//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Show off // Story: Redemption of an AI // by ToscoFarrax //------------------------------// Present Day Sarabia desert Pony Calender July(?) 1687 'This is going to be a very long day' Celestia thought. First the so called Medicant Bias came out of the dephts of the sand, and threatened one of the guards that attacked one of his smaller friends, and now she invited THAT thing to not only her castle, but to a heavy populated city of Equestria, she was wondering if she did the correct decision. "Your highness," Said a guard as it bowed towards her "the chariots are in their way towards our position and will arrive shortly". "*Sigh* Thank you my little pony, you are dismissed" She said turning her head back towards the massive war machine. Since it fully came out of the ground, it revealed that it had not only a long tail, but it had two appendages, obviously being legs. And now it was just standing there in an odd crouching position and with its wings folded in his back. Many ponies searched various excuses to try get past the guards that were between Medicant Bias and them, saying that they forgot they tools back there, or some sort of family amulet was in the ground back there, the guards did not care if it was true or lies, but it seemed that the smaller creatures that came with Medicant Bias knew what pony was either saying the truth because of their body lenguage and the involuntary beta waves their brain were transmitting. "Please!, I dont care about that metal bird, the only thing I want is to search for my mother's necklace!" A light brown pony said to a guard, trying to convince him to let him search his lost amulet. The guard didn't even flinched at this, but a nearby sentinel heard this "Please, I beg of you is the only thing I have of her left, look you can even look for it for me, it is a necklace with a brown thread and it has a round amethyst" He tried a second time. "Im really sorry, but this area is off limits for civilians, it's for your own good" He stated, not even turning his head to watch the desperate equine. Now that the sentinel had a description of the object, it could look for it, it moved various tool boxes and scanned the sand with some kind of light blue flashlight. After a couple of minutes the light was finally reflected by some kind of material, once the sentinel grabed it with a green-yellow beam, making it levitate like if an unicorn was using magic on it. Just before the stallion give up as lost his now deceased mother's amulet, the merciful sentinel hoovered in front of him, placing the necklace between it's eye and the ponie's face. The nameless stallion was at the edge of crying, his pupils dilated as he saw the amulet that he almost gave up as lost, flash-backs of him as a colt and his mother came back to his memory as he slowly took the necklace in his shaking hoof. But it didn't took too much time until the guard next to the stallion noticed the blue light in his face and the reflection of a flying oval shaped machine in his watery eyes. The guard reacted to this immediatly and spun around, placing his spear infront of the sentiel. "Get back there!" Said the guard, trying to not bring back the memories of the gargantuan being levitating his fellow soldier "You nor your friends can't leave this area until the princess says otherwise!". 'Wait, he was helping me' Tried to say the stallion just to find that his voice was being blocked by a knot on his throat, caused most likely because of the adrenaline of seeing his lost amulet again. The sentinel just looked to the tip of the spear and back to the necklace's, owner emitting a low peep, trying to say to the pony 'You're welcome' "Well?, am I going to have to force you to go back there?" Threatened the guard. The sentinel just looked at the spear again, fully aware that such primitive weapon couldn't harm him, then it turned around, and floated back towards the war sphinx. "I don't trust these Celestiadamned things..." The guard muttered under its breath. The stallion just stood there, watching as the small, flying being hoovered towards it's friends, something deep down in his mind was telling him that these things were here to help. Celestia watched the whole thing, with peeled eyes and an agape mouth. One of the smaller beings just helped one of his subjects after hearing the desperation in his voice, and once in had enough information it started to search for it, and once it found it, it didn't keep it to make further studies or something like that, in the moment it found it, the small hoovering creature turned in the necklace to its owner, and even though it was threatened by one of the guard, it didnt reacted in a violent way for being treated like that after doing a good deed, it just turned around and returned back to its business. The more time she tried to learn more and find answers about Medicant Bias, even more questions popped out of nowhere. 'Your highness A guard's voice said, just to be drowned by Celestia's thoughts Was this creature really here to help?, to do good deed without waiting for something in return?. 