The Bold, The Brash, and The Beautiful

by Razalon The Lizardman

Day 1- Conclusion

Battle mode activated.

Attack selection protocol initiated.

Selecting random spell from database . . . selection complete.

Selected spell: Magic slam

Spell activation initiated . . . spell activation complete.

Lock-on protocol initiated . . . lock-on complete.

Attack initiated . . . attack complete.

Scanning target for damage clarification . . . scanning complete.

Damage dealt: Negative

Defense mode activated.

Shield selection protocol initiated.

Selecting random spell from database . . . selection complete.

Selected spell: Protector

Spell activation initiated . . . spell activation complete.

Scanning for oncoming attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . scanning complete.

Spell cancelled.

Battle mode activated.

Attack selection protocol initiated.

Selecting random spell from database . . . selection complete.

Selected spell: Flash bang

Selected spell deemed passive-aggressive.

Secondary spell protocol initiated.

Selecting random spell from database . . . selection complete.

Selected secondary spell: Trampler

Spell activation initiated . . . spell activation complete.

Attack initiated . . . attack complete.

Secondary spell activation initiated . . . spell activation complete.

Lock-on protocol initiated . . . lock-on complete.

Attack initiated . . . attack complete.

Scanning target for damage clarification . . . scanning complete.

Damage dealt: Positive

---

Rarity struggled to get back to her hooves after being hit by Sin's last attack. She had been informed at the front gates yesterday that no robot is armed with lethal spells, but that did little to stifle her worry of being shamed in front of so many ponies.

Perhaps, Rarity thought glumly, I don't have what it takes to be a good queen.

"My queen!"

Surprised by the outburst, it took Rarity a moment to turn around to see King H.D. holding what appeared to be a jewel-encrusted mallet in his telekinesis. Before anything more could be said, he lowered the mallet down and let her grab it in her own telekinetic grip. Looking it over, Rarity would've been enthralled by the weapon's beautiful shine if she weren't in the middle of a duel. All she could do was return her gaze up to her king, who had the most heartwarming smile upon his face.

"Smash it my love," he instructed her.

With tearful eyes and a quivering smile, Rarity steeled her resolve and turned back around to face Sin. If Sin weren't a robot, it'd be cowering from the fiery glare Rarity was giving it. Letting out a mighty battle cry she charged at Sin and delivered a single, skull crushing blow to its head. It's mask was smashed into a thousand pieces exposing the circuits, wires, and various other cybernetic parts that made up the inside of its body. Rarity then delivered another blow to its head, this time smashing in from the top and effectively shutting down the entire circuitry of the robot altogether.

Rarity was panting heavily by now, feeling exhilarated from the battle. Then she heard a hoof stomp, followed by another, and another. Pretty soon the sounds of hooves stomping filled the feast hall all around her, and Rarity looked up to see everypony present roaring with applause at her victory. Rarity could only smile as she watched her subjects continue their cheering as two unicorn technicians came and carried away the twisted heap of scrap known as Sin off to be repaired. She looked up towards the upper balcony to see King H.D. smiling as well as he gestured for her to come back up. Rarity obliged, now ever the more eager to be a judge in the upcoming Duel Tournament. As she ascended the staircase leading to the upper balcony she had but one thought in mind.

This is, without a doubt, the best vacation ever.

---

The DELOS resort was different from other tourist destinations for many reasons. Not the least of which was the guests' allowance from the resort's owners to actually destroy any robot that populated each of its three worlds without charges. The only consequence a guest could receive from, say, "killing" an innocent robot civilian in Dodgeworld would be if whichever guest made reservations to be town sheriff decided to arrest said guest and lock them up in the jailhouse. Of course, the convicted guest could always flee into the desert and avoid being caught, but there was less fun in running from the law than in experiencing everything Dodgeworld proper had to offer.

All of this, however, wouldn't be possible if not for DELOS' team of expert unicorn technicians and their resolve to keep every single robot in DELOS at full capacity all the time. Every night, while the guests slept, the technicians would stay up late into the night repairing any recently damaged or destroyed robots for use the next day. All of it was done in an underground laboratory accessible via several hidden tunnels throughout the resort; off limits to guests.

