サイバーポニー襲来
Rise of the Cyber Ponies
第1話: ポニーランドへようこそ
Chapter 1: Welcome to Ponyland
Twilight Sparkle was at her most comfortable, standing at a table, her magic turning the pages of a heavy engrossing tome, sunlight streaming through the windows to keep the library warm and bright. Earth Pony Settlements Through History chronicled communities that consisted primarily of Earth Ponies. Some stories were inspiring, the connection to nature that Earth Ponies possessed allowing for flourishing towns and cities, sometimes overcoming incredible hardships, all without the magic of Unicorn Ponies and the flight of Pegasus Ponies. Others were less uplifting, ending in disappointment or even tragedy. The history of Buckingville in particular was chilling, the residents building a settlement far away in the spring. During a ferociously bad winter and all contact was lost with Buckingville, neighboring Ponies stopped by to see if anything had happened, and discovered all the Buckingville Ponies had frozen to death. Twilight lingered over an especially poignant illustration of a dismayed rescue party in a small wooden home filled with snow, a family consisting of a stallion, a mare, and two fillies huddled together in bed, looking like they had fallen asleep together in death.
Twilight shook her head and quickly turned the page, turning to a chapter on Earth pony medical practices. Without magic they had to settle for some unusual solutions, even replacing damaged body parts with wooden prosthetics. A woodcut showed a stallion with a wooden left front leg, a complicated series of hinges in place to mimic the function of the original leg!
"Ingenious," she chuckled. "What these Earth Ponies can do without magic…"
The rapid pattering of Spike's feet caused her to look up. Her young assistant came charging from the floor above, waving his arms. "Twilight!" he called, and belched out a scroll in a quick blaze of green fire.
"A message from the princess?" Twilight's magic unfurled the scroll and held it for her to read. "My dear student Twilight," she read aloud, "nopony has heard anything from Ponyland north of Equestria for a month. I worry for our neighbors, and I want you to travel there as an ambassador. I have faith that you will be able to find out what has happened, and if something has, please inform me so that supplies may be brought in if needed, and then our lands can begin a new friendship. Be ready for anything. Please leave as soon as you're ready. Signed, Princess Celestia."
"Ponyland?" Spike asked. "That's the big Earth Pony state, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is, Spike," Twilight answered. "I was just reading about it in this book. It's one of the most successful Earth Pony communities known outside of Equestria."
The young Unicorn Pony trotted to the library shelves and scanned for any relevant books that might help. "It would probably be best to bring Applejack and Pinkie with me," she told Spike. "If they're all Earth Ponies in Ponyland then they might not be as open to me, but with Pinkie and Applejack they might open up some more to us. And maybe if I bring Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow the Ponyland Ponies will learn to not be as nervous around non-Earth Ponies."
The sound of Spike's quill on paper told Twilight that Spike was making note of everything she said. "Is that it?" she asked, looking around her books. "Or is there something I'm missing?"
"Nope! I think we've got this planned out!" Spike answered cheerfully.
"Let's tell the others then!"
The train ride to Ponyland was long, but luxurious. The interior was very soft and comfortable, with plenty of space in the stalls and private accommodations.
Applejack gazed out the window, awed by their surroundings. "Look at those steep cliffs!" she observed. "They go on forever!"
"So what are you looking forward to seeing the most in Ponyland?" Fluttershy asked the girls. "I hope to visit all the forests and zoos to see what kind of animals live there."
"Definitely the race track!" Rainbow Dash said, buffeting her wings in excitement. "I know only Earth Ponies live there, but I bet Ponyland has some hardcore athletes that want new challenges!"
"I'm going to pursue the clothing stores," said Rarity. "I'm always looking forward to experiencing new fashions, and perhaps I can introduce them to my own works. This could be the beginning of a revolution in the fashion industry!"
"I've got similar plans," Applejack told them. "I'm gonna check out their produce and give away samples of my apples." She patted a bulging burlap sack of fresh apples she picked before the journey. "Give them a taste of Sweet Apple Acres! Maybe we can pick up some new customers in Ponyland!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie hopped around the car. "I wanna set up the biggest party ever at Ponyland! Once Ponyland and Equestria are the best of friends, we're gonna have a big celebration! I gotta be there!"
Spike looked over to them. "Well, I gotta be here no matter what, but I really wanna see what the gems are like. Maybe they've got new flavors for me to try."
Everypony turned to Twilight. "So what're you looking forward to, Twi?" Applejack asked.
Twilight cocked her head, thinking for a moment. It was really a job, not a holiday, but there had to be something she wanted to do. "I guess…just being able to experience a new culture," she said. "There must be something new to learn from these Ponies."
Fluttershy gave her characteristic slight smile. "Oh Twilight, always so studious."
"It looks like we've all got something cool to do," Rainbow said.
"When are we getting there, though?" Pinkie asked. "Are we there yet?"
"No, Pinkie," Twilight said with a sigh.
"Are we now?"
"No."
"Are we now?"
"No.
Everything went dark, prompting a little cry of terror from Fluttershy. Twilight blinked. It was like the Sun had simply vanished. A light flashed outside, rushing past the windows. The train lit up again, and Twilight could see they had entered a tunnel with white walls and electric lights lining the sides. The tunnel suddenly gave way to a vast cavern, lit by giant sterile white lights. The train slowed and finally halted, the whistle blowing with a piercing urgency.
"I…guess we're here," Twilight said.