'Your highness' The guard's voice was a little bit louder. Or was all of this just a facade?, could Medicant Bias be a spy or someone that wishes to bring harm to her kingdom and it's just playing along?, there was no way to be certain about this... "YOUR HIGHNESS!" Shouted the guard, this time snapping Celestia from her deep thoughts. Celestia turned her head around to see the guard with his face red with a hoof on his mouth realising what he had just done. "Yes guard?" She asked the guard, curious what news were with him. "Hmphmmm" He said oblivious by the fact that he still had the hoof covering his mouth. "What now?" She asked trying to understand what the guard was trying to say. The guard was going to repeat, but he suddenly realised that his hoof was covering his entire mouth, quickly getting it out of the way leaving a slight blush on his face. "Hehe, Im sorry your Highness, what I was trying to say is that the chariots have already arrived, and the Elements have already been escorted inside them." The guard informed. "Thank you very much my little pony, you are dismissed" Celestia dismissed the guard. Celestia sighed, now she needed to think of a way to transport the creature with her without causing havoc at the city. Celestia carefully walked towards the crouchind Medicant Bias, curious of what he was doing. Once that she got close enough, she tried to communicate with him, inform him that it was time to leave. "Uhmmm, excuse me?... Medicant Bias?" She said hoping to get his attention. The war sphinx got up from it's crouching stance, getting back up to his full height and looked towards Celestia. "Is it time for us to depart?" He asked, knowing the answer. "Yes, but something was troubling my mind" She said with a sigh. "May I ask why?" He asked curious about the thoughts that occupied the equine's mind. "Look, my subjects are a little bit, delicate...-" She said looking back at a crowd of ponies not very far away from here. "And you should know that we are going to head towards a very populated area." Medicant Bias was hearing and archivating every single word that came out of the equine's mouth. "What I am trying to say, is that they may, get scared to see a creature like you getting close to their home, so I was wondering... I was wondering if you had an idea to make you look less menacing or big" Celestia revealed her idea to him. Medicant Bias was confused, he was here to help, to try to show his masters that he has changed, why should these equines be scared of him if he had no intentions to harm them?, but then again there were several psychological factors that could influence in this, and many living beings could feel threatened or scared when a more powerfull or bigger being than them made a harsh approach towards them. But after all Celestia knew her species better than him so he decided to morph into a less threatening appearance. "I think that I may able to do something" Medicant Bias said as he commenced the morphing operation. Many of his parts started to bend and magnetize with others, filling the air with sounds of metal clanking, hardlight being hitten and electricity magnetizing parts with others. After a couple of seconds the gargantuan being dissapeared and was replaced with a smaller being in comparison, but still exceeding Celestia's height and horn by a couple Inches The creature was tall, but even though it was made of metal, it displayed muscles in all of the body, informing that the being was of male origin, it had four large appendages, two in its upper body both of them had one claw each with five digits, and the other two on his lower half, obviously being arms and legs, but the more interesting part was its face it had no face features, no eyes, no mouth, no nose, it didnt have anything, the only thing it had where the two weird looking antenna like objects at the sides of his head looking like some kind of ears, and six blue dots in his face, making him look like some kind of insect with more than two eyes. "Is this form better?" Medicant Bias said with a now different voice, it was lower and definitly more gentle, but it was still firm and deep enough to identify him as a male "H-How d-did you changed so..." Celestia tried to say. "How did I changed from my previous form to this one?" Medicant Bias guessed. "Yes, you were massive, and in a matter of seconds you shrinked and changed your size and form, what kind of magic does that?" Celestia said stupefied. Magic? Medicant Bias was confused, he hadn't heard of that word for milenias, magic was a thing that was told to the forerunner children that was something similar to the forerunner's ability, not the same but similar, that did not rely on technology but in miracles, it was all a fairy tale back then. "My abilities do not rely on magic Celestia, they are supported by only technology, actually Im technology myself" Medicant Bias tried to explain to the equine. "Technology?" Blurted Celestia in disbilief "how do you want me to belive that all of what you've