//------------------------------// // Part 7 (Chapters 26-30) // Story: Techorse // by Spirals95 //------------------------------// Techorse By Spirals95 Chapter 26 Rainbow Dash and Techorse were flying overhead of Twilight and Pinkie Pie, looking around for the monstrous robot. A soft voice said to them, “There you are.” Fluttershy had caught up to them and was gently flapping her wings to stay with them. Rainbow Dash said to her, “Good, you’re back Fluttershy! We were getting a little worried.” Fluttershy said, “I can’t blame you. I feared the worst when we all got split up.” Techorse spoke to them both, “We need to find the human’s robot. He’ll be chasing Applejack.” Rainbow Dash scanned the city and said, “How hard could it be to find a 30 foot robot? Not many buildings here are that tall!” Fluttershy said, “Actually, I saw the machine over in that direction.” Techorse looked at her, “Ok, good, that helps us somewhat. I’m diving to tell the others.” Techorse banked hard right and flew down to Twilight and Pinkie Pie. “Hey!” he said, “Fluttershy’s back up here, and she says the human’s robot is over here to the right. We’re going to turn!” Pinkie Pie replied, “You got it!” She immediately turned 90 degrees without any loss of traction and zipped down the narrow road. Twilight was about to start panting, and her straight hair was starting to sog with sweat. “Wait up.” She said. Techorse wrapped his front hooves around her middle. “Hang on” he told her. He lifted her up just a little bit off the ground, and carried her at a good pace down the road. “Thanks.” She said, looking up. Techorse said, “No problem Twilight. You looked tired.” Now every pony of the team but Pinkie Pie was flying towards where Fluttershy had last spotted the robot. When they rounded the corner, they found the machine chasing Applejack and Rarity towards the weather factory. Rainbow Dash pointed and shouted, “Over there! He’s heading for the weather control station!” Twilight asked, “Will the human try to use the weather machines against us? Or worse, will he try to destroy it?” Techorse said, “I kind of doubt it. He probably has no clue how to operate that thing.” They all landed a couple of feet behind the machine and looked up at it. Schadenfreude was still trying to zap Rarity and Applejack, but was in frustration unable to get a hit. “Hold still!” he shouted. Twilight yelled, “Hey! Stop trying to blast them and pick on someone your own size.” The machine turned around to face them. “Maybe that was a bad idea, Twilight” said Fluttershy as she stared at the large cannons the machine possessed. Applejack and Rarity saw this diversion as an opportunity to run past the machine and join their friends. Schadenfreude waited for them to assemble, he could have simply fired, but he enjoyed a fair fight more than simply winning. He couldn’t laugh at the misfortune of his enemies if it was too quick. Rarity gasped for breath and said, “That…. miserable… fellow… made me run.” Applejack was also running out of breath, “I’m just glad y’all made it out ok.” Techorse shouted up at the towering machine, “So, which human are you? I forgot your name.” The general addressed them through the speakers, “I am general Schadenfreude, dumkoffs. I really enjoy watching my enemies fail like this. It makes me laugh.” He chuckled a bit over the microphone. He then continued, “Sory Techman, I just can’t get over how ridiculous you look!” He laughed again at his own joke. “Stop laughing at my friend!” said Rainbow Dash angrily. She flew forward and hit the robot hard in the chest, knocking it back a few feet as it stumbled to maintain balance. The general swatted at Rainbow Dash with his robot’s fist like she was a mosquito, but after missing a few times he stopped. “Anyvays” said Schadenfreude in his accent, “it’s just so funny you got turned into a pony. But I do envy you a little. After all, you do get to hang out with a bunch of naked women.” Fluttershy sort of blushed, she always forgot about that fact. The others expressions indicated their insult about the comment, including Techorse. But Rarity, really enjoying her new red dress, was extremely offended by the comment and said angrily, “Who are you calling naked, animal?” The general spat back, “Animal? I think you misunderstand me. I am ze human here, you are the little animals. Now then, I think I will laugh once I whisk you animals away with my cannons.” Schadenfreude charged up the arm-mounted beams and aimed them at the team members. “Scatter!” ordered Twilight. The ponies split up and started running in various directions. Techorse decided to stick to the ground to make the most out of his laser cannons. He ran around to the right side and hammered away at the machine’s arms with his guns. Schadenfreude frowned as the computer reported the lasers causing damage to the arm. He turned and put his machine’s foot down hard, attempting to squish Techorse. But in an act of bravery, Applejack pushed him out of the way. “Thanks for the save.” He said as he ran away. Applejack nodded and jumped in the air to grab onto the machine in any way possible. She tried to jump on the arm Techorse had just damaged, but the human grabbed her with the machine’s robotic fist. Applejack screamed in despair, “Shoot, he’s gonna squeeze the life outta me!” “Don’t worry, I won’t make you go from Applejack to Applesauce.” He said, “Too messy, I just had this thing cleaned.” He laughed and dropped Applejack hard on the ground. Rarity had used up all her diamond crystals and couldn't do much to assist Applejack. But she still wanted to cause a little harm for the naked comment, so she searched for anything made of precious materials inside the body of the machine with her magic. Rarity couldn’t find anything precious but saw the machine had something hidden behind the doors in its chest. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash continued to circle the robot’s canopy, trying to blind Schadenfreude with her rainbow-colored jetstream. “Out of the way, you annoying bug!” he shouted as he shot giant red beams randomly into the air. Eventually, Rainbow Dash landed perfectly on top of the canopy. “Try and squish me if I’m a bug.” She said while looking down at the man. “I’m not stupid enough to smash myself with my own robot.” He said, and then flicked her off with the robot’s hand. Twilight saw this as a chance to strike, and once Rainbow Dash cleared the area, she concentrated on the limb with her magic powers and made the arm fail and bash Schadenfreude’s cockpit anyway. The impact stunned the human, and he lost control, causing the machine to flail around wildly. “Look out, it’s going to fall!” shouted Applejack. But Schadenfreude regained control of the machine and said angrily, “this is far from being over, ponies.” He fired more teleporter blasts at them, but still couldn’t hit the mark. He was simply too large and too slow to do any good. Techorse fired another volley of lasers, this time he cut clean through the right arm on the robot, and the part fell off and landed on the clouds. The stump left on the mech leaked hydraulic fluid, and several exposed wires sparked and thrashed. “Warning, arm destroyed. Teleporter cannon inactive.” said the computer to Schadenfreude. “You sound like my mother in law” replied Schadenfreude. He still had the left arm and fist, and did what he could to try and brace himself to make his shots more accurate. But still, the ponies were simply too quick to be hit. Several large stone pillars around the area made good cover as well for the ponies. Fluttershy wanted to try to do something, but she simply hid behind one of the pillars, knowing she would probably lose if she did anything too brave. Pinkie Pie hopped up next to her and said, “Fluttershy, what are you doing behind here? We need you out there so we can stop the