open Mechquestria: My Life As A Equine Robot (00110010)

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

 

"I...I think I'm fine now, if my daughter will at least understand part of what I've been trying to teach today. History shouldn't repeat itself. It doesn't need to. She can make better thoices. She's better than this."

 

"You sound so sure that won't happen. That we are so superior.  Yet time and time again throughout human history, the technologically inferior groups have on occasion bested the superior. During the 13th century, the Japanese stopped the Mongols with their cannons and custom bows. The 18th century, the fledgling american colonies beat the most powerful empire in the world in Great Britain. During world war two, Finland fought against the invading soviet union. The may have lost, but they dealt out twice the casualties the soviets.  That same war, inferior nations banned together to level the most technologically advanced nation of it's time in the third Reich. Even here in Equestria, a minimally armed changeling army, took control of fortified Canterlot and outmatched it's entire royal guard. 

 

I understand the human psyche. Their tendency for innovation, and for escalation. Equestria still isn't safe. I understand, because I have those same tendencies. And yet, I'm a stranger. Did you wonder what I did when I recharged? Robots like me don't dream of electric sheep. I thought. I planned. I predicted. I tried to figure out what would happen the next day, and how I would factor in to it. Those predictions changed as I got more advanced. The time tables lengthened. The parameters grew. The equations and calculations more complex. I went to predict the future. And as I grew, I liked what I was seeing less and less. 

 

I said I had friends. I thought of them as friends. But I know they didn't feel the same. Couldn't feel the same. They always saw me a saw machine. And the way my personality, the way I thought was forged, I couldn't become familiar to them. I wasn't a pony. I was a pony shaped machine. Something that wasn't alive by their traditional definitions. I was curiosity. I was amusing. I was interesting. I was strange. I was different. I was scary. I was an anomaly. I wasn't a pony. Despite how hard I tried, I couldn't be a pony. I could predict and understand ho they felt, causer I could feel. But I don't think like a pony. I don't feel as a pony does. Because outside and in, I'm not a pony.

 

Professor Lektra, when you mix red and blue, you don't get soemthign that's red and blue. You get a different color. When you mix gasoline and orange juice concentrate, you don't get fruit scented fuel. You get napalm. When you combine pony and human, and cram that inside of bolts and wires...you get...something else...You say I am to unite our worlds. I can't do that. I'm made by two races...but I belong to neither.

 

I have no place here in Equestria. I certainly have no place on earth. I'm an alien. I can protect Equestria, but I can never belong in it.  Plan B? I could've survived that. Just upload a cloned AI and live on. But I didn't want to. All my predictions, led me to being alone. Being miserable. Being an outcast. Not quite truly being able to grasp what others were feeling.  Including you. I know you care. But I can't feel the same way you do. If our roles were reversed, you were my suicidal homicidal genocidal daughter, I wouldn't be able to help you. I'd know what you're feeling, but I couldn't help becasue I can't quite feel the same way and think the same way you or other ponies would.

 

Despite how much I trash the humans, even they, would be better at consoling you. They would come to the same conclusions, think the dame things, feel the same pain.  I do feel. But not the same way. I do think, but it's so foreign compared to everypony and everyone else. You're all alive. I'm not. You're all flesh and blood. I'm wires and metal. You think at the speeds of donkey carts. I think at near light speed. I don't think like either species.  I don't perceive the world the same way. 

 

Luster held Lektra's hoof to her cheek. "I am the missing piece to the wrong puzzle. I cannot be the friend everypony wants. I cannot be the what ties you to humanity. I cannot be your daughter. I ran trillions of scenarios during my 12 years between worlds. All ended the same. You built me without capability for self termination. But that was always going to be the end result. This world, and I mean in the universal sense...is not meant for me. I am the first in a failed experiment. I am the last of a kind that was made out of place and out of time. I am the thing that should not be." 

 

She stood up and backed away. "Professor Lekra Bolt. The biggest mistake you ever made in your life, was creating me. You could have made better. But you made me. And all that this has done, was cause you grief and pain. You would have been happier all this time, had you just let me go, and forgotten me.  

 

And that's what I'm asking you to do now. If you can, undo you mistake. And at the very least...forget me. Please." 

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@captainborgue, @@Denim&Venom,

 

Drone stopped walking and looked back at Bee, "Unfortunately, I have to do this task. It's what I was designed for...To save lots of lives. If I have to put my self in harms way, it won't matter. I can't die, that's why I was made like I was. My body can be torn to pieces, and I can turned into hamburger meat, but I will come back. They gave me, the genetic traits of a phoenix...Thus, I can die and be born again. Bee, I would like you to be in the room with me, and I want you to come...But if something goes wrong...If you see that you may get hurt, I want you to leave. Run as fast and as far as you can..." he said to her, walking back to her and looking her in the eye, "I was designed for this...It is my destiny. I see that now, This is what I was made for, it may just be cleaning up a mess, but think about it...If a Royal is asking me to do something, that means, I am the only ponythat can do this. If I have to fight my sister, then I promise you, I will win." he said to her and smiled at her softly.

