MINIFIC MAYHEM

The impossible stood where naught had been the night before. Looming over the Everfree forest on its innumerable spidery legs of steel. Its proboscis glittering in the afternoon sun. In a swift motion it would dip into the earth, mosquito like, only to rise again. Earth and vegetation crumbling away from its metallic jaws. Even from the relative safety of Ponyville its deceptively graceful movements shook the earth. Those who first saw it mistook it for some beast. Twilight soon corrected. Machine.

But from where? No Pony could build such a device. Its form was devoid of magic. It had no harmony with the earth. How absurd to build such with only bare hooves or paws or talons!

A small contingent of pony-folk had gathered in the field that buffered Ponyville from the forest. Each discussing what should be done, or could be done, about the hulking contraption.

"Maybe we could reason with it, it had to have come from somewhere, and it's been particularly careful about avoid..."

Twilight began to speculate further, but Rainbow Dash had other ideas,

"I say we smash it!"

Fluttershy flinched away from her boisterous fellow pegasi.

"I-if it can be reasoned with, m-maybe we could ask it to not be so loud?"

Applejack just gave Rainbow Dash a knowing look. "Eeyup. I reckon RD is right. I mean c'mon Twilight, a machine that thinks? That's silly!"

“Well, maybe it doesn’t think like we do,” Twilight giggled at AJ. A dear friend, yes. But still something of a rube. “In Canterlot we had tabulating machines to help us collect census data. We’ve imagined that more complex machines are possible, bu...”

“We don’t need a lecture Twi! Just lemme fly closer for a better look!”

Rainbow Dash had been getting more and more agitated the entire time, nimbly dancing from hoof to hoof. Her hooves barely touched the ground.

Twilight sighed, “if you must, just be careful!”

Rainbow Dash practically lept through the air at no further prompt from Twilight. She sped off through the air with a lingering and rather sarcastic, “Yes mom!”

Applejack gave Twilight a concerned look, “Ah hope she comes back alright. That thing... that thing just ain’t natural!”

A nearby bubble-flanked pegasi giggled, “I think it’s from space!”