“The boy’s greed will be the death of him one day.”
“You don’t know that. He could still change. He could-”
“There is no ‘could’, Haydon. He and Scorpan say they’re journeying to Equestria soon, but I don’t trust him in the slightest!”
“Are you implying that Scorpan will-”
“Of course not. Scorpan will make the right choice in the end. We just have to pray that he’ll do it quickly.”
Tirek’s eyes slowly opened, his world a fuzzy and unfocused mess as consciousness slowly returned to him. The voices of his parents drifted away along with the memory, only a fragment of the scene remaining.
His parents. When was the last time he’d seen them? When he left for Equestria one thousand years ago?
Tirek could practically hear them laughing at him. His father. His mother. And his brother, Scorpan. Once he had conquered Equestria, he would’ve used his power to conquer his homeland, Tambelon. If his brother hadn’t betrayed him, he would be sitting on the throne, the heads of his father and mother, along with any who dared opposed him, on pikes outside the castle.
But right now, he couldn’t focus on his desire yet. The pain rocketing throughout his body clouded his mind for several moments. He saw that he was still in the clutches of the machine Platinum had sent.
How long was he asleep? He wasn’t sure.
Looking to his side, he noticed that he was above water, the only land visible being several miles away. If he had to guess Tirek was currently flying over the Celestial Sea, as the sun appeared to be rising. That meant it had been a couple of days since his fight against the human. But why would he be here? Tartarus was deep within Equestria’s western lands. So why…?
-I see you’re awake, Tirek.-
Tirek groaned in pain, having almost forgotten about her. He would’ve grabbed the flying machine to get into a better position if he still had his arms.
“Why did you have your machine bring me here?”
-Because we won’t be needing you any further-.
“What!?”
The machine dropped him.
Tirek screamed Platinum’s name as he plummeted to the waters below. That’s when the machine aimed one of its guns at him and fired. Tirek suddenly began to lose large chunks of his body as the machines gun fired hundreds of bullets at him, each one obliterating parts of his body.
Then the barrage stopped. He didn’t feel anything now. He didn’t feel anything below his torso. He didn’t feel his blood flowing out of his body at a rapid pace. He didn’t feel the crash against the ocean water. He didn’t feel what little bones he had left shatter.
Rusty Gear, Equestria’s leading (and only) expert in mechanics, nervously walked through the hall towards the throne room. He had one long week. First he went to Fillydelphia to investigate the claims of two Unicorns called ‘Flim and Flam’ about a vehicle that can fly.
The machine was promising, but he could tell that they were using magic to power it. Despite being a Unicorn himself, Rusty was looking for machines that didn’t required magic to run. He wanted Equestria to change, to move on. Most ponies were content with things staying the same, but that couldn’t last forever.
Rusty wanted them to realize that, but they just ignored him for the most part. And then the last few days happened. Changelings suddenly attacking Canterlot with weapons never seen before, giant machines that decimated most of the city, and something the newspapers were calling the White Giant. When he first heard about the attack, Rusty mourned for the lives lost along with everyone else. But his mourning soon turned into fascination.
He wanted to get permission to study the machines recovered, especially the Gundam. But the Princesses were already ahead of him apparently. He received a letter earlier today saying that they wished to speak to him.
The guards brought the brown stallion to the doors leading to the throne room… where he saw a familiar night guard. Waiting at the doors was a Thestral, or batpony as some prefer, stallion about his age. Like most Thestrals his coat was a dark gray. His mane was a bluish gray and he had lime-green eyes.
“Metal?”
The Thestral looked up, and smiled upon seeing the brown Unicorn.
“Hey, little brother.”
“You’re only 3 seconds older than me.”
“Sorry, it’s just hard to tell when you have such an ugly mug.”
“We’re twins, you dunce. We both have the same ugly mug.”
Another reason why most ponies ignored him: Rusty’s twin brother, Metal Gear. Most ponies would be shock to learn that his brother is a Thestral, and not a Unicorn like most assume. While Rusty Gear spent his time tinkering with machines, Metal Gear was a lieutenant in the Royal Guard. He was on leave when the attack happened, spending some time in their hometown; Dodge Junction.