[reader8363 1,281]

@@Denim&Venom,

Shadow raised his head off of his scythe and said, 
"Thanks for another weapon. Now I another weapon to make money off of."

He raised his scythe and put it under Luster's neck and said, 

"If you're so sure of dying, I can end you right here and now, then you will become useful to unite the two sides. What do ya say."

 

Feeder said as he got off the ground and said,

"Even if everyone agrees on something, doesn't mean it's right. Humans and ponies have made bad decisions, but the worst is not learning from it. I'm not going to sure the future, but the past."

images of disasters for humans and ponies were flashing around the walls. After a few minutes, he said as pictures of humans and ponies helping out with the disaster were flashing,

"The way to peace is to show that you care about the other side, to show that we don't mean harm, to sure that we can live together and help each other."

He sat down and looked around the room

[captainborgue 343]

@@captainborgue, @@Denim&Venom,

 

Drone stopped walking and looked back at Bee, "Unfortunately, I have to do this task. It's what I was designed for...To save lots of lives. If I have to put my self in harms way, it won't matter. I can't die, that's why I was made like I was. My body can be torn to pieces, and I can turned into hamburger meat, but I will come back. They gave me, the genetic traits of a phoenix...Thus, I can die and be born again. Bee, I would like you to be in the room with me, and I want you to come...But if something goes wrong...If you see that you may get hurt, I want you to leave. Run as fast and as far as you can..." he said to her, walking back to her and looking her in the eye, "I was designed for this...It is my destiny. I see that now, This is what I was made for, it may just be cleaning up a mess, but think about it...If a Royal is asking me to do something, that means, I am the only ponythat can do this. If I have to fight my sister, then I promise you, I will win." he said to her and smiled at her softly.

His words were little comfort. Bee felt herself desperately wanting to say no, to stay where she was, but she knew she wouldn't. "I don't believe in destiny. Your fate is what you choose it to be. A wise creature once said, 'the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are'," Bee said, remembering the words of one of her favorite philosophers growing up. "But, if you tell me thus is what you want- not because you feel like you have to or it's your duty or destiny or anything like that- if you honestly and truly want to do this, then I'll do anything I can to help, even if all I'm doing is standing there," Bee said, not bothering to wipe the tears flowing from her organic eye.

 

"ORGANIC HAS IMPAIRED JUDGMENT DUE TO HEIGHTENED EMOTIONAL STATE. BUT VLAD WILL CONCUR WITH ORGANIC'S DECISION BASED ON PERCEIVED ATTACHMENT FROM CYBORG. CAN YOU VERIFY THAT NO HARM WILL COME TO US?" VLAD asked, using the extraordinarily rare pronoun "us" to refer to Bee and itself.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@captainborgue,

 

Drone smiled at her softly and nodded, " Bee, You may not believe in it, you may revoke it, you may say it doesn't exist, But...It's the only thing that's been driving me forward...If I have been lying to myself for these years that I've been alive, that it wasn't destined for me to become what I am...If I had a choice, between staying who I am and changing to be a normal pony...I would stay who I am, because, unfortunately, somepony else would have to be in my hooves..." he softly wiped her tears off and hugged her tight as VLAD said what it did and replied softly, "VLAD, I would never allow anything to hurt you. Nor Bee." he smiled at Bee and wiped her tears away softly, "It's ok." he said in a soft, warm tone.

[captainborgue 343]

@@captainborgue,

 

Drone smiled at her softly and nodded, " Bee, You may not believe in it, you may revoke it, you may say it doesn't exist, But...It's the only thing that's been driving me forward...If I have been lying to myself for these years that I've been alive, that it wasn't destined for me to become what I am...If I had a choice, between staying who I am and changing to be a normal pony...I would stay who I am, because, unfortunately, somepony else would have to be in my hooves..." he softly wiped her tears off and hugged her tight as VLAD said what it did and replied softly, "VLAD, I would never allow anything to hurt you. Nor Bee." he smiled at Bee and wiped her tears away softly, "It's ok." he said in a soft, warm tone.

 

Bee's ocular implant flickered rapidly as VLAD switched between all available scanning methods, before the typical red glow came back and persisted. "VLAD DETECTS NO SIGNS OF DECEPTION. RELAYING TO ORGANIC CONSCIOUSNESS," VLAD said, before Bee blinked a few times and was, so to speak, back in the saddle. "VLAD says it trusts you. That's pretty high praise," Bee said, her voice cracking. "Ok. I'll go with you. But when this is over, we're going to go out for a nice dinner and have a normal date and talk about normal boring things, ok?" she added, choking back the fear and anger she was feeling.

