Techorse

by Spirals95

Part 6 (chapters 22-25)

Techorse

By Spirals95

Chapter 22

The helicopter touched down on a concrete landing zone built on the top of a large cloud structure. The blades came to a complete stop, and the ponies manning the zone had good reasons to be suspicious of the craft. After all, this was human technology they were looking at, and it could be dangerous. One of the Pegasus inspectors flew over to the helicopter and tapped gently on the glass.

“This is one of those metal contraptions brought by the invaders.” He said. The doors on the helicopter opened up, and to the team’s shock, the port authorities were about to attack them.

“Hey! Relax; it’s me, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow said to the startled inspectors.

The foreman of the group said, “Alright, it’s some of ours. Although I don’t see how those earth ponies are going to walk up here.” Techorse deployed his turbofans and lifted out of the helicopter. He hovered in front of the inspectors, who were awed at the sight of the contraption on his back.

Techorse said to them, “Ok, I’m going to make this quick and serious. The clouds of your city are perfectly safe to walk on now due to that giant metal platform approaching the city. One of the invaders on the platform has cursed the city so he and his robots can walk on it.”

“We’ve heard about the invaders, and their machines” said the foreman, “and we’re not worried about them.” Twilight stepped off the helicopter and onto the clouds.

She warned the foreman, “Those robots are more dangerous than you think. Haven’t you heard about what happened to Ponyville yet? Just six robots took away nearly a third of the town’s ponies in a few hours.”

“So?” asked the foreman rudely.

“So...” finished Applejack, “Imagine what a whole dang army’s gonna do to you.”

Many of the inspectors were still trying to get over the fact that ground dwellers could walk on the clouds without any problems. But when Fluttershy stepped off the helicopter, they dropped the subject and greeted her.

“Hello Miss Fluttershy. Great to have you back in Cloudsdale.”

Fluttershy answered, “It’s good to be back, but I won’t be staying for very long.”

“That’s ok” said the foreman, “we know how much you love the animals on the ground. They are mighty cute.”

Pinkie Pie bounded off next, sniffed the fresh air, and shouted, “Hello!” The foreman’s team started giggling.

“What’s wrong?” asked Pinkie Pie.

The foreman started chuckling and answered, “How could we forget the visitor who drank that concentrated rainbow fluid? It was hilarious!”

Pinkie Pie remembered all the ill effects the concentrated colored liquid had given her, and then started laughing. “It was pretty funny I guess. That’s what I get for not reading warnings!” Rarity was the last to exit the helicopter, and she gently dropped out of the bay.

“Finally, it’s good to be here without any threat of falling to our dooms.” The foreman replied, “Oh yeah, I remember what happened with you. Don’t try anything fancy again, ok?” Rarity frowned as she thought about what had happened last time she visited, when her vanity got the best of her again.

“Ok” said Twilight Sparkle to the inspector with a serious voice, “now that you’ve reminded us of all the mistakes we’ve made, can we please get to the point and warn the town? This place is going to be under attack soon, and we’re wasting time!”

Techorse turned to the inspector and said, “She’s right. Warn every last Pegasus here that the invader’s machines are coming. If we work quickly enough, we can prevent the capture of your town’s people.”

The foreman said with frustration, “Look pal, I told you, we have it under control. These so called robots are no match for us.”

Techorse landed and said to Twilight, “They’re not going to listen, so it looks like it’s up to us again.” Twilight nodded in response. The inspectors said goodbye, and then they left to go find other incoming visitors.

Rainbow Dash threw up her hooves and said, “Well, we’re toast. I guess we could fly around screaming at everypony there’s trouble coming, but then we’d just look crazy!”

Fluttershy suggested, “Maybe if we just go tell the mayor, he or she would warn the city.”

“That’s a wonderful idea” said Rarity, “I’m sure the mayor would listen to us better than those colts.”

Twilight said, “Alright, it’s settled then. We’ll go ask the mayor for help, and then finish the human. If everything goes well, we shouldn’t lose many citizens to the robots.”

Applejack moved her tail around a bit and asked nervously, “What if the mayor doesn’t listen? Are we done for?”

Techorse answered, “No Applejack. If most of the Pegasus ponies here are anything like Rainbow Dash, they will fight back. But the city will be absolutely devastated in the battle. That would look very bad on my report when we get to Canterlot.”

Pinkie Pie asked, “So, who’s going to go see the mayor? All of us?”

Rarity answered, “I say we split up. Techorse needs to survey the city in case we need a battle plan.”

Rainbow Dash saw her chance, “I’ll give him the tour! Twilight, you and the others go to the mayor.”

“Ok then.” said Twilight. The team split up to go their separate ways.

Rainbow Dash took Techorse around on a tour of the floating city. The first building she pointed out was the weather production and control facility.

“This building over here is where most of the clouds and weather effects are made for Equestria.” said Rainbow, pointing to the large structure.

Techorse replied, “Alright, although I don’t think it will be a primary target. Remember that the humans are out to capture ponies, not to completely destroy the planet. Controlling the weather’s great and all, but Wizard would find it useless in his grand schemes.”

“Ok” said Rainbow Dash, not really understanding Techorse’s battle talk.

“What I need to see, Rainbow Dash, are the buildings you live in around here. I need to be able to know how we’re going to pull off defense of those. Once the robots arrive, they’re going straight for the homes.”

“Ok. I can show you the houses and skyscrapers.” She led Techorse around the city, showing him the various buildings and attractions that Cloudsdale had to offer.

Techorse said in wonder at the floating city, “There really is nothing like this back on Earth. Humans have no wings, so we can’t build up here like this.”

Rainbow Dash asked, “Is life really boring there?”

“Well, I guess after seeing everything here, it just seems that way. Just how unique this city is makes me want to fight even harder to protect it.” he replied.

Rainbow tried to change the subject and said, “We can save this city. We Pegasus ponies are ready for anything, even robots!”

Techorse caught the non-sequitor and said, “Rainbow Dash, is something bothering you?”

“No” she lied. She then said, “Let me go ahead and look for the next important thing for you to see.” She disappeared around a corner in an instant.

Techorse thought, “She’s acting really strange. But it’s probably just nervousness about the incoming army. She’ll get better.”

Rainbow Dash then came back from around the corner and said, “Ok Techorse, let’s go. I found the next building for you.”

“Alright” said Techorse. They walked around the corner of the cloud building and found a row of apartments.

“These apartments are home to a large number of visiting Pegasus workers.” said Rainbow Dash, “They help keep Cloudsdale in good shape.”

“I’ll mark this down on the map I brought. If this place gets hit, your city will have trouble recovering from the attack. The collateral damage will be massive.”

He took out a pen and paper from his saddle with his robot arms and wrote down the location of the apartment buildings. Rainbow Dash appeared to be waiting for something to happen, as Techorse stashed the paper back in his saddle.

“Let’s move on then.” said Techorse, “I still need more information.”

“It’s time to go” said Rainbow Dash with emphasis. As they turned to leave, they were approached by three Pegasus stallions. All of them were athletic types with large muscles, uncut manes, and sports-related cutie marks.