Pinkie hopped up and down. "Yay!" Before anypony could move, Pinkie had barreled off the train and onto a hard grey platform. What struck Twilight the most about the place was the total lack of Ponies. Pinkie's cheers and hops echoed through the cavern, but nopony was there to greet them.
"Wow," Rainbow said, her expression becoming uneasy, "there's…nothing."
"I guess nopony was expecting us," Applejack said.
"Well. Let's go out and see," Rarity urged.
The girls hopped off the train onto the cold concrete platform. Aside from an electric humming in the air and Pinkie's joyful shouts, there was no sound at all. Their hooves sounded far too loud, and the vast space made Twilight feel terribly vulnerable. The chamber was cold and her skin broke out into goosebumps.
Pinkie slowed down and stopped, cocking her head and making a quizzical look. "Where is everypony?" she asked. "I thought they'd be happy to see us."
Twilight frowned worriedly. "I didn't want to consider it, but there might be nopony left. Princess Celestia said she hadn't heard from Ponyland at all, so maybe...everypony's too sick to come out. They might have even died."
Everypony fell silent at the grim prospect. Rainbow made a nervous swallow as she and Fluttershy hovered in the air.
"Twilight," Rarity whispered, holding her hoof to her mouth, eyes filled with terror, "you don't really believe that, do you?"
Twilight sighed. "The princess did say, 'Be ready for anything,' but I really hope that isn't the case."
Fluttershy's ear twitched. "Sh!" she hissed. "I hear something!"
Spike, riding on Twilight's back, nodded in agreement. The girls quieted down, Twilight listening hard. Yes, there was a heavy metal thudding in the distance, but it grew closer. It was like a Pony was wearing absurdly heavy horseshoes. She walked toward the opposite end of the platform, spotting a series of staircases in motion, half moving up with the other half moving down. A Pony was coming down the stairs, dressed from head to hooves in a heavy steel armor, leaving no exposed areas. She couldn't tell if it was a stallion or a mare.
"Oh, a soldier," Rarity said, relieved.
"Why's he in that armor though?" Rainbow asked. "Seems kinda unnecessary."
The soldier approached them, a Twilight's eyes were drawn to an unusual pair of bars emerging from the sides of the soldier's head, moving upward and meeting at a protrusion that resembled a Unicorn's horn, coming from about the same place a Unicorn's horn grew from, but angled straight ahead instead of at an upward point. Twilight wondered why the armor would have such a detail, especially if it was an Earth Pony.
"Halt, intruders," the soldier ordered, its voice deep and monotone. Steam hissed from its helmet and leg joins. Its tailed whipped back, more like a cord than a tail, and arcs of electricity crackled along its length. Twilight couldn't even see the soldier's eyes; the eye holes were covered by a black lens.
"Ooh," said Pinkie. "Is this a costume party?"
The soldier ignored her, looking at Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. "You are not Earth Ponies," it observed. "What are you doing here?"
Twilight felt an uneasy knot in her stomach under the unblinking gaze of the imposing soldier. "We...were sent here by Princess Celestia of Equrestria," she stammered. "She hadn't heard from Ponyland for a long time..."
"We in Ponyland are fine on our own," the soldier said. There was no hint of emotion in its voice, only a bald statement. "Leave now or be arrested."
Twilight backed up, stymied. What was with the soldier? Were the Ponies of Ponyland really that xenophobic?
Applejack and Rainbow butted in, glaring at the guard. "Begging your pardon, Sir," Applejack sneered, "but we came a mighty long way to make sure everypony was all right."
"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. She floated up to the soldier's face "You owe us an explanation at least!"
"If, erm, you don't mind..." Fluttershy added, crouching behind her friends.
The soldier didn't respond but moved toward them, flicking its tail menacingly. Everypony tensed up, ready for a fight.
"Stand down!" a mare called from behind the soldier. It stopped, cocking its head.
"Stand down?" it repeated.
An Earth Pony mare came galloping onto the platform. "I said stand down!" she yelled at the soldier. "Obey me now!"
It stared at her for a second, then lowered its head. "I obey," it said, its tail retracting. It trotted away.
The mare turned to Twilight and the others. Her coat was cyan and her mane and tail bright orange. Her cutie mark was a pink notebook with a blue quill pen. She wore a plain grey garment over her trunk. "I'm terribly sorry about this!" she said. "We weren't expecting visitors, and I thought I was imagining things when the sensors picked up a train in the station!"
"Thank you so much!" Twilight said, wiping her forehead in relief. "I thought we were in serious trouble!"
The mare smiled. "It's good having visitors. I can't remember the last time I saw Pegasus and Unicorn Ponies. I'm Bright Eyes."
She turned and lead them to the moving staircases. Twilight's friends told Bright their names, but Twilight was distracted by a feature she missed on Bright.
Her rear right leg was encased in metal and hissing with steam, like the soldier's had.
No, it wasn't armor. It was a prosthetic leg.
"Welcome to Ponyland," Bright told them cheerfully
続く…
To be continued…
Author's note: My first My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic story. I am rather excited about this fan-fiction. The idea came to me after listening to the chilling audio story Doctor Who: Spare Parts. The Friendship is Magic fandom tends to like combining with Doctor Who, so I thought that I would go ahead with it too. Also, I had not read very many stories where the Ponies encounter Cybermen, so I decided to fill that need for myself. I hope you enjoy this story and watch for further chapters.