A new industrial revolution hits the land of Equestria, along with some old and new foes!
It has been some time since Flim and Flam left Ponyville, but now they're back. They bring with them an industrial revolution that quickly reforms the very foundation of Equestria and its citizens. It is up to the main 6, and many other ponies to figure out how to stop the madness that new technology brings to their world of magic.
NOTE: This is in an alternate time line where the Flim Flam brothers lost the bet against Applejack.
It was a partly cloudy day with an unsettling feel in the air. Twilight was reading a book when Applejack came barging in through the front door with the newspaper in her mouth. She presented it to twilight with a worried look in her eyes.
Twilight glanced at the paper then at Applejack and asked: "What's wrong Applejack, did..."
But before she could continue, Applejack put down the paper in front of her and said: "Look at what's on the front page!"
Twilight did as she was told and began to read aloud: "Flim Flam Brother's grand return!" She took a moment to soak that in then continued reading. "Earlier today, they were seen talking to the Mayor about purchasing a large sum of land on the outskirts of Ponyville. Later it was discovered in a private press conference that they were going to set up a factory that would: 'Reshape the image of apples in Ponyville.' Then the rest of the conference consisted of them doing a long musical number about the grand ideas they have in store for the everyday customer." Twilight looked back up at Applejack with worry in her as well.
The silence between the two was broken when Applejack said with an angry tone: "I can't believe they're back, I thought they said that they weren't gonna show their faces around here again!"
"Maybe we should remind them about the promise they made with you."
"You're right Twilight, we should speak to them about this." Twilight and Applejack quickly left the treehouse in search of them.
After some time of searching, they found the construction site of the soon to be factory. It was located within a short walking distance of the Everfree Forest, and it contained multiple buildings with stone walkways connecting them to each other. The buildings themselves were made out of stone bricks with iron supports. Off in the distance, there stood a building about the size of a small house that looked like it was only temporary.
As they approached it, voices could be heard inside. The door creaked open to a small room that consisted of a desk, some boxes of questionable content, and other unidentifiable items. Flim and Flam were behind the desk talking about ingredients for a special formula. As soon as they noticed the two standing in the door, they stopped talking and just looked at them with pleased looks on their faces.
Flim started the conversation by asking: "Why hello there, what seems to bring you here?"
Applejack immediately responded: "What do you two think you're doing coming back to Ponyville?!"
Flim continued the conversation while Flam was studying paperwork that covered the desk: "We came back to Ponyville because we thought that this would be a perfect place to set up shop for our new business."
Applejack began to show even more of her anger when she said: "I thought that we had an agreement!"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"You two said that if we won, you'll never come back."
"That's not how I remember it."
"Huh?"
"We said that we wouldn't sell cider in Ponyville, but we plan on selling something else."
"Like what?"
"I wouldn't what to ruin the surprise, now I must be getting back to work. Oh Flam."
Flam looked up from the papers and replied: "Yes brother?"
"I think it is time for our guest to leave, don't you think so too?"
"Indeed I do."
Flam pressed a button on a box and spoke into it saying: "Would security come over to the main office and escort some visitors off of the premisses." A few moments latter, a big charcoal colt wearing a worker's uniform stepped in and motioned the two to leave. Applejack hesitated, but finally left alongside Twilight out of the area.
Twilight returned home with nothing but thoughts running around in her head. The thoughts mainly consisted of what Flim and Flam were planning.
At the same time, Applejack also arrived at her home with a welcome from Applebloom. She started off by asking: "Hey Applejack, why were you out so late?"
"Oh, I had to take care of some businesses, but it didn't go as planed."
"What do ya mean?" Applejack stalled before answering; because, she didn't want to worry Applebloom about Flim and Flam, so she answered: "I had to talk to some business folk about apple sales."
"Oh."
"Now you best be heading off to bed now, you got school tomorrow."
They said their goodnights and headed off into their separate bedrooms. All Applejack could do now is wait for whatever was to come whether it be good or bad, only time can tell.
It was early in the morning after the events of yesterday. Applejack was resting in her bed; because, it was one of her days off from working in the family orchard.
Unfortunately, it was cut short when Applebloom barged into her room and asked in a slightly angry tone: "Why didn't ya tell me Flim n' Flam came back? I thought they said that they wouldn't come back."
Applejack slowly sat up right and asked: "Who told ya they came back?"
"Everypony has been talking about their new store down in the market. They said that they will reveal their 'special product' today at noon."
"Maybe I should go down and see what their up to, you better go off with your friends while I take care of this."
"Okay."
Applebloom started to leave the room when she remembered something and said: "OH! I almost forgot. Granny Smith wanted to talk to ya before ya leave." She continued out of the room as AJ got out of bed and put her hat on.
She went down the stairs to see that Granny Smith was waiting for her in the living room.
When AJ reached the bottom of the stairs, she asked: "You wanted to talk to me Granny Smith."
"I heard about Flim and Flam."
"I know, I know, I also thought that they wouldn't come back."
"No, that is not what I wanted to talk about. It was kind of obvious that they would come back. They are those kind of back stabbing city slickers that only care about making money. What I really wanted to talk about is that I want you to keep a very close eye on them, I just have a feeling that their up to something that will bring a storm. You understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes Granny, I'll keep as close an eye on them as I can."
"Good, you go do that while I tend to the sheep."
"See ya Granny." They both left the room after that, and Applejack started on her way to the big reveal that Flim and Flam have for everyone.
When she got there, it was already flooded with ponies. Fortunately, AJ was able to make her way to an area close to the front to have a better look. She was also accompanied by Twilight, and Rarity. They stood there as they waited for Flim and Flam to make their way onto the raised platform in front of the crowd. Ponies were whispering all around them as the brothers got up on stage. Flam was levitating a stand with an object that was covered by a cloth.
After Flam set up the display, Flim started by saying: "Hello there Ponyville! I know you all don't like us very much after the last time we were here, but we have come to change your thoughts about us. We have something brand new, never before seen, no, conceived by anypony's mind before ours!..."
Flam started to lift the cloth off of the strange object. "...Introducing the best thing since the founding of Equestria..." Everyone waited with thoughts racing about what this could possibly be. No one moved a muscle, no one breathed, it was just silence as the revealed their new product.
"...THE GRAPPLE!"
The cover flew back as the object was finally revealed to everyone. The object was shaped like an apple, and looked like one in every way, except for one distinct characteristic. The Grapple was a deep purple with a semi-transparent skin. Some awed at the site, others nearly vomited, and the rest just didn't know what to think about what was shown in front of them. The brothers smiled as they waited for a positive response that they were anticipating.
Rarity leaned over to Twilight and whispered: "Look at how discussing that... that thing is! It must taste awful!" Flim and Flam got tired of waiting and continued with the presentation.
Flim said: "This marvel of pony labor took months to create, and we wish to explain what this is."
Flam then continued: "The Grapple is a very special apple that has been specially treated and conditioned to taste like a grape, but have twice as much nutrition that comes with a normal apple! Another feature of the Grapple is that it takes almost six months for it to even start to spoil! Additionally, it only takes a couple of weeks to grow a full grown Grapple!" Ponies started to get excited by their presentation. The brothers started to form grins on their faces as they got what they wanted out of this event.
Flam then noticed Applejack in the crowd and announced: "You may be wondering to yourselves: How do I even know if this is real? Well, let's have somepony taste test this. How about... Mis. Applejack; come up on stage and be the first to taste the Grapple!" AJ went up on stage and stood next to the stand making sure they weren't planning to do something to her on stage.
Flim said: "Now, Mis. Applejack, please take a bite from the Grapple." They began smiling at the crowd as they waited for her to take a bite. Applejack picked it up off the stand and studied it. It felt soft and a lot smoother then any apple she had ever touched before. The smell was a combination of both an apple and a grape, but it was more towards the grape. When she finally took a bite, it turned out that it was very juicy like a grape, and it also tasted like one as well. Applejack didn't want to admit it, but it was actually very delicious.
Flam asked her: "How did it taste Mis. Applejack. I bet you that it was really nice and juicy like grapes, did it not?" They both got smug grins on their faces as they waited for the results that they knew would be good. Applejack knew she couldn't give them a good rating on this, but she didn't feel right when she thought about lying to entire crowd of ponies, some of which where her best friends.
Applejack said in a sad tone: "Ye... Yes it... It did."
They leaned closer and Flim asked: "Pardon, could you say that a bit louder to the whole crowd to hear?"
AJ hesitated, but at last, she said: "Yes, it is as good as they say it is."
She lowered her head in shame as the twins quickly turned towards the crowd and Flam loudly announced: "See everypony! Even our old time rival agrees that the Grapple is AMAZING!"
Applejack started to make her way off stage when Flim leaned over to her as Flam continued the speak, and said: "Thank you for your cooperation Mis. 'HONEST' Applejack."
It didn't take long for brother's factory to be fully constructed. The buildings themselves could be seen above the tree line, and the smoke stacks that scattered the factory grounds nearly reached up to the clouds. The smoke stacks almost always pumped out fumes into the air except on the week ends, but even then there were workers working throughout the rest of the facility. The ground that the factory stood on started to die off slowly as toxins flooded the air. At first, there were around fifteen to twenty workers, but day after day, more and more workers were hired until the entire working class was employed by them. The entire working class, all except the apple family. Even though the Grapples outsold that Apple's apples, they managed to stay above the poverty level until the following winter. It was a vey cold winter that only got worse when the toxins from the factory started to crawl their way onto the farm. Trees either died off, or they suffer from spontaneous combustion which then would spread to any nearby trees. One day during the winter, Applejack decided to ask one of her friends for help.
Applejack; wrapped in a thin warn out brown coat, dirt stained boots, a scarf that was ready to fall apart, and her cowboy hat, stepped trough the cottage door, and quickly shut it behind her to keep the cold out. Fluttershy stopped dusting her shelfs and went to greet Applejack, but she was overcome with sadness from the site of Applejack's condition.
Applejack dusted off the thin layer of snow and said: "Hey Fluttershy, I came by to ask you something."
Fluttershy, now in a state of confusion, replied: "Hi Applejack, it has been a while since we have talked one to one. What did you want to ask me?"
AJ hesitated to ask the question, but then said it: "I was wondering if my family could stay here until we build up enough bits to repair the farm. This winter caused parts of the roof to cave in, and ice started to form on the inside. I will find someway to repay you for this kindness if you help us out."