“Well, if it isn’t Rainbow Crash” teased the leader.

“Oh, hey guys” said Rainbow Dash nervously. Techorse immediately began to think about how the situation might play out.

“Who’s this dude here? Is he your little coltfriend?” said the second jock teasingly.

Rainbow Dash said, “Guys, this is Techorse. He’s really smart and friendly, so don’t do anything stupid.”

“Looks more like a wiseguy to me.” said the third jock, “what is that thing on his back?”

Rainbow Dash said angrily, “That’s his battle saddle he invented, dummy. It has laser cannons in it, so if you do anything dumb, you’re gonna get blasted!” The lead jock went after Rainbow Dash, grabbed her by the tail, and dragged her onto the ground.

Techorse, wanting to be peaceful, refused to automatically draw his weapons on the bullies and said calmly, “Look, we’re not here for any trouble. Let go of Rainbow Dash please.”

“Or what?” said the second jock, “you gonna think us to death, nerd?”

Rainbow Dash pulled her face out of the clouds and said, “He’s going to use those lasers on you! You’re making a big mistake messing with this tough inventor!”

“Oh, he’s an inventor eh?” said the third jock, smirking, “perhaps he wouldn’t mind giving us a little money then?”

Techorse told him sternly, “I’m not giving you any money. Let go of Rainbow Dash now.”

The first jock said, “Oh, we will, after we give her a spin cycle.”

Rainbow Dash got scared and screamed, “No, please! Not a spin cycle!”

“That doesn’t sound good.” said Techorse with worry.

The second jock laughed, “We got a good tornado from the weather factory to dip her into! It’s gonna make her hair all funny!”

Techorse warned them with a scowl, “Do not do this.”

“Give us some cash then” said the second jock.

Techorse answered, “I told you, I’m not going to give you any money.” He then drew his laser cannons. “But I’ll tell you what I’ll give you.” He continued, “I’m going to give you to the count of three to get your dirty, no good hooves off of Rainbow Dash, before I pump your greasy hides full of lasers. ONE.”

The first jock took his hoof off of Rainbow Dash’s tail, but she sat there unmoving.

“TWO” counted Techorse.

“Ok, we’re going!” said the first jock nervously. The jocks took off and started flying away. Techorse noticed a metal pole behind him.

He shouted, “THREE” and then started tapping the metal pole repeatedly with his back hoof. The noise from the hollow metal almost identically matched the sound of his lasers actually firing. In reality, Techorse never fired a shot. But the jocks ran away yelling in fear of Techorse.

Techorse replaced the laser cannons. “Twilight’s going to kill me for doing that.” He thought. He pulled Rainbow out of the clouds and asked her, “Are you ok Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash zipped over and hugged Techorse tightly.

She answered, “I’m fine! Thank you so much for saving me from those guys, Techorse.”

She then released him and said, “Wait here again. I’m going to go get you a drink to celebrate.”

She lifted into the air and disappeared around the corner of the apartment buildings. Techorse knew something was up, and decided to follow her this time. He walked around the apartments and peered around the corner. It was then to his curiosity he saw Rainbow Dash talking with the jocks he just scared away.

“Thanks guys, I owe you one!” said Rainbow Dash.

The first jock said, “No problem. Seems like that colt you like’s a real fighter!”

Rainbow Dash said happily, “I’m sure after that, he’s got to become my official sidekick! You guys really helped me out here.”

The leader said, “Anytime. See you around, Rainbow.” The three left Rainbow Dash to go work out at the gym. Rainbow Dash turned around, and ran straight into Techorse.

He looked at Rainbow and asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?” Rainbow Dash fell silent, and a look of sadness came over her face.

Techorse sighed and continued, “I just caught you talking normally to three guys who just threatened to beat you up. You staged this, didn’t you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly.

“Why?” he asked Techorse angrily, “If I hadn’t seen that metal pole, I might have actually fired at those guys. I thought they were seriously going to hurt you!” Then, Rainbow Dash did something she normally never does, mope.

Rainbow said to him, “I really like your style, Techorse but you don’t care about me at all. I was going to offer you the chance to be my wingcolt! Aw, who am I kidding? Applejack was right, I’m just jealous of Twilight. You’d rather follow her orders.” Techorse relaxed and let his anger dissipate, but it was replaced by misery in watching Rainbow downcast.

“So that’s what all this was about?” he asked, “you became a damsel in distress to try and make me your right-hand pony?”

“Yes. I wanted to make us the biggest heroes of the group, and I was willing to fake a fight just to bring us together as a team!” she answered, “Applejack thought I had a crush on you, but really I just wanted a new best friend to fight alongside.”

“But why would you pick me for a best friend when you hardly even knew me?”

Rainbow explained, “You’re the only pony like me at all on our team. You actually want to put up a fight when danger’s about. The others are too peaceful or cowardly for my style.”

“This isn’t the Rainbow Dash I’m friends with. The real Rainbow Dash never faked a fight or got jealous of another pony. She did what she wanted to do bravely, and didn’t let others bring her down.” said Techorse.

He paused for a second to think, then continued, “But most of all, she had a fighting spirit, but was willing to admit it wasn’t always the best idea. Sometimes she did slow down just a bit to let others ideas come through. Just because I’m also a fighter type doesn’t mean I’m the best follower for you, Rainbow Dash. I was willing to protect you from those guys when I thought you were in danger. But, I really want to be my own leader, and do things in my style, not yours. ” Rainbow Dash gave Techorse another hug.

“I’m so sorry I lied to you.” She said.

Techorse answered, “Hey, it’s ok Rainbow Dash. You just got a little carried away with picking me as a recruit. I’m sure there’s going to be other pony who would much rather be your sidekick But I need my own identity.”

Rainbow Dash hovered up into the air and said, “Well, I’m glad I got that out of my system! I’m going flying.”

Techorse deployed his turbofans with a loud clicking noise. “I’m going with you. Race you back to the center of town!” They took off as friends, and flew back happily.

Chapter 23

“So, iz the platform getting closer to the city?” asked general Schadenfreude of a robot standing next to him.

The machine raised its teleporter gun and answered, “Yes sir. We are approaching the floating city at a steady rate. We should be docked and ready to attack within two hours.” The general was watching from the bridge of the platform.

He observed the city of Cloudsdale, with its population of Pegasus ponies, and thought to himself, “The ponies will be mine soon.” Schadenfreude, dressed in typical German military wear, did not mess around. He was not a complete monster, he loved other humans, but of course he had no respect for the ponies. The thing that actually made the man disturbing was that he enjoyed watching others suffer in defeat. To satisfy this odd need, this man designed and invented the robots used in the invasion. He made sure his private forces were always in top shape. The general said, “Because most of the residents can fly, ve will need za flyers on this mission. After we dock, deploy all 80 of them at my command . I vant this city leveled by nightfall, with every last pony inside Bossman’s factory.”

“Yes sir” replied the robot, “now how about us, the ground forces?”