When news of the attacked reached the frontier town, Metal flew as fast as he could to Canterlot. Her was exhausted when he received a letter from the Princesses, asking for his presence.
After the two shared a laugh and answered why they were here, they looked to the doors leading to the throne room. “…You nervous?”
“A little…”
The two nodded. Rusty grasps one of the golden door knocker. The loud clank reverberated throughout the hallway, a holdout from when Princess Platinum was the highest royal in Canterlot. In all honesty, it was a little intimidating. Two guards inside opened the doors for them.
Meanwhile, outside of Canterlot…
“Is the room ready?” Twilight asked a couple of guards.
“Yes, Your Highness,” one of them replied.
“What about the renovations to my study and lab?”
“They should be done by the end of the day.”
“Did you update the directories?”
“Of course.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want Ian to get lost during his stay.”
“Why didn’t you have directories when I was your student again?”
“I… Oh, look. Its Sunset.”
Sure enough, Princess Sunset Shimmer landed near them. “Is everything ready?” she asked.
“Just about,” Twilight answered. She looked over at the Gundam where Ian and Bai were preparing for a flight. Twilight had given them permission to transport the machine to Ponyville. That way she can get a good idea on how well it can fly.
“Ian and Bai should be ready soon and everything is ready at the castle. Have you worked out the bugs in the translation spell yet?”
Sunset nodded. “Everything Ian and Bai will say should sound more natural form now own. But I am concerned about one thing.”
“Ah, yes… Bai’s mouth.”
“Yo, purple puss! We’re done.”
Twilight groaned at the nickname the annoying robotic ball gave her. How or even why an A.I. needed to run a machine like that had such a personality was beyond her.
Ian groaned. It was very tempting to kick Bai halfway across the mountain at this point. But he had a far better idea. “That’s it. I’m putting you on mute.”
Before Bai could object, Ian grabbed him and open a panel his body’s back. “Hey, hey, hey, wait a-!” *Click*
Bai’s eyes glowed several times over the next few seconds, but not a single sound came from the small robot.
It took a few seconds for that to register in Twilight’s mind. “Of course he has a mute button… Ian, I believe it’s time you head to Ponyville.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve read some of your papers, Rusty Gear,” said Celestia. The stallion in question stood at attention, trying his best not to sweat. “And please, relax. There’s no need for formalities here.”
“Yes Your Hi-ah, yes.”
Celestia smiled as she brought up one of Rusty Gear’s papers. “Even when you attended my school, you only studied magic sparingly. You’ve spent much of your time tinkering with machines. Your last paper before you graduated was about how Equestria needed to break away from some traditions and move on. A pity your professor gave you such a low score.”
“Ya got that right…” Metal Gear muttered.
“But recently, as I’m sure you’re well aware, Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings have not only joined forces with Lord Tirek, but have gain a new form of power. And Canterlot would’ve fallen if a human with a similar power hadn’t appeared.”
“You mean the White Giant, Celestia?”
“Yes. The human, Ian, calls it the Alicorn due to its resemblance to both myself and the other princesses. It’s a machine called a Mobile Suit, and I wish for you to help Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Sunset Shimmer. As for you, Lieutenant Metal Gear…” said stallion quickly turned his attention back to Celestia and away from the female guard near the entrance. “I wish for you to accompany Ian and help him adjust to life in Equestrian society, as well as provide a deterrent against anypony who would wish him harm. While I trust that Ian will not deliberately harm anypony, I cannot say the same for our little ponies. Do you accept this task?”
Metal and Rusty Gear both saluted the Princesses.
“Yes, your highness. First Lieutenant Metal Gear.”
“Mechanical specialists Rusty Gear.”
“Transferring to Ponyville to supervise Ian O’Connell and the Gundam.”
The brothers were then dismissed by Celestia and left. They wordlessly trotted through the halls of Canterlot Castle, the silence within the halls only being broken by their hoofsteps and the several guards and maids they passed by.
After what felt like an entire hour of silence, one of them spoke up. “The last few days have been eventful, to say the least…”
“Understatement of the freaking millennium,” Metal deadpanned.
Rusty only glared at his twin for a moment before continuing. “Did you foresee any of this happening?”