done is technology?" "Everything is going to be explained Celestia, but for now I think that we have to leave" Said Medicant Bias. Celestia sighed and looked at the sky, he was right, they had to search a place more appropiate for this converstaion. "You are right, come on, our transport has arrived" Celestia guided Medicant Bias towards the chariots There were two colored chariots, both of them had a turquoise color with yellow and blue ribbons, and each one had two pegasus attached to them, wich was ironic from Medicant Bias' point of view, but still, he made no comments about that for it could've been offensive for them. "You are coming with me Bias, ours is the one at the front" Celestia said as she got up on the chariot. Medicant Bias was inspecting the curious vehicle, unsure if he should get on it or not. "Well? what are you waiting for?, get in" Celestia said with a smile in her face. "I don't have any intentions to insult your species ability to manufacture vehicles, but is it going to bear my weight?" Medicant Bias questioned. "Oh don't worry it has been reinforced with magic and other materials, it bears my weight after all" Celestia tried to joke to enlighten up the mood, not that Medicant Bias didn't have sense of humor, Forerunner AIs had sense of humor, when two or more AIs encountered they would exchange informations and rarely they would make a joke, mostly about the flood, and if it was rare to hear a joke coming from them it was even more rare to hear them laugh or giggle. Medicant Bias trusted on Celestia so he placed a foot on an iron step feeling how there was some kind of energy shield around the vehicle, after he got inside, he saw that even though there was an energy barrier on the vehicle, the iron steps bended because of his weight, Celestia noticing this. "Uh, that is interesting, you must wear a ton *giggle*" Celestia giggled. That was actually true even though he had shrinked his size he was still very heavy, 5.6 tons actually. "Well I think that we can leave now" Celestia said as she grabbed the door handle with her magic. "Wait! princess Celestia!" Shouted Twilight "*sigh* Twilight Luna and I already told you that there is no need to call us princesses anymore" Said Celestia in a calm voice. "Hehe, Im sorry" Twilight said with a small smile and blusing looking to the left corner of her eyes. "But prin- I mean Celestia, I went to look for the creature to tell it that we are going to leave, but I didn't found it, the little ones aren't there either" Twilight said oblivious of the fact that the sentinels were floating above the chariot and that Medicant Bias was inside the chariot too. Soon enough Twilight noticed the oddly shaped irion step of the chariot. "Uh? why is this bended this way, aren't they supposed to be like reinforced with magic?" Twilight questioned. "Ahem." Medicant Bias cleared his throat to get Twilight attention, wich worked. "What is that thing?!" Twilight asked in disbilief, was this another creature that came out of the sands too?. "Twilight that is Medicant Bias, the creature that we encountered a while ago..." Said Celestia. "No, really Celestia where is he?" Twilight said with an unamused look. "She already told you, I'm right here." Medicant Bias said with a more gentle and formal voice. "Wait-who-where?" Twilight tried to analyze what happend, the creature that came out of the ground was massive, and they were telling her that he transformed to this size?. "Just get in Twilight, we'll explain it to you in the way back to Canterlot" Celestia said, not wanting to waste more time in the desert, it wasn't healty for her delicate fur after all. As soon as Twilight got in, Celestia shuted the door, and gave two taps on the wall, informing the guards that it was time to depart, and a couple of seconds after that, the chariots started the flight back to Canterlot, with different types of sentinels following close, with active camouflage of course. Present Day Above an occupied Dragon's nest / Near Equestria borders. Pony Calender July(?) 1687 "So you can morph into anything you want?" Asked Twilight in dibilief "Not anything I want, but I can change my form from the war sphinx to this one" Said Medicant Bias. "War Spinx? is that the form in what we found you?" Asked Celestia curious about its name. "Actually I'm still in the war sphinx but I changed it's form to this one" Said Medicant Bias looking through the window. "What are those creatures?" Medicant Bias asked as he looked towards the dragons inside a pool of lava. Twilight and Celestia leaned towards the window, to see what creature he was talking about, to see the Dragons either sleeping or taking a bath of lava. "Those are dragons, they are reptilians that can breath fire and they are very powerfull and dangerous too" Said Celestia remembering her last experience with one of them. "Uh, that is interesting, and tell me, is this vehicle safe?" Asked Medicant Bias without taking his gaze off the window. "Why would you ask that?" Celestia asked. "Because we may be attacked by one of those beings, my readings