At nearly four in the morning, the moon had long since passed its apogee as Michael parked the Hilux and its trailer in his driveway. Turbulent waters not only delayed their arrival to the mainland, but also deprived them both of the sleep he had taken advantage of on his original trip to Equestria. Having not the energy to properly maneuver the truck and trailer into the garage, Michael pushed a button on the visor, closing the black, wrought iron gates of the driveway. They were nothing fancy, but enough to deter the casual thief.

   He got out and went around to the other side of the truck, helping Twilight climb down from the cabin. She looked up at the house before her.

   Firmly seated in the heart of outer-Newark suburbia was a cream, two-story stucco house with brown accents and ceramic roof, atop which sat a massive array of solar panels and a single chimney. It was a large building; with a two car garage taking up half its length and a large patio protruding from the other half, the front door sat squarely in the middle of the two, separating the halves of what was easily one of the biggest houses in the neighborhood.

   "This is your house?"

   "Yeah. C'mon in, I'll show you to your room."

   Following him through the oak and glass front door, she watched as he pushed a button on a wall mounted control panel and leaned towards it.

   "Authentication: Michael Frost"

   A soothing British voice emerged from the panel, "Passphrase?"

   "Hatsune Miku"

   "Passphrase recognized. Welcome home."

   Michael began taking off his jacket and hung it in the closet by the door, "Computer, Lights." The lights gradually came to life, lighting the wood floors and cream walls. "Computer, Set perimeter security to high and register new guest: Twilight Sparkle."

   "Administrative Password?"

   "Omae wa mo shindeiru."

   "Voiceprint Accepted."

   Below the control panel, a small white rectangle emerged from its slot. Michael grabbed it and held it out to Twilight.

   "Keep this with you; you'll need it to-"

   She interrupted him, "Yes, I know. This isn't the first time I've visited a human's house, you know." The badge glowed and levitated into one of her saddle bags.

   He put up his hands apologetically, "Alright, c’mon, let's get you settled so we can get some sleep."

   Michael led her up the stairs and to her room on the second floor.

   He stood outside the door in the hallway, "I'm going to bed. Bathroom is two doors down on the left. Good night."

   "Good night."

   Twilight watched as Michael walked down the hall and into a room, closing its door behind him. Shutting her own door, she nosed the light switch on the wall; a holdover from old human design. Her room was average in size and had a warm decor: burgundy walls, cherry oak bed and matching nightstands, and a dark red Persian rug with white tassels atop the white oak floor.

   Taking off her saddlebags and levitating them onto one of the nightstands, Twilight turned off the lights, and climbed into the bed. A few minutes after nestling herself underneath the thick comforter, she kicked it off. It was too warm. After making a cursory check of the empty closet and cabinet drawers, she left the room, using the glow of her horn for light. Searching for a linen closet, she eventually found herself downstairs, in the living room.

   Surrendering to the realization that she'd just have to deal with the heat, Twilight was about to go back upstairs to her room until she noticed picture frames on the mantle of the fireplace. Approaching the pictures, she noticed one positioned exactly in the center of the mantle. It was a graduation photo; two men stood on either side of the scene, both in a cap and gown. Between then, with an arm on each of their shoulders, was a woman with long, ponytailed, black hair, blue eyes, wearing dark jeans and a t-shirt.

   At first, she couldn't quite place the people in the photo, but, looking closer, she recognized who the two men were.

   "This is Jack, and this must be Michael," she looked at the timestamp of the photo. "Three years ago? But he looks so much younger."

   Letting out a yawn, Twilight became acutely aware of the time, and started back for her room.

   As she tucked herself back into bed, a thought floated through her mind.

   "Who was that woman?"

   Twilight awoke with a start as an explosion rattled her out of her rest.

   "What in Equestria was that?"

   She quickly put on her saddlebag and ran out of her room, looking for the source of the chaos. Going down the stairs, she saw a faint haze of smoke floating out of one of the doorways in the hall. Following it down another flight of stairs, she saw Michael, dressed in a lab coat and goggles, leaning against one of the walls, coughing.