The pegasus, without a second thought said: "Of course your family can stay here, its the least that I can do for you after all theses times you have helped me."
Later that afternoon, Applejack, Applebloom, and Granny Smith arrived at the yellow mare's cottage with a few suit cases. Fluttershy opened the door and welcomed them to come inside. The pegasus helped them with the luggage, and placed it in a pile near the staircase. After looking at the group, she noticed that one of them were missing.
Fluttershy asked: "Um... Applejack, wheres Big Macintosh?"
The orange pony responded: "He is out working over time."
Surrounded in confusion, she asked: "What do you mean?"
"I mean he's working for the Brothers." Fluttershy let out a small gasp at that statement.
She spent a moment to think, then asked: "Why is he working for them? I thought you all hate them by now."
"We do! But they're the only ones that are offering any type of job that we know how to do. By tomorrow, I'll be starting my new job there as well." AJ gritted her teeth and closed her eyes from what came out of her mouth. Applejack opened her eyes and continued: "I need you to look after Applebloom while Big Mac and I are at work. I know that we're already asking a lot from you to give us a home, but She needs somepony to turn to when Mac or I aren't around."
Again, without hesitation, Fluttershy agreed and they shook on it. Deep down, Fluttershy had a feelling that something bad would happen, but she couldn't determine what that feeling was trying to tell her. She decided to push that feeling away, and helped the Apple Family unpack and get settled in.
Latter that night, Twilight was in her house reading the news paper like she normally does now a days. Flim and Flam made the front page again with their new line of new apples. They ranged from tasting like carrots to ice cream. It also stated that they're planning to start producing other goods. They demonstrated a prototype they were working on, and it was really strange in Twilight's opinion. It was a cabbage like plant that had four tendrils equally spaced from each other around the main body. It was stated that you plant it in a garden to prevent weeds from growing. They said that it would be out in sores by next week if they can get it to work on only weeds. Twilight continued to read until a large boom sounded off in the distance. She dropped the paper and rushed towards where the boom came from.
Twilight arrived at the scene at the same time as Rainbow Dash. They were outside the Bazaar standing next to a small crater. On the other side of it lied an unconscious pony with an hour glass cutie mark. The two rushed over to him to check if he was okay.
"What do you think happened to him?" Rainbow asked while looking at the crater.
"I don't know, but I do know that it can't be good." Twilight replied while she looked for injuries. The stallion's two front legs were broken, and his front left hoof was shattered to the point of it turing into dust. Rainbow Dash then noised two thing inside the crater. She grabbed them, and presented the to twilight. The objects were an apple core, and a busted candle.
"Do you think this could have caused this?" Rainbow asked while hovering in the air.
"Maybe, but I have to do tests to confirm. But we better get this guy to the hospital."
They carried the stallion to the hospital, and he regained consciousness along the way. Twilight explained to him what happened to him as they approached the hospital.
Once there, two nurses and a doctor came out to see what was going on. Again, Twilight explained what happened.
The doctor looked at the injured pony and asked: "Sir, can you help fill in the gaps in this event?"
The injured stallion said: "I went out to buy on of those Grapples that everyone, oops , everyPONY keeps jabbering on about. I thought that I should at least try one, and possibly get some more for the Tardi- MY HOUSE if I liked it. When I was walking out of the market, I lit my candle to see in this darkness and BAM! Then I woke up while these ponies were carrying me."
"I see... Well, we better get you inside and see whats broken, and to get you some medicine. Also, what's your name if you don't mind me asking?"
"OH, yes, of course. How silly of me to not introduce myself, I'm the Doc- TIME TURNER, yes... Time Turner. And if you would be so kind as to get me that medicine as fast as you can; because, I think the feeling in my legs are starting to return and they are not good!"
"Yes, right away. Nurse, take Mr. Turner inside and get him a bed." Time Turner was carried inside the hospital right before he cried out in pain. With nothing left to do, the duo split up, and headed to their homes.
Twilight returned home around ten o'clock at night, and she managed to get in bed without waking Spike. She lied there for a half an hour without sleep with the theories that she had about what happened. Instead of trying to sleep again, she got out of bed quietly to conduct tests that she had formulated. The purple unicorn grabbed the necessary items and headed off to a safe location.
Twilight arrived at an open field with a few grapples, Time Turner's candle, and her own. She also brought along a few other items to help with the tests, and to record the results. The first test consisted of lighting Time Turner's candle near a grapple, of course at a safe distance, and she would record what would happen. After everything was in place, she stood far back and used her magic to do the test. The grapple sat on the ground with the candle right next to it. The candle was lit, the fire spread to the grapple, and BOOM! Another crater was left in the ground, and ringing resinated in Twilight's ears. Once she finished writing down all the information she needed, she went onto the next test. This one was to make sure that it wasn't just Time Turner's candle that would do this. The experiment was done it the exact same manner, except she used a standard candle, and Twilight covered her ears. it ended with the same result, but at least the ringing was quieter this time. Again, she wrote down the information and packed up her stuff. Even though she wanted to continue to testing, she decided not to because of all the property damage that it could cause. After that thought crawled it's way inside her brain, she decided too vacate the area immediately.
Around midnight, Twilight fell asleep on her desk while she was writing up the lab report.
Spike woke up suddenly after another nightmare, and noticed that Twilight wasn't in her bed. He pulled himself out of his bed and continued downstairs.
There she was, sleeping on her desk once again. Spike went back upstairs and quickly came back with something that he wanted to retrieve. It was the blanket off of Twilight's bed. He draped it on her to make sure she would stay warm though out the rest of the night. Once he finished, Spike noticed the papers spread across the desk, and what was written on them. He quickly analyzed them and he roughly understood what they said. His claws covered his mouth to keep in a gasp after it hit him of what they meant. The little dragon fainted, but due to his size, he didn't make much of a sound when he hit the floor.
Applejack strolled through the bazaar with saddle bags full of groceries that she needed to get. The only resin that she wasn't at her new job was because her shift didn't start until one.
She stopped walking when she got near the brother's stand. It was crowded as usual with customers pushing past each other in an attempt to get what they wanted before it was sold out. She just stood there staring and wondering how they were able to do this. These thoughts were interrupted when a well dressed unicorn approached her. He was a little taller than her, his coat was light gray, his hair was a rusty red, and he possessed strangely vivid blue eyes. The stallion wore a white, long sleeve shirt, brown pants that held a pocket watch and a single gem, and a brown trench coat with many pockets that held thinks like small scrolls, and other items. A smile grew on his face as he got closer to her. AJ turned to meet him, but he spoke up before her.
"Am I correct to presume that you must be Mis. Applejack, a proud member of the Apple Family?" The strange stallion asked. His voice sounded similar to the voice of the bellhop from Manehattan, but it was slightly deeper, but just as chipper.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Well, you are one of the only ponies her that aren't in that mob back there, and a simple procces of elimination lead me to believe that you were Applejack after eliminating every pony else that doesn't want to buy the Flim Flam Brother's merchandise."
"Aaa..."
"OH. Where are my manners. It isn't proper of a gentlecolt to not introduce myself first. I am Sir. Cog Steam, an entrepreneur looking for a place to set up shop, and you are the lovely mare with the place I have been looking for."
"Could you run your name by me one more time?"
"Of course, my name is Sir. Cog Steam, or you could just call me Cog if you don't feel like saying my entire name."
"Well.. Cog, what do ya mean that I have the place you're looking for?"
"What I mean is that Sweet Apple Acres is the perfect place for my establishment. All that I wanted to ask of you is if I could take some surveys of the land, and possibly a tour of the orchard if you have the time. You don't need to give me a tour, all I really want to do is survey the land..." He reached into one of his coat pockets and puled out a scroll. "...and all you have to do is sign this to grant me the right to do so. I assure you that I won't do anything to lower that land value. I'll even pay you a little in advance if you agree."
"Just hold on one second. Let me have a moment to understand what your saying."
"Take all the time you need Mis. Applejack." AJ rubbed a hoof on the side of her aching head after being blasted by his speech. She couldn't decide wether to take up his offer or not, but there was just something about him that made her want to agree. Her hoof lowered back to the ground as she asked: "How much are you going to pay me in advance, and I would like to read that paper."
"Ooo, a mare who isn't quick to accept, I admire that. Also, I will pay you one hundred bits now and seven thousand bit when I'm done. And of course you can have a look over the agreement before you sign." He levitated the scroll over to her so that she could read it. It said that he would be allowed to take all the measurement he wanted and to conduct tests on the land itself. She didn't like the sound of 'conducting tests on the land' but again, something about him pushed her to agree.
"I'll accept, but is it alright if I stop by when you're doing your survey." Applejack asked.
"But of course, it is your land after all. I would also want to know where I can find you when I'm done so that I could pay you the rest of the money I would owe you?" Cog pulled out a map of ponyville and a quill. "You can just mark the location on my map."
Applejack marked the location that signed the scroll, then she asked: "When will you be starting?"
"I'll start my survey in one hour after I finish my lunch. OH! I almost forgot about your payment..." The stallion pulled out some notes and levitated it over to her. "...I better be going now, it was a real pleasure conducting business with you Mis. Applejack!"
"I'll see ya latter too." AJ waved her hoof as Cog Steam raced off past the mod of ponies. She then remembered that she was on a time schedule. It only took a quick look at the clock tower to tell her that she was running late. Applejack only had twenty minutes to drop off the groceries at Fluttershy's cottage, and then she would have to run as fast as she could to be on time to her new job. She stuffed the notes into her saddle bag and raced off back to the cottage.
Twilight woke up near ten in the morning with a baby dragon beside her. She looked down, saw him, and said: "Spike, are you alright? Also... What time is it?"
The unicorn nudged him a bit witch caused him to wake up with a sudden: "AHHHHHHH!"
"Why are you sceaming? Are you hurt?"
"GRAPPLES CAN EXPLODE!"
"Oh, you must have read my report. Apparently they do when you get the close to fire, or any thing that can produce as mush heat as a candle. That reminds me..." Twilight turned back to her work, and levitated a quill to continue writing. "...I need you to grab a candle and a grapple, I need to tell the brothers about this before anypony else gets hurt."
Spike looked at her with confusion and asked: "What do mean 'anypony else' I think I should know."
