Episode 102: Dawn of the Equine Bomber, Pt. 2 (Pilot):
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THE STORY SO FAR...:
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In the year 20XX, in the peaceful land of Equestria, Princess Celestia, the country's benevolent ruler, unveiled a great secret to the ponies that she trusted most. A secret project meant for the better safety of Equestria and all of its citizens: Mega Pony; the first fully-robotic pony!
Armed with powerful weapons and abilities, as well as super-strong blue armor, Mega Pony was designed to take on almost any threat to the land. However, as he was only just activated, he has not yet become aware of his programming, and thus, has no idea what his purpose in life is. Knowing this, Princess Celestia tasked her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends with helping her creation and getting him to meet as many friendly ponies as possible. The Princess is confident that Twilight will be a big help to Mega Pony; her only concern is if he'll come to realize his purpose...
...before he is needed the most...
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CHARACTER SELECT:
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Mega Pony (PCN-001): The first robot pony; recently activated.
Princess Celestia: One of the two rulers of Equestria; Mega Pony's creator.
Twilight Sparkle: Celestia's faithful student; Element of Magic.
Parasprites: Ravenous insect-like creatures.
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At the Ponyville Train Station, business went on as usual: Ponies entered and exited the buiding, coming from all over Equestria. Some were there as tourists, wanting to see the town, some were there to visit their families. Others were leaving town to go sightseeing in other places. Finally, there were others that were coming back home to Ponyville from a trip, such as the passengers that were on a train that had just pulled into the station.
Once the doors opened, several passengers left the train and got onto the platform. Among them was the lavender Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Sitting on her back was Spike, her dragon assistant. She was then followed by five other ponies; her closest friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.
After Twilight and her friends got out of the train, they were then followed by another pony, who seemed a bit timid about stepping onto the platform. It was Mega Pony, the robot that Princess Celestia had built to serve as the guardian of Equestria. He was timid because not only was he just recently activated, but he was also a bit nervous about meeting other ponies. He didn't know what to expect, especially since he was not yet aware of what he was meant to do, as his programming had not yet fully integrated with his robotic brain, or CPU.
"Are ya gonna be alright there, Mega Pony?" asked Applejack. "Ya'll seem a bit tense."
"Huh? Um, no...it's okay, I'll be fine..." the robot answered her. "It's just that...well, I'm just a little nervous about the whole thing...I'm not sure if I can make any friends or not..."
"I know how you feel." said Twilight, walking over to him. "When I first came here, I didn't really know if I could make any friends or if I really wanted to." She then glanced over at the rest of the group and continued, saying, "But once I decided to, I was able to meet up with some of the best friends a pony could have." She then turned back to Mega Pony and told him, "I'm sure everypony will come to like you too, Mega Pony...You just need to take that first step and give it a try."
The robotic equine thought about the Unicorn's words for a while before saying, "I guess it's worth a try. After all, it's not logical to not even make an attempt at it."
"Good to hear that." the lavender Unicorn responded. "Now let's get going...My friends and I will show you around the entire town. I'm sure after you've seen everything, you might feel a little bit more comfortable."
"Yeah, sure...Let's get going, then." Mega Pony responded. The group then left the train station and began the tour around Ponyville.
Their first stop was a small building that looked like a gigantic gingerbread house. It had a roof that appeared to be made of chocolate, covered in frosting, and had support pillars colored to look like candy canes. Pinkie Pie enthusiastically hopped in front of the building and said excitedly, "You're gonna love THIS place, Mega Pony! It's the most super-riffic, sweetest, tastiest place EVER!"
"...But, what is it?" asked the robot.
The pink pony cleared her throat and replied, saying, "This is Sugarcube Corner! From this very building, all of the sweetest of sweet treats are made for everypony in Ponyville!"
"Pastries, I assume?" asked Mega Pony. "You know, based on the way that the building looks and all..." Pinkie Pie vigorously nodded yes to answer his question.
Twilight then walked beside the robot and chimed in, saying, "The store is run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and they're as nice as they are talented; in baking, that is." The lavender Unicorn then strolled towards one of the windows of the shop, motioning the others to follow.
They peered through the window and saw two Earth Ponies inside, a yellow stallion and a sky-blue mare. The stallion, Carrot Cake, had an orange mane and tail and wore a small hat, a bowtie, and a white apron. The mare, Cup Cake, had a swirly pink mane and tail that resembled frosting, and wore a yellow apron with pink frills. With them were two foals; a beige Pegasus boy named Pound Cake and a pale yellow Unicorn girl named Pumpkin Cake (such was rare among pony couples, having offspring that were of a different race than their parents). The two parents were busy baking things for anypony that would stroll by the store, while the young foals played with each other and giggled.
"Well it certainly seems like a friendly environment in there." Mega Pony noted, watching the calm scene inside. "And the stuff that they're making...it looks so good, I wish I was able to eat just so I could taste it..."
"You mean you can't eat stuff?" asked Pinkie Pie, a bit surprised and slightly saddened. "That's a shame...You'd love their baking. I know I do, and that's why they're helping me to learn EVERYthing they know! One day, when I can be as good as Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I'll be able to host even better parties than ever!"
"Parties?" asked the robot.
Rainbow Dash then flew beside him and said, "Pinkie Pie here throws the best parties in Ponyville...They're so good, nopony here ever wants to miss out on one, myself included. Her cutie mark says it all: it's the thing that she's best at."
Mega Pony then closely observed Pinkie Pie's cutie mark and saw a slight relation to what it showed and her supposed special talent. "Yeah, I see..." he replied. "I know what a cutie mark was from my databanks, but it makes more sense now that I can see one..." He then glanced over at his own cutie mark, a picture of a yellow oval of some sort. Unfortunately, it didn't tell him much about what his talent was.
"There will be time for discussing things such as that after we're done with the tour." said Twilight. "There's still lots to see, and too little time." The group then continued on with their trip around town.
Their next stop was the top of a large hill overlooking a farm and orchard. "Mega Pony, I'd like ta personally welcome ya'll to my farm, Sweet Apple Acres!" said Applejack proudly.
"Wow...you mean this entire farm belongs to you?" asked Mega Pony, impressed.
"Well, really, it belongs to me and mah family." the orange pony answered. "This farm has been owned and operated by the Apple Family for many, many generations. Of course, since the family has gotten bigger and bigger over the years, there are other apple farms just like this one all over Equestria, run by other members of the Apple Clan."
"Applejack's family makes all sorts of good stuff from their apples." stated Rainbow Dash. "Apple pie, apple cider, candied apples, apple fritters...Just about anything you can think of!"
"Yeah, you've got to give them a try and-" Twilight then stopped her sentence short. "Oh right..." she then solemnly said, "you said couldn't eat food..." Mega Pony nodded, slightly sad as well.
Feeling a bit sorry for him, Applejack walked over to the robot, put her left front leg over his shoulders, and said to him, "Well, don't you fret none, Mega Pony...Ah'm sure that the Princess'll help you with that if ya'll went and asked her about it."
"I suppose I could..." the robot replied with a sigh.
Their next stop was a very fancy-looking building. It was circular, with all sorts of beautiful decorations adorning every inch of the structure. The building was colored in many shades of yellow, blue, violet, and pink, and a large sign showing a picture of a pony wearing a fancy dress hung over the front door. "Mega Pony," Rarity began, "I am pleased to welcome you to my pride and joy, the Carousel Boutique! It is here, in this very establishment, that I create the fanciest and most BEautiful dresses in all of Ponyville!" The group walked inside the boutique after Rarity unlocked the door.
"Sounds interesting..." Mega Pony stated.
"Oh yes...Rarity is very talented when it comes to making dresses." Fluttershy stated in her usual soft voice.
"She once made outfits for all of us when we went to the Grand Galloping Gala." Twilight added. "Though, we got a little too picky about the details once, and THAT ended only in disaster..." she then added, blushing out of embarrasment.
"I think 'disaster' is an understatement, in my opinion..." the white Unicorn chimed in. "Fortunately, for the good of us, and for everypony else, I put those things away in the chest that contains all of my scrap material...They may not be attractive to the eyes, but why let them go to waste?"
Mega Pony glanced around at all of the pony mannequins set up inside, observing the well-made dresses. He liked how they looked, but you wouldn't be able to tell by his face, as he seemed to be depressed about something. Twilight glanced over at him, noticing that he seemed sad, but didn't know what to make of it.
Back outside, the group, now being led by Rainbow Dash, walked into a large clearing a short distance away from town. The cyan Pegasus then stopped and pointed her left front hoof straight up. "See that up there, Mega Pony?" asked Rainbow Dash.
The group then looked up to where Rainbow Dash was pointing. Mega Pony could see an unusually large cloud floating high in the sky far away. "A cloud...?" he asked.
"Not just ANY old cloud..." the cyan Pegasus replied. "That's the city of Cloudsdale! It's where Fluttershy and me used to live."
