Chapter 9
The Pony Who Cried Robot

As the sun rose to signal the start of another day in Ponyville, Flareon, Twilight, Spike, and Solana awoke to a beautiful, carefree morning. As Flareon went to the front door to get the daily Ponyville Chronicle, he was shocked to find a big, brown box next to it. The box had no address, not even a name or anything, listed on it. "Hey Twilight!" Flareon yelled as he brought the package and newspaper into the house, "Did you order anything?"

As Twilight walked downstairs, she replied, "No...I don't think so. Spike! Did you order something?"

Spike walked downstairs while carrying Solana and said, "Nope...not me. So Flareon, are you going to open it or not? We might as well see what's inside." Seeing as he had no choice, Flareon quickly opened the box and was shocked to find a robot earth pony.

"Who sent this to us?" Flareon said as he pondered, "You don't think it was Discord...do you?"

"Well...it's not attacking us," Twilight replied, "So I guess not then." As Spike walked closer to it, the robot pony suddenly came to life.

"I am robo-pony, your word is my command!" the robot exclaimed. Right away, Spike's eyes began to glow.

"Oh sweet! Our own personal robot! Let's see...robo-pony, go make us breakfast!' Spike said. At that moment, the robot quickly ran into the kitchen, and in no time at all, it had made breakfast for three.

"I am finished with your request!" the robot said. As Spike began to chow down, Flareon was starting to have a bad feeling about this. Something about this robot didn't seem quite right. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. When they went to answer it, their friends came rushing into the house, each with a robot just like the one they had.

"So...you guys got one too?" Rainbow Dash said, "Aren't these robots awesome? They can even fly using their hooves as jets! How cool is that? Everyone in Ponyville and Cloudsdale also got a robot!"

"That's very strange," Twilight replied, "The problem is...who sent them?"

"Who cares?! All I know is I'm definitely keeping mine!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Soon after, she and her robot left the house.

"I hear ya Twilight, but you do have to admit they are very helpful. I'm thinking this feller could even help me out on the farm. I think I'm going to call mine Bucky. Well...see ya guys later, bye!" Applejack said as she went outside with her robot. She was soon followed by the others, who were also happy that they received a robot pony. As the door closed behind them, Flareon was starting to get worried. Why did everyone suddenly receive a robot? Who sent them? The only answer Flareon could think of was Discord. He had to be the one behind this.

"Twilight...I'm telling you, this has to be the work of Discord! Um...Twilight?" Flareon said as he began to look for her. When he turned around, Flareon saw Twilight looking up at the robot, who was hovering in mid-air while putting a stack of books back on a bookshelf.

"Good work Circuit!" Twilight said as she pointed towards another stack of books, "Can you please put these away too?"

"Right away miss, your wish is my command!" Circuit replied as he flew down to the books and began to put them back on the bookshelf. In just a few minutes, Twilight had already fell victim to the robot's helpful charm.

"Twilight...I'm positive this robot was sent by Discord! I'm going to destroy this cursed thing!" Flareon yelled as he began to charge up a fireball, but Twilight suddenly stood in front of him.

"No...stop!" She replied, "Come on Flareon...why can't you give Circuit a chance? Look...even Solana likes him." As Flareon turned his head, he saw Solana riding on Circuit as he hovered around the room. Flareon quickly flew to the robot and took Solana off him.

"No! I will have not her playing with that thing!" Flareon yelled angrily. Unfortunately, Solana began to cry. He tried to calm her down, but it wasn't until Twilight used her magic to put Solana back onto Circuit's back. Immediately, Solana stopped crying and began to laugh happily as Circuit continued to fly her around the room.

"Flareon...please just stop this. Circuit has done nothing wrong. Maybe it was Princess Celestia who sent us these robots. I think we should keep him," Twilight replied. Soon after, Spike walked into the room.

"I agree with Twilight," Spike said as he finished eating a sandwich. As Circuit flew down to Twilight and Spike, Solana quickly began to clap her hooves together in agreement with them. Sadly for Flareon, he was outvoted 1-3.

"I don't care what you guys say, this robot is dangerous, I can sense it. This is a trap created by Discord!" Flareon said as he walked to the front door, "I'm going out to convince everyone that these robots need to be destroyed! Once I do...you guys will have to let me destroy Circuit." Flareon then walked outside and slammed the door behind him. As Twilight let out a deep sigh, Spike leaned towards Circuit.

