Magic Vs. Machinery

by Exotic Butter

VIII.~Cellar or Castle?

What can be the best spot to hide from natural disasters, (Or Alien invasion for now,) where you would spend days and months until somepony would save your flank? I would likely accept my fate then try to find a hiding spot.

But luckily for the Apple Family, under their house was a cellar for these disasters…

The cellar was surprisingly vast. Big enough for seven lives and more! The walls were dark gray, but filled with shelfs with books. Three suspended lights illuminated the entire cellar with apples. But doing more than talking or reading, there was only sleeping…yeah.

“AppleJack!” A voice called her name. She snapped back to reality and looked at the source of the call. It was Applebloom.

“Uh, yes, Bloom?”

“We were asking you somethin’ but you didn't respond.”

"Oh. Sorry. Ah was just…thinking."

“What were you thinking about, darling?” Rarity asked.

"If the machine was made to attack Equestria for…some Celestia sake reason, I don't think it would be able to take over our land by itself."

“...What…?”

"It's just my theory. If somepony really sent that machine to destroy us or somethin’, then it's kind of weird that they only sent one."

“Please…don’t say that,” Said the pink unicorn mare with purple mane and tail. It was Sugar Belle, AppleJack’s sister-in-law.

“Let’s just hope that Princess Twilight has a plan to stop at least ONE Tripod. And if it would work, then defeating the rest of the Tripods won’t be a problem.”

“We’ll see.” AppleJack said, but when her eyes landed on Sweetie Belle, she noticed she was shaking.

Applejack came closer to the rarity and whispered;

“What’s up with Sweetie Belle? She wasn’t shaking like that, while you and her went down here.”

“*Sigh* She’s… sick.” Rarity's answer came in whispers too.

“Sick? Since when?” AJ was confused.

“It's hard for me to say, but she's had a big fever for four days now. I hope it isn’t a problem.” Rarity whispered in a sad tone.

“Wha- Of course it isn’t a problem! Y’all are fully welcomed in Sweet Apple Acres anytime, with any request. Ah mean, what are best friends after all?” AJ said, placing her hoof on her shoulder.

“Thanks, AJ…”

“BUCK!” Unexpectedly, Big Mac has said the B-word.

Everypony, except for Sweetie Belle, looked at the muscular red earth pony.

“What’s wrong, Mac?” Sugar Belle asked, holding their six-years-old child's ears.

“The radio! I thought the signal would be better!” He said, as he was searching his bag.

Radio. The only thing that would give them information and the state of the ‘war’ from the surface.

“Ya are kidding, right? We’re under the ground! Of course it will not work well!” AJ smacked her brother over the head.

“Great… What now?” Big Mac put his hoof on his chin.

“*Sigh* Without radio, we will never know when to leave the cellar! Unless…I would try the signal out of the cellar.”

“NOPE!” Big Mac catches her front hoof.

“Big Mac’s right! We don’t even know if the machine is near our farm!” AppeBloom said, as she stand in front of her.

“I know. It may be dangerous, but trust me. I will fall back before it even notices where I am.”

“You sure?”

“Well...no.”

“Wait… Haven’t…somepony heard a horn or something for the last two days?” Rarity asked.

Nopony said anything…

“Then I think it’s safe out there.”

“Hol up, what?” AJ tilted her head, as she looked at her.

“The machine from Ponyville… It can make a horn-like sound! And before it even attacked Ponyville, it horned two times. So…they may horn, when they are ready to attack.” Rarity explained.

“Well…at least I would know, if it saw me or not.” AJ said, as she opened the exit doors, holding a radio with a cable under her front hoof, looking at the stairs to the surface.

After she took the stairs, she slowly opened the door that was under the house stairways.

She slowly put the radio on the floor, straightened the transmitter and before she turned it on, she looked around her.

Silence. Just an unreliable silence…

“That was simple.” She said to herself as she turned on the radio. But…

When pressed, all that could be heard was the typical hum, which revealed that the radio had no signal. But how? She was no longer in the underground, where it couldn't be much better. AJ gradually changed the frequency but couldn't find one that was understandable.

"...They destroyed the radio tower, haven't they…?"

AJ was slowly losing hope of success...until...

“Two M---ines slo-ly occ--y the We-- of E--estria! At the s-me time, one ma--ine is head--g back to the inlan-! Aco---ing to some sourc--, one ---achine holds near the -order with a Crys--- Empire! An unkn-wn obj--t fell -nto the Ce--estial Oce-n!”

AJ listened in shock, as the signal got worse, until typical hum was heard again.

“Dear, Celestia…” AJ packed the radio and trotted back to the cellar.

When she got back in, everypony watched her, like she saw a ghost. AJ looked at everypony in the cellar, breathing a little uncanny.

“We have to get into the Canterlot.” She said.

“What!? What did they say?”

“No questions! Start packing!” AJ said, as she started packing her bag.

“B-but why? We are safe here, right?” Sugar Belle asked.

“Well- Yeah! But-! Look, I don't really know what they said, BECAUSE the ‘Aliens’ destroyed the radio tower, but what I get is that machine from Ponyville is probably coming back!”

“B-but it still does not explain why we should leave the only safe place. So why?”

“The machine isn’t alone!”

Everypony was quiet.

“Yes, it is NOT alone! The only thing I want is to find a better place to hide. If one would eventually come here, I bet it would dig, to find a way to find us!”

“And why is it's Canterlot?” Rarity asked.

“It has a shield, remember?” AJ answered.

“So ya wanna rush it?” Mac asked.

“Yea. It would take…two days.”

“Well…we can try it. So…in five minutes, we can leave.”

Author's Note:

*sigh* Boring...

No, seriously; even for me this chapter is boring!

So why I let it be like this? I dunno, maybe I ran out of ideas...for now.