   Springing into action, Twilight magicked the cellar windows open and-

   "Hold on, it's fine." Michael said, pushing a red button on the wall.

   A loud whirring noise filled the room and, in a few moments, all of the smoke cleared away, sucked into the ceiling by way of several vents. He pulled out the safety button and the fans disengaged.

   Michael stood there and took a deep breath, patted away some of the residue from the explosion off his lab coat, and removed his lab coat.

   "Sorry to have woken you up."

   Twilight was aghast, "Forget about me; something just exploded! Are you okay?"

   He laughed, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Happens pretty frequently, actually."

   She wondered if it happened maybe too frequently.

   Michael turned his head towards a workbench and hurriedly walked over to it, seeing the broken remains of a small machine, "Oh, but it seems this little guy is a lot less than fine. Poor thing."

   Twilight cocked an eyebrow, "'Poor thing'? It's just a machine."

   He picked up the biggest piece, scorched and still slightly on fire, and looked at it, "Yes, but no machine should have to go out like this. Not unless it was made to go out like this, anyway." He blew out the tiny flame and sighed, setting the broken fragment of his ex-invention down on the scorched workbench.

   Michael slipped off his protective gear and tossed them on a clean workbench, then headed up the stairs, "C'mon, let's get some breakfast and head out. We've still got a lot to do."

   Twilight sat at the island counter and watched as Michael pulled some fruit out of the brushed steel refrigerator and set them on the adjacent counter. Getting out a knife and cutting board, he began chopping them up, he back to Twilight.

   "You're more sentimental that I thought you'd be." She said.

   "Am I?"

   "Well, the way you were treating that machine that exploded, it looked like you actually cared for it. Like a pet or something."

   "Ah, well, I do. Strawberries?"

   "Yes please," She continued, "What do you mean 'you do'?"

   Michael turned around and put a bowl of fruit salad in front of her, then got a bagel, putting on it a thick layer of cream cheese.

   He sat across from her at the island, "Well, there's a special bond between a creator and his creation. It's silly, but it's easy to anthropomorphize something you've brought to life."

   "But it's not alive."

   He swallowed a bite of his bagel, "Are we? All biological beings are just bio-electromechanical machines. We're no different from that blender over there except we're more complex."

   "I can't believe that," Twilight said, shaking her head, "What about magic?"

   "Science has figured out much of physics, chemistry, and biology; give it time and we'll figure out magic too."

   She cracked a grin, "Now who's trying to take over the world?"

   Michael made a dramatic evil laugh and finished his bagel. He got up and started heading towards the front door, but stopped, and turned around, "You go ahead and finish your food. I'm going to go move the truck into the garage. Just meet me outside when you're done."

She nodded and continued working on her fruit salad. Within a few minutes, Twilight had finished her breakfast as well and left the kitchen. By the time she got outside, Michael had already gotten the truck into the garage and was busy putting the seats back into his Mitsubishi.

   Twilight noticed that the inside of the roof wasn't bowed in like it was before.

   "Your car: it's fixed?"

   Michael shook his head, "Not quite. I banged out the dent Rainbow Dash left, but I still need to find the paint to cover up the scratches.

   As soon as he was done installing the seats, he helped her in and then entered the car himself.

   "So," she asked, "Where are we going?"

   "The local Human Liberation Front is headquartered at the old stonecutter’s mansion, so we're going to go to a few places to get some supplies. After that, we'll come back here, rest a little, then head over there to see what we can learn."

   "Alright," said Twilight with an air of conviction, "Let's go."

   It was an unusually warm spring night.

   A good quarter of a mile away from the Human Liberation Front headquarters, Twilight sat impatiently in the bucket seat of the dark Evo as Michael peered through his binoculars.

