom.

Applejack replied softly, “I’m not happy you came here on your own and risked yourselves. But I am happy you’re ok now.”

Rainbow Dash was less happy, “I don’t know what you were thinking coming out here on your own.”

Scootaloo said to her, “We heard about these humans causing all these problems and thought maybe we could earn our cutie marks if we beat one, just like you Rainbow Dash. We’ve been following you this whole time.”

Rarity hugged her little sister Sweetie Belle and said, “You shouldn’t have come out here. Don’t ever leave home again like that.”

“Yes Rarity”, she answered sadly.

Techorse approached the group, “The train’s stopped and unlocked and we’re all free. Now what happened to the town?”

Pinkie Pie answered him, “Taken care of!”

“And Gunslinger?” asked Techorse.

“I sent him back.” said Twilight. The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ eyes grew big looking at the green stallion and his mechanical saddle.

“Who are you?” asked Scootaloo with awe.

“I’m Techorse.” he replied to the youngster, giving her a little smile.

“Wow! You look like a war hero!” said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle looked at his flank and asked, “How did you get your cutie mark?”

Twilight interrupted, “He really doesn’t have time to answer that right now. You girls are going home on the next train out of here.”

“Aw!”, they responded, but agreed to go home anyway. They were done with their adventures for now.

Chapter 19

It was still early in the day, and the team had prepared to leave Appleloosa for the grassy plains, hoping to eventually reach Canterlot that way. Braeburn waved goodbye to the team as they pulled away on the remains of Gunslinger’s train. The train picked up speed and began running down the tracks towards the plains. Aboard the command cabin, Twilight Sparkle and Techorse were discussing what to do next.

Techorse said to her while watching the controls, “Well, we managed to save Appleloosa thanks to Applejack. Now we have 4 humans left to deal with.”

Twilight told him, “We’re doing great so far. If we keep following these tracks, we’ll make it to Canterlot in about a day. You can meet princess Celestia in pony there.”

He replied, “That would be great. I can’t wait to see your capital city.”

After a bit of quiet, Twilight asked, “Tech, what do you think we’re going to do about Wizard in the end?”

Techorse replied, “What do you mean?”

She said, “Do you really think he’s going to give up if we beat all his men?”

Techorse sighed, “If Wizard doesn’t give up then we’ll have to face him too. Not sure what we can do against him, but we’ll have to try.”

“Look, we have you, the seventh element. We can beat Wizard, I’m sure.”

“Are you still bringing up that seventh element? I told you, I’m probably not it!”

“Well, just imagine, what if you are?”

“We’ll ask the princess when we get to Canterlot if I am. I’m sure she’ll be able to tell. But until then, please drop it. I’m not really that important considering I was a human.”

“You are to me and the rest of us.”

Techorse looked forward as the desert terrain changed to grassy plains and gently rolling hills. He brought the train to a stop about 200 yards from a strange building. The large concrete building featured many fancy windows, multiple decorations of various kinds, and a large wooden patio at the front. Behind it though was an ugly gray, boxy building. The beautiful building was built on a foundation of some odd purple glass-like material.

As the team got out of the train, Pinkie Pie said, “Wowie! That place is huge! I don’t remember such a cool building being here before!”

Rarity added, “Me neither. I must wonder what the designer was thinking though, putting such an ugly gray box next to his fabulous palace.”

Twilight unrolled a map and gave a confused look at it, “This place isn’t on the map at all… weird.”

Rainbow Dash said, “I don't care, that place looks so cool! I want to go inside.”

Fluttershy pointed out a billboard, “Look, that sign over there says there’s free grain and fresh fruit for ponies inside the building.”

Techorse tried to come up with an explanation for the awe-inspiring place, “I think a pony must have built a hotel by the river here. I mean, really, just look at the view of the hills, mountains, and the river. You could make a lot of money renting out a room with this view of nature.”

Applejack added, “It could be a lodge of some kind considerin’ the woods behind it.”

“I say we go inside!” shouted Rainbow Dash, already moving towards the buildings.

“Now hold on a minute, let's go over the facts!” said Twilight. Rainbow Dash grudgingly stopped flying for the fancy palace.

Twilight warned her team, “It looks brand new. It’s not on the map, and it’s offering free grain and fruit to ponies. Doesn’t that seem odd at all?”

Rainbow Dash said to Twilight, “Don’t you trust anything? What, you think one of the humans put this here and it’s some kind of a deathtrap?”

Techorse said, “I’d see where you’d go with that argument, Twilight. But this building doesn’t look like human architecture at all.”

She somewhat agreed, “That’s true. It does look like a hotel from one of our cities. I’m just not so sure about that weird grayish one behind it.”

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down and said, “I want to go see it! I want to go see it!”

She then took off in the direction of the building at blinding speed.

“Here we go again”, groaned Rainbow Dash as she played pursuit. The others followed them to the door of the very decorative building. As they got to the door, Pinkie Pie started knocking eagerly with her front hoof.

“Is this about the snacks inside?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No way! I just want to explore this neat-o building! There’s bound to be fun things to do in there!”

replied Pinkie Pie. Once the others arrived, the double door on the building slowly began to open.

Instantly the ponies were awed by the fancy decorations inside. There was a beautiful crystal chandelier on the ceiling, paintings hanging on the walls, vases on greek styled columns. A red carpet led through the room and up a grand staircase in the middle.

“What is this place?” asked Twilight Sparkle in awe of the decor.

Techorse replied, “No clue. Sure is fancy though, isn’t it?”

Rarity said happily, “I wouldn’t mind spending the night here. This place looks fabulous. Oh with so many decorations I feel right at home.”

Twilight told her, “I had a feeling you’d like this place, Rarity.”

“It’s so lovely here, with the view of nature.” sighed Fluttershy happily as she gazed out a nearby window.

Pinkie Pie was still running around, trying not to break anything, but enjoy herself anyways. As they continued to walk deeper into the strange building, they came across a red velvet-covered double door with circular windows.

“Should we go in here?” asked Fluttershy, pointing at the door.

Twilight cautioned, “I don’t think we should. It could be for employees only, and besides, we have no idea who owns this hotel.”

“C’mon scaredy hooves”, said Rainbow Dash, “what’s the worst that could happen?”

Rainbow Dash opened the door and entered a room full of cooking equipment. “See, nothing to worry about. It’s just a kitchen.” However, she stopped and started shaking.

The others walked in, and Applejack asked, “What’s wrong Rainbow?” They then looked at what Rainbow Dash was staring at. A gigantic human, both in height and girth, was busy chopping a carrot on a cutting board. Once he had finished cutting the vegetable, he scooted the slices over into a pot of soup he was cooking on a stove.

“Human!” shouted Twilight, “get ready!”

They all got into a battle stance, ready to take on the human. The fat man took off his chef hat and looked up at the ponies.

“Oh hi!” he said happily, “welcome to my restaurant and hotel! I guess you’re here for the grain and fruit. Right this way please.”

Twilight looked at the confused faces of her friends and asked the fat man, “So wait, aren’t you going to try to capture us?”

The chef shook his head and answered, “I didn’t come on this trip to your planet to sell you as pets. I thought that was a bad idea. Instead, I wanted to start a fancy restaurant out here in the beautiful scenery of your home planet. People will pay a lot to come eat and stay here and view the scenery.”

Techorse said to him, “Ah, I remember you. You’re Chef Roy.”

“Yep”, said the human, “good to see you Techman. Sorry about you becoming a pony and all, but I can’t control Wizard. In fact, I really don’t want to risk him not bringing my customers here if I say anything.”

“I’m just glad you’re not out capturing ponies like the others.” Techorse said.

“Yeah!” added Pinkie Pie, “since you’re this friendly, maybe you can stay!”

Chef Roy looked down at the tile floor of the kitchen and replied, “I’d really like to. I’m not a nasty guy like the others.”

Twilight instructed, “Well, if you want to stay, you’ll need to turn over that red crystal hanging around your neck. Those are giving Wizard power and send robots here from the factory.”

Chef Roy help up the crystal in one of his large hands and said, “Sorry can’t do that. I need this crystal to bring patrons from Earth. But I promise I won’t do anything bad with it. I haven’t brought any robots, as you can see.”

Rainbow Dash asked, “If you’re on our side, why are you luring ponies in with fruit and grain?”

Chef Roy put a hand behind his head and answered sheepishly, “Well, it’s sort of so the guests can, um, see the natives. I thought they might like seeing colorful ponies while they eat, that’s all.”

Fluttershy remembered what she had seen out the window and asked, “How come there’s so much nature, and yet so few animals around?”

“You ponies sure ask a lot of very good questions. Say, are you guys hungry at all?” said the chef as he put his hands at his sides.

“Starving!” answered Pinkie Pie, eager for a treat.

The chef put his hat back on and said happily, “Follow me deeper into the hotel. I can whip you up some really good cuisine.”

Rarity smacked her lips in hunger and said, “That sounds wonderful.”

Twilight mistrusted the man still, “I don’t know.”

Techorse said to her, “C'mon Twilight. Chef Roy’s proven himself to be a good human like I was. Let’s let him make us something.”

Twilight turned to chef and told him, “Well, alright. We’ll have something to eat.”

“Excellent!” declared Chef Roy, “It’s time to test my pet food.”

“Pet food?” asked Fluttershy.

Chef Roy said sadly, “Well, Wizard said I had to contribute something to his invasion. So I’m creating a line of pet food for the captured ponies. I’m not too proud of it, but I had to do it. It’s really great stuff though.”

Fluttershy replied softly, “I’m sure the food is delicious. I’ll definitely try some.”

Chef Roy perked back up and replied, “Great! Follow me please.” Chef led the ponies to a room outside of the kitchen, just a small one with a large table in the middle covered in a beautiful yellow tablecloth. The table was set with fine china and expensive looking silverware, as well as crystal clear glasses of water.

Chef Roy said to all of them, “Wait right here ponies. It will take me a while to prepare the food.” Chef Roy left the room into a second kitchen behind another door with a round window at the top.

“Isn’t this swell?” asked Pinkie Pie, “we’re going to get free food!”

“Yeah” said Twilight uneasily, “Techorse, are you sure this guy’s good?”

Techorse looked at her and replied, “He didn’t try to blast us with a teleporter gun. He’s got to be at least a little bit good.”

Applejack sat next to Twilight and said, “Just relax. A good meal should help you feel a little better.”

Rainbow Dash was already getting impatient to try the alleged “pet food”. She walked over to the other set of doors Chef Roy went behind and looked in. She could see the human working with 7 plates of food. Rainbow Dash watched him make and prepare each dish by hand, using very little cooking equipment. However, she watched in curiosity as the chef took out a small bottle of red liquid, and added some to each plate of food. Rainbow Dash returned to her seat and looked around a bit, pretending she hadn’t saw that.

“Should I tell them what I saw?” she thought, “or will they simply say: 'oh you’re just being mean Rainbow Dash.'” She decided to say something though in panic, “I saw the chef just pour red liquid into our food! He’s trying to poison us! I say we take him down the second he comes out here!”

Techorse understood her worries and asked, “Rainbow Dash, where did this liquid come from?”

“It came from a green glass bottle with a cork in the top and a weird label. It’s poison!”

Techorse laughed and said, “No Rainbow, its wine. Chef’s adding a wine sauce to make the food taste better!”

Rainbow Dash relaxed and apologized, “Oh. Sorry.”

Twilight asked rhetorically, “Rainbow, you don’t trust the chef at all, do you?”

“Well neither do you!” said Rainbow Dash accusingly, “you wouldn’t follow us at first!”

Fluttershy asked quietly, “Please stop arguing.”

Twilight said to Techorse, “This human’s ok, right? Tell Rainbow Dash she’s worrying over nothing.”

He held up his hooves in a calming pose and said, “Just relax, and let the one good person we’ve seen so far fix us lunch.”

Pinkie Pie broke the conversation, “I can’t wait to taste that food! It smells so good from here.”

Rarity agreed, “I know. It is a delicious smelling meal.” Chef Roy soon came out with the seven different dishes and placed them in front of the ponies.

“Enjoy!” he said, “These dishes will be the front of my product line. I’m sure you’ll love them.” Pinkie Pie immediately started chewing down the fried carrots and potato chunks in front of her.

“Don’t be a pig, Pinkie” teased Rarity as she took small bites from her plate. Techorse shrugged and took out his robot arms to get silverware from the table.

Twilight said to him, “I wondered what those things were for. They’re human silverware.”

“Yeah”, he said, “they’re made for hands, but I bet you could try using magic to pick them up.” Twilight tried the suggestion, but still found it a little difficult to eat with the fork.

Rainbow Dash sniffed at the plate of food before taking a couple of bites. It certainly didn’t taste like poison. She only ate half of it though, and when Chef Roy wasn’t looking, she dumped the rest of the food in a garbage can.

“Done”, she said. Chef Roy picked up her plate and took it back to the kitchen.

After the others were finished, Rarity picked up a napkin somehow and cleaned herself off. “That really was marvelous.” she said, “I’m sure the chef will do well as a restaurant owner here in Equestria.”

“Uh huh!” agreed Pinkie Pie, chewing the last bite of her meal.

Twilight smiled and said, “Well it certainly is good. This guy can stay with his crystal if he wants too. But I guess that’s really your call Techorse. You know more about these crystals than I do.”

Techorse said, “Chef’s pretty nice. He can keep the crystal.”

As they talked, Fluttershy began to feel a weird pain in her body. She put a hoof over her middle and said, “My stomach hurts. I think I ate too fast.”

Noticing the same effect on her abdomen, Applejack said, “Y’know, I ain’t feeling too good either.”

Techorse got up out of his chair, and immediately fell down on the floor.

“What? I can’t move my legs! Why?” he panicked as he tried to get himself up with his robot arms.

Twilight Sparkle also was hit with the effect and said, “What’s going on? I can’t move either!” She fell out of her chair too on her side. The entire room went into a panic as the ponies collapsed on the floor, completely paralyzed. Chef Roy entered the room with a new look on his face, what we might call a “troll face”.

“Having some problems moving?” he asked in a way as if to tease them.

Rainbow Dash, who couldn’t even move her wings, asked angrily, “What did you do to us?”

Chef replied, “I put some paralyzing potion in that wine sauce. You’re all going to be immobile for a while.” Chef Roy then went around with a cart and loaded the limp friends onto it.

“Use your magic, fix us!” begged Fluttershy desperately.

“I can’t”, replied Twilight, “this stuff disabled my magic, too.”

Chef Roy laughed and said to them, “You ponies have no chance now against me.” Chef Roy pushed the cart past the double doors into this gigantic second kitchen filled with very large cooking equipment, including several conveyer belts leading to huge ovens. Chef then turned the heads of the ponies to face him and said, “So, maybe it’s time I explain a little? It’s very simple really. I didn’t come here to just open a restaurant for humans. I came here to serve food made from the animals that live around here.” Chef then looked in their eyes and said ominously, “Including you ponies.”

“You’re a sick man, Roy!” said Techorse, “Nobody with half a brain or heart will want to eat another animal with a soul.”

“On the contrary”, said Chef, “I have learned your pony muscles all contain lots of sugar and fats that make it taste far better than horse meat on Earth. People will be flocking in droves to eat some. I have yet to actually make a dish from a pony, but I figured I would start with the ones Wizard wanted gone first.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled, “Great. Apparently, we taste good.”

Chef patted her on the head and replied, “Of course you do.” The man picked up Techorse and chained him to the wall of the kitchen.

“I’m trying to decide.” he said to him, “If eating you would be considered cannibalism. So, I’m going to spare you Techman, but you’ll have to watch me prepare your friends. Terribly sorry.”

Twilight shouted at chef, “You traitor, claiming to be on our side and then doing this to us!”

Chef Roy turned around, picked up a frying pan and said to her, “Maybe I’ll make sweetbreads out of your smart brain there.”

Twilight looked away from the man in fear.

He then put down the pan and said, “Now let me finish talking. That building behind this one is a gigantic meat freezer. I have 50, maybe 100 ponies frozen in there for later use. The cold puts them in a sleep, but once they wake up, they’re meat anyways, so what does it matter?”

Techorse said, “Once I get out of these chains, we’re freeing those ponies and destroying this place.”

“With what?” asked the human, “the meat freezer and this building are protected by ultraglass, a material that can only be destroyed with sonic energy. It looks like you guys don’t have any sonic cannons on you, so there’s no way you’re destroying my place of business.” Chef walked around the room and turned on all the various cooking devices in the kitchen. “I’m really going to enjoy eating you ponies.” he said, “and this research on your muscles proves I’m going to make a fortune off this restaurant once I perfect my dishes.” He then took out a large metal baking pan, set it down on a conveyer belt, and started placing thickly sliced vegetables inside it. Once he was done arranging the produce, Chef Roy picked up Fluttershy and laid her down in the pan, moving her legs into a sitting position. He then lowered her head into the pan and said to her, “I’m going to bake you with a special honey mustard sauce I figured would go well with your soft flesh. You see, your shy behavior makes you tender.”

Applejack shouted, “Stop with the talk, cannibal, you’re making me sick.” Chef ignored her and took out a bottle of sauce, which he poured all over Fluttershy. She started crying and sobbing about what was happening to her as the thick fluid ran over her head and down her back.

“Poor Fluttershy”, said Rarity. Chef Roy walked over and picked up Rarity, then placed her on a tray.

Chef said, “Based on your vain appearance and good style of health, your meat is of top quality. An oil and spice rub should do.”

“Don’t you dare touch me!” snapped Rarity as she was placed on a flat sheet. The human moved a roller dipped in spices and oil over her, ignoring her threats.

Roy went over to the cart again and picked up Applejack next. “You’re a working girl according to Wizard’s information on you. Not the tenderest for fine eating, but you’ll make a nice ground portion for burgers.”

Chef removed her hat and put her on a platform suspended above a gigantic meat grinder.

Techorse continued his threats to stall for time, “Roy, when I get my saddle back I’m going to put so many holes in you from my lasers, you won’t be able to drink water without it all spilling out.” The man ignored him and picked up Twilight Sparkle, then wrapped her up in a weird looking dough.

“Figured a pastry wrap might go well with purple meat.”, he said as if he didn’t really care. Twilight just looked around sadly without saying anything as she was sealed inside the flaky pastry.

Techorse was really getting desperate to distract Chef Roy, “Stop this Roy, we are not food! Go find some other animals to eat.” Still being ignored, the human picked up Pinkie Pie and sat her down on the counter.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked with a sad face. Chef reached up and pulled a flexible clear plastic tube from the ceiling, which he shoved into Pinkie Pie’s mouth.

“I’m going to try making a desert. I’ll stuff you with cookie dough and then bake you into a pie.” Roy threw a switch on the ceiling, and chocolate chip cookie dough came pouring through the tube. Pinkie tried to scream, but the cookie dough was stuffing her up too quickly.

“This is so gross.” said Rainbow Dash, looking at the fate of her friends.

“Finally”, said Chef Roy, “I’d like to try making some ‘fast food’ with you.” He picked up Rainbow Dash, rolled her in flour, and then threw her limp body into a basket above hot oil. Then, turning around, he turned off the feeding machine and threw a plump Pinkie Pie into a bowl filled with batter. Roy turned on the mixing machine, and Pinkie Pie started spinning in a circle as the machine twirled her around in the cream white batter.

Techorse said out loud, “We’re doomed. This is all my fault for trusting you, Chef Roy. I thought you of all people would be nice, but you betrayed us!”

Chef got up in Techorse’s face and said angrily, “Listen Techman, you think I became a great chef with his own show with good behavior? I had to betray a lot of people to make it where I am now. I have no problems betraying your new race to make a lot of money in my restaurant. But before I make money, I have to try the food first to make sure it’s good.” Chef Roy walked over to the wall and slammed his fist on a large button. “This will take care of all of you. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to try my creations.” He then laughed and walked out. The various machines began their cruel work.

Pinkie Pie’s mixer was slowly pouring out into a pie crust, the platform Applejack was on was slowing tilting downwards, Rarity and Fluttershy’s pans were being pushed towards the gigantic ovens, Twilight Sparkle’s pastry was moving towards a smaller oven, and poor Rainbow Dash was being lowered towards the oil bath.

Rarity started shedding tears and asked, “Is this how it’s going to end? To be roasted alive for some human’s dinner? I can’t watch.” She shut her eyes and waited for her demise.

Applejack looked down at the whirring blades of the grinder below and said, “Hey Rarity, I’ll trade with you.”

Techorse shouted, “I won’t let this happen. I’m going to break these chains and then beat Roy’s skull in with them!”

A muffled Twilight said, “You would, but we’re all immobile. There’s nothing we can do, Techorse.” Rainbow Dash began to feel a bit better, though. She noticed she could move her body somewhat.

“Hey! I can move again!” she yelled in joy. Rainbow Dash jumped out of the frying basket just as it sank beneath the oil. Working quickly, she rescued Applejack from her platform just before it dumped her into the device. Rainbow Dash then moved the pans out of the way, turned off the mixer Pinkie Pie was in, and ripped a hole through the pastry to rescue Twilight.

After shaking the flour off her body, she flew up to Techorse, still chained to the wall helplessly.

“How did you escape?” he asked.

“I only ate half the food, so I was only half-poisoned.”, she guessed.

“Rainbow Dash”, Techorse said, “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about Roy.”

“Its fine.” she said, “now how do I get you out of these chains?”

“Get my saddle close enough to me, and I can break these chains.” replied Techorse. Rainbow Dash picked up the battle saddle and held it next to Techorse. Techorse used his mind to activate the laser cannons and they spun around. The guns discharged and cut the chains with 1 shot. Without the metal holding him back, he fell to the ground.

“Ouch!” he said as he hit the tile. After about 5 minutes, the ponies had recovered full use of their limbs.

“Much better.” said Rarity as she washed the oil off of her in a large sink.

Twilight Sparkle reminded her friends, “I’m glad we’re safe now, but we still have to go after that human and stop him from cooking up any other ponies.”

“Even if we beat him though, you heard what he said. This place is protected by indestructible glass of some kind! We’re never gonna open that freezer.” said Applejack.

Techorse corrected, “Actually Applejack, Roy said it could only be destroyed by sonic energy. A powerful blast of sound or something breaking the sound barrier should do it. Back on Earth some weapons can use sonic energy as a projectile. I don’t have any of those though.”

Fluttershy was cleaning herself off and remarked, “Even if we can't get rid of this building, I want to stop the human anyway. Even if he can't eat us, he won’t give up eating innocent animals altogether.”

“What are we waiting for?” said Rainbow Dash, “let’s take it to him!”

Pinkie Pie turned a bit green and said, “Wait a minute. I’ll be right back.” Pinkie Pie disappeared through the kitchen doors, and shortly thereafter a disgusting splattering sound was heard as she emptied her stomach contents onto the floor. Pinkie Pie returned to the kitchen with her stomach size back to normal. Her friends gave her a disgusted look. “What?” she said, “If you had 25 pounds of cookie dough in your tummy, you’d be sick too!” They slowly turned and started heading out of the kitchen to go face Chef Roy.

Meanwhile, the human was talking with Wizard using a communications disk at the entrance of the meat freezer building. Wizard’s hologram said in shock, “So, you managed to trap them in your kitchen, and you plan on eating them?”

“Want some?” asked Roy.

“No thanks”, replied Wizard with disgust. He recollected his thought and spoke again, “As long as they don’t make it, great. But make sure Techman stays alive. I want to deal with him personally.”

Chef Roy nodded and said, “After I’m through with the others, I’ll throw Techman in the freezer here. You can come get him at any time.” It was then Chef Roy noticed the ponies on the roof of his hotel, staring down at him. “Anyways, I got them cooking right now. I got to go, bye!” Roy shut off the hologram and angrily ran over to the side of his hotel. He threw open a large metal box at the side of the wall and smiled darkly at the contents.

Techorse looked around and said, “He just disappeared into the side of the building probably to get back up here.”

Twilight replied, “Ok, we’ll wait for him. Once he gets up here, it’ll be seven to one. We need to work quickly to take him down before he tries to poison us again.”

Rainbow Dash raged, “Trying to turn me into fried pony’s gonna cost him his teeth!”

Rarity added, “Save some bones for me to break, dear! An oil rub, hmpff, how indignant!”

Fluttershy urged her friends, “I know we’re all upset over what nearly happened. But we should listen to Twilight and Techorse. That red crystal and blue potion is all we’re after. Let’s try to remain good ponies, ok girls?”

Applejack ruined Fluttershy’s call to peace by saying, “He tried to grind me up alive, and you’re asking for us to go easy? No way!”

Pinkie Pie added, “I’ve never hated cookie dough so much in my life! Normally I love it, but that was taking it too far!”

Twilight said, “Girls, Fluttershy is right here. We need to calm down, or we’ll lose our cool and do something we’re going to regret. Let’s settle a bit and just wait for the human.”

Techorse drew his laser cannons. This was going to be an awful fight. But he knew if they failed, some of the ponies would suffer the fate of being served as food instead of being a pet. This was really a dire situation.

Twilight said to him, “Are you going to use those? Did you mean what you said about putting all those holes in Chef?”

He shook his head and replied, “No, that was just the near-death situation talking. But it’s likely he’ll be back with a weapon of some kind, and I think I can knock it out with my guns. Try using your magic to throw his aim off, he knows far less about it then I do.” Twilight looked back at the others, who all looked angry enough to vaporize the human with just their sight.

Just then, two panels on the roof opened up, and Chef Roy emerged with a large frying pan.

“That’s his weapon?” asked Twilight, “Techorse, you made it sound like he actually had something really dangerous.” Chef Roy’s crystal around his neck started glowing brightly. The frying pan then formed a fireball in the center of it.

“Well” said Chef Roy, “it seems you ponies managed to escape my fancy cookware. But that’s ok.” He then brought the frying pan over his head, “I like my meat charred!”

He swung the pan like a tennis racket, and the fireball left the pan, causing the team to scatter. Applejack rolled to dodge the flames, and ran up to get a hit in on Chef Roy. The Chef threw a trio of knives from his coat, and one of them went through Applejack’s tail and pinned her down.

“So close”, he said sarcastically.

Techorse shouted, “opening fire!” to warn his friends, and began blasting away with his laser cannons. Chef Roy gasped in surprise as one of the bolts impacted his shoulder, but started using his frying pan to deflect a majority of the laser bolts. “Oh come on!” said Techorse, “why is that frying pan capable of blocking my beams?”

Roy threw another fireball at Techorse, but the colt jumped over the projectile and continued blasting away. Eventually, with the pan so badly bent up from the beams, he threw the pan itself at Techorse, which nearly smacked him in the face. Techorse fired a few more shots before retracting the lasers and stepping away. Twilight Sparkle saw this as an opportunity to strike, and picked up a stone that had fallen on the roof. Ready to make it count, she used her magic to hurl the projectile at the fat man. The human took the rock to the side, and it pushed him off balance.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy then ran up and knocked the human in the legs, sending him backwards towards the edge of the roof. But Chef Roy reoriented himself before falling and ran up to grab his badly damage frying pan. The crystal glowed again, and he used the pan’s flames to draw lines of fire between all the friends, separating them.

“Now you’re toast,” he said, “out of the frying pan, and into the FIRE!” As the flames roared around her, Rainbow Dash looked at the indestructible glass the restaurant and freezer was built on.

“Hey Techorse!” she shouted as an idea formed in her brain, “Did you say sonic energy could destroy this place?”

“Yes!” he yelled back, “But I have no way of causing any!”

“I can! Get out of here, this place is coming down!” Rainbow Dash took off vertically and started climbing as fast as possible.

“Oh no you don’t!” shouted Chef Roy, looking up. He took out a small controller and pressed a button on it. 4 doors on the roof of the restaurant opened up to reveal missile launchers. They fired their payload vertically at Rainbow Dash, attempting to shoot down the Pegasus with explosions. The pony was not easy to hit though, and the missiles mostly didn’t even come close. Rainbow Dash dodged to the left as one of the projectiles flew by her. The missile wrapped back around and attempted a head on collision. With a barrel roll, Rainbow Dash wrapped the missile in a rainbow-colored streak. The missile lost guidance and eventually exploded harmlessly. Rainbow Dash looked back as she picked up flying speed and continued to go as high as she could.

“I need to go high enough or I’ll smack the ground before I get up enough speed”, she thought as she continued to fly up.

On the ground below, Twilight Sparkle asked, “Techorse, what did you tell Rainbow Dash?”

Dodging another flame pulse from Chef Roy, Techorse responded, “She told me she could use sonic energy to bring this place down. Don’t see how though!”

Pinkie Pie knew exactly what was going on and said with surprise, “She’s going to attempt a sonic rainboom! I know it!”

Techorse never heard of a sonic boom of that kind, but he asked, “She’s going to break the sound barrier? Without any sort of protection?!??! She’ll be crushed by the force of a thousand G’s!”

Pinkie Pie said to him as she jumped away from a flame, “I know it makes no sense, but she can do it!”

Twilight said to Techorse, “Pinkie Pie’s right. Rainbow Dash can and will break the barrier. The blast protects her from the force.”

He warned sadly, “That glass is too close to the ground to pull up in time. She’ll be smashed if she fails.”

Rainbow Dash stopped climbing and turned around to look downwards. The missile launchers were out of range and ammunition, so they were finally no longer a threat. The two buildings below were lined up perfectly so that she would have time to pull up after attacking the ultraglass pylons holding up the restaurant.

“Here it goes!” she said, then began the dive towards the ground. Faster and faster she flew down, approaching the speed of sound, using gravity to gain every tick of speed she could get. But air resistance and gravitational forces were starting to get to her body. Despite being lightweight, it really is hard to achieve sonic speeds without some sort of metal cone to help push away air resistance. A rainbow-colored bolt was descending from the sky as the ponies continued to battle the evil cook.

“Come on Rainbow Dash!” cheered Applejack, “you can do it!”

Fluttershy looked up at her friend’s flight path and thought, “If she misses this one, she won’t get another chance. She has to do it, she just has to!” Chef Roy interrupted the cheering with another burst of flames from the frying pan.

“Take this!” he shouted. Techorse returned fire with another couple of laser pulses, but the flames overheated his battle saddle and it shut down again. Techorse knew he couldn’t stop chef, so he simply put his trust in Rainbow Dash.

“I know she can do it!” said Techorse, “and when she does Roy, you’re gonna wish you hadn’t rolled her in flour!” Chef Roy silenced Techorse by smacking him with a burst of flame.

Rainbow Dash continued her dive, approaching the restaurant buildings quickly. As she approached the speed of sound, the air particles began stretching at her front hooves. Chef saw the incoming Pegasus and pressed another button on his controller. The restaurant sprouted two teleporter beam turrets, and they began firing blasts at Rainbow Dash.

“This is it”, she said, trying to stay on course despite the blasts.

Twilight turned to Applejack and said, “If we don’t take out those turrets, Rainbow Dash might not make it.” The ponies split up to quickly work against the guns. This put them out of Chef Roy’s range, and he got angry.

“Come back here you cowards!” he demanded. He deactivated the turrets, and they disappeared back into the restaurant.

Rainbow Dash noticed the lack of blasts and thought, “What’s that chef up to now? He’s stopped shooting at me.” She instinctively looked behind herself to see if anything was on her tail. Seeing nothing, Rainbow Dash looked forward again and tried to concentrate as her hooves came closer and closer to piercing the sound barrier. But the ground was only 1000 feet away

Chef Roy looked up at the approaching pony and laughed, “She’s going really fast, but I bet that little burst distracted her. I didn’t even need a direct hit to win.” Chef Roy then threw his frying pan in a boomerang-like arc, scoring a hit on the heads of all six ponies on the ground. They collapsed where they stood.

“Lucky shot” groaned Twilight as she lay on the ground. Roy then looked at the rainbow streak about to hit the ground as his frying pan returned to his hand.

“You lose.” he said with a very sinister tone, building up a large fireball in his pan.

Rainbow Dash was about to smash into the ground, but she gave it one last effort to break the sound barrier. Time nearly slowed for her as she desperately tried to force her hooves through. At 250 feet, it worked. She broke right through the barrier and immediately rode the shockwave upwards. The rainbow-colored sonic ring blasted horizontally and cut right through the ultraglass pylons holding up the restaurant, destroying the foundation and sending pieces of it flying in all directions. Right away, the building began collapsing under its own weight.

Chef Roy shouted in panic, “This is impossible!” The other ponies cheered on that their friend had succeeded, but Fluttershy seemed especially enthusiastic, and her voice was heard above the others. The roof began slanting downwards as the building fell. Rainbow Dash slowed down a bit and turned to attack Chef Roy on the top of the roof. The human got a look of intense fear as the Pegasus pony going extremely fast was flying straight towards him. Rainbow Dash pulled back her hoof, then closed the distance, and put it forward like a fist. Her hoof hit the crystal on Roy’s necklace, and it shattered instantly. Because she was going so fast, the next thing to shatter was the human’s sternum, and he was knocked high into the air by Rainbow Dash. Yelling, Chef Roy watched as the Pegasus pony stopped herself and he kept flying high up into the sky. The human fumbled for the potion, and quickly splashed it onto himself. Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down in a victory pose and cheered as Chef Roy disappeared in a flash of blue smoke against the clear sky.

Wizard watched the tactics table curiously. He could have sworn the 7 figures of ponies would be destroyed any second now. He had magically linked the ponies’ biometrics to the figures, and if they went, the figures went. Wizard watched as chef’s figure rapidly flew off the table and disintegrated in mid air.

Sighing, he said out loud, “The ponies have taken out Gunslinger and Chef within the same day. Good help is hard to find.” Wizard then called up Bossman on his hologram projector.

Bossman turned to face Wizard and said, “Ah Wizard, new orders I presume?”

Wizard said, “Indeed. Bossman, Chef Roy and Gunslinger have both been eliminated by these ponies. I can’t risk losing any more of my men. How’s the factory’s production capacity?”

Bossman smiled and said enthusiastically, “We’re not only at full, but over the top. We have flying machines ready in addition to regular robots.”

“Radio for Schadenfreude and tell him to make an assault on the largest floating city on the planet.” ordered Wizard, “Tell him to use his crystal so his ground robots can journey up there without falling through the cloud structure.”

“Yes sir, ramping up to full production and relaying orders to Schadenfreude.” said Bossman as he reached to turn off the projector. The image of Bossman disappeared. Wizard then went back to the large window, and he looked down again on the planet from space.

With hate in his eyes, Wizard said, “These ponies are fighting back too well. If they get any further, I won’t be able to afford holding back any more of my power.” He then looked at the planet’s moon and said, “And they’re going to regret that.”

Chapter 20

Rainbow Dash touched down in the soft green grass, breathed a huge sigh of relief, and then looked backward at the destruction she caused. Her heart then sank as she realized she might have crushed her friends under all the rubble in the restaurant. However, she was happy to learn that Techorse had managed to get the team safely off the building in time. They ran for Rainbow Dash and met her with cheering and praise.

After the little celebration, Twilight shouted, “Wait! We need to open up that freezer building and rescue the ponies trapped inside!” They walked over to the ugly gray building and stood in front of the thick steel doors, locked shut by a simple padlock.

“Ok” said Twilight, “We just have to find the key and...”

PEW

Techorse’s lasers tore through the padlock and it fell on the ground.

“Oh look, I unlocked it!” said Techorse with a laugh as the cannons went back into his saddle.

“Colts”, grumbled Rarity as she pushed the door open. The ponies went inside, and started shivering as they walked through the dark hallway.

“It's cold in here”, said Fluttershy as she shivered.

Applejack looked at a sad pony frozen solid in ice and said, “Very cold. We need to hurry.”

Techorse comforted them, “Don’t worry, all we have to do is hit the defrost button at the end of this hallway.” Twilight provided some light with her horn to guide the way.

They found the control panel deep in the cold heart of the building. Techorse took out his robotic arms and pushed the defrost button. Heating elements down the halls turned on and began to thaw out the popsicle ponies. After about ten minutes, the 100 or so ponies in the freezer had woken up and stepped out into the light of the now peaceful valley. The seven friends guided their comrades out of the giant freezer building.

Twilight Sparkle then got up on a chunk of concrete from the fallen hotel and called out to the crowd, “Use the train over there to get back home.” The ponies went over to Gunslinger’s train to take it back to their homes.

Techorse said to Twilight, “I’m going to go teach one of them how to use the train engine. I’ll be right back.” He walked away from them to go find a pony capable of learning how to work the controls. Pinkie Pie was watching the ponies filed by to get on the train, when she was tapped on the back by a cold hoof.

“HOO!” she shouted as the icy hoof chilled her warm skin. She turned around to see who had tapped her on the shoulder. She saw in front of her a gray Pegasus pony with a yellow mane. But the most interesting feature of the pony was her golden eyes, which were pointed in seemingly random directions.

“Oh hey Derpy Hooves!” said Pinkie Pie, “glad you’re ok and not an icicle anymore!”

Derpy replied, “Yeah, thanks for saving us Pinkie Pie. I remember you and your friends, but who was that green guy with the saddle?”

Pinkie Pie said, “That’s Techie! He just unlocked the freezer you were in!”

Derpy lifted into the air and said, “If you get a chance, thank him for rescuing me!”

“I will Derpy! Take care!”

Within an hour, the team watched as the sun began to set over the horizon.

Twilight looked around and said, “We’re going to have to set up camp. There are no cities we can reach by nightfall. Luckily, very few creatures live out here, so we should be safe for the night if we just pick a cave or something.”

“Oh great. More filth.” said Rarity.

“Forget being dirty, I’m just glad I didn’t become a literal Pinkie pie today. I’m happy to spend the night outdoors after that!” said Pinkie gratefully.

“Yeah, that was a close one.” Said Fluttershy, “I still don’t understand how humans could eat us or any other animals.”

Techorse answered, “Humans are the only creatures on Earth with minds like ours, Fluttershy.

Although some are vegetarians like us, many are not. Sometimes it seems like eating meat isn’t wrong, other times it is a cruel practice.”

Twilight said, “Lots of animals you love are carnivores and hunt fish or mice Fluttershy, like ferrets.”

Fluttershy frowned, “I know. It’s so sad though.”

Techorse continued, “We might never understand why some animals are carnivorous, but I’m sure it’s not inherently evil.”

Fluttershy smiled at him and said, “Ok.”

Rainbow Dash, wanting to change the topic, yawned, “I’m tired. Can we go to bed now?”

Twilight said to her, “You should be tired. After what you did today, you must be exhausted.”

Applejack said, “I just can’t believe you did it again Rainbow Dash. This was probably your best sonic rainboom so far.”

Techorse asked, “Wait, so Rainbow Dash is the only Pegasus to break the speed of sound, and she’s done it only so many times?”

Rarity put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and said, “Quite right. She really is the fastest one alive.”

Techorse remembered something from the past and said, “You know, I’ve actually seen one before. Want to know how Wizard found your planet?”

Twilight believed she already knew what he was going to say, but said, “Sure, tell us.”

The colt cleared his throat and told them, “Wizard was taking me on that fateful trip through the galaxy. We stopped when we noticed a bright flash from your planet. We watched the sound barrier being broken, followed by a large rainbow ring expanding from the blast center. At that point, I decided that if your people were intelligent enough to figure out a way to go faster than sound, then you were worth saving. It changed me from a bitter person to one determined to stop Wizard’s schemes of conquering your planet.”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes grew wide, and she asked, “When was this?”

He replied, “Well, Wizard’s been planning this invasion for as long as I can remember, so I’d probably say when I was a little kid, just a year or two after he took me from my home.”

Twilight Sparkle ran up to Techorse and gave him a huge hug. “Do you know what this means?” she said excitedly.

Techorse hugged her back and said, “Sorry, I really don’t.”

Twilight finished, “It means even you are connected to us as friends, even before you were even a pony!”

Techorse finished hugging Twilight, but said in confusion, “I’m not following.”

Rainbow Dash, getting jealous again, moved Twilight away and said, “The first time I pulled a sonic rainboom off, each of my friends saw it and it changed their lives forever! If you say you changed your mind about ‘aliens’ like us because you saw my rainboom, you’re also just like my friends here.”

Techorse sat down and said in awe, “That’s almost as if it was… planned.”

Twilight could not contain her joy any longer and said, “Oh this is perfect. I meet an alien from space, he becomes a pony, who not only represents the seventh element of harmony, but also is connected to us as a friend at the same time we were!” She then covered her mouth, realizing what she had let out.

Applejack half shut one eye and said slowly, “Did you say, uh, seventh element?”

Pinkie Pie’s jaw hit the ground, and Fluttershy had to close Pinkie's mouth for her.

Rarity asked, “Twilight, what did you read? Has something else gone to your head?”

Twilight frowned, looked downward, and admitted, “I didn’t tell you girls yet because I thought you wouldn’t believe me, but Techorse and I made a discovery when I went to his castle after returning from the forest.”

Rainbow Dash feared the worst and shouted, “What? You went back to his castle? What for?” Techorse said, “Remember, you wanted to tell me the story of your friendship? I picked Twilight though because she said she could explain it with a book.”

“And you wanted to snuggle him?” whispered Applejack to Rainbow Dash in order to tease her.

“Twilight, it might have been helpful to start with the rainboom story first.” said Techorse.

Twilight said with embarrassment, “I didn’t even think about it. I was too awed about what we found in the prophecy book.”

“What did you find?” asked Pinkie Pie.

Techorse answered, “I put the book under a scanner, which found out the original picture of the six elements of harmony was painted over another picture.”

“Then what happened?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight finished for Techorse, “When the computer scanned the picture underneath, it revealed the existence of a seventh element. It isn’t necessary to use the magic the elements hold, but it changes the effect of the original six to something that can destroy bad magic, rather than simply banishing it.”

“So it’s like the nozzles used on an icing bag, which changes the shape of the icing that comes out? This element changes what the other elements do?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“That’s what we think.” said Twilight.

Techorse said, “At first, I didn’t believe I was this representative. I thought that because I was a human first, there was no way I could be this guy. But after hearing how we all are connected, it really makes me wonder.”

Twilight said, “That’s why we’re heading for Canterlot. Once we get there, not only will we gear up to take out that factory, we’re also going to ask princess Celestia where we can find the seventh element’s artifact. We’re going to use it to beat Wizard.”

Applejack said, “This is great, it really is, but we’re going to be too tired to move if we don’t find a place to lie down fer the night.”

“Yes.” Said Twilight, “let’s just all try to get some rest and talk more about this later.” The team salvaged thick curtains from the restaurant’s wreckage and put up tents. They also managed to find mattresses and pillows from the hotel section of the building. After building the shelter, the team slept in their makeshift camp right outside of the building leveled by Rainbow Dash’s bold gamble.

Chapter 21

The team woke up early to continue walking towards Canterlot. They went past rivers and beautiful groves of trees on their journey.

Rainbow Dash quickly got tired of walking and said, “Hey, I think if we go in this direction, we might make it to Canterlot faster!”

Twilight said, “No Rainbow Dash, no more shortcuts. We’ll get lost inside the trees and never come out.”

“I know it will work!” Rainbow insisted, “Just trust me.”

Techorse stood by Twilight and said, “I think its best we stick to the open areas rather than go in the trees, just for safety. We really don’t know what’s out there.”

“Whatever you say, Techie” said Rainbow Dash. It was starting to get tiring though, as the team walked in the direction of Canterlot for about 3 hours without making a lot of progress. Sure, there were no mountains to clear, but it was a long and boring path. During the hike, Techorse’s saddle began to make a strange beeping noise of some kind.

“Hold on!” he shouted, “I’m getting a message!” Techorse took out the communications disk with a robot arm, and then put the disk down in front of the group.

Twilight said, “It’s a message from princess Celestia, girls. Act as if she was actually here.” The disk glowed for a second, and then a perfect hologram of princess Celestia appeared above the disk. The pure white winged and horned leader looked directly at Twilight Sparkle and asked, “Hello? Can you hear this?” The ponies excluding Techorse bowed before their princess. Techorse raised his left robotic hand and gave the best salute possible for a quadruped.

“We read you loud and clear your majesty!” said Techorse, “awaiting orders.”

Princess Celestia laughed softly and said, “At ease, Techorse. It’s so nice to finally see you. Twilight Sparkle has told me so much about you.” Techorse lowered the metal hand, which retreated back into the saddle as the others stood up.

Twilight asked, “Is the disk is working ok? Any problems at all we can help with?”

Princess Celestia said quietly, “No, the disk works fine. Although it was kind of funny how we found it. Luna was walking around the castle when it appeared over her and knocked her on the head.”

Twilight lowered her ears, “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry, she’s fine. Believe it or not, she actually laughed afterwords.”, said the princess.

Techorse asked, “Would you like more information about our struggle against Wizard, M’am?”

The princess replied, “Well, with so many problems around the planet, it would be nice knowing how your adventures are going so far.”

Rainbow Dash eagerly said, “We’ve gotten three of the humans! Just three left to go!”

Techorse added, “With each human defeated, fewer robots are going to be ponynapping your subjects. I’m just relieved though that your city hasn’t come under attack.”

