Mechanic Sapiens

THE FOURTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-TARGET) 6:48 AM

"Well, maybe the fifth time's a charm?" Twilight teased while scraping Anonymous' previously failed breakfasts into the trashcan.

"Cooking has been my mortal enemy for an eternity. Don't worry, I should be able to get at least one pancake this time." He said, adjusting the dial for the burner on Twilight's gas stove.

Anonymous poured new batter into the pan and set it on the burner, adding the ingredients as he cooked. He made sure to keep his cooking apron away from the burner, trying to avoid any repeats of his third attempt. Twilight didn't say anything, she was too busy staring off into space. Anon looked back to investigate the cause of the silence, giggling when he saw Twi's face.

"Have we really run out of things to talk about already?" Anon asked, laughing while doing so.

Twilight's blank face snapped to attention, then immediately went back to her empty face while she thought about it. Most of the time they had spent together was in silence, as if they were total strangers. In a way, they were. They had just met yesterday and didn't know that much about each other.

"No... It's just..." Twilight tried to explain her train of thought.

"Eh, It's alright, don't feel like you're a bad friend."

'Friend'

The skeptical antisocial alien called Twilight Sparkle, The Element of Friendship a friend before she called him one.

Now she really didn't feel like a good 'friend'.

Judging by Anon's face, he didn't care about it at all. He was too busy reading the instructions on the back of the Pancake mix box.

"My brother recently got married to a Princess." She said, trying to spark some interest in him.

Anonymous waited a second before showing a forced smile.

"Good for him. Was it the White one or the Blue one?"

Twilight remembered that Anon hadn't met Princess Cadence yet. In fact, where had Cadence been? It was unusual for a wife to be away from her husband so shortly after their honeymoon.

"You haven't met her yet."

"Interesting, we can go and meet her soon." He commented while stirring the mix in the pan. He spilled some in the burner, creating a nauseating smell.

"I'm not sure you'll even be able to fit through the train's doors." Twilight said, half-joking.

"Trains? Why would I take the train when I've got a flying spacecraft parked on your porch?"

Anonymous took the pan off the burner and tried to flip the pancake. He lost his grip, and the pan fell onto the ground with all the batter inside, making a loud crashing sound that echoed throughout the Library.

Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin, not expecting such a sudden noise.

"Hey... What's the big idea?!" Spike shouted from the top of the stairs, just now awake.

"I was making breakfast..." Anon groaned, ripping off his apron in defeat.

"It's okay, we can get fast food for breakfast." Twilight turned to Spike to see if he approved. "Sounds good?"

Spike let out a yawn and gave a thumbs-up before heading to the bathroom for his morning routine.

Anonymous tensed up a little bit. It had been a while without meat, and he didn't like the idea of becoming a vegetarian. The temptation to order a steak from Draco 27-c was killing him. Then again, a meat-eating alien might not help his poor reputation.

"Actually... I'll get something to go."

THE FOURTH DAY "FAST FOOD RESTAURANT" (NON-TARGET) 7:42 AM

As Anon entered the restaurant, around half of the patrons put their food in bags and left as soon as possible, some not worrying about their food. Twilight and her friends were the only ponies from Ponyville to make contact with him, not including a few brave Equines at the party who dared to start a conversation with the alien.

"Alright..." Anonymous pointed to Twilight while looking at the colt behind the counter. "I'll have this horse, cooked and stuffed, and uh... add a side of hayfries and a chocolate milkshake, please."

The colt didn't pay any attention to Anon's bad jokes.

"I will have a medium hayburger with a side of hayfries. No drink, please." Twilight said while giving Anon a disapproving look. It was those kinds of jokes that made everypony anxious when he was around.

"I'll just have some hayfries and a chocolate milkshake." Spike said, on his tip-toes so the cashier could see him.

"That'll be six bits." The colt announced.

Twilight levitated some 'gold' coins out of a pouch she brought along with her. Anon assumed it was a wallet, though he didn't see any reward cards inside it when she opened it up. Anon glanced at the currency Twilight 'held' in her zero-point field. No markings on it at all. It would be very easy to counterfeit.

'It's probably not even real gold. I bet it's just brass and trace amounts of gold melted together' He thought to himself, a little jealous that Twilight was super-rich compared to him.

"Take a seat and we'll be right with you in a minute."

