The enhanced Stallion

by Shenzy

Dawning

The same noon, they all gathered at one of the shooting ranges of the castle.

It was basically just a big meadow, with a lot of holes in the ground and targets lined up in the distance. Here guards could improve their skills, on everything – ranging from crossbows, magic or even the use of catapult or trebuchet, all with the appropriate targets set up in the distance: hay dolls, wooden changeling cut-outs and some cheaply put together brick houses in the distance, as well something under a blanket right in front of them. Could be a secret weapon of some sorts?

Today Twilight had got into the spirit of things and hold a crop in magic grip, causing the first smirks. Twilight being some kind of military leader? Kinda sounded like a prank played by Pinkie Pie or Rainbow, talking her into this cliche to have a laugh on her expense.

“Now listen up! I'm here to turn you filly's into stallions!” she marched from left to right, causing all of her recruits to laugh “- do you got a spell for that!?” Rainbow barfed, holding on to her stomach, letting their admiral quickly lose her serious face “haha... no, I don't... -i might could find one however...” the hoof tapped thoughtful, wondering which ancient book might held such a powerful magic, causing a lot of eyes to roll and the general to blush.

“Uhm...forget that...” she loosen up and threw the crop away “Still, i'm teaching you the ways to defeat – this!” the blanket was pulled away and one of those metal machines was revealed.

“Oh come on, its getting old! We saw those like a hundred times now!”

“Yes, but this is how we learn; through repetition. As you can see, the chest plate is missing on this one” the hoof pointed nonchalant on the gaping hole “also you might noticed, it isn't moving” the hoof now knocked it a few times on the shoulder, eliciting a dull -pung, pung-

“Now watch and learn” one of those dull marbles popped into existence and filled a hole within the gap, after which that metal thing tilted its head jeeringly to the right, causing most of them to move back half a step before the stone got removed “Don't worry, everything is under control!”

“We know darling. You told us, didn't you?” Rarity said somewhat confident, but nervous.

“Than I have to step up my game it seems” the mare said confident and charged her horn- “Luna, I need you to trust me and hold still for this one” a flash of light shot towards the blue alicorn, which suddenly sat isolated in a purple magic bubble “Now, lets see what happens now” the stone was plugged back in- pony's braced themselves aaannnd... nothing happened. The war machine just stood there, not moving a muscle, not twitching ear, making pony's wonder why the statue wouldn't give into the urge to come alive!?

“Eh? EH!?” the princess gestured excited over her discovery and heads turned back and forth between the night princess and the statue – at times sticking to Twilight, but without putting the pieces together it seemed. Casting a spell on Luna? Why in Equestria would this stop the horse to their right from moving!?

The cowgirl put down her stanton-hat “Well gosh, put me on a chimney and call me stork! How in the world did you figure that one out?”

Twilight's chest swelled a moment with pride, but the princess practiced modesty “I basically stumbled over it, but that's beside the point”

“Uhm... T-twilight” Fluttershy rose a hoof, pointing at the trapped mare.

Apparently the spell was a notch to good, leaving the mare trapped and muted beneath the bubble. Gesturing an upset hoof while lips moved without being heard.

“Sorry” the field vanished once the stone was plugged out of its socket.

“- than I am the cause for this mischief!?” Luna repeated indignant, but not without getting petted right away by her sister “I'm sure you are not... isn't that so?”

“Absolutely not! They are by all means marionettes!” Twilight assured with hooves risen in defeat to wave off this theory “This isn't your fault in any way! However, they do react on you like nopony else”

The blue mare pulled a frown and rolled eyes “great, makes me feel a lot better”

“Luna, don't you see!? Those horses are nothing else but marionettes! Whoever created this spell, probably couldn't figure out how to do it otherwise. It's make-believe! Other spells- real control spells would taken over all of the body. Every single screw!” the hoof gestured up and down towards 'that thing' “- but there would be no way to turn them off. Not with this kinda skin!” the hoof hastily now tapped against the thick metal they couldn't penetrate earlier. Not even with all their magic combined “- and even if, it would be a nightmare to maintain such a spell. The pony would need to constantly tell every piece what to do!” which implied something like a line of sight “This way however, its controlled from within and all it takes is to have one of these gems – and inject it with somepony's essence” magic levitated the black marble across “and zap! You got yourself a daydreaming hunk of metal!” and right into Luna's hoof, which couldn't help to stare onto it as gears began to turn ”I mean-” the Twilight snorted with an excited laugh “it is actually kinda clever how they solved that one, if you think about it!”

