War, Friendship, and Crisis: The Tale of a Torn World

As the trio traveled down the halls, they encountered countless blockaded doors. After a little bit of investigation, a question smacked Twilight in the face. Where is Princess Cadence? She is the ruler of the Crystal Empire, but she isn't in any of the blocked off rooms. Did the robots take her, or did she flee in time? Twilight wasn't sure, but she decided to believe the latter to avoid the horrible thoughts from the former. Pinkie kept looking around anxiously, waiting for another one of the robots to appear. Rainbow Dash kept herself calm and collected, but her forged hatred from Pinkie's injuries didn't disappear. She still hated these creatures with a burning passion and would love to scramble a few more of their models to make up for Pinkie's spilled blood. Twilight then remembered something else that burned in her mind.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Twilight began to ask in curiosity, "why were you afraid of this storm and hurting those humans earlier?"

Rainbow Dash sighed as she responded to her question. "I don't really know. I think these creatures, the violence all around us, and you two getting hurt really messed me up. I've never dealt with these types of creatures before. And I don't know how to act. I feel so angry for the, hurting us, but I don't know if I should fight back."

"I don't know how to handle these situations either," Twilight sympathized with Rainbow Dash's confusion, "but we need to fight back, no matter how terrible it feels. These creatures are not going to let us live when they fight us. They will, kill us, so we must be prepared for anything they can throw at us." Twilight smiled a little to cheer up Rainbow. "Remember what that pilot said. Just do what you do best."

Rainbow Dash felt a little better. If she needed to fight back against these monsters, then that's what she needs to do. She can't give up and let them destroy Equestria. She needs to be strong, she needs to be brave, and most of all, she needs to be the number one pegasus. She regained her confidence and prepared herself for the enemy. Nothing was going to bring her down.

Pinkie then realized that there was a new robot down the hall. This one looked like an R-Bot, but its metal claws were replaced with two gatling laser guns. The robot floated on a singular thruster that replaced its wheel, and it contained a battery pack on the back of the metal body. It patrolled the area, waiting for something to be turned into Swiss cheese. Twilight readied her magic blasts for when the robot attacks, and Rainbow Dash flew near the ceiling to catch the robot by surprise. When she was right above the robot, she slammed down into it. The machine whirred and crackled as sparks bounced out of the metal. The other two ponies caught up with her and proceeded to cautiously venture down the hall. They encountered a few swarmers that were easy to defeat and eventually reached a door.

"The antenna is at the top of this castle's tower," Travis informed. "By the looks of the castle itself, the robots might have altered some of the top with metal. Be careful up there."

Right behind the door was a hammer bot with two C-Bots. The hammer bot slammed its hammers onto the ground and hoped to hit something, but it completely missed when Pinkie circled around the bot. The two C-Bots immediately fired at Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash flew above the laser blasts while Twilight blocked them with her barrier spell. Pinkie kicked the hammer bot into one of the C-Bots while Rainbow Dash stomped on another. By the time they finished clobbering the machines, two destroyed C-Bots and a damaged hammer bot were what remained. The hammer bot attempted to spin into the two ponies right next to him, but Twilight fired a blast that destroyed the rest of his frail form.

The trio climbed up the tower in haste. At this point in time, the sky was nothing but stars, lightning, and thundering clouds. Quakes ravaged the area, almost causing the ponies to trip and fall. When they finally reached the top, they found a platform with an antenna and three robots. The antenna shot a beam of lightning into the sky, but it looked like it was firing at the planet not so far from Equestria now. The robots were tinkering with it in confusion and annoyance.

"How do you lose control of the portal?" a nearby C-Bot yelled in anger at an R-Bot.

"I don't know!" the R-Bot replied in fear. "The portal won't stop! It's engulfing too much of the planet! At this rate, it'll swallow it soon!"

A mega bot sat there baffled on how to fix it. After scratching his eyestalk in confusion, he noticed a trio of ponies. "Uh, commander, we have company."

The C-Bot turned around and was greeted with a magical blast. He was shot off the platform, falling to his robotic death onto the ground below. The R-Bot panicked and fled the scene, and the mega bot fired nine laser blasts at the trio. Rainbow Dash rammed into the front of the machine while the other two dodged the lasers. Pinkie pulled out her party cannon again and approached the mega bot. Twilight fired a magic blast at the robot, damaging it even more. Pinkie released hundreds of sharp pieces of confetti upon the machine, ripping it to almost nothing but scrap. Rainbow Dash finished it off by smashing the caved in metal onto the brain's life support systems. Twilight hustled over to the antenna, confused on what to do.

"There's no use in finding out what does what," Travis stated as he attempted to rush the situation, "just destroy it!"

All three of the ponies pushed the antenna off the platform and allowed it to fall down to the ground below. As it exploded with electricity from its impact on the surface, the storm somewhat cleared up. The trio looked confused and worried on what just happened.

