On a pony-powered train, Applejack and Pinkie Pie look outside the window across a vast desert. Pinkie Pie decides that this view is boring and recedes back to her seat. Applejack remains on lookout. Finally, she sees specks of small wooden buildings emerging from the horizon. Their destination is at hand. Excited, Applejack returns to her seat and tells Pinkie Pie the good news.
"We're almost there Pinkie," Applejack said. "It's been a good long while sinse we've visited Appleloosa."
"Okie-dokie then!" Pinkie Pie shouted with anticipation. She took out a camera from an unlikely compartment, her mouth. Covered in her drool, she takes a napkin from another unlikely compartment and wipes it clean.
"Um, why was that in your mouth?" Applejack asked the obvious.
"Duh... I have nowhere else to put my things, so I put it in my mouth," Pinkie Pie answered.
"I don't wanna know where the napkin came from..." Applejack continued. "Oh, and why'd you bring your camera?" she asked.
"Well, I am making a scrapbook of everyplace I visit, so I can relish the memories of these places with my friends," Pinkie replied.
"That's sweet of ya, sugar," Applejack said in affection.
"Now entering Appleloosa Station," a voice spoke from each loudspeaker. At moment's notice, everypony packed their possessions and waited for the train to come to a stop. Applejack did the same and gathered her belongings as well. Pinkie Pie strapped the camera around her neck.
"Once we get out, I'm gonna take pictures of eeeveryyyyy pony in Appleloosa!" Pinkie Pie said in excitement. The train started to slow down. "Why did you come here again Applejack?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I've got to check with Braeburn on the apple trees," Applejack reminded her. The train came to a halt. Everypony picked up their gatherings and waited for te doors to open once more.
"Now arriving at Appleloosa Station. Have a nice day," said the voice. The doors opened, and one by one, the ponies filed in the main hallway of the train. Eventually, the hallway was empty enough for Applejack and Pinkie Pie to enter. Applejack patiently followed the group. As she looked around, she couldn't find Pinkie Pie anywhere. Thinking to herself 'where'd she run off to now?' she simply continues with the exiting group. As she emerges from the train, she already finds Pinkie Pie outside the train taking pictures of the train station and anypony that is near her.
"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack called. And just like that, she ceased her photography frenzy and reappeared right behind Applejack, all in a second. "Don't wander too far okay?" Applejack reminded her.
"Okie Dokie!" Pinkie Pie answered in her usual glee.
The two ponies now make their way to the main street of Appleloosa, a dirt road that divides the town in two. The main street has two endpoints: the Appleloosa Station, and the Appleloosa Saloon. As the day reaches its peak, the commotions that go on at the main street becomes crowded with all the townfolk going from place to place. At the center of this commotion, Applejack spots a familiar pony near the saloon. She also sees Pinkie Pie going on her picture frenzy, getting a picture of every building. Ignoring her this time, Applejack makes her way to the familiar pony. The earth pony instantly recognizes her.
"Applejack?" the pony called.
"Oh there you are Braeburn!" Applejack answered. She rushed towards Braeburn with haste, ever eager to see him.
"I'm so glad you decided to visit A-yaplelooosa!" he said with such enthusiasm. "So what'd you come here for? The Equestrian-renown Appleloosan Apple Cider, the Appleloosan Apple Hashes, or did you come to see the Appleloosan Band play at the saloon this evening?" he chattered on.
"Braeburn," Applejack called as she became assertive. "Don't you remember what I wrote in that letter that I sent to you last week?" she tried to remind him. Braeburn thought for a minute; then he remembered her message.
"Oh yeah. The Apple Orchard. Right," he said with a snap of his hoof.
"Finally," Applejack said with a sigh of relief. The two began to make their way to the orchard in the midst of Pinkie Pie's picture frenzy. As the two ponies calmly walked, there were sudden flashes coming from all over the place. As the citizens tried to ward her off, Pinkie Pie simply homed in like a predator and snagged an unfortunate picture buddy. She threw her camera up high while keeping a tight grip on her picture buddy and smiling with a grin the spanned to each of her ears. Set to automatic flash, the camera got the precise moment at its peak. When it started to descend, she ran forward to catch the camera right before it hit the ground. From there, she would find another building and another pony to take a picture with.