"Hey Circuit...how good are you at giving massages?" he whispered. Meanwhile, Flareon was walking through town and was absolutely horrified at what he was seeing. There were robo-ponies everywhere. Rainbow Dash was right. Every single Ponyville resident, including Cloudsdale, had received a robot. This reminded Flareon of a movie he once saw about the entire human race being taking over by an unstoppable robot army. No matter what, he had to put an end to this nightmare. First stop, Sugarcube Corner. When he went inside, Flareon saw a robot helping Pinkie Pie, Mr. Cake, and Mrs. Cake run their store.

"Oh dear, isn't our robot Sugar simply the best?!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed.

"I'm so glad Princess Celestia gave us him. I should write a letter to thank her," Mr. Cake replied.

"This calls for a song! How about is Sugar?!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Very well Pinkie Pie, music mode on," Sugar replied. At that moment, they all burst into singing a song about cookies, cake, and other sweet-related things.

"Yeah...I'm not going to bother with that," Flareon said as he quickly left Sugarcube Corner. After he closed the door behind him, Flareon turned around to see Rainbow Dash flying with her robot. They seemed to be having a race. Suddenly, she spotted Flareon and flew down near him.

"Oh hey Flareon, how do you like my robot Speed?" she asked.

"Rainbow Dash...listen to me, we have to destroy your robot!" Flareon yelled. Unfortunately, she burst into laughter. He knew where this was going to go.

"What are you...crazy? Why would I destroy Speed for? Wait a minute...you want to play with him don't you?" Rainbow Dash said as she smirked.

"You moron...this isn't a game! Discord is the one who gave us the robots! They are not safe!" Flareon pleaded.

"Sorry Flareon, but me and Speed here are going to continue our race," Rainbow Dash replied as she signaled to her robot, "Come on Speed...race you to Cloudsdale!"

"Very well master, initiating super flight mode!" Speed said as his hooves began to emit stronger jet flames. Soon after, they quickly flew away. Flareon began to realize that this wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Next, Flareon decided to check on Rarity. When he went into Carousel Boutique, Flareon saw her robot helping Rarity organizing her dresses.

"Royal, would you be a dear and please put those dresses on the ponykins in the corner over there?" Rarity asked.

"Very well your majesty, I will obey your request," Royal replied. As he went over to the dresses, Flareon quickly ran over to Rarity.

"Ok Rarity, here's the plan! You keep him busy and I'll shot a fireball and melt him into a metal puddle. Then you can help me destroy the others! Discord won't get away with this!" Flareon exclaimed as he began to charge up his fire magic. Unfortunately, Rarity was completely appalled.

"Good heaves no! What are you talking about? You are not destroying my precious Royal!" Rarity angrily replied, "I don't care what nonsense you are spewing, but I will not have any part of it. I'm sorry Flareon, but me and Royal are busy at the moment, please leave us alone!" Soon after, Rarity flaunted her mane as she turned her back to him. Sadly for him, Flareon knew this was quickly beginning to become a lost cause. As he closed the door behind him, Flareon couldn't stand the sight of all those robots in town. Everywhere he looked, there was a robot. Those dark, evil, soulless metal tin cans made him sick with disgust.

"Discord...that bastard. He knew this was going to happen! The problem is...when are the robots going to show their true selves?" Flareon muttered, "I'd better go see how Fluttershy is doing. A couple of minutes later, Flareon made it to her cottage. As he opened the door, Flareon quickly expected the animals to attack him, but it amazingly didn't happen this time. The reason was Fluttershy's robot was keeping her animals in check. Mostly because they were so afraid of it and he didn't blame them.

"Oh come on Angel," Fluttershy said, "Fluffy won't hurt you. He's your friend!" Unfortunately, Angel still refused to approach her robot. Soon after, Angel spotted Flareon and quickly ran over to him. She then began hop up and down while pointing to the robot.

"Don't worry Angel, I'm going to destroy that hunk of junk," Flareon replied as Angel smiled and nodded her head. She then jumped on his back as Flareon flew over to Fluttershy and her robot Fluffy. Why the robot was called Fluffy, he couldn't figure it out. As Flareon tackled the robot and pinned it to the ground, he turned to Angel and said, "Ok Angel...hold down its head while I melt the body!" Sadly for them, Fluttershy suddenly pushed them off Fluffy.

