Episode 110: The Good, the Bad, and the Mechanical:
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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!
In the short time that Mega Pony has been alive, he has had to deal with all sorts of dangerous foes and troublesome situations. But none seems more troubling than the robot attacks in various places within Equestria. Not much is known about these bizarre instances, other than the fact that it seems to be the work of a single individual. Who they are and why they are attacking the normally-peaceful country is a mystery, and it is one that has baffled Princesses Celestia and Luna, who are investigating the seemingly random attacks.
In the meantime, Mega Pony is heading to a new region of Equestria: The rustic, western-style town of Appleloosa. He is accompanying his friend, Applejack, on a trip to the town, which has been growing steadily ever since the farm pony and the rest of the Mane 6 had first visited there. With them is the rest of Applejack's family; the elderly Granny Smith, the older brother Big Macintosh, and the eager young Apple Bloom. They are making a delivery from their apple farm to the orchards in Appleloosa. Also joining them is none other than Princess Celestia, who is going to attend a ceremony for the opening of a very important building in the slowly expanding town.
What has begun as a simple trip will soon turn into a crisis in which an apple a day may not make it go away...
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CHARACTER SELECT:
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Mega Pony (PCN-001): The first robot pony and guardian of Equestria.
Princess Celestia: One of the two rulers of Equestria and Mega Pony's creator.
Applejack: Hard worker and lover of apples. Element of Honesty.
Braeburn: Applejack's cousin and well-known resident of Appleloosa.
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It was scorching hot in the desert regions south of the town of Ponyville. Luckily, for those travelling through the desert by train, the locomotive was air-conditioned. The train was bound for a town called Appleloosa, which had the look and feel of a wild west boom town (though, in actuality, the town wasn't very old at all). Despite the fact that the town bordered the harsh San Palamino Desert, the residents were able to run a working apple farm, quite possibly one of the largest in all of Equestria. This was probably due to the fact that Appleloosa was mostly, if not completely, populated by Earth Ponies, the pony race that was known for their deep connection to the Earth (it was in their name after all) and their ability to take care of all kinds of plant and animal life. This meant that the seemingly-impossible task of growing apple trees in the middle of a desert was no problem for the citizens of Appleloosa.
Several passengers were on board the train; either Appleloosians that were heading home from a long visit, or ponies from other towns and cities that wanted to see the western-style town. In one of the train cars, specifically the car reserved for first-class passengers, Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria, was sitting with her robotic son, Mega Pony, to attend a special event in the rustic town. Also with them was Mega Pony's friend, Applejack, along with the rest of her family from Ponyville: Granny Smith, her grandmother, Big Macintosh, her older brother, and Apple Bloom, her younger sister. The Apple Family was on their way to town to make a delivery; since the Princess and Mega Pony were going to be on the same train as all of them, Celestia offered to upgrade them all to First Class so that they could all travel together.
Applejack glanced around at everything in the train car, feeling a bit uneasy at all of the fancy stuff inside, which included a small orchestra band playing in the background. "Uh...Forgive me fer askin'," she began to say, "but ain't all this a li'l much just for a simple train ride?"
"Ah'm certainly not complainin', big sis." Apple Bloom told her as she was recieving a complimentary hooficure from one of the stewards working aboard the train. This elicted a sigh out of Applejack.
"Aw lighten up, young-'un..." said Granny Smith, who was in the middle of having her mane styled. "It ain't every day that we get quality treatment such as this! Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
The large red stallion, who was enjoying a rather large and fancy meal, glanced over at his grandmother and nodded, saying, "Eeeyup!"
Applejack sighed again, feeling a bit embarrased. "It's times like this that make even ME feel like Ah'm the only normal one in the family..." she muttered to herself.
"Oh, don't worry yourself, Applejack..." Mega Pony said to her. "Just let them relax and enjoy themselves; with everything that we'll be doing today, a small break might be exactly what we need."
"Ah suppose so." the orange Earth Pony responded. "We certainly do have a whole heap o' stuff t' do, so Ah guess a quick breather will do them some good."
"I can agree with that." Celestia added, putting down a newspaper that she was reading during the trip. "Everypony should make time to relax every now and again. There's no sense in overworking and wearing yourself out, especially not today."
"Yeah, 'bout that," Applejack began to ask the royal Alicorn, "what is it that you an' Mega Pony are doin' over at Appleloosa, Your Highness?"
"Quite a big thing, actually." Mega Pony answered her. "My mom's going to the town to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Apparently, there's this important new building that's recently been built that's supposed to help the whole town a lot, so Mom made plans to show up and officially open the place."
"What kinda buildin' is it?" asked Apple Bloom, becoming interested.
"Not sure." the robot admitted. "I never asked." He then turned to his creator and asked, "What is this new building for, Mom?"
"I could tell you," Celestia began, smiling a little, "but I think you all might appreciate it more if you saw it with your own eyes."
"Awwww, I wanna know what it is!" said Apple Bloom, whining a little.
"Now, now..." Granny Smith told the little filly, "Patience is a virtue, li'l filly. No need to get impatient."
"Eeeyup." added Big Mac, agreeing with the elderly mare.
"Well, it sure sounds pretty important." said AJ. She then asked Mega Pony, "So why're you ridin' along with us?"
"Well, I heard some good things about Appleloosa," he answered her, "so when I heard that Mom was going over there, I asked if I could accompany her and see the town for myself." He then asked his orange friend, "I'd heard that you and rest of our friends went there one time; what's it like?"
"Oh, it's a pretty nice place, Mega Pony." Applejack told him. "It's a bit small, but everypony over there's friendlier than a barrel o' purrin' kittens! Not only that, but there's a relative of ours that lives there that Ah'm sure you'd like t' meet with."
"Well, it sure sounds like something to look forward to." the robot told her, anxious to get to the town as soon as possible.
At that moment, the train whistle sounded, which signaled to all of the passengers that they were about to arrive at their destination. Applejack got up out of her seat and said, "Well, we'll all be arrivin' soon; Ah'd better check the cargo and make sure that everythin's still okay."
"Can I come with you?" asked Mega Pony. "I could use a minute to stretch my legs; theoretically speaking."
"Sure, fine by me. Ah was gonna ask if y'all wanted to come anyway." The orange Earth Pony then walked towards the back of the car and said to him, "Come on, follow me."
The robot hopped off of his seat and said to Celestia, "I'll be back in a few minutes, Mom. I just need to see if Applejack needs my help or not." The Alicorn smiled and nodded to say that she understood.
Mega Pony and Applejack walked through the train cars, heading for the back of the locomotive. The last few cars on the train were used for storing large cargo. The two ponies stopped in front of several large burlap sacks; as Mega Pony sniffed the air around him, he then cringed a little before asking his friend, "Ugggh...what's that smell...??"
"That'd probably be the delivery y'all are smellin'." AJ answered, pointing to the sacks with her left front leg. "It's somethin' Ah've been workin' on fer a while with Twilight: A special fertilizer designed specifically to contribute to the growth of healthy apple trees."
"Um...sounds interesting." the robot told her, still trying to ignore the unpleasent odor.
"Yep, Twilight was a real big help." Applejack then told him. "She brewed up some natural chemicals to add to the mixture, while Ah..." The Earth Pony then paused for a moment, seemingly trying to think of what to say. "...Well...let's just say Ah made a major contribution to the project mahself, if ya know what Ah mean..."
"Um...duly noted." Mega Pony said to her, understanding what that meant.
The orange pony chuckled weakly a bit, a little embarrased. "Anyhoo, gettin' off of THAT topic..." She began to tell him, "now that it's finished, Ah've decided to bring some of it over to the farm in Appleloosa so that they can use it on their trees an' keep 'em nice an' healthy!"
"That sounds like a great idea to me, Applejack." stated the robot. "I'm sure they'll really appreciate it."
"That bein' said," AJ then told him, picking up one of the bags with her front legs and loading it onto a nearby dolly, "Ah could use an extra set'a hooves t' move all o' these sacks from here to the orchards. Think you could help me out?"
"Um...I guess I could..." he answered semi-reluctantly. He wanted to help his friend, but was still put off by the odor of the fertilizer. Luckily, his psuedo-magic allowed him to move the burlap sacks from a distance, so he went and did that.
By the time they were finished, an announcement came through the speakers set up inside of the train. "Attention passengers, we are now arriving in Appleloosa. Do not depart until the train has come to a complete stop. Have a nice day, and thank you for traveling with Friendship Express."
"Well, that's our cue, Mega." Applejack said to her robot friend. "We'd better go and inform the rest of mah family that they'll have t' cut things short with their hooficure appointments, mane stylin', and all o' that other fancy-shmancy gobbledygook."
"Seems like it." Mega Pony said with a chuckle. "Let's go, then. I can't wait to see what Appleloosa's like!" The two of them left the cargo area to join up with the others.
The train pulled into the station, and all of the occupants departed as soon as it was completely motionless. Celestia and Mega Pony came out first, then Applejack and her family, along with the dolly that had all of the fertilizer bags loaded upon it. When they came out of the train station building, the group was surprised by what they saw: The town of Appleloosa still had that rustic, wild west feel to it, but it seemed to be bigger than what they all expected it be. There were many more buildings and ponies than there were the last time that Applejack had been to the town.
"Whuh...what happened to this place?" asked the orange Earth Pony. "It's huge!"
"Yeah, this place is a LOT bigger than Ah remember it..." added Apple Bloom.
At that moment, the group heard a voice calling out to them. "Hey y'all!! Welcome to Aaaaaaappleloosa!!"
The others turned around towards the voice, seeing that it had come from an Earth Pony with a pale-yellow coat and a darker yellow mane and tail. He had bright green eyes and wore a brown hat and vest that were made of a leather-like material. His cutie mark was a picture of a bright, red apple, and his facial expression showed a great amount of energy and excitement.
"Cousin Braeburn!" shouted Apple Bloom as she happily ran over to see him. "Great t' see ya again!"
"Hey there, li'l Apple Bloom! Good to see y'all too!" the pale yellow Earth Pony said to her. He then looked up at the rest of the group coming towards him. "Hey there, AJ! Hey, Granny Smith! Hey, Big Mac!" He then looked over at Mega Pony and said to him, "Hey there...uh...pony that Ah've never met before!"