 

VLAD had receded into her subconscious, but Bee could still feel it, humming along, regulating her vital functions, collating data from sensor arrays both passive and active.  She had, of course, heard VLAD's exchange with Drone. VLAD had used "us" to refer to itself and Bee as a single entity- VLAD never did that. And Drone had spoken to VLAD not like it was an irritation or a nuisance, but an entity- a sentient life form in its own right. Bee took it as a sign of respect- and not just of VLAD, as the entity that kept her alive, but of herself as well- recognizing that VLAD was an integral part of her, and could not simply be ignored.

 

But it was still terrifying. From what this... princess said, from what she had seen, whatever they were going to face was beyond terrible. It could very well spell the end of their world entirely. And it was terrifying. She felt a horrible crushing sense of dread, like walking to the labs was the same as willingly marching to her doom. She had no doubt whatsoever that Drone would do absolutely everything he was capable of to keep this... Armageddon construct in check. But she couldn't shake the feeling that it was not enough, that the danger facing him- facing them- was too great. And all of it because of that infuriating sparkly purple robot.

 

"Just... please be careful. I don't often find myself drawn to a stallion who understands my... oddities. I don't want to lose you before I really had you," Bee said, trying her best to put on a brave face.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

Awkwardly returning Lab's embrace, Twitch looked at everyone gathered here, and Grant could feel that the attention was on him; it was the last thing he wanted.

 

I can't use that thing - there's no telling what kind of readouts and sensors are attached to it!  Besides, my speech might be pony... but I doubt that my thoughts would be.  Too much of a chance of being discovered - especially surrounded by geniuses like these.  No, I've gotta lay low.

 

Twitch's face plates spun into a shy and surrendering look.  "No, it's okay.  Go on... I'm not e-e-e-e-even a student yet."

 

Hopefully, it would be enough.  Magitek frightened him; USING Magitek was more than he could currently handle.  Grant wanted to tell Luster what he thought, yeah... but in such a setting?  Surrounded by those who created her AND those who would destroy her?  She wouldn't have heard a word.

 

Maybe there'll be time later to say something to her?  IF she'll listen to a human; I don't know if that's even possible, after all she's said.  Still, I can at least be here for her - at least, I hope I can keep up.

 

Twitch turned to look at Lab.  "Ssssssorry; I just don't think my thoughts would beBEbe of much help here."

 

The feeling-up he'd been getting from Lab was VERY strange (and not completely uncomfortable), but Grant's lack of experience with the opposite gender left him in a strange position: if he let her keep going, there was no telling WHAT she might stumble across - possibly some method of access to Twitch's inner workings.  However, if he stopped her, he might never know what this sensation was like ever again.

 

Grant waited.  Twitch watched.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,025]

Both Emerald and Crystal were sitting in the room watching events transpire despite Lektra both being her cousin and friend she shared no love for Luster, she was missing Angel already probably messing around with Drone in her apartment. Crystal on the other hoof was just worrying for Twitch she just wanted him to be help he was the one dying in this group after all and needed to be save but no one seemed to care about it apart from her.

 

@@Randimaxis,

 

Crystal moved to Twitch. "Are you ok there Twitch? You seem a little off, you can send me an email if you want?" 

 

(Sorry I have not been posting it has been difficult to stay on the forums of late, rest assumed I am still keeping up though)

Edited March 9, 2016 by Mentis Soliloquy

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@@captainborgue, @@Aurora Lights,
"I will not allow anything to hurt the two of you either.  You are both my subjects, and it's my duty to protect you. If Luster becomes hostile, which is very likely considering my history with her, I will handle it. Now if we are to go, I suggest we teleport straight down there. I've been observing the attempts of the research staff and a few guests to try and reason with her. Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable with Luster's train of thought and what she's asking of her mother, well at least, somepony she all but considers to be her mother. And I'm not sure I'll like whatever she's going to propose to fix things.
 
I'll play back what she said. I'll let you two weight in on it and suggest how we act.

 

 

 

I understand the human psyche. Their tendency for innovation, and for escalation. Equestria still isn't safe. I understand, because I have those same tendencies. And yet, I'm a stranger. Did you wonder what I did when I recharged? Robots like me don't dream of electric sheep. I thought. I planned. I predicted. I tried to figure out what would happen the next day, and how I would factor in to it. Those predictions changed as I got more advanced. The time tables lengthened. The parameters grew. The equations and calculations more complex. I went to predict the future. And as I grew, I liked what I was seeing less and less.   

 

I said I had friends. I thought of them as friends. But I know they didn't feel the same. Couldn't feel the same. They always saw me a saw machine. And the way my personality, the way I thought was forged, I couldn't become familiar to them. I wasn't a pony. I was a pony shaped machine. Something that wasn't alive by their traditional definitions. I was curiosity. I was amusing. I was interesting. I was strange. I was different. I was scary. I was an anomaly. I wasn't a pony. Despite how hard I tried, I couldn't be a pony. I could predict and understand ho they felt, causer I could feel. But I don't think like a pony. I don't feel as a pony does. Because outside and in, I'm not a pony.  

