A few days had passed since the debacle with Trixie and the Alicorn Amulet. Gerhardt had finished the stasis device that would contain the amulet whenever he wasn’t studying or experimenting on it. The enchantments on the amulet were significantly more complex than the curse that King Sombra used to make his magic blocking black crystals. That meant it would take Gerhardt a bit more time to understand how it functioned than it would take him to understand the crystals. He estimated he would fully reverse engineer the curse used to make the crystals sometime before the end of the month. The Alicorn Amulet, on the other hand, would likely take him several months if not until some time around the beginning of next year.

He had gotten Pixel enrolled in the local schoolhouse and apparently she was getting along fairly well with most of the other students. However, apparently the school had a bully known as Diamond Tiara. He had been furious when he had learned of this though he restrained himself. Instead of doing anything rash he told Pixel to just ignore and avoid her as much as possible. As long as the arrogant little brat didn’t physically harm his daughter, then he wouldn’t do anything to intervene. Pixel reported that her ignoring the bullies was working quite well as her pretending that the brat didn’t even exist seemed to infuriate Diamond Tiara and her little follower Silver Spoon to no end.

Currently Gerhardt was at Applejack’s farm for one of his “friendship lessons”. She was supposed to be teaching him about honesty. He had left his teleportation pistol in the unfinished underground level of his lab as he had promised, since Applejack only agreed to this on the condition that he came unarmed. It was going far better than his lesson with Pinkie Pie had.

“I see. So if I am understanding this correctly honesty builds trust and trust is an integral part of friendship. That makes sense, I suppose. However, one cannot possibly be honest all the time. Sometimes deception would be required for the benefit of those around you.” Gerhardt stated.

“Eh, close enough. There’s a bit more to it than just trust but trust is definitely part of it. Also, I get where you’re comin’ from but personally I have to disagree. Sometimes sayin’ some things may hurt yer friends’ feelin’s but it’s always best to be honest. For example, Rarity has asked me how she looks in a few of her dresses in the past and I always give her my honest opinion, whether I think she looks good in it or not. It’s better to hurt her feelin’s for a little while than to let her go out in somethin’ that looks ridiculous and embarrass herself.” Applejack replied.

Gerhardt sighed and said, “I understand that sometimes it is better to tell someone something they don’t want to hear. I have had to look countless gravely injured soldiers in the eyes and tell them there was nothing we could do to help them and that they were going to die. Many accepted it without issue while many others reacted very poorly to the news. Regardless, I could never bring myself to lie to them about such a thing.”

Applejack grimaced at that. Apparently she didn’t like the idea of having to tell someone that they were going to die.

Gerhardt ignored her reaction and continued, “However, there are certain situations that lying to someone would be better for them than telling them the truth. For example, 642 years ago the High Lord of the Army branch that was in office at the time knew where the individual who started the First Necromantic War was located. However she knew that if she told me I would have gone there to fight him myself and that if I went there to fight him myself I would have been killed. So instead she lied to me and said her scouts and infiltrators were still trying to find him, and secretly sent a full battalion of soldiers to kill him. Out of the 400 soldiers she sent only three returned and one of them — a combat mage who is now regarded as a legendary hero — was carrying the bastard’s severed skull. All three of them, that combat mage included, later died of their wounds and curses. When I learned of this I was disappointed that I wasn’t the one to defeat Caedes for everything he had done but I was very glad he was finally dead. And while I was a bit angry I was also extremely grateful to that High Lord of the Army for lying to me as it kept me from doing something extremely reckless and stupid not beffiting of an individual of my rank. So in some cases, lying to someone is indeed better than telling them the truth.”

“I… Er… That’s… Huh…” Applejack didn’t seem to know how to respond to that.

Seeing that she wasn at a loss for words Gerhardt continued, “I have lived a very long time, Miss Applejack. Far longer than I should have, in fact. I have experienced much in that time. More than that, for almost a millennia I was one of five leaders of an entire nation that is constantly under threat by forces that seek to exterminate or enslave it and everyone that lives there. So I am one of the most qualified individuals in this entire world to say that sometimes lies are extremely important and honesty can sometimes lead a person or even an entire kingdom or species to damnation. That isn’t to say that honesty doesn’t have its merits in certain situations. It can be an extremely valuable tool and virtue if utilized correctly. However only a fool would never tell a lie under any circumstances because sometimes the truth can be far worse or do far more damage than any lie ever could. So strive to be as honest of an individual as you possibly can. That is a very respectable goal. However, always keep in mind that the truth is not always the correct answer in every situation.”

Applejack sighed and said, “Well shoot… Here I thought I was supposed to be the one teachin’ you about honesty… Well, I still think it’s better to be honest but I guess I do see yer point so I’ll try to keep yer advice in mind. Anyways I guess we’ll end this lesson here. I already taught ya what I know about how honesty relates to friendship, so I ain’t sure what else I could really teach ya that ya don’t already know.”

“As you wish. Though now that our lesson is over before I leave I would like to make you a business offer. Only if you would be willing to hear it of course.” Gerhardt informed her.

Applejack gave him a curious look and said, “Alright, I’ll admit I’m sorta curious so what is it?”

