The Heretical Inventor

Two hours later

“Sweet Celestia, Ah see Appleloosa on the horizon!” Applejack rejoiced as she withdrew her head from the train car window. “Ah guess the first order of business is to talk to the sheriff, him being the leader of the town and all.”

Luna nodded from her seat. “I leave that and the evacuation to you and the others. Rainbow Dash and I will be scouting ahead. The moment we see Palderias’ army, we will rejoin you. I only hope that you can have the town fully evacuated by then.”

“No pressure AJ,” Rainbow jested nonchalantly, engaged in her stretches. “If there is an army to find, the Princess and I won’t take long at all.” Applejack chuckled but said nothing.

“Just don’t take any risks,” Twilight stated.

Fluttershy nodded emphatically. “That’s right! If we face….” She shuddered before muttering, “Combat... we need to do it as a team!”

The car filled with a chorus of agreement. “Yay combat!” Pinkie rejoiced, waving pom-poms excitedly. Then, with the same amount of cheer she cried out, “I mean, boo combat!”

Their short train approached Appleloosa, pulling up to the town station alongside a much longer train only a few minutes later. As the mares stepped outside, they saw many ponies rushing to the station with various bags, everyone of them in a panicked state. The workers scrambled to load the luggage, doing their best to ignore the frantic, and at times angry, shouts of the soon-to-be refugees.

“More or less what I expected,” Luna remarked nonchalantly as the mares stepped out of their train. Twilight raised an eyebrow at her lack of concern, to which the older alicorn replied evenly, “I have seen the same scenario countless times, and due to my imprisonment on the moon it is literally like it was yesterday for me.”

Twilight grimaced. “Right… sorry.”

“Never mind it,” said Luna. She then waved her hoof toward the western sky. “Rainbow Dash, it is time.”

“Let’s do this!” the cyan pegasus shouted, both fliers leaping into the air and speeding off towards enemies unknown.

“APPLEJACK!” Five heads swiveled to see a yellow stallion with a familiar hat and vest galloping to their location.

“Braeburn!” Applejack rejoiced, trotting to meet him halfway. They embraced in a familial hug as the other caught up. In the wake of the stallion’s dust came another well-known face: Sheriff Silverstar, the town elder.

“AJ, what in sweet Celestia’s mane is going on?!” Braeburn asked as they broke the hug. “‘Sheriff here got a letter from the capital saying that if we all didn’t get out right away, we was gonna be attacked!”

“Ah reckon the Princess here can clarify the matter,” the Sheriff stated coolly. “Your highness, is this correct?”

Twilight nodded once, immediately assuming the stance of regality that projected confidence and authority. “A great enemy of Equestria has been freed by traitors to the Kingdom, and is on route here to take these lands and enslave anypony he will come across. Every civilian must be evacuated to Ponyville immediately, or we will not be able to secure their safety.”

Silverstar nodded back. “Ah thought as much,” he remarked. “Not too long after Princess Celestia’s letter got here, the buffalo tribe came runnin’ here and would not stop for nothin’! Looked scared. Ah’ve never seen buffalo scared, have you?”

“The buffalo knew what they were doing,” Twilight said, “and judging by the fact that everypony is packing up it is clear you do as well. Is there anything my friends and I can do to help?”

The sheriff brought a hoof to his chin. “Aside from helpin’ with the packin’? Well, ah got my deputies tryin’ to build some fortifications nearby.” He gestured at several other stallions a block away, putting up roadblocks. “But ah don’t know if they’re gonna do any good.”

Twilight quickly turned to the white unicorn next to her. “Rarity, you have a discerning eye. Can you go with the sheriff and see if those roadblocks are in a good spot?”

Rarity gawked at the alicorn. “Twilight darling, I’m not really a military strategist you know. Like, at all!”

“But you are good with spacial relations!” Twilight responded hurriedly. “Just do your best and report back to me when you’re done. Try imagining a lot of little machines running towards the train!”

Rarity trotted off reluctantly with Silverstar. “Fluttershy, could you look around town and see if there any stragglers?” Twilight asked the pegasus. “Do a quick sweep, I don’t want anypony alone for too long.”

Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically and flew above the town without a word. “AJ, Pinkie, Braeburn, the four of us need to finish getting everypony on that train, okay?” the alicorn stated, earning their agreement instantly. “When the others get back, the train needs to take off immediately.”

“On it!” they answered, and everypony got to work. For Twilight’s part, simple levitation and teleportation spells sufficed as she quickly loaded the lion’s share of the luggage. Braeburn and Applejack each took a pile and tossed their contents to Pinkie, who moved like a blur and caught bags from both ponies easily.

In less than five minutes they had completed their labor and the Appleloosans began cramming into the train. Fluttershy returned around that time with a family of four, all of which looked terrified. Braeburn hustled them into the train with the last of the bystanders. Shortly after, Rarity and the law ponies also rejoined them.

