//------------------------------// // Episode 101: Dawn of the Equine Bomber, Pt. 1 (Pilot): // Story: Mega Pony: Season One // by Monty Eggman //------------------------------// Episode 101: Dawn of the Equine Bomber, Pt. 1 (Pilot): --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Equestria; Castle of the Two Sisters / Year 10XX, Equestrian Calender] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Deep within the mysterious and often dangerous Everfree Forest, a violent struggle was taking place. Although the skies were as dark as night, and the full moon was visible, it was actually supposed to be morning, 7:43 AM to be precise. The reason for this bizarre phenomenon was clear: Princess Luna, one of the two Alicorns that ruled over all of Equestria had suddenly refused to perform her duty of lowering the moon. Jealous because of the love and attention that her older sister, Princess Celestia, was getting, Luna vowed that the sun would never rise again, and that the lands would forever be cloaked in everlasting night. Despite Celestia's protests, Luna would not listen to reason, and her feelings of jealousy and bitterness changed her, both physically and mentally. The loving sister that Celestia knew was gone, replaced by a monster named Nightmare Moon. It was inevitable that the two would clash in a battle that the elder sister knew would have no winner, no matter who survived the fight. In a last-ditch attempt, Princess Celestia did the only thing she thought she could do for the good of all of her subjects: She called upon the most powerful force in all of Equestria, the Elements of Harmony. Their combined powers proved too much for Nightmare Moon... "No...NO!!! Thou cannot do this to us!!!" the malevolent mare shouted. "...Forgive me, Luna..." said Celestia, a small tear escaping from her right eye. "I wish there was another way, I truly do..." She then looked up at the beast that was once her sister, with an expression on her face that seemed to be both angry and sad. "But for the good of everypony in Equestria...I have to do this. So, henceforth...I now banish you to the very moon you control for eternity!!" And with those words, the beams of light that emitted from the Elements of Harmony combined together, overwhelming Nightmare Moon. "Rrrgh! RRRGGHHH!!! This is not over, Elder Sister!!!" she screamed. "We promise thee...We WILL escape thine banishment!! We WILL seeketh our revenge!!! And thine kingdom will belong only to us...!!!!!" As she shouted her last threatening words, the former Princess Luna was whisked away to the moon for what everypony believed to be for eternity... The battle was over. Celestia had won. But she was not happy... --------------------------------------------------------------------- [From the Memoirs of Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To the pony who reads this: I have written these documents in hopes that those who look upon them will be able to learn from them. To learn from both my accomplishments...and from my mistakes. My name is Celestia, Princess of the country of Equestria, both its ruler and its guardian. In the many, many years that I have been Equestria's active ruler, I had achieved many great things, and everypony looked up to me as both their protector and for guidance. However, nopony's life, not even my own, has been perfect. There have been times where I feel that I could have done more, or should have done something differently. But the action that I regret most of all...was having to banish Luna, my own sister, to the moon when she became that...that thing. Equestria may have gained a victory that day, but I felt that I did not. After all, I lost my only sister that day; a sister that I loved with all my heart. While this was the main reason that I regretted this action of mine, it was not the only reason. Days after the first Nightmare Moon incident, I suddenly came to a grim realization: What would happen to the land that I loved so much...if, Heaven forbid, something were to happen to ME? I didn't want to think about it, but it was something that I was not going to leave to chance. I wanted to make sure that, no matter what became of me, that my country would be safe. After coming to this realization, I began coming up with ideas that would ensure the overall safety of Equestria and my subjects. One of those ideas was the forming of the Earth-Unicorn-Pegasi of the Protective Pony Platoons, or simply the E.U.P. Guard for short. Made up of the best, brightest, and strongest of each of the three races, they would be the first line of defense against any enemy. It was not long after that, one year to be exact, that during the celebration of the First Celestial Year of Peace, that the impressive display of General Firefly's Pegasi squadron led to the creation of the aerial fighting force known today as the Wonderbolts. To this day, they proved themselves to be the most effective means of protecting the country. It was truly a glorious time indeed... The next decision I made to improve the safety of Equestria involved the School for Gifted Unicorns: I had already established this facility to help Unicorns with exceptional magical abilities to hone and perfect their skills. However, after the first Nightmare Moon incident, I made significant improvements to the classes that specialized in the use of offensive and defensive spells for use in battle. I authorized the teaching of more powerful magic in those classes. Until then, I never once thought that such spells would ever be necessary in such a peaceful country. Back then, I never gave it much thought, but I feel I made the right decision...at least, I hoped that I had. While these new decisions gave me a better peace of mind, they did not dispell my uneasiness completely. I still felt more could be done to protect my country. I am not sure what made me think of such a thing or why, but at that moment, I came up with another idea: creating an artifical pony that would be powerful enough to ensure the safety of all. It was an...interesting idea to say the least, but also one that would prove most elusive. Such a thing had never been done, or even attempted, in Equestria before. Thus, information on the subject was next to non-existent, and at first, it seemed that such knowledge was beyond even my understanding... The next few centuries passed by; it all seemed like a blur to me. I watched generation after generation of ponies live and work in peace. I saw young fillies and colts, who at first didn't know what their purposes in life were, become productive, even massively successful, members of society. For a time, the peace of Equestria was maintained, thanks to the decisions I made so long ago. This century, however, proved to be a very fascinating one indeed, especially on the day that I met a young Unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, who was taking a test to be accepted into the School for Gifted Unicorns. Her display of magical power was amazing; I had never encountered such powerful magic before. And when I saw the cutie mark that appeared upon her, I knew she was meant for a greater role in the future. So I took it upon myself to teach her everything I knew to prepare her for whatever her destiny had in store for her. Back then, however, I just hoped that this student of mine would prove to be better off than a previous student that I had... During the time that I was Twilight's teacher in magic, she learned many things from me. But I also seemed to learn from her; it was a true bond between teacher and student. She was not the only pony to learn new things, as I continued to refine my own skills and mind. Then one day, I came across amazing information on a new type of knowledge: the science of robotics, the creation of artifical life. Once I learned of this, I wasted no time in trying to find out more on this subject. This was the answer to the problem that eluded me so many centuries ago. Once I felt that I knew enough about this science, I immediately began work on a new idea: The creation of a suitable guardian of