"Uh, don't you mean, 'Fluttershy and I'?" Twilight corrected her friend.
"Well, excuse me, Officer Egghead of the Grammar Police..." responded Rainbow Dash, slightly annoyed. She then cleared her throat and continued talking about the place she used to live in. "AS I was saying...Cloudsdale contains the super-important Weather Factory where they make all the weather for all of Equestria...Not to mention that it has the most awesome yearly event, the Best Young Flyer competition! A competition that, last year, yours truly aced with no problem..."
(Too bad bein' smug ain't part of the contest...) thought Applejack, rolling her eyes. (Honestly, didn't she learn anythin' from the whole "Mare Do Well" thing?)
"So, you like flying fast a lot, huh?" asked the robot.
"Nah, I don't like flying fast..." answered Rainbow Dash. "I like flying SUPER-fast! See, there's a big difference."
"Um...sure, of course..." replied Mega Pony, sweating a little. He then asked, "So...where should we go next?"
"I-if it's okay with you, Mega Pony..." Fluttershy suddenly spoke up, "I-I could show you my cottage..."
"Okay then." he the replied. "Lead the way, Ms...um...Bumblefly...? Butterfly...?"
"Fluttershy." the yellow Pegasus corrected him.
"Oh! Yeah, uh...sorry..." Mega Pony apologized. "I'm still trying to remember the names...Even a mind as mentally advanced as mine can forget every now and then..." He then cleared his throat and added, "Anyway, go ahead and lead the way, then." The yellow Pegasus nodded and lead the group down the trail ahead.
The group eventually reached Fluttershy's cottage, where, as usual, many animals of all kinds were scampering, flying, and swimming around. "This is where I live, Mega Pony..." said the yellow Pegasus in her usual soft tone of voice. "Here, I take care of all sorts of cute little animals...as well as some cute not-so-little ones. If an animal is injured, hungry, or just needs somepony to love them, they come here, and I take care of them until they decide to leave...if they want to, that is."
"That's very nice of you to do, Fluttershy." Mega Pony complimented. "I'm sure the animals really appreciate everything you give them."
"They do..." she responded with a small smile. "I must admit, ever since I found out that I could communicate with animals, my life has only gotten better...I'm really glad that I found out what I was meant to do in life..."
The robot, hearing those words, replied in a slightly saddened tone, "Yeah...I suppose that would feel very good..." Again, the slight depression on Mega Pony's part was noticed only by Twilight, who began to get worried. Still, she was determined to help the robot as much as she could, to keep her promise to Princess Celestia.
The group now made their way to the large tree that was both Twilight's home away from home, as well as the town library. "And here," the lavender Unicorn began, "we have the Golden Oaks Library, run by me and Spike. In here, I have books on anything and everything that a pony could ever want to know about."
"Oh, I see...so it's sort of like an analog database, right?" Mega Pony asked, sounding interested.
"Yes, exactly!" stated Twilight.
(Ana-what?) thought Spike, not sure what that word meant.
The lavender Unicorn then lead the others into the library and continued, saying, "In addition to running the library, I'm also studying abroad by Princess Celestia's request. Currently, I'm trying to learn everything about the Magic of Friendship."
"Magic of Friendship?" asked the robot.
"It's like a power that's born from deep inside ya." Applejack explained. "A power that comes from the feelin' of carin' 'bout somepony besides yerself."
"And doing everything you can to preserve that feeling." Rarity added.
"Not to mention fighting hard to make sure that nothin' happens to everypony that you care about." Rainbow Dash chimed in.
Mega Pony, after hearing all of this, suddenly spoke. "It...sounds like you all take this friendship thing very seriously." he said.
"Y-yes we do..." Fluttershy responded. "Once we found each other and became friends, w-we've helped each other become better ponies than we've ever been. Before I met them all, I-I was very timid and hardly ever spoke to anypony...I've still got a ways to go, but I think I've improved a lot since I met my friends..."
"Me too!" added Pinkie Pie. "Back then, I used to be crazy, silly, and spontaneous ALL the TIME!!"
Mega Pony seemed confused at first. "...And...?" he began, expecting her to say more.
"NOW...I'm even MORE crazy, even MORE silly, and even MORE spontaneous!!" she finished, her voice gradually getting more and more high-pitched as she spoke. "And all because I know that my friends like me that way! And I like me that way too!"
"And that's one of the reasons why I enjoy doing what I do." Twilight stated. "I want to learn everything there is to know about being a good friend to everypony. And one day, I hope to help spread what I've learned all over Equestria, and help everypony feel the same way towards each other that I feel with all of my friends. I feel that it's my duty to do this, not just for the Princess, but for myself and everypony else as well."
"Your duty, huh...?" asked the robot, becoming slightly saddened again. He then sat down and thought to himself, (I wish I knew how it felt to HAVE a duty...)
Noticing his depressed state, Twilight decided to finally say something about it. She walked over to him and asked, "Mega Pony? Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?" he asked back.
"Well, it's just that every now and then, you start feeling really down." she said to him. The others shared a look of concern as the lavender Unicorn spoke to him. "I didn't want to say anything about it at first, because I didn't want the others to worry..."
"So what ya'll mopin' about, Mega Pony?" asked Applejack. "Don't ya like Ponyville?"
"Uh, no! Nothing like that, Ms. Applejack!" the robot replied. "I-I think this town is very nice, and I think all of you are very nice!"
"So what is wrong, then?" asked Rarity.
"Well...it's just that...all of you have some sense of duty, a talent, or some sort of purpose in life..." he answered them. He then sniffled a little and added, "But I don't..."
"Wh-what do you mean...??" asked a concerned Fluttershy.
"I mean, Fluttershy, that I have no idea what MY purpose is..." the robot responded. "In fact, I'm not even sure if I HAVE a purpose..." Mega Pony then looked at his rear and solemnly added, "I mean, just look at my cutie mark...It doesn't tell me anything about what I'm supposed to be good at...It's not even a REAL mark, it's just painted on...I might as well just be a 'blank flank'..."
"Now what would make you think somethin' crazy like that?!" Rainbow Dash asked loudly. "The Princess would never make you and not give you some kinda purpose in life!"
"Dashie's right!" added Pinkie Pie. "Just 'cause you don't know what you're meant to do doesn't mean that you're not good at ANYTHING! That IS crazy, thinking that you don't have a purpose! And not the good kinda crazy, like what I do; the bad kind."
Twilight spoke to the robot again, saying to him, "Everypony has a purpose in life; a special thing that only they can do...You just haven't found it yet, that's all. Maybe it would do you some good to sit somewhere and think quietly to yourself about it all..."
Mega Pony stood there, glancing around without saying a word at first. Then, coming to a decision, he said, "Okay...I might as well; all I'm doing right now is taking up space...If anypony needs me, I'll be at the tree next to the western bridge...Not that I expect anypony to need me..." He then walked off, a depressed look on his face as he slowly strolled away, leaving the library.
The others were sad, as well as slightly frustrated. "Arrgh...this is SO annoying!" groaned Rainbow Dash. "Why can't we just tell him what the Princess told us?! Why can't we tell him what he's supposed to do?!?"
"Ya'll heard what she said, Dash..." Applejack answered her. "If we tell 'im about what he's programmed t' do too soon, it could cause more harm than good..."
"I know how much it hurts to see him so sad..." Twilight then told the cyan Pegasus. "If anything, it's probably hurting me the most...But it's for his own good that he finds out his purpose by himself, just like all of us have..."
"He just needs time to think about it, that's all." Pinkie Pie added. "And he's got MORE than enough time to figure it all out! I mean, it's not like there's gonna be some horrible plague or something on its way towards town to destroy everything at this moment!" The rest of the group just gave their pink friend a weird look in response.
"...Aaaanyway...Let's just go about our normal routines for the day." Twilight suggested. "Then, every now and then, one of us should check on Mega Pony and see how he's doing. Agreed?"
"Agreed." the others replied. Twilight and Spike stayed in the library as the other five left for their intended destinations.
Elsewhere, far away from town, a pair of beady eyes poked out from within a large bush. Then, several more sets of eyes, all with a menacing look, appeared around the first set of eyes. They were staring straight ahead, towards Ponyville...
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About less than an hour had passed since Mega Pony went off on his own to think about what he was meant to do in life. Every few minutes, one of the Mane 6 (a name that had been used to refer to Twilight and her friends collectively) checked up on him as they passed by the tree he was sitting under. Twilight and Spike had just returned from seeing him and were heading back to the library.
As they got there, they were approached by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, both with full saddlebags after returning from a trip to the marketplace. "Hey, Fluttershy...Hey, Pinkie Pie..." the lavender Unicorn greeted them. "What have you been up to?"