Luna rose an skeptic eyebrow “You say, those ...dream?”

“Exactly!”

Celestia too suddenly realized where this was going “Sister, do you think...!?” but Luna was already way past that “O-OF COURSE! I SHALL FIND IT WITHIN THE DREAM REALM!” Luna jumped up, but was stopped by a flash of light materializing Twilight before the alicorn, preventing Luna to break into a gallop “Wohh...- hold your horses! Where you think, you are going?”

“It will not escape us this time! We shall find and destroy it at once!” the mare declared proudly and stubborn, stomping confident a hoof onto the ground.

“...”

A collective frown was facing the princess of the night, which couldn't quite understand why.

“Luna!?” Celestia worried, causing Luna to turn and blink utterly confused at the herd. Until the bit dropped... “I- i was talking about 'us' -as in all of us, of course! We-” the hoof gestured towards the group, before raising it like a warrior would its sword to inspire his platoon “-shall bring it to its knees!”

“Oooh!” pony's exclaimed in union, nodding heads agreeing to one another.

Not much later pony's gathered in princess Luna's private chambers. The mostly blue room seemed like a good place to start the mystical journey, despite suggestions to stay near the majestic fountains in the royal garden, beneath an umbrella and surrounded by servants, holding fancy odeuvre or inside the 'cozy library', which held so many useful books!

Yet Luna's chose to keep it simple. Her room wasn't just spacey, but neither crammed with dusty shelf's, nor irritating servants, asking for one more request!? Slimy worms trying to obtain a glimpse of admiration by offering sweets, blankets and a message. They would do and say anything to see a princess smile, knowing it was their doing all alone.

No. What Luna wanted to be surrounded by were friends, not sycophants. Pony's she could trust on. Help her in times of need. Not because of personal gain, but because she mattered to them. They wouldn't tell her what she wanted to hear, but what she needed to hear, even if it hurt at times to be reminded of your mistakes. This is how learned and grew to be a stronger pony then the day before that ~ and might even a better sister too.

"Sister, does your cushion suite you? You can always join my side" Luna offered to share the spacious crested-moon shaped bed. The blue sheets were made of finest silk and the mattress a mixture of wool, magic and clouds – comfortable as one could get.

“Thank you, but I will stay here. Remember what happened last time we shared a bed?” the white mare teased, hinting at their youth in which the blue mare had kicked her beloved sister out of bed, accidentally, because of a nightmare the filly couldn't control. Thousands of tiny attackers crawling across the (back then) mauve colored body to use even tinier claws to bite the pony! Those nasty black bugs even tried to crawl into Luna's pointy ears! It was outright horrid!

“Th-ous wasn't my fault! I tell you~ it was a basket worth of spiders attacking me!”

“Kihihi~” the white mare giggled into a hoof “Let's just hope our string-puller isn't one of them”

Luna's face became expressionless for a moment, trying to picture a nasty looking spider -eight-legged, black, hairy and big as a horse! ~ but it was kinda ridiculous. The princess was an adult and the fear or spiders vanished eons ago “my only fear, sister, is to be trapped beneath your dearest rump” the reply came sharp and snippy.

Celestia now was the one with the baffled expression, causing pony's in the room to hold their breath, since nopony in their right mind would dare to talk towards the princess like that! Yet the white mare began to giggle and laugh ~ as well did the younger sister and the rest of the group as tension finally vanished into thin air.

“I'm glad you two get along so well, but I fear there is little time~” Twilight reminded, but couldn't help to smile bright as the others. Might could had to do with the 'royal' cushion she was sitting on “So unless~” Rainbows hoof waved, interrupting the alicorn “Ugh. Yes Rainbow?”