“Well darling, I did my best,” the snow-white unicorn announced, tossing her mane. “The… what do you call them, barricades? Yes, the barricades are arranged so that they’ll push the, um, enemy to one side. That’s good, right?” she asked nervously, her facade of haughtiness slipping away.

“Sounds good to me--” Twilight began to reassure Rarity, only to be interrupted by a great gust of wind. Rainbow and Luna blasted past and around them, finally coming to a screeching halt on the ground. Both of them were clearly panicked, and that was immediately contagious among their friends.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Twilight asked rhetorically.

“Very bad!” Rainbow squirmed.

“Ten thousand drones,” Luna said, the confident warrior princess long gone. “He has already managed to produce ten thousand drones in a mere day… no, those wicked brothers must have already had the supplies ready for him.”

“How long?!” Twilight yelped.

“Minutes.”

Mustering her “Princess Twilight” stance (or what was left of it), the purple alicorn spun around to face Braeburn, Silverstar, and the deputies. “Get yourselves on that train, and tell the conductor to go now!” she commanded.

“But what about you?!” Braeburn exclaimed.

“He’s right!” Silverstar concurred. “And Ah’m the sheriff of this here town! ‘Can’t leave seven ponies to fight an army of ten thousand, much less two princesses--!”

“We have teleportation!” Twilight shouted over him. “Go now, that’s my order sheriff!”

“And mine!” Luna added, her confidence seemingly back. “Trust us to know what is best in matters of national security.”

Braeburn and the deputies quickly nodded, the former giving Applejack a hug before climbing onto the train. Silverstar growled, stomped his hooves on the ground, and jumped onto the locomotive. Moments later, the engine howled and the wheels began to slowly move. With the knowledge that the civilians of Appleloosa were going to be safe in Ponyville, Twilight felt a measure of relief, and judging from the long sigh next to her so did Princess Luna.

However, that relief was short lived as Pinkie yelled, “Look!”

Seven heads swiveled to the cliff overlooking Appleloosa, the very same hill that the buffalo charged down only a few years ago. Lining that cliff were hundreds of steel machines, each cast in the shape of a praying mantis. And from the sounds of their pincers and gears, they were designed to sound like them too.

Luna swallowed. “Twilight, what is that delightfully versatile word that describes situations both wonderful and terrible, as well as sexual and aggressive?” she asked with a creeping tone of hysteria at the back of her throat.

“That would be ‘buck.’”

“Ah yes,” said the dark blue alicorn “Well… buck.”

Without warning, the drones charged down the cliff towards Appleloosa in a stampede every bit as frightening as that of the buffalo not so long ago… if not more so. The sun glinted off of their steel bodies, causing everypony to recoil slightly from the glare and then some more from the sheer sound of their numbers rumbling across the earth. Twilight could understand why Rainbow and Luna were so terrified… they were about to face an army of unfeeling pony-sized machines designed to remove any obstacle in their path, no matter the cost.

But out of this pit of despair, a memory emerged and she stepped forward with newfound courage. “Everypony! Remember the Royal Wedding? Remember how we kicked the plot of a small changeling army that pretended to be us? Remember how Princess Cadance and Shining Armor’s love drove them all away?” Her eyes flashed to each of her friends, including Luna (who wasn’t there at the time but would understand her meaning). “Everything worked out then! Trust that it will work out now!”

The other mares remained silent for a moment, then, “You said it!” Rainbow shouted, her wings flaring, her face brimming with energy.

“‘Guess Ah’ll just pretend Ah’m back in Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack laughed with a daring smile, stretching her hind quarters.

Rarity tossed her mane. “Well, if you insist on an inspiring speech then I suppose this is a good time as any for a bonding-over-combat moment,” she remarked nonchalantly.

“YAY BONDING!” Pinkie yelled, her pom-poms back out.

“Does that rule out diplomacy?” Fluttershy asked timidly, though Twilight could have sworn there was a slight touch of sarcasm in her demure tone.

Luna smiled widely at her fellow princess, and lapsed into the Royal Canterlot diction, “Fair Twilight, thine speech doth awaken the warrior fires in our heart that hath laid dormant since our purification by the Elements! We are now most elated at the prospect of joining you in battle!”

Twilight could help but grin widely at that. “Let’s do this!” she yelled, charging her horn. Luna did the same as the drones reached the barricades. They were forced into a bottleneck by the fortifications and charged towards the mares as a thick column. Both alicorns let loose their attacks, their magic beams cutting through the first few ranks of drones.

The survivors of the vanguard continued to charge as if their were no casualties, but they too were doomed as they were decapitated by Rainbow Dash’s spinning kicks. The next column was not far behind, yet they in turn were greeted by Applejack’s hind hooves. She hopped from side to side, industriously delivering one buck after another as if she were dealing with a row of apple trees. For about a minute, it seemed that nopony else had to do anything.

