//------------------------------// // Mechanical encounters // Story: Steam Babble // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// Inventor flapped his metal wings once, pathetically, before folding them shut into his clothing once again. With his surface area and lift gone he dropped towards the ground and landed in a crouch to dissipate his energy into the stone. After a second or two to stabilize his posture the man rose and took a look at the castle in the distance, only to be slightly surprised as he witnessed a group of ponies approaching his destination from the castle. Straightening his top hat the man took his first step towards the approaching group, wondering what could have given away his arrival and approach soon enough for the entire guard to have mobilized. All the while remembering that he needed to hurry to Luna’s aid as soon as he could. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The guards were flying and galloping all around Canterlot, searching for this “anomaly” detected by Steamlord. While the man and his bodyguards searched around the castle for any potential threats, the royal guard was given the task to comb every portion of Canterlot and its outskirts. Three particular guards were tasked with scanning the path leading to Canterlot. One that had been under good watch as it was practically the only entrance by hoof, foot, or claw. Those already stationed there were searching the mountainous regions. A bit “weird” as they thought to themselves. All three weren’t the best soldiers, so guarding the path would be the best thing they could do. However, the biggest of the three was mostly muscle, and he was a very violent one. His hearing also seemed more acute than normal, but the rest of his senses were practically broken. As such, he depended on his two comrades to be his eyes. The three were already at the path that they saw something in the distance. One of the guards spoke with a rather nasally voice: “Hey? What’s that?” “It looks stupid.” spoke the other, more rude guard. “Where? Where? I can’t see it.” “Over there.” The nasally guard grabbed his gigantic pegasus friend’s head and twisted it in the direction of some sort of biped. “Is that it?” “You’re pointing at a bug.” the rude one facehoofed. “There, then?” “Wh-? That’s the mountain you lummox!” “Oh.” The being started to come closer with a clickety sound following every step. “Hello my good gentlecolts. I’m on a rather time sensitive goal. Would you mind giving me a guard escort to the castle to save on time?” “Who’s this lout?” the rude one jumped forward, and eyed the creature from top to bottom. “I dunno. He looks a lot like Steamlord.” “Pfff. Steamlord doesn’t wear a silly hat. He has cool goggles and a nice brown coat.” “Ah yes, well, I’m a bit short on time as of the moment. This really is very important. My name is Inventor and I really must ask you to either give me an escort to the castle or to MOVE OUT OF MY WAY!” Inventor said, a sudden shift in his personality as he glared at the dimwits in front of him. The rather large stallion heard this violent tone and spun to the source of the noise, obviously a few centimeters short of the proper location of Inventor. “Hey! No yelling here. You need documents, proof of your sayings...and what else?” “Ugh. You’re so stupid.” the rude stallion literally banged his head against a rock. “That’s it, I’m done with this,” Inventor said, quickly closing the distance between himself and the guards while making it clear that he was going to walk past them if they didn’t interfere. The nasally and rude guards put themselves between Inventor and his path, making sure that he couldn’t go around them. “Oy. Lummox. This Steamlord wannabe who calls himself ‘Inventor’,” the rude one mocked with spinning eyes. “Wants to pass. How ‘bout you show him a thing or two about royal guard tactics?” “Perfect. Any sound you make, I’ll hear, and I’ll know where you are.” the bulky guard lowered his head and fluttered his wings a few times before closing the distance between him and the one who looked unimpressed at this show of events. “Uhhh...you shouldn’t say how you’re going to fight? It’s a bit...dumb.” the nasally guard pointed out. “I’m afraid,” Inventor sighed. “That your skills won’t help you.” The man dashed forward quickly towards the oncoming bulk and withdrew the glove from his metal hand. “Assuming no drastic shifts in anatomy or evolution in this dimension, three swift blows to...” his voice dropped as he ducked under the pegasus and delivered a trio of swift strikes to the underside of his neck, causing the blood to flow awkwardly and forcing the stallion unconscious. The pegasus fell to the ground behind him and Inventor stood from his crouch to look at the other guard who blocked his path. “Two choices, lead me or drop out.” The rather rude stallion simply sniffed and looked bored at the scenario, while his companion started to shake like a leaf, slowly backing away. “Pff. Big deal. I’ve had to go through some painful training with Teutonic. Like I’d be surprised by that kind of-” It was at this point that the stallion felt a pressure on his back for a moment, looking around to see what had touched him, he saw the biped sailing through the air after using his spine as a stepping stone. “What the? OY! GET BACK HERE!” the rude stallion shook a hoof in the air while his friend sighed and slumped to the ground in relief. He was literally sweating lakes. “You didn’t make a choice, so I assumed the latter!” Inventor shouted back. With a rolling landing Inventor was off once again in