"Um, my name's Mega Pony, sir." the robot told him, introducing himself.
"Oh yeah! That's right!" said Braeburn. "You're that one my cuz had been tellin' me all about in her letters! Nice t' finally meet y'all." He then asked everyone, "So what brings y'all round these parts?"
"Well, my mom and I are here to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony today." the mechanical pony answered, pointing over to Princess Celestia.
"O-of course! A-Ah didn't forget!" the male pony replied, a bit frantically. "Everypony in Appleloosa's been real psyched t' see ya, Your Highness!"
"And I'll be happy to see all of them as well." the elder Royal Sister told him. She then added, "Though, I will admit: I had no idea that the Sun was exceptionally bright in this area...This...is a little embarrassing to ask, but...Are there any shops that sell sunhats here? I could actually use one right now..."
"Of course there is!" answered Braeburn. "One actually just opened up recently! Just head over t' the shop two buildings after the Salt Block Saloon; y'all can't miss it."
"Thank you." Celestia then said to her son, "Mega Pony, stay with Applejack and the others until I return, okay?" The robot nodded to say that he would, and the Princess then left soon after that.
"Heh, it's funny, ain't it?" asked Granny Smith. "The Princess of the Sun needin' a sunhat! No offense, young'n."
"It's okay. I'm sure even Mom would find it humorous as well." Mega Pony responded. He then added, "There's just one thing though, Applejack...You said that this town was small in size, but it's clearly the opposite based on what I see here..."
"Well, it WAS small when me n' mah friends were here the last time." the orange Earth Pony told him. She then asked her cousin, "Since when'd the town get so huge all of a sudden, Braeburn?"
"Well, that's actually an interstin' story, Cuz." the western pony replied. "C'mon, lemme show y'all around and Ah'll tell ya all about it!" The rest of the group agreed to do so, and they began their complimentary tour of the town.
The group of six walked through the now-large town of Appleloosa, taking in all of the new sights and sounds. There were lots of ponies walking around town, and there were all sorts of new homes and stores set up all over the place. As they walked, Braeburn told them all about how the town got to where it was now. "A lotta things have changed since the day y'all came here with your friends, Cousin AJ." he explained to them all. "Thanks to you and all of them, Appleloosa's apple farm has been able to bring in a lot, and Ah mean a WHOLE lot, of money t' help improve the town!"
"So all these new buildings an' stuff were made usin' JUST the money from the farm here?!" asked Applejack in astonishment. "If that's so, then y'all must REALLY be doin' a good job over there!" She then asked her cousin, "But...how did me an' mah friends help the farm be so successful?"
"Well, it was because of y'all that we were able to settle things peacefully with our neighbors, the Buffalo Tribe." he reminded her. "Because of that, we didn't lose our farm or the town to their stampedin', and the money that Sheriff Silverstar intended t' use to foritfy the town to keep 'em out was put to much better use!"
"That's real great t' hear, Cuz!" said Apple Bloom.
"Eeeyup!" added Big Mac, agreeing with his youngest sister.
"What is your cousin talking about?" asked Mega Pony. "Who are the Buffalo Tribe?"
Applejack gasped after the robot asked his question. "Oh right...y'all weren't built when that happened." she said to him after realizing that very fact. She then told him, "Well, Mega...Last time me an' mah friends were in Appleloosa, we found out that the town had been built right in the middle of their traditional stampedin' grounds. The Buffalo were threatenin' to smash the whole town and the apple farm apart, and the townsfolk were ready to fight them off. But luckily, they were able to resolve things peacefully and share the land."
"Wow...I wish I was there to see all of that happen..." the mechanoid responded.
"Well, truth be told, ya might not've been too fond of Pinkie Pie's attempt to get the townsfolk and the Buffalo t' work things out." the orange Earth Pony informed him. "We all know THEY didn't enjoy her li'l song for 'em."
"It's true." Braeburn commented. He then said to them all, "Anyhoo, like Ah said, we've been expandin' the town ever since that day. In fact, some of the Buffalo have been helpin' us put up some of the buildings here." He then pointed to a larger building much further away; unlike the other structures in Appleloosa, this one was more modern-looking in appearence. "That place, on the other hoof, took quite a bit of time to construct; we actually had t' hire some professionals from out of town to get it finished last year."
"What is it?" asked Apple Bloom.
"That's Appleloosa Community College:" the yellow Earth Pony answered. "Our very first one in town!"
"Hey, I've heard of that place!" Mega Pony suddenly chimed in. "Rainbow Dash told me about it when she and I were at the convention in Baltimare."
"The big sports convention, right?" asked Braeburn. "Then y'all must've met Trick Shot, the captain of our town's new basketball team. Quite an amazin' player; he commuted all the way from Cloudsdale when he heard that we were puttin' together a team for the new college. Did y'all know he's been playin' basketball ever since he'd been t' middle school? Ah tell ya, EVERYpony here really likes havin' him as captain of the team, and not only that-"
"Um, Braeburn?" Applejack interrupted her cousin. "Ah hate t' interrupt, but weren't ya gonna tell us more 'bout the new stuff in town?"
"Oops, sorry cuz...Got a bit side-tracked there." the western pony responded, chuckling a little. Getting an idea, he then asked the others, "Hey, Ah know what! Would y'all like t' see the new buildin' that we're gonna open durin' the ceremony today?"
"Ah do!! Ah do!!" said little Apple Bloom excitedly.
"Sounds good t' me!" added Granny Smith."'Ah must admit, Ah'd been curious t' see what the whole fuss was about concernin' it. That sound good t' you, Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup." was all that the large, red Earth Pony said in response.
"Guess that means we're all in agreement about it." stated Applejack. "Let's go an' check it out." Braeburn nodded and led his group to where the new structure was.
Little did they know that, in an alleyway behind them, there was a mysterious, rectangular-shaped figure, observing the town and all of its citizens. "Everything's all go, sir." it said. "We're ready to initiate the plan, as previously scheduled." After a long pause, it then said, "Very well, I'll inform the others right away...Hopefully before I faint from this unbearable heat..."
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In time, Applejack, Mega Pony and the others followed Braeburn to where the town's apple farm was. Most of it was still as the orange Earth Pony remembered it: Rows and rows of apple trees dotted the landscape, covering every inch of the land ahead of them...except for a long dirt path that cut straight through the middle of it. The path was made for the Buffalo Tribe, so that they could stampede through the land without harming any of the nearby trees or properties. However, there was one building within the apple farm that Applejack did not recognize; it was rather large in size, painted blue and green in most places. The structure was also quite tall, easily consisting of around four floors. Parked behind the building were several carts with oversized trailers; they were obviously designed for storing large items or large amounts of items.
"There it is, everypony..." said Braeburn with a happy sigh. "Ain't she a real beaut?"
"Uh...what is it, exactly?" asked Applejack.
"That's the new addition to the farm; the buildin' that's gonna help make our town into a household name!" the yellow Earth Pony answered her. "This is our new Shippin' Department!"
"Shippin' Department?" inquired Apple Bloom.
"Yep: Shippin' Department." Braeburn replied. "Once this place is officially opened up, we'll be able to send tons and TONS of Appleloosian apples all over the country! Maybe even the whole WORLD!!"
"Sounds purty big, Braeburn..." noted Granny Smith.
"Oh it'll be big, Granny." the western pony told her. "And if'n it all works out, this town might be almost as rich as Canterlot!"
"Well, Ah wouldn't set the bar THAT high," Applejack told her cousin. "but it sure seems like this place'll be a real big deal here. Who thought of puttin' it up?"
"Well, Ah did, actually." Braeburn told the orange Earth Pony in a slightly proud tone. "Y'see, since we opened up the new college, ponies from all over Equestria have been visitin' here to check it out. In time, we even started gettin' Unicorns and Pegasi makin' permanent homes here in town!" Looking over the vast fields of apple trees, he then told them all, "Many of the newcomers here were quite interested in our apple farm, and some even wanted t' help support it. So that's when Ah thought of the idea of settin' up a place where we could send our apples t' anywhere in Equestria. The Pegasi would work as delivery-ponies, and take carts of apples to where they needed t' go. As fer the Unicorns, they elected t' handle all of the paperwork; they figure out where our products have t' go, and when it needs t' arrive! And in the meantime, us Earth Ponies make sure to maintain the quaility of our apples so that we can remain successful."
"Well, it sounds to me like you have this all figured out." commented Mega Pony. "This farm will be even better than ever once the Shipping Department is open for business! Now anypony in the country will be able to enjoy your apples, not to mention that there will be more job opportunites for the townsfolk."
"Yep, from what Ah can tell, this place'll do a hay of a lotta good 'round here!" Granny Smith added.
"Eeeyup!" chimed Big Mac.
"Aw shucks, Ah'm just doin' what Ah can t' help out the town." Braeburn replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah love it here so much, and Ah just wanna make sure that everypony else can appreciate the town just as much as Ah do." He then asked Applejack, "Oh! Ah almost forgot! Cousin AJ, didn't y'all say that you were bringin' somethin' fer me in your last letter?"
"Yep, and it's right here." the orange mare told him, showing him the dolly with all of the burlap sacks loaded upon it. "This is that new fertilizer that Ah've been workin' on with Twilight. Although Ah'm pretty sure it won't be as much of a help to the farm as the new buildin' will be, Ah think y'all could make good use of it."
"Well, thanks a heap, cuz. We'll make good use of it indeed!" Braeburn said, checking out the burlap sacks.
Just then, a faint beeping sound could be heard around them. "What in tarnation's that??" asked Granny Smith.
"Oh, I'm sorry...that's coming from me." Mega Pony told them. "That beeping sound is for when somepony is trying to contact me. It's probably just my mom, telling me that she's on her way to meet up with us."
"Oh okay, then." Applejack responded.
The robot then tapped the side of his helmet and said, "Hello, Mega Pony here...Hi, Mom! ...No, I'm over at the apple farm with Applejack and the others, why do you ask?" Celestia continued to speak to Mega Pony for a while. Just then, the mechanoid put a distressed look upon his face and asked, "What? Something's going on in town?? ...What is it??" The rest of the group then started to get worried, having a feeling that something wasn't right. "...Okay...Okay, we'll be there as quickly as possible! ...Alright then...I'll see you there."