Equestria. As the years went by, I continued work on my project. Any free time that I had on my hooves that was not spent making decisions, teaching my student, or anything particularly important, was used in the creation of this new life. Using what I knew on robotics, as well as my own strong desires, I carefully and painstakingly built my creation, placing every part, wire, and circuit in their proper place. My work on the project hit a few sangs, however, when certain incidents arose, such as the return of my sister as Nightmare Moon, the sudden and unexpected arrival of Discord, the attack by the Changelings, and the reappearance of the Crystal Empire. Still, despite these temporary setbacks, I was determined to finish my work. And while my faithful student and her newfound friends have done well to protect Equestria and its citzens, and while I am confident in their abilities, I do not want to continue to put them in any more danger than what they have already experienced so far. Eventually, I was able to complete the construction of the robot's body. I built it to look like a real pony in almost every imaginable way. The project was kept in total secrecy: No pony knew about my work on the robot. Not my guards, not my advisors, not my student and her friends, and not even my own sister, Luna. It wasn't that I didn't trust them with such a secret, but I had my own reasons for not telling anypony. But I knew they would have to know soon, as my creation was nearly finished. As of writing this portion of my memoirs, I am also writing a suitable program to be downloaded into my creation's brain, or "CPU" as I heard it was called. This programming would not only allow my creation to fulfill its assigned duties, but also allow it to act as a normal pony. My goal wasn't simply to make a war machine; far from it. I wanted to create a life that would not only perform admirably to protect others, but also have a reason to WANT to do it. I wanted it to make friends with the ponies that it would have to protect. As I have learned from the letters that Twilight and her friends have sent me, the desire to protect those that you consider to be your friends is quite a powerful feeling. I want my creation to have that same desire, so that it will protect everypony without having to think about it, and not just simply because that's what it was programmed to do. I also have plans for another function for this robot; a function that will encourage it to accept help from anypony willing to fight for the greater good. While I want it to be capable of handling most threats alone, I know that some forces may be too powerful for a pony to face alone, and that is the reason for this new device. Once the programming is complete and all of its other functions are ready to go, I will finally be ready to unveil my creation to the ponies that I trust the most. From that point on, I can only wait and see if my work will truely be a success... --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Equestria / Year 20XX, Equestrian Calender] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The mid-morning sun shone brightly in the sky above, a sign that today was going to be a pleasent day for many, especially in the small, quiet town of Ponyville. Although the town was not quite as big as other places in Equestria, such as the royal city of Canterlot or the vast metropolis that was Manehatten, it was the ideal home for the ponies that lived there. Everypony knew each other, was kind to each other for the most part, and the overall look and feel of the place was soothing to the soul. What it may have lacked in size and notoriety, it more than made up for in serenity and good-natured citizens. Trotting down the streets of Ponyville on this day was a young female Unicorn, heading for a specific destination. She had a white coat and a beautiful, swirly violet mane and tail. Her eyes were dark blue in color, and her eyelids were topped off with light-blue eyeshadow and large eyelashes. Her other most defining feature, of course, was the emblem that was proudly displayed on either side of her rear, known as a "cutie mark". The mark that was there was a picture of three blue, four-sided diamonds. On her back were a pair of bags, with latches that resembled her cutie mark. The Unicorn was making her way to a large tree not far from the center of town. Of course, it was no ordinary tree; it was actually Ponyville's Golden Oaks Library, built inside the towering plant. The Unicorn walked up to the the red door that served as the library's entrance and tapped on it with one of her front hooves. The door was answered by another female Unicorn, but this one was different in appearance. She had a lavender-colored coat and a straight, purple mane and tail, the latter two each having a long hot-pink streak running down the middle. She had purple eyes and her cutie mark was a picture of a pink, six-pointed star, surrounded by five white, smaller stars. The lavender Unicorn smiled at her guest and greeted her, saying, "Oh, it's you, Rarity. Good morning." "Good morning to you as well, Twilight dear." the white Unicorn, named Rarity, greeted back. "What can I do for you today?" asked the other Unicorn, named Twilight. "Well, I had just gotten an order today from a client, a very well-known mare at that, too." Rarity explained. The order in question was for a custom-made dress; the white Unicorn worked as a fashion designer in Ponyville. "The trouble is," she continued, "the specifications for her outfit were, well...let us just say that they were not the usual sort of thing that I have done in past projects. So, I was just wondering if you-" Twilight interrupted, asking, "If I had a book on the subject? I probably do. As I'm sure you're aware by now, I've got books on almost anything and EVERYTHING. What sort of specifications were they? Just tell me and I'll see what I have in stock." The two Unicorns strolled around the inside of the library as Rarity told her friend exactly what her client asked of her. Sure enough, Twilight had exactly the correct reference material that she needed. Once the book was located, a young dragon that was with them insisted on getting it from the high shelf. The dragon was about the size of a baby for his species, but he seemed to be a bit older than his appearance suggested. His body was covered in pale purple scales, had a light-green underbelly, green fin-like appendages that ran from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, and two light-green ears on either side of his face. "Are you sure you can get it from that high up, Spike?" Twilight asked the young dragon. "I'm sure, I'm sure...Don't be such a worrywart, Twilight." Spike replied. He then swiftly pulled out the right book, but lost his balance on the ladder and fell off. "WOAH!!" Fortunately, the shelf he came from wasn't that high up, so the worst he got from the fall was a sore bottom. "See? Told ya I'd be alright." he added, wiping off the dust from his chest and stomach area. Twilight sighed in response to what just happened. (Sometimes,) she thought to herself, (I think that Spike's common sense goes out the window the minute that Rarity's around...) The young dragon then proudly presented the book to the white Unicorn. "Here's the book you wanted, Miss Rarity..." he said, sighing happily. Rarity giggled and used her Unicorn magic to levitate the book from Spike's grasp. "Oh, yes, thank you so very much for getting it for me, Spikey-poo." she replied amusingly. The dragon looked away, blushing. (Anything for you...) he thought to himself. The white Unicorn then moved the book into one of her saddlebags. "Now remember to bring that book back in two weeks, Rarity." Twilight informed her. "I'd really hate to have to make one of my friends pay a fine for bringing a book back late...Like I had to do with Rainbow Dash when she didn't return one of my Daring Do books right away. I know it was only two days late, but still-" "Oh, do not worry yourself, dear." the white Unicorn assured her. "I'm no stranger to deadlines and I