Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all associated characters, settings and stories are the rightful subjects of Hasbro, the HUB, Studio B, and Lauren Faust.
Chapter 39
Magicon never visited the printing office or the criminal office to announce the traitorous actions of Twilight's friends. His mind was too distracted by various other things. Flashes of Celestia and Luna kept appearing. He could hear Red-Blood practically scolding him for ruling Equestria instead of finishing his mission. He could feel heat from the fire of that traumatic night of his foalhood burn against him.
If crazy or psychotic were the words that best described Magicon now, he didn't know it. To him, he was just stressed. He never even noticed the servants and advisors peeking through their doors as he passed by. He never noticed the guards glaring at him as he walked by.
He had alienated everypony in the palace by his own actions. Everypony feared him and some even wanted him out. In less than a few months he would be celebrating his one-year ruling anniversary. Of course, that also meant the one-year anniversary since the death of the princesses. Would it be a celebration or a memorial? He couldn't tell, nor did he care. He was lost in his own mind.
So it came as quite a surprise to him when he bumped into Applejack as he rounded a corner.
"Applejack?"
"Yes, your highness?"
"Is that you?"
"'Course it's me."
He extended a hoof and stroked her mane a few times just to be sure.
"Might Ah ask, what did ya' do ta yourself?" as she squinted and examined the unicorn before her, almost unsure if it was really Magicon.
"You mean you don't like it?" He teased.
"It's just different, that's all."
"Oh, ok, well…shouldn't you be somewhere?"
"What do ya' mean?"
"You know what I mean."
"Ah'm sorry, but Ah really don't."
"You mean you don't think you should be in prison right now?"
"Beg your pardon?"
"You heard me, or do I need to spell it out for you simple-minded country ponies."
Applejack resisted the urge to strike him. Rainbow had been very clear about that: no aggressive action against him. Cadance also told her not to be angry or rough with her words. She had to be respectful, regardless of how he treated her.
"Ah know what ya' said and Ah don't understand. Did Ah do somethin' wrong?"
"You most certainly did."
"What?"
"Did you not help those escaped convicts?"
"Escaped convicts? Help 'em? Magicon, Ah dunno what you're talkin' about."
"You mean to tell me that you don't know that we have four treasonous ponies running around Equestria?"
She shook her head, doing her best not to make eye contact with him. She had never been a good liar and if she was caught now, everything afterwards would be fruitless. Why did she volunteer to go first? It was beyond her comprehension.
As for Magicon, he simply glared at her, trying to uncover the truth. He was sure she had been involved with the criminals. He was sure of it.
"Don't lie to me, Applejack."
"Ah'm not lyin' ta ya. And if Ah was, ya'd know. Ah'm a terrible liar."
He glared at her for a few more seconds, still determined to uncover her secrets. But Applejack was strong and determined. She was unyielding with her calm gaze and politely asked,
"Magicon, would ya' mind stop glarin' at me?"
Reluctantly, Magicon relented.
"I'm watching you, Applejack."
"And Ah need ta talk to ya'."
"What about?"
"Well, it's more of a show than a talk. Ah have a really cool invention Ah wanna show ya'. Ya' gotta see it."
"Oh, I'm not interested right now."
"Come on. Trust me, it's right up your alley."
"Why?"
"Because it'll change Equestria so much and always wanted ta change Equestria. 'Sides, you'll want ta see it before everypony else does."
"Well, what is it?"
"Ah can't really say. It's just easier ta show ya'. Come on."
"Alright. Let's go."
He wished he could just arrest her right here. He was convinced she was involved with the fire and the escaped criminals. Yet he knew he couldn't arrest her. He had no evidence that she did it. Only past facts and assumptions, but to Magicon it was enough. However Applejack wanted to show him this invention. It sounded interesting, and maybe if everything went wrong he could use it as an excuse to arrest her. For the moment, she was free but for how much longer was unclear.
