It retracted, giving her an unbroken view of the pony beyond. Well, pony shaped. It did not make any attempt to conceal its mechanical nature, with flat sections along its back and legs joined with bundles of dark mechanical muscle. It was about the size of an adult stallion, though it had the proportions of a mare. It looked similar to the Alicorn Melody had seen in those ancient memories. The mechanical pony even had a cutie mark—a little ring surrounding a bright red point, and a transparent glass horn.