“Thankfully we haven’t been attacked.” said the princess, “My guards have gotten all into a fuss about the whole thing, and they advise against me leaving the castle. I’m sure they can handle things if the machines I’ve heard about get here, but I don’t want any of my ponies to get hurt.”

Twilight asked, “Princess Celestia, before you go, can you tell us about the seventh element of harmony?”

The princess fell silent, as If she had something to hide. However, after taking a pause, she eventually said, “It’s true, I did make a seventh one. I can tell you more when you get here to Canterlot. But for now, I think it’s important that Techorse tries to learn for himself what it is.”

Pinkie Pie asked with excitement, “But he does represent the seventh element?”

“Yes”, said the princess, “I’m almost certain he does. Hold on, my guards are trying to make me cut this short.” The princess’s figure turned for a moment as she received news from her guards, and then she turned back.

“I have dreadful news.” She said, “A human warship has been spotted outside of Cloudsdale.” Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open for a second.

“Oh no.” she whispered.

Applejack said, “That Wizard must have figured out a spell to make the clouds easy to move on. It’s the only way his robots could make it up there.”

Fluttershy whimpered, “Oh, not Cloudsdale.”

Twilight assured her friends, “We can stop them again. I’m sure of it. If we get there before the robots completely attack the town, we’ll be able to warn them.”

“Ok” said the princess, “You know what to do. I trust you to get the message to Cloudsdale so they can defend themselves.”

“Yes M’am” said Techorse. The princess’s figure disappeared, and the disk deactivated. Techorse walked up to the device and stashed it back in his battle saddle.

Twilight Sparkle said, “Alright team, we have to get to Cloudsdale fast. It looks like we’re taking Rainbow Dash’s shortcut.”

Rainbow Dash said, “All right! Finally you guys listen to me.”

As they started walking, Techorse asked, “So, I gather Cloudsdale’s a very important city? Does it have a large population to go after?”

Rainbow Dash answered, “It’s the capital city of the Pegasus ponies, and it’s me and Fluttershy’s home town. The human who attacks it is going to feel the hurt!”

Rarity said, “I hate to be rude and interrupt, but remember we can’t walk on clouds. I heard Applejack say that Wizard might change that though. Can you explain please?”

Techorse replied, “Certainly. To make it simple, robots are heavier than humans, and humans can’t walk on clouds. Since Cloudsdale's ground is completely made of moisture particles such as clouds, it would be impossible to launch any sort of large attack without first casting a spell on the city to make it more solid to walk on, especially if they want to use the ground robots we’ve encountered in almost every fight.”

Twilight said, “So when we get there, we won’t have to use any of my magic to walk on the clouds. The real problem is finding a way into the city. More than half of us can’t fly.”

“Just cast another spell.” said Pinkie Pie.

“Not that simple” replied Twilight, “and if it wears out halfway between there and the ground… mush.”

Techorse came up with a plan, “I have an idea. So far we haven’t even found one portal used to teleport the robots around. There has to be one bringing in the robots that have been spotted outside of Cloudsdale. If we find the portal, we can steal one of the transport helicopters used to move extra ground robots to the platform. I think only a few robots can get through the portal at a time, so we shouldn’t be overwhelmed with enemies.”

“Sounds very dangerous.” said Rarity.

Twilight looked at Rarity and said to her, “I don’t think there’s any other way, except to go back to Ponyville and get the hot air balloon. And if forces are mounting outside of Cloudsdale now, there’s not enough time to go back. We’ll have to go with Techorse’s plan.”

Pinkie Pie started running ahead and shouted, “If that’s true, then let’s get a move on, we’ve got ground to cover!” The team started moving again through the valleys to find the portal outside of Cloudsdale. Along the way, Techorse noticed a tiny patch of daisies and fell behind the group to pick some.

“Twilight would love a couple of flowers to put in her hair.” He thought. Using his robotic arms, he gathered up a small bouquet of the best flowers he could find. He then brought them back to Twilight Sparkle.

Techorse held out the bunch of flowers to the unicorn pony.

“Oh, are those for me?” she asked sweetly.

“Yeah, I hope you like them!” answered Techorse, smiling at her.

Techorse’s smile disappeared as he watched Twilight quickly eat the flowers.

“Thanks, I was hungry. You’re so sweet.” She said, licking the last petal from her chin.

Techorse replied slowly, “You're welcome Twilight.” He then thought to himself, “Forgot we were ponies again.”

Rainbow Dash took notice of Techorse’s kind act and glared at him. “Techorse should like me” she thought, “We’re the tough fighters of this team!”

Applejack asked her hovering friend, “Somethin’ wrong?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t want to be teased again, so she simply replied, “No Applejack, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little upset about my home city.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll save Cloudsdale, ahm sure.” replied Applejack. Rainbow started feeling sad again though, first because she had feelings for Techorse she wasn’t getting in return, and because she knew many of her past friends would be captured in the battle ahead.

Eventually, they found the portal outside of Cloudsdale. Looking up, they could see the floating city, which was being slowly approached by a floating metal ship on helicopter blades Techorse pointed up at the craft using his hoof rather than his mechanical arms.

“See that weird thing trying to attach itself to the city?” he said, “That’s the human’s floating base the princess was talking about. He’s going to launch a direct attack from that soon.” After glancing at the platform, Twilight looked down at the portal. The large metal ring had a glowing fuchsia colored energy field inside of it. 4 robots came out of the portal and proceeded to board the helicopter stationed away from the device.

Twilight got her friends into a huddle and said, “Ok, here’s the plan. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash will provide a distraction. The rest of us will then destroy the robots with lasers, magic, and anything else we can muster. After that, we can simply board the helicopter and steer it up to Cloudsdale.”

“Hey” said Fluttershy as she looked up from the huddle, “where did Rainbow Dash go?” Rainbow Dash whistled for her friends. Turning around, they saw her hovering above a pile of smashed robot parts.

“I took care of them, now come on!” she said.

“So much for the plan.” Said Twilight, upset she had wasted any thought on it.

Techorse said, “Excellent job, Rainbow Dash! That’s what I call housekeeping!”

Rainbow Dash flew back to Techorse and said, “I really do get the job done, don’t I?”

“Yeah” said Techorse, not sure what she was getting at. Twilight looked suspiciously at Rainbow Dash, but didn’t say anything. The ponies boarded the helicopter and found a control room in the front.

“Alright Techorse, can you fly it?” asked Fluttershy as she closed the door to the cockpit behind her.

“No, not manually, but I can program it to take us to Cloudsdale.” said Techorse.

He took out the robotic hands from his saddle and began pushing buttons and typing on a nearby keyboard. The helicopter’s engines came to life, and the machine lifted up in the air, making its climb towards the city.

Rarity said with amazement, “I really don’t know what we would do without you, Techorse. You know so much about human machines.”

Techorse said, “Well Rarity, I was a human you know.”

She said, “Yes, but, it’s so hard to remember that sometimes.”

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Yeah! You act so much like a pony Techie, we can’t tell!”

Twilight told them, “We’ve been over this already. Techorse is definitely a pony now, not an evil human.”

Fluttershy added, “Don’t let the other humans keep making these jokes about you being a pony.”

Techorse nodded and said, “I know. I really enjoy life as a pony, even more than being a human. So you know what, when this is all over, I’m going to stay here. We’ll make Wizard leave, and I’ll stay a pony for good.”

Twilight smiled at him, “I’m glad you want to stay here.”

Techorse looked at her and said, “It’s the only place I have any friends.”

“and we love being your friends.” said Fluttershy as she shut her eyes. Techorse choked up a bit, trying hard not to bring tears to his eyes. For once, he was truly happy, having friends and living in a place where he felt accepted. He looked at the cloud-based city they were approaching, where he knew he would have to help his friends score victory against another human. But in his mind, he knew he and his friends could take on any challenge, so long as they had each other.

Part 6 (chapters 22-25)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 22

The helicopter touched down on a concrete landing zone built on the top of a large cloud structure. The blades came to a complete stop, and the ponies manning the zone had good reasons to be suspicious of the craft. After all, this was human technology they were looking at, and it could be dangerous. One of the Pegasus inspectors flew over to the helicopter and tapped gently on the glass.

“This is one of those metal contraptions brought by the invaders.” He said. The doors on the helicopter opened up, and to the team’s shock, the port authorities were about to attack them.

“Hey! Relax; it’s me, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow said to the startled inspectors.

The foreman of the group said, “Alright, it’s some of ours. Although I don’t see how those earth ponies are going to walk up here.” Techorse deployed his turbofans and lifted out of the helicopter. He hovered in front of the inspectors, who were awed at the sight of the contraption on his back.

Techorse said to them, “Ok, I’m going to make this quick and serious. The clouds of your city are perfectly safe to walk on now due to that giant metal platform approaching the city. One of the invaders on the platform has cursed the city so he and his robots can walk on it.”

“We’ve heard about the invaders, and their machines” said the foreman, “and we’re not worried about them.” Twilight stepped off the helicopter and onto the clouds.

She warned the foreman, “Those robots are more dangerous than you think. Haven’t you heard about what happened to Ponyville yet? Just six robots took away nearly a third of the town’s ponies in a few hours.”

“So?” asked the foreman rudely.

“So...” finished Applejack, “Imagine what a whole dang army’s gonna do to you.”

Many of the inspectors were still trying to get over the fact that ground dwellers could walk on the clouds without any problems. But when Fluttershy stepped off the helicopter, they dropped the subject and greeted her.

“Hello Miss Fluttershy. Great to have you back in Cloudsdale.”

Fluttershy answered, “It’s good to be back, but I won’t be staying for very long.”

“That’s ok” said the foreman, “we know how much you love the animals on the ground. They are mighty cute.”

Pinkie Pie bounded off next, sniffed the fresh air, and shouted, “Hello!” The foreman’s team started giggling.

“What’s wrong?” asked Pinkie Pie.

The foreman started chuckling and answered, “How could we forget the visitor who drank that concentrated rainbow fluid? It was hilarious!”

Pinkie Pie remembered all the ill effects the concentrated colored liquid had given her, and then started laughing. “It was pretty funny I guess. That’s what I get for not reading warnings!” Rarity was the last to exit the helicopter, and she gently dropped out of the bay.

“Finally, it’s good to be here without any threat of falling to our dooms.” The foreman replied, “Oh yeah, I remember what happened with you. Don’t try anything fancy again, ok?” Rarity frowned as she thought about what had happened last time she visited, when her vanity got the best of her again.

“Ok” said Twilight Sparkle to the inspector with a serious voice, “now that you’ve reminded us of all the mistakes we’ve made, can we please get to the point and warn the town? This place is going to be under attack soon, and we’re wasting time!”

Techorse turned to the inspector and said, “She’s right. Warn every last Pegasus here that the invader’s machines are coming. If we work quickly enough, we can prevent the capture of your town’s people.”

The foreman said with frustration, “Look pal, I told you, we have it under control. These so called robots are no match for us.”

Techorse landed and said to Twilight, “They’re not going to listen, so it looks like it’s up to us again.” Twilight nodded in response. The inspectors said goodbye, and then they left to go find other incoming visitors.

Rainbow Dash threw up her hooves and said, “Well, we’re toast. I guess we could fly around screaming at everypony there’s trouble coming, but then we’d just look crazy!”

Fluttershy suggested, “Maybe if we just go tell the mayor, he or she would warn the city.”

“That’s a wonderful idea” said Rarity, “I’m sure the mayor would listen to us better than those colts.”

Twilight said, “Alright, it’s settled then. We’ll go ask the mayor for help, and then finish the human. If everything goes well, we shouldn’t lose many citizens to the robots.”

Applejack moved her tail around a bit and asked nervously, “What if the mayor doesn’t listen? Are we done for?”

Techorse answered, “No Applejack. If most of the Pegasus ponies here are anything like Rainbow Dash, they will fight back. But the city will be absolutely devastated in the battle. That would look very bad on my report when we get to Canterlot.”

Pinkie Pie asked, “So, who’s going to go see the mayor? All of us?”

Rarity answered, “I say we split up. Techorse needs to survey the city in case we need a battle plan.”

Rainbow Dash saw her chance, “I’ll give him the tour! Twilight, you and the others go to the mayor.”

“Ok then.” said Twilight. The team split up to go their separate ways.

Rainbow Dash took Techorse around on a tour of the floating city. The first building she pointed out was the weather production and control facility.

“This building over here is where most of the clouds and weather effects are made for Equestria.” said Rainbow, pointing to the large structure.

Techorse replied, “Alright, although I don’t think it will be a primary target. Remember that the humans are out to capture ponies, not to completely destroy the planet. Controlling the weather’s great and all, but Wizard would find it useless in his grand schemes.”

“Ok” said Rainbow Dash, not really understanding Techorse’s battle talk.

“What I need to see, Rainbow Dash, are the buildings you live in around here. I need to be able to know how we’re going to pull off defense of those. Once the robots arrive, they’re going straight for the homes.”

“Ok. I can show you the houses and skyscrapers.” She led Techorse around the city, showing him the various buildings and attractions that Cloudsdale had to offer.

Techorse said in wonder at the floating city, “There really is nothing like this back on Earth. Humans have no wings, so we can’t build up here like this.”

Rainbow Dash asked, “Is life really boring there?”

“Well, I guess after seeing everything here, it just seems that way. Just how unique this city is makes me want to fight even harder to protect it.” he replied.

Rainbow tried to change the subject and said, “We can save this city. We Pegasus ponies are ready for anything, even robots!”

Techorse caught the non-sequitor and said, “Rainbow Dash, is something bothering you?”

“No” she lied. She then said, “Let me go ahead and look for the next important thing for you to see.” She disappeared around a corner in an instant.

Techorse thought, “She’s acting really strange. But it’s probably just nervousness about the incoming army. She’ll get better.”

Rainbow Dash then came back from around the corner and said, “Ok Techorse, let’s go. I found the next building for you.”

“Alright” said Techorse. They walked around the corner of the cloud building and found a row of apartments.

“These apartments are home to a large number of visiting Pegasus workers.” said Rainbow Dash, “They help keep Cloudsdale in good shape.”

“I’ll mark this down on the map I brought. If this place gets hit, your city will have trouble recovering from the attack. The collateral damage will be massive.”

He took out a pen and paper from his saddle with his robot arms and wrote down the location of the apartment buildings. Rainbow Dash appeared to be waiting for something to happen, as Techorse stashed the paper back in his saddle.

“Let’s move on then.” said Techorse, “I still need more information.”

“It’s time to go” said Rainbow Dash with emphasis. As they turned to leave, they were approached by three Pegasus stallions. All of them were athletic types with large muscles, uncut manes, and sports-related cutie marks.

“Well, if it isn’t Rainbow Crash” teased the leader.

“Oh, hey guys” said Rainbow Dash nervously. Techorse immediately began to think about how the situation might play out.

“Who’s this dude here? Is he your little coltfriend?” said the second jock teasingly.

Rainbow Dash said, “Guys, this is Techorse. He’s really smart and friendly, so don’t do anything stupid.”

“Looks more like a wiseguy to me.” said the third jock, “what is that thing on his back?”

Rainbow Dash said angrily, “That’s his battle saddle he invented, dummy. It has laser cannons in it, so if you do anything dumb, you’re gonna get blasted!” The lead jock went after Rainbow Dash, grabbed her by the tail, and dragged her onto the ground.

Techorse, wanting to be peaceful, refused to automatically draw his weapons on the bullies and said calmly, “Look, we’re not here for any trouble. Let go of Rainbow Dash please.”

“Or what?” said the second jock, “you gonna think us to death, nerd?”

Rainbow Dash pulled her face out of the clouds and said, “He’s going to use those lasers on you! You’re making a big mistake messing with this tough inventor!”

“Oh, he’s an inventor eh?” said the third jock, smirking, “perhaps he wouldn’t mind giving us a little money then?”

Techorse told him sternly, “I’m not giving you any money. Let go of Rainbow Dash now.”

The first jock said, “Oh, we will, after we give her a spin cycle.”

Rainbow Dash got scared and screamed, “No, please! Not a spin cycle!”

“That doesn’t sound good.” said Techorse with worry.

The second jock laughed, “We got a good tornado from the weather factory to dip her into! It’s gonna make her hair all funny!”

Techorse warned them with a scowl, “Do not do this.”

“Give us some cash then” said the second jock.

Techorse answered, “I told you, I’m not going to give you any money.” He then drew his laser cannons. “But I’ll tell you what I’ll give you.” He continued, “I’m going to give you to the count of three to get your dirty, no good hooves off of Rainbow Dash, before I pump your greasy hides full of lasers. ONE.”

The first jock took his hoof off of Rainbow Dash’s tail, but she sat there unmoving.

“TWO” counted Techorse.

“Ok, we’re going!” said the first jock nervously. The jocks took off and started flying away. Techorse noticed a metal pole behind him.

He shouted, “THREE” and then started tapping the metal pole repeatedly with his back hoof. The noise from the hollow metal almost identically matched the sound of his lasers actually firing. In reality, Techorse never fired a shot. But the jocks ran away yelling in fear of Techorse.

Techorse replaced the laser cannons. “Twilight’s going to kill me for doing that.” He thought. He pulled Rainbow out of the clouds and asked her, “Are you ok Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash zipped over and hugged Techorse tightly.

She answered, “I’m fine! Thank you so much for saving me from those guys, Techorse.”

She then released him and said, “Wait here again. I’m going to go get you a drink to celebrate.”

She lifted into the air and disappeared around the corner of the apartment buildings. Techorse knew something was up, and decided to follow her this time. He walked around the apartments and peered around the corner. It was then to his curiosity he saw Rainbow Dash talking with the jocks he just scared away.

“Thanks guys, I owe you one!” said Rainbow Dash.

The first jock said, “No problem. Seems like that colt you like’s a real fighter!”

Rainbow Dash said happily, “I’m sure after that, he’s got to become my official sidekick! You guys really helped me out here.”

The leader said, “Anytime. See you around, Rainbow.” The three left Rainbow Dash to go work out at the gym. Rainbow Dash turned around, and ran straight into Techorse.

He looked at Rainbow and asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?” Rainbow Dash fell silent, and a look of sadness came over her face.

Techorse sighed and continued, “I just caught you talking normally to three guys who just threatened to beat you up. You staged this, didn’t you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly.

“Why?” he asked Techorse angrily, “If I hadn’t seen that metal pole, I might have actually fired at those guys. I thought they were seriously going to hurt you!” Then, Rainbow Dash did something she normally never does, mope.

Rainbow said to him, “I really like your style, Techorse but you don’t care about me at all. I was going to offer you the chance to be my wingcolt! Aw, who am I kidding? Applejack was right, I’m just jealous of Twilight. You’d rather follow her orders.” Techorse relaxed and let his anger dissipate, but it was replaced by misery in watching Rainbow downcast.

“So that’s what all this was about?” he asked, “you became a damsel in distress to try and make me your right-hand pony?”

“Yes. I wanted to make us the biggest heroes of the group, and I was willing to fake a fight just to bring us together as a team!” she answered, “Applejack thought I had a crush on you, but really I just wanted a new best friend to fight alongside.”

“But why would you pick me for a best friend when you hardly even knew me?”

Rainbow explained, “You’re the only pony like me at all on our team. You actually want to put up a fight when danger’s about. The others are too peaceful or cowardly for my style.”

“This isn’t the Rainbow Dash I’m friends with. The real Rainbow Dash never faked a fight or got jealous of another pony. She did what she wanted to do bravely, and didn’t let others bring her down.” said Techorse.

He paused for a second to think, then continued, “But most of all, she had a fighting spirit, but was willing to admit it wasn’t always the best idea. Sometimes she did slow down just a bit to let others ideas come through. Just because I’m also a fighter type doesn’t mean I’m the best follower for you, Rainbow Dash. I was willing to protect you from those guys when I thought you were in danger. But, I really want to be my own leader, and do things in my style, not yours. ” Rainbow Dash gave Techorse another hug.

“I’m so sorry I lied to you.” She said.

Techorse answered, “Hey, it’s ok Rainbow Dash. You just got a little carried away with picking me as a recruit. I’m sure there’s going to be other pony who would much rather be your sidekick But I need my own identity.”

Rainbow Dash hovered up into the air and said, “Well, I’m glad I got that out of my system! I’m going flying.”

Techorse deployed his turbofans with a loud clicking noise. “I’m going with you. Race you back to the center of town!” They took off as friends, and flew back happily.

Chapter 23

“So, iz the platform getting closer to the city?” asked general Schadenfreude of a robot standing next to him.

The machine raised its teleporter gun and answered, “Yes sir. We are approaching the floating city at a steady rate. We should be docked and ready to attack within two hours.” The general was watching from the bridge of the platform.

He observed the city of Cloudsdale, with its population of Pegasus ponies, and thought to himself, “The ponies will be mine soon.” Schadenfreude, dressed in typical German military wear, did not mess around. He was not a complete monster, he loved other humans, but of course he had no respect for the ponies. The thing that actually made the man disturbing was that he enjoyed watching others suffer in defeat. To satisfy this odd need, this man designed and invented the robots used in the invasion. He made sure his private forces were always in top shape. The general said, “Because most of the residents can fly, ve will need za flyers on this mission. After we dock, deploy all 80 of them at my command . I vant this city leveled by nightfall, with every last pony inside Bossman’s factory.”

“Yes sir” replied the robot, “now how about us, the ground forces?”

The general smiled, “Do whatever you want to the city. Make sure none of zem hide in the buildings and make it through the night.”

The war machine asked a question, “Sir, how are we going to even stand on the cloud formations the city is built upon? We’re very heavy machines.”

“I know you’re very heavy, but za crytal Wizard gave me will solve that little problem. As long as it stays glowing red, the city can be walked on by anything.” said Schadenfreude as he pointed at his necklace. The general then turned back to look out the window, got into an “at ease” stance and said, “Now go and get ready. I vant to make this attack a very entertaining one.”

“Yes sir” said the robot, turning around on its tracks to exit the platform’s bridge.

Cloudsdale’s capitol building was a large pure white marble structure with gold columns holding up its dome-like roof. The many stairs up to the entrance seemed unnecessary; after all, most of the residents were Pegasus ponies and could skip the stairs by simply flying up to the door. But Twilight Sparkle and her friends had to walk up the stairs on hoof.

“At least it’s a gorgeous day for a walk.” said Rarity, trying hard not to complain about having to take the stairs.

“Come on, hurry!” said Pinkie Pie, “We have a job to do!”

Applejack said, “We’re comin’ Pinkie Pie. Just hold on.” They reached the top of the stairs and entered the capitol building’s large crystal doors. Inside was a teal colored secretary pegasus pony moving papers around on her desk.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

Twilight answered her, “Yes, we would like to see the mayor.”

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the secretary.

“I’m afraid not” was Twilight’s reply.

The secretary pushed up her glasses and said, “I’ll see if we have time to fit you in today then.”

Fluttershy then walked up to the desk and said, “Excuse me, but if it’s not too much of a problem, we’re kind of in a hurry. We’ve been sent by the princess to help the town.”

The secretary looked at Fluttershy and said, “I have no way of telling if that’s true. I’ll ask the mayor though.” The secretary got up and walked behind a glass door to go find the mayor. The secretary found the mayor, an older male Pegasus pony with a white coat and a graying mane sitting at executive desk.

“There are these non-pegasus ponies here to see you, claiming to be sent by the princess.” She said.

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.” The mayor answered with contempt.

“Should I send them away, Sir?”

The mayor thought about it for a bit, then said, “There’s only two ponies I know who are under orders from the princess, a Miss Rainbow Dash and a Miss Fluttershy. If either of them is there, send them in now.”

The secretary asked, “What do they look like?” The mayor tossed her a photo of the two. The secretary returned to the waiting room, and matched the picture to Fluttershy.

She said to her, “It turns out you’re this Fluttershy the mayor knows about. You can speak to him, the others have to stay.”

“This is outrageous!” shouted Rarity, “I refuse to leave.”

The secretary told her, “You can stay here in the room, but the mayor will only see Fluttershy.”

Twilight said to Fluttershy, “Just do it Fluttershy. Tell the mayor what we came here to tell him, and everything will be fine.”

Fluttershy nervously walked with the secretary to go talk to the mayor. They entered his office, and the mayor said happily, “Ah, so it is true, princess Celestia has sent someone to see me! Good day, Miss Fluttershy. Please, have a seat over there.” Fluttershy sat down on the beanbag chair the mayor had offered her. “You are dismissed, Opal Cloud.” said the mayor. The secretary turned away and shut the door behind her. “So” said the mayor gently, “what did you come here to tell me, Miss Fluttershy? Good news from Canterlot I hope? “

“Well, you see, not exactly.” said Fluttershy quietly.

“Oh?” said the mayor with disappointment, “is it a problem with the tax codes or something? I could have sworn we just filled out all the papers last weekend.”

“No, it’s not the taxes.” said Fluttershy, trying to avoid eye contact with the stallion.

The mayor yelled impatiently, “Well what is it then? If it’s from the princess, it must be important!”

Fluttershy said, “It’s about the humans.”

The mayor stood up from his desk and said, “Those things that have been running around attacking pony cities? What about them?”

Fluttershy moved her pink hair out of her face and said, “It’s just terrible. One of them is coming here. You have to warn your people, or they’ll all be captured.” The mayor sat back in his chair and put a hoof on his forehead.

“We’ve already spotted the contraption approaching the city. We know perfectly well about the human and his machines coming here, Miss Fluttershy. We don’t need any warning or panic to be caused in the city with this nonsense.”

Fluttershy protested, “Oh, you don’t understand mayor. They’ll be coming here into the city to destroy it! If what happens here is the same as what happened in Ponyville, they might come after you too.”

The mayor replied, “I see. But I already have a league of Pegasus ponies ready to handle the threat. The robots I’ve heard of will not last more than a few minutes against them. Now please, leave and do not bother me again.” Fluttershy drooped her head and walked back to her friends.

“So, how did it go?” asked Twilight.

“Did the mayor get the message?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy shook her head and answered, “The mayor thinks the town will be ok without warning. We’re all doomed.”

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Not on my watch! I’m warning this city the same way I warned Appleloosa! Pinkie Pie to the rescue!” The pink pony disappeared in a blur to go warn the citizens unaware of the impending attack.

Twilight sighed and told the others, “Well, looks like we have to go with that option. Everypony will have to split up and warn as many as possible about the robots. Hopefully, we will reduce our losses this way.”

Rarity fluffed her purple-blue hair and said, “Splendid. I do believe I should go with you, Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure I can get some attention from the guys around here.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and said plainly, “I’ll get started downtown. It’s gonna be hard gettin’ them to listen to an earth pony like me, but I’ll try my best.” Fluttershy simply started walking out of the mayor’s office.

“Go with Applejack, Fluttershy. You don’t have to shout, but maybe your presence will make her message more believable.” said Twilight. Fluttershy nodded and followed Applejack out the door.

Pinkie Pie was already dashing through the streets of Cloudsdale, riding like Paul Revere.

“The robots are coming!” she shrieked, “get ready to fight them! They’re made of metal, so use anything heavy or sticky to stop ‘em!”

One Pegasus asked Pinkie Pie, “How do you know we’re about to be attacked by such odd things?” Pinkie Pie pointed out the looming metal platform. “Oh yeah” said the Pegasus, “forgot about that thing.” The ponies were whipped up into a panic by Pinkie Pie, and began to either flee or look for something to fight back.

“It’s working!” said Pinkie Pie, “and wowie, it’s working fast! I’ve already got several blocks getting out of the way!” The Pegasus ponies followed Pinkie Pie down the streets and spread the word to their neighbors and friends and family. Eventually, a gigantic crowd had formed up on Pinkie Pie, and the pony stopped and turned around to face the citizens. Somehow, she found a microphone, picked it up and addressed the crowd.

“See that metal thing in the sky?” she said, “It’s going to bring some pain unless we stop it!”

A pegasus pony with an afro and colorful bandana took the microphone from Pinkie Pie and said, “So hide your kids and your wife, because those robots will climb in your windows and zap em away if you don’t!”

“That’s right!” said Pinkie Pie, “we must get ready for this! Bake pies to throw and goo up the metal monster’s treads! Drop rocks on ‘em! You can fly, so use this to your advantage. We will not let Cloudsdale get taken by a bunch of fancy toasters!” The crowd cheered loudly as Pinkie Pie pounded on the podium she was provided with by the crowd.

Rainbow Dash and Techorse were flying overhead when they spotted the crowd cheering at Pinkie Pie’s speech.

Rainbow Dash shouted, “Techorse, look down there!” Techorse looked down at the crowd of ponies.

He asked in surprise, “Is that Pinkie Pie giving a speech? I gotta see this!” The both landed down next to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh hey guys!” she said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash looked at the mob and asked, “Pinkie Pie? Did you just incite Cloudsdale to riot?”

Techorse talked over the top of Rainbow, “I’m impressed Pinkie Pie. You beaten the supposed warrior for the number of times you’ve successfully got a city to stand and fight.”

“That’s just it!” said Pinkie Pie, “I was waiting for you Techie. You have to lead these ponies! I just rallied ‘em for you.”

Pinkie Pie said into the microphone, “Everypony, your attention please! We have no chance of saving your city without a great leader. So I give you commander Techorse!” Techorse was met with hooves clopping on the ground for applause. Techorse extended his good old robot arms and picked up the microphone.

He spoke to the crowd, “Ponies, the time has come to fight for your freedom. In a mere hour you will face the largest threat you have ever encountered. Machines armed with teleporter beams will try to destroy your city and dash you away to a factory, where you will eventually be sold as slaves to a race of aliens. One of the aliens is leading the attack, and we must put a stop to him in order to achieve victory. Me and the six other ponies who arrived today will handle the human, but it will be up to you to secure your home by defeating the robots. I’m going to need a dedicated half of you to resist the urge to take to the air when the robots arrive. Although I’m certain many of these machines will be able to fly, a good number of them will be ground units. So from here to that building, all of you will stay with my friend Pinkie Pie here and attack the ground units. The other half of you will be under the command of Rainbow Dash. You will need to take to the skies and dogfight…”

“Ponyfight.” corrected Pinkie.

Techorse shook his head and continued, “Ponyfight the flying robots. Divide yourselves up into wings of about 12 ponies each. If we work together as a team, I know we can push this human and his machines out of your city. We will win the day!” Thundering hoof clops and cheering came from the ponies.

Just then, silence fell as a roaring sound came from overhead. Three dark-colored jet streams flew across the sky, and then crashed hard into the stand. Standing up, the three ponies in dark blue uniforms stood up and looked at Techorse. Their leader had firey-colored hair, and all of them wore flight goggles.

The leader took off her goggles and said, “What’s all the trouble about?”

“Oh my gosh!” repeated Rainbow Dash over and over.

Techorse said to the newcomers, “We’re gearing up to save this city from an invasion. You must be the local militia.”

Rainbow Dash told him, “No Tech, even better! These are the Wonderbolts!” Techorse stuck out a hoof, trying to be polite by not using his robot hand.

“If I can take a good hint from Rainbow Dash here, it must be an honor to meet you.” he said.

The leader, Spitfire said, “Based on that motivational speech, it must be an honor to meet you. Are you one of Celestia’s generals?”

Techorse opened his mouth to speak, but Pinkie Pie spoke for him, “He’s not one of her generals, but he’s commander here!”

“Is this true Rainbow Dash?” asked Spitfire.

“You bet it is!” confirmed Rainbow Dash.

“Well then I believe you” said Spitfire, “you’ve flown with us enough times to know a good soldier when you see one.”

Spitfire then went back to Techorse and asked, “So, commander Techorse, what’s the situation?”

Techorse said, “Well, miss…”

“Spitfire” she answered.

“Spitfire, your town is about to come under attack by a human supported by an unknown number of robot units. These robots will ravage the city and start stealing ponies with their weapons to be sold as pets to the humans. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash here have helped me rally the citizens for battle.”

“Me and the guys can help.” Said Spitfire, “Just tell us where you want us.” Techorse looked at

Rainbow, and then looked back to Spitfire.

“You’ll fly on Rainbow Dash’s wing.”

Rainbow Dash said joyfully, “Really? Thanks Techorse! It’ll be great to fly under Spitfire’s command again.”

“No, I mean they will serve under you, Rainbow Dash.” said Techorse.

Rainbow Dash squealed in delight again, “Me? Leading the Wonderbolts? You really are the most awesome friend ever!” She gave him another hug in appreciation.

Techorse then said into the microphone, “Let’s get to the edge of the city, and ‘welcome’ these invaders!” The cheering crowd followed them away, bringing makeshift armor and weapons with them.

Chapter 24

The general looked at the nearing city from the bridge of the platform. “Our delivery portal onboard the ship is active.” said a robot over an intercom unit.

General Schadenfreude responded, “Good. We’re going to dock in about a half hour. I’m closing my blast shields and turning on radar.” The general hit a button on his command console, and heavy metal blast doors closed over the windows, removing the general’s view of Cloudsdale. The dark bridge then filled with eerie blue light reminiscent of a nuclear battle submarine’s combat information center. Schadenfreude activated his external camera equipment and radar. The external CCTV cameras on the gigantic platform showed the same view he got out the windows. The general only closed the blast doors in case one of the robots messed up and crashed into the bridge. He was sure in his mind the native ponies wouldn’t have anything along the lines of explosives capable of penetrating the blast doors. As the human looked at the view outside again on a plasma screen, he relaxed for a bit.

“This is going to be so much fun!” he said to himself, “watching these ponies suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the robots I designed.” He then laughed out loud, enjoying the thought of the doom he was going to bring on Cloudsdale. Or so he thought. Schadenfreude’s laughing stopped when he saw a handful of ponies on the camera view screens. Following them were even more Pegasus ponies.

“What?” he asked in confusion. The army Pinkie Pie had raised had arrived and flooded the cloudbank he planned on docking with.

“Nien!” he shouted, “they’re not supposed to be crowding around ze landing zone!” The general pulled down an intercom unit and spoke, “Unit 1, what iz going on out there? Do we have any teleporter cannons on this vessel?”

“Negative” replied Unit 1, “This platform is a robot delivery unit, not a battleship. The craft itself is unarmed.”

The general replaced the intercom and said, “Ach, ze ponies will move when the front door opens on ze ship. Just standby, Unit 1.”

“Yes sir” replied the robot.

Outside, the ponies watched as the gigantic metal platform approached. Some looked on in fear, others in determination to save their home. The platform itself was shaped like a mailbox on top of a traditional ship’s hull. The underside featured a dozen gigantic slowly turning helicopter blades that kept the ship in the air. Inside the machine was a portal, the mailbox shape provided a protective housing for the robot transport unit. At the front of the ship was a series of outward-facing devices that resembled air ducts. The entire unit was being pushed forward by a gigantic trio of more traditional looking jet engines. The completely boring gray color on the vessel made it almost like a gigantic storm cloud approaching the pure puffy white of Cloudsdale.

Techorse shouted to his troops, “Everypony take cover behind something! The minute that door opens on the front, open fire at any and all robots! We need to take down as many as possible to prevent their advance into the city!” Techorse felt a brush against his side.

“Tech, what’s going on?” asked the voice. He turned and looked at her.

“Twilight, you made it in time to help us!”

Twilight looked around, then said, “Wow, it looks like you got Cloudsdale warned in time.”

Techorse pointed towards Pinkie and said with a grin, “Thank Pinkie Pie. She raised the army, and then put me in charge.”

Twilight flew into a panic, “What? These ponies are in grave danger! We have to evacuate.”

“The way I see it.” Replied Techorse, “is that winning this battle will motivate all of Equestria to take a stand. If we just run away, the robots will have every last inch of the planet locked down in a few weeks. Please, trust me on this one!”

Applejack pushed past Twilight and said, “He’s right Twilight, no offense, but standin’ up to the human will moralize us all.”

“Motivate” corrected Twilight, “but never mind that. We’re going to lose a lot of ponies to the teleporter beams in this one!”

“We can just rescue ‘em from that factory!” said Applejack, “it’s gonna be ok.”

Twilight finally agreed with the plan, “Alright. I’ll trust you, Techorse.”

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Pinkie Pie waited with her force of ponies assigned to ground combat. She had painted half of her face blue like William Wallace. Pinkie Pie looked at the approaching metal platform and laughed.

“This is going to be great.” She said, “Me versus the evil toasters!” A familiar face pulled up next to Pinkie Pie. Derpy Hooves had arrived on the scene, wearing a tin pot as makeshift armor on her head.

“Hey Pinkie Pie!” said Derpy.

“Hi again, Derpy Hooves! What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Ponyville.” asked Pinkie in surprise.

Derpy replied, “I wouldn’t miss a chance to help you and your friends! Besides, those buckets of bolts took Bon-Bon and Lyra back in Ponyville. I’m going to make them pay, even if I can only see the enemy with one eye at a time.”

“What? They got Bon-Bon and Lyra?”, she asked in horror.

“Yeah, they were the first to go.” said Derpy sadly. Pinkie Pie’s hair straightened out almost immediately.

“They will wish they’d never been invented.” She said with intent to kill.

“What have I done?” thought the cross-eyed pony, realizing she’d made her friend snap. Twilight Sparkle picked up on the disturbance in Pinkie Pie’s psyche.

“Uh-oh.” She said.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” asked Techorse.

“I think we’re going to see something really interesting out of Pinkie Pie really soon.” answered Twilight.

Techorse said, “Well, she did raise this army, which impressed me. She’s going to be doing something great today, I’d imagine.”

“No, not that.” Continued Twilight as she pointed to Pinkie, ”I mean look at her, Techorse. Her hair is straightened out. Last time that happened is when you were a human and didn’t want to go to her party. She acts weird if she stays like that too long.”

Techorse asked worriedly, “More than usual?”

Twilight replied, “Worse than usual. A different kind of weird you really don’t want to see.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Fluttershy, arriving on the scene.

“Oh nothing” said Twilight, “just discussing Pinkie Pie’s problem she’s having.”

“Oh dear” said Fluttershy, “is there anything I can do?”

“Go talk to her and find out what’s wrong. She might listen to you better than us.” said Twilight. “Ok” said Fluttershy, and she calmly walked over to Pinkie Pie.

“Hello Pinkie Pie” she said softly.

“Not now Fluttershy” replied Pinkie bitterly.

Fluttershy shrank back a bit and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Pinkie Pie stared right at her friend and shouted, “Those, machines took Bon-Bon and Lyra back in Ponyville! When those doors open, I’m charging right in! I’m going to reduce each and every one of them on that ship to scrap when I’m done with them!”

Fluttershy sweated visibly at the head, knowing any response she gave might make Pinkie Pie yell at her.

“Well, we don’t want you charging in. We might lose you too.” Said Fluttershy, “That would make us very sad. We love you too much, Pinkie Pie.”

“Well how do you expect me to stop them?” shouted Pinkie Pie in frustration.

Fluttershy simply answered, “Look, if you don’t mind, ask yourself what Bon-Bon and Lyra would think of you acting like this. Would they want you to get revenge like this?”

Pinkie Pie thought about it, and replied sadly, “no. I guess not.” Fluttershy lifted her head up and said, “You need to calm down then and follow Techorse’s plan. Please, don’t let your anger take you over.” Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, and her hair puffed back up again and into place. She asked for a towel, and then rubbed the blue paint off of her face.

“Much better!” she said happily, “I didn’t know what I was thinking. You probably saved my life, Fluttershy!” She gave her friend a bear hug.

“You’re welcome Pinkie.” said Fluttershy, trying to not be crushed.

Techorse looked back at his troops. The Pegasus ponies were looking at the approaching machine still, unmoving. He then looked around some more and asked, “Where did Rarity go? I know Rainbow Dash is in the back to lead the air units, but where is she?”

Twilight answered with embarrassment, “We, kinda lost track of Rarity. I have no clue where she is. Normally, it’s hard to lose her with her unique personality and talk, but this time she’s managed to slip away.”

Techorse sighed and said, “Well, she’s probably safer in the city then out here on the front. But if we get pushed back too far, we’re going to need to find her.”

Twilight swung her tail around and said, “Ok, if things get too bad, we find Rarity and get out of here.”

Techorse added, “Right after we take down the human leading this operation.”

“Any clue which one it is?” asked Twilight.

He replied, “We only have a few left. I’m pretty sure it’s the German general guy I saw aboard the space station. Forgot what he called himself, but he designed the robots we’ve seen so far, and the teleporter cannon concept.” Techorse then realized something, and looked at Applejack.

He said to her, “You and Rarity have no way of flying, do you?”

“No, why do you ask?” she replied.

Techorse shouted with frustration, “Aw shoot! The minute we smash that crystal around the human’s neck, the spell on Cloudsdale will be broken. We won’t be able to stand on the clouds.”

Twilight said, “No problem Techorse, I’ll just cast a spell to let us walk on the clouds.”

Applejack interrupted, “Sorry to say this, but if Rarity’s missin’, she’ll fall if she ain’t there to take your spell!”

Twilight said in shock, “Oh no! You’re right! We’ll have to find her first before we try to take on the human.”

Applejack then said angrily, “Well, there she goes again, miss pretty-pretty ruinin’ our plan!”

Techorse said to her, “There’s nothing we can do except go find her after this is over. Twilight, please, use as many combat based spells as possible to make sure you don’t get teleported. We will need you to survive once the spell on the city drops!”

She said, “Ok, but you’ll have to cover me. I won’t last on my own.”

Techorse drew his laser cannons and replied, “I know you’re strong enough to handle yourself, Twilight, with your incredible magic powers. You and your friends don’t need me to win. But if you want me to help, I’m here for you.”

Twilight smiled lovingly and answered, “That’s really sweet. But we’re a team, and I need your help. I really am just one unicorn pony when it comes down to it. Remember what you said about magic being supported by others thoughts? Without you, I’m another pony short, and a little weaker.”

He said with a smile, “Thanks Twilight.”

Applejack listened to their conversation and thought, “They make a cute couple.”

The platform approached closer to the edge of Cloudsdale, but fire was held.

“Hey” said Twilight, “Where’s the force the mayor said would handle the robots? Shouldn’t they be here to help us?”

Applejack answered bitterly, “I think the mayor was lyin’ to cover the fact he isn’t ready for this kind of attack. He’s out to save his own skin.”

Twilight suggested, “Maybe his forces are just a little late?”

Techorse said, “Speaking of that, I forgot to ask you about the visit to the mayor.”

Twilight replied with a sigh, “You didn’t miss much. He basically gave us excuses to not rally the town, and then shooed us away.”

“Luckily” said Applejack, “Pinkie Pie rounded up everypony, huh?”

“Yeah, it would have been 7 on several hundred without that rally.” said Techorse. The platform was almost in contact with the city.

“I’m baaaack!” sang a happy voice behind Techorse. Making her way through the crowd, Rarity appeared wearing a dress. This one hugged her form tightly, was made from red cloth, and featured a short skirt that let her purple-blue curly tail hang out naturally. For some reason, she was wearing saddlebags on top of that.

“Alright, you made it Rarity!” said Techorse.

“Finally! You almost messed up our plans, Rarity.” said Applejack unhappily.

“How so?” she asked, miffed that she was being accused of such a thing.

Twilight answered in a more polite manner than Applejack, “Techorse pointed out that once we break this human’s crystal, the spell on Cloudsdale will dissipate and cause us to fall. You needed to be here so I can save you from falling.”

Rarity apologized, “Terribly sorry Twilight, but I was getting ready for this dreadful battle. I saw the party following Pinkie Pie and I didn’t want to ruin my bath this afternoon, so I bought this breathable material dress. I also brought along something I can use to help you defeat these ugly machines.” Rarity opened up the saddlebags to reveal about 4 dozen shards of diamond. “I sort of borrowed these out of a scrap gem pile outside a jeweler’s shop.” she said, “I asked first, so it is not stealing…” Techorse at first took awe at the size of the diamonds, but remembered how common gemstones were on Equestria and took back his surprise.

Twilight looked at the projectiles and said, “Great idea Rarity, those diamonds are the hardest and sharpest materials you can find. But how are you going to use them?”

Rarity answered, “I’ve been practicing my magic since that fight in Ponyville. Now I’m able to throw small things more like you, darling. Since I’m so great with gems, throwing them with magic was a little easier than I expected. I think you’ll be impressed.”

Twilight said in surprise, “Wow, way to go Rarity, learning some new magic!” Techorse looked up and down at the platform again, and the laser cannons at his sides followed his line of sight.

Applejack looked at the metal tubes and asked, “Always wondered, Techorse, why do you never run out of lasers to use?”

Her told her, “I thought I told you in the lab, but the battle saddle is lined with tiny solar panels. Every time the sun shines on the saddle, I get more power, and unlimited laser ammo.”

Twilight asked Applejack, “Speaking of ammo, did you bring any apples to use?”

Applejack shook her head, “I didn’t bring any bags with me to carry ‘em. I’ll be ok though.”

Techorse turned around and said, “Anybody out there got an extra sack of throwing apples? I need them up here!” A sack flew through the air and Techorse caught it with his robot arms.

“Thanks, soldier!” he called back.

“Here you go Applejack” he said, handing her the bag of crab apples.

“Thank you.” was the only thing she could say due to her surprise at the help. Meanwhile, in the back of the pony army, Rainbow Dash was sitting with the Wonderbolts, planning her strategy.