promise to return it on time." Before the two could say another word, however, they suddenly heard some coughing sounds coming from Spike. They turned over to look at him, seeing that he was clutching onto his stomach. "Oh no...not again..." he groaned. "Spike, what did I tell you about eating all of the ice cream?" the lavender Unicorn asked him sternly. "You know you get a stomachache when you eat too much." "Urk...It's-it's not that, Twilight..." the dragon said between groans. "It's...oh...it's..." Then, all of a sudden, Spike's cheeks puffed up and he let out a firey burp. The flame that came out was bright green in color, but it didn't stay a flame for long; it snuffed out into a black, smoky cloud, which then in turn, transformed into a scroll of paper. Immediately, Twilight and Rarity knew exactly what it was. Using her magic, Twilight picked up the scroll and unfurled it. "It's a letter from Princess Celestia." she stated. "A letter from the Princess?" asked the white Unicorn. "What does it say?" Twilight read the letter, but something seemed a bit unusual about it. "Not much, Rarity..." she answered her friend. "All it says for me to do is to gather all of my friends and take the next train to Canterlot. Besides the seven train tickets enclosed in the letter, that's about it..." "How very...strange..." Rarity responded. "It is not like the Princess to be so vague. Usually when she sends a letter to you, it's at least a little bit more specific than this one is..." "Well, I suppose we'll find out what's going on soon enough." said the lavender Unicorn as she placed the letter, the train tickets, and a few other things in her own set of saddlebags (which had latches shaped like her cutie mark, like Rarity's did). After putting the bags on her back, she then stated, "I'm gonna go and find Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. You go and get Pinkie Pie and Applejack. We'll all meet in front of the Train Station. Is that clear?" "I'm on it." Rarity replied. "I shall see you there shortly." The white Unicorn then ran off to find their other friends. "Alright then, Spike," Twilight said to her dragon friend, "let's get going." She then turned to an owl sitting in the main room and told it, "Owlowiscious, keep an eye on the place while we're gone." "Hoo." the owl simply said back. "You, of course!" Spike said to the owl, incorrectly thinking that it said something else. Twilight sighed and said to her assistant, "Spike, we don't have time for this right now...I'll explain it to you on the train ride." As they left, she then muttered to herself, (Honestly, how many times do I have to explain it to him before he realizes that's how Owlowiscious always talks...?) --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Ponyville Train Station was a relatively lively and busy place, as ponies from all over Equestria constantly interacted with each other. Some were natives of the town, taking the train to another place entirely. Others were visiting Ponyville from far away. All in all, the station saw a lot of business on a daily basis. As a train left the station, an announcement came over the loudspeakers set up around the building. The announcement stated that the next train was bound for Canterlot, and that it would arrive in exactly a half-hour. After that, the announcer then said that the train would then leave for its destination in another half-hour upon its arrival. Not long after the announcement was made, Twilight and Spike had made their way to the station's front entrance, just in time to see their friend Rarity just getting there as well. They weren't alone, though; each of the two Unicorns were followed by two other ponies. Behind Twilight and Spike were a pair of Pegasi, ponies with the ability to fly. The first one, hovering in the air with the aid of her wings, had a cyan-colored coat and a mane and tail that consisted of all of the colors of the rainbow. The scruffiness of her mane and tail suggested that keeping such things neat and stylish wasn't a concern of hers. She had magenta-colored eyes and her cutie mark was a picture of a storm cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt. The other Pegasus, who wasn't airborne, had a yellow coat and a long pink mane with a medium-length tail, also pink. The mane on this Pegasus seemed to be better taken care of compared to the other Pegasus. Her eyes were turquoise in color, and her cutie mark was a trio of pink butterflies arranged in a triangle pattern. Behind Rarity were two Earth Ponies; while they lacked the magical and flying abilities of the Unicorns and Pegasi respectively, they made up for it with their inherently high physical strength and vitality, which allowed them to easily take care of their usual duties. The first of the two had an orange-colored coat, with a blond mane and tail, each one done up in (what else) a ponytail. She had green eyes, and wore a brown cowboy hat on her head. Her cutie mark was a trio of apples, arranged in a triangle pattern. The other Earth Pony, who was continuously hopping up and down in place, was all pink in color: Her coat was light-pink, and her puffed-up mane and tail were colored in a darker hot pink. Her large eyes, which gave off an abundance of youthful energy, were cyan-colored, and her cutie mark was made up of three balloons: One was yellow with a blue string, the other two were blue with yellow strings. Once they all gathered in front of the station, Twilight cleared her throat and said to them, "Thanks for coming over here, everypony." "No problem, Twilight." the orange pony responded, her southern accent very prominent in her speaking. "But, Ah have to ask, it seems kinda strange that ya'll would ask us to come out here, but not tell us why...That's not like you, Twilight." "Yeah, Applejack's got a point." the cyan-and-rainbow Pegasus added. "Usually when you want us all to meet up like this, you let us know what it's all about first. So what's the deal?" "To be honest, I'm not really that sure myself, Rainbow Dash..." the lavender Unicorn told the Pegasus. "All I know was that we had to take the next train to Canterlot, possibly to meet with the Princess. That's...about all I can gather from the letter she sent me." She then took the letter out of her saddlebag and showed it to everypony to reinforce what she told them. The pink pony looked at the letter closely (both figuratively and literally; she had pressed her nuzzle against the parchment in question). She hummed a bit to herself in deep thought before saying, "Oooh! I know! I'll betcha that the Princess wrote most of it with invisible ink!" "In...visible ink...?" asked Rarity, slightly confused. "Uh, DUH! Of course!" the pink pony responded immdiately. "That's what I would do! I write all sortsa superly secret stuff in invisible ink! But I kept losing the ink vial, so I wrote a note to myself to remind me where I put the silly thing! The trouble is, I wrote THAT note in invisible ink, and wasn't able to read it, so I STILL can't figure out where I put it! I know I had some really special glasses that let me read those secret notes to myself, but I can't find them because the note that reminded me where they were was also written with invisi-" "Alright, aready!!