robot!” Fluttershy said, “Oh, there’s not much I could do against that big machine!” Pinkie Pie encouraged, “Come on, what about the human you beat early on?” “He didn’t have a giant scary robot!” said Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie scoffed at the comment, “It’s not so scary, see! Watch this!” Pinkie Pie ran around the pillar to try her luck against Schadenfreude. “Watch this. Famous last words” whispered Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie ran around to face the giant robot. Schadenfreude took notice of her and fired a beam at her direction. Pinkie Pie leapt out of the way with a little “eek” and returned to Fluttershy. She laughed and said to her friend, “Guess you were right, Fluttershy that was a bit frightening.” The beam had carved away the weak base of the stone column, and it fell over towards Schadenfreude. “Scheisse!” shouted the general as the stone column tore through his other arm at the joint, wrecking the other teleporter beam. “Arms destroyed. Switching to auxiliary weapons.” said the computer. Schadenfreude turned around and looked at Techorse and Twilight. “HA! Got you now” said Twilight, “you don’t have any more teleporter cannons. Surrender, Schadenfreude.” The general started laughing harder and harder. Techorse asked, “What’s so funny?” Twilight’s ears drooped, “He has more weapons.” “Quite right” replied the general. Panels on the front of the robot opened up to reveal 12 missile tubes. Pulling the trigger, the human launched a volley of six missiles at the friends. “I don’t understand!” wailed Rarity, running around to avoid the missile chasing her, “I thought you wanted to capture ponies, not blow us to pieces!” Schadenfreude said, “I’m bored, and I want to laugh at the results of these hitting you!” One missile started heading for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “Uh oh!” shouted Pinkie Pie, and the missile redirected towards her. Pinkie Pie ran off with the missile in pursuit. Fluttershy was met by Applejack. “Did you see that?” said Fluttershy. “Yeah” said Applejack, “the missile picked Pinkie Pie over you, even though it was chargin’ straight at ya.” Schadenfreude said out loud, “That’s because they’re sound-seeking missiles designed to track non-plain talk. Any surprise attracts them, they’re ze missiles that can smell fear!” Twilight Sparkle magically picked up a missile and smashed it into the ground to get it to detonate. Techorse shot down one of the projectiles with his laser cannons and said, “We’ve got to finish these off quickly!” Pinkie Pie ran by with the missile chasing after her still. “This is not good at all!” she said. Techorse aimed carefully and shot down that missile too. Pinkie Pie then said, “I’ve got to talk to this weirdo and make him stop, these missiles are no fun!” The general laughed at the funny sight of the ponies trying to get rid of all the projectiles before they hit. He kept launching the weapons, he was certain he had plenty of ammunition to handle seven ponies. It was then he noticed again a strange tapping on the glass canopy above him. Looking up, Schadenfreude saw Pinkie Pie above him. “Hi!” said Pinkie Pie, who was now standing on top of the machine. “Hey get off!” said Schadenfreude, reaching for the canopy button. Pinkie Pie laughed and giggled, “I haven’t gotten to see you up close yet! You’re a funny looking guy.” Schadenfreude found joy in Pinkie Pie’s beautiful laugh and said, “Oh, I really haven’t noticed you yet. I think I took maybe one shot at you.” Pinkie Pie said quickly, “Oooh, it looks neat in there with all those controls can I touch them I want to see them let me in let me in!” The general laughed happily and said, “You are so cute! Tell you what, I won’t blow you up. You can come back to Earth with me and be my personal pet! I’ll take good care of you and we’ll be good friends.” Pinkie Pie frowned and replied, “But I like it here on Equestria with my friends. Please stop firing these missiles at them, it’s no fun at all.” Schadenfreude said sternly, “You’re now my pet and property. I’m not listening to you.” The general was talking through the glass at Pinkie Pie, he didn’t want to activate the external speakers with those sound seeking missiles flying around. Pinkie Pie kept staring at the human and laughing at his funny expression, despite the risk to her own life. Schadenfreude whipped out a teleporter rifle and shot up at Pinkie Pie. The blast made the Plexiglas panel underneath her disappear, and she fell into the cockpit with him. “What’s Pinkie Pie doing?” asked Rarity. “I don’t know.” answered Twilight honestly, shooting down another missile with a pellet of energy from her horn. Pinkie Pie was sitting on the human and still giggling about his anger. Schadenfreude fired another volley of missiles, then went back to concentrate on getting Pinkie Pie off of him. “Get away from me, pony!” he screamed, “Get out now!” Pinkie Pie kept laughing hard about his German accent, finding it funny. “Only I, ze general, get to laugh at mistakes!” he said. In the struggle to get her off of him, he accidentally pushed the intercom button. Pinkie Pie’s unique and cheerful laugh was transmitted through the air. Instantly the missiles recognized the laughter and homed in on the location. Pinkie Pie looked out the plexiglass at the incoming projectiles, said, “Well, time to go!” and hopped out of the cockpit. Schadenfreude looked on in horror and screamed as the missiles impacted the speakers on the front of the robot. The others shut their eyes, certain they would see the general fragment horribly if they didn’t. But when they opened them back up, only the front of the robot had been destroyed. It was badly damaged by the blasts, the missile tubes had been destroyed, crumpled up like soda straws, but the rest of the machine was too heavily armored and the human had been protected. Schadenfreude opened his eyes and said, “I’m alive!” he started laughing again, but stopped when he realized something was wrong. The crystal around his neck was missing. Pinkie Pie returned to Techorse and handed him the necklace in her mouth. “Why thank you, Pinkie Pie!” he said out loud, making sure the human could hear. “Don’t you dare!” shrieked the general as loud as he could because his speakers were gone. Twilight cast a spell, and she and her friends without wings hooves flashed purple. “We won’t fall now.” she whispered to Techorse. Techorse turned to Pinkie and said, “Would you like to do the honors, Pinkie Pie?” She nodded, “Sure!” Pinkie Pie then nonchalantly jumped on the crystal and smashed it. Chapter 27 A red shockwave spread through the clouds, and the general screamed, “NOOOO!” as his robot fell through them, leaving a large hole. As the machine plummeted, he looked down at the computer display. “WARNING, EJECT! EJECT! EJECT!” screamed the computer. Schadenfreude looked blankly at the seven tiny ponies looking down the hole as the machine fell. When they were done looking and had left the hole, he hit the eject lever on his machine. What was left of the fiberglass canopy burst off with plastic explosives and Schadenfreude flew up with his jetpack towards the hole. He was not going to give up easily. The general made sure he brought his teleporter gun with him from the disabled robot, and wanted desperately to at least get Pinkie Pie for what she did to him. Back up on the clouds, the friends were facing away from the hole. “I don’t want to think about it.” Said Rarity, “but now I feel sorry for him. Such a dreadful way to go, falling like that.” Rainbow Dash looked at the building behind them, “At least he didn’t go in the weather control station. If he had messed with that he could've destroyed Cloudsdale.” “Thanks for the tip on revenge.” said a voice. “You’re welcome” replied Rainbow Dash dumbly as she spun around to look. Then it hit her. “Oh shoot, you’re still…” “Alive?” answered Schadenfreude. “It appears I am. But you won’t be for long.” Schadenfreude flew over on his jetpack into the weather control station. Twilight said, “We have to stop him before he does something dangerous or stupid. That little blue potion is our only chance.” The team ran into the control station and found the human banging on the control panels randomly, trying to sabotage the weather of the planet. He was still laughing maniacally as he attempted to form dangerous storms. “Knock it off, you have no idea what that stuff does!