“Don’t take off”, she said to Spitfire, “until you see any robots that can fly like us. We don’t want every last pony here in the air at the same time, it’ll be too confusing. We’ll be sharing the sky with hundreds of other ponies if things get bad.”

“Right.” replied Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash then suggested, “We’re going to kick some robot tail once we get up there, but try not to get shot down.”

Spitfire asked her, “So the plan is, take to the skies when the bad guys do, bring them down, and don’t die?”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and said without any sarcasm, “Best plan ever, right?” Spitfire began to wonder if listening to Techorse had been such a good idea.

Chapter 25

Schadenfreude’s platform had finally touched the edge of Cloudsdale, and the ship extended two weird tong-like devices which clamped onto the edge of the city’s cloudbanks. Back inside the bridge, Schadenfreude spoke into an intercom, “We have successfully docked with ze city. Open ze door to za portal and begin to attack the ponies. Break up this army in front of us.”

“Your orders will be carried out, sir” replied a robot over the intercom. Outside, the door began to slowly open on the ship.

Twilight said, “Get ready. Here they come.”

Techorse switched to his laser cannons and shouted out, “This is it! Fire when you see them come out!”

The gigantic metal door kept lowering slowly. The inside of the ship was too dark to see anything, and the door itself, although at least 50 feet tall, still fell short of the ponies by another 100 feet. Techorse figured in his head that the door and the distance in front of it gave them about 200 feet total distance between them and the robots. Not very much considering the robots were not extremely slow. Red dots began appearing inside the dark hangar, the “eyes” of the robots teleporting into the hangar of the ship. They advanced towards the end of the ship, and entered the daylight. A group of at least 50 robots were already trying to make their way off of the ship.

“FIRE!” called out Techorse. They started shooting whatever they could muster at the approaching machines. Apples, stones, cookware, and many other odd projectiles began impacting the robots. Once in awhile a machine would take too much damage and explode or fall over. The robots returned fire with their teleporter beams. Despite the cover and ability to at least hover, the ground forces were taking some losses from the red blasts. Those ponies were on their way to the factory.

Twilight shouted over the sounds of battle, “Keep moving! We’ll be harder to hit.” Techorse and the others agreed, and they kept up evasive maneuvers to try and avoid the teleporter blasts. They dipped behind a sizable chunk of concrete, where Techorse fired another burst of lasers and destroyed a robot.

It wasn’t long before the general realized his robots were actually losing to the citizens of Cloudsdale. The initial 50 sent off the ship had been reduced to 14 in a matter of 2 minutes of fighting.

Schadenfreude hit a switch multiple times to order more waves of 50 robots from the factory. Machines just started pouring out of the end of the ship. Once the machines got off the ramp, they would head straight for the Pegasus ponies and attempt to blast them. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were trying to take action with their half of the pony forces. Pinkie Pie had picked up some pies and was mucking up robots with them to make them easier targets. Although not as good of a fighter, Fluttershy helped some of the other Pegasus ponies drop heavy stones and objects like pianos on the robots.

Schadenfreude started noticing the airstrikes from his CCTV screens and complained, “They’re actually winning by dropping things on the robots! Apples and stones are beating steel and teleporter beams! The only high tech weapon they have is…” The general looked at his camera screens and looked closely at Techorse blasting away with his laser cannons. “that pony’s laser cannons.” He said, “I know who that is. That’s Techman. He’s leading the ponies, hoping to win.” The general then laughed and continued, “Let’s see the pony-boy handle the fliers!” The human then smashed a button on his panel. Outside the ship, the robots were too far spread out and too few. The couple hundred ponies had lost about a quarter of their own, but the robots had been smashed down to fewer than 150 units despite a steady stream coming from the ship. Twilight picked up a robot that got too close to her using her magic and tossed the machine over the edge of the clouds, sending it to break on the ground miles below. She then picked up chunks of stone and shot them at the machines to further damage them. Techorse decided to help by contributing some laser bolts to the attack. The combination of stones and lasers pierced several robots and brought the machines down. Applejack and Rarity combined fire too, using apples and shards of diamond to destroy a handful of advancing robots. But eventually, they all found themselves out of ammo to shoot with robots still approaching at all angles. They tried using melee attacks, but the robot’s armor was too thick, and it hurt their hooves.

“We need to retreat!” screamed Twilight, “It’s too risky to be this close!” Just then, the ground robots mysteriously pulled back a bit.

“They’re givin’ up!” cheered Applejack, “we did it!”

Techorse knew what was really going on and said plainly, “This isn’t over yet.”

The vents on the sides of the ship opened up as far as they could go. Out of them flew dozens and dozens of new machines. These machines had a single jet engine on the back of a thick triangular body, and had a teleporter cannon on the front. For an eye, each one had a small camera sticking up out of the body of the machine.

Techorse shouted, “It’s the flying robots!”

Rainbow Dash noticed the machines and said, “Alright everypony, here they come! Take to the air and take them down!” The Pegasus ponies assigned to dogfight with the fliers lifted up in the air and went to keep them from attacking the city. They began breaking the engines of the machines with their hooves, or used their ramming speed to destroy them. The fliers sometimes shot back, but mostly concentrated their teleporter beams on the ponies on the ground. They wanted to assist the other robots in victory. Rainbow Dash did not want this to happen at all, so she sped up and started attacking the robots shooting at the ground troops.

Rainbow ordered, “Don’t let them attack my friends on the ground! Cover them.” Spitfire led the other Wonderbolts members in destroying as many robot units as possible. They used their speed to knock the machines off course, causing them to crash into each other or the ship. As the flying robots impacted the hull of the platform, Schadenfreude could feel the vibrations caused by the explosions. He looked at what remained of his forces, 72 ground robots, and about 40 flying units.

He then said, “I’m going to go show these ponies zat I do not mess around.” He then walked over to an elevator and took it down towards the hangar. When the elevator reached the bay of the ship, he stepped off and onto an elevated platform, where he walked over casually to his giant robot walker.

This machine looked like something straight out of Mechwarrior or Armored Core. Its body was in the shape of a hexagonal box, with a trapezoidal plexiglass canopy over the top. To its sides were tube-shaped humanoid arms that came down to the bottom of the machine’s body, but didn’t quite reach the legs. Each arm featured a human hand structure for picking up and moving objects, as well as a single very large bore teleporter gun, although they were not nearly as large as the one found on Gunslinger’s train. The machine’s legs themselves were thick and forward-jointed like a man’s legs, as opposed to the chicken walker style other designs used on Earth. The machine’s footpads featured 4 large equidistant “toes” that came down like a blunt claw, mostly useful for gripping the terrain and not for stepping on things. The human pressed a release lever on the machine’s top, and the glass canopy opened up. General Schadenfreude sat down in the command chair, and turned the ignition key inside the mech. The mech’s diesel engine roared to life, and several diagnostic screens turned on, showing the status of various parts on the machine. The general had even installed a female robot voice to aid him.

“Diesel engine activated. Fuel at 99%. Weapons charging, all systems online.” said the voice.

Schadenfreude thought about donning a helmet, but instead chose to keep his gilt hat. It made him look important in his head. “After zis victory, I will show off the money from the pony sales to the others back in Germany.”

He thought confidently, “That will teach them to call me what they did.” The human decided, as the mecha lacked a parachute, to put on a jetpack left lying on the catwalk above his war machine, just in case the machine went off the edge of the city.

The human then strapped himself in by seatbelt and pushed a button which closed the fiberglass canopy over the top of the robot. Pushing forward on the joystick of the machine, the general made his way out of the hangar. The 25 foot tall machine stepped out into broad daylight. Schadenfreude ordered into a microphone, “Hold your fire for one second, please. I wish to speak to zem.”

“Yes Sir” replied a lead robot. The teleporter beams fell silent, and the ponies looked up in awe at the giant robot that had just stepped out of the hangar. The human flipped a switch in his cockpit to change the microphone’s output to the outboard speakers on his machine.

“Hello ponies!” addressed the general with a childish tone, “had enough yet? If you just give up now, I won’t have to use this against you.”

Techorse shouted at the machine, “We’re not going to give up now, scumbag!”

The general laughed and said, “Ah, it’s the human turned pony Techman. Nice to see you, pony-boy. I find it really cute these little ponies made you zer leader!”

Twilight yelled, “Don’t talk about Techorse that way!”

Schadenfreude said, “Oh, look every little pony! It iz the pony-boy’s leetle girlfriend! She’s standing up for him!” He then laughed heartily again.

“Ok, that’s enough” said Applejack angrily, “everypony open fire on him!” The remaining pony troops launched every last rock, heavy object, shard, and piece of fruit at the machine. After 30 seconds of fire, they stopped, knowing they weren’t doing any damage. The human raised his machine’s right arm to point at the body of the robot.

He then said, “Oh no, you managed to chip some paint off. I wasn’t expecting that.” He then laughed and charged up his teleporter cannons. “now, little ponies, it is my turn!”

“Run away!” screamed Twilight. The ponies dispersed and fled as Schadenfreude started firing blasts from his cannons. Techorse watched with sadness as one beam claimed four ponies for the factory’s cages in one burst. The large beams were scattering them, forcing them to fly away or take cover behind buildings. Schadenfreude continued to laugh over the speakers at the misfortune of his enemies.

Once the ponies were all inside the city limits and out of sight, he spoke to his robots, “Ok machines. Zey have fled into the city. Now begins the pony-hunt. Go in there and drag them out kicking and screaming.”

The lead robot asked, “What about you, sir?”

The general replied, “I’m going to have some fun messing with ze ponies Wizard has marked for destruction.” The human then laughed maniacally once again, and then moved his machine into the city, bashing buildings down with the robot’s fists along the way. “It’s so much fun!” sang the general happily, “to cause so much chaos!” He laughed as he fired his beams, claiming ponies along the ground and in the air.

As they were running, Twilight said to Applejack, “We have to get the others! All of us have to work together if we want to take this guy down.”

Applejack replied, “Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are over there in the crowd somewheres.”

Techorse shouted, “Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, if you can hear me, come to us! We need to stick together!”

Noticing the flying robots overhead fighting with the citizens, he said, “I sure hope Rainbow Dash is doing ok.”

“Don’t worry” said Applejack between breaths as they ran, “that speedster can take care of herself. I know it.”

Rainbow Dash was trying to take care of herself. She had managed to pick one of the flying robots on her tail, and was zooming around attempting to lose it. The machine fired its beam again and again, but Rainbow was simply too nimble to be hit.

As she approached an abandoned skyscraper, she wondered aloud, “I wonder if that thing will fall for the same trick that Chef’s missiles did?” She immediately broke hard, and the robot overshot her. Moving forward again, Rainbow Dash started barrel rolling around the machine. The force of the rapidly moving air combined with the rainbow colored jetstream made it hard for the machine’s battle computer to determine which way to fly. Eventually, the robot went out of control and smashed itself on the side of the old building and exploded spectacularly. Rainbow smiled at her victory and did an immelman maneuver to turn around and engage more robots. She was formed up by two Pegasus ponies wanting to assist her.

“We’re here to help!” said the one on her right.

“I don’t need your help” she said bitterly, “find your own targets!” The two ponies were left in the dust by Rainbow Dash. They were actually trying to warn her about the two flying robots up ahead. They emerged from under cloud cover and opened fire at Rainbow Dash.

“Oh no!” she screamed as she zipped around to avoid the beams. One of the red spears of light came straight for her, but one of the two ponies from before threw himself in front of the beam. He disappeared, letting himself be captured to make sure Rainbow Dash survived.

“No!” shouted Rainbow Dash at the loss, attracting the attention of another pair of machines. She now had 4 robots attempting to shoot her down.

Back on the ground, Techorse and Twilight took notice of this battle overhead. “Rainbow Dash is in trouble!” Techorse stopped running and drew his laser cannons.

“Anti-aircraft fire’s not my specialty, but I’m going to help!”

Twilight’s horn started glowing, and she stopped too.

Applejack shouted, “Have you gone nuts? That human’s comin’ this way!”

Twilight answered, “We can’t leave Rainbow Dash hanging, Applejack. We’d do the same for you too if you were in trouble!”

Applejack said, “True enough. I’ll buy you some time.” The freckled pony turned around and ran straight for Schadenfreude’s mech. The human looked at his targeting monitor and saw her approaching.

“Target identified as Applejack, a pony on Wizard’s list.” said his computer.

The human replied, “I’ll follow her then. Might as well impress Wizard while I’m here.” Applejack turned to avoid a blast from the giant machine’s beam cannons, and then ran down a street perpendicular to the one the robot was on. Schadenfreude turned his mech and followed her, firing his cannons.

Twilight looked down the street and said, “She did it! We’re safe to help Rainbow!” Techorse tilted his guns up and started firing at the robots overhead. Rainbow Dash, still going in circles to avoid the beams, noticed the incoming yellow laser bolts and looked down. She saw Techorse and Twilight looking up at them. To help out, Rainbow lured the drones over Techorse’s firing line. Two of the robots were hit by lasers and were quickly shot down by the beams. Twilight had spent this time concentrating her magic, and then grabbed one of the remaining two fliers. She brought it back down to the ground and started swinging it around like a shotput. The last flying drone finally managed to get Rainbow Dash lined up in its sights. However, Twilight let go of the drone she had taken captive, and the machine flew up and smashed into its wingman. Both of the drones disappeared in a fireball.

Techorse cheered, “All right, good shot Twilight!”

Rainbow Dash then landed in front of them and said, “Thanks, I thought I was a goner.”

Twilight said, “Don’t worry about it. But before we forget, we have to go rescue Applejack from the human. She had to provide a distraction so we could save you.”

“If that human lays one hand on her, I’ll…” Rainbow tried to say.

Techorse interrupted, “We’ll save Applejack, I’m sure of it. She’s a tough girl. Right now we have to find the others so we can team up against the human.” In the midst of the panics, screaming, and shouting, they walked together to see if they could find Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Eventually, they found amongst the rubble and debris an injured Derpy Hooves being fed cupcakes by Pinkie Pie.

“I’m not sure these will help.” groaned the cross-eyed Pegasus as she swallowed a chocolate cupcake.

Pinkie Pie said to her, “Nonsense, everypony knows food heals injuries!”

Twilight said with relief, “Oh, there you are Pinkie Pie, thank goodness you’re ok.”

Pinkie Pie shouted cheerfully, “Of course I am. Me and Derpy had to fight, like, a billion robots, but we made it out unharmed!”

Techorse asked, “If the robots didn’t hurt her, how did Derpy get that nasty scrape?”

Derpy Hooves answered shamefully, “I tripped over a rock.” Techorse found that not a big surprise taking into account the pony’s obvious vision problems.

The gray Pegasus said, “You’re Techorse aren’t you? Thanks for saving me from that fat human back there in the valley.”

Techorse laughed, “Oh, you’re welcome, but I just smashed the freezer door open. It was Rainbow Dash here who beat the human.”

Rainbow Dash said proudly, “One of my best rainbooms ever! Still can’t believe I did it!”

“Ok, right now we’re trying to concentrate on beating the human at hand.” Said Twilight impatiently, “could we please focus on that? Pinkie Pie, you need to come with us.”

Pinkie Pie protested, “I won’t leave Derpy Hooves! She needs my cupcakes for energy, isn’t that right Derpy?” Derpy Hooves had already left though to avoid a stomach ache by having to eat more sugary goods.

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Well, never mind that, I’m coming with you guys!”

Meanwhile, Applejack was still trying to avoid the blasts from the human’s mech.

Schadenfreude addressed her with the speakers, “you can’t run forever fraulein!” Applejack wouldn’t even look back at him as she galloped away from the running machine. She was tiring out and needed water badly, but she knew she was doomed if she took a break. By very carefully evading the beams, she was wasting the general’s time he could be spending hunting other ponies, especially her best friends. Applejack saw a dead end up ahead, and turned right past a couple of tall buildings. She then in shock saw that this too led to a dead end. The human turned his robot and cornered Applejack. “No place to go but to ze cages now.” He said, raising his robot’s left arm to fire. Applejack wouldn’t shut her eyes in fear of the human, but braced for the inevitable. Suddenly, three shards of diamond pierced the plexiglass canopy on the machine and nearly poked the human.

“What!” he shouted in surprise, jumping just enough to throw off his aim. The beam impacted just inches above Applejack’s head, nearly stealing her hat. She breathed heavily and quickly in relief as Rarity entered the scene, jumping on top of the canopy.

“would you mind not shooting my friend? She asked the general, looking down at him through the window.”

Schadenfreude looked up at her and said, “Sorry miss, but general Schadenfreude shoots who he want to, then laughs!” He flicked the canopy open switch, which tossed Rarity backwards. She fell screaming, but Applejack ran under the mech’s legs and helped to break her fall. A loud smack was heard as Rarity landed on top of Applejack.

“Thanks Applejack, I hope that didn’t hurt.” She said while standing up.

“Forget about that, just run for it Rarity!” The two galloped away as Schadenfreude put the canopy back in place and turned his war machine around to continue his attack.

Part 8 (chapters 31-36)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 31

The helicopter lifted away again, this time to fly for the mountain pass. As the machine began its ascent into the sky, Techorse pushed some buttons on the GPS.

“What are you doing?” asked Fluttershy quietly.

“I’m looking for anything weird on the map. If anything strange shows up, chances are it’s the fortress where we’ll find Nightmare Moon.” He replied.

The GPS bleeped for a short while, and then spat out a brand new area map.

“I don’t remember seeing that large black dot in the corner.” said Twilight.

“Then that’s where we’ll go, right?” asked Applejack.

“Yes.”, said Techorse, “with any luck, this anomaly on the map will be where Wizard is hiding her.”

“I just hope we have enough fuel to get there.” said Rainbow Dash.

“We don’t”, answered Twilight, “we’ll have to land and walk the rest of the way.”

Rarity was busy looking for the red dress she had bought back in Cloudsdale. “Where is that little battle dress?” she asked as she rummaged through the compartments on the helicopter, spilling their contents everywhere.

“Take your time, Rarity.” Said Twilight, “I don’t think we’re going to run to the last drop of fuel, we’ll land before it gets dangerous.” Rarity sighed and took out a makeup kit from a compartment to fix her light blue eye shadow, which had started fading over the past few days. As she powdered her face in preparation, Twilight noted, “I don’t remember seeing you with that make-up kit. Where did you get that?”

Rarity explained, “Since your answer is always magic, so is mine.”

“This is going to be a long flight.” groaned Rainbow Dash.

After an hour Pinkie Pie asked, “Are we there yet? I’m sooo bored!”

Techorse answered cheerfully, “I’d say yes as a joke, but I’m afraid you’d jump from the helicopter, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie began to sing, “I know! Let’s sing a song to pass time! 99 bundles of hay on the wall, 99 bundles of hay! You take one down and pass it around, 98 bundles of hay on the wall!”

“Oh brother.” said Rainbow Dash, covering her ears with her front hooves. The other ponies tried their best to ignore Pinkie Pie’s singing, and soon she stopped out of boredom with the repetitive song.

Fluttershy sat away from the others, staring at the metal walls of the helicopter from her cot.

She seemed very depressed to Applejack, so the orange pony walked up to her friend and asked,

“Something wrong, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy replied, “no.” with a tone of sadness that gave away the lie immediately.

“I’m sure something’s the matter.” said Applejack, “otherwise you wouldn’t be all blue like this.”

“I miss Angel and the other animals back home.”

Said Fluttershy, “I just hope they’re doing ok, but somehow it feels like they suffer without me.”

Applejack brushed Fluttershy’s wing gently and said, “I’m sure your little critters are fine. Angel’s a tough little bunny.”

Fluttershy replied, “That’s for sure. Thanks for the comfort Applejack.”

Applejack nodded and said, “You’re welcome. Everything’s gonna be ok, promise.” Back up at the front of the helicopter, Twilight and Techorse were looking at the control panel with all its flashing lights and touch screen controls.

Twilight said to Techorse, “I really like looking at all these high-tech controls.”

“So do I”, said Techorse, “but you already know how much I love technology”.

“Very true” Said Twilight with a giggle, “that saddle’s really something.”

After a slight pause, she continued, ”To you, this stuff is easily understood. But I don’t really understand how any of this technology works at all. It uses such mysterious and advanced science that it’s almost like… magic.”

Techorse looked into Twilight’s eyes and said, “It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it? It’s neat how great technology and magic can do similar things, like they’re meant to complement each other.”

“Yeah” she said softly, “complement each other.”

Pinkie Pie started making kissing noises behind them, and Techorse yelled at her with frustration, “Pinkie Pie, go away!” She snickered and walked out of the cockpit.

Shortly thereafter, a warning buzzer came from the control panel, alerting Techorse to the imminent exhaustion of the helicopter’s fuel supplies.

“Ok, we’re setting down!” said Techorse, “hang on back there!”

Techorse put the machine in a dive, heading for the softest patch of ground he could find. Unfortunately, he severely misjudged the downward pitch, sending the occupants in the back flying towards the front and creating a neat pony pile at the door. Twilight Sparkle flew out of the chair she was laying on and smacked on the windshield.

“Tech!” she said in a very annoyed voice as she peeled herself from the glass, “Knock it off!”

“It’s not me that’s doing it!” he complained, “something’s taken control of the helicopter!”

“Abandon ship!” cried Pinkie Pie. She unlatched the side door of the helicopter, grabbed a parachute, and jumped out. Rainbow Dash flew outside after Pinkie Pie in order to leave an extra parachute for her friends. The others quickly grabbed a parachute if they couldn’t fly and jumped out of the disabled helicopter. Pulling the cords, the chutes deployed on Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight. Soon, they were gently floating down in the air, and looked back at the helicopter. The body of the craft was glowing a weird blackish color as the machine fell down rapidly. The helicopter smashed into a nearby forest, and a loud blast followed by a fireball erupted amongst the trees.

“What happened?” asked Techorse.

Twilight answered, “I think we were spotted and Nightmare used her magic to crash the helicopter. From now on, we have to be extremely careful about what we use. Anything could be taken over by her magic.”

Techorse said, “If I had known that, we could have all used our minds to resist the magic. Shoot.”

“At least we made it out ok”, said Fluttershy.

“Yeah, we were too close to becomin’ barbeque right then. That was scary.” commented Applejack as she looked at Fluttershy.

“I agree” said Rarity, “and these parachutes chafe. At least I was able to salvage my dress and stuff it inside this device.”

They landed safely about two miles from the new castle Wizard had constructed. It was a very dark and foreboding looking place from where they were standing, but it was still night after all, and castles tend to look more threatening at night.

Twilight looked at the fortress and said with sarcasm, “Sure looks friendly.”

Rarity added, “Wizard had to have built that ugly thing. Techorse’s castle in Ponyville is much better kept.”

Techorse enjoyed hearing a compliment from her and said, “Thanks Rarity. I tried not to design my castle to be too evil looking, and PAL and I try to keep the place clean and free of spiders for when guests visit.”

“Indeed you do” she replied, “It’s a very lovely place.”

“Focus you two. We’re trying to save Luna, remember?” said Rainbow Dash as she hovered over the group.

“Oh there ya are, Rainbow. We were wonderin’ where you were.” said Applejack.

“Don’t worry about me so much, I can handle danger like this. Unlike you guys that crash didn’t scare me one bit.” bragged Rainbow.

Techorse wanted to find out if that was true, so he put a look of worry on his face and said, “Ok, remain calm, but you’re seriously wounded Rainbow.”

“What?!” she said with worry.

“It looks pretty bad.” said Applejack solemnly, playing along. Rainbow Dash swirled around in the air, looking for the supposed open wound on her back.

“I can’t see it!” she wailed, “I’m gonna bleed out! I’m feeling light-headed, Help me!”

Techorse laughed and ended the joke, “You’re fine, I was kidding. It looks like you were scared of the crash after all!”

“Not funny Tech!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Twilight gave Techorse a stern look in agreement.

“Sorry Twilight, I just got sick of Rainbow’s bragging.” He said as an excuse for his mean joke.

Twilight lightened up and said to him, “That wasn’t very nice, but you’re right. Stop bragging Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow crossed her front legs in disgust and followed the group as they made their way past the forests to reach the mountain pass.

“Sure is scary out here, in the dark.” said Fluttershy, trying not to shiver in fear.

“I know.” said Twilight, “it’s really creepy walking by these woods without much light. Who knows what’s in them.”

“I hear there are ghosts living in these woods.” commented Rarity.

Techorse said to her with disbelief, “Come on, Rarity, nobody believes in ghosts anymore.”

“I believe in ghosts.” said Fluttershy softly.

“Nothing’s going to hurt us.” assured Techorse with a grin.

Just then, a creature jumped out of the woods and gave a mighty roar. The thing looked like a phantom of some kind, being white and having a hideous mouth filled with sharp teeth. The ponies screamed in terror at the creatures’ sudden appearance. After the initial rush of fear, Techorse looked at the “ghost” and saw it had blue eyes.

“Wait a minute.” He said, “I think we’ve been pranked.”

Pinkie Pie took the modified parachute off her head and laughed. “You should have seen the look on your faces! It was all like this.” Pinkie Pie made a silly face of terror and then went back to laughing at her practical joke.

“Ok, you scared us good Pinkie Pie.” laughed Applejack, putting her hat back on her head after losing it in the jump.

Techorse complained, “You’re just lucky I didn’t have my laser cannons out. That could have been nasty.”

Twilight said impatiently, “Ok, that’s enough jokes for now. We have to focus and get to that castle.”

“She’s right” agreed Techorse, “no more pranks from any of you.”

Twilight looked at him and added, “That includes you, mister ’Rainbow’s mortally wounded’.”

“Huh?” asked Pinkie Pie with a tilt of her head, “did I miss another joke?”

“I’ll tell you later.” whispered Techorse to Pinkie with a wink and a smile.

They continued their walk towards the castle. Although they didn’t encounter any more difficulties in getting to the massive fortress, many of them were still afraid of what might be inside the dreaded building. At last they reached the massive oak and steel door of the castle. Twilight craned her neck up and looked at the sheer height of the structure. It had to be at least 200 feet up to the battlements, and the spires of the castle extended at least another 50 feet over that. Like Techorse’s castle, it lacked a moat, but the door was simply too heavy to move or smash through, so a moat was unnecessary.

“Here we are.” said Twilight, “Castle Nightmare.”

“Interesting choice of name, Twilight.” said Techorse.

Fluttershy walked up to the massive wood door and knocked on it gently with her front hoof.

“Nobody home.” She said, “Oh well.”

Fluttershy turned and started to walk away, but Rainbow Dash grabbed her tail to prevent her from leaving.

“There’s gotta be another way in.” said Applejack, “maybe a secret password er somethin’.”

“Open sesame!” shouted Pinkie Pie. Nothing happened.

Techorse mulled over the problem and said, “Wizard built this castle, and he hates passwords. I’m pretty sure he would install some sort of a switch on top of the castle in the main spire to open the front door.”

“Yeah, but how are we going to get up there?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

“I’ll fly up and pull the lever.” volunteered Rainbow Dash.

“It looks incredibly unsafe.” commented Fluttershy.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, I got this.” Rainbow said as she took off vertically.

Rainbow Dash flew up high past the battlements of the castle. She then noticed out of the corner of her eye that the castle’s catapults were beginning to track her. Back on the ground, the other watched in shock as fireballs from the catapults were being flung in all directions.

“Rainbow Dash!” cried out Twilight. Techorse deployed his turbofans, ready to go to aid, but Fluttershy put a hoof gently on his saddle.

“No. Rainbow’s ok.” She said softly.

Techorse nodded and stashed the fans back in the saddle. Rainbow was doing various air stunts, trying to avoid the catapults’ fire. Luckily, the enchanted devices were not very good shots. Their projectiles were large, but slow and easy to avoid. She even managed to trick one catapult into destroying another with its fireball. By flying fancy and flapping her wings quickly, Rainbow Dash was able to make it past the defenses and flew right through the open window of the central spire. Inside was a simple round stone room, with the plain lever Techorse described sitting right in the middle, just begging to be pulled. Rainbow Dash walked over to the large wooden lever and grabbed it with both hooves. However, it was stuck and too heavy to budge. But Rainbow would not give up easily, so she tried using her wings to provide a little more force on the lever. Eventually, the stick gave, and it moved into the right position. Unfortunately, Rainbow had been exerting so much effort in pulling the lever that she was flung by it clicking into place. She was tossed screaming high above the castle again and had to right herself in midair to prevent a terrible fall. The Pegasus pony braced herself and landed hard next to her friends.

“Rainbow, are you ok?” asked Twilight, “Please answer me!”

Rainbow stood up, shook herself off of dust, and responded, “I’m ok, just a bit shaken up.”

The massive door was beginning to move upwards, revealing the inside of the castle. The ponies looked in terror at the interior of the fortress, most likely due to the sheer number of traps inside. There were narrow catwalks across pits filled with metal spikes, pillars that descended from the ceiling rhythmically, circular saw blades, and even a pool of strange liquid with nothing but a rope over it.

Techorse observed the traps and said with surprise, “With the number of deathtraps in there, you’d think this place was designed to keep out Italian plumbers, much less ponies!”

Twilight said, “Alright, we’re going to have to make a plan to take out all those traps. I can probably hold off those smashing pillars with my magic, but the other traps will be a little more difficult to outsmart.”

Rainbow Dash offered to help, “I can catch any of us if we fall off the catwalk trying to cross that pit.” Pinkie Pie noticed something about the castle’s design and started leaping about to gain attention.

“Guys, guys listen!” she said as she bounced around the team.

“There’s a large ruby pillar near that pit of liquid.” said Rarity, “I could probably tip over the giant gemstone.”

Pinkie Pie continued to try and alert her friends, “Hey! Listen up, I found something you might want to see!”

“Not now Pinkie, we’re making a plan.” said Twilight. Pinkie Pie stormed off, upset that not one of her friends would listen to her.

Chapter 32

Back in Canterlot, Captain Arbiter watched with delight as Jools and Jops built his guillotine in the courtyard of the castle.

“When Techorse returns without Luna, he has about 1 minute to live. Just long enough for me to declare him guilty, and bring this down on him.” He said to his stallions with a dark chuckle.

Jools and Jops spoke nothing in return, they were mad at their commanding officer for his cruel intentions. But they knew they would be killed if they disobeyed his orders, and Celestia could not save them if the commander tried to dispose of them himself. Jools notched the rope of the device of death into place, leaving the blade hanging at the top.

“It’s ready.” He said.

“Good,” replied Arbiter, “and do make sure you pick a good bucket for his head.”

“Paper or plastic?” asked Jops.

“Plastic,” said Arbiter, “we don’t want anything soaking through, do we?”

Jools and Jops turned to go retrieve the bucket for Techorse’s head. But they had half a mind to betray their officer to the princess. After all, in their minds, she was their leader and not Arbiter. But they were still afraid of him, as he was brave enough to not wear the armor they did, instead donning just his cape and a red-plumed helmet. Jools and Jops went back inside the castle to look for a plastic bucket, hoping to find a way to stop assisting their leader’s evil plan.

Along the way, they passed the princess’s throne room, and decided to check up on her. They pried open the door carefully and marched in.

“Oh hello Jools, Jops.” She said with a cheerful expression, “Is it your shift to watch me like a hawk?”

Jops said plainly, “We have only your safety in mind your majesty.” Jools and Jops stood at attention in front of Celestia, looked and gave each other a single nod. They knew that if they were “busy” guarding the princess, they couldn’t be dragged any further into Arbiter’s plot. So they stood at attention unflinching, like the Buckingham palace troops. They were really good at it too. Jops remembered the time Rainbow Dash had spent a minute teasing him about his “talent” in this area. He eventually lost his concentration later, but had learned a valuable lesson: it’s ok to have fun at work, even if your job is to protect royalty.

“One day” he thought to himself, “I’m going to prove I’m not just some unfeeling jerk. Arbiter insists we act that way, and makes us stand motionless like this to protect the princess, but I bet it just makes him feel like he has more power over us.”

Celestia longed to venture outside her castle walls and talk to the citizens, but of course, Arbiter and her guards would not let her. After a half an hour of sitting around, she began to notice Jools and Jops falling asleep at her sides. Celestia started to cast a spell to speed along their slumber. Jops fell over first, followed shortly by Jools. The princess picked herself up and opened the door on her throne room. She ventured down the hall, trying to avoid her guards as best as possible. Of course, it is very hard for a large white princess with flowing multicolor hair to avoid detection, and she was soon halted by one of the royal guards, who spread his wings in defiance.

“Princess, what are you doing out of your room?” he asked.

“This is my castle, can't I explore it if I want to?” asked Celestia rhetorically.

“Captain Arbiter knows it is far too dangerous for you to leave your room.” said the guard, “please go back.”

Celestia used a quick spell to make this guard fall asleep too.

“Captain Arbiter is acting very strange. I think he’s up to something.” She thought as she continued walking down the hallway. It was then a glimmer of light caught her eye from outside a window. Looking out the window, she spotted where the light was coming from. It was the moonlight reflecting off the blade of the guillotine. The princess felt anger rising from within her, a key law of hers was being broken. However, she still wanted to act rationally, so she decided not to simply crash through the window to confront Arbiter. Celestia started galloping down the hallway, pushing aside any of the guards who tried to stop her.

Eventually she reached the courtyard of the castle and found Arbiter inspecting his killing machine.

“ARBITER!” she shouted, “what are you doing?” Arbiter’s heart raced as he heard the princess’s voice, he had been caught.

“Princess!” he said nervously while turning to face her, “what are you doing out of your room?”

Princess Celestia replied, “I decided to not let you coop me up in there anymore.” Motioning towards the guillotine, she continued, ”Now I know why you kept me locked up.”

Arbiter explained the presence of the device, “I’m just making sure my little bet with Techorse is kept honest!”

He then lied, “I know your anger about losing your sister would be satisfied if he paid for his failure.”

“Liar!” shouted Celestia, “I love my subjects too much. Techorse would have been pardoned by me for his failure. But you want him gone because he was a human!”

Arbiter grew bitter and admitted, “Oh, so what if that’s true? Why do you want a human, the very enemy, working for you anyway?”

“Techorse is a good pony!” said Celestia, “he has proved himself good. You, on the other hand, have proven how evil and cruel of a Captain you are!”

Arbiter replied, “That’s because that idiot is not really a pony! Even if he wins, he deserves death for being a human, after what they did to our towns.” Arbiter’s good eye widened as he realized his verbal mistake too late to take it back.

“You were going to kill him anyways!” she screamed, “how could you?”

“Celestia, this is quite unlike you!” said Arbiter, hoping to save his hide through reason.

“You broke my most sacred law: no capital punishment and no devices for it, and you expect me to act normally?” she replied. The storm overhead had definitely added to the aura of the princess’s anger.

Arbiter backed up slowly from the princess. He was trying to maintain his toughness but could not remain strong out of mortal terror.

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t banish you to the moon, Arbiter.” said Celestia, giving no false threat.

Arbiter wailed, “Because you love your subjects too much, and you don’t have the elements on you at the moment!”

Princess Celestia looked down on Arbiter, her mighty Captain had become a spineless worm out of fear. The courtyard walls blocked his escape, anything the princess did would be unavoidable. Celestia’s horn started glowing a brilliant white. Arbiter was certain he’d be nothing but a smoldering burn mark on the courtyard walls, so he shut his eye and started shivering. Celestia thought about destroying him for his hate crime, but reconsidered. After all, she was always afraid of making another critical mistake, as she did 1000 years ago. Being separate from Luna had taught her that each life is precious, and removing it is a terrible thing to do unless necessary for survival. Celestia turned her head and fired the beam at a different target. Instantly, the guillotine was struck and was consumed with a loud explosion, leaving nothing in its place but some burned timber.

Arbiter opened his eyes and looked where the guillotine had once stood. Seeing the pile of wood on fire gave him a look at what he nearly became.

“You’re fired.” said Celestia, “leave immediately, and do not return to Canterlot again.” Arbiter took off his helmet and dashed it to the ground. He then flew upwards a bit, and landed on top of the courtyard walls.

“I will have my revenge for this humiliation” he vowed, “Techorse shall die!”

After a crash of thunder from the storm, Arbiter spread his wings and flew away laughing. Jools and Jops had finally woken up and rushed into the courtyard to catch a glimpse of their old leader flying off. Celestia relaxed and turned to her stallions.

“About Arbiter” she said to them, “I fired him. I’m afraid you don’t have a leader anymore.”

“We have you your majesty.” said Jops.

Jools nodded and said, “You make a better leader than Arbiter any day. To tell you the truth, while you always loved us, he always treated us like cannon fodder.” Celestia spread her wings and wrapped them around her guards to shield them from the rain.

“Come on boys, it’s wet out here. Let’s go inside to get something warm to drink. After this, we all need a little break.” They went back into the castle to get out of the storm.

Chapter 33

Applejack was getting bored with the excessive planning, which had taken around 30 minute now. She knew if she just ran in there and dodged all the devices, she’d be inside Nightmare Moon’s throne room within a minute.

“Alright, time’s up ponies. Let’s do this!” She screamed. “Yeeha!” was her cry as she ran into the castle.

“She just ran in there.” said Fluttershy with disbelief.

“All right, everyone go!” shouted Twilight, not sure if the team was really ready or not. The friends rushed inside to catch up with Applejack. She had already darted successfully across the catwalk, and was busy trying to time her move through the pillars. Techorse flew over the pit with his turbofans, desperate to catch up and stop Applejack’s near suicidal rush of the traps. The others were moving a little too quickly over the catwalk. Rarity tripped, and fell over the edge towards the spikes, screaming in terror. Rainbow Dash made her dive down, and swooped up Rarity just before the metal tips impaled her.

“Thanks, that was close.” She said.

Rainbow Dash just carried her over to the other side of the pit and dropped her on solid ground without saying a word. Meanwhile, Applejack was just about to run through the pillars, and made her dash. Twilight concentrated and slowed the pillars down, as Applejack’s timing was not perfect, and she was nearly crushed by one of the multi-ton stone columns. After Applejack had made it through, Twilight strained to keep the pillars still while the others made it past. To help, Techorse stayed behind and concentrated with his thoughts on the pillars, hoping his brainwaves would take some of the load off of Twilight. Her body relaxed a bit, telling him that his help was working. After the others were through, Techorse and Twilight timed their moves carefully, and got through the smashing pillars with no problem.

Meanwhile, Applejack was again busy timing her move through the saw blades. They swung back and forth, and the circular saws were moving so quickly it was nearly impossible to count the teeth on them.

“How are we supposed to get through those?” asked Rainbow Dash, “I don’t really want to become pony coleslaw right now.”

Applejack looked at her and answered, “What’s the matter, ‘fraid of a couple saws?” Applejack ran right through the blades in a zig-zag pattern.

She looked back at Rainbow’s awed expression and said, “See, nothin’ to worry about.” Applejack then felt something was wrong, and noticed the saws had managed to cut the ties on her hair, making it all hang down. Applejack frowned and took a pack of ties out from underneath her hat to correct the situation.

Twilight looked directly at the saw blades and asked, “Great, Applejack’s through, but there’s no way we’re going to time this right. We’ve either got to run through the blades randomly and risk it, or try to find a weak spot.” The blades suddenly started exploding as Techorse opened fire at them with his laser cannons. With accurate shots, he dismounted each of the blades from their poles which swung them back and forth. Soon, all that was left was a bunch of swinging metal sticks and a pile of saws on the ground.

“Good thinking Techorse.” said Twilight.

“Actually, you said look for a weakness, and I noticed they were attached to the ceiling by something destructible.” He replied.

“Pardon my bluntness, but please, let’s keep going!” urged Rarity, “we can discuss who’s plan it actually was later!” Rarity moved past the pile of trap parts, careful not to accidentally get dripping saw blade fuel on her skin.

The 7 ponies met at the edge of the pool of liquid and started to discuss how they were to cross it.

“It looks like plain water.” said Fluttershy. In saying this, she moved her hoof, causing a loose stone to break off and fall into the liquid. The team watched in awe as the stone melted away to nothing in the clear fluid.

“Nope, definitely acid.” said Twilight.

Techorse commented, “This is way too strong to be just hydrochloric acid. Don’t even touch it.”

Applejack stopped leaning over the pool and said with relief, “Phew, I was about to jump in and swim across.” Rarity was busing trying to manipulate the ruby pillar across the pit with her magic. The gigantic gemstone broke from the walls and landed in the pool with a large splash. Twilight screamed as a wave of acid came up out of the pool and tried to splash all over her, but she managed to get out of the way in time. Where she was standing, a hole was eaten out of the stone floor by the acid.

“Rarity, you almost killed me!” she shouted.

“Just move!” replied Rarity as she ran across the dissolving chunk of gemstone. The others leapt onto the stone and made it over to the other side without much trouble, but Applejack had to jump at the last second as the red gem slipped beneath the acid and was completely destroyed. Looking back over the pit, Fluttershy had failed to jump and was still standing on the other side.

“Just hover across.” said Rainbow Dash, “you can do it, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and gently flapped her wings to move herself over the acid pit. The very last centimeter of the tip of her light pink tail dragged in it and disappeared. However, she managed to cross the pit without any irreparable harm to herself.

“Good job, Fluttershy.” cheered Applejack.

“I made it.” She said with a small hint of surprise.

“Yes, but your tail’s a little burnt. No worry though, it will grow back darling.” commented Rarity.

Rainbow Dash cheered, “Alright, we cleared all the traps with no pain! Are we awesome or not?”

Fluttershy looked around for a bit and said sadly, “Uh-oh, not completely without pain. We’re missing Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight looked for her and said with horror, “Oh no! She must have fallen… into one of the traps!”

Fluttershy burst into tears at the thought of what might have happened to Pinkie Pie.

“Rainbow Dash” ordered Techorse as he looked at her, “check the traps in reverse order. Look until you find her.”

“Or what’s left of her!” moaned Twilight with grief.

“Guys, I’m over here!” said Pinkie Pie.

“Not now Pinkie Pie.” Shouted Applejack, “We’re busy lookin for…”

The friends were dumbstruck by yet another miraculous survival by the pink pony.

“Was that some kind of a joke Pinkie Pie? We thought we lost you!” said Twilight quite upset as she stared at her friend.

“No, I’ve been standing here the whole time watching you all get through those traps!” she replied.

Techorse asked, “But how did you beat us here? Applejack ran in first!”

Pinkie Pie replied with frustration, “Well, if you had listened to me back there I would have told you I found a secret back door on the castle that lets you skip all the traps, but you wouldn’t listen to me!” Applejack’s expression faded into stupidity.

“Y’mean” she said, “we could have skipped all that?”

“Yes mare!” said Pinkie Pie, “But as usual you thought I was just being random again and had nothing useful to say.”

“We’re sorry Pinkie Pie. We should have listened to you.” said Techorse, attempting to get on the pony’s good side.

“That’s ok.” replied Pinkie Pie, “I didn’t have to get by any traps, so we can call it even!”

In front of them stood a wooden and carpeted spiral staircase with only the occasional torch for lighting. “I suppose the only way is up through there.” said Applejack.

“This is it.” Said Twilight, “Everypony needs to get ready for this. The second we get up this staircase, we may be attacked by Nightmare Moon.”

Techorse asked, “Should I just get out the elements for you girls then and stay behind? I don’t see how I’m going to be of any assistance at this point.”

“Now hold on, Techorse my dear.” said Rarity as she glanced at him, “just because you don’t have an element yet doesn’t mean you are useless. You can still help us out.”

Rainbow Dash agreed, “Rarity’s right, you really ought to come with us.”

Twilight added, “If anything, you’ll get to see how they work. Come on, Techorse, we really want you to go with us.”

“Ok, I’ll come with you.” he said, cheering up a bit. The ponies ran up the spiral staircase to find the possessed princess and save her. Once they reached the top of the spiral staircase, they entered a very large room. This chamber featured dozens of large glass windows on the sides, each allowing the inner hallway to be bathed in moonlight. In the middle of the large room, attached to the walls, were two statues of Nightmare Moon, one of which was crushing what appeared to be princess Celestia under her hooves. Taking a look at the carved image of Celestia being crushed, Twilight added, “Judging by these statues, I think Wizard’s pretty sure we’re going to lose.”

They continued walking down the hall, having the moonlight and only a few torches on the walls to give them light. They reached a large steel door painted a dark blue color, with small white crescent moons drawn all over it.

“She’s behind this door, I know it.” said Fluttershy.

Applejack asked. “Do we kick it down and charge in? Or try to sneak in for a surprise attack?” Pinkie Pie simply pushed through the door with her head, swinging the metal doors open inward.

“We’re wasting time!” she said.

“Pinkie’s got a point. We don’t have much time.” said Twilight, “let’s get in there and end this once and for all!”

The ponies ran into the final room. The last chamber was well decorated, featuring a very large canopy bed on the far side. Everything in the room featured a dark blue or black theme, very calm, yet dreary at the same time. On the wall to the right was a grand bookcase, although it was empty at the moment. To the left of the bed, a large ornate mirror was flanked by many fancy paintings. Only a few torches on the walls provided a faint amount of light in the room.

“Where did she go?” asked Rainbow, “wasn’t she supposed to be here?” Techorse warned, “Stay alert, this could be a trap of some kind.”