"Travis," Twilight said as she panicked, "why didn't that work?"

"I don't understand," he replied in confusion. "I thought that was it." He then realized how the robots entered Equestria. "There must be another antenna on that planet up there. I can find the coordinates to the antenna, but I'll have to use your communications chips for teleportation. Pinkie, since you don't have one on you, you'll have to hold onto once of your friends.

Pinkie hastily held on to Rainbow Dash's front left leg. Travis placed the coordinates into the chips in hope that the trio will teleport to the last antenna. The three ponies disappeared in a cloud of blue and white light as they traveled to the planet.

•—————•

When the trio finally teleported to the planet, they found themselves on top of a metal building. In fact, there were metal buildings everywhere! The sky was covered by a thick brownish-red cloud layer, and the buildings spewed out black smoke from their pipes. Multiple factories emitted industrial screeches and clanks as they built specific machines. Robots of all shapes and sizes patrolled in huge conglomerations on the streets. Some of them were familiar, and others were still unknown to the ponies.

As the three ponies approached the antenna, a loud powering on sound filled the area. Soon after that, a huge machine slowly rose from the side of the building. The machine had a large dome over its top, a huge eyestalk, and four arms that held different weapons at their ends. One was a flamethrower, the second was a laser cannon, another was a chainsaw, and the last was an explosive launcher. The machine has a large stem with a spherical wheel on its bottom, and it held a cockpit inside the dome. One lone robot stood inside the cockpit with four human like claws on multiple levers, joysticks, and buttons. The machine readied all of its weaponry as it began a grand battle.

A challenger approaches: Dr. Scraps and his Destructo Bot V.4

"Attention you three scoundrels," a scratchy and robotic voice boomed from the speakers on the machine, "I am Dr. Scraps, inventor of my personal and robotic army! You three are merely speed bumps in my success." Dr. Scraps pretended to crack his knuckles as he prepared to fight. "So, let's see if you three can hold a fight with me."

The giant machine spewed a wall of fire in a nasty attempt to burn the trio. Pinkie And Twilight dodged the hungry flames in to avoid a devastating burn, and Rainbow hovered above the fire. She rammed into the glass dome in an attempt to break it open, but she was stopped by the sheer durability of the machine. Her physical attacks were futile to the hull, and she was now right in front of its most deadly weaponry. She dashed back quickly to avoid the revving chainsaw that swiped across the machine. Twilight fired a magical blast at the machine, but it didn't flinch or react. The mech fired three bombs onto the battlefield. All of the trio avoided them successfully, but the mech was about to fire more.

"How do we destroy this thing?" Twilight questioned in fear for her life. "All of our attacks do nothing to it!"

Travis studied the mech closely. "Hmm, this is quite the adversary. I need to get a better look at his metal to know his weakness."

Pinkie hopped up and down with her front right hoof up in the air. "I know it, I know it, I know it!"

"Then tell us!" Twilight exclaimed as a chainsaw sliced across the roof of the building.

"It's fire! Machines overheat from fire, especially the ones with the robotic element!"

Twilight charged a fire blast in haste and fired it into the front of the mech. The blast didn't hurt it, but it heated the circuitry up a little.

"No!" Pinkie shouted in disapproval. "Fire more than one blast!"

Twilight couldn't charge up her blast due to the machine firing a wall of laser blasts near her. Another plume of fire spread across the area, but all of the trio dodged it successfully. When her area calmed in activity, she charged her magic and fired more fire blasts into the mech. The metal and circuitry was very hot now, and some of the machinery began to fail.

"That's odd," Dr. Scraps noticed in his bafflement. "My mech shouldn't be overheating from my activity. Wait a minute..." The mechanical scientist glared at Twilight. "...that thing can shoot fire, right?" A fire blast from Twilight's horn answered his question. "Well then, she must die first!"

The machine shifted its attention to Twilight and fired four bombs in her path. Twilight quickly grabbed one of them with her magic and used it to explode the other three. Pinkie Pie latched onto one of the mech's arms and climbed on top of the dome. She was figuring out how to enter the cockpit, but she didn't see a way inside the mech. However, she did notice the seal around the glass that linked the metal to the dome. Dr. Scraps detected Pinkie on top of the dome and attempted to throw her off with his chainsaw. Pinkie jumped over the blade over and over, allowing Twilight to charge her fire blast once more. After the mech experienced another fiery impact, it finally entered overheat mode. The entire machine fell to the ground as steam spewed out of vents around its arms.

Dr. Scraps smashed his hands onto the controls in rage. "Argh! You ponies are so annoying! How do you overheat a machine that was built to resist that exact function?"

"The glass feels lose now, Twily!" Pinkie exclaimed to Twilight as she slightly lifted the dome. "Now, use your magic to lift it for me!"

