Author’s Note: This chapter is about Watt. If you didn’t like chapter 7 in the main story, feel free to skip this one entirely.
Kilowatt Hour in: Imagine That!
To say that Kilowatt Hour was an underappreciated pony was, put quite simply, a gross understatement.
For one thing, Watt was the only electrician in Ponyville, and one of a very small number in the whole nation of Equestria. The earth pony was solely responsible for keeping any and all electrical appliances in the small town working.
Unfortunately, the average resident of Ponyville was unfamiliar with what electricity was, or where it came from. Most ponies passed it off as another easily obtained commodity provided by the unicorns and their magic. And so Watt went unappreciated by most for his long hours of work.
As far as recognition goes, Watt’s other job wasn’t much better; working at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services had its perks, but the small company remained largely unknown to anypony who hadn’t decided to seek out such a service. And so, while company clients were always grateful for the help, the majority of Ponyville’s citizens went unaware of this contribution as well.
And almost nopony in Ponyville knew anything about the third major use of Watt’s time. Then again, that was probably for the better. After all, when ponies did hear the story of a parallel universe full of living inanimate objects that had to be regularly saved from various larger-than-life threats by two earth ponies, they tended to be skeptical at best.
One might wonder how a pony such as Watt could manage to juggle three such responsibilities at once. The explanation for that can be traced back to a single factor: electricity.
Electrical machinery was a relatively recent development in Equestria. There were few ponies who understood how it worked, and no university course or published manual to explain its secrets to those new to the field. And so Watt learned how to work with electricity through the most practical method available: trial and error.
Needless to say, there was plenty of error involved.
Watt didn’t mind it, though. Being jolted repeatedly quickly made the experience quite bearable for the earth pony. It became more of an adrenalin rush than a painful event after a while. However, it was not without its side effects. As Watt has so eloquently described it to most of his acquaintances, “Once you get shocked enough times, everything around you starts moving real slowly.”
Watt managed being an electrician, a shipper, and one of the saviors of an imaginary parallel world all at the same time quite easily due to his boundless energy. On this particular afternoon, he could be found in the power shed at the base of Ponyville Dam, re-routing the electricity generated by the structure into Ponyville’s power grid.
“Careful… careful…” Watt mumbled to himself as he slowly slid the unprotected tip of a large wire into one of the many sockets. “Gotta get it right in the hole. If it touches the metal on the outside, it’s gonna discharge.”
Keeping his hoof as steady as possible, Watt positioned the tip of the wire in front of the entry point of the power grid.
“Hi Watt! Watcha’ doin’!?”
The high pitched voice startled Watt. He thrust his hoof forward rather forcefully, and nowhere near the desired location. The energy from the live wire immediately passed through the metal and into Watt’s body, causing a sound like a small thunderclap. He yelped and shivered as the wave of energy passed through him.
“Oopsie,” said the high voice, which of course, belonged to Watt’s gleeful marefriend, Pinkie Pie. “Guess I should have knocked first.”
Watt blinked away the stars in front of his eyes and shook himself, causing several electrical arcs to dance along the length of his coat. “No problem, Pinkie,” he chuckled. “That one was just a little jolt anyway. Only a couple hundred volts.”
Pinkie Pie, admittedly, had no reference point by which to interpret this value, so she just took Watt’s word for it.
“Okie-dokie-lokie then!” the pink pony chirped. “Hey Watt, I need your help with something. Sir Lintsalot told me there’s trouble in Inanima again.”
Watt rolled his eyes. “Ugh, don’t tell me a war broke out between the native tribe of ceiling fans and those new vacuum cleaner settlers in the western province. I thought we took care of the diplomacy issues last week.”
Pinkie shook her head. “Nuh-uh, it’s not them. In fact, we don’t know who it is! There have been reports of mysterious incidents going on all over Inanima. It’s really strange; usually problems are localized to one kingdom. There’s even a rumor going around that it’s being caused by living creatures, and you know how rare those are in Inanima. Either way, it seems important enough that Sir Lintsalot called a meeting of the High Council to discuss it. Can you come?”