Suddenly, a voice boomed, “Welcome, Celestia’s friends, to the inner sanctum of my castle!” The large mirror on the wall split in half, and came down with a mighty crash, startling the group and causing Fluttershy to jump.

The hole in the wall behind the mirror appeared to be some sort of secret passage. Out of it stepped Nightmare Moon, ready to attack the team.

“You’re very foolish to come against me again. Now that I am invincible, nothing can stop me, not even Celestia’s precious elements.” She said to them.

Twilight replied with confidence, “We beat you once, Nightmare, and we’ll do it again!”

Applejack whispered to Techorse, “You know, while she’s distracted, you could use your laser guns.”

Techorse replied, “Normally I would, but we want Luna back in one piece, remember?”

Applejack nodded, remembering who Nightmare Moon actually was. The black alicorn turned away from the group and said, “You will not stop me, young ones. This time, I shall make the night shall last forever!” she then fled down the secret passageway.

“After her!” said Twilight, “we have to corner her to use the elements.” The team ran behind Twilight, pursuing the villainess through her castle. Running through hallways and passages, they eventually lost Nightmare Moon in the maze of hallways, until they came across a staircase that gave access to the castle’s roof.

“Why would she flee to the roof? There’s nowhere to go from there.” Wondered Rarity aloud.

Rainbow Dash answered, “She could go up! She's going to fly away!”

“We have to stop her then, everypony up the stairs!” said Techorse.

The stairs took no more than a few seconds to climb, and soon the team found themselves on the roof of the castle. They were at the very back of the castle, near the ledge facing the mountain pass itself. Behind them was the large spire that Rainbow Dash found the lever in, and in front of them was the battlements, then a 200 foot drop.

Nightmare Moon laughed to draw the attention of the party to herself. She was standing on a large platform built up just two feet above the top floor of the castle. At each corner of the square platform was a pole with a strange crystal orb at the top of it.

“This is the night the representatives of the elements fight their last battle!” said Nightmare.

Techorse shouted back at her, “We’ll see about that! Take the elements, ladies!”

Techorse opened the top of the battle saddle, and then shot the six crystals one at a time to each of his friends. As they touched them, they began to glow different colors, and began changing into the appropriate element artifacts. For each pony, they received a beautiful gold necklace with a logo of their cutie mark in the center. But as for Twilight, her crystal changed into a stunning gold tiara that featured her cutie mark as gemstones on the top.

Twilight then said loudly as the artifacts began to glow around them, “It’s over Nightmare Moon. You have no place to run, and we’ve got the elements! Techorse, do the honors and count us off!”

Techorse shouted back to them, “Of course!”

He then looked at Nightmare and shouted, “Fluttershy: kindness! Rarity: generosity! Applejack: honesty!” As he counted, his friend’s artifacts shined brightly in the dark, preparing to make the strike. “Rainbow Dash: loyalty! Pinkie Pie: laughter! And Twilight Sparkle: magic!”

Techorse then pointed a robotic finger at Nightmare and shouted, “Alright ladies, we’re ready! Open fire!” Techorse took curiosity at Nightmare Moon’s lack of fear.

The energy beam began to accumulate between the six friends. With Techorse in front of them, he could not see it initially, so he turned around to watch the action. Each of the artifacts emitted a different color energy beam, which then twisted together above them in a large rainbow-colored ray. The beam then descended in a pure rush of energy. To Twilight Sparkle’s curiosity, the beam did not go directly for Nightmare Moon, but instead moved towards Techorse, as if attracted by a magnet. Techorse ducked, and the rainbow beam zipped over his head and made straight for the villainess. The beam didn’t make it Nightmare Moon, however. It impacted on some mysterious barrier projected by four glass orbs on poles that were at each corner of her platform. As the ray hit the barrier, the orbs detached from the poles and began to rotate counterclockwise around Nightmare Moon. The beam terminated, and the friends were awestruck at how their banishing attack failed.

“I don’t understand!” screamed Twilight, “how come it didn’t work?”

Nightmare Moon laughed and said, “Wizard provided me with magical shields to prevent that silly attack. Now, I am invincible!”

Techorse said to his friends, “Don’t worry, girls! I know Wizard’s magic shields require some kind of a generator. If we find it and destroy it, the beam will work!”

“Yeah, but what could the generator possibly be?” asked Rainbow Dash, “I don’t see anything!”

Fluttershy took notice of the glowing orbs surrounding the platform and said, “Girls, the orbs! They might be the generators.”

“Good thinkin’ Fluttershy” said Applejack. “Let’s break those things.”

Techorse ran for the platform and yelled back, “Stay there and get ready to try the beam again, I’ll handle the shields!”

Nightmare Moon laughed and began shooting blasts of pitch black magic energy at the heroes. Dodging each blast, Techorse drew his laser cannons and began fire at the orbs. His lasers pierced one of the glass structures, and it shattered in flash of white light.

Nightmare Moon didn’t actually know the orbs were providing her shield, and said to Techorse, “You missed! Besides, those crossbows of light are useless against me.”

“Not aiming for you M’am!” replied Techorse, putting on his best smile. Techorse destroyed the second spinning orb with another series of pulses, but nearly got a blast of energy in the head for his efforts.

“Keep it up Techorse! You’re wearing her down!” cheered on Twilight. Techorse switched to his turbofans and landed on the third glass orb.

“Try and shoot me, Nightmare!” he said, “or are you all talk and no action?” This angered Nightmare Moon, and she fired an energy blast straight at Techorse. He jumped off the floating glass orb, and the magical energy destroyed it. The dark sorceress continued to blast away at the friends, leaving them scattered around. Techorse knew that in order to win, he had to destroy that last orb. But now that he had smashed three of them, Nightmare Moon had figured out why and was starting to try and protect the last one. Techorse drew his laser cannons and took careful aim. He started firing one shot at a time, desperate not to attract Nightmare Moon’s attention and risk being vaporized. His shots missed the moving orb and knocked right into her head, breaking the armor on her helmet. Nightmare Moon looked directly at Techorse, shook the remains of her head armor off, and fired away with a beam of energy. Techorse narrowly managed to avoid the deadly shot, and while tumbling in the air, took a last shot at the final orb. The pair of laser bolts flew true, and pierced the orb dead center. It shattered into thousands of fragments, and the shield around Nightmare Moon faded.

“Now girls!” cried out Techorse, “Do it!”

The girls formed up and shot another blast of rainbow-colored energy from their artifacts.

“No!” shouted Nightmare Moon, “this cannot happen again!”

Techorse resisted the temptation to throw in a cheesy one-liner of some kind. The beam arced towards him again and he had to duck to prevent it from touching him. Then, the energy smacked right into Nightmare Moon. Screaming, she was flung backwards over the ledge of the castle, and fell into the darkness below.

“Oh crud!” shouted Rainbow Dash. The energy stopped emitting from the artifacts, and they reverted into their crystal forms. As they fell to the ground, the friends ran over to look over the edge of the castle. It was too dark to see down, and they all simply assumed that she had fallen to her death.

Techorse peered down and said, “Maybe I should just jump rather than face Arbiter.”

“Wait!” said Twilight, “I see something down there.”

Looking where she was pointing, they spotted Princess Luna hanging on to a second ledge that was only about 50 feet down from the top of the castle. During her transformation back into Luna, she had managed to grab on to this second ledge and saved herself from falling the rest of the way to her doom.

“Princess Luna!” called out Twilight, “fly back up here!”

“I'm afraid I cannot, my wings are broken!” she replied, “and I’m in a lot of pain.”

Techorse flew down on his turbofans and balanced himself gently on the edge. Switching to his robot arms, he carefully pulled Luna up onto the ledge with him.

“Rainbow, Fluttershy” he called up, “Come help me get the princess down to the ground safely.”

Chapter 34

The friends had managed to make it out of the castle alive, and they were escorting Princess Luna back to the castle. She was downcast and miserable about the whole experience she had been through.

“I’m so sorry.” She said with great remorse.

“Hey, this time it’s not your fault.” said Rainbow, trying to be helpful.

“That’s right.” confirmed Pinkie Pie, “It was that nasty mean old Wizard who did this to you.”

Techorse was messing with the Princess’s wings, trying to decide whether or not to attempt field medicine on them.

“You wouldn’t happen to know any healing spells, do you Twilight?” asked Techorse.

“Maybe for a cut or bruise, but her wings are completely broken.” replied Twilight, “my magic isn’t that strong in terms of healing.”

Applejack said, “Techorse, you can make a splint out of two sticks and somethin’ to tie it with.”

Rarity came up with an idea, “You can take some bows from the pocket of my dress in your saddle. I won’t need them.”

Techorse nodded and collected the necessary components to splint Luna’s wings. After finishing the procedure, the wings were straightened out and set for healing.

“I’m sure we can get you better medical attention when we get back to Canterlot.” said Twilight.

Luna said softly, “I thank you so much for your kind efforts. I’m really just delighted that this whole mess is finished.”

Fluttershy asked, “Now that we've won, when will the sun rise? It’s still dark.”

Luna said, “It will rise after a complete night cycle.”

Techorse agreed, “That’s right. The planet’s rotation stopped during that crisis at midnight. Now that it’s over, we still have about 6 hours to go before sunrise. All the clocks on the planet will have to be reset, and everybody’s going to be lagging.”

Luna looked down as they continued to walk for Canterlot. “Aw cheer up your majesty.” said Applejack, “You gotta stop beatin’ yourself up for this.”

Techorse said with determination, “I promise Luna that Wizard will pay for what he did to you. He still has it coming for ruining my life all those years ago.”

Luna tried to smile as she looked up at the green male pony walking alongside her. “The real sadness in this is that I did feel and experience every moment of it.” She said.

Twilight said, “We know you’ve been through a lot. The best thing to do is get you back to your castle to rest.”

Luna said with a little more worry, “You do not understand. I was told by the Wizard he would be launching a planet-wide attack with his metal monsters. When we get back, I must tell sister about this so we can prepare for the war.”

“The whole planet!?” asked Twilight in shock.

Rainbow Dash protested, “He can’t possibly have any robots left after we smashed them all in Cloudsdale!”

Pinkie Pie said, “It’s that big old factory that’s making more. We really should start thinking about shutting it down! ”

Techorse nodded his head and said calmly, “Right, once we get Luna back, we turn around and head back past the castle here for the mountain pass.”

They were suddenly stopped by the approach of a chariot being pulled by Jools and Jops. The white and gold chariot contained Princess Celestia, who stepped out of her chariot and approached her sister. Once more, the others bowed while Techorse gave a salute and stood at attention.

“At ease, Techorse.” laughed the princess as she stepped out of the chariot. Celestia became melancholy as she approached her sister and hugged her tightly.

“I thought I had lost you for good.” said Celestia with tears in her eyes.

Luna also burst into tears and said, “I’m so sorry. Forgive me again.”

Techorse said with military tone, “Pardon the interruption M’am, but I do not find any fault in Luna. This was all Wizard’s doing, and we’re trying to comfort your sister into believing so.”

“See?” said Celestia, “the war hero even knows you’re not to blame. Now please, come back with me. Your wings look dreadful.”

Twilight explained, “She broke them in a fall after Nightmare Moon was hit with the element’s magic.”

“Where are the elements?” asked Celestia.

Techorse said, “Right here in the battle saddle, your majesty. Twilight thinks it’s best if I protect them from now on.”

Twilight asked, “Do you need them back now?”

Celestia said, “I think you might still need them. They may prove useful against Wizard.”

Pinkie Pie said happily, “I can’t wait to see the Captain’s face when Luna returns! He’s gonna be all like; DUH, how did the human win?”

Celestia became a little more serious and said, “The Captain has been… relieved from duties. I caught him setting up a guillotine in case you failed, Techorse. I made it perfectly clear many years ago that all capital punishment and their devices were banned, and he out of hatred for humans chose to disobey. He will no longer be a threat to you.” Fluttershy swallowed hard thinking about what might have happened to him.

The princess smiled, looked at Fluttershy, and said, “I fired him, sweetie. He’s still alive.” Fluttershy relaxed a bit as she was glad that mercy had been shown.

Techorse looked at the ground and said with gloom, “I didn’t mean for Arbiter to get fired over this. If I didn’t succeed, I meant what I said.”

Celestia comforted Techorse by replying, “It wasn’t really his decision to start with. I would never let you suffer for failure; I appreciated you trying your best, despite not originally being a pony. But Arbiter hated you because you weren’t one, and I had to stop him.”

Techorse said, “I understand.”

“So what now?” asked Rainbow Dash as she hovered in the air, “do we finally get a shot at that factory? I can’t wait to see it!”

Luna remembered the message she was going to tell her sister and said, “Sister, I almost forgot. During this terrible event, Wizard told me he hath planned on launching an attack on every city on the planet tomorrow afternoon! His metal monsters shall overtake every last inch of Equestria unless something is done!”

Celestia nodded and said, “My scribes will write around the clock to make sure each town gets ample warning of the attack.”

Twilight added, “Make sure Spike gets one.”

Celestia smiled and said, “Especially Spike. He might be happy he gets a shot at being a hero too.”

Twilight gave a smirk, “I’m sure he will be.”

Princess Celestia turned to her guards and said, “Go back by yourselves and get more transportation. We’ll rest for a couple of hours back at the castle, and then after dawn breaks, we’ll return you here to set out for the factory.” Jools and Jops nodded and took off to get help. For the rest of the time while they waited, the friends discussed their plan for attacking the factory and saving Equestria.

Wizard looked out from the space station window and watched as the planet below began its slow rotation again. He knew that with the defeat of Nightmare Moon, he was running out of time to conquer the planet with military action.

“Blast.” He said as he watched the curse lift. Wizard scratched his monk-like haircut and turned to the hologram disk.

“Bossman, where are you?” he asked with rage.

Bossman’s figure appeared, his hair messy and his face greasy.

“Sorry, Wizard. I was fixing one of the robot production machines. We’re at 50% over maximum capacity now! I have nearly 2 million robot units, and about 30 thousand of them are fliers.”

Wizard calmed down a bit and commended his employee, “Good work Bossman. We will have enough units to begin our attacks against every city on the planet. Begin sending out armies now, but keep up production, sending the new ones out as re-enforcements.”

Bossman replied, “Yes sir. On a different topic, pardon this, but I’ve noticed the moon has begun moving again. What happened?”

Wizard said, “The ponies must have gotten rid of Nightmare Moon. No matter, she was merely a stalling action to buy you more time to produce more robots. I was… unable to defeat Celestia, so I went for second prize and cost them half a day.”

“Good job, sir! The extra production time is much appreciated!” said Bossman with glee.

Wizard picked up a model of the castle he had built and said, “Well Bossman, you’re about to get even more. When I smash this model, it will cause the castle I built to collapse, blocking the mountain pass and forcing the ponies to find another way through to your factory. If that doesn’t work, Espion is in the area. I’m sure the ponies will find him, quite sharp.” Bossman and Wizard laughed together as he dropped the castle model on the floor. The minute the figurine smashed to pieces on the metal floor of the space station, the castle collapsed back on Equestria. But because the friends had already departed to stay at Canterlot, they didn’t know this yet. Nonetheless, tomorrow would bring the final strike against the humans.

Chapter 35

Techorse woke up in the bed the princesses had prepared for him. The ponies had stayed in the castle to sleep and reset their biological clocks due to the extended night. It was now the morning of the next day, the most critical day of their adventure yet. For on this day, every last city in Equestria would come under attack from the robots. It was a desperate last-ditch effort to enslave ponykind, and it was up to 7 little ponies from Ponyville to save everybody by shutting down the factory. For not only would that free the trapped ponies, it would remove the robot’s ability to teleport them into cages, bringing Wizard’s war machine to a grinding halt by removing their only true weapon. The male pony thought over this in his head while trying to get out of the bed and start the day. He slowly got up and walked over to a dresser and mirror. Looking in the mirror, he actually made an effort to study the body he had been in for just about a week. Now, it felt like he had always been in this four-legged form. He lifted his head up a bit to observe his slightly more angular jaw line, the only immediate feature which made it easy to tell male and female ponies apart; Twilight and company had rounder heads. Techorse looked at how his mane color matched his old hair color, how his eyes were still blue, and how his coat color matched the pleasant green color of the hoodie he was wearing the day Wizard struck him. He moved his tail so he could see it, it matched his old hair color as well, just a good light brown. Turning a bit, he took a good look at the cutie mark on his flank, the 3 squashed ‘V’ symbols in a yellow color. Techorse still wondered what he could be as the seventh element of harmony. It couldn’t be directly related to his cutie mark, or so he thought.

The male dropped his pondering for a moment to go over his team’s plan to go for the factory. Once everypony was awake, they would return to the trap-filled castle and walk around it to get through the mountain pass. Once through, they would have to sneak by the defensive robots surrounding the factory. Finding a way inside was a different matter, but he figured Rainbow Dash could scout the area and find a weak spot. The team would then get inside the factory and disable the teleporter beam control station, which would make the attacking machines powerless. Finally, they would free the prisoners, and defeat the human guarding them. Beyond that, there really was no plan. It was simply assumed that Wizard would surrender at this point and leave Equestria forever. His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knocking at his door. Walking over to it, listening to the clopping sounds his hooves made on the hardwood floor. Techorse opened the door to greet his guest. It was Applejack standing there.

“Good morning Applejack.” Said Techorse happily, “glad to see you’re up and ready to go.”

Applejack put a smile on her freckled face and said, “Today’s the day we free the towns. Then we can go back home and rescue yer robot.”

“From Big Macintosh?” laughed Techorse, “he didn’t seem to mind PAL at all. I’m sure they’re doing ok.”

Applejack said, “Yeah, he wouldn’t hurt a fly unless it was tryin’ to hurt one of us. Anyway, I just came ‘round to see if anypony else was awake.”

Techorse said, “It’s an exciting day. I’m surprised Pinkie Pie wasn’t up first though.”

Applejack nodded, “Funny thing is, she’s crazy as a ferret in a paper bag durin’ the day, but she crashes and sleeps right through the mornin’. It’s kinda funny if you ask me.”

“I’d imagine she would with that hyperactivity. She sure is a ray of sunshine though when you’re not feeling so good.” said Techorse with a nod.

Applejack turned to leave and said, “I think I’ll go check on her. See ya soon, Tech.”

“Bye Applejack.” He replied as he closed the door behind her.

“It's great to have friends to talk to.” thought Techorse as he went back to his room’s bathroom to freshen up. After taking a quick shower, he dried off and then walked over to his battle saddle. Pushing the top with his hoof, Techorse opened the device to check on the elements. The saddle’s lid opened up, and there were the six crystals, cushioned by Rarity’s red dress. Techorse thought about his supposed seventh element, but decided to drop the topic again before he got too consumed by it. There was a knock at the door again.

He walked over and thought, “Maybe Applejack’s back with Pinkie Pie.”

Opening the door though, he was met by Rarity.

“Ah, hello Rarity, did you sleep well?” He asked of her.

Rarity said politely, “Yes thank you. Do you happen to have my dress on hand? I’d like to wash it before we set out.”

Techorse said, “As a matter of fact, I was just checking up on it and the elements. I’ll get it for you.” He walked away, and came back with the red article of clothing draped over his left shoulder.

“Here you go Rarity. Not a thread damaged.” He said proudly.

Rarity took the dress from him and said, “Thanks for handling it without using those robotic hands.”

Techorse said, “You’re welcome. I’m trying not to rely on them so much. By the way, I’m wondering how long you spend each morning to keep those purple-blue curls up?”

“Why do you ask?” she replied.

“I might invent something when we get back to speed up the process.” He said, “Might make for a nice project.”

Rarity answered, “That’s really nice of you, darling, but I prefer to do it without machinery. More natural, you know.”

“Yeah I’m sure” was Techorse’s reply, a little upset over the rejection.

“Thank you, but I must be off to wash this. I’m going to need it today.” said Rarity as she left.

“Alright, catch you later Rarity.” said Techorse as he shut the door. “Seems the others all want to talk to me this morning.” He spoke aloud.

A third knock came on the door, this time louder than the others. Techorse sighed in annoyance and turned around again to answer it.

Jops stood in the doorway and stated, “You’ve been summoned to breakfast by the princesses. It’s in your honor.”

Techorse said, “Let me throw on my saddle and I’ll follow you.” The pony went and clipped on his invention, then ran back to Jops. They walked out into the hallway of guest rooms and continued downstairs to go to the feasting hall.

“So, you must be Jools.” said Techorse.

“I’m Jops, Jools is my twin brother.” answered the guard.

“Sorry. You know, it seems you guards are a bit more talkative since Arbiter’s termination.” said Techorse.

“Yes we feel like we have more freedoms, but we’re trying not to get carried away.” said Jops.

Techorse and Jops entered the dining room where all his friends had gathered to celebrate last night’s victory over breakfast. Servants were busy serving the entire table whatever they asked for, and it gave Techorse a chance to learn more about his friends. It seemed that Twilight really had a craving for pancakes, as she was working through a large stack of them. Techorse took his seat next to her at the table.

“Good morning sleepy,” said Twilight teasingly, “you’re kinda late.”

He replied, “Sorry Twilight, I was helping some of the others this morning.”

Pinkie Pie, sitting across from them on the long table, broke up the conversation by saying, “Isn’t breakfast here great? We can get whatever we want!” She then devoured the half a dozen chocolate chip muffins sitting on her plate in about 10 seconds flat. Techorse chuckled at Pinkie’s eating habits and asked his waiter for some pancakes like Twilight Sparkle’s. Fluttershy sat next to Pinkie Pie and was chewing through what appeared to be hay coated in honey syrup.

“I never really thought about it.” Said Techorse as he looked at her plate, “but I guess we can eat hay like Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy asked with surprise, “You mean humans never ate hay?”

Techorse smiled and said, “No, I’m afraid not Fluttershy. But I’m all over that. Maybe I’ll try eating hay sometime.”

“It’s pretty bland until you put something on it.” said Twilight in disbelief that her friend would try hay. Then they laughed about the entire discussion. Princess Celestia finished her first cup of tea for the morning, and set the cup back down on its saucer. She then called the attention of the friends.

“Before we drop you off this morning, I’d like to congratulate you on your efforts so far.” said Celestia.

Luna, with her wings now in casts, added, “You hath saved me and many sectors of Equestria. You should be very proud of your accomplishments.”

Princess Celestia continued, “But most of all, I’d like to thank you, Techorse. You gave up being a human to help out us, a different race in need. I’m really proud of how you adjusted to life as a pony, and how you are assisting my student Twilight Sparkle in this task of defeating the other humans. Your stand against their war to capture my subjects has saved millions from being enslaved.”

Techorse interrupted, “Today, when we assault the factory your majesties, all the others shall be freed. The humans have made a mistake and they won’t be able to ship any ponies to Earth for two more weeks. You won’t even lose one pony if we pull this off.”

“Excellent news.” said Celestia.

Luna asked, “Techorse, what are your plans after the factory is shut down?”

Twilight answered for him, “Techorse and I are trying to decide what to do. It really depends on whether or not Wizard chooses to leave peacefully or not. If he doesn’t, we may have to hunt him down and stop him.”

Techorse said, “Twilight has the right idea. Wizard may or may not be a threat when this is all over, and we’ll decide what to do after we’ve had a shot at the factory.”

Princess Celestia said, “We have prepared a passenger car for you to take you back to the mountain pass. Good luck.” The friends got up and followed a guard to the courtyard where the vehicle was sitting. As they were leaving, Celestia pulled Techorse aside.

She said to him softly, “You know, with Arbiter out of the way, we have a spot open for Captain of the Guard. After what I heard about your leadership at Cloudsdale, I think you deserve it.”

Techorse looked at the princess and said, “Thanks for the offer, but with all due respect, I decline. I’d rather stay in Ponyville with my friends and continue my career in inventing.”

Princess Celestia nodded and said to him, “I understand. You really get along with those girls, especially Twilight.”

Techorse said, “Take care, your majesty. While we’re gone, Canterlot is going to come under attack.”

The princess said calmly, “Everything’s under control. Now go join up with your friends, they’re waiting for you so they can leave.”

Techorse turned around and galloped out of the room to enter the vehicle. He ran out into the courtyard of the castle and entered the wooden passenger car’s open door. 10 of the royal guards were going to pull the car, they were all Pegasus ponies, so the flight would take only a little while longer than by the helicopter. As Techorse jumped into the carriage, he shut the door and looked at his friends.

“What took you so long?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Job offer.” replied Techorse, “The princesses wanted me to take Arbiter’s place here at the castle.”

Twilight said, “That’s wonderful! We’re really happy that you finally get to be the military leader you’ve always wanted to be.”

Techorse shook his head and said to Twilight, “I turned their offer down.”

“Why?” asked Rarity in surprise.

Techorse explained, “I’d much rather stay in Ponyville with you girls, my friends. I’d be all lonely staying here.”

Pinkie Pie gave Techorse a bear hug and shouted, “Yay! Techie is staying!”

As the carriage took off, Techorse asked Twilight, “Hey, did Spike ever get the message about the upcoming attacks?”

She rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, he knows alright. You should have seen his reply to our letter. Lots of exclamation points, meaning he’s really excited he’s going to get a chance to fight.” She then grew a bit worried in tone, “I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

Techorse wondered aloud, “Yeah, If Wizard changed the programming so that the robots attack more than ponies, not one living thing here is safe.”

Applejack comforted them by saying, “I’m sure Spike can take care of himself, just as long as he doesn’t get too cocky.”

“He could be in trouble then.” said Rarity, knowing just how prideful he could get.

Chapter 36

Spike was trying to decide how to tell the citizens of Ponyville that another attack was coming. Because he was all alone at the library, it had been very quiet, giving him time to pace and think.

“I need to tell everypony in town about the attack so we can organize and kick some robot butt!” he said out loud, slamming his fist into his other open hand.

“If only I could get the message out quickly. I can’t fly, so that’s out, and screaming like crazy only worked that one time when I accidentally set fire to that mattress store.” Just then, Spike heard scratching at the window of the treehouse building. Spike walked upstairs and found an owl scratching at the glass.

He opened the window and said, “Owlicious? What are you doing here? I thought you were nocturnal.” The owl jumped through the window and made a who typical of owls.

Spike interpreted the spirit of the owl’s speech and said, “Can’t sleep with all the racket I’m making? Sorry. It’s just that Ponyville’s going to be under attack this afternoon and I’m stuck making the battle plan.”

The owl rotated its head 180 degrees to look back at the many scrolls of parchment sitting in the corner.

“Would you please not do that with your head, it’s kinda freaky.” complained Spike. Owlicious ignored him and hopped over to the parchment. Being careful not to rip any of the paper with its claws, the owl tried to see how many strips of paper it could pick up in one clawful. Spike stole the owl’s plan by saying, “I know! I’ll write the warning on these strips of scroll, and you can drop them over Ponyville!” Owilicious rotated his head back to look at Spike and nodded. Spike gave him a look that indicated a lack of amusement at the owl’s continuous use of its head rotation.

After copying down the warning message, that all ponies should meet in the center of town to discuss the battle, Spike gathered the strips into a bundle and gave them to the owl. Owlicious took off out the window and began scattering the papers in the same way propaganda leaflets are distributed by bomber. Ponies across town read the papers and proceeded to gather in the center of town to decide what to do about the robots.

Spike looked out the window at the forming crowd and said, “Hey, it’s actually working! Sweet.” Spike went back upstairs and found a long and narrow red piece of cloth. He tied it around his head in a Rambo-style bandana and then ran out the front door of the library to motivate the crowd. The small dragon walked into the center of town and stood in the middle of the crowd of ponies.

“Hey everypony, listen up!”, he shouted. The ponies fell silent and stared at the tiny purple dragon, unsure if he was actually going to provide any decent help or not.

“Robots are coming, and unless you want to get zapped, we’ve gotta fight back!” said Spike.

“Hey!” shouted one of the ponies, “Aren’t you the guy constantly afraid of zombies or werewolves? Things that aren’t real?”

Spike said, “Well, yeah but this is different! I know and you know these robots are real, 6 of them trashed the town last time.”

“He’s got a point!” said somepony.

Spike continued shouting, “My best friend Twilight is off trying to destroy the robot’s factory. But we have to hold the robots off here until they blow it up. So let’s stockpile some ammo and get ready!”

One of the ponies asked, “Like what? What good could we possible do against things made of metal?”

“I can answer that, good sir.” came a voice from behind the crowd. Turning around, the ponies saw PAL and Big Macintosh standing on a pile of crates. PAL took a can of oil and took a large sip of it to lubricate his motors. He then crushed the can and threw it behind him.

“I am a robot.” said PAL, “yes, indeed not the same kind as those machines, but I believe I can be of help to you ponies by explaining the weaknesses of robots.”

“What weaknesses?” shouted a pony from the crowd.

PAL pointed at one of the ponies and said, “Good question sir. Robots use electricity to power their systems. As such, magnets will disrupt them. If you have any magnets, I suggest throwing them at the robots to confuse them. Other than that, throwing anything hard enough to dent metal will do well. Stones, sharp gems, maybe even inedible apples would be hard enough to work.”

Some of the crowd members took heed to the advice and began buying hardened apples from Big Macintosh that normally would just get thrown out. Big Macintosh winked at PAL, his business strategy had worked. PAL smiled back, in all honesty, the apples would do some damage if thrown at the robots, just not as much as the stones.

PAL waded through the crowd and found Spike, then asked, “You are the one who assembled the citizens, are you not?”

Spike replied, “Yeah. You’re Techorse’s machine, aren’t you?”

PAL replied, “That’s right. You must be Twilight’s apprentice Spike. Master told me about you, and how strong willed you are.”

Spike said with glee, “Really? He said I was strong?”

PAL nodded and said, “Strong-willed. It means you’re always willing to try your hardest to help your friends. Master thinks one day you’ll also be strong physically as well. In fact, he had instructed me to follow your orders in his absence.”

Spike rubbed his chin and said to PAL, “Well, I definitely could use help. Can you give us any weapons from the castle?”

The robot replied, “Unfortunately, master Techorse didn’t build many weapons of sorts besides his personal cannons. There are no extras I know of, except for one which I might be able to use. Either way, the castle will make a great meeting place for your followers, as it is exactly where the robots will strike first.”

Spike and PAL invited the crowd to go to the castle and set up their defenses against the robot army. The crowd followed them to the castle and began to make preparations. Catapults were built from parts PAL supplied from the castle’s raw materials supply. The mining probes retrieved heavy rocks and sharp gemstones to use as ammunition. If any gemstone was not sharp enough to pierce a metal coffee can, Spike happily ate it to build his strength up.

PAL watched the young dragon eat the gemstones and asked, “Tell me, what exactly does eating gemstones do for you?”

Spike answered with his mouth full, “Dragon scales are the toughest armor around. Just gotta eat a supply of gemstones to harden them, especially diamonds.”

“Then by all means, consume as many as possible without vomiting. Because you’re a dragon and not a pony, the robots will try to hurt you rather than zap you. You’ll need all the armor you can get.” said PAL.

Spike swallowed hard, he thought the robots were only going for teleportation, not trying to actively destroy him. PAL went back inside his master’s castle to go retrieve what he was to use against the enemy. He emerged with a large green metal tube and a huge belt slung around his middle like a sash. The belt carried barrel-shaped metal objects with a quadruple-finned guidance tail at the back. PAL raised the metal tube onto his shoulder, and held the trigger of the device in his left hand. He then wrapped his right hand around the top of the tube.

Spike was awed at the weapon and asked, “What is that?”

PAL replied, “Rocket Propelled Electromagnet. I stole the idea from my master’s database. He’s going to be mad at me.”

PAL loaded one of the rockets into the tube, aimed at the can, and pulled the trigger. The missile flew out of the tube and attached to the can, after which the piece of ammo drained its battery sending a massive electric shock through the can. Once the missile was out of power, it detached from the can and fell to the ground.

Spike said, “Alright PAL! That will fry them like an egg!”

PAL grinned, “Spike, when the robots attack, you will be the one frying them. If my theory is correct, your fire breath can heat up the robots and make them shut down.

Spike said excitedly, “Really? Awesome!” He then breathed his green flame at the tin can, and watched as it started to glow red and heat up.

“Keep that up on a robot, and it’s circuits will be overwhelmed in seconds!” said PAL.

Spike finished his fire and looked up at PAL, “This is awesome, the dragon and his robot sidekick are going to fight the forces of evil!”

PAL leaned over Spike and said with an annoyed tone, “Who are you calling a sidekick? I’m the one with the bazooka here.”

“I was just kidding. Sorry I called you that” said Spike with regret, “we’re still cool though, right?”

“Of course” said PAL, giving the dragon a fist bump.

PAL moved back upright, “Wait here, I have to give my algorithm-generated motivational speech.”

The robot walked over to where the ponies were making battle preparations and said, “Attention, ponies, if you please.” The ponies dropped their work and looked at the robot. “Thank you for your attention.” said PAL.

He then continued, “My ungulate friends, we all have our differences. Some of you have wings or horns, others don’t. I’m made of metal, and my friend Spike is a dragon. Truth is, we’re all very different and may be afraid of those differences. However, as a robot, I know that it is only logical that we remember one thing: we all come from Ponyville and are all residents of Equestria. It is time we take a stand as brothers and sisters to defeat the evil robots once and for all, so that good robots like me can rest easy knowing not every artificial intelligence in this world is bad. By standing today, you stand not just for Ponyville, but for the truth. We shall win our freedom from the machines!”

PAL was given thunderous hoof clops for applause from the citizens.

“Wow” he said to Spike, “I thought those lines were pretty cheesy myself, but it looks like they did the trick.”

Spike answered, “Yeah, pretty lame. But with the applause you’re getting, I wouldn’t worry.” PAL looked on at the ponies readying their weapons. He knew they would do fine against the coming army, even if he couldn’t give a speech worth his existence.

Part 9 (chapters 37-41)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 37

The passenger car had stopped at the mountain pass where the friends were supposed to attack the factory from. They looked on at the remains of the castle they had raided last night, it was but a pile of rubble now. The dark, smooth stone was piled up over the pass, blocking entry.

“Oh no.” said Fluttershy in sadness, “the castle collapsed. There’s too much rubble blocking the pass to get by now.”

“We’ll have to find another route.” said Twilight, “Rainbow Dash, fly around and look for a way around the mountains.”

Rainbow Dash saluted to tease Twilight, and then took off over the mountains in search of a way to get around the rubble.

Jops asked Twilight, “Can we be of any help?”

“No.” she answered, “if anything, the princesses need you to help defend Canterlot. You might only have a few hours before the robots arrive.”

Jops nodded, and he and Jools took off with the others to take the passenger car back to Canterlot.

Applejack said to Rarity, “Boy, am I glad we’re not walkin’ over that rock pile. It’d take all week.”

Rarity agreed, “Yes. It would mess up my hooves for sure going over that debris.”

“Oh would you forget your vanity and think about the mission?” said Applejack with frustration.

“I am thinking of the mission!” argued Rarity, “I had my combat dress washed this morning. It’s still in Techorse’s saddle.”

Applejack just shook her head and walked forward to avoid having to talk with Rarity anymore.

Rainbow Dash returned to the team, pointed in a direction with her right wing and said, “There’s a huge cave over there on the side of the mountain, I saw light on the other side, so there must be a way through.”

“Excellent scouting work!” said Techorse.

Pinkie Pie, getting impatient yet again, shouted, “Let’s go then! There’s a cave to get through and a factory to turn off!” She hopped forward for where Rainbow Dash had pointed.

The team followed Pinkie Pie up the side of the mountain and came to the opening of the cave. The blue-tinted stone of the mountain was offset by the gray stone lining the cavern.

“Before we go in.” said Twilight as she grabbed Pinkie Pie, “we’d better make sure we’re prepared to deal with anything we might encounter in there.”

Fluttershy said, “Well, I can talk to any creature that won’t let us through.”

“Good, but I meant to be ready in case all diplomatic efforts fail. That means you in particular, Techorse.” said Twilight.

Techorse said, “What am I, your bodyguard? You don’t need me to fight well.”

Applejack answered his rhetorical question, “No, but you really help out in battle, we’ve seen ya in action enough times to know that. Now check up on your weapons, ok?”

Techorse nodded and began diagnostic checks of the battle saddle. Meanwhile, Rarity had gotten distracted by a very large sapphire gem embedded in the very entrance of the cave.

“Oh, I must have this sapphire.” She said, “it’s so lovely.”

“Rarity!” complained Rainbow Dash, “You have no way of getting that home right now.”

“Yes, but I could pick it up later if I just got it out of this stone wall.” she said. Techorse walked up and looked at the gemstone.

“If I could use my laser cannon’s solid beam mode, I could drill out this gem.”

He then drew his cannons and took aim. Despite his best thoughts to shoot, it seemed the laser cannons wouldn’t fire.

“What’s wrong? Go ahead dear.” said Rarity.

Techorse answered with a groan, “I can’t, the focusing crystals are worn out. Without those special gemstones, I can’t fire lasers beam.”

“What kind of gemstone?” asked Rarity.

“Topaz.” replied Techorse, “It gives the best power to range ratio of all the gemstones.”

Rarity said cheerfully, “Wait one minute. I’ll have a look around.” Rarity moved her head closer to the ground, and her horn began to glow. She walked around the entrance to the cavern a bit, and eventually stopped at one spot. Rarity carefully marked the spot with an x, careful not to trap a lot of dirt underneath her hooves.

“Dig here.” She instructed. Techorse got out his robotic hands and dug at the location. Underneath the dirt were multiple topazes, a ruby, and an emerald.

“Wow.” said Techorse with an impressed tone.

“My magic specialty.” said Rarity, “I use this magic all the time to find gems to sew into my dresses.” Techorse picked out two suitable topaz gems, then detached his saddle. Taking out the laser cannons, he ejected the old, burnt out topaz gems and inserted the new ones. He then put the device back on his back and strapped it tightly.

“Alright” he said, “time to mine.” He fired two solid yellow laser beams from his cannons, cutting around the sapphire Rarity wanted quickly and accurately. The gemstone fell out of the wall, and Rarity caught it with magic.

“It’s so beautiful.” Said Rarity gratefully, “Oh thank you so much Techorse.”

He nodded and replied, “Thank you for helping me find new gems for my laser cannons. I’d be without my guns if it wasn’t for that special talent of yours.”

Rarity blushed, “It’s really nothing. Twilight can copy it.”

Twilight admitted humbly, “Actually, there’s no way I could have found the exact shape of topaz Techorse needed. You really do have a thing for gemstones, Rarity.”

Applejack said impatiently, “When y’all are done talkin’ about gems, can we get back to stoppin’ the factory before robots overrun Equestria?”

“Applejack’s got it right.” said Techorse, “we’re getting off topic. Let’s get in that cave and find the factory on the other side.” A round of nods from the friends was followed by them running into the cavern. They entered a very large chamber in the cave filled with gold, gemstones, and ingots of silver.

“This looks like a burial spot for a king of some kind.” marveled Fluttershy.

“There’s so many shiny things to look at!” said Pinkie Pie, “it’s so neat in here.”

“Wait a minute.” cautioned Rainbow Dash, “There’s only one reason for so much treasure in one spot.”

Twilight asked with surprise, “You’re not afraid still, are you Rainbow?”

“Afraid of what?” asked Techorse.

“Dragons.” said Rainbow as she let her tail sink to the ground.

Techorse said, “Sure this one’s going to be larger than Spike based on the horde here, but it’s probably just as friendly, right? As long as we don’t steal anything, I don’t see what problem it would have in letting us leave its cave on the other side.”

Twilight said, “That’s probably true. I know from books and experience those dragons really only get mad if you try to steal their treasure. They don’t mind ponies like us just passing through.”

Fluttershy said softly, “We still need to be careful though.” The ponies agreed and continued walking past the pile of treasure. Eventually, they found the dragon who owned it, using the valuables as a mattress for his nap.

“Boy” whispered Applejack as they tried to sneak by, “this fellow produces a lot less smoke then the last one we saw.”

“Yeah.” replied Twilight, “he’s a pretty clean one, isn’t he?”

The dragon was very large, as tall as Schadenfreude’s mech, and was a yellow color. He had at least a 50 foot wingspan, and very well kept claws. The beast was asleep, producing a very fine mist of smoke from his nose, which gently floated to the ceiling.

Pinkie Pie was giggling as she looked through the oversized gemstones in the horde. Some of them distorted the image of her face from the other side, or messed with her reflection. However, she accidentally got a little too close to one, and knocked into it. The pile of gold coins it was attached to crashed down with a mighty thud. The others immediately froze in place and looked at the dragon. His eyes opened, and the beast lazily stretched and looked at the ponies. Twilight thought about screaming, but that might aggravate him further, so she tried her good old option of diplomacy.

“Oh, hello mister dragon.” She said, “we’re just passing through, don’t mind us.” The dragon looked at the seven ponies before him, then laughed a bit.

He boomed, “This is pretty cool! I sent out for lunch 30 minutes ago, but I didn’t know the food delivered itself!”

“Excuse me mister, but we are not your lunch!” shouted Applejack, a little angry she had been viewed as a meal and not as a being.

The yellow dragon grabbed her and Rainbow Dash in his claws and held them up. “I was just joking.” he said, “don’t you herbivores have any sense of humor?”

“Besides” he continued, “I wouldn’t eat another pony after that last one. She kept me up all night with her terrible screaming from inside me. It was impossible to sleep with those cries of mortal terror.”

Rainbow Dash began struggling furiously to get out of the dragon’s grip. “Please don’t eat me!” she wailed, trying to get free.

“Again, another joke.” said the dragon, trying to relax Rainbow. The dragon dropped the ponies and said, “I’m not going to eat you.”

“Promise?” asked Fluttershy.

“I promise.” said the dragon, “I just thought I’d scare you for intruding in my cave.”

“We’re very sorry about that.” said Twilight, “We just wanted to pass through your cave to the other side.”

“That’s what the last pony here said.” warned the dragon, “and she tried to steal my treasure. Why should I trust you?”

“Pardon me for asking, but is this the same pony you swallowed earlier?” asked Rarity nervously, for she had already tried to take some of the gems in the cave.

The dragon said to her, “If you paid attention, curlyhair, I said that was a cruel joke for intruding. And no, I scared her away with my fire breath. You ponies really aren’t as good eating for dragons as you think you are.”

Techorse deployed his turbofans and flew up to look at the dragon at eye level. “I’m glad you’re a little friendlier of a dragon than I expected. I’m Techorse, nice to meet you.”

The dragon replied, “I am Yorgle Jr, welcome to my cave, pony.” Techorse landed back on the ground and said, “That name’s awfully familiar.” Yorgle said with sadness, “My father was not a very kind or noble dragon. He attacked dozens of ponies just to take their money and add it to his horde. Because he was so mean, I vowed to collect my treasure fairly and protect it from theft.”

Fluttershy brushed her head against the dragon’s scaly body and said softly, “We’re very glad you’ve decided to be a nice dragon. Now can we please use your cave?”

Yorgle blocked the exit with his tail and said, “Never. I have sworn not to let anyone through for fear of having my treasure taken.”

Rarity said, “Wait right here girls, I have a plan.” She left, running for the entrance of the cave.

Rainbow Dash flew around the cave, trying to straighten up the treasure Pinkie Pie had messed up. Yorgle watched with curiosity as the nimble pony managed to arrange the treasure in a perfect rectangle.

“Here” she said, “should be better for you to sleep on this way.”

Yorgle laid down on the treasure again and said, “Very comfortable. Thank you, rainbow-haired pony. I’m sorry I gave you a scare with my joke.”

Rainbow Dash said, “Aw, it’s ok. I just got a bit upset because of the last dragon that tried to smash me.”

“What does he look like?” asked the dragon.

“Well, he’s sort of red and big like you, and he’s scary like you.”

Yorgle laughed and said, “That’s pretty much every dragon I know. Any chance of you being more specific, rainbow one?”

“Well, he tried to sleep right next to Ponyville and nearly covered us in smoke! Fluttershy yelled at him though and he left.”

Yorgle shot up from his treasure and shouted, “No way!”

The sound caused the others to vibrate, Yorgle was simply that large. The dragon laughed mightily, “That was my friend Rhindle. I remember him telling me he was going to try to sleep near a pony settlement, and he ended up running away from a pink-haired pony that yelled at him! Bwahahaha! He never lived it down.”

Fluttershy hovered in front of Yorgle and said, “I’m the pink haired pony. That was your friend?”

Yorgle said while snickering, “Nice to meet the fearsome pink-haired monster Rhindle bawled about. Anyways, yeah he was my friend. Not a very nice dragon at first though, a bit of a bully to us other dragons. But after that chewing out you gave him, he treated us with respect.”

Fluttershy said, “Yorgle, you’re the nicest big dragon we’ve ever seen.”

Twilight added, “That’s the truth. We’ve only seen two other dragons your size, and one tried to do in my dragon Spike.”

Yorgle said, “Maybe I know him as well. Describe him.”

Twilight said, “Well, I remember him being green, and having a spiked tail.”

Yorgle’s eyes narrowed. “Grindle” he said as he shot a puff of smoke from his nostrils.