say that the males have very large amounts of testosterone, wich may cause them to get territorial with their home." Medicant Bias pointed out. "You don't have to worry about anything, the dragons know better than messing with the princesses" Said Twilight placing a hoof on her chest. Suddenly the whole chariot shaked like if it was being hit by a big boulder, and the left corner of the chariot started to burn in flames. Celestia then talked through a hole on her side of the chariot to the pegasi that were flying. "What happend?!" She asked in concern and fear. "We were hit by a ball of fire your highness-" The guard was interrupted by another hit sound and a flush "the element's chariot was hit too!". "We need to land fast!" said the second guard. "Oh Celestia we are going to die!" Shouted Twilight. Medicant Bias was running several simulations and test, and by the results, if he didn't intervene, these ponies would have less than 46.82% chances to survive the crash, he commanded his sentinels to use their beams to ease the chariots' harsh land, while he positioned himself in a way he wouldn't squat by accident these ponies under his weight. "Get hold to something back there princesses, we are going to land!" Shouted a pegasus, without them knowing that the sentinels were trying to help to ease the landing. *THUD* The chariots landed. "U-uh?, we are not dead?" Asked Twilight as she let go of the pole she was embracing. "We need to get out of this vehicle " Medicant Bias said as he tried to open the door, but found that it was stuck. "Is it jammed?, we need to get out of here and help my friends!" Exclaimed Twilight After Medicant Bias found that it was useless to pull the door softly, he violently janked the door, separating it from the rest of the chariot. "Get your friends out of that vehicle, I will help the pilots" Medicant Bias said referring to the pegasi. Once that he got infront of the chariot, he found that one of the pegasi was unconscious, and the other had one of his wings bended in an odd way and with a long cut on his flank. He broke the restrains that pulled the chariot and he dragged them back on a spot without ashes. Then he heard how the princesses were stuggling to open the reinforced iron door of their friends, obviously being stuck. "Twilight please get us out of here!" Cried Fluttershy. "I'm trying! but It's stuck and I can't open it with magic without blasting it!" Twilight cried back. Medicant Bias walked towards the chariot full of ponies and got Twilight out of the way. "Please, clear the door so I can open it up" He warned. Then a blue translucent sword came out of his guantlet, heat and little blue particles coming out of it. "And who the hell are you- *EEP*!" Rainbow Dash responded, before a blue shiny sword cut through the iron sword like butter, making a vertical cut. After he got the hardlight sword out and he deactivated it he placed his hands in the cut, pulling both of the sides with tremendous strength making a hole, light filtered through it showing their savior. As the ponies got out one by one Medicant Bias pulled free the other two guards, both of them unconscious, and then dragged them near the other guards. He called a couple of his sentinels out of the camouflage to use their healing beams on the guards. "Who or what in tarnation is that?" Applejack asked as she dusted her hat "That is the creature that we found at the desert AppleJack, he is Medicant Bias..." Said Twilight. "WHAT?!" All of the girls shouted at unison. "But Twilight, that thing was giant! how in Tartarus did he changed his for to that?!" Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed to Medicant Bias that was crounching near a guard and two of the flying machines near him shooting some kind of green beam. "By the way what is he doin'?" Asked AppleJack. "I dont know, maybe he is checking on them, I dont know" Said Twilight shaking her head. As the Elements were arguing with each other and Celestia was trying to calm them down, Fluttershy walked towards Medicant Bias and the injured pegasi. "E-excuse me sir" Fluttershy stuttered in a very low voice, making it almost impossible for the average pony to hear, but Medicant Bias could hear her very well. "Uh?" Medicant Bias turned his head to look at the source of the voice "What's the matter little one?" He asked "W-w-what are you and y-your friends doing?" She asked noticing that the green beams from the sentinels were healing the pegasi wounds and bruises. "They are using a healing beam on their injuries to disinfect and accelerate the healing proccess on their bodies" He said, making Fluttershy interested in these "healing beams". "Oh, and how they work?, I mean if you don't mind me asking" She asked in curiosity. "Well, the green lights you see are gamma and beta no-hazardous radiations that accelerate the patient cells to optimize the healing rate and rejuvenates the same cells" He tried to explain in the more simple way possible, for he knew these equines couldn't fully understand the concept of these healing beams. "Oh, you know my special