//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: My Tiny Pony: Friendship In Miniature 
// by The Well Dressed Ninja 
//------------------------------//

Today was not a good day for Celestia.

In a few short years she went from the proud ruler of the most powerful nation on Terra to... this. The DTT (Dark Terror Twiddlywink) had caught her completely off guard. His harsh tyrannical march of conquest across Terra forced many beings from their homes lest they be crushed underhoof. After uniting with the Crystal Ponies, Zebras, Gryphons, Minotuars, dragons unaffiliated with DTT, and even... ugh... Changelings she set about organizing a form of Gorilla(*) warfare. To her dismay, even such brutal fighting tactics were insufficient. With a heavy heart, she called together all the mages, warlocks, witches, shamans, and medicine creatures to cast a grand trans-dimensional portal spell so that they might escape the Wrath of DTT.

But once again fate seemed to have a hit out on her, because DTT swooped in and disrupted the spell. Now not only did she not know what dimension she was in, but had none of her allies with her. Now she finds out not only is everything a ludicrously huge size, dark, and damp, but that apparently giant beings also lived here.

Rubbing her temples once again to help sooth the oncoming migraine, she spoke, "Captain Armor, please explain to me again where and how you found this."

"Private Toot-Sweet was investigating what Element Rarity identified as a giant washing machine. Upon closer inspection he found this underneath it."

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time, Celestia once again looked at the impossibility. Not the object itself though. Hair was something she was very familiar with, just ask her 5 hair stylists. Rather it was the size and nature of the hair that disturbed her. It was long and thick enough to be used as a heavy string or a light rope. And it exuded no mana whatsoever. 

When she first reached out to touch the mana streams here, she was surprised but not shocked to feel it was almost nonexistent. In fact, what she sensed was more along simple life-force than anything complex as magic. But this was a hair that should have at some point been apart of a living thing. There should have been SOME residue. Few things existed that could outlast their mana aura, and hair wasn't one of them.

With a polite cough, Shining Armor spoke, "Princess, regardless of the nature or its origin, this hair indicates the presences of a very large being. And based on the lack of mana involved with the machines over there, it is probably more technologically advanced in terms of clockwork and natural science."

"What makes you say that?" asked Celestia with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, the only way that machine could be powered without magic would be a complex assembly of gears. Given the apparent size and shape of the machine, coupled with the hollowed out space to put the laundry and pipes for getting water into and out of the machine the complexity and size of the gears far exceeds our own. And given that there is not apparent way to wind the machine up, I would assume that the power source is internal. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of perpetual energy system."

"Captain Armor, while your theory is as good as any theory we have at the moment, why do you assume these being or beings have created something that nopony has ever been able to achieve?"

"It's my job to assume the worst ma'm." Shining responded with a grim sort of smile.

A soft smile graced the diarch's lips. "Very well Captain. Now I must see to the safety and health of my subjects."

Returning to Serious Ruler of Ponies she added "Keep an eye out for this giant being. I do not want it getting anywhere near my little ponies. Though do try to be careful. It'd be better to have another ally than another enemy."

"Of course your majesty."

Turning to leave, Celestia called out to Shining Armor "And Captain?"

"Yes?"

"She'll be fine. Both of them."

A dark grimace overcomes Shining Armor.

"Of course, Princess."