“How comes your pillow is like three times the siz!”~POFF! The mare was hit by red silk, after which the yellow one was pulled away from under her to “thump!” land on the floor. A quick and (almost) painless exchange of comfort. Twilight then took seat on the smaller, yet still quite comfortable pillow to take a look around “Now, if there ain't any other requests!?”

Silence.

“Gre-!” “Totally worth it! Wanna feel how so~” “Hrrm” a sharp glance was given to silence the blabbermouth, which finally sat down and enjoyed the fabric... silently “...grrreat...~”

Upon Twilight's approving nod~ the mare on the moon shaped bed began to cast her spell, while the pony's sitting nearby kept an eye open. Luna might thirsted for action, but her body hadn't fully recovered yet and casting advanced magic, or any magic, would drain her energy even faster because of it. It was vital for the mare to make this trip as short as possible or she might pass out before the mission would be truly over.

A slight glow of the horn guided princess Luna into the world of slumber. Breaking through darkness and into a purple realm, populated only by glowing orbs slowly passing by. Falling from the sky to slowly descend into the abyss beneath. This might be the reason dreaming often felt like 'flying' to pony's. A gentle fall from light into deep slumber, after which the bubble touched the ground -burst- and the dream was over, as simple as that.

Dreams, so many dreams passing by. Hundreds, if not thousands!

Pony's having a nap. Resting after work. Filly's and colts fallen asleep in an embrace, after racing around the playground. Most of which having wonderful dreams, with an occasional bad one in between.

Was Luna looking for a nightmare? Having a look around, there was indeed a suspicious pulsating orb nearby. Radiating in pulsating fashion and dark blue tone. It was like the dream was calling out to the princess, the dreamer yearning for Luna's aid.

Like a fortune teller having a glance into the future, so did Luna have a glance into the orb. Holding it between hooves without touching, its secrets were revealed... ~inside she saw... saw... a board meeting? A... black stallion wearing a tux stood in front of the highest bosses which sat around a long wooden table. They didn't look particular amused, since the numbers of this particular season were in decline, making the pony explaining the statistics quite nervous. Not even an attempt to work in humor seemed to loosen up the tension “I know we missed our goal t-this quarter, but since we ran an above average last quarter... - I guess you could say we are where we wanted to be?” a nervous grin tried to bring across the weak joke and in fact! The big blue boss sitting on the opposing side began to laugh, causing a lot of heads to turn back and forth to join into the laughter! For about five seconds the statistician felt relieved, pulling a handkerchief out of the chest pocket to wipe away sweat running down his forehead, to notice the handkerchief was tied to another one... - four more? A dozen!? The head tilted towards the chest pocket to find the tux had turned into a sloppy sewed red overall! Fitting red shoes stuck on his hooves and upon the white painted face sat a red ball on the end of his nuzzle! Squeaking upon the curious touch of the confused horse – reason enough for the crowd to throw themselves onto the table or slip of chairs. Laughing about this fool in their middle! “GHAHAHA~ who hired this CLOWN!? Plea~ahease! Gahahaa- Get him out of here!” the chef laughed heartily, as security quickly entered the room, grabbed the horse which tried to hold onto the standee, but was dragged this fool out of the firm. Yet not before being seen and laughed at by every other of his co-workers... and this mare he always wanted to ask out for a date! - of course. A classic case. So much so Luna rolled eyes.

No. This wasn't what she was looking for and there was no time to resolve this nightmare.

Letting the orb slip out of hooves, it too gently descent into the abyss beneath. All those dreams passing by far and close... like searching a needle in a haystack. Another dream found its way into the mares hand. A good one it seemed- as a young brown/white colt rescued... oh~ actually herself, from a dragon by the looks of it. How very noble ...and cute.

This one too was let go, heading slowly towards oblivion to find a soothing end.

An end? Wait. A dream would end- yes. Dreams ended! What did Twilight say earlier!? 'Its made believe – day-dreaming' ! … HA! Of course! She had it all wrong. This wasn't a dream she was looking for, but a state of dreaming.

Luna knew what she was looking for, racing away in a spiral motion faster then she could ever within the real world. A speed unimaginable for pony's; faster then a shooting star hissing across the night sky – faster then even the blue one could hope to dream off!