talent is to help animals" Fluttershy said with a smile. "Then your role in this society is to watch over the injured wild animals?" He asked. "Well, not only injured animals, I help every single animal I can, even if they are carnivores or fishes or rats it doesn't matter and I help other ponies when I'm able to". Fluttershy said with pride and joy. Somehow this little yellow equine held a belief similar to the mantle's, that every single living being had the right to live and to be helped, it doesn't matter if it was big or small, the mantle shelters all. "Well, thats-" Medicant Bias said before looking to the horizon. An average pony wouldn't be able to see, but there were three figures that were approaching this place, by their movement it could be said that they were running or sprinting, but the matter is that they were coming this way. "Is something wrong mister?" Asked Fluttershy in concern as he got up from his crouching position. "Something is coming this way, go and warn your fellow ponies..." He said without taking his gaze away of the horizon. "O-oh my" Flutter shy said as she ran towards her friends. Before anything could happen he turned back to the injured, and placed an energy shield around them and the sentinels that were healing them then he walked a few steps forward. "Medicant Bias, what happend, Fluttershy said something is happening" Said Celestia with concern. By this time the ponies could see three shadows on the horizon, but Medicant Bias could see who they were, they were three medium sized reptiles two of them red and one blue all of them had wings and big jaws. "Their look match to what you call 'Dragons' and three of them are coming this way, presumably they were the ones that attacked your vehicles" Medicant Bias said. "Well, this jerks better be prepared for a piece of the 'RAINBOW DASH'!" Rainbow Dash referred to herself in third preson as she hovered in the air throwing a few boxing punches in the air "Rainbow Dash!, we can't fight those dragons, they are physically stronger than any pony!" Twilight said trying to knock some sense into her friend. "Plus a fight would get my mane dirty and they might even burn my tail and mane!" Said Rarity concerning more about her appearance than for her life After a couple of minutes of the ponies arguing again, Celestia was trying to warn the ponies that the drakes were already here with no success "AHEM" Said Medicant Bias in his previous deep and scary voice making all of the equines pay attention to the drakes that were a few feet from then. "Well, well, well lookie here guys we found ourselves some ponies and their care takers" Said the tall red one, reffering to the ponies and the princesses, ignoring Medicant Bias. "Oh how dare you-" Said Twilight before being interrupted by Medicant Bias. "I assume that you are the ones that attacked these equines vehicles right?" Asked Medicant Bias, completely sure that they were the responsibles for the crashing. "Uh? What if we are, who the hell are you even supposed to be, an armored Diamond Dog?" The possible leader of the other two drakes, making them laugh and snort. "My name is 05-032 Mendicant Bias, if it isn't trouble could I ask yours?" Medicant Bias asked. "Hmph, my name is tartarus falmes, Mr. Tartarus Flames for you" The drake said as it cleaned his theet with his claws, obviously the real "Mr.Tartarus" was his father. "So Medicament, are you the Princesses new pet? are you in charge of helping them releasing the stress?" He said lauging at the end, making some kind of wicked sexual joke. "THAT'S IT!" Yelled Rainbow as she flew with amazing speed towards the drake, wich reacted immediatly and grabbed her by the hind legs, subduing her by placing an arm around her neck. "Tsk, tsk, tsk you ponies should know better than that!" He said in a mocking tone. "Let go of her you brute!, Dont touch her meanie pants!, Drop her right now if you dont want' tha get bucked the next week!" all of the Elements shouted and the drake. "Let go of the equine if you don't want to face the consequences" Threatened Medicant Bias. All of the drakes laughed at his threat and the leader said. "Make me" "As you wish" Medicant Bias said as he moved with blinding speed and placed a hand on the drakes tongue, and before he even had time to react he sent a shock charge electrocuting his whole body, Rainbow didn't even feel the charge because of he fur acting as an insulating material. Once that the drake dropped Rainbow Dash, Medicant Bias let go of the drakes tounge, teleporting back towards the group and placing Rainbow down, "I had everything under control, I didn't need you help" Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath, then he got infront of the ponies once more. Once that the drake gained the control of his body again he yelled at the AI. "You think you are so tough?, let see if you are when you become a piece of coal!" The drake yelled as it took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of flames towards him. "Bias!, Get out of the way!" Shouted Celestia as she casted a spell around