The creature simply vibrated somewhat bizarrely as its body lowered and elevated at regular intervals. It seemed to be protecting the Ink Mechanic who still seemed to be secretly trembling.
"T-Twilight, what is that thing?" Sunrise asked as she slowly began to back away.
"I...I don't know. It's not in any of my books of wildlife or Equestrian monsters. It doesn't even look organic." the equally frightened unicorn answered as she imitated the dragoness.
The three knights stomped forward in front of centurion and held out their blades, taunting the creature. The newly activated robot did not seem to react to such an act. It was, after all, made for long range fights, so this did not impede its initial programming. However, whilst Centurion prepared its cannon, the knights readied their swords, and the two 'tourists' were backing away, something about the creature struck Steamlord's nerves and began to anger him. He remained still and silent, but slowly, a growl began to form on his face. He rushed forward, pushing the bots away, three of whom responded with confusion and surprise.
"That thing is a bio construct! How DARE you create organic life! Do you know the consequences this thing can cause?! Judging by the surrounding equipment, you haven't even properly tested its functioning organs and mental stability."
"What's wrong with Steamlord?" Twilight wondered as she was amazed to actually see him genuinely mad.
"I don't know."
"Groosh-fa." the Ink Mechanic said as it swayed its left arm to the side.
The creature acknowledged and moved away in said direction. The creature moved forward, although it looked like it was floating, what with all the smoke. When it spoke, it sounded like ash flying through the wind, and whatever it said, the creature acknowledged. The Ink Mechanic stood up to the human, showing it to be atleast a head and a half taller than Steamlord.
"...Why...are you...here?" it strained to say.
"We're here because we heard reports of you causing destruction and stealing land from civilians." Steamlord scolded as he stared directly into the white eyes of the mechanic.
Said creature tilted its head a bit to the side, then righted it back up.
"These are mine. Not the birds. Mine alone. Why do you destroy my creations and condemn my others?"
"Bio-creations were condemned in the rewritten Geneva Convention of twenty-thirty-eight after they were used to create massive destruction as bioweapons. Some were even used as mobile bombs. They would enter the middle of a fortified area or city, and swell up before turning into a flaming ball of pure malice. The carnage they created was too 'costly' and the effects lingered for too long. As for your creations, they've been terrorizing a nearby colony who, if I understood correctly, have been mining long before you arrived."
"HOZATI! THIS PLACE IS MINE! IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MINE! ALWAYS! MINE! They came and stole it from me. My mines. My minerals. My materials. They destroyed my mining machines. They took it all away. I took their lands away. They stay away from my mines, I stay away from them."
The creature began to seethe with rage, as noted by his body beginning to bubble. The other creature began to act aggressive, although it was still quiet. While the three knights were beginning to spread out, Centurion remained next to its creator. While Sunrise kept passing this through her mind, she couldn't help but feel fear from it. Was this what the other three were like before their algorithms changed and began to develop personalities and mifnds of their own? Were they really just mass-murdering bipedal mechanoids armed to the teeth? No. She wouldn't have it. She would help it develop a personality faster than the others did over the course of several years.
"Your aggressiveness isn't helping your position. I suggest you lower your tone. We are both more numerous and technologically adva--"
Steamlord was pushed aside by Twilight Sparkle. She moved forward with determination on her face. She seemed to be trying to become a diplomat.
"Ignoring what Steamlord is saying, I think I might have a solution for you, but we need to enter your house to talk about them."
The creature's body stopped bubbling for a moment as it turned what seemed to be a head towards her. Its white eyes glew brightly as it stared at the tiny pony.
"Tiny equine. Quadrupedal creature with diverse genetic possibilities. This one...Is amusing and displays a keen need to discover and learn...It is also cute and tiny." the creature spoke aloud.
Sunrise chuckled almost quietly while Twilight's eyes twitched. She didn't like being called cute and tiny, even if, anatomically, the observation of her size compared to this creature was correct. Her cheeks puffed up red a bit in frustration. Atleast she made some progress that pushed away from Steamlord's personal and ethical beliefs. Said human still crossed his arms in anger.
"Come. Into my home. It's dangerous for non-ink. Caution is a must."
As it moved away, the beast watched them closely with its only eye and rested atop another stone nearby with patience. The shack that the ink-mechanic livved in seemed literally slapped together with various amounts of scrap metal and decayed wood. Bits of steam would occasionally blow through one the cracks in the walls, but the building still seemed to stand, especially with it being several floors tall and with another, smaller building on a balcony to the left. The most dangerous part about it was that it literally hung off a cliff. It was a rickety old box for sure.
The mechanic melted into a puddle right in front of the grounp, then crawled along the floor, up one of the wooden pillars, then disappeared in one of the crevices of the shack's walls. It took awhile, but a ladder literally slammed through the floor, tossing debris and scrap metal everywhere. The ladder wasn't any better looking, either. Tiny little robots on single wheels slid out from under giant rocks and began to pick up the pieces. Sunrise and Twilight were careful to not step on them, but the other five had no qualms with doing so. Luckily, their rudimentary programming was more than enough to deal with the problem of getting crushed by giant feet.
