The satellite beeped once every second as it slowly made its way around the blue planet. Sputnik belonged to the U.S.H.R., more commonly known as Hooviet Russia, and was also the first satellite in space. As it floated above the country of Equestria, the satellite paid no attention to the raging hurricane below. After it floated to the other side of the planet, a star seemed to shimmer beyond the moon, getting bigger and bigger. Before long, it flew past the moon to show that it was, in fact, not a star, but a large comet. It flew towards the storm taking place over Equestria and entered the planet's atmosphere through the eye of the storm.
Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of Trotwell, a wooden fishing boat was caught in the storm. It rose and fell with the waves as a fretful pink pony tried to control the waterlogged boat. He grabbed a radio and yelled at the speaker, “Mayday! Mayday! This is the Pride of Celestia, I've lost my bearings and I'm taking on water! My last good reading was 44 degrees north, 68 degrees…”
Before he could finish his sentence, however, a streak of light flew past his view, crash landing in the water far off to his right. Suddenly, the radio spoke back to him, a stallion's voice saying, “Pride of Celestia, this is the Trotwell Coast Guard, what is your position?”
The stallion brought his hoof up slightly to reply, but noticed the radio wasn't there. He saw it hanging from its cord and picked it up, trying to say above the raging storm, “I-I don't know… I'm off the coast near Trotwell… wait… the lighthouse! I-I-I see it!”
The sailor's face grew into a big smile as he saw a light in the distance facing his left. However, his face fell when the light turned to show not one, but two sources of light. All of a sudden, the boat crashed into what seemed to be a wall of iron. The stallion was thrown out the front window of his boat onto the deck. As he looked up, the two lights seemed to move down to meet his gaze. A bolt of lightning illuminated the figure, and a silhouette of a giant metal pony appeared across the sky.
The stallion backed away from the behemoth, but was immediately swept away by a wave crashing on his boat, which was destroyed. He tried to swim towards the wreckage of his boat, but the water current swept yet another wave onto the nearby rocky shore, depositing the sailor on the rocks. As he looked up, he saw the real lighthouse, shining brightly with no other light to accompany it.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The next day was as calm as could be, despite the storm the night earlier. Ponies were bustling around the town of Trotwell, sharing experiences from the night before. A bike bell rang, and a yellow filly on a red bike rode down the hill towards the Chat n' Chew Diner, where her sister worked. She had a green box with holes in the top and sides on the back of the bike. When she got to the diner, she leaned her bike against the wall of the diner in front of a rusty tow truck that said Blitz Scrap on the side and entered the diner, box in hoof.
As soon as she entered the diner, an orange earth pony with a Stetson waved her hoof at the filly and called out with a Southern accent, “Ova' here, sugarcube!” The excited filly ran over to her sister, sat at the bar area and said, “Hey, Applejack, look at who Ah found!” as she patted the green box. Applejack gave her sister a stern look and told her, “Apple Bloom, wha' did Ah tell ya? No new pets! We need ta rent tha room if we wanna make enough bits!”
Apple Bloom begged to her sister, “Aw, c'mon sis, he won't be any trouble! Ah'll cage him!” Applejack replied with a stern voice, “Until ya feel bad fer him an' set him free in tha house! Remember tha raccoon, Apple Bloom?” Applejack shuddered as she muttered, “Ah remember tha raccoon…” Apple Bloom put her hooves on her sister's shoulders and pleaded, “Pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeeee?” Applejack finally gave in and said, “Alrigh', where's tha lil' fella?”
Apple Bloom went to pick up the box with a smile on her face when she saw that the top was off and the critter was gone. Rising back up to her sister, she said in a slightly worried voice, “Ah… will go git him!” Applejack nodded and resumed a conversation with a friend as Apple Bloom went to look for her pet.
She eventually found it, but not before it ran underneath the table of a cyan pony who was reading the local paper. Apple Bloom walked up to him and said, “Sir? Sir? Sir! EXCUSE ME, SI-!” She pulled the newspaper down to see that he was sleeping, wearing a pair of shades and a bulky, zipped up green jacket. His mane was a rainbow color and had been brushed in a zig-zag formation. He woke with a start and saw Apple Bloom.
“Hey kid, what's up?” he said to Apple Bloom, who replied in a whisper, “Don't freak out, but mah pet's under yer tabl- don't look!” she quickly said to the pegasus as he looked under the table. “If ya make a scene, mah sis won't let me keep him!” she explained, and he asked, “What kind of pet?” Apple Bloom replied, “A squirrel.” Before the pegasus could reply, however, a nearby conversation caught their attention. A pink stallion with hair like cotton candy was in the middle of telling a story, while four others listened closely.
“…and then it was headed towards land. Called the government in Canterlot about it! It was probably a meteorite, or Sputnik, or an invader from Mars! Oh! That's it! An invader from Mars! No doubt the government will figure out what this unidentified object is…” Apple Bloom's eyes widened as the sailor explained it could have been an invader from Mars. One of the ponies in the booth said, “Unidentified? Knowing you, Bubble Berry, it was either hard cider or whiskey!” The group laughed at the pony's remark when the cyan pegasus turned around and said, “Hey, I saw it too.” The ponies all looked at him, and the one who made the earlier remark said, “I rest my case.”
The group laughed again as the pegasus shrugged them off. Apple Bloom said to him with a hint of excitement in her whisper, “Ah believe ya. Wha' if it is Sputnik, or an invader from Mars?” The pegasus replied, “I didn't see nothing, kid. But if we don't stand up for the kooks, who will?”