“Well, as you know my business is building and selling machines. So I would like to inquire if you would be interested in some farming equipment from my world, or if I could perhaps build you some custom equipment if none of what I show you piques your interest. If not, that’s perfectly fine. I’ll just allocate the materials I would be using to make these machines for you to build more equipment for my lab and the hospitals instead.” Gerhardt explained.

Applejack thought about this for a few moments. “Hmmm… I’m not sure… We Apples like to keep our farm and orchard as traditional as possible. So how ‘bout this. I’ll go get Granny Smith and Big Macintosh and you can show all three of us what yer offerin’ then the three of us will discuss it and decide if we want any of it or not.”

“Very well, and that is completely understandable. As I said, if you do not wish to purchase any of it then I will not press the issue. It is only an offer to see if you might be interested in any of it or not.” Gerhardt stated.

Applejack nodded. “Sounds reasonable enough. Just wait here. I’ll be back with Big Mac and Granny Smith in a bit.” With that she turned and walked away.

After exactly thirteen minutes and fifty seven seconds Applejack returned with two other ponies. “Granny Smith, Big Mac, this is Mr. Mechanica. Mr. Mechanica, this is Granny Smith and my older brother Big Macintosh.” Applejack introduced them.

“Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Gerhardt greeted politely.

Big Mac just nodded in greeting and said nothing. Granny Smith looked him up and down and said, “My word, you are a big one aren’t ya? Applejack told us ya wanted to offer us some sorta fancy farmin’ equipment?”

“Indeed I do. Of course, as I told Miss Applejack, it is merely an offer. If you are not interested then that is perfectly fine. I can simply use the materials elsewhere. So might you be willing to see what I have to offer?”

“Eh… Go ahead. No guarantees we’ll agree, but I suppose we may as well see what ya got.” Granny Smith stated.

“Very well. I will create optical illusions of several different machines so you can see what they look like and will explain what they all do.” Gerhardt informed them before creating an illusion of a tractor. Motioning to it he explained, “This is a tractor. It is a vehicle that can be used to pull a variety of farming implements for plowing, planting, cultivating, fertilizing, and harvesting crops. It will eliminate the need for you to do many tasks manually. Think of it like a smaller version of a train but far more versatile and not limited to driving on rails. However if you would rather continue doing things as you currently are, there is a smaller alternative.”

He created an illusion of a small truck next to the tractor. “This is called a truck. It is extremely similar to a tractor but it is smaller and isn’t designed to do the same tasks as a tractor. Instead it can be used for personal transportation and can haul materials in the built in tail bed. It also has a port in the back where one can attach a trailer or even a simple cart to transport even more materials then you would otherwise be able to. It can also serve as a viable alternative to a train if you would like to go to other towns or cities in a short amount of time. However it is not recommended to drive it while tired or under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or magic that affects one’s mind or eyesight as doing such can lead to horrific accidents. I do not say that as a slight to any of you. It’s just that there were many irresponsible people in my home kingdom that did such things and it was prevalent enough of an issue that I feel I have no choice but to warn you in advance. Wearing the built in safety harness is also highly recommended whenever you are driving at high speeds in the event of an accident. So do either of these vehicles interest any of you?”

“Well the truck might let us expand our business a bit. Plus I suppose it doesn’t interfere too much with any of our traditions since it’s basically just a fancier cart. The tractor on the other hoof is a bit much…” Applejack said, examining the two illusory vehicles.

“Yup. The truck might be fine, but I’d rather not take the tractor.” Big Macintosh nodded in agreement.

“Hm… I don’t know… The truck sounds awful dangerous…” Granny Smith stated eyeing it warily.

“All tools are dangerous if they are used improperly. Though if it makes you feel any better I would be including systems to minimize any chance of accidents occurring even if one of you were to ignore my warnings and use the truck incorrectly. Crashes were a far larger issue centuries ago when I still had flesh and bones rather than metal and circuitry. Nowadays vehicles that do not require a driver and can operate entirely on their own are the norm. They can still be operated by a driver but it is not strictly necessary. Accidents still happen when people operate vehicles manually, but they are rarer than they used to be. Though as I said, when a person is operating vehicles accidents are still prevalent enough even with the accident prevention systems in place that I still had to give you that warning. Also, I could include systems to allow it to fly so you wouldn’t have to contend with any obstacles on the ground, only birds, pegasi, clouds, and the weather. That would limit the chances of a crash even further.” Gerhardt explained.

“We’ll think about it.” Granny Smith stated, still not convinced.

“Very well. Please get back to me as soon as you come to a decision.” Gerhardt said, before letting the illusions fall. He then created an illusion of a drone in front of him. It looked like a flying saucer with a camera on the front, two metal arms on the sides with almost crab or scorpion-like pincers at the ends, a few small holes in the top and bottom for speakers, and a couple swiveling lights on either side of the camera. It had no visible propulsion system as it would have an internal telekinetic lift system to propel it.

“This next machine I have to show you is a type of golem called a drone. This one in particular could have multiple functions. I could build multiple of these for a relatively low price and they could assist you in harvesting apples from your orchard. They could also serve to scare off or dispose of any pests or local wild-life that may ruin your crops or otherwise just generally cause you trouble. They could also constantly monitor your entire farm and orchard for trespassers and/or thieves and either attempt to scare them off, incapacitate them with a built in taser or stun gun, and/or warn you of their presence.” Gerhardt informed them.