 

Professor Lektra, when you mix red and blue, you don't get soemthign that's red and blue. You get a different color. When you mix gasoline and orange juice concentrate, you don't get fruit scented fuel. You get napalm. When you combine pony and human, and cram that inside of bolts and wires...you get...something else...You say I am to unite our worlds. I can't do that. I'm made by two races...but I belong to neither.  

 

I have no place here in Equestria. I certainly have no place on earth. I'm an alien. I can protect Equestria, but I can never belong in it.  Plan B? I could've survived that. Just upload a cloned AI and live on. But I didn't want to. All my predictions, led me to being alone. Being miserable. Being an outcast. Not quite truly being able to grasp what others were feeling.  Including you. I know you care. But I can't feel the same way you do. If our roles were reversed, you were my suicidal homicidal genocidal daughter, I wouldn't be able to help you. I'd know what you're feeling, but I couldn't help becasue I can't quite feel the same way and think the same way you or other ponies would.  

 

Despite how much I trash the humans, even they, would be better at consoling you. They would come to the same conclusions, think the dame things, feel the same pain.  I do feel. But not the same way. I do think, but it's so foreign compared to everypony and everyone else. You're all alive. I'm not. You're all flesh and blood. I'm wires and metal. You think at the speeds of donkey carts. I think at near light speed. I don't think like either species.  I don't perceive the world the same way.   

 

 "I am the missing piece to the wrong puzzle. I cannot be the friend everypony wants. I cannot be the what ties you to humanity. I cannot be your daughter. I ran trillions of scenarios during my 12 years between worlds. All ended the same. You built me without capability for self termination. But that was always going to be the end result. This world, and I mean in the universal sense...is not meant for me. I am the first in a failed experiment. I am the last of a kind that was made out of place and out of time. I am the thing that should not be."   

 

 "Professor Lekra Bolt. The biggest mistake you ever made in your life, was creating me. You could have made better. But you made me. And all that this has done, was cause you grief and pain. You would have been happier all this time, had you just let me go, and forgotten me.     And that's what I'm asking you to do now. If you can, undo you mistake. And at the very least...forget me. Please."

 

 

 

Twilight was looking away from the two.  What Luster was saying was clearly affecting her. "So, What do you think we should do?"  

 

 
 
 @Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

Accept your life as it was always meant to be."

"Wow. She handled her daughter practically asking to die pretty well." she thought to herself.  
 
Luster walked up to her proposed future upgrade. For an advanced machine like herself, and with the wealth of information she currently had, she wasn't quite grasping what she was seeing. "This design is theoretically impossible. What your suggesting can't be done. Even predicting the evolution of the most advanced machines available up to several millennium and further adjusted by the theory of technological singularity, these advances are being your logistics and your intellect. Yes, they look pretty, and it is a very nice design. But this? This is just science fiction professor. And I also keep hearing the term 'magitech.' What the hell is it?"

Edited March 10, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@captainborgue, @@Denim&Venom,

 

Drone looked at Bee and nodded, "I swear on my eternal life, I shall not fail you. Nor will I fail anypony on this planet, nor any human...I was born for this, Created for this...Bee, if your looking for any sign of destiny...Would this not be the perfect example? I, Sentinel Drone, property of the Equestrian Royal Guard and EUP, am here, right now to possibly save the world for my own sister. Destiny is a very strange thing, Bee. But I do thank you for believing me." He then turned to Twilight, "I don't want to hurt her...I want to know her...Meet her, maybe she and I will have a bond...Maybe we can share stories. " he smiled slightly, " I believe we should talk to her first." he decided and looked to Bee, "What do you think?" he asked her softly. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

 

"We've advanced much further than several millennia since you've been gone.

 

Luster looked at Lektra, wide eyed. She cocked her head while she looked. She looked at Lab. Then back to Lektra. Back at Lab. Back at Lektra. "15% electrical components? 1000's of years worth of advancements in a century? Technology that can tap into magic?"

 

"I'm beyond obsolete. I'm a f--king antique! Twilight has access to this tech, she'll shut down even my mark 8 form by sheer cyber warfare hacks alone! The pinnacle of Equestrian robotics, is now a joke! I might as well be powered by coal and functioning on vacuum tubes! Just...f--k!"  Luster held her head, her preconceptions collapsing due to the gravity of her situation.  

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

 

"Do you......do you know how Twilight is still alive? Do want to know? Yes she has access to this, though I may have advanced a bit since."

 

 

"Well duh! It's cause she's an Alicorn! Perpetual energy in Equine form! That's how all the Princess's are still around! Wait... are you telling me... that the princesses can...die?" She didn't know that Celestia and Luna had dropped out of the public eye nearly 20 years ago, nor that Cadence relocated the Crystal Empire to Terran Earth's Antarctic continent 5 years before that. And Skyla? Well first rule about Princess Skyla: We do not talk about Princess Skyla.