Suddenly, Applejack walked up to the two and asked the stallion, “Is mah sis botherin' ya?” His face suddenly went to an expression of subtle pain as he said through gritted teeth, “Yes… NO!” He slammed his hoof on the table and forced out, “Call me Rainbow Blitz!” Without taking her eyes off Rainbow, Applejack said to her sister, “Ya said ya were gonna find yer pet?” Apple Bloom replied, “Ah will, sis, righ' after Ah finish talkin' with…” She looked at Blitz, who said through his teeth, “Rainbow Blitz.” Apple Bloom turned back to her sister and said with the same toothy smile as Rainbow, “Rainbow Blitz.”
As Applejack walked away, Rainbow leaned in and said, “Found your pet!” Apple Bloom said excitedly, “Where?!” and Blitz replied, “It's in my coat, man. Trying not to wig out…” Apple Bloom tried to keep him calm and whispered, “Don't wig out!” Blitz said with his voice bordering on hysteria, “I'm sorry, but I can't take it!” He got up and said to the whole restaurant, “I'd like to apologize to everypony in advance for this!” He unzipped his jacket and the squirrel jumped out.
Chaos erupted in the diner as the squirrel raced around the room. Plates went flying, ponies were tripping, and food soared through the air. Applejack walked over to Apple Bloom and Rainbow Blitz, who zipped up his jacket and said, “Check please.” Somepony screamed out, “It's a rat!” as Applejack gave her younger sister a menacing look.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Apple Bloom ran to the ringing phone and picked it up, saying into the receiver, “This is Apple Bloom speakin', who's callin' please?” Applejack was on the other end, calling from the diner. She said, “Ah'm sorry, sugarcube, but Ah've gotta work late tonight. There's some apples in tha ice box, so ya can have that, an' some carrots…” Apple Bloom reached towards the bread box that held the sweets. “Ah'm way ahead of ya, sis…”
Applejack smiled warmly and said, “Love ya.” Apple Bloom replied, “Love ya too, sis!” and went to place the phone on the holder when Applejack called out, “Oh, an' Apple Bloom?” The filly brought the phone back up to her ear and asked, “Yeah?” “No scary movies, no late snacks, an' bed before eight.” Applejack said in a stern tone. Apple Bloom replied in a playful tone, “C'mon, sis, it's me! Ah ain't gonna do any of that!”
The L.E.D. analog clock on top of the TV read 8:47. Apple Bloom had made a sort of fort out of chairs and a blanket, which she was halfway under. She had a bowl of popcorn in front of her, and stuffed the tip of a whipped cream can in some sweet bread and filled it with whipped cream as a black and white horror movie played in front of her.
“…if we are able to transfer at least 15% of their brain matter into ours, we may be able to… read minds…” said the stallion in a monotonous tone, explaining a science experiment. Suddenly, there was a crash, and the broken remains of a beaker and some fluid laid on the floor around a brain. The stallion and the mare looked down at it, and he said in the same monotonous tone, “Darn. A perfectly good brain wasted. Come on, there's nothing else to see anyways.” He led the mare out of the room and shut the door. But what they didn't see was that the brain was slinking to a corner of the room like an inchworm.
“How about we go for a nightcap? My place?” the stallion asked, and the mare giggled and said, “I was thinking the same thing, mind reader…” The stallion patted his chest and said, “Darn. I seemed to have left my keys in the lab.” He opened the door and flicked the light switch, but no lights came on. He looked at it curiously as Apple Bloom said to the TV, mouth full of popcorn, “Yer gonna git it…” Suddenly, a loud noise that sounded like metal crunching came from upstairs. The stallion in the movie saw that the brain was missing and called out, “Who's there?” Apple Bloom started walking up the stairs slowly when the TV shouted from downstairs, “No… no! NOOOOOOOOOO- AUGHACKAUGH!” Apple Bloom ran back downstairs and jumped over the railing, landing in front of the TV. There was a picture of an alien being with a brain for a head standing over the stallion before the TV cut to static. Apple Bloom banged the TV set and muttered, “No! Stupid TV antenna…”
Apple Bloom trotted upstairs to her room and opened the window to jump out onto the tree. She climbed up it, flashlight in her mouth, and jumped on top of the roof. Taking the flashlight out of her mouth and shining it around, Apple Bloom saw the antenna and gasped: there had been a large bite taken out of it. She stared at it and whispered to herself, “Invaders from Mars…”
She climbed back down to her room and gathered the things she would need to go out and find whatever caused this. Taking out a BB rifle and some duct tape, she taped the flashlight to the end of the rifle and put on a special harness that would allow her to carry it without physically holding it. She then went through a chest and pulled out four camouflage colored boots, putting them on and tying the laces tight. For her final preparation, she undid the bow in her mane and adorned an Air Force pilot's helmet, making sure the goggles wouldn't slide down on her eyes. Grabbing a red coat that covered a comic entitled, “The Red Menace” and putting it on as she ran downstairs, Apple Bloom ran downstairs and galloped into the woods, jumping over two sets of splintered wooden fencing along the way.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Apple Bloom slowed down as she got deeper in the woods. There were trees laying on the ground, smashed to bits, and the trees not on the ground had large scrapes on their bark. Apple Bloom looked around at the forest, then the new path as a whole. Her jaw dropped when she saw that the trees that were missing formed a silhouette of sorts of a pony's head near the top. Apple Bloom stood there for a few good minutes before noticing flashes of light coming from her right. Sneaking behind trees, ready to defend herself at a moment's notice, she jumped out from cover and saw… the power station. Apple Bloom never really noticed how close she was to it until now. She walked towards it, trying to keep her distance, mesmerized.
