Chapter 3: The Device
The two brothers strolled down the main street of Fillydelphia where everypony was out and about. Colts were hard at work, mares were chatting and drinking tea, and fillies were playing up and down the street. Midnight and Noon pretty much knew everypony who lived nearby; one of them was Marigold, the mare who owned the plant nursery. She was out watering various hanging flowers in her sun hat.
“Good morning, boys!” she said to the twins.
“Morning, Marigold!” they responded in unison.
“Wow, that Marigold sure is something.” Noon said to his brother. “Her lime green coat, her gold mane, I’m telling you, bro; someday I’m going to make her mine.”
“Don’t push your luck, Noon,” replied Midnight. “I think she would only like you if you had pedals and leaves.”
“Oh yeah? I don’t hear you mentioning anything about that Pegasus mare you’ve been eying. What’s her name again?”
“You mean Andromeda? Nah, she’s too smart for a foal like me; she’s too good.”
“What are you talking about? I see you two talking all the time; she likes you, bro.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like she’s ever going to fall for me. What mare would want some weirdo who spends his nights on the roof of the town hall?”
“You know what? It sounds to me like you just need some grub in your gut. Let’s head over to Appetizer’s.”
They walked down to their favorite café. It was a casual eatery owned by the local favorite cook, Appetizer, who prepared all matter of pony confections: bean burritos, veggie burgers, and daffodil sandwiches, hay fries, even carrot cake, etc. One of the other servers there was a good friend of Midnight’s, Stir Fry, who always served him whenever he paid a visit. Midnight and Noon sat at a table outside the café where Stir Fry immediately greeted them.
“Midnight! What’s up, stallion?” he said happily.
“Not much, Fry. You still trying to get into Hors D’oeuvres?” asked Midnight.
“Any day now, you’ll see.” Fry responded. “I’ll be living it up high class style.”
“Hey Stir Fry,” shouted Appetizer from inside the café. “You still got a plate of dandelion sticks ready to go!”
“Will you calm down, you fat slob?!” shot back Fry. “I’ll be there in a minute! Just let him wait, I won’t be working here for long.”
“Well until then, how about getting your old pal some waffles?” smiled Midnight.
“You got it, Midnight!” Fry walked off into the café to yell at Appetizer some more.
Stir Fry was one of Midnight’s oldest friends. He was a light yellow earth pony with a brown mane and green eyes whose cutie mark was a sizzling frying pan. For a long time, since around when he started working at Appetizer’s, he had strived at becoming a master chef and planned to work at the most high class restaurant in Fillydelphia, Hors D’oeuvres. Midnight had faith in Fry’s plans; he was a hard worker, a loyal friend, and an expert cook whose talents were underappreciated. After a few short minutes, Fry came back out with a plate stacked with fresh hot waffles. He was always speedy when serving his friends.
“Here you go guys, with extra blueberries.” Fry announced. “So Noon, what brings you back home? I thought you were in Canterlot.”
“Yeah well the job was cancelled, so I snuck back home last night. The next morning, I saw old Nightshift here catching some serious Z’s.”
“Rough night, pal?” Fry asked Midnight.
“No rougher than usual; although, I did stub my hoof earlier yesterday. And I also made a foal of myself in front of Andromeda.”
“Whoa, whoa, how did that happen?” interrupted Fry.
“Yeah, you didn’t mention that.” Noon added.
“Alright, alright, if you must know, I’ll tell you.” Midnight continued.
The day before, Midnight was pushing a stack of boxes he found over to town hall so he could get onto the roof easier. However, he could not see where he was going since he was pushing the boxes with his nose. They obstructed him from seeing that he was pushing them down a steep hill. Midnight ran after the tumbling boxes into the town entrance; as he caught up, he tripped over them and found himself colliding with a vegetable cart. The cart toppled over and he fell to the ground with lettuce showering all over him. Literally adding insult to injury, several ponies who were there to witness the incident laughed hysterically; one of them was his part-time friend, Andromeda who was trying to control her laughter. Midnight gathered up his boxes and walked off with a huff. For the rest of the day, until his shift at the clock, he hid his embarrassment at home. This was the reason for his sudden self-doubt about Andromeda.