her and the Elements, but he didn't even move, and she saw how the flames engulfed him. A couple of seconds after the drake ran our of breath, and had a face of confidence, searching for the molten metal and flesh of the creature that he just burned, but for his dismay the creature was just standing there, its armor not even red from the flames. "I will have to please ask you to leave if you dont want to face the consequences" Said Medicant Bias tried to avoid a battle that could end up bad... for them. The drake just gave a blood curling scream and charged towards the creature, slashing him with his claws with hopes to hurt him, but instead his claws broke. "I will give you a last chance leave, or face the consequences" Said Medicant Bias, the last sentence with a much darker tone. The drake just gave another scream and punched him in the face, something that wouldn't even harm him in any way, but the lizard made his decision. "As you wish" He said, then he sent a thunderous and swift punch of the strenght of three SPARTANs to the dakes jaw, something that sent him flying several feets again, it wasn't enough to kill him, but enough to leave him unconscious. The jaws of the two left dragons and the ponies hit the floor, this creature just defeated a drake with one punch in a matter of seconds, something that would take several minutes to a full squad of veteran guards. The two left drakes looked at each other and back to the creature and they let yelled a war cry and runned towards him, trying to advenge their leader, before they could even get close, Medicat Bias sent them flying backwards, just by the side of their fallen leader. "You don't have to end up like him, go away and you wont suffer the same fate as your leader" Said Medicant Bias. The drakes just picked the unconscious body of the other drake and one of them looked back at him. "This is not over yet" The drake said as they flew the way the came from. Once the drakes dissapeared out of sight all of the ponies but Celestia and Rainbow Dash congratulated him. "THAT WAS AWESOME!" They shouted, they couldn't believe what they saw after all, he just defeated a drake in a matter of seconds and he intimidated the rest like if it was nothing. "Thank you for helping me and my subjects Medicant Bias, if it wasn't for you I don't really know what would happend" Celestia said with a warm smile. "Rainbow isn't there something you want to say to him?" Said Twilight towards the grumpy Rainbow Dash. "Hmph, I could've handled it without your help but thanks I guess" She said looking away from him. "*sigh* Please forgive her, she just doesn't like to be helped" Twilight said to Medicant Bias. "But if I didn't intervene, there would've been strong probabilities that the drakes harmed you ponies" Explained Medicant Bias. "I know, its just her pride, deep inside her she is grateful, belive me" Twilight said with a smile "Well, now we have to figure out a way of how to get you ponies out of this place and-" Medicant Bias was cut off as an intense roar filled the air. *GROAAAR* Two massive dragons were flying towards Medicant's and the ponies direction. He quickly realized that he couldn't beat them fast enough in his current form so he changed to his previous war sphinx form making a giant shadow arount the ponies. Once that the two dragons, possibly males based off their fangs and reading of testosterone he was getting, landed the first one spoke. "Where is that insolent creature that attacked my son?!" He groared. "What are your business here?" Medicant Bias asked in a deeper voice. "So you where the little dweeb that dared to attack my son?!" Asked in rage the dragon. "My apologizes if I caused a serious damage, but those drakes were threatening these ponies, and I couldn't let them harm them." Medicant Bias stated. "Why are you apologizing?!" Asked Rainbow Dash in anger "those guys where jerks!" The dragon looked at the pony that insulted his children and looked her with yellow reptilian eyes full of rage. It let out a thunderous groar and charged to claim the blood of the pony that was stupid enough to open her mouth. Just before it got even near them, Medicant Bias sent a magnetic pulse that sent the dragon exactly back where he landed, it looked at the metal creature and he and his fellow reptilian stood in a combat stance ready to attack. Medicant Bias had to think of something, for these creatures wouldn't leave peacefully if he asked them to do so. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What should Medicant Bias do? A)Pacify them: Use a special, passive beam that will work like a sedative for the dragons for a short amount of time, enough for him to get the ponies out of harm's way B)Eradicate them: Medicant Bias will have to use lethal force on these creatures to avoid them harming any innocent and defenseless creature C)Trick them: Medicant Bias has information that most primitive life beings are attracted to shiny objects, Medicant Bias will buy his freedom and the ponies in exchange of a hardlight sphere that will disappear within 24 hours