The silver beams of the moon reflected off of Robocop's armor as he walked down the deserted streets of Canterlot, once again patrolling the area for any signs of crime. Flash Sentry walked besides him step for step, peeking into the darkness as best he could without the advanced technology that aided Robocop.
"I don't know what those humans back on your world put into that helmet, but if it can help you to see into those dark alleyways then I want one," Flash grumbled as he held a small light up to check an alleyway that Robocop had already determined was clear. Flash let out a grumble when he saw that it was empty and when he turned to see that Robocop had moved on he sighed as he ran to catch up with him. "You already knew it was empty, didn't you?"
"Correct."
"Then why bother letting me check? You know you could have just yelled over that it was empty and it would have saved me some effort," Flash asked.
"It is a good habit to double check, even if you are nearly certain that you were right the first time," Robocop answered professionally. "That is why I did not inform you."
"Thanks...for making me look like a tool," Flash grumbled under his breath so Robocop's receptors wouldn't pick up on his words. The two continued their walk through the city until they both came to a lip that revealed a sight of nearly all of Equestria off on the horizon, allowing the two to see for miles, and for Robocop a bit further. "It's amazing, isn't it?"
Robocop said nothing in reply as his sensors picked up the small amount of light that he could see across the land, informing him of where a town or city might be located. Then Robocop turned his gaze skyward to see the largest amount of stars that he had seen in his life without the city lights diluting them.
"I...never got the chance to thank you, for stopping the Lumberwolf," Flash softly said, Robocop turning his gaze from the stars to the pony next to him. "Without you there, we would have not only lost the fillies, but Twilight and I both might have been killed. You saved us again."
"It was a team effort officer. You rescued the fillies while I distracted the perp," Robocop reminded him, but all his words did was cause Flash to smirk in reply.
"Yeah, I saved them. Because you held off the creature, because you opened up the opening for me to get in...And my "rescue" wouldn't have mattered if you hadn't stopped the monster yourself," Flash bitterly admitted, hating himself for being so useless. "In the few days you've been here you've done more good than the royal guard in the last year. That shows you how much we matter."
"Every little bit helps officer. That is why we are a group and not a single unit." Flash nodded at his words, but his mood didn't improve at them. Then Flash remembered what had happened earlier in the day and he looked up at the robotic officer, a question on his mind.
"So...what happened there?" he asked Robocop, who didn't respond at first. "With the Sentinel. I mean, if you had lowered the gun it wouldn't have done anything, but instead you kinda...shot it's head clean off. What was that about?"
Recordings of past battles appeared before Robocop's eyes at the guard’s words, images of him battling giant machines that spoke in an eerily similar tone that the Sentinel had. Then he saw the images of the ED 209 firing upon him despite no evidence again him and Robocop being forced to bring it down.
"I didn't like it." Flash shut up at those words and decided to drop the questions there...until his common sense failed him and he had another question for the Robocop.
"Serve the public trust. Uphold the law. Protect the innocent. Those are your objectives right?"
"Incorrect. Those are my directives."
"There's a difference?" Robocop lowered his head as the directives appeared on the screen before him, reminding him of his duty.
"Correct. My directives dictate my actions and how I approach a situation. I follow them to the T. I have little choice," Robocop explained before he turned his head and looked up into the sky. "Good evening, Princess Twilight. How may I assist you?" Flash spun around and looked up to see Princess Twilight descending towards them.
"Good evening officer. Flash," Twilight said as she bowed slightly to Robocop before winking at Flash with a smile on her face. "I hate to bother the two of you, but I need to borrow Flash for something important. You wouldn't mind, would you officer?" Robocop considered it for a moment before Flash rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Actually Princess Twilight, I'm kinda on patrol right now, but I'm sure soon that I can-"
"There are two of us here officer, we can split the tasks," Robocop cut in before Flash could finish. "I can patrol the streets of the city alone. You can escort Princess Twilight to her destination." Flash flashed Robocop a grateful smile as Twilight wrapped a wing around him, the two walking off as Robocop stood by himself overlooking the land.