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I think we get the point, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight breathed out a small sigh and said to her energetic pink friend, "Pinkie, I'm pretty sure that if the Princess wrote some of the letter in invisible ink, she would've told me." "Well that stinks...We're no closer to figuring out what the Princess wants us for..." groaned the cyan Pegasus. "Ah think we'd just be better off gettin' ourselves into that train, go to Canterlot, and let the Princess herself tell us what she wants us all for." Applejack recommended. "I suppose that is our best possible option." Rarity said, agreeing with the orange pony. "Let us get onboard before it departs." The others nodded and they all walked into the train station together. They showed their tickets to the attendant inside, and he let them pass through. Once the train finally arrived, the seven of them got onboard and took their seats. The train set off for its destination soon after. The train ride wasn't terribly long, as Canterlot wasn't that far away from Ponyville (it was, after all, visible from the town). The ride was about 45 or so minutes long after departing from town. Once the train stopped, Twilight and her friends stepped out onto the platform in the Canterlot Train Station. The city was an impressive sight to behold; after all, it was the royal capital city of Equestria. The city looked bright, clean, and well-kept. Due to its appearance, only the richest and most important ponies could call this place home. But for Twilight and her friends, there was no time for sightseeing. They had to get to the castle ASAP. The group made their way up to the castle gates. As expected, there were a pair of male ponies in golden-colored armor that served as the guards. As Twilight approached them, one of them stood in her way and said in a serious voice, "Halt! State your business." Twilight wasn't even slightly irritated from his tone of voice, as she understood that they were only doing their job. She simply used her magic to pull out the letter she got from Princess Celestia to show them. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." she said to them. "Princess Celestia is expecting me." The guards looked at the letter and saw that it had the Princess's official seal on it. That was enough to allow themselves to drop their guard and allow entry. "Very well, then. You may enter." said the other guard. "The Princess is waiting for you all in the Throne Room. I assume you know the way there?" "I do. Thanks." the lavender-colored Unicorn responded. She and the others then walked through the gates and made their way into the castle, heading for the Throne Room. The seven of them walked through the rooms, hallways, and many staircases within the castle in order to reach their overall destination. As they walked, the yellow Pegasus glanced around repeatedly, as if she felt that somepony was watching her. "You okay, Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash, flying over to her seemingly worried friend. "Oh, I'm...I'm fine." the yellow Pegasus answered in a very low voice. "It's just...these large hallways kind of make me feel, well...uneasy." "Aw, don't fret yerself, Sugarcube." Applejack said to her. "There ain't nothing to be scared of in here, trust me." "O-okay...I will." Fluttershy replied, though she still felt a bit timid. In no time at all, the group made their way to the large double doors that led to the Throne Room. After Twilight used her magic to operate the door handle and opened the way in, she and the others were surprised to see three other ponies inside, seemingly waiting for something...or somepony. The first of the three was a rare type of pony known as an Alicorn; a pony that had the combined traits of Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi, only more powerful. As a result, she had a long Unicorn horn, large Pegasus wings, and her overall body size was larger than most other ponies. This Alicorn in particular had a coat that was colored a very dark blue with a long, flowing mane and tail that were mostly dark blue, with a slightly transparent purple trim. Her beautiful eyes were teal in color, she wore a black crown upon her head, a black chestplate with a white cresent moon shape emblazoned upon it, and had four shiny, lavender hoofplates on her hooves. Her cutie mark showed a partial black night sky with a bright white cresent moon in the middle of it. The second of the three was also an Alicorn, though she was slightly smaller than the other one. She had a light-pink coat and her mane and tail were colored in streaks of violet, hot pink, and pale yellow. Her Alicorn wings had purple-tipped feathers, and she had vibrant violet-colored eyes. She wore a gold crown on her head, a gold chestplate, and gold hoofplates. Her cutie mark depicted a heart-shaped crystal; it was actually a picture of the mystical Crystal Heart, which brought power to the Crystal Empire that this Alicorn ruled over. The third pony in the room was a male, white Unicorn with a dark-blue mane and tail, with cyan-colored streaks running down the center of both. His eyes were sky blue, and he had navy blue hooves at the ends of his legs. His cutie mark was a picture of a dark-blue shield, decorated further with a pink star shape that looked strikingly similar to the star shape that was Twilight's cutie mark. Twilight and her friends recognized the other three immediately. "Why, it's Princesses Luna and Cadance!" said Rarity, pointing to the dark-blue and pink Alicorns respectively. Twilight's eyes lit up the moment she saw the white Unicorn stallion. "Shining Armor!!" she cheerfully called out to him. "Over here!!" The stallion glanced over at the lavender Unicorn. Once he saw her, he displayed a similar feeling of joy. "Twily!" he called out, waving his left front hoof. Twilight ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Hugging her back, he said to her, "Good to see ya again, little sis." "It's good to see you too, BBBFF!" replied the lavender Unicorn. "BBBFF" stood for "Big Brother Best Friend Forever". The two were siblings that loved each other very much, as much as siblings could love one another. The pink Alicorn, Princess Cadance, smiled at the moment as she walked over to the two of them. "When your brother found out that I was called to come over here," she told the lavender Unicorn, "he insisted on coming with me, since he knew you would show up, too. Since Celestia was okay with it, we got on the next train together." "Thanks, Princess Cadance." Twilight politely responded. "It's good to see you as well. How have things been since you and my brother got married and started ruling the Crystal Empire?" "Pretty slow and dull, actually." the pink Alicorn answered with a slight giggle. "But if it means that there's no chance of dealing with changelings or a power-mad Unicorn, I'll take 'slow and dull' any day." Twilight giggled a bit at her sister-in-law's answer. Clearing her throat, she then asked her, "Cadance, do you happen to know what it is that Princess Celestia called you over here for?" Cadance let out a sigh and replied, saying, "The truth is, I have no idea." "What?? You don't?!" Shining Armor walked over towards his wife and said to his sister, "I can back her up on that. All the letter said was that she had to come over here to Canterlot Castle as soon as she could. Besides that, nothing. Not a single thing." "That don't make a lick o' sense..." noted Applejack. "This is just gettin' weirder and weirder by the minute..." Fluttershy then walked over to the dark-blue Alicorn, Princess Luna. "Um, e-excuse me, Your Highness..." the yellow Pegasus meekly asked, "but did Princess Celestia tell you anything about why we all had to come here...? That is, if you don't mind me asking..." Luna hummed solemnly and answered her, saying, "I do aplogize...but I am afraid that I am just as much in dark about it as all of you are. After my sister raised the sun this morning, she told me to go to the Throne Room and wait for all of you to come here...But she didn't tell me why, which, I must admit, has me a bit worried..." "That's so strange..." Rarity noted. "She didn't even inform you, either??" "With all due respect and whatever," Rainbow Dash added, "what kinda pony goes all secretive on her own sister?" "I am sure there is a reason, truely I do." the dark-blue Alicorn informed them. "But still, I would hate to think that my own sister would have some skeletons in her closet..." "Well, that's pretty silly!