Not even two hours later, Twilight's friends were all gathered in the main hall of Canterlot Castle.
"How could this happen? Twilight has powerful magic…" Rarity muttered, twisting her front hooves.
Celestia was sad, and almost ashamed to look the Elements of Harmony in the eyes.
"Cosmos is our older brother. He was always consumed by power, he wanted to dominate all ponies. Also, he couldn't stand to see them incomplete, he wanted to rule over a nation of only alicorns. You know, we were born and raised on Skyros, a place beyond the clouds, populated only by them. Cosmos has always been deeply racist: he lavished complicated spells to transform ponies into alicorns, but his ambitions often clashed with reality: sometimes the ponies died, unable to sustain such a magical discharge; other times they became alicorns for a few days or weeks. He was so obsessed with this purpose that he became the terror of all Equestria, people ran away when they saw him coming. He was considered the incarnation of Death in pony... And considering how things went, I don't feel like blaming them."
"There's one thin' I don't understand... Why does he want to marry Twilight?" asked Applejack.
"Our brother has always lived according to the whims of the moment, and Twilight is no exception." Luna said, "Plus, you have to consider the position she holds: he is the Princess of Friendship, a nice calling card for the populations, especially since those who considered him the demon of death have been dead for several centuries now, and the new ones have no idea who our brother is."
At those words, Twilight's friends lowered their heads, dejected. There were moments of great prostration, and it was difficult to know if a minute or an hour had passed. Suddenly, Applejack stepped forward on the wine-colored velvet of the carpet, feeling a great courage inside her:
"Twilight would be the first to put herself on the front lines if this had happened to any of us. I want to be theyr for her, and I don't care if it's dangerous. She's our friend and ya don't abandon your friends. Are ya with me?"
It was as if the rest of the group saw her for the first time: with that golden hair, those proud green eyes, that rustic and solemn bearing at the same time, Applejack seemed to represent the true spirit of the leader.
Rarity was almost moved, Fluttershy was inspired, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but shout a "go, Aj" and Pinkie jumped around her singing an enthusiastic "woo-oh". Spike, for his part, was hypnotized, almost as if he was reevaluating his friendship with the cowgirl up until that moment; was she really willing to do so much to save his sister? He had never really thought much about the orange mare, he had taken her for granted all those years, and he have had her big heart and ability to roll up her hooves well in display.
"Darling, even if we have to get our hooves dirty with mud, I'll be here!" Rarity declared, stepping forward.
"Twilight has done so much for us, I won't leave her!" Fluttershy said.
"Count me in!" Rainbow Dash chimed in.
"Me too!" Pinkie shouted.
"She's my sister, I can't leave her with that brute… No offense…" Spike muttered, realizing he had made a blunder.
"No problem…" Luna told him, "I seriously doubt there's anything left of our sibling bond anymore."
A sob of pain cracked her voice, and Celestia gently stroked her back.
"Very good. First, we need to warn as many ponies as possible. It's almost certain that Cosmos will try to turn 'em into alicorns again. I'll take care of Appleloosa, Rarity of Canterlot, Rainbow of Cloudsdale, Pinkie of Rockville, Fluttershy of Ponyville. Spike, ya stay with the Princesses 'n assist 'em with your messenger fire."
"We will send messages to the farthest corners of Equestria thanks to Spike and transport them quickly with our magic," Celestia said.
Applejack seemed satisfied, when a bang outside the stained glass windows of the castle made everyone run to the door.
Outside the safe walls of the palace, an abomination had already been unleashed: Cosmos had released mechanical ponies here and there, who moved apparently clumsily and hit the locals with their copper horns.
Some were already transforming into alicorns and some, hit by the rays, lay helpless on the ground. Screams of dismay and terror rose from every corner of that rich town, foreshadowing the same death that Cosmos had brought centuries before.
There was no more time for plans, so the youths and Princesses acted.
Celestia and Luna responded to those evil robot-like creatures with quick attacks that destroyed them instantly.