Suddenly, pounding hoofsteps sounded from behind her as a 50 foot metallic pony with glowing eyes walked towards the power station, Apple Bloom in the path of its robotic march. She tried to run away, but tripped on a rock sticking out of the ground. The harness holding her BB rifle came loose, and the rife/flashlight tool landed a few feet away from her, only to be crushed by a giant, metal hoof.
Apple Bloom watched as the metal pony stopped in front of the power station, grabbed one of the metal supports, ripping it away, and start to eat it. Apple Bloom couldn't believe her eyes. She was finally in the presence of an alien from outer space! But her eyes soon turned to a look of horror as the metal pony reached out for the power station again, delving into the electrified parts. As soon as the metal made contact, electricity jumped onto the metal pony, causing it to cry out in pain with a metallic voice. It staggered backwards and into some power lines, where the pony continued to cry out.
Meanwhile, Applejack pulled into the driveway of her and Apple Bloom's home. As she walked in, she heard static coming from the TV, and sure enough, when she entered the living room, the TV was on, junk food sprawled across the floor. Applejack sighed and said to herself, “Oh, Apple Bloom…”
Back at the power station, Apple Bloom couldn't decide whether to run and get help or to try and save the metal mare. As if to answer her dilemma, the wires snapped, causing a blackout in the part of Trotwell that was connected to the power station, including Applejack's home. The lights went out just as Applejack was going to go check on her sister. She grabbed a flashlight and continued up the stairs, calling out, “Apple Bloom? Sugarcube?” But Apple Bloom was at the power station, trying to dodge two metal supports that were crashing down. She ran back to a hiding spot, afraid she might not make it home, where Applejack had reached the top of the stairs. She called out to Apple Bloom again, opening the door to her room. “Apple Bloom?” she said, but then Applejack looked in her room. When she saw that she wasn't in bed and that her helmet and coat were missing, she cried out, “APPLE BLOOM!?” She ran downstairs and drove off in the truck to find her sister.
The cries of the metal pony were growing weaker and weaker, and Apple Bloom decided she needed to do something about it. She ran past the robot and underneath one of the fallen support structures to the emergency shutoff switch and started to tug at it. The first couple of tries it wouldn't budge, but when Apple Bloom pulled as hard as possible, the switch flung down to the off position. Electricity stopped flowing through the metal pony as it gave a very faint sigh and fell backwards with a crash, the lights in its eyes going out. Apple Bloom waited a few seconds before climbing the hill to the side of the giant pony. When she reached its head, an idea struck her: she picked up a smooth rock off the ground and tried to throw it in the pony's open mouth, but she missed and hit the side of its head. Gathering up every ounce of bravery she had, she jumped over the tree trunk and picked up the stone, climbing on top of the metal mare's head. There was a dent in the upper left hand side of the head. Apple Bloom looked inside its mouth and saw nothing but an empty void. She dropped the rock in, expecting nothing big to happen.
However, when Apple Bloom was about to leave, the eyes of the robotic pony started to glow again, and Apple Bloom screamed. She ran down the hillside and away from the giant metal pony, which was now getting up and walking towards Apple Bloom. She came to a dirt road, where a car was already on its way.
“Help, help, stop, help!” Apple Bloom called out, and when the truck stopped, out came Applejack, who said, “Apple Bloom?!” The filly recognized her sister's voice and ran into her arms, crying out, “Sis!” Applejack brought her sister's face into her view and asked, “Wha' were ya doin' out here alone! Ah was scared ta death that Ah lost ya!” Apple Bloom cried into her sister's mane, saying, “Ah'm sorry, Ah ain't gonna do it again…” Applejack hugged the filly and said, “It's alrigh', Ah'm here…”
After a few seconds, Apple Bloom said, “Sis, yer not gonna believe this, but somethin' ate our TV antenna!” Applejack sighed and said as she walked back to the truck, “Apple Bloom, please…”
“No, no, Ah'm serious! But it ain't Sputnik like Berry Bubble though'…”
“Apple Bloom.”
“…no, it's really a ROBOT!”
“Apple Bloom…”
“…an'- an' it's a hundred feet tall…”
“Apple Bloom…!
“…an' it eats only meta-”
Applejack finally snapped and yelled, “STOP IT! Just… just stop… Ah… Ah ain't in tha mood…” The two ponies got into the truck and drove away. Apple Bloom took one last look back and saw the giant pony, looking at her and its head slightly tilted.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It was the middle of school the next day, and Apple Bloom was busy drawing a picture of the metal pony as Miss Cherrilee was playing a short movie on what to do in the event Equestria was bombed. Some of Apple Bloom's classmates behind her were discussing Berry Bubble's discovery. One of them, Diamond Tiara, said to her friend Silver Spoon, “Hey, did you hear crazy Berry Bubble? He says his boat ran into a sea monster!” Silver Spoon then retorted, “I heard it was some kind of meteor!” Then Snips, who was sitting next to Apple Bloom, turned around and said, “No no no, it was a metal meteor! It ate his boat, my dad says-”
Apple Bloom couldn't take it. She turned around and said to the three, “It ain't any of those thangs!” Silver Spoon cut Apple Bloom off, saying, “What would YOU know about it, blank flank?” True, Apple Bloom didn't have her cutie mark yet, but it didn't mean she wasn't trying. But before Apple Bloom could reply, Cherrilee quietly shouted, “Apple Bloom! Hush! Don't make me come over there…”
The video that was playing was now singing a catchy tune to remind people how to survive a bomb attack, one that went like this:
Hooves over your head,
Keep low to the ground!