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "Why would she wanna put someponies' skeletons in her closet?? I put much better things in MY closet like cakes, pies, cupcakes, candy, cherries, cherry-changas, chimi-cherry-changas..." "Princess Luna didn't mean that literally..." Twilight informed her pink friend. "That phrase refers to somepony having some sort of dark, unsettling secrets..." "...Ohhhhhhh." Pinkie replied, finally understanding. "Well, that makes a WHOLE LOT more sense! But it's still a silly phrase, though...Did somepony come up with that when they found actual skeletons in a closet? It makes you wonder..." Twilight rolled her eyes, but admitted to herself that her friend (sorta) made a good point. Just then, the group of ten heard the sounds of hoofsteps coming their way. "Is that...?" began Spike, having an idea of who it was that was making those sounds. "Yep, it's gotta be Princess Celestia..." Twilight answered her dragon friend's unfinished question. "Well, I suppose that whatever my sister has been keeping secret all this time," Luna noted, "we shall now know what it is in but a moment..." The group waited anxiously as the doors opened wide, revealing the pony that they had been waiting to see this whole time: Princess Celestia. The Alicorn princess was extremely beautiful: She had a bright white coat, and her long, constantly flowing mane and tail displayed vibrant streaks of green, blue, purple, and violet colors. Her wings were very large, even for Alicorn standards, and she had sparkling lavender eyes. Her gold crown and chestplate were each decorated with a small, violet, four-pointed jewel, and she wore four golden hoofplates. Finally, Celestia's cutie mark was a picture of the sun, and it seemed almost as bright as the real article. Celestia glanced around at the group assembled before her for a while, before deciding to speak. "I am glad to see that all of you arrived here safely." she said. "No doubt, all of you are wondering why I asked you to come here, am I correct?" The ponies (and dragon) in the room nodded to say yes. Celestia let out a small smile and added, "Well, do not worry. I plan to reveal everything to you before you all leave this castle. But rest assured, there is nothing to worry about; I have not called you here because of any crisis or anything of the sort." The group breathed a slight sigh of relief. "That's good to hear..." Fluttershy responded, not keen on the idea of having to deal with another evil villian or massive danger. "But, Sister..." Luna asked Celestia, "if that is not the reason, then why must you be so secretive about it all?" "As I said, I plan on revealing everything to you and everypony else today." the white Alicorn assured her younger sister. "The reason I wanted you all to come here rather than explain it on the letters I sent...Well, I feel it would be more appropriate to show you rather than to tell you." Celestia then headed towards the doors out of the room and instructed the group, "If you would all follow me, please..." The rest nodded and did just as she asked of them, heading down the stairs leading out. Celestia led the group down deeper and deeper into the castle through hallways and staircases that seemed to go on forever. Eventually, they reached what seemed to be a dead end chamber. Before anypony could ask what was going on, the white Alicorn used her right front hoof and tapped a specific area of the wall in front of them on the far right side. After she did so, a small portion of the area she tapped suddenly slid aside, revealing a silvery-metallic keypad with numbered buttons. She then used her magic to press a series of buttons in a certain order. After she did so, a voice then came from the keypad. "NUMERICAL PASSWORD ACCEPTED." it said in a robotic female voice. "PRESENT VOICE RECOGNITION." The white Alicorn then cleared her throat and said, "I am Princess Celestia." After about a second or two, the voice then responded, saying, "VOICE RECOGNITION CONFIRMED. WELCOME BACK, PRINCESS CELESTIA." The rest of the group was confused as to what was taking place, but that was quickly pushed out of their minds when the area around them began to tremble. "Wh-wh-what's going o-o-on?!?" Twilight frantically asked, trying to keep her balance. "The floor!!" Rarity added, "I-it's shaking fer-r-rociously!!" "Aiyiyiyiyi!!!" Pinkie Pie cried out in panic. "Why is e-e-everything all tw-w-witchy-twitchy?!?" "Wait, l-l-look at that!" Shining Armor told the others as he pointed his left front hoof at the wall before them. The rest were shocked to see that a large portion of it was sliding upwards, revealing a long, dark staircase behind it. Finally, after about a half a minute of constant tremors, the wall finally slid all the way up and the shaking stopped. Needless to say, those who witnessed this event were in complete shock and awe of what took place. "Well, I'll be..." Applejack said, breaking the awkward silence. "It's some sorta secret passageway..." "So awesome..." Rainbow Dash complimented, extremely impressed. "But...what's it for?" asked Cadance. "What's behind it?" "You'll see." Celestia informed her group. "Just follow me, and be careful; it's a long staircase and it's pretty dark down there." The white Alicorn then used her magic to make her horn glow brightly in order to provide some light on the trip down. The other Alicorns and Unicorns decided to do the same and used their magic to provide additional light. One by one, they entered the secret chamber, not sure what to expect. Just as Celestia informed them, the spiral staircase went quite a long ways down, and it probably would have been pitch-black if it weren't for the sources of light produced by the Alicorns and Unicorns within the group. After what seemed like hours (when, really, it was about 5 or so minutes), the group finally reached the bottom of the staircase, standing in front of a large, metal door. Princess Celestia then pressed her right front hoof on a large, red button beside the door, which opened it. What was behind said door caused everypony else in the group to gasp in shock and amazement... The room behind the door looked like it came out of future, as all sorts of large and strange machines were set up everywhere. Towering supercomputers lined the walls, and generators supplied clean, constant energy to power them up and keep them active. But it was what was in the center of the room that caught everypony's attention. The group stared up at a gigantic, cylindrical, metal capsule set up on a large podium of sorts. The podium itself had several computers relaying data and information, presumably about what was inside. Princess Celestia walked up towards the towering capsule and said, "Everypony...this is it." She then tapped the side of capsule and continued, saying, "This is the reason I called you all here. Within this capsule lies my soon-to-be-former secret project." "Secret project?" asked Twilight. "What kind of secret project?" The white Alicorn took a deep breath and answered her faithful student, telling her and the others, "Many centuries ago, when I was the only princess left to keep watch over Equestria, I was desperately seeking ways to better safegaurd the country. This inculded many things, such as the forming of the E.U.P., the Wonderbolts, and allowing more powerful magic spells to be taught in the School for Gifted Unicorns. But another one of those ideas was something enitrely different..." She paused for a moment before continuing. "It was only yesterday that I was able to finish that idea completely. And now I feel ready to reveal it to those that I trust the most..." Everypony looked at each other; they weren't sure what Celestia was talking about, but they knew it wouldn't be much longer before they found out. The princess then pressed another button and said to them all, "Without any further delays, I now present to you all...what I hope shall be my greatest gift to all of Equestria..." As she spoke, the metal cylinder began to descend, revealing a reinforced glass capsule inside of it. As it slowly descended, the rest of the group were on pins and needles wondering what was in there. Fluttershy was a bit terrified at what was going on, but Rainbow Dash stood beside her to help give her some comfort. Once the metal cover fully retracted into the podium, the group was finally able to see what was in there. Needless to say, they weren't expecting