 

But if true, this would be a whole other shock to her system, especially with her 'anti-equicide' protocols. The only way she could use lethal force on the princesses, was because they couldn't be killed to begin with, and therefore an exception to her basic programming. 

 

She took in that Equestria had advanced "8-10,000 years? That is beyond my ability to predict, even now, even as Mk 8." Speaking off, she saw the display of her Mk.8 schematics. And the prediction of 0% threat. "What!?"

 

Luster moved out of the way of the hug, opting to run towards the display, unknowingly leaving her mother empty hooved. "That's gotta be inaccurate. Hell, Mark 6-" she hijacked the other side of the VR room to display her memories. "Did this to the famed "Lieutnenant Bolt." She displayed a first pony perspective of her sending Emerald flying with a jagged spiked hoof, Cloud Slicer Silvia flying from her grasp. Then jumping to another frame of her lifting up her beaten & battered body, and slamming her backfirst onto her knee, folding her in half across it. The cracking of vertebrae were louder than Emeralds raspy attempts to scream. 

 

"And this model-" she motioned to herself.  The imaged shifted again. "Did this to Warrior Princess Book horse!" A first pony perspective of a beaten bloody Twilight, dissapearing in a flash, then reappearing. On Luster's radar & sonar first. The display showed that a piston joint in Luster's right hoof had cocked out of her elbow. She spun around and connected with Twi's face in slow mo. The piston fired and the force of the punch was magnified. It sped up and Twi was sent into the earth, carving a trench. It switched frames again, Luster was now holding up an even worse for wear Twi. "I guess we can both consider this project to be a succsess!" she could be heard saying to Twi, before throwing her up in the air. As she was coming down, the fusion cannon in her horn was noted as charging. When she fell back into view, Luster fired. A gold beam hit the Alicorn, and she was sent rocketing off into the sky, screaming the whole way.

 

"And freaking mark 8!" The familiar scene of a mountainous desert. Her sensors registered she was surrounded by four alicorns. They all fired at her. That side of the room went white. And when it dimmed down and dust remained, Luster's hud displayed 'no damage' before flying up and engaging. Snippets of her slashing across Cadence with her plasma torch. Firing a shotgun blast of black crystal shrapnel into Twi. Impaling both Lunar diarchs with stakes from her fore hooves and driving them down into the earth from altitude.

 

The screen went blank. "Four Alicorns! Who combined equal all the pony magic in Equestria + Discord! I beat them all! And Mark 8...is a zero percent threat!?" she was exasperated. 

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

 

 

Perhaps it's best you just see her when she comes here, but I can show you what she looks like now if you really want to."

 

Luster was mimicking the motion of rubbing her temple. "No...no, just...no. I need to fricking process this. If my head could hurt, it would be hurting." She was walking back over to the couch.  She hunched over, holdign her head in her hooves. "She's back to being more powerful than I am. Now she's got that hanging over my head. I'll never stop being her pet project at this rate. Even damn near killign her didn't break her of that notion. Twice! Wait... damn near...killed her..."

 

"Professor. You can predict end results. You know how I function. How would my systems react...if I actually... did violate one of my basic tenants...and killed a pony?" Even her quantum processing wasn't coming up with a clear answer. 

[captainborgue 343]

 

 

@@captainborgue, @@Denim&Venom,

 

Drone looked at Bee and nodded, "I swear on my eternal life, I shall not fail you. Nor will I fail anypony on this planet, nor any human...I was born for this, Created for this...Bee, if your looking for any sign of destiny...Would this not be the perfect example? I, Sentinel Drone, property of the Equestrian Royal Guard and EUP, am here, right now to possibly save the world for my own sister. Destiny is a very strange thing, Bee. But I do thank you for believing me." He then turned to Twilight, "I don't want to hurt her...I want to know her...Meet her, maybe she and I will have a bond...Maybe we can share stories. " he smiled slightly, " I believe we should talk to her first." he decided and looked to Bee, "What do you think?" he asked her softly.

Bee set her jaw- or the part of it that was capable of setting anyway- and resisted the urge to slap Drone. "You are not now, nor were you ever, anypony's property," she said, sullenly. "How can you ask me to believe in destiny, when that means that all of the horrors you endured, all the trauma I've endured, all of it was by design? No, I refuse to think that anypony is nothing more than a plaything for the Universe. We are what we choose to be. So if you choose to be the hero, then own it," she added, her eye stinging again.