Time to duck and cover,
The bombs are coming down!
Apple Bloom turned back around and explained to the others, “It's abou' 50 or 60 feet high, an' it only eats metal!” Diamond Tiara was the one who cut her off this time, saying, “Shut up, blank flank!” Snips, not taking into consideration what Apple Bloom said, “It was probably sent by the enemies to take over Equestria!” The other two agreed with him, and Silver Spoon added on, “We should blow it up before it does!” Apple Bloom had had enough of the conversation and continued drawing the giant pony from the night before, this time eating some metal.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Outside the diner, three ponies gathered around a tow truck and a tractor, the latter having a large chunk taken out of it. As Rainbow Blitz hooked his chain around the front of the tractor to raise it, he said to one of the other ponies, “Thanks for the scrap, Crest. Sorry I can't pay you more bits for it, but it's got a… it's got this… um… this large bite out of it…” The blue unicorn with a toothpaste mane replied, “Well, that's why I'm selling it! There's a large bite in it, no more use for me.” Rainbow gazed at the tractor and asked out loud, “What could've done this…?” The third pony, Bubble Berry, piped up, saying. “I already told you what!” Blitz chuckled a little and said, “Oh yeah, strange invaders…”
As Rainbow went to put his tools away, Berry followed him, saying, “Thanks for believing me the other day. I actually did call Canterlot, said they would send somepony to take care of everything.” Rainbow chuckled some more and said, “Wow, Berry, you really are crazy! I mean, who in the hell would they send?”
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Back at the power station, a black government car pulled up, and out stepped a purple unicorn. She walked up to a brown stallion, pulled out a badge, and said matter-of-factly, “Twilight Sparkle, Canterlot Government, Unexplainable Phenomena Bureau.” The brown stallion simply replied, “Doctor Whooves, I own the place.” Walking towards the power station, Twilight asked, “So, what happened here last night?” It was at this moment when Doctor Whooves started to get a bit nervous. “Well, sometimes, the lines will snap when the wind gets bad, yeah, but for a whole station to get twisted up like this?” The two ponies finally walked into view of the power station.
Pieces of metal hung every which way, the two main supports lying on the ground. The brown stallion continued, saying, “It's got me puzzled! It's like it was… bitten off… by some… enormous beast…” Twilight wrote all that down, repeating, “Enormous… beast…” She clicked her pen and asked, “So, what do you think? Escaped gorilla?” She received a strange glare and was asked, “Uh… what part of the government did you say you worked for again?” Twilight turned around and said, “I'm not at the liberty to tell you, and all that that implies. Let me put it this way: sometimes, things happen that can't be rationalized in a conventional way. The ponies of this country want to know that their leader has a response. I am that response.”
“So, were there any witnesses?” Twilight asked, and the Doctor said, “Well if you follow me, we did find this…” He took Twilight to the back of a truck with scrap in the back and showed her a broken BB rifle with a flashlight taped to it. The butt of the rifle had a name on it, but was partially destroyed, only showing APP BLO. The Doctor said offhandedly to Twilight, “So, something big's happening here, eh?” Twilight turned to him and said, “No, Doctor, big things happen in big places. Now let me fill out my report so I can get back to them.” With that final remark, Twilight trotted back to her car, carrying the evidence.
“Big things, heh…” Twilight muttered to herself as she got in her car. “The biggest thing here is probably the homecoming queen… OH MY CELESTIA!” Twilight had went to place the broken rifle on the passenger side seat, but jumped out of her car when she saw a large bite out of her car. Before the rifle landed on the ground, she was off and running. When the car was left alone, a giant metal hoof reached out and grabbed the car, bringing it into the woods.
Not long after, Twilight was pushing the Doctor along, stammering, “C-C'mon, Doctor, I need an eyewitness!” The stallion replied, “Alright, alright, just don't push so hard…” but Twilight didn't pay attention. “I mean, look at it! Th-there's this… this large bite out of it, l-like a big chomp, like somepony took a bite out of a daisy sandwi-!” But when Twilight and the Doctor got there, the car was nowhere to be found. “So, uh, what're we looking at here, Miss Sparkle?” asked the brown pony, and the unicorn simply replied, “Something big, Doctor. Something big.”
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Later that same day, when school was over, Apple Bloom decided she wanted to get a picture of the giant pony to show her classmates she was right. Her sister was working late again, but not as late as the night before. With a camera hanging around her neck and a big sheet of metal on her back, she started her journey into the forest. “Hello?” she called out, and when she got no response, she called out again, saying, “Hey, big metal guy, Ah got some food here fer ya!” Still no response.
As she banged on the metal, she yelled, “Metal! Crunchy, delicious metal! Come an' git it!” She leaned it against a tree stump and jumped behind a fallen tree trunk, camera at the ready to snap a picture of the metal creature. Ten minutes passed, and she was lying on the ground, bored of waiting. More time passed, and she was sitting upright, cleaning the lens of the camera. She looked into the lens, smiled, and pressed the button. The flash blinded her as she brought her hoof up to cover her eyes from any more light.