Granny Smith thought about it for a moment before saying, “I don’t know about the rest of it but scarin’ off pests and such could be useful. Could these floating thingamajigs work on timberwolves too? They wander into the orchard from the Everfree sometimes and cause all sorts of trouble all over the farm.”

Gerhardt’s eyes dimmed slightly. “What...? They actually wander out of the Everfree...? That’s a bad sign… A very bad sign indeed… Well, to answer your question I sincerely doubt that anything could actually legitimately scare these “timberwolves”. Timberwolves are not exactly normal animals. In fact they aren’t animals at all. They are artificial constructs created by the nature spirits that reside in the Everfree Forest to protect the forest and attack anything they do not like. You ponies to be specific. So the timberwolves have no actual minds, feelings, or wills of their own. Thus the only way these drones could get rid of them is if I attached weapons to them and programmed them to attack the timberwolves if they ever enter the borders of your property. The weapons I would need to attach to them would be quite dangerous as they would have to involve fire and/or explosives. That isn’t a good idea for obvious reasons. So I refuse to include those as I would rather avoid risking starting a forest fire and setting your orchard ablaze. So no these drones can not get rid of timberwolves. That being said I might be able to build a device to create a magical barrier to prevent any such constructs from entering your property at all.”

“Hmph… Well shoot… I suppose scarin’ off pests and such is good enough. We might buy a couple of these “drones”. How much would the “drones” and this magic barrier thingamajig cost?” Granny Smith inquired.

“It would be about seventy bits per drone. As for the barrier generator, after building the main device I would need to build a small tower to mount it on so it would be about five hundred and twenty bits in total.” Gerhardt explained.

Applejack shook her head and said, “No need for you to do that. We can build that tower for ya. Ain't that right, Big Mac?”

“Yup.” Big Macintosh confirmed.

“Very well. In that case it would cost about four hundred and thirty five bits, and I would need to draw up and provide you with the blueprints for the tower. Unlike the tower of a larger barrier generator meant to protect an entire city, this one doesn’t need to be made out of anything specific so wood should work just fine. So if you wish to purchase the barrier generator then I’ll get the blueprints to you by tomorrow afternoon so you can start building the tower. If you wish to purchase the drones, how many and what specifications would you like?”

“Yeah, we’ll take the barrier generator. As for the drones we’ll take… hm… four of ‘em. At least for now. If they’re as useful as you say then we might consider buyin’ a few more from ya at some point in the future. As for the specifications, we mainly want ‘em to scare off pests and crows and such.” Applejack stated.

“Very well. Then I shall go back to my lab and get started on building them for you as soon as my next shipment of materials arrives. If you come to a decision on the truck or if you think of any other machines that you might find useful, please feel free to come inform me. Good day to you all.” He said before turning and opening a portal back to his lab and stepping through.

He closed the portal behind him and was about to get back to studying the Alicorn Amulet when Pixel ran over to him with a large smile on her face and exclaimed, “Daddy! I made something for you!” Her hands were hidden behind her back so he couldn’t see whatever it was.

“Oh? And what would that be, little one?” He inquired curiously.

Pulling her hands out from behind her back she revealed a small stylized heart made of gold with a small chain attached to it. Gerhardt reached out and took it. He examined it for a moment and saw an inscription on the front that read ‘I love you daddy!’ A small smile appeared on his face as he saw that. Then he noticed a small button on the side. He pressed it and the heart folded open revealing two small illusory images inside on either half. On the left half was a picture of Gerhardt — though in the picture both of his eyes were blue instead of one being blue and the other being green like in real life — and on the right side was a picture of Pixel. Both of them were smiling.

“I see.” He continued to examine the locket for a couple moments with a smile on his face before eventually closing it. Raising one of his hands, he lowered his hood then slipped the loop of chain over his head and around the back of his neck. He then tucked the golden heart underneath his robe. “Thank you very much, Pixel. I will always keep it with me.” He said sincerely. Kneeling down he gave her a hug which she returned.

“Your welcome! I love you daddy!” Pixel chirped happily.

“I love you too, dear.” Gerhardt responded. He released her and stood back up. However, before he could do anything else there was a knock on the front door. His sensors informed him that a changeling was waiting outside. However this changeling was too powerful to be the one Queen Chrysalis had sent to stay in Ponyville until the love generator was complete. In fact it was even more powerful than he was which was a surprise to say the least. There was only one Changeling he knew of that could possibly be that powerful. Queen Chrysalis herself.

Gerhardt frowned slightly, wondering why she was here. He walked over to the door with Pixel following close behind him. Opening the door he saw that his suspicions were indeed correct. Queen Chrysalis was standing there with an annoyed expression on her face. “Queen Chrysalis. I wasn’t expecting you. So what brings you to my lab today? I assume it has something to do with the love generators that I am developing for you.”

“Hello!” Pixel greeted happily.

Queen Chrysalis looked at Pixel in a way that set Gerhardt on edge. He didn’t like the way she was looking at his daughter. He didn’t say anything about it as he knew for a fact that she was perfectly aware of all of his emotions, so he let those emotions serve as a warning in and of itself. Queen Chrysalis continued staring at her for a few moments before looking back at Gerhardt. “I was unaware you had a child.” She commented.