"Just getting a few things." answered the pink pony. "Party supplies, mostly. Gotta make sure I always have everything I need, right?" Twilight nodded to say that she agreed, as she had the same opinion on always being prepared.
"So...um...how is Mega Pony?" asked Fluttershy. "If you don't mind me asking..."
"Still the same..." Spike replied. "He's been sitting under that tree next to the bridge for a while now, and it doesn't seem like he's gonna cheer up anytime soon."
"I hope he feels better soon..." Pinkie Pie stated. "I hate seeing somepony all sad and mopey like that..."
"Same here..." added the yellow Pegasus. Twilight and Spike also nodded in agreement.
Just then, the young dragon heard a strange noise. "Huh?" he said, putting his clawed hand up to his ear to try and hear the noise better.
"What's wrong, Spike?" asked the lavender Unicorn.
"I thought I heard something..." he answered. "Sounded like...buzzing."
"Buzzing?" Twilight asked. She then glanced around the area around them, as did Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, trying to find the source of the supposed noise.
Just then, Fluttershy spotted something. "L-l-look! Up there!" she said, slightly startled.
The other three glanced upwards in the direction that their friend was pointing. Right away, they understood why she seemed shook up when they saw a small, red, insect-like creature flying above them. "I-isn't that a...a Parasprite...?" asked Twilight.
"But...what's it doing all the way here in town?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Spike then shuddered as he asked, "Y-you don't suppose it's here to wreck Ponyville like last time, do you...?"
The lavender Unicorn giggled a bit and replied, saying, "I don't think so...That only happened because that spell of mine to keep them from eating everything didn't work as well as I'd hoped." The Parasprite then floated down towards the small group as she continued talking. "Besides, there's just one right now, and they need to eat in order to multiply anyway."
"I'll bet it's probably just lost, and wandered into Ponyville on its way home..." Fluttershy hypothesized, walking towards the creature as it stopped flying down, hovering at eye-level. "Isn't that right?" she then asked it.
The Parasprite stared at the yellow Pegasus for a moment. Then suddenly, it put a nasty look on its face and without any warning, it rammed itself into her nuzzle. "Ouch!" Fluttershy wimpered, stepping back and rubbing the slightly sore spot with her front hooves.
The others were shocked at the creature's unprovoked attack. "Hey! Whad'ya do that for?!" Spike scolded it. "She didn't do anything to you!!" But all that got the young dragon was another ram to the nose area by the Parasprite. "Ow!!!" he groaned upon being struck.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie instinctively began stepping back, away from the creature, only to bump into something. But when they turned around to look, they saw that it was a BUNCH of somethings: Right there behind the pink and lavender ponies was a small swarm of Parasprites (though to say it was small wasn't saying much; there were quite a lot), all with that same angry look in their eyes.
"...T-Twilight...?" Pinkie Pie began.
"Yes...?"
"...Are you thinking what I'm thinking...?"
"If it's 'run for it', then yes, Pinkie..." the Unicorn responded. The group retreated quickly, and the angry bugs followed. The four of them ran away as fast as they could, with the swarm following far behind. The Parasprites were relentless in their pursuit, but the group was finally able to lose them by ducking into a narrow alleyway. The swarm flew right by them without even noticing, allowing the four to breathe a sigh of relief.
Panting from running so hard, Twilight asked, "Is...is everypony alright...?" The others, also slightly exhausted, nodded yes.
"Wha-what do you suppose all that was about...?" asked Fluttershy.
"I honestly don't know, Fluttershy." the lavender Unicorn answered her. "Ever since the first problem we had with them, I started reading more about them. And nothing that I've learned matches up with what those Parasprites were doing!"
"Yeah, I don't get it either!" added Pinkie Pie. "Parasprites may be pests and eat almost every food they see, but they don't usually attack ponies like that! Believe me, I know."
"Yes, we're aware that you know more about Parasprites than any of us..." Twilight told her. She then said, "On that note, we've got to get rid of these things again, and I think you know what to do, Pinkie Pie."
"Way ahead of you, Twilight!" Pinkie responded. She then pulled a trumpet seemingly out of nowhere and began playing it a little.
"Alright, good..." The Unicorn then turned to Fluttershy and told her, "Fluttershy, you go and help Pinkie get some more instruments."
"O-okay. I will..." the yellow Pegasus responded.
"Spike and I will go find the rest of our friends to help us out." Twilight continued. "I'll also inform Mayor Mare about what's going on and see if there's anything she can do about it."
"What about Mega Pony?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"He's far enough away from town, so I doubt the Parasprites will bother him." the lavender Unicorn answered. "If we did take him along, we'd only be putting him in danger..."
"I suppose you do have a point there..." said Fluttershy.
"For now, let's worry about clearing away all of the Parasprites in town." Twilight suggested. "We'll check up on him afterwards." The others nodded and split up to perform their duties.
Several minutes later, Twilight and all of her friends were assembled in front of the town hall. "Alright, everypony:" the lavender Unicorn began. "As you know by now, we've got another Parasprite infestation on our hooves, and we need to stop it."
"Honestly, I was hoping that you were joking when you mentioned it to me..." stated Rarity, not all too keen about having to deal with the bug-like creatures again.
"Aw, don't you fret none, Rarity." said Applejack in a confident tone of voice. "We already have everythin' we need t' get 'em all outta here."
"That's right." Twilight confirmed. She then turned to Pinkie Pie, covered from head to hoof with various musical instruments, and asked, "Are you ready, Pinkie?"
"You know I was BORN ready, Twilight!" replied the pink pony, eager to start playing her instruments. (It wasn't clear if her eagerness was due to the Parasprite swarm, or that she just really wanted to make music.) As the swarm headed their way, Pinkie began playing a polka-sounding tune from her instruments. Last time, Pinkie was able to lure away the first swarm that infested Ponyville with this same tune.
The swarm stopped for a moment, observing Pinkie as she played her silly song. But then, unexpectedly, the creatures put on their mean faces again and they all rushed towards her at the same time. "Pinkie!! Watch out!!" yelled Spike.
The pink pony opened her eyes just in time see the attack coming. "EEEEP!!" she screamed as she jumped out of her instrument pile, saving herself. The only casulties were to her instuments, which were completely wrecked and broken beyond repair. "Noooo! My musical instruments!" she said in a sad/shocked tone of voice. "Look at them...they're rife with devastation!"
"Pinkie," began Rainbow Dash as she floated over towards her, "I think you've got bigger stuff to worry about right now...Just look!" The cyan Pegasus then pointed her left front hoof upwards at another swarm heading towards them. The pink pony got the message and she darted out of the way in an instant.
Twilight and the others were completely dumbfounded after witnessing what happened. "Wha-wha-what jus' happened?!?" asked Applejack, shocked.
"The instruments...they didn't work...!" Fluttershy answered, getting scared.
"Oh no...no, no, no, no...nononononononooo...!" Twilight was getting all worked up, trying to process what was going on. "This is bad...this is very bad!!" she said in an increasingly worried tone of voice. "What are we gonna do?! What-are-we-gonna dooooo?!?!"
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash sped in front of Twilight and shouted to her, "Get a holda yourself, Twi!! Running back and forth and wimpering to yourself isn't gonna stop those pests!! We need a new plan and fast!"
"But what ARE we going to do??" asked Rarity. "That song of Pinkie Pie's was the only method we knew of that could rid ourselves of these HORRIFYING little INSECTS!!"
"Maybe we could get some other ponies to help us?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"I'm afraid not..." Spike informed her. "Twilight and I stopped by the Town Hall here earlier to tell Mayor Mare about the whole problem. Not long after that, somepony came by with reports on more Parasprite attacks all over town...So the mayor gathered up everypony in Ponyville and had them all evacuated to a safe place somewhere..."
"Wait, so ya mean that we're the only ones left in the whole TOWN?!" asked Applejack in surprise. "There's nopony else here that can help us out??"
Just then, Twilight suddenly snapped out of her worried state when she heard the orange pony's question. "Wait...that's it!" she responded. "There is still ONE pony left here in Ponyville!"
"There is??" asked the others.
Twilight took a deep breath to regain her composure and told her friends, "You guys do whatever you can to keep those Parasprites from causing too much damage to the town. Spike and I have some work to do elsewhere." The other five ponies weren't sure what this "work" was, but they nodded to say that they would do what they could. They then split apart: The rest of the Mane 6 went towards the eastern side of town, while Twilight and Spike headed in the other direction...
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As their friends continued to prevent the aggressive swarms from wrecking the town, Twilight and Spike looked around for anypony that could help them. The lavender Unicorn seemed to know where she was going, but the young dragon wasn't sure about what she was doing. "Twilight," he began to ask, "who are you trying to look for? Mayor Mare evacuated everypony; there isn't a single soul left in town!"
"Not exactly, Spike..." she informed her assistant. "I'm pretty certain that the mayor didn't take EVERYpony out of town...So I've got a good hunch that he's still around."