It had been almost half an hour since Apple Bloom had set up her little photo trap for the giant. She was slumped over the tree trunk, asleep. She woke with a start when there was the sound of metal against metal, and jumped to her camera and aimed it at the stump where the metal was. The problem was, it wasn't there. Apple Bloom backed away when she knocked into something hard. Turning around, she saw the same piece of metal she used to attract the giant right behind her, slightly crumpled. Her gaze moved upwards and saw what moved it: the metal pony itself. She galloped away, jumping over the tree trunk and jumping into the woods. The metal pony just walked towards her, every step making a loud THOOM!
Apple Bloom turned around to see how far away she was getting from the giant, but it wasn't far. She turned around and ran straight into a thick branch, hitting her face and knocking her to the ground. She laid there for a few seconds before getting up. Her snout was slightly bleeding, but that was the least of her worries. A huge shadow loomed over her as the metal pony quickly leaned down, causing Apple Bloom to scurry backwards, not taking her eyes off the giant. A creaking sound was heard as it leaned backwards, landing with a crash. Apple Bloom absentmindedly spread her legs out, hypnotized by the size of the metal creature, which copied her. After a moment of silence, Apple Bloom finally said, “So… Ah guess ya ain't gonna hurt me, huh?”
She covered her face as the pony reached out above her and dropped something to the ground. She uncovered her face and saw the switch she used to save the giant the other night. “Tha shutoff switch…” she said to herself. “Ya saw me save ya…” The giant just looked at her. She then asked, “Where are ya from?” The giant gave no reply, so she continued. “Ya came from tha sky, righ'?” She pointed a hoof towards the stars and the giant looked in the same direction that she pointed, remaining silent. “Don't ya remember anythin'?” Apple Bloom asked, but she still didn't get a response. “Maybe… maybe it's that dent on yer head!” The pony rubbed its head where the dent was.
Apple Bloom was confused about why the robot wouldn't respond. “Do ya talk?” she asked, and the metal pony looked back at her. “Ya know, words, like 'Blah, blah, blah?' Can ya do that? 'Blah, blah, blah?'“ The giant opened and closed its mouth and a rusty sound like rocks rotating against each other. Apple Bloom winced at the sound and said, “Well, ya get the idea anyway…” She looked on the ground for something to use and laid her eyes on a large rock. She picked it up and said, “See this? This is a rock. Rock.” The giant looked at the rock and barely said, “Rock.” Apple Bloom nodded her head vigorously. The metal pony then reached behind her and grabbed a boulder, showing her and repeating, “Rock.” He then laid his eyes on a tree, uprooting it with his right hoof and saying a third time, “Rock.”
“No no no…” said Apple Bloom. “That's a tree.” She pointed to the boulder and said, “Rock…” then to the pine tree and said, “Tree…” The giant lifted the boulder and said, “Rock.” then the tree and roughly said, “Tree.” Apple Bloom jumped up and said, “That's righ'!” She paced back and forth and said to herself, “Oh mah Celestia… Ah'm speakin' ta a giant robot… Ah am now tha luckiest filly in Equestria! This is tha greatest discovery since… Ah dunno, television or somethin'! Ah… Ah should tell somepony abou' ya… call somepo- no, we can't do that, 'cause yer big, an' when ponies see somethin' big like ya, they wig out an' start shootin' at ya…” She noticed the giant pony was looking at her curiously. She explained, “Wig out, it means… crazy… like…” Apple Bloom circled her hooves in opposite directions around her head while making a silly sounding noise. The metal pony started to do the same, but Apple Bloom yelled, “No, no! That's tha kinda stuff that makes 'em shoot at ya!”
Meanwhile, at the Trotwell city hall, Twilight was explaining to Mayor Mare and the other town officials what was happening. “Two nights ago, at 1700 hours, sat com radar detected an unidentified object entering the plane's atmosphere, losing contact with it two and a half miles off the coast of Trotwell. Some assumed it was a meteor or a downed satellite. But my office in Canterlot got a call from somepony who had an encounter with the actual object.” She lifted up the shade with the end of her pipe to see of anypony was watching them. When she was certain that nopony was around, she turned back to the group and said, “This is no meteor, gentlecolts. This is something much more serious. So…”
“… we can't call Spike's Believe It or Not, 'cause… well… they won't believe it!” Apple Bloom was pacing back and forth in front of the giant, who was coming close to falling asleep when he woke with a start. “An'… oh no…” Apple Bloom sighed as the sky grew dark. “It's gettin' dark, an' if Ah don't get home, mah sis will come lookin' for me, an' if she see ya, then we got tha screamin' problem again, so just… just stay here. Ah'll come back tomorrow”
The metal pony stood up off the ground to his full height. Apple Bloom stared and said, “Wow… anyways… goodbye.” She started to walk away when the giant took a few steps to follow her. Apple Bloom turned around and yelled, “No! Ya stay, Ah go. No followin'.” The metal giant stood there and Apple Bloom said, “Good…” She walked away again and the giant continued to follow her. She turned around yet again and said, “Ah told ya! Ah'll come back tomorrow! Now STAY!” She started walking home again, and, yet again, the giant followed her. Without even turning around, Apple Bloom yelled, “No, no, no! Bad robot!”