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Schadenfreude turned around and raised his teleporter gun, then fired it to silence her. Rainbow ducked the blast and looked back angrily. Schadenfreude then grew furious as Pinkie Pie entered the building. “You!” He shouted, “you’re coming with me!” “Never!” shouted Pinkie Pie, who then ran into an air duct on the ground. Schadenfreude tried to track her with the teleporter gun, but was interrupted by Applejack butting him with her head. He fell down to the ground for a moment, but was able to push Applejack away and fly straight up into the ventilation system on his jetpack. He punched through the metal grate and entered the boxy tunnels that connected the shafts. He heard Pinkie Pie’s laughter and followed it around inside the system. “We’ve got to do something before he nabs Pinkie Pie!” said Twilight. Eventually, Schadenfreude found Pinkie Pie and cornered her. She was trapped between him and a flexible metal tube leading downwards out of the ventilation system. Schadenfreude lifted Pinkie Pie up into the air by her neck and stuck the end of his rifle into her middle. “I should have done zis back in the robot.” He said as he prepared to squeeze the trigger. Pinkie Pie took action and bit him in the arm before he could shoot. In pain, Schadenfreude yelped and lost balance, and he fell down the flexible tube as he released the pony. While falling Schadenfreude reached up and grabbed Pinkie Pie by her hind legs, dragging her down the duct with him. She tried to grab onto the sides of the metal tube, and eventually stopped their fall right at a lip which separated the tube from a gigantic bell of glass the tube provided ventilation for. Fluttershy spotted the two dangling at the top of the oversized glass container and said, “look! There they are!” The team ran over and watched as they hung on, trying not to fall the good 30 feet tall the glass jar was. Pinkie Pie looked down at Schadenfreude hanging onto her legs. She tickled him with her tail, trying to get him to let go and fall into the pool of water at the bottom of the glass container. Pinkie Pie shouted up through the ventilation tubes, “Help, this guy won’t let go of me!” Schadenfreude said, “Of course I won’t. I’m going to teleport you and win this silly thing once and for all.” He reached for his gun. Rainbow Dash looked at the control panel in front of the glass container and said, “Hey! Maybe we can make some weather to help Pinkie Pie!” Techorse said, “Great idea! Make the most dangerous thing you can, and I’ll help Pinkie Pie out from there.” Rainbow Dash hit a button marked, “Tornado.” The water began to churn, and a dark funnel formed from it, reaching up. Schadenfreude looked down at it, then back at Pinkie Pie. She was wiggling too much to hit accurately with the gun. More importantly, it was obvious she was about to lose her grip. The human might not have weighed as much as the other humans, but he was at least twice as heavy as the smaller sized residents of Equestria. The tornado was completely formed and spun violently underneath the two. “That’s it guys!” laughed Pinkie Pie, “The weather’s looking great!” Once the tornado looked violent enough, Techorse ordered, “Kick him off, Pinkie!” Pinkie Pie said, “I want to jump in with him, it looks like too much fun!” She then looked back at Schadenfreude and said, “If you want me to be your pet, you gotta learn to like the things I like, including spinning things!” She then let go, and she and the general fell right into the tornado. “No, Pinkie Pie!” shouted Twilight. The tornado spun around the two and soon regurgitated Schadenfreude, who was thrown screaming through the glass. As the container broke, the water spilled everywhere, cutting the tornado’s fuel off. It slowly dissipated, and gently set Pinkie Pie down. Twilight asked, “Pinkie Pie, are you ok?” Pinkie shook her head to ease her dizziness and giggled, “Yeah, but my head’s all spinny again!” Rainbow Dash looked at the defeated human and announced “Looks like we just gave the human a spin cycle!” Schadenfreude groaned, attracting the attention of the team. He had had enough abuse, having been blown up and thrown through a three inch thick glass wall. The human took out the small bottle of blue fluid and unscrewed the cap. He laughed one more time weakly and said, “I resign.” And then he disappeared into a puff of smoke. The team celebrated their new victory over their enemy.. But then, Rainbow Dash interrupted, “What about the rest of Cloudsdale? Did they make it?” They walked back to where the platform was supposed to be docked. But it was strangely missing. “What happened to the platform?” asked Twilight Sparkle. Derpy Hooves reappeared on the scene and answered, “When the spell on the city was broken, the heavy door brought it down and it crashed. BOOM!” “Well, I guess that takes care of that thing.” Said Rarity. The surviving ponies had gathered around to congratulate the heroes for defeating Schadenfreude, including two of the Wonderbolts. Spitfire said to Rainbow Dash, “We managed to beat the last of the robots. But we lost Soarin’ to one.” Techorse said, “Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. That factory’s next on our list.” “We are ready to take on the factory, aren’t we? We’ll be there right after we stop at Canterlot to see princess Celestia.” said Twilight. “Besides, we may have taken losses, but this victory will motivate the others in the cities to fight for themselves.” added Applejack. “Congratulations, you saved my city!” interrupted a loud, hamming voice. Twilight and the others looked up to see the mayor descending to greet them. The crowd of ponies celebrating their victory stared at him angrily. The mayor stopped in front of Techorse and said to him, “Well, commander Techorse, you did such an excellent job helping out the city that I want you to be awarded the key to it!” “No thanks, I don’t take awards from cowards.” Said Techorse bitterly, “Your ‘elite force’ never showed up. We know you just used that as an excuse so you could flee, then come back later if we won and take the credit.” The mayor sweated and looked around nervously, knowing he had been caught. He then said, “Anyways, I wish you luck in taking out that factory.” Techorse answered, “I wish you luck too.” “What for?” asked the mayor. He answered with a smug look, “getting re-elected after this stunt.” The mayor looked at the angry faces of his people and knew he was in for it. He gave a nervous laugh. Chapter 28 The strategy table aboard the space station was getting eerily empty. Wizard put his hand over his eyes in a facepalm as he watched the figure of Schadenfreude dissolve away to nothing, along with every last robot figure on the map. In rage, Wizard flipped over the strategy table and reduced it to splinters with a magical explosion from his fingertips. “Forget a military takeover, I’m cutting straight to the heart of the issue.” he yelled. “I’ll make this planet’s ponies obey my every command once I’m done what I’m going to do!” He then angrily punched the communications disk behind him. Bossman appeared; who immediately turned pale at Wizard’s enraged expression. “Wizard, what a surprise!” he said nervously. “Can