//------------------------------// // Ajax Is Bad At Feelings // Story: Friendship? Emotion not found. // by The Rar //------------------------------// Ajax’s barn, Ponyville, Equestria 7:30Pm SET Ajax sat on a bale of hay in his barn, inspecting his masterpiece. It was truly beautiful; the entire paint job was beautiful. He hadn’t given Rarity enough praise when he should have. He’d have to correct that error tomorrow. Tomorrow. What would Ajax do tomorrow? He had some issues that could seriously ruin tomorrow. The issues being it wasn’t long until send off day and he hadn’t convinced all the required ponies to help him. That, along with the conflict of emotions troubling him, Ajax was dreading tomorrow. He looked deeply at his artwork. Why did he look so happy on this image? Why did the image make him happy? Would he still be happy when he returned to Pandora, or would he miss this universe? Will this Twilight Sparkle be in a talking mood and allow him to earn her trust? Will he be able to earn her trust? Does he even know how? Would he be ready in time for the day he is sent home? What does Celestia have planned for said day? Does she even have a way for him to return to Pandora? “Urg!” Ajax groaned loudly. The endless list of answerless questions were frustrating Ajax. He hadn’t though anything other than questions in a long time. He hadn’t thought about his broken bolts. He hadn’t thought about the pounding rain outside. He hadn’t thought about Pandora. Ajax hadn’t even thought about the footsteps he could hear. His mind was completely clouded by his predicament. These feelings were turning him into a wreck, he couldn’t think straight because of them. He was puzzled by the constant confusion he felt when talking to the ponies. It wasn’t your average confusion. Confusion usually had a point. I’m confused about him. I’m confused about life. I’m confused about bandits. They all had something to be confused about, but Ajax; Ajax didn’t quite know what he was confused about. He feels completely fine before he meets them, he feels completely fine when he is in the barn. But when he speaks to a pony, he just can’t act normally. He’d spent an entire day helping a pony with a repetitive task. He’d wasted precious power flying up to meet a pony. He’d spent hours discussing Skags with a pony. He’d allowed a pony to repaint him. It’s not Equestria that is causing this. It’s not some crazed virus. What on Pandora was it? What made him do foolish things around the ponies? He was always doing foolish things around them and it was getting worse. He was doing foolish things when he wasn’t even with them. Ajax had spent the hours since he’d come back to the barn worrying about the coming visit to Twilight. Worry? Ajax? Ha! The two things never meet each other. Worry is close enough to stupidity for Ajax to want to avoid it. He’d done splendidly at doing just that, until he’d come to Equestria. Never did Ajax allow worry to corrupt his mind. Even when he was about to be threw into a pit of corrosive acid, he did not worry. But tonight, in the sodding rain in a barn owned by ponies, worry finally touched Ajax’s mind. “Gah! Foul thoughts, be gone!” Ajax irritably said Although he meant for the words to banish the worry, they only served to increase it. How should Ajax speak when he meets Twilight and her dragon companion? Will he be able to talk as he usually does? Will he be judged for doing so? The footsteps grew louder, yet Ajax paid them no attention. Would he be attacked by a monstrous dragon? Would he be judged for fighting back? What if he killed the thing? Would he be denied help? Could he even kill such a creature? What size bullet would one use to fight a behemoth of such strength? “Howdy” The voice from behind Ajax said “Ah!” Ajax yelled in surprise. Again, a first for Ajax. Surprise. Ajax turned and pointed his clawed hand towards the unknown speaker. “Oh, it’s just you.” He lowered the claw and returned to looking sadly at his leg. “What’s that you’ve got there?” Applejack asked curiously “A fine piece of art, painted by the lady Rarity. She is a generous pony.” Ajax replied “Sure is. Elements of harmony, once again. What ya’ll doin’?” “Thinking.” “About?” “Complex things.” “Like?” Applejack asked as she sat opposite Ajax. “I have no idea.” “Huh?” Applejack asked confusedly “I mean, I know what I’m thinking about, I just don’t know why I’m thinking about it.” “I think I understand that. What’s on your mind Jax?” “You.” “Me?” Applejack said confusedly “Indeed. I’ve been thinking about you.” “Uh… What exactly about me?” “About how you make me feel.” “Oh! Ah… Well Ajax, I’m not sure you’re exactly my type. I mean, I have nothin’ against metal men it’s just, how would that work… You know?