//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: AMAZO visits Equestria // by KingDogbertXIV //------------------------------// “AMAZO, you have guests,” the escort announced as he brought into view Derpy, Twilight, and the trio of medical personnel. “Everypony...and buffalo, meet AMAZO. AMAZO, this is Dr. Bighorn and his assistants, Annie and Reigns,” Derpy introduced. “Hello,” AMAZO said. Annie and Dr. Bighorn awkwardly waved. “Greetings,” Reigns said, stepping towards the cell. “May I ask you a few questions?” “Yes,” AMAZO said hesitantly. “Is it true that you healed Dinky, beat Discord, then nearly beat Princess Celestia? Is it also true that you came here with no knowledge of Equestrian law?” Reigns asked. “Yes,” AMAZO said. “And is it true that there’s concern that you’ll escape? Could you escape if you desired?” “Yes.” “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t your talents wasted by being in here? You can bend reality itself. Don’t you think that doing community service would be a better way to serve your sentence? Instead of rotting in here like a common thug, you could perform miracles for other ponies. Think of how grateful Derpy was when you saved her filly. Now imagine that feeling over and over again.” “Reigns, what are you doing?” Dr. Bighorn asked. “I don’t think this is our place to intervene.” “But he could save lives,” Reigns admonished, turning to the buffalo. “Think about how we assumed that Dinky would be a vegetable when we got here.” “True, but does he want to do community service?” Annie asked. “What, besides gratitude, can ponies offer me?” AMAZO asked after a moment. “You can duplicate the abilities of the ponies you help. I’m sure there are some powers out there that would interest you,” Reigns said with enthusiasm. “We’ll need to ask Princess Celestia about it first,” Twilight said, interrupting the android’s train of thought. “I’m sure she’ll consider it at the very least.” “Excellent,” Reigns said. “AMAZO, I’m not sure community service is a good idea,” Derpy said. “Ponies fear what they don’t understand and frankly, Equestria isn’t ready for you. I’m sorry, but I would advise you stay here.” “What do I have to gain by refusing community service?” AMAZO asked. “You said you wanted to be under wraps and hidden. That’s the opposite of community service,” Derpy pointed out. “In fact, why am I even here? I am not a citizen of Equestria so why should I be imprisoned for simply following my programming?” “You’re here to keep the police from beating down my door looking for you. If that doesn’t matter to you anymore, then I’m sorry I haven’t been a good enough friend to you,” Derpy said sternly. AMAZO then glanced away. “Is this the best way to protect you?” “Yes. Though, it’s more about doing the right thing and not scaring everypony by wielding powers beyond that of the princesses. I don’t need protecting. I just want to know you’re safe and not out there disrupting the natural order of things by fighting our rulers over who knows what. I know Reigns has offered you power, but honestly, isn’t the power of a reality-warping chaos god enough for now? Sure, you can duplicate a skill or two by doing community service, but it won’t be very rewarding.” “Nor is jail time,” Reigns muttered. “Look,” Derpy sighed. “I know I didn’t say it earlier, but it bothered me how you almost killed Dash and Princess Celestia. You don’t realize how strong you are. Equestria doesn’t need a godlike android running around doing whatever with no regard for his actions. You need to learn you’re not as above it all as you think. Yes, I appreciate you healing Dinky and surrendering, but you also broke laws. I love Equestria too much to agree with you that the laws are meaningless and that you shouldn’t follow them. All I ask is that you stay put, for my sake.” “For how long?” the android glared. “I don’t know. The princess hasn’t passed judgment yet.” “Find out,” AMAZO ordered. “I’ll find out about the sentence length and the community service,” Twilight said. “Or you could ask Princess Celestia herself. In fact, you could escape and resume your search for power,” Reigns goaded. “That’s enough, Reigns. Stop goading him,” Dr. Bighorn stressed, stomping a hoof. “I’m just giving him options,” Reigns said. “It seems you have a choice,” Derpy said, glancing downward. “You can respect my wishes by staying in jail and preserving Equestria’s stability, or you can just escape and go back to being a cold, unfeeling machine.” AMAZO instinctively looked away, torn between power and protection of its friend. Looking back to Derpy, it said, “Am I a threat to you?” Looking up, Derpy said, “No, but I trust you. Other ponies don’t. They just assume that you’ll just stay here until you get bored. They’re afraid of you, honestly.” “Yes, in fact, I would bet that the warden here has trouble sleeping at night out of fear. The princess is just a hat drop from ordering the Elements of Harmony to try to contain you permanently,” Reigns said. At this, the android glared death at Twilight, knowing that she, being the bearer of the Element of Magic, would be leading her friends to betrayal of AMAZO’s trust. “You would betray me under orders of Celestia?” AMAZO asked. “If she ordered it, yes,” Twilight said, holding back fear. At this, AMAZO’s eyes glowed white briefly as all the cell’s motion sensors and lasers disappeared in a bright flash. The vengeful android then rushed towards Twilight and quickly lifted her up by her mane and punched her right in the gut, sending her into a crumpled heap. Immediately, Dr. Bighorn, Reigns, and Annie jumped AMAZO in a futile attempt to slow it down. AMAZO merely grabbed them each individually and threw them aside, then sprouted the mace from its hand. The android then rushed towards Twilight, telekinetically held her up, punched her again in the chest, and then prepared the mace. “Stop, AMAZO. This isn’t you,” Derpy said through tears. AMAZO then gently lowered the unicorn and wordlessly teleported out of sight to leave a devastated Derpy and a dazed trio of medical professionals to get the badly bruised unicorn to the nearest hospital.