Very much ignoring her now, Applejack continued her way to the orchard with Braeburn. The two arrived at the orchard at last. Applejack immidiately went to work, observing each tree bark to see if they are healthy enough to sprout healthy apples, examining each growing apple to see if they were growing as scheduled, and studying each branch to see if they grew an adequate supply of apples. Braeburn measured each distance from each tree to ensure that every apple is picked and gathered in open space and that no apple is left stranded behind two overlapping trees. As hours passed, the two ponies, after examining each tree with crucial detail, returned to the entrance of the orchard tired and exhausted. Here, they are looking out at the orchard. Satisfied with the results from today's inspection, Applejack picks up her mug and sips down a refreshing apple cider.
"The apple orchard is fine and just about ready for harvest!" Braeburn said in excitement. Right when he was ablout to takeh is sip of apple cider, Pinkie Pie bursts from the keg where the earth ponies put their mugs. Cider drips from her pink mane and camera. In an instant, she throws her camera high up, set at a timer until it takes the photo. She positions herself between Applejack and Braeburn. Her determined face to get a photo turns into a smile as she squeezes Applejack and Braeburn forcefully into the photo. The flash happens, all as planned before the camera lands in the cider, all planned. Pinkie Pie now rushed to the camera and ducks her head in the cider, trying to get it.
"Whoa! What's going on with your pink friend?!" Braeburn asked.
"There! My mission's complete," Pinkie Pie responded as she picked up her camera soaked with cider.
Just then, there was a rumble that shaked the trees of the orchard. One tree was knocked out of perfect alignment. And this put Braeburn in a state of displeasure.
"What's going on?" Applejack asked. She only saw Braeburn run off to the source of the shaking without an answer.
Applejack followed Braeburn, and Pinkie Pie followed Applejack. Suddenly, more rumblings occur, this time stronger than the last. Some apples from various trees are knocked down, but Braeburn runs on, inching himself to the source.
"Wh-wh-wh-why-y-y i-i-i-s-s-s th-th-th-e-e-e gr-gr-gr-ound sh-sh-shaking?" asked Pinkie Pie with excessive shaking.
"Beats Me!" Applejack answered briefly. After a few minutes of searching, Braeburn finally found the source of the shakings. Deep at the bottom of a crater, A large, gray capsule stood seemingly dormant. Its sheen stood out from the environment around it. Braeburn fearlessly treked to the bottom of the crater towards the capsule. As her neared the giant gray object, he grew a bit hesitant.By the time he as at hoof's length from the object, he was shaking. But something drove him to go on. With curiosity and dissappointment for the ruining of the orchard, he punched the capsule.
Surrounding the crater were dented trees that are now out of place. Fallen apples line perimeter of the crater with a pool of red apples surrounding the capsule. Many apples were dirtied from rolling off the branches of the ruined trees while many more were squashed from being near the foreing object. Braeburn became furious from all of this. Putting his hoof down, he backed away with dignity and hesitation towards the object but still have enough distance to touch the object.
"Y'all take that you orchard ruiner!" shouted Braeburn with reluctance. After seeing no response from the object, Braeburn decided to throw a rock from the midst of the red apples at it, this time with more confidence. he picked up a rock with his right hoof and hurls it at the capsule. A loud clank echoes through the orchard and dissipates when Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrive. They immediately see the gray object and its sheen of light.
"What in tarnation is that?!" Applejack asked. She was still trying to grasp the idea of what it may be when Pinkie Pie picked up the rock that Braeburn tossed earlier and throws it at the object. The impact marks a dent on the machine, more than Braeburn's toss. Another mechanical noise echoed through the orchard, this time more louder than the previous.
"It's a UFO!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "There's no denying it. I mean that sound is a dead giveaway."
"Get away from it Pinkie! I dunno what that thing is, and I don't want to find out," replied Applejack as she pulled Pinkie Pie away from the crater.