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When the filly and the robot reached the train tracks near Apple Bloom's house, she turned around and said, “Look, ya can't just go stompin' around, an' ya can't come with me! Mah sis will wig out!” The giant spun his hooves around his head and said, “Hahahahoo!” “That's righ'.” Apple Bloom said with a stern voice. “So ya gotta stay in there! Ah'll bring ya some food tomorrow! But Ah gotta go home now! So… goodbye!” She jumped across the train tracks to go home. When she didn't hear the robot pony follow her, she turned around to make sure he wouldn't follow her. “What tha…?” Apple Bloom said when she saw him inspecting the tracks. “Hey, what do ya think yer doin'?” she asked when the giant grabbed one piece in his mouth and brought it up to eat it. “Just look at tha mess yer makin'!”
As if on cue, the railroad lights flashed and the bell rang. “Oh no…” Apple Bloom said to herself as she trotted a bit down the track, hearing the train's whistle sound. The metal pony was looking at the railroad lights when Apple Bloom galloped back and shouted, “Put it back! Put it back now!” She tried forcing the railroad track to the ground as she yelled, “Help me! Ah need yer help!” The robot looked at Apple Bloom, then pushed the track down hard. Apple Bloom looked back and saw the floodlight of the train lighting up the trees on the corner. She then pointed to each metal piece of the track and said, “Alrigh', now connect it! This one here, that one there!” The metal pony connected the first two rails as Apple Bloom said, “Good, now tha next one!” trying to rush him along. The giant brought the two rails together and Apple Bloom said, “Good enough, let's go!” She ran down the hill and looked back to see the pony still trying to connect the rails. Apple Bloom shouted at him, “C'MON, THA TRAIN IS COMIN', THA TRAIN IS COMIN'!” When the giant finally connected the rails, it was too late. He looked to his right just in time to see the train collide with him as Apple Bloom jumped down the hill to avoid the resulting crash.
She looked back at the train to see what happened when a giant metal figure crash landed in front of her, pieces of metal body parts falling around her. “Oh, no, no, no…” she said to herself just as the giant's eyes lit up. She screamed and backed up, watching a sort of beacon raise out of his head and start to beep, a blue light flashing in sync with the beeps. The metal pieces started to crawl towards the robot as Apple Bloom looked at the giant wondrously, saying, “Ya can fix yerself?” From where the front of the train was, a stallion's voice rang out, calling, “Hello? Anypony out there?” Apple Bloom stared off into the distance and said to herself, “Oh, we're in trouble now…” She turned back to the pony and said, “Alrigh', Ah've changed mah mind, ya can come with me, now let's go!” running off to her house.
Meanwhile, at the town hall, Twilight was busy explaining something to the officials when the phone rang. One of Mayor Mare's secretaries picked it up and said, “Mayor Mare's office.” A few seconds passed when she said, “A train wreck?” Twilight stopped immediately and listened. “What do you mean he hit a giant monster? What kind of thing is big enough to-” Twilight walked over to the secretary and picked up the phone, listening to the explanation of what happened. A few seconds later, she put the phone down and said to Mayor Mare, “I need to borrow your car.”
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Twilight was at the scene of the accident. Nothing really seemed to be destroyed, but one of the conductors had a concussion. “So, did you two see anything?” she asked, and one of the conductors said to the other with the bandage on his head, “Go on, Smoke Stack. Tell her what you saw.” The pony with the concussion said, “Well, you're not going to believe this, but it was a giant… metal… mare…” Twilight flicked the lighter and little pipe in her mouth before asking, “Does anypony know where I can use a telephone nearby?” The first conductor pointed to a house down the hill, the lights in it on.
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Back in her barn, Apple Bloom watched in the doorway as the metal pony brought himself back together. One leg crawled up to his flank and reconnected itself. An ear jumped up him and replaced a hole showing wires. Apple Bloom felt a tap against her front hoof and saw a glowing screw trying to enter the barn. She lifted her hoof up and the screw rolled over to the giant, who picked it up and brought it near the right side of his jaw. He let go, and it flew to his jaw and screwed itself in. The pony rotated his jaw to regain some feeling and gave Apple Bloom a friendly smile. “Woah…” she whispered as a truck pulled up in front of the house behind her. She looked back and said, “Uh-oh! Ah gotta go! See ya later!” She closed the barn door and cantered to her house as the giant waved his front left hoof and said, “Bye.” He then noticed that his front left hoof was missing.
In the house, Apple Bloom and her sister were about to eat dinner when Applejack said, “Apple Bloom? Would ya like ta say grace?” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and brought her hooves together when she saw a metal hoof in the kitchen playing with a pot of soup on the stove. “Oh mah Celestia…” she whispered, then she saw her sister in front of her and said, “Oh mah Celestia, we… thank ya fer the food that mah sis made, an'… STOP!” Apple Bloom saw the hoof nearly tip over the pot, then saw her sister again. “…pin' tha spirit of chaos from… doin' bad thangs, an'… GIT OUTTA HERE!” Apple Bloom tried to get the hoof out of the kitchen by motioning it to shoo, again seeing her sister. “…Discord? GO, GO AWAY!” she shouted, and the hoof finally exited the kitchen just as Applejack turned around. Apple Bloom ended her prayer, saying, “…so that we may live in peace. Amen.” “Amen…” Applejack repeated, then said to her sister, “That was… interestin'…” Apple Bloom suddenly stood up and said, “Fergot ta wash mah hooves.” She ran to go upstairs as Applejack said, “But… uh… okay…”
When Apple Bloom entered the living room, she saw the hoof watching a commercial for cereal. She turned off the TV and motioned the robotic hoof to follow her. She stopped at the open archway that led to where Applejack was sitting. Apple Bloom tried to think of how to distract her sister when she saw a bit on the table. Picking it up, Apple Bloom aimed carefully while her sister wasn't looking and threw it at the spice rack, which fell to the ground with a crash. As Applejack went to pick it up, Apple Bloom led the hoof across the archway and up the stairs to hide it. She then made sure nopony was looking and opened the door to lead the hoof outside. Standing in the doorway was a purple unicorn who said, “Hey there, filly! Twilight Sparkle, I work for the government.” Apple Bloom slammed the door in her face as she turned to lead the hoof somewhere else, but it was missing. Applejack called from the kitchen, “Apple Bloom? Who was at tha door?”