   "Okay," Michael said, "the quickest way to the interior of the mansion is, predictably, the front door. But there's a guard there and it looks like there are at least four guards on rotating shifts. So, we can either tranquilize him or find another way in." He looked away from the binoculars at Twilight, "You wouldn't, by any chance, be able to make us invisible, would you?"

   "Sorry," She said, "I could try teleporting us, but there's a good chance you'd catch on fire."

   "Yeah... no," he said with a grimace, "So... tranq or find another way?"

   Twilight thought for a moment.

   "It's already Friday; we don't have much time. Let's go with the quickest way."

   Michael took out a pistol loaded with tranquilizer rounds and pulled back the slide, "Tranq it is."

   He started the engine on the Evo and drove into semi-circle driveway of the mansion. Twilight ducked down to remain unseen as Michael exited the car and walked over to the guard, looking confused.

   "Hey man, Can you help me out? I'm so lost. I'm coming from Vermont and-" The gun made barely a sound as the dart pierced the guards clothing and buried its tip into his chest; soon, he was completely unconscious. Twilight got out of the car and watched as Michael dragged him into a dark corner.

   "That was easy." she said, looking somewhat impressed.

   "Well, don't get too comfortable, there's still plenty of time for complications," Michael punched a code into the keypad and turned the handle opening the door to the dimly lit inner corridor, "Alright, let's try to get to the records room as quick as we can. But, until they catch on that something is up, we're gonna play it safe."

   She nodded, "Agreed. After you."

   "Ladies first."

   "You've got the gun."

   He conceded and slipped in through the door. As they sprinted along the walls, he turned to Twilight, "Great idea getting those slippers. I can barely hear you behind me."

   "Thanks," She answered in a pleased whisper.

   Slowing at the corners to check for guards, they were making great time through the building.

   "Michael," Twilight asked, "How do you know where you're going?"

   "...I pulled the blueprints earlier." He slowed down and approached the door at the end of the corridor, "We're here."

   Twilight watched as he quickly punched in a code into the keypad on the door. She wondered...

   They slipped inside the room and Michael turned on the lights and began rifling through filing cabinets.

   "Paper?" Twilight asked, "I thought humans stopped using paper for documents ages ago."

   "Most organizations do, but the HLF does everything on paper to keep the governments from hacking in. It's backwards, but it works. Now where are those plans..."

   A voice pierced the air, "Now, Michael, Why go through the trouble of looking for them and making a mess when you can just ask?"

   The voice was that of an older British man and it was from outside the room. But soon the man to whom the voice belonged stepped inside, into the light. Wearing a black suit and black shirt, with steely blue eyes and a short grey hair up top, he commanded a presence.

   Michael's face twisted into an intense mix of panic, fear, and anger.

   "You! Twilight, let's go!" he ran to another door on the opposite side of the room and opened it, only to be faced with the muzzles of several assault rifles.

   He put his hands up and backed away slowly until he was standing next to Twilight.

   "Twilight, if you've got any tricks up your sleeve, now would be a great time."

   The man pulled out a gun, leveled it at Twilight, and stepped closer, "I wouldn't if I were you, young miss. And besides, if the two of you came all this way to see what we've been up to, the least I can do is show you." He motioned for the guards to back up and the three of them walked through the door.

   The three of them walked slowly down a brightly lit corridor that looked newly built. Rather than the old style of the rest of the mansion, this part was more like a laboratory or a hospital; lots of white and brushed steel.

   "I must say, Michael, leaving your access code active was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It proved quite useful in tracking your movements through the mansion."

   Michael sneered at the man, "You know, as smart as you think you are, you're making one of the biggest villain clichés right now."

   "Well, I suppose the smart thing to do would have been to just kill you both, but I thought, 'hey, it's been a while since I've seen him; maybe we can catch up'." He shrugged, "In any case, and I hope you'll forgive me for yet another cliché, there's no hope for you two in escaping."

   Twilight was confused, "You two know each other? Michael, what's going on? Who is he?"