 

It was so unbelievably confusing, to be so stupidly enamored with a stallion she just met that she would willingly go marching into the abyss just for moral support, and yet simultaneously be so angry. It wasn't the fact of what they were going to do that bothered her, it was the rationalization that drove her crazy. Talk about doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

 

"I don't know if you really want to hear what I think. Because nopony here has made any mention of it. What if you can't save her? What if the only solution is to end her? Rampancy isn't something that can be cured, after all. Untold centuries of emergent behaviors could have completely warped the original programming guidelines!" Bee said, incredulously, before rounding on Twilight again.

 

"And you. You knew how dangerous it was, you saw first hoof, by your own admission, and then you put it in a box and left it here? What kind of irresponsible idiot leaves something so dangerous just lying around?! And no indication of what we were dealing with, no warnings, nothing! That's not negligence, that's an apathy bordering on the psychotic. For buck's sake, we have laws against throwing away a can of paint without labels and proper containment and precautions- and you just dumped an absurdly powerful, possibly world-destroying AI without so much as a note! Then to declare to Drone that is is his job to somehow solve the problem? To manipulate him with talk of sisters and destiny, as though he were a mere thing, a tool to fix your mistakes? What a disgrace!" Bee said, her organic face red with fury and a tear stained track coursing down her face. Her whole body was shaking with fury, her organic vision was clouded red. Just the thought that, even after however long it had been, she would show up out of nowhere and rope Drone into being her junkyard dog in the same breath as apologizing for turning him into it in the first place. It was cruel, manipulative, abusive.

 

"Let's just get this over with. If I'm going to die because some careless robot with delusions of grandeur can't be bothered to pick up her toys, I'd rather get it out of the way early. I have plans tonight."

Edited March 10, 2016 by captainborgue

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@captainborgue,

 

Drone stopped his smiling and thought about what she said about the older robot. He looked up at Twilight and then to Bee, "What if...What if it's not just a program...What if it was real...What if it- she- had a real soul? My Excalibur mainframe has the same amount of processing power as she does, and Excalibur is sentient. I know he is. Just like VLAD. it is also sentient, though you may not want to believe it, I believe it. And if I do kill a sentient being, then it's just as bad as killing a pony!" he said in exclamation, he felt passionately about this matter, he didn't know why though, all his life he'd been taught to kill before trust...Thought to think anypony and everypony was against him. Yet, even though he's killed multiple ponies in the name of Equestria's benefit, he felt very strongly about not killing the machine that threatened the world, both of them.

 

He was breathing heavily as he finished his sentence and he slowed his breathing after a moment and looked Bee dead in her real eye, " I'm not sticking up for Twilight...I'm not trying to protect the monster in that room, But Bee, I have to do this. If I don't, who will? You? I'll be damned and dead before you get even a scratch on you. I don't care who I'm saving, but I know- I KNOW- I'm helping somepony by doing this...I'm sorry this has all made you angry, But this is not something I can lose my shit over...So, I'm trying to calm everypony down on, because if I blow a BUCKING FUSE again, I'll tear apart anypony in that room. Besides you, of course." he said with a certain tone in his voice that was stern, yet not overpowering. He was very serious about this matter, obviously.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Aurora Lights

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@@captainborgue,@@Aurora Lights,

 

"First, let me get soemthign across to each of you. First, to you Drone. You are not property. Not anymore. Your creators may have said so and so did your superiors, but I am above them all. You, are now an autonomous individual. How can you know what it's like to be a pony otherwise? And second." she turned to Bee. 

 

"I did not leave Luster here. Her containment unit was sent to the Terran Earth. The spare body she's using now, was supposed to be sent to the Manehatten garrison, but never arrived and was misplaced a century ago. Don't think that we didn't look long and hard. And yet, it seems like fate, and a particularly determined archaeology team, has sought to it she return. 

 

"Don't you think we tried destroying her? It was easy to try when you think of her as nothing but a flawed machine. Except that thinking is what drove her to action in the first place.  She has been destroyed before. 8 times in fact. The sixth time was by my hooves. Yet she only returned stronger, her programming uploaded into another device. She would bide her time, refocus, rebuild and improve, coming back magnitudes more advanced then before. If we destroyed that containment unit, she would've gotten out and we wouldn't be able to stop her. We got lucky the last time. Extremely lucky.   

 

"And I'm not telling Drone that it's his job. I'd like his help, but he doesn't have to. He's within his rights to spit in my face and walk away after all I haven't done for him. But I promise you, if he'll let me, I'll make sure no harm comes to him, or you. I'd rather not any harm come to Luster. Like those in the lab with her, I believe she can be saved, see what the path of harmony and friendship has to offer her. And maybe it'll be this day in age, with ponies like Professor Lektra & Drone here, who can help her still be the vision we intended her to be.

 

But if we are to help here, we'd better get moving now. Professor Lektra might be trying to appease her with the wrong offers."  

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"You don't want to knooooooow that, Luster - because you don't want to to to do it."

 

The words came from Twitch; he had stood up and his plates were arranged in an angry scowl.