As for Applejack, she took deep, but quiet breaths as she walked. She kept rehearsing the plan in her mind and only hoped her friends were not having any struggles in their respective areas. Twilight had devised a brilliant plan; complex, but brilliant. Everypony had a part to play and it all started with Applejack. If she didn't get it right, everything would be in jeopardy. She couldn't afford for that to happen.
As they rounded a corner Applejack and Magicon descended down a flight of stairs until they were in the conservatory.
The plants and whicker chairs had been moved and on the tiled floor stood a huge object covered in a red velvet cloth. It looked very uneven from the cloth, with various pieces projecting outwards. He curiously gazed at it, having no idea what invention was under that cloth.
"Applejack, what is it?"
"Let's remove the cloth and find out."
She grabbed an end and tugged hard. It responded easily and flew off the machine. With the cloth gone, Magicon saw the machine fully exposed. It was a giant metal structure with weird glass bulbs along its sides, wires wrapped around various cones and screws, some with strange spheres at their ends, and large dials were present on the front of the machine. The whole machine was painted in shades of brown, red, and gold, except for a small alcove on the side which was covered in silver. Whoever designed it, did not consider pleasing appeal when they designed it.
"Wow," he muttered as he examined the machine.
"Mah reaction exactly."
"What's it called?"
"It's called a generator."
"A generator?"
"Yeah."
"What does it do?"
"It's designed ta generate power for other machines and things."
"So, instead of coal, water, and steam, factories could use this?"
"Eeyup."
"Well, who designed it? Where is the inventor?"
"Ah don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? You're in charge of this, you must know!"
"Ah really don't. Ah came inta work this mornin' and mah aides directed me ta this here machine. There was a small note attached ta it. It read, 'Donation ta his majesty, The Prince. Ta activate, hit big red button. Instruction manual in compartment below."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Shall we try it?"
"Well, it's doing no good sitting her. Let's see it in action."
"Alrighty then."
She walked up to the machine, pulled out the instruction manual, and hit the big red button. The machine responded immediately. It made a loud grinding and metallic noise. Gears slowly began turning and a small chimney on the side began emitting smoke.
Magicon jumped back by the sudden noise while Applejack remained at the controls. She didn't have to do anything; the machine was taking care of everything for her.
The gears spun faster and the sound changed to match the whirling gears and clanging metal. The dials flickered back and forth before steadying out. Applejack watched them as the pressure and rate of turning increased. She had never seen this in action before; she only hoped it would work now.
The speed continued to increase and the smoke and steam grew thicker in the room as the machine continued to work. Magicon stepped forward just to have a clear view of the machine. Noticing this, Applejack instructed him to move over to the small alcove on her right. It was within the machine itself. It was metallic and perfectly sized for a pony, but loud. It looked like a large rectangular box, save for the small spheres on the ceiling pointing directly towards the floor.
"I don't know, Applejack. It doesn't look safe," Magicon yelled above the noise of the machine.
"The instruction manual says that's the safest place in case of an accident," Applejack replied with her own loud voice.
"Are you sure?"
"Eeyup."
Magicon was uneasy as he looked at the vibrating machine and the vibrating alcove. It didn't look safe at all.
"Come on, Magicon, where's that driving spirit that everypony knows ya' for?" encouraged Applejack.
"It's here," he replied. "Somewhere," he said to himself.
"Are ya' a coward?"
"Coward? Me? That's pure nonsense."
"Then prove it."
"Fine." He slowly entered the alcove and tried to make himself comfortable the best way possible. Everything rattled and vibrated, including him. But the noise was dampened in here, unlike the rest of the machine. It was bearable.
"How long do I have to stay in here?" his voice echoed against the metal.
"Until when Ah say it's safe ta come out."
With a somewhat defiant answer, he remained there, amongst the vibrating metallic walls as everything sped up. It was cramped inside, but Magicon managed to fit. He was uncomfortable but who knew what this machine would do and better listen to the instructions than not to.
As he stood there and with Applejack at the controls, the machine sped up. The gears turned faster and faster until Magicon thought they would fly off their spokes. When it finally reached its capacity, the machine seemed to quiet down. The vibrating dulled down, but the gears continued turning. Magicon gazed around his alcove and poked his head out looking towards Applejack. Her eyes were on the dials but she turned her head and smiled at the pony looking at her.