it!” shouted Wizard angrily, “as of now, it is only me, you, and Espion! Somehow the ponies in the sky city managed to beat the general!” Bossman protested with great fear, “It’s not my fault! Schadenfreude invented these robots, I just teleported them to him. It’s his fault for mismanaging them, I’m honest!” Wizard sighed, “I’m not blaming you, Bossman. You’re just a factory manager. What concerns me is that it is these same seven ponies who keep taking down my men. We can’t afford to mess around any longer, Bossman. So I’m prepared to do what it takes.” Bossman acknowledged the statement as an order, “Absolutely sir. I’ll have the factory retooled to produce nuclear warheads right away!” “Not that, you rockhead!” shouted Wizard, “I meant I was personally going to do something! What good’s having a planet if you nuke it into oblivion!?” Bossman apologized while visibly sweating, “Terribly sorry, Sir. I just thought we could speed up things a bit.” Wizard barked out, “Keep producing robots at maximum capacity. Push your machines to the limit and build up as many as possible. I want a full ground assault on every last city on this planet ready within 3 days.” Bossman protested, “But sir! The only way I’ll have enough robots is to send out a large portion of our reserves guarding the factory. If the ponies attack, it’ll be next to defenseless.” Wizard spoke angrily again, “The ponies won’t even think about attacking the factory after I do what I’m going to do.” Bossman asked, “Sorry for being a moron, but what is that exactly?” Wizard took a deep breath and replied, “It’s quite alright that you can’t read minds. I’ve learned through magical spying years before we started this operation that there’s nothing these ponies love more than their two precious leaders. These two have been using the thought energy generated by their subjects’ happiness to extend their lives greatly.” Bossman smiled and said, “Oh, you’re going to take down their chain of command to demoralize them. I’m not trying to kiss up here, but that’s a pretty good idea, Wizard.” Wizard continued with the explanation of his plan, “It’s a common tactic, but I like it. Once I deal with the rulers, these ponies will simply beg for mercy from me. To do so, I’ve detected with my powers a demonic manifestation of one of the leader’s hate living inside the planet’s moon. Based on their texts I’ve stolen, it will serve as my weapon to defeat them.” Bossman raised his hand and asked, “I hate to be rude and interrupt again, but if these leaders use magic energy from their subjects to stay alive, isn’t there a chance that they’d, you know, beat you?” Wizard said plainly, “I think you doubt me, Bossman. I’m not worried about losing to these mere horse-like creatures.” Wizard magically summoned a cup of water at the factory and dumped it over Bossman’s head. Bossman wiped off his head with a towel and said, “Well, at least you didn’t choke me.” Wizard gave him an evil smile, then chuckled and said, “Just keep the factory going you silly little manager.” Wizard turned off the device and stroked his goatee, contemplating shaving it due to the cliché look it gave him. Forgetting about his personal looks to concentrate on his plans, Wizard looked straight at Equestria’s moon and said, “Perhaps it’s time to pay the princesses a little visit, and bring back an old friend of theirs.” Wizard cackled at his joke, and then disappeared in a cloud of red smoke and flames. Pinkie Pie declared that the entire city of Cloudsdale should have one of her famous parties in celebration of their success. The residents agreed, and a party was thrown in honor of the seven friends who led them to victory. There was cake, music, and dancing across the entire city of Cloudsdale. Towards the end of the festivities, Twilight and Techorse were dancing together. She said to him, “You sure picked up on how to dance like a pony pretty quickly.” Techorse nodded and said, “It’s not too hard.” Twilight continued, “Listen, I really am having a good time at this party, but when are we going to go to Canterlot?” He answered, “You worry too much! The helicopter’s autopilot will take us to Canterlot after the party tonight. We can sleep onboard overnight, and start in Canterlot first thing in the morning.” Twilight said, “Ok. But we need to leave right away after this party.” Viynl Scratch, providing music for the event, called over the microphone, “Ok ponies, one last slow song for romance before we wrap this party up!” “Just relax and dance Twilight. Have a good time while you can.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched her two friends dance together and felt happy inside. Applejack approached her and said, “I’m real proud of you, Rainbow. You went from bein’ jealous of Twilight to being happy for her for findin’ love.” Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack, “You could tell too?” Applejack took a sip from a nearby drink and said, “Of course I can tell they love each other. They just get along so well.” “Oh my” said Fluttershy who was sitting near them, “do you think they’ll get married?” “Maybe someday” said Applejack, “but they’re still a little young for that.” The song was drawing to a close, and Techorse and Twilight Sparkle stared into each others eyes for a moment. They moved a little closer. Pinkie Pie took notice and said, “Come on! Do it! Kiss her!” But it never happened, something stopped them and they simply embraced and kept dancing. The song finished, and they let go of each other, then looked away with a touch of embarrassment. Applejack pointed this out, “See, Fluttershy, I don’t think anything’s gonna happen yet. They’re still thinking all this over.” “I see” said Fluttershy. Twilight said to Techorse, “Well, that was a great dance. But we have to go now.” “I agree” he replied, “we have yet another big day ahead of us.” The citizens of Cloudsdale lined up back at the port and watched as the friends piled into the helicopter to fly to Canterlot. They cheered and waved goodbye when the door shut and the machine flew off into the night. At the front of the helicopter, the seven watched out the front window at the darkened ground below. Rarity took notice of the sky and said, “Beautiful full moon tonight. Anyways, I’m going to get a head start on my beauty sleep, if there are any beds on this dusty helicopter” She took off her dress and folded it neatly, then stashed it in a cupboard on the side of the control room. Techorse told her, “There’s a bunch of beds in the back. This helicopter was originally designed to transport about two dozen humans, so there should be enough space for all of you.” Rarity nodded and headed back through the rear door. Applejack yawned, “I’m tuckered out too. I’m right with you Rarity.” She left as well. “Yeah.” said Rainbow Dash, “Guess I’ll go to bed too.” Fluttershy followed her out without saying a word. Techorse turned to Pinkie Pie and said, “Going to bed too, Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie nodded, “After that amazing party, I’d better! I don’t wanna be sleepy tomorrow when we see the princess! Wait for me, girls!” she bounced back out the open door. Twilight Sparkle shut the door, locked it, and stood next to Techorse. The colt had taken off his battle saddle and set it aside because the helicopter was flying on autopilot and he didn’t need his saddle to control the aircraft. “So” said Twilight smoothly, “now that they’re back there in bed, I think I can give you this.” She then shut her eyes and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Techorse turned and looked at her, “Thanks Twilight, but don’t you think the party was more romantic than this?” Techorse moved some of Twilight’s hair out of her eyes with his hoof. Twilight answered, “I didn’t want to embarrass us in front of the others. What would they say if they saw