The dew was still on the grass and leaves as Robocop marched through the practically empty streets of Ponyville, knowing that even the most beautiful of days could still hold the ugliness of crime. With no desire to sleep and not caring much for the "food" that sustained him, Robocop had decided to patrol his new beat and memorize areas and locals. Though he was not alone in his patrol, as Flash Sentry (who had also been up at the crack of dawn) had tagged along with the officer.
"Man, even the most hardcore guards are rarely up this early in the morning," Flash yawned as he sleepily walked alongside Robocop, finding that the officer rarely ever slowed down...and that he never sped up. "Do you ever sleep?" Robocop did not answer right away, as he was focused on taking in his surroundings and adding them to his databanks, but when he did have no new information he turned his head to Sentry.
"I do shut down for maintenance, but other than that no, I do not need sleep." Flash frowned at that statement, still amazed that the human (as Twilight had called him) was more of a machine that he was living being, despite looking somewhat like one. "Now it is my turn to inquire. Why did you follow me when the others remained asleep and safe?"
"W-well...to see how operated," Flash admitted as Robocop scanned a large statue of a horse that had been made to honor the horse, but the engraving indicated to him that whoever the statue had been modeled after had constructed the tribute. "I mean come on, you're not only a...human from another world, but you're a guard as well. Why would I not follow you?"
"You do realize that we will most likely run into scum and in your state you would be in danger?" Flash scoffed at his statement.
"And you need to realize that you're in Ponyville. Swarm of parasprites? Sure. Attack by four headed monsters? Here that's Tuesday. But the one thing you rarely see in this small town is crime," Flash said with a smile as he looked around at all of the buildings, Robocop following his gaze all the while questioning why most of them had bats or spiders or other odd items on them.
"Why are the buildings decorated in such a manner?" Robocop asked Flash, snapping him out of his thoughts. "If it is such a peaceful place, then why adorn the houses with such odd items?"
"Nightmare night's coming up. What? Don’t know what that is? Come on, have you never heard of nightmare night?" Flash asked him with a smirk, but when Robocop gave him the same emotionless face as an answer, he figured he didn't. "Nightmare night is a one time a year event where ponies go out into the streets dressed in scary outfits and go from door to door gathering candy from ponies. Mostly only fillies gather the candy, but most everypony dresses up. It's to celebrate...I guess...Nightmare Moon. Or Luna, now that she's back."
"From your description it sounds similar to a holiday humans take part in, called Hallowe-" Robocop's words died as images began to flash through his mind of a woman chasing around a boy, a boy who was dressed like a devil and laughing as his mother chased him around. Murphy saw the boy and the mother both turn to face him before the memory ended, staggering the officer who had to lean against a building to keep from falling over.
"Whoa, you okay?" Flash asked him as Robocop righted himself, shaking his head slightly as he tried to recover from the images and the surge of...emotion that had washed through him upon their surfacing. He tightened his fists and forced himself to move forward again, keeping the memories locked away.
"I am fine, just a small hiccup in my system," Robocop responded as he turned back to where he had been walking to see a pink pony standing before him. "May I help you citizen?"
"Okay, I've been working for a day straight and only now do I realize that I have no idea what you like," Pinkie rapidly said as Robocop contemplated where she had appeared from. "I mean, if I'm going to make a party for you I have to theme it in a way so that you will enjoy it. Soooo, what do you like?"
"Justice," Robocop responded, getting a giggle out of Pinkie.
"I know that, but what else? Do you like bowling? How about dancing? Do you like dancing? Come on, what does somepony like you do for fun?"
"I am programmed to uphold the law and protect the innocent," Robocop dryly responded, Pinkie raising an eyebrow at his answer. "I am not programmed to have...fun." The statement paused Robocop, but only for a moment. He walked by Pinkie, who was still giving him a look, as Flash followed him.
"So where you heading now?"