Magicon smiled back, examined the area around him, and tucked himself back in, hoping it would be over soon. Once he was inside, Applejack turned a few dials and heard a distinct buzzing sound. At first she thought it was a bee, but she realized it was the machine. She remembered what Twilight said.
"Turn the brown nozzle until you can't move it anymore. Flip the yellow switch. Check the gauges to make sure they're all in the green. Then flip the big silver switch."
"Alright, let's do this," Applejack said to herself. "Turn the brown nozzle? Check. Flip the yellow switch? Check. Check the gauges?...They look fine ta me. And now for that silver switch. Ah, here we go."
With a strong hoof she pulled it downwards. Then time changed after that. All Applejack heard was the buzzing, followed by a loud bang, and then the scream of a stallion. It happened so quickly that she was barely able to process it. She didn't expect that to happen and she ducked for cover, expecting the machine to explode at any second. Yet it didn't.
Much to Applejack's amazement the machine was slowing down. The gears were slowing and the dials were slowly moving to zero. The machine was turning off. With a sigh of relief she turned towards the alcove and was shocked to find Magicon, his body fallen out of the alcove, steaming and twitching uncontrollably.
She ran over to him and did a quick medical check. He was still alive and that was what mattered. She never noticed Fluttershy and Twilight appearing beside her.
The machine had shut down by the time Twilight spoke.
"Good job, AJ."
"Wha…what was that?"
"I modified the generator so it would give anypony a shock in that alcove."
"Twilight, that's just scary! Can't we just stop it here?"
"I'm afraid not. He's just too dangerous. Fluttershy's part of the plan comes in now. Go back to your location and wait for my signal."
"But-"
"Just go! Fluttershy and I can handle this."
Reluctantly Applejack fled the room leaving the two mares and one unconscious pony behind.
"He's ok, right?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy nodded as she performed a full medical examination on him.
"He took the electrocution rather well," she stated.
"Then we better move quickly. Come on."
She grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and Magicon's and teleported all three of them out of the conservatory with a loud bang.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Magicon awoke in a haze. His senses weren't in their normal sense; they felt ethereal and foreign to him. Through his cloudy his eyes, he could make out darkness with the exception of a small lantern to his side. He could hear female voices, but couldn't make out the words. His hooves felt tingly and out-of-touch. He did his best to make sense of what was going on.
Slowly, his sense began returning through him. Through his clearing eyes he could see that a lantern was at his side and so was Fluttershy. She was watching him with her most concerned and compassionate eyes. He was slow in forming his words.
"Fl…Fluttershy?"
"Oh, you're awake, Magicon. Thank Celestia."
"Wh…what happened?"
"You experienced electrocution. It's amazing you survived."
"I…what?"
"You were dangerously shocked."
"Oh…ok."
"How do you feel?"
"Tingly."
"Anything else?"
"My senses are a little out of touch. I mean I can feel my hooves, but not completely."
"Mmhm," she said as she nodded. "What you need to do is rest."
"Rest?"
"Yes, sir. It's amazing you survived. You're heart could've stopped or exploded if the electricity didn't get out of you quick enough. Your body is working to return to its normal self. But rest is the best thing you need right now."
"But…I know who caused this."
"Later." Her voice was very hypnotic and soothing. He began to feel himself drift off to sleep.
"But…Equestria…needs me," he yawned.
"It can wait."
"But…but…" he was asleep within seconds, his gentle breathing filling the air around them.
Fluttershy sighed as Twilight walked up behind her.
"He's taking it well," she mumbled as she looked at Magicon's sleeping body.
"Good. How long will he be out?"
"A few hours at most. As he awakes I'll leave and hoof it over to Pinkie."
"Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"I just want to let you know that we're all so proud of you for what you're doing."
"Please don't pay me any compliments, Twilight. I don't like doing this to anypony."
Twilight sighed and said, "I understand, Fluttershy."
"Do you really?"
