Dune awoke from his sleep and let out a yawn. He looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It read 7:04am. Letting out another yawn, the colt pulled the covers off and got out of bed. His room was average-sized. A bed in the corner and the door in the opposite corner. Between his bed and the wall was a table with a digital clock and a picture of his older sister. Dune then trotted into the bathroom and began to get ready to go out.
Moments later, he emerged from his home and breathed in deeply, taking in the morning air. The colt began making his way to the marketplace to see what the shops had to offer. He had checked his saddlebag before he left to make sure he had enough bits and exactly how much bits he did have. He looked around the area when he suddenly bumped into two colts.
"Oh... Sorry," he said, before realizing who it was.
"Well, well, well..." said the blue colt on the left. "Look who it is, Cinder. It's Dune."
"This sure is a nice surprise, isn't it, Ash?" said the red colt on the right.
"Ash. Cinderblock," said Dune. "Can't you leave me alone for just one day?"
"Oh, come on, D," said Cinder. "You know why you pay us, don't you?"
"Yeah, we... keep others off your back," said Ash, stepping closer. "You need our protection."
"No, I don't. I can handle myself."
"Is that a fact?" asked Ash, before shoving Dune to the ground.
The colt's saddlebag fell off and hit the ground. Cinder picked it up and opened it.
"Look, Ash. Bits."
"Hey, that's mine!" Dune protested as he started to get back up.
Ash pushed him back down and he hit his head. "Not so fast, Dune."
Dune let out a grunt as he began to get angry. "Give it back!"
"Ooh, temper, temper," said Ash mockingly.
Dune's eyes flashed red briefly and Ash's grin faded. "Uh... Cinder?"
Cinder ignored the colt and looked through the bag. "What else you got in here?"
Dune's hoof started to glow bright blue. He just stared at his hoof in awe. "What the f..."
"Cinder!" yelled Ash.
"What?" said Cinder, annoyed, looking over at Ash. Upon seeing Dune's hoof, his grin faded. "What's going on?"
Dune began to crawl backwards and stomping his hoof into the ground to try and put it out.
"What the hell's going on?!" he yelled, afraid.
The light grew brighter until a large energy blast fired from it, impacting the ground, and launching him into the air. The concussive blast also knocked the colts back and sent a strong gust of wind throughout the marketplace. Dune watched the ground get further and further away until he suddenly began falling.
"WHAT THE HELL??!!!" he yelled as his large arc seemed to be ending in the Everfree Forest.
It wasn't long before he slammed into the ground at full force, creating a large crater. The colt lay motionless for a while before letting out a groan.
"Oh, sweet Celestia..." he groaned, staggering to his hooves. He shook off some dirt and looked around. "Did I really just survive that fall?" he asked himself before looking at his hooves. "And what the hell was that?"
He looked around and realized where he was. Dune then took off back home.
Once there, he burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him, locking it. Suddenly he collapsed.
"So... weak..." he groaned.
Dune took in a deep breath before crawling into his room and into the warm comfort of his bed.
Dune slowly opened his eyes and looked out the bedroom window. Night time. He let out a groan as he rolled out of bed and headed into the hall. He was on his way to the kitchen when he noticed the front door was open. He let out a gasp as his heart rate sped up. He quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife he could find.
"I don't think you'll be needing that," said a female's voice.
Dune let out a yell and spun around, pointing the knife at a purple mare with goggles on her forehead.
"Wh-Who the hell are you and why are you in my house?"
"We need your help, Dune."
The colt hesitated. "And how do you know my name?!"
"There's no time for that. Right now, you need to come with us. The fate of the world's at stake."
Dune cocked his head. "The f... The world? What are you talking about? What's going on?!"
The purple mare sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. "Long ago, during the Great War, scientists thought that if they developed machines to fight for them, it would lessen the number of soldier casualties."
Dune slightly lowered the knife and began to slowly move towards the table, intrigued by what the mare was saying.
"Well, the scientists succeeded in making one perfect machine," the mare continued. "MK-0001, they called it. Well, apparently one day, something went very wrong and the machine killed every pony it crossed as it broke out. Now, it's created an army called the Metaru, powerful robotic ponies."
"And where do I come in in all this?" asked Dune, a litttle afraid of what the mare was telling him.
"You're the only one who can stop him."
"What?" asked Dune. "No no no no no... I can't fight a legion of robots with the entire world at stake."
"Look, Dune... without you the world's already dead. At least with you, there's a chance."
Dune covered his head with his hooves. "This can't be happening."
The mare stood up. "Well, it is. So, are you in or out?"
Dune lowered his hooves and smiled briefly. "My father always said that one day I'd know my purpose." He looked at his hooves. "And now I know." He lowered his hooves and looked up at the purple mare. "All right. I'm in."