the direction of the castle, pulling his glove back on midstride. “By the Abyss. We need to catch him!” “How? Bulky is unconcious, and we’re too slow to catch up to something like that. Besides. Did you see its hoof? How could something hit that strong? Bulky has NEVER been beaten in a match of strengths.” “Whatever...wait...I’m an earth pony...you’re an earth pony...and the unconscious muscle ball over there is a pegasus. WE HAVE NO UNICORNS! Oh crap oh crap oh crap!” the rude stallion began to hop around in panic, his eyes literally darting everywhere. “What’s wrong? We can find one of the other patrols around here and ask them to send a message to the captains and generals.” “That’s a great idea! Let’s go!.” The two left the bulky guard in his spot and hurried on into the mountains, desperate to find a unicorn, or, atleast, a very quick pegasus. Inventor’s steps moved him calmly through town, past the groups of guards scouring the city, and toward the castle in the distance. No eyes saw the man as he moved past them, though those with sharper eyes would look around for the source of the sudden clockwork beat that echoed through the air around them. Each move was carefully chosen as fast as possible that would enable the man to move undetected for the most part. More than once he would be forced to duck into a niche or cranny to let his invisibility recharge, the prototype having lost a lot of its efficiency from the rebuild. Eventually the man made his way into the castle grounds and his real trick began, getting into the castle. It was locked up tight, the doors closed and the windows shut. As he patrolled the perimeter his eyes caught a single window open on the third story. “Well, that’s about the biggest trap I’ve ever seen, but I have no other choice at this point, time runs short.” After ducking into another cranny and letting his machine recharge Inventor started his climb, using his mechanical arm as much as possible to save energy in his normal limbs. Progressively the man made his way up the outside of the slick stone until he finally arrived at the window sill. Knowing his machine would run out of energy soon the man quickly pulled himself up and over the stone and into the building. Only to be greeted by three swords pointing at his neck. Following the steel up to their owners the man saw each was held by a machine, and standing in front of them that Inventor never believed he would see again, another human. The man’s arms were crossed as he looked directly at the mussy-haired biped who had diligently came to the castle just as he had suspected. At this point Inventor’s invisibility flickered away, leaving the duo to look at each other in plain light. Steamlord stared at this strange creature who also seemed to be a human. He even seemed to have some similar clothing aspects. However, he knew that no one could have come from his own world, let alone another technical genius. The three bodyguards, their sleek form allowing it, reflected the light of the surrounding area onto the man’s face. Templar and Hospitaller both looked at the man from the sides of their “eyes”, showing a bit of curiosity. However, the black pits of Teutonic served no other purpose but to intimidate and force submission through fear. It was the only of the three that didn’t move. The man looked at his counter-part and pointed a finger at him from his still crossed arms: “Who are you and where did you come from?” Slowly, Inventor stood from the ground, keeping his gaze on the machines at the sides of the man. With his same cautious movement the biped put his mechanical hand out in front of him in an offer to shake. “My name is Inventor, from earth. What a pleasure it is to know that some humanity survived somewhere.” Steamlord cocked an eyebrow, although his eyes were hidden by his golden goggles.Teutonic closened its claymore in response to the arm extension, letting out a bit of hissing steam in the process. The other two just stood their ground, analyzing every movement made by this “human”. “Yes.” the man started to have a bit of suspicion in his voice. “I’m sure many others that survived the Ash Fall turned out to be like me and have dimensional transporters in ships.” Seeing that the handshake had gone without acceptance Inventor let it fall to his side and looked at the man who stood apart from him. “Ash Fall?” Inventor asked. “I assumed you survived the nukes. Though, I suppose it might have been called Ash Fall elsewhere...” “Nukes? We haven’t used nuclear technology since its abolishment in twenty thirty-five. Were my prototype, defective generators called ‘“nukes’? I suppose they did have a similar effect, although thrice as deadly.” “It appears...” Inventor said as he glanced toward the ground for a moment before looking back to his counter-part. “That we come from different earths. Because you see, mine didn’t make it past twenty thirty-five.” “I assumed just as much. Then I guess that you never had to deal with the nations turning your machines of construction into gigantic mecha and airships to try and capture said generators? Crusader Knights, do not let your swords down. I must see what else he wants.” Steamlord tightened his unviewable glare through his goggles, although he did let his arms slide down to his sides. “No, rather....” Inventor paused, flinching slightly to himself. “It is of no importance. I was wondering if I could speak with the princesses, a friend of mine came through with me and I fear she may receive a similar, if not worse, greeting then mine.” Steamlord chuckled a bit, then turned around