Deep in the crater, Braeburn is now throwing the mashed apples at the object. Applejack sees a few go over the object and immediately knows it's Braeburn hurling the apples. She runs to the other side of the crater to find Braeburn doing just that. Fearlessly, she goes to the center to bring him out.
"Braeburn!" Applejack scolded. "What in the hay are you doing?!" she continued as she dragged Braeburn up to the edge of the crater. Rigt as she begins to scold Braeburn at the edge of the crater, there is a flash, then another one. Applejack turns around to see Pinkie Pie snapping pictures of the object.
"This... is... going... to... be... GREAT!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she snapped from every pause.
Now out of film, she stashes the camera in her compartment. Then came a rumble, this time with mechanical sounds. To everyone's astonishment, especially Pinkie Pie's, the object started to morph. With geometric forms overlapping, it presented itself with a new form. From its posterior facing Applejack and Braeburn, a tail emerged and skewered the gravel as it extended to full length.
"Ah! What's going on?" said Braeburn with a scared voice in the midst of the mechanized sounds. His legs were trembling.
"Pinkie Pie! What did you do this time?!" berated Applejack.
"What? All I did was take a few pictures," she responded.
Legs protruded from each corner of the ever-changing machine. The four legs touched the ground in a cold crash. The machine now lifted itself up and began to move about. As Applejack was about to approach Pinkie Pie, there was a mechanized roar. Its morphing is nearly complete. She stopped in place at the presence of its autotuned roar. Applejack turned to the crater to see the thing. Almost finished, the machine now took the shape of a lizard. Every body part bears the resemblance to a reptile, save for it being entirely mechanical. Finally, the head emerges from its innards. The transformation is complete.
The creature now sports an array of gray shades from the silver tail to the darker gray of its frontal parts. Lighter gray covers the undersides of the beast. Streams of thin black lines run from front to back as each line denotes a separation of parts that overlapped while transforming. There are also darker circles that are either bulging or indented in the monster. Each of them contains a form of attack ranging from missiles to beams. The eyes are the only body parts that are not a shade of gray. Instead, they are yellow. The eyes are also steady: they do not blink, move, change shape, or even have any other color than yellow. With each intimidatingly polygonal shaped eye, the monster now focuses on the three ponies. Each pony is now together, huddled against another pony.
"I'm scared..." whispered Braeburn with a broken voice.
"I wanted to take a picture of that," Pinkie Pie spoke unphased, yet her body shaken.
"Of that? We gotta get out of here!" Applejack alerted both. Grabbing both ponies, Applejack fan as fast as she could out of the orchard and away from the monster. At the same time, it rocketed off the crater, with thrusters at its soles and headed towards the main town.
"When did it get those?!" asked Braeburn.
"It's heading towards town!" alerted Pinkie Pie.
Applejack raced the monster, but it was simply too fast. As the earth pony reached town, it was already overhead, with rockets, missiles, and projectiles all aimed at the town. Pinkie Pie gasped at the sight of all that weaponry. She took out her camera from her mouth to take a picture of it. But before she could snap the picture, it fired all of its weapons on the town.
"Appleloosa!" cried Braeburn as the three now stood there at the sight of the creature's destruction. Much of the buildings were blown off from the explosions. Many residential ponies ran from the mayhem while some were sent flying when they were caught in the blasts. The mechanical monster now made its way to the main street of the town. Landing with a powerful thud, it made a robotic roar that terrified the ponies that heard it. Keeping its mouth open, energy clustered into the mouth, long enough to turn white. Lining itself with the main street, it unleashed all the energy in several streams. Each stram ravaged everything in its path, buildings and ponies alike, leaving a burning trail in its wake. A few seconds later, more explosions followed, each following the burning trails and further devastating the town. The creature made one more autotuned roar at the sight of such destruction. The three ponies that stood at the edge of the town saw everything. Pinkie Pie dropped her camera on the ground.
"It's not safe here anymore," Applejack said with a scorned voice. "We have to get out of here now." She departs from town with Pinkie Pie and Braeburn following. Pinkie tries to cheer the other two ponies, but it does not work. Back at the town, the Mechanical Fiend condinued its rampage.