"No time to explain, I need to show them my reports!" Twilight gather the papers, stuffed them in her saddle bag, and started out the door without the other supplies she had asked for.
Right as the door closed, Spike asked again: "What do you mean 'ANYPONY ELSE'?!?" It was too late, and he was left in a newfound terror of their small storage of grapples in the their kitchen.
Twilight arrived shortly after her departure. Due to all the pollution, all signs of vegetation was nowhere to be seen, an it has become mandatory for everyone within the area to wear a gas mask. Another thing to note is that there were more buildings than the last time, and the entire factory was surrounded in a five meter high, one meter thick, wall blocking it off from the rest of Equestria. The only entrance now was the front gate which was guarded by at least two stallions at all times. One of the stallions asked her what she was doing here. The explanation was then transferred through a panel in the wall, and she was granted access, but she was told to always have her gas mask on and to stick to the paths. The other one explained that it wasn't because of security, it was because some of the soil has become dangerous to come into contact with.
The inside of the factory walls looked even worse than the outside. They weren't kidding when they said the soil was dangerous to touch. There were certain spots were it either bubbled or had heat editing from it. Workers went from building to building to continue their work for the day. They usually were either pulling a cart full of all sorts of stuff, or they were on the suspended walkways making sure that no one was slaking off.
One of them noticed Twilight and asked in a stern voice: "HEY! WHP ARE YOU?"
Twilight looked up at the mare and responded: "I'm here to see Flim and Flam. I have something really important that I need to show them."
"NOPONY IS ALLOWED TO SEE THEM WITHOUT MY OK! AND I DON"T REMEMBER GIVING YOU AN OK!"
"Please! The information that I have can save a lot go pony's lives!"
"LIKELY STORY! BESIDES, I NEED TO CHECK YOUR BAGS THERE BEFORE I LET YOU ANY FURTHER!" The Mare went over to a lever and pulled it which caused a staircase to extend down to Twilight. She ascended the stairs and was face to face with the mysterious mare. Unfortunately, most of her characteristics were concealed by the worker's uniform and her gas mask. Twilight levitated her saddle bag over to the earth pony who began searching through them. She occasionally muttered to herself about what she saw. All of a sudden, she started laughing after looking at one of the papers.
"You think... You think grapples can.. can explode! HA HA HA!" She said throughout her laughing.
"I'm serious! I did some tests and I can prove that they can explode!" Twilight replied. This only caused the mare to laugh even harder before she calmed herself down.
"Look, because you got me in a good mood, and because I want to see there reaction. I'm going to escort you to their office."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you for giving me a good laugh today." The mare motions for twilight to follow her further down the walkway.
After navigating through the maze that was the factory, they finally arrived at the office which looked significantly different form the rest of the factory. To start, it was maintained better than the rest of the facility. It was also well guarded by small towers, and another wall. There were columns that lined the walkway inside the secondary walls, and there were statues of working ponies on top of them.
Once inside, the mare told her that the gas mask was no longer needed; because, this building was ceased off from the rest of the factory. The interior was made out of the finest wood, and smoothed stone. There were the occasional gems here and there to give the walls a mystical aspect. A large self portrait of the brothers with a grapple was hung over the desk. Flim was behind the desk when they entered. The stallion was wearing a dark brown suit with a top hat. He was examining papers while rubbing the side of his head occasionally gritting his teeth.
The Mare stepped ahead of Twilight and said: "Sir. There is a visitor her to see you."
Flim looked up and stopped rubbing his head as he said: "Hello Twilight. Why are you here?"
Twilight walked up to his desk and placed a stack of papers then replied: "Yo need to know that your grapples are extremely lethal!" He quickly looked over the papers. Flim became serious in seconds after reading what was in front of him.
He leaned over to look at the other mare and said: "You are dismissed." The mare left the office after she put back on her gas mask. He then continued: "This is certainly interesting data."
"From what I gathered, grapples explode if they are presented with enough heat. You need to do a recall on them, and correct the problem."
"If you would like to know, this information isn't new to me."
"Are you saying that you knew they could explode, and you sold them to the public anyway!"
"This was discovered around a couple of weeks ago when I was experimenting with them. Luckily, Flam and I were the only ones that knew this information. The formula to make them was corrected and all the newly grown ones are safe. The lethal ones that haven't shipped will be kept in storage, but I will not do a call back on the ones that are out there."
"But, you will be jeopardizing ponies lives if you don't!"
"I know, but what do you think will happen if I go out there, and tell them that the thing that they have been eating can explode?"
"They will..."
"I'll tell you what would happen. They would panic and cause Flam and I to be out of the business again." He gritted his teeth, and began to rub the same spot on his head again. "Then they... Then they wouldn't want to buy anymore of my. Our products."
"Are you okay? You seem to be in pain."
"I'm... I'm fine. I was working on an experimental product." Flim stopped rubbing his head and continued: "I might have came into contact with a chemical or two."
"Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
"No. It wasn't anything lethal, and it would rase panic if I was to be edited to the hospital due to an accident in the factory. I also wanted to ask you something. How did you figure out that grapples can explode?"
"A stalion blew himself up with one of those things, and it didn't leave him in a good condition."
"What was the damage?"
"Well, His fur was charred, hives partially dissolved, and multiple broken bones. All of that damage was caused by just one of them!"
"Interesting, and does any pony else know this information?"
Twilight hesitated for a second. If she said she was the only one, she would be able to keep them from going after Spike, and possibly Rainbow Dash. Although, that would mean that he could get rid of the only one who knows right now. She finally said: "I'm the only one who knows."
"Good, I shouldn't let this information out..." Flim levitated the stack up into the air, and lit it on fire.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I already told you what would happen if this information was to reach the public."
"You may be right, but what will keep me from telling the princess about this?"
"Like I said before, and add the pert where hundreds of ponies would be put out of the job all because of you. The what would they do with all of their free time?"
"Um..."
"They would come after you, your friends, and practically anypony who is close to you."
"Fine, I won't tell.
"I'm glad we have come to understanding. Now, I need to get back to my work. Good day to you." Twilight left the factory and headed back to her library home.
There was a knock at the cottage door. Fluttershy answered the door to meet Sir. Cog Steam who slightly terrified her. Cog was accompanied by another pony that was also dressed in a suit. Cog noticed that the pegasus before him was not applejack, but someone else.
He started by saying: "Good afternoon madam! I was told by Mis. Applejack that I could find her here. Again, where are my manners, I am Sir. Cog Steam, and who is the lovely mare I am speaking to right now?" After examining Him for a moment, she wasn't intimidated by him anymore. Something about him made her fell comfortable and no longer shy towards him.
She replied: "Applejack isn't here. Her and Big Mac are still working, but her Grandmother is here of you want to talk to her."
"PERFECT! May we come into your nice and cozy looking home?"
"Yes, you may." She stepped aside to allow the two ponies to enter.
Granny Smith was on the couch reading a book when Cog and his associate sat down across from her. She noticed the two, closed the book, and placed the book to her side. The still nameless pony took out some papers, and arranged them in front of her.
Granny spoke up first: "Who might you two be, and what are these papers for?"
"I am Sir. Cog Steam, and this is a lawyer that I hired for this occasion. These papers are for a deal I wish to propose to you since Applejack can't be reached at the moment."
"And what is this deal?"
"I want to buy Sweet Apple Acres, and I am willing to pay you a large sum of bits."
"Why would somepony like you want farmland? Besides, It has been in the Apple family for generations."
"I expected nothing less, so here is what I am offering. Alongside being paid for the land, your entire family will be granted full access, within resin, I will send you a monthly payment in accordance to the profit that I would make off of the land. All you have to do is sign right here."
Granny Smith looked at the paper, then back at Cog and said: "I just don't know about this."
"Just think about this for a moment. Your immediate family and you will be set up for life! You won't be doing any work, yet you will be paid! Doesn't that sound FANTASTIC; because, I know it does!"
She thought for a moment on the decision. To her, it felt like she was being pushed to agree.
Granny Smith Finally said: "You got yourself a deal."
"PERFECT! Just sign here and you won't have a single worry for the rest of your life!" Granny signed the papers which were then collected by the lawyer. The two got up from their seats, bid goodbye to Granny and Fluttershy, then they left. Granny Smith then felt bad about the decision, but it was too late now. All she could do is hope that this wouldn't come back to haunt her.
Similarly to the Flim Flam brothers, Sir. Cog Steam constructed his own factory within two weeks. The factory was placed on what once was Sweet Apple Acres! It was designed in a similar way with a few buildings here and there, but there was two large cooling towers near the back. There were also quarries scattered across the fields digging deep into the ground, and the occasional cheer could be heard. Even deeper in the factory was a really huge platform that was meant for constructing large objects. Only after a week of the factory working to its limits, Cog arranged for an announcement to the whole town in front of the entrance of the factory. There was a platform with two large megaphones that were placed to face the crowd. The megaphones were hooked up to tools that connected to a small device on the podium that stood in the center. Behind the podium were multiple objects of bering sizes were covered in tarps. Cog soon emerged from out of nowhere to a waiting audience that was the majority of Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were in the crowd waiting to see what crazy thing would be revealed this time. Pinkie Pie only came because of curiosity and there was nothing better for her to do today. Sir. Steam walked up to the podium, tapped on a device on it, and began the presentation. His voice was blasted out of the megaphones, and spread evenly across the crowd.
"Good morning Ponyville! I am Sir. Cog Steam, and I will be showing you the marvels of advanced technology! Today, I will show you a few inventions that will be available soon, and how they will be powered. I also wish to have all questions and comments to be held until after the presentation. Now... Onto the wonderful mineral that will power these devices!" Cog said to the crowd. One of the cloaked objects was brought forward, and it was revealed. The object was a purple crystal that was around Cog's size. He smiled, then continued: "This is the magnificent mineral that will be the main power source of my inventions. It is called: Maginium! Before those little questions start, I will explain what this does. Maginium has a very special property that helps improve the use of magic. Any form of magic that is passed through Maginium will be magnified 100%!" Some ponies cheered while others began to get excited.
Pinkie's jaw dropped at the site of it, let out a gasp, and said in a rush: "THAT'S IT! I NEED TO DO, um, SOMETHING PINKIE PIE RELATED!" She raced off out of the crowd, and into a random direction.