Grudgingly, Apple Bloom reopened the door, and the purple unicorn said yet again, “Hey there, filly! Twilight Sparkle, work for the government. Your parents home?” Through her teeth, Apple Bloom said, “We're eatin'.” “Mmmmmboy!” Twilight said as the door opened all the way, Applejack standing in the doorway. “Oh, hello ma'am. Do you have a phone I could use?” Applejack nodded and said, “Yep, there's one in tha kitchen.” Twilight thanked her, then saw Apple Bloom still standing there. She put her hat on the filly and said, “Pretend you're a gangster.” Apple Bloom just glared.
“Damnit, Sparkle, you call me at home for this?” said Lieutenant General Artemis from the other end of the line. He was sitting at his home in Canterlot, watching an old time war movie. Twilight replied, “You don't understand, sir, i-it ate my car!” “And do you have any proof of this?” asked Artemis, and Twilight said, “No, I didn't actually see it. It went off into the woods…” Artemis then asked, “So you don't have any evidence?” Twilight tried to explain herself, saying, “B-but, sir, I have an eyewitness!” Artemis sternly told Twilight, “An eyewitness with a concussion.” “This thing-!” started Twilight, but she thought it better to keep her voice down. “This thing is a menace to society. It tore up the power station! I-it caused a train wreck!” said Twilight as the holder fell to the ground. As she picked it up, Artemis calmly replied, “What did? Tell me again, Sparkle, and this time, listen to yourself.” Twilight gave a sigh and said, “A giant… metal monster…” Artemis laughed heavily across the phone as Twilight turned over an oven mitt decorated in the face of a pony with yellow, derped eyes. “Please, sir, I… I have a feeling about this one.” Artemis immediately stopped laughing and said, “Let me tell you how this works: If you told me you found, say, a giant hoofprint, I could send an expert over there to make a plaster cast of it. Hell, you get me a photograph and I can send the Royal Guard over there in a day!” His voice turned to one of babying as he said, “But you tell me you got a feeling…?” Twilight, her voice lined with anger, growled, “Alright, you want evidence? I'll get you evidence. And when I do, I want a memo!” “That sounds swell…” Artemis said as he placed the phone on the holder.
“…and then I want that memo carbon copied and redistributed, and then-!” The phone gave a single toned noise. The general had hung up, Twilight realized with a sigh. She placed it on the holder and went to leave when the phone fell off. She placed it on there again, but it fell off still. Twilight finally snapped, smashing it over and over again on the holder while yelling at it, causing Applejack and Apple Bloom to stop eating for a second. Finally, Twilight got the phone to stay. She calmed down and practiced how she would thank the mare.
As Twilight picked her hat up off of Apple Bloom, she said, “Thank you for the use of your phone, miss…?” “Applejack.” replied the farm pony. “An' this here's mah sis, Apple Bloom.” Twilight nodded her head and replied, “Thank you, Applejack. Apple Groom.” The filly gave a look of hatred and said, “That's Apple BLOOM!” As Twilight drove away, she said to herself, “Apple Bloom… heh, what an embarrassing name, might as well call her Zeppo. What kind of sick pony would call their filly App-” Twilight glanced at the destroyed BB rifle on the seat next to her, looking at the name again. As a sudden realization came to her, she said, “App Blo…? APPLE BLOOM!”
A knock came at the door again, and Apple Bloom went to go open it. When she did, there stood Twilight, mouth open and her hood behind her back. Before she could say anything, Apple Bloom interjected, “Twiligh' Sparkle, ya work fer tha government.” Twilight replied, “I… wasn't going to say that. I have something for you…” she said as she pulled the BB rifle from behind her back. Applejack walked up beside Apple Bloom and said, “Hey, that's yer BB gun. Where'd ya find it?” Twilight put the gun in Apple Bloom's hooves and said, “Up at the power station.” Applejack looked curious and said, “Tha power station? Apple Bloom was up there last nigh'.” “Really?” Twilight said with a sly grin. “Did you see anything unusual?” Apple Bloom tried to keep a straight face, saying, “No… thin' … unusual, really…”
Suddenly, a flush came from upstairs. The three ponies looked upstairs, then Apple Bloom pushed the gun back into Twilight's hooves and said, “Gotta use tha bathroom.” before running upstairs. When she got to the bathroom, she opened the door to see the metal hoof unravelling a whole roll of toilet paper. She rushed in and tried to push it out the window.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Applejack said to Twilight, “Strange, she's so tigh' lipped now. Tha other nigh', she kept goin' on an' on 'bout a hundred foot robot…” Twilight gave a sort of forced laugh along with Applejack as she said, “A hundred foot robot? Heheh, that's nutty!” Her face suddenly turned serious as she asked, “What else did she say?” But before Applejack reply, Apple Bloom's voice called out from upstairs, “No, wait, stop!” Applejack said, “Excuse me…” and walked upstairs.