"Who's 'he' ?" asked Spike. Just then, he realized who it was she was talking about. "Wait, do you mean-?"
"Exactly." Twilight interrupted as she stopped running. "And just as I thought, he's right there...still in the same spot as before." She then pointed her left front hoof forward.
There, sitting under the tree that the lavender Unicorn was pointing towards was Mega Pony. His back was pressed up against the trunk of the towering plant and his head was looking skyward as he was still in deep thought about all of his experiences so far.
"Are you sure he can help us?" Spike asked. "He doesn't know that he's supposed to be a fighter yet, remember?"
"I know..." she answered. "But he's still built to be a fighter, and we'll have to hope that will be enough...It's not like we have any better ideas right now..."
The dragon was still unsure. "I hope you know what you're doing, Twilight..." he said to her.
(...I hope I so too...) the lavender Unicorn thought to herself as she and Spike walked towards the robot pony.
Once they got closer, Mega Pony suddenly noticed them and looked over to his side to watch them coming. "Twilight...?" he asked, slightly confused. "You're back already? You and Spike just left a few minutes ago. Is everything okay?"
"No, everything's NOT okay..." she answered him. "That's why we're here: We need your help."
"My help?" asked the robot, now more confused. "With what?"
"You mean you don't know?" asked the dragon, slightly surprised. "Didn't you see a whole bunch of ponies leaving town on that bridge nearby where you're sitting?"
"No, I didn't." Mega Pony responded. "Nopony came by the bridge here at all. What's this all about?"
(Hmmm, I see...I guess the mayor took everypony out of town via a different exit.) thought Twilight. (That's why he doesn't know about what's going on.) The lavender Unicorn then cleared her throat and said to Mega Pony, "Well, the reason we're here is because there's a large and unusually aggressive swarm of Parasprites in town...They've been destroying properties and attacking other ponies for seemingly no reason at all!"
"Th-that's horrible!" the robot responded in a shocked tone.
"So we came here to look for you!" Spike added. "We need you to help us get rid of these things!"
"But...but what can I do??" asked Mega Pony. "How could I possibly help you and your friends? I don't have any idea of what I'm supposed to be good at...assuming that I'm good at anything, that is...And I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be much help anyway even if I did know..."
Spike let out a frustrated groan and said to Twilight, "I can't take this anymore! Twilight, you need to tell him! You need to tell him everything!"
"I can't do that, Spike!" the Unicorn protested. "Princess Celestia said that it would cause harm to him if we told him too soon..."
"Twilight, come on! If we don't do SOMETHING, Ponyville's doomed!" the dragon argued. "I'm sure the princess will understand, so please tell him already!"
Twilight looked over at Mega Pony, who wasn't sure what they were talking about, as he was out of earshot when she and Spike were speaking to each other. The lavender Unicorn sighed deeply and thought, (I guess I don't have a choice...) She then walked over to the robot and began to say to him, "Mega Pony...there's something I need to tell-" But before she could say much of anything...
"Twilight! Behind you!!" the robot shouted, pointing his right front hoof forward.
"Huh?!" The lavender Unicorn and the young dragon quickly looked back, just in time to see a small swarm of angry Parasprites rushing towards them. Instinctively, Twilight faced the attacking swarm and charged up energy into her horn. She then unleashed that power, firing three purple energy spheres; one flew straight forward, while the other two spun around the first shot in a clockwise direction while also flying foward. The shots struck the attacking swarm, taking out all of the Parasprites.
"Woah! Nice shot, Twilight!" cheered Spike, impressed.
"You got 'em all!" added Mega Pony, also impressed.
But the lavender Unicorn wasn't showing signs of relief. "Don't celebrate too soon..." she told them, pointing upwards. "Just look..." Up above, there were several more small swarms of Parasprites, all ready to attack in mere moments.
"Just great..." groaned the dragon. "Where there's one, there's bound to be another hundred or so..."
"Both of you stay back, I'll handle this!" ordered Twilight as she charged up another attack. She continued firing her attack spells at the incoming swarms, doing her best to protect her friends. But eventually, she started getting exhausted, and it was getting harder and harder to charge up the necessary power to use her attack. "So...tired..." she said softly before collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.
"Twilight!!" exclaimed Spike and Mega Pony in unison. The two raced over to her to see if she was okay.
"Twilight! Speak to me!!" the young dragon said worriedly. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine..." the lavender Unicorn responded. "Just...tired...Magical energy...fading..."
"Just hang on, Twilight..." Mega Pony told her. "We'll get you some help as soon as-" But his sentence was cut short when the three heard another small swarm coming towards them.
"Uh oh...Brace for impact!!" shouted Spike, covering his head, prompting Twilight to do the same.
The robot stared up at the swarm, and then looked over at the exhausted Twilight Sparkle. He looked up at the swarm again, realizing that they weren't going after him; Twilight and Spike were their targets. Once he found that out, something clicked inside of him, and he began to get angry.
Mega Pony stepped inbetween the swarm and their intended targets. "M...Mega Pony...?" asked the still-tired Twilight. "Wh-what are you doing...?"
But the robot didn't answer her; all his attention was directed towards the flying creatures that meant to do them all harm. "Leave them alone..." he said to the insects. Of course, they didn't listen and still continued to fly towards them. That only made him angrier. "I said...leave them ALONE!!"
And as he shouted those words, a sudden burst of energy, shaped like a yellow oval, shot out of his horn. It flew at a super-fast speed, striking some of the Parasprites in the attacking swarm, knocking them out in one hit. This caused the survivors to stop suddenly, not sure what just happened.
They weren't the only ones: Twilight and Spike were shocked at what they saw as well. But the one most surprised was Mega Pony, as his eyes looked up at his horn, which was giving off a small puff of smoke. "Did...did I just do that??" he asked.
"Woah..." was all that the young dragon could say after witnessing what took place.
Twilight was also suprised, but mostly relieved, by what she saw. Finally finding the strength to get back up, she walked over to Mega Pony and said to him, "Mega Pony...that was amazing! You got them really good there!"
"I did...?" asked the robot meekly.
"Yeah, you sure did!" Spike chimed in. "Those little bugs didn't know what hit them!"
Twilight then added, "You stepped in to protect us, without us even asking you to do it." She then had a idea: She continued to speak, saying, "In fact...it's like you knew exactly what to do...like you were born to do it!"
"Born to do it...?" the robot asked. Then, upon hearing those words from Twilight, something else clicked inside of him: The others watched as his eyes grew wider, as if he came to a sudden realization. In fact, that's exactly what had happened. "Yes...yes, that's it! That IS what my purpose is!! To protect other ponies!" he declared proudly.
"Twilight, did ya hear that?" asked Spike. "He figured it all out by himself!"
The lavender Unicorn smiled warmly and thought to herself, (I had a feeling that the whole, 'born to do it' thing would help him figure it out...)
For the first time in the past hour or so, the robot pony seemed legitimately happy, now that he was aware of what he was meant to do. But the smile faded once the three of them heard more buzzing coming their way. "Maybe we should cut this moment short..." Mega Pony suggested. "At least until these Parasprites are out of our way!"
"I couldn't agree more." stated Twilight, ready to fight once again.
"What are you doing?" asked the robot. "I thought you were exhausted earlier..."
"I was." she answered him. "I just need to rest for a little bit to recharge my magical energy. Fortunately, that sudden attack of yours scared them long enough for me to do just that."
The robot pony was still skeptical, but decided now wasn't the time to argue about it. "Okay, then..." he told her. "Just don't tire yourself out again..."
The small swarm rushed towards them again, but now that Mega Pony got himself into the thick of the battle as well, things were beginning to look up. The swarms were taken out more easily, and since Mega Pony was helping out, Twilight was able to better conserve her magic so as not to exhaust herself. Still, they were horribly outnumbered, and it would take near forever to get rid of them, and the two ponies knew it.
"We're never gonna get rid of them quickly enough at this rate!" the lavender Unicorn complained. "There's just too many of them!" Groaning, she then said to Mega Pony, "Arrgh! If only you could use an attack as powerful as my Magic Wave, we'd probably be able to get rid of them all in seconds!"
After hearing that, the robot suddenly came up with something. "Wait, that's it!" he exclaimed.
"What is it?" asked Twilight.
"I...think I have an idea," he began, "but I'll need your help."
"Anything, what do you need me to do?"
Mega Pony took a deep breath and told her, "I need to touch your cutie mark."
Right away, the lavender Unicorn was taken aback by this request. "You wanna WHAT?!?" she shouted. "Why would you ask something like that, especially NOW?!?"
"...I don't understand..." he responded. "Why are you getting so worked up, Twilight?"