me kissing you?” Techorse replied, “I don’t really know. But they are your best friends Twilight, and mine too. I’m sure they’d understand.” Twilight turned for the door, looked back at Techorse, “I love you.” He smiled and replied, “I love you too, Twilight. Sleep well.” She opened the door and walked out to go to bed. Techorse shut the door behind her and returned to his command chair to rest. As he set the alarm on his helicopter, he thought to himself, “Oh yeah, life’s much better here than on Earth.” Chapter 29 Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting down in their thrones, thinking deeply about what was becoming of their kingdom. “I’m sure your team can stop this Wizard.” said Luna, trying to comfort her sister, “after all…” Celestia looked at Luna and said, “I know. But please don’t bring that up, dear sister.” Luna turned her head away and looked at the brick walls of the throne room. The guards, who normally always stood at their sides, had been called away by Captain Arbiter to guard the entire castle. Even though it was built into a cliff face, nobody was going to make it within 100 feet of the fortress on his watch. Trouble is, they never expected somebody to teleport in. Princess Celestia thought she heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the throne room. The room had a red carpet down the center, featured many gold decorations, had a large fireplace, and also featured a large bay window, where the light of the full moon shone through in a perfect illuminating beam. The noise started to grow deeper and louder. “Do you hear that?” she asked Luna. “No, I don’t think so.” was her response. But of course, something was wrong. A large plume of red smoke appeared with a percussive blast. Out of the smoke stepped Wizard, smiling gently. “Hello your majesties” said Wizard politely. Luna whispered to Celestia, “Should I call for the guards?” Celestia answered, “For their safety, no.” The princess then turned from her sister and addressed the human, “Ah, you must be Wizard.” Wizard answered, “That is correct!” Luna asked, “What do you want with us?” Wizard looked at a table next to him with a bottle of fine wine and some glasses. Using magic, he gingerly poured himself a tiny glass, and then brought the cup to his lips. He replaced the glass on the table after a quick sip and said gently, “Lovely night isn’t it? I come here for diplomacy. You see, the men who are capturing your ponies for money are being shipped back to Earth by your seven trusted students, Celestia. I come here to make a peace agreement to prevent any further problems.” Celestia gently told him, “Very well. Just leave for your planet and my ponies won’t have to take any more action.” Wizard smiled and replied, “That isn’t quite what I had in mind, princess. I have no intention of leaving myself, and in fact, I plan on staying here a long time.” Wizard sighed and continued, “I came to this planet to conquer it by force. But I’ve had a change in mind recently. It seems your ponies are quite capable of defending themselves, and I’d hate to let a bitter, long capturing war go on between them and me.” Celestia asked with suspicion, “So what do you want us to do?” Wizard put his hands together, touching the tips of his fingers to each other and said, “I’d love to allow you to keep your places as rulers of this planet. I wish to be a mere background controlling force. I don’t want my picture on posters scattered around your cities with the word ‘obey’ underneath it. That’s just a little too arrogant. No, instead, I just want to control most of the aspects of daily life to play with the planet’s ponies and their minds for my satisfaction.” “Never.” said Celestia sternly, “I will not allow that.” Wizard opened his arms and said, “But why not Celestia? What’s the difference between you and me?” Luna answered, “A lot. My sister and I do not control every part of our subject’s lives.” “And yet,” said Wizard, “you’ve remained alive nearly forever by feeding off of their happiness. It would be such a shame to you if they found out about that.” Celestia would not lose her temper at the human. She had to remain diplomatic at all costs. She said to him, “Wizard, our subjects give us energy by their own will. We give them freedoms and help to make sure they are happy with their lives. Because of that, life is a gift given to us by them as a sign of gratitude for our efforts.” Wizard said, “Yes, but your system of a constitutional monarchy doesn’t quite work with my system of a behind-the-scenes dictatorship. I’m offering you the chance to keep your power by becoming totalitarian leaders.” Celestia asked, “What if we say no?” Wizard’s hands started glowing. “I think three’s a crowd, normally. But I’m willing to make exceptions to keep my slaves docile.” “Slaves?” said Luna. She grew angry at the human and yelled, “You fiend! We are very kind to our subjects.” “Oh look who’s talking!” mocked Wizard, “The one who tried to plunge this planet into eternal darkness speaks a message of kindness.” Celestia lost it at these unkind words. “That’s behind us now!” she yelled, “Luna has changed!” “Oh really?” said Wizard, “I’m pretty sure her hatred has manifested itself somehow.” Luna said shakily, “That isn’t true. Help me Celestia.” Celestia stood closer to her sister and shouted, “You’ve made me mad, Wizard, something nearly impossible to do. You come in here after attacking my subjects, my children, and you insult my sister and call me a controlling mare, and you expect me to just turn over power to you?” Wizard laughed and said, “Looks like I hit your anger button really hard. Now make up your mind. Will you be keeping your thrones and making your people obey me, or will you force me to deal with you and take over Equestria anyways?” Celestia said slowly, “You will never be able to make the ponies happy. Your selfishness will be your downfall, and we will never turn over this planet to you!” Wizard’s hands started glowing a bright orange. Smiling evilly, he said, “As you wish, your majesty.” Wizard shot a large ray of pure orange destructive energy at Celestia from his hands. Celestia returned with her own pure white beam of energy from her horn. The beams met in the center of the room and illuminated it brightly. Outside, Captain Arbiter took notice of the event. “Something’s wrong, get to the throne room!” he yelled. The captain turned to Celestia’s two favorite guards and yelled, “Jools, Jops! Follow me!” The royal guards nodded and galloped off with their commander. The energy beams dueled in the center of the throne room, desperate to push the other one back into its owner. Wizard stepped closer to give his beam more power, and laughed as the cross of the beams got closer and closer to the princesses. “You will lose, Celestia!” said Wizard darkly. “Run, Luna!” cried Celestia to her sister. It was obvious that the beams were going to hit her sister, so Luna decided to bravely help out. “I shall not leave you!” she said. Luna fired her own black-colored ray from her horn and twisted it around Luna’s beam. The beam turned an even more intense white color with a black stripe down the middle. The crossbeam hovered for a minute, and then backed up quickly. “No!” shouted Wizard, “Impossible!” The beams impacted Wizard and sent him flying into the brick wall behind him. Celestia and Luna switched off their beams, certain they had vaporized the human. Instead, Wizard was imbedded in the brick wall like a cartoon character. “I can’t believe this.” He said as he fell out of the wall and onto the floor. Wizard, badly burned, thought now was the best time to bring his real plan into action. He crawled slowly forward and got on his knees just a little bit in front of the moonlit window. “Please, I didn’t mean it!” said Wizard, “I’m sorry!” Luna stepped forward into the