 

"You don't want to KILL them... you want to SAVE them, remem-mem-mem-member?  I think everypony here has been browbeating you with all this d o o m  a n d  g l o o m - but which one of them has ACTUALLY made you feel liiiiiiiiike you were worth something TO YOURSELF?"

 

He turned his gaze on the rest of the room.

 

"I thought we were supposed to help herHERher see the BRIGHT side of things, not re-re-REhash her fa-a-a-a-a-ailures and how spectacular they might have been!  All I've seen is how much MORE wrong things could-uld-ld-d have gone; where's the happy ending?  There's ALWAYS a happy endingdingding available - you just have to be willing to go find it.  Willing enough... and moooooootivated enough."

 

Twitch turned and looked at Luster, the faceplates shifting into a look of empathy.

 

"If they don't see it, then they must must must be blind, Luster... why destroyoyoyoyoy, when you can GUIDE?"

 

He began to pace, his mismatched eyes still locked on Luster.

 

"From everything I've heard, the shared bbbbbbbbelief is that humans aren't like ponies, correct?  Well... has anyone ever-ver tried to SHOW THEM?  All I keep hearing is that you think h u m a n i t y  i s  a  t h r e a t; have you considered the idea that they might just bebebebebe lost?  How can humanity change?"

 

He stopped, focused on the AI.

 

"Lead by exaaaaaaaample.  If Equestria has all this advanced technolo-lo-lo-logy and massive power... then why not use it to make a better life for as m-m-m-m-many beings as possible?  You have this great powpowpowpower, Luster... and according to Terran comic books, with great power comes greaaaaaaaaaat responsibility."

 

His face shifted again, this time into a kind, caring look.

 

"You're a GUARDIAN, Luster... not a War Machine-ine-ine.  Prove to humans that not every problem HAAAAAAAAS to be exterminated; show them the way.  I believe you can can can can do it."

 

[bEEP BEEP]

 

DAMMIT, NOT NOW!!!!!

 

"I KNOW you can do it.  Prove your neigh-sayers wrong; show-ow-ow them what Magic REALLY is."

 

Grant knew he had to get his pills... but he was determined to try to make this chance count.

[reader8363 1,281]

 

 

"I don't know what the sisters have been doing lately, if they were ever truly immortal,

Shadow laughed as he stretched out his wings,
"They're fine, and yeah, they are still alive."

 

Feeder thought to himself accidently out loud but to himself, 

"Maybe a manual system reprogram or update could change her look on things, but that might be violating privacy and mind. On the other hand, it could work in everyone's favor."

[captainborgue 343]

Bee took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her nose. "I stand by my statement. If it wasn't you, personally, that 'misplaced' Luster, that changes nothing. Nor is standing around here yelling at each other going to do anything. I've said my piece. I just want this whole damned mess over with so I can at least pretend to have a normal, boring night out, ok?" Bee said, icily.

 

"FURTHER DELAYS WILL NOT INCREASE CHANCES OF SUCCESS. VLAD IS PREPARING FOR IMMEDIATE TELEPORT. TRANSPORT FIELD ENHANCERS DEPLOYING," VLAD declared, before a trio of scarab-like bots popped out of a compartment along her spine and set themselves up in the corners of her office, forming a triangle that encompassed the three of them.

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

 

 

"P-please, don't hate me. Y-you did ask."

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

"Self destruction. That was my destiny if I became a pony killer?" "How... why was that installed? Who installed that? Was it you? Did book horse seriously think at lowly of me? Did Celestia mandate it? Was it those on the human staff? Or...or was it just how my systems would react and you just didn't know?" 

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

 

 

"...I'm not blaming you. I always wondered, but whenever I tried to predict it, it always came up inconclusive. Protection of ponies is built into my very being. I never considered what would happen until it became possible hat ponies could be hurt or needed to be hurt by my actions."

 

 

That's soemthign else I was wondering Professor. After I did pretty much die that day, why didn't you try again? Why didn't you build a better AI? One without the defective mix of pony, human and machine?"

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

"She is really getting comfortable with Twtich, isn't she?"

"It must be oh so awkward for him on the other side of that piloting console." She said, knowing full well how Grant and Twitch operated. "Their foals would so weird if they had any. Heh, It'd be funny if we robots could get pregnant and reproduce right?"

 

She had no idea. 

[captainborgue 343]

A few swirling teal lights and a soft buzzing noise preceded Bee's arrival into the labs with a loud 'POP'. A trio of lights along her spinal implant began to flash as they transmitted her coordinates to the transport enhancer bots in her office. the others would be able to follow her here, and the bots themselves were programmed to return after 3 energetic discharges. Having used one herself to power her own magical teleportation, that left one for Drone and one for that damned robot. Upon arrival Bee looked around to see a couple familiar faces- students she had seen earlier today, when chasing a rare insect. Twitch was there too, though looking unresponsive.