“No I imagine not. She’s very new… Pixel, it would appear that Queen Chrysalis and I have a few things we must discuss. So how about you head to Sugar Cube Corner and buy yourself a couple treats. Here’s a few bits.” Gerhardt said in a serious tone, handing Pixel a small handful of bits which he pulled out of a portal.

“Alright. Thank you daddy!” She replied, taking the bits and putting them in one of the small alligator leather satchels on the belt of her robes. She then gave Gerhardt a quick hug before running off, leaving Gerhardt and Queen Chrysalis alone.

“Hm… It seems that she genuinely loves you. Though it would appear that the feeling is not truly mutual. The love you feel towards her is tainted by reluctance and is clearly completely forced and artificial. I assume you did this to yourself?” Queen Chrysalis inquired.

Gerhardt sighed and said, “Indeed. However our emotions are none of your concern. We are not your prey, “Changeling”. I saw the way you were looking at her. So just know that if you even consider trying to feed on either of us then I will not hesitate to kill you. While I do not want an entire kingdom as my enemy, I guarantee you do not want me as your enemy.”

Queen Chrysalis glared at him. Not about to back down he just glared back, looking her dead in the eyes. This went on for a couple moments before Queen Chrysalis turned her head and scoffed. “Enough of this! You are taking far too long to build this Love Generator! I demand to see what progress you’ve made for myself!” Queen Chrysalis growled at him.

Gerhardt rolled his eyes. “Yes, developing new technology is usually a slow process so I would request that you be patient but as you wish. Please feel free to come in. I’ll show you the latest iteration of the device.” He then turned and walked back to the main work area of his lab. Chrysalis followed after him.

Motioning to a twelve inch by twelve inch silver cube on the table he said, “This is it. Here, allow me to activate it for you.” He then flipped a switch on the side and turned the dial all the way to maximum. “This one won’t explode like the proof of concept I showed you back in Canterlot, but it still isn’t robust enough to withstand being fed on for more than about a week before requiring maintenance. I’m trying my best to get it to the point where it can last at least a few months to half a year of constantly being fed on by at least a hundred of you simultaneously before requiring maintenance. However the way you feed is quite… intense, shall we say, so it is rather difficult to build it in such a way as to withstand the strain you put upon its circuitry. Thus the reason why it is taking so long. In the meantime, feel free to test it for yourself if you wish.”

Queen Chrysalis opened her mouth and a stream of pink energy began flowing out of the device and into her mouth. This went on for a few minutes before she eventually closed her mouth cutting off the stream of pink energy and said, “Hmph, at least it tastes better than the first one. I don’t care what it takes, just hurry the buck up and finish it!”

Gerhardt frowned at her. “My word, you are quite bossy. Look I used to be a leader of a nation myself so don’t give a damn if you’re a queen or not. I do not live in your kingdom therefore I am not one of your subjects so you have zero power over me. So do not try to push me around as if I am one of your servants otherwise I will throw you out of my lab and will never allow you back inside.”

Queen Chrysalis gave him a death glare which he completely ignored.

Continuing on he said, “What you seem to fail to realize is that I am the one who has all the power in this arrangement. The only thing I have to do is build this fucking device for you and as you can clearly see I have already done so. As such I could easily just build a few machines to mass produce this specific model or perhaps even a previous iteration which will break and require maintenance constantly. The only reason I do not do just that and force you to either pay me to repair them all or to purchase new ones from me every couple of days or so is because my morals and my pride as a technomancer prevent me from doing so. However, if you continue your arrogant attitude then perhaps my opinion on the matter shall change… You wouldn’t want that now would you?”

At this point Queen Chrysalis was openly snarling at him in indignant fury. “No… I wouldn’t…” She growled at him through bared teeth.

“That’s what I thought. Then I would highly suggest that you learn some gods damned respect as I refuse to tolerate your belligerent attitude. Now, if there is nothing else you have seen the progress I have made so now I believe it is time for you to leave.” Gerhardt stated.

“Fine… I’ll leave for now…” She hissed before marching off towards the front door. She opened it but before she left she said, “Congratulations on your new daughter… She loves you quite a lot… Quite a lot indeed...” There was a somewhat ominous tone in her voice.

Gerhardt glared at Queen Chrysalis. “Are you attempting to use her to threaten me?” He inquired in a dangerously calm tone.

Queen Chrysalis didn’t respond and instead just walked out of his lab closing the door behind her.

Gerhardt gritted his teeth in complete and utter outrage. This is one of the largest reasons he never wanted any family or friends, they could easily be used against him. Well now that he had a daughter, whether he liked that fact or not, he refused to allow anyone to threaten her just to get to him. A pitch black aura surrounded his body as he walked over and began staring at the Alicorn Amulet which was currently suspended in stasis. He began plotting how best to go about guaranteeing his and Pixel’s safety. He would not… No. He could not accept any margin for error or even the slightest flaws or imperfections in his plans whatsoever. Even the slightest flaw could prove absolutely catastrophic.

The first thing he realized as he plotted was that for whatever he was going to do he was going to need more money and lots of it in order to buy as much materials as physically possible. He had already started receiving a fairly substantial amount of income from the book the princesses had published for him. So arguably one of the fastest ways for him to make more money would be for him to start printing and publishing more books. He would have to avoid writing anything on technomancy or biomancy for quite some time until his business had expanded significantly so he wouldn’t have to deal with any sort of competition in the market. Competition would mean he would be earning less money so he had to avoid that at all costs if he wanted to truly guarantee the safety of his daughter and thus his own safety.