moonlight, just like Wizard planned. “You'd better beg for mercy!” said Luna angrily. Celestia realized what was going on and said in a panic, “Luna, don’t! It’s a trick!” “Why Luna!” said Wizard with a scary grin on his face, “You seem a little angry. In fact, you sound hateful.” Luna looked at the full moon and realized what was going on, but it was far too late. Wizard stood up and shot a jagged orange beam which instantly shattered the glass window. The beam stretched faster than the speed of light, and struck the moon. Luna was bathed in a blast of red magical energy from the moon’s reaction to the spell. Wizard laughed heartily, “This is what happens when you disobey Wizard!” Luna began her transformation. She screamed in pain, not wanting to revert, but the demon had escaped from the moon and possessed her again. There was nothing she could do now but watch as she grew bigger and turned a darker and darker color. Eventually, the horrid transformation was complete as the escaped manifestation consumed Luna. The new Pegasus and unicorn pony had grown to Celestia’s size, was completely pitch black, and wore plates of armor. Wizard laughed and said, “The transformation is complete.” Celestia, weeping, asked, “What have you done?” Wizard replied, “Pardon the pun, but I believe I have brought back your worst nightmare.” It was true: Wizard had fused Luna with a manifestation of her old rivalry with Celestia. She was once more Nightmare Moon. This new evil mare turned to Wizard and said, “I am reborn. Together Wizard, we will squash the day and rule this planet!” Wizard climbed onto Nightmare Moon’s back. He pointed his right pointer finger at Celestia and said, “You should have taken my offer, Celestia. Now you will lose both your power and your subject’s happiness, as I am going to let Nightmare Moon keep the planet from turning! The sun will not rise again, Celestia!” Wizard and Nightmare Moon jumped out the window of the castle and flew away, just as Captain Arbiter and his stallions showed up. “STOP!” cried the Captain in the red Spartan helmet, but it was far too late to do anything. The guards stood still in utter sadness as they watched their leader cry about what had happened. Several miles away, Wizard and Nightmare Moon landed at the front of the mountain pass that needed to be crossed to reach the factory. Looking through the pass, Wizard dismounted and said, “Now that we are working together, I’d like to let you know now that you may keep this world in darkness as you have wished before. Soon, I will launch a massive robot attack to capture more ponies for the humans on Earth and squash Celestia forever. I only request you stay in this massive castle I am about to build, and protect the path to a vital factory producing said robots. If the seven ponies Celestia loves so dearly come by here, the castle’s traps will turn them into mince meat. But do not do anything dangerous. We’re only trying to starve Celestia of her power until I can launch my attack.” Nightmare Moon replied, “As long as this planet is in night, we will have complete power over it! But I don’t see how this castle is going to simply appear out of nowhere.” “Even you doubt my power.” he said with disappointment as he stretched out his arms and his hands began to glow a deep orange color. Immediately, chunks upon chunks of rock flew out from the mountains and began stacking up. Within the hour, a completely built castle was standing in front of them, at least 500 feet tall, and a kilometer across. The massive dark castle featured many pointy dark gothic-styled spires, and the roof was littered with catapults filled with greek fire generators. Wizard said to Nightmare Moon, “This planet’s rotation may be under your magic power, but never forget that I am the true master of magic in this universe.” Nightmare Moon stared at the massive fortress and said, “With this castle, I shall strike fear into the hearts of Celestia’s little ponies!” Wizard rolled his eyes and added with indifference, “Please, strike some sort of weapon into their hearts instead, it’ll be much easier for you.” He then thought of something, “But if you see a green one named ‘Techorse’, capture him and keep him alive for me. I wish to destroy him myself.” Nightmare Moon said to him, “Very well, Wizard. I would like to hear of how you disposed of him afterwards.” Wizard raised his hands to teleport himself back away to the space station. “Wait!” said Nightmare Moon. “What is it?” he asked. Nightmare Moon said, “I have but one weakness.” Wizard told her, “I am aware of the magical artifacts Celestia has created and their power. So, I have constructed an anti-magic shield generator system on the very top of the castle. If your safety is threatened by the ponies, retreat there inside the blue field orbs. It acts as a one way door for magical energy, letting it out, but not in. You will be invincible, Nightmare.” Wizard then raised his arm again and disappeared in a burst of red smoke, back to the space station. Nightmare Moon flew up to the top of her new castle and began to explore her new fortress. Chapter 30 The loud buzzer of the clock filled the cockpit of the helicopter. Techorse woke up and smashed the snooze button with a hoof. He placed his saddle back on and strapped it tightly. Then, he relaxed back in the command chair of the aircraft. Still a little sleepily, the green pony looked out the window and noticed it was still dark outside. Techorse looked at his alarm clock and read that it was 9:00 in the morning. “Shouldn’t the sun be out yet?” he said to himself. Techorse worked with his robot hands to manipulate the instruments found on the helicopter. The GPS said they were approaching Canterlot and should start to make their descent, and the trip had taken the correct amount of time. For safety, the helicopter had flown very slowly, it could have taken just 2 hours at max speed, but for fuel conservation the trip had been stretched out to 8 hours at 25% speed. Techorse made absolutely sure they were in the right spot on the computer screens, and then pushed some buttons to program a gentle landing near the city. He then went into the back of the aircraft to wake the others up. Techorse looked at his sleeping friends and pondered how he should go about waking up the ladies. Should he simply ring the alarm clock and risk a chewing out by Rarity for disturbing her? Or should he start with Fluttershy and gently work with her to shake the others awake? Techorse originally thought Applejack, being a farmer, would have woken up first. But because it was still dark outside for some reason and farmers tend to wake with the sun, she was still sound asleep on her cot. Techorse decided to just wait for the others to wake up on their own. “I’d better let them sleep.” He said quietly, then turned around to go back to the cockpit. Going back inside, he flicked a couple of switches to ease the helicopter down gently outside of the city. Eventually, the change in air pressure as the helicopter went down was enough of a disturbance to wake Pinkie Pie. She quickly bolted up from her bed and skipped her way into the command room. “Good morning Techie!” she said happily. After taking a look out the window she said in confusion, “or is it good night? How long did I sleep?” Techorse replied, “It is the morning Pinkie Pie. Something’s up with the environment, and I think it may have something to do with Wizard.” Pinkie Pie said in panic, “Hey, what if Wizard… oh no! I have to tell the others about this!” She immediately ran back into the sleeping quarters. Techorse heard her shout, “Wake up! Wake up!” over and over. Techorse lowered his head onto the control panel and said, “Well, that takes care of getting the others up.” Soon, Pinkie Pie had gathered the others to look out the front window. Rarity came in last with cucumber