"I do."
Fluttershy was silent for a moment before slowly hugging Twilight and whispering a "Thank you" to her. Twilight responded with a gentle hug of her own. After they embraced, Fluttershy asked,
"How's everypony else?"
"They're fine."
"Safe?"
"Safe. The rest of the plan awaits its bait. You sure the drug will work?"
"Judging his unstable nature to begin with, it might work too well."
"Well, we'll have to wait and see."
"Yeah…"
"I'm gonna go check on Pinkie."
"Ok."
"Fluttershy?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"You sure you'll be ok?"
"I'll be…fine."
Twilight eyed her for a few moments before stepping into Magicon's bathroom and teleporting with a loud bang that momentarily shocked Fluttershy. She quickly regained her composure and resumed her place at Magicon's side.
He looked so calm and peaceful in this state. Fluttershy couldn't believe that an evil tyrant pony lay behind that simple face and colorful mane. Yet she promised her friends she would do it. She would stop him using the skills she knew.
Taking out her medical bag she quickly found the needle and liquid that would make capturing Magicon much easier. She didn't know why she needed to this. Why couldn't they just capture him and question him here?
"Because that'll be too easy. He'll expect us to do something like that. He only expects ponies to take him on one at a time, not a combination. If he's medically and mentally weakened, he'll be unprepared for the rest of Twilight's plan," answered Shining as they went over the final plan for Magicon.
Fluttershy had silently objected to everything. There had to be a better way to stop him. There had to be a less violent, less confrontational, and healthier way to stop him. She didn't like Twilight's plan, but her own reserved nature prevented her from voicing an objection. She was silent during the entire discussion, other than a few "yes's" or "okay's". Objection was not in Fluttershy's nature. All she wished was that Magicon be shown a little kindness.
In a way she had gotten it. Twilight had no plans of killing him, despite Rainbow's persistence. They had their demands and questions for him. Killing was not one of them. They had to be better than that. They had to be the ponies that Celestia and Luna would've wanted them to be. Not ruthless killing machines in the name of justice, but fair and honest ponies working for the betterment of all of Equestria.
It was ironic in a way. For nearly a year Magicon had dedicated himself to what he considered the betterment of Equestria and now here was, sleeping in front of Fluttershy who had a mission to do what was necessary to stop tyranny and bring true justice to Equestria.
"I'm sorry, Magicon. I hate doing this to you."
She slowly moved his left hoof, found the artery and injected the needle into it. The pain did not awake Magicon, only his breathing changed slightly. Reassured by this fact, Fluttershy began pushing on the top of the needle, pressing the liquid into his artery. It drained at a moderate pace and Fluttershy removed the needle in less than thirty seconds of having first injected it into the male unicorn.
She didn't like this at all, but she did it and was glad it was over. She put the needle and empty bottle back into her bag and kept it next to her chair. Now came the waiting. A few hours of patiently waiting for him to wake was all that remained between now and the next part of the plan. All Fluttershy hoped was that she would never have to do anything like this again in her life.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Magicon awoke to the stillness of his bedroom. The late afternoon sun filtered light through his window, casting the room in an amber glow. He couldn't remember why he was in bed or what had happened since the morning, but he realized he had practically wasted an entire day. He quickly stripped the covers off and rose. Much to his surprise he felt energized. His actions seemed faster, and more efficient. But he figured it was just his slow mind catching up with his actions. He didn't think he was any faster, but who knew.
Leaving the bed behind, Magicon proceeded to his door when a note slipped under it.
"Funny. I normally don't get notes," he said as he tried to telekinetically pick up the note. Much to his surprise, he couldn't. He put more magic into his horn, yet no response. He couldn't even feel his horn using the magic. His horn was there, he put a hoof to his forehead to make sure of it. But why wasn't it responding to his magic. He suddenly feared that he lost his ability and his magic. Perhaps something had happened, but he didn't know what. What could've caused this was beyond him.