Watt glanced at the power grid behind him. “Well… there’s an operation running here to move a large unit of energy from the storage grid to the main power system. If I don’t stick around and make adjustments, it’s going to start building up.”
“Aww,” Pinkie whined. “But we need you, Watt. It’s important.”
Watt glanced repeatedly between the power grid and Pinkie. “Well, technically, the system can handle some stress. Things won’t go critical unless I leave it unattended for several hours.”
“We’ll be back way before that!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Does that mean you can come to the meeting?”
Watt chuckled. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“Yay!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing delightedly around Watt. “We’ll be back in no time at all! We can just go right in to Inanima from here and everything.”
Pinkie put her hoof on the door to the power shed, and turned to Watt with an inquisitive expression. “You remember how it works, right?”
Watt nodded, repeating the phrase Pinkie had taught him.
“Any door in Equestria can lead to Inanima, as long as you believe it’s on the other side.”
Pinkie nodded and pushed open the door. Instead of revealing the cement platform at the base of Ponyville Dam, the passageway revealed a bright field, covered in low grass and a few wildflowers.
Watt and Pinkie passed through the doorway into the field. Neither of them seemed concerned that, upon turning around, their portal home was no longer visible. Instead, there was simply the moss-covered face of a gargantuan boulder.
“Wow,” said Watt, looking around and nodding in approval. “The plains of Inanima are really starting to look snazzy!”
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Yep, it’s been all uphill for the country since King Turnip died. Now that he’s not choking the life out of the land with his sinister kingly grip of turnipy evil, everything’s starting to grow back.”
Watt grinned. “Well, as nice as it is, we don’t have time to sightsee. I’ll race you to the High Council Meeting!”
“Whee, you’re on!” Pinkie laughed, taking off across the rolling plains, with Watt following right behind.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I told you I want my coffee! Where is my gosh-darned coffee!?”
“Watch your temper, monsieur Rocky,” Madame Le’Flour scolded. “Zis is now my castle, and I expect my guests to behave with zee proper manners.”
“Manners shmanners,” Rocky grunted. “Your dad may have been an evil king, but at least a guy could get his coffee when he wanted it back when he was in charge.”
“When my father was in charge, you were an outlaw,” Madame Le’Flour reminded him. “I have pardoned your past offenses and made you zee captain of my kingdom’s royal guard. I do not think you are in any position to complain.”
A small wooden stool scuttled into the room, carrying a hot mug of coffee on its flat top. Rocky snatched it up without a word of thanks, and the stool scurried away before it had a chance to be insulted again.
“So, why haven’t we begun discussion?” Sir Lintsalot asked. “The unfolding situation is becoming rather desperate.”
“We’re waitin’ for Pinkie,” Rocky said, taking a swig of his hard-won coffee. “She was supposed to be here by now, but she went to get the yellow guy she’s always hangin’ around with, so she’s gonna be a little late.”
“Ah yes, Master Watt has proven to be a loyal friend of Inanima in the few months since we met him,” Sir Lintsalot admitted. “His company will be appreciated.”
“Hey everypony! We’re here!” came a singsong voice from the hallway. Pinkie Pie bounced into the room and took her position at the head of the long table, and Watt trotted to his seat as well.
“So good of you to join us, Lady Pinkie,” Madame Le’Flour said.
“’Bout time you two lovebirds got here,” Rocky grumbled. “We’ve been waiting all morning for you two.”
“Sorry,” Pinkie giggled. “I had to go get Watt first. You know how busy he can be at his electrician job.”
“If you ask me, keeping a country safe from invaders is a little more important than keepin’ the lights on in some backwater pony hick-town,” Rocky argued.
“Well, I’m still not sure whether or not this place actually exists on any plane beyond the realm of Pinkie’s imagination,” Watt pointed out. “So it kind of loses a little ground in my list of priorities because of that.”
Rocky laughed. “The kid’s got a point!”
“Well, now that you are here,” Sir Lintsalot cut in, “I think it would be best if we get right down to business. There have been reports in both my kingdom to the north, and here in Madame Le’Flour’s kingdom, detailing strange events. There are rumors of paranormal phenomena, and in more serious cases, large scale destruction or sudden disappearances of citizens. Whoever or whatever the culprit is, it appears to have no trouble traveling vast distances across Inanima in a very short time.”