She was about to say why, but then a sudden thought came to her, (Wait, hold on a second...) she thought, (Mega Pony's not a real pony...at least, not physically. He wouldn't have those kinds of...feelings...At least I don't think so...So why would he ask to touch my cutie mark?) She thought about it some more. (Wait, what was it that Princess Celestia told us all earlier...?) She then recalled the conversation that the princess had with them concerning what Mega Pony was capable of...
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"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..."
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(...Could this have something to do with those 'other functions' that she mentioned?) Twilight asked herself in thought. She then sighed and said to herself, "Well...only one way to find out, I suppose." The Unicorn then walked over to Mega Pony and told him, "Okay then...go ahead and touch it." She then stood with her side facing him to show off her cutie mark.
"Um, yeah...sure. Okay then." the robot replied.
Spike, not sure what was going on, watched as Mega Pony walked over to her. (What are they doing...?) he thought to himself.
Mega Pony then put up his right front hoof and placed it right on Twilight's mark. When he did, the mark then began to glow bright white, along with the robot pony's horn. Spike stood there watching them, even more unsure of what was taking place. Then, all of a sudden, there was a flash of light, and the two ponies were pushed apart from each other as the glows on her mark and his horn faded.
Twilight shook her head to rid herself of a slight dizziness that she had gotten from the sudden flash. "Woah, what was that...?" She glanced over at the robot and asked him, "Mega Pony, what happened? Are you okay?"
The mechanical pony rubbed his head as he got up onto his hooves. "I'm fine, Twilight..." he told her. "In fact, everything went exactly as I planned it would..." Before the female Unicorn could ask what he meant, he then told her, "Get ready to fire that Magic Wave of yours on the count of 3, okay?"
"Um, okay..." Twilight responded, staring straight at the remaining Parasprites, who were all ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Mega Pony then took a deep breath, and thought to himself, (Well, I hope this works, then...)
Just then, a larger portion of the swarm flew to attack the two ponies and dragon. Twilight then quickly charged up the necessary power for her Magic Wave attack as Mega Pony began his count.
"1...
"2...
"...3!!"
And right on cue, the lavender Unicorn fired her shot at the large swarm, still not sure what to expect. But the last thing she expected to see happened: A SECOND blast that looked exactly like her own was fired right at the same time, flying right alongside hers. The two combined shots hit the Parasprites with a force so overwhelming, the large swarm was taken down in just one attack.
"Where did that second shot come from?!" asked Spike in shock. The two then turned towards Mega Pony to ask him, but when they saw him, they were certainly surprised to say the least.
Mega Pony was still there, sporting a smirk on his face. But something was different about him: For one, he wasn't mostly blue anymore; now his body and face were lavender in color, and his boots, tail, and helmet were purple with hot pink trims. If you didn't know any better, he looked just like Twilight now; he even copied her cutie mark perfectly, and it took the place of his original one.
"What...what's going on??" asked Twilight. "What did you do??"
"Well, you said that if I had an attack as powerful as yours, we'd stand a better chance." he answered her. "After you said that, something else came to me...I kept hearing the word, 'copy', over and over, and it had something to do with another pony's cutie mark...So, I acted on a hunch, but thankfully, it paid off and I got your special attack out of it!"
*** WEAPON GET! *** Magic Wave ***
"So that's why you wanted to touch my cutie mark...Now I get it." the lavender Unicorn figured out. "Somehow, you have the ability to copy the special powers of anypony by touching their marks. That's a pretty useful power, there."
"Well, since it helped take out those Parasprites, I guess I can agree." Mega Pony then turned towards the remaining pests, charged up his horn, and added, "On that note, we've still got a bit of crowd control duties to finish, don't you agree?"
"Wholeheartedly..." replied Twilight, charging her horn as well.
The rest of the Parasprites no longer had angry looks on their faces; now they looked worried and scared after seeing the power of the two Unicorns in front of them. But before they could flee, Twilight and Mega Pony attacked first, firing their Magic Wave blasts at them with as much force as they could muster. Before long, the entire attacking swarm was no more, and the little pests were knocked out and lying on the ground.
"We did it!" said Mega Pony happily.
"We got them all!" cheered Twilight. She then started skipping around in circles, all the while going, "Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes...!!"
Suddenly, Spike jumped in front of her and told her, "HOLD IT!! I hate to be a buzzkill when you get all over-excited, but in case you forgot, we've still gotta help our other friends!"
Twilight gasped. "You're right, Spike!" she exclaimed. "I've gotta go help them!!"
Just then, Mega Pony put his right front leg behind her head and stated, "WE'VE gotta go help them."
"You mean it?" she asked, a look of joy and relief on her face.
"I do, Twilight." he answered. "I don't want anything bad to happen to your friends, so I'm going with you to make sure of it!"
The female Unicorn smiled and told him, "Then let's go and teach those pests a lesson they won't soon forget!" After she said that, Spike hopped onto Twilight's back and the three of them headed back to the center of town.
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Back in town, the majority of the swarm was still causing trouble. Parasprites were joining together perfectly to wreck anything in their path and cause as much property damage as possible. The remaining Mane 6 members did all they could to slow the damage, but it was still a one-sided battle.
"Hey!! Quit smashing that roof, you little jerks!!" Rainbow Dash scolded a splinter swarm. They immediately bolted, with the cyan Pegasus in pursuit.
"Get outta the marketplace, ya little varmits!!" yelled Applejack, racing towards another swarm that was devouring all of the food that was being sold at the small stands and chasing them off.
Pinkie Pie was swinging her front hooves like crazy to try and swat the little buggers away. "Ugh, why did I have to say something about a horrible plague coming to town?! Saying stuff like that always means that something bad will happen!!" she complained. "Next time, I'm going to say something about a cupcake hurricane coming to town instead!"
"P-please...stop wrecking other ponies' homes, please..." Fluttershy requested, speaking meekly to another small swarm. Of course, they didn't even acknowledge that she was there.
"Don't you dare smash that window!!" screamed Rarity as another small swarm began pounding away at her boutique. "I promise you, if I see even one SCRATCH on my wall because of you, you're going to feel my WRATH!!!"
But all that outburst of hers did was anger the Parasprites. They stopped attacking her boutique, but then went after her instead! The white Unicorn yelped and made a run for it, with the bugs in pursuit. The others found themselves in similar scenarios, and were being chased off by larger swarms. Before long, the five of them were backed into a corner.
"Great...just great..." Rainbow Dash grumbled. "I can see the headlines now: 'Rainbow Dash, Fastest and Toughest Flyer in Equestria, Clobbered by Parasprites'..."
"Right now, Ah just hope THAT'S where we end up in the newspaper...instead of the obituaries..." Applejack noted, gulping a bit as the huge swarm flew closer and closer, as mean as ever.
"What...what are we going to do...?" asked a trembling Fluttershy.
"Weeeeeelllllll..." began Pinkie Pie, "usually at this part of the story, the hero suddenly shows up out of nowhere to come and save the day! It's a little cliché, but it's still very effective!"
"Not to crush your high hopes, Pinkie dear..." Rarity began, "but the odds that somepony will show up at this moment to come rescue us is practically slim to-"
But her remark was cut short when they heard shrieks coming from some of the Parasprites. When the other ponies looked over, they saw that some of the bugs had fallen to the ground, completely unconscious. But it was what they saw next that shocked them all: There, off in the distance, were Twilight, Spike, and Mega Pony.
Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes in disbelief and looked again. "It's Twilight! And...another Twilight...?" she spoke, confused.
"Hey!! I thought we all Pinkie-Promised that the Mirror Pool was off-limits! Forever!" Pinkie said loudly.
"Wait, hold up! Look a wee bit closer!" Applejack instructed them. "There ain't two Twilights...That other one's Mega Pony!!"
"Mega Pony?!" exclaimed the others in surprise.
The rest of the swarm turned to face Twilight and Mega Pony and went in to attack. But they didn't get very far before the two Unicorns fired off Magic Wave blasts their way, taking out several of them at once. They were then able to rush by the surviving Parasprites in the confusion and get to their friends.
"Are you guys alright?" asked Twilight, concerned.
"We've been better, dear." answered Rarity. "But we've also been worse, so, all in all, we cannot complain."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." the lavender Unicorn responded.
Rainbow Dash then glanced over at Mega Pony, who was still colored like Twilight. "Uh...that IS you, right, Mega Pony...?" she asked in an unsure tone of voice.
The robot giggled a little and said, "Yeah, it's me, Rainbow Dash..."
"So, how come ya'll look like Twilight?" Applejack asked. "Last Ah checked, you were all blue in color..."
"It's some sorta power he has..." Spike answered. "According to him and Twilight, he can copy anypony's special powers by touching their cutie marks!"
"Really now?" asked Rarity. "I must say that IS remarkable, to say the least..."
"Um...guys...?" asked Fluttershy. "I really don't like to interrupt...but...look up..."