The general smiled, “Do whatever you want to the city. Make sure none of zem hide in the buildings and make it through the night.”

The war machine asked a question, “Sir, how are we going to even stand on the cloud formations the city is built upon? We’re very heavy machines.”

“I know you’re very heavy, but za crytal Wizard gave me will solve that little problem. As long as it stays glowing red, the city can be walked on by anything.” said Schadenfreude as he pointed at his necklace. The general then turned back to look out the window, got into an “at ease” stance and said, “Now go and get ready. I vant to make this attack a very entertaining one.”

“Yes sir” said the robot, turning around on its tracks to exit the platform’s bridge.

Cloudsdale’s capitol building was a large pure white marble structure with gold columns holding up its dome-like roof. The many stairs up to the entrance seemed unnecessary; after all, most of the residents were Pegasus ponies and could skip the stairs by simply flying up to the door. But Twilight Sparkle and her friends had to walk up the stairs on hoof.

“At least it’s a gorgeous day for a walk.” said Rarity, trying hard not to complain about having to take the stairs.

“Come on, hurry!” said Pinkie Pie, “We have a job to do!”

Applejack said, “We’re comin’ Pinkie Pie. Just hold on.” They reached the top of the stairs and entered the capitol building’s large crystal doors. Inside was a teal colored secretary pegasus pony moving papers around on her desk.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

Twilight answered her, “Yes, we would like to see the mayor.”

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the secretary.

“I’m afraid not” was Twilight’s reply.

The secretary pushed up her glasses and said, “I’ll see if we have time to fit you in today then.”

Fluttershy then walked up to the desk and said, “Excuse me, but if it’s not too much of a problem, we’re kind of in a hurry. We’ve been sent by the princess to help the town.”

The secretary looked at Fluttershy and said, “I have no way of telling if that’s true. I’ll ask the mayor though.” The secretary got up and walked behind a glass door to go find the mayor. The secretary found the mayor, an older male Pegasus pony with a white coat and a graying mane sitting at executive desk.

“There are these non-pegasus ponies here to see you, claiming to be sent by the princess.” She said.

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.” The mayor answered with contempt.

“Should I send them away, Sir?”

The mayor thought about it for a bit, then said, “There’s only two ponies I know who are under orders from the princess, a Miss Rainbow Dash and a Miss Fluttershy. If either of them is there, send them in now.”

The secretary asked, “What do they look like?” The mayor tossed her a photo of the two. The secretary returned to the waiting room, and matched the picture to Fluttershy.

She said to her, “It turns out you’re this Fluttershy the mayor knows about. You can speak to him, the others have to stay.”

“This is outrageous!” shouted Rarity, “I refuse to leave.”

The secretary told her, “You can stay here in the room, but the mayor will only see Fluttershy.”

Twilight said to Fluttershy, “Just do it Fluttershy. Tell the mayor what we came here to tell him, and everything will be fine.”

Fluttershy nervously walked with the secretary to go talk to the mayor. They entered his office, and the mayor said happily, “Ah, so it is true, princess Celestia has sent someone to see me! Good day, Miss Fluttershy. Please, have a seat over there.” Fluttershy sat down on the beanbag chair the mayor had offered her. “You are dismissed, Opal Cloud.” said the mayor. The secretary turned away and shut the door behind her. “So” said the mayor gently, “what did you come here to tell me, Miss Fluttershy? Good news from Canterlot I hope? “

“Well, you see, not exactly.” said Fluttershy quietly.

“Oh?” said the mayor with disappointment, “is it a problem with the tax codes or something? I could have sworn we just filled out all the papers last weekend.”

“No, it’s not the taxes.” said Fluttershy, trying to avoid eye contact with the stallion.

The mayor yelled impatiently, “Well what is it then? If it’s from the princess, it must be important!”

Fluttershy said, “It’s about the humans.”

The mayor stood up from his desk and said, “Those things that have been running around attacking pony cities? What about them?”

Fluttershy moved her pink hair out of her face and said, “It’s just terrible. One of them is coming here. You have to warn your people, or they’ll all be captured.” The mayor sat back in his chair and put a hoof on his forehead.

“We’ve already spotted the contraption approaching the city. We know perfectly well about the human and his machines coming here, Miss Fluttershy. We don’t need any warning or panic to be caused in the city with this nonsense.”

Fluttershy protested, “Oh, you don’t understand mayor. They’ll be coming here into the city to destroy it! If what happens here is the same as what happened in Ponyville, they might come after you too.”

The mayor replied, “I see. But I already have a league of Pegasus ponies ready to handle the threat. The robots I’ve heard of will not last more than a few minutes against them. Now please, leave and do not bother me again.” Fluttershy drooped her head and walked back to her friends.

“So, how did it go?” asked Twilight.

“Did the mayor get the message?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy shook her head and answered, “The mayor thinks the town will be ok without warning. We’re all doomed.”

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Not on my watch! I’m warning this city the same way I warned Appleloosa! Pinkie Pie to the rescue!” The pink pony disappeared in a blur to go warn the citizens unaware of the impending attack.

Twilight sighed and told the others, “Well, looks like we have to go with that option. Everypony will have to split up and warn as many as possible about the robots. Hopefully, we will reduce our losses this way.”

Rarity fluffed her purple-blue hair and said, “Splendid. I do believe I should go with you, Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure I can get some attention from the guys around here.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and said plainly, “I’ll get started downtown. It’s gonna be hard gettin’ them to listen to an earth pony like me, but I’ll try my best.” Fluttershy simply started walking out of the mayor’s office.

“Go with Applejack, Fluttershy. You don’t have to shout, but maybe your presence will make her message more believable.” said Twilight. Fluttershy nodded and followed Applejack out the door.

Pinkie Pie was already dashing through the streets of Cloudsdale, riding like Paul Revere.

“The robots are coming!” she shrieked, “get ready to fight them! They’re made of metal, so use anything heavy or sticky to stop ‘em!”

One Pegasus asked Pinkie Pie, “How do you know we’re about to be attacked by such odd things?” Pinkie Pie pointed out the looming metal platform. “Oh yeah” said the Pegasus, “forgot about that thing.” The ponies were whipped up into a panic by Pinkie Pie, and began to either flee or look for something to fight back.

“It’s working!” said Pinkie Pie, “and wowie, it’s working fast! I’ve already got several blocks getting out of the way!” The Pegasus ponies followed Pinkie Pie down the streets and spread the word to their neighbors and friends and family. Eventually, a gigantic crowd had formed up on Pinkie Pie, and the pony stopped and turned around to face the citizens. Somehow, she found a microphone, picked it up and addressed the crowd.

“See that metal thing in the sky?” she said, “It’s going to bring some pain unless we stop it!”

A pegasus pony with an afro and colorful bandana took the microphone from Pinkie Pie and said, “So hide your kids and your wife, because those robots will climb in your windows and zap em away if you don’t!”

