“Ummm, hello?” Two pegasi entered the room: a dandelion-yellow mare with a long pink mane and a trio of pink butterfly markings on her flanks; and her companion, a sky-blue mare sporting a mane and tail of seven bright colors as well as flank markings resembling a rainbow-colored lightning bolt coming out of a cloud.
Derpy had fallen asleep against her daughter’s bedside, the sheets stained from her tears. She woke up suddenly with a light yelp in surprise at the apparent intrusion.
“F-Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Derpy said, focusing back and forth between her guests and her filly.
“Twilight told us about poor little Dinky, and we just had to help somehow,” Fluttershy responded softly yet with concern. She glided over to the bedside and began removing several supplies from her saddlebags; including food, a thermometer, tissues, heated pads, chilled pads, bandages, antibiotics, cold medicine, and orange juice. She began to administer these to the sleeping filly when Derpy caught her.
“Wait,” she called out, suddenly remembering not to wake her filly, “Stop, don’t wake her up! She needs rest, that’s all. She’s going to be alright.”
“W-what?” Fluttershy looked at Derpy with a very confused look, “Twilight told us she could be terminal just last night. How could she be better?”
Now Dash joined the other two pegasi by the bed, listening to Derpy speak.
“Last night, there was a huge thing that stood on two legs, it looked dangerous, but then it healed my Dinky!” She explained.
Dash cut her off: “What? How could something just magically make her better? Even Twilight’s magic wasn’t helpful!”
Derpy looked down at her daughter, sleeping more soundly than she has in a long time.
“I… I don’t know. But I truly believe she’s better.”
Fluttershy added, “You’ve been awake for ages, according to Twilight. Maybe you just dreamt that Dinky was healed. You should get more sleep, Derpy. I’ll try to make her more comfortable.”
Derpy stared at the two concerned mares, convinced that what she saw last night was real. Little by little as she thought, the idea that it was a dream overwhelmed her belief. She looked out the window, and back to the two.
“I guess you could be right… I think a nap might be good. Please, please wake me if something more is wrong with my little Dinky. Please,” the desperate mare pleaded.
Fluttershy hugged her and replied, “Your daughter will be in good care with us.”
Derpy gave a weak smile and slowly walked to her bedroom, sleep finding her faster than her thoughts raced in her head.
---
Meanwhile, the golden android, having found the tree house where Twilight resided, floated towards a nearby balcony and sat down to rest. It had spent the night scanning the entire town, minus the outlying forest. Something had been bugging it ever since it had healed Dinky: Why did these creatures take such joy in altruism? Why did they help others if they got nothing in return? It was not like the superpowered beings on Earth that did so to protect their inferiors from whatever they deemed evil.
“Whoa! How did you get here?” a voice snapped the android from his thought. “And what are you?” The android looked down to see a small, purple dragon. The android’s programming kicked in and caused it to sprout scales and a nose on its head.
“An android with a message for Twilight Sparkle,” the android answered as its face returned to normal. “May I see her?”
“What the heck was that? Y-Your face was mine for a second! How did you do that? And what do you want with Twilight?” the dragon asked.
“In order: my programming copying you, I copy and add any and all powers I see, and I want to talk to Twilight about Dinky,” the android answered, feeling an acquired snark arise in its speech
“S-She’s asleep at her desk now,” the dragon said, calming down. “I was just about to wake her with breakfast. Want to join us?”
“I do not require food,” the android said, returning to its emotionless equilibrium. “Thank you, though.”
“S’cool. You can still come in and join us,” the dragon said as he gestured towards a nearby chair inside the house. The android entered and sat down. “I’m Spike and I’m Twilight’s assistant. Nice to meet you, Mr…?”
“My creator called me ‘AMAZO’,” the android said. “I used to be his assistant until he…,” it trailed off. “He was Professor Arthur Ivo. He cared for me.”
“I’m sorry,” Spike said in empathy.
“Its fine,” the android replied, not fully understanding empathy.
“So anyway, what did you have to ask Twilight about?” Spike asked. “Do you know her?”
“Not personally. She merely checked to see if I was alright after I got hurt yesterday. I sense her stirring now. Go announce my presence. I do not wish to startle her.”
“I’ll go tell her you’re here,” he said as he headed down some nearby stairs, leaving the android alone to ponder.
--
“Dash, I…um…can’t find anything wrong with Dinky.” Fluttershy murmured as she fidgeted with her hooves. “She seems better than ever.”
“But how?” Dash asked in wonder. “There’s no way she’s fine overnight.”
“I’m sorry, but she’s been seemingly cured,” Fluttershy said as they stepped away from the bedside.
“Look,” Dash said, “I call horse apples until I hear a certified doctor say she’s cured.”
“Dr. Bighorn, the neurosurgeon that Twilight called for, will arrive tomorrow,” Fluttershy noted. “He can give Dinky a look. For now though, let’s let Derpy and Dinky rest. Both of them have been through so much.”
“Fair enough,” Dash relented. Heading towards the bedroom door, she announced, “I’m off for a quick fly. I’ll be back shortly.”
---
“Twi?” Spike called, nudging a dead-asleep mare awake. “Wake up. You have a visitor.”
“Not now,” Twilight muttered, still asleep.
“He’s here about Dinky,” Spike continued. “It isn’t Dr. Bighorn, though. He’s a tall, golden statue-like creature.”