After the robot finished his conversation, Apple Bloom asked him, "What was that all about, Mega Pony?"
"That was my mom." the mechanical pony answered her. "She told me that someone's causing trouble back in town, and she told us all to get there ASAP."
"Trouble in the town??" asked Braeburn. "Wh-what kinda trouble?"
"I don't know; she was too busy keeping the townsfolk safe, that she couldn't tell me right away." Mega Pony responded. "I'll use my teleporter and get to the town ahead of time...The rest of you just get there as soon as you can."
"We'll see ya there, Mega Pony." Applejack told him with a nod. The robot nodded back and activated his teleporter in order to warp directly to Appleloosa.
Once Mega Pony arrived in the center of town, he could see that the entire place was in a state of panic, judging by the fact that everypony was screaming loudly and running around like headless chickens. "What's going on here??" he asked himself, trying to figure out what could have caused all the pandemonium.
"You came! Thank goodness!" said the voice of Celestia as she ran up to him. She was now sporting a light pink sunhat on her head, which she had purchased from one of the shops.
"What's going on, Mom?" the robot asked his creator. "Why is everypony acting all scared and crazy?"
"There's been an attack." she answered him solemnly. "Just moments ago, there was a commotion nearby the community college, and a vandal of some sort had smashed its way through one of the building's walls!"
"That's terrible!" exclaimed Mega Pony. "Did anypony see who it was?"
"Yes, however, the reports from the citizens weren't very helpful; the only description of the perpetrator was that it wore a long, slightly tattered cloak." Celestia told him.
"Well, that's not much help..." the mechanoid said in despair.
"Don't worry, Mega Pony." the Princess then said to him in a pleasent voice. "We'll find whomever it was that did this. They cannot be too far away; if the townsfolk are still panicking, then the criminal must still be causing trouble."
"You're right, Mom." Mega Pony replied with a nod. "Let's look around and see if we can catch them!" The two then ran off together to find any trace of the crook who made a big, gaping hole in the wall of the college building.
Luckily, they didn't have to go too far to see the aftermath of the vandal's presence: Many barrels were smashed into pieces, other buildings' walls had gotten the same treatment as the college did, and many a stagecoach had been broken apart and rendered unusable for the forseeable future.
"This is horrible...Who would ever want to do something like this??" asked Mega Pony, slightly shocked from witnessing all of the destruction.
"I do not know..." Celestia replied, "but when we find this individual, whomever they may be, I'll certainly want some answers from them regarding this."
The Princess and the robot followed the trail of destruction all around town, trying to track down the criminal that was responsible for it all. Their search seemed to go on forever, until Mega Pony saw something up ahead. "Mom! Over there!!" he shouted.
Celestia looked at where her son was pointing and saw a rather large, cloaked figure repeatedly ramming its body into the wall of a general store. "That must be the one that is causing all of this damage." the Sun Princess stated.
"If that thing is this reckless with a building, then there's no doubt that it may try to attack innocent ponies as well!" Mega Pony deduced.
"I agree, Mega Pony." the Alicorn told him. "Therefore, I am authorizing you to use whatever means neccesary to stop it from causing any more harm to the town and everypony in it."
The robot nodded and ran towards the cloaked figure, who turned to face him when it heard the mechanical pony coming towards it. "Hey, you!!" he shouted at the figure. "That's the last thing you'll smash apart in this town!!" He then fired small blasts from his Friendship Buster towards the crook, forcing it to sidestep out of the way.
Mega Pony continued to fire his main weapon at the figure as rapidly as possible. Unfortunately, despite the creature's size, it was able to run fast enough to evade each and every shot. It then began rushing towards the robot, threatening to trample him with the force of a tank. Luckily, the mechanoid rolled out of its way in the nick of time and returned fire, managing to hit the beast with one of his shots. The figure let out a deep groan of pain upon getting hit, but wasn't ready to give in just yet.
"Crud...my main weapon won't be enough against that thing." Mega Pony told himself as he dodged another ramming attempt by the crazed creature. "And I doubt this thing will let me have enough time to charge up a stronger shot...If I had known that I'd be fighting today, I would've downloaded some weapons before leaving the castle!"
Luckily, the mechanical pony heard a familiar voice nearby. "Hey! Mega Pony!! We're here t' help ya!!" shouted the voice of Applejack. The voice had come from a dusty plateau overlooking the town.
"Applejack!" the robot said cheerfully, happy to see the others show up. "Perfect timing! I could use some help!"
"What's that thing?!" asked Apple Bloom, pointing to the cloaked vandal.
"Whooooeee, that thing is huge!" noted Granny Smith. "I'm sure glad that I ain't down there fightin' it like Mega Pony is! What about you, Big Mac?"
"Nnnnope!" the red stallion said, not wanting to fight the large figure either.
As Mega Pony fought the large-sized vandal, Braeburn watched, trying to figure out who or what the perpetrator could have been. Unfortunately, he could only come up with vague theories as to the attacker's identity. Still, something about the creature seemed...familiar.
Applejack galloped as fast as she could to give her robot friend a helping hoof. "Sorry it took so long t' get here, Mega." she told him.
"It's okay, Applejack. You're here now, and that's all that matters." he said to her. "You ready to do this?"
"Ah sure am, Sugarcube!" the orange Earth Pony said, nodding and presenting her cutie mark to him. Mega Pony then tapped her mark and obtained her special weapon.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Apple Bucker ***
"Alright! He's doin' it again!" cheered Apple Bloom. "He just got a special power from Big Sis! Now he's gonna use it t' fight that big guy!"
"Say what now?" asked Braeburn, confused. "Ah don't understand..."
"Just watch and see, cousin Braeburn." the pink bow-wearing filly told him. "Trust me, it'll make sense once ya see it fer yourself." The rest of the Apple family then watched on, waiting to see what would happen next.
The creature then charged forward, running straight towards Mega Pony and Applejack. They both jumped out of the way quickly, avoiding the attack just in time. The figure then skidded to a stop, nearly sliding into the wall of the general store that it was trying to break into earlier.
"Ah've got an idea, Mega." Applejack told him. "Ah'll lure that big brute towards me and get it t' crash into a wall. Once he does, you blast it with those bombs o' yours. Got it?"
"Got it." Mega Pony replied with a nod. Applejack then ran towards the beast while the robot swapped his color scheme and cutie mark for hers.
"Hey you!!" the orange mare shouted at the vandal, getting its attention. "Think you can get me with one'a those high-speed tackles?" The creature snorted and began running straight towards Applejack, intending to do her harm.
Luckily, the farm pony jumped out of its way at the last second. The cloaked figure skidded to a stop and turned back around to face her. "That all ya got?" she taunted. "Y'all couldn't trample a dandelion with a charge like that!" That comment got the beast angry; it charged towards Applejack even faster than before. But it still wasn't fast enough to hit her, as she effortlessly dodged that tackle as well.
"C'mon! Ah'm not even tryin' really hard to avoid ya!" she shouted at it, continuing to toy with the attacker. She then positioned herself in front of a large wall and said to it, "C'mon! Give it one more try! Ah'll even move a l'il slower so that y'all actually have a chance!"
With another angry snort, the beast charged forward with all its might, wanting nothing more than to trample the Earth Pony into a pancake. It raced forward, gradually increasing its speed and power. Then, just before it could make contact with Applejack, she hopped a short distance out of its way. The figure tried to stop, but it was moving way too fast; it ended up crashing right into the wall, stunning itself as a result of the impact.
"Now, Mega!!" Applejack shouted. "Before he gets up!" The robot nodded, using his newly-obtained power to create an apple-shaped bomb out of thin air. He then kicked the bomb with his hind legs, sending it straight towards the crook.
The figure heard the sound of the apple bomb behind it and turned to look. It moved to get out of the way, but the explosive still managed to strike it. As it exploded, a small, silver, horn-like appendage could be seen from underneath the cloak. The blast from the Apple Bucker's bomb caused the tip of the horn to break off and fall to the dusty ground below.
(What was that...?) Mega Pony asked himself in his mind.
Faced with the power of both Applejack and Mega Pony together, the vandal realized that it wasn't going to be able to defeat them in its current state. The beast then made a run for it, leaving the town of Appleloosa.
"Well, so much for that big bully..." said Applejack, wiping her forehead with her right front hoof.
Mega Pony walked over to where the figure was when his Apple Bucker bomb had struck it, looking at the chipped piece of horn lying on the dirt. He picked it up with his "magic" and stored it inside one of his side compartments.
"That was so cool, Mega Pony!" cheered Apple Bloom as she and the others ran over to him and Applejack. "You too, big sis!"
"It was nothing. I just wanted to make sure that nopony got hurt because of that guy." Mega Pony sighed a little and added, "I just wish I didn't have to shoot at him like I did."
"Well, it was either him or you two." Granny Smith noted. "Right, Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup."
"Is everypony okay there?" asked a gruff-sounding voice from nearby. Everyone turned around to see another male pony walking towards them. He had a light brown-colored coat and a dark brown mane and tail. He had a black moustache growing above his lips and had sky blue-colored eyes. He wore an outfit that consisted of a black hat with a red hatband, a red neckerchief around his neck, and a blue denim vest. His cutie mark was a silver sheriff's star.
"Sheriff Silverstar!" exclaimed Braeburn.
"I'd heard that there was some sorta commotion goin' on in town, but it seems like everything's okay now..." said the sheriff, glancing around the area. "Well, aside from some damage here n' there."
"Well, it might've been a lot worse if Mega Pony and mah big sis didn't stop the guy that was causin' it." said Apple Bloom. "You shoulda seen them out there, fightin' that big brute!"
"Ah see..." Silverstar then turned towards the blue robot and said to him, "Well, Ah guess Ah should thank you and your friend for savin' the town an' everythin'."
"It was nothing, Mr. Silverstar." said Mega Pony. "We just wanted to make sure that nopony got hurt as a result of the attacker's rampage."
"On that note...did either of you happen to see who the crook was?" the sheriff then asked them.
"Sorry...we couldn't see who or what it was." Applejack told him. "It had a big, dirty-lookin' cloak coverin' it head-t'-hoof, so there was no way that we could tell..."
"There is one thing, though." the mechanical pony began to say as he opened his side compartment. Using his psuedo-magic, he showed Silverstar the piece of horn that he had picked up earlier. "I found this on the ground after the criminal left. I think it might have come off of him or her."
