//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Princessnapping Robots! // Story: Dis Place Needs A Star! // by Northern Desert //------------------------------//         “Princess Twilight, did you ever imagine you and your friends would become such stars in the media?” one of the many interviewers asked the lavender alicorn.  “We’ve spoken with Discord on how this amazing story began with him...but what about you and your friends?”         Her friends and her had accepted to speak at a small convention in Vanhoover set up for actors of both the stage and the screen.  While they were still getting use to the idea of becoming famous after their wild adventure, it had come as a relaxing process that had allowed each of them to explore dreams they never thought possible.  And now the question of how it all happened had finally been asked, something that many had looked back on and smiled at the memories.         “Was our intention to aid in the beginning of a new entertainment system for our world?” Twilight giggled, recalling their earliest memories that had led them down this road.  “No, we were far too busy to think anything so profound would come out of our adventure.  But I won’t lie and say that I’m not happy about what has occurred from it!”         More of the interviewers raised their hooves/talons/claws/and hands as they wanted to press further on the questioning.  Her friend Fluttershy meeped at the attention, but looked around shyly until she saw a lone griffon in the crowd, attempting to ask a question herself, but was stopped by the hoard reporters, fans, and interviewers.         With a look of determination, she slowly aimed her hoof at the struggling griffon.  Upon seeing her friend’s action, Twilight beamed and increased the volume of her voice and called out to the crowd.         “May the griffon with the green highlighted feathers come forward and ask the next question?” Twilight encouraged, earning a grateful smile from yellow pegasus.         The griffon in question stepforward and coughed as she attempted to work with the mic, clearly nervous to be the center of attention.         “Um, I was wondering if you could maybe tell us the exact story of how it all began with you, considering Director Discord has already leaked some of the information on his beginnings out to the public,” the griffon asked nervously, somewhat worried that the question may have been to personal.  “If this is alright with my colleagues of course, I wouldn’t want for their questions to become stifled by this one…”         Various nods of agreement and encouraging words to the young griffon echoed throughout the room.  Twilight looked over to her friends, earning looks of approval from them, and turned back to the griffon.         “Well, it began on a peaceful day in a peaceful town…” The purple alicorn of magic was not having a decent day. It was actually very unpleasant considering what it was suppose to be built up to be.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, it was a perfect day for a picnic...or some other outside activity on such a beautiful day.         And then all Tartarus broke loose.         The area around the town was shaking violently, causing buildings to almost crumble and the items within them became dangerous obstacles for the ponies inside the building who were trying to get out of harm’s way.  Next of course were the stampeding ponies that could trample each other at any moment as they fled from any danger, and the mass influx of tourists didn’t make that issue any better. Twilight was quick along with her four other friends, one not being present during this trying time, to ensure a safe and organized movement to the center of town where the ponies were most safe.  Unfortunately for the heroines, this event was more than just an simple earthquake as they soon ran into the awakened thorny roots that had terrorized Ponyville not so long ago.  These new factors blended into an overall dangerous situation only that quickened the hurry to the center of town, unicorns using their magic to ward off the roots as pegasi and earth ponies scrambled to ensure that everyone was able to get out of the structures in town safely. “I thought we already deweeded these things!” a rainbow maned pegasus cried out in frustration, carrying an unconscious unicorn that had been knocked down by the encroaching vines.         “Apparently not,” a white unicorn replied, using her magic to crush one of the nearby vines with a piece of rubble.  “And it seems--” she stopped speaking as she leapt away from one of the roots slamming down where she originally was, “--they’re more persistent than last time.”         Several ponies were attempting to move food and valuables towards a safer location, worried that they would lose too much to this catastrophe.  Recent museums and scientific buildings had moved to Ponyville due to the safety it presented with the presence of the heroic Princess of Magic.  Twilight herself was mere inches away from her friends, creating a magical fire to prevent many of the Everfree’s growth from swarming the outnumbered equines. “That’s everyone!” Applejack shouted, the orange earth pony leaping over one of the lower parts of the magical flames.  “Raise the fire as high as you can, sugarcube!” “Got it,” the alicorn shouted back, igniting her horn and creating a more defensive fire.  “We need to find a safer destination for everypony. The museum was built to handle earthquakes and it’s right next to the town square. See if you can get something set up, Rainbow!”   The pegasus had moved the downed unicorn to a safe location and gave a curt nod to her friend, speeding off to make sure they could stow everypony in the more secure building.  As the rest of the equines started to depart from the protective flames, Twilight found herself straining to hold the shield around the other sides of town that the vines could come through.   Finally realizing that holding the shields would no longer prove useful and that everypony had made it through to the center of town, she lowered to powerful shield and was relieved from some magical induced stress.  He head swarmed with the possibilities of this event occurring again, worried that something had either reawakened the plunder seeds in the Everfree, or that something was wrong with the Elements.   Either way, what mattered right now was sending requests to Canterlot for the Royal Guard’s assistance.  Unfortunately, Celestia and Luna were absent, which left Canterlot’s most powerful resources absent...and the guard themselves would take time to mobilize, if they could actually organize into an effective rescue force. Faith in them was at an all time low due to Tirek’s seemingly unchallenged crusade upon Equestria. However, upon reaching the town square Twilight found herself confronted with a large mass of equines attempting to find the safest location to settle down in.  Her heart strained at the sight of terrified and hurt ponies, all unsure of their future with another disaster hitting their homes.  Looking around the crowd, she found Pinkie Pie bouncing in worry as she entered the museum.         “Let’s head to the museum and see what we can do…” Twilight sighed, her eyes strained and her head pounding due to magic exhaustion, earning some worried looks from Rarity and Applejack. “Ah think you need some rest,” Applejack replied, looking at the alicorn and the stumbling of her tired legs. “Let’s get her inside before the poor dear drops from exhaustion,” Rarity said quickly, propping her lavender friend straight up and helping the weakened alicorn move through the crowd and into the museum.  “It’s over here I believe…” As they entered the building, the could see their friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash moving crates of invaluable artifacts at the direction of a dark yellow pegasus with a vest and hat.  A purple dragon was seen sending messages in the back with his magical fire, frantically writing letters for immediate help while Pinkie Pie hopped in a nervous state.         “Um...right over here,” the yellow pegasus asked shyly as the pegasus directing her and her friend was looking inside the crates.         “That’s perfect, Miss Shy,” the pony replied as she looked over to see where the crate was being placed.  “Only a few more to go and we should have enough room for everypony and then some!”         “Thanks for getting this place tidied up for us, Daring,” Twilight croaked upon her and her friends entering, earning an understanding nod from the explorer.         “It’s the least I can do,” Daring Do said sternly, giving a curious glance at the outside to see what else was happening.  “Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Spike did most of the work once I found the best way for us to have room...how’s it looking out there?”         “It could be better,” Applejack grunted, giving a sideway glance as she saw her family tucked in the crowd.  “Hopefully the guard can get here quickly and help us out...but we have no idea on how we can stop the plunder seeds this time.”         “Wasn’t it because of the Tree of Harmony dieing that these things came around last time?” Spike questioned, remembering clearly how the last time this issue had played out.  “Could the Elements be in danger or something?”         His question probably addressed the most worrisome source behind this sudden event, but they had hoped that it would be caused by something else.         “When Princess Celestia and Luna get back, I’m sure we can work this out and find a way--” While Twilight was attempting to reassure everyone a bright and yellow light took hold over the multiple skeletal bodies of various creatures.         They shook and broke out of their glass cases and swirled around, bones flung around the room as specific ones stood above the ground hovering, each from some species.  As they hovered in the air, the equines and the dragon took a step back as a magical energy soon wrapped itself around the bones, golden flames soon blazing over these artifacts.         As the light show ended, what stood before them was the familiar draconequus whose antics were known to cause strife and trouble.  Looking around to see all the ponies staring at him with shock and disbelief, he looked over and rushed towards Twilight who was probably the most confused one there.         “Discord!?!” The purple alicorn asked, unsure of what brought the Spirit of Chaos to the town.  “What are you doing here--”         She was cut off as Discord gave the alicorn a crushing hug, and looked up at the ceiling dramatically.  “It’s awful, just awful!” Discord said mournfully, earning a few raised eyebrows on exactly what the draconequus was babbling about.  “There’s a problem that I have and I just couldn’t think about who to ask for help!”         “We’re kinda in the middle of our own crisis,” Rainbow Dash snapped, hovering next to the draconequus.  She grabbed the sides of Discord’s head and turned it over to the front of the museum where the havoc of the encroaching forest growth was evident.  “So I don’t think your problems are our top priority right now.”         “That’s just the tip of the iceberg you silly pigeon!” Discord cried out, grabbing Rainbow from the air and shaking her violently.  “THIS IS EVEN WORSE!”         “What are you going on about?” Rarity groaned, putting her hoof over her tired face at the odd creature’s actions.  “We’ve got an invasion of violent plants and earthquakes tearing apart Ponyville, so instead of just shouting what’s wrong why don’t you just tell us!?!”         Discord dropped the cyan pegasus onto the ground, her body vibrating so much that she actually went through the ground and created a mini hole in the floor.   He whipped out a tv remote and snapped his fingers to summon a tv, all the while Pinkie Pie eyed the draconequus with a look of suspicion. “What’s that?” Applejack questioned, seeing the draconequus flipped through the channels on the box. “It’s called a tv,” Rarity replied, giving a look of interest as well.  “Griffon invention, apparently it’s powered by magic and projects the actions of a camera to the screen...but why are we being shown this, Discord?”         “Uhhhhh, Ah!” Discord cried out, finally reaching the correct channel.  “Watch this, it’s...it’s not good.”         Cheery music emanated from the sound system and the screen lit up with the logo ‘MTT Tv!’.  The equines and dragon tilted their head to the side, confused and interested in exactly what Discord was trying to show them.  A shift in the screen soon moved to some kind of meeting room, with a broken oaken and round table in the background, splinters littered everywhere.         “HELLO THERE ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!” a robotic voice boomed from the television, causing some of the ponies to take a step back.           “WELCOME TO MTT TV.  YOUR HOST METTATON HERE, AND OH BOY DO WE HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU!” A metal rectangle rolled onto the stage, yellow and orange squares flashed on the front of the rectangle as one of the two arms held a microphone.           “This is when you first meet the famous Mettaton?” one of the ponies in the crowd asked, for origin stories around the strange robot had been rare and had not been given official support.         “Yes, he was...the worst person I could have ever had the pleasure of meeting,” Twilight said, earning some gasps and surprised looks from the crowd.  She in return laughed at their shock and decided to explain what she was exactly saying.         “While Mettaton and I have no qualms with each other and we even see each other as friends...the beginning of our relationship with him was a little more complicated,” The alicorn chuckled, reminding herself that she would need to hit the robot upside the head for all the stuff he had put them though.  “For as Discord explained a few weeks ago, Mettaton’s purpose was not to entertain...but to pose as an actual villain that we would have to worry about...let me tell you exactly how that went.”         “Who’s this weirdo?” Daring Do questioned, picking up the shattered pieces of bone and glass.  “And why is this so important?”         Discord simply hushed the explorer and kept his focus on the television.  The metal creature gave a small wave to the invisible audience on the other side of the screen before continuing his show.           “WE ARE CURRENTLY LIVE AT CANINADA’S INTERNATIONAL MEETING PLACE WHERE DECISIONS WERE UNDERWAY FOR A NEW GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM FOR THE NATION!” Mettaton cried out with excitement, motioning for the cameraman to move the camera over to his side.         What the Equestrians saw took the breath out of them.  For in strange clear glass bubbles was the many rulers and governmental officials of the various kingdoms, including Celestia, Luna, and Cadence.  The ponies and dragon gaped at the sight before them, their leaders captured and clearly tired for these turn of events.         “NOW I KNOW THIS LOOKS ALARMING, BUT DO NOT FRETE DARLINGS!” the metal rectangle said, his robotic voice filled with joy.  “FOR THESE FINE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ARE FINE...FOR NOW AT LEAST!  UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE LESS THAN WILLING TO GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!”         “Why that little--” Rainbow Dash snarled, stopping herself from releasing the tidal wave of less than pleasant words about the robot.  “--who does this freak think he is, kidnapping the princesses like that!?!”         “BUT AS I SAID, DO NOT FEAR FOR THEM BECAUSE I HAVE REACHED A REASONABLE SOLUTION!”  Metton reassured, wagging a finger at the camera.  “FOR AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE MISSING ONE OF THE HIPPEST MEMBERS OF THE ALICORN FAMILY!”         “Oh no…” Twilight groaned, having a bad feeling on where this was heading.         “WHICH IS WHY I WANT HER TO CALL US AT 1-800-SAVEYOURPRINCESSESNOW!” Mettaton readout a small piece of paper and dragged a table with a telephone next to him.  “WE’LL WAIT ABOUT...80 SECONDS, OR THE PRINCESSES AND THEIR COLLEAGUES WILL HAVE AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE!”         A timer popped up on the screen and counted down as the maniacal robot waited patiently for the fourth alicorn to make her call.  Celestia and Luna could be seen shouting at Mettaton along with some other kings and queens, but the bubbles must have cut the sound off.         Twilight at this point started to freak out.  She looked left in right and danced on her hoof tips, frantically trying to find a phone.  Discord snap his fingers quickly and handed Twilight a phone, worry plastered on his muzzle.  His face only further unsettled the lavender pony, knowing that this was something much more serious than the robot’s cheery tone let it off to be.         Dialing the numbers with her magic, the ringing noise echoed throughout the museum.  Mettaton was looking at a wristwatch before the phone next to him rung, his yellow and orange tiled face flashed happily and grabbed the ringing phone and put Twilight on speaker.         “PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, I AM SOOOOO HONORED TO SEE THAT YOU CALLED!” Mettaton cheered, his roller leaning him from side to side.           “What do you want...Mettaton, right?” Twilight Sparkle asked, her voice strained at the sight of her fellow princesses trapped.  “Why are you doing this? Are you so cruel as to hurt people who are only trying to help others!?!”         “NOW NOW, PRINCESS, THIS ISN’T PERSONAL.  IT’S SHOW BUSINESS, SO DON’T READ TOO MUCH INTO THIS!” the metal rectangle replied, giving a friendly wave to the camera as he reassured the audience.  “EVERY SHOW NEEDS A PLOT TO IT, AND WHAT BETTER PLOT THAN RESCUING CAPTURED PRINCESSES!?!”         “This isn’t a game Mettaton!” Twilight growled, magic sparking from her horn.  “Ponyville is in deep trouble and we need all the help--”         “AH YES, THOSE PLUNDER SEEDS CAUSING YOU TROUBLE!?!” Mettaton questioned, giving off a smug expression.  “THAT’S PROBABLY BECAUSE I TOOK...THESE!”         The robot then held up a glowing star shaped object, the Element of Magic to be precise.  Rainbow Dash choked in rage, Applejack snarled at the robot’s theft, and the others simply glared at the screen. “The Elements aren’t toys, Mettaton...you have to give them back!” Twilight pleaded, now knowing the source of their problems her discomfort with talking to the robot only increased. “TSK TSK, NOW IT WOULDN’T BE A VERY INTERESTING SHOW IF I JUST GAVE THEM TO YOU!” Mettaton lectured, putting the Element of Harmony away.  “NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY, BECAUSE I’M ONLY GOING OVER THIS ONCE!” Mettaton pulled out a map of the various kingdoms, taking out a pointer and hitting the Griffonstone with the metal pole.   “I’VE HIDDEN THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ALL OVER THE GLOBE IN THE HANDS OF MY MOST TRUSTED ACTORS!”  Mettaton informed, tapping Griffonstone on the map.  “LOYALTY AND LAUGHTER IS IN GRIFFONSTONE--” the metal rod then went to Zebrica, more specifically was the city of Zebodia, “GENEROSITY AND HONESTY PRESIDE IN ZEBODIA--” the rod then hit the capital of Caninadia, Labrador, “AND KINDNESS AND MAGIC ARE SITTING NICE AND COMFORTABLE IN LABRADOR WITH ME!”         Twilight gave those around her a bewildered look, earning similar expressions of confusion.  She then chose to speak to the robot again.         “You want us to go on some world adventure to find the missing Elements and...save the princesses?” Twilight asked hesitantly, most of their enemies came to them.  They would stomp around Equestria and they would fight them on their home turf...but this was much different.         “PRECISELY DARLING!” Mettaton said, giving a small applaud to Twilight’s deduction.  Whether or not it was legitimate praise or sarcasm was unknown to most.  “AND TO MAKE THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE INTERESTING, YOU’RE GOING TO PARTAKE IN A LITTLE QUIZ SHOW!”         This was what had pushed Rainbow Dash over the edge, and the Rainbow maned pegasus snatched the phone from Twilight’s magic aura.  Ready to give Mettaton a piece of her mind.         “You listen here you bucket of bolts,” Rainbow Dash snarled, her wings flapping in rage as she told off the robot.  “We’re not going to play your stupid games and we’re not going to go on some grand quest for your stupid show!  I’m gonna fly over there and turn you into scrap metal, you got that!?!”         The rectangular menace went silent at Rainbow’s outburst, leaving the other Equestrians confused on whether he was spooked or dumbfounded by the threats.         “OH MY...THIS WILL NOT DO AT ALL!” Mettaton said unhappily, his small squared face turning a bright read and he shot an electric bolt to Celestia’s bubble, shocking the alicorn and clearly hurting the princess of the sun.         