The trio walked over to one of the nearby booths and took a seat near a window. It looked like any restaurant on any other planet, just themed with their culture. Anonymous liked how low-key it was.

"Hey, Twilight!" A familiar female voice called from across the room.

Twilight glanced over to find that Rainbow Dash was already halfway to their seat. She appeared well-rested and cheery.

'She probably didn't have her dreams ransacked by the Princess of the night.' Anon thought to himself, glancing around the room for a coffee maker.

"I thought I saw Twilight, Spike and a six-foot monster across the room." Rainbow gave a smile to assure that she wasn't trying to offend anyone.

Anonymous smiled very briefly before reverting back to his serious face. He brought out the device he had used to scan Twilight's horn, tapping it with his right hand and holding it with his left.

"So, did I tell you that AJ and me are taking a trip to Winsome?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"Too late, I already told her." Spike informed Rainbow between bites of his hayfries.

Anon brought the device up to his ear, as if he was waiting for it to say something. He interrupted their conversation as soon as Spike stopped talking.

"Could I have some silence for a second? Thanks."

It eventually made a sound, though it didn't sound like anything in Equestria. It was just a low-frequency tone, followed by several other tones of the same frequency.

"YOU HAVE REACHED THE ARISTOXENUS ADMINISTRATIVE MAINFRAME." Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and her assistant could barely hear the words the device said, but they could tell who was saying them.

It was the tin-can voice from the waiting room.

"Yeah, send the payload."

"SENDING PAYLOAD."

"Thanks." Anonymous said, before bringing the device down from his ears and tapping it a few more times.

"Go ahead." He gestured for the conversation to continue as if nothing had just happened.

"Yeah... So do you want to come along?" Dash asked, trying to pretend she didn't see anything.

"I'd love to, but my sleep schedule's been messed up ever since I heard there was an alien spacecraft flying above us." Twilight said, just now taking a bite of her hayburger.

Spike finished his fries and slid the empty package away from him.

"Thanks for the snack, Twi."

A loud high-pitched tone erupted from the other side of the booth making everyone in the restaurant jump, Anonymous included.

"I totally not mean for that to happen, sorry." He tried to laugh it off.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow inquired with a slightly annoyed voice.

"Ordering."

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. It was very hard to tell with him since he kept his face and voice devoid of emotion most of the time.

"Hey, it's the Flying Castle." Spike pointed out the window. It looked the same as it did yesterday, except it was way closer than it was when it was last seen.

Much closer.

Only about one hundred feet off the ground.

Something relatively small fell off the spacecraft before The Flying Castle immediately started picking up altitude, trying to avoid contact with the terrain.

"Hey, Anon. Do you think you could race me in that thing one of these days?" Dash asked, hoping to find its' maximum speed, and who was the faster.

"Sure, one day. Now scoot, I have to go get that." Anonymous waved his hands for Rainbow to get up. He jumped out of the booth as soon as she could get out of his way.

He walked right out the front door and jogged a few hundred yards to where the spaceship dropped the mystery box.

"So, how's your roommate?" Dash inquired, hoping for an interesting response.

"He's uh... Fine. He... carved out his own kidney as a gift." Twilight replied, taking another bite of her burger.

"I'm glad to hear-- wait... What?" Rainbow couldn't believe what she just heard. It had to be a prank.

"That's not breakfast talk, Twilight." Spike complained before belching in disgust, trying not to throw up at the thought.

A red flashing light led Anonymous over to the long metal box. Very rarely did he ever need "The Payload", but considering how strained his political relationship with the Princesses was, it qualified as an emergency. When he was out of the restaurant's line of sight, he made a run for the box. As he approached the metal container, the light stopped flashing, sensing him nearby.

Anonymous turned the rectangular box over so it was face up. A small black plate was exposed near the single lock that kept it closed. He blew some of the debris off the plate and pressed his thumb to it. It made a beeping sound, and the lock made a clicking noise.

Anon threw the lid open and gazed at the contents.

One coffee maker, one soda maker, a few contact lens, an earpiece and meal replacement drinks.

They were the most valuable items on this planet.

Anon grabbed the drinks and the portable container that held the lens and the earpiece, leaving the two appliances behind. He put the container in his pocket to conceal it, and emptied one of the bottles into his mouth enjoying its' meaty taste. The box itself was worthless, it'd be easier for some locals to make an interesting discovery than for Anonymous to wrestle with it any further.