“But what can we do about it?” Madame Le’Flour asked. “We know nothing about zis threat! How do we deal with a force we know nothing about?”
“Kill it,” said Rocky bluntly.
“Now, now, Rocky, that’s not very nice,” Pinkie Pie scolded. “Maybe it’s just misunderstood, whatever it is. It might stop attacking if we can figure out what it’s upset about. Then maybe we could throw it a party!”
“We may be able to reason with it, yes,” Sir Lintsalot agreed. “But still, for the time being, it must be considered dangerous. We will have to assemble the armies as a precaution, so if battle breaks out, we can strike at a moment’s notice.”
“So…” Rocky said hesitantly. “Basically, you’re gonna go talk to it, it’s gonna kick your fluffy royal hindquarters, and then we get to kill it?”
“Yes,” said Sir Lintsalot. “Or, well… close enough.”
“Perfect!” said Rocky. “Then we’ll split up and get both the kingdom’s armies mobilized as quickly as possible.”
He turned to Watt. “You!” he announced loudly. “I seem to remember you kicking some ninja butt back when we were taking on King Turnip. You and I will stay here with the princess and get the south kingdom’s forces ready for battle. Pinkie can go with lint boy back to the north kingdom and get that army together, too.”
“Gummy is right outside,” Pinkie said. “He can get us there in less than an hour.”
“Excellent,” said Sir Lintsalot. “Is everyone okay with that plan?”
“Of course,” Madame Le’Flour said. “And don’t worry, my love, I shall keep zis troublemaker in line.”
Rocky just grunted, ignoring the remark.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get to work!” Sir Lintsalot proclaimed.
The ball of lint hopped on to Pinkie’s back, and the mare began to trot from the room. “See you later, Watt! Good luck!” she called.
Rocky rotated on his chair. Watt presumed the stack of rocks was now looking in his direction, but as the latter had no face, it was hard to tell for sure.
“Well, what’re you waiting for, kid?” he asked. “Take me and the princess out back to the royal guard barracks. We’ve got a strike force to assemble.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For what was quite possibly the first time in his life, Watt was speechless.
Before him stood the greatest assemblage of inanimate objects he had ever seen. Every manner of random article imaginable stood at attention in the castle courtyard, from the tiniest knickknacks to the largest appliances. In neat rows, the objects stood at perfect attention, awaiting orders from the small pile of rocks that stood mounted on Watt’s back.
“Gentlemen, the time has come,” Rocky announced dramatically. “Today, we will have to stand and fight for our country. Is everyone ready?”
Cheers of approval rose from the huge crowd.
“Excellent!” Rocky boomed. “This yellow guy under me it Lieutenant Watt. You all will do what he says, when he says to do it, unless I say otherwise. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir!” the army replied.
“Um, Rocky,” Watt pointed out, “I spend most of my time getting electrocuted and helping ponies fall in love. I don’t know much about commanding armies.”
“Relax kid, it’s real simple,” said Rocky. “Just remember to be loud and bark out random orders like ‘take the high ground and advance on the enemy’s right flank’, or something like that. Always works for me.”
Watt glanced nervously at his right flank and wondered if that word had an additional meaning. Rocky seemed not to notice.
“Now, a lot of you in this army may be familiar with the army of Sir Lintsalot, from the kingdom to the north,” Rocky continued. “For that matter, a lot of you may not like them. Some of you have even been in battle against them before.”
A murmur spread through the crowd. Rocky cleared his throat and continued.
“Today, however, our enemy is not the north kingdom. Our enemy is potentially much more dangerous,” he said. “Now, as our lovely princess Madame Le’Flour has allied with Sir Lintsalot’s kingdom, today we shall fight alongside them.”
Rocky hopped in place, causing Watt to flinch from the blow to his spine. “Now I don’t want any backstabbing!” Rocky continued. “Pinkie Pie herself will be fighting alongside them, and I won’t have a group of soldiers with petty grudges making me look bad in front of the goddess. You will fight bravely and cooperatively for our fair country! Do I make myself clear?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Then follow me!” Rocky cried, turning toward the open plains beyond the castle. He jumped rather forcefully on Watt’s back, nearly causing the earth pony to collapse. “Move it, boy! We got a long walk ahead of us.”