“ “Not like that. Why would you even- Forget it, I wasn’t meaning you alone.” “Oh, who then?” Applejack said as she breathed a sigh of relief for having her previous thoughts confirmed as incorrect. “All of you. Pony kind.” Ajax said as he looked up from the painting and to Applejack. “So everypony in Equestria?” “Not exactly. I haven’t really communicated with anyone besides your friends. It’s them I’ve been thinking about.” “So, you’ve been thinking about how I and my friends make you feel?” “Indeed.” “And how exactly do we make you feel?” “Happy. Scared. Confused” “Happy is good. The others, not so much.” “For me, it is very strange and very dangerous combination.” “Huh? How?” Applejack asked confusedly “Allow me to explain something to you Applejack. On Pandora, I had no one. No friends. No family, I am a machine after all, I was not born. I lived alone and I liked it that way. Hell, it’s only been in the past few months that I’ve actually started talking to someone regularly. Dex wasn’t very good in a fight but he was a good source of info. I trusted him above anyone else, but I did not call him my friend. I did not get emotionally attached to him or anyone. Being emotional can be the difference between someone living and someone dying, between a plan succeeding or a plan failing. I didn’t want to risk getting emotionally attached to anyone either, so I stuck to solo operations. I’d spent so long alone that I just never seemed to feel anything for anyone. But since I’ve come here, to Equestria, and met you ponies, I’ve been feeling things… I’ve been feeling things that I’m not sure I know how to deal with.” “What have ya’ll been fellin’ Ajax?” Applejack comfortingly said “I’ve been feeling… Strange. I’ve been doing the silliest things around you ponies. Talking about animals, wasting time flying, allowing someone to paint me. They’re all things I’d never do. I just can’t seem to help myself when I’m around you, I just can’t. I feel…” Ajax looked to his painting once more. He felt warmth, deep inside of him. He felt accepted. He felt happy. “I… I feel friendship… I feel like I’ve found creatures I can trust completely.” Ajax said. Once again Ajax found himself doing foolish things. Never once had Ajax shared any sort of personal feelings with anyone. Applejack stood up and walked silently towards the exit of the barn. She stopped as she reached the door and she looked back at Ajax. “You know what Ajax?” Ajax looked away from the bales of hay that Applejack had been sitting on and to Applejack. “I think I feel it too.” Ajax’s barn, Ponyville, Equestria 8:50Pm “Ajax, I’ve got a question to ask. It’s been buggin’ me for a few minutes now.” “Ask away?” Ajax said confusedly. Applejack had walked back into the barn unexpectedly and asked the previous question. Apparently Applejack had neglected to ask something when she had last seen Ajax. What she could possible want to ask was a mystery to Ajax. “Ya’ll said some thin’ ‘bout feelin’ scared?” “I did.” “Why in Celestia’s name would you be scared?” “What do you mean?” “I mean you’re the toughest thin’ in Equestria, why would anything here scare you?” “Ah, Applejack. You still have much to learn. Not all fear is caused by something tougher than one’s self. Sometimes it is the thought of something that scares you. But in this case it’s a little bit of both; it is about something tougher than me and the thought of encountering it. No matter what you think, I don’t think I can bear the thought of visiting Twilight when she has such a creature as a dragon guarding her.” “Wh- What ya’ll talkin’ about?” “I’ve been told Twilight Sparkle has a dragon as her assistant. Dragons are fearsome creatures, are they not?” “Heh! Ajax, you just wait! You’ll be surprised when you meet Spike!” “Spike? Sounds aggressive.” “Just wait and see Ajax. Just a hint, when working out a plan for visiting her, don’t count on there bein’ some almighty battle.” Applejack laughed. “Is that all Applejack?” Ajax also laughed “Not quite. Ya’ll scared about visitin’ Twilight yea?” “Yes…” Ajax groaned “Don’t be. That little tale you were tellin’ me before isn’t all that different to what Twilight’s life used to be like. Ya’ll can relate to her in the fact that you know what it’s like to have no friends and be alone.” “Really? I have something in common with her? That will make things… Well, it might make things simpler, but I don’t count on it.” “Plan ahead Ajax, I’m sure things will go fine.” “Speaking of plans.” Ajax said as he lifted a scroll into the air. “What’s that?” “A plan. Celestia got a plan put together.” “Yea? What does it say?” “It says she knows how to send me home and that I have a few days left to convince Twilight to assist me. Apparently, between tending to her daily duties and trying to coax her sister out of her room, she managed to work out a method in which to replicate the power core’s explosive power.” “That’s great!” Applejack enthusiastically said “Is it really?” Ajax sighed “What ya’ll talkin’ ‘bout? You want to go home, don’t you?” “That’s a very good question Applejack. Do I? Do I really want to bid all of you lovely people adieu?” Ajax said. He didn’t really know who he was asking. Applejack, or himself. “I don’t know, do you?” “Honestly, I have no idea…” Hyperion bunker, Pandora 11:00Am “Oh, Lucius, why did you never become an artist?” Fawks stood in a large storage bay with Lucius, bathed in the gloomy light the cheap bulbs in the overheads produced. The room smelled of the cleansing oils used to clean metal and thin mist hung in the air around both men’s feet. The vents in this particular bunker were rarely used. In fact, everything in the bunker was rarely used. “Apparently painting robots to look like Death isn’t art and it isn’t something they’ll pay you for.” For what seemed to Fawks like a century, Lucius had been preparing the tools in which he would orchestrate his revenge. In reality, it had been a little over a day. Fawks had been a very patient man in the past, but his stay at the Hyperion hell hole in the glaciers combined with the loss of both of his legs had broken him. He’d been incredibly irritably when Lucius had told him that he had to