“Huh, you always were kind of a klutz.” Noon said.
“Wait a minute,” added Fry. “Why didn’t you just carry the boxes somehow?”
“Because I’m an idiot,” answered Midnight. “And Andromeda probably thinks so too.”
“Ah pony feathers,” blurted Fry. “Why don’t you talk to her today, she’ll understand. If you ask me, I think she’s got the hots for you.”
“Look at that, bro; you’re a real stallion caller.” Noon gave a cocky smile.
“Whatever you say, Noon.” Midnight replied.
The three of them talked a bit more over waffles until the twins left Fry to reluctantly return to work. They continued down the street trying to figure out what to do for the day. At one point, Midnight waited on the sidewalk while Noon picked up apples from one of the grocers. Then he was met with another, younger, familiar face.
“Midnight! Midnight!”
It was Andromeda’s little sister, Cassiopeia. She was a filly with a pink coat, purple hair, and big silver eyes; no cutie mark yet. Like her older sister, she was Pegasus but as with other fillies her age, she could not fly more than a couple feet off the ground. Cassiopeia was the one who introduced Midnight to her sister in the first place. When they first met, Midnight was out on the roof again waiting for the moon to center, when he spotted Cassiopeia sneaking out that night with her friends. He stopped them in their tracks and told them all to go back to their homes before their parents found out they were missing. But Cassiopeia pleaded with him to let them stay out a little longer; Midnight softened up and told her that he would let them stay up and watch him restart the clock. The young filly was mesmerized by the magic he used to complete such a small task and she immediately idolized him. After the spectacle, Midnight took the young ponies home, dropping Cassiopeia off last; when they got to her home, she introduced him to Andromeda who was there to take her in worried. Midnight told her that he was responsible and apologized for the filly’s disappearance. Andromeda forgave him and asked if he would like to meet him for tea the next day. From then on, he became fast friends with both sisters. Of course while he and Andromeda only met casually part-time, Cassiopeia would always jump happily at the sight of him.
“Midnight! Hi Midnight!” she cheered.
“Hey Cassiopeia,” he smiled. “You seem jumpier than usual today.”
“I didn’t see you after your accident yesterday. My sister and I were wondering if you were alright.” She repeatedly jumped in place with her small wings fluttering.
“Oh you don’t need to worry about me, I’m fine. I’m just not going to push anything with my nose anymore.”
Cassiopeia giggled and continued jumping.
“So Cassie, you know where your sister is?”
She stopped jumping. “Oh she went to Canterlot, but she’ll be back tomorrow tonight.”
“Huh, it seems like everypony is going to Canterlot and coming back.”
“Ooh, ooh, Midnight, you know what day it is tomorrow?”
He knew what day it was tomorrow, but he decided to taunt her. “Hmm, let me think, what could possibly be tomorrow? …Is it Nightmare Night?”
“No.”
“Is it Hearth’s Warming Eve?”
“No silly, it’s summer!”
“Wait, let me guess, could it be someone’s birthday, maybe?”
“Yeah! Yeah!”
“Now who do I know has a birthday tomorrow? Is it Stir Fry’s? No, his is in the fall. Is it Marigold’s? No, hers is in the spring. Huh, whose could it possibly be?”
“Come on! Come on!”
“…Wait…don’t tell me…could it be…yours?”
“YES!” she jumped even more giddily. “It’s my birthday tomorrow!”
“Of course it is; how could I forget? I’ll be sure to drop by and give you a present.”
“Oh I don’t care what I get, Midnight, as long as I get to see you perform some amazing magic at my party!”
“Really? Well I don’t know a whole lot other than time spells. But I’ll definitely come up with something awesome for you and your friends.”
“Hooray! Midnight’s coming to my party! Bye Midnight!”
“See you tomorrow, Cassie!”
As Cassiopeia skipped off, Noon suddenly snuck up and stuck his face in Midnight’s with a grocery bag of apples hanging from his mouth.
“Hey, what are you doing just standing around? I want to go get some hay smoothies.”