slightly, putting a finger to his ear. Hospitaller and Templar both looked at him for a moment before looking back at their capture. “Security System?” “Yes?” a robotic female voice spoke through his communication link in his ear. “I believe I have located the entity you detected earlier. However, it claims to have been accompanied. Can you use our other search modules for anything out of the ordinary? Maybe heat, spatial renditions, energy fluctuations-” “She will be on cloudsdale, and...” Inventor looked back to the man “She will look like Nightmare Moon.” “Who?” “She will look like a possessed version of Luna, Celestia’s sister, because that’s what she is, essentially.” “Hmmm. How do I know this isn’t some trick to allow you to do something to Celestia while we’re out ‘searching’ for this ‘second Luna’?” “THEN IMPRISON ME! KILL ME! JUST DON’T LET LUNA BE ALONE!” Inventor shouted suddenly, feeling the passage of time around him while he was unable to do anything. This act caused the machines to ready their blades against him once again. Steamlord kept a long silence after this, and tilted his head a bit more to the side, revealing a part of the metal plating hidden under his ruffled, blackish-brown hair. “Security System, vital signs?” “Extreme blood flow. Heartbeat abnormally high. Brain activity is also elevated in certain regions. He is speaking the truth. Recommended action?” The man looked once more at this so called “human”, then spoke once more to his Security System: “Prepare for private imprisonment. He is not to leave the ship. Understood?” “Affirmative.” “Good. Templar and Hospitaller, you shall accompany him to the ship, while Teutonic and I go speak to the generals.” The bodyguards did as told, lowering their swords. While the two with “eyes” gently pushed Inventor a bit, Teutonic took the opportunity to shove him powerfully away while keeping itself between its creator and this newcomer. Its anger was reflected by the sound of clockwork underneath its armor and the emission of more hot steam. “I thought I removed that. Hmm.” Steamlord thought to himself as he passed through the other corridor. As he was walking away with the other two Inventor took the opportunity to tip his hat to Steamlord. “Thank you.” The walk back to the ship was a relief for Inventor, trusting that the man he had met earlier would take care of what he himself was unable to do. Because of this drop in stress the man found his attention wandering to his ‘escorts’ and began to muse to himself about their construction. It wasn’t long before the ship came into view, a view which was quite the sight for Inventor. The giant ship rested calmly upon the grassy floor of the garden, surrounded by the green bushes and the reflection of the sun shining off the bronze hull, giving it a golden tint. While it looked like an old-fashioned ship, it was actually modeled out of Steamlord’s old fashion loving. It seemed to be made of a lot of different sized metal plates, but they were just for decoration. The ship, in itself, looked a lot like a bird’s head, and the front showed. There was a pointed “beak”, while the “eyes” were actually a single, large window. The back wielded three engines, while the underside had at least five, smaller versions. All looked like they had been recently used, too. The two mechanical beings led him through the entrance and into the deeper portions of the vessel. Their lack of vocal words making it quite easy for him to admire the craftsmanship that had gone into the hallways and rooms therein. On the surface it seemed quite the chaos of metal but to Inventor, who had spent his life working with machines, it was beautiful painting crafted in steel and sealed with copper. His amazement had not yet reached its peak though, for there was one more thing that would add to the scene. That was a room protected by an extremely thick, sickly green and grey-blue door and walls with the words ‘Generator room. Do not enter without protective gear!’ emblazoned upon the metal. Resisting his urge to immediately tap the metal with his knuckles Inventor allowed the robots to lead him deeper into the ship until they came to his ‘cell’ which appeared to be nothing more than a repurposed storage space. The robots had stopped moving so Inventor assumed this to be the end of the line and sat in the corner, his back to the wall, and closed his eyes. Allowing his mind free run of ideas without input from the surroundings. The two bodyguards stared at Inventor one last time before turning around and leaving the room. They hadn’t closed the door this time, but it slid shut, causing a loud echo through the room, followed by the sound of some mechanics locking it. There was no sign that the guards did it, nor that the other man and his guard were present on-board the ship itself. It was still very dark aboard and, it didn’t seem to change anytime soon, despite the presence of two small windows near the ceiling. Inventor smiled to himself for a moment before grasping at a straw that he suspected might lead to something. “Security System?” he asked, a slight tone of curiosity in his voice. There was a strange whirring sound in the air, but no response was heard. It seemed as though there was nothing on board the ship besides the two other guards, but Inventor wouldn’t let up. “See, now the only thing I have left to guess at without anyone talking to me...” Inventor said, his smile still on his face. “Is to try and figure out if you are another being who is talented with technology, or if you are technology itself. Of course if you don’t want to talk