“That’s right!” said Pinkie Pie, “we must get ready for this! Bake pies to throw and goo up the metal monster’s treads! Drop rocks on ‘em! You can fly, so use this to your advantage. We will not let Cloudsdale get taken by a bunch of fancy toasters!” The crowd cheered loudly as Pinkie Pie pounded on the podium she was provided with by the crowd.

Rainbow Dash and Techorse were flying overhead when they spotted the crowd cheering at Pinkie Pie’s speech.

Rainbow Dash shouted, “Techorse, look down there!” Techorse looked down at the crowd of ponies.

He asked in surprise, “Is that Pinkie Pie giving a speech? I gotta see this!” The both landed down next to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh hey guys!” she said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash looked at the mob and asked, “Pinkie Pie? Did you just incite Cloudsdale to riot?”

Techorse talked over the top of Rainbow, “I’m impressed Pinkie Pie. You beaten the supposed warrior for the number of times you’ve successfully got a city to stand and fight.”

“That’s just it!” said Pinkie Pie, “I was waiting for you Techie. You have to lead these ponies! I just rallied ‘em for you.”

Pinkie Pie said into the microphone, “Everypony, your attention please! We have no chance of saving your city without a great leader. So I give you commander Techorse!” Techorse was met with hooves clopping on the ground for applause. Techorse extended his good old robot arms and picked up the microphone.

He spoke to the crowd, “Ponies, the time has come to fight for your freedom. In a mere hour you will face the largest threat you have ever encountered. Machines armed with teleporter beams will try to destroy your city and dash you away to a factory, where you will eventually be sold as slaves to a race of aliens. One of the aliens is leading the attack, and we must put a stop to him in order to achieve victory. Me and the six other ponies who arrived today will handle the human, but it will be up to you to secure your home by defeating the robots. I’m going to need a dedicated half of you to resist the urge to take to the air when the robots arrive. Although I’m certain many of these machines will be able to fly, a good number of them will be ground units. So from here to that building, all of you will stay with my friend Pinkie Pie here and attack the ground units. The other half of you will be under the command of Rainbow Dash. You will need to take to the skies and dogfight…”

“Ponyfight.” corrected Pinkie.

Techorse shook his head and continued, “Ponyfight the flying robots. Divide yourselves up into wings of about 12 ponies each. If we work together as a team, I know we can push this human and his machines out of your city. We will win the day!” Thundering hoof clops and cheering came from the ponies.

Just then, silence fell as a roaring sound came from overhead. Three dark-colored jet streams flew across the sky, and then crashed hard into the stand. Standing up, the three ponies in dark blue uniforms stood up and looked at Techorse. Their leader had firey-colored hair, and all of them wore flight goggles.

The leader took off her goggles and said, “What’s all the trouble about?”

“Oh my gosh!” repeated Rainbow Dash over and over.

Techorse said to the newcomers, “We’re gearing up to save this city from an invasion. You must be the local militia.”

Rainbow Dash told him, “No Tech, even better! These are the Wonderbolts!” Techorse stuck out a hoof, trying to be polite by not using his robot hand.

“If I can take a good hint from Rainbow Dash here, it must be an honor to meet you.” he said.

The leader, Spitfire said, “Based on that motivational speech, it must be an honor to meet you. Are you one of Celestia’s generals?”

Techorse opened his mouth to speak, but Pinkie Pie spoke for him, “He’s not one of her generals, but he’s commander here!”

“Is this true Rainbow Dash?” asked Spitfire.

“You bet it is!” confirmed Rainbow Dash.

“Well then I believe you” said Spitfire, “you’ve flown with us enough times to know a good soldier when you see one.”

Spitfire then went back to Techorse and asked, “So, commander Techorse, what’s the situation?”

Techorse said, “Well, miss…”

“Spitfire” she answered.

“Spitfire, your town is about to come under attack by a human supported by an unknown number of robot units. These robots will ravage the city and start stealing ponies with their weapons to be sold as pets to the humans. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash here have helped me rally the citizens for battle.”

“Me and the guys can help.” Said Spitfire, “Just tell us where you want us.” Techorse looked at

Rainbow, and then looked back to Spitfire.

“You’ll fly on Rainbow Dash’s wing.”

Rainbow Dash said joyfully, “Really? Thanks Techorse! It’ll be great to fly under Spitfire’s command again.”

“No, I mean they will serve under you, Rainbow Dash.” said Techorse.

Rainbow Dash squealed in delight again, “Me? Leading the Wonderbolts? You really are the most awesome friend ever!” She gave him another hug in appreciation.

Techorse then said into the microphone, “Let’s get to the edge of the city, and ‘welcome’ these invaders!” The cheering crowd followed them away, bringing makeshift armor and weapons with them.

Chapter 24

The general looked at the nearing city from the bridge of the platform. “Our delivery portal onboard the ship is active.” said a robot over an intercom unit.

General Schadenfreude responded, “Good. We’re going to dock in about a half hour. I’m closing my blast shields and turning on radar.” The general hit a button on his command console, and heavy metal blast doors closed over the windows, removing the general’s view of Cloudsdale. The dark bridge then filled with eerie blue light reminiscent of a nuclear battle submarine’s combat information center. Schadenfreude activated his external camera equipment and radar. The external CCTV cameras on the gigantic platform showed the same view he got out the windows. The general only closed the blast doors in case one of the robots messed up and crashed into the bridge. He was sure in his mind the native ponies wouldn’t have anything along the lines of explosives capable of penetrating the blast doors. As the human looked at the view outside again on a plasma screen, he relaxed for a bit.

“This is going to be so much fun!” he said to himself, “watching these ponies suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the robots I designed.” He then laughed out loud, enjoying the thought of the doom he was going to bring on Cloudsdale. Or so he thought. Schadenfreude’s laughing stopped when he saw a handful of ponies on the camera view screens. Following them were even more Pegasus ponies.

“What?” he asked in confusion. The army Pinkie Pie had raised had arrived and flooded the cloudbank he planned on docking with.

“Nien!” he shouted, “they’re not supposed to be crowding around ze landing zone!” The general pulled down an intercom unit and spoke, “Unit 1, what iz going on out there? Do we have any teleporter cannons on this vessel?”

“Negative” replied Unit 1, “This platform is a robot delivery unit, not a battleship. The craft itself is unarmed.”

The general replaced the intercom and said, “Ach, ze ponies will move when the front door opens on ze ship. Just standby, Unit 1.”

“Yes sir” replied the robot.

Outside, the ponies watched as the gigantic metal platform approached. Some looked on in fear, others in determination to save their home. The platform itself was shaped like a mailbox on top of a traditional ship’s hull. The underside featured a dozen gigantic slowly turning helicopter blades that kept the ship in the air. Inside the machine was a portal, the mailbox shape provided a protective housing for the robot transport unit. At the front of the ship was a series of outward-facing devices that resembled air ducts. The entire unit was being pushed forward by a gigantic trio of more traditional looking jet engines. The completely boring gray color on the vessel made it almost like a gigantic storm cloud approaching the pure puffy white of Cloudsdale.