"Flareon...Angel, what's going in to you two?" Fluttershy said as she help Fluffy back up, "He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Fluttershy...that robot is Discord's creation! It has to be destroyed!" Flareon yelled as Angel nodded her head.

"Why you need to be such a meanie Flareon?!" Fluttershy said as she began to cry, "All Fluffy wants to do is help!" As she ran into the other room with Fluffy, Angel looked at Flareon concerned and then ran after Fluttershy. As he looked at the animals cowering in the corner, Flareon shook his head in disappointment. He then slowly walked over to the door.

"This is worse than I thought," Flareon said as he left Fluttershy's cottage, "Why won't anyone listen to me?!" Flareon quickly flew into the air and headed for Apple Acres. "I sure hope Applejack hasn't fallen for this obvious trap!" Unfortunately, he was dead wrong...again. As he arrived at Apple Acres, he saw Applejack, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith standing around their robot. Flareon quickly flew down near them.

"Stand back everyone! I going to burn that metal death trap to the ground!" he yelled. They simply looked at him confused.

"Uh... Flareon, are you sure you're ok?" Applejack replied.

"Are you talking about our robot Bucky?" Apple Bloom asked, "Wait...you want to destroy him, but why?"

"Listen to me, this robot was made by Discord! I don't know what its true purpose is, but I have a bad feeling about all this. You have to believe me!" Flareon pleaded.

"Flareon...don't you think you're becoming a little too paranoid? I mean not everything that happens is the work of Discord. Maybe...you just need to take a nap to calm your head," Applejack said as she turned to their robot, "Come on Bucky, me and you are going to pick some apples!"

"I will try my best Applejack, please lead the way," Bucky replied as he followed after her.

Big Macintosh looked at Flareon and simply replied, "Eeyup." Apple Bloom then walked over and softly patted Flareon's back.

"My big sis is right! Your just need to rest for a bit. I know that being the chosen one can be pretty stressful," Apple Bloom said as she and Big Macintosh walked towards the barn. Granny Smith quickly looked to see that everyone had left and then leaned towards Flareon.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eye on that contraption. I don't trust that thing either," she whispered in his ear, "I'll holler for ya if I need your help." After Flareon promised Granny Smith to come help if she needed it, he flew into the air and began to headed for the town square.

"I have to make everyone understand how dangerous these robots are! If they end up destroying Ponyville...I'll never forgive myself!" Flareon said. A couple of minutes later, Flareon finally made it to the town square. Much to his chagrin, there were ponies with their robots everywhere. This was the last chance he had to convince everyone to destroy their robo-ponies. There was no doubt about it...this was his last stand. "Everyone...listen up! These robots were sent by Discord! They are evil and must be destroyed! So please...gather the robots in a tight group together and I'll destroy them in a single fireball strike!" Unfortunately, everyone began to laugh at him.

"Why would we do that?" one pony asked, "These robots are amazing!"

"Hey...maybe the chosen one is jealous that these robots are more helpful than he is?" a pony laughed.

"They are a gift from our Princess Celestia!" another pony replied.

"We should just ignore him," a pony said as she signaled to her robot, "Come on Aero...let's go." As the Ponyville residents began to continue what they were previously doing, Flareon decided he had enough.

"Ok...fine!" Flareon said as he threw his hooves over his head in disgust, "If you want to spend time with those ticking time-bombs...that's your problem, not mine! I'm out of here!" Soon after, Flareon angrily flew away from the scene, but as he did, one robo-pony was analyzing him, and once Flareon was out of the robot's vision, its eyes went from green to red.

"The chosen one is gone, initiating chaos mode!" the robot said as every robo-pony's eyes in Ponyville and Cloudsdale also went from green to red. Almost immediately, both towns fell into chaos as the robot ponies began to go crazy. Meanwhile, Twilight had returned home, but when she opened the door, Twilight saw their robot Circuit pounding on Spike's back while he was laying on a table.

"Twilight...help me!" Spike pleaded, "Circuit has gone insane! You call this a massage?!" As Twilight rushed to Spike's aid, she quickly pushed Circuit off him, but the robot then went after Solana, who was playing with her toys."

