Mechanic Sapiens

THE FIFTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-THREAT) 11:22PM

Twilight was looking through her telescope, enjoying the view of the cosmos. Now that she knew the universe not only harbored two intelligent species but many other kinds of life, she was curious about where they came from. The past few hours were spent trying to find a constellation that would have the elements necessary for life. In a way, it was a fun task, like a scavenger hunt. Twilight couldn't think of a reason why she hadn't done this before.

'And that marks out the Draco constellation.' She thought, crossing it out on a piece of paper.

She almost jumped out of her chair when she heard somepony clear their throat from behind her. She quickly turned her head to identify the unannounced visitor.

"Oh, it's just you." She remarked, feeling relieved.

Behind her stood an expressionless Anonymous. He was wearing new clothes, instead of his old button-up shirt, he was now wearing a diamond pinstripe suit. All the buttons were unbuttoned and the tie untied. The contrast of formality and informality made him look ridiculous.

"You look... fancy." Twilight remarked, trying to stay polite.

"Your friend Rarity has good taste and an eye for fine materials. Now, let's stop talking about me." He said in a somewhat disjointed voice.

"What are you doing?" He continued.

"Just looking through my telescope. How are you doing?" Twilight made an uneasy face. He didn't look too happy, and his voice was creeping her out.

"Well, I was downstairs thinking about everything that's happened in the last two days, and I realized something. I may have been a little too... lenient."

"Wh-What do you mean?" She tried not to stutter.

'Lenient? Lenient about what?'

"It's just that I'm not a fan of having my dreams invaded by Princesses of the night." Anon explained, cracking his knuckles much to Twilight's disgust.

"No, I don't think the princess would just blatantly spy on you like that."

"You thought wrong, Twi."

Twilight was worried, she had never seen him angry. He was happier earlier today, what changed that?

"What's with the change of attitude?" She asked.

"You talked to her. I know you did."

"What makes you think that?" Twilight wasn't one to lie, but in this case, she was willing to make an exception.

"She was afraid of me today. She's never been afraid of me. You had something to do with it. I know you did."

"That's a little presumptuous of you, isn't it?" Twilight asserted.

"You see this thing in my ear?"

Anonymous got close to Twilight, too close for comfort. Twi was unsure about his mental stability. He brought up his finger and tapped the black device in his ear.

"It's an earpiece. It tells me things. Not everything, but what it does tell me I can trust one hundred percent."

Twi moved her head to get a better look at the earpiece. Since it was in close proximity, she could hear someone talking through it. It didn't really sound like a pony or alien, though.

"May I?"

Anonymous picked the device out of his ear and crammed it into Twilight's ear. There was some discomfort involved, but she would put up with it if it meant getting some accurate information about aliens. She quickly recognized the voice speaking as the voice that was also in the Mini-Screw.

"ARCHIVE. TWO FIFTY NINE LOCAL TIME. ORGANISM OF INTEREST, TWILIGHT SPARKLE. LOCATION, THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY'S BASEMENT. ENGAGED IN CONVERSATION. CONVERSATION TOPIC, MURDER OF--"

The transmission was cut short by Anonymous plucking the device out of her ear. If he looked unhappy before, now he was livid.

"You don't know it's telling the truth, it could be lying!"

"Twilight... Just tell me the truth. I promise I won't be mad if you were talking about... her."

Anon's voice smoothed out and he didn't look quite as mad. Twilight could relax when his voice was normal.

"I admit it, we were talking about your ex-fiance/victim."

"I made a deal with one of your Princesses. I'd give this place three chances to get on my nerves before I disintegrated it. Right now, I have plenty of reasons to destroy this place."

"We've been nothing but kind to you, so what are the three reasons?"

"First off, your Princess of the night snuck into my memories. Two, you went behind my back and talked about my past. Three, you lied to me about it."

Twilight's heart started racing. He looked so calm, but what he was talking about would be the end of the world. The end of all she held dear. The end of Equis.

She couldn't allow that. She wouldn't. Anything it took to avoid their destruction, she was willing to risk. But a plan was needed, and fast.

There was a blank piece of paper in the Library and a quill nearby. Twilight could make out the objects in the other room using her magic, but barely. She had to write, the fate of Equestria relied on it.

"How does your weapon work?"

"Well, it all starts with a few pounds of Uranium-235..."

THE SIXTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-THREAT) 1:22AM

"And the Cobalt-59 stores the radiation to increase the damage of fallout."

"Now that's just cruel."

Unbeknownst to Anonymous, Twilight had been writing down the nuclear reaction he had spent the last hour explaining.

'Well, they say you've got to fight fire with fire, right?' She thought to herself.

"You're a scientist, surely you know the implications of such a device."

"I do. But, are you really going to kill everything on this planet just because I talked about you behind your back?"

"Not today. I'm going to exempt you from that strike. But if you do anything that pisses me off again, this world is going to go up in flames. I promise."

"Why is it so important that you get your way? Surely in space, you have to sacrifice for others." Twi attempted to negotiate with Anon in the hopes of diffusing the situation.

"Wrong. No man is an island, but when you spend millennium in cryogenic suspension it gets easier."

"What happened to us being friends?" She continued, finishing up on her notes.

"I got too close to you. I forgot that I'm a foreign emissary and you are the pony I'm working with to make sure this planet doesn't destroy itself. You're a client." Anonymous tied his tie just so that he could adjust it and look serious about it.

"I can sleep soundly at night now..." Twilight remarked, putting the final period on her paper.

"I'm glad you understand your position. Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle."

"Goodnight, Anon." Twilight said, trying to conceal a smug face.

'I win.'

THE SIXTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-THREAT) 1:36AM

Anonymous was asleep downstairs and Spike was dreaming in his bed. Now Twilight could start building the weapon according to the alien's instructions. If her calculations were correct, not even his titanium organs would be able to withstand the melting temperature. Speaking of his organs, his metallic kidney had pretty much gone untouched on Twilight's dressing table.

While she was thinking of all of this, Twilight realized that she faced a very big problem.

'How am I going to make this thing if he's sleeping in my lab?'

That wasn't her only problem, though. Safely containing radioactive materials outside of her lab would be no easy task. It was going to take a lot of planning, but if it meant keeping Equestria safe from Anonymous' threats, she'd go to any length to do it.

And if he was going to deploy this weapon of mass destruction the next time he was offended, Twilight had a very limited amount of time to get this project done. She might have asked somepony else for help, but she didn't want to cause panic in the streets until their destruction was within sight.

Anonymous was no longer an ally, he was a threat. And she was the only pony on the planet that knew about Equis' inevitable countdown. The best she could do is to try to keep him happy for as long as possible until she finished the bomb.

Twilight levitated her notes up to her face and silently read them. She could do without the missile part of the bomb, as long as she had her magic she could propel it wherever she wanted to.

Now, where was she going to find fourty pounds of Uranium-235?