Cog continued: "I will now do a live demonstration of how it will work. If you may have noticed, this particular one is hooked up to the row of lights that are lined along the edge of the stage. All I have to do now it cast a small electricity spell on it." He leaned his head forward and shot a bolt of electricity at the crystal. The electricity jumped across the surface of the crystal until it was adsorbed. The Maginium started to glow and it sent out an electrical signal. Shortly after, all the lights were lit and everyone awed at it in amazement.
Again, Cog continued: "I can see that you all are impressed by this. BUT! This is only the method of powering the devices that I am about to present." Another cloaked object was brought forward and revealed. The device looked like a copper and wood box that latched onto a small cloud above it. There were small propellers located on the edges, and they would act as it's method of movement. Horns were imbedded on the box's four sides, and a small orb on the bottom of it. "Before I tell you what it is. I want to tell you why I made it. From what I have heard over the past few days, I started getting worried for the safety of Ponyville citizens. Crime has became an issue that must be eliminated, and this machine will help expose criminals right in the act. I present to you... The 'Crime Alarm Bot' or CAB for short." Even more ponies cheered this time. "Now, to demonstrate how it works." A pony walked onto the stage and stood next to Cog. "My associate here will help." Another pony walked over to the device and activated the CAB. The small box was lifted into the air by the cloud, and the orb on the bottom started glowing green. Cog pulled out some bits, and held them out to the pony next to him. The mare snatched the bits then Cog said: "Oh no. Somepony has stollen my bits." The CAB's light turned red after hearing this. It flew overtop the mare and started blasting it's alarm which caused the mare to try to get away from it, but the CAB remained over her the entire time. Cog reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a box with an antenna. He pressed a button which made the CAB stop, and it's light turned back to green. "See, not only will it alert the nearest police officer, it will also keep up the the criminal as well!" Even more ponies cheered after the demonstration. "The CAB will be supped to the police force for free, and it will be for purchase in one week! Onto the next invention that will also be available for purchase." As another object was brought up Cog said: "I am very prod of this one. This particular invention took a very long time until I got it just right, and it turned out better than expected!" The device was shown to the crowd, but Twilight was too far away to be able to identify and details. "This marvel of science is called the 'Magic Output Enhancer' or MOE. To explain, this device will increase the magical capability of the user. I will demonstrate how effective it is." He preformed the electricity spell again, but he directed it up into the air. Cog put the MOE on his head and attached it to his horn. The spell was cast one more time in the same manner. This time, instead of looking like static shooting through the air, it now was a bolt of lightning that perched the sky. Nearly ever pony cheered that this. Twilight remained calm in the crowd even though she was compiled the cheer like the rest of them. Cog seemed pleased about the crowd's cheers. "You now what. I think that I should reward you all with a special gift. When I set up my shop in the bazaar in a couple of days, I will offer a discount for the first twenty customers when it opens!" Ponies cheered madly at the announcement, even Twilight wanted to cheer but she didn't know why. Sir. Cog Steam finished the presentation by saying: "I'm sorry to say that the presentation is over, but I am open for interviews and I hope to see you all at my shop in a few days!" He walked off stage as the crowd cheered madly once again. The inventions were taken off stage, and the crowd dispersed when all the journalist raced over the Cog.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie rushed through town to Carousel Boutique. Once she reached her destination, Pinkie started hammering on the door till the point of bursting apart. Luckily, Rarity answered it before that happened, and was greeted by a very strange version of Pinkie Pie. Instead of her usual happy and energetic party pony, Rarity saw a both serious and frantic looking pony.
Without a chance to ask what was wrong, Pinkie said: "Rarity! Thank Celestia that I found you. Quick! I need you to get Spike, and meet me over at Sugar Cube Corner in ten minutes!"
"Why? What's going on Pinkie? Is there something wrong?" Rarity asked the pink earth pony, but she wan't given a clear answer.
"Not enough time! The fate of Equestria's future is hanging in the balance, and I need you and Spike to help me save it! Now quit dilly dallying and get moving! I still need to get the supplies!" Before the unicorn could ask another question, the party pony ran off at full speed towards the bazaar. Rarity couldn't help but follow Pinkie's request. Pinkie had seemed so serious and scared about it. Also, Rarity had nothing else to do today, so she set off for the library to fetch Spike.
Rarity arrived at the tree library in under two minutes which left her with eight according to Pinkie's request. She knocked on the door a couple of times then waited for an answer. A baby dragon by the name of Spike opened the door, and he saw the pony of his dreams on the other side.
Spike greeted his unexpected guest: "He- Hello Rarity. What brings you here?"
"Hello Spike. Pinkie asked me to get you, then meet her at Sugar Cube Corner."
"Do you know why?"
"No, but she seemed serious when she asked me. From what I can remember, she said something about the fate of Equestria's future is in the balance or something like that."
"Equestria's future!?!"
"Yes, and she wanted us to get there as soon as possible."
"Then why are we waiting? We should get going."
"I completely agree Spike."
The two left for the pastry shop as quick as they could to meet their pink friend. They managed to arrive just in time to see Pinkie rushing trough the front door. Rarity and Spike followed her down to the basement.
The basement of Sugar Cube Corner was larger and more spacious. There were a few boxes of miscellaneous items in them, and some antiques that were coated in dust and cobwebs. These items of no importance were shoved to the corners in order to make way for what Pinkie was doing in the center of the room. There was a hole with a pile of dirt and concrete next to it, and the hole itself was big enough to hold multiple ponies. At the very bottom of the hole was the tip of a purple object. A ladder was also in the hole, and the pink party pony was at the bottom. Rarity and Spike stood at the bottom of the stairs just trying to think of why Pinkie was doing this. Soon, Pinkie climbed up the ladder and noticed the two.
Pinkie asked: "What took you two so long? You're 3.14 seconds late! You two need to put on hard hats and help me dig this out! Now hurry! The longer we take, the more of a chance of us failing to save Equestria!"
Rarity asked: "Pinkie, you want us to help you dig in your basement? Eww! All that discussing dirt!"
"I need you to help me because I need this as intact as possible, so your eye for detail will be super duper useful! And I need you, Spike; because, you are a very, very, very, very, very, productive worker! NOW HELP ME DIG!" Pinkie jumped into the hole and commenced digging. Spike then noticed that there were helmets, pickaxes, and shovels in front of them. Without questioning Pinkie's intentions, they put on their helmets and chose their desired tool. Rarity, didn't like the idea of manual labor so she quickly convinced Spike to do her work for her in exchange for a gift in the future. After that, Spike picked up both a shovel and pickaxe to start working in the hole with Pinkie. Rarity stood at the edge of the hole directing Spike on what and how he should dig. So there they dug into the ground for an unknown amount of time trying to uncover whatever the strange object was.
Flam, co-owner of FF Industries was murdered! That line was plastered all over the front page that twilight was reading early in the morning. The article described how the stallion was murdered overnight. The body was found near the outside of the FF Industry factory wall. His throat was slit with multiple bruises all over the body ranging in severity. Patches of his fur was gone, mainly around the mouth. The areas where his skin was visible were light green. It is suspected to be an act of murder, and the primary suspect is Flim. The trial will be held latter today, but the factory workers will continue their work. There was an picture of the corpse under the article which showed as plain as day that there was intense amounts of fear in Flam's eyes. The fear that was shown in Flam was shifted into Twilight as she studied the picture. She needed to know what had happened to him, so she headed out to investigate.
Once at the scene, Twilight could tell that it clearly looked like a murder. Blood was all over the ground with strange looking plants near the body. Flam was still in the same position as he was in the picture, but something changed. Vines were coming out of his mouth and leading into the forest. His eyes were now completely green with a touch of brown. There also seemed to be lumps under his skin that were mainly around the joints. Also the slit in Flam's throat was now occupied by more vines. Twilight had two thoughts in her head about what was in front of her. One: What was that weird plant that seemed to be crawling its way into the corps. Two: Why was Flam killed, and why here. Twilight stood there pondering about the thoughts, but her trance was broken when she heard something move. The purple unicorn looked back down at the corps to discover that it was gone. Before she could react to this, she was attacked from behind. The attacker threw itself at Twilight causing the two to crash to the ground. Luckily, Twilight was able to get the attacker off of herby the use of a self defense spell. She rose to her hooves to discover the the attacker was Flam. The corps got to his hooves and starred down the mare. Twilight quickly casted a shield spell on herself before Flam attacked again. The body slammed against the shield causing it to break. Then, the vines in Flam's neck lashed out and rapped themselves around Twilight. They acted like a snake and began to squeeze her as Flam approached. Twilight blasted a ray of energy at the vines, but it only made Flam growl in anger. The vines wrapped around her throat causing her to suffocate. In a final attempt for life, Twilight casted a flam spell at the vine. Flam screeched loudly as the vine loosened their grip. The vines whipped through the air uncontrollably trying to make the fire stop. Twilight lost consciousness, but not before seeing Flam run into the forest screaming like an animal.
Applejack was hard at work in the factory. Her work consisted of bucking apple trees and injecting syringes full of chemicals into the same trees. As she worked, there was a faint growling sound down a nearby hallway. AJ noticed the sound and halted her work to study it further. There was also the sound of two ponies walking down the same hall. Curiosity got the better so she decided to investigate.
The two ponies were in hazmat suits wheeling a stretcher with something on top of it down the hallway. AJ kept her distance in order to stay out of their range of detection. On closer inspection, the thing on top of the stretcher was a Timber-wolf that was struggling to get free. She continued to follow them until they went into strange room. Applejack stayed on the other side of the door, but opened it just slightly so that she could see inside.
The room resemble a a hospital in both style and all the equipment. Except for the test tubes filled with chemicals, locked containers, and some weird plants that resided in the back of the room. One of the them was jabbing tubes and medals into the Timber-wolf while the other locked the wolf's mouth in an open position. After they were finished, the wolf tried to thrash around, but the drugs being pumped into it stopped any possibility of that. The pony that was working on it's mouth went to the back of the room to retrieve one of the plants; whereas, the other went into a separate room and came back with a large block of ice. The ice block had some sort of red object inside of it.
Before they continued, the pony with the block of ice said in a sad tone: "I can't believe we're doing this."
The other respond by asking: "What do you mean?"
"I mean that this is a crime against nature!"