“Oh, you know him too?” asked Twilight meekly, knowing some dragon rage was coming. Yorgle said loudly, “That beast is pure evil. So vile a dragon, if he could even call himself that. A dragon’s honor is to always share his gems with another dragon when food is scarce. But Grindle was so greedy and loathsome that we would have nothing to do with him. Rather would hang out with Rhindle any day.”

Twilight said with surprise, “Wow, it looks like you know every single dragon we’ve ever met besides Spike.”

Yorgle said in response, “If you want, bring Spike over here. He can have some gems if he wants.”

Twilight smiled and said, “I’m sure he’d like that, but he’s just a baby wingless dragon. He’s quite small compared to you.”

The beast replied, “Every dragon needs another to look up to. Bring him by sometime. I’ll recognize you by your beautiful three-colored hair.”

Twilight said, “So you have our names, I’m Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Techorse, Pinkie Pie, and… where’s Rarity?”

Techorse answered, “She said she would be right back. The cave didn’t branch off, so I’m sure she couldn’t have gotten lost.” Rarity returned with the giant sapphire and placed it in front of Yorgle.

“Mr. Dragon.” she said, “If you let us through, I will offer you this very large and beautiful sapphire as payment.”

He looked right at the gemstone and said with excitement, “That’s the sapphire at my front door! I couldn’t get that thing out of the wall, and I tried for months.”

Rarity asked, “Do we have a deal? Can we get through please?”

Yorgle said happily, “Certainly. Just leave the gem over there on that pile, I’ll organize them later. Good luck on the other side of the mountain, ponies.”

“Thank you.” said Rarity, “alright girls, and Techorse, it’s time to go.” In awe at Rarity’s giving up of her gemstone, the friends followed her out of Yorgle’s cave.

Once they were out at the other side, Techorse said, “Rarity, you gave up the gemstone you wanted so badly. I’m really impressed with you.”

Rarity looked at him and said, “Well, I do represent the element of generosity. But even so, I really wasn’t expecting that to work. I was just hoping it would distract him long enough to let you run away.”

Pinkie Pie got in front of them and said, “and leave you all alone to deal with an angry dragon? No way! We’d find a way to make things work, no pony gets left behind!”

Rainbow Dash looked over the ledge of the mountain cliff and her mouth dropped open in awe.

“Oh wow.” She said.

Below in the valley sat the dreaded robot factory. The massive building complex had to be on at least 25 square miles of land. Large smokestacks rose from the buildings, spewing awful black clouds into the normally clean air. There were massive moving parts jutting out from the various red brick structures on the disturbingly jagged skyline of the factory. Most notably, at each end of the factory were garages where robots simply poured out to go attack the various cities of Equestria.

“There it is.” said Techorse, “Wizard’s factory.”

Twilight said in awe at the factory’s size, “It’s huge! I mean, I’ve read about them before, but I can’t believe how large this one actually is.”

Applejack snickered a bit at Twilight’s word choices, but then added, “It looks heavily guarded, are you sure we’re gonna shut it down in time?”

Twilight answered, “Of course, we just have to evade the robot patrols, get inside the factory, find the power source, and pull the plug on it. Simple, right?”

Twilight laughed a bit nervously and looked back and forth at her friends. It was definitely not going to be that simple.

Fluttershy looked at the smokestacks and asked, “Oh dear, what is that smoke coming from the factory? It’s worse than the smoke from Rhindle that nearly wiped out Ponyville.”

Techorse answered, “It’s called pollution Fluttershy.”

“Pollution?” asked Rarity, “what is that?”

Techorse continued in dictionary form, “Pollution, it’s any toxic chemical or gas that’s released into the environment and causes damage to it and is a by-product of industry. In laypony’s terms, it’s smog that’s being put into the air after making the robots!”

“How awful, the creatures will suffer if they don’t have clean air.” said Fluttershy woefully.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’re about to stop that thing.” comforted Applejack as she ran a hoof through Fluttershy’s pink hair.

“If we use the smog as cover, we can descend through the valley over there and avoid the robot patrols.” said Twilight.

“Alright then,” said Techorse, “we’ll go with that plan. But remember, be careful. There are still two more humans besides Wizard, and chances are they’re gunning for us.” The team began their journey down the mountain and into the valley in an effort to reach the factory.

Chapter 38

The valley was eerily quiet as the ponies marched through it. The grass was a much sicklier color from the air pollution, and the wind made it crinkle as if it were dried out. Only the occasional dead tree was in this valley, it was not lush or beautiful like the one around the restaurant. Behind them, the large mountains blocked their view of anything else but the large and forbidding factory ahead.

“It’s really creepy around here!” whined Rainbow Dash as she for once started to fall behind the others.

“This smog’s making it darker, there’s really nothing to be scared of.” said Fluttershy gently.

“You should talk about being scared!”

Twilight’s ear perked up as she thought she heard a rustle from behind one of the dead trees. “Quiet, do you hear that?” She asked.

“No, you’re always hearin’ something.” replied Applejack, “now let’s pick it up and reach this place.”

Because she wasn’t looking at her feet, Fluttershy stepped on a twig, and the snap caused her to shriek and jump on Rarity like Scooby-Doo leaping into Shaggy’s arms.

Rarity pried her friend off of her head and said, “Fluttershy, really? Is that necessary?”

“Sorry” moped Fluttershy, “maybe Rainbow’s right about it being creepy here.”

Techorse said, “Ladies, there’s nothing to be scared of but the robot patrols, and we’re avoiding those.”

Twilight agreed, “He’s got a point, girls. We’re getting scared over nothing.”

The team made good time making their way through the valley, and about 1 mile from the factory they found a rather large stand of sickly-looking trees. They walked through them, and at their sides the dead wooded plants provided a very upsetting effect.

“All right.” said Twilight, “the trees do make it look a little scary, I’ll admit it.”

“Forget the trees!” said Applejack, “keep yer eyes on the prize, girls!”

“Boy, when it comes to finishing a mission, Applejack’s got a one track mind!” complained Techorse.

Twilight said to him, “Yeah, but sometimes that really comes in handy, especially when everypony else gets off track.” The team reached a point where the two rows of trees were separated by a single large tree in the middle. In front of the tree stood a man wearing a buckled top hat, a dark vest, and a pure black cape.

Twilight stopped the team and said, “Look, there’s a human over there resting on that tree!” The human lifted his hat a bit to show his face, then jumped high in the air, did a flip, and landed right in front of the ponies.

“Well hello, friends.” He said with a nasty grin, “What are you doing out here where you could get hurt?”

Techorse recognized the human and said, “We could ask the same, Espion.”

Espion laughed and said, “It’s Techman. I finally get to see the young man who became a pony.”

Twilight said angrily to the man, “Stop making fun of him!”

Espion ignored her and continued, “Well, it was nice meeting your friends, pony-boy, but I’m afraid your adventure stops here. I can’t let you reach that factory.”

Applejack got in the human’s face and said, “Are you tellin’ me you’re gonna stop us? What’s a weirdly dressed man gonna do?” Espion grew serious and shoved the orange pony backwards.

He then addressed the entire team, “You should just go away now, before I make you do so.” Espion reached into his left vest pocket and brought out a teleporter rifle.

“Move!” shouted Techorse, and the team ran around to avoid the human’s shots. The beams missed them, as Espion was not well trained with firearms. It wasn’t long before they realized just how bad of a shot their opponent was, and they began to play a bit more offensively. Rainbow Dash went up into the air and then dived down for the human. She knocked him in the back, pushing him over onto the ground and knocking his hat off. Twilight saw this opportunity and used magic to pick up the human’s gun. She then dashed the device against the tree, and it broke into many pieces. Espion stood back up and put his hat back on his head.

Rainbow Dash said with pride, “Ha! You have no gun now, human. Watcha gonna do to stop us now?” Espion smiled and began to laugh heavily.

“Great, he has something else, doesn’t he?” complained Twilight.

The human moved his cape out of the way of his waist, revealing a belt with a sheath. Espion drew a very impressive sword from this, its blade was 3 feet long, and 2 inches thick. The golden cross-bar hilt fit the human’s hands perfectly, and the hilt was encrusted with two large rubies.

Espion said, “Wizard said I had to stop you ponies from reaching the factory. He never said I had to bring you in one piece! In fact, once I’m done with you, I’m going to make designer coats like mine out of your hides. They’ll make me tons of money back on Earth, and it will all be mine!” The red crystal around Espion’s neck started glowing. He then swirled his cape around him, and completely disappeared into thin air. The human’s laughter could be heard throughout the grove of dead trees, but the man had turned invisible.

“Where did he go?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Anywhere he wants to.” answered Techorse, “Stay on your guard and watch your back.” The ponies began to grow afraid of the invisible human, and began to get separated. Espion materialized out of invisibility behind Fluttershy and raised his sword to strike.

“Watch out Fluttershy!” screamed Applejack.

Fluttershy shrieked and jumped forward, just as Espion brought his sword down into the soil. The human withdrew his blade from the ground, and swirled his cape again to vanish once more into thin air. Techorse drew his laser cannons and started shooting wildly around the area, hoping some of the shots would hit Espion and give away his location. But many of his friends were having to duck the laser bolts.

“Knock it off!” said Rainbow Dash, “you’re going to hit us!”

Techorse ceased fire and said, “What? If I hit him, we’ll know where he is!” Espion uncloaked behind Techorse and took a swing at the pony. Techorse could sense the man behind him, and ducked to avoid the horizontal swing of the blade. Espion then kicked Techorse in the behind, sending him forward. Laughing, the human turned invisible again.

“Are you ok?” asked Twilight as she ran over to Techorse.

“I’m fine.” He replied as he got up.

“Twilight!” suggested Pinkie Pie, “Cast a spell or something and make it so I can see him again! This is getting annoying!” Twilight’s horn glowed, but nothing happened.

“That crystal’s messing with my ability to use magic again!” replied Twilight.

Espion became visible again by the center tree and asked, “Had enough yet?”

“We’re not finished mister.” replied Applejack, “you haven’t beaten us yet.”

“Very well then. Your skins are proving hard to get so far, but it matters little. I won’t have to share a dime of the money when this is all over!”

“You’re so selfish Espion, wanting to skin us and keep all the money for yourself.” snarled Techorse. It was then Rarity noticed the rubies encrusted into Espion’s sword. With another swirl of his cape, he and the sword vanished into thin air once more.

Rarity wondered if her magic would be blocked by the human’s crystal. Concentrating hard, she attempted to focus on the rubies Espion’s sword held. She could sense them, the crystal was only blocking out magic that would mess with the human’s invisibility.

Rarity said, “I’ve found him! Watch out Pinkie!” Pinkie Pie turned around as Espion became visible. Espion got a look of terror as his sneak attack had failed miserably. The pink pony bounded onto Espion and knocked him down like a dog tackling his owner.

“Gotcha!” said Pinkie happily. Espion laughed and rolled his white cape around him. Pinkie Pie spun in the air for a moment and then landed with a plop on the ground.

“Aw, he got away!” she said unhappily.

“It doesn’t matter!” said Techorse, “if Rarity can tell where he is, we can’t be attacked by surprise anymore.”

The human, while invisible, decided to make a strike at Applejack. He appeared behind her and raised his sword to cleave her in half.

“Applejack!” shouted Rarity.

Applejack gave her buck backwards, hoping to strike Espion. It didn’t hit him, but it did throw him off guard, sending the man stumbling backwards. The human, quite clearly annoyed, vanished yet again.

“This is just stupid!” whined Rainbow Dash.

Rarity knew they had to knock out the man somehow, and decided that because she was the only one who could see him, she had to do it. Using her magic, she detected Espion trying to sneak up behind Rainbow Dash, who was hovering too low to avoid his sword. Rarity began charging for the location behind Rainbow Dash. Seconds later, Espion uncloaked behind Rainbow and raised his sword to cut her. But he failed to see Rarity charging until the last second. Once he did, the human turned to attack Rarity and swung his sword horizontally. Originally, Rarity had intended to bash him with her front hooves, but the swing of the sword made her instinctively duck under it, bringing her horn down. When she hit Espion, there was a sickening squish of flesh as Rarity’s horn pierced his abdomen. A unicorn’s horn was normally too blunt to inflict such a wound, but Rarity had been going too fast, and no bone was immediately present under the skin to blunt the effect.

The human gasped as Rarity withdrew her horn, and he grabbed the point of impact on his lower chest. He stumbled backwards and sat down at the base of the tree in the center of the grove.

“Oh no!” said Rarity with shame, “what have I done?”

The human refused to remove his hand, knowing what the ponies would have to see if he did. It was hard to tell with his dark vest, but he was bleeding. Oddly, Rarity’s horn had no mess on it despite how serious the wound was. Techorse walked up to Espion, and using his robotic hands, removed the red crystal from the man and crushed it.

Fluttershy approached the human and said, “Let me see it.”

But Espion refused to remove his hand.

“I say we just leave the selfish guy here. He can just use that blue potion if he wants to go back to Earth.” said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight said sadly, “He might not make it with that injury.”

Rarity thought about Espion’s fate if something wasn’t done, and knew in her heart this was all her fault. Amends had to be made.

“Techorse.” she asked, “do you still have that red dress?”

Techorse opened the battle saddle and answered, “Of course.” Rarity removed the dress from the saddle, and then started ripping it into strips of cloth. Working quickly, she made tight bandages around the wound she had inflicted on the human. The pressure and the tourniquet effect of the strips of cloth helped to stop the bleeding.

Espion removed the blue potion and said, “Thank you. That should hold it off until I get to a hospital on Earth. I’ll never forget the day my enemy showed mercy after hurting me like that.” The human poured the potion over his head, and faded away with smoke.

Twilight turned to her friend, “Wow Rarity, two acts of selflessness in one day. We’re all really proud of you.”

Rarity said humbly, “I wasn’t going to let the fellow bleed to death. Life is more important than dresses, darling.” Techorse closed his eyes and nodded in complete agreement.

Applejack apologized to Rarity, “I’m sorry I got a little too caught up in the mission. Seeing that man get hurt made me think I should be a little more careful, and kind to you, Rarity. Sorry for all the comments about your vanity.”

“Oh it’s quite alright Applejack. I forgive you.” replied her friend. They hugged to make up for teasing each other, and then got back on track.

Techorse said, “I’m glad we could get over our differences yet again, I really do. However, I’m still concerned about stopping the factory. Any minute now the cities of this world will come under attack by robots, which will be in infinite supply unless we take action.”

Twilight said, “Well, with the human gone, it should be easy to get in.”

Rainbow Dash shouted, “All right! We finally get to see the inside of this thing!” She took off in a blur of rainbow colored jet stream to get to the building first.

“Looks like we have to catch up!” sang Pinkie Pie as she started skipping after her friend.

Chapter 39

Twilight used a special mapping spell to locate a good entry point into the factory. The team climbed up a staircase on the side of the factory’s main building and found a large ventilation fan near the roof of the factory.

“This is where we’ll go in.” said Twilight, “we’ll just break the fan here and get straight inside.”

Techorse drew his laser cannons and said, “I can’t see anything to jam into the fan, so it looks like I’m going to have to shoot it at its motor axis. I’d stand back.”

The others stepped backwards. Techorse switched to solid beam mode and fired upwards at the center of the fan. The motor snapped and melted, causing the fan blade to stop turning and fall backwards into the factory with a great crash.

“Now they know we’re here!” said Applejack, “there goes any surprise we had.”

“Just get in there.” commanded Twilight.

The team went through the fan shaft and entered the inner mechanics of the factory. Once inside, they found Rainbow Dash reclining against a pipe.

“How did you beat us in here?” asked Fluttershy.

“I timed the flight through the fan. Just another thing I do well.” replied Rainbow as she looked at one of her hooves.

“Ok, now that we’re all inside, what do we do?” asked Twilight. Silence fell over the group for a minute, until Techorse realized Twilight was addressing him.

“Oh, sorry.” He said as he focused, “Now that we’re in, we must find the teleporter beam server. When a pony is hit by one of those red beams, they are broken down into particles and are collected by the server. Then, the server re-assembles the pony bit by bit until they are locked up inside the cage. If we destroy the server, the teleporter beams safety feature will turn on. Any ponies in teleportation will be returned to a solid form, and the beams will become useless.”

Techorse looked at the confused look his friends gave him.

Rainbow said with a tilt of her head, “All I heard was blah blah blah science.”

Techorse sighed and said, “Simply put, there’s this thing called a server in here somewhere. We make it go boom, and the robots have no way of capturing ponies.”

Twilight asked, “What about freeing all the trapped ponies?”

He answered, “Without the server, the robots can’t capture any more ponies, so all we’ll have to do is unlock the prisons.”

Applejack straightened her Stetson hat and said, “Well then, let’s go find that server and free our captured friends!” She started galloping down the metal catwalk above the factory machinery.

“Of course, Applejack has no idea where she’s going.” said Rarity.

“Yeah, but closer inward is probably a safe bet to finding this server.” said Fluttershy.

The friends followed Applejack down the metal catwalk. Above them on the brick wall of the factory, a surveillance camera watched them. Bossman was spying on the ponies from the comfort of his command office. His giant television screen displayed the friends as they were seen from security cameras in the factory. Underneath the television was a massive set of buttons, switches, and levers, to control the various functions of the factory. “They’re here.” Muttered the human to himself. He pressed a disk on his control panel to place a call to Wizard. Wizard’s hologram appeared in front of Bossman.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

Bossman said, “The ponies are inside the factory, Wizard. I shall proceed to dispose of the little furballs.”

Wizard said gruffly, “Leave the green one alive, Bossman. I want to deal with him myself.”

Bossman assured Wizard, “I know well about Techman and how you wish to destroy him by yourself. Rest assured I will deliver him to you in one piece.”

“One piece is not enough. Techman must still have a pulse when he reaches me. I have plans for him.”

Bossman asked another question, “Very well, but what about the others?”

Wizard smiled and replied, “Does your plant double as a glue factory?”

They laughed about the cruel joke, and then Wizard hung up, disappearing. Bossman swiveled in his chair to look back at the screen. Adjusting his tie, he observed the team of ponies carefully. He noticed they were walking on a catwalk south of his position, about 2 miles away from the central components of the prison. The human checked his traps over, and remembered he had explosive charges installed to drop the catwalks if necessary. He waited until the team was over a piece of machinery that looked deadly enough, and then hit one of the buttons.

Twilight and company had caught up with Applejack and urged her to slow down.

“Come on, AJ, you’re leaving us in the dust!” said Pinkie Pie.

Twilight said to Techorse, “You know, I’m surprised we haven’t been met by any resistance yet. You’d think the human in charge of this factory would have sent some robots after us by now.”

Techorse replied, “I know. Something’s not right here.” All of a sudden, the catwalk exploded ahead of Applejack, and the section the team was on slanted downwards. The metal walkway was tipped towards a set of giant gears grinding together, certain doom if the ponies slipped off the catwalk. Applejack held on as best as she could, but the metal didn’t provide good traction on her hooves, and she slid closer and closer to the gears. Acting quickly, Rainbow Dash grabbed her friend by the tail and flapped her wings to pull backwards. But the others were screaming and sliding down too, and they piled up the very edge of the catwalk. They were on the verge of falling right into the gear mesh. Back at the control office, Bossman laughed at his foes’ certain doom, and then decided to go check on the prisoner ponies and gloat of his victory. He left the control office and headed for the cages.

Applejack used her muscular strength to push back against the weight of her friends, desperate to keep them from plummeting into the gears. Techorse decided to offer support by backing up with his turbofans. Slowly they creeped back up the ramp, determined not to go into the machinery head first. As they backed up, the wires supporting the catwalk began to break from the weight. When the cables snapped, the entire section of catwalk fell down amongst the various machines. But, they had worked their way up the walkway enough that it tipped in the other direction, and the entire assembly slipped off the gears and onto the factory floor.

“That was a close one.” said Fluttershy, shivering in stress from the event. Rarity nodded in agreement, trying hard not to think about what might have happened to them if the catwalk had tipped into the giant gears. Twilight flicked her tail gently and turned to Techorse.

“If you and Applejack hadn’t worked together like that, we would have been crushed for sure.” she said. Techorse inhaled and exhaled deeply to encourage his bloodstream to dump the remaining adrenaline in his body. He simply gave Twilight a look of acknowledgment.

Pinkie Pie shouted, “How did that happen, because however it happened, it wasn’t any fun. I don’t want to do that again!”

Techorse said very slowly, “See those boxes on the catwalks? They are charges of plastic explosive. That was a trap, not an accident. Bossman knows we’re here…”

Applejack said, “Bossman, that’s the human in charge of this deathtrap?”

He said to her while panting, “Yeah. That's him.”

They picked themselves up after a minute of rest and ventured deeper into the factory. While they were doing so, Bossman was running a cane along the bars of the pony cages. He looked at the sad and desperate faces of the occupants. The cages in the factory were actually quite large, there were a total of 500 giant cages in a massive warehouse-like area, each cage able to hold 1000 ponies on its own. Bossman had to use an accordion lift to reach the various cages and mess with the minds of the occupants. For now, only the ground level cages were full; in total nearly 1 million ponies were being held in the factory. When the numbers got to maximum capacity, which Bossman knew would be met after the battles today, he could start teleporting ponies back to Earth and collect the massive profits.

“You ponies are going to make me a very wealthy man.” He sang out as he rapped the cane along the bars of the cages. Once Bossman had driven past all the cages, he stopped and looked at the massive server in front of all of them. The machine was a gigantic bulb-like structure with multiple fancy tube-like structures attached to all the cages, making it resemble a squid or octopus. Every second or so, the machine would flash a bit, and a new pony would drop from the tube into one of the cages. Bossman decided to return to his post and went back into the control office. It had walls of glass, but that was so he could observe the pony cages at all times. The human sat down at his swivel chair and looked at the screen. The ponies and the catwalk section were gone.

Bossman said with disappointment, “Well, that does it. I accidentally got Techman too, and I won’t be able to pick him out of the pulpy mess. But at least I won.”

The team was alive and well, however, and still trying to reach Bossman and his server. They went past many pieces of machinery, dodging moving pistons and jets of boiling hot steam. One plume of steam caught Rarity’s hair, and it uncurled for a moment.

Rarity stopped and moaned, “Oh these blasted machines have messed up my hairdo!”

Continuing onward, the machinery got thicker and more complicated, often meaning there were more moving parts that had to be squeezed around to avoid injury.

“Hasn’t Wizard ever heard of a safety inspector?” joked Rainbow Dash as she jumped out of the way of a rack and pinion trying to squish her. They emerged from the jungle of parts and came across a gigantic blast furnace being fed raw iron from the mining probes returning to the factory. A single narrow plank was all that separated them from falling into the molten metal.

“Of course, another drop.” said Twilight in disgust.

Rainbow Dash showed off and simply flew across to the other side of the board. “Waitin’ for you guys!” she said.

Techorse said, “I’d fly across too, but the heat from this blast furnace might shut down my saddle. I really don’t want to fall in that.”

“Then we have no choice but to go one at a time across the board.” said Applejack. She carefully stepped on the wooden plank and carefully made her way across the pit of molten metal. Soon, Applejack made it safely across and sighed in relief. The giant furnace began to tip downwards to dispense an ingot of solid steel. As it did, a metal bridge came down, allowing safe passage for the others.

Applejack’s mouth fell open as the others ran quickly across the metal bridge before the furnace tipped back up and caused it to open again.

“Well, that was easy!” said Pinkie Pie, “what’s next?”

Rainbow Dash laughed at Applejack’s expression, “You did that for nothing, Applejack! You should see your face.”

“Come on Rainbow, be nice.” urged Fluttershy, “Applejack was really brave to cross on that board. She didn’t fly over like a coward.”

“Hey!” said Rainbow, taking offense. Applejack smiled at Rainbow Dash, agreeing one hundred percent with Fluttershy’s statement. “When you’re finished calling each other cowards, Techorse says we’re almost to server.” said Twilight.

Techorse added, “It should be right around the corner here. That sign on the wall indicates that the teleportation server is just 500 feet in this direction.”

Rarity asked as she finished fixing her hair, “Will the human in charge be guarding it?” “Most likely” said Techorse.

“I hope he’s not too mean.” worried Fluttershy.

“Bossman’s not the smartest, he just keeps the factory churning.” said Techorse, “I don’t think he’ll be too hard to beat, Fluttershy.”

Chapter 40

The robots had reached their destinations. Every city in Equestria could spot the dark outline of the advancing armies. The ponies had prepared for the attack, every last one got what they could to try to stop the machines. As the machines got closer, the citizens stood unmoving. They would not let their home be taken from them. They would not go as slaves willingly. Canterlot was the first to engage the machines. The catapults, trebuchets, and cannons destroyed scores of the mindless pieces of hardware, but the robots trudged on and engaged the citizens and the royal guard with ruthless efficiency. In the absence of Arbiter, even the princesses were using magic to try and destroy as many robots as possible. Often, one of their guards would willingly throw themselves in front of a beam to save Celestia or Luna. But neither of them loved seeing their guards get blasted, and they fought on to protect their ponies. All across the planet, the battles broke out, pony versus machine, magic and stones versus teleporter beams. It seemed though, that the ponies began to lose their battles. The robots were simply too many, and they were too accurate. Some cities were already beginning to fall to the metal menaces.

In Ponyville, Spike and PAL watched as the robots got closer. “Wait for it” said Spike. PAL nodded and loaded a missile into his bazooka.

PAL advised to the ponies around them, “They’re not in range of our catapults yet. Hold your fire!“

The treaded machines got closer to the residents, about 250 robots total. PAL’s internal instruments calculated the distance to the robots. Despite also being a machine, PAL did not see the machines before him as brothers, or even friends. They were an example to him of bad invention, evil devices bent on destruction and darkness. The numbers flashed before his processors as the enemy got closer and closer. Spike, on the other hand, was simply eyeballing the distance.

“Just a little closer.” He said as he tightened the band around his head. PAL got the firing solution on the enemy and shouted, “Catapults, fire!”

The ponies snapped the cords on the devices, and hails of gemstones, heavy boulders, and discarded kitchen appliances went flying towards the enemy robots. In this initial bombardment, about 70 of the robots were reduced to scrap metal. The remaining machines picked up speed and began charging for the ponies.

“ATTACK!” shouted Spike, running ahead. The ponies gave a whinny for a war cry and followed the young dragon towards the enemy. PAL ran after him as well, slamming a rocket into his bazooka in preparation for his first shot.

They closed the distance, and beams and stones were exchanged. Robots and ponies were going left and right, back and forth between the two armies. PAL jumped into the air and fired his weapon at one robot. The device struck the metal beast directly, and with a great zap it was electrocuted until it exploded spectacularly. Spike ran past PAL, gave him a thumbs up, and then dashed into the confusion of the battle to do some damage. He spat a green flame all over one robot. It began to glow red, and then fell over due to circuitry damage from the heat. By working together, PAL and Spike cut a wedge between the remaining robots, and drove them apart into two groups the ponies could attack easily. But the teleporter beams were simply claiming too many ponies for the cages. They were losing.

Bossman cheered in delight as his computer indicated the sheer number of ponies coming into the cages. Looking through the glass, he saw the server churning out hundreds of new ponies.

“This is great, the battles are going so well!” he said in a high pitch. “Oh I’m going to be so wealthy!” he thought as he counted his cash in his head. His smile faded away when he saw Twilight Sparkle looking down at him from a catwalk to his left.

“That’s impossible!” he said, amazed the team was still alive.

Twilight looked around for something to throw with her magic. She couldn’t find anything loose, so she detached an entire segment of pipe from the wall and threw it through the glass office. Bossman cried out in fear as the pipe smashed the glass all around him. Fortune smiled on the man, and the glass fell in every direction but onto the human, who was shielding himself with his arms.

“Game’s over Bossman” said Techorse, “give up.”

Bossman looked nervously at Techorse and said, “Why, Techman! Um, it’s nice to see you again. Sorry you’re a pony and everything.”

The team jumped down from the platform and started to approach the human slowly. Bossman began sweating visibly around the collar of his suit, unlike the other humans, he didn’t carry any weapons.

“It's very nice to meet you all, but you’ve caught me at a very busy moment.” said the human as he backed up towards his control panel, trying to keep a safe distance from the angry ponies.

Techorse used his robot hands to point at the server and shouted, “That’s the server, ladies. We have to destroy it.” Bossman’s nervous look was replaced by one of anger.

He shouted, “Stay away from that machine!”

“Or what?” asked Applejack, “You gonna dump us in another gearbox?”

Bossman said slyly, “I was just wondering how you survived that trap. No matter, I won’t let you destroy the server.”

Bossman was about to hit a button to summon guard robots, but Techorse blasted it with his laser cannons.

“No fair cheating and calling for backup.” he said.

Bossman shouted, “Fine! I’ll deal with you myself!”

Taking out the crystal necklace from inside his shirt, the human touched the red stone to the control panel of the computer. The small rectangular office glowed red, and began to rise into the air. The entire assembly rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to face the ponies, and the television monitor collapsed into the controls. Bossman sat in his chair and stared 10 feet down at the friends. He was now elevated above them, and could see the factory floor quite well. Rainbow Dash went to attack Bossman, but she bounced off an energy field from the crystal.

“Nice try” said Bossman. Pulling a switch on the control panel, three large cylinders moved down from the ceiling. Using three joysticks, Bossman began to move the cylinders around above the team. Rarity looked up at the cylinders and realized they were moving overtop of them.

“Get away!” she said. Bossman pulled the trigger of one of the joysticks, and the matching cylinder hissed as steam escaped from the top of it. The cylinder crashed into the ground just as the ponies underneath it got out of the way. The business suit clad human started laughing as he moved the smashing cylinders around and tried to crush the heroes flat. Techorse fired his laser cannons straight up, hoping to damage the devices, but it would not work. Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment, and a tapered bolt of purple energy struck the energy field around Bossman, weakening it a bit.

Techorse cheered, “Alright Twilight, nice magic missile!”

Twilight replied, “Thanks. Usually I’m only able to do that when I get angry, but now I’ve learned how to use it whenever I want.” Techorse switched to his turbofans and pushed Twilight out of the way of the cylinder coming down above her.

“We need to talk less and move more!” he said.

Fluttershy had managed to avoid the cylinders by doing absolutely nothing since the battle began. By holding still, Bossman really hadn’t paid any attention to her. However, he took notice of the light yellow Pegasus pony sitting by herself.

“Oooh” he said darkly, “that one will make a very pretty pancake indeed!”

He moved one of the three massive cylinders over Fluttershy and pulled the trigger. Down came the extremely heavy object, and Fluttershy screamed in terror. Pinkie Pie pulled her bravely out of the way, and both were knocked back the cylinder’s impact with the factory floor.

“You saved me Pinkie.” said Fluttershy, “thank you so much.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Bossman and shouted, “No one flattens my friends, you big meanie human you!”

Bossman laughed and replied, “Foolish pink pony, I flatten anybody in the way of my plans!” He moved the same cylinder over to the side, mumbled a bit as Twilight hit the shield with another blast, and dropped it again. The cylinder missed again. The human in the suit was getting quite annoyed by his lack of aim, and now was wildly attempting to squish any of them, rather than target one at a time. Techorse opened up with his laser cannons, bringing the energy shield even closer to dropping.

“We’ve almost dropped his shield!” he said with confidence. Twilight shot another blast at the force field, and then leapt to the side to avoid being flattened.

Bossman shouted in frustration, “Hold still and let me squash you!” Still, the steam powered cylinders would not hit their marks. Even Rarity was proving impossible to hit, and she was still trying to keep the hair on her mane in order. The human was pretty much furious at how long it was taking to get a hit. He had tried smashing randomly, grouping the three cylinders for maximum coverage, and trying to aim them. The human slammed his fist into a button marked “overdrive.” The three cylinders began to smash repeatedly in rhythm, using up energy and causing them to undergo great stress. Bossman laughed at the ponies’ attempts to dodge the relentless crushers. However, with all the smashing going on, he forgot about Twilight and Techorse. The lasers eventually brought the field down on his station.

“We got it!” shouted Techorse.

Twilight took aim and fired a purple magic missile right for Bossman. The human saw the projectile and jumped back to avoid it. The control panel was almost completely destroyed by the hit, but one of the joysticks remained and was jammed backwards by the hit. Bossman tried to run, but fell over, and his ankle was wrenched on his chair. He shouted in pain and was unable to move, lying on his back. Two of the cylinders ceased their pulsing, but one was moving back slowly towards the office, still pounding away. The platform the injured man was on lowered to the ground level, and the cylinder approached the human. Eventually, it rose into the air for another strike, and came to rest right above the human. The cylinder began its decent right over Bossman, and the human screamed in terror as he was about to become a victim of his own device. The ponies shut their eyes and waiting for the crunch. But they opened them when they heard no impact.

The cylinder was glowing a purple color, and had stopped just 3 feet from Bossman’s face. Twilight was sweating, her eyes shut, concentrating hard on the cylinder just as she did in Nightmare Moon’s castle. The heavy smashing device had been brought to a halt.

Techorse said to the others, “Help Twilight out! Concentrate on the smasher!” The others stared hard at the thing, not sure how it was going to help. But Twilight was able to relax a bit, and she detached the entire machine from the ceiling. She moved it away, out from over the top of Bossman, and then, with one final magical effort, threw the 20 ton cylinder. It turned around once in the air before smashing against the server. In one mighty explosion, the server was destroyed; its parts began raining down on everything. Ponies stopped materializing inside the cages.

“No!” shouted Bossman, realizing it was all over for his robots. The human got up on his foot, grunting about the terrible pain in it.

“You think you’ve won this all? I can still send your friends to Earth with what’s left of my controls!” he shouted in pure evil rage.

Twilight’s mouth hang open, and she said, “After I just saved you? You ingrate!”

Bossman answered her, “I’m still living, so I still want my money!”

Techorse said to him, “You’ll get paid back, Bossman. I guarantee it.” The colt deployed his turbofans and flew right up to the human. He quickly switched to his robot hands and pushed the release switches on the panel.

The cages in the factory began to open up, and the ponies ran out, cheering that they were finally free. As they exited, they spotted their captor and made a straight dash for him. Techorse jumped out of the way as Bossman got trampled by a countless number of ponies.

Rarity watched as the human went under all the hooves and said, “You were quite right, Techorse. He did get paid adequately.” From the massive crowd of running ponies came a large puff of blue smoke, evidence Bossman had quit. Techorse walked over to a wall of the factory and opened up two gigantic doors for the crowd to exit. The massive steel garage styled door opened up, letting fresh sunlight enter the red-lit factory. As they left, the friends were re-united with loved ones they had lost to the robots. Pinkie Pie hugged Bon-Bon and Lyra as they left their cages and began to exit the factory to go home. Applejack saw many of her relatives freed from the cages, and the sight brought tears to her eyes. Rainbow Dash managed to find Soarin’ and give him a high hoof for finally escaping his prison, as well as getting a chance to thank that one Pegasus pony who threw himself in front of a beam to save her. Many of the princess’s guards walked out of the cages, although their armor had been left behind in their trip. The only one who didn’t seem to have any pony to talk to was Techorse, who was content to watch his friend’s joy in saving their friends and family.

Around the globe, the tides of battle turned. The robots were left without their teleporter beams, and the ponies began trashing them left and right. Soon, every last machine had been destroyed. Freedom had been won, and the cities began to celebrate their victory against the humans. Back in Ponyville, PAL and the others were beginning to run low on ammo. Spike was getting worn out, and PAL was down to four missiles. But once the teleporter beams turned off, they too were able to crush their enemies and defeat the entire army. The citizens of Ponyville cheered as the last robot cracked and blew up. Finally, the planet was free, no more robots, and no more humans. But from space, one last human watched with rage. He was determined to have their world for his own, and no military defeat would stop him.

The last few ponies walked out of the cages and proceeded out the door. After that, Techorse threw the master power switch on the control panel of the office. An eerie fading hum filled the factory as the machines all came to a quiet standstill. On the ground laid fragments of Bossman’s suit, the broken red crystal, and the used-up blue potion.

“It’s finally over.” said Fluttershy. Suddenly, the disk on the control panel began to glow violently.

“Not yet.” said Twilight sadly. Before the friends emerged a full holographic figure of Wizard.

“PONIES!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Techorse said to him, “Wizard! Come to surrender?”

Wizard shouted at him, “I will never surrender, Techman! You may have defeated all my men, and destroyed every last robot, but while my heart still beats I will have your planet to control! I’m going to cast a spell so powerful that Equestria will be under my rule for all time!”

Twilight said to him, “Leave now Wizard, and we won’t have to take any action against you.”

He said to Twilight, “Or what? Come and get me! If you ponies think you’re so tough, you’ll stop me yourselves. I am not leaving this planet ever. I will rule it for all eternity! Within the hour, my spell will turn you all into my mindless slaves. Equestria shall be mine!”

Wizard then laughed insanely and shut off the hologram.

“He’s gone off the deep end.” commented Rarity, shaking her head slowly.

“Oh this is bad.” said Twilight, visibly upset. “How are we going to stop a spell that powerful when it’s from space?”

Techorse said dramatically, “Here’s what we’ll do. We’re going to go to space, board that space station, and show Wizard that this planet is inhabited not by mere ponies, but by beings with hearts, something he doesn’t have! I say we go up there and prove once and for all that he can’t do whatever he wants because of his magic. I’m not out for revenge anymore because he ruined my life. My life’s better than ever because I have you as friends. But I know I won’t be the last life to be ruined by Wizard if we just let him go. He will keep attacking other planets, trying to conquer them and their people, unless we destroy his evil magic once and for all! Who’s with me?” Techorse’s friends cheered in approval of the decision to face down Wizard.

“Just one problem.” said Rainbow Dash, “I can’t breathe in space and the rest of us can’t get there.”

Techorse answered her question happily, “Bossman has a space shuttle parked outside we can use to reach the space station. It’ll be as easy as the helicopter we used.”

Applejack said, “Then what are we waitin’ for? We’ve got a Wizard to face!”

Chapter 41

The ponies galloped away with victory in mind to locate the space shuttle. They found the machine parked outside on the tarmac that stretched out from the factory. Now this space shuttle was not like the ones used in our past. This shuttle was much different, it lacked extra boosters and was powerful enough to reach space without disposable tanks. It was also far smaller, just large enough to carry a few people to and from the surface of whatever planet it needed to land on. Techorse flew on top of it with his turbofans, and then opened the door towards the nose of the craft with his robot arms. After the door swung open on the spaceship, a ramp descended downwards akin to a ship from Star Trek. Pinkie Pie oohed at the sight of the pretty little craft. She was the first to run in and of course, touch every button, switch, and lever in sight.

“Luckily” said Techorse to comfort the others, “she can’t actually launch the shuttle without one other pony in there to hit the second ignition button.” The others boarded one at a time into the vehicle, and after they had all gotten inside, Techorse pushed a button on the side of the door frame. The ramp slid back into the shuttle, and the door mechanically closed and locked behind them. A small hissing sound was heard as the cabin pressurized for space flight. The inside of the shuttle was a little cramped, featuring a cockpit with two seats and a large number of button, flip switch, and joystick based controls. A single touch screen in the center of the control panel was all that was needed to fly the shuttle automatically, however.

Twilight looked at the complicated controls and said, “Ok, first we need to make sure we have enough fuel for this trip. We don’t want a repeat of the helicopter incident.”

Rainbow Dash found the fuel indicator and said, “It’s closer to F. It must mean we need to fuel up.”

Techorse laughed, “F stands for ‘full tank’, so we probably have plenty of fuel in reserve, Rainbow.”

Rainbow said without missing a beat, “I knew that, I just wanted to test you eggheads, that’s all.”

Techorse rolled his eyes and started working the controls with his robot arms. “Strap yourselves in back there.” said Twilight as she turned her head to look at the others. Rarity took a seat belt in her teeth and buckled herself to the shock sofas in the back of the space shuttle.

“I sure hope space flight doesn’t mess up hair.” she worried.

“Depends on how G-resistant your natural beauty is, Rarity.” answered Techorse jokingly from the front.

Fluttershy said to her, “Rarity, space is so beautiful I hear, with all the stars. It’ll be like going outside at night, except there’s no ground. If anything happens to your hair, I’m sure it’ll be worth it.”

Applejack added in agreement, “Back on the farm, when I was a little foal, I’d look up at the stars and wonder what they were really like out there. This is gonna be great.”

Techorse said to Twilight, “I know you’ve done a lot of astronomy work, Twilight. I’ve flown through space countless times with Wizard, so it’s nothing new to me, but I know you’re going to love it out there.”

Twilight said with a smile, “Yeah, I’m excited, there’s a big difference between reading about space and seeing it up close. Are we ready to go yet?”

Techorse answered, “Yes, everything’s ready to go.” He said out loud, “Alright everypony, this is it! I hope you’re all buckled up back there.”

“We’re all ready!” shouted Pinkie Pie. Secretly, she planned to unbuckle during takeoff due to a dare by Rainbow Dash.

“Here we go!” said Techorse. He flicked a couple of switches, and turned an ignition key with his robot hands.

“Twilight, turn your key.” He said, motioning to the other ignition panel. Twilight pushed the key into place gently with her hoof. The shuttle’s engines roared to life, and the machine began moving down the tarmac. Techorse pushed the throttle to maximum, and began typing to program a trip back to the space station. The craft moved faster and faster until its wheels began to lift off of the ground. Techorse retracted the landing gear wheels and waited for the telltale “clunk” of the wheels entering the craft’s hull.

He then said, “Firing turbo drives!” Pushing a button, the shuttle gained a large amount of speed at once to leave the atmosphere. Pinkie Pie went flying from her seat and hit the back of the shuttle, which lucky for her was well padded. Her face was being distorted by the sheer G-force of the shuttle’s takeoff, but she still laughed at the experience. The others simply looked at her and shook their heads. They knew it was far safer to stay buckled. Outside, the craft was getting ready to leave the atmosphere. From the windows, the blues of the sky began to be replaced by the cold dark blackness of space, lit only by the trillions of stars in the galaxy. Finally, the craft left Equestria’s atmosphere and began its flight towards the space station. Techorse shut off the booster engines and put the craft on autopilot.

“Welcome to space.” he said with a smile. Pinkie Pie immediately began to notice her weightlessness and began “swimming” around the open cabin of the shuttle.

“Wheeeee!” she squealed as the pink pony bounced from wall to wall. The others unbuckled themselves and began to adjust to the zero-G environment.

“Oh my.” whispered Fluttershy as she floated around. Rainbow Dash drifted underneath of her and looked up at Fluttershy.

“Psst, down here!” she said, startling her friend. Applejack’s hat drifted off her head, and she started to chase after it in a makeshift space game. But up in the front, Twilight and Techorse were gazing at the stars.

“Behind us,” said Techorse, “is your home planet ladies. Have a look out the back window.” Every pony moved to the back of the shuttle to look out the rear glass. In front of them was Equestria, a very colorful planet, with lush land and flowing water. Although it featured unusual colors in its topography, the planet’s Earth-like atmosphere gave it the environment that made it a hospitable planet.

“Your planet orbits a single sun similar in size and strength to Earth’s” said Techorse, “and you also have a larger, but still important moon to control the tides by gravity.”

Twilight asked, “Can you show me where Earth is out there? I’d like to know.” Techorse answered, “It’s 400 light years away, but you can still see our sun.” Techorse moved to the left side of the spacecraft and pointed carefully out the window.

“That yellow dot.” He said, “Is Earth’s sun. As I said already, it’s nearly an identical star to yours, being medium sized, yellow in color, and moderately temperature. For a star that is, they’re really very hot.”

Twilight said, “Yeah, billions of degrees.”

Fluttershy asked, “Tech, are you ever going to miss Earth?”

Techorse frowned a bit and answered, “My original parents don’t know I exist anymore, Fluttershy. Even if we win, I’d have no friends or family to go home to.”

Applejack put a hoof on him and said gently, “But you do have a home to go to, back on Equestria with us. We’re your friends.”

Techorse looked at her and said, “I know, Applejack. Equestria really is my home now.” He then looked deep into Twilight’s eyes.

She said to him, “We’re really glad for everything you’ve done to help us. I’m thrilled you want to stay here forever.”

“Me too.” answered Techorse. The shuttle continued its trip for the space station, crossing a very large distance to reach the orbiting object. After a half hour flight, the shuttle had crossed the orbit path of the shuttle and began moving around the planet to catch the station in orbit. The large, ominous platform was coming up in the front window.

“There’s the station.” said Twilight. The others looked out the front Plexiglas window to view the massive orbital structure. It was essentially a large dome with several supporting metal bars coming down from the top, each with a bubble at the end for observation. At the base of this half-sphere was a truncated pyramid featuring landing bays. The entire structure looked very similar to a cake stand of some kind, but its true purpose was to be a palace in orbit.

“Wizard is somewhere on that station.” said Techorse, “hoping he’ll rule the planet from it.”

Twilight assured him, “We’re not going to let him do that. Not today.”