They walked down some more toward the town square. Midnight noticed a shadow pass over him; he looked up and around expecting to see a bird. He didn’t see anything until the shadow passed over him again. It was then that he saw a Pegasus in flight; but it wasn’t any other Pegasus. He recognized the flying pony by the cocky way he made a figure eight over his head and cackled. It was yet another friend of his, Takeoff.
“Hey Takeoff,” called Midnight. “Have you swallowed any bugs yet?”
The Pegasus landed expertly in front of Midnight; he could recognize Takeoff anywhere by his fiery red coat and blue mane. He also sported a wool-lined flight jacket and a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his teal eyes. His cutie mark was a silver winged air force emblem, and it was fitting for his job. Takeoff was a pilot and a renowned one too. In his time, the Pegasus ponies of Cloudsdale had developed means of air transportation for earth ponies and unicorns. The most luxurious of which were enormous dirigibles that sailed all throughout Equestria, carrying passengers who delighted at seeing the land from thousands of feet in the air. And since they were lifted by flame-resistant Rainbowgen, they were totally safe. A native of Cloudsdale, Takeoff was the captain of one of these airships, the E.S. Crown of Celestia. But when he wasn’t busy transporting passengers, he always found time to hang out with Midnight, since they both lived in Fillydelphia. He was a hothead by nature, which was typical of some Pegasus ponies, and often made Midnight laugh by bragging about his aerial acrobatics. Takeoff always knew how to show off.
“What’s going on, Midnight?” he asked. “Hitting the town, I see?”
“Sort of,” answered Midnight. “I see you’re off duty.”
“Yeah, the Crown isn’t scheduled for another couple of weeks or so. I thought I’d come back home to hang out.”
Noon spoke still with the bag of apples in his mouth. “I don’t think we’ve really met. What’s up, I’m High Noon, Midnight’s twin brother. I’m the handsome one.”
Takeoff lowered his shades and peered quizzically at Noon. “Oh yeah, Midnight told me about you. He said that you were a ‘living sugar rush’.”
Noon gave the stink eye to Midnight who only grinned sheepishly.
“By the way,” continued Takeoff. “I saw some commotion over by town square on my way here. You guys should come check it out with me.”
“What exactly did you see?” asked Midnight.
“There was just a crowd of ponies around the gazebo; it looked pretty important.”
“Well then I guess we should go check it out.”
“Finally, we get some excitement.” Noon said.
The twins followed Takeoff down the walk to the large open town square where ponies were gathering around in a cluster. They were all facing the decorative gazebo at the center which was blocked by the crowd just out of Midnight’s view. The three made a path through the gaggle of ponies who were murmuring to one another in both excitement and confusion. Midnight stopped when he got a clear look at the gazebo; then he noticed to his left was Marigold.
“Hey Marigold,” he said to her. “What’s going on?”
“I heard news about some pony from another town giving a presentation.” Marigold answered. “Nopony knows who he is or where he’s from; we just know that he’s here to promote something.”
Midnight looked forward again and then he saw him. Stepping up on the gazebo from behind was a male pony wearing a black suit and tie and a pair of wraparound shades. His coat seemed to be a ghostly gray and his black mane was slicked back; Midnight couldn’t make out his cutie mark. Next to him stood a mysterious object which was completely shrouded by a black blanket; it was a little more than his height. Then, when all the ponies became silent, he grinned and spoke in a voice that sounded middle aged and a little raspy.
“Mares and gentlecolts, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to something that will change your lives forever. I am known as Mr. Mechanic, and I am an engineer from Manehattan. All my life, I have dreamed of making life easier for ponies everywhere; relieving them of struggle and monotony. And one day I decided to make a machine to do just that. Imagine a device that could do any pony’s job faster and better. I am sure there are many of you with grueling tasks and I am sure you would like to have your lives made simple by such a device. It gives me satisfaction knowing that I have this device with me now. So without further elaboration I give you, ponies of Fillydelphia, Workhorse!”
The pony who called himself Mr. Mechanic then revealed the object beneath the blanket. The crowd gasped at the sight of a strange metallic figure that was the shape and size of a muscular stallion. Its dark gray metal hide glimmered as it stood like a lifeless statue. Its face had no mouth, but a single visor with a thin red line across it; a horn stuck out from above the visor like a unicorn’s. While the crowd exchanged more hushed banter, Mechanic continued speaking.