"Don't be so ridiculous! We were assigned to do this because we are the brightest minds in Ponyville, other than Flim."
"I don't know, this still feels really wrong. Have you ever thought twice about what we are doing, and what about Flam. There must have been a resin why he wanted us to stop this!"
"Flam was weak, He didm't realize that this is true progress in making a better Equestria! In fact, a better WORLD!"
"Is this really what it takes? We would be sentenced to imprisonment in Tartarus if Celestia ever found out about what we have done down here!"
"Then Celestia doesn't know what is good for her subjects! But, what we are doing down here are the first steps in creating a perfect world once the weak are gone! And we get to be the pioneers for such a society! Our names will be marked down in history!"
"You're right! I can't believe we were given such a grand task now that I look at it that way. Let's do this."
"Great!" They continued with renewed enthusiasm for what they were doing. The plant was placed near the ice block to preform the next step. The plant looked like a small cabbage but with sharp tendrils sticking out of it's sides. All of a sudden, the tendrils shot towards the ice, and they dug into the red object in the center. After some time, the tendrils retracted with a smaller pinkish blob within it's grasp. What happened next could only be described as the small cabbage like plant eating the pinkish blob. Next, the plant was picked back up and placed overtop the Timber-wolf. The tendrils eventually lacked to the inside of the wolf's mouth. The plant uprooted itself, then shoved it's way inside of the wolf.There was a lot of thrashing and whimpering from the Timber-wolf during the whole event. Eventually, thrashing stopped after one final quick yelp for help from the wolf. The ponies unstrapped it and stood far back. The Timber-wolf sluggishly rolled off of the stretcher, and stood up. Strangely enough, it looked like it was a baby trying to figure out how it's limbs worked.
One of the ponies stepped forward while saying: "Subject TWBM-EP, respond." The wolf let out a forced bark. "Take two steps forward." It did as it was told. Now that the Timber-wolf was closer, Applejack saw that it's eyes eyes had turned red. But before she could get a better look, AJ was smacked on the side of the head from behind making her pass out on the cold floor.
Twilight woke up to the sound of a wolf's howl. She looked around as she got up to make sure it wan't close. After dusting herself off, she decided to go home to look up what had happened to Flam.
She only made it a short distance from the factory where she was approached by a pegasus wearing a Cloudsdale mail carrier uniform.
He started off by asking: "Are you Twilight Sparkle?"
"Yes."
"And do you know Mis. Rainbow Dash?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"I was assigned to give her this special letter." He held up a scroll. "I couldn't find her, so I was wondering if you know where she is. It is very important that she gets this letter."
"It would be easier if I was to take it to her for you."
"NO! I must deliver it strait to her! If you know where she is right now, could you lead the way?"
Twilight hesitated, but said: "Sure, she should be at Sugar Cube Corner. Its this way." Twilight lead the pegasus to the sweet shop while trying to get more information out of him. It was useless, but she did manage to put up with him until they arrived at the destination. Rainbow Dash was at a table eating a cupcake, but she stopped when the messenger rushed towards her.
He said to Rainbow: "Mis. Rainbow Dash of Cloudsdale, I have come to deliver a letter of high importance," He gave her the scroll. "And you are to respond to it as soon as possible. Now, I must return to Cloudsdale to inform them that you have received the letter." He flew out of the front door and up into the sky towards the floating city. Rainbow opened the scroll and started to read it.
Twilight walked over to Rainbow to ask: "What does it say?"
"It says that they want me to talk to the mayor of Cloudsdale about something important."
"Any idea of what that important something is?"
"No idea, but it says the sooner the better. It sounded serious, especially since the mayor is involved."
"Maybe you should go see what they want."
"Ya, plus, the mayor of Cloudsdale normally only talks to ponies if it is really important. See you around Twilight." Rainbow dash flew out of the bakery in the same direction as the mail carrier.
It only took RD a few seconds to get to Cloudsdale, but it was very different than the last time she was here. There were now Zeppelins hovering over the city doing patrols, and groups of soldiers flying around. The walls of public buildings often had posters on them saying a verity of sayings. She stopped to study one of the posters that caught her attention. It had a cloud and sky combo background with multiple soldiers lined up with one empty spot. Under the picture read: 'APPLY TODAY TO HELP PRESERVE THE MOTHERLAND!' As Rainbow flew through the city, she continued to see more and more of those posters and soldiers the closer she got to the center.
After some time of flying around the city, she made it to the town hall. Guards were stationed outside the front door. Once they saw Rainbow Dash, they parted and let her inside to see the mayor.
Rainbow entered his office to be greeted by colt with a deep red coat, a black mane, and brown eyes. He was wearing a business suit while looking out of a window at his city.
He began the conversation in a rough voice: "Mis. Rainbow Dash, it was so nice of you to respond so quickly to my request, but the again you are known for your speed."
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Rainbow felt uncomfortable in his presence for some strange resin.
"You are correct, and that letter wasn't able to describe how importance this is. Do you remember back during that Heats Warming Eve play that you were in?"
"Yes, I was playing as Commander Hurricane."
"That is right. Did you know that she is my ancestor?"
"No." RD was felling even more uncomfortable now. Why was he asking this question, she thought to herself.
"Well, you looked like you belonged in that uniform. Not only that, you also have that certain tough of a great general as well. As well as the best fly I have ever seen., but that was obvious to everypony after the Best Young Flyers contest when you did that Sonic Rainboom."
"Thank... You. I also want to know something else."
"Ask away Mis. Rainbow dash."
"What is with all the soldiers, airships, and weird posters?"
"You noticed them. Well, it would have been very hard not to notice any of that. But, there is a resin for all of this."
"What is it?"
"It is actually what I wanted to talk to you about... There rises a great threat to us Mis. Rainbow Dash, and it is one that has been waiting to pounce on us since the founding of Equestria what the four tribes became one."
"What is the threat?"
"They have been under us for years, and dictating our actions for just as long. And lately, they have become even more powerful than before. So we have been preparing to take the fight to them before they are unstoppable, but the soldiers need a proper general to be a successful army and I have chosen you. You know the enemy skies better than any other pegasus, and you know inside information about them. Will you accept, and become our greatest general?"
"Thank you for this honor, but could I at least know who the enemies are?"
"Of course, just look at the poster bend you, and it should become clear who the menace is." RD turned around to look at whatever he was talking about. On the wall above the door hung a very strange poster. It featured pegasus soldiers in gold armor fighting off monsters. The monsters were earth ponies and unicorns with sharpened teeth, bloody coats, and demonic horns. Below the horrible image said: TOGETHER WE SHALL KILL THE ENEMY! IT IS TIME FOR PEGASOPILUS TO RISE ONCE AGAIN!
Rainbow Dash turned around quickly ash she yelled: "I WOULD NEVER HELP YO-" she cut herself off when she saw the mayor only inches away from her.
She then felt his hoof smack the side of her head, and then falling into darkness as she heard him say: "You are going to agree one way or another Mis. Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash woke up on a cot in a small room. The room was blank with the exception of the cot, a door, and a toilet. She had bandages on the part of her head where she was hit. As she stood up, RD noticed that she couldn't move her wings. When she looked back at them, she saw that they were locked in a mechanism that kept them in the open position. No mater how many times she tried to get it off, it stayed in the same position. After many failed attempts, Rainbow walked over to the door and peered out of the bars that made up a small window. Outside her room was a blank hallway with even more doors that looked exactly like the one in front of her, and they lined the walls for as far as she could see.
Rainbow called out: "Hello, is anypony there, and why am I in here?"
A colt's voice answered her from the room next to her: "Your in here for the same resin I am." He sounded sad as well as suppressed to hear someone else.
"Again, why am I in here? One minute I was talking to the mayor, and the next minute he knocked me out because-"
"Because you wouldn't follow him blindly, or you rejected his ideals.Same thing happened to me. Which one was it?"
"He wanted me to command some army to attack Equestria, and-"
"He wanted you to do what?!" The colt sounded scared and confused.
"I was to be his general, then I saw who I would be fighting against."
"For me, I was one of the leading engineers that worked for him. Heck, half of those Zeppelins out there are my design. Once I found out that they would be used in war, and I didn't want to be involved in war. I thought I was constructing them to act as transportation, not a weapon. Maybe that is why he wanted be to make them cloud based rather than use helium."
"Huh?"
"Let me explain, normal air ships use helium to keep them in the air, but it causes them to be very touchy at times. So he wanted me to use clouds instead of helium. My design also made it so that it was able to turn faster and be more precise. But I never thought it would be used against others. I told him that I was quitting, but he said that he might need me in the future. So he had his guards arrest me. Also, I was wondering?"
"Ya?"
"Why did he want you to be his general? I would imagine that he would want to have complete control rather than having somepony else do it for him."
"He said that I knew the 'enemy skies' better than enypony else, and he saw me at the best young flyer's contest."
"Are you a Wonder Bolt? Because that could make sense."
"I wish I was. I'm actually non other that Rainbow Dash! THE BEST FLYER IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA!" Rainbow's ego hit the ceiling after saying that.
"Well, now let me introduce myself. I'm Lightning Dash. The best engineer in Cloudsdale." The mentioning that his last name was Dash caught her attention. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to ask him; because, two well armed ponies entered the hallway.
"I think the guards are coming" Lightning said. As predicted, two guards walked up to Rainbow's room and opened the door.
One of them said: "You are to come with us right now. We are authorized to use force!" Rainbow knew better than to fight two armed guards in this state, so she went with them. Who knows, they might be letting her go.
As she passed by Lighting's room, he said: "When this all blows over, I hope we meet up and have a normal conversation." Unfortunately, she was too far away to respond.
After walking down hallway after hallway, they entered a double door room. There was several lights that covered the ceiling, and a metal chair that sat in the middle. RD was pushed down into the seat, and more clamps were placed on her to prevent escape. The two guards walked over to the door and opened it for a doctor and two nurses to enter. The doctor wore a white suit with some red stains on it. His fur was a dull orange, and he had a scalpel as a cutie mark. The nurses wore similar uniforms, but there were more red stains on the sleeves and covered most of their bodies. They were wheeling in tables with all sorts of medical supplies and machinery. Rainbow could only look in horror of what was about to happen.