or if you can’t hear me for some reason I’ll just keep talking to myself and look like an insane fool. But I don’t mind, that’s pretty much what I am anyway.” The sounds happened again, but this time, at their end, a mechanical female voice was heard: “I am an A.I. developed by Steamlord. I was his first creation. What intrigues you so about technology? It appears you do not have the same level as he possesses.” “So his name is Steamlord...” Inventor said as his mind divulged onto a tangent. “That is obviously not his real name but it’s not like I can get mad at him for that. Anyway, you asked what intrigues me about technology yes?” “Affirmative.” “Well, I’ve always been attracted to the idea of creation. Creating things to help others, creating A.I. to help out large organizations. Though I suppose that deep down it’s just because I get such a thrill when I make something that works.” “Hmmm.” the A.I. was deep in processing as “she” searched her databanks. “You also created A.I.? Do they still exist, and were they donned with free will?” “I was on the cusp of finishing the design when I ended the project. It seems I had attracted the military’s attention with my designs and I swiftly stopped it. Of course, if I knew then what I know now... I probably would have finished the project anyway and let them do with it what they will.” “I assume you met the Crusader Knights in a more ‘personal’ perspective as you tried to sneak into the castle? That was an illogical action to take. Steamlord has installed several measures of security of which I will not divulge.” “Aye, me and the Crusader Knights got straight to the point.” The man smiled at his pun. “As for the lack of logic, sometimes you have to do anything to achieve your goal regardless the cost to yourself. For which I would have gladly been killed so long as the safety of Luna was guaranteed. On a side note, how was I supposed to know that Steamlord was waiting for me? If I don’t have the data I can’t make a logical choice.” “Improvisation. Yes. Such as when the Monster hunters were beaten by the Crusader Knights after their major upgrade, a portion designed by me. They had also come with a mass contingent of the armored equidae. Steamlord simply beat the weakened one who seemed quite adept with swords, and considered himself akin to flames. Needles to add, that stallion’s partner has been mentally scarred by Teutonic. I do not detect anything revealing negative qualities of your character, but Teutonic is different. Seeing as you met them personally, you must have noted that they reacted differently compared to the basic ‘robot’. Such as curiosity for actions and similar aspects, as well as violence and aggressiveness.” “I make no claim to understand anything outside of my field of expertise. Of which these ‘Crusader Knights’ Are far beyond me. I do know that I deserved far more than a shove from that robot though. Perhaps a broken arm would have fit the situation better.” “Just so that you are better informed, the Crusader Knights are also AIs that do not wish to speak. They are Steamlord’s bodyguards. This is why they were so reactive when you made sudden movements. The one with red linings, Templar, and the one with black linings, Hospitaller, are the two you don’t really need to concern yourself with. Teutonic, the black one with white lining, is a more...aggressive one. Its mind is also scarred as it went through the same ordeal Steamlord went through right before the Ash Fall. Perhaps, with additional trust, my creator will tell you about it. As for your claims of retribution, they are unjustified.” “The Ash Fall...” Inventor said, his smile fading. “It can easily be assumed what occurred by the name alone. Pompeii version two point oh I would guess. You say I will need trust from him to hear about his past? I’ll need three barrels of wine and a lobotomy to tell him about mine.” “False.”the AI spoke blandly, with an undertone of anger. “Well, at least you don’t let me prattle on pointlessly about stuff I don’t understand.” Inventor said, his smile returning. “I’d offer to take you out for a drink, but, well...” “The ‘Ash Fall’ is a name given to it by Steamlord. It is an event that came from a prototype experiment of his that was...no. I shall not divulge the scenes or details. Additionally, there is no point in offering drinks to my creator. He has a poor tolerance for fermented beverages, and I have forbidden him from drinking any for medical purposes. I believe this interaction to be terminated.” “Alright then, have fun doing whatever it is that you do, Security. I’ll be here, thinking, should you need to vent frustrations on someone.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steamlord and his remaining bodyguard walked through the halls of the Canterlot castle, carefully avoiding any passing ponies. After climbing a few steps, the man found himself in front of a rather large wooden door with Celestia’s symbol carved and painted onto it. Two guards were blocking it with their wings. “This is about the intrusion.” The guards bounced into alertness and quickly retracted their wings and opened the door. In it sat several wooden pedestals which carried several generals, many of them having personalized armor. A few were still in their mid-ages, while the rest were pretty old. The brouhaha they were creating suddenly stopped as they saw the biped walk into their chambers. “I have news regarding the intruder.” “We know. He is from your race, and has a metal arm, like yours. The reports say it was different in appearance to yours.” “Yes. About that-”