A glimpse was thrown at each dream passing by, which at this point were mere strokes of light once the eye was taken off them. Luna didn't bother to look inside any of them, because she wasn't looking for what was on the inside. She would judge this book by the cover!- the orb! - the orb! Where was it... come out! Luna could basically feel its presents. A dead spot pulling her closer, like a nightmare would... -w-what!? Had she just seen what she thought she saw!? A sharp curve was flown to stop right in front, holding her height “...huzzah!” -the orb! She found it and it just liked like all the others, except one mayor difference: this one wasn't moving. Wouldn't descent. A dream which wouldn't end.

How could she overlooked this for so long? Luna would like to say it seemed obvious, now that she knew, but it wasn't. She never had thought that one of these orbs was anything different then all the others! That's why she never had taken a look beyond what she knew, only responding to outcries in the dark. This however made her curious? Wondering how the puppeteer would react? Probably not amused, because this would be one unpleasant awakening!

“Hey, look!” Pinkie pointed onto the grinning mare, squeaking: “Looks like she is having fun!”

“Pfff~” Rainbow blew air through her lips “Wrooong~ she clearly found something! I know that grin and this means somepony is about to get it! And get it goooood!”

“Ksssh~ will you be quiet!?” Rarity hissed to silence the troublemakers “This is a serious matter and the Princess will need all the concentration she can get! Don't you see~?”

Luna's face had in fact turned more serious and even curious. Right now the princess couldn't see hoof in front of her face, since the fog bank she was passing through was simply to thick. Given how easy it had been to enter this realm, she had to wonder if this was some sort of trap? Maybe she was already caught? Damned to pass endlessly through this limbo... oh- apparently not! In fact: yes she could make out a shape beneath. A figure sat not to far away from where she would land, silently, causing no more noise then a falling feather would.

Having past the last layer of fog the figure turned out to be a regular brown earth pony.

Making sure of that the head turned left and right, just to come back to the center once more, confirming what she already knew: this place was empty otherwise. It was just her and him, an earthpony of above average height like the brother of the Applejack family. Could it been? Could this... farmpony... be the cause of all the trouble? A commoner!?

A rather disappointing thought for the princess, given that she had hoped for something more. A challenge of sorts! Maybe an evil ghostly shadow creature? ... a crazy scientist and his split personalities would been fine! …at least an powerful unicorn of sorts!? Even a combination of those came to mind! A truly unseen monstrosity you can only hope to find within the deepest of nightmares imaginable! A nightmare so ugly and twisted, the tales of his defeat could frighten any sane pony out of its mind!

This however? Hardly worth mentioning. Discovering your arch enemy was neither, seemingly not even a warrior type, this you could only be described as a let down. Might as well get over with and force this peasant out of this realm for him to face punishment.

Stepping closer the mare was about to inhale a draft of 'air', not like any inside this realm was real -barely more then a reflection of reality. Still, a can of Royal Canterlot Accent should be enough to scare this outlaw out of his mind. Quite possibly, literally!

“... nopony knows what it's like behind these eyes” the figure mourned muffled towards the ground, letting the princess stop her approach as the white sphere was sliced apart! A black rift departing the horizon like this world was about to vanish into darkness, only for the abyss to fade on the far edges while leaving the ground they were standing on untouched. Luna's gaze then shifted, starring over the stallions shoulder towards the wondrous sunset in front, causing the mares head to rise along for just a moment before coming back towards the white... yet suddenly shimmering ground she was standing on?

Glancing onto the ground and light dancing around hooves, the mare quickly realized that this wasn't part of this realm but... eyes rose to find grainy picture of some kind of basement covering what seemed the entire world! Now... this... indeed was worth mentioning. A laboratory! Yes, so he was a crazy scientist, causing an unconscious smug smile. Wires and pipes covering the ceiling, connecting chunky of puffing machinery. Flickering lights in the distance, framing a water tank holding the outlines of an earthpony!