He was going to need to build himself a new body, combat golems, construction golems, combat drones, rockets, missiles, bombs, weapons of mass destruction, barrier generators, multiple factories some of which would need to be hidden most likely underground, and so much more. Thus far he had been trying to be patient and take his time slowly building up his business. Now that Queen Chrysalis had threatened to hurt Pixel, however, he had decided it was officially time for that to change. This relatively peaceful world had lulled him into complacency but now he was done being complacent and was going to start being much more proactive. And if necessary he would make sure Queen Chrysalis regretted the fact that she had ever threatened his daughter, that is if she lived long enough to regret it in the first place.

For a brief moment he considered killing a few animals in the Everfree Forest and using necromancy to create some of the worst monstrosities unleashed by Caedes during the First Necromantic War as a final contingency if he were ever to die or if something were to ever truly happen to Pixel. However he immediately dismissed the notion. Things were not so bad that he would allow himself to stoop to Caedes’ sordid level. He was absolutely disgusted with himself that he had allowed such a thought to have crossed his mind for even so much as a nano second. He would do much to ensure the safety of Pixel but he would never resort to that.

Still while something so morally reprehensible as the darker aspects of necromancy were out of the question, a few hidden intercontinental ballistic missiles loaded with multi-megaton antimatter or eleven spatial dimensional warheads were definitely a viable option. Lasers, particle beams, magic weapons, teleportation weapons, multi-spatial dimensional weapons, and WMD deployment platforms stationed in orbit of the planet were also an option. He would spare no expense to ensure no one could ever use his daughter against him.

He could no longer abide having even the smallest, most insignificant of weaknesses. To that end the very first thing he did was use what few materials he had left over in order to start building the augmentation that would finally replace his frontal lobe. Organic matter was a weakness thus he was now determined to get rid of what very little organic matter he had left. To the infernal realm with whether or not he could truly be considered human after this.

[Meanwhile on Earth]

High Lord Mechanica Mk. 2 as the R&D branch had dubbed him was currently shouting orders through his built in communication systems. The Serpentine Republic had officially joined forces with Silvanus and had led several major assaults on the Human Kingdom. As such, he was currently leading the R&D branch in a retaliatory assault on their kingdom.

It was currently midday but the sky was almost pitch black with storm clouds making everything as black as a completely moon and starless night. The only illumination were the lights of the currently burning city, the flashes of the lightning, explosions, gunfire, combat and war spells being cast, and the absolutely vicious battle between Lanius and Silvanus that was currently raging in the sky above the city. Thus it was actually fairly easy to see even without his eyes’ night vision mode all things considered. Unnaturally heavy rain and hail pelted down from the sky accompanied by all sorts of different bullets, bombs, and artillery shells. The sheer percussion of all the gunfire, explosions, crumbling buildings, and the unnatural amount of lightning was enough to cause what felt like a mild earthquake.

A vicious scowl was spread across his normally emotionless silver face and his crimson red eyes glowed like flashlights in rage. He fired his arcane rifle at an enemy tank that was a fair distance away and caused it to explode like a small bomb.

The first thing he had learned upon his initial activation was that the R&D branch had built him to replace the real Gerhardt because they were too gods damned incompetent to decide on anyone else as the next High Lord. Then he learned what had happened to the real Gerhardt and that the kingdom was currently at war with Silvanus. Then he had learned how many hundreds of thousands if not millions of people had died from Silvanus’ rampage across the Human Kingdom before the R&D branch had finished building him. Now every kingdom in the entire world was involved and this war had officially turned into a second War of Survival. So to say he was furious was an understatement. His E.P.U. was damn near on the verge of melting from the immense anger and hatred he currently felt.

He saw a squad of serpents stealthily advancing on the skyscraper sized Super Heavy Combat golem he was currently escorting and defending. His upgraded sensors informed him that each of them were carrying powerful bombs. They were clearly trying to sabotage the golem.

Snarling at them a black and green aura engulfed his hands as he cast a pain curse upon all of their very souls so they would continue to experience the agony of the curse even after he killed them. A copper aura then replaced the black and green aura as he lifted each of the screaming serpents up into the air with a telekinetic spell. He then proceeded to rip each of their entire skeletons apart down to the very last bone. Finally he remotely armed their bombs and tossed their ruined gory remains far off in different directions towards the city and the Serpentine Republic’s nearest troop formation. Fifteen seconds later each of the bombs on their ruined bodies exploded. Some did damage while others exploded harmlessly in the middle of nowhere having landed too far from their intended targets to really matter.

He was significantly more powerful than the original Gerhardt. The R&D branch had used necromancy to ensure his soul would form in such a way as to ensure he was as powerful as physically possible for a mortal mage. So to him that little display of violence was nothing.

Some of the troops around him stared at him in horror, clearly absolutely terrified by what they just witnessed him do to those serpents. “What are you looking at me for?! DO YOUR FUCKING JOBS AND KEEP FIRING AT THE GODS DAMNED ENEMY!” High Lord Mechanica roared at his soldiers. He knew that this was not how he should be treating his men if he wanted to inspire their confidence and loyalty, but right now he was far too stressed and angry to care. They all quickly rushed to follow his orders and returned to what they had been doing before they heard the serpents tortured screams.