Back in the bathroom, Apple Bloom was struggling to get the giant hoof out the window. The problem was it did not want to go. As she was grunting, a knock came on the door, and her sister asked, “Are ya alrigh' in there?” Twilight had finally decided that she should go upstairs as well, standing next to Applejack. Apple Bloom replied, “Ah'm fine!” accompanied with more grunting. Outside the door, Twilight said to Applejack, “You know, this is why it's really important to chew your food…” Applejack gave her a stern look, and she shrunk back a bit.
Apple Bloom finally shoved the hoof out the window, but not before it landed with a loud THOOM! Applejack called out, “Apple Bloom?!” a worried tone in her voice. Knowing she didn't have much time, she sat down on the toilet as the door opened. When Applejack looked inside, Twilight behind her, she covered herself and yelled, “Applejack! A lil' privacy!?” Applejack's face turned a deep shade of red as she said, “Sorry!” She quickly shut the door, which caught Twilight's face and smashed it on the door frame. Applejack said to the unicorn, “Oh, sorry! Good Luna, she's been actin' strange lately…” Twilight simply replied, “That hurt.” Apple Bloom got up and looked out the window after the whole ordeal in time to see the barn lift up to let the metal hoof in.
The three walked downstairs, Twilight finally ready to leave. “Thank you again, Applejack.” she said as she trotted towards Mayor Mare's car. As she got in, she said, “Good night, Apple Bloom. I'm sure we'll see each other again real soon.” With that, she was off.
The giant pony was almost asleep when Apple Bloom walked back into the barn, holding a flashlight and some comics. She said to him, “If yer gonna stay here, ya gotta keep better track of yerself! Sheesh! Anyway, Ah though' ya'd like, ya know, a bedtime story or somethin'. Ah've got some really good ones!” Apple Bloom chimed. The two ponies went through, the filly stopping at each comic and briefly explaining it. “Mad Magazine, very funny! Tha Spirit, very coo'. Colt's Life, eh…” She stopped at a magazine with a pony done up in a red and blue costume, a large S on her chest. “Oh, here. This mare here is Supermare. Sure, she's famous now, but she started off just like ya! Crash landed in Equestria, didn't know WHAT she was doin', but she only uses her powers fer good, never fer evil! Remember that…”
Apple Bloom put it back on the stack, hiding the cover of another, interesting looking comic. The giant took a hoof and slid the Supermare comic to the side, revealing a comic that showed a giant robot, different than the one looking at it, destroying a town. Apple Bloom saw the giant pony looking at it and said, “Oh, that's Atomo, tha metal menace. He ain't tha hero, he's tha villain. He ain't like ya. Yer a good guy. Like Supermare.” She threw the Supermare comic on top of the Atomo comic, and the giant slowly repeated, “Supermare…”
Suddenly, there was a sound that sounded like water bubbling inside an empty metal container. Apple Bloom realized what it was and asked, “Yer hungry, aren't ya?” The giant nodded his head with an agreeing, “Mhmm…” and Apple Bloom said, “But Ah don't have any metal here. Just follow me…”
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The two walked out into the forest, and Apple Bloom said, “Lower yer hoof ta tha ground.” The giant pony did so, and Apple Bloom climbed up it onto the giant's shoulder. A huge bolt stuck out, which was perfect for Apple Bloom to hold on to. When she did, she said, “Wow… okay, now, march!” while pointing out with one hoof. The giant pony obeyed, and Apple Bloom fell backwards. Struggling to get up, she finally did, making sure she held on with both hooves before giving a loud, “YEE-HAW!”
When they finally came to a town, the giant stopped to look at it along with Apple Bloom. “Oh yeah…” she said. That's Trotwell. Nice place, huh?” “Trotwell?” the giant pony questioned, and Apple Bloom replied, “Yea, Ah was born righ' down the- AAAAHHHH!” The giant started running towards the town, shouting, “Trotwell!” As they passed a field, Apple Bloom shouted, “No, stop! Look out fer tha cows! C'mon, no, not there! Please stop! No, STOP!” she finally yelled just as they reached the edge of the town. Apple Bloom calmed down and explained, “We can't go there yet. Ponies just aren't ready fer ya.” The giant gave a sigh as he cantered away from Trotwell, giving it a last glance.
As the duo walked down the street, Apple Bloom said, “That was close. Listen, we can't just go runnin' aroun' like that, okay?” The giant pony gave a sigh as Apple Bloom noticed something on the side of the road. “Hey, look!” The giant looked and saw an old, beat up, red car. Apple Bloom gave a bit of a sigh and said, “Well, Ah guess it would be okay ta eat. It's been there fer months.” As the giant reached out a hoof to grab it, Apple Bloom saw a pair of headlights come up over the hill. She turned to the giant pony and yelled, “We gotta hide!” He stared at her strangely, so she tried to explain. “Ya know, when ya... it's when ya... just git behind somethin' quick!”
When the truck pulled up, the cyan pegasus didn't notice a giant robot pony holding a tube of toothpaste in a billboard, nor did he notice a yellow filly with a red mane and pink bow disappear behind the robot as he hooked the red car up to his truck. As he drove away, Apple Bloom saw the name Blitz Scrap on the side of the truck and smiled as an idea popped into her head. When the truck drove over the hill, the giant started to trot towards his lunch, but stopped early on. Apple Bloom leaned on his head and said, “Our troubles are ova'...” as he gave the two escaping vehicles a menacing glare.
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