'Oh My Stars!?' a giant something just passed by the vision sphere! Unthinkable massive... black and silver? No just silver, but smudged with black!? It turned. Was... -oh!- it was a hoof!? A hoof bigger then a tower of the royal palace!! N-no wait... this was just the perspective! Phew. Half a second the mare tensed up, imagination tricking Luna's mind to check 'monster' of the list as well. Sadly/luckily this wasn't the case however. It was just one of his... and the black burn marks caused by one, if not both, of the sisters.

Tickle... Tickle... Tickle...

Luna rose a hoof of her own. The right one, feeling a weird tickling sensation running along like goosebumps. Maybe not as much as a tickling of skin, but rather the part of her brain controlling said hoof. A need... an urge... to lift it. Turn... it. Stretch and reach out...?

Eyes going back and forth between realm and reality, the princess giving into this remote urge to follow the movement instinctively as Luna was willingly controlled by the marionette for a few seconds to come “... ah, I see...” she thought to herself, experiencing a glimpse of the power beyond those strings. Bolts, valves and pumps working in unity, controlled by nothing more then sheer will. Will which sat just about... ten meters away.

<THOMP!> the mighty hoof tore itself out of the stallions grasp, coming down with gusto!

BY THE LIGHTS!? The horse jumped up within a second and spun around even faster! Pure shock and utter confusion written all over it's face. Disbelieve slapping it left and right as a booming voice cut down to the bone letting ears flop back to soften the painful blow.

“YOU SHALL CEASE CONTROL OF THIS REALM AND SURRENDER TO OUR CURT!” the night blue mare demanded, met by a speechless pony cowering on the ground.

The surprise had been too much for brown legs to keep up, causing the stallion to fall flat onto his flank in an attempt to get distance between the both of them. A hoof pointing shivering at this madness, like the reaching hoof at the horizon. An unintentional coincidence, since all focus was drawn towards this demon standing calmly half a dozen steps away.

“H-o-wah-no....NO!” incoherent stuttering fell out of the hanging jaw. In return the princess had none of these problems, repeating her demands firmly, yet a few decibels lower in volume this time around “you shall leave this realm this instant” <thomp!> “-or I shall bring justice upon you the likes you never seen!”

“Eque...ueew...” the jaw kept clattering. Eyes wide as pancakes “yw-oue-youh!?”

Coming another step closer and barely out of hooves reach, the mare glared daggers onto the culprit to mock the lack of self control “not so brave without your puppet, ain't we?”

“Y-YOou! ItZ-” the horse's breath sped up like a humming-bird in what seemed panic at first as words got stuck in his throat “YOU- IT- EIGH” as he teared up from what Luna assumed was fear, facing his judge from face to face. Clearly an overwhelming sight like the Princess of the Night was hard to handle for most pony's, even without the shouting. A literal goddess walking among mortals! Admirable and Lofty. Simply impeccable to ponyki-

“ITSALLYOURFAULT!” he screamed from the top of his lungs in a single blow to break the knot preventing his voice from leaving his snout “I HATE YOU – I HATEEE YOUU! ITS ALLL YOUR FAULT!” the horse broke down in tears, crying heavily into his hooves.

Luna backed half a step away, having expected any reaction but this!

A uncomfortable silence took place, creating an awkward moment in which the blue Alicorn simply stood there and watched the wailing pony emptying its hearts content. Given; he was a villain, soon to be arrested, but even the Princess wasn't made out of stone. Especially if she was the one accused to be responsible for this kind of misery.

Speaking softly, a blue hoof reached out towards the criminal “We shall consider to... show mercy for your-” the princess was tackled instantly, rolling over and pushing hind-hooves against the horse above in a well trained reflex. Kicking the attacker overhead -fomp!- letting him land harsh on the back, while the blue lady stood upright once again. Unharmed.

“Graaahhh!” the horse bellowed in rage during an attempted second tackle, which the mare easily dodged by a single flaps of wings, stepping gracefully over Tenet's head and send him sliding flat along the ground as a hoof gave nothing more then a well calculated nudge on the back of the head “ughnff~!”

This time the horse didn't get up right away, giving the princess a chance to speak, gloating as she would mock any lesser combatant “You are no more a threat then a newborn foal!”