“…Not exactly, just that something crazy was gonna happen here. I guess my god-like powers are slipping. But I do feel that fate is at work here,” the Night Guard said with a small smirk.
Suddenly Metal Gear stopped and looked up. “Something wrong?”
Metal glared at the ceiling, as if he was facing an enemy. “I thought I heard something. It sounded like a mare giggling.”
“A mare giggling?” Rusty looked to where Metal was glaring at and saw nothing. “Are you sure you heard something? And if you did, are you sure it wasn’t one of the maids?”
“My senses never let me down before,” was Metal’s reply. “Someone was here, and they’re definitely not a pony. They’re gone, though.”
“If you’re sure, then we better report to Captain Frost right away.”
“If I remember right, he should be inspecting the barracks right now.”
As they left to look for the captain, they failed to noticed a shadow move out of its hiding place. Nor did they notice the young female voice it muttered.
“That was close…”
Ian chuckled as he saw how the Pegasus guards struggled to keep up with the Alicorn. He had already told them that the Alicorn was going to move at its slowest speed possible, and they were barely keeping up.
Princess Twilight herself was in a chariot being pulled by two guards, writing things down and using what looked like an antique camera to take pictures. She was apparently oblivious to the guards struggle. Princess Sunset was in an adjacent seat, helping take the notes. She seemed more conscious, evident by how she allowed some to land on any nearby clouds (how they could do that was beyond Ian or Bai) and rest.
A message than appeared on the screen in front of Ian. Hey jackass, when are you gonna give me my voice back?
Ian smirked. He should’ve done this a long time ago. “When you learn to keep your big mouth shut. I don’t want an angry mob chasing us because someone said a few bad words.”
Ugh! Whatever. By the way, I think were getting close to that town. What was it called again?
“Ponyville.”
Right. What an original name. Do you think there’s a town in that forest called Forestville? Or maybe there’s a city near the ocean called Ocean City?
Ignoring Bai’s snarky comment, Ian had the sensors zoom in on the town, Ian saw a few things he wasn’t quit expecting.
As they got closer, Ian could see that there were a lot of weird things about this particular town. Most of the buildings were fairly plain, colorful but otherwise uniform, hewing to a standard of two-story thatched-roof cottages for homes and fully wooden buildings for stores and other types of buildings. But some of it was… different. Like the relatively enormous, three-story tower in the center of the place that seemed to be a town hall. Whoever designed it must’ve had an unhealthy fixation with Renaissance-faire adornment. And then there was the building that literally looked like a gingerbread house.
Probably a bakery. I should check it out later.
Most of the citizens were all preparing some sort of festival. Though Ian can understand them now, he had no way to read what the banners were saying. His best guess was that it was some sort of welcoming party, probably organized by that hyperactive pink pony he meet the other day.
Oh boy…
To say Equestria was in a panic was an understatement. News of the Battle of Canterlot had spread like wildfire, causing the nation to be rife with tension. The media seemed to be split right down the middle about how to deal with the White Giant and Ian. Equestria was divided between ponies who wanted friendship with the so-called ‘human.’ Others wanted him out of Equestria. And some wanted him to be arrested for the damaged done to Canterlot, as well as ‘animal cruelty and unnecessary, over excessive assault’. Stella wasn’t even sure how the other nations were going to take the news when it reached them, but she could only imagine that some of them were going to use it as an excuse to discredit Celestia’s trustworthiness as a leader.
But even as the state of Equestria grew more and more unstable, Ponyville remained as carefree as ever. The preparations for the Pie-Sandwich’s “Welcome to Ponyville Ian” party were done, and the entire town was taking part in the festivities. Despite recent events, Stella wasn’t even sure all of the townsponies really cared about how Canterlot was saved. To them, Ian was a hero since he stopped some monsters from attacking the capitol. They didn’t care what others thought of him and just wanted to enjoy another spectacular Pie-Sandwich party. There was just one thing missing from the party: the guest of honor.
Stella and some of her friends watched the sky carefully, looking for any sign of the White Giant, as the papers call it. “You see it yet?” asked Starswirl Flicker.