The rest of the group glanced up and saw that the remaining Parasprites had returned to attack once again. "Looks like it's not over yet..." Twilight noted. "Those things are probably going to strike again soon, and we have to stop them from causing any more harm to the town..."
"That's going to be a problem..." Mega Pony stated. "I don't have much ammo left for the Magic Wave that I got from you, and I'd rather save what I have just in case things get really bad..."
"Then the answer t' that problem's obvious!" Applejack suddenly spoke up, walking over to the robot. "You need t' get yerself another weapon, and I'm willin' t' offer mah services!"
"You are...?" asked the robot as Applejack stood in front of him, showing her cutie mark.
"Go ahead and see what ya can get offa me." she told him. Mega Pony nodded and touched her mark with his right front hoof. Just like with Twilight, her mark and his horn began to glow, and a flash sparked when it was all over. Once they recovered their wits, the orange Earth Pony asked, "So, did it work?"
Mega Pony nodded and said, "I think so, I'll try it out right now..." He then closed his eyes to concentrate. As he did, rays of light circled around his body, moving from his front to his back. As they did, his color scheme began to change from Twilight's lavender and purple colors to Applejack's orange and yellow. And of course, her cutie mark was now proudly displayed on his flank.
"Well, Ah'll be..." said the amazed Applejack.
"So that's how he does it..." Twilight said to herself.
With his new weapon activated, Mega Pony stared straight up at the swarm of Parasprites, who only stared back. His horn then began to glow, and then, from out of thin air, an apple appeared in front of him and flew a short distance straight upward. The rest watched, not sure what to expect.
Mega Pony then turned around, his back to the apple that was now dropping to the ground. He then balanced himself on his front legs, pulled his hind legs back and, once it was within range, kicked the falling apple, sending it flying at an upward angle towards the swarm. The Parasprites tried to fly away, but many of them got struck by the apple, which exploded upon contact with them.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Apple Bucker ***
"That was awesome!!" praised Rainbow Dash. "Did you guys see that?!"
"Not exactly the most refined method of eliminating pests," criticized Rarity, "but as they say, 'If it works, it works.' "
Mega Pony hopped back over to his friends and said to Applejack, "Thanks for the great new weapon, Applejack! It sent those Parasprites running! Er, I mean flying..."
"No problem at all, Mega Pony!" the orange pony responded, tipping her hat. "Always happy to help a pony."
Just then, the group suddenly heard screaming nearby. "HEEEEEELLLLLP!!!!" They turned around and raced in the direction that the cries were coming from. Once they got to the scene, they were horrified at what they saw: There were four young ponies, two colts and two fillies, trapped under some rubble from a nearby building that was ready to collapse on them.
"Oh no! That building's going to fall right on them, and they can't get away from it!" Twilight stated in distress.
"Rainbow Dash, you've gotta save them...!" said Fluttershy. "You're the only one fast enough to get to them in time..."
"Well, YEAH...Of course I am." the cyan Pegasus told her. "But there's just one problem: I can only carry about two of them tops and still be able to fly to safety fast enough!"
Mega Pony (who changed back to his standard colors by now) stepped over towards Dash and said to her, "Then I'll go and help you! I'll get the two to my left, and you grab the two on your right."
"Are you sure you're fast enough?" asked Rainbow.
"I'm not...At least right NOW I'm not." he answered, pointing to the Pegasus's cutie mark.
Dash looked over at her mark, and realized what he was getting at. "Ohhhh...I see, I see..." she responded. "In that case, go ahead and see what you get from me." The robot nodded and touched her mark. After the light show was over, she then asked him, "So, get anything good? As if I have to ask?"
"Yeah, I think so." he replied. "Go on ahead, Dash...I'll catch up." The cyan Pegasus nodded and sped off to save two of the young ponies. Mega Pony then changed colors again, this time switching to Rainbow Dash's color scheme. Once he did, he then said, "Activating Emergency Wings!" Upon doing so, a pair of wings formed at his sides. The others were surprised, but not nearly as much as when the robot sped off in a rainbow-colored streak, going from 0 to 60 in less than a second, and even creating a small rainbow shockwave that was visible for a split-second.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Sonic Rainboom ***
"Aiyiyi!! Did you see that?!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
"We did..." Twilight responded. "It was small, but that was definitely a Sonic Rainboom!"
The robot flew as fast as possible: Of course, it was easy since he now had Rainbow Dash's power helping him. In no time, he managed to catch up to the speedy flyer. The cyan Pegasus was pretty surprised to see somepony that was able to keep up with her. She then smirked and asked, "So I guess this means you did get something useful from me, huh?"
"Yeah, but more on that later." Mega Pony told her. "We've still got a job to do!"
"On it!" the Pegasus responded, speeding up, prompting the robot to do the same. The two of them used their speed to smash away the rubble that prevented the young ponies from running away before looping around and scooping up the colts and fillies and whisking them off to safety...mere moments before the building collapsed over top of where they were.
The two flying ponies landed safely next to the rest of their friends, placing the younger ponies back on the ground gently. "There, you guys are safe now." said Rainbow Dash. She then asked them, "But what were you thinking coming here? Didn't you see the mayor evacuating everypony outta town?!"
"We're sorry..." said one of the fillies, a Unicorn who had a slate-blue coat and a blond mane and tail. "We didn't hear anything about that..."
"It's okay." Twilight told them. "Just be careful getting out of here, it still dangerous." She then looked up at Rainbow Dash and resquested her, saying, "Take the four of them out of town safely."
"I hear ya, Twi. No prob." the cyan Pegasus responded.
One of the other fillies, an Earth Pony with a beige coat, puffy red mane and tail, and a cutie mark depicting two candy canes, walked over to Mega Pony (who no longer had his wings active, as they were only a temporary power-up). "Thankth for thaving me, mithter..." she said to him, a slight lisp in her voice. "How can I ever repay you?"
"Just live your life happily and safely...that's all I ask." the robot responded in a humble tone, patting her on the head. The filly giggled and left to join the other young ponies being led out of town.
Not long after they left, the rest of the group heard more buzzing. "Oh dear...not AGAIN..." groaned Rarity as she and her friends looked up to see the Parasprite swarm returning in greater numbers.
"Looks like they're back..." noted Applejack. "And they brought reinforcements!"
"That's not good..." Mega Pony stated. "I only have so much energy left for my weapons, and it's not enough to take out that many Parasprites...I need some kind of weapon that's not only effective, but also energy-efficient as well."
Rarity then put on a smirk and spoke up. "Then I guess I will go right ahead and 'step up to the plate' as they say." she said to them.
"You think you might have something that can help, Rarity?" asked Twilight.
"Ah, but of course, dear." the white Unicorn replied. "After all, being efficient with my resources is something I'm very good at. Not a single cloth or jewel goes to waste when it's in MY boutique. So, I'm fairly certain that whatever I give to Mega Pony here will be EXACTLY what he needs!"
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try..." the robot stated. "Here goes." He then went and touched Rarity's cutie mark next, triggering the bright light show once more. Once he succesfully copied her, he then said, "Okay...yeah, I think this is what I was hoping for. Only one way to find out, though..." The robot then switched colors again, adopting Rarity's white-and-violet color scheme and cutie mark.
Spike sighed with a slight frown when he saw Mega Pony in Rarity's colors. (Those colors...) he thought, (it just doesn't work with him as well as it works on Rarity...)
The robot approached the swarm, a look of justifiable anger upon his face. Once again, the Parasprites flew in to attack, but the robot was ready with his new weapon. His horn then glowed brightly, and all of a sudden, six large, white jewels began to circle in front of him rapidly. The bugs then ended up striking the gems instead of him, and were swatted away easily. But Mega Pony wasn't done yet; he then activated his horn again and swung his head up and forward, causing the gems to fly out towards the swarm. They tried to get away, but the crystallized projectiles homed in on them and took out many of them anyway.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Gem Seeker ***
"This is great!" Mega Pony said to himself. "Rarity was right: I've fired of six of those things, and I barely used up any weapon energy at all!" He then used his weapon to create more gems, firing them off at the swarm repeatedly. Not long after, Twilight got back into the fight, firing her Magic Wave attack at the pests as well.
Pretty soon, the huge swarm that attacked the town earlier was now only a shell of its former self. The remaining Parasprites flew off in a panic, managing to get out of the area before being attacked. "Look! They're flying away! We did it!" cheered Pinkie Pie.
Applejack huffed and said, "Figures, they act all big n' tough when there's a ton of 'em, but as soon as things start lookin' bad, they turn tail n' run!"
"So...i-is it over now...?" asked Fluttershy.
"No way!" replied Rainbow Dash, returning from escorting the young ponies out of town. "They wreck the town, and we're just gonna let 'em get away with it?! We've gotta take 'em all out now while we've got the chance!"
"Are you sure we need to?" asked Rarity, puzzled. "If they're leaving town, then our problem is solved, right?"
