Mechanic Sapiens

Three days.

It had been three days that it stood in the middle of the sky without support.

Seventy-two hours for Ponies, Griffons, and Dragons to consider if they should make contact.

The object was named 'The Flying Castle' by the citizens of Equestria. It had fallen from outer space, and was in a low orbit around the planet. In the three days since it had been spotted The Flying Castle had visited every major city on the planet. Canterlot, Manehatten, Griffonstone, had all been visited by this large metal invader.

On the first day The Royal Sisters sent the Royal Guard to investigate the airborne city, just in case the visitor came with hostile intent. All sides of the castle were made of a smooth, hard, red-hot metal. Not a single entrance to be found and no magic was detected. Newspapers and crackpots worldwide had spread rumors that there were multiple ships, that they had been abducted by the saucers. Some ponies were excited to see the visitors, hoping that they might share the secrets of the universe.

The first day, everypony panicked.

The second day, everypony worried.

The third day, some of them found out the truth.

THE THIRD DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" 8:30AM

It was early in the morning and Twilight needed to clear her thoughts. After a short walk, she decided to stop and read the paper and get some tea. Not many ponies were up this early, but the waiter seemed well-rested. She ordered and paid for her drink and sat down at a nearby table, taking the newspaper out of her bag. What did the front page have in store for her today?

U.F.O. SPOTTED IN CANTERLOT. HAS WAR BEEN DECLARED?

Almost everywhere she looked there was some talk about the visitors. And while it was interesting that aliens had finally been proven to exist, it had put a hold on her friendships. Just the other day, her plans with Rarity were blown off because she was making clothes to show the aliens. Rarity apologized, but Twi didn't feel like it was sincere.

Eventually she had finished the front page and her drink. If there was one good thing about the 'invasion', it was that Spike had been more energetic than usual. Aliens were only something that existed in comic books, but now they were a reality. His nonstop talk about hypothetical technology was somewhat pleasing to Twilight. It was intriguing to see his thoughts about them, how he would theorize what their civilization and society would be like.

Twi got up from her seat and left a tip for the waiter. The sun was out and the air was fresh. It was a great morning to spend outside. It was even better that she had planned a picnic with all of her friends today. She hadn't seen much of them for the last few days, they were busy doing things. Probably relating to the invasion. They seemed optimistic, given the situation. If The Flying Castle stayed on schedule, it would be passing over their picnic around ten o' clock.

Spike had suggested the event, of course.

The Library came into Twilight's view. The town was more empty than usual. Some ponies had gotten out of town as soon as they heard that the U.F.O. was coming. Others had organized to meet outside, wanting to greet the newcomers to their planet. Twilight was unsure whether or not she should leave before they arrived. On one hoof, she didn't want to panic Spike and her friends, and on the other, who knows what they're capable of?

Twilight opened the door to her library, feeling motivated to get the day started.

"Hey Twilight, where've you been?" A familiar voice called out from across the library.

"I went for a walk. You got up when I was gone? That's unlike you." She teased.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss today for the world!"

"I'm looking forward to doing some research of my own. I want to know what material their ship is made out of, what it's function is, and where they got it. It might help future generations to--"

She stopped herself when she realized Spike wasn't smiling anymore.

"Is something wrong?"

Spike snapped to attention. "No, it's just... I really..."

Twilight looked at her number one assistant. He looked excited but scared. Who could blame him? The aliens hadn't been proven hostile or friendly yet.

"I know you want to get to know them, but it's possible they don't want to be friends. And if so, we should just leave them alone." She explained, trying to console Spike.

A knock at the door halted their conversation. The door flung open as Rainbow Dash trotted in, looking extremely enthusiastic.

"C'mon you slowpokes, It's gonna be here any minute now!"

THE THIRD DAY "PONYVILLE OUTSKIRTS" 9:58AM

Twilight and her friends were enjoying their picnic. Pinkie had brought a variety of desserts to share with everyone, Applejack brought what was left of her cider stock, and Twilight had brought some gemstones for her assistant.

"Just three more minutes..." Spike told himself, trying to keep his composure.

"I packed you a few more gems if you're interested, Spike." A concerned Twilight inquired.

"No thanks, I'm not feeling hungry."

Twilight turned her head away from him to resume her conversation with her other friends.

"Now, I still don't understand why you gotta wear that thing to something as casual as a picnic."

"Oh, Applejack, if those aliens came down now, I wouldn't want them to miss out on my taste of fashion, now would I?"

Applejack rolled her eyes and tried not to pay any more attention to the dress.

"Maybe, but it would even worse if they missed out on their 'Welcome to Equestria' party! I've spent the last three days working on it! It's perfect, they need to see it!" Pinkie grabbed Twilight and shook her around to express her excitement.

Twilight raised a hoof and gently pushed her hyperactive friend away.

"I'm not too sure they'll come down at all. Think about it, they've been around the world in three days, and haven't stopped once! There's no reason for them to break pattern now, is there?"

"Even if they don't stop, I still gotta see that thing up close and personal. I mean, it's huge! How's it been going so fast for three days straight?"
Rainbow Dash stretched out her wings to prepare for whenever The Flying Castle arrived.

"What do you think, Fluttershy?" She continued.

"Well, I think it's very interesting that we're not alone... But we don't know if they're friendly. And if they're not, then... I don't know what we'll do!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

Applejack put her arm around Fluttershy to comfort her. "Pull yourself together, Shy. I don't even think it's aliens, I think it's probably from the Griffon Empire, flyin' overhead, spyin' on us."