“Not yet,” Lighting replied. He, Starswirl, Autumn, Flare and Stella were watching the skies, Mrs. Pinkie Pie having given them watch duty. “I thought it be faster.”
“Lightning, we saw that thing in action firsthoof. I’m pretty sure it’ll be here soon.”
“So, what was it like?”
That was a good question. Stella wasn’t sure where to start. Guess she’ll have to start at the beginning. As Stella recounted the events that happened to them, one detail caught Starswirl’s attention.
“He gave you your magic back without getting it back from Tirek first? How the hay did he do that?”
Stella shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure. He placed a hand on my chest and another on my forehead. Then I felt… something. I wasn’t sure if it was magic, but when he let go my magic started coming back.”
“I have to ask him how he did that!” Starswirl excitedly asked. But his excitement soon turned into regret, remembering why Ian helped his friends. “I wish I could’ve been there…”
Stella placed a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Your mom Trixie was sick and you stayed here to help. And even if you were there, I doubt you could’ve done much against Tirek.”
“I think I see it,” said Autumn.
Sure enough, in the distance, the form of a large, white bipedal thing riding a bird-like machine appeared. It was a speck at first, easy to miss. But it gradually grew larger.
“That’s it!” Stella exclaimed. “Let’s go tell Pinkie Pie.”
The MS Carrier slowly landed outside the town, Ian having made Bai make sure nothing was damaged. One the carrier was settled, Ian opened the cockpit. It was surprisingly quiet, though considering that the residents quickly went into hiding probably had something to do with it.
Two panels next to him opened, where Bai’s body was currently at. Can you un-mute me now? I promise not to be an asshole during the party.
Ian thought for a moment. “Alright, but if you say or do something they don’t like, i’ll mute you again and kick you across town.”
After stepping out of the cockpit, the chariots carrying the Princesses arrived. The guards were panting, having never flown so fast before. “Thank you, sirs. Take a break,” the guards promptly collapsed.
Sunset rolled her eyes upon seeing this. “The Royal Guard needs new training exercises.”
“Uh, are they going to be okay?”
“Oh, they’ll be fine,” said Twilight as she wrote something in her notebook. “Anyway, welcome to Ponyville!”
“Again, what an original name.”
“Here they come!”
“Places, everypony!”
As they walked into town, Ian noticed that the streets were very empty. “Where is everyone?” Ian as he looked around.
His question was soon answered when a blast of confetti hit his face.
"SURPRISE!"
Ian’s eyes flashed open and he yelled in shock as the 100 or so voices yelled at him. All around the towns residents had literally been turned into a fair-ground. There were balloons, tents, food, games, and even a stage with musical instruments and a sound-board on it. Even though he knew that they were hiding, Ian was still shocked a little.
“Were you surprised? Were you? Wereyou? Were you?”
Ian stared at the two ponies in front of him. One was that pink one he met the other day. The other was a stallion with golden colored coat and, strangle, had a grilled cheese sandwich that resembled an accordion on his flank.
“Uh…”
“Do us a favor, and don’t scare the crap out of him again.”
“Sorry,” said Sunset. “Guess we should’ve warned you about them.”
“Oh, you think?”
Ian wasn’t quite sure what the two ponies in front of them were saying. They were talking a little to fast for him to pick up much. As they rambled on, Ian took a moment to relax. This wasn’t a battle, it was a party. Loud, sudden nosies are going to be common.
“If any of them start singing randomly, I’m leaving.”
Ian smiled. He could always count on Bai to lighten the mood a little.
“LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” the pink pony shouted as she pulled a cannon out of… somewhere.
“Huh? Where did that come f-”
BOOM!
Ian jumped back. His breathing had rapidly increased and he was reaching for something in his jacket. But whatever he was about to grab he never pulled out. Eyes widened, he glared at Pinkie and her party cannon. “Is something wrong?” Pinkie asked, looking a little hurt that Ian didn’t like her party cannon. “Oh, do you want some bubble gum cupcakes? Or some licorice pancakes? Maybe a hug-”
“NO!” Ian snapped. Pinkie backed away somewhat at the sudden outburst. “Uh, I mean, uh… No thanks. I’m fine.”