"Princess Twilight recommended visiting the citizen known as Fluttershy. Her cottage is my next destination. Please clarify your statement earlier about Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon," Robocop asked.
"Sigh...it's a long story, but I’ll make it quick for you. Princess Celestia and Luna ruled Equestria together over a thousand years ago until Luna became jealous of the fact that more ponies seemed to love Celestia than her. Her jealousy then turned her into a monster named Nightmare Moon and she tried to overthrow Celestia. Celestia defeated her and banished her to the moon for a thousand years, whereas she has only recently returned."
"Intriguing story, yet why allow Nightmare Moon back if she tried to overthrow the kingdom once before?"
"Well she's Luna now, no longer Nightmare Moon. She's fine." Robocop did not see the reasoning in how simply changing ones name meant that they were no longer the same person, but then he realized that that was a question he had asked himself before.
"At least she is under the watchful eye of Princess Celestia and the royal guard," Robocop said, but Flash responded in a way he wasn't expecting when the sentry snorted with a look of disdain. "That was not a reaction I was expecting from one who is in the guard. Explain."
"It's...the Royal Guard is a joke, don't let any other pony tell you differently," Flash muttered with a shake of his head. "You saw most of our guard’s true colors the other day when we were abandoned in battle. Most guards nowadays are lazy, arrogant and cowards. Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, is one of the good one and I like to think of myself as a good one as well, but other than that, there aren't that many."
"You remained to uphold the law and defend the innocent when the other guards had fled. That makes you a good cop in my books."
"Thanks...it goes on from there though. The royal guard doesn't really do anything anymore. Hell, we rely on Twilight and her friends most of the time whenever something goes wrong. No don't get me wrong I looooo...-respect Princess Twilight, but what she does is what we should be doing. Yet all we guards do is stand around and look important, not that we actually are. Heh, you must have had it easier in your world, with how advanced you seemed to be."
"You are mistaken. Most of the cops in my city were either bought out, threatened or went on strike when they did not like when Omnicorp bought them, leaving the city defenseless against looters, murders, rapists and thieves," Robocop responded before his mouth thinned. "But they were right. Some of the higher ups at Omnicorp could not be trusted. I found that out the hard way."
Flash was still trying to wrap his mind around what Robocop had just said. "So why didn't you go on strike with them if you realized Omnicorp, whatever that is, was evil? Didn't want to leave the streets unprotected?"
"...I am programmed to uphold the law. Therefore, I cannot quit, retire or strike as it goes against my programming," Robocop responded. "I enforce the law twenty four seven without rest or break. It is what I do." Flash looked at Robocop with disbelief at his response.
"So...when can you finally stop enforcing the law? I mean, you have to quit sometime?"
"I will cease to be an officer of the law when some lucky punk manages to kill me," Robocop deadpanned to the horror of Flash Sentry. "And that is the most positive outlook on how I will meet my end."
"Man...That’s terrible. But they can't do that to you, right? I mean, you have to have some rights?" Flash asked.
"I am clinically dead. The dead do not have rights."
"But what about your family? Surely they would speak up or something?" Flash said to him, before Robocop turned to give him a cold look.
"I have no family." Flash asked a couple of more questions, but Robocop remained silent for the rest of the walk, only looking up again once the two of them had reached Fluttershy's cottage. Robocop walked up to the door and knocked on it three times, stepping back as a yellow Pegasus opened the door.
"Yes, may I...?" she began before her eyes went wide as she took in what was standing before her. Her blue eyes slowly looked up from the legs to the torso and finally to the helmeted head of the human, growing larger with each passing moment.
"Hello miss, I am Robocop," Robocop introduced, offering his hand to Fluttershy. Flash (who only knew of Fluttershy mostly from Twilight) expected her to scream and run away. But to his surprise Fluttershy gently stuck out her hoof and shook the officer’s hand before smiling up at him.