"Lemme see that." The sheriff then examined the chipped horn closely. After only a few seconds, the stallion growled and grumbled to himself, "It's just as Ah thought...This is a piece of buffalo horn! Ah'd recognize it anywhere!"
"B-buffalo horn?" asked Braeburn, slightly surprised. "Are you sure about-"
"Of COURSE Ah'm sure!" shouted Silverstar. "They must STILL wanna get rid of our town, so they sent someone to do just that!"
"Um, actually Mr. Silverstar," Mega Pony tried to say, "this horn is-"
"Ah should've known that we couldn't trust them any further than we can throw 'em!" the sheriff snarled, clearly getting angry about the whole thing. "Ah swear, if Ah see that Chief Thunderhooves or any of those other brutes, Ah'll...!"
"You'll do what, exactly...?" asked another gruff voice from nearby.
Sheriff Silverstar immediately stopped ranting as he and everypony else turned around to see several large creatures off to their side; it was none other than an entire herd of buffalo. Leading the herd was a dark brown-colored buffalo, wearing a feathered headdress and sporting an angry look on his face.
"Chief Thunderhooves..." growled the sheriff. "You and your kind have got a LOTTA nerve showin' yer faces after y'all sent one'f your own here to smash up the town!!"
"...You're accusing US of wrongdoing?!" asked the head buffalo, shocked and angry at the sudden accusation. "What about YOUR kind?!?"
"What about them...?" inquired Silverstar.
"Just a few minutes ago, someone from YOUR town came and attacked us!!" shouted Chief Thunderhooves. "I didn't see WHO it was exactly, but it was definitely pony-shaped! And since I don't know of any other ponies that live around here..."
"Are you seriously accusin' me and the townsfolk of attackin' you?!" asked the sheriff. "How dare you!!"
"You should talk!! YOU blamed us of causing you harm when you know for a fact that it was you who attacked us!!" yelled Thunderhooves.
"Don't you give me that!! You're the ones causin' trouble and y'all know it!!" the sheriff yelled back. The two of them glared at each other with the angriest faces that they could muster; it looked as though there was going to be a rumble between them, until...
"Stop that at once!!" shouted Princess Celestia's voice.
Both Silverstar and Thunderhooves immediately stopped giving each other the evil eye once they heard the stern voice of the royal Alicorn. Both of them, along with everyone else immediately turned to face the Princess, whose face told everyone that she was not in the mood to hear any more of their arguing.
"Now, from what I can gather, there is no concrete proof that either of your claims are true." Celestia stated once she had everyone's attention. Turning over to the sheriff first, she told him, "The chipped piece of horn from the criminal that attacked the town could have come from any type of horned creature..." She then looked over at the chief next. "And there was no way that you could be sure that the pony-like figure that you claim had attacked your tribe came from Appleloosa; after all, you said it was wearing a cloak to conceal itself, am I right?"
The bitter pair grumbled; they were both very sure about what they had claimed the other did, but they didn't want to argue with a Princess.
"Now that I've made myself perfectly clear on the matter," Celestia told them, "I would like the two of you to return to your homes and stop bickering with each other in such a childish manner. A situation such as this can only be resolved if we remain calm and civil about it."
Silverstar glared at Chief Thunderhooves, still angry towards him. "...This isn't over, Thunderhooves." he told his enemy.
"Likewise..." the head buffalo replied. The two then left the area, heading for the homes. The rest of the Buffalo Tribe then followed their leader, heading back to their land.
Once the rest of the crowd dispersed, Braeburn let out a content sigh and said to the white Alicorn, "Thanks a heap, Your Highness...Not everypony can stop Silverstar from arguin' when he thinks he's right about somethin'."
"It would appear so." Celestia responded. "But now we are left with a much more pressing problem."
"Yeah, Ah'll say we are..." Applejack chimed in. "Ah mean, y'all heard what Chief Thunderhooves said; he's claimin' that it was him and his tribe that were attacked by somepony from here in town!"
"But we just saw one of those buffalo here, smashin' up everythin' in its way!" Apple Bloom reminded everypony.
"That may be so, Apple Bloom..." Mega Pony told her, "but even so, the chief claimed that he had nothing to do with it, much like Silverstar claimed that he wasn't responsible for the attack on the buffalo."
"So who was tellin' the truth?" asked Braeburn. "That's what Ah'd like t' know."
"Well, the thing is, cuz..." replied Applejack, rubbing the back of her head. "Ah'm not exactly sure."
"You don't know??" asked Apple Bloom in surprise. "But you're supposed t' be the Element of Honesty, big sis! You should've known which one'f them was lyin'!"
"That's just it, though." the orange Earth Pony rebutted. "Ah'm not sure who was or who wasn't tellin' the truth. To be honest, it didn't seem like either of 'em was lyin' about what they claimed the other did."
"Well, this is a fine pickle we've gotten ourselves into..." said Granny Smith with a sigh. "What'll we do now?"
"Psssssssst!"
The group suddenly heard a slight hissing sound coming from an alley nearby. They turned to look and saw a small hoof gesturing towards them and telling them to come over to it. When they did, they were surprised at who they saw: It was another buffalo, but she was much smaller than the others. She had a light brown coat and puffy "hair" that was colored a light tan. She had a small tail that was as puffy as her head hair, and she wore a headband that was decorated with white and purple triangles and had a pair of white feathers sticking out from the back of it.
"Another buffalo?" asked Apple Bloom, a bit alarmed.
Luckily, Applejack recognized the individual immediately. "Hey, Ah remember you!" she said to the young buffalo in a pleased tone. "You're Little Strongheart, ain'tcha?"
"Mhmm! It's me alright, Applejack." the small creature replied. "It's good to see you again!" She then put on a sadder face and added, "I just wish you had picked a better day to come here, what with the problem that we're having and everything..."
"You mean the attacks on your tribe?" asked Mega Pony.
"Not just that." Little Strongheart told the robot. "I was also here when that rogue buffalo came and started smashing up everything; I watched the whole thing from right here in this alleyway. You and Applejack were really brave to stand up to that guy..."
"Just doin' our job, Sugarcube." AJ told the young buffalo. "But why are y'all here in Appleloosa?"
"I was going to warn the sheriff and everyone in town when I saw the rogue was coming over here." Strongheart told her. "I knew it was up to no good, so I ran to town as quick as I could...But, unfortunately, the rogue got here before I did. And after that argument that the sheriff and the chief had earlier, there's no way that he or anyone here will listen to what I have to say..."
"What about the pony-like figure that attacked your tribe?" asked Mega Pony. "Is what your chief said true?"
"Well...kinda." the young buffalo answered.
"Whad'ya mean, 'kinda'?" asked Granny Smith.
"Chief Thunderhooves is right about the fact that we were attacked by a figure that looked like a pony, despite the cloak that it wore." said Strongheart. "But...I managed to catch a glimpse of it, while it wasn't wearing its cloak."
The others leaned in closer, interested to know more about what the little buffalo had seen.
"It was only for about a second, but I saw what it looked like..." the young creature continued. "I don't remember all the details, but it didn't look like anyone here in Appleloosa..."
"What DID it look like?" asked Braeburn.
"All I can remember was...orange." Strongheart replied.
"Well, that don't tell us much..." said Apple Bloom. "We're no closer t' figurin' this whole thing out than when we started..."
"That's not exactly true, Apple Bloom." stated Mega Pony. "What Little Strongheart told us was actually quite helpful."
"How so?" asked Granny Smith.
"Well, from what she told us," the robot explained, "we now know that neither Silverstar nor Thunderhooves were lying to each other when they said that they were attacked. But it seems that neither side was responsible for the attack on the other."
"Which means that there must be a third party involved in all of this." Applejack deduced. "And whomever they are, they're tryin' their best t' make it LOOK like the Buffalo Tribe is attackin' Appleloosa and vice-versa."
"But why?" asked Little Strongheart. "It doesn't make any sense!"
"There must be a reason for all of this." stated Princess Celestia. "And I'm sure that if we all work together, we'll find out what that reason is and put a stop to these assaults."
"Ah'm all for it!" said Braeburn. "We worked real hard t' establish peace between the townsfolk and the Buffalo Tribe; Ah'm not just gonna stand here and let some jerk ruin it all!"
"Same here!" chimed Little Strongheart. "Ever since we all worked things out between us, everyone's been able live happily and peacefully. And I want to keep it that way!"
"Then we're all in agreement, then." said Mega Pony. "We're gonna figure out what's going on and put a stop to it! Who's in?"
"You know Ah'm in, Mega!" said Applejack.
"Me too!" added Apple Bloom.
"Ah'll help too!" said Granny Smith. "Can't let you young'uns have all the fun fer yerselves, can I?"
"Eeeyup!" chimed Big Mac.
With everyone in agreement, the group was now determined to solve the mystery behind the attacks on Appleloosa and the Buffalo Tribe. They still had no idea who was behind it, or what their motive was, but they would find out and put a stop to it before it was too late.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Minutes later, Mega Pony, Applejack, and the rest of the group gathered together outside of Appleloosa to begin their investigation behind the strange attacks on the town and the neighboring Buffalo Tribe. They were ready to discuss with each other about what their next moves would be.
"Alright, everyone," began Princess Celestia. "we have to work quickly; I suspect that our mysterious assailants are planning to make another appearence very soon. If they initiate another assault, it may be enough to stir both sides into fighting with each other."
"Ah agree, Princess Celestia." said Applejack. "But it ain't gonna be easy."
"I'll say it won't." agreed Mega Pony. "That buffalo that was attacking Appleloosa was really strong; it shrugged off my Friendship Buster shots like they were mosquitoes. Even after we managed to hit it with my Apple Bucker bombs, it was still able to get away."
"He does have a good point, cuz." Braeburn told Applejack. "Y'all sure you can fight that thing again if ya have to?"
"Well, Ah can say that Ah'll do mah best," the orange Earth Pony stated, "but whether we'll succeed in takin' it down or not is another story..."
"Yeah, I thought the same thing about Pinkie Pie when her Party Cannon was stolen a few months ago." Mega Pony told his friend. "It's too bad that my mom can't do for you like what she did for Pinkie."
