Heart of Gold, Pony of Steel

Twilight met her friends at Sugar Cube Corner to explain why she was leaving. "I have to go and get something from Philly Delphia for the princess. She wants me to stay there for awhile and make sure everything is done for what she wants me there for." she said giving a nervous smile. They nodded and excepted her answer as truth. She wasn't convinced that they would fully believe her. "So you see, I have to leave for awhile, but don't worry, I'll be back!" she shouted running back to the library. She burst inside the door and was greeted by running over Spike. "AHHH! Twilight, why are you in such a hurry?" he asked. "I have to meet the princess at the castle tomorrow for very important matters. She needs me to go to Filly Delphia for awhile and-" "TWILIGHT! Slow down! So you need to go to Filly Delphia, why are you so flustered?!" he asked. "Its very important that I be there on time. This isn't just one of those times where I over react about the tiniest of things! This is an extremely bad thing we're dealing with and I need to be ready for it." she said running around gathering things for her journey.

The train pulled up to the Canterlot train station. Twilight Sparkle walked off and met Princess Luna. "Hello princess. When do I have to go? Where are the royal guards who are coming with me? What do I have to do?" she asked nervously. "Don't worry about anything Twilight Sparkle. The guards are already on the train. They will tell you what to do. Here's your ticket." she said handing her the ticket. She took it and boarded the train. She was greeted by two stallions. She didn't recognize them without their uniforms on, so she wasn't sure where to look. One was gray and the other was white. The gray one seemed to be one of Luna's guards and the white one was Celestia's guard. "Hello Ms. Sparkle. My name is Star Shield and this is Spark Plates. We are here to accompany you to Filly Delphia for the mission." said the white stallion. "So, Star Shield, are you one of Celestia's guards?" she asked. "But of course! And Spark Plates is Princess Luna's guard. The princesses thought it fair to send one of each. Just because of the threats from the Tri-Pony company." he replied. She nodded and looked out of the window as the train pulled away.

Golden Stone walked out of his office and locked the door. He was locking up his office for the night and going to his lonely and small home. He wasn't the way he acted in front of new workers, all happy and cheerful. The truth was that he was a tired old colt with a permanent gray cloud over his head. Nothing had been the same since he joined the Tri-Pony company. He never wanted to think about that day ever again, but no matter how hard he tried, the memories just kept coming back. He is standing in his house, calling out the names of his wife and his young filly. Nopony answers and he begins to worry. Out of nowhere, an old blue stallion walked in front of him. "Don't bother trying to fight me. And don't call out their names, they can't hear you. Not where they are. Too bad you wont get to see your beloved filly become the first pony to have her heart transfer into our new robots." he laughed. "What do you mean? What have you done with her!?" he yelled. "Its over now, you have no choice but to join us. Or we'll have to hurt your wife, too." he scoffed. "Fine, you win. I'll join you." he said, defeated. He was led to the Tri-Pony building and put in his office. "Great, now, where is Lilly Pad?" he asked. "She's becoming a robot. I'm not going to lie to you, it was hard to get her to stay still, but we managed. You'll see her when she's done." "What!? That wasn't part of the deal! You were supposed to let her go!" he yelled, tears starting to fall from his eyes. "You can never trust the head of an evil corporation, Golden Stone. You of all ponies should know this! I didn't think you would fall for this so easily. I really do feel bad for you now, with you being so ignorant and all. It's okay though. It will get easier once you get to know the system." he said, leaving the room. The stallion lay on the floor, staring blankly into the wall. He stared at it for 10 minutes before he started to do anything. It had been 30 years since that day, and he still couldn't forget that terrible stallion.