It's not like anyone would be stupid enough to crawl inside it.

Anonymous strolled back into the restaurant with twenty-three drinks in his hand and a small black box in his pocket. Everypony had finished their breakfast and were now conversing. He sat down next to Dash, not paying attention to whatever they were talking about. He pulled the slim box out of his pocket and removed its lid. Anon picked up the lens and held it up, gently placing it on his eyeball.

Then there was the earpiece to worry about. Not quite as difficult as the lens, he just had to shove it inside his ear. Anon discarded the box by placing it in the trash on Twilight's plate.

He knew had a big problem coming very soon, and now he had the solution.

"Since when did you start wearing contacts?" Spike asked soon after Twilight and Dash's chat came to a conclusion.

"Since right now."

THE FOURTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-TARGET) 11:23 AM

Anonymous didn't particularly enjoy reading, but in this case he would make an exception. Books seemed to be the only way these Equines stored their information. No Random access memory, no Solid state drives, no Entangled crystals.

Books.

It was quite a step down for him, being used to such an advanced world.

The door to the Library opened, and inside walked all of Twilight's pony friends. Applesack, Spectrum Dash, Cluttershy, Inky Sly and Barbarity. Not the weirdest names he'd ever heard in this sector of the galaxy, or at least not as bizarre as 'Glorkenpunff', but they were pretty odd.

They were talking about something, as usual. Anon didn't worry too much about it. He didn't come here to force himself into their lives or to eavesdrop. He came here to 'protect and benefit' them, just like his business card said. That and the rent-free room Twi gave him.

Whatever they were talking about, Twilight was getting pretty heated.

Anon looked up from his book when he heard Twi's frustrated grunt. It was almost as if an explosion had just thrust the Library sky-high.

"JUST A TEST?"

"Twilight, darling, please calm down. If it means this much to you, we can come along with you to Canterlot." Rarity tried to calm her down, but also tried not to smile at how Twilight overreacted.

Twi sighed. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just tired."

She used her magic to pack her bags full of miscellaneous flashcards and scrolls that were lying around on nearby desks.

"Anon! We're going to Canterlot for a couple of hours, are you gonna be okay here by yourself?"

A devious smile formed on his face. Now he would be all alone.

"I'll be fine without you, don't worry."

He could tell just by Twilight's face that she was uncertain if she could trust him all alone. Still, she didn't have much time to worry about that. Twi and her friends were already out the door before he finished answering.

Now that he was by himself, he could go into the basement and have some... Quality time with himself and some images on his terminal.

THE FOURTH DAY "THE GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY" (NON-TARGET) 11:27 AM

'Well... That didn't take long at all.' Anon thought to himself while releasing a large exhale of disappointment.

A loud knock on the door forced him to collect his thoughts. He got up from his cot and walked over to the basement's stairs. As he was walking up the stairs, he heard voices coming from outside the door.

'This might be the perfect time to use the lens' He considered.

Anonymous blinked thrice very quickly and was almost blinded by the sudden light being burned into his eyes. It was a terminal... On his eyes. Not only incredibly convenient but useful when he needed advice in a conversation, such as the one he knew he was about to have with the Princesses.

As Anon approached the door, he grinned.

'They have no idea what lies beyond their world.'

'They have no idea what I'm capable of.'

'They don't know what the man behind the curtain has in store for them.'

As soon as Anonymous' hand touched the doorknob, a metallic voice started to speak to him through his Earbud. Loud enough for him to give him directions, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
LISTEN TO THEM.
The door flung open, forcing Anon to move back.
DON'T ACT INTIMIDATED.
"Royal Guard! Don't move, or we will attack!"
128 HOSTILES. 48 INSIDE, 80 OUTSIDE. PRINCESSES INCOMING.
Hundreds of them poured into the Library, all pointing spears towards Anon. They made him sit down on a nearby chair, keeping a tight eye on him.
CALCULATING STRATEGIES...
There were plenty ways out of this situation.
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY IDENTIFIED.
But Anonymous was going to play Mr. Responsible, for everyone's sake.
DO IT FOR THE GALACTIC SOCIETY.
For Twilight's sake.
DO IT FOR HER.
For Spike's sake.
DO IT FOR ME.