"Ya mean that hoof cannon thing-a-ma-jig she had with her?" asked Applejack. "Yeah, somethin' like that would definitely be a big help in case we run into trouble."
"Hmmmmmmm..." hummed the Princess, thinking to herself. Just then she got an idea. "Applejack," she then began to say to the farm pony, "I think I might have something that could help you; could I borrow your hat for a moment?"
"Mah hat??" asked Applejack in surprise. "Whatever for?"
"I know it seems unusual, but trust me: I only have your best interests in mind." the Alicorn assured her.
Applejack still seemed somewhat reluctant, but Mega Pony nodded to his friend to tell her that everything would be just fine. The orange Earth Pony then looked back over to the Princess and said to her, "Alrighty then...Just be careful with it; it used to belong to mah mother..."
"I promise that I will." Celestia replied as she took the hat from Applejack. She then said to the rest of the group, "Mega Pony and I are heading back to Canterlot Castle to do some work, but we shall return shortly. In the meantime, I want the six of you to do some investigating and figure out as much as you can concerning the attacks."
"Will do, Your Highness." replied Braeburn, tipping his hat to the Alicorn.
"Let's go, Mega Pony." Celestia then said to her son.
"Okay, Mom." the robot replied. He then tossed two of his mobile communicators over to Applejack and Braeburn and said to them, "You can use these to keep in contact with me. If you get into any trouble, just give me a call, okay?" The two Earth Ponies nodded to say that they understood. Mega Pony then grabbed onto his mother and used his teleportation unit to whisk them both back to their home in Canterlot.
Once the two had left, Braeburn then told the rest of the group, "Alright, we've got a lotta work t' do 'til the Princess and Mega Pony get back, and we don't got much time 'til there's another attack. Ah think it'd be best if'n we all split up and do some pokin' around in both the town and in the Buffalo's land."
"In that case," said Little Strongheart, "I'll go and try to speak to Chief Thunderhooves about the whole thing. Though I doubt he'll listen to me; he tends to be pretty stubborn when he thinks he's right about something."
"Aheheh, yeah...kinda like Sheriff Silverstar." Braeburn told the little buffalo. "When he believes that he's right about somethin', it's next to impossible to make him change his mind."
Strongheart giggled a bit at what the Appleloosian said. "Yeah, that sounds just like our chief." she told him. "But deep down, he's very kind-hearted and willing to put others before even himself."
"Same with Silverstar." Braeburn responded. "With how much they have in common, it's a surprise that they aren't friends already." This elicted another giggle from the little buffalo at that comment.
"Um, are y'all finished?" Applejack asked them. "'Cause we're runnin' outta time, and we've still got a job t' do."
"Oh! Yeah, sorry 'bout that, cuz." Braebrun then stated to the others, "Ah'm gonna head back t' town and try to talk with the sheriff."
"I'll go with ya, Braeburn." Granny Smith chimed in. "What about you, Big Mac? Ya wanna go with us?"
The red stallion nodded and said, "Eeeyup."
"In that case," began Applejack, "Ah'll go with Little Strongheart and see what we can find out back in the buffalo's territory." She then turned to Apple Bloom and told her, "Apple Bloom, you're comin' with me."
"Alright, big sis." the little yellow filly replied with a nod, running over to her and the young buffalo.
"We'll meet back here a bit later to discuss anything that we've found out." stated Braeburn. "Until then, we're on our own for now, so be careful." The others nodded and split into their respective groups.
Back in Appleloosa, the townsfolk went about their routines once more, though they were all a bit nervous after the attack earlier. They kept looking over their shoulders, keeping an eye out for anyone and anything suspicious. Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh felt their nervousness as they passed by them all and headed for the Sheriff's Office. There, they would try and convince Silverstar that someone else was trying to attack the town, and not the Buffalo Tribe. Of course, they knew it wouldn't be an easy task...
"Ridiculous!!" shouted the sheriff after Braeburn and the others told him everything. "You can't seriously believe all of that nonsense about someone else wreckin' the town! Especially not from one'a them buffalo!!"
"But what if it's true?" Braeburn asked the stubborn stallion. "If there really is someone else causin' the trouble here, then we can't waste time fightin' with the tribe!"
"That's the stupidest thing Ah've ever heard!" shouted Silverstar, clearly not paying any heed to what they were saying. "Ah know fer a fact that it's the buffalo attackin' the town! Besides, y'all don't have any proof that what that little buffalo told ya is true!"
"Well, pardon me fer sayin' this, Sheriff Stubborn-as-a-Mule," began Granny Smith, "but y'all don't have any proof that what yer sayin' is true, either! Whad'ya think, Big Mac?"
The red stallion shook his head and said, "Nnnnope."
The sheriff paused for a moment, realizing that they were right. But that only made him angrier. "That's enough outta y'all!!" he yelled. "Ah know Ah'm right about this, and there's nothin' y'all can say or do that'll convince me otherwise!! I've never trusted them danged buffalo before, Ah don't trust 'em now, and Ah never will!!" Pointing towards the door, he then demanded of them, "Now get outta here and quit wastin' mah time!!"
After being shown the door, the trio collectively breathed a heavy sigh. "Well, that worked out like a hole in the head..." noted Granny Smith.
"Eeeyup..." Big Mac simply responded.
"Ah knew this was gonna happen..." Braeburn said with an annoyed moan. "Once Silverstar has an opinion 'bout somethin', he sticks to it, even if HE thinks he's wrong..." Sighing, he then added, "Ah just hope AJ and the others are havin' better luck than we are..."
Meanwhile, in the Buffalo Tribe's territory, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Little Strongheart were on their way to the teepee-laden land in order to tell the leader, Chief Thunderhooves, about everything that they had found out. They knew that the chances of convincing the buffalo leader that the Appleloosians weren't responsible for the attacks on them were next to zero, but they also knew that they had to try anyway.
"So you are telling us that there is someone else involved with the attacks on our territory instead?" asked Thunderhooves, still somewhat skeptical about the whole thing.
"I'm positive, Chief." urged Little Strongheart. "That pony that came here wasn't from Appleloosa; I just know it!"
"I cannot see how that could be possible." stated the dark-coated buffalo. "There is no other pony settlement nearby here that would be able to send an assailant as quickly as they did; perhaps the Sun was in your eyes when you thought you saw what you saw. I know for a fact that I think I see all sorts of things when it's really just the Sun playing tricks on me...For instance, one time, I thought that I had found a large pile of scrumptious apple pies right in the middle of the desert...Of course, when I tried to bite into it, I was alarmed to find out that it was, of all things, a rather large cactus...I was pulling out needles from out of my mouth for weeks..."
As the chief rambled on, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Little Strongheart, and even the rest of the Buffalo Tribe, began to let out deep yawns. This wasn't the first time that Chief Thunderhooves had bored those around him with a long-winded story, and it probably wouldn't be the last time.
"Mr. Chief..." Apple Bloom began to say to him, "Ah hate t' interrupt, but we've gotta do somethin' about this! Ah mean, who KNOWS when there's gonna be another attack??"
At that moment, everyone heard the sounds of galloping hooves nearby, which stopped the buffalo leader's long story short. It started out at a low volume, but gradually got louder as time went by, meaning that whomever or whatever was making the sounds was coming their way. After a few seconds, everyone saw who it was: It was a pony-shaped figure wearing a long cloak; the tattered cloth looked somewhat familiar to Applejack, but she couldn't immediately remember where she had seen anything like it before.
"Oh no!" shouted one of the other buffalo. "He's back!!"
"Me an' mah big mouth..." whimpered Apple Bloom.
Chief Thunderhooves growled silently to himself and said, "So, they've sent him back to attack us again, did they...? Well, once I am through with that thing, that town and its bull-headed sheriff will have to answer to me!"
"Now hold it, Chief..." Applejack told him. "We still don't know fer sure if that IS somepony from the town...Ah'm not sayin that they aren't responsible fer anythin' yet, but we can't jump t' any conclusions until we find out more info, got it?"
"Either way," the dark-coated creature told her, "I will not allow that thing to harm my tribe. You can believe whatever you want, but my mind is made up." And with that, Thunderhooves charged towards the figure, attempting to trample it.
But the strange attacker wasn't going to just be an easy target for him: It leapt into the air, sailing right over the Chief's head and continuing towards their humble village.
"No!!" shouted the leader, quickly turning around and heading back towards the territory to chase it down.
The rest of the buffalo were too scared to try and go after it...all except for Little Strongheart, who bravely charged towards it. "Don't you even THINK about what you're trying to do!!" she shouted at it. But she froze up when she saw that the figure seemed to fire a small blast of yellow energy at her. Gasping, she ducked for cover.
Luckily, Applejack quickly ran over to the little buffalo, scooping her up and carrying her on her back. "Y'all okay, Sugarcube?" the orange mare asked her as she carried her to safety.
"I think so...Thanks a lot." Little Strongheart replied, grateful to Applejack for what she did.
"Big sis!!" shouted Apple Bloom. "Look out!! He's chasin' after ya!!"
"What the-?!?" AJ quickly turned around and saw that the figure was indeed chasing them, firing off more shots. Luckily, the Earth Pony was able to sidestep every one of the blasts.
As Applejack kept evading the assailant's shots, Apple Bloom looked on, hoping that her sister would be okay. At that moment, Chief Thunderhooves walked over to her and said, "Come with me. You are not safe where you are."
"Y-you're helpin' me?" asked the filly, a bit surprised.
"As part of the Buffalo Tribe, I am duty-bound to assist those that help our own, according to our laws." he told her. "Your elder sister saved Little Strongheart's life, so I shall return the favor and keep you safe from harm as well."
Apple Bloom smiled and said to the buffalo leader, "That's real of nice of y'all t' do that fer me; you're nothin' like that jerk that tried to hurt everypony in town." The Chief was happy to hear that from her, and began to wonder if he was wrong to think that the Appleloosians were out to get him and his kind. But right now, he had a job to do, so he let the little filly onto his back and took her out of the village so that she would be safe.
Applejack breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Thunderhooves protecting her little sister. "At least Ah know she'll be okay..." she said to herself. "Though Ah'm not too sure if we'll make it out in one piece..." Not long after she finished talking, the Earth Pony sidestepped to avoid another small energy blast.