wait while he finished painting the loaders. “Remind me again why we couldn’t just leave their steel bare?” Fawks asked trying to get some reason for Lucius’s madness. “The paint is mainly a scare tool. It will sort the boys from the men in whatever you’re fighting.” “Well, that’s good. I like the idea of having a group of Reapers following me.” Lucius had given the loaders a very classic look. He had painted them to be a tribute to torva messorem. Ancient language that translates to The Grim Reaper, the deity of Death. A coat of dusty black and bone white added to the metal replicas of Pandora’s most fearsome creature’s skulls. The two PWR model loaders, the ones with fan like blades instead of hands were given the special treatment of having the blades edged with diamond. They could cut steel like butter. The rest of the group, mostly GUN and a few SGT model loaders, were fitted with brand new bolts and servos improving efficiency and lowering the amount of jamming. Usually loaders don’t get such extravagant treatment and Lucius had been refused the materials Fawks demanded. When Fawks had been informed of the refusal he had strapped a missile to his head, went to the requisition leader and threatened to head butt him should he refuse him. When someone say’s they’ll hit you in the face with a missile attached to their own head, it’s probably best to do what they say. The requisition leader had been smart enough to give Fawks the items he demanded. It had cost more than a pretty penny, a million to be exact. Paint isn’t exactly cheap when you need to paint a legion every single day. Then there is the cost of the metal skulls and the diamond. In short, it cost a fortune. That Requisition leader is lucky to still have his job. Scratch that, he’s still lucky to have his life. As a matter of fact, he’s lucky that he didn’t decide to follow up the matter. Him deciding whether to follow up the matter was the difference between him ending up in one piece or several. “It’s also got a little something-something mixed in to make sure these things don’t melt on the way to this other dimension.” “Speaking of melting, those legs and your entire set of armour will need a re-spray with the resistant paint.” Lucius continued “Resistant? What exactly makes it resistant?” Fawks asked “Ah, Fawks, you know the rules. You can ask what it does but you can’t ask why.” Lucius lightly laughed. “I hate that rule, why in all the God’s names would I agree to it?” Fawks moaned. “But you like my work, yes?” Lucius asked. “Aye, I like it Lucius. Terrific work. Let’s get these into position at the room we’ve picked to warp in and let’s get me some new paint.” “This way, please.” Lucius said as he gestured to the exit. “I’m going to enjoy this Lucius, I really am. I simply cannot wait. You did get me the thing I asked for?” Fawks asked as he walked with Lucius towards the exit. “Indeed. Helluva lot of paperwork, but I got it for you. Just keep it safe eh Fawks? Hyperion will have your head on a plate if it gets damaged.” Lucius warned “Ha. You honestly think anything in the universe can damage it? Whatever’s waiting for us in this other world with that blasted robot will never even stand a chance!” Fawks laughed as he walked out of the room. “One more thing Lucius.” Fawks said as he stopped, blocking the exit for Lucius. “Yes, Fawks?” Lucius asked. “This operation is… off the record, right? Fawks asked as he turned his head slightly towards Lucius. “Of course. Why do you think we’re all the way out in the damned bunker? Because it’s not used and it’s not checked on. Hyperion have no idea what you’re doing or what prisoners you’ve got in your possession.” Lucius answered. “Good. Speaking of prisoners, I’ve got a little plan for them.” Fawks said as a grin jumped onto his face. “What kind of plan?” Lucius curiously asked “Oh, plans. You didn’t think I’d go to a new dimension and not take my new friends with me, did you?” Fawks laughed “Certainly now. But, is that wise Fawks? Taking four of this planet’s most feared warriors on a revenge mission? Think of everything that could go wrong!” Lucius exclaimed. “Well Lucius, let me tell you. If It’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. All I care is that I get revenge. Now if revenge is made sweeter by having four scumbags watch it I say why not.” “Well, if that’s your decision.” Lucius sighed “Don’t be like that Lucius. I’m going to have a little chat with them now, care to join?” Fawks asked “No thanks, I have to make finalisations to the thing you requested. They aren’t exactly simple to program, you know.” “Well, have fun with that. See you later Lucius.” Fawks said as he walked off. He felt very rude for simply saying goodbye like that after all that Lucius had just done, but he couldn’t wait to inform the Vault Hunters of the little vacation he was taking them on and the device he’d soon be unleashing in front of them. The device… The newest reality… The destruction… “Let the galaxy burn…” Fawks evilly chuckled. Reason for time between previous chapter and this one: One word. Work. Got myself a small job and it’s been keeping me occupied and due to the induction type deal required I haven’t had much free time. Can’t complain though, it was worth it. Very informative and the pay the job gives is more than reasonable for a seventeen year old. Anyway. Sorry for the gap of time. I’m back into a schedule and I have made time for writing. We’re back on track. Woo!