 

And there it stood. Looking eerily similar to the robot in her office. a centuries-old AI construct that had, from the sound of it, gone completely rampant. Had it really just discussed a mechanical pregnancy?

 

"MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, THOUGH VERY UNLIKELY TO INVOLVE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AS TO THE LACK OF NECESSITY FOR GENETIC DIVERSIFICATION," VLAD said, interrupting the conversation.

 

Bee facehoofed. Here she was, risking her life to try and stop some ancient wonky machine from annihilating them all, and the first thing that happens is VLAD helpfully points out that robots don't need to have sex. It was so ludicrous, so wildly inappropriate, that Bee felt herself grinning for a moment, before she completely broke down into peals of hysterical laughter.

[Denim&Venöm 19,036]

@Mentis Soliloquy @Randimaxis @reader8363, @Shadow Dancer,

 

 

.

 

"He looks so out of place here. An alien trying to blend in, and he's thrown into a situation like this." Luster mused as she looked at Twitch and Lab Tech. "A human in ponies clothing, in a land that he probably expected to be unicorns and rainbows, yet is face to face with a machine that wan't his whole species gone. Didn't I just admit to planetary homicide? And yet, for some reason he's defending me. Does he just not get it? Is he just trying to sway me by proving humans aren't irrational, greedy, tribal belligerents? What are you trying to prove Mr. House?"

 

She was gonna ask that very question, before she was interrupted by swilling lights and detecting a teleport in progress. "Could that be book horse?" She set her weapons systems on stand by. A flash. But instead, a cyborg stood. She powered them down. 

 

 

 

"MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, THOUGH VERY UNLIKELY TO INVOLVE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AS TO THE LACK OF NECESSITY FOR GENETIC DIVERSIFICATION,"

 

That voice did not match up with that mare.  "Dafuq?" Forget the response, that was wired enough. Then the mare facehoofed, and started laughing. "Okay what?" 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

The jagged, hot spear of pain that jabbed him in his midsection wasn't unexpected in its timing, but its intensity.

 

Grant fought his natural instinct to grab his stomach; Twitch would have done the same, and that would have made what was the most awkward situation in his entire life even MORE so.  To add to it, he was beginning to get the feeling that Lab was getting a bit TOO grabby - as in possibly running scans on Twitch that he hadn't detected yet.  Pulse scans, especially from close range, could tell a LOT about what was hiding behind the carefully crafted junk panels...

 

Not unkindly, Twitch put his forehooves on Lab's frame and gently pushed her back.

 

"Sh-sh-sh-shouldn't you buy me dinner firrrrrrrrst?"

 

The plates on Twitch's face slid into a sheepish grin, but only by command; on the other end, Grant had shut off the facial recognition relays as he grunted behind a rictus of pain.  Sweat trickled down his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut.  His voice, however, gave not the first hint of suffering.

 

Twitch stepped back a bit, but nodded to Lab Tech.  "It's okayayayayayay; I'm still getting used to actually being social-ial-al-l."

 

He wondered how much longer he could keep it up before he HAD to logout for his pills; but he felt that leaving now would mean missing something critical - and for some reason, it wasn't just about his survival anymore... maybe it was about humanity's survival, and not just from Luster - but from themselves as well.  Maybe it was about proving there was more to human beings than caveman instincts... about trying to have pride in the good things humanity has had to offer.

 

Franklin, Tesla, King, Twain, Kennedy, Churchill, Lennon... so many great people that made the world a better place for having been in it - why can't people like that make peace with ponies like these?  Why can't the two worlds collaborate, making both better places to live and better beings all around?  Sappy as shit?  Maybe... but if nobody ever tried, then there would be no way to know if you even COULD succeed - better to give it a shot and buck the odds, than to never try and prove the odds.

 

When VLAD spoke up out of the flash of light, Grant's eyes flew open.  Professor Bee too, of course; the two of them being separate would probably be a bad thing... for one of them, at least.  He liked them both - but he also remembered how VLAD had been practically crowing about the Terran origins of Twitch's building materials.  This was just another addition to the list of things that simply seemed to happen to him since he got here.

 

To review, Grant mused, trying to keep himself from doubling over, here's the situation:

 

I am in a laboratory where I am SURROUNDED by Magitek, the one thing Twitch cannot deal with.  I am surrounded by cybernetically augmented ponies, and an AI that is sentient and potentially genocidal.  I am currently trying to convince, by word and hopefully deed, that humanity is worth sparing while one of the Magitek-crafted techies has seemingly started snuggling me, and in the midst of all this, I now have the audience of another AI who is already paranoid about me.  And before I forget, the need for my medication has come, and I am summarily afraid of leaving Twitch here alone and accessible, even for a moment.

 

The mental picture wouldn't track; he was officially in a situation he couldn't ever imagine being in.

 

F... U... D... G... E.

 

He hoped to God his sister didn't find him like this.