//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Wanted Destroyed Or Alive // Story: The Legend of Midnight Hour // by Stratocaster //------------------------------// Chapter 7: Wanted Destroyed Or Alive After briefing Midnight on the subject at hoof, Princess Celestia courteously gave him and his friends a tour around her castle. He marveled at the alabaster walls and gilded furniture, and the storytelling stained glass windows that stretched throughout the echoing halls. Celestia commented that the entire palace was said to have been built from the air down, instead of the ground up, by Equestria’s earliest master stonemasons. Upon several pedestals sat vases, jewels, busts, statuettes and other precious artifacts from Equestrian history. Andromeda had to keep her hyperactive little sister from jumping around too much and breaking any of them. All the while, the royal guards and servants hustled about tending to their various duties. Noon said he almost envied the Princess for living in such a posh castle. As the group reached the end of their tour, Celestia led them through the front doors to take them to a guest house outside where they would spend the night. It seemed to Midnight as though things had finally calmed down; until he saw the lone pony standing on the castle plaza. “Who’s that, Princess?” asked Cassiopeia. “I don’t know, child,” replied Celestia. “I’ve never seen him before.” “Wait a minute,” alerted Takeoff. “That’s Mr. Mechanic, the pony from the Fillydelphia town square!” “Oh no.” Midnight muttered to himself. Sure enough, there he was. The ghostly gray pony stood several yards from and faced the group with a relaxed smile; his eyes were still shielded by wraparound shades. An eerie calm settled as the black suited Mr. Mechanic stood motionless without a word. Then, he gave a deep chuckle. “Well if it isn’t the ravishing Princess Celestia;” he spoke charmingly. “I’ve been just dying to meet you.” “I can see through your game, Locust,” Celestia responded in a stern tone. “We will not let you devastate Equestria!” “My word, is that any way to greet a humble entrepreneur like me?” “We’re not afraid of you, you big dumb changeling meanie!” exclaimed Cassiopeia. “Cassiopeia, hush!” scolded Andromeda. Mr. Mechanic gave a chilling laugh. “I admire the filly’s attitude. It’s a shame such fortitude must be wasted on a young mind.” “Look, we all know who you are,” announced Midnight. “So just drop the act and show us your true form!” “Ah yes, you must be the famous Midnight Hour, the one who restarts the day. I saw your little incident with one of my Workhorses and found out all your information.” “So then you should know that I can take down your crazy machines.” “We’ll see about that.” From behind Mr. Mechanic came a figure that was all too familiar to Midnight. It was a Workhorse, plodding up in front of its master with a whirring hydraulics sound coming from its legs. The thin horizontal red line on its black visor seemed to stare menacingly at the group. Midnight gulped but forced himself to bear up; he knew this would be his first time killing the contraption intentionally. “Well, Midnight, I’m waiting.” Mr. Mechanic taunted. He exhaled deeply as he stared down the lifeless android. Then he closed his eyes and focused the magic within his horn. After a few moments of preparation, and perspiration, Midnight opened his eyes and fired a beam of raw magic at the Workhorse. He held it letting the beam engulf the machine until he decided it was enough. He stopped the magic and looked at the Workhorse with anticipation. After a brief lapse of time, the red line in the visor disappeared and the entire robot collapsed into pieces. The remains resembled a pile of pots and pans. Midnight’s friends cheered for him as he smiled victoriously at Mr. Mechanic. But the silvery pony only kept smiling back. “I underestimated you, Midnight.” He said. “You really do have the power to conquer my machines. But now that I’ve seen you destroy two, let’s see you destroy two thousand!” At that instant, Midnight noticed an approaching mass in the distance behind Mr. Mechanic. His jaw dropped when he saw that the mass was an endless hoard of Workhorses marching in synchronized formation down the Canterlot street. The ground shook from their metal hooves stomping to a droning military-like beat. “As you can see, Midnight Hour,” continued Mr. Mechanic. “You can demolish as many of my Workhorses as you want; I’ll just make more.” As he said this, Mr. Mechanic finally removed his sunglasses and took Midnight by surprise. His eyes were not pony eyes. The pupils were vertically slit resembling a reptile’s; his left one was grayed as if it were blind. Then he grinned from ear to ear revealing that his teeth had somehow become fangs. His slicked black mane suddenly turned white and unfurled becoming matted and unkempt. As the Workhorses marched closer, his silver coat turned pitch black and the outline of his body became jagged and gnarled. The being now formerly known as Mr. Mechanic had revealed his true form as a changeling lord; the being now known as Locust let out a snarling hiss with a flailing forked tongue. By now, the Workhorses had approached right behind him. “Now that you see me as I truly am,” he bellowed in a raspy voice. “I think we can come to an understanding. Equestria will fall, and the changeling kingdom of Queen Chrysalis will RISE!” As Locust cackled hauntingly, Princess Celestia gave an order. “Guards!” Immediately, a battalion of royal guards hurried in from all directions and stood in front of the Princess ready to face the mechanical onslaught. “You must protect Canterlot and everypony in it.” Celestia continued. “Give these machines no quarter.” “Yes, your highness!” replied a guard. As Midnight witnessed the standoff between the guards and the Workhorses, he felt his brother shake him frantically. “Midnight, this is bad, bro! What are we gonna do?!” “Why are you asking me?!” “You’re the savior; I’m just here for the looks! Can’t you just take out these things?!” “There’s too many of them. I’ll get creamed before I could even destroy five!” “Midnight,” said Celestia. “You and your friends must escape Canterlot and hide.” “Where?” he asked. “Anywhere, you must go where Locust will not find you. When Canterlot is safe, I’ll find you and bring you back.” “But I feel like I should stay and help. I’m the only one who can defeat him.” “That makes you his target; we can’t risk losing you here. You must get to safety.” She then turned to a couple guards. “Captain Saber, Captain Cutlass, take these ponies to the emergency track. Make sure they stay out of sight.” “At once, Princess!” saluted the guard named Saber. “Emergency what?” questioned Fry. “Midnight, I’m scared!” whimpered Cassiopeia. “It’ll be alright, Cassie,” he told her. “Just follow the guards.” As they sprang off behind Saber and Cutlass, Midnight looked back at the Princess. “Keep safe, Midnight,” she called to him. “You’re our only hope!” He turned away one last time before hearing Locust shout after him with a cackle. “You can’t hide from me, Midnight Hour! You will be found, destroyed or alive!”