Techorse shouted to his troops, “Everypony take cover behind something! The minute that door opens on the front, open fire at any and all robots! We need to take down as many as possible to prevent their advance into the city!” Techorse felt a brush against his side.

“Tech, what’s going on?” asked the voice. He turned and looked at her.

“Twilight, you made it in time to help us!”

Twilight looked around, then said, “Wow, it looks like you got Cloudsdale warned in time.”

Techorse pointed towards Pinkie and said with a grin, “Thank Pinkie Pie. She raised the army, and then put me in charge.”

Twilight flew into a panic, “What? These ponies are in grave danger! We have to evacuate.”

“The way I see it.” Replied Techorse, “is that winning this battle will motivate all of Equestria to take a stand. If we just run away, the robots will have every last inch of the planet locked down in a few weeks. Please, trust me on this one!”

Applejack pushed past Twilight and said, “He’s right Twilight, no offense, but standin’ up to the human will moralize us all.”

“Motivate” corrected Twilight, “but never mind that. We’re going to lose a lot of ponies to the teleporter beams in this one!”

“We can just rescue ‘em from that factory!” said Applejack, “it’s gonna be ok.”

Twilight finally agreed with the plan, “Alright. I’ll trust you, Techorse.”

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Pinkie Pie waited with her force of ponies assigned to ground combat. She had painted half of her face blue like William Wallace. Pinkie Pie looked at the approaching metal platform and laughed.

“This is going to be great.” She said, “Me versus the evil toasters!” A familiar face pulled up next to Pinkie Pie. Derpy Hooves had arrived on the scene, wearing a tin pot as makeshift armor on her head.

“Hey Pinkie Pie!” said Derpy.

“Hi again, Derpy Hooves! What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Ponyville.” asked Pinkie in surprise.

Derpy replied, “I wouldn’t miss a chance to help you and your friends! Besides, those buckets of bolts took Bon-Bon and Lyra back in Ponyville. I’m going to make them pay, even if I can only see the enemy with one eye at a time.”

“What? They got Bon-Bon and Lyra?”, she asked in horror.

“Yeah, they were the first to go.” said Derpy sadly. Pinkie Pie’s hair straightened out almost immediately.

“They will wish they’d never been invented.” She said with intent to kill.

“What have I done?” thought the cross-eyed pony, realizing she’d made her friend snap. Twilight Sparkle picked up on the disturbance in Pinkie Pie’s psyche.

“Uh-oh.” She said.

“What’s wrong Twilight?” asked Techorse.

“I think we’re going to see something really interesting out of Pinkie Pie really soon.” answered Twilight.

Techorse said, “Well, she did raise this army, which impressed me. She’s going to be doing something great today, I’d imagine.”

“No, not that.” Continued Twilight as she pointed to Pinkie, ”I mean look at her, Techorse. Her hair is straightened out. Last time that happened is when you were a human and didn’t want to go to her party. She acts weird if she stays like that too long.”

Techorse asked worriedly, “More than usual?”

Twilight replied, “Worse than usual. A different kind of weird you really don’t want to see.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Fluttershy, arriving on the scene.

“Oh nothing” said Twilight, “just discussing Pinkie Pie’s problem she’s having.”

“Oh dear” said Fluttershy, “is there anything I can do?”

“Go talk to her and find out what’s wrong. She might listen to you better than us.” said Twilight. “Ok” said Fluttershy, and she calmly walked over to Pinkie Pie.

“Hello Pinkie Pie” she said softly.

“Not now Fluttershy” replied Pinkie bitterly.

Fluttershy shrank back a bit and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Pinkie Pie stared right at her friend and shouted, “Those, machines took Bon-Bon and Lyra back in Ponyville! When those doors open, I’m charging right in! I’m going to reduce each and every one of them on that ship to scrap when I’m done with them!”

Fluttershy sweated visibly at the head, knowing any response she gave might make Pinkie Pie yell at her.

“Well, we don’t want you charging in. We might lose you too.” Said Fluttershy, “That would make us very sad. We love you too much, Pinkie Pie.”

“Well how do you expect me to stop them?” shouted Pinkie Pie in frustration.

Fluttershy simply answered, “Look, if you don’t mind, ask yourself what Bon-Bon and Lyra would think of you acting like this. Would they want you to get revenge like this?”

Pinkie Pie thought about it, and replied sadly, “no. I guess not.” Fluttershy lifted her head up and said, “You need to calm down then and follow Techorse’s plan. Please, don’t let your anger take you over.” Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, and her hair puffed back up again and into place. She asked for a towel, and then rubbed the blue paint off of her face.

“Much better!” she said happily, “I didn’t know what I was thinking. You probably saved my life, Fluttershy!” She gave her friend a bear hug.

“You’re welcome Pinkie.” said Fluttershy, trying to not be crushed.

Techorse looked back at his troops. The Pegasus ponies were looking at the approaching machine still, unmoving. He then looked around some more and asked, “Where did Rarity go? I know Rainbow Dash is in the back to lead the air units, but where is she?”

Twilight answered with embarrassment, “We, kinda lost track of Rarity. I have no clue where she is. Normally, it’s hard to lose her with her unique personality and talk, but this time she’s managed to slip away.”

Techorse sighed and said, “Well, she’s probably safer in the city then out here on the front. But if we get pushed back too far, we’re going to need to find her.”

Twilight swung her tail around and said, “Ok, if things get too bad, we find Rarity and get out of here.”

Techorse added, “Right after we take down the human leading this operation.”

“Any clue which one it is?” asked Twilight.

He replied, “We only have a few left. I’m pretty sure it’s the German general guy I saw aboard the space station. Forgot what he called himself, but he designed the robots we’ve seen so far, and the teleporter cannon concept.” Techorse then realized something, and looked at Applejack.

He said to her, “You and Rarity have no way of flying, do you?”

“No, why do you ask?” she replied.

Techorse shouted with frustration, “Aw shoot! The minute we smash that crystal around the human’s neck, the spell on Cloudsdale will be broken. We won’t be able to stand on the clouds.”

Twilight said, “No problem Techorse, I’ll just cast a spell to let us walk on the clouds.”

Applejack interrupted, “Sorry to say this, but if Rarity’s missin’, she’ll fall if she ain’t there to take your spell!”

Twilight said in shock, “Oh no! You’re right! We’ll have to find her first before we try to take on the human.”

Applejack then said angrily, “Well, there she goes again, miss pretty-pretty ruinin’ our plan!”

Techorse said to her, “There’s nothing we can do except go find her after this is over. Twilight, please, use as many combat based spells as possible to make sure you don’t get teleported. We will need you to survive once the spell on the city drops!”

She said, “Ok, but you’ll have to cover me. I won’t last on my own.”

Techorse drew his laser cannons and replied, “I know you’re strong enough to handle yourself, Twilight, with your incredible magic powers. You and your friends don’t need me to win. But if you want me to help, I’m here for you.”

Twilight smiled lovingly and answered, “That’s really sweet. But we’re a team, and I need your help. I really am just one unicorn pony when it comes down to it. Remember what you said about magic being supported by others thoughts? Without you, I’m another pony short, and a little weaker.”