“Yes sir,” Watt coughed, trying to catch the breath that Rocky had knocked out of him. “Uh… company march?”
The several hundred inanimate objects heeded the command, and marching in ranks, followed Watt and Rocky toward the battlefield.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Here they come!” Pinkie Pie cried.
“Not a moment too soon,” Sir Lintsalot replied. “Hurry Pinkie, we have to meet with them.”
Pinkie bounded forward across the plain and soon reached the head of the advancing army. She trotted up to Watt, grinning as usual.
“We’re here,” said Rocky bluntly. “What’d we miss?”
“Quite a bit, actually,” said Sir Lintsalot gravely. “We have just discovered a nearby village has been recently attacked by the mysterious invading force. It may still be nearby.”
Pinkie pointed in the direction of the village. Watt and Rocky stared at the distant plume of smoke rising up from the site. Although the village was still some distance away, it was clear that many buildings had been leveled.
“Well, burst my balloons and call me Susan!” Rocky proclaimed. “By the looks of things, I’m not sure this is an enemy we can reason with.”
“Come on, we have to advance on the ruins,” said Sir Lintsalot. “The enemy might still be nearby.”
“Um, maybe we don’t have to do that,” Pinkie Pie said hesitantly.
“What’s wrong Pinkie? Got cold hooves all of a sudden?” Rocky chuckled.
Pinkie shook her head. “No Rocky, I’m nice and toasty. Thanks for asking though.”
Rocky sighed. “Never mind. Why don’t you think we need to advance on the ruins?”
Pinkie pointed at the sky. “Because I think the enemy found us first.”
The odd little group of ponies and objects all turned their gazes skyward, where the cloud layer has rather suddenly begun to churn and swirl furiously. Strange flashes of light in various colors flickered from above, and a strange humming sound seemed to be getting ever louder.
“Wha… what is that?” Rocky asked.
“Whatever it is, it’s coming down from above!” Sir Lintsalot said. “All soldiers, take your stances! Prepare to attack on our signal.”
“Pinkie, you created this place, didn’t you?” Watt asked. “Usually you know all about the bad guys that live here. So… what do you think it is?”
Pinkie shook her head vaguely, her eyes still locked on the sky. “I have no idea…”
“How can you not have any idea?!” Rocky yelled angrily, once again hopping on Watt’s back and sending the stallion into another frantic coughing fit. “Everything in Inanima, good and bad, was dreamed up by you, wasn’t it?”
“I thought so,” said Pinkie. “It’s really weird. I don’t remember imagining any flying thing with flashing lights and loud humming sounds.”
She grinned. “Whatever it is, it sure can make a lot of pretty colors! Maybe we can convince it to help us with a big disco party!”
“Pinkie Pie, focus,” Sir Lintsalot urged. “I rather doubt something that just destroyed a village is interested in such an idea.”
“Can’t hurt to ask, though,” Pinkie argued.
Before anypony could say anything further, the clouds parted, and a gargantuan, oblong object descended into view. Fire poured from several huge thrusters that kept the massive craft afloat.
“What in the name of Hasbro is that thing?” Rocky gasped.
“I dunno,” Pinkie said. “Never seen anything like it before, but it looks like some sort of spacecraft. It seems a little sinister to be something I thought up.”
“But… that…” Watt stammered. “Guys, I think that’s a-”
Watt was cut off by a loud sound as a huge hatch opened on the bottom of the craft, releasing dozens of strange flying saucers. Immediately, the smaller ships converged on the armies assembled on the ground, and began to fire hundreds of tiny lasers.
“We’re under attack!” Sir Lintsalot cried.
“No, really?” asked Rocky. “Offensive positions, everyone! Fire the catapults!”
In an instant, the plain was transformed into a battlefield. The strange spacecrafts rained down attacks upon the inanimate objects, who retaliated as best they could from the ground. Watt, Pinkie, Sir Lintsalot, and Rocky dove under a sheltered overhang at the base of a hill to escape the assault.