Activating his built in communication systems High Lord Mechanica said, “Lord Lanius, in two minutes I will be ordering every super heavy combat golem in the area to fire at Silvanus all at once. So I highly suggest you either get clear or put up some significant defenses as this is going to be quite painful even for a god.”

“Understood, golem. I only need exactly thirty seconds to get enough distance from him. After that you may fire whenever you wish.” Came Lanius’ reply.

The High Lord took note of this and decided to have them all fire at Silvanus in exactly thirty seconds rather than in two minutes. After thirty seconds had passed he activated his com system again and declared on all human channels, “This is High Lord Mechanica. All Heavy and Super Heavy Combat golems, tanks, and artillery units are to simultaneously fire on Silvanus on my mark… Mark!”

Suddenly the entire area went from dark as the blackest of nights to almost blindingly bright as every single one of humanity’s most powerful conventional weapons fired at Silvanus all at once. The resulting roar was loud enough to rupture the eardrums of anyone that wasn’t either augmented or wearing significant ear protection. The concussive blast was enough to temporarily disperse a large section of the unnatural storm clouds and cause many buildings in the city to completely collapse. The High Lord watched the massive explosion in the sky with an expression that was so filled with complete and utter hatred that it would give a demon pause.

He knew Silvanus had survived that but he honestly didn’t care. He swore that he was going to find a way to destroy the bastard one way or the other. Even if it cost him his life he was going to destroy Silvanus. Even if he had to wipe these damnable Serpents and their gods forsaken allies off the face of the Earth and completely erase them from the history books. Even if he had to resort to using necromancy or damning himself to burn within the infernal realm by selling his soul to the Devil himself. Even if it took him the rest of eternity! No matter what lengths he had to go to in order to accomplish it, Silvanus was going to be wiped from existence. He was going to make damn sure of it! He wouldn’t even be satisfied with just killing him either. He would destroy the bastard’s very soul for everything he had done!

Anything for his kingdom. Anything for Humanity. Anything to avenge all the innocent men, women, children, and soldiers who died because of this monstrous nature god. There was simply no cost too great.

[In Ponyville twelve days later]

Twilight was starting to get a bit worried. Gerhardt had been acting very odd recently. If it was even possible he seemed to be working even harder than usual and was acting even colder and more distant than normal. He still attended his last friendship lesson without issue — it had been a repeat lesson with Pinkie Pie since the last one with her hadn’t gone very well — but that was it. She had tried to come over to his lab to learn more about technomancy a couple of times in the past few days but he had completely refused to even so much as let her into his lab. He hadn’t even answered the door. He had just opened a small portal to the front door while continuing whatever he was doing and said he was too busy to deal with her and pretty much told her to go away. He had put it into more polite terms than that but still.

She couldn’t help but wonder what happened to cause this sudden change of behaviour. Something must have happened but she had absolutely no idea what it could possibly be. She had tried to go over to his lab to ask him but he had just turned her away again. It was so strange.

Apparently he still took orders for more metal thread and fabric from Rarity and delivered them but even then he didn’t actually let her in his lab. It seemed like he was trying to keep everypony out. The only one he ever let in was his daughter Pixel for obvious reasons.

Wait… That gave her an idea! If anypony were to know what’s going on with Gerhardt it would be Pixel! School should already be over for the day so if Twilight was lucky she should be able to find Pixel somewhere in Ponyville.

“Spike, you take care of the library for a little while. I have something I need to do in town.” Twilight said before walking over to the door and exiting the library. Knowing how much Pixel loved desserts like cake the first place she decided to look was Sugar Cube Corner. Low and behold, there Pixel was walking out eating a doughnut with a large smile on her face.

“Hi there Pixel! How are you?” Twilight greeted as she approached the golem.

“Oh, hey Miss Twilight!” Pixel responded between bites. “I’m alright, I guess… I’m a little sad but it’s fine…”

Twilight gave her a somewhat concerned look. “Oh? What’s wrong? Does it have something to do with Gerhardt? I’ve noticed that he’s been acting a bit strange lately.”

“Yeah… He’s been really busy lately… He hasn’t even been humming my lullaby to me at night like he had every night since he bought a bed for me… Whenever I try to ask if I can help him he always tells me no… The only time I really even get to talk to him is my daily lessons with him…” Pixel muttered dejectedly, her smile having completely faded from her face.

Twilight frowned at that. “I see. Do you have any ideas on what could have caused this sudden change in behaviour? I would like to help but I can’t if I don’t know what caused the issue in the first place.”

Pixel shook her head. “I don’t know… He started acting like this after that scary lady came by awhile ago.”

“Scary lady? Do you know who this scary lady was?” Twilight inquired curiously. She was still getting used to the strange terminology that Gerhardt and Pixel used. Given the context she assumed the word “lady” was referring to a pony. Though she still had no idea whether it was meant to refer to a stallion or a mare.

“He said her name was Queen Chrysalis. I think she’s supposed to be one of this world’s version of Changelings. At first I thought he might have been taken and replaced since that’s apparently what Changelings from this world do, but I can still wirelessly connect to his systems so I know that it’s still really him.” Pixel explained.