"That thing's gettin' real close, Applejack...!" stated Little Strongheart. "We can't keep running forever; we HAVE to try and fight it!"
"Ah know we do! But that thing's too fast to hit directly!" AJ told her passenger. "It's not like Ah've got any fancy ranged attacks like Mega Pony does!" Just then, she realized something. "Of course!! Ah almost forgot!!" She then quickly tapped the communicator that the blue robot gave her and spoke into it, saying, "Mega Pony! Mega Pony, are y'all there?! We need some assistance, an' quick!!"
Not much longer after she gave out the S.O.S., a long pillar of light appeared far away, grabbing the attention of everypony (and buffalo), inculding the mysterious attacker. They all stared in the direction that the light came from, wondering what was going to happen next...
Just then, a pair of figures sped forward towards the buffalo territory: They were none other than Princess Celestia (who was wearing a pair of saddlebags in addition to her new sunhat) and Mega Pony. The robotic pony had donned Rainbow Dash's color scheme, using her special weapon in combination with his Emergency Wings in order to reach the buffalo's village quickly.
*** WEAPON EQUIP! *** Sonic Rainboom ***
The strange attacker bolted out of the way for the moment as both the Princess and the robot landed in the area. "Somepony call for help?" asked Mega Pony with a friendly smirk as he changed back to his original colors.
"Thank goodness y'all got here!" said Applejack. "We could use a hoof 'r two right about now!"
"The strange pony that attacked the tribe came back and is trying to finish the job!" stated Little Strongheart. "We've gotta get rid of it!"
"I couldn't agree more." said Celestia. "Luckily, we were just about to leave the castle when you contacted us." She then used her magic to open her bags and pulled out Applejack's favorite hat, which she had asked to borrow earlier. "Here. I am giving this back to you." the Princess told her.
"Mah hat!" exclaimed the farm pony upon seeing it. As she took the hat in her front hooves, she then asked, "But...why'd ya'll need it earlier?"
"I needed to borrow it for a short while so that I could give you something that would assist you, both for right now and in the near future." the Alicorn explained. "Using my magic, along with one of Mega Pony's spare Copy Chips, I have bestowed your hat with a special power; now, you'll be able to use the same weapon that Mega Pony gets from you: The Apple Bucker."
"Wait, ya mean that Ah can toss those explosive apples just like he can??" the Earth Pony asked in surprise.
"Indeed." answered Princess Celestia. "As long as you wear that hat, you'll be able to use the Apple Bucker just like my son can. The only difference is that your version of the weapon has limitless ammunition, and is slightly more powerful, too."
Applejack stared at her hat and saw that there was a small patch that had been sewn on the back of it; it was where the Princess had placed the chip that contained all of the data for the special weapon. "Ah don't know what t' say..." she said, clearly grateful to the royal Alicorn for the gift she gave to her.
Before another word could be said, the strange attacker decided to go on the offensive again, firing off more shots at Applejack, Mega Pony, and the others. "If I could make a suggestion," the robot said to the Earth Pony, "how about saying that you'll use that weapon to help me take down that guy?"
The farm pony nodded and put her hat on her head. "Alrighty then, Mega." she told him. "Just tell me what t' do, an' Ah'll do it."
Mega Pony fired off shots from his Friendship Buster, trying to take out the cloaked crook as best as he could. "Just imagine an apple right in front of you;" he instructed, "focus completely on that thought, and it will appear."
"Alright then..." Applejack then closed her eyes and did her best to focus on the thought of an apple right in front of her. It took a while to keep her mind clear of anything else, especially since there was a crazed pony-like assailant trying to tear up the place. But then, all of a sudden...
"Applejack! You did it!" cheered Little Strongheart.
"Huh??" The Earth Pony opened her eyes and saw that, lo and behold, an apple-shaped bomb had been flung up into the air in front of her. Quickly remembering how Mega Pony used the weapon, she aimed her back legs towards the cloaked assailant and used them to buck the explosive straight towards it.
Mega Pony heard the kick and quickly moved out of the way so as not to get hit by the bomb. But the attacker never saw it coming and was struck by the projectile. The Apple Bucker bomb exploded upon contact, sending the figure flying backwards and right into the side of a cliff wall.
"She did it!!" cheered Apple Bloom from the sidelines. "Mah big sis got 'im real good!!"
But Chief Thunderhooves was focused on something else that had happened after the bomb struck the attacker; the explosion had caused its cloak to fly off. He then looked over at the assailiant and gasped loudly. "What is that?!?" he shouted.
Everyone else looked over at the strange figure when they heard the lead buffalo's exclamation. They all finally got a good look at the villian, and it caused Mega Pony, Princess Celestia, and Apple Bloom to gasp in shock as well.
"It's...It's an Equine Joe!!" exclaimed the blue robot upon seeing the attacker's orange-colored armor.
"Aw no! Not those things again!!" complained Apple Bloom. "Ah thought we'd seen the last of 'em after Mega Pony got rid of the ones in the Everfree Forest!"
"So those are the Joe-things y'all told me and our friends about?" Applejack asked Mega Pony.
"Uh huh..." the blue robot answered her. "But don't be too alarmed; they're dangerous, but also predictable. Just attack it when its shield is down, and we can defeat it." Mega Pony then switched to his Apple Bucker weapon again, readying himself for a fight. "Alright, Applejack...let's do this together!" The farm pony nodded as they both rushed towards it, firing off a pair of apple bombs.
However, the Equine Joe quickly responded, putting up its shield to guard itself from the attack. After the explosions were dulled out, the menacing mech returned fire, shooting out energy bullets from its hoof-mounted blaster, which the two heroic ponies swiftly avoided. They continued to fire at each other, but neither side seemed to gain any edge over the other.
But after a while, Little Strongheart, not content with just sitting idly by, decided to take action. While the orange robot was distracted by Mega Pony and Applejack, the little buffalo ran as fast as she could towards the attacker. The Equine Joe heard her coming, but it was too late: Strongheart used her super-tough head to knock away its shield, sending it a great distance away. "Mega Pony! Applejack! Now's your chance!!" she shouted to her friends.
"Way ahead of ya." stated Applejack with nod. Both she and Mega Pony kicked another pair of Apple Bucker bombs straight towards the Equine Joe. Now that it no longer had its shield to protect itself, the bombs were able to strike it hard. The force of both blasts were able to damage the enemy robot severely enough to take it completely out of commission. The Equine Joe then lay on the ground, completely motionless, as its glowing red eye dulled away.
"We did it, Applejack!" cheered Mega Pony. "We defeated it!!"
"Was there any doubt, Mega?" asked Applejack as the pair performed a hoof bump in celebration. "There was no way that thing could take us both on!"
"Three of us." the blue robot corrected her. "It was because of Little Strongheart that we were able to get the opening that we needed."
"I-it was nothing, Mega Pony..." the small buffalo replied, rubbing the back of her head. "I just did what I had to do to protect everyone, that's all."
Chief Thunderhooves and Apple Bloom, along with the rest of the Buffalo Tribe, all walked over to what remained of the mechanical attacker. "So this is the one who has been attacking us all along?" the head buffalo asked. He then sighed a bit and said to Little Strongheart, "Well, it seems like you may have been right about what you and the others have told me."
"Strongheart," Mega Pony began to ask, "the pony that you told us you saw; did it look like this one?"
The young buffalo nodded yes. "That's it alright." she responded. "I remember it all completely now. Just before it could put on its cloak and get away, I saw that it looked just like this."
"But why was it causin' trouble here?" asked Apple Bloom. "The ones that Ah saw before had some reason fer doin' what they were doin', even though what they were doin' was bad and all..."
Princess Celestia thought for a while about what had happened. She then told Mega Pony, "Scan that Equine Joe and see if you can find out anything about what it was programmed to do."
"Oh! Good idea, Mom!" the blue robot replied. He then tapped the wrecked machine with his left foreleg, allowing his systems to scan its brain for any information. Suddenly, he gasped as he removed his leg from the mechanoid. "So that's it...Now it all makes sense!"
"Wha'd ya find out?" asked Applejack.
"This Equine Joe was programmed to stir up trouble, both in here and in Appleloosa." Mega Pony told everyone. "It was given a list of tasks to perform in order to fulfill its duties: I'll read them off to you all." The blue robot then took a deep breath and began to tell everyone about what he had scanned.
"Task #1: Infiltrate town of Appleloosa and scan the individual known as 'Sheriff Siverstar' for combat data.
"Task #2: Locate Buffalo Territory.
"Task #3: Attack Buffalo Tribe and stir them into combatting the town of Appleloosa.
"Task #4: After both the buffalo and Appleloosa townsfolk have worn themselves out from fighting each other, work with Unit OAB-121 and call in reinforcements to finish off both sides and claim the territory for..." Mega Pony then paused before saying, "That's all I could scan; the rest of the data is too scrambled as a result of the damage we inflicted."
Everyone was shocked by what the little robot told them. "So that's what's goin' on..." said Applejack. "This robot was sent here to get the Buffalo Tribe and Appleloosa to fight with each other again!"
"That's right." said Celestia. She then turned to Thunderhooves and added, "But the only reason that it was able to get this far was because whomever built it knew that there was bad blood between them."
The Chief was dumbstruck after hearing all of this. "So...it was taking advantage of that fact so that it could wipe us all out at once..." he said in a soft tone. "I don't believe it."
"Well, you heard the Princess," Little Strongheart told him, "it was only able to do so because it knew that there was still a lot of mistrust between you and the sheriff. Otherwise, we would have been able to resolve the whole thing together in just a few minutes..."
Chief Thunderhooves took off his headdress for the moment and sighed, saying, "I am ashamed of myself...for allowing this to happen...Please forgive me."
"It's okay, sir..." Mega Pony told him. "Now that we know what's going on, we can fix it...together."
"Mega Pony's right!" Apple Bloom chimed in. "It's not too late to patch things up and help everyone out!"
"I agree." stated Celestia. "And we'll need to pool all of our resources if we are to succeed. After all, according to what we have seen so far, as well as from the data that my son had collected, there's another robot that is dead-set on wiping out both your territory and the town all at once."
"Which means we'll need to cooperate with each other if we're ever gonna get outta this mess." Applejack reminded everyone.