“I just don’t understand,” Pinkie said. “How can there be something here that I didn’t think up, or let in from outside?”
“That’s just it, Pinkie,” Watt said. “It isn’t something you invented. I… I think I’ve seen these crafts before.”
“You have?” Sir Lintsalot asked. “Do tell.”
Watt swallowed hard. “I think they’re… the spaceponies.”
The others shared in a collective gasp.
“Wait… what’s a spacepony?” Sir Lintsalot asked.
“Well, technically, they’re just a myth,” Watt said. “I always wondered what would happen if they were real and abducted me. I’ve made up lots of stories about them, but I didn’t think I’d ever run into them for real.”
“Then what the hay are they doin’ flyin’ ‘round Inanima?” Rocky asked.
Watt could only shrug.
“Oh, I get it!” Pinkie Pie squealed suddenly, a huge grin spreading across her face.
“Get what, exactly?” Sir Lintsalot asked.
“Don’t you see?” asked Pinkie, almost bursting with glee. “The spaceponies are just a figment of Watt’s imagination!”
“So?” asked Watt.
“So, this means Watt, being from the outside world of Equestria, has now allowed himself to become so thoroughly entwined in the fate of Inanima that his imagination is starting to shape the world as well!”
“What?!” Watt gasped. “But Pinkie! This is your world!”
Pinkie shook her head. “Not anymore!” she sang. “It’s our world now.”
“But what about Ditzy Doo?” Watt asked. “She came here from Equestria. Why wasn’t she able to control Inanima as well?”
“It’s not that easy,” Pinkie said. “You really have to care about Inanima. You have to get to know its inhabitants and locations and basically completely erase the line in your mind that separates reality and fantasy. Only then can you change this world’s fate.”
“Then this makes Watt a new god,” Sir Lintsalot gasped. “It seems he’s every bit as powerful as Lady Pinkie!”
“I’m a god?” Watt asked.
“Yeah, congratulations kid,” said Rocky sarcastically. “That’s nice and all, but we do kind of have a situation out there. Now that Watt’s runaway imagination brought the spaceponies too Inanima, what are we gonna do about ‘em?”
“Well, I think they’re probably looking for me,” Watt admitted. “I’ve met them in my imagination before, so I bet that means I have to be the one to confront them now.”
Watt stepped out from beneath the protective overhang and galloped out onto the crowded battlefield.
Now, how do I get them to notice me? the Earth pony thought. It’s not like they’re just going to single me out of this huge crowd and beam me directly up to their spaceship or anything.
Just then, the spacepony mothership singled Watt out from the rest of the army, and with a bright flash, instantly beamed him aboard the ship.
Pinkie Pie turned to the readers seated behind the fourth wall, looking at them with disbelief. “Can you believe that?” she asked them. “What an eerily convenient turn of events that was! I mean really, what is the author thinking?”
“He’s probably thinking that this is just a bonus chapter, and he’s just trying to spill his weirdest ideas out here all at once so his future stories actually make sense,” Rocky pointed out.
“Whatever. It’s still lazy writing,” Pinkie said. “Just look beneath the page break to find out what happens to Watt next, I guess.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watt blinked a few times in surprise as the light around him faded. He found himself standing in an enormous metal chamber, surrounded on all sides by a high window. Dozens of silhouetted creatures, their eyes glowing eerily, peered down at Watt like some sort of exhibit.
A plain metal door opened on the other end of the room, and a grotesque creature marched into the room. It was shaped roughly like a pony, but its body was completely covered in bright green scales instead of fur. Its tail was long and whip-like, and its eyes were mounted on long stalks above its head.
“Ah… if it isn’t our old friend Kilowatt Hour,” the spacepony said in a vile, hissing voice. “I knew someday we’d meet again. It was only a matter of time, after all.”
“What do you want with me? And why are you attacking this country?” Watt asked.
“We destroyed village after village until we found you, of course,” replied the spacepony. “Surely you knew we’d be coming for revenge.”
“Revenge for what, exactly?” asked Watt.
The spacepony faltered. “I… er… I don’t know, really. Honestly, I don’t think you ever came up with a reason.”