"No, I have to agree with Rainbow Dash on this one..." stated Twilight. "If we let them get away, there's a chance they'll multiply like crazy and try this again! Those things have made it perfectly clear that they don't care about anypony's safety or well-being, and it's our duty to make sure that they can't hurt this town or any of us again!"
"I saw the swarm heading towards the Everfree Forest, if my GPS system is working correctly..." Mega Pony noted, changing back to his original colors. "If we move fast enough, we can cut them off and end this!" The others nodded in agreement, and ran off towards the forest in hot pursuit.
The remaining members of the swarm flew as fast as they could to get away, but to no avail. Their flight was interrupted when the Mane 6, Spike, and Mega Pony leapt out in front of them. "That's as far as you're going, you little ruffians!" shouted Rarity.
The swarm panicked and flew off in the opposite direction. Twilight then got an idea and said to her yellow Pegasus friend, "Fluttershy, get in front of them quickly, then use your stare to keep them in place!"
"Um...uh...o-o-okay..." the meek pony responded, a bit unsure. She flew past the swarm and managed to get in front of them. But when she prepared to use her stare, an ability that could frighten even the biggest of creatures, the small swarm gave off a stare of their own, glaring angrily at her. "EEEP!" shreiked Fluttershy, hiding her face.
"Come on, Sugarcube!!" Applejack shouted. "Stare 'em down!"
"Oh...it's no use..." noted Rarity. "She's too frightened to move, much less use her stare...Not that I can blame her, the poor dear...This HAS been quite the horrid experience so far..."
Mega Pony, listening to the conversation, chimed in and asked, "Twilight, what's this 'stare' they keep talking about...?"
The lavender Unicorn answered him, saying, "Well, Fluttershy has this power...By just staring at something, or somepony, she can frighten them so much, that they can't help but to freeze in place completely." She then looked over at her trembling friend and added, "But with everything that's happened so far, she's too scared to use it!"
The robot then responded, "In that case, if she can't do it...I will!" He then ran past the Parasprites, reaching Fluttershy. He then quickly tapped her mark to try and copy her power.
"EEEP!" the timid Pegasus yelped. She started shaking again until she realized who it was that was touching her. "M-Mega Pony??"
"Don't be scared, Fluttershy..." he said to her. "I'm here to help." After saying that, he managed to finish using his copy ability. Once he did, he changed his armor color to match Fluttershy's color scheme and said to the Pegasus, "You might want to get back to the others and tell them to cover their eyes; if this stare power is as strong as I heard it was, this could get intense."
"Ummm...okay, then." replied Fluttershy. "G-good luck!" She then ran off to pass on Mega Pony's message to them.
Once she was out of harm's way, Mega Pony looked up at the swarm and said, "So, you wanna pick on somepony, huh? Then why don't you try picking on me?! That is, if you think you can..."
That comment struck the nerves of the Parasprites. Since their escape was cut off, they decided to fight back instead, rushing towards the robot. But Mega Pony simply looked ahead, and saw that the others took his advice and had their eyes covered. Once he confirmed that everything was okay, he shut his own eyes and concentrated hard. Then, he opened them again, and when he did, bright, blinding lights came out of them. It was so intense, the swarm had stopped completely, unable to move even the slightest inch.
*** WEAPON GET! *** The Stare ***
After a few seconds of using the new weapon he got, Mega Pony finally deactivated it, feeling slightly woozy. He rubbed his head for a bit, saying to himself, "Woah...that took a lot of energy..." He then looked up at the Parasprites, saw that they were stalled completely in mid-air, and added, "But most importantly, it worked. Those things aren't going anywhere!"
Twilight and the others opened their eyes once they heard the robot talking. They were then able to see that the remaining bugs were now sitting ducks. "Look, he did it!" Applejack said happily. "He froze 'em all!"
"Oh...my..." was all that Fluttershy could say about it.
"Alright, now to finish these things off..." Mega Pony said to himself. "But what should I use to make sure that they all go down at once...?"
"Maybe I can help!" Pinkie Pie responded, (somehow) appearing behind the robot. "I'll bet I have something that can get rid of these party poopers once and for all!"
"Uh, okay. Why not?" asked the mechanical pony. "After all, I got good weapons from all of the others; it wouldn't make sense not to add whatever you have to my supply as well." He then touched Pinkie's cutie mark, triggering the light show, and copying her special power.
"So, wha'dya get?! Wha'dya get?!" asked the silly pony as the robot changed his color and mark to hers.
Mega Pony, a bit confused at first, answered, saying, "My systems say that it's called the...'Party Cannon'...?"
*** WEAPON GET! *** Party Cannon ***
"No WAY!!!! You got my Party Cannon!!!" Pinkie replied excitedly. "That'll be perfect!!!"
"It...will...?"
"You betcha, Mega Pony!" she continued, pulling out her Party Cannon out of nowhere. Her cannon was light-blue colored and was supported by two pink and purple wheels with flowers on them. "But maybe we oughtta let the cannons speak for themselves! But that might be hard since they don't have mouths." Going completely off-topic, she then added, "Say, now that I think about it, what would you say if you were a cannon that could talk? If I were that, I'd say, 'Fill me with cake and cookies!' And then I'd fire it to anypony who wants a treat and-"
"Um, Pinkie...?" Mega Pony interrupted. "The Parasprites...?"
"Oops, sorry." the pink pony apologized with a slight giggle. The two of them looked right up at the still-frozen swarm, ready to take them out for good. "Alrighty-rooty, Mega Pony! Let's go!! FIRE!!!"
And with that command, the two of them fired their weapons, shooting pink, blue, and yellow balloons towards the Parasprites. When the balloons came into contact with them, they immediately burst, letting out a noise so loud, it scared the bugs into moving again...straight down to the ground. And with that, the crisis was over.
"We did it!! We got them all!!" cheered Rainbow Dash with a congratualtory loop-de-loop in the air.
"What a relief..." sighed Rarity. She looked at her front hooves and added, "And would you look at that: All without scratching a hoof..."
Twilight walked over to Mega Pony as he changed back to his original colors and thanked him, saying, "My friends and I really appreciate everything you've done for us. Thanks a lot."
"Yeah, same here!" added Spike. "You were awesome out there!"
The robot gave a small smile and told them both, "Only because you and the others helped me. I don't think we would have done so well if we didn't work together as well as we did..." He then added, "You were a big help especially, Twilight: You helped me figure out my purpose and what I was programmed to do."
The lavender Unicorn responded, saying, "Look...about that...I have to confess something: See, my friends and I-"
"I know." Mega Pony interrupted, causing Twilight to gasp a little. "Princess Celestia probably told you what I was built for, but she didn't want you to reveal that to me too soon, right?"
"Y...yeah." the Unicorn replied, feeling slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry, but the princess said that if we told you too soon, it could damage you internally..."
"I know that." he replied. "Believe me, I considered that possibility...But you helped me discover my talent; my purpose, on my own...And not only that, you stood by my side and put your complete trust in me when it was needed the most...I'll never forget that, Twilight."
"It was nothing, Mega Pony." Twilight told him. "That's just what good friends do: Help each other out."
"Friend? Me?" asked the robot, a bit surprised. "Really?"
"Of course." stated Applejack as she and the rest of the group strolled over towards him. "After all that's happened today, there's no way that we WOULDN'T consider you a friend, Mega Pony."
"You fought against those creatures for the sake of everypony in Ponyville," began Rarity, "and I daresay, we were more than happy to be right there to support you!"
"So like it or not," Rainbow Dash added, swooping in from above, "you can consider yourself one of us now."
Mega Pony was clearly touched by what they said to him. "Th...thanks, guys..." he said. "That really means a lot to me, that you want me to be your friend..." After he said that, a small tear came out of his eye.
"Um...are you...crying?" asked Fluttershy. "If you don't mind me asking..."
"I didn't know robots could cry." added Pinkie Pie.
"...I didn't either." the robot told them. "I just feel so happy right now, I guess I couldn't help it..." He then wiped the tear and added, "But if being a friend to somepony else feels this good inside, then I guess that's what I'll do!" And not long after he said that, he found himself in the middle of a group hug, courtesy of Twilight and the rest of her friends, which essentially cemented their new friendship.
Once they broke the group hug, Twilight then said, "Well, I guess we'd better get back to town to let everypony know it's safe to come back."
"I agree." stated Mega Pony. "Besides, there's a bit more I want see and do in Ponyville before I head back to Canterlot."
As the group began to leave, a loud CRUNCH sound was heard. Everypony glanced around a bit to figure out where it came from, until they heard a loud "EEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!" from Fluttershy.
Rushing over to the yellow Pegasus, Rarity asked her, "Fluttershy! Darling, what's the matter?!"
"I...I...I stepped on one...!" the timid pony responded, shaking in horror. "I stepped on a Parasprite...!"