"Solana!" Twilight yelled as she managed to use her magic to grab Solana and moved her away from Circuit just in time as he crashed into the wall. As books fell onto him, Circuit got back up, and began to walk slowly towards them.

"All hail Alexei, all hail Alexei!" Circuit chanted.

"Oh no...Flareon was right! Discord was definitely behind this! How could I have been so stupid?!" Twilight yelled as she got Solana's carrier and strapped it onto her back. As Spike put Solana into it, they quickly left the house, and Spike slammed the door behind them. When they turned around, Twilight and Spike saw that every robot is Ponyville had gone berserk.

"All hail Alexei, all hail Alexei, all hail Alexei!" the robot ponies chanted as they were causing chaos and destroying Ponyville. Meanwhile, in Cloudsdale, the same thing was happening. Suddenly, Twilight's friends came rushing towards them. As they all began to tell her how their robots went crazy, Twilight tried to calm them down.

"We need to find Flareon!" Twilight exclaimed, "He should be able to use his fire magic to destroy the robots, but...I don't know where he is!"

"I think I saw him fly towards the park," Fluttershy muttered. Right away, they quickly rushed to the park. A couple of minutes later, they found Flareon resting on a tree branch.

"Flareon...Flareon! We need your help! The robots went berserk! Twilight said. Unfortunately, Flareon began to chuckle.

"Well, well...look who it is? Oh...the robots are going crazy you say? Hmm...didn't I try to warn you guys about this? Didn't I say they were sent by Discord?" Flareon replied as he continued to ignore them, "Sorry, but...it's not my problem anymore." As everyone began to yell at him, Twilight put her left hoof up, signaling them to stop.

"Flareon...we're sorry ok? We should have listened. You were right, and we were wrong, but please...help us!" Twilight pleaded. Eventually, after everyone apologized to him, Flareon finally decided it was time to destroy the robo-ponies, though he had wanted to do that for quite a while.

"Ok robo-ponies...let's see how you like fire!" Flareon exclaimed as he quickly headed for town. When he got there, the robots immediately spotted him.

"It's the chosen one! Initiate destruction mode!" a robot pony yelled as all the robots suddenly were shown with missiles, laser guns, and cannons are their backs. As they began to attack Flareon, he smiled. The smile on Flareon's face was that of a manic finally being able to let loose.

"I'm going to enjoy every minute of this!" Flareon exclaimed as he charged up a gigantic fireball, "This is going to be fun!" As Flareon was forced to dodge missiles, lasers, and cannon balls that were repeatedly sent his way, he quickly countered with fireballs. It didn't take long before Flareon had destroyed every single robo-pony in Ponyville, but it wasn't over yet, there was still the robots in Cloudsdale left to deal with. After he flew there, Flareon saw the same situation taking place as the robo-ponies were trying to destroy the town. "Todays weather forecast calls for raining robots!" About 30 minutes later, Flareon successfully managed to defeat every robot pony in Cloudsdale. It was finally over. Every robo-pony in both Ponyville and Cloudsdale was completely destroyed. As Flareon flew back to Ponyville, he was immediately cheered by everyone in town, including Twilight and his friends. Twilight quickly ran over to Flareon and hug and kissed him.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" Twilight said as she stepped back. Solana immediately began to laugh and giggle as she clapped her hooves happily. Flareon then walked over to Solana and patted her softly on the head.

"Yeah Solana...your daddy just kicked some robo-butt!" Flareon said as she turned to his friends, "I'm glad to see you're all ok!" At that moment, a letter appeared before in the air before them. As Twilight opened it, she began to read the letter aloud.

"Dear Twilight, Canterlot is being attacked by these crazy robot ponies! At first I thought it was a gift from my parents, but I was wrong! Please send Flareon to come help us! Sincerely, Celestia." It turns out, Ponyville and Cloudsdale weren't the only ones to receive the robo-ponies. At that moment, an ecstatic Flareon quickly flew into the air. He actually appeared happy to be able to destroy more robots.

"I'll be back!" Flareon said as he smiled and saluted to everyone. The robo-ponies in Canterlot were about to find out what happens when a pony who controls fire is able to go all-out as much as his heart desires.