Watt took a moment to wrap his head around the implications of that answer. His nemeses were, of course, imaginary, and they seemed to be imbued with precisely the amount of detail with which Watt has imagined them, meaning they only had as much of a motive for being evil as Watt had dreamed up. Which was to say, none at all.
“Regardless!” the spacepony continued, “we are here for our revenge! This time we shall not lose, Kilowatt Hour!”
Watt looked the spacepony up and down. “You’re… going to try to attack me? You look kind of scrawny for that.”
“I’m not going to attack you,” the spacepony hissed. “I have a much simpler way of doing away with you.”
The spacepony uttered some strange words in a foreign tongue. Watt had about a second to contemplate what they might mean before a hatch opened in the floor directly beneath him. Watt found himself plummeting directly toward the rocky surface of Inanima a half a mile below, the evil laughter of the spacepony in the ship above echoing in his ears.
Now what? Watt thought as he plummeted toward the earth. I’m not invincible while in Inanima or anything; King Turnip almost killed me a couple months ago. So if I don’t figure something out, I’m going to be turned into a pony pancake in a couple seconds!
An idea crossed Watt’s mind suddenly, and he quickly realized it likely constituted his only chance of survival.
Apparently, my imagination got me into this… maybe it can get me out, too!
Watt concentrated on the ground that was fast approaching, and visualized a doorway back to Ponyville. Nothing appeared.
Come on, this has to work! I need a way back to Ponyville! Now!
Watt squeezed his eyes shut as the distance between the ground and himself was reduced to nothing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, there was no more air rushing past his body. That was a good sign.
Watt cautiously opened his eyes, glancing around the dimly lit room. He was back in the power shed at Ponyville dam.
“Neat, that actually worked!” Watt said aloud.
The earth pony turned and peered through the door of the building, which still led directly to Inanima. The battle was still clearly visible, and the residents of Inanima were definitely losing.
I guess we have to defeat the spaceponies, somehow, Watt thought. Since they don’t have a motive for being evil, there’s no way to convince them to stop.
Watt’s thoughts were interrupted by a blaring sound behind him. A plethora of red warning lights lit up all along the power grid.
“Aw, no!” Watt said to no one in particular. “I completely forgot about the power transfer, and now the grid has overloaded! If I don’t find some way to divert the excess power, the surge is going to blow every circuit in Ponyville! I’ll be making repairs for weeks!”
Watt glanced at the countdown timer, which indicated the time remaining before the grid failed to hold back the excess energy. There was less than a minute remaining.
“Yikes! There’s not enough time!” the stallion moaned. “Looks like I’ve failed both Inanima and Ponyville today… unless…”
An idea crossed Watt’s mind that was so completely insane, that for a moment, he dismissed it as impossible. But after a few seconds, it became apparent that it was his only chance.
Watt yanked the largest group of cables out of the wall of the power shed and wrapped them around himself, making sure to keep the metal ends exposed.
“There’s only one way to divert the power,” he said to himself, almost giddy with anticipation. “I think I’m about to get the biggest shock of my life. Let’s just hope it does what I intend for it to do…”
Watt positioned himself in front of the open door to Inanima and waited as the last few seconds ticked away on the countdown clock.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Where is he? What happened to him?” Pinkie asked desperately as she scrambled around the battlefield, seemingly oblivious to the lasers burning the landscape all around her. “I saw Watt fall out of the spaceship! Where’d he go?”
“Forget him for the moment, kid!” Rocky urged. “We have to find a way to turn the tides! We need a secret weapon or we’re gonna lose this battle!”
A deafening thunderclap suddenly shook the landscape, causing all the combatants to stop momentarily and look around in confusion. A bright yellow streak cut through the sky at an immense speed, cutting right through one of the smaller saucers. The spacepony piloting it had only a second to panic before his small craft exploded.
But the object didn’t stop there. One by one, the other saucers were targeted, and the glowing object cut through each of them like a knife through butter. Large bolts of lightning arced off the strange destructive object as it darted around the sky.
“Pinkie?” Sir Lintsalot asked. “Would you, by any chance, know what exactly we’re witnessing right now?”
Pinkie giggled. “I think so,” she chirped. “He’s such a silly pony sometimes.”
“What?” Sir Lintsalot asked.