Twilight nodded in agreement and formed an aura around the glass. Dr. Scraps examined the, as he calls it, 'witchcraft', that was being performed on his machine. The entire top popped open, and Pinkie greeted him with a small trot and a not so friendly grin.

"Nope, I'm not sticking around to see whatever you three want with me!" Dr. Scraps shouted in fear. "I'll see you three in another world, you vermin!"

He pushed a button on his chair that activated two thrusters. His chair flew into the cosmos while he laughed maniacally. Rainbow Dash tried to chase after him, but his chair was too fast. Pinkie stomped a hoof in frustration on the warm metal.

Dr. Scraps has been defeated!

"We almost had that guy!" Rainbow Dash yelled in anger. "Where has he gone to now?"

Travis remembered the real reason they came to this planet. "There's no time to think about where he is, you need to destroy that antenna!"

"Oh, right," Rainbow stated as she caught her own foolishness. She created and placed a storm cloud right next to the antenna. As the antenna was zapped with an overload of electricity, it exploded into a field of lightning.

"How are we going to get back to Equestria though?" Twilight asked in only an ounce of worry.

Travis smirked as he spoke. "You're going home the exact way you cam here. Pinkie, grab one of your friends. You three are heading back to Ponyville."

Pinkie leaped over to Rainbow Dash and hugged her foreleg once again. The three ponies, once again, disappeared into blue and white light. A few robots that finally reached the building roof screamed in rage and disappointment as they watched the ponies teleport.

•—————•

The trio found themselves in their simple town once again, but a few GEST Corp. soldiers were there to greet them. A few ponies in their corporation's armor were also standing there. However, the only soldier out of all of them that they remember is the general himself.

"Welcome back to your town," he said in a calm but happy manner. "I received word that you three saved this world once again."

Rainbow Dash flew to the front and gave an expression filled with righteousness and confidence. "It all wouldn't be possible if you had the number one pegasus in Equestria on your side!" Twilight smiled at seeing a little of Rainbow's personality still alive.

"I think this entire adventure deserves a party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in joy. "I mean, we all need to wind down somehow after a few adventures! Why not now?"

Solk looked at her with care. Something about these three warmed his heart. He had never seen innocent civilians feel so happy and alive in a time of war. Solk always had to hear cries of war and death, or he had to hear a lot of insults from unsupportive civilians. This was a unique event for him, an event he never believed would exist. He gave a soft, gentle smile as he spoke. "That sounds wonderful. Since I have no real tasks for you three, and enemy activity has died down, I think a celebration is well deserved."

Pinkie constantly hopped in joy while rambling about streamers, cake, balloons, and other party elements. Twilight trotted up to the front of the group and asked Solk a vital question. "So, have you found anymore of our friends?"

"We haven't yet," he responded in certainty, "but the scientists are currently upgrading their dubbed Element of Harmony Locator. They believe that an inter-dimensional upgrade will allow easier detection and recovery. It'll take time, but we'll notify you of the work's progress."

Rainbow Dash looked again at the suited ponies. "Hey, why are those ponies dressed in your outfits?"

"Celestia donated a portion of her soldiers to a new branch of GEST Corp.'s military. They're ED soldiers now, and I think they'll help the war by a long shot."

Twilight thought about that for a moment. ED soldiers? she thought to herself. I wonder how useful they'll be on our future missions.

•—————•

Twilight opened her treehouse door and was welcomed by cool air. Equestria at this time is usually hot enough to be somewhat a nuisance, so a house full of cooler air during that time is always a nice pleasure. She placed a few of her recovered items on a table. The communications chip was something that intrigued her when she first obtained it. Never before did she use a device that contained so many functions. She wanted to study it for further use, but she already suspected that the technology was far too advanced to learn in one day. The sun was setting outside even though it felt like four days passed, and Twilight was feeling a little sleepy.

She placed a few units on the table and a unit wallet that she was given when she purchased her armor. All of this technology was so advanced and interesting, but Twilight had little time to spare. Who knows when she'll get another call to duty. She placed a piece of scrap metal from the robots on the table as well. It looked a bit more primitive, but it was still advanced. It's not in very good shape, but it'll have to do for now, Twilight thought as she glared at the metal. She placed a bone from the crypt on the table. She knew a lot about what's inside a pony, but a human must be exciting to inspect. Lastly, she placed few leftover bits on the table.

They're not really worth too much in other worlds, so I might as well leave them, she thought again. All of these relics are pieces of what Twilight had to overcome. No matter if they held happy or sad memories, they still have value to her. She yawned as she placed the last of any bits she collected onto the table. After she checked the door and collected the communications chip, she head upstairs for her bed. She turned off any lights that were still on and tucked herself into the warm embrace of her bed.

Home sweet home, she thought to herself one last time while falling into a deep slumber. Home, sweet, home.

"Keep the past in the past, but keep the relics and memories in the present."

End of Act I: The Beginning of Disaster