The thought of being spied on by Griffons nagged at Twilight's brain.

'Imagine if after all this time, it's just been the Griffon Empire...' She thought to herself.

"What do you think the princesses are going to do?" She asked everypony present.

"Who cares what they do, all I want to know is how fast that thing can go," Rainbow answered.

"I'm not too sure, darling. But I trust the princesses to give the aliens a fair chance."

"Hold on, I think that's it in the distance," Spike said from the other side of the hilltop.

Twilight and her friends trotted over to the dragon and used the binoculars in turns.

"Sweet mother of Celestia, it's not a hoax..." Twi remarked aloud.

"This is real..." Spike said, not taking his eyes off the spaceship.

It was cylindrically shaped towards the bottom and curved in the middle. In the middle was also a ring, rotating around the center of the castle without any support. The top was shaped more like a semi-sphere, and much larger than the bottom of the ship.

As it got closer and closer to the picnic, nearby rocks randomly shot away from the hill at high velocities. For whatever reason, Twilight could only guess that their equipment was interfering with the landscape.

"It's bigger than any skyscraper in Manehatten, that's for sure." Rarity mentioned.

Everypony was in shock.

Aliens.

They existed, and they were here now.

"This is totally awesome!" Dash cried out at the top of her lungs, flying up to the spaceship to check it out.

"Be careful, it could be radioactive!" Twilight shouted, soon realizing that if it was radioactive, there wasn't much she could do.

She wanted to know how many of them were on board. Since there wasn't any apparent way aboard, she'd just have to use her magic to scan the ship. Her horn glowed a shade of purple as she attempted to scan the castle for any life.

'Strange... Nobody's up there. Then again, they might not be carbon-based...'

Twilight's train of thought was interrupted by the deafening sound of the massive vault on the bottom of the ship opening up. It was slow, and the noise produced was probably heard all over Equestria.

"What was that?" Spike shouted.

"I'm not sure, we didn't do anything, did we?" Twilight responded.

"I take it back, aliens do exist! I am a believer!" Applejack cried up to the ship.

Fluttershy was speechless and frozen in place. Probably from fear.

Over the horrible sound of metal scraping, Twilight could make out mechanical noises going on inside.

Something fell out of the opening. It was about the size of an outhouse, and it was shaped similarly to the spaceship. It impacted with the earth, leaving a massive dent in the earth at the bottom of the hill. The castle kept on moving towards Ponyville as if nothing had happened.

Rainbow Dash flew down to be reunited with her friends.

"That. Was. Amazing!" She yelled.

"I mean, the city-sized door opening, and the flashing lights and the--" Dash was interrupted by Twilight.

"Calm down, Rainbow. We should pay more attention to what it left behind."

"What do ya' reckon it is?" Applejack asked, turning to face the giant screw at the bottom of the hill.

"I'm not too sure, but that's all the more reason to be more cautious about it. We need a biohazard squad to approach it, just in case it carried any radiation from the atmosphere. And just in case they're hostile, we should notify the Royal Guard..." Twilight trailed off.

Spike didn't want to wait. He couldn't wait. Whatever they had left behind, even if it was trash to them, was of great value to him. He could finally find out how they lived, what their home was like, where they lived. He needed this. Seeing as how Twilight had already started making a list full of precautionary equipment they should go and get first, Spike didn't have much time left.

While everypony had their eyes on Twilight's notes and the rusting screw at the bottom of the hill, Spike started looking in the nearby picnic baskets for the one that held his gems. He quickly grabbed the correct basket and walked to the edge of the hill.

"Oh no! My gems!"

Spike had intentionally fumbled with the basket, causing it to spill it's contents onto the grass, down the hill, and eventually closer to the small U.F.O. He jogged as fast as he could, knowing that his friends would catch up to him sooner or later.

"Spike! Come back!" Various ponies shouted behind him.

As he got closer and closer to the alien technology, he heard something. A low-pitched hum that never stopped and never changed pitch. Being in front of the ship scared him, and he slowed down. It was significantly larger than he was, and Celestia-knows-how more powerful. His running was cut short by a purple light that engulfed him.

"You can't do that to me again, Spike! You know they could be dangerous!" Twilight shouted while hugging him in relief.

Fluttershy recognized the expression on Spike's face. Disappointment.

"You know, Twilight, it's possible that they are friendly, or at least just as likely that they're hostile." She tried to explain in a soft voice.

It was too late to retreat. The giant screw-shaped ship in front of them started making mechanical noises and hissing sounds. Everypony backed up, slightly worried. A metal double door was slowly being opened. A cold white gas poured out of it, and the interior was revealed.

Inside of the mysterious U.F.O. wasn't an alien or anything to greet them. There was a leather couch in the corner, a big black wall that stood out from the other wood paneled walls and a soft orange carpet.

"What a peculiar things for aliens to have..." Rarity remarked, slowly trotting inside the ship.

The black wall started to quickly flash colors. Out of all of the randomness that occured on the screen, something stood out that everypony could read.

6

Twilight's mouth hung open in amazement. Not only could these aliens create massive structures capable of flying, they knew about Equestrian numbers. Even more odd was their similar interior design. Twilight wondered if that was a coincidence or not.

Seeing as how nopony was restraining him any more, Spike freely walked into the U.F.O. and had a seat on the couch.

5

As he looked out the door of the ship, he subconsciously counted how many of his friends were outside and how many of them were inside. This led him to realize something...

"I think we all have to get in here."