to see what they saw in the glass capsule. "Wha...?" Luna began asking. "What...what is that...??" "Oh my goodness...!" Rarity added. "...Huh...well that's something ya don't see every day..." noted Rainbow Dash. Inside the glass capsule was what appeared to be a male pony, but there was something peculiar about him. His body was mostly blue in color, save for his peach-colored face. Most of his body area was cyan-colored, but the hoof area on each of his legs seemed to be covered with a boot-like object. The "boots" were a much darker shade of blue than the rest of him, with trims and hoofplates that were a slightly lighter shade of blue. His tail was colored the same dark blue as his boots, and he also wore what appeared to be a dark-blue helmet, with a Unicorn horn and ears that were light-blue poking out of it. His eye color wasn't visible as his eyes were closed completely shut. His cutie mark showed a small, pale-yellow oval with a highlight on it. The strange pony stood on all fours inside of the capsule, completely motionless. "P-P-Princess Celestia...?" Twilight asked meekly, having a bit of a "Fluttershy-like Moment" herself. "What...what is that? Is it a...a pony...?" The white Alicorn nodded. "In a way, yes." she answered. "But he is not any ordinary pony..." She then flew up onto the podium, stood beside the capsule, and continued, saying, "This...is Mega Pony: The first fully-robotic pony in all of Equestria." All of the others gasped at what Celestia had told them. "Wait-wait-wait, hold up a sec..." Rainbow Dash started. "Did you just say that he's a...a robot?" Celestia nodded yes and said, "I did indeed." Rarity walked closer to the capsule to get a better look at the robot pony. "Simply marvelous..." the white Unicorn mare stated. "I must admit, I never would have guessed that it was a robot..." "Yeah, me neither..." Shining Armor added, putting in his own thoughts about it. "That thing looks NOTHING like the robots in those movies that Cadance and I went to see while we were dating." "But what's it s'pposed to do?" asked Applejack, curious. "I am glad that you asked, Applejack." Celestia replied. Looking at her creation, she stated, "Mega Pony was designed for many things. But his main directive...is to act as the ultimate guardian of all of Equestria." "Ultimate guardian?!" asked the others in unison, surprised at this declaration. "Indeed." the white Alicorn confirmed. "Mega Pony was built to be able to combat almost any threat that comes his way. His armor is built out of the hardest known metals in the country; his Unicorn horn has the power to store energy and release it in the form of energy bullets. He can also store even greater amounts of energy and hold a charge to unleash a more powerful shot, should such a thing be necessary. In addition, he draws power from a revolutionary solar core that recharges by absorbing energy from the sun; at full capacity, he can remain fully functional for about 10 hours when he is not exposed to the sun, before he needs to be recharged." "That's amazing..." Luna complimented, obivously impressed with her sister's creation. But then she asked, "But I must ask: Why did you not tell us about this 'Mega Pony' before?" "I meant no offense to you, Luna, or anypony else." stated Celestia. "I do indeed trust you all, and I knew you would keep this a secret if I had told you all sooner. My reason for not doing so is actually very simple: I just wanted to wait until my work was complete before I showed it to anypony." "I see..." Rarity spoke up. "I understand now. You just wanted to be sure that your creation would be perfect for when you presented it to us. Believe me, I know the feeling." "Yeah, same here!" added Pinkie Pie, somehow stretching her neck so that her head was right in front of Rarity's face. "It's kinda like getting a surprise party! I mean, what's the fun of getting a surprise party if you already KNOW about the surprise??" Twilight was no doubt impressed as she looked upon the robot pony inside the capsule. Then, mustering up her courage, she then asked Celestia a question that came to her shortly after the Alicorn's creation was revealed. "Princess Celestia?" she inquired. The white Alicorn glanced over at her student and responded, asking, "Yes, Twilight? Is something troubling you?" "Well, it's nothing really..." the lavender Unicorn said. "It's just that...you said that this robot was built to protect Equestria...But...well, not to go against anything you do, it's just..." Twilight got a little tongue-tied, as the question she was asking was something she didn't seem to want to ask. But Celestia simply smiled as she flew over towards her student and said to her, "I think I know what you wish to ask me. You are wondering why I built Mega Pony when you and your friends have done so much to keep Equestria safe from harm. Rest assured, I have not forgotten, nor will I ever forget, the service that you and your friends have done for the safety of everypony. Mega Pony was not built to replace you all, rather, he was built to assist you in ensuring the greater safety of the country." The white Alicorn then strolled towards the podium and added, "In fact, you could say that Mega Pony is a living testament to all of the things that you and your friends have done to benefit Equestria and all those who live here." "R-really...?" asked the lavender Unicorn. Celestia nodded. "Which brings me to the part of Mega Pony that I am most proud of creating:" she continued. "His brain, or as it is also called, his Central Processing Unit. It houses a powerful artifical intellegence (A.I. for short) that contains his core programming. To put it in simpler terms, his CPU allows him to think logically and solve even the most complex problems in mere seconds. And though he does not possess a true free will to make his own choices and decisions in life like we do, his A.I. will allow him to have something close to it; he will be able have feelings, care for others besides himself, and be able to interact with other ponies as much as a 'real pony' would. "But that is just the beginning." she continued. "The personality that I programmed into him is what is most remarkable about him, for his personality is actually a perfect combination of the most positive traits of most of you here." "A combination of us?" asked Twilight. "Yes...exactly." replied the white Alicorn. "For instance, he possesses your intellegence and leadership skills, Applejack's honesty and ability to know right from wrong, Rainbow Dash's loyalty and courage, Rarity's generosity and selfless nature, Fluttershy's kindness and mercy towards others, Pinkie Pie's happiness and youthfulness, my own benevolence and sense of justice, Luna's power and determination, and Cadance's love and trust. With such positive traits within his personality, he will be able to perform his duties of protecting others and enjoy them for the right reasons, while also being able to live amongst us as a normal citizen." "That sounds amazing..." Cadance complimented. "I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!" "Um, if it's okay for me to ask..." Fluttershy began, "is there anything else that he can do?" "Well, there are some other functions that I have added to Mega Pony to allow him to fulfill his programming." Celestia answered. "However, he will know of those functions in time, once his progamming has fully integrated with his A.I. But that won't start happening until he is activated." The white Alicorn then walked back over to Twilight and glanced over at her sister and Cadance before saying, "Twilight...Luna...Cadance...It is finally time to introduce Mega Pony to the world, and I will require your assistance." The three of them nodded to say that they were ready for whatever they had to do. "Very well." said Celestia, walking over to a panel with a large red button. "On this podium are four red buttons, including the one I am standing in front of now. The three of you are to walk over to one of the remaining buttons. Once I give the signal, we will press them all at the same