He remembered something just then and said, “Once we’re on board, the station is equipped with artificial gravity. That means you’ll have to re-adjust to having to stand upright again.” Rainbow Dash, enjoying her acrobatics in the weightless environment, showed disapproval, but eventually sat down in her seat. The others returned to the shock couches and buckled in too.

“How are we going to dock? I’m pretty sure Wizard is not simply going to let us in.” asked Rarity.

“I’m pretty sure he will.” answered Twilight ominously, “After all we’ve done to foil his invasion he might want to deal with us personally.” Fluttershy began to get nervous again, but Rainbow Dash offered some comfort by brushing her hair gently. The shuttle got closer to the bay doors on the truncated pyramid structure. Several gun turrets on the station began to track the shuttle.

“Those don’t look friendly at all.” said Pinkie Pie with a strange worried tone.

Techorse thought to himself, “I know you want to destroy me yourself, Wizard. Now, turn off those cannons, I know they're just a trick to scare us off.” The gun turrets indeed were a trick; they turned away from the spacecraft after a second and came to a stop. The bay door on the base of the station began to open up. The craft gently drifted inside, and Techorse deployed the landing gear. Because it was in space, the shuttle landed vertically inside the gigantic hangar and stopped.

“We’re in.” said Techorse.

Part 10 (chapters 42-end)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 42

The side door on the shuttle opened up, and the ramp came down. The inside of the bay was not unlike what you’d expect of a giant space station. It was quite empty; no other craft were parked inside it, leaving it an empty box of steel bathed in fluorescent lights from overhead. The ponies disembarked from the shuttle and proceeded forward towards the doors to move deeper into the station.

“Oh my gosh, this place is huge.” marveled Rainbow Dash as she flew a bit up into the air of the hangar.

“It’s also completely empty.” noted Twilight.

“Keep in mind only 6 humans came here, so they wouldn’t need that many spaceships” said Techorse, “this is mostly Wizard showing off his magical construction skills again, as well as his teleportation skills. He had to move this from Earth orbit here.”

Twilight said in awe, “Wow. Magic of that scale must have taken him forever to master.”

Techorse continued with sadness, “Really, he just sacrificed morality for sheer power.” The ponies walked up to a submarine-styled fire door, and Techorse twisted it open with his robotic hands. Walking through, they found themselves in narrow halls with very little interesting features. They were simply gray with a light bulb every once and awhile to prevent the hallways from becoming pitch dark. The long hallways sometimes came to an elevator, where the team would board and be carried up to yet another hall.

“This is so boring” complained Pinkie.

“It’s about to get real interesting.” Applejack said to her, “once we find that Wizard.”

The last elevator door opened up to a tiny closet-like room with a single oak door. Opening the door, the ponies entered the room the humans first assembled in. A long wooden table with 7 chairs was in the center of the room. Although no windows were present, there was a large stand in front of the table with multiple devices used for presentations.

Techorse said like a tour guide, “This is the room we all started this invasion in. Here, Wizard passed around those crystals you saw around the humans’ necks. I need to find that last one so I can make my element artifact.” As they walked by the table, they came to a metal staircase leading upwards. They followed it up one floor, where they were met with a fork in the staircase. The sign between the two options read, “Observation deck” and “sleeping quarters.” The friends used Occam’s razor and headed up for the observation deck. They stepped into the room Wizard had planned and puppeted his entire invasion from. The wreckage of the destroyed command table sat in the middle of the large room, the walls of which were painted a dull tan color. To the left, the large window showed Equestria below as well as the moon and stars. Behind the table wreckage was the hologram communications disk on top of an ionic styled marble column. There, at the back of the room, stood Wizard. He was turned away from the ponies, knowing they were there, but refusing to face them immediately.

Twilight shouted at the man, “Wizard!” The human in the navy blue cloak turned around. Wizard’s shaved black hair and goatee gave him a fearsome appearance to the ponies, except for Techorse, who was used to his cruel master’s looks. In truth, Wizard was not ugly at all, rather having the appearance of a tough and lean biker, almost. Wizard’s slightly tanned skin and moderately muscular body completed his physical form.

He turned to face them and said, “Ponies. How nice to finally meet you.”

“Give up Wizard!” shouted Pinkie Pie, “We have you trapped.”

“Is that so?” asked Wizard, “do you have any idea what sort of magic power you are dealing with, pink one?”

Applejack shouted, “It’s over Wizard, now go home before we make ya!”

Wizard said very calmly but with malice, “I have no intention of leaving. Soon, I will cast a spell that will make Equestria’s residents my slaves. I will turn them all into mindless beings that are easily controlled.” Wizard then turned around and walked up the stairs behind him. He cast a blue energy field from his hand, which blocked off the entrance with a force field.

“This field will only be passable by Techman.” He said, “I only desire to speak with him.” Wizard then walked up the stairs and disappeared.

Applejack rammed against the force field at full charging speed, hoping to break through. But it was no use, the field was way too strong to be broken.

Twilight asked, “What are we going to do now?”

Techorse said, “I guess I’ll have to face him alone. While I’m fighting Wizard, I’ll keep him from remembering the force field.”

Twilight said happily, “Right! Because magic is based in the mind, if he forgets he cast the field, it’ll weaken!”

“Exactly!” said Rainbow Dash, “now what are we really going to do?”

Techorse opened the battle saddle and took out the six element crystals. He placed them gently on the floor of the station.

“Take your element artifacts back. If I don’t make it, you’ll still have a shot at beating Wizard. I must face him alone. It’s the only way to get this field down.”

Twilight said to him, “Be careful. If you distract Wizard long enough, we’ll come to help you.”

Techorse nodded and then ran up the stairs to confront his old master.

He went up the short staircase and ran into Wizard’s private room aboard the space station. It had a glass panel in the ceiling which opened up into the giant glass dome of the space station, as well as a few thin side windows. Lining the walls of the room were many bookcases, full of books of spells and magic. In the middle of the back wall was a giant throne decorated ornately with many gold and silver items. The chair was lined with velvet cushions. Wizard got up from his throne and approached the green pony. He went to the wall of the large room and stared out one of the few side windows deep into space.

“Techman,” he said, “I don’t really want to destroy you. You’re like a grandson to me. It just hurts so much to see you betraying your own kind like this.”

“I didn’t betray humanity, I betrayed you.” replied Techorse with anger, “The other humans back on Earth might disagree quite violently with your invasion of another planet.”

Wizard kept holding his hands in a resting pose behind his back, and continued, “I wanted you to make plenty of money to cover your father’s debt. I could then return you to your family by giving them their memory back and making you human again. You just have to give up and come back to me.”

Techorse said trying not to spit, “You never cared about me. You called me private, treated me like a worthless soldier, and destroyed a planet to prove your power to me. But instead of becoming hateful like you, I devoted my life to science and learned a way to beat your plans. You’re just trying to save your hide from me now that I have you trapped like a rodent.”

Wizard turned and faced Techorse, and gave the pony a surprised look. “You think I feel trapped by you? That I’m afraid?” he asked curiously. He then smiled and said, “Oh Techman, I’m not afraid of you. I’m just trying to save our chance to become rich friends.”

“Three things” answered Techorse, “My name’s not Techman, it’s Techorse. Second, I have friends now, something I didn’t have as a human because of you. And third, you never cared about becoming rich. You just wanted to take over a planet of sapient beings and rule them like a tyrannical god. You don’t care about the cash, you just want power and control you heartless ape.”

Wizard still refused anger for some reason, and said, “Heartless ape? Reality check Techman, you’re a human, not a pony! It’s my magic keeping you a pony.”

“No” said Techorse shaking his head, “It’s your magic partially, but it’s also Twilight’s.”

“Twilight?” asked Wizard. “The purple unicorn you saw early on? That’s Twilight Sparkle. She fused her magic with yours to save my life from you, and it opened my eyes to how magic can be good. It changed my perspective from hatred of magic to a love of good magic, something you’re incapable of. She really is a very special friend to me, but you wouldn’t understand that because you treat this entire planet’s population as a bunch of chess pieces you can control.”

Wizard nodded slowly like a psychologist listening to his insane patient. He then said to his old slave, “Look, Techman. I offer you but one chance to become human again and leave this whole thing behind us. I no longer intend to keep you as my soldier. In fact, I wish to return you home. You just have to give up this notion that these ponies accept you as one of their own. I mean really, you think that Twilight pony cares about you? She’d just as well be rid of you because you’re a human at heart.”

Techorse plowed through the psychological weapons Wizard was throwing down. “That’s not true.” He said, “We’ve all been through too much as friends. It’s how we beat your men, and it’s how we’re going to beat you.”

Wizard laughed, “By friendship? Magic’s the most powerful force ever.”

“That’s just it.” said Techorse, “you see, through science, I learned...”

Wizard waved his hand and finished, “It’s a process of brainwaves, yes blah blah I heard that from you ages ago. It means nothing to me your freaking science.” He then said sternly after a pause for breath, “Choose now Techman. Human or pony?”

Techorse planted his hooves firmly on the floor of the room and said, “I am Techorse, the pony. I refuse your offer politely to become a human again and follow you, Wizard. You wish nothing but destruction of worlds and to enslave their natives.”

Wizard said calmly, “Fine.”

The colt got a confused look on his face and asked, “Fine?”

Wizard shrugged and said, “Yeah, fine. I understand.”

He then backed up from Techorse and continued, “It’s settled then. I shall allow you to continue life on Equestria as a pony.” Wizard’s hands began to glow orange, and he raised them up.

He then shouted with intense rage: “IF YOU SURVIVE THIS BATTLE FIRST!”

Techorse rolled to the left to dodge the incoming orange rays which shot from Wizard’s hands. Taking out his laser cannons, the pony opened fire at his old master, determined to strike him down and save the planet. Wizard deflected the bolts with his magical energy shield.

“Your guns are impressive Techorse, but my magic is far better!” he laughed as the yellow bolts of light were absorbed or reflected by his magic shields.

Wizard ran around the room and continued his assault, blasting away with shots of orange and green energy, attempting to vaporize Techorse. One bolt came close, and the concussion from the explosion flung Techorse into a bookshelf. The books piled up around him, burying the pony underneath. Wizard charged up his hands and vaporized the pile with a great blast.

“He’s dead already, such a waste.”

Wizard was impacted by Techorse’s hooves as his turbofans provided a boost, knocking the man down.

“How are you still alive?!” screamed Wizard as he stood back up.

The hovering Techorse answered, “I slipped out behind the bookcase. Learn some tactics, old man!” Wizard shot more magic blasts out of his fists, determined to kill his slave and end the fight. Techorse continued his evasive maneuvers, sometimes landing to avoid the closer energy blasts.

Back downstairs, the force field was starting to flicker. In Wizard’s frustration, he was beginning to forget about the field, and his brainwaves were no longer providing support to keep the field up.

“It’s working.” said Fluttershy.

Back in the throne room, Wizard started spraying energy in the form of twin particle beams from his fingertips, making an even greater mess of the giant throne room. Techorse jumped over the beams like they were ropes and fired back with a couple of lasers. It was obvious the magic energy shields on Wizard were beginning to falter. He couldn’t take much more firepower until they dropped. Techorse also spotted a silver briefcase beneath the throne.

He thought to himself, “There’s the crystal. I have to get it!” He flew towards the throne. Wizard used a simple spell to detect the intention of his actions, and magically pulled the briefcase into his hands before his enemy could grab it.

“You want this?” he teased as he held the briefcase in his hands. He then dropped it and stood on top the silver case. “Come and get it then, Techman!” he laughed as he opened fire again. The green pony evaded the shots easily, and continued his assault with his laser cannons. Wizard must have sensed his shield going down, for he began to actively try and dodge the return fire.

Back downstairs, the others had yet to put on their element artifacts. The crystals glowed and hovered on their necks, but they would not change form for some reason. Twilight looked at the forcefield, and saw it vanish completely.

“Now’s our chance!” she said. The friends rushed upstairs, crystals in tow, to assist their friend. They found Wizard about to blast Techorse to smithereens with his magic energy.

“Even at the end, Techman, you’re still a weakling compared to me. Now, once I’m done with you, I’m going to revive your body and shrink you to the size of a marble. Then, I’ll put you in a jar, seal it, and grant you long life so you’ll spend thousands of years in the jar. I’m going to then toss that jar into a black hole. But don’t worry Techman, I hear the other side of the universe is quite lovely this time of year!”

Wizard cackled and charged up a huge energy blast, “Have a nice death!” he shouted.

Wizard then gasped in pain as Twilight hit him in the back with a magic missile. The man lost his power temporarily, and the energy blast disappeared. As Wizard turned around, Applejack ran up and bucked him hard in the front, knocking the wind out of the man and sending him crashing into his throne. Rainbow Dash went next, and flew rapidly around the human, bashing the splinters of the throne around him. The human fell down on his knees; his energy shield was nearly gone. As Wizard stood up again, Rarity went next, throwing a gemstone from a nearby decoration, which vaporized on the energy shield and drained it further. Pinkie Pie came around from the side, and hopped on Wizard’s head, causing the human to lose balance just as Fluttershy gently walked up to him. The lightly yellow pony gently nudged him gently with one of her front hooves, making the human come crashing down to the floor with a big thud. The energy shield around Wizard dissipated completely with this impact. The human stood up and scowled in rage, his hands glowing with pure energy. But then, he howled in pain as Techorse got up in front of him, laser cannons blazing. The bolts burned through cloak and flesh, injuring Wizard greatly. The human shrieked like a demon as he was hit repeatedly, getting more and more hurt by the second as the blasts burned small craters into his flesh. He curled up into a ball at the base of the throne’s remains. Techorse stepped closer, revenge in his eyes, determined to end the evil man’s life once and for all. The lasers continued to tear into the human, and Wizard began yelling and howling.

“Please!” he begged while nearly in tears, “don’t do this! I give up! Techorse, please, mercy!”

Chapter 43

Twilight looked at Techorse’s face of pure anger. This was not the sweet colt she knew.

“Tech!” she said to him desperately, “That’s enough, stop it! I know he took you from your parents and everything, but he gives up! Let him live, please! This is not you at all!”

Those words reached Techorse’s soul, and he knew he had taken things too far. The laser cannons fell silent as they retracted back into his saddle, and he let out a deep sigh. Wizard’s clothing was a smoldering mass of burned blue polyester, making it cling to his skin. What once was a powerful and mighty evil man was now a helpless person whimpering on the floor.

Wizard was shaking in pain and defeat, “You didn’t finish me. Despite everything Techorse, you didn’t finish me.”

Techorse told him, “That’s right Wizard. Twilight is right, I mean. If I were to destroy you mercilessly like you tried to do to me, I’d be no better than you.”

Wizard got on his knees and pounded the ground with his fist. “I can’t believe this. Beaten by….. ponies.”

Twilight asked rhetorically, “Do you want to know why you were beaten by us Wizard? It’s not because we’re more powerful than you individually, it’s because of our friendship and bonds between us. Techorse taught me magic is only so powerful on your own, without your friends, you’re quite weak. Throughout my adventures, I had no idea our friendship powered some of my spells which saved our very lives. But you, you’re so selfish and egotistical, you never wanted any friends to help you. You just wanted to rule alone, which makes you weaker magically, and morally.”

Techorse said to his old master, “Go home Wizard. Leave Equestria, and do not return. Do not try to invade another planet again, thinking they’ll be weak. They will learn the same as us ponies, and defeat you again.”

Techorse went over to the briefcase and opened it. The crystal inside glowed a grayish color. It was attracted to the male pony’s neck, and as it touched him, it changed form. The crystal became a silver dogtag-styled necklace, with Techorse’s cutie mark of the 3 stacked symbols on the front. He then returned to Twilight’s side.

Wizard looked at all the ponies and said softly, “I have a secret for you all.”

“What’s that?” asked Fluttershy.

Wizard then said in a sinister tone, “Always finish your enemies.” He then rapidly shot magic bolts at Twilight and Techorse. Techorse was struck, knocking the colt unconscious. Wizard removed his battle saddle and then crumpled the gadget up with his magic as if it were no more than aluminum foil. After dropping the smashed device, he electrocuted Twilight Sparkle and tossed both of them through the glass ceiling. Wizard jumped up through the hole.

“Come on girls, we have to save them!” said Applejack as she jumped up to follow them. Outside, the dome of the space station was visible. On top of the rest of the structure were 5 stone pads evenly placed around a center one, all connected by stone bridges. Wizard flew up high into the air using his magic, and threw Twilight down onto the center pad, nearly breaking her tiara artifact. Wizard drew a floating pad from a reserve stack and smacked Techorse onto it, then cast him down so he floated several feet above Twilight. The other ponies emerged from the shattered glass pane and started gathering around Twilight Sparkle.

“We’re going to try the magic of the elements.” said Rarity. The girls positioned themselves at the ends of the pads. Conveniently, there was one for each of them, and they placed themselves in order identical to the drawings in the prophecy book, leaving Twilight at the center.

Wizard then started glowing an intense red color. A massive ring of energy burst from him, shattering the glass of the space station’s dome and tearing away the support structures. The oxygen was immediately vacuumed out, but the element artifacts provided an air supply to the ponies. Techorse lay unconscious and hurt on his floating pad. Wizard was high above the friends, looking down at the arena they stood on and laughed heavily. He grew to double his standard size, and his cloak repaired itself, turning a deep red color. Wizard’s hair and goatee changed to a fiery white color as well. His eyes’ gray irises disappeared, and his eyeballs were nothing but an eerie glowing orange.

The human shouted, “If you ponies refuse to bow before me, I shall destroy your entire world! The next planet will hear of it, and in fear will worship my very name!”

Wizard began to form a gigantic ball of orange magical energy over his head. He looked down at Equestria, knowing within the minute he would destroy it. Techorse got up on his hooves shakily and looked down at the dogtag around his neck. He thought deeply as he heard the panicked screams of his friends about to lose their home. It wasn’t right for Wizard to destroy the planet. It wasn’t…

Twilight said, “alright girls! Let’s stop him!” The elements glowed furiously and produced the rainbow beam. It surrounded Techorse in a tube pattern and headed straight for Wizard. To the horror of the girls though, it did absolutely nothing, Wizard simply absorbed the blast and grew brighter.

He cackled heartily, “That stupid element magic does not work on me. It takes real, violent magic to stop even the simplest spells I control! With my power, I control truth and reality!”

Techorse then knew what element he actually held; Wizard’s last statement had sealed his fate. The ball of energy was getting massive over Wizard’s head, time was running out.

Looking up slowly at Wizard, Techorse shouted, “That’s where you are wrong Wizard! You just want to control everything, but you can’t! The will of others is too strong!”

He continued, “I’ve learned I represent an element like each of these amazing mares here! At first, I thought it was reality! I like science, I like to take life as what it is, and I don’t like people making things up.”

Techorse breathed and continued shouting, “But I also know my element is powerless without the others. So alone, it is just reality. These marks on my flank are not chevrons, but checkmarks, the symbol of taking the time to make sure things are really what they are. But guess what happens when the other elements are taken into account with reality? We get something new; something that holds the fabric of society together, and deals with those who dare break it, like you!”

Techorse’s artifact began to glow and change shape. When it settled, a silver set of scales with his cutie mark on the fulcrum was hanging around his neck.

“Justice.” He said proudly.

“When we take loyalty, add honesty, laugh about our mistakes, show kindness and forgiveness, and give generously in the magic and name of friendship, justice will prevail and harmony stands!” Techorse then glared at Wizard directly and shouted again, “But there are those like you who want to create a false reality and keep justice from coming through! For them, justice deals what it deals best: judgment.”

Techorse’s set of scales began to glow intensely. The stones between the platforms flew up and began to form a chimney-like structure above Techorse. The floating platform fell away when the stones rested in place, and Techorse was floating right at the entrance to the tube of stone.

“It’s a cannon.” whispered Twilight in awe.

Techorse turned around and said to Twilight, “I know what I must do. I must bring Wizard to justice before he changes reality forever.”

Twilight nodded and charged up the beam again. The girls concentrated hard on their new friend as Wizard brought his destructive power to maximum. Techorse closed his eyes after one last look up the stone tube, which was aimed right at Wizard’s chest. The rainbow colored beam built up behind him, and he was suddenly moving at high velocity through the magical cannon. Wizard looked down at the gun pointed straight for him, and furiously tried to build up the energy he was holding above his head faster. But Techorse had left the tube and was shooting straight at him, with a rainbow beam trailing him. Wizard’s expression changed to pure horror: the magic of the elements had made Techorse human again. Techman flew in front of the element magic, approaching Wizard at faster and faster speeds. The scales still around his neck despite the change back to human; Techman looked directly at Wizard as he closed the distance with the overlord. He pulled back his fist and looked Wizard directly in the eyes. The scales made his hands glow silver with the power of justice.

“HEY WIZARD!” shouted Techman,

“REALITY CHEEEEEEECK!”

Techman brought his fist forward and impacted into the oversized Wizard’s chest. The teenager disappeared into Wizard’s torso, and the evil man screamed in pain. Instantly, they both vanished in a fireball of white light, and Wizard lost control of his ultimate energy blast in one extremely large magical explosion. This caused a blinding flare of white light, visible from the ground of the planet, to fill the sky. The blast vaporized the space station and any remains of it, but the magic of the elements flung the 6 girls back down to their home planet in a rainbow-colored comet.

Chapter 44

It was predicted by the astronomers that the ponies would re-enter the atmosphere outside of Ponyville. The elements were bringing the girls home. Celestia and Luna departed using teleportation and took Jools and Jops with them. Once they arrived, they told the citizens that they would be crash-landing just outside of town, and that they should get ready to treat them medically. Spike and PAL of course tagged along, hoping their best friends would be ok. They watched sadly at the sky, hoping to receive any sign the girls were still alive.

“Look, there!” shouted Bon-Bon, pointing at the incoming rainbow projectile.

The ball of pony and energy impacted the ground and bounced once before coming to a rest. When the energy field faded away, the 6 females shook themselves off and met the princesses. The element artifacts returned to crystal form once more, and Celestia collected them in her case.

Spike ran up and gave Twilight a hug. “Twi, you’re ok!” he said with great joy.

“Oh Spike, I missed you so much!” replied Twilight as she hugged her dragon.

Big Macintosh approached Applejack and said, “You Did well sis. Eyup. Ya did well.” Applejack threw her hooves around her brother and Apple Bloom, who also tagged along to see the event. Sweetie Belle ran up to her sister Rarity and glomped her.

“You’re back!” she cheered, “way to go.”

“Easy now!” laughed Rarity.

Fluttershy was greeted by the many animals that remembered her care, including her rabbit Angel. Derpy Hooves had arrived on the scene, and talked with Pinkie Pie about the experience battling Wizard. Rainbow Dash was greeted by the Wonderbolts again, and also the pony who saved her life, whom she made sure she gave a big hug this time.

Celestia asked Twilight, “Where’s Techorse?”

Twilight grew deeply sad along with the others.

Luna said with pain, “He didn’t make it?”

They shook their heads sadly. PAL put his hands on his robot face and wept.

Spike said, “Aw PAL, I’m sorry. Don’t cry man.”

PAL replied, “Cry? I’m crying?” He then said, “I wasn't programmed for emotion. I must have learned it myself.”

Celestia and Luna lost it after a while too, Celestia’s waving hair fell down again, and they wiped away their tears with handkerchiefs provided by Jools and Jops. The two guards took off their helmets in respect and laid them on the ground. Even though they wanted to cry for the guy who freed them, they couldn’t in front of their princesses. But tissues offered to them from their masters let them know they could shed some tears without judgment. The guards let the manly tears flow.

“We should build a statue of his human and pony form side by side, with you six little ponies surrounding him.” declared Celestia, “To remember the day we were all saved by his ultimate act of kindness towards our people.”

Luna nodded and added with sobs, “We shall remember his sacrifice forever.”

Pinkie Pie had already lost her hair’s fluff to her misery, and her straight pink hair and tail was limp. It was really too sad, losing such a good friend.

“Why couldn’t it have been me?” she said.

“We can’t think that way.” said Applejack to Pinkie as she removed her hat, “we just gotta get by somehow.”

“Wait! Look up everypony!” shouted Lyra.

The crowd turned their attention to a fireball in the air. It hit the ground and dragged at least a hundred feet of turf, coming to rest on a boulder. It was Techorse, and next to him, the broken remains of the saddle. The scales of justice still sat around his neck and glowed softly. He propped himself up against the rock and looked at his six best friends and PAL.

Twilight said with extreme joy, “You’re alive! Oh my gosh, you’re alive!”

Techhorse said weakly, “We did it girls, Wizard’s gone and our magic protected me enough to re-enter the atmosphere.”

He then took off his scales and laid them on the ground next to him. He walked up to his friends and said to them, “Even If I hadn’t have made it out of that, thank you, all of you, for what you taught me.. Pinkie Pie, you taught me to be positive about life, and to laugh. Rainbow Dash, you taught me to stay loyal to my friends, and never give up. Applejack, you taught me how to get through anything just by being honest with yourself. Rarity, you taught me that it’s worth giving things up to save others. Fluttershy, you taught me mercy and respect.”

He then looked again at Twilight Sparkle and said, “But you, Twilight Sparkle, have taught me the most. You taught me that evil magic can be overcome by the good, with friendship. You helped me see I wasn’t bad at heart, and that I could make a difference in the lives of others. You saved me, Twilight.”

Techorse then turned to the two princesses. “Celestia, Luna, you have ruled this land with peace and love. Keep it up. I see why you destroyed my element artifact now Celestia. You only needed it once to determine if it was just to seal Luna away. Based on how she’s still here after being hit two other times with the magic, I’d say by justice, she has learned her lesson and should stay your co-ruler and sibling. Never let anything come between you two again, promise me.”

“I promise.” They both said, granting his wish.

“I’m so glad you’re ok, but there’s just one thing I don’t get. I don’t understand why you’re a pony now!” said Twilight in awe, “Didn’t we see you as a human again?”

“Well, even though you saw it, my human body was destroyed in that final strike. But the scales heard my wish to remain with my friends, and I had another place to go, my true one. I’m now 100 percent pony, Twilight, not a human in a pony’s body.” The crowd cheered excitedly as the ponies looked at each other. Techorse looked at the crumpled saddle and looked back at Twilight. He moved some of her straight dark colored hair out of the way so he could see the whole of her unicorn face. She gave him a look of great joy, and dried her tears.

Techorse said sweetly as he got closer to her, “In all of this, I learned to find friends. But most importantly, I found love. I love you, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled in sheer joy as they moved together. Their eyes closed as they drew near each other, Twilight and Techorse’s lips locked, and they kissed for a few seconds in front of the others.

After drawing away from the moment of romance, Pinkie Pie cheered, “This calls for a party! A planetwide one!“ The others roared in happiness and agreement. The six others ran after Pinkie Pie as she went for her bakery to begin setting up for the biggest Pinkie Pie Party Equestria had ever seen.

Epilogue

And indeed a party it was. Pinkie Pie’s great talents showed that night as the entire town of Ponyville celebrated. PAL had even managed to make a fireworks display from Techorse’s castle, filling the air with colorful bursts. Zecora showed up in Ponyville to congratulate her friends on their success. The entire planet declared a night of celebration, and the cities partied as they enjoyed their freedom from Wizard. From Appleloosa to Canterlot, to the edges of the planet, the ponies were partying and dancing as they reunited with their captured loved ones. Braeburn and Sheriff Silverstar even invited the buffalo tribe to swing by if they wanted to join in. At Canterlot, the celebration was reported to outrank even the Grand Galloping Gala, which is quite impressive indeed. Cloudsdale had a huge dance party in the sky. The only pony who did not show up was the mayor, who was busy trying to re-organize his campaign to save his tail. Many suspected the partying would last all night and for at least a week after that. They certainly deserved to celebrate after what they had been through.

Back in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and Techorse sat on the cool grass outside of town next to each other, looking up into the night sky. Their tails were overlapping each other, and they were in close shoulder contact. Techorse pointed with his hoof where the Earth’s sun was once more to Twilight. She rested her head gently on his right shoulder and listened to him talk. Princess Celestia and Luna stepped up behind them.

Celestia said gently, “Well Twilight, it’s been nearly a week without a friendship report. What did you learn?” They turned around to face the princesses.

Twilight hugged Techorse and said, “Everything I’ve learned could take entire books to sum up. But most importantly, I’ve learned friends can come from anywhere, even different planets. And sometimes, when you think you’ve found a friend, you actually find love.”

Celestia said, “Excellent. How about you, Techorse? Learn anything?”

Techorse said cheerfully, “Hey, everything I learned I said when I was dying! Don’t you remember?”

They chuckled a bit about the terrible joke. The princesses turned to leave.

Luna told them, “We must be going to Canterlot now. Goodbye.”

“Ok” said Twilight, “see you again soon.” The princesses teleported away, taking Jools and Jops with them. After she was sure they were gone, Twilight whispered something in Techorse’s ear. He nodded and followed her back into town.

They walked by the brightly-lit colonial buildings, watching their friends partying the night away. The two looked at each other lovingly and entered the library, shutting the door behind them. Soon Spike walked up to the tree building and put his head on the door, listening in on the two. He heard them giggling behind the closed entrance, and slowly opened the door with his right hand to spy on them. Inside, Twilight and Techorse were reading a very humorous book together, trying to spend some quality time away from the craziness of the celebration outside.

“Hey, Twilight, Techorse, the party’s out here!” he said to them.

“We know, we'll be out soon.” said Twilight, giving him a smile. Spike nodded and closed the door gently.

“Oh well. They’re going to miss all the fun! Hey Rarity, wanna dance?”

The dragon ran off to try and dance with Rarity. Applejack watched the scene before her and sighed gently. She then turned and watched Rainbow Dash look longingly at the brown Pegasus that saved her life in the battle for Cloudsdale.

“Everypony’s happy in the end.” she said softly. Her best friends were dancing in the center of the town, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Applejack joined them in the celebration after taking a last look at the starry night.

And so it was. Wizard was destroyed, along with his dreams of conquering another people. The planet was safe, free, and peaceful once again. The elements of harmony had done their job, and their representatives continued their lives in peace.

For the time being, anyways...

The End

Part 1 (chapters 1-4)

Author's Note

Disclaimer: A large amount of the information in the prologue is already known by viewers of the show. Skip it if you wish.

Part 1 (chapters 1-4)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Prologue

Planet Equestria. It’s nearly 400 light years away from Earth. The planet itself is earth-like, featuring one sun and one moon as well. The main difference between the two planets was its evolutionary (or to make this story more popular in some regions) / creation line. Earth was inhabited by highly-intelligent ape-like beings called humans, who used their brains to build great and powerful machines out of the metals of the Earth. If you are reading this, you are probably viewing it on one of those machines now. Humans found very little need or use for magic, many doubted its existence or even called it heresy. Great wars were fought between countries to simply determine who was right and who was wrong from a moral standpoint. Interestingly, the side that chooses to value the lives of the individuals won nearly every war. Despite the war and the hatred of the supernatural, a few humans learned magic, manipulating energy with their minds to control matter and the non chemical elements. The most powerful magic users could open portals to other areas in the universe, and travel between entire planets. It might seem grand to have this power, but humans are at a large disadvantage when using magic. For you see, in order to focus their minds in order to use magic, they must sacrifice the power of other parts of their mind. And morality is usually the first to go….

In contrast, the dominant species of Equestria were a large variety of ponies and horses. From our viewpoint, some of them looked like normal ponies; others were like Pegasus, having large wings. Some were unicorns, animals believed to be only a myth on Earth. In early Equestrian society, trouble brewed when the ponies began subjecting themselves into castes. Earth ponies, with no wings or horns, were believed to be stupid and only good for hard labor. The pegasi, with their flight and ability to move cloud formations, became a middle class. But the unicorns, whose horns served as a focal point for their minds, were powerful magic users. They were so talented at manipulating energy and matter with their minds that they saw no use for great technology (At this time, humans had built the steam engine already). They used their magic poorly instead, using it to threaten and enslave the other ponies. Then, the planet’s society began to fall apart when the lowest caste finally snapped. The entire planet was on the brink of engaging in a war that would quite easily have wiped out the intelligent ungulates. However, two sisters decided to stop the war before it even began.

Princess Celestia and Luna were both very unique in that they possessed both wings and a unicorn’s horn. Rather than see themselves as better than others, they vowed to act as ambassadors between the classes of ponies. Eventually though, when the entire planet was on the brink of war, they decided to use their incredible magic power to curse the sun and moon of the planet. For as long as the ponies did not consider themselves equal and treat each other with kindness, the sun would not rise or set and the moon would not appear in the sky for light. From a distant perspective, the planet essentially stopped turning when the three types of ponies could not treat each other as equals on a planet wide scale. Before even a single attack could be made, the planet was plunged into darkness without any hope for light. The three classes of ponies disbanded, and began forming townships and cities together. Although a few cities in the air remained accessible only to the pegasi, the planet was finally at peace. As a reward for saving their species, the citizens of Equestria crowned the sisters as the leaders of the planet. Celestia was responsible for the day and Luna for the night. But a new problem returned very quickly when the biological function of sleep made Luna very angry.

Like humans, ponies are diurnal, and sleep at night to repair their bodies and rest their minds. While they were playful and happy during the day when Celestia ruled, at night when Luna ruled the ponies slept. Angry, Luna attempted to use her magic to break the curse on the planet’s rotation, to keep the planet in night forever. In order to prevent the destruction of the planet’s plant life (and eventually all life), princess Celestia was forced to teleport her sister into a prison inside the moon. To do so, she carved out of stone 6 containers for magical energy called Elements. The first five acted as focusing crystals for the sixth, which served as the weapon itself. These Elements, when worn by ponies displaying the Element’s primary characteristic, would create a teleporter beam capable of banishing evil magic. With this, Luna was trapped inside the moon for 1000 years. But she vowed to come back then and plunge the planet into night once more.

She tried too. 1000 years passed, princess Celestia had survived via the magical energy of happiness from her loyal, but not mindless subjects. The princess had taught ponies of all three types how to use their abilities to work together and live in harmony. However, one of her student was showing signs of anti-social behavior. In response, the princess sent her out into the country to make friends. However, she did not make any until the night of a celebration occurring at the time. During the party, princess Luna returned possessed by a daemon created out of her own loathing. The student and her 5 friends found the Elements inside Luna’s castle and managed to use the teleporter once again. Luckily, only the daemon was banished, leaving a small and defenseless Luna behind. Celestia had mercy on her sibling, and peace was again restored to the planet. The Elements were put into storage, as it was believed they would never see use again.

But evil never sleeps.

Chapter 1

Above Equestria, a strange glowing was occurring. Ponies observing the event saw a large fuchsia colored funnel forming above the planet. None of them panicked, as the funnel was so high in orbit it was not perceived as a threat, for it looked tiny against the sky. In reality, a magical gateway was being opened up to allow faster than light travel. Within a minute, the portal had closed, and the ponies went back to their work, interested in but unaffected by the mystical event.

The space station that had traveled through the funnel was now in orbit around the planet. It was a very large space station shaped like a cake display stand, with several other structures attached to it in special metal orbs. In one of the orbs was a gigantic factory, designed to mass produce machines. In addition, the station was equipped with many shuttles designed to ferry people down to the planet and back up again to the station. However, despite its massive scale, only 8 humans were aboard. Inside the station’s main meeting hall 7 of them were gathered around a round table. The first was a balding businessman, clad in a black tuxedo with silver lining. He wore fancy dark pants and clean white dress shoes, but this really didn’t make up for the fact that he was short, and in his forties. The next man to his right was a dastardly whiplash, like a villain out of a silent movie. He wore a top hat with a belt buckle, a black dress vest, and just as black pants. To top it all off, he wore an oddly contrasting white cape and shirt. The man had a prominent mustache, too, but he never twirled it for fear of being cliché.

The third man seated at the table wore a pith helmet. He looked like he was ready for a safari. Featuring explorer’s clothes, he was dressed like a villain from a Harrison Ford movie. He was clean shaven, and had 8 inch long blond hair. The fourth man sitting to the right to him was a gigantic chef in uniform. Despite his weight, he had quite a bit of muscle in his arms and legs, and was not to be messed with. Being over 6 feet tall balanced out the copious amounts of adipose tissue around his waist. Completing the gourmet’s form was his brown hair and shaved face, which contrasted his green eyes. To the right of him sat a thin German of average height with black hair and a five o'clock shadow, suggesting he had forgotten his shave that morning. This man looked absolutely ridiculous in the grey military uniform he wore, along with his small peaked hat of a similar color.

The next guy was a man dressed like a western outlaw. Wearing jeans, a white buttoned shirt, a light brown coat, and a cowboy hat, he looked like he meant business. He even wore spurless boots, continuing along with the western theme. In terms of facial features, the man was redheaded, but had an odd brown mustache. The human was playing with an odd looking pistol with a red capacitor on the top. Finally, the last one sitting at the table was a young adult. This Caucasian young man had blue eyes, a brown short haircut, and was of average height for his age. He wore kaki tan pants, a white t-shirt, and a green jacket around it. He looked rather sad and worried.

The six were talking together when a bell rang to call their attention. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and the seventh occupant appeared. He was a man with black hair shaved down to one inch in length. He also had a black goatee, and was wearing a flowing blue cloak. You could not see his feet underneath the cloak, but the human was not short by any definition. The guy was a slightly tanned white man with grey eyes, and although he had normal body proportions, he looked like a scholar of some sort. This older man got the attention of the people at the table and began to speak.

“Gentlemen”, he said in a dark tone, “I have successfully teleported us into orbit around the planet. Before we descend to the surface, I can’t help but quiz you on the book I gave each of you about the natives before we got here. So get out your number 2 pencils.” The humans at the table laughed a bit at their employer’s joke, except for the teenager, who kept frowning and looking around the room. The man in the blue cloak continued, “Thanks for appreciating my joke, but in all seriousness, I do have a few questions. First off, has everyone decided on their callsign to use instead of their real name?”

“Yes” answered the chef, “although I’m not sure why we needed to pick new names to use.”

The cloaked one looked at the chef and answered, “There are a couple of “activist groups” who are a little more than against what we’re about to do. I’ve ordered you to pick new names so that if someone finds out about your escapades here, you won’t get arrested.”

“Right.” said the chef, understanding his boss’s point. What the men seated at the table were about to do to the planet below would land them in federal prison if they were found out by government agencies. “I picked Chef Roy as my nickname.” continued the cook.

“Creative.” said the cloaked man, shaking his head.

“Hey, you’ve called yourself “Wizard” ever since you hired us.” complained Chef Roy.

“True” said Wizard, “but remember that I don’t consider myself a plain man, Roy. I’m unique in bringing this space station here with my powers, so I deserve that unique title.”

“Makes sense.” said the chef, crossing his arms and reclining in his black leather chair.

Wizard looked down the table generally and asked, “the rest of you? What callsigns have you chosen?”

Wizard’s minions gave their aliases:

The top hatted man: “Espion”

The executive in the suit: “Bossman”

The cowboy: “Gunslinger”

The general: “Schadenfreude”

The blond-haired explorer: “Hunter”

The Wizard approached the teenager and said, “You can keep your name, private Techman. According to mankind, you don’t exist.” The teenager said nothing in response, literally gazing off into space through a window in the room. Wizard shook his head at the disrespect he was receiving from the boy and sighed. “Now that you have chosen new names, we can descend to the surface and begin collecting the natives. Are there any more questions about them in particular before we begin?”

“I have a question.” said Hunter as he raised his hand.

Wizard acknowledged him, “Go ahead, Hunter.”

“We’ve had one year to read the book you gave us, and in it you keep calling these natives “ponies.” Aren’t they actually aliens that simply resemble ponies?”

Wizard responded, “That’s what’s so scary, Hunter, I didn’t simply call them ponies, it’s what they call themselves.”

“You also imply in your book, sir, that they speak English!” added Bossman to Hunter’s question, “how is that even possible?”

Wizard put a hand on his face, groaned and said, “Techman, if you please, explain this science filth to these buffoons.”

Techman uncrossed his arms and talked to Bossman, “Based on what Wizard and I have studied about the natives, it looks like their vocal cords evolved almost identically to ours back on Earth. That being said, English is one of the easier languages for our vocal cords to use, so they developed a form of it very quickly. The only difference between Equine English and human English are a couple of missing words named after Earth events and some figures of speech. For example, using the name “Einstein” to describe a smart guy will confuse them, as Einstein never lived on their planet. Furthermore…”

“That’s not true, private.” interrupted Wizard. Techman crossed his arms again and stopped his talk. He then finished, “The ponies use the terms “Pegasus” and “unicorn” to describe the two primary variants of their species. That means there are winged and horned ponies on this planet, gentlemen. How they figured out those English words without access to Greek mythology astonishes me.”

“Maybe if you let me finish, you’d understand.” said Techman.

“Shut up!” snapped Wizard. Calming down, the man asked of his group, “any other questions?”

Espion asked, “I understand the natives are quite peaceful. They won’t put up much of a fight?”

Wizard said to him, “Correct. They’ve been at peace for a very long time, beating our species record of longest peacetime by nine hundred years. Because of this, they have very few weapons, only a couple primitive swords and the like.”

“Zis will be easy then.” scoffed general Schadenfreude, “my machines will make quick work of zem.”

Wizard said, “Don’t be so sure, my studies of the natives suggest that their unicorn subspecies can use limited amounts of magic. That might be a threat to your devices.”

“Not tryin’ to kiss up here, Wizard, but I’m sure their magic’s nothin’ compared to you.” said Gunslinger.

“True enough.” agreed Wizard, “all that means is that we will be met with some resistance. We need to go over the plan one more time to make sure we can crush that resistance. Bossman, please give your demonstration.”

“Gladly.” said the man in the business suit. He got up from the table and walked over to a plain-looking projector, and turned it on with a button push. Wizard turned down the lights in the meeting room as the slideshow began. Bossman picked up a laser pointer and talked about the first picture, a map Wizard made of the planet’s surface. “This is a map of the continent we plan to attack first.” Explained Bossman, “notice the large range of mountains here.” He said as he used the laser pointer to circle the mountains with a red dot of light. “These mountains provide a physical border between an empty grassy plains area and the cities on the continent. This prevents two thirds of the natives from assaulting my factory as only the winged ones will be able to get over them quickly by flying.” Pointing to an open spot in the mountain range, Bossman coughed and continued, “Here, we see a pass in the mountains. In case you do not set up portals to deliver the robots produced by my factory magically, I can have them roll out through here. This section will therefore be the most heavily guarded to prevent ground attack through there. Once I have the factory up and going, you’ll basically be free to do whatever you wish while the robots do our work for us. Each robot is capable of teleporting natives into the cages inside my factory.”

Schadenfreude interrupted the presentation, “Bossman, these robots you are building, they are all my designs, right?“

“Correct. Your robots will be the only devices produced.” replied Bossman.

Gunslinger spat out a toothpick he was chewing on and grumbled to the general, “If your robots aren’t teleporting ‘nuff animals into the cages, I got a train to take ‘em back to the factory manually. These varmints are smart enough that they got a railroad system. I reckon it shouldn’t be too hard to clear the tracks.”

The man in the pith helmet said to the cowboy, “I really appreciate you going to the trouble of shipping around our quarry Gunslinger. But thanks to Wizard here, we all have teleporter rifles so we can go hunting for the natives ourselves.”

The chef mumbled with some sadness, “Yeah, hunting.” The men at the table, except for the teenager in the green jacket began chatting about their plans for the planet below.

Then Wizard silenced them and said, “I think you gentlemen have the gist of it. First, we are going to deploy the factory in the place Bossman suggested. Then, while he is there tending the machines and cages, the rest of you will go and place teleport pads I have prepared with my magic. These pads will transfer robots directly from the factory to where you are on the planet’s surface. If we work quickly, our robot’s teleporter beams will harvest the natives on the continent within three months. We do not want to take all of the natives on the planet, because obviously we need some left to breed and produce more for the next harvest. After we’ve collected enough, I will magically transport them across space back to a facility on Earth. There, once I return, I will wipe their memories with my magic so that they will become sentient pets for mankind. Every girl and boy on Earth will want a pony that they can not only ride, but talk to and have a relationship with. They will sell like hotcakes, and then we split the profits evenly 7 ways.” Wizard then picked up a box next to him and opened it. Inside were 6 potions and seven weird stone crystals. Wizard passed out one of each to everybody except the teenager, whom he gave a mistrusting look. Wizard said, “Each of these blue potions is your ticket out of here. If you want to quit for any reason, simply pour the potion over yourself, and you will be transported back to Earth. Wear these red crystals I give you, for it will allow me to make you more powerful by allowing me to channel some of my magic power.” Everyone looked at each other at the table, and then put on the crystals.

“So if these crystals break, you’ll lose some power?” asked Hunter as he held the stone in his right hand.

“No, I merely use these to share my power with you, not store it.” replied Wizard, “what kind of an idiot would store his power in easily broken objects?”

Techman coughed, not on purpose, but enough to draw Wizard’s anger to him. Wizard turned and looked at the teenager at the table. “Is there anything you would like to add, private Techman?” he asked. The young man frowned and shook his head.

“No”, he replied. Wizard frowned and curled his eyebrows angrily.

“No what?” he demanded.

“No, Wizard.” corrected Daniel Techman.