Twilight, though a little surprised by his sudden outburst, smiled as the party began. It wasn’t long till Starswirl had begun asking questions. Stella and her friends soon joined him, saying their thanks for saving them from Tirek.
Twilight decided to leave them be for now. As the Princess of Friendship, Twilight needed to make sure that everypony wasn’t afraid of Ian and the Alicorn. Unfortunately, some of the conversations she was hearing weren’t what she had hopped for.
“I heard that it steals foals in the dead of night and fattens them up to eat them!”
“I heard that it can make ponies explode with the wave of a forepaw!”
“I heard that it'll set a pony's house on fire so that it can dine on them when they're cooked!”
How…? What makes them think Ian will do anything like that? And where did they hear such nonsense? It hasn't even been a week!
But as she continued to listen, the rumors began to die down as the party went on, and everypony got a chance to meet Ian and Bai.
“He’s a lot nicer than I thought he be.”
“He doesn’t even want to hurt anypony.”
“Wish that talking bowling ball wasn’t so rude, though…”
Princesses Twilight smiled as she watched everypony enjoy the party. Though Ian did looked a little uncomfortable (probably because most of the foals in town were swarming and bombarding him with questions) it was pretty evident that he was enjoying himself. Though Twilight couldn’t help but wonder; was he really okay? After all, he knows he’s the only human in Equestria, and he obviously doesn’t belong in the other world. And he looked like he was about to have a heart attack when Pinkie fired her party cannon.
But she didn’t put much attention to that at the moment. She was just to excited to study the incredibly complex machinery that is the Alicorn. And while Tirek and Chrysalis are still out there, as well as their benefactor Platinum, having Ian as a friend there will be no need to worry.
Everything is going to be just fine.
…Right?
Chrysalis sighed in defeat. Their army had just returned to Tartarus, having taken several alternate routs to lose any pursuers they had. The invasion could’ve gone better. Everything was going smoothly. Tirek was draining magic from any poor foals who were unlucky enough to cross him.
And when the Elements of Harmony were to appear, he would’ve used their children as hostages to steal the Rainbow Magic. But that’s the part Chrysalis didn’t understand. Sure she had never seen the Tree of Harmony’s magic firsthand, but she knew enough about it that it could easily distinguish between friend and foe.
Was it part of Platinum’s plan, whatever the hell it was? Did she play Tirek like a foal? And there was the fact that Platinum had asked Chrysalis to place several Changelings near the Tree to guard it.
Why?
Tirek was never told that. Chrysalis doubted that Tirek even knew what the plan really was. No one knew. The only people Chrysalis could think of who would know were those ponies that work for Platinum, and she doubted they would tall her anything. One was mute, after all.
Could the Gundam that appeared during the battle be part of it? She had heard that something was found in the Frozen North a year ago, and it was moved to Canterlot a couple of days before the attack. Did Platinum know what it was? Was it just an unforeseen factor? Chrysalis wasn’t sure.
Damn it… She thought to herself. What is that mare’s goal? What does she want with us? And when will she help us get them back?
Chrysalis shook her head in frustration. She was stressed, and she wasn’t sure if it’s because they were in Tartarus, they failed to take Canterlot, or because of Platinum. Or all three.
“How very disappointing, Chrysalis,” an all to familiar voice muttered from behind.
The Changeling Queen jumped in surprise. She turned around and saw Platinum and her associates were standing near the entrance to the cell Chrysalis was using as a room. “I, hehe… wasn't expecting you to be back already…”
“We were expecting… more from you.”
Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed. “You were the one who said I didn’t need the-”
“I know…” the mare chuckled darkly. “The reason I told you not to use it was because it would’ve been to overpowering.”
Chrysalis continued to glare at the mare, but she knew better than to cross her. “Since he isn’t here, I assume that Tirek has been dealt with?”
“Sharks should be enjoying his flesh right now.”
Chrysalis gulped. She knew full well how ruthless Platinum is, and she didn’t want to suffer the same fate as Tirek. “So, what’s next?” Chrysalis had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer.
“For now, we need to start excavating. There’s something we need to find,” Platinum took a few steps forward, her associates following suit. “And don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to use it. After all, we have big plans for you and your kind, Chrysalis. All we ask is… a little cooperation.”