"Go back to Ponyville. We'll take care of this." Celestia ordered, before teleporting the six friends to the now no longer smiling country village.
Here too, screams and panic reigned supreme.
There was Matilda running from one side of the road to the other, while her husband was already on the ground, with a large horn peeking out from his frowning forehead.
"Donkeys, inferior creatures. Horn and wings to elevate the inferior race."
"This is what the Princesses meant when they told us about their brother's racism…" Rainbow said, disgusted.
"Help, help me! Help my husband!" the lady shouted, before being saved by Applejack, who sent the metal alicorn into a tailspin with a powerful, well-aimed kick.
"Are ya feelin' okay?" the cowgirl asked her, after holding out a hoof, which Matilda accepted trembling.
"Y-Yes. I think so. My husband… Cranky… He's been hit… He's down there. I don't…"
She started crying hysterically, hugged by the apple pony. Her green eyes scanned the sky:
"Rainbow, help Cranky Doodle. Try to take out as many pieces of tin as ya can see around."
"I was hoping to let loose a little!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, cracking her wings and biceps.
The blonde-haired girl ran towards her farm, and in the general confusion Pipsqueak came towards her.
"Applejack, have you seen my parents? I can't see them anymore!" the young spotted pony shouted, feeling a lump in his throat.
The girl hugged him.
"Unfortunately not, but I assure ya i'll do my best to defend 'em!" she replied, while her gaze fell on a pile of hay abandoned on the side of the road.
"Hide inside 'n try to move without attractin' attention." she advised, but before she could continue her run, a robot appeared in front of Pipsqueak.
"Young ponies will have a different youth than their mediocre parents."
Applejack kicked it away, and Pipsqueak tried to do the same, although his kicks weren't as powerful as the adult's.
"There they are! Good thing they're okay!" the boy exclaimed, and the blonde pony was happy to see him reunited with his loved ones.
She had almost made it out of Ponyville unscathed when a shrill shriek made her whirl around: it was coming from the Rich Mansion, and beyond the imposing gate was Mrs. Rich and her trusty butler Randolph, who didn't accomplish much with a simple rake as a weapon.
"There's no way Earth Ponies are that wealthy."
"Who the hell are these horrible piles of rust?" Spoiled screamed in a strangled voice, while mascara was running down her face and her lipstick had made an unsightly smudge on her cheek.
"Mrs. Rich, git away from those things immediately!" Aj exclaimed, a second before being thrown backwards by a terrible explosion.
The Rich mansion had blown up.
The impact made Randolph and Spoiled faint instantly and stunned Applejack, who had a hard time getting up.
Inside the gutted building were six robots, who had already tried to transform the Rich house servants into alicorns without success, and for this reason they left the area.
Half an hour later, Spoiled Rich opened her eyes and found herself staring at a blue sky that was a clear contrast to the disaster that had engulfed them.
Then the sky was covered by a golden spot, and from this golden spot came out some fresh water.
Then a voice.
"Mrs. Rich, are ya okay?"
It was Applejack, who had poured water on the lady and her butler's faces with a sponge to revive them, after making sure they had no serious injuries.
"I… What… Where am I?" she asked, confused.
Applejack took her hat and hid her face in it.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Rich… we're en the garden of your estate, or rather… what's left of your estate."
The mare's tired eyes rested on the broken glass and cream-colored stones taken from the desert areas specifically to build her very expensive mansion. Now it was all a pile of rubble, and she let herself fall heavily to the ground.
Applejack couldn't help but feel sorry for Spoiled: she was hateful and had raised her daughter very badly, making her consider money as more important than relationships between creatures, but at that moment she seemed to her just a pony desperate for the loss of what she had accumulated during her life.
She thought about how bad it would be for her if those horrendous robotic beings had razed her farm, the fruit of her ancestors' sacrifice.
It was this thought that made her stretch out her hoof toward the poor, desperate mare:
"Mrs. Rich, come with me to Sweet Apple Acres. It's not safe here."