He said with a smile, “Thanks Twilight.”

Applejack listened to their conversation and thought, “They make a cute couple.”

The platform approached closer to the edge of Cloudsdale, but fire was held.

“Hey” said Twilight, “Where’s the force the mayor said would handle the robots? Shouldn’t they be here to help us?”

Applejack answered bitterly, “I think the mayor was lyin’ to cover the fact he isn’t ready for this kind of attack. He’s out to save his own skin.”

Twilight suggested, “Maybe his forces are just a little late?”

Techorse said, “Speaking of that, I forgot to ask you about the visit to the mayor.”

Twilight replied with a sigh, “You didn’t miss much. He basically gave us excuses to not rally the town, and then shooed us away.”

“Luckily” said Applejack, “Pinkie Pie rounded up everypony, huh?”

“Yeah, it would have been 7 on several hundred without that rally.” said Techorse. The platform was almost in contact with the city.

“I’m baaaack!” sang a happy voice behind Techorse. Making her way through the crowd, Rarity appeared wearing a dress. This one hugged her form tightly, was made from red cloth, and featured a short skirt that let her purple-blue curly tail hang out naturally. For some reason, she was wearing saddlebags on top of that.

“Alright, you made it Rarity!” said Techorse.

“Finally! You almost messed up our plans, Rarity.” said Applejack unhappily.

“How so?” she asked, miffed that she was being accused of such a thing.

Twilight answered in a more polite manner than Applejack, “Techorse pointed out that once we break this human’s crystal, the spell on Cloudsdale will dissipate and cause us to fall. You needed to be here so I can save you from falling.”

Rarity apologized, “Terribly sorry Twilight, but I was getting ready for this dreadful battle. I saw the party following Pinkie Pie and I didn’t want to ruin my bath this afternoon, so I bought this breathable material dress. I also brought along something I can use to help you defeat these ugly machines.” Rarity opened up the saddlebags to reveal about 4 dozen shards of diamond. “I sort of borrowed these out of a scrap gem pile outside a jeweler’s shop.” she said, “I asked first, so it is not stealing…” Techorse at first took awe at the size of the diamonds, but remembered how common gemstones were on Equestria and took back his surprise.

Twilight looked at the projectiles and said, “Great idea Rarity, those diamonds are the hardest and sharpest materials you can find. But how are you going to use them?”

Rarity answered, “I’ve been practicing my magic since that fight in Ponyville. Now I’m able to throw small things more like you, darling. Since I’m so great with gems, throwing them with magic was a little easier than I expected. I think you’ll be impressed.”

Twilight said in surprise, “Wow, way to go Rarity, learning some new magic!” Techorse looked up and down at the platform again, and the laser cannons at his sides followed his line of sight.

Applejack looked at the metal tubes and asked, “Always wondered, Techorse, why do you never run out of lasers to use?”

Her told her, “I thought I told you in the lab, but the battle saddle is lined with tiny solar panels. Every time the sun shines on the saddle, I get more power, and unlimited laser ammo.”

Twilight asked Applejack, “Speaking of ammo, did you bring any apples to use?”

Applejack shook her head, “I didn’t bring any bags with me to carry ‘em. I’ll be ok though.”

Techorse turned around and said, “Anybody out there got an extra sack of throwing apples? I need them up here!” A sack flew through the air and Techorse caught it with his robot arms.

“Thanks, soldier!” he called back.

“Here you go Applejack” he said, handing her the bag of crab apples.

“Thank you.” was the only thing she could say due to her surprise at the help. Meanwhile, in the back of the pony army, Rainbow Dash was sitting with the Wonderbolts, planning her strategy.

“Don’t take off”, she said to Spitfire, “until you see any robots that can fly like us. We don’t want every last pony here in the air at the same time, it’ll be too confusing. We’ll be sharing the sky with hundreds of other ponies if things get bad.”

“Right.” replied Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash then suggested, “We’re going to kick some robot tail once we get up there, but try not to get shot down.”

Spitfire asked her, “So the plan is, take to the skies when the bad guys do, bring them down, and don’t die?”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and said without any sarcasm, “Best plan ever, right?” Spitfire began to wonder if listening to Techorse had been such a good idea.

Chapter 25

Schadenfreude’s platform had finally touched the edge of Cloudsdale, and the ship extended two weird tong-like devices which clamped onto the edge of the city’s cloudbanks. Back inside the bridge, Schadenfreude spoke into an intercom, “We have successfully docked with ze city. Open ze door to za portal and begin to attack the ponies. Break up this army in front of us.”

“Your orders will be carried out, sir” replied a robot over the intercom. Outside, the door began to slowly open on the ship.

Twilight said, “Get ready. Here they come.”

Techorse switched to his laser cannons and shouted out, “This is it! Fire when you see them come out!”

The gigantic metal door kept lowering slowly. The inside of the ship was too dark to see anything, and the door itself, although at least 50 feet tall, still fell short of the ponies by another 100 feet. Techorse figured in his head that the door and the distance in front of it gave them about 200 feet total distance between them and the robots. Not very much considering the robots were not extremely slow. Red dots began appearing inside the dark hangar, the “eyes” of the robots teleporting into the hangar of the ship. They advanced towards the end of the ship, and entered the daylight. A group of at least 50 robots were already trying to make their way off of the ship.

“FIRE!” called out Techorse. They started shooting whatever they could muster at the approaching machines. Apples, stones, cookware, and many other odd projectiles began impacting the robots. Once in awhile a machine would take too much damage and explode or fall over. The robots returned fire with their teleporter beams. Despite the cover and ability to at least hover, the ground forces were taking some losses from the red blasts. Those ponies were on their way to the factory.

Twilight shouted over the sounds of battle, “Keep moving! We’ll be harder to hit.” Techorse and the others agreed, and they kept up evasive maneuvers to try and avoid the teleporter blasts. They dipped behind a sizable chunk of concrete, where Techorse fired another burst of lasers and destroyed a robot.

It wasn’t long before the general realized his robots were actually losing to the citizens of Cloudsdale. The initial 50 sent off the ship had been reduced to 14 in a matter of 2 minutes of fighting.

Schadenfreude hit a switch multiple times to order more waves of 50 robots from the factory. Machines just started pouring out of the end of the ship. Once the machines got off the ramp, they would head straight for the Pegasus ponies and attempt to blast them. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were trying to take action with their half of the pony forces. Pinkie Pie had picked up some pies and was mucking up robots with them to make them easier targets. Although not as good of a fighter, Fluttershy helped some of the other Pegasus ponies drop heavy stones and objects like pianos on the robots.