   Michael grimaced as the man looked at the two of them.

   "Oh, you mean you haven't told her?" said the man, feigning being hurt.

   "YOU SHUT UP!"

   Michael would have attacked him, but the guards turned around and had their rifles trained on him within an instant.

   The man motioned for the guards to continue, "Michael, please, show some restraint." He turned to twilight, "Forgive me, I've been remiss. I'm Dr. Alexander Colwell; biologist, nanoroboticist, and current head of the HLF. And Michael, well... Michael was a member here for almost a year some time back."

   Twilight stared at Michael in disbelief, "I thought you said you weren't a part of the HLF!"

   "I'm not. I was, but then I realized that nothing the HLF wanted would ever do any good in unifying this earth."

   They approached a room, "That's where you're wrong," Dr. Colwell entered his code, causing the white Plexiglas door to slide open, "What is in this room will do more to unify the world than you'd ever dream."

   Entering the room, Michael didn't know what to make of it all. It was a massive room, with lab benches, beakers, sinks and many Plexiglas containers, like a biology laboratory, but with computers and other specialized electrical engineering equipment that he had never seen before. In the far end of the room was a large transparent chamber. Guards moved around the room briskly, loading three small metal capsules, each the size of a can of soda, carefully into giant padded containers.

   Dr. Colwell approached Twilight and examined her. He looked at Michael, "You know, it's actually quite fortunate that you brought your little friend here along. Now you can see the fruits of my labor."

   Two of the guards then picked up Twilight and carried her over to the chamber. Michael tried to stop them, but another guard jammed the butt of his rifle into his gut, making him double over.

   Colwell crouched next to Michael, "Now, don't worry, she'll be fine..." He got up and walked over to a control panel near the chamber and started working the controls "Although, that wholly depends on your definition of 'fine'. See, the ponies had a wonderful idea, converting humans so that ponykind can continue their way of life. But, to be honest, I rather like being a human."

   "So stay a human and leave others be." Michael said in a groan as he pulled himself up to watch the Doctor.

   Smoke began to fill the chamber, "Ah, yes, believe me, I will stay human. In fact, I consider my humanity to be a blessing. And you know what they say about blessings? You should share them."

   All too quickly, through the shroud of smoke, Michael could hear Twilight scream.

   This time no guard could stop him. Ran around the lab bench over to Dr. Colwell and picked him up by the collar "STOP THIS! Whatever you're doing to her stop it now!"

   She soon stopped screaming and he could hear her fall to the floor.

   "Too late, my boy," Colwell said in his ever-so-slightly gravelly voice, "What's done is done. In a minute, the nanites will decompose in her body, completing the transformation."

   Michael dropped the doctor and realized what had been done.

   "You- you didn't."

   "Oh, I did." the doctor casually walked over and picked up one of the steel capsules from the storage case. He held it up to the light, admiring his handiwork. "I've taken what ponies and science have created and reversed the process entirely. Not only that, I've improved upon it. From human to pony takes fifteen minutes; from pony to human takes only thirty seconds. Just one of these capsules is enough for a several large cities, but all of them, all at once... Well, let's just say 'Equestria' will be a bit of a misnomer."

   The doctor sighed as he placed the capsule back into the storage case and patted it, like a pet, "The joys of nanotechnology..."

   Soon the case was wheeled out, and the doctor sent the guards to escort it.

   They were alone.

   As the smoke started to clear, Michael stared at the doctor with such vitriol as to melt metal.

   "You're a monster."

   "Am I?"

   "You're damn right you are! Genocide! That's what you're doing! Genocide!"

   "No one will die."

   "Excuses! You are wiping out an entire species! An entire genetic history! As far as nature is concerned, you might as well be killing them! You're a biologist for fucks sake! How can you not see this?!"

   Dr. Colwell ran at Michael, grabbed him, and slammed him against the wall, "THEY STARTED IT! My daughter was going to be a doctor but she quit and became a pony!"