The doctor got really close to her and said: "Mis. Rainbow Dash... I see that you visit with our glorious leader didn't go over to well, but I am here to help correct it. You seem to be blind to the fact that they are all beneath us both metaphorical and physical. They much off of our greatness, and were keeping us down. You were to lead us to victory, but you denied shuck an honor! Why?"
"I wouldn't attack my own friends! Your insane!" Rainbow started to get angry at him.
"QUIET!" He smacked her across the face with brut force, and it did its job in getting her to stop. "Now, our leader has instructed me to help you see the truth, and to make sure you follow his orders down to the T, but conventional methods won't be suitable for this. I have to do something a little more drastic, but it will held the bast results in the end."
"Your Craz-" RD was smack again by the deranged doctor. He walked behind her and recline the chair so that she was lying flat, and the nurses brought the tables to either side. A breathing mask was placed on her and one of the nurses turned a knob.
The doctor continued: "I am going to put you under for a little bit while I sort out what is wrong with you, and correct it so that you will be the most obedient pony to grace the sky. And you will be our general against the menace." Rainbow was drifting off as he was talking, and she couldn't hear, see, smell, or feel anything by the end of it. Everything turned black when she felt a sharp pain from her forehead.
Applejack got up out of a chair after she woke up. She looked around her surrounding to figure out where she was taken. AJ was in Flim's office, except it look very different from the last time she was there. Papers, books, and writing utensils were scattered all over the floor. There were flasks of all sorts of chemicals on tables that were against the walls, and Flim was rushing around the room surveying various bits of data.
Flim took notice of Applejack and said quickly: "Oh good, your awake. I hope they weren't too rough on you."
The farm pony stepped towards him and asked angrily: "Why was I conked on the head, and what was going on in that room?"
He was shocked by her anger and asked: "How much did you see? It is very important! I-" He stopped to cringe at some sort of pain in his head, then he continued: "I need to know how much you saw, and what exactly you saw!" Applejack was somewhat intimidated by his response, and also curious about why he was in pain. She decided to tell him parts of what she saw in vague detail.
AJ answered: "I only saw two ponies going around carrying some stuff, nothing more. Then I was smacked on the head from behind!" Flim stopped and just starred at her long and hard. It was almost like he was waiting for something to happen.
His head twitted a bit, then replied: "Good! Grea-" He winced at the pain in his head again. "- The less you know the better. Now, I do have to fire you for leaving your post." Flim walked over to a table to retrieve a scroll, and returned to give it to Applejack. "Could you possibly give this to a colt that goes by the name: Sir. Cog Steam? It will help us all out a lot if you could." AJ took the scroll and just looked at it for a while. Then she tried to open it but Flim stopped her and said: "NO! not here... This is for him and HIM O-" Again, he stopped due to the pain in his head, but this time was more severe. He was gritting his teeth and holding a hoof to a spot on his head.
AJ decided to ask him: "Are you alright there? Ya'll seem to be in pain."
He replied instantly, and said in a rushed tone: "NO, I'M FINE! Now get out of here!" Applejack left as she was asked.
Rarity laid in a lounge chair at the edge of the hole looking down at the party pony and the baby dragon. They were both still digging, but they did manage to unearth some more of the strange object. The object seemed consistent in it's color, and i had flat sides with sharp edges and points. While they were digging,
Pinkie looked at her watch which just suddenly appeared and said in a normal happy go lucky tone: "GREAT! We are ahead of schedule! But we still need to figure out a way to move it after we uncover it!" Both Spike and Rarity looked at her in shock when she said those words.
Rarity asked still in shock: "You want to move this thing after we dig it up?! Pinkie, that this already looks too big to even get out of the basement!"
Pinkie responded still happy: "I already have an Idea, but it is a little risky."
Out of fear, Rarity asked: "What do you many risky?"
"Oh, I can't tell you. It'll ruin the surprise! Also I'm very sure we haven't even dug up half of it!" Spike and Rarity only looked at each other in utter confusion. Then they realized that it would be a lot easier it they didn't press the subject, and just went through with whatever type of plan she had in store for them. The unicorn laid back down hi her char as Spike continued to dig up the dirt surrounding the strange object. Pinkie decided to take a short break to join Rarity while Spike continued to work tirelessly in the hole that was now big enough to qualify as a large closet.
Rarity decided to ask Pinkie a question that has been bugging her for some time now: "Pinkie, can I ask you something?"
"Yep."
"Why did you want Spike and I to help you with this?"
"Oh that's really simple! Spike is naturally a hard worker, and he seems to work at a higher production rate if he is given or presented the right variables that would appeal to him. So I needed you to convince Spike to do your share of the digging for you, and that has made him work even faster and harder to both compensate for the work you are not doing, and to simultaneously try to impress you with his physical ability. I also like to hang out with you time to time." Rarity's mind wasn't able to process all that information at once, but she was able to catch that last part which made her happy.
It has been a day since Rainbow Dash's surgery. She was still getting use to what had happened to her, but she managed. RD actually wanted to thank the doctor, but the her schedule was too full at the time to pay him a visit. Rainbow was sitting in an armchair reading her favorite Daring Do book in her personal quarters. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to reed very well because her left eye was still readjusting since the surgery. A soldier outside of her door notified Rainbow that her speech was in a couple of minutes. She finished the page she was on, placed the book back on the shelf, and got prepared. Rainbow put on her specialized uniform and grabbed some note cards with her speech on them.
Rainbow was escorted by two soldiers to the podium. They stood at her sides as she got ready to speak. The crowd in front of her was mostly comprised of soldiers, then citizens, and then the few news reporters from all over Equestria. Some of the news ponies didn't really know what to think of the rainbow hair pony that was in front of them. Rainbow tapped the microphone a few times to get everyone's attention.
Rainbow Dash started her speech in a powerful tone alongside a sense of pride: "Good morning my fellow Pegasi. I wish to thank you for attending... Cloudsdale is a very prosperous city, in fact it is the sole provider of the life giving sustenance that is rain. And we are the stewards of the weather for all of Equestria! I wish to recall upon our origins. Back when we were known as Pegasopilus. Back when we were the dominant force in our world, and we took orders from nopony! I wish to bring that up because I feel that we must get in touch with our roots and once again become THE WORLD SUPERPOWER! We must rise out of our former lives under Celestia's rule, and take back what is ours'! I shall be your glorious general in the inevitable battle that we will face, but we will prevail! When we were freezing to death by the hooves of the Unicorns, we prevailed! When we were starving to death because of the greedy Earth Ponies, we prevailed! And when we will be at war against Celesitia, we will not only prevail, we... will... CONQUER!" Almost the entire crowed cheered after hearing her give that speech. The only ones that didn't were the news reporters from other cities. Out of fear of being arrested by the soldiers for some unseen resin, the reporters fled the city with news of Cloudsdale seceding.
Rainbow returned to her room to be greeted by a smack on the side of the head. She slammed against a wall, but she didn't black out like the last time she was hit. The stranger charged at her at almost a blinding speed. All Rainbow knew was that the stranger was a purple mare, and could move faster than she could. Suddenly, Rainbow felt a sharp pain in her side as the mare shoved a knife into her side. The attacker lunged onto Rainbow's back, and started chocking her. While this was happening, Rainbow managed to pull out the knife and slice at the stranger. It missed causing it to fly out of her hoof. Rainbow tried to force the attacker off of her, but the mare stayed on while saying the same sentence over and over. "I have to kill the source!" The stranger said over and over. Eventually, Rainbow bucked her off and across the room. The sound of wing bones snapping rang through the air. The attacker was crippled, and Rainbow Dash knew it. Rainbow didn't hesitate and went for the attack. The mare leapt out of the way letting Rainbow hit the wall. The force of the smack caused the room to shake. They both fell over onto the floor. Before the attacker knew it, Rainbow was on top of her with the knife in her mouth.
Rainbow Dash looked down at the mare and said with intense anger: "You'r going to suffer BITCH!" The knife was jabbed into one of the attacker's wings causing blood to splatter on the floor. Rainbow was knocked off, but she got back to her hives to see that the mare was heading for the window in an attempt to get away. Blood dripped on the floor as she tried to get to her means of escape.
Rainbow grabbed onto her tail with her hoof and began to pull her back as she said with confidence: Don't even bother trying to get away now. I'm the fastest bucking flyer in cloudsdale! You are going to dye slowly you piece of shi-" Rainbow was interrupted by a powerful kick to the face. This gave the mare enough time to jump out of the window and fly out of sight. Rainbow Dash wasn't able to she where she went which just left her with intense anger. Soon, soldiers ran in and examined the room, but not before making sure their general was okay.
A troop helped her onto a chair then asked: "Are you all right general?"
"I'm fine, I might need my eye fixed, but that BITCH got away!" Rainbow slammed her hoof down on the arm of the chair.
"Who are you talking about?"
"An assassin, that mother bucker got some hits in, but I was able to cripple her. I want her caught and brought to me so that I may kill her myself!"
"Yes General, right away!"
They began to leave until Rainbow said: "I want you to notify they king about this, and to ask for his approval to mobilize the army. I expect an answer by the end of the day."
"Yes General, right away!" They left the room to leave Rainbow Dash to herself. She was trying to piece together who the assassin was, but she couldn't come to a conclusion. Those thoughts were pushed aside so that she could think about battle tactics. Rainbow knew her assassin must have came from Equestria, so she wanted to make them all pay for trying to kill her.
Applejack Entered Sir. Cog's office with the scroll in her satle bag. His office was simperer than Flim's office. There wasn't anything special except for boxes of gears, pipes, and wires. Machines were scattered about the room with blueprints near them. Cog was behind a desk with piles of papers around him. There was a look of extreme focus in his eyes as he scanned the papers.
He finally took notice of her, and said with glee: "Good-evening Mis. Applejack! How are you?"
"I'm fine, how are you?" AJ replied.
"I doing fine as well. If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to come here?"
"I was asked to give you this scroll." Applejack said then retrieved the for mentioned scroll and handed it to Cog.
He looked at quickly and asked: "Who is this from?"
"Flim." After AJ said that name, Cog's face turned stern with intense thought and concern for why Flim would want to contact him.
"Do you by any chance know why he wishes to contact me?"
"No, but he did seem off when he told me to give ya that." Cog became slightly more concerned after hearing that. Against his instincts, Cog opened that scroll to see what was written. Once he saw what was written down, he was showing signs of confusion and more intense thought.