slices over her eyes. “What is going on, Pinkie Pie that you have to shock us awake like that?” she demanded. Pinkie Pie ate the cucumber slices off of Rarity’s face and said, “Look! It’s still dark out and it’s 9 in the morning! Something’s wrong, wrong, wrong!” Fluttershy said sleepily, “Please calm down.” Applejack said loudly, “I don’t like the looks of this. Are you sure it’s the mornin’?” Rainbow Dash added, “Maybe your clock’s just broken, Techorse.” Techorse insisted the machinery was working, “No, it’s not broken. The computer says we’re descending into Canterlot, and the time on the helicopter matches the time on my clock.” Twilight Sparkle said in fear, “I sure hope this isn’t what I think it might be. Techorse, doesn’t Wizard live in space?” He answered, “Yeah. He’s usually on the space station orbiting Equestria. Why do you ask?” A very worried Fluttershy said, “Twilight, you don’t think…” Twilight continued, “If Wizard could teleport that gigantic space station from across the galaxy to attack Equestria, what could possibly stop him from getting to the moon?” Rarity cried out, “He wouldn’t dare!” Techorse asked, “Dare what?” Twilight said to him, “He might release Nightmare Moon from her prison and use her against Equestria!” Techorse said, “From the prophecy? How did Wizard find out about that?” He then realized how it happened and said, “Aw crap! He was monitoring that hologram scanner the first time we used it! That’s how he found out: he was tapping into the computers that night at the castle.” “Well, no worries.” Said Rainbow Dash, “We just go get the elements of harmony from Celestia and beat her again. Easy!” Applejack said worriedly, “but knowing these darn humans, he’ll try and find a way to stop ‘em!” Techorse said to her, “You’re right. We’ll have to remain on our guard.” The helicopter touched down on the main road outside of the capital city. Canterlot featured a wide variety of buildings, some more modern looking, others reaching way back to medieval times. In the center up on the cliff face was Celestia’s castle, which overhung the entire city. But a cliff face, although hard to attack from the ground, was no match for teleport capable beings like Wizard, as the events of last night had proved. The bay doors on the helicopter opened up, and the seven stepped out into the dark, the only light coming from the street lamps and torches hung from the city walls. They were approached by Captain Arbiter, Jools, and Jops. Arbiter was Celestia’s new captain of the guard, a brutish but effect replacement for Shining, who had left with his wife to start his own castle several months ago. This new captain of the guard was much different from Jools and Jops, who might as well be twin brothers. Arbiter wore a red-plumed hat in addition to darker armor. He was a white coated stallion like a good number of the other guards, but wore an eyepatch over his left eye. There was an obvious dark red scar behind it, like some sort of claw had gouged out the organ. His “cutie mark” was a grizzly looking axe an executioner might use. “Come with us.” Said Arbiter gruffly, “the princess requires your presence immediately.” Techorse tried to follow them, but Jools and Jops blocked him off. “He’s with us” said Twilight. Captain Arbiter commanded, “Jops, Jools, I’m sure that’s the lad the princess was talking about. He matches her description of him, being green and brown-maned. Your name, foal?” “Techorse, sir. I assume you are princess Celestia’s general?” The Captain adjusted his red plumed helmet and answered, “Captain of the Royal Guard: Arbiter, actually.” He then said with some sarcasm, “I’m quite touched you thought I was a general. Come with us.” They followed the three stallions through the city to get to the castle. Techorse caught up and said, “So Twilight, this is your home city. It’s really a nice place.” Twilight replied, “Yeah, this is where I lived. I studied under the princess in that library building over there. It was great and all, but I’m very happy I moved to Ponyville and made friends.” Techorse said, “Well, do you ever miss living here?” “Sometimes” she replied, “but if I ever came back, I’d miss my friends even more.” Techorse continued looking around the city, at the various structures he had never seen before. After a long walk, they made it to the castle’s front gate. As the gates opened, the team was escorted into the castle, and the gates were shut again, a little harder than what Twilight remembered. Rarity said as she looked at the castle decorations, “We’ve only been here once or twice, Techorse. Take in the view while you can.” Fluttershy was looking around at the number of royal guards inside the castle. It seemed that security had really been ramped up recently. Fluttershy asked softly, “Excuse me, Captain, why are there so many of your stallions here tonight?” The Captain said angrily, “The princess will explain everything. I cannot answer your question.” “Ok, I can wait.” said Fluttershy in fear of the captain’s wrath. Rainbow Dash was busy trying to resist the urge to spread her wings indoors. But they were so stiff, she didn’t stretch them when she got out of the helicopter, and they were bugging her. Applejack still hadn’t taken off her hat indoors, which was probably annoying only Arbiter, Jools and Jops really didn’t care as much. They reached the throne room, and Arbiter stopped in front of the group. “Do not say anything until the princess tells you to.” He said viciously, “any words out of any of you before the princess asks, and I’ll have you arrested immediately!” Arbiter then opened the doors to the throne room, and walked in before Celestia. Bowing graciously, he said, “Your majesty, here are your team of seven ponies you have called me to get for you.” Celestia simply pointed Arbiter out the door with her front hoof. Arbiter finished his bow and backed away. The seven entered the room, followed behind by Jools and Jops. Twilight’s heart sank when she saw the princess. Her face was streamed with tears, and her multicolored mane hair no longer waved gently the way it used to, it was simply lying limp on her back, and it spilled onto the floor. She was sobbing, which filled the entire room with a dismal mood. Princess Celestia turned and looked at her team, and then hugged Twilight tightly. “Oh Twilight Sparkle...” she sobbed, “Thank goodness you’re here. Something terrible has happened. That demonic man Wizard has taken my sister and turned her evil again.” Twilight comforted her, “We’ll do whatever we can to stop him.” The princess then looked at Techorse and said, “It’s nice to see you in real life. Please, tell me more about yourself.” Techorse said, “Your majesty, I’ve told you everything I know about myself. I was one of the humans, but I had a change of heart. I really do want to help you beat Wizard once and for all.” Outside the throne room, Arbiter listened with anger in his heart. He thought to himself, “The green one’s actually a human inside? He can’t be trusted!” Arbiter burst through the door. “You’re under arrest, human!” he shouted. “Arbiter!” said Celestia in surprise, “what are you doing?” Arbiter explained himself, “If this pony is actually a human, then he cannot be trusted in the same room as you! We can’t tell if he’s loyal to you, or trying to get rid of you.” Techorse was fed up with Arbiter’s bullying. He said angrily, “Listen, Captain. You think I’m not loyal to the princess? Do you think I’m a scumbag human at heart?” Arbiter replied, “We have no way of telling if you’re for us or a spy for Wizard!” Applejack shouted, “Hey, Techorse has been helpin’ us the whole time and you’re trying to get him?” Arbiter ordered his two soldiers, “Seize him, stallions!” “Stand down!” ordered the princess. Jools and Jops obeyed her. She then said softly to Arbiter, “Listen, there’s been enough tragedy. I think Techorse deserves a chance. He seems like a nice young pony to me.” Arbiter said gruffly, “I still don’t see why I should trust the human.” Techorse said to him, “Because I’m your only chance, pal. Wizard did this because he spied on Twilight and me and learned about the elements of harmony. He probably has figured out a way to block them, and you’re going to need me to defeat that.” Techorse then turned to princess Celestia and said, “Princess Celestia, I will go with my friends and bring back your sister in her original form. I promise to return with Luna in one piece.” Arbiter asked, “What if you don’t?” Techorse said to him, “You can kill me personally, Arbiter.” Celestia wrapped a wing around Techorse and comforted him, “You don’t need to offer your life like that. Any effort you make to save my sister proves your loyalties, Techorse.” Arbiter turned around and left in rage. He still refused to believe that any human could be any good. Twilight Sparkle said, “Princess Celestia, shouldn’t we just get the element artifacts back out and find Nightmare Moon?