"Really?!" asked Twilight. "Let me see." Fluttershy slowly moved her leg so that the lavender Unicorn could inspect the unlucky bug. But when she got a look at it, she gave out a loud gasp. "WHAT THE-?!?!"
"What's wrong, Twilight??" asked Applejack, concerned.
Twilight, shaking a little, pointed her hoof down and said, "L...look..." The others glanced down and became just as shocked as her when they saw it: Right where the Parasprite was, there were pieces of broken metal, nuts, bolts, and small microchips instead. The eyes of the Parasprite looked like shattered glass...because they WERE glass, broken from being stepped on.
"Th...that Parasprite!" Mega Pony stuttered. "It was a...a robot!"
"Wait...hold up a sec:" started Rainbow Dash. "You mean t' tell me that this whole time, we've been fighting ROBOT Parasprites?!"
"Y'know what...?" Applejack began to ask, "I'll betcha that those Parasprite robots..."
"Para-Bots!" Pinkie Pie blurted out, interrupting her orange friend. The others looked at her, which prompted the pink pony into saying, "What? I just think that sounds better."
"Uh, right." Applejack replied. She then began speaking again, saying, "Anyhoo, I'll betcha those, 'Para-Bots', were progammed to attack other ponies and pretty much everythin' else! That's why they were acting so aggresively!"
"But...that poses one more question..." Rarity added. "...WHO programmed them?"
"You're right, Rarity..." Twilight said with a gasp. "Robots can't program themselves, so somepony must have sent these robots to attack on purpose!"
"But who would be so mean to do that...?" asked Fluttershy.
"Well whoever they are," started Rainbow Dash, "they'd better not show their face around here, or they're gonna have to tangle with me!"
"I suppose we'll know in time..." stated Twilight. "For now, let's get back to Ponyville and tell Mayor Mare about what we found out." The others nodded and followed the lavender Unicorn out of the forest and back to civilization.
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Several hours had passed since the Para-Bots' attack in Ponyville. All of the citizens were able to return home, and life carried on as usual. Fortunately, the damage caused by the swarm was minimal, thanks to the efforts of the Mane 6 and Mega Pony, so repairs were quick and relatively cheap.
Mega Pony stayed with Twilight and her friends for the rest of the day, chatting, sightseeing, and generally having fun with each other. After the huge battle they had fought, being able to wind down and relax felt really good to them. Of course, as nighttime neared, the group had to soon say their goodbyes to their new friend. Mega Pony remained with Twilight and Spike in front of the library and said his farewells to the others as they prepared to leave for their homes.
A short while later, Spike, looking through a pair of binoculars, said to Twilight and Mega Pony, "There! Here she comes!" He then pointed straight up at a chariot, pulled by two Pegasus guards, flying high up in the sky and heading towards them. In the chariot were the princesses, Celestia and Luna, coming over to pick up Mega Pony and take him back to Canterlot.
After the two Alicorns stepped onto terra firma, Twilight bowed to show her respect before telling them about everything that had happened. The two rulers of Equestria were surprised, not only to find out about the strange Parasprite robots, but also the fact that Mega Pony had grown into his programming and even ended up becoming friends with Twilight and her friends.
"I must admit, Twilight..." Celestia spoke, "as confident as I was in you, I didn't expect you to help Mega Pony come into his programming THIS quickly. I have to say, I am very proud of you, my student."
"Uh, th-thanks, Princess Celestia..." the lavender Unicorn responded. "But to be honest, that sudden crisis here a couple hours ago sorta helped a little..."
"Nevertheless, you've once again exceeded my expectations, Twilight." the white Alicorn complimented. "If you keep this up...well, I'd rather not spoil the surprise for you just yet." The Unicorn giggled a bit in response as Celestia walked over to her creation. "So, random mishaps aside," she began to ask him, "did you enjoy your day here in Ponyville?"
"Yes, very much so!" the robot answered. "Twilight and the others were really nice to me since I came here. I'd love to come back and see them again someday!"
"I'll see if I can arrange that..." Celestia replied. Mega Pony then yawned a little, feeling tired. "But for now, I think we should head back to the castle for the night." she then suggested.
"Yes, we should." Luna added. "After all, it is getting late, and I have to make sure that the moon rises on time." As the three of them got in the chariot, the dark-blue Alicorn then asked, "Say, Sister...why did you give Mega Pony the ability to yawn?"
"Oh, that's simple." the white Alicorn told her. "So that he and anypony else will know if his energy reserves are low and need recharging. Fortunately, we have that sort of thing all ready back home."
After he got into the chariot, Mega Pony waved his left front hoof and said, "Bye, Twilight! Bye, Spike! Thanks for everything!"
"Goodbye, Mega Pony!" Twilight said, waving back. "Have a safe trip!"
"Come back soon someday!" Spike added, also waving goodbye.
"I will! Goodbye!!" the robot responded as the chariot lifted off of the ground and headed back towards Canterlot.
Once they were back at the castle, Princess Celestia took Mega Pony up a set of stairs to a higher floor, while Princess Luna took care of her task of raising the moon. "I'm very pleased to hear about how well you performed today, Mega Pony." she told him. "You, too, have exceeded what I expected out of you, and I know you will be a fine guardian for all of Equestria."
"Are you sure?" asked the mechanical pony. "After all, I don't think I would have been able to fight that Parasprite swarm if Twilight and the others hadn't helped me."
Celestia chuckled softly and told her creation, "Now, Mega Pony...You do not have worry about such things." The two stopped walking as she continued, saying, "While you are built to handle most threats alone, I never intended for you to try and do EVERYTHING by yourself." The robot seemed confused, but listened on to see where she was going with this.
"I know from experience that there will be problems and threats that are too big for one pony to face on their own..." the princess continued. "So I designed you to be able to accept help from anypony who wishes to fight for the safety of themselves and/or others. That's why I gave you your Copy Chip and Variable Tool System, the devices that work together in order to allow you to adapt any pony's special power into yourself. Not only will it make you more powerful, but it is also a reminder to you that, no matter what, you are never truly in a fight alone, and that your friends will always be there right by your side."
Mega Pony smiled a little, happy to hear that. "Thanks..." he said. "That means a lot to me...And I promise to fight hard to make sure that Equestria remains safe for everypony."
"And I know that you will do a great job, Mega Pony." Celestia replied as they walked up the rest of the stairs. "But for now, you need your rest, which brings us to the next surprise I have for you."
"Surprise...?" The robot watched as his creator opened a door in front of them, revealing a very neat and tidy bedroom. "What is this??" he asked, a bit shocked.
The white Alicorn chuckled and answered him, saying, "This is your bedroom, Mega Pony. It was a storage room previously, but Luna and I converted it while you were away with Twilight and her friends. Since you'll be staying here with us for quite a long time, I felt that you should have someplace in the castle to call your own."
"Wow...! Thank you so much!" the robot pony said happily and gratefully.
A few minutes later, the princess tucked Mega Pony into his bed and used her magic to connect a series of cables from a device behind the bed into small ports in the back of the robot's helmet. "Okay, everything's all set." she told him. "Once I leave the room, you are to activate your Sleep Mode. This will allow the generator behind your bed to recharge your power reserves. By morning tomorrow, you should be back to full power."
"Okay then..." he responded with a yawn. "Thanks again for everything today..."
"It was my pleasure." Celestia replied. She then kissed him on the forehead and said to him, "Good night, Mega Pony."
But as the princess turned around and began to leave the room, she heard something from her creation that made her stop for a moment: "Good night...Mommy..."
The white Alicorn did not expect Mega Pony to say something like that to her. But the smile on her face and the small tear of joy that escaped from her eye said it all: She was deeply touched by the fact the he considered her his mother. She then finally left the room as the robot fell asleep.
As Celestia walked downstairs, she saw her sister Luna walking up the stairs to meet her. "Well, that takes care of the moon for tonight..." said the dark-blue Alicorn. "I just have a few more things to look over, and then I'll take care of my nightly du-" She then paused when she saw her sister, Celestia; particularly the tear that was still in her eye. "Um, Sister? Is everything alright?" Luna asked, concerned.
The white Alicorn wiped the tear from her eye and said, "It...it's nothing...Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
The younger sister still wasn't sure. "Did something happen? Is Mega Pony okay?" she asked.
"Oh, he's fine." Celestia told her. "However...you might have to get used to him calling you 'Aunt Luna' from now on..."
"Well, I suppose I can-...Wait, WHAT??" Luna exclaimed, not expecting to hear something like that. "What is that supposed to mean?! Sister!! SISTER!!!" She asked loudly, running after Celestia. All the while, Mega Pony slept soundly in his room. But as he rested, everypony that knew him already knew that this was only the beginning; the beginning of a new legend in the country of Equestria: The Legend of the Equine Bomber.
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NEXT EPISODE: "Friendship Isn't Easy"
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