“Two! Four! Six! Eight!” Pinkie cheered, pom-poms out yet again. “Who do we appreciate? Go Applejack! Go Applejack! Goooooooo APPLEJACK!”

Applejack took a moment to stop and smile at her supportive friend, but the moment she looked back to her work one of the drones had snuck through the piles of fallen machines she had created and was pouncing on her. Before she could do anything to defend herself, however, a red laser sliced the aggressive machine in two. She turned back around to see Rarity trying to cool her horn.

“My cutting spell for jewels,” she smirked, tossing her mane again.

As Rarity spoke, Pinkie pulled out three (real) cannons and lit their fuses. The cannon balls decimated the incoming column of drones, sending shrapnel back into the column behind. Luna and Twilight shot more magic blasts into the horde, further holding the drones off….

And out of the blue, the drones stopped moving. The sound of metal legs marching across the ground was silenced, leaving only turning gears and clinking metal pincers.

The seven mares regrouped, Applejack, Luna, and Twilight panting slightly from the energy they had spent. “Not bad, right?” Rainbow half-bragged, half asked. “I mean, they’re totally stopping because they know we’re going to stop all of them… right?”

“I have no idea why they’re stopping,” Twilight remarked bewilderedly.

They have stopped because I will them to stop. I have but to will them to move again, and they will move.

The ponies all heard it inside their heads, a deep cavernous yet machine-like voice speaking there. Before they could react, a column of sickly green energy erupted from the ground about three yards away from them. It parted to reveal a figure about Discord’s height, a creature with the body of a praying mantis and the head and wings of a bat, as well as two skeleton arms partly concealed behind its pincers.

It was necessary to quantify the strength of the former Elements of Harmony, the voice continued as the energy dissipated. The resources expended are easily recyclable. Data, however, is an indispensable strategic advantage. You would have best reserved such abilities and retained the element of surprise.

They all felt slightly violated, hearing this entity inside their minds. However, Twilight quickly regained her composure and asked calmly, “I assume you are Palderias, correct? Commonly known in the pejorative as the Heretical Inventor?”

A tiresome title, the voice remarked, though without any trace of irritation… or any emotional reaction at all. If you wish for a more accurate description, I was better known amongst ponies as ‘the Destroyer of Sentiment.’ Either title bares some truth regarding my role in removing the delusion of harmony.

“Delusion my plot!” Rarity exclaimed fiercely, forgetting her normal etiquette. “Harmony is no delusion, but something very real in our lives!”

Palderias casually clicked a pincer. Then quantify it. Assign a numeric value to it. Sell it on the stock market. When everypony stared at him as if he were speaking in another language, he asked, Can’t do it? Of course not, because it is a sentiment. If it cannot be measured, it does not exist… or at least, only as a mental fabrication associated with a simple biochemical reaction within your brain.

Twilight tried not to shudder. This line of thought was eerily close to some of the beliefs she had held before she had come to know her friends well, particularly Pinkie Pie with her various premonitions. Gritting her teeth, she put a hoof in front of her and glared at the Being. “Look Mister, I get that you’re not big on emotional interaction, but you’re talking to the six ponies that are literally writing the book on friendship. So please don’t try to sell us on your lame philosophy, because I’ve been listening to it for only a few minutes and I’ve had enough.”

“Yeah!” the others shouted.

Luna stepped forward with steely resolve. “You were already imprisoned once for your heresy, Palderias,” she stated authoritatively, holding her head high. “Your defeat alone is a testament to the failure of your ideals. However, if you surrender now, the path of reformation is available to you. Your fellow, the one called Discord, has already acknowledged the power of friendship--”

The two pincers clicked, sharply and abruptly, causing everypony to jump a little. Discord has embraced… friendship? Palderias bared his fangs. What am I saying, of course he did. He was already the poster-child of insanity. Embracing some contrived notion of goodness is to be expected, and of little consequence to me. I will have slightly more motivation for ripping his flesh and crushing his bones.

The mares squirmed at the cruel imagery. “How dare you!” Fluttershy muttered, then repeated with more volume, “HOW DARE YOU!”

She lept into the air and hovered only a few feet away from Palderias. “Listen here mister, if you want to be a colossal meany, then you can do that on your own! But you come here, threaten a town of helpless farm ponies with an army, dismiss our emotions, and plan to kill your own kin for trying to be a good person?! I don’t think so!” She leveled the power of the Stare on the Being--

I could care less what you think, tiny pegasus. Palderias turned his head towards Luna, as if to address her, while Fluttershy shrank back in shock at the dismissive words into Rarity and Pinkie’s comforting hooves.