Wizard said to the others, “Leave, I need to talk to my servant alone.” The others filed out and returned to their stations, awaiting their time to go down to Equestria’s surface.

Wizard then held out his hands. A white glow appeared around them, and he used magic to shut the doors and lock them. He then turned and yelled at private Techman, “Listen you little grunt, do you remember why you are here?”

Techman replied, “You wanted me to come with you and help you make money capturing aliens and selling them as pets.”

Wizard then said, “Reality check Techman, you are here because you are afraid of me disposing of you. Now, I don’t want to have to do that to you, after all, you are like a grandson to me. But you have to obey orders, and you must learn respect for my magical power, even if I could not teach any magic to you. I really don’t hate you, even though you studied books and science behind my back instead of magic. I want you to use your knowledge of that science to go on a special mission for me during our stay here. In order to do so, I am going to send down that small castle you designed outside of a little township the natives have built for themselves. Once you are there in the castle, build a robot teleport pad, or wait for me to send you the machines myself. Go and have a look around at the natives themselves, and get familiar with them. But do not befriend them Techman, I have seen movies where humans betray their own species because they take pity on the natives. If you cooperate with these sapient ponies, I will be forced to destroy you. Do not let it get to that point.”

Private Techman said softly, “I will do my best, Sir.”

Wizard replied, “Good, we teleport down in two hours.”

Chapter 2

There really isn’t a more quaint and pretty town as Ponyville. The small town was filled with happy residents who worked hard to keep the town a lovely and thriving place. It was surrounded by farms on one side, and the Everfree forest on the other. Inside the town itself were shops and residences where goods could be bought and sold. Towards the middle of a town, a tree converted into a library stood with its doors open to anybody hungry for knowledge. Inside lived princess Celestia’s best student, Twilight Sparkle. She was a smart unicorn pony with a light purple coat, pink and purple striped hair, and a mark on her flank in the shape of a large star with five smaller white stars surrounding it. Currently, she was reading a book on how to use magic to disable other magic energy shields. Her assistant, a small dragon named Spike, was shelving other books visitors to the library had picked up to read.

All of a sudden, Spike felt a heartburn like sensation in his chest. “Uh-oh”, he said, “Burning feeling in the throat. Incoming message!” The dragon spat out a scroll with a royal seal on it. He then handed it to Twilight Sparkle. Twilight magically opened to scroll and levitated it in front of her face, then began to read out loud.

“Dear miss Sparkle”, she read, “This is Gazer, head of the astronomy lab at princess Celestia’s castle. We have spotted multiple meteors entering the atmosphere and falling at a very slow rate. The Pegasus ponies are too scared to touch the objects in order to stop them from hitting the ground. Although they will not hit any towns or cities directly, one of the meteors is headed for the outskirts of Ponyville. Evacuate immediately.” Twilight exclaimed, “Oh no! If there’s a meteor headed this way, we don’t have much time before it hits!”

Spike asked, “What’s a meteor anyway?”

Twilight replied, “It’s a large piece of rock that falls from space and creates a large fireball when it hits the ground.”

Spike asked, “How do we even know if they’re right? Maybe they are overreacting to a larger dragon spitting a fireball at something.”

Twilight frowned and said, “Hmmm, you’re right. We’d better check the telescope and make sure.”

The two ran up to the second floor of the tree house and looked into a telescope on a tripod. They saw the falling object, definitely a flaming rock, headed straight down.

Twilight said, “See Spike, it’s a burning rock falling from space towards us. I was right.” After about four seconds, it sunk in.

They shouted almost simultaneously, “And it’s headed for US!!!” They ran outside, where Spike then jumped on Twilight’s back. She galloped off for the center of town to warn the populace.

As they ran through town Spike called out over and over, “Get out of town while you can, there is a meteor about to hit the town!” If nobody listened, Spike would point up at the burning object coming down towards the ground. Soon the entire town was in a panic, packing up and trying desperately to get out of the way. However, the object began to increase its speed.

The object reached the edge of town. “We’re too late!”, thought Twilight as she shut her eyes. She waited a moment for the fiery end. The meteor, however, did not hit the ground hard. Instead, it slowed gently to a stop and touched down gently.

Spike said, “You can open your eyes now. We’re all ok! Isn’t this great?” Twilight opened her eyes and looked out towards the edge of town. Where the meteor had landed now stood a small castle of some kind.

Twilight asked, “Did a castle just fall from space and land on the edge of Ponyville? Where did it come from, and why did it come here?” Twilight heard a familiar loud gasp behind her. A pink pony rushed up and stood beside her.

She screamed, “Did anybody see that? Wowie! I’ve never seen anything like that just drop from the sky! This calls for a party! I’ll be right back!” Twilight held out her hoof to stop her friend from running off.

“Hold on, Pinkie Pie”, Twilight said, “We need to investigate this new castle. We have no idea who it belongs too. The owner might not like us.”

Spike said, “Hey, if you look closely, you can see the front door of the castle opening up! Let’s go check it out!”

“Hang on Spike”, Twilight said, “It could be dangerous. I want you to go back to the library and wait for me.”

Spike said sadly, “But Twilight, I’m not too little to help. I want to see the new castle.”

Twilight said with an annoyed tone, “Now Spike.” Spike got off of Twilight’s back and started walking back home while mumbling to himself. Twilight then turned to her left and said, “Ok Pinkie, let’s go check out that castle…. Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie had already took off and was simply a pink blur against the streets of Ponyville. Twilight moaned and began galloping off after her friend.

Inside the castle, private Daniel Techman was getting ready to step foot on the planet for the first time. He slung his teleporter rifle over his back in case he needed it. The castle door had already been opened at the touch of a lever.

Daniel Techman then turned to his computer and said, “PAL, how are the solar panels doing? Are you getting enough juice?” PAL was Daniel’s invention, a central computer for the castle and also a robot buddy. PAL much preferred the castle’s central core than the robot body himself.

The machine answered, “Your solar panels are operating at 100% capacity. The entire castle has plenty of power, and the underground auto mining probes are producing metal for machinery right away.”

Techman smiled and thought to himself, “I’ll have plenty of metal from those probes to invent new things while I’m here on the planet. But for now, it’s time to get a look at the natives we’re about to enslave.”

The human then said, “PAL, you are in charge of the castle until I return. Don’t hurt any ponies that get in here. Just talk to them until I get back, ok?”

PAL replied, “I’m sorry Daniel, I cannot do that.” Techman turned to look at the computer. “Nah, just kidding. Get out there boss, and have a good time.” continued the machine.

Techman laughed and said, “I’m never going to regret programming you a sense of humor.” And then he walked out the castle door into the town.

The teenager wandered into Ponyville. It was a little bit deserted. Techman thought to himself, “Well, I should have guessed they would all run. Even with their lower technology levels, they probably know burning things falling from the sky are a bad thing.” The young man continued his journey into the town. Finally he came across some of the natives. The small number of different colored ponies looked at the human and dropped their jaws almost immediately. Others ran in panic from the stranger from outer space. Techman said out loud to anypony who could hear, “I know you are probably afraid of me because I’m different. But I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Techman frowned at the number of ponies running in terror from him and said to himself, “I knew this was going to happen. They already hate humans and we haven’t even started shipping them out yet.” Eventually, Techman reached the center of Ponyville and took a look around. Every last pony in the square was either hiding inside their store or just plain staring at the human. Techman unbelted a megaphone from his pants and turned it on. He then said, “Hello, can you understand me?” The ponies were still looking with huge eyes at Techman. Techman laughed and said, “Sorry to bother you with the whole “burning castle from the sky” problem. I assure you there is nothing to worry about though. I’m just trying to learn more about you. I’m not here to steal your souls or dissect you.”

Of course, Techman shouldn’t have given examples of what he wasn’t going to do. Immediately one of the ponies screamed, “Dissect us? Run for it!” This caused a panic in the town square, and every last pony was screaming and running away from the human being. Techman groaned at the spectacle he didn’t intend to cause. Just then, Pinkie Pie had arrived at the scene in her typical blur of pink light. She stopped and looked at the human in front of her with her mouth wide open.

Techman looked at Pinkie Pie and said, “Hello there miss. Glad to see at least one of you isn’t screaming and running from me in terror.”

Immediately Techman was met with a wall of questions from Pinkie Pie, “Who and what are you? Where did you come from? You’re not a pony are you? What is that thing on your back? Are you here to be our friend? How come you can stand on two legs? Not that standing on two legs is a bad thing, it’s just weeeeird.”

Techman held up a hand and said, “Woah, slow down there. I know I look different to you, but that’s because I’m not from this planet at all.”

Pinkie Pie continued her verbal assault, “So are you a space alien? Don’t steal our brains or make us into zombies! Wait, maybe you’re a friendly alien! Do you like parties? I can throw you a party if you don’t steal our brains!”

Techman sighed and shook his head. “Such a strange creature.” he thought to himself.

Techman realized that he and Pinkie Pie were the only ones left in the town square, the others had all ran away. Techman then said to her, “Look miss, it was nice talking to you, but I’m going to head back to my castle. I’ve had enough problems for today.” Techman turned around and started to walk back to the castle.

Pinkie Pie called out to him, “Wait, don’t you want to stay for a party? We should celebrate your arrival here!”

Techman said back, “Look, just go home. You won’t be celebrating my arrival soon enough.” Then the young man walked away back to his castle, leaving Pinkie Pie there with a confused look on her pony face. By the time Twilight had caught up with Pinkie, Techman had already made it back into his castle and shut the door. Twilight found Pinkie Pie sitting down in the street. Her hair had straightened out and her ears had drooped, indicating a deep time of stress for the pink pony.

Twilight thought to herself as she frowned in pity for her friend, “Oh no, the castle’s inhabitant must have hurt Pinkie Pie’s feelings. I’ve got to handle this carefully.”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight, “did you get to see the castle’s owner?”

“Yeah.”, she responded sadly, “but he didn’t take my offer for a party. He’s just a big meanie who doesn’t like us at all.”

Twilight felt sorry for her and replied, “Aw, just because he didn’t want to go to your party doesn’t mean he doesn’t like us. He’s not from here he might be scared or not used to attention. Don’t judge him just because he didn’t want to celebrate with you.”

Pinkie Pie’s hair curled up again and she said, “You’re right! He’s from another planet and he just wants to be left alone. He probably likes ponies a lot!”

Twilight’s ear flicked as she said, “Wait, did you say he’s from another planet? I thought a pony brought a castle down from orbit.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head, “Nope, he’s a weird looking guy who walks on two legs, has these weird hands on his front two legs, and he’s a weird whitish color. What fun is that? Boooring.”

Twilight thought to herself, “A strange alien has landed on the planet and is now trying to live among us? I sure hope he’s friendly. If Pinkie Pie is right, he just misses his home planet.” “Alright”, Twilight said out loud, “time to head back to the library. Hopefully the alien won’t give us any more trouble and find a way to go home.”

Chapter 3

“Master, how did it go out there? Are the natives friendly?” asked PAL as Techman entered the castle.

Techman answered, “They’re scared of us, PAL. Hopefully Wizard won’t call here and ask me to send in any robots.” Just then, a special musical tone went off in the castle. “Speak of the devil”, Techman said as he reached for a small pad. The small pad was simply a magical object used to allow communication between people instantly. As soon as Techman touched the pad, a magic hologram of Wizard’s head appeared.

The hologram began to talk to Techman, “Well private Techman, I trust that you have met the natives.”

Techman said, “Yes Sir, I made contact with them 15 minutes ago. They really are a cute and friendly race.”

Wizard frowned and replied, “Don’t get too comfortable with them. Remember the film I made us all watch before we got here. We can’t afford to snuggle up to these creatures we plan to capture.”

Techman sighed, rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, I know you made us all watch that movie to show how getting too comfortable with the natives can lead to rebellion against your own species. Keep in mind that I’m not responsible if they come after us for what we are about to do.”

Wizard nodded and said, “Not one of them will even get as far as the factory. General Schadenfreude’s new robot army will see to that. Speaking of the robots, I am going to teleport you a half-dozen of them right now to do a little pre-campaign collecting.”

Techman frowned at the plan, “Wizard, Bossman will not be happy with you for using any robots not produced by his factory.”

Wizard got angry and yelled, “Bossman is a fool! He thinks this plan can be carried out with fancy organization and time tables. We need to test his equipment before he begins to mass produce it in his factories. The six robots are on their way now. You have no control over them, you are only to watch and report what happens to me.”

Techman said unhappily, “Yes sir, standing by for delivery of robots.”

Wizard sighed and continued, “private Techman, do not fail me. If you impede these robots in any way or fail to teleport any natives who attack them, I will be forced to destroy you. It is you or the ponies.” Wizard’s image disappeared. Within a few seconds, a red glow started to form outside. Techman ran over and looked out the main window of his castle to watch the robots teleport it. In a flash, each of the six machines materialized on the ground. They were tube-shaped machines with two cameras on top for collecting visual information. These cameras were stored in a black visor at the top of the metal tube and shielded by red lights, giving the robot the appearance of two glowing red eyes. The machines each had 2 arms, one tipped with a teleporter beam cannon, and the other mounted with a robotic fist. For mobility, the robots were on tank treads.

The 6 machines rolled out to attack Ponyville. Techman then turned to PAL and said, “PAL, this isn’t right. These things are intelligent and have feelings like me. I don’t want to put any of them into captivity.”

“But Sir”, replied the computer, “If you do not comply, Wizard will surely destroy you.”

Techman said, “I know. Even if I do not personally do anything against these ponies, Wizard can enslave them without me. There’s nothing I can do to stop the robots or Wizard. This planet is doomed.”

PAL replied “On the positive side, you and the others will become rich through the sale of the planet’s natives.”

Techman turned and yelled at the computer “You just don’t understand, do you? This planet’s people will be sentenced to be slaves of humans for the rest of eternity. Stop calculating things logically and start having a heart!”

PAL, unhurt, simply replied, “I was programmed by you. Perhaps if you changed my code a bit, I could understand this ‘heart’ you are talking about.”

Techman pulled out a keyboard on the computer and said “You’re right, I’m sorry I snapped. I need something to do while I wait. So let’s see if I can give you a heart, tin man.” Then Techman began to type to modify PAL’s programming.

Meanwhile, the six treaded machines began to enter the heart of Ponyville, moving in a V formation. Although the robots were only 6 feet tall, they were large enough and strange enough to be scary. Most of the residents were still cowering inside their homes, but the robots were equipped with a heat sensor to find where they were hiding. The lead robot started to track a small mare hiding behind a barrel. Using its fist, the robot picked up the barrel and got a look at the pony hiding underneath. She was a cream colored one with a curly pink and blue mane, with a tail styled the same way. Immediately the pony got up and made a run for it down the street. The robot looked back and forth between its wingmen. Then, after giving the mechanical equivalent of a shrug, raised the cannon on its right arm and fired. A red beam shot out from the emitter and struck the pony from behind. There was no scream; she simply disappeared in a flash of light. The entire town was now in full panic again, and ponies were darting left and right out of the buildings to get away. Pegasus ponies tried flying away, escaping to the cities in the clouds where they thought they would be safe. Sadly, the robots were good enough shots that a few of them were hit by the robots’ beams, and they too vanished. Techman could hear the screaming and commotion from his castle, but he continued to type away with tears in his eyes. There was simply nothing he could do.

After about 15 minutes of battle, the entire town had heard about the robots causing ponies to disappear. In the thick of the confusion, one of the robots decided to take a detour and head down to the farms in order to root out what it calculated to be just a bunch of yokels. This particular robot went right through a farm gate and began heading towards the barn of the farm. It passed a sign that read “Sweet Apple Acres Farm”. The robot scanned for life in the farmland, but could only detect row upon row of apple trees. The metallic soldier suddenly picked up moving life in the barn ahead of it. It sped on with its tracks kicking up mud, hoping to catch another pony to teleport to the cages in Bossman’s factory. The machine paused for a moment and scanned the barn one more time to make sure there was actually a pony inside the barn. There was just one in it, a small one. All of a sudden, the robot’s thought process was interrupted by two oak logs which swung in on ropes from its sides. The two logs smashed together on the machine at the same time, and it exploded like a robot smashed between two large logs. The remainder of the machine fell over and lay there, broken and sparking. Two Equestrians approached the destroyed machine. One was orange, had long tied up blond hair, and wore a Stetson hat. Next to her was a much larger red one with orange hair.

“Well, if it isn’t one of the monsters destroyin’ our town.” Applejack said looking angrily at the robot as she tapped the wreckage with a hoof. The orange pony continued, “Well Big Macintosh, It looks like your old log trap crushed this one flat as a flapjack.”

“Eyup”, responded Big Macintosh, chewing a piece of straw and staring at the debris.

Applejack continued, “Now that this one’s been laid out, I need to find my buddies and take down the others.” She reared up and then galloped away towards town.

Big Macintosh shook his head and looked at the remains of the robot. Then he thought, “Might as well turn this metal into some apple barrel rings.”

Rarity woke up inside her store in Ponyville. She took off the black blindfold she was wearing to help her sleep and walked over into her bathroom to freshen up before starting the day. The white pony with purple-blue, well-styled hair appreciated everything about beauty. Not only was her job to produce extremely stylish dresses, she also liked to take care of her body’s appearance so she looked good in them. Rarity washed her beautiful hair and then styled it back into its curling appearance she loved so dearly. She then exited her bathroom and went deep into her store’s workshop to begin making a new dress for a client. Rarity was a unicorn, and so was able to use magic naturally. Rather than go for general abilities like Twilight Sparkle, Rarity specialized in finding items used in the production of fancy clothing, namely gemstones. Beginning her work, she used her magic to bring a bolt of lavender purple cloth out from a drawer in her workshop, and then used a pair of scissors to cut out a section she needed for her client’s outfit. She sewed it onto the dress with a sewing machine sitting in the corner of her workshop. Rarity took the dress off the machine afterwards and put it onto a pony mannequin. Rarity thought, “Something’s still missing from this one.” She then decided it was missing her trademark item, gemstones inlaid on the dress. Rarity spun around and opened up a metal safe she used to store her gemstones in. Although gemstones were disturbingly common in comparison to gems on Earth, they had to kept track of, lest they go missing. The unicorn pony sifted through the pile of gemstones, but couldn’t find a suitable topaz. She wanted the yellow gemstone because it would complement the purple color of the rest of the dress.

Rarity decided the best course of action would be to bribe a local team of diamond dogs into parting with a few topaz. Earlier that year, she had been kidnapped by some of them when the upright canines found out she could find gemstones with her magic. Rarity, being a very slack worker and not enjoying hard labor, escaped merely by complaining long enough to drive the miners nuts. But if there was anything Rarity hated more than manual labor, it was getting dirty. Having a pure white coat means mud shows the easiest, and Rarity made sure she was always clean. She would not dig for the gemstones she needed for her dresses. This is where the mining hounds came in. They were now more than happy to dig for the gemstones Rarity needed in exchange for her locating more deposits of gems they could keep for themselves. It was a fair trade, and besides, they couldn’t handle her whining otherwise.

Rarity exited her shop, the carousel boutique, and started walking down the street towards the mountains she knew were full of gem deposits. It was then that she noticed how strange the weather was. “It’s still overcast?” she thought as she looked up at the dismal rain clouds, “I thought for sure Rainbow Dash said there would be rain in the morning, and sun for the rest of the afternoon. That’s why I slept in, to miss the icky rain.” Rainbow Dash was the fastest Pegasus pony currently alive. She lived in a cloud house just a bit above Ponyville. Like most Pegasus ponies, Rainbow Dash could move cloud formations around if the weather needed to be controlled. However, she sometimes “forgot” about her duties and the weather remained unchanged. Rarity decided to walk up to Rainbow Dash’s house and ask why the weather was still cloudy. As she made her way to the floating home, a red beam in the distance caught her eyes, followed by terrible screaming. She thought as she heard the distant battle, “Such strange events today.” Soon, she found Rainbow Dash’s cloudhouse. Rarity called out “Rainbow? Rainbow Dash? Are you in there?”

Rainbow Dash opened the door on her floating house and walked casually over to the edge of the cloud.

She looked down and said, “Rarity? What do you want?”

Rarity pointed up and said to her, “Take a look around, darling. It’s still cloudy and you haven’t done anything about it. You overslept.” The cyan pony with rainbow hair stretched her back, cracking her vertebrae into place.

She then took a look and said sleepily, “Yeah, I was on duty to clear the clouds this afternoon. If I out slept you I must really be late. I’ll have these clouds cleared in a jiffy.” She then spread her wings and took off into the sky. The gray clouds began moving away from Ponyville as Rainbow Dash pushed them south. One of the robots in the distance, still on the hunt for more ponies, spotted Rainbow Dash making her rounds in the sky.

Unit 5 thought to himself, “Target acquired, Pegasus pony with rainbow colored mane. High value target for capture.” The robot raised its cannon to shoot, but was stopped by Unit 3.

“Unit 4 has been destroyed.” transmitted the robot to his comrade, “he was smashed to pieces by a trap. He underestimated the strength and brainpower of the farmers.”

Unit 5 looked at Unit 3 and transmitted back, “Unit 4 is an idiot. He should have known these organics have some things in terms of defense. Tell Unit 1 we will continue our hunt, but to remain on guard to avoid more casualties.” Unit 5 then turned to try and shoot down Rainbow Dash, but she had already cleared the clouds and moved on.

The pegasus landed back on the ground next to Rarity.

“Thank you for finally getting rid of those awful rain clouds.” Rarity said. “If it had rained it would have simply ruined my hairdo.” Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash and frowned. She was wide-eyed and shaking at what she had seen. “What’s wrong?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash got out the words, “Robots! Metal monsters! Firing red magic beam thingys! Ponies disappearing on the ground!”

Rarity told her, “Calm down and tell me what you saw from the sky.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head quickly to straighten out her thoughts and said, “The town is under attack by metal things called robots. They’re shooting beams at ponies that make them disappear into thin air! The whole town is in a panic.”

Rarity replied, “Maybe Twilight Sparkle knows something about these so called robots. We need to find her and ask.” The two turned around and walked towards the center of town to find Twilight Sparkle.

Applejack arrived at her friend’s house at the edge of Ponyville. The small cottage was built within a tree on a lush meadow with plenty of wildlife running about it.

“Fluttershy!” called out Applejack, hoping she would get an answer. A yellow Pegasus pony with pink, straight hair opened the door to her house and stepped outside without responding. “There’s been trouble in town.” Applejack continued, “A bunch of metal monsters are tearin’ the place up. We need to ride out and stop ‘em. I reckoned they’d listen to you and knock off what they’re doin.”

Fluttershy said in her typical meek voice, “Well, I don’t know Applejack. I’ve never heard of a creature made of metal before. I don’t know if they will listen to me. But I will go with you and look. Just promise that you will protect me if something goes wrong.”

Applejack said, “Why of course sugarcube. I won’t let them hurt you.”

Fluttershy smiled, said, “ok”, and then the two of them headed into town to stop the robots.

Chapter 4

Twilight Sparkle was still galloping back to the center of town in search of the others. By luck, If not by the fact everyone was headed to the same place, the six friends managed to meet in the center of town. They all started asking questions and talking about their current predicament.

“Alright”, Rainbow Dash said, “What in the derby is going on here? There are metal monsters making ponies disappear!”

Rarity threw the question, “Twilight, what kind of magic is letting these monsters make ponies disappear with one hit?”

Pinkie Pie then said, “Why is that stupid human not coming to my parties? What’s his issue?”

Applejack added, “One of the machines tried to tear up the farm. I think we destroyed it.”

Twilight Sparkle couldn’t take all the information, so she shouted, “Hey! One at a time! I can’t think straight with you all screaming at me at once.” The ponies quieted down. Twilight then exhaled and said, “Ok. Applejack, what are these machines you are talking about?”

Applejack explained, “Well Twilight, one of these large monsters made of metal came over to my farm. Me and Big Macintosh smashed it with our log trap. Ya know, the one we built in case those hungry fuzzy bugs came back? We have no idea where the thing came from or what it does, but it isn’t a friendly thing.”

Rainbow Dash interrupted, “When I was clearing the clouds, I saw 5 of them attacking the town. They have red magic beam things that cause ponies to disappear on touch!”

Twilight asked curiously, “I’ve never heard of that kind of magic before. What did this beam thing look like?”

Rainbow Dash answered, “I could only get a quick look, or else they would have nabbed me too. But, it sort of comes out of this metal tube on the end of the machine’s arm.”

Twilight said, “Interesting, maybe some sort of a magic wand.”

Pinkie Pie had been hopping around everybody, trying to get attention. “Oooh! I know something!” she said, but none of the ponies were paying attention.

Twilight asked as she looked at all her friends, “Ok, did anypony see where the machines came from or what they were called? How about you, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy said, “Well, I just got into town. Applejack says they call themselves ‘robots’. I don’t think they are cute animals I can reason with.” Twilight nodded her head, but was getting annoyed by Pinkie Pie’s hopping around in a circle.

“What is it Pinkie Pie?” asked Twilight with an annoyed tone.

Pinkie Pie spat out, “Well, about that metal tube thing on the robots. I saw the human carrying one on his back!”

Applejack asked, “Human? What’s that?”

Pinkie Pie said while moving her limbs to describe the proportions of the alien, “The alien that lives in the castle that just came down from the sky! They walk like Spike does, on two legs. They have hands too, some hair on their heads, and they’re a single color. They are so weeeird looking.”

Twilight asked, “Wait a minute, is this the same alien that hurt your feelings when he wouldn’t attend your party?”

Pinkie Pie said in annoyance, “Well duh! There’s only one weird alien living in a brand new castle that came from the sky!”

Twilight went over the facts, “Well, let’s see what we know. A strange alien came here from space and lives in a castle on the edge of town. He’s not very nice, as he didn’t want to attend Pinkie Pie’s party in his honor. But most of all, he carries around a metal tube matching the ones found on the robots.”

Everypony’s eyes got big when they realized the connection.

Applejack got mad and yelled, “That gosh darned alien! He brought those machines here that’s wreckin’ the town!”

Rainbow Dash got angry too and said, “Yeah, I bet he’s doing evil experiments on ponies in his castle right now!”

Fluttershy starting cowering on the ground and whimpered, “He probably wants to destroy all the innocent creatures!”

Rarity then added, “I am not going to let him destroy our beautiful town!”

Twilight said, “All right girls, we know the alien caused this. Now what are we going to do about it?”

Pinkie Pie zipped away for a second and returned holding pitchforks and torches in her mouth. “Angry mob!” she declared as she dropped the tools on the ground.

Rainbow Dash bucked up and said, “Yeah! We’ll drag that alien out of his castle and pound him into plant food!”

Applejack asked her, “Mind if I keep the plant food? It’ll be good for the apples.”

Twilight got upset with their harsh ideas and said, “Girls, I’m ashamed. We’ve solved most problems peacefully, but now you want to solve this problem by getting rid of the alien with violence. We need to try to reason with him and get along.”

“But Twilight”, protested Rainbow Dash, “we don’t have any idea what happens when a pony gets hit by one of those beams. We need to know if we can get them back!”

Fluttershy suggested, “Maybe if we ask really nicely, he’ll stop. I’m sure he’s just confused.”

Pinkie Pie added, “Nobody gets to ruin our fun by sending in big mean machines. I say we go and yell at him until he gives up!”

Twilight gave up on peace and said, “Look, we’ll go to the castle and see if we can find the alien. I’m sure I can convince him to stop what he is doing.” The six friends turned and began making full speed for the castle. After five minutes, they arrived at the large wooden front door. “Rainbow Dash”, Twilight ordered, “fly up and tell me what the castle looks like from above. We need to know how we can get in, this door’s too large to break through, and there’s no way to open it from out here.” Rainbow Dash flew up and looked down on the castle. It was built in a thick rectangular shape, featured no tall spires, but had rounded turrets at each corner. Oddly, on the top of the castle were these weird black panels. We know them to be solar panels, but Rainbow Dash did not know that.

She returned to her friends and said “There’s no way to get in from above that I could see, and nothing to set off to open this huge wooden door we’re looking at.”

Rarity suggested, “Twilight, use your magic and pry open this ugly wood door.”

Twilight thought about it and said, “Ok, I’ll try, but this door is massive!”

Pinkie Pie began to feel a familiar muscle twitch in her body and stated, “Uh-oh. I’m feeling the door is going to open anyway. Better step back!” Twilight quickly hopped backwards, having bad experiences with doors mysteriously opening in her face. The door on the castle began to open downwards, as most castle doors do.

Twilight noted calmly, “It looks like he’s letting us in.” The large drawbridge door landed on the ground, inviting the ponies inside. As soon as Twilight stepped on the door, however, it closed again quicker than it had opened, trapping her inside the castle and leaving her friends outside. “Twilight!” they screamed as the door locked, sealing their leader inside. Twilight Sparkle stood up and took a look around the inside of the castle. It was very well lit for an “evil” castle. The pony began her walk deeper into the alien’s fortress, passing a normal looking room, a fancy living room with couches and a fireplace. As she went deeper into the castle, things became a little stranger. She started to pass laboratories and workshops filled with machinery. Finally, she walked by a massive, but colorful and well crafted pipe organ attached to the walls.

“This alien sure has a lot of weird things in his castle.” Twilight thought.

Techman was working at a table on the second floor, making adjustments to the communications disk Wizard had contacted him on earlier.

PAL then said over the castle computer network, “Sir, one of the natives has entered the castle. I detected her trying to use magic the way Wizard does. She was going to break the front door down, so I let her in and her alone.”

Techman shouted to a nearby monitor displaying PAL’s robotic head, “PAL, I told you to keep every last one of them out of here! They will hurt me if I get blamed for the robots.” Techman ran over to a large vault and fished out a teleporter rifle. He slammed a battery pack into the high tech gun and cocked the nonlethal weapon. Techman commanded, “Keep her busy while I try to slip out the back of the castle.”

Twilight had already reached him upstairs. “Hey you!” she called out to Techman. Techman’s blood ran cold from her voice. He took off running through the castle, attempting to get out before the pony could catch him.

Twilight thought, “He’s afraid of me. Maybe the alien is behind these robots!” Twilight attempted to follow Techman through the door, but was interrupted by a voice.

PAL yelled at her, “Who are you?”

Twilight, never hearing a machine talk before, looked at the monitor and replied, “Oh hello. I’m Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?”

The machine happily replied, “I am PAL, a computer and robot friend. What are you doing here inside my master and programmer’s castle?”

Twilight continued, “Well, you see, PAL, there have been these machines attacking the town outside. I need to speak with your master, who I am sure is the guy who just ran out the door. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just follow him and...”

PAL shut the door Techman had ran out of and locked it electronically with a loud click.

Twilight said to the computer with a hint of frustration, “Hey! Open the door.”

PAL dimmed the lights in the room and said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Sparkle, but I cannot do that.”

Techman had managed to exit the castle through the back door. Although his castle lacked a moat, he had hoped any other of the ponies in the group PAL had mentioned were too stupid to try walking around the castle. Techman said aloud, “Ok, now I just have to call for my shuttle back to the space station.” The young man felt his pockets and realized in horror that he had left the communications disk inside. Looking out into the distance, Techman found two options for escape, the mountain range, and the forest. The clouds that Rainbow Dash had cleared earlier had drifted back over Ponyville, and it was overcast again. The human said, “Ok, I’ll just hide in the mountains until this whole thing boils over. Then, I’ll go back to the castle for the communication disk and call for the shuttle. I can’t believe I’m being blamed by the natives for this attack. It’s all Wizard’s fault I’m in this mess.”

“You better believe you’re in a mess.” replied a voice from behind. Techman spun around to find Twilight Sparkle standing behind him.

Techman asked nervously, “How did you get by PAL?”

Twilight replied, “I talked to him about how we’re being attacked by robots. He said he had a heart for problems like that and let me through the back door.”

Techman felt sweat accumulating on his head and thought, “My own programming has doomed me.”

Twilight said sternly, “Now look, I know you’re from a different planet with different customs. But that’s no reason to send out these so called robots that are kidnapping every pony in Ponyville.”

Techman thought as he gripped his gun tightly, “Do I try to explain that they are not my robots? Or do I use this teleporter rifle and avoid being captured?” Techman made up his mind and said, “Well, the robots aren’t exactly mine.”

Twilight asked, “Whose are they then? Are there other aliens?” Techman said worriedly, “I’m not supposed to tell you anything! Go away. I’m upset enough you’re being hunted by the robots and...” Techman realized he had let loose the information he was trying to hide anyway. Twilight understood the human wasn’t responsible for the machines.

She said to him, “These aren’t your robots at all. There’s something you are not telling me that you need to.”

Techman thought, “If I don’t capture this pony, Wizard will destroy me for sure. But she's only my age! Well, in her people's years, anyways.” Techman raised his teleporter rifle and said, “I’m sorry you have to go through this, but I have something to prove by capturing you.” Techman turned towards her and let a beam fly from his rifle, but Twilight dodged to the left, avoiding the ray. Techman aimed to fire a second shot.

Twilight thought, “Maybe I can throw off his aim with my magic.” The human noticed the unicorn’s horn was glowing the same color as her body, a light purple.

Techman asked in fear, “Magic? I didn’t know you could use that!”

Twilight said, “It’s my special power. I try not to use it to hurt others, alien, but you can’t be reasoned with.” To her horror, however, her magic wouldn’t let her pick up either Techman or move his gun, despite her magic normally being able to lift multi ton creatures. A second beam from Techman’s gun missed narrowly to Twilight’s left, and it struck a sapling behind her, causing it to disappear in a flash of light. Twilight saw that there was no choice but to disable the human, so she used her magic to pick up a sizeable rock from the garden and throw it at him. The heavy football sized stone impacted Techman’s shoulder hard and he screamed in pain as the blow knocked him to the ground.

Twilight immediately felt guilty about injuring the young man. She had meant to break his gun with the rock, but now she had probably broken his shoulder. Twilight would not get any closer, but called out, “Oh no, I didn’t mean to do that! Are you badly hurt?” Techman got up, and held his injured shoulder with his right hand, and his gun in his left.

He then gave Twilight a nasty look and shouted, “Look, I didn’t send the robots here. I was threatened with destruction if I didn’t let them attack your town. I have to teleport you out now because I am being observed. If I don’t win this, I go down.” Techman raised the rifle and said, “That’s not going to happen.” He fired again and again with one hand, trying desperately to hit Twilight, but she was too quick, and his injury made it hard to shoot accurately. Eventually, though, she ran out of hiding places as the gun hit the rocks, statues, and saplings she tried to hide behind. The unicorn pony started backing up and felt cold stone against her flanks. She had backed up into a corner of Techman’s castle, and she was trapped. Techman walked closer and raised his gun again. He lined up Twilight in his teleporter rifle’s iron sights and said, “Well, you tried your best. I promise this won’t hurt.” Twilight tried one last time to take Techman’s gun away from him, but her magic still wouldn’t move it. Techman wrapped two of his fingers around the trigger. He then took a last look at Twilight Sparkle. She was about to burst into tears she was so scared of him. Techman thought to himself that every last pony shot by the robots would also have to feel this saddening distress. Twilight gave Techman one last look of mortal terror and fear, the utter misery that comes after running out of adrenaline had gripped the pony as she awaited her fate.

Techman relaxed his arms, took his fingers off the trigger and then hung his head. He said slowly, “No. This isn’t right. No matter what happens to me, I won’t let you or your people be enslaved by my actions.” Techman threw away the rifle as he looked up at Twilight and said, “I’m sorry. Just go before it’s too late.”

“Too late!”, yelled an angry voice behind Techman. Techman turned and saw Wizard floating above him. Wizard said with a sneer, “Well private Techman, you’ve failed to capture the pony. Sure, you didn’t stop my robots from ransacking the town, but you obviously have sympathy for an inferior form of life.” Wizard’s hands began to glow an orange color. Wizard shouted at him, “You will now pay for this mistake with your life!” Wizard shot a large ball of orange energy from his hands at Techman. Twilight Sparkle then made a decision to help the teenager and shot a small bolt of energy from her horn to try to stop the blast. Instead, the blast was merely changed, and it struck Techman anyway. The young man screamed in pain as he disappeared in a fireball. As the explosion dissipated, so did the human’s cry. Wizard then pointed at Twilight Sparkle and said with scorn, “Mark my words, pony. By the end of the month, your entire race will be mine!” Then, with laughter, Wizard teleported back to the space station in a burst of red smoke.

Part 7 (Chapters 26-30)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 26

Rainbow Dash and Techorse were flying overhead of Twilight and Pinkie Pie, looking around for the monstrous robot.

A soft voice said to them, “There you are.” Fluttershy had caught up to them and was gently flapping her wings to stay with them.

Rainbow Dash said to her, “Good, you’re back Fluttershy! We were getting a little worried.”

Fluttershy said, “I can’t blame you. I feared the worst when we all got split up.”

Techorse spoke to them both, “We need to find the human’s robot. He’ll be chasing Applejack.”

Rainbow Dash scanned the city and said, “How hard could it be to find a 30 foot robot? Not many buildings here are that tall!”

Fluttershy said, “Actually, I saw the machine over in that direction.”

Techorse looked at her, “Ok, good, that helps us somewhat. I’m diving to tell the others.” Techorse banked hard right and flew down to Twilight and Pinkie Pie.

“Hey!” he said, “Fluttershy’s back up here, and she says the human’s robot is over here to the right. We’re going to turn!”

Pinkie Pie replied, “You got it!” She immediately turned 90 degrees without any loss of traction and zipped down the narrow road. Twilight was about to start panting, and her straight hair was starting to sog with sweat.

“Wait up.” She said. Techorse wrapped his front hooves around her middle.

“Hang on” he told her. He lifted her up just a little bit off the ground, and carried her at a good pace down the road.

“Thanks.” She said, looking up.

Techorse said, “No problem Twilight. You looked tired.” Now every pony of the team but Pinkie Pie was flying towards where Fluttershy had last spotted the robot. When they rounded the corner, they found the machine chasing Applejack and Rarity towards the weather factory.

Rainbow Dash pointed and shouted, “Over there! He’s heading for the weather control station!”

Twilight asked, “Will the human try to use the weather machines against us? Or worse, will he try to destroy it?”

Techorse said, “I kind of doubt it. He probably has no clue how to operate that thing.” They all landed a couple of feet behind the machine and looked up at it. Schadenfreude was still trying to zap Rarity and Applejack, but was in frustration unable to get a hit.

“Hold still!” he shouted.

Twilight yelled, “Hey! Stop trying to blast them and pick on someone your own size.” The machine turned around to face them.

“Maybe that was a bad idea, Twilight” said Fluttershy as she stared at the large cannons the machine possessed. Applejack and Rarity saw this diversion as an opportunity to run past the machine and join their friends. Schadenfreude waited for them to assemble, he could have simply fired, but he enjoyed a fair fight more than simply winning. He couldn’t laugh at the misfortune of his enemies if it was too quick.

Rarity gasped for breath and said, “That…. miserable… fellow… made me run.”

Applejack was also running out of breath, “I’m just glad y’all made it out ok.”

Techorse shouted up at the towering machine, “So, which human are you? I forgot your name.”

The general addressed them through the speakers, “I am general Schadenfreude, dumkoffs. I really enjoy watching my enemies fail like this. It makes me laugh.” He chuckled a bit over the microphone.

He then continued, “Sory Techman, I just can’t get over how ridiculous you look!” He laughed again at his own joke.

“Stop laughing at my friend!” said Rainbow Dash angrily. She flew forward and hit the robot hard in the chest, knocking it back a few feet as it stumbled to maintain balance. The general swatted at Rainbow Dash with his robot’s fist like she was a mosquito, but after missing a few times he stopped.

“Anyvays” said Schadenfreude in his accent, “it’s just so funny you got turned into a pony. But I do envy you a little. After all, you do get to hang out with a bunch of naked women.” Fluttershy sort of blushed, she always forgot about that fact. The others expressions indicated their insult about the comment, including Techorse.

But Rarity, really enjoying her new red dress, was extremely offended by the comment and said angrily, “Who are you calling naked, animal?”

The general spat back, “Animal? I think you misunderstand me. I am ze human here, you are the little animals. Now then, I think I will laugh once I whisk you animals away with my cannons.”

Schadenfreude charged up the arm-mounted beams and aimed them at the team members.

“Scatter!” ordered Twilight. The ponies split up and started running in various directions. Techorse decided to stick to the ground to make the most out of his laser cannons. He ran around to the right side and hammered away at the machine’s arms with his guns. Schadenfreude frowned as the computer reported the lasers causing damage to the arm. He turned and put his machine’s foot down hard, attempting to squish Techorse. But in an act of bravery, Applejack pushed him out of the way.

“Thanks for the save.” He said as he ran away. Applejack nodded and jumped in the air to grab onto the machine in any way possible. She tried to jump on the arm Techorse had just damaged, but the human grabbed her with the machine’s robotic fist.

Applejack screamed in despair, “Shoot, he’s gonna squeeze the life outta me!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you go from Applejack to Applesauce.” He said, “Too messy, I just had this thing cleaned.” He laughed and dropped Applejack hard on the ground.

Rarity had used up all her diamond crystals and couldn't do much to assist Applejack. But she still wanted to cause a little harm for the naked comment, so she searched for anything made of precious materials inside the body of the machine with her magic. Rarity couldn’t find anything precious but saw the machine had something hidden behind the doors in its chest.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash continued to circle the robot’s canopy, trying to blind Schadenfreude with her rainbow-colored jetstream.

“Out of the way, you annoying bug!” he shouted as he shot giant red beams randomly into the air. Eventually, Rainbow Dash landed perfectly on top of the canopy.

“Try and squish me if I’m a bug.” She said while looking down at the man.

“I’m not stupid enough to smash myself with my own robot.” He said, and then flicked her off with the robot’s hand. Twilight saw this as a chance to strike, and once Rainbow Dash cleared the area, she concentrated on the limb with her magic powers and made the arm fail and bash Schadenfreude’s cockpit anyway. The impact stunned the human, and he lost control, causing the machine to flail around wildly.

“Look out, it’s going to fall!” shouted Applejack.

But Schadenfreude regained control of the machine and said angrily, “this is far from being over, ponies.” He fired more teleporter blasts at them, but still couldn’t hit the mark. He was simply too large and too slow to do any good. Techorse fired another volley of lasers, this time he cut clean through the right arm on the robot, and the part fell off and landed on the clouds. The stump left on the mech leaked hydraulic fluid, and several exposed wires sparked and thrashed.

“Warning, arm destroyed. Teleporter cannon inactive.” said the computer to Schadenfreude.

“You sound like my mother in law” replied Schadenfreude. He still had the left arm and fist, and did what he could to try and brace himself to make his shots more accurate. But still, the ponies were simply too quick to be hit. Several large stone pillars around the area made good cover as well for the ponies. Fluttershy wanted to try to do something, but she simply hid behind one of the pillars, knowing she would probably lose if she did anything too brave.

Pinkie Pie hopped up next to her and said, “Fluttershy, what are you doing behind here? We need you out there so we can stop the robot!”

Fluttershy said, “Oh, there’s not much I could do against that big machine!”

Pinkie Pie encouraged, “Come on, what about the human you beat early on?”

“He didn’t have a giant scary robot!” said Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie scoffed at the comment, “It’s not so scary, see! Watch this!” Pinkie Pie ran around the pillar to try her luck against Schadenfreude.

“Watch this. Famous last words” whispered Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie ran around to face the giant robot. Schadenfreude took notice of her and fired a beam at her direction. Pinkie Pie leapt out of the way with a little “eek” and returned to Fluttershy.

She laughed and said to her friend, “Guess you were right, Fluttershy that was a bit frightening.” The beam had carved away the weak base of the stone column, and it fell over towards Schadenfreude.

“Scheisse!” shouted the general as the stone column tore through his other arm at the joint, wrecking the other teleporter beam.

“Arms destroyed. Switching to auxiliary weapons.” said the computer.

Schadenfreude turned around and looked at Techorse and Twilight. “HA! Got you now” said Twilight, “you don’t have any more teleporter cannons. Surrender, Schadenfreude.” The general started laughing harder and harder.

Techorse asked, “What’s so funny?”

Twilight’s ears drooped, “He has more weapons.”

“Quite right” replied the general. Panels on the front of the robot opened up to reveal 12 missile tubes. Pulling the trigger, the human launched a volley of six missiles at the friends.

“I don’t understand!” wailed Rarity, running around to avoid the missile chasing her, “I thought you wanted to capture ponies, not blow us to pieces!”

Schadenfreude said, “I’m bored, and I want to laugh at the results of these hitting you!”

One missile started heading for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “Uh oh!” shouted Pinkie Pie, and the missile redirected towards her. Pinkie Pie ran off with the missile in pursuit. Fluttershy was met by Applejack.

“Did you see that?” said Fluttershy.

“Yeah” said Applejack, “the missile picked Pinkie Pie over you, even though it was chargin’ straight at ya.”

Schadenfreude said out loud, “That’s because they’re sound-seeking missiles designed to track non-plain talk. Any surprise attracts them, they’re ze missiles that can smell fear!”