The interior of the shack was no better than outside. It looked like one of the houses that Steamlord had the 'pleasure' of seeing when he was still on Earth. Several walls were uneven, and pipes and cogs spun around everywhere. There were various holes covered with cut plastic that served as some form of window. Several machines were implanted into the walls, and they worked well, too. It was something Steamlord wasn't expecting. The knights sheathed their swords and looked around in nostalgia. It looked like the early form of the lab they were built in. Their creator had a knack for decorating things as he saw fit. As for the mechanic, it literally reformed from beneath some floor tiles where, as Sunrise, Centurion, and Steamlord noticed, held what looked like several important wires coursing and sparking through the complex.
"Quite the place you have here. You must have a good intellect to find ways to create all this through garbage." Steamlord taunted as he pushed some crap away with his foot.
"Hm. Nothing is garbage to me. I use as much as I can. Your flying machine managed to get destroyed by my 'garbage', did it not?" the mechanic answered.
Twilight and Sunrise slowly turned their heads to look at the human. They were worried at how he would take that comment.
"Perhaps, but my craft was not made for warfare. In my homeworld, a single contruct would have been more than adept at destroying your constructions and resisting their rudimentary ammo."
The mechanic had been fumbling through a pile of scrap brought to him by his scavenger bots when he heard this comment. He turned to face what seemed to be turning into his first rival. He was ecstatic, but Twilight interrupted the conversation, especially after hearing a threatening bending of metal.
"I don't think we should talk violently to eachother. Besides, what should we call you?" Twilight asked the creature.
"I do not have a name. I believe I was abandoned at birth. I was taken in by a machine far more advanced than my own,"
Steamlord thought that such a feat would be obvious and easy.
"but it has long since become inactive. After trying to repair it, I discovered that its pieces and parts were already damaged, and it had been malfunctioning for quite a long time, longer even than when it found me."
"Oh...Did it give you any names?"
"It would call me 'Unit-91411', certainly based off of my appearance."
The mechanic was bent over Twilight, defying what a normal creature could do, but its semi-closed eyes did not hold any aggression. It was simply towering over the unicorn even more directly than before, causing her to shrink down in fright.
"I don't get it." she answered.
"It's related to the position of numbers of the modern latin alphabet. It means 'Ink'." Steamlord answered with suspicion.
"Oh. Oh yeah! Of course!" Twilight facehoofed.
"Hm. Yes. 'Ink'. I approve.Now, why did you come to me again? For the mines?"
"Well, yes. We came here to try and figure out what was terrorizing the locals and preventing them from getting their much needed money."
"Money?"
"You don't use money?"
"...Is it a type of chemical?" the mechanic answered.
"Oh colt...No. I'll just tell you that it helps one live through exchanges."
"Hmm. Why should I give them MY mine?" Ink began to boil.
"Nono! f they were yours to begin with, they belong to you, but I would suggest atleast giving forty percent of the mine to the village so they can get their much needed ressources."
"No. I mine alone. I will be willing to give them thirty percent of daily finds if it means I can see where you come from."
"Thirty percent daily? That's gre-Wait...where we come from?"
"Yes. I wish to see the world away from these mines. My creature would be more than adept of overseeing and protecting my home whilst my repair and scavenger bots would be maintaining the area and mining equipment. This voyage would give me access to new technologies, knowledge, understanding of the surrounding regions, and much more positive aspects that I can imagine would become profitable to my constructs."
"Well...What do you think, Steamlord?"
Sunrise began to talk to Steamlord in whispers, making both begin to converse and decide what to do. Finally, the human stood back up and said:
"I believe we have a deal. He gives an exceptional deal for a trip. We'll tell the griffons immediately and, as soon as my ship has repaired, we will leave immediately. Pack your things, ink. We leave as soon as possible."
"Packing? Packing what?"
"Y...Your clo...food and water? Books?" Sunrise answered awkwardly.
"Food and...water?"
The three visitors stared at Ink with utter dismay. He didn't need to eat OR drink? Steamlord became interested in the properties of his system while Twilight became crazy over the biological compounds and mechanics of its body.
"Whatever. We'll have to figure out a way to get through the mines again, especially with your security methods." Steamlord scolded.
"I had forgotten about them. I know a way that solids can use to get to the other side. I'll deactivate the defences."
Ink melted once more then climbed along the wall and through the ceiling. This gave the three time to talk.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight asked. "He's an unknown form of creature with a nack for building, well, weapons of mass destruction!" the unicorn cried out.
"Oh please. You don't even know what nuclear power is, so you most certainly don't know what WMDs are. Another form of insurance are my knights and the new addition."
"Speaking of, dad, why is he so...emotionless? I thought you would have installed a similar algorithm in him as the others to let him learn."
Sunrise questioned her father as she stared at Centurion, who was still looking straight. Its "eye" slid to the right to look directly at her, chilling her to the bone. She couldn't stress it enough, but it seemed way too different from the other two.
"I did. Don't forget that it took the other two seventy years to learn emotions, and it required another dimension to do so. I also know why you fear it. It won't have a sense of 'honor', or whatever trivial effect swords give, as it can destroy many things from afar. Don't you worry about Centurion. Nothing bad will happen."
The ink mechanic slid back down and readied itself for its eager trip. It couldn't wait.