You claim that my imprisonment was a defeat? Once again you have fallen into delusion, alicorn princess. I care not for time, and while my restraints created by the Elements were inconvenient, I have reawoken to an era in which a sizeable number of ponies are willing to embrace my so-called ‘ideals.’ And yet you and these others profess the unprovable, unquantifiable values of harmony and friendship? If I bothered with the delusion of humor, I would be laughing at you.

Palderias shifted his stance: readied pincers, spread wings, and evenly spaced legs. You have issued an ultimatum and now so will I. Leave now or your minds are forfeit. This territory and its resources are my property, and soon that will apply to all of Equestria.

This threat earned furious glares from everypony. The mares all assumed attack positions of their own, wings flared, horns glowing, and a line of canons at the ready.

Both pincers clicked. If you insist, he stated, and leaped at the ponies with speed so great even Rainbow was taken aback. They barely had enough time to jump out of the way as Palderias swiped at them with his right pincers. Somersaulting, Twilight and Luna shot their magic beams at the Being. Neither pulled their punches, both unleashing their energy at full intensity.

Yet though their attacks landed, no damage or inconvenience of any sort was inflicted, much to their immediate dismay.

“It… it can’t be!” Luna gasped, quickly grasping the phenomena before her. “When Tia and I fought him without the Elements, we were able to at least wound him!”

“Are you saying…?” Twilight choked.

Forcing the words out, Luna blurted out, “He’s adapted himself to our magic!”

Rainbow Dash recovered from her spin out and rushed at Palderias. She circled around him at rapid speeds, forming a twister with rainbow highlights. The others backed away quickly, not wanting to get caught in its pull. Palderias, however, was once again was unfazed and lashed out with his wings. One of them knocked into the pegasus, sending her sprawling away and ending the mini-tornado.

With a warcry, Applejack launched herself at the Being, attempting to deliver a kick to his face. Effortlessly he raised his pincers and blocked the blow, deflecting Applejack to the ground where she was joined by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, the latter abandoning her cannons out of concern for her friend.

“Be careful Applejack!” Rarity warned. “The Princesses’ magic did nothing!”

Applejack shrugged. “Usually when that happens, ya gotta take the direct approach--”

Palderias leaned forward at the mares, catching their attention with his black sphere-like eyes. A green halo appeared around his head, and suddenly they felt like their flesh was ice, unable to move a single muscle save for their panicked hearts.

Twilight saw the spell from only a few yards away. Whether it was the adrenaline or her concern for her friends, she suddenly lost all sense of strategy or tactics and flew straight at the Being as fast as she could.

“Twilight, NO!” shouted Luna, but it was to no avail. Perhaps the sound of rushing air had silenced her words, or the purple alicorn was in too much of a rage. What mattered was that she was almost on Palderias, firing her strongest magic beam.

Again, no effect.

With one quick movement, Palderias caught Twilight between his pincers, tightly enough to restrain her but loose enough to avoid killing her outright. I know who you are, Princess Twilight Sparkle, he said as she struggled reflexively, his skeleton hands reaching out to hold her head in place. But even if my associates did not inform me as to your identity, I can sense the delusions rampant within your mind. Courage, for example. A convenient sentiment held by those who have not experienced the full extent of terror, who have never lived out their own nightmares. Today is your lucky day, Alicorn of Magic.

Twilight paused, raising her gaze in dread.

You will be freed from courage.

The green halo intensified into a large aura that emanated from his entire body. Not knowing why, Twilight began to cough and choke, feeling as if her lungs had suddenly been filled with water. She struggled to focus on… something, anything, but not even her eyelids would obey her. Her thoughts went to her friends, what Palderias would do to them is she did not fight back, and yet even this was taken away, along with the last shreds of her consciousness. She slumped against the pincers, lifeless.

“TWILIGHT!” Luna screamed, now losing her own cool as she charged towards Palderias. The Being responded by tossing Twilight at her, the purple mare colliding with the second princess and the paralyzed mares. A moment later, Rainbow rushed over to their location, attempting to help them up as quickly as possible in her own desperation.

As I said, data is an indispensable strategic advantage, Palderias stated, walking towards the ponies slowly yet deliberately. The Flim-Flam Brothers had data about your every battle. With that data, your defeat was an inevitability. But perhaps, it already was to begin with. He pointed a pincer at the terrified (and, in a few cases, sobbing) mares, and a ball of green energy formed at its point. Indeed, I think I would rather not bother erasing your delusions. Be erased yourselves. And the sphere erupted into a jet that raced at the seven--

“I think not.”

The fabric of reality twisted in the blink of an eye, the energy blast completely gone. Right in front of the ponies was none other than….

Discord. In contrast to the unemotive tone that he had used until now, Palderias’ voice seethed the name.

“Palderias,” the draconequus answered curtly, though if anypony was looking closely enough his talons were lightly trembling. “Would love to chat and catch up, but now isn’t a good time.”

And with a snap of his fingers, they were in the throne room.