Twilight Sparkle magically picked up a missile and smashed it into the ground to get it to detonate.

Techorse shot down one of the projectiles with his laser cannons and said, “We’ve got to finish these off quickly!” Pinkie Pie ran by with the missile chasing after her still.

“This is not good at all!” she said. Techorse aimed carefully and shot down that missile too.

Pinkie Pie then said, “I’ve got to talk to this weirdo and make him stop, these missiles are no fun!” The general laughed at the funny sight of the ponies trying to get rid of all the projectiles before they hit. He kept launching the weapons, he was certain he had plenty of ammunition to handle seven ponies. It was then he noticed again a strange tapping on the glass canopy above him. Looking up, Schadenfreude saw Pinkie Pie above him.

“Hi!” said Pinkie Pie, who was now standing on top of the machine.

“Hey get off!” said Schadenfreude, reaching for the canopy button.

Pinkie Pie laughed and giggled, “I haven’t gotten to see you up close yet! You’re a funny looking guy.”

Schadenfreude found joy in Pinkie Pie’s beautiful laugh and said, “Oh, I really haven’t noticed you yet. I think I took maybe one shot at you.”

Pinkie Pie said quickly, “Oooh, it looks neat in there with all those controls can I touch them I want to see them let me in let me in!”

The general laughed happily and said, “You are so cute! Tell you what, I won’t blow you up. You can come back to Earth with me and be my personal pet! I’ll take good care of you and we’ll be good friends.”

Pinkie Pie frowned and replied, “But I like it here on Equestria with my friends. Please stop firing these missiles at them, it’s no fun at all.”

Schadenfreude said sternly, “You’re now my pet and property. I’m not listening to you.”

The general was talking through the glass at Pinkie Pie, he didn’t want to activate the external speakers with those sound seeking missiles flying around. Pinkie Pie kept staring at the human and laughing at his funny expression, despite the risk to her own life. Schadenfreude whipped out a teleporter rifle and shot up at Pinkie Pie. The blast made the Plexiglas panel underneath her disappear, and she fell into the cockpit with him.

“What’s Pinkie Pie doing?” asked Rarity.

“I don’t know.” answered Twilight honestly, shooting down another missile with a pellet of energy from her horn.

Pinkie Pie was sitting on the human and still giggling about his anger. Schadenfreude fired another volley of missiles, then went back to concentrate on getting Pinkie Pie off of him.

“Get away from me, pony!” he screamed, “Get out now!” Pinkie Pie kept laughing hard about his German accent, finding it funny.

“Only I, ze general, get to laugh at mistakes!” he said. In the struggle to get her off of him, he accidentally pushed the intercom button. Pinkie Pie’s unique and cheerful laugh was transmitted through the air. Instantly the missiles recognized the laughter and homed in on the location.

Pinkie Pie looked out the plexiglass at the incoming projectiles, said, “Well, time to go!” and hopped out of the cockpit. Schadenfreude looked on in horror and screamed as the missiles impacted the speakers on the front of the robot. The others shut their eyes, certain they would see the general fragment horribly if they didn’t. But when they opened them back up, only the front of the robot had been destroyed. It was badly damaged by the blasts, the missile tubes had been destroyed, crumpled up like soda straws, but the rest of the machine was too heavily armored and the human had been protected.

Schadenfreude opened his eyes and said, “I’m alive!” he started laughing again, but stopped when he realized something was wrong. The crystal around his neck was missing. Pinkie Pie returned to Techorse and handed him the necklace in her mouth.

“Why thank you, Pinkie Pie!” he said out loud, making sure the human could hear.

“Don’t you dare!” shrieked the general as loud as he could because his speakers were gone. Twilight cast a spell, and she and her friends without wings hooves flashed purple.

“We won’t fall now.” she whispered to Techorse.

Techorse turned to Pinkie and said, “Would you like to do the honors, Pinkie Pie?”

She nodded, “Sure!”

Pinkie Pie then nonchalantly jumped on the crystal and smashed it.

Chapter 27

A red shockwave spread through the clouds, and the general screamed, “NOOOO!” as his robot fell through them, leaving a large hole. As the machine plummeted, he looked down at the computer display.

“WARNING, EJECT! EJECT! EJECT!” screamed the computer. Schadenfreude looked blankly at the seven tiny ponies looking down the hole as the machine fell. When they were done looking and had left the hole, he hit the eject lever on his machine. What was left of the fiberglass canopy burst off with plastic explosives and Schadenfreude flew up with his jetpack towards the hole. He was not going to give up easily. The general made sure he brought his teleporter gun with him from the disabled robot, and wanted desperately to at least get Pinkie Pie for what she did to him.

Back up on the clouds, the friends were facing away from the hole.

“I don’t want to think about it.” Said Rarity, “but now I feel sorry for him. Such a dreadful way to go, falling like that.”

Rainbow Dash looked at the building behind them, “At least he didn’t go in the weather control station. If he had messed with that he could've destroyed Cloudsdale.”

“Thanks for the tip on revenge.” said a voice.

“You’re welcome” replied Rainbow Dash dumbly as she spun around to look. Then it hit her. “Oh shoot, you’re still…”

“Alive?” answered Schadenfreude. “It appears I am. But you won’t be for long.” Schadenfreude flew over on his jetpack into the weather control station.

Twilight said, “We have to stop him before he does something dangerous or stupid. That little blue potion is our only chance.”

The team ran into the control station and found the human banging on the control panels randomly, trying to sabotage the weather of the planet. He was still laughing maniacally as he attempted to form dangerous storms.

“Knock it off, you have no idea what that stuff does!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Schadenfreude turned around and raised his teleporter gun, then fired it to silence her. Rainbow ducked the blast and looked back angrily. Schadenfreude then grew furious as Pinkie Pie entered the building.

“You!” He shouted, “you’re coming with me!”

“Never!” shouted Pinkie Pie, who then ran into an air duct on the ground. Schadenfreude tried to track her with the teleporter gun, but was interrupted by Applejack butting him with her head. He fell down to the ground for a moment, but was able to push Applejack away and fly straight up into the ventilation system on his jetpack. He punched through the metal grate and entered the boxy tunnels that connected the shafts. He heard Pinkie Pie’s laughter and followed it around inside the system.

“We’ve got to do something before he nabs Pinkie Pie!” said Twilight.

Eventually, Schadenfreude found Pinkie Pie and cornered her. She was trapped between him and a flexible metal tube leading downwards out of the ventilation system. Schadenfreude lifted Pinkie Pie up into the air by her neck and stuck the end of his rifle into her middle.

“I should have done zis back in the robot.” He said as he prepared to squeeze the trigger. Pinkie Pie took action and bit him in the arm before he could shoot. In pain, Schadenfreude yelped and lost balance, and he fell down the flexible tube as he released the pony. While falling Schadenfreude reached up and grabbed Pinkie Pie by her hind legs, dragging her down the duct with him. She tried to grab onto the sides of the metal tube, and eventually stopped their fall right at a lip which separated the tube from a gigantic bell of glass the tube provided ventilation for.

Fluttershy spotted the two dangling at the top of the oversized glass container and said, “look! There they are!”

The team ran over and watched as they hung on, trying not to fall the good 30 feet tall the glass jar was. Pinkie Pie looked down at Schadenfreude hanging onto her legs. She tickled him with her tail, trying to get him to let go and fall into the pool of water at the bottom of the glass container.

Pinkie Pie shouted up through the ventilation tubes, “Help, this guy won’t let go of me!”

Schadenfreude said, “Of course I won’t. I’m going to teleport you and win this silly thing once and for all.” He reached for his gun.

Rainbow Dash looked at the control panel in front of the glass container and said, “Hey! Maybe we can make some weather to help Pinkie Pie!”

Techorse said, “Great idea! Make the most dangerous thing you can, and I’ll help Pinkie Pie out from there.”

Rainbow Dash hit a button marked, “Tornado.” The water began to churn, and a dark funnel formed from it, reaching up. Schadenfreude looked down at it, then back at Pinkie Pie. She was wiggling too much to hit accurately with the gun. More importantly, it was obvious she was about to lose her grip. The human might not have weighed as much as the other humans, but he was at least twice as heavy as the smaller sized residents of Equestria.

The tornado was completely formed and spun violently underneath the two.

“That’s it guys!” laughed Pinkie Pie, “The weather’s looking great!”

Once the tornado looked violent enough, Techorse ordered, “Kick him off, Pinkie!”

Pinkie Pie said, “I want to jump in with him, it looks like too much fun!”

She then looked back at Schadenfreude and said, “If you want me to be your pet, you gotta learn to like the things I like, including spinning things!” She then let go, and she and the general fell right into the tornado.

“No, Pinkie Pie!” shouted Twilight. The tornado spun around the two and soon regurgitated Schadenfreude, who was thrown screaming through the glass. As the container broke, the water spilled everywhere, cutting the tornado’s fuel off. It slowly dissipated, and gently set Pinkie Pie down.

Twilight asked, “Pinkie Pie, are you ok?”

Pinkie shook her head to ease her dizziness and giggled, “Yeah, but my head’s all spinny again!”

Rainbow Dash looked at the defeated human and announced “Looks like we just gave the human a spin cycle!” Schadenfreude groaned, attracting the attention of the team. He had had enough abuse, having been blown up and thrown through a three inch thick glass wall. The human took out the small bottle of blue fluid and unscrewed the cap.

He laughed one more time weakly and said, “I resign.” And then he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

The team celebrated their new victory over their enemy..

But then, Rainbow Dash interrupted, “What about the rest of Cloudsdale? Did they make it?”

They walked back to where the platform was supposed to be docked. But it was strangely missing.

“What happened to the platform?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

Derpy Hooves reappeared on the scene and answered, “When the spell on the city was broken, the heavy door brought it down and it crashed. BOOM!”

“Well, I guess that takes care of that thing.” Said Rarity. The surviving ponies had gathered around to congratulate the heroes for defeating Schadenfreude, including two of the Wonderbolts.

Spitfire said to Rainbow Dash, “We managed to beat the last of the robots. But we lost Soarin’ to one.”

Techorse said, “Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. That factory’s next on our list.”

“We are ready to take on the factory, aren’t we? We’ll be there right after we stop at Canterlot to see princess Celestia.” said Twilight.

“Besides, we may have taken losses, but this victory will motivate the others in the cities to fight for themselves.” added Applejack.

“Congratulations, you saved my city!” interrupted a loud, hamming voice. Twilight and the others looked up to see the mayor descending to greet them. The crowd of ponies celebrating their victory stared at him angrily.

The mayor stopped in front of Techorse and said to him, “Well, commander Techorse, you did such an excellent job helping out the city that I want you to be awarded the key to it!”

“No thanks, I don’t take awards from cowards.” Said Techorse bitterly, “Your ‘elite force’ never showed up. We know you just used that as an excuse so you could flee, then come back later if we won and take the credit.” The mayor sweated and looked around nervously, knowing he had been caught.

He then said, “Anyways, I wish you luck in taking out that factory.”

Techorse answered, “I wish you luck too.”

“What for?” asked the mayor.

He answered with a smug look, “getting re-elected after this stunt.” The mayor looked at the angry faces of his people and knew he was in for it. He gave a nervous laugh.

Chapter 28

The strategy table aboard the space station was getting eerily empty. Wizard put his hand over his eyes in a facepalm as he watched the figure of Schadenfreude dissolve away to nothing, along with every last robot figure on the map. In rage, Wizard flipped over the strategy table and reduced it to splinters with a magical explosion from his fingertips.

“Forget a military takeover, I’m cutting straight to the heart of the issue.” he yelled.

“I’ll make this planet’s ponies obey my every command once I’m done what I’m going to do!” He then angrily punched the communications disk behind him. Bossman appeared; who immediately turned pale at Wizard’s enraged expression.

“Wizard, what a surprise!” he said nervously.

“Can it!” shouted Wizard angrily, “as of now, it is only me, you, and Espion! Somehow the ponies in the sky city managed to beat the general!”

Bossman protested with great fear, “It’s not my fault! Schadenfreude invented these robots, I just teleported them to him. It’s his fault for mismanaging them, I’m honest!”

Wizard sighed, “I’m not blaming you, Bossman. You’re just a factory manager. What concerns me is that it is these same seven ponies who keep taking down my men. We can’t afford to mess around any longer, Bossman. So I’m prepared to do what it takes.”

Bossman acknowledged the statement as an order, “Absolutely sir. I’ll have the factory retooled to produce nuclear warheads right away!”

“Not that, you rockhead!” shouted Wizard, “I meant I was personally going to do something! What good’s having a planet if you nuke it into oblivion!?”

Bossman apologized while visibly sweating, “Terribly sorry, Sir. I just thought we could speed up things a bit.”

Wizard barked out, “Keep producing robots at maximum capacity. Push your machines to the limit and build up as many as possible. I want a full ground assault on every last city on this planet ready within 3 days.”

Bossman protested, “But sir! The only way I’ll have enough robots is to send out a large portion of our reserves guarding the factory. If the ponies attack, it’ll be next to defenseless.”

Wizard spoke angrily again, “The ponies won’t even think about attacking the factory after I do what I’m going to do.”

Bossman asked, “Sorry for being a moron, but what is that exactly?”

Wizard took a deep breath and replied, “It’s quite alright that you can’t read minds. I’ve learned through magical spying years before we started this operation that there’s nothing these ponies love more than their two precious leaders. These two have been using the thought energy generated by their subjects’ happiness to extend their lives greatly.”

Bossman smiled and said, “Oh, you’re going to take down their chain of command to demoralize them. I’m not trying to kiss up here, but that’s a pretty good idea, Wizard.”

Wizard continued with the explanation of his plan, “It’s a common tactic, but I like it. Once I deal with the rulers, these ponies will simply beg for mercy from me. To do so, I’ve detected with my powers a demonic manifestation of one of the leader’s hate living inside the planet’s moon. Based on their texts I’ve stolen, it will serve as my weapon to defeat them.”

Bossman raised his hand and asked, “I hate to be rude and interrupt again, but if these leaders use magic energy from their subjects to stay alive, isn’t there a chance that they’d, you know, beat you?”

Wizard said plainly, “I think you doubt me, Bossman. I’m not worried about losing to these mere horse-like creatures.” Wizard magically summoned a cup of water at the factory and dumped it over Bossman’s head. Bossman wiped off his head with a towel and said, “Well, at least you didn’t choke me.”

Wizard gave him an evil smile, then chuckled and said, “Just keep the factory going you silly little manager.” Wizard turned off the device and stroked his goatee, contemplating shaving it due to the cliché look it gave him.

Forgetting about his personal looks to concentrate on his plans, Wizard looked straight at Equestria’s moon and said, “Perhaps it’s time to pay the princesses a little visit, and bring back an old friend of theirs.” Wizard cackled at his joke, and then disappeared in a cloud of red smoke and flames.

Pinkie Pie declared that the entire city of Cloudsdale should have one of her famous parties in celebration of their success. The residents agreed, and a party was thrown in honor of the seven friends who led them to victory. There was cake, music, and dancing across the entire city of Cloudsdale. Towards the end of the festivities, Twilight and Techorse were dancing together.

She said to him, “You sure picked up on how to dance like a pony pretty quickly.”

Techorse nodded and said, “It’s not too hard.”

Twilight continued, “Listen, I really am having a good time at this party, but when are we going to go to Canterlot?”

He answered, “You worry too much! The helicopter’s autopilot will take us to Canterlot after the party tonight. We can sleep onboard overnight, and start in Canterlot first thing in the morning.”

Twilight said, “Ok. But we need to leave right away after this party.”

Viynl Scratch, providing music for the event, called over the microphone, “Ok ponies, one last slow song for romance before we wrap this party up!”

“Just relax and dance Twilight. Have a good time while you can.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched her two friends dance together and felt happy inside.

Applejack approached her and said, “I’m real proud of you, Rainbow. You went from bein’ jealous of Twilight to being happy for her for findin’ love.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack, “You could tell too?”

Applejack took a sip from a nearby drink and said, “Of course I can tell they love each other. They just get along so well.”

“Oh my” said Fluttershy who was sitting near them, “do you think they’ll get married?”

“Maybe someday” said Applejack, “but they’re still a little young for that.”

The song was drawing to a close, and Techorse and Twilight Sparkle stared into each others eyes for a moment. They moved a little closer.

Pinkie Pie took notice and said, “Come on! Do it! Kiss her!” But it never happened, something stopped them and they simply embraced and kept dancing. The song finished, and they let go of each other, then looked away with a touch of embarrassment.

Applejack pointed this out, “See, Fluttershy, I don’t think anything’s gonna happen yet. They’re still thinking all this over.”

“I see” said Fluttershy.

Twilight said to Techorse, “Well, that was a great dance. But we have to go now.”

“I agree” he replied, “we have yet another big day ahead of us.” The citizens of Cloudsdale lined up back at the port and watched as the friends piled into the helicopter to fly to Canterlot. They cheered and waved goodbye when the door shut and the machine flew off into the night. At the front of the helicopter, the seven watched out the front window at the darkened ground below.

Rarity took notice of the sky and said, “Beautiful full moon tonight. Anyways, I’m going to get a head start on my beauty sleep, if there are any beds on this dusty helicopter” She took off her dress and folded it neatly, then stashed it in a cupboard on the side of the control room.

Techorse told her, “There’s a bunch of beds in the back. This helicopter was originally designed to transport about two dozen humans, so there should be enough space for all of you.” Rarity nodded and headed back through the rear door.

Applejack yawned, “I’m tuckered out too. I’m right with you Rarity.” She left as well.

“Yeah.” said Rainbow Dash, “Guess I’ll go to bed too.”

Fluttershy followed her out without saying a word. Techorse turned to Pinkie Pie and said, “Going to bed too, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie nodded, “After that amazing party, I’d better! I don’t wanna be sleepy tomorrow when we see the princess! Wait for me, girls!” she bounced back out the open door. Twilight Sparkle shut the door, locked it, and stood next to Techorse. The colt had taken off his battle saddle and set it aside because the helicopter was flying on autopilot and he didn’t need his saddle to control the aircraft.

“So” said Twilight smoothly, “now that they’re back there in bed, I think I can give you this.”

She then shut her eyes and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

Techorse turned and looked at her, “Thanks Twilight, but don’t you think the party was more romantic than this?” Techorse moved some of Twilight’s hair out of her eyes with his hoof.

Twilight answered, “I didn’t want to embarrass us in front of the others. What would they say if they saw me kissing you?”

Techorse replied, “I don’t really know. But they are your best friends Twilight, and mine too. I’m sure they’d understand.”

Twilight turned for the door, looked back at Techorse, “I love you.”

He smiled and replied, “I love you too, Twilight. Sleep well.” She opened the door and walked out to go to bed. Techorse shut the door behind her and returned to his command chair to rest. As he set the alarm on his helicopter, he thought to himself, “Oh yeah, life’s much better here than on Earth.”

Chapter 29

Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting down in their thrones, thinking deeply about what was becoming of their kingdom.

“I’m sure your team can stop this Wizard.” said Luna, trying to comfort her sister, “after all…”

Celestia looked at Luna and said, “I know. But please don’t bring that up, dear sister.” Luna turned her head away and looked at the brick walls of the throne room. The guards, who normally always stood at their sides, had been called away by Captain Arbiter to guard the entire castle. Even though it was built into a cliff face, nobody was going to make it within 100 feet of the fortress on his watch. Trouble is, they never expected somebody to teleport in. Princess Celestia thought she heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the throne room. The room had a red carpet down the center, featured many gold decorations, had a large fireplace, and also featured a large bay window, where the light of the full moon shone through in a perfect illuminating beam. The noise started to grow deeper and louder.

“Do you hear that?” she asked Luna.

“No, I don’t think so.” was her response. But of course, something was wrong. A large plume of red smoke appeared with a percussive blast. Out of the smoke stepped Wizard, smiling gently.

“Hello your majesties” said Wizard politely.

Luna whispered to Celestia, “Should I call for the guards?”

Celestia answered, “For their safety, no.”

The princess then turned from her sister and addressed the human, “Ah, you must be Wizard.”

Wizard answered, “That is correct!”

Luna asked, “What do you want with us?” Wizard looked at a table next to him with a bottle of fine wine and some glasses. Using magic, he gingerly poured himself a tiny glass, and then brought the cup to his lips.

He replaced the glass on the table after a quick sip and said gently, “Lovely night isn’t it? I come here for diplomacy. You see, the men who are capturing your ponies for money are being shipped back to Earth by your seven trusted students, Celestia. I come here to make a peace agreement to prevent any further problems.”

Celestia gently told him, “Very well. Just leave for your planet and my ponies won’t have to take any more action.”

Wizard smiled and replied, “That isn’t quite what I had in mind, princess. I have no intention of leaving myself, and in fact, I plan on staying here a long time.”

Wizard sighed and continued, “I came to this planet to conquer it by force. But I’ve had a change in mind recently. It seems your ponies are quite capable of defending themselves, and I’d hate to let a bitter, long capturing war go on between them and me.”

Celestia asked with suspicion, “So what do you want us to do?”

Wizard put his hands together, touching the tips of his fingers to each other and said, “I’d love to allow you to keep your places as rulers of this planet. I wish to be a mere background controlling force. I don’t want my picture on posters scattered around your cities with the word ‘obey’ underneath it. That’s just a little too arrogant. No, instead, I just want to control most of the aspects of daily life to play with the planet’s ponies and their minds for my satisfaction.”

“Never.” said Celestia sternly, “I will not allow that.”

Wizard opened his arms and said, “But why not Celestia? What’s the difference between you and me?”

Luna answered, “A lot. My sister and I do not control every part of our subject’s lives.”

“And yet,” said Wizard, “you’ve remained alive nearly forever by feeding off of their happiness. It would be such a shame to you if they found out about that.” Celestia would not lose her temper at the human. She had to remain diplomatic at all costs.

She said to him, “Wizard, our subjects give us energy by their own will. We give them freedoms and help to make sure they are happy with their lives. Because of that, life is a gift given to us by them as a sign of gratitude for our efforts.”

Wizard said, “Yes, but your system of a constitutional monarchy doesn’t quite work with my system of a behind-the-scenes dictatorship. I’m offering you the chance to keep your power by becoming totalitarian leaders.”

Celestia asked, “What if we say no?”

Wizard’s hands started glowing. “I think three’s a crowd, normally. But I’m willing to make exceptions to keep my slaves docile.”

“Slaves?” said Luna. She grew angry at the human and yelled, “You fiend! We are very kind to our subjects.”

“Oh look who’s talking!” mocked Wizard, “The one who tried to plunge this planet into eternal darkness speaks a message of kindness.” Celestia lost it at these unkind words.

“That’s behind us now!” she yelled, “Luna has changed!”

“Oh really?” said Wizard, “I’m pretty sure her hatred has manifested itself somehow.”

Luna said shakily, “That isn’t true. Help me Celestia.”

Celestia stood closer to her sister and shouted, “You’ve made me mad, Wizard, something nearly impossible to do. You come in here after attacking my subjects, my children, and you insult my sister and call me a controlling mare, and you expect me to just turn over power to you?”

Wizard laughed and said, “Looks like I hit your anger button really hard. Now make up your mind. Will you be keeping your thrones and making your people obey me, or will you force me to deal with you and take over Equestria anyways?”

Celestia said slowly, “You will never be able to make the ponies happy. Your selfishness will be your downfall, and we will never turn over this planet to you!” Wizard’s hands started glowing a bright orange.

Smiling evilly, he said, “As you wish, your majesty.” Wizard shot a large ray of pure orange destructive energy at Celestia from his hands. Celestia returned with her own pure white beam of energy from her horn. The beams met in the center of the room and illuminated it brightly. Outside, Captain Arbiter took notice of the event.

“Something’s wrong, get to the throne room!” he yelled. The captain turned to Celestia’s two favorite guards and yelled, “Jools, Jops! Follow me!” The royal guards nodded and galloped off with their commander.

The energy beams dueled in the center of the throne room, desperate to push the other one back into its owner. Wizard stepped closer to give his beam more power, and laughed as the cross of the beams got closer and closer to the princesses. “You will lose, Celestia!” said Wizard darkly.

“Run, Luna!” cried Celestia to her sister. It was obvious that the beams were going to hit her sister, so Luna decided to bravely help out.

“I shall not leave you!” she said. Luna fired her own black-colored ray from her horn and twisted it around Luna’s beam. The beam turned an even more intense white color with a black stripe down the middle. The crossbeam hovered for a minute, and then backed up quickly.

“No!” shouted Wizard, “Impossible!”

The beams impacted Wizard and sent him flying into the brick wall behind him. Celestia and Luna switched off their beams, certain they had vaporized the human. Instead, Wizard was imbedded in the brick wall like a cartoon character.

“I can’t believe this.” He said as he fell out of the wall and onto the floor. Wizard, badly burned, thought now was the best time to bring his real plan into action. He crawled slowly forward and got on his knees just a little bit in front of the moonlit window.

“Please, I didn’t mean it!” said Wizard, “I’m sorry!” Luna stepped forward into the moonlight, just like Wizard planned.

“You'd better beg for mercy!” said Luna angrily.

Celestia realized what was going on and said in a panic, “Luna, don’t! It’s a trick!”

“Why Luna!” said Wizard with a scary grin on his face, “You seem a little angry. In fact, you sound hateful.”

Luna looked at the full moon and realized what was going on, but it was far too late. Wizard stood up and shot a jagged orange beam which instantly shattered the glass window. The beam stretched faster than the speed of light, and struck the moon. Luna was bathed in a blast of red magical energy from the moon’s reaction to the spell.

Wizard laughed heartily, “This is what happens when you disobey Wizard!”

Luna began her transformation. She screamed in pain, not wanting to revert, but the demon had escaped from the moon and possessed her again. There was nothing she could do now but watch as she grew bigger and turned a darker and darker color. Eventually, the horrid transformation was complete as the escaped manifestation consumed Luna. The new Pegasus and unicorn pony had grown to Celestia’s size, was completely pitch black, and wore plates of armor.

Wizard laughed and said, “The transformation is complete.”

Celestia, weeping, asked, “What have you done?”

Wizard replied, “Pardon the pun, but I believe I have brought back your worst nightmare.” It was true: Wizard had fused Luna with a manifestation of her old rivalry with Celestia. She was once more Nightmare Moon.

This new evil mare turned to Wizard and said, “I am reborn. Together Wizard, we will squash the day and rule this planet!” Wizard climbed onto Nightmare Moon’s back.

He pointed his right pointer finger at Celestia and said, “You should have taken my offer, Celestia. Now you will lose both your power and your subject’s happiness, as I am going to let Nightmare Moon keep the planet from turning! The sun will not rise again, Celestia!”

Wizard and Nightmare Moon jumped out the window of the castle and flew away, just as Captain Arbiter and his stallions showed up.

“STOP!” cried the Captain in the red Spartan helmet, but it was far too late to do anything. The guards stood still in utter sadness as they watched their leader cry about what had happened.

Several miles away, Wizard and Nightmare Moon landed at the front of the mountain pass that needed to be crossed to reach the factory.

Looking through the pass, Wizard dismounted and said, “Now that we are working together, I’d like to let you know now that you may keep this world in darkness as you have wished before. Soon, I will launch a massive robot attack to capture more ponies for the humans on Earth and squash Celestia forever. I only request you stay in this massive castle I am about to build, and protect the path to a vital factory producing said robots. If the seven ponies Celestia loves so dearly come by here, the castle’s traps will turn them into mince meat. But do not do anything dangerous. We’re only trying to starve Celestia of her power until I can launch my attack.”

Nightmare Moon replied, “As long as this planet is in night, we will have complete power over it! But I don’t see how this castle is going to simply appear out of nowhere.”

“Even you doubt my power.” he said with disappointment as he stretched out his arms and his hands began to glow a deep orange color. Immediately, chunks upon chunks of rock flew out from the mountains and began stacking up. Within the hour, a completely built castle was standing in front of them, at least 500 feet tall, and a kilometer across. The massive dark castle featured many pointy dark gothic-styled spires, and the roof was littered with catapults filled with greek fire generators.

Wizard said to Nightmare Moon, “This planet’s rotation may be under your magic power, but never forget that I am the true master of magic in this universe.”

Nightmare Moon stared at the massive fortress and said, “With this castle, I shall strike fear into the hearts of Celestia’s little ponies!”

Wizard rolled his eyes and added with indifference, “Please, strike some sort of weapon into their hearts instead, it’ll be much easier for you.”

He then thought of something, “But if you see a green one named ‘Techorse’, capture him and keep him alive for me. I wish to destroy him myself.”

Nightmare Moon said to him, “Very well, Wizard. I would like to hear of how you disposed of him afterwards.” Wizard raised his hands to teleport himself back away to the space station.

“Wait!” said Nightmare Moon.

“What is it?” he asked.

Nightmare Moon said, “I have but one weakness.”

Wizard told her, “I am aware of the magical artifacts Celestia has created and their power. So, I have constructed an anti-magic shield generator system on the very top of the castle. If your safety is threatened by the ponies, retreat there inside the blue field orbs. It acts as a one way door for magical energy, letting it out, but not in. You will be invincible, Nightmare.” Wizard then raised his arm again and disappeared in a burst of red smoke, back to the space station. Nightmare Moon flew up to the top of her new castle and began to explore her new fortress.

Chapter 30

The loud buzzer of the clock filled the cockpit of the helicopter. Techorse woke up and smashed the snooze button with a hoof. He placed his saddle back on and strapped it tightly. Then, he relaxed back in the command chair of the aircraft. Still a little sleepily, the green pony looked out the window and noticed it was still dark outside. Techorse looked at his alarm clock and read that it was 9:00 in the morning.

“Shouldn’t the sun be out yet?” he said to himself. Techorse worked with his robot hands to manipulate the instruments found on the helicopter. The GPS said they were approaching Canterlot and should start to make their descent, and the trip had taken the correct amount of time. For safety, the helicopter had flown very slowly, it could have taken just 2 hours at max speed, but for fuel conservation the trip had been stretched out to 8 hours at 25% speed. Techorse made absolutely sure they were in the right spot on the computer screens, and then pushed some buttons to program a gentle landing near the city. He then went into the back of the aircraft to wake the others up.

Techorse looked at his sleeping friends and pondered how he should go about waking up the ladies. Should he simply ring the alarm clock and risk a chewing out by Rarity for disturbing her? Or should he start with Fluttershy and gently work with her to shake the others awake? Techorse originally thought Applejack, being a farmer, would have woken up first. But because it was still dark outside for some reason and farmers tend to wake with the sun, she was still sound asleep on her cot. Techorse decided to just wait for the others to wake up on their own.

“I’d better let them sleep.” He said quietly, then turned around to go back to the cockpit. Going back inside, he flicked a couple of switches to ease the helicopter down gently outside of the city. Eventually, the change in air pressure as the helicopter went down was enough of a disturbance to wake Pinkie Pie. She quickly bolted up from her bed and skipped her way into the command room.

“Good morning Techie!” she said happily. After taking a look out the window she said in confusion, “or is it good night? How long did I sleep?”

Techorse replied, “It is the morning Pinkie Pie. Something’s up with the environment, and I think it may have something to do with Wizard.”

Pinkie Pie said in panic, “Hey, what if Wizard… oh no! I have to tell the others about this!” She immediately ran back into the sleeping quarters.

Techorse heard her shout, “Wake up! Wake up!” over and over. Techorse lowered his head onto the control panel and said, “Well, that takes care of getting the others up.”

Soon, Pinkie Pie had gathered the others to look out the front window. Rarity came in last with cucumber slices over her eyes.

“What is going on, Pinkie Pie that you have to shock us awake like that?” she demanded.

Pinkie Pie ate the cucumber slices off of Rarity’s face and said, “Look! It’s still dark out and it’s 9 in the morning! Something’s wrong, wrong, wrong!”

Fluttershy said sleepily, “Please calm down.”

Applejack said loudly, “I don’t like the looks of this. Are you sure it’s the mornin’?”

Rainbow Dash added, “Maybe your clock’s just broken, Techorse.”

Techorse insisted the machinery was working, “No, it’s not broken. The computer says we’re descending into Canterlot, and the time on the helicopter matches the time on my clock.”

Twilight Sparkle said in fear, “I sure hope this isn’t what I think it might be. Techorse, doesn’t Wizard live in space?”

He answered, “Yeah. He’s usually on the space station orbiting Equestria. Why do you ask?”

A very worried Fluttershy said, “Twilight, you don’t think…”

Twilight continued, “If Wizard could teleport that gigantic space station from across the galaxy to attack Equestria, what could possibly stop him from getting to the moon?”

Rarity cried out, “He wouldn’t dare!”

Techorse asked, “Dare what?”

Twilight said to him, “He might release Nightmare Moon from her prison and use her against Equestria!”

Techorse said, “From the prophecy? How did Wizard find out about that?”

He then realized how it happened and said, “Aw crap! He was monitoring that hologram scanner the first time we used it! That’s how he found out: he was tapping into the computers that night at the castle.”

“Well, no worries.” Said Rainbow Dash, “We just go get the elements of harmony from Celestia and beat her again. Easy!”

Applejack said worriedly, “but knowing these darn humans, he’ll try and find a way to stop ‘em!”

Techorse said to her, “You’re right. We’ll have to remain on our guard.”

The helicopter touched down on the main road outside of the capital city. Canterlot featured a wide variety of buildings, some more modern looking, others reaching way back to medieval times. In the center up on the cliff face was Celestia’s castle, which overhung the entire city. But a cliff face, although hard to attack from the ground, was no match for teleport capable beings like Wizard, as the events of last night had proved. The bay doors on the helicopter opened up, and the seven stepped out into the dark, the only light coming from the street lamps and torches hung from the city walls. They were approached by Captain Arbiter, Jools, and Jops. Arbiter was Celestia’s new captain of the guard, a brutish but effect replacement for Shining, who had left with his wife to start his own castle several months ago. This new captain of the guard was much different from Jools and Jops, who might as well be twin brothers. Arbiter wore a red-plumed hat in addition to darker armor. He was a white coated stallion like a good number of the other guards, but wore an eyepatch over his left eye. There was an obvious dark red scar behind it, like some sort of claw had gouged out the organ. His “cutie mark” was a grizzly looking axe an executioner might use.

“Come with us.” Said Arbiter gruffly, “the princess requires your presence immediately.”

Techorse tried to follow them, but Jools and Jops blocked him off.

“He’s with us” said Twilight.

Captain Arbiter commanded, “Jops, Jools, I’m sure that’s the lad the princess was talking about. He matches her description of him, being green and brown-maned. Your name, foal?”

“Techorse, sir. I assume you are princess Celestia’s general?”

The Captain adjusted his red plumed helmet and answered, “Captain of the Royal Guard: Arbiter, actually.” He then said with some sarcasm, “I’m quite touched you thought I was a general. Come with us.” They followed the three stallions through the city to get to the castle.

Techorse caught up and said, “So Twilight, this is your home city. It’s really a nice place.”

Twilight replied, “Yeah, this is where I lived. I studied under the princess in that library building over there. It was great and all, but I’m very happy I moved to Ponyville and made friends.”

Techorse said, “Well, do you ever miss living here?”

“Sometimes” she replied, “but if I ever came back, I’d miss my friends even more.” Techorse continued looking around the city, at the various structures he had never seen before. After a long walk, they made it to the castle’s front gate. As the gates opened, the team was escorted into the castle, and the gates were shut again, a little harder than what Twilight remembered.

Rarity said as she looked at the castle decorations, “We’ve only been here once or twice, Techorse. Take in the view while you can.” Fluttershy was looking around at the number of royal guards inside the castle. It seemed that security had really been ramped up recently.

Fluttershy asked softly, “Excuse me, Captain, why are there so many of your stallions here tonight?”

The Captain said angrily, “The princess will explain everything. I cannot answer your question.”

“Ok, I can wait.” said Fluttershy in fear of the captain’s wrath. Rainbow Dash was busy trying to resist the urge to spread her wings indoors. But they were so stiff, she didn’t stretch them when she got out of the helicopter, and they were bugging her. Applejack still hadn’t taken off her hat indoors, which was probably annoying only Arbiter, Jools and Jops really didn’t care as much.

They reached the throne room, and Arbiter stopped in front of the group. “Do not say anything until the princess tells you to.” He said viciously, “any words out of any of you before the princess asks, and I’ll have you arrested immediately!” Arbiter then opened the doors to the throne room, and walked in before Celestia.

Bowing graciously, he said, “Your majesty, here are your team of seven ponies you have called me to get for you.” Celestia simply pointed Arbiter out the door with her front hoof. Arbiter finished his bow and backed away. The seven entered the room, followed behind by Jools and Jops. Twilight’s heart sank when she saw the princess. Her face was streamed with tears, and her multicolored mane hair no longer waved gently the way it used to, it was simply lying limp on her back, and it spilled onto the floor. She was sobbing, which filled the entire room with a dismal mood. Princess Celestia turned and looked at her team, and then hugged Twilight tightly.

“Oh Twilight Sparkle...” she sobbed, “Thank goodness you’re here. Something terrible has happened. That demonic man Wizard has taken my sister and turned her evil again.”

Twilight comforted her, “We’ll do whatever we can to stop him.”

The princess then looked at Techorse and said, “It’s nice to see you in real life. Please, tell me more about yourself.”

Techorse said, “Your majesty, I’ve told you everything I know about myself. I was one of the humans, but I had a change of heart. I really do want to help you beat Wizard once and for all.” Outside the throne room, Arbiter listened with anger in his heart.

He thought to himself, “The green one’s actually a human inside? He can’t be trusted!”

Arbiter burst through the door. “You’re under arrest, human!” he shouted.

“Arbiter!” said Celestia in surprise, “what are you doing?”

Arbiter explained himself, “If this pony is actually a human, then he cannot be trusted in the same room as you! We can’t tell if he’s loyal to you, or trying to get rid of you.”

Techorse was fed up with Arbiter’s bullying. He said angrily, “Listen, Captain. You think I’m not loyal to the princess? Do you think I’m a scumbag human at heart?”

Arbiter replied, “We have no way of telling if you’re for us or a spy for Wizard!”

Applejack shouted, “Hey, Techorse has been helpin’ us the whole time and you’re trying to get him?”

Arbiter ordered his two soldiers, “Seize him, stallions!”

“Stand down!” ordered the princess. Jools and Jops obeyed her.

She then said softly to Arbiter, “Listen, there’s been enough tragedy. I think Techorse deserves a chance. He seems like a nice young pony to me.”

Arbiter said gruffly, “I still don’t see why I should trust the human.”

Techorse said to him, “Because I’m your only chance, pal. Wizard did this because he spied on Twilight and me and learned about the elements of harmony. He probably has figured out a way to block them, and you’re going to need me to defeat that.”

Techorse then turned to princess Celestia and said, “Princess Celestia, I will go with my friends and bring back your sister in her original form. I promise to return with Luna in one piece.”

Arbiter asked, “What if you don’t?”

Techorse said to him, “You can kill me personally, Arbiter.”

Celestia wrapped a wing around Techorse and comforted him, “You don’t need to offer your life like that. Any effort you make to save my sister proves your loyalties, Techorse.” Arbiter turned around and left in rage. He still refused to believe that any human could be any good.

Twilight Sparkle said, “Princess Celestia, shouldn’t we just get the element artifacts back out and find Nightmare Moon?”

Rainbow Dash interrupted, “We can do that Twilight, but we still have to find her. She could be anywhere right now.”

Techorse said, “Not necessarily. It’s likely Wizard put down a fort of some kind to protect her from us. Now, if I was Wizard, I’d put a powerful magic user right where she would provide a lot of defense.”

Twilight took the hint and said, “The mountain range between the factories! If we head there, I’m sure we’ll find Nightmare Moon.”

Applejack said, “Good thinking, Twilight! Then when we’re done, we can go straight for the factory!”

Pinkie Pie said, “Let’s make a plan then!”

Twilight agreed and said, “We should take the helicopter to the mountain pass and find the fortress. Once we do, we can just walk up and use the elements of harmony once again to banish Nightmare Moon and save Luna.”

Techorse sighed and said with disappointment, “The helicopter doesn’t have enough fuel for a return trip though, and refined oil is practically nonexistent on this planet.”

Fluttershy added, “I think we can just walk the rest of the way. It hasn’t stopped us before.”

Pinkie Pie agreed, “Fluttershy is right. We can’t just sit around all lazy because we don’t have a ride! We can make it on hoof.”

Rarity moaned at the idea of messing up her hooves on the rocky mountain terrain. But finally she said, “Looks like we have our job cut out for us. Let’s go get the elements then."

“Techorse thought about the elements and said, “Wait a minute. Princess Celestia, I need to know for sure if there really is a seventh element of harmony. If so, what is it?”

The princess answered, “There is a seventh element, and I also know you definitely have this element as part of your character, Techorse. However, when I created the seventh element artifact, I used it once and then destroyed it, thinking I wouldn’t need it again. You’ll have to find a replacement artifact.”

Techorse answered happily, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Celestia continued, “I’m sure you’ll feel more fulfilled if you figure out what the seventh element is on your own. It exists without the others, unlike magic, but it is powerless without them. That’s my hint to you, little one.”

Techorse thanked her for the advice. The tall princess finished drying her tears and then took her team to the specialized vault. After unlocking the huge metal container, a small gem encrusted briefcase was taken out and placed before the princess. Inside were 6 crystals, almost like the ones the humans wore, each glowing a different color.

Techorse asked politely, “I thought these were supposed to be artifacts of some kind. Why are they crystals?”

Celestia answered, “For storage, the artifacts revert to a small crystal form when not in use. It makes them easy to carry.”

Twilight noted, “Wait a minute, we’ve seen the humans wear crystals similar to the elements to channel Wizard’s magical power. The only human so far that didn’t have one is…”

She looked back at Techorse, “You.”

Rainbow Dash asked, “That’s right! Why didn’t you get one of those from Wizard?”

Techorse replied, “He had an extra crystal for me, but it wouldn’t channel his magic energy. It just glowed some weird teal color and wouldn’t work.”

Pinkie Pie asked rather loudly, “Hey! Will that make a replacement element?”

Celestia smiled and answered, “I think it just might.” Twilight Sparkle carefully lifted the six crystals out of the briefcase.

Techorse said, “If it’s ok with you, Twilight, I have compartment storage in the saddle to keep those crystals in. They’d be protected by a little bit of armor.”

Twilight trusted him and replied, “Ok. It’s better than just carrying them around I guess.” Techorse opened up a compartment on top of the device and accepted the crystals. The lid clicked shut after each one had been carefully placed inside.

Applejack said, “Well, I guess we’re all set. I reckon we’ll make good time to the mountain pass if we leave now.”

Techorse turned to face the princess, “I will bring back princess Luna. You have my word.”

Celestia patted Techorse on the head and said, “You keep repeating yourself. I know you’ll do fine, but if something happens, I won’t let Arbiter hurt you. Don’t take every last moment so seriously.”

“Yes m’am!” replied Techorse. He then saluted her and walked out of the vault room.

“Do you find him strange princess?” asked Twilight.

“Not at all, Techorse is a good friend. Remember that he wasn’t a pony to start with. I’m sure that soon he’ll relax and learn he’s not my little soldier.”

She then laughed at her joke and bid Twilight and her friends farewell. The team caught up with Techorse, who was walking out of the castle to make the journey back to the helicopter. Twilight trotted up alongside him, looked at the pony and smiled.

Techorse looked at her while frowning and said, “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of the princess. It’s just that I find her a much better master than Wizard, and I wanted to let her know I enjoy serving under her.”

Twilight assured him, “You didn’t embarrass me at all. After all, the princess doesn’t know about our relationship, and thinks we’re just acquaintances.”

“What relationship?” asked Pinkie Pie, hopping alongside them.

“Pinkie Pie!” shouted Twilight in annoyance, “stop eavesdropping!” Giggling, Pinkie Pie apologized and fell back to the others trailing behind them.

“She’s going to tell the others, isn’t she?” said Techorse with worry.

“If she did, I’d have to hurt her.” replied Twilight, “she once spent a long time following me just so she could stop me from telling others my friend’s secrets. She’d better keep ours.”

Captain Arbiter watched from the castle walls at the leaving ponies. Standing at his sides were Jools and Jops. Arbiter’s black cape fluttered in the wind as he stared down, particularly at Techorse.

“Set up my guillotine.” Ordered Arbiter, “If Techorse doesn’t return with Luna, I want his head.” Jools and Jops almost never talked, but this time, Jools had to protest.

He said, “But sir, the princess banned every last form of capital punishment over 1000 years ago! If she finds out you kept one for yourself, who knows what she’ll do!”

Jops added, “And if Techorse fails his mission, it’s very likely he won’t even return alive! Why risk punishment by breaking the princess’s most sacred rule?”

Arbiter screamed at him, “I’m very well aware of what the princess ordered all those years ago, but I’m sure she’s forgotten her little edicts. Now follow my orders or it will be your heads instead!” The guards turned and left to follow the vile orders from their commander. Jops had half a mind to alert the princess to Arbiter’s evil plan to murder Techorse, but was too afraid of his commander to act now.

“The poor foal’s on his own if he fails.” he thought sadly.