"Could you come over here and take a look at this?" Cog asked the mare while still studying the scroll. Applejack walked over and looked at it alongside Cog. The scroll was covered in words that were nothing more than writings of a madman, but there were a few key words that stood out from the rest. Those words were: Traitor, Cycle, and Source. After looking at it for a little longer, cog pointed out a phrase that was out of place from the rest of the scroll. 'Save them. I'm gone.' was written over and over in the middle of the paper. It was somewhat scary to see this just written over and over and it not meaning anything, at least for right now.
Eventually, Cog rolled up the scroll and shoved it in a drawer while saying: "That... was interesting. I'll try to figure out what it means latter, but for right now, I must get bak to my work."
For some unexplained resin, Applejack became interested in his work and asked: "What are ya workin' on?"
Cog's unusually happy self retuned and responded in a chipper tone: "It's a project that will drastically help everything from manually labor to helping supply troops to army. I call it the A.I.S. Project that stands for: Automated Iron Stallion." He presented her with blueprints of the machine. Unfortunately, it was far too complicated for AJ to understand, and it might even be hard for Twilight to understand. Cog continued as Applejack looked at the papers: "I have gone trough a few prototypes trying to get this to work, but a lot of them had the same trouble. Their heat sync colds kept overheating causing it to become hot enough to cause spontaneous combustion of nearby organic matter. Thinking back on the experiments, those ones had a better result than the earlier ones."
"What happened to the earlier ones?"
"Well.. in short, they all simply exploded in a violent enough explosion to cause both a small crater, and internal organ damage to anything within 30 yards."
"Oh..."
"Yes... Anyways, I should get to my work, and I'm sure that you have work to do as well." Applejack left the office, but not before they exchanged their goodbyes. Instead of going back to his work, he retrieved the scroll from earlier. Cog wanted to study to some more to at least have a small understanding of what it meant. If he knew anything about this type of stuff, it was that there must be some form of connection between them. Eventually, he stopped after going over it for the tenth time, and he got back to his work.
It was after sunset when Applejack was walking home when something caught her attention from a nearby alleyway. It was a subtle moan from an unidentifiable being. The sense of fear washed over her, and everything cell in her body was telling her to run. AJ ignored the felling because the moan could be coming from an injured pony.
She walked down the dark alley in search for the source of the sounds. Eventually, she found it, and she was right. In the shadows, there was a stallion in dire need of medical help. Most of the stallion was hidden in the darkness, but the parts that were exposed were severely burnt and beaten. He didn't even look like he was breathing, but he would occasionally moan in pain.
AJ stepped towards him and asked with concern: "Hey, do ya need help because you look like you got burned badly?" The stallion shifted his position once he heard her voice. Applejack felt like she should run for her life. Something wasn't right here, but she couldn't figure it out. The stranger reached his hoof out to her. He was shaking and even more burnt than the rest of him. AJ grabbed his hoof and helped him up. His hoof felt like something was crawling under it. Finally, she figured out what was wrong. The stallion was Flam's corpse. She stumbled backwards after seeing his face, and fear was completely in control.
"What the-" Applejack was cut off as a tendril lashed out at her from Flam's mouth. It wrapped around her neck and lifted her into the air. She struggled to free herself as the monster just stared at her with it's cold eyes. Flam shortened the distance between the two, but never broke eye contact. Once flam was close enough, Applejack used all of her lower body strength to buck Flam square in the face. Flam's skull shattered upon impact, and the tendril around her neck loosened. She used this as an opportunity to get out of it's grasp. AJ landed on the ground, but she was meet by even more tendrils. Flam continued his assault on Applejack with renewed anger. Luckily, Applejack was able to fend most of them off. Only one or two of them made contact. All of the noise from the fight caused other ponies to notice. The monster noticed the approaching ponies and ran further into the alley. AJ was still alive, but just barely. She was cut up, covered in bruises, and had a broken bone or two. For the rest of the night, she made her way to the hospital, and she was thinking about what just happened the entire time.
As the news of Cloudsdale seceding spread like wildfire across Equestria, Rainbow Dash was making battle plans for the first strike. She analyzed the maps of equestria, and weighing the pros and cons of choosing different locations as targets. Now-a-days, Rainbow's brain was able to process at a high capacity which made her capable of making these decisions after only seconds of thinking. Rainbow Dash was also joined by her advisors during this time to help with the plans.
One of the advisors pointed at Manehattan and said: "Should we attack here? We would be able to curt off most of their connections to other nations, and we would be able to block off their ground troops by blowing up the bridges."
The general thought for a moment about the suggestion, but she said: "No. It would require too many soldiers to keep that city under our command, and that would leave us exposed. Also, their soldiers are probably stationed there already. The tall buildings would provide them with the means to attack us while we are fully exposed in the sky."
Another advisor directed her attention towards Appleloosa and suggested: "Maybe here. It would cut off one of their major sources for food, and the place is almost entirely populated by Earth Ponies."
Again, Rainbow thought about it and responded: "No. For one, That is the farthest town from here which would take to long to mobilize a force strong enough to take on an entire town of Cowponies who were built for strength! Also, there is next to nothing out there for us to gain from it besides a couple of apple trees. Finally, Since the locals there have become friends with the native buffalo, They would destroy us the instant they got word of that town being invaded." Dash looked over the maps and compared them to give herself a better understanding of the ideal target. Then, she found it.
Rainbow pointed at a small town near the center of Equestria and said: "Here. Ponyville It would be perfect!"
"Ma'am, no offense, but it is just a small town with nothing to gain from it." The same advisor said.
"Let me explain. If you compare the railroad map with the map of the towns. You will se that nearly every railroad goes through Ponyville. So, we would be able to cut off their main means of transport. Also, our presence there would cause the bastards in Canterlot protest for better security, which would help eliminate some possible threats."
"Ma'am, you can't be serious. They would easily be able to send in troops before we could secure the railways, and the Everfree Forest would only cause trouble for the soldiers stationed there." Rainbow looked the advisor square in the eye, and smacked him to the ground with one powerful strike.
"DON'T TALK BACK AT ME LIKE THAT! YOU ARE Z-" Sparks flew from Dash's head. "Damn it..."
The first advisor asked her: "Are you alright? Did you blow your optic sensor? The doctor did advise against getting angry after that incident."
"Yes. Buck it hurts. I should go and see him about this, and as for YOU!" Rainbow pointed at the advisor who was still on the floor. "CLEAN UP YOUR ACT, OR I WILL HAVE YOU BANISHED!"
Rainbow Dash enter the doctors office while sparks continued to come out of her broken eye.
"Hello doctor, I broke my eye and I need you to fix it." She said while standing in the doorway.
"You don't need to call me doctor, just call me Clean Cut. Anyways, just take a seat over there, and I'll have fixed in a few minutes or so." Clean responded. The general took her seat and waited patiently for him to prepare his tools. As he worked, Clean decided to ask some questions. "So... what are you going to do with your new army?"
"I'm planning on leading them into that town called Ponyville. Then I'll be able to cut off their trains."
"Isn't Ponyville just a tiny farming village?"
"Yes, but-"
"Wouldn't it be better to attack the capital while they are unaware of our forces? Think about it for a moment. Remember the last time somepony tried to invade Canterlot. They were able to set up a shield within the same day the threat was discovered."
"You do have a point."
"Anyways, Your eye is fixed."
"Thanks. Both for fixing my eye and the advice." Rainbow Dash got up from the chair and exited the room.
"Have a good day Mis. Rainbow Dash."
She turned back towards him and said in a lighter tone than usual: "You can call me Rainbow."
While the news was spreading throughout Equestria, Ponyville was going through rapid changes. The use of technology provided by Sir. Steam and Flim was being used more and more in everyday life. Electrically powered streetlights, airplanes, motorized vehicles, and guns were all over the place. The streets were flooded with cars, airplanes would be flying overhead with banners advertising various businesses, but the sky was nothing but dark clouds. Walls were raised all around the two factories, and their employees were forced to stay within their walls. Ponyville no long felt like a town, but it was now a cage made of copper pipes, wires, and vines.
Meanwhile, Pinkie had Rarity come back to Sugar Cube Corner to finish up what she had been working on. Rarity entered the basement to the site of Pinkie setting up a sting that was hooked up to something inside the hole. She also noticed that the pink party pony was sitting on top of a giant crystal.
Pinkie saw Rarity and said: "You made it! Spike was too busy, so we need to make do without him. Quickly, get on and hold on!" Rarity only looked at her in confusion. Suddenly, Pinkie stopped waiting and just pulled her on. "Hold on tight!" Pinkie yelled while holding the string. The white unicorn looked down the hole to see what it was hooked up to. It was attached to tons of explosives. Without warning, Pinkie lit the fuse and prepared herself.
Rarity looked at Pinkie and asked: "What do yo-" She was cut of by a huge explosion followed by being launched high into the air.
Eventually, everything reached the breaking point. No one knew what was happening, sirens rang all throughout the town, armed soldiers ran through the streets, and shots were fired. Timber Wolfs flooded out of the FF Industries compound along with various other monstrosities that could only be described as abominations of nature. At the same time, flying drones and armed soldiers marched out of Cog's factory and started attacking the Timber Wolfs. The soldiers that came out of Steam's factory were not ponies at all, but they were automated robots that were armed to the teeth with guns.
While this was happening, Applejack was trying to get her family to safety. They just kept running through the streets while ponies died all around them. Everyone was being directed to a location only referred to as 'Haven' and they were told that it would keep them out of harm's way. AJ didn't care where it was as long as they were safe. Eventually, they made it and they were allowed inside, but the orange earth pony refused.
"What do ya mean your not coming with us?" Applebloom asked her older sister.
"I need to help anypony else that might be out there!" Applejack responded.
"But-" Applebloom was cut off by Granny Smith. Granny knew this was the right thing to do, so she let AJ go while they secured themselves inside Haven.
Applejack sprinted through the battle she was in the middle of. The only thing she found was either a burning building, or a corpse that was or wasn't being eaten by one of the plant abominations. Right before she gave up her search, a certain pony came back to her memory: Fluttershy! How could she so foolish as to forget about Fluttershy! AJ thought to herself as she ran for her cottage.