Schadenfreude started noticing the airstrikes from his CCTV screens and complained, “They’re actually winning by dropping things on the robots! Apples and stones are beating steel and teleporter beams! The only high tech weapon they have is…” The general looked at his camera screens and looked closely at Techorse blasting away with his laser cannons. “that pony’s laser cannons.” He said, “I know who that is. That’s Techman. He’s leading the ponies, hoping to win.” The general then laughed and continued, “Let’s see the pony-boy handle the fliers!” The human then smashed a button on his panel. Outside the ship, the robots were too far spread out and too few. The couple hundred ponies had lost about a quarter of their own, but the robots had been smashed down to fewer than 150 units despite a steady stream coming from the ship. Twilight picked up a robot that got too close to her using her magic and tossed the machine over the edge of the clouds, sending it to break on the ground miles below. She then picked up chunks of stone and shot them at the machines to further damage them. Techorse decided to help by contributing some laser bolts to the attack. The combination of stones and lasers pierced several robots and brought the machines down. Applejack and Rarity combined fire too, using apples and shards of diamond to destroy a handful of advancing robots. But eventually, they all found themselves out of ammo to shoot with robots still approaching at all angles. They tried using melee attacks, but the robot’s armor was too thick, and it hurt their hooves.

“We need to retreat!” screamed Twilight, “It’s too risky to be this close!” Just then, the ground robots mysteriously pulled back a bit.

“They’re givin’ up!” cheered Applejack, “we did it!”

Techorse knew what was really going on and said plainly, “This isn’t over yet.”

The vents on the sides of the ship opened up as far as they could go. Out of them flew dozens and dozens of new machines. These machines had a single jet engine on the back of a thick triangular body, and had a teleporter cannon on the front. For an eye, each one had a small camera sticking up out of the body of the machine.

Techorse shouted, “It’s the flying robots!”

Rainbow Dash noticed the machines and said, “Alright everypony, here they come! Take to the air and take them down!” The Pegasus ponies assigned to dogfight with the fliers lifted up in the air and went to keep them from attacking the city. They began breaking the engines of the machines with their hooves, or used their ramming speed to destroy them. The fliers sometimes shot back, but mostly concentrated their teleporter beams on the ponies on the ground. They wanted to assist the other robots in victory. Rainbow Dash did not want this to happen at all, so she sped up and started attacking the robots shooting at the ground troops.

Rainbow ordered, “Don’t let them attack my friends on the ground! Cover them.” Spitfire led the other Wonderbolts members in destroying as many robot units as possible. They used their speed to knock the machines off course, causing them to crash into each other or the ship. As the flying robots impacted the hull of the platform, Schadenfreude could feel the vibrations caused by the explosions. He looked at what remained of his forces, 72 ground robots, and about 40 flying units.

He then said, “I’m going to go show these ponies zat I do not mess around.” He then walked over to an elevator and took it down towards the hangar. When the elevator reached the bay of the ship, he stepped off and onto an elevated platform, where he walked over casually to his giant robot walker.

This machine looked like something straight out of Mechwarrior or Armored Core. Its body was in the shape of a hexagonal box, with a trapezoidal plexiglass canopy over the top. To its sides were tube-shaped humanoid arms that came down to the bottom of the machine’s body, but didn’t quite reach the legs. Each arm featured a human hand structure for picking up and moving objects, as well as a single very large bore teleporter gun, although they were not nearly as large as the one found on Gunslinger’s train. The machine’s legs themselves were thick and forward-jointed like a man’s legs, as opposed to the chicken walker style other designs used on Earth. The machine’s footpads featured 4 large equidistant “toes” that came down like a blunt claw, mostly useful for gripping the terrain and not for stepping on things. The human pressed a release lever on the machine’s top, and the glass canopy opened up. General Schadenfreude sat down in the command chair, and turned the ignition key inside the mech. The mech’s diesel engine roared to life, and several diagnostic screens turned on, showing the status of various parts on the machine. The general had even installed a female robot voice to aid him.

“Diesel engine activated. Fuel at 99%. Weapons charging, all systems online.” said the voice.

Schadenfreude thought about donning a helmet, but instead chose to keep his gilt hat. It made him look important in his head. “After zis victory, I will show off the money from the pony sales to the others back in Germany.”

He thought confidently, “That will teach them to call me what they did.” The human decided, as the mecha lacked a parachute, to put on a jetpack left lying on the catwalk above his war machine, just in case the machine went off the edge of the city.

The human then strapped himself in by seatbelt and pushed a button which closed the fiberglass canopy over the top of the robot. Pushing forward on the joystick of the machine, the general made his way out of the hangar. The 25 foot tall machine stepped out into broad daylight. Schadenfreude ordered into a microphone, “Hold your fire for one second, please. I wish to speak to zem.”

“Yes Sir” replied a lead robot. The teleporter beams fell silent, and the ponies looked up in awe at the giant robot that had just stepped out of the hangar. The human flipped a switch in his cockpit to change the microphone’s output to the outboard speakers on his machine.

“Hello ponies!” addressed the general with a childish tone, “had enough yet? If you just give up now, I won’t have to use this against you.”

Techorse shouted at the machine, “We’re not going to give up now, scumbag!”

The general laughed and said, “Ah, it’s the human turned pony Techman. Nice to see you, pony-boy. I find it really cute these little ponies made you zer leader!”

Twilight yelled, “Don’t talk about Techorse that way!”

Schadenfreude said, “Oh, look every little pony! It iz the pony-boy’s leetle girlfriend! She’s standing up for him!” He then laughed heartily again.

“Ok, that’s enough” said Applejack angrily, “everypony open fire on him!” The remaining pony troops launched every last rock, heavy object, shard, and piece of fruit at the machine. After 30 seconds of fire, they stopped, knowing they weren’t doing any damage. The human raised his machine’s right arm to point at the body of the robot.

He then said, “Oh no, you managed to chip some paint off. I wasn’t expecting that.” He then laughed and charged up his teleporter cannons. “now, little ponies, it is my turn!”

“Run away!” screamed Twilight. The ponies dispersed and fled as Schadenfreude started firing blasts from his cannons. Techorse watched with sadness as one beam claimed four ponies for the factory’s cages in one burst. The large beams were scattering them, forcing them to fly away or take cover behind buildings. Schadenfreude continued to laugh over the speakers at the misfortune of his enemies.

Once the ponies were all inside the city limits and out of sight, he spoke to his robots, “Ok machines. Zey have fled into the city. Now begins the pony-hunt. Go in there and drag them out kicking and screaming.”

The lead robot asked, “What about you, sir?”

The general replied, “I’m going to have some fun messing with ze ponies Wizard has marked for destruction.” The human then laughed maniacally once again, and then moved his machine into the city, bashing buildings down with the robot’s fists along the way. “It’s so much fun!” sang the general happily, “to cause so much chaos!” He laughed as he fired his beams, claiming ponies along the ground and in the air.

As they were running, Twilight said to Applejack, “We have to get the others! All of us have to work together if we want to take this guy down.”

Applejack replied, “Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are over there in the crowd somewheres.”

Techorse shouted, “Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, if you can hear me, come to us! We need to stick together!”

Noticing the flying robots overhead fighting with the citizens, he said, “I sure hope Rainbow Dash is doing ok.”

“Don’t worry” said Applejack between breaths as they ran, “that speedster can take care of herself. I know it.”