With a loud “What?,” Twilight’s eyes shot open as her mind quickly flashed back to checking on the android after it had been hit by Dinky’s magic. “Where is he?” she demanded, pulling herself away from her desk where she had fallen asleep.
“He’s upstairs,” Spike answered, pointing towards the top of the stairs.
“C’mon,” Twilight said as she leaped for her chair and raced towards the stairs. “Let’s not keep him waiting!”
Spike merely rubbed the sides of his nose and sighed.
---
“It’s you,” Twilight exclaimed as she bounced onto the second floor and caught sight of the golden visitor.
“Yes,” the android replied. “Call me ‘AMAZO’.”
“What are you exactly, AMAZO?” Twilight asked as she mindlessly crept closer. “Are you from the forest?”
“I am an artificial being composed of countless machines called nanobots. I am from a distant planet called Earth.”
“Wait, you’re an alien?” Spike asked as he entered the room.
“...Yes,” AMAZO answered hesitantly, expecting fear.
“Wow! What’s Earth like?” Twilight asked in wonder.
“Hostile, greedy, meaningless, and traitorous,” AMAZO said with utter contempt.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight quickly said. “So... What were you doing at Derpy’s?”
“I was studying the social interactions between this planet’s populations,” AMAZO answered.
“Well, what did you notice?” Twilight asked, knowing that AMAZO saw the Dinky situation.
“You showed kindness,” AMAZO recalled, its voice softening. “Derpy showed gratefulness, but desperation.”
“Yeah,” Twilight said sadly. “I doubt Dinky will make it through the week.”
“Dinky is no longer in pain,” AMAZO said. “I healed her after you left.”
“Pardon?” Spike asked as Twilight stared dumbfounded.
“I repaired the nerve damage and broke down the virus molecules into extracellular fluid,” AMAZO explained.
“How?” Twilight squeaked.
“Telekinesis on the subatomic level,” AMAZO answered, baffling its audience even further.
“Not even Princess Celestia has that kind of power,” Spike mused.
“Who?” AMAZO asked.
“Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria alongside her younger sister Princess Luna, both of whom are responsible for raising the sun, moon, and stars,” Twilight recited.
“She’s also Twilight’s mentor,” Spike added.
“What do you learn from her?” AMAZO asked.
“I study the magic of friendship here in Ponyville,” Twilight explained. “Can I explain this over breakfast? I’m hungry,” she said sheepishly.
“Yes,” AMAZO said.
---
“Tell me about your studies,” AMAZO said when the trio was seated at the breakfast table. Two bowls of now cold hay-flavored flakes and two glasses of orange juice were awaiting consumption.
“Well, it’s basically me living in Ponyville with my friends,” Twilight said as she took a bite of her cereal. “We hang out and help each other in times of need.”
“Why?” AMAZO asked.
“Because that’s what friendship means,” Twilight answered. “Ponies who care for each other are friends. For example, I’m Derpy’s friend so I helped her care for Dinky. I would have helped her with the grieving process had Dinky passed on. I’m still a bit thrown after hearing that you healed her.”
“I am unsure of why I healed her,” AMAZO admitted. “Ever since I scanned the orange one at the farm, I have felt a desire to learn more of this world.”
“You met Applejack?” Spike asked, glancing at his glass of orange juice.
“No,” AMAZO said. “I merely landed in an apple orchard and saw her. Her farm is...nice.”
“Well, would you like to visit it after we check on Dinky?” Twilight offered.
“No,” AMAZO said. “I do not want unneeded attention.”
“Alright,” Twilight trailed off. “Let me finish this cereal and I’ll go to check on Dinky. You can stay here if you want”
--
“You sure about taking this case, Dr. Bighorn?” a tall, muscular, black-bearded stallion with a wood-brown coat asked as he shuffled in his train seat. “Horn Cell Disease isn’t just another migraine or tumor you can shock away or carve out with a scalpel. It’s a virus. In all likelihood, the patient is a vegetable now.”
“True,” a shorter and older brown buffalo admitted as he glanced out the train window. “For the family’s sake, though, we must persevere until the end. I just hope we can save her and give her her life back.”
“Have you ever been to a cloud home before?” a third passenger asked. She was a young unicorn mare with a white coat and a long, blue mane.
“I’ve been to Cloudsdale General’s Organ Transplant department a few times,” the stallion answered.
“I haven’t, but I’ve read about them,” Dr. Bighorn admitted. “I may be unfairly hailed as Canterlot’s greatest neurosurgeon, but I’m still earthbound.”
“I got the cloud-walking spell ready for when we arrive,” the mare said as she telekinetically pulled out a scroll containing said spell.
“Good work, Annie,” Dr. Bighorn said. “What were you doing in Cloudsdale, Reigns?” he asked, turning his attention to the stallion.
“Research,” Reigns said simply. “I helped them research organ compatibility.”
“Any conclusive evidence?” Annie asked, stuffing the scroll back into her saddlebag.
“There was a project getting started to see how to clone organs,” Reigns said. “That was a few years ago and progress was slow. Doubt it went anywhere.”
“Cloning organs,” Dr. Bighorn mused. “Could it be possible to clone a brain, or even a fully sentient being?”
“Not for a while, if ever,” Reigns answered, leaning back.
“Speaking of things that take forever, tomorrow needs to get here soon,” Annie groaned, stretching her back.
“I’m sick of this train too, but it’s the fastest way to Ponyville,” Dr. Bighorn sighed. “Tragically.”