time. This will start the activation sequence and supply the necessary power to bring my creation to life. Is that clear to all of you?" "Yes, Princess." said Twilight. "I understand completely." added Luna. "As do I." Candace then finished. "Very well, then...We press the buttons on the count of three..." instructed Celestia. The four of them each hovered their right front hoof over the button in front of them, waiting for the signal. The rest of the group took a few steps back, not sure what was going to happen next. Princess Celestia then took a breath and began counting... "1... "2... "...3!" And at that moment, the four of them pressed the buttons that were in front of them at the same time, and the machine started up. The room was filled with a blinding light as bolts of raw electricity filled the glass capsule. Almost immediately, the group backed off and put as much distance between them and the wild light show in front of them as possible. The crackling noises of the electricity coming out of the device was near-deafening, and it almost seemed that it would never end. But then, the machine stopped almost as suddenly as it started, its job complete. The group had shielded their eyes as best they could, but once they heard that the machine had stopped, they opened their eyes and moved their front hooves away from their faces. "Is ev'rypony alright?" asked Applejack. "Ummm...well, most of us are, anyway..." Rarity answered, pointing her right front hoof to her side. When the others glanced in the area that she was pointing, they saw Fluttershy had fallen to the floor; the sudden bright lights and loud noises scared her so much, she ended up fainting at some point. "I'll take care of it." said Cadance, walking over to the yellow Pegasus. She then used her Alicorn magic and sprayed her with a shot of water from out of thin air. Immediately, the easily-startled pony coughed a little as she woke up from her dazed state. "What happened...?" she asked. "Oh, nothing much..." Rainbow Dash answered with slight sarcasm. "You just fainted again, that's all." Upon hearing that, Fluttershy blushed a little out of embarrassment. Celestia looked towards the capsule that contained her creation. "So, did it work, Sister?" asked Luna, walking beside her. "We'll see soon enough..." replied the white Alicorn. She then used her magic to operate the controls on the podium, which opened the glass chamber. Once the glass was out of the way, the entire group slowly walked towards the platform that the robot pony was standing on, waiting to see if the princess's experiment was a success. Then, all of a sudden, the robot's eyelids began to twitch a little before they slowly opened, revealing a pair of bright, baby-blue eyes. The group watched in slight awe as they saw him slowly come to life. He glanced to his right side, then to his left. He then looked ahead and tilted his head downward, where he saw the ponies (and dragon) that could only stare back. Tilting his head a little, the robot then stared at them for a while before finally breaking the silence in the room. "...H...hello?" The group then gasped when the mechanical pony spoke to them. They exchanged surprised looks and whispered to each other as Princess Celestia walked over to her creation to introduce herself. "Hello there..." the white Alicorn said to the robot. "Let me be the first to welcome you to our world." The robot glanced up at her and asked, "Wh-who are you?" "My name is Celestia." she answered. "Princess of the land of Equestria, and your creator." "My creator?" the robot then asked. Celestia nodded. "Yes, that's right." she told him. "Your name is Mega Pony, the first fully-robotic pony in all of Equestria." "Robotic...?" he asked. He then closed his eyes for a brief moment. Opening them back up again, he then said, "Yes...yes, that's right. My name is Mega Pony...model PCN-001." The robot then glanced back at the princess and added, "And you are...Princess Celestia...my creator...Yes...yes, it's all coming to me now...I don't know why, but it is." (Good...) thought the white Alicorn, (his progamming is beginning to slowly intergrate into his CPU. Soon, he will know what his purpose is, and from there, it all comes down to whether he will be able to accept it or not...) Mega Pony glanced around the room that he was in, very curious about everything and everypony around him. It was only natural that he felt sensations of curiosity and confusion, since he was just "born". He then said in a low voice, "I am not...sure what to make of all this...My sensors say that we are in a 'castle', and I know what a 'castle' is...I'm just not sure why. It's all so...bizarre..." "Amazing..." Luna said to her sister. "He hasn't even been active for five minutes, and he's already become self-aware. He's taking in data from his surroundings, and has begun to process it into logical thoughts and feelings...I'm very impressed; you have certainly outdone yourself." "Perhaps..." Celestia replied. "But what it really comes down to is whether or not he'll be able to accept what he was made to do..." "What do you mean, Sister?" As the two sisters talked with one another, the other individuals in the room decided to break the ice and introduce themselves to the pony robot. Twilight decided to go first, walking up to him and putting out her right front hoof. "Hello, Mega Pony." she said to him. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's great to meet you." "Um, yes...you as well." he replied, putting his right front hoof up against hers. He then added, "You seem to speak to Princess Celestia a lot...Do you two know each other?" "Yes, as a matter of fact." the lavender Unicorn. "I was her student for most of my life. Well, technically, I still AM her student, but I'm studying abroad right now." "Student..." said Mega Pony, thinking about that word. He then exclaimed, "Oh, yes! Student! That's...somepony who studies under the tutelage of a teacher or instructor." "Um, yeah! That's right!" Twilight replied, impressed with how quickly Mega Pony was able to define the word so well. "You're pretty smart...That's something that I can definitely respect." "Uh, thanks I guess..." the robot responded, letting out a slight giggle. "So who are all of these ponies with you?" he then asked. "Come here, and I'll introduce you to them." the Unicorn told him. She then stopped in front of her orange Earth Pony friend first and said, "This is Applejack..." "Howdy there, Mega Pony." the cowboy hat-wearing pony responded. Twilight continued on, going to each of her friends. "...Next, there's Rainbow Dash..." she said, introducing her cyan-colored Pegasus friend next. "What's up?" Dash replied in her usual cool-sounding voice. "...Then, there's Rarity..." "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mega Pony." the white Unicorm mare said politely with a slight bow. "...This here is Fluttershy..." "Um...hello..." the yellow Pegasus responded shyly. Twilight then began to introduce Pinkie Pie next, but before she could, the pink Earth Pony did the job for her. "Hey there!! My name's Pinkie Pie!" she said, zooming in front of the robot, doing her usual hopping in place. "I've gotta say, of all of the cool robot ponies I've ever met, you're certainly the coolest ever!" "But...Pinkie, he's the ONLY pony robot you've ever met." Rarity chimed in. "Yeah, I know!" the silly pink pony continued. "Which means that everything that I just said is completely and totally one-hundred percent true!" Mega Pony was a bit taken back by how hyperactive Pinkie Pie was. Twilight walked over to his side and told him, "Don't worry about her, she's always like that." "Oh, uh...that's okay." he replied, a slight smile forming on his face. "To be honest, it was actually kind of...funny." Spike then went over to Mega Pony next and introduced himself. "My name's Spike." he said to him. "It's great to meet ya." The robot then looked over at the young dragon curiously. He then said, "You...don't look like the others...So I assume that you're NOT a pony, right?" Spike chuckled a little