“A-as if...chhh- you coul-d take any more from me!” a hoof struck angry upon the ground, the tone was bitter like a basket of lemons, carrying a hatred deeper then the pits of Tartarus. A glare threw daggers at the princess “you keep lying – a-nd destroying... YOU GOT NO IDEA WHAT YOU DONEEEE!” it barfed tearfully towards the heartless monster.

“Fulfilling my duty. Stopping a maniac” the princess replied proudly “Protecting my subjects!?”

Grinding teeth the horse wished it could spat fire upon the mare. Burning her very words to mere ashes! Teaching another lesson like the one he had thought in Tall Tale.

“-wh-en we f-first met. I asked you for one... hour. ONE hour! All I wanted... was TIME... I wanted to face him... -makg-make things right for my frrieends... but... y-ou took em from me....” Tenets brown head pressed into his hooves “why you took em from meee” wailing even more then before, tears running like a river. Drops falling to the ground, dissolving into nothing. Just like the rest of his miserable life.

“W-we nev-” “-but I won't let you win this time!” the princess was cut short through clenched teeth. Giving a sharp glance towards the mare which was sign enough this would end in another fight. A flame of determination burning in his eyes; for this time to be different. This time he wouldn't just throw himself at the mare, but give everything... all which she hadn't taken from him at this point.

Instinctively the princess lowered her stance... hooves spread wide and wings unfold, ready to dodge anything being thrown her way.

Tenet for his part got into a similar stance, but slowly rose a hoof like a duel on sunset.

Crackling magic sparked up around the mighty horn.

The brown hoof reached towards his left ankle and gripped with all his might.

Luna's ran dozen of possible scenarios through her head, but none of which coming even close for him to do as much as lay hoof on her superior body. Within this realm one could assume that physical strength wouldn't been an issue, yet this would be only half the truth.

Luna's ran dozen of possible scenarios through her head, but none of which coming even close for him to do as much as lay hoof on her. This duel wouldn't be decided by strength or magic. Neither was it about speed or the power of flight. No, it all came down to Luna's sharp mind which knew those boundaries, even their appearance, was nothing more then a reflection for their subconsciousness. An afterimage. And a 'wake-dreamer' like Luna knew just too well how to use this to her advantage, dreaming herself as strong as she needed to be.

A concept clearly outlandish towards her opponent... or not?

“WRAAH!” the stallions battle-cry broke silence, after which senses beyond nature kicked in.

The princesses perception and movement rising to unheard levels as she dodged in two hopping sidesteps to the left, as she saw how the brown horse stroke along its left foreleg in a fast downwards motion. Fast from his perspective that is. Just like prior attempts, this attack would miss the mare by a landslide. Then a tickle arose as the right hoof pushed quickly forwards in a 'dagger throw' motion! … but... there were no daggers anywhere to be seen? If this was an attempt of a mental attack; it might very well the worst she ever witnessed! Even a colt could do as much as dream up a sword! In fact she knew a colt dreaming such things every other night and he was by far a superior duelist. Luna should know, she had trained him... (and stars forbid her sister found out).

Regardless of the actual threat it would pose, Luna decided to take this attempt not lightly: shooting a beam of blue magic in return! All of which taking place within the blink of an eye! -ZZZWOOSH!!-

“Grah!” Tenet was blown off his hooves and send flying a couple of meters “unf!” landing snout first to role another five meters before stopping on his back. Easy as pie. Even if the courage could... be considered... something?

She figured to hoof a compliment out of pity but decided against it. Grown rather tired of this nonsense “A rather embarrassing attempt and our patience has come to an end”

“Ha...ghaha... i- beat you! Hjiaahah... uieeh~” the voice cracked in sheer bliss!

“Pardon me!?” the princess huffed!

Clearly she had won this duel! He was the one on the ground and she therefore claimed victory! Yet the horse cackled manic, shattering tears of joy this time around? Was this mind so twisted he couldn't …

Luna's mind ran quickly one more through the howl engagement and noticed a detail going by almost unnoticed: the tickle!