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “We can do that Twilight, but we still have to find her. She could be anywhere right now.” Techorse said, “Not necessarily. It’s likely Wizard put down a fort of some kind to protect her from us. Now, if I was Wizard, I’d put a powerful magic user right where she would provide a lot of defense.” Twilight took the hint and said, “The mountain range between the factories! If we head there, I’m sure we’ll find Nightmare Moon.” Applejack said, “Good thinking, Twilight! Then when we’re done, we can go straight for the factory!” Pinkie Pie said, “Let’s make a plan then!” Twilight agreed and said, “We should take the helicopter to the mountain pass and find the fortress. Once we do, we can just walk up and use the elements of harmony once again to banish Nightmare Moon and save Luna.” Techorse sighed and said with disappointment, “The helicopter doesn’t have enough fuel for a return trip though, and refined oil is practically nonexistent on this planet.” Fluttershy added, “I think we can just walk the rest of the way. It hasn’t stopped us before.” Pinkie Pie agreed, “Fluttershy is right. We can’t just sit around all lazy because we don’t have a ride! We can make it on hoof.” Rarity moaned at the idea of messing up her hooves on the rocky mountain terrain. But finally she said, “Looks like we have our job cut out for us. Let’s go get the elements then." “Techorse thought about the elements and said, “Wait a minute. Princess Celestia, I need to know for sure if there really is a seventh element of harmony. If so, what is it?” The princess answered, “There is a seventh element, and I also know you definitely have this element as part of your character, Techorse. However, when I created the seventh element artifact, I used it once and then destroyed it, thinking I wouldn’t need it again. You’ll have to find a replacement artifact.” Techorse answered happily, “I’ll keep that in mind.” Celestia continued, “I’m sure you’ll feel more fulfilled if you figure out what the seventh element is on your own. It exists without the others, unlike magic, but it is powerless without them. That’s my hint to you, little one.” Techorse thanked her for the advice. The tall princess finished drying her tears and then took her team to the specialized vault. After unlocking the huge metal container, a small gem encrusted briefcase was taken out and placed before the princess. Inside were 6 crystals, almost like the ones the humans wore, each glowing a different color. Techorse asked politely, “I thought these were supposed to be artifacts of some kind. Why are they crystals?” Celestia answered, “For storage, the artifacts revert to a small crystal form when not in use. It makes them easy to carry.” Twilight noted, “Wait a minute, we’ve seen the humans wear crystals similar to the elements to channel Wizard’s magical power. The only human so far that didn’t have one is…” She looked back at Techorse, “You.” Rainbow Dash asked, “That’s right! Why didn’t you get one of those from Wizard?” Techorse replied, “He had an extra crystal for me, but it wouldn’t channel his magic energy. It just glowed some weird teal color and wouldn’t work.” Pinkie Pie asked rather loudly, “Hey! Will that make a replacement element?” Celestia smiled and answered, “I think it just might.” Twilight Sparkle carefully lifted the six crystals out of the briefcase. Techorse said, “If it’s ok with you, Twilight, I have compartment storage in the saddle to keep those crystals in. They’d be protected by a little bit of armor.” Twilight trusted him and replied, “Ok. It’s better than just carrying them around I guess.” Techorse opened up a compartment on top of the device and accepted the crystals. The lid clicked shut after each one had been carefully placed inside. Applejack said, “Well, I guess we’re all set. I reckon we’ll make good time to the mountain pass if we leave now.” Techorse turned to face the princess, “I will bring back princess Luna. You have my word.” Celestia patted Techorse on the head and said, “You keep repeating yourself. I know you’ll do fine, but if something happens, I won’t let Arbiter hurt you. Don’t take every last moment so seriously.” “Yes m’am!” replied Techorse. He then saluted her and walked out of the vault room. “Do you find him strange princess?” asked Twilight. “Not at all, Techorse is a good friend. Remember that he wasn’t a pony to start with. I’m sure that soon he’ll relax and learn he’s not my little soldier.” She then laughed at her joke and bid Twilight and her friends farewell. The team caught up with Techorse, who was walking out of the castle to make the journey back to the helicopter. Twilight trotted up alongside him, looked at the pony and smiled. Techorse looked at her while frowning and said, “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of the princess. It’s just that I find her a much better master than Wizard, and I wanted to let her know I enjoy serving under her.” Twilight assured him, “You didn’t embarrass me at all. After all, the princess doesn’t know about our relationship, and thinks we’re just acquaintances.” “What relationship?” asked Pinkie Pie, hopping alongside them. “Pinkie Pie!” shouted Twilight in annoyance, “stop eavesdropping!” Giggling, Pinkie Pie apologized and fell back to the others trailing behind them. “She’s going to tell the others, isn’t she?” said Techorse with worry. “If she did, I’d have to hurt her.” replied Twilight, “she once spent a long time following me just so she could stop me from telling others my friend’s secrets. She’d better keep ours.” Captain Arbiter watched from the castle walls at the leaving ponies. Standing at his sides were Jools and Jops. Arbiter’s black cape fluttered in the wind as he stared down, particularly at Techorse. “Set up my guillotine.” Ordered Arbiter, “If Techorse doesn’t return with Luna, I want his head.” Jools and Jops almost never talked, but this time, Jools had to protest. He said, “But sir, the princess banned every last form of capital punishment over 1000 years ago! If she finds out you kept one for yourself, who knows what she’ll do!” Jops added, “And if Techorse fails his mission, it’s very likely he won’t even return alive! Why risk punishment by breaking the princess’s most sacred rule?” Arbiter screamed at him, “I’m very well aware of what the princess ordered all those years ago, but I’m sure she’s forgotten her little edicts. Now follow my orders or it will be your heads instead!” The guards turned and left to follow the vile orders from their commander. Jops had half a mind to alert the princess to Arbiter’s evil plan to murder Techorse, but was too afraid of his commander to act now. “The poor foal’s on his own if he fails.” he thought sadly.