and answered him, saying, "No, of course not. I'm a dragon." "A dragon..." Mega Pony responded. "Oh yes...I see now. I'm sorry, this is all still new to me. It's just taking me a while to get used to all of this..." "I know the feeling." the young dragon replied. "Don't worry about it." Princess Cadance and Shining Armor then went to the robot next to introduce themselves. "I am Princess Cadance, ruler of the Crystal Empire." stated the pink Alicorn. She then pointed to the white Unicorn stallion beside her and added, "And this is Shining Armor, my husband." "Nice to meet ya." Shining Armor replied, putting out his right front hoof, which prompted Mega Pony put his hoof up as well. "I've gotta say, I like that blue armor you're sporting there. It's pretty cool." "Uh, thanks sir." Mega Pony replied. Noticing the shield cutie mark that he was sporting, the robot pony then asked him, "Your mark...It looks similar to Twilight's...Are you two related?" "Yeah, I'm her older brother." he answered him. "Or as she prefers to call me, her 'BBBFF'." "BBBFF...?" Twilight then chimed in, saying, "It's short for 'Big Brother Best Friend Forever'. Shining Armor and I got along really well when we were younger, and we still do." She then asked Mega Pony, "So what do you think of me and my friends?" "Well, you all certainly seem nice and friendly so far." the robot answered. "I'm still trying to get used to everything that's going on, but you introducing me to all of your friends certainly helped me feel a least a little bit better about it." As Mega Pony and the others continued to chat with each other, Celestia and Luna were still discussing some important matters regarding the robot. "I see..." the dark-blue Alicorn said, "so in order for Mega Pony to realize his programming, i.e. his purpose in life, he needs to 'grow into it' on his own, so to speak." "Yes, however, the process can be sped up a little with the use of outside stimuli." explained Celestia. "In other words, other ponies can help him to figure out what he was meant to do, what he was designed for. It will still be a relatively slow process, but not nearly as much as waiting for it happen naturally." "But if that is the case, then why not simply tell him what he was built for right away?" asked Luna. "We cannot risk giving him that much information in one sitting too quickly." answered the white Alicorn. "If we're not careful about it, we could run the risk of overloading his CPU. If that happened, he could have an internal meltdown, and it might cause internal damage to his Integrated Circuit Chip, which houses his core personality. If it were damaged too severly, there would be no way to replace it." "Oh, I see.." stated Luna, understanding her sister's concerns. "Then all I have to ask then, is how you plan on helping Mega Pony figure out what he was meant to do?" "I have that planned out already." Celestia answered her sister. "And it is the other reason why I asked my guests to come here." The white Alicorn then walked over to Twilight and motioned the Unicorn to come speak with her and Luna. "What is it, Princess Celestia?" asked Twilight. Celestia took a deep breath and said, "Twilight, my faithful student, I have a new assignment for you and your friends." "What's that?" "I would like you to take Mega Pony with you to Ponyville and show him around, get him to meet other ponies." the white Alicorn instructed. "I believe that by doing so, it will assist him in realizing his programming and hopefully, be able to accept it." Twilight thought about it for a bit and then figured out (rather quickly) what the point of it was. "I get it..." she began, "if he can make friends with and care about everypony in Ponyville and elsewhere, then that would give him a good reason to want to protect them. That makes sense." "So, will you be able to handle it, then?" asked Celestia. The lavender Unicorn nodded and happily said, "It would be my pleasure, Princess. I won't let you down!" Celestia smiled. "I know you won't." she said. "You've never let me down before...Well, other than that time when you-" "I KNOW..." Twilight interrupted, grumbling a little, "I remember...The whole thing with my Smarty Pants doll. Believe me, I haven't forgotten." The white Alicorn giggled a little and said, "But seriously, I know you'll do a good job with Mega Pony. I have complete confidence in you." The lavender Unicorn smiled and replied, saying, "Thanks, Princess Celestia. I'll do my best." Twilight then went back over to Mega Pony and the rest of her friends and said to the robot, "Mega Pony, Princess Celestia said that you ought to come with us back to Ponyville!" "What's a 'Ponyville'?" asked Mega Pony. "Is that a place or something?" "Yeah, it's a really great place, in fact!" Rainbow Dash answered him. "You'd love it there!" "We can talk more about it once we get on the train home." Rarity added. "Now let's get going and make sure that we don't miss it." The others nodded in agreement. "Shining Armor and I will stay here a bit longer until our train back to the Crystal Empire shows up." said Princess Cadance. "Have a safe trip, all of you." "Bye, Princess Cadance...Bye, Shining Armor...Please write back to me soon." said Twilight. "We always do, Little Sis." assured her big brother. "You be good now." Twilight gave her BBBFF a goodbye hug before she left with her friends and Mega Pony. Celestia and Luna watched as they left. The younger sister then glanced over at her older sister, noticing some slight worry on her face. "Elder Sister...you do not have to worry yourself." the dark-blue Alicorn assured her. "Twilight will do a good job in helping your creation grow into his programming." The white Alicorn let out a sigh, smiled weakly, and responded, saying, "I know she will...I know she will do everything in her power to help Mega Pony find his purpose." She then closed her eyes and added, "The only thing that worries me...is whether or not he'll realize his programming...before we desperately need his services..." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, very far away from Canterlot, in the mysterious Everfree Forest, things were relatively calm for once. The sun shone brightly over the tall trees, with some light escaping onto the forest floor below. At this time, a pair of small insect-like creatures fluttered slowly above the ground, one blue and one yellow. They were creatures called Parasprites; they were infamous for having voracious appetites and could reproduce very quickly. But if left alone, they were mostly harmless, such as these two. The two Parasprites were chirping at each other happily; they seemed to be having a conversation, but what it was about was known only to them. Still, they seemed to be fine with each other's company. Suddenly, the two Parasprites stopped when they heard a buzzing sound, different from the sounds that their wings were making. They glanced around, trying to see where it was coming from. Then suddenly, it was clear to them: A third Parasprite, red in color, flew in front of them. The two looked at it for some time before the blue one flew closer and chirped at it in a friendly tone, as if it wanted to make friends with it. However, there was something peculiar about this red Parasprite, especially when it gave off an angry expression. Then, without any warning whatsoever, it rammed itself into the blue one, knocking it down to the ground. The yellow one seemed shocked at what this new Parasprite did to its friend and began scolding it (more than likely, its chirps sounded angry). The red one said nothing back and began glaring angrily at the yellow one. The yellow Parasprite was so scared, that it flew off immediately (after of course, using its mouth pick up its unconscious friend). The red Parasprite watched them leave as another one flew beside it, this one violet in color. They were soon joined by more Parasprites in different colors, but all having that same menacing look. The swarm then looked ahead at the area that was not far away from the forest's entrance: Ponyville... -- To Be Continued...