Once night had fallen, and all guests were fast asleep in each world, the technicians set to work. After gathering each robot in need of repairs and diagnosing each one's condition each technician team was assigned specific patients depending on their expertise in robotics. They set to work using their horns to disassemble, reassemble, weld, screw, and anything else needed to fix each robot for use the next day. After having operated for a few minutes, the door to the laboratory opened to reveal an Earth pony stallion with a gray mane and tail, blue eyes, glasses, and wearing a lab coat not unlike the technicians'. He was Bite Back, one of the DELOS corporation's CEOs and head manager of the DELOS resort. Right now his objective was to perform an employee evaluation on the technicians, as well as to offer advice on repairing the robots in the most cost-effective ways possible. The first thing he noticed upon entering the room, however, was the twisted remains of Jack O'Bones on the first operating table to his right.

"Sweet Celestia," he remarked, walking up to the mangled robot. "What happened to him?"

"Mare bucked it real good," one of the technicians said. "Ol' Jacky here made her spill cider over herself when he accidentally bumped her."

Bite Back stroked his chin. "Is there a problem with his CC?"

"None that we could find sir, though the damage to the CMC may be too great to repair."

"If so use an AF-Xtra if we have any in stock. It should be better protected against head trauma then the standard model."

"Sure thing," the technician finished off the conversation and resumed his work.

Bite Back then proceeded to silently evaluate his employees as they worked to repair their respective charges. Being the resort's owner, it was naturally his job to make sure his employees (both living and robotic) were operating at full capacity. Neglecting one's duties when employed at DELOS was a safety hazard not just to the robots, but to the guests they interacted with on a daily basis. While guests were quite unlikely to sustain fatal injuries from interacting with the DELOS resort's robot occupants, they were at risk from various symptoms said robots were capable of inducing should things get out of hoof. For example, none of the cybercorns in Magicworld were programmed with any potentially lethal spells; a guest could only die if they allowed the robot to do so, and in that case DELOS couldn't be held responsible. However, the spells provided to the robots WERE capable of inducing migraines, skin rash, and blindness among other things, and certain precautions needed to be taken to ensure guests were never at greater risk.

"Rattler get overheated again?" Bite Back asked upon spying a technician team working on a robot rattlesnake.

"Aye," one of the unicorns replied. "This thing apparently spent a good full week frying in the sun before it was brought to our attention. A waste of money they are."

"Nothing's a waste for authenticity," Bite Back said before walking away.

It was true, after all. A real rattlesnake might die out in the desert and not be found for some time (if at all). The DELOS resort really went the extra mile for authenticity, even if the technicians hated it sometimes. The Rattlers in particular were a source of constant annoyance for them. More often than not a dead Rattler was found by a runaway Dodgeworld guest lucky enough to stumble across it and cared enough to inform the resort's staff of it. Very rarely did a guest encounter a live one and put it out of commission themselves as was intended. Despite all the annoyances, however, the unicorn technicians still did their job with the bravo that was expected of them.

"What's she in for?" Bite Back asked a team working on a robot slave mare from Aviworld.

"CS malfunction," the lead technician answered.

". . . Another one? Hmm," Bite Back mused to himself as he continued on with his employee evaluation.

Comments

[Windhelm Guard]

I understood very little of this.

[Razalon The Lizardman]

2554377 Is that good or bad?

[Ardashir]

"What's she in for?" Bite Back asked a team working on a robot slave mare from Aviworld.

"CS malfunction," the lead technician answered.

" . . . another one? Hmm," Bite Back mused to himself as he continued on with his employee evaluation.

Something tells me this is a sign of worse things to come.
Nice job on the duel with Rarity and the robot, but my I never thought the unicorn fashionista could get so physical!

[Windhelm Guard]

2554588 in between love the story just confused

[SlashopentheSky]

Are they becoming sentient?