At that moment, Mega Pony's helmet began to beep again; somepony was trying to contact him. The robot tapped his helmet and asked, "Mega Pony here, what is it?"
"Mega Pony!" said the voice on the other end. "This is Braeburn. We've gotta big heap of a mess over here in town!!"
"What's going on?!" asked the mechanoid. "Is the town under attack again?!"
"Ah'll say it is!" Braeburn responded. "You'd better come quick! Ah don't know how much longer we're gonna last over here!!"
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can!" After clicking off his communicator, he then told everyone, "We've gotta get going; Braeburn just told me that Appleloosa's under attack again! I think it might be the other robot! I'm gonna teleport there right away!"
"Hold on! Ah'm comin' with ya!" shouted Applejack. "Ah ain't about t' let ya go out there all by yerself!"
"Are you sure about that, Applejack?" asked Mega Pony out of concern.
"Just trust me: Ah'll be fine." the farm pony assured him. "Now let's go already!"
The robot was skeptical at first, but eventually decided to put his faith in Applejack's words. "Okay then. Grab ahold of me and don't let go." he instructed his friend.
"We'll be there to assist you as well." Princess Celestia stated to the two of them. "As long as Chief Thunderhooves is willing to cooperate."
"I am, Your Highness." he told the Alicorn. "I must reclaim my lost honor by putting an end to the threat that I inadvertedly had a hoof in. You can calm yourself in knowing that the entire Buffalo Tribe will fight by your side!"
"YEAH!!!!" cheered the rest of the tribe.
Little Strongheart hopped onto the Chief's back and shouted, "For the honor of the Buffalo Tribe and their allies, we shall not fail!!"
Princess Celestia then motioned Apple Bloom to hop onto her back. "For the Buffalo!!" the little filly cheered. "For Appleloosa!! For Equestria!!"
Mega Pony, confident that everyone was ready and willing to fight for the greater good, activated his teleporter and warped both him and Applejack to the town in order to stop the plans of the attacking robots and their unknown creator.
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Back in Appleloosa, the townsfolk were scrambling all over the place, trying to get away from the crook that had attacked the town earlier. This time, it had the help of two others just like it: Big, strong, and wearing cloaks to conceal their identities. They had not managed to harm anypony in town yet; so far, the only casulties were the walls of buildings, along with many stagecoaches and carts.
Braeburn did his best to keep everyone safe, directing them all to an area outside of town where they would be out of the beasts' way. "Everypony remain calm!" he told them all. "Keep followin' each other in an orderly manner, and y'all will be safe!"
"That's right, keep on movin'!" Granny Smith told the townsfolk as she assisted Braeburn. "Just 'cause there's a big brute smashin' the town apart, that doesn't mean y'all need to push anypony over gettin' out of here! Right, Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup!"
As the members of the Apple Family helped keep the townsfolk safe, Sheriff Silverstar took it upon himself to deal with the vandals...despite the fact that they were much bigger than him and that they outnumbered him, three to one. Still, he wasn't about to let them have their way. "You ornery brutes..." he said to them, growling. "If y'all want t' take this town from me, y'all are gonna have t' pry it from my cold, dead hooves! Do your worst!!"
The three crooks looked at each other for a while; they then turned to face the sheriff and charged towards him. They were ready to make good on the whole "dead hooves" thing that he had mentioned. Even so, Silverstar bravely stood his ground, not intimidated in the slightest.
But just when it seemed like the attackers would do the unthinkable, a small, red projectile flew towards the beasts, striking the one in the front of the pack. The projectile exploded upon contact, damaging it and causing its cloak to fly off. Once the covering was gone, the sheriff was finally able to see who the assailant was. Needless to say, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. "Wh-wh-what the hay is that thing?!" he exclaimed.
The attacker was revealed to be buffalo-like in terms of its body shape; however, it was quite clear to Silverstar that it was something else entirely. The creature's forest-green body shimmered in the sun, its silver horns were razor-sharp at the tips (except for one of them; it had been damaged, shown by the fact that the end of the horn had been broken off), and its single, glowing red eye would be enough to creep out even the toughest of ponies.
"Th-that buffalo..." Silverstar said to himself. "That...doesn't look like anyone from Buffalo Tribe...!"
"Sheriff Silverstar!!" shouted the voice of Mega Pony nearby. Both he and Applejack raced to the scene as fast as they could so that they could render assistance.
"What are you two doing here??" asked the law-enforcing stallion.
"We came by t' help." AJ answered him. "After we found out what was really goin' on with these attacks, me an' Mega here got here as soon as we could!"
"What're ya talkin' about?" asked Silverstar. "What did y'all find out??"
"No time to explain, sir." Mega Pony informed him. "All we can say is that the Buffalo Tribe are NOT responsible for what's going on." The robot then switched to Applejack's weapon and added, "Just leave this all to me and Applejack! I promise that we'll stop these attacks once and for all!"
The sheriff still wasn't sure about what they were saying, but he decided now wasn't the time to ask them anything about it. "Very well, then." he replied. "Do what ya need t' do t' save the town..." He then ran off, deciding to check on the townsfolk in the meantime.
"Cousin AJ! Mega Pony!" shouted Braeburn from far away. He, along with Granny Smith and Big Mac, ran over to see the pair as soon as the sheriff left. "Boy, are we all glad to see ya!"
"Where is everypony?" asked Mega Pony. "Are they okay?"
"Don't you worry, young'un!" the elderly mare informed him. "We took care of all o' that fer ya! Everypony in Appleloosa, save fer us, are all outta town!"
"You really got everypony t' safety?" asked Applejack, impressed with what they had done.
"Eeeyup!" Big Mac replied with a nod.
At that moment, the group glanced over and saw that the other two vandals had thrown off their cloaks, since their identities were no longer a secret anyway. The other two beasts were revealed to be exactly the same as the first one, being buffalo-like in body shape, but not in overall appearence. "Those things look mighty creepy, Mega..." stated Applejack as she looked at their glowing eyes. "And familiar..."
"Well, they should." the pony robot told her. "I just did a quick scan and found out what they are: They're the robots that the Equine Joe was working with; Unit OAB-121, otherwise known...as a Buffalo Joe."
"Buffalo Joe?" asked the orange mare.
"Yep. They're built using the same technology as the Equine Joes, only they were designed to look and attack just like buffalo." he explained. "They lack the nimbleness of the Equine Joe, but they make up for with pure brute force; they can dish out a lot of damage, and take a lot as well..."
"Doesn't sound good, Mega..." Applejack said, worrying a little. But she quickly regained her composure and told him, "Still, that don't mean we're just gonna let 'em wreck stuff and hurt innocent ponies! We've gotta fight 'em!"
"I agree." said the little robot. "Let's go!"
The two of them then kicked a pair of Apple Bucker bombs at the Buffalo Joes, striking them hard. But just as Mega Pony said, their dark green armor was able to shrug off most of the damage. The three of them began charging forward, forcing the two heroic ponies to dart out of the way before returning fire. Still, it seemed that even the Apple Bucker weapon wouldn't be enough to stop them.
All of a sudden, Mega Pony's Apple Bucker stopped working. Try as he might, he couldn't fire another bomb from his horn. "Uh oh! My weapon's out of ammo!" he said in despair.
"Then get yerself a new weapon, an' fast!" Applejack told him as she continued to buck the explosives at the menacing buffalo robots. She didn't have to worry about ammo, because her version of the weapon was able to provide as much as she needed.
Mega Pony decided to take AJ's advice and began looking around for somepony to obtain a new weapon from. Of course, the only ponies that were nearby were the rest of the Apple Family, who took shelter in the Salt Block Saloon. Knowing what to do, he ran over to them and said, "Quick, I could use some help! Let me touch one of your cutie marks!"
"What're ya talkin' abou- Oh! That's right! Ah almost forgot; AJ told us that's how ya get your fancy weapons n' stuff!" Granny Smith exclaimed, realizing what he was trying to do. Showing him her mark, she then told him, "Alright, go ahead an' give 'er a tap!"
The robot nodded and touched Granny Smith's cutie mark, triggering the usual light show that happened whenever he copied a pony's special power. After he was done, he then said to them all, "Okay, I think this one will help, but I'm not sure what my odds are with this weapon alone..."
"Then try gettin' one from me, too!" Braeburn told him, showing Mega Pony his cutie mark as well. He then looked over at Big Mac and asked him, "What about you? Think y'all could lend us a hoof as well?"
The big red stallion nodded and said, "Eeeyup!" He then showed off his mark, too.
"Thanks a lot, everypony." Mega Pony said to them. "I'm sure these will be a big help to AJ and I." He then went ahead and copied the powers of both Braeburn and Big Mac.
Back outside, Applejack still kept up her attack, knocking apple bomb after apple bomb towards the meancing mechanical buffalo. Despite repeated blows, the beasts were virtually unaffected, thanks to their heavy-duty armor. Grunting a little out of both frustraion and exahaustion, she muttered to herself, "Mega, where are ya...? Ah don't know how much longer Ah can keep this up...!"
But at that moment, the little blue robot ran back to the battle after having finished his work in the saloon. "Sorry if I've kept you waiting, Applejack." he apologized.
"Never mind that; did ya get some new weapons t' use?" she inquired.
"I did." he answered her. "And I think they'll be much more effective against enemies like them..." Mega Pony then swapped to one of his new weapons, taking on the green-and-silver color scheme of Granny Smith, as well as her apple pie cutie mark. Applejack watched on, wondering what he was going to do.
"Alright, here goes..." the robot pony said to himself as he used his new power. With enough concentration, he used his "magic" to create...a piepan. After it materialized, Mega Pony grabbed it using his mouth and hurled it towards the Buffalo Joe robots like a frisbee. As it flew through the air, the sides of the pan unfolded into small points, transforming the seemingly-ordinary piepan into a razor-sharp blade. The enemy robots tried to run, but one wasn't quick enough to get away, and the blade sliced right through one of its back legs, cutting it cleanly off of the beast and causing it to stumble over.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Piepan Blade ***
"Nice shot, Mega!!" cheered Applejack.
"Would ya look at that...!" said Braeburn. "Who would've guessed that he'd get that kind of a power from you, Granny?"
"Heh, I ain't surprised." the elderly mare responded. "Everypony's been tellin' me that Ah've got a wit that's as sharp as a nail! Or, in this case, a sawblade."