Rainbow Dash dropped the phone in surprise at the sudden attack, Twilight barely managing to catch it with her magic.  Giving an angry look to the surprisingly silent pegasus.  She shook her head and tried to reason with the robotic villain.         “He electrocuted her!?!” a dragon balked. The mere thought of the tv star walking up to the princess of the sun and kidnapping her seemed extremely weird, considering Mettaton’s attitude today.         “Well, I think we can all agree that he was a bit...eccentric back then,” Rarity coughed, remembering the barbaric tactics the robot had taken in order to get everyone to play along with his show.  “But he’s been pardon of all crimes...well almost all of them.”         “What Rarity is trying to say is that all of that is in the past,” Twilight chuckled, although that particular incident was hard for Celestia to forgive.  “But he wasn’t so bad at that moment…okay, he was completely awful. He kidnapped and held hostage multiple rulers and wasn’t exactly one to care about their discomfort.”                  “What game do you want to play, Mettaton?” Twilight gulped, looking at her injured mentor and motherly figure.         “OH...A QUIZ SHOW, WHERE I TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE!” Mettaton replied, he himself sounded shaken.  Why he would be seemed to peak Twilight’s interest.  “I WILL ASK YOU THREE QUESTIONS, IF YOU GET THEM RIGHT YOU WILL GET A PRIZE!  BUT IF YOU GET IT WRONG...WELL YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED.”         “Of course, what is the first question?” Twilight asked, looking at her friends who gave her looks of encouragement.         “WHERE ARE THE ELEMENTS OF GENEROSITY AND HONESTY LOCATED, YOU HAVE FIFTEEN SECONDS DARLING!” Mettaton asked, deciding to start off easy with this one.         Twilight’s mind went blank at the robot’s question, the stress of what was happening and what was on the line had shaken the alicorn.  She saw the counter going down and desperately tried to clear her mind and think of the answer, but from behind the tv she saw something that caught her interest.         Discord was holding up a sign with the name ‘Zebodia’ and kept giving the princess a nervous smile and a thumbs up.         “Zebodia!” Twilight said quickly, thankful that Discord could at least hold himself in such a terrifying situation.         A sound of applauds followed by the timer going down, Mettaton looking as happy as ever when the green line seemed to spike at Twilight’s correct answer.         “VERY GOOD!  BUT HERE’S YOUR NEXT QUESTION,” Mettaton exclaimed, pulling another piece of paper.  “WHAT ARE CELESTIA AND LUNA’S PARENTS’ NAMES?  IS IT: STELLAR AND SUNSHINE, SOLARUS AND ECLIPSE, OR STEVEN AND SAMANTHA?”         Twilight nearly choked at the question, and her former mentor gave the robot a look of both a surprised and impressed look that it had managed to dig up that information.         “Ummmm….” the young alicorn said hesitantly, once again seeing Discord signal the possible answer.  “Steven and Samantha?”         “CORRECT!” Mettaton proclaimed, tossing the piece of paper away.  “ALTHOUGH IT REALLY BRINGS UP THE QUESTION ON WHY PONY NAMES GOT SO COMPLICATED!”         “ANYWAYS, ONTO THE FINAL QUESTION!” Mettaton said happily, a crowd of applauds coming from the television.  “LET’S SEE IF THE AUDIENCE CAN ALSO ANSWER THIS!?!  WHAT IS...THE AIRSPEED VELOCITY OF AN UNLADEN SWALLOW!?!”                 The whole room went silent at this question.  Everyone, even Discord, could not come off with an answer off the top of their heads.  However, if there was one thing Discord knew how to do, it was making people look worse than they actually were.  And how better to do that then to stump the questioner? “African or European!?!” Discord called out, causing Mettaton’s music to go silent.  The rise in ratings also halted, the viewership ratings would look grim if the robot could not turn this around.         “CONGRATULATIONS PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Mettaton clapped frantically, his happy music once again playing to bring up the spirits of the audience.  “FOR YOU HAVE FOUND MY HIDDEN LOOPHOLE IN A NIGH-IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION, CHALLENGING THE QUESTION ITSELF!  AN AUDIENCE HAS YET TO EXPERIENCE SUCH A TWIST, RIVETING ISN’T IT!?!”           With his explanation given, the viewership soon climbed back up from its originally numbers.  Giving a sigh of relief, the robotic star decided that now was probably the best time to end his show.         “WELL WITH THIS EPISODE OVER, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE ALL OF YOU NEXT TIME!” Mettaton yelled, lifting up one of his hands and a flash of brilliant lights colored the room around him as a disco ball brought a rainbow color to the room.  “WILL PRINCESS TWILIGHT AND HER FRIENDS RESCUE THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD!?!  WE’LL SEE NEXT TIME ON MTT TV!”         The show then ended with a catchy outro and some credits to all of the production cast.  Twilight and everyone else in the room remained silent, bewildered at what they had just experienced and witnessed.  Then, after all had been processed on what the hell had actually happened, Twilight Sparkle fainted.