Rainbow Dash was trying to take care of herself. She had managed to pick one of the flying robots on her tail, and was zooming around attempting to lose it. The machine fired its beam again and again, but Rainbow was simply too nimble to be hit.

As she approached an abandoned skyscraper, she wondered aloud, “I wonder if that thing will fall for the same trick that Chef’s missiles did?” She immediately broke hard, and the robot overshot her. Moving forward again, Rainbow Dash started barrel rolling around the machine. The force of the rapidly moving air combined with the rainbow colored jetstream made it hard for the machine’s battle computer to determine which way to fly. Eventually, the robot went out of control and smashed itself on the side of the old building and exploded spectacularly. Rainbow smiled at her victory and did an immelman maneuver to turn around and engage more robots. She was formed up by two Pegasus ponies wanting to assist her.

“We’re here to help!” said the one on her right.

“I don’t need your help” she said bitterly, “find your own targets!” The two ponies were left in the dust by Rainbow Dash. They were actually trying to warn her about the two flying robots up ahead. They emerged from under cloud cover and opened fire at Rainbow Dash.

“Oh no!” she screamed as she zipped around to avoid the beams. One of the red spears of light came straight for her, but one of the two ponies from before threw himself in front of the beam. He disappeared, letting himself be captured to make sure Rainbow Dash survived.

“No!” shouted Rainbow Dash at the loss, attracting the attention of another pair of machines. She now had 4 robots attempting to shoot her down.

Back on the ground, Techorse and Twilight took notice of this battle overhead. “Rainbow Dash is in trouble!” Techorse stopped running and drew his laser cannons.

“Anti-aircraft fire’s not my specialty, but I’m going to help!”

Twilight’s horn started glowing, and she stopped too.

Applejack shouted, “Have you gone nuts? That human’s comin’ this way!”

Twilight answered, “We can’t leave Rainbow Dash hanging, Applejack. We’d do the same for you too if you were in trouble!”

Applejack said, “True enough. I’ll buy you some time.” The freckled pony turned around and ran straight for Schadenfreude’s mech. The human looked at his targeting monitor and saw her approaching.

“Target identified as Applejack, a pony on Wizard’s list.” said his computer.

The human replied, “I’ll follow her then. Might as well impress Wizard while I’m here.” Applejack turned to avoid a blast from the giant machine’s beam cannons, and then ran down a street perpendicular to the one the robot was on. Schadenfreude turned his mech and followed her, firing his cannons.

Twilight looked down the street and said, “She did it! We’re safe to help Rainbow!” Techorse tilted his guns up and started firing at the robots overhead. Rainbow Dash, still going in circles to avoid the beams, noticed the incoming yellow laser bolts and looked down. She saw Techorse and Twilight looking up at them. To help out, Rainbow lured the drones over Techorse’s firing line. Two of the robots were hit by lasers and were quickly shot down by the beams. Twilight had spent this time concentrating her magic, and then grabbed one of the remaining two fliers. She brought it back down to the ground and started swinging it around like a shotput. The last flying drone finally managed to get Rainbow Dash lined up in its sights. However, Twilight let go of the drone she had taken captive, and the machine flew up and smashed into its wingman. Both of the drones disappeared in a fireball.

Techorse cheered, “All right, good shot Twilight!”

Rainbow Dash then landed in front of them and said, “Thanks, I thought I was a goner.”

Twilight said, “Don’t worry about it. But before we forget, we have to go rescue Applejack from the human. She had to provide a distraction so we could save you.”

“If that human lays one hand on her, I’ll…” Rainbow tried to say.

Techorse interrupted, “We’ll save Applejack, I’m sure of it. She’s a tough girl. Right now we have to find the others so we can team up against the human.” In the midst of the panics, screaming, and shouting, they walked together to see if they could find Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Eventually, they found amongst the rubble and debris an injured Derpy Hooves being fed cupcakes by Pinkie Pie.

“I’m not sure these will help.” groaned the cross-eyed Pegasus as she swallowed a chocolate cupcake.

Pinkie Pie said to her, “Nonsense, everypony knows food heals injuries!”

Twilight said with relief, “Oh, there you are Pinkie Pie, thank goodness you’re ok.”

Pinkie Pie shouted cheerfully, “Of course I am. Me and Derpy had to fight, like, a billion robots, but we made it out unharmed!”

Techorse asked, “If the robots didn’t hurt her, how did Derpy get that nasty scrape?”

Derpy Hooves answered shamefully, “I tripped over a rock.” Techorse found that not a big surprise taking into account the pony’s obvious vision problems.

The gray Pegasus said, “You’re Techorse aren’t you? Thanks for saving me from that fat human back there in the valley.”

Techorse laughed, “Oh, you’re welcome, but I just smashed the freezer door open. It was Rainbow Dash here who beat the human.”

Rainbow Dash said proudly, “One of my best rainbooms ever! Still can’t believe I did it!”

“Ok, right now we’re trying to concentrate on beating the human at hand.” Said Twilight impatiently, “could we please focus on that? Pinkie Pie, you need to come with us.”

Pinkie Pie protested, “I won’t leave Derpy Hooves! She needs my cupcakes for energy, isn’t that right Derpy?” Derpy Hooves had already left though to avoid a stomach ache by having to eat more sugary goods.

Pinkie Pie shouted, “Well, never mind that, I’m coming with you guys!”

Meanwhile, Applejack was still trying to avoid the blasts from the human’s mech.

Schadenfreude addressed her with the speakers, “you can’t run forever fraulein!” Applejack wouldn’t even look back at him as she galloped away from the running machine. She was tiring out and needed water badly, but she knew she was doomed if she took a break. By very carefully evading the beams, she was wasting the general’s time he could be spending hunting other ponies, especially her best friends. Applejack saw a dead end up ahead, and turned right past a couple of tall buildings. She then in shock saw that this too led to a dead end. The human turned his robot and cornered Applejack. “No place to go but to ze cages now.” He said, raising his robot’s left arm to fire. Applejack wouldn’t shut her eyes in fear of the human, but braced for the inevitable. Suddenly, three shards of diamond pierced the plexiglass canopy on the machine and nearly poked the human.

“What!” he shouted in surprise, jumping just enough to throw off his aim. The beam impacted just inches above Applejack’s head, nearly stealing her hat. She breathed heavily and quickly in relief as Rarity entered the scene, jumping on top of the canopy.

“would you mind not shooting my friend? She asked the general, looking down at him through the window.”

Schadenfreude looked up at her and said, “Sorry miss, but general Schadenfreude shoots who he want to, then laughs!” He flicked the canopy open switch, which tossed Rarity backwards. She fell screaming, but Applejack ran under the mech’s legs and helped to break her fall. A loud smack was heard as Rarity landed on top of Applejack.

“Thanks Applejack, I hope that didn’t hurt.” She said while standing up.

“Forget about that, just run for it Rarity!” The two galloped away as Schadenfreude put the canopy back in place and turned his war machine around to continue his attack.

Comments

[Warrior Kitten]

I'm trying to imagine what the mech looks like. But I keep defaulting to the mechs from avatar