The downed beast struggled to get back up, but its weight made standing, much less walking, on three legs next to impossible. "Not that Ah'm complainin' or nothin'," Applejack began to ask, "but how come it got taken down by one blade when a bucha bombs hardly even scratched it?"
"Take it from me:" Mega Pony told his friend. "We robots tend to have a bit of a weakness when it comes to sharp objects..." He then readied another piepan and added, "On that note, that thing isn't defeated for good just yet..." He then hurled another blade at the Buffalo Joe, which struck it in the head and got stuck. The blow from the sawblade damaged its CPU, shutting it down for good.
"That's one down..." stated Applejack. She then looked up at the reamining enemy robots. "An' two more t' go."
"I'll conserve the energy for Granny Smith's weapon for now." Mega Pony informed her. "In the meantime, I'll try out a different weapon instead." He then changed his color scheme again, this time adopting the color scheme and cutie mark of Big Mac. "Be ready with your apple bombs, AJ." he told her.
"Got it!" the orange mare responded, ready to assist him at a moment's notice.
Mega Pony then leapt into the air, heading straight towards one of the Buffalo Joe robots. It looked on, but wasn't sure what he was doing. At the apex of his jump, the robot pony then triggered his active weapon. He then dropped straight down to the ground, creating a massive tremor that shook everything and everyone within its range. It also caused a pair of shockwaves to form around the impacted area, which immediately struck the Buffalo Joe that Mega Pony intended to hit.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Crusher Stomp ***
The impact of the shockwaves hit the enemy robot so hard, it caused it to flip over onto its back. Because of the large size of its body, and the (very) small size of its legs, it was unable to get back up, and it could no longer cause any more damage to anything or anyone.
"Alright, Applejack! Finish it off!" Mega Pony instructed her. The farm pony nodded and kicked a trio of Apple Bucker bombs at the helpless foe. This time, the blasts were able to destroy it completely, after Mega Pony's earlier attack managed to severely weaken it.
Now there was only one Buffalo Joe left to defeat. It just so happened that it was the one that had the broken horn. "Hey, Mega..." whispered Applejack. "That last one...ain't that-?"
"Uh huh." the robot pony interrupted her, knowing what she was going to say. "That's the same one that was attacking the town earlier...But we're not gonna let it get away this time." Switching to Braeburn's colors and cutie mark, he added, "And it just so happenes that I have exactly what I need to ensure that it doesn't." Using his newly-activated weapon, he then formed a blue stream of energy from out of his horn, which looped around itself to form what appeared to be a lasso.
*** WEAPON GET! *** Thunder Lasso ***
Mega Pony then hurled the energy stream towards the remaining Buffalo Joe as it charged forward towards him and Applejack. The lasso-like stream looped around the mechanical beast's midsection; once it did, the robot pony then closed his eyes once more and triggered the weapon's other function: Small bolts of energy began shooting out from the stream coming from his horn, and the sparks traveled towards the enemy robot. Once the sparks reached it, the beast was shocked with massive amounts of raw electricity, enough to fry its CPU and put it out of commission permanently. It fell over in a heap, no longer able to harm anyone or anything ever again.
"We did it! We saved the town!!" cheered Applejack. "It's all finally over now!!"
"Um...Ah wouldn't say that just yet, cuz..." said the voice of a very worried Braeburn as he, Granny Smith, and Big Mac walked over to join them. "Just look!"
Everypony looked towards the direction that Braeburn was pointing in...and saw that there was now a large army of villianous robots in front of them. The army of bots consisted of a few Equine Joes, several Mettaur, and even a few Para-Bots.
"Those must be the reinforcements..." stated Mega Pony. "The ones that were going to attack both the town and the buffalo after the others did their job!"
"Shoot...an' just when things were lookin' up, too..." Applejack said with a sigh.
"There's no way that we can fight off that many robots by ourselves!" cried out a trembling Braeburn. "Wh-wh-what're we gonna do, everypony??"
But before the robot army could initiate their final assault, someone fired at them first: A large ball of white energy struck the enemy forces, eliminating many of them in one shot. Mega Pony and the others gasped, wondering where the shot came from. But they didn't have to wonder for very long...
"YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!!!!!" shouted the voices of both Apple Bloom and Little Strongheart, riding on the backs of Princess Celestia and Chief Thunderhooves, respectively.
"It's my mom and the buffalo chief!" exclaimed Mega Pony.
"Not just them," Braeburn chimed in, "they've brought the whole Buffalo Tribe with 'em!"
Indeed, the rest of the neighboring buffalo all banded together in order to end the threat once and for all. Princess Celestia continued to fire magic blasts from her horn, specifically going after the airborne Para-Bots, while the buffalo did battle with the Equine Joes and Mets.
The townsfolk watched from far away as the Princess and the Buffalo Tribe bravely took on the enemy. Once they all realized that the large beasts were on their side, they weren't about to sit idly by and have the buffalo fight the villians all by themselves. "C'mon, everypony!" shouted Sheriff Silverstar. "Let's get down there and run those outlaws outta town!!" The Appleloosians cheered loudly in response as they all came together to lend their assistance as well. Using whatever they had on-hoof, the townsfolk helped take down the evil robot army that intended to wreck the town.
"Lookit that!" said an astonished Braeburn. "The townsponies and the buffalo...they're finally workin' together and helpin' each other out!"
"And that's what we need t' do, too!" Applejack chimed in. She then turned over to Mega Pony and asked him, "Y'all ready t' go, Sugarcube?"
"It'll be my pleasure, Applejack!" he answered her. He and the others then ran into the massive battle as well, fighting off every last one of the enemy bots. With the combined efforts of Mega Pony, Applejack, their friends, as well both the Appleloosians and the Buffalo Tribe, the entire robot army was wiped out in only a few minutes. The crisis in Appleloosa was over, and everypony (and buffalo) celebrated their victory.
From a plateau overlooking the town, the rectangular-shaped figure was watching the whole thing. It did so using a floating dome-shaped drone robot with a propellor on its head, equipped with a camera that was linked to a computer tablet that the figure was holding. "No, no, no, no, NO!!" it shouted in frustration, tossing the tablet aside. "None of that was supposed to happen! None of it!!" Sighing, the figure recollected itself and picked up the tablet. "Oh well..." it then said to itself, "at least now I can get out of this heat..." The figure then walked off before disappearing in a column of yellow light.
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Several minutes later, the residents of Appleloosa were hard at work repairing the damage to their town. Luckily, they didn't have to do it alone; Mega Pony, Princess Celestia, and Applejack, along with the rest of the Apple Clan, assisted in fixing up the town. Even the Buffalo Tribe decided to help out as well. With everyone's hard work, Appleloosa was as good as new.
"Well, that about does it..." stated Applejack. "Great work, everyone! Appleloosa's lookin' even better than ever, 'specially now that those jerks that were tryin' t' wreck it are gone fer good."
Looking over at both Sheriff Silverstar and Chief Thunderhooves, Braeburn told them both, "Now can y'all see how much better everythin' is, now that we've proved that we can truely work together?"
The sheriff and the chief didn't say anything at first; neither was willing to admit to the other that they were wrong.
"Look, I speak for all of us, both pony and buffalo, when I say this:" started Little Strongheart. "Until we can truly learn to trust each other and become friends, we'll never be able to live together in peace...Whoever sent those robots to attack us knew for a fact that there was still a lot of conflict between the town and our tribe. So they took advantage of that fact in order to make us fight with one another, so that they could wear us out and take us all down at once..."
"So please..." Braeburn chimed in, "for the good of everyone here...Let's bury the hatchet...fer good."
The two stubborn leaders began to finally realize that their hateful feelings for each other only did more damage in the long run. Chief Thunderhooves spoke first, saying to Silverstar, "They are right; in order for your town and my tribe to be able to move forward, we have to at least try to trust each other...If not for us, but for those that we care about." Taking off his headdress, he then told the stallion, "If it means anything...I apologize for accusing your town of attacking us without getting all of the facts..."
Silverstar let out a deep sigh. At this point, even HE had to admit when he was wrong about something. Fixing his hat, he said to the chief, "I forgive you...and...I'm sorry for thinking that your tribe was behind the attacks on our town." The two of them then performed a hoof-bump, signaling that the two of them were no longer enemies with each other.
Mega Pony let out a sigh and said to Princess Celestia, "I'm glad that's everything's okay now...Up until now, even I didn't think that they would ever be able to work things out."
"You'd be surprised at what someone can do once they've accepted the friendship of another." the Alicorn told him. "While not everyone can change so quickly, I do believe that there is some good in everyone, even if it seems very unlikely..." She then thought to herself, (Perhaps...even HE could learn to be good as well...)
"Mom?" the little robot asked when he noticed that she had become silent for a brief moment. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh! Yes, Mega Pony. I'm okay." she told him. "I was just...thinking about something." She then cleared her throat and said to everyone, "Well, now that the problem here has finally been resolved, there is just one more matter left to take care of."
"What's that?" asked Mega Pony.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Apple Bloom. "The ribbon-cuttin' ceremony! Ah almost forgot about it!"
"Indeed." Celestia confirmed. "And I would like it if everyone here could come and attend the festivities." The ponies and buffalo in the crowd cheered loudly, which told her that they would be there for it.
The Appleloosians and the Buffalo Tribe, along with Mega Pony, Applejack, and her family, all gathered together to attend the opening of the Appleloosa Farm's new Shipping Department. With a swift snip of the ceremonial giant scissors, the building was now officially open for business. Afterwards, everyone attended the party that followed the event. Soon, they were all playing games, talking with one another, and of course, enjoying the many foods provided by the apple farm, which included apple pie, apple cider, candied apples, apple fritters, and many, many more.
Mega Pony and his friends and family were happy to see that the Appleloosa townsfolk and the Buffalo Tribe were not only able to trust each other, but they also seemed to enjoy each other's company as well. Even Sheriff Silverstar and Chief Thunderhooves were chatting it up with each other; in fact, Silverstar was probably the only one who could listen to one of Thunderhooves' long stories without becoming tired or bored. For the first time in a while, the two sides were able to come together in peace, and their days of fighting with each other seemed to be nothing more than a distant memory.
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NEXT EPISODE: "The Sister Act"
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