“Hm… I’m honestly not sure whether that’s a relief or if that’s even more concerning than if he had actually been foalnapped by Queen Chrysalis…” Twilight said half to herself and half to Pixel. “I assume she came to check on the status of the love generators Gerhardt’s building for her and her hive. Though that alone shouldn’t have caused him to react like this… Hm… Maybe she said or did something to him? But what could she have said or done to him that would cause him to react like this? She wouldn’t dare attack or threaten him otherwise she would be compromising the peace treaty and would immediately lose access to the love generators that he’s building for her. With the state the changeling hive is in she can’t afford that. So what could it be?”

“Mental illusion magic?” Pixel suggested uncertainly. “Daddy told me it can be used to manipulate people and change how they act.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m sure he would have seen that coming and would have been able to do something to protect himself. He has to be acting like this of his own accord. That’s why I find it so strange… Hm… I think the only way to find out what happened would be to ask him but given his recent behaviour I don’t think he would be willing to take the time to talk to me about it.”

“I can help! Daddy may be really busy lately but he always listens to me even if he doesn’t always respond!” Pixel exclaimed before finishing off her doughnut.

“That’s a great idea! Thank you Pixel! If you have time we could head there now.” Twilight said.

“Okay!” Pixel chirped before turning and opening a portal back to the lab.

Twilight jolted in surprise and stared at the portal with a shocked expression on her face. “Wow… I see he’s been teaching you a lot. He’s explained that spell to me before and it’s really difficult. I’m honestly surprised that a filly like you is actually capable of using it. I’m impressed.”

Pixel tilted her head and stared at Twilight in confusion. “Hm? It’s just a portal. It’s not that hard of a spell. Anyone should be able to do it. After daddy explained how to do it and showed me, I was able to do it on my first try. Or is this another pony thing like how the other kids in my class sometimes get bad grades or fail tests despite the fact Miss Cheerilee has already taught that lesson before and they should have already read the textbooks? I know that I read faster than everyone else but they’ve all had the text books longer than I have so they should have already finished them.”

Twilight gave Pixel a curious and slightly concerned look. “Pixel, if you don’t mind me asking, how good is your memory?”

“What do you mean?” Pixel asked, not understanding the question.

“I mean do you ever forget things? Even tiny details?” Twilight explained.

“Hm… Nope. I remember everything. Sometimes things slip my mind but I never really forget them. I even remember exactly what I was thinking when I was first activated. Why? Is it even possible to forget things?” Pixel inquired.

Twilight sighed and said, “Yeah that would explain it. I should have known… Pixel, your brain works a bit differently than everypony else's. Gerhardt designed it so that your memory is legitimately perfect, or as close to perfect as it can possibly get. Organic brains are not designed to work like that. Organic ponies are actually capable of forgetting things. That’s part of the reason we have so much trouble learning certain things. That’s why Miss Cheerilee teaches certain things multiple times, to help your classmates remember them. That’s why they can get bad grades while you don’t.”

Pixel frowned at that. “But… Why? That doesn’t make any sense. Why would your brains be designed to forget things? Who made you and why would they do that to you?”

“No pony made us. We evolved naturally. So did humans like Gerhardt. He used to be organic too and more than likely had similar limitations as us. Thus the reason why he replaced most of his body with augmentations. You are very different from organic beings Pixel, and those differences are beautiful and make you very special. You likely have none of the issues or limitations that organic beings do. You will never get sick, you will never grow old, you will never truly need to breathe, sleep, drink, or eat, and you will probably live forever unlike the rest of us.” Twilight explained. She was legitimately surprised that Gerhardt hadn’t already had this conversation with Pixel yet. It was very important that she knew all of this.

An absolutely devastated look spread across Pixel’s face. “Y-you’re going to die? You won’t live forever like me and daddy?” She said in a distressed tone. The portal wavered for a moment before fading from existence. Pixel ran over to Twilight and wrapped her arms around her neck in a tight hug. “No! Please don’t die, Miss Twilight! I don’t want you to go!” Pixel sobbed. Her eyes may not produce any tears like organic beings, but apparently Gerhardt had actually given Pixel the ability to cry.

Twilight gave Pixel a sympathetic look and patted her on the back. She couldn’t imagine what that must be like, knowing you would live forever and would have to watch all of your friends grow old and die without you. It had to be absolutely terrible. Now she felt bad for telling Pixel all of this. A filly like her shouldn’t have to deal with something like that. Then she realized that maybe this was why Gerhardt hadn’t explained to Pixel the differences between her and everypony else yet and guilt began to gnaw at her. “Shh… Shh… It’s alright. I promise that I’m not going to die any time soon. Most ponies live until their late eighties to nineties. I still have quite a ways to go until that point.” She said in a comforting tone.

Twilight spent the next few minutes consoling the distraught golem. Eventually Pixel started to calm down enough that she finally stopped crying. “Feel better?” Twilight inquired.

“No…” Pixel muttered sadly.

Twilight sighed and said, “Maybe we should put off going to talk to Gerhardt about whatever is going on with him until tomorrow. For now, how about I buy you another doughnut or a few cupcakes. You probably really need them right now.”

“You don’t need to…” Pixel muttered.

Twilight shook her head. “No, I insist. I’m the one who made you so sad, it’s only right that I make it up to you.”