The glowing object turned in midair and redirected itself toward Pinkie and her friends.
“It’s coming this way! Hit the deck!” Rocky bellowed.
The object crackled with electricity as it came closer. Rather than colliding with Pinkie and her inanimate friends, it simply bounced off the ground in front of them. The outline of a pony was briefly visible in the midst of the radiance.
“Hi guys!” it screamed. That was all it had time to say before it rocketed back into the air.
“Yep, I was right,” Pinkie sang. “Although I think that’s a new record for him. I didn’t think anypony could handle that much electricity.”
“Wait…” said Sir Lintaslot. “Pinkie… is that thing Watt!?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Well, duh!”
Watt laughed as he directed himself toward the next ship. He was moving so quickly that gravity did not seem interested in trying to catch up with him, which made things all the easier. Effortlessly, he tore through the hull of another saucer as if it was made of tissue paper rather than steel.
It only took a few moments for the mothership to begin retreating. Many saucers tried to reach the safety of its interior, but the great majority were blown out of the sky long before reaching it. The remainder of the fleet disappeared into the clouds and rocketed away into space.
The remainder of Inanima’s army cheered triumphantly as Watt hurtled to the ground, skidding along like a stone skipping on water before finally coming to a stop against a huge rock. He stood there, shaking violently as he waited for enough of the excess charge to disperse to allow him to move normally again. The blinding glow around him dimmed as several more huge electrical arcs danced off his coat and onto the surrounding rocks. Despite looking ready to collapse, he grinned gleefully as Pinkie came skipping up to him.
“Well, that sure was something, boy!” Rocky announced. “Keep doin’ stuff like that and one of these days you’ll be almost as great a soldier as I am!”
“Almost?” asked Sir Lintsalot with a chuckle. “I think it’s safe to say Watt… excuse me, lord Watt, as he now must be properly addressed, has quite exceeded you, Rocky.”
“What’re you talking about?” Rocky said. “The kid’s lucky I don’t go a few rounds with him right now! I’d knock him into next week!”
“See, Watt? Defending Inanima is lots of fun!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “And now you get to be considered a big hero just like me!”
“Yes, just wait until I tell Madame Le’Flour what has happened here today,” Sir Lintsalot agreed. “The very essence of this world has been fundamentally changed. Its plains are now shaped and protected by not one, but two ponies with truly magical powers of imagination.”
Watt smiled. “Hey, I guess that’s even more proof that you and I were meant for each other, huh Pinkie?”
Pinkie laughed, but it failed to hide her blush. She moved forward to embrace Watt.
“No, wait, Pinkie! There’s still too much-”
ZAP!
Pinkie squeaked and backed up, momentarily stunned. The static electricity puffed up her mane even more than usual.
“Sorry,” said Watt sheepishly.
Pinkie blinked a few times as she recovered from the shock. A big, playful smile stretched across her face.
“I can see why you like that, Watt! It’s like… a surprise party for your nervous system!”
Watt grinned. “That’s one way of putting it, I guess!”
Watt joined Pinkie in another fit of laughter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Pinkie?” Fluttershy called. “Are you here? Twilight needs you to… oh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”
Fluttershy glanced around the dim interior of the power shed peering at each of the random items laying around; a pile of rocks, a ball of lint, a bag of flour, and a dozen or so tiny plastic spaceships littered the floor. And lying in the center were Pinkie and Watt, neither of whom could seem to stop laughing.
“H-hang on Fluttershy,” Pinkie managed between giggles. “I’ll be right there.”
“Okay, no rush,” said Fluttershy. “Twilight just sent me to remind you that you’re supposed to come and help with one of her experiments this evening.”
Pinkie finally stopped giggling and stood up. “Guess it’s time to go, Watt,” she said. “But that was super-fun! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. I need to get the power grid reset anyway. I think I broke some stuff,” Watt admitted.
Pinkie pie waved, and then skipped out the door with Fluttershy, leaving Watt to his work.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, Kilowatt Hour was quite the underappreciated pony, but that was just fine with him; he wasn’t looking for recognition. After all, he already had everything he wanted; the best group of friends a pony could ask for, and new adventures waiting around every corner.