"Hello. I am Fluttershy. Twilight sent me a letter telling me all about you," Fluttershy said meekly before brushing her mane out of her eyes, Flash noticing that she looked at Robocop with a hint of interest in her eyes. "Would you please come inside? I would like to talk with you a little before I go on that trip with Pinkie in a few days."
"Wait, on a trip? Are you sure the two of you should be leaving town with Sombra around?" Flash asked her. "It won't be safe."
"Don't worry, Discord will be with us and he promised that he'll keep us safe," Fluttershy said with a smile before hanging her head. "Of course, if it wasn't a family matter we wouldn't go at all, not with Sombra around. But back to matters at hoof, please come inside."
"I am sorry ma'am, but I must continue my patrol of the town," Robocop replied as he turned on his scanner, having realized that in a land with limited technology the state of the art systems within him would not be as effective. He would have to patrol the old fashioned way. "If I am not there when the citizens need me, then I have failed in all regards. Please excuse me."
"Alright, I’ll come with you," Fluttershy said with a smile as she stepped out of her doorway. "Alright everyone, I’ll be back a little later. Angel, you're in charge. But don't let me hear about how you've gone mad with power again or you'll sleep outside. Shall we get going?"
"I am sorry miss, but I cannot allow a citizen to follow me into potentially dangerous zones," Robocop said. Fluttershy looked up at him for a moment before she walked over to Flash and smiled at him.
"Fine. I'll go with him then. Now shall we all be going?"
Flash could have sworn that Robocop almost smiled at Fluttershy's response, but any hint of emotion was gone in an instant when he turned and walked off back towards the town. Flash and Fluttershy conversed about how things were going and about their activities and for hours the walked around with Shy showing them the sights, but all the while Flash was certain that Robocop was listening to them yet he never once spoke up.
"Have you visited the school yet?" Fluttershy eventually asked him, drawing the officer back into their conversation. "Twilight told me how you rescued Applebloom, Sweetie and Scootaloo and I was wondering if you would like to see their school?"
"I am on patrol. I cannot allow myself to be distracted."
"Oh please? I'm sure that they would love to see you. School should just be getting out, so you won't have to worry about interrupting them," Fluttershy insisted as she batted her eyes at him, but it was to no avail. "Fine, but isn't the schoolyard an area that you would have to patrol anyway? Why not just head their now and check it out, since you haven't seen it before?"
Those words seemed to work on Robocop as he allowed Fluttershy to lead him in the direction of the schoolyard, but with his slow speed Flash and Fluttershy would themselves walking ahead of him most of the time, especially when he stopped to completely take in a new area.
"So, why do you keep looking at Robocop like that?" Fluttershy asked Flash while the two of them waited for Robocop to catch up with them, the school house within visible over the hill.
"What eyes? What are you talking about?" Flash asked her in response, moving away from her eyes, which seemed to be more observant than he remembered.
"You look at him like you don't know what to make of him, yet I see hints of admiration in your eyes," Fluttershy observed as Flash turned away from her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Flash grumbled as Robocop finally joined them again, Fluttershy shrugging her shoulders before the three of them walked over to the school. But Robocop knew that there would be trouble before the students were within his sight from the sounds of the screams, not the screams of someone in danger, but the screams and yells that people gave off when they were watching two people fight.
"Oh dear," Fluttershy gasped as the other two saw what Robocop had known from his experience. There were a circle of foals that created a ring around more foals, three others to be precise. Those three fillies were brawling in the mud outside of the school house, one of whom he recognized, the other two he did not. From the bow and the color of her coat Robocop identified one of the fillies as Applebloom, who was currently beating both a silver and a pink filly into the dirt with little effort. "We really should break them up, they shouldn't be-"
Robocop stepped forward and walked right through the foals that surrounded the three combatants, turning the yells and jeers into screams of horror as he walked past the foals. The three fillies all stopped fighting the moment that he came to a stop in front of them, but to make sure it stayed that way he said to them,
"Cease this now. Or answer to me."