"The only thing I know where magic doesn't respond is if a unicorn uses a lot of magic in a short amount of time. Their capacity is dwindled if they do that and thus, have limited to no access to magic. But I didn't do anything that would've caused that. I haven't used extreme amounts of magic ever since the Sun and Moon. They what caused this?"
As he pondered it, he tried not to panic. Magic was an essential part of Magicon. Most of his name was centered on the word and most of his life had involved magic. To have it suddenly gone was shocking, but he couldn't panic. He was already stressed enough and a panic over manic might just send him over the edge. Yet as he tried to calm himself he was thankful that the note caught his eye again, subconsciously distracting him.
"Perhaps this will explain what happened. Probably not, but only one way to find out."
Picking it up, Magicon noticed that it was a sealed envelope. The wax on the on outside was a bright pink with an impression of three balloons in the center. Knowing who that pony was Magicon was almost reluctant to open it. Nevertheless, he did and confetti shot right hitting him in the face.
After a momentary shock, Magicon saw that the letter did have a note inside. Removing it, Magicon read:
Magicon,
Hope you are feeling better. When you get the chance please meet me in your office. I have something that I need to discuss with you.
Pinkemania Diane Pie
"Well, better go see what she wants," he said and tossed the letter aside and opened the door. As he walked down the hallway he noticed that he wasn't walking in a straight line. He veered from side to side as he walked, and he felt a little dizzy.
"What happened this morning or last night?" he asked as he put a hoof to his head, trying to remember something, if anything, that could've, or even would've, caused this.
He continued to walk through the palace though, completely unaware of the scattering servants who ran into the nearest room and locked the door and the glares of the Royal Guards as he passed by. He didn't even know they were there.
Once he reached his office, he opened the door and was blinded by the bright colors of balloons, streamers, and confetti. A phonograph was playing some polka-style music and in the center of his newly decorated office was a dancing Pinkie Pie, a huge smile of her face.
Magicon was caught completely off-guard and stumbled backwards, tripping over his back hooves and landing on the cold marble floor. Gazing back into the room, he saw Pinkie bouncing towards him, stripped of her Press Secretary outfit.
"Oo, oo, oo, Magicon, you got my note! Oh goodie, that means you came! Now we can have a real party! It's going to be so much fun! There's going to be cake and ice cream and laughter! We can play pin the tail on the pony or guessing games or who's Queen Meany! Oh, I'm so excited! Aren't you excited because you should be excited? After all, a party is not a party without excitement otherwise we wouldn't call it a party! I don't know what it would be called instead but it wouldn't be as much fun as a party, especially a Pinkie Pie Party!"
She threw confetti into the air for added effect and grabbed a stunned Magicon's by the hooves and dragged him into the office. He was completely upended by the colors and atmosphere of the room. Magicon had never liked hyper ponies or bright colors; dark was his specialty. He considered all of this false; fake objects and celebrations of no value. Yet here was his Press Secretary, the one who was supposed to represent him for the public celebrating a party in his office. He could fell a headache coming on.
"Pinkie…what…uh…what is all this?"
"Well, duh, what do you think it is, silly? It's a party and not just any party, but a Pinkie Pie Party!" Again she threw confetti.
"But, but-"
"No, 'buts', Mister. Now's the time for fun, not explanation. Come on, Magicon. We'll start with the games!"
She dragged him over to a picture of a pony on the wall, missing a tail.
"Look, Pike, I really don't-"
Magicon was cut-off by the blindfold around him and the sudden spinning of his body. His dizziness was now amplified thanks to the spinning. He felt something fall into his hooves, but had no idea what.
When the spinning finally ceased, Pinkie removed the blindfold and said excitedly,
"Ok you silly stallion, put that tail on that pony!"
Too confused and dizzy to do anything else Magicon proceeded in whatever direction he thought what the wall was. Instead of bumping into the wall, Magicon bumped into something soft and firm.
Shaking his head, his vision slowly returned to him as he gazed at the sight before him. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets as he saw the cyan coat and multicolor mane of the mare called Rainbow Dash.
"Rain…Rainbow Dash?"
"Hello again, Magicon. Ready for a rematch?"