Once Applejack had arrived, it was too late. The cottage was torn apart, and all that was left of the yellow pegasus was a few feathers and a small pool of blood. Tears formed in AJ's eye at the sight of this. It is all my fault! She thought to herself. Her sorrow was cut off short when a Timber Wolf's growling reached her ears. Applejack prepared to fight as the wolf entered the door way. It was the same red eyes Timber Wolf she saw back in Flim's factory. Without any time wasted, they both leaped at each other. The Wolf was able to get in the first hit which sent AJ back across the room. The attack left deep cuts in her front left leg. It came in for another attack, but Applejack was able to turn herself around and she bucked as hard as she could. The Timber Wolf was knocked through the front wall of the cottage, but it left AJ at a really weak state. When the wolf walked back in, it didn't attack. It just stood there and looked at Applejack with the most confused look a Timber Wolf could make.
"What the-" Applejack said as it just stood there looking at her. "Why did ya stop?" AJ was possibly more confused that the wolf at this point. The Timber Wolf tried to answer, but the sounds it tried to make were impossible for it's vocal cords. After that, the wolf started scratching something into the floor. It was a symbol that was unmistakable by Applejack. AJ looked into the wolf's eyes and asked: "Is it really y... you-" Unfortunately, the blood loss caused her to pass out right there.
Haven was not a what anyone would have expected. It was a repurposed section of Cog's factory. The only thing that was changed was that all the machinery in the area were replaced with beds, medical stations, and food distribution centers. The faint sounds of fighting could be heard from the other side of the wall. Twilight stood on the main street with her owl on her back and the baby dragon to her left. She just stood there, trying to comprehend what was happening.
"Hey Twilight? shouldn't we have a look around. Maybe we would meet up with our friends." The young purple and green dragon asked. Twilight only nodded to his request.
"MIS. TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" a pony yelled as he ran towards her. "I have an important message for you; strait from the Equestria Military Division of Canterlot Affairs!" Her levitated a scroll out of his saddle pouch. It read as followed:
This message is from the head officer: Copper Heart of the EMDCA Equestria Military Division of Canterlot Affairs This message has been passed through head officer: Strong hoofs of the EMDPA Equestria Military Division of Ponyville Affairs This message is intended for Princess Twilight Sparkle
Extra security in the form of Iron Stallions (Which will be provided by Sir. Cog Steam) will be assigned to you by order of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the head officer of the EMDCA. This has been applied because of the recent attacks on Canterlot. You will have at lest two guards on duty at all times, and there are no exceptions to this. You are to rep lie to this message in order to confirm that you have received, and are acknowledging what has been written. If you wish to contact support or if you have questions; please contact a representative of the EMDPD.
Once she finished reading the message, Twilight was greeted by Cog and two large Iron Stallions.
"Hello Mis Twilight Sparkle. Do you fair well?" Cog asked the purple mare. "I have been ordered to assign these FES to you, and Princess Celestia wants me to make sure you are safe." The two masses of metal and wires walked to her sides while trying to avoid the little dragon. Twilight's curiosity was attracted to him mentioning Princess Celestia.
"Wait... Princess Celestia ordered you at ensure my safety?" Twilight asked him inquisitively.
"I was personally told to. I consider it an Honor to help protect a Princess. I already have quarters set up for you and your friends. They are in the northern most building in the residential district. Do you wish for me to guid you there?"
"No... I'm sure I can get there on my own."
"Okay... just send for me if you need me. Have a good day Mis. Twilight Sparkle." He left as quick as he came. All she could think of right now was that this was just the start to all of this horror.
Canterlot hasn't been so well guarded since the changling incident. Technological advancements seems to have went ramped through the streets and sky. There were now magically powered street lights, patrols of Iron Stallions, and much more. Almost half of the city by this point was composed of different metals, various wires, and all sorts of Maginium related machines. Royal guards have been issued special suits that projects a weak shield around them. There wasn't a single street, alley, or public building that didn't have some level of security. The castle was also re-done with new, magically powered, security systems ranging from motion sensors to automatic Iron Stallion deployment stations. Celestia, who never undergone any of the possible technological modifications, was listening to her Foreign Relationships Advisor reading some letters she had received from other empires. Luna was currently away on a trip to check up on the Crystal Empire. The advisor was a short, older looking, colt with a light gray coat that was almost white. His mane, or what was left of it, was a faded blue with a tail to match. His cutie mark was a globe with a scroll overtop of it. The colt wore a formal business suit, a top hat, and -of course with almost every unicorn in Canterlot- a MOE mounted on his horn. He was nearly done with all the scrolls and only had one last one to present to Celestia. It was a slightly torn up scroll that had been sitting on his desk for a week now.
The colt moistened his lips and read aloud: "From the current leader of the Badland's Republic. I once again send this letter of requested assistance in the means of military support for our cause. Our numbers are beginning to dwindle and we desperately need help. I beg that you seen us help, ANY help, so that we are not all killed." He placed the last scroll on the pile with the rest of them and started his way out of the throne room very slowly. When he was gone, Celestia retrieved the letter from the Badland's Republic and re-read it to herself.
Once done, she tore it up with her magic and threw it aside while muttering to herself: "Things aren't moving fast enough, and tensions are already too high to get involved." The demi-god returned to her normal sitting position when CRASH! An artillery shell smashed strait through one of her stain glass windows sending shards everywhere. Canterlot was under attack by Pegasus war ships and infantry. Over and over and over, shells rained down from the sky smashing into anything within the war ship's range. It was too late to dispatch soldiers, the Pegasi were already in the streets burning down anything that wasn't hit by a shell or whatever was left standing. All she could do now was to escape the city and to re-capture it later. Before she could teleport to safety, the main doors bursted open with one pony walking trough.
"Hello your majesty." General Rainbow Dash said as she entered with her head held up high. Celestia had to take a moment to just stare at the pegasus. The left half of Rainbow's face had been replaced with advanced clockwork. Her wings were lined with metal plates both protecting them and replacing certain portions of them.
Celestia quickly came to her senses when Rainbow said: "Its been a long time since we last saw eye to eye." A smile formed across her face. "You might have noticed that your city is on its knees right now begging for mercy, but you might have been too caught up in politics instead of doing something." Anger rose in her voice as she said that.
"What has happened to you Rainbow Dash?!" Celestia mustered out wile in her state of shock.
"This is all from the amazing work of my beloved Dr. Clean Cut. Do you like it? I especially like what he did with my wings." Rainbow spread out her wings to fully present them for her to see. "This will be the last chance you'll get to see them before I kill you."
"How could you turn on the empire you once protected? Your suppose to be the element of Loyalty!" Rainbow gritted her teeth in pain when hearing that, but quickly shook it off.
"I am loyal to only the grand Pegasi! You are the one with no loyalty! You have no species to be loyal to since you, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight are the only ones of your kind!" The Rainbow maned pegasus was becoming cocky. Tears streamed down her eyes from all the horrible memories that had suddenly resurfaced. "Did I hit a soft spot? I though a god would know how to control her emotions in situations like this. Maybe your just a fake!" Celestia had enough of this and sent broken shards of stained glass at Rainbow Dash with her telekinesis. The general dodged it with ease. "First move huh? I thought we were having a great conversation!" The smile on her face only got bigger. Celestia tried to grab Rainbow with her telekinesis, but a Maginium shield prevented her from doing so. Without warning, Rainbow flew strait at her and gave Celestia a powerful punch directly into the alicorn's jaw. It sent Celestia flying across the room and onto the floor. Celestia got up while thinking to herself: I'm not ready for this fight... Events out of order... This shouldn't be happening yet! I need to flee!. Before Rainbow could move, Celestia ripped a chunk of stone out of the floor and shot it right at the pegasus. It crushed her against a wall with enough force to cause cracks to spread out in all directions. Within seconds, Rainbow Dash pushed it off of her, and she didn't seemed to be phased by it. Right as Rainbow bolted at Celestia; the alicorn disappeared in a flash of light.
"DAMN IT! COME BACK HER YOU COWARD!" Rainbow yelled at the top of her lungs from having another combatant flee from the fight. She smashed her hooves against the floor in a fit of anger, but she stopped at the sight of the stack of letters. It wasn't long before the rainbow haired mare was going trough them with various levels of interest. For some strange reason, the letter at the bottom of the pile was different from the others. It wasn't about foreign affairs or anything like that, it was a small note that Celestia wrote herself. It was about an inventor in Ponyville and something about renewing a spell, but Rainbow lost interest in it by that point. She casted it aside and flew out of the broken window to join in the fighting outside.
Later that night, Twilight was asleep in a semi-comfortable bed, and she had a strangle vivid dream. She was standing in a large field filled with strange plants, unfamiliar locations, crumbling buildings, fighting ponies, changelings, and some unidentifiable objects all frozen in time. All the purple mare could do was walk around an examine it all. After a long period of silence and walking, she encountered herself but different. The other Twilight wore makeshift armor and the other mare had a disgusting looking green infection on one of her front hooves. Then another Twilight appeared from behind another structure, and she was different from either of the two. This Twilight wore dirt covered rags all stained with various shades of blood. Unfortunately, none of them were able to communicate with each other for some odd reason. After many failed attempts, the Twilight in armor gestured towards a statue. When they arrived at the base of the large statue, they noticed something strange about it. The statue was of the three mares all standing next to each other with a large plaque at eye level. it read:
Two paths are formed from each decision, but only one could be taken. But only once in a while will they both be taken at once. One will lead to hardships caused by present choices, and the other with lead to hardships of a foreign land. But in the end, both will end in the same conclusion which is the third path.
Before they could look at one another, Twilight woke up in a cold sweat. She sat there in her bed for a while just thinking about what the dream could have been about. Soon enough, one of the Iron Stallions guarding her entered the room to check up on her. As soon as it saw her up and awake, it left the room. A few moments later, Sir Cog Steam entered the room to see if she was all right.
"Mis. Twilight, are you okay?" He said in a tired voice.
She snapped out of her daze, looked at him, and replied: "I'm... I'm fine, just a weird dream that I need to think over." The colt accepted the answer, but was quickly distracted by something.
"Um... Twilight, do you hear that ringing noise?" He asked with covering one of his ears.
"No, are you okay?" Cog slammed both of his hooves into his ears to escape the ringing. Twilight got out of her bed and rushed over to him. The colt collapsed on the floor unconscious before she got to him. Almost instinctual, Twilight levitated the station onto her back and raced out of the room and to the nearest medical station.