Swinging herself around the horse stared at an (once again) extended hoof reaching out, but this time around it wasn't an attempt to grab something. No. This time around the hoof did let go of something! A projectile, thrown like a dagger across the room!

It had hit the water tank just when Luna shot a stream of magic in return. This must been why she hadn't heard it! Close as the horn was to Luna's ears, the crackling magic was all it took to cancel out the noise around. Especially since the puppet was lacking an ear, leaving it to a muffled mono-sound to gather the gurgling noise of water flooding the basement.

A bad feeling grabbed Luna's guts since this wasn't a fool's attempt. A calculated move of distraction to - free himself! Of course! This was a means of escape! He would wake himself and - “Gijahaahahaha!” roaring laughter then filled the void, for the echo to be lost in the distance. Laughter from the bottom of his heart: full and vibrant cackling, guffaw and snorting the likes of a maniac broke lose. This might be his biggest achievement yet and the irony!

This didn't quite sound like a villains laugh the princess had to admit. It wasn't mischievous. There was no big speech about his “upcoming plans” and how “foolish she was”? Which would been the evil equivalent of a 'so long princess'... and therefore rather rude to leave it out. No. What she got instead was a pony about to lose it's mind.

Turning once more towards the horizon, Luna tried to find the source of this preposterous behavior. Apparently this hadn't been a cunning means of escape. The princess should had known a spell-like this most likely could be broken by other means then a pointless duel. So... what was different?

A moment Luna thought about it might was the fact he had missed or destroyed something of value by sheer accident... but given the tools on the ground. The shards. Twisted metal all around. The pony must been on a rampage way before their meeting, leaving only the most obvious clue dead center: the broken water tank.

A liquid which seemed purple at first was trickling out, but this was only due to the blue lights all around. In fact the 'water' was red. Cherry red... and the pony inside, the blurred silhouette slowly took shape as it sunk to the bottom. A respirator mask strapped to the horse, slowly tugged the pony upwards as the water lowered due to the hose connecting it with some source of fresh air. The body's flank gently touched the ground, as the rest followed. The chest lowering in a gentle motion, while the head was still pulled up to the neck until the mask finally slipped off! Causing the head to slump into the remaining puddle with a splash and cough a bit as water was swallowed “gark garrkrk!”... but sure enough it wasn't in any risk of drowning it seemed, as the tank cleared entirely just seconds later... a hoof slipping through the hole, leaving a long scratch along the leg. Other then that the pony seemed save so far. Almost all of the shards had been washed out. There was air. And the cut wasn't serious... and...

Luna leaned forwards, trying to make out more details on this grainy picture, even squinting eyes as: the picture in fact sharpened! A short tingle running behind her eyes as this particular area was enhanced! Giving away the horses biggest secret...

“Sweet sister of mine!?”

Oh this bittersweet irony... it hadn't slipped past his last sane thought!

This project had been the one thing, which had brought him and his friends together. Creating the means of friendship, from nothing more then a scribble on a napkin. An impossible project which... by some miracle turned out to be not this crazy after all!

Every screw, every bolt and pipe was nothing short of spectacular!

A masterpiece which he never could create on his own.

This body was his friendship. All that was left was crammed inside the metal skin...

which was exactly the point where everything fell apart.

The skin, it wasn't meant to be magic resistant. He had done that.

The body, it was meant to help ponies and save life's! All he did was to destroy towns and hurt others in the process.

And he as a mechanic, a pony which should protect and value not just the friendship within, but the craftsmanship behind all of this the most... - tore it's own leg off in an last-ditch effort … dooming the only pony it was meant to save; by, as twisted as it was, granting a new life. A life in which the pony wouldn't be itself anymore. It was gone.

Muse was gone. And this too was his fault.

“Who is this mare!” Luna thundered at the mare-napper, grabbing his chest in an attempt to shake answers out “SPEAK! Who do you brought here!? Did you harm this mare!? Answer me! ANSWER ME!

No use. No reaction. Manic laughter and eyes staring into the abyss was all she got.

Author's Note:

When Twilight was young she fell into a big pot of 'smarts'... -so while everyone else got a spoon worth of clever, she got enough for two lives!!

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