//------------------------------// // An Urgent Matter // Story: My Little Pony: Magic vs Technology // by Heroic412227 //------------------------------// At the Royal Castle, Twilight and her friends galloped inside of the Throne Room as they stopped in front of both Celestia and Luna. "We came as fast as we could, your majesties," Twilight said. "Thank you all for coming," Celestia said. "So, what's the emergency?" Applejack asked. "It's the Elements of Harmony," Luna replied. "They've disappeared from the tree!" The Mane Six gasped in horror while Spike fainted down to the ground. "Disappeared?!" Rarity exclaimed. "But that's not possible! I thought the tree could only respond to its bearers!" "We thought so, too," Princess Celestia replied. "However, somepony who went through the Everfree Forest, somehow found the Tree of Harmony and saw that the Elements weren't there. All that see found was this," Luna added, levitating a small item with her deep blue magic. She then gave it to Twilight, who then surrounded it with her own magical aura. "A microchip?" Twilight asked as she examined the device closer to her face. "A micro-wha?" Applejack asked. "A microchip," Twilight replied. "It's a tiny wafer of semiconducting material used to make an integrated circuit." "Uh... In English, please?" Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow and crossing her forelegs. "It's a tiny device used to store information on an electronic device," Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes for a brief moment before turning her eyes back at the Royal Sisters. "So who do you think did this?" "We're not sure," Celestia replied. "Then it looks like we're going to have to figure this out on our own," Twilight said. "Let's do this!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. The Mane Six and Spike all run out of the Throne Room before Twilight stopped and turn her head towards the other princesses. "Don't worry. We won't let you down," she said before running out the door with her friends. "We know," Princess Luna said. Meanwhile, At the Frozen North, the strange figure from last time kneeing in front of a large, blinking machine while placing each Element of Harmony in its respective, element-shaped hole. Two robots peek their heads behind the door of the room, watching the figure reach out for the final Element, the Magic one, from behind his back but can't find it while he's working. "Do you think we should help him?" The robot at the bottom whispered. "I don't know," The robot at the top replied. "I mean, I know it's part of our programming to help the boss out, but that accident might still be affecting him. What if he...?" "Uh, I can hear you two," The figure said. "Oh, sorry, Boss!" The one on the top exclaimed as both him and the other one moved from behind the door and walked towards their boss. "Aaaand, done," The figure said, placing the last Element into the whole before pressing a big red button. "Now all we have to do next is wait for it to charge." The figure then stepped back while the machine made a loud whirring sound. Both of the robots moved out of his way while he backed away before all three of them stopped. The machine's green meter steadily moves up until it reaches the very top. "Perfect!" The figure exclaimed, pulling out a remote control from his back while his robot minions looked at each other in disgust. "Now for the final thing to do before I activate my contraption," He pressed the button on the remote, causing the top of the machine to open up and a large antennae to protrude from it at a snail's pace. "Huh. I guess it takes a little longer than I thought it would take," The figure said. "Uh, boss?" One of the robots asked. "Yes, Tin?" The figure replied. "Not that I want to upset you in any way, but are you okay?" Tin asked. "Okay?! I've never felt better in my entire life!" The figure exclaimed. "But I will feel even more better when this machine accomplishes my brand new goal!" "New goal?" The other robot exclaimed. " What happened to the old goal?" "Ha! That goal is gone! Done! No more!" The figure interjected. "Now, I've found a new goal from now on!" "And what method is that?" The other robot asked. "I'm glad you asked, Tinker," The figure replied, walking towards the machine and points at its meter. "Once this machine gets enough power from the Elements, it will then allow that power to flow through the antenna, once it reaches the top within... I guess, about a few hours or so. But once that finally happens, I will be able to spread its power across the globe, thus making me ruler of the entire planet! Haahahaha!" Both Tinker and Tin looked at each other in concern. "The boss has totally lost it," Tin whispered. "Ya think?" Tinker whispered back. Back to the Mane Six and Spike, who are now at Twilight's Castle library, rummaging through the books for answers about the microchip and who it belongs to. "Found anythin'?" Applejack asked. "Nothing up here," Rainbow replied, searching through the top of the shelf. "Nothing down here, either," Fluttershy added. "Ugh! There's got to be something in here that can help us figure out what's going on!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Calm down, Rainbow," Rarity bade to her. "Surely we'll figure this out soon." "Rarity's right," Twilight chimed. "Nopony said that this would be easy." "Hey! I found the right book!" Pinkie Pie said. "I stand corrected," Twilight and the others went towards Pinkie Pie. She levitated the book to the central table with her magic. It had a dark brown cover with a picture that looks exactly the same as the microchip "Where did you find this?" "In the mechanic and technology section, duh," Pinkie Pie answered. "Okay then. Now, let's see what we can learn from this microchip," Twilight flips the front cover of the book open and skims through the pages before stopping. "Huh?" She said as she and the others looked at a picture of a figure standing next to a large machine. "Uh, Who's that?" Rainbow Dash whispered. Applejack hushed Rainbow. "Let her concentrate, okay?" "Sorry," Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs and turned away. "Let's see. About many years ago, the very first non-magical invention was originally thought of by Sideros the Third. She wanted to make the world a better place, but then became a laughing stock when her first attempt turned out to be a failure in front of the public's eyes." "Goodness!" Fluttershy said. "That poor lady," "Shush!" Applejack interjected. "After being humiliated in front of everyone, she quit her job and became an famous artist before falling in love with and marrying a man who was quite found of her skills and talents." "Ugh! Is this even going anywhere?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Rainbow!" Applejack shouted. "What?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "As I was saying," Twilight chimed, gritting her teeth. "After having their first child, she contracted a disease that stuck with her for a few years before she..." Twilight flips to the next page before she and her friends gasp with widened eyes. "Oooo! That doesn't look good," Pinkie Pie said. "But what does this have to do with the microchip?" Applejack asked. "Well, it says right here that she used to be a great inventor of microchips, amongst other inventions at the time," Twilight replied, pointing her hoof at the words of the book. "What if her son was the one who stole the Elements from the tree?" Fluttershy questioned. "But how and why would he do that for?" Pinkie Pie added, stroking her chin. "Whatever it is, it can't be good," Twilight replied. " We have to stop him before something bad might happen." "But we don't even know where he is!" Spike chimed. "How do we find him?" Suddenly, the two doors of the library slammed open before the Mane Six and Spike turned their heads to find out who opened them. It turned to be none other than Starlight Glimmer. "Uh-hum! I think I might know how to do that," Starlight bragged. "How long was she even there?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack, who just rolled her eyes.