“Alright…” Pixel muttered still sounding extremely sad.

Twilight then bought a few cupcakes for Pixel, and the two of them continued talking for a while. Eventually Pixel had to head home, so the two of them said their goodbyes and parted ways. Later that night Pixel took off her boots and climbed in bed. Just like the past few nights Gerhardt didn’t come up to hum her lullaby to her. She fell asleep feeling extremely sad and alone.

Her dreams were not pleasant. She saw images of all of her friends off in the distance but whenever she got even close to them they would crumble to dust and disappear. She was sobbing in her dreams. “Please, come back… Please don’t leave me alone… Please…” She begged desperately but no matter how much she begged each and every last one of her friends would crumble to dust and would never come back. One after the other they fell until there was no one left but her. Her sitting alone crying in a dusty black void. The only person who hadn’t crumbled to dust was Gerhardt, but he was never in her nightmare to begin with.

Suddenly the black void was filled with stars and a full moon. Then Princess Luna descended from the moon and landed next to Pixel, who hadn’t even noticed the changes to her dream or that Luna was next to her and was still curled up into a ball crying into her knees. Luna sat down next to Pixel and asked, “What’s wrong little one? Why are you so sad?”

Pixel hesitantly raised her head and looked at Princess Luna. She waited for a moment, expecting her to crumble to dust too just like all the others. When she didn't, Pixel said, “E-everyone’s dead… Everyone ex-except me… I’ll live for-forever… All… All alone while… while everyone else is deeeaaad!” She then resumed sobbing into her knees.

Princess Luna gave the little golem a sympathetic and understanding look. “I see… So you are immortal and you finally learned just how terrible it can be… I know how that feels, being immortal myself. There are many ponies that I used to consider friends who have died long ago. It is truly horrible knowing that you will live forever while those around you will eventually grow old and die. However, that’s exactly why each and every friendship is so important to those who are immortal like us. Each one is special in its own way. And while those friends may eventually grow old and die and we will always miss them terribly we will still always have our memories of them which we can cherish for all eternity.” She explained.

“I don’t want them to die! I don’t want to be alone!” Pixel sobbed.

Princess Luna wrapped a wing around Pixel and said, “I know, little one. None of us ever want our friends to die. That’s actually part of the reason that I completely disagree with my sister’s decision to try to force your father to learn about friendship as it is a terrible if beautiful burden for immortals like us. However it’s simply a part of life that every immortal must learn to know and accept. I know it’s hard and it will never be easy but eventually you will learn to deal with it and keep moving despite the pain. And if it makes you feel any better, there are a few that you can always count on that will never grow old or die. The first is your father, Gerhardt. He is just as immortal as either of us. Then there is also myself, my sister, and Princess Cadance. All four of us will always be there to help you cope with the pain of the loss every step of the way.”

“R-Really…?” Pixel inquired, raising her head again and looking at Princess Luna.

Princess Luna smiled at her. “Of course. We would never leave you to deal with this burden all on your own. And earlier you said everypony is dead but I can assure you that is not the case. At least not yet. Whatever you saw isn’t real, this is just a dream. The only things that are real in this place are you and me. When you wake up everypony will still be there waiting for you and they will be for many decades to come. So you needn’t fret. At least not for quite some time as they all still have very long lives ahead of them. They will not be leaving you any time soon. Just remember to love and cherish them for what limited time you have to spend with them.”

“Okay…” Pixel muttered starting to calm down a little.

“I would stay a bit longer, but I’m afraid my duties demand I leave for the moment. So for now I will leave you with a much more pleasant dream.” Princess Luna stated before standing up. A dark blue aura appeared around her horn for a moment. Suddenly their surroundings changed and they were standing in the middle of Ponyville. All of Pixel’s friends were there and this time so was Gerhardt.

Author's Note

Well this chapter is finally done. It's not as long as I wanted it to be, but I suppose this will have to do. Sorry this one took so long to write. I sort of needed a short break after the train wreck that was Chapter 9.

Fun Fact: Immortality can reeeaaally suck. Especially if you're as kind and caring as Pixel. So while to Gerhardt it is something of a blessing, to Pixel it is very much a curse. After all, who would want to watch all of their friends grow old and die?

Fun Fact #2: While High Lord Mechanica Mk. 2 may be a perfect mind clone of Gerhardt, he's not actually acting exactly the same way Gerhardt would act. There are some minor differences due to the fact that he knows he's a mind clone and all the chaos that he had just been thrown into and is now being forced to deal with. While his personality is pretty much exactly the same, he's just a little bit angrier and more aggressive than the actual Gerhardt would be, if that wasn't already blatantly obvious.

Fun Fact #3: The end of the chapter was actually sort of hard to write. I was legitimately tearing up a bit. When I'm writing I tend to get a bit too into it and sort of start emulating the emotions of the characters in any given scene, though obviously to a much lesser degree than what they're actually feeling. So when they get angry, I get angry. When they're happy, I am happy. And when they are sad, I am sad. I am not sure if that is a good or bad habit to be perfectly honest.

Anyways, as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome. Please, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and how you think I could improve if at all. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much if not more than I enjoyed writing it!

Edit: I realized that something Twilight said in regards to Equestria's mental magic doesn't make sense given what is displayed in the show. So I cut that part out. I might replace it with something else later.