   "She made that choice on her own! You knew that!"

   "She was only 18!"

   "It was her right!"

   The doctor shook Michael, crying, "I'm her father! What about my rights?! I lost my daughter to them because of the sins of humanity. You must know how I feel! Don't you remember what you were like when that girl of yours, Irene, when she got ponified? You were just like me. We lost them both because of the sins of humanity. Well, now all of ponykind can suffer through this world."

   Soon, the cloud of nanites had completely disintegrated and Michael saw a Caucasian woman with purple hair lying in a heap on the floor. The door of the chamber hissed open.

   "Ah," laughed Colwell, "Toasts done!"

   Michael couldn't control himself any longer and, with no guards there, he didn't have to. He wound up and laid a punch across Colwell's face, sending him sideways and to the ground, unconscious.

   He rushed into the chamber and sat her up; she was out cold. Taking off his jacket, he covered her with it, carried her out of the chamber, then lied her down across an empty lab bench.

   Michael then grabbed the Doctor by his suit jacket and dragged him into the chamber, closing the door. Standing at the control panel, he activated the intercom into the chamber, "Wake up, Doctor!"

   Colwell jerked up and started looking around. Upon realizing he was in the chamber, he began pounding on the glass, "Let me out!"

   "Oh I don't think so." Michael said into the microphone, "Tell me, have you ever tried the nanites on humans?"

   A look of panic streaked across the doctor's face, "No, You mustn’t!"

   "Oooh, see, that sounds like it didn't work out so well." Michael leaned in towards the glass, "Tell you what, you tell me how to stop the nanites, and I'll consider letting you go."

   "No! Never!"

   He began the nanite dispenser warm-up sequence.

   "Please! Stop! I'll be killed! They'll disintegrate me!"

   "Then you better start talking!"

   "ALRIGHT! Salt! If the nanites are exposed to salt they become inert and decompose!" Dr. Colwell, pressed himself against the glass, "Please, shut it off..."

   Michael turned off the machine, but did not unlock the door.

   "Now, when and where are the capsules going to be released?"

   "Day after tomorrow; Cloudsdale, Phillydelphia, and Canterlot."

   "How are they getting there?"

   "We have agents. Two earth ponies and a Pegasus. They're leaving tonight with the capsules. In fact, they should already have the capsules." Colwell slumped against the wall of the chamber, defeated.

   Michael looked around at the lab, "Doctor, you designed the nanites?"

   "What?" he looked at Michael, confused, "Yes, all of it. From the bottom up. I'm the only one who understands how."

   Michael sighed and looked at the old man.

   "I'm sorry."

   He reactivated the warm-up sequence.

   Colwell realized what was going on, "No! Stop! Please! I'm Sorry! I made a mistake! I won't do it again!"

   "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't believe that. Even if you were telling the truth, the knowledge you have is too dangerous to take that chance."

   Doctor Colwell once again sat against the wall. There was a bit of silence as while the dispenser warmed up again.

   "I understand." he said, solemnly. "Michael?"

   "Yes, Professor?"

   "I'm sorry. No one should have to be put in the position you are now. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

   Michael was silent as his own tears began flowing.

   The professor checked his watch, "The guards are all gone by now. Your code still works, so set the self-destruct for the mansion and leave now. Take her with you."

   He nodded and began setting the self-destruct for ten minutes; enough time to get out of the mansion.

   "Oh, and Michael?"

   "Yes?"

   "If you happen to ever get ponified yourself and meet my daughter, please don't tell her about this. Tell her I died in a lab accident. Yes. A lab accident. Let’s make this my dying wish."

   "Of course."

   "Goodbye Michael."

   Michael paused, choking back some tears, "Goodbye, Professor."

   With that, Michael picked up Twilight, and began running. As he ran down the hall, he could hear the professors scream and then hear it stop abruptly.

   He was gone. Next Chapter: Chapter 15 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 11 Minutes