“As you can all see, it is quite a marvel. I have been designing and testing Workhorse for many years now and the results have far surpassed what I could have hoped for. You will see that this mechanical pony is capable of simple movement. Workhorse, walk!”
As if on cue, the metallic structure called Workhorse walked across the gazebo, as fluently as a real pony. It stopped when it reached the other side when Mechanic called again.
“Workhorse, trot!”
Sure enough, Workhorse trotted gracefully around Mechanic in a full circle.
“Now Workhorse, gallop!” ordered Mechanic.
Just like that, the mechanical pony galloped off the gazebo and around it as fast as a professional track runner. Some of the ponies upfront stomped their hooves in applause for the machine’s impressive speed. Midnight, who was by now astounded, looked at Marigold whose blue eyes were widened at the sight.
“It’s unbelievable!” she gasped.
“But that is not all that Workhorse can do, everypony. I assure you that it can handle even the most arduous of earth pony tasks. Workhorse, lift!”
Immediately, Workhorse stopped galloping and pushed out a stack of six hay bails from behind. Effortlessly, it tossed the stack in the air landing it on its metal back and held it without a single ounce of strain. More ponies stomped and cheered.
“And there’s more, mares and gentlecolts, for it is powered by magic! Therefore, it can complete any job for any unicorn. Do we have an ill member of the audience?”
A male pony stepped up to Mechanic with his head lowered.
“I’ve had this terrible flu for a week.” He said with a sneeze.
“Workhorse, heal!” called Mechanic.
Then Workhorse faced the sick pony, bowed its head and emitted a radiant green beam from its horn. The beam engulfed the pony for a few seconds before he was left stunned. The pony perked his head up and faced the audience with an elated grin.
“I’ve been cured!” he shouted with delight and ran back into the crowd which cheered even more.
“Please, I bet that thing can’t do a Pegasus’s job.” Takeoff scoffed from behind.
“And just when you thought that’s all,” continued Mechanic. “Workhorse has the ability to even fulfill the needs of Pegasi! Workhorse, fly!”
To the crowd’s amazement, Workhorse knelt on its front legs and sprouted metal wings from its sides. The wings were simple triangles that stuck out straight to each side; they each had a slit underneath which glowed yellow and made an increasingly loud whine. Suddenly, Workhorse shot off the ground and into the air. Midnight looked up at the sky to see it performing flips, sharp turns and barrel rolls at lightning speeds. The ponies around him jumped, whooped and even took pictures of Workhorse showing off its aerial feats. Midnight looked at Takeoff to see that his jaw had dropped and his glasses lowered. Finally, Workhorse hovered next to Mechanic and landed softly retracting its wings. The crowd cheered and stomped even louder.
“I can see you are all greatly impressed.” Mechanic said taking a bow. “Workhorse is clearly the future in pony labor. And the best part is I have more in stock! So let me thank you all for your time, Fillydelphia, and let Workhorse take the struggle out of your lives. You will not regret it.”
The crowd applauded one last time as Mechanic left the gazebo with Workhorse. Midnight looked around to see that the faces of some of the ponies around him seemed a bit more reluctant than the cheering masses upfront. These included Noon and Marigold; however Takeoff was still frozen with shock. The crowd disbanded and Midnight rejoined with his brother.
“That pony seems like a real con artist.” Noon said to him. “Spending a whole life making some kind of robot seems like a bit much just to make a killing.”
“You got a point,” replied Midnight. “Although, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think it would be kind of nice having one of those machines doing all the grunt work. Hey I wouldn’t mind having one restarting the clock every night.”
“I don’t know Midnight,” added Marigold. “There’s something awful shady about that Mr. Mechanic. How do we know everything he said is true?”
“It probably won’t make much a difference.” Midnight answered her. “I mean how many of those ‘Workhorses’ could he possibly have? …Takeoff, are you okay?”
Takeoff snapped back to reality. “Huh? Oh yeah, uh, that robot- I can do that.”
“Do what?”
“Never mind.”