"Did you find out why he shot at Celestia's creation?" Twilight whispered to Flash once the two of them out of earshot.
"All he said was that he didn't like it, but I have the feeling that there's more to it than that," Flash muttered as he looked back at Robocop, who had placed his hands on the railing as he stared at the stars. "I'm not sure what to make of him. He said that ninety nine percent of his body was mechanical right? So...what's left of him? His heart? His brain? I just can't tell. He has his moments when I think there's a person underneath there, but the rest of the time...he's just as he described himself. A machine."
"I don't want to judge him; he's helped out a lot since he got here. Plus, I can't image what it would be like to be turned into a machine," Twilight said with a small shudder as she pressed herself closer to Flash. "Maybe we should ask him? He does kinda answer to me."
"I don't know. It seems like there's a terrible story behind that helmet."
Robocop marched along the streets alone, scanning as he had done before speaking with Flash. Yet most of his activities were done on autopilot, as he was lost deep within his memories, a place he rarely visited anymore. Images of him and his wife walking down the beach or when he spent time at a football game with his son, memories of his old life. With a shake of his head Murphy turned his thoughts away from his past and focused more on his patrol.
"Serve the public trust. Uphold the law. Protect the innocent," he reminded himself as he continued to march. He was a servant of the people, someone who they needed to keep them safe. That was his life now and he had accepted it. Just as he had finished thinking that he heard a faint cry for help, followed a moment later by a pony rushing out from around a building with a purse grasped between his teeth. The pony was far too busy checking behind him in case of pursuit that he never noticed Robocop until he ran face first into the officer’s metallic arm.
"You have the right to remain silent," Robocop instructed to the pony that was passed out on the ground, who gave him no reply. "Hmm, haven't seem someone exercise that right in a while." He then looked up at the sounds of running hooves to see a female pony followed by another that could have been related to her.
"Oh thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she rushed to Robocop, who bent down and lifted up the purse from the ground before offering it to her. "Thank you. I don't care so much about the bits but the medicine for my foal is in there. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stopped him!"
"It is alright ma'am, this is what I do," Robocop said, thinking about how this was his life. A life of helping people. It was not that bad. "I uphold the law." While the two ponies continued to thank Robocop, a shadow in the distance watched the spectacle with amused eyes and turning wheels. With a laugh that never escaped its lips it fled into the darkness to plan once again.
DPD
"Well sister, was he everything you thought he would be?" Luna pried as Celestia rested in a chair with her head up against the wall, thinking long and hard about what had happened during the meeting between Robocop and the Sentinel.
"He was pretty much as Twilight described him. Metallic and rigid, but with a strong moral code," Celestia mused to herself as she removed her head from the wall and looked at the small amount of the green magic on her desk. "Though his weapon is truly what interests me. Able to destroy a Sentinel with one shot...it's incredible how far humans have come since I was last there."
"Well you said it yourself, they prefer technology while we prefer magic," Luna reminded Celestia as she walked up beside her sister, looking down at the green energy. "Care to remind me why you’re using that kind of magic instead of our own?"
"Because this magic is easy to summon and it stays far longer than any of our spells. Yes it might not be as powerful as our magic, but it gets the job done," Celestia explained once again. "And no, I do not think it is a bad idea. Sombra will not want it because it is so inferior, yet the stone bodies will be able to overpower him. Besides, it is only temporary and I don't feel like using my own magic on a project that will last a year at most."
"You always do this sister when a problem arises. You think that we need some sort of magical ace in the hole to deal with the problem, then it all crashed down and we rely on Twilight and her friends," Luna joked as she prodded her sister’s shoulder, Celestia rolling her eyes as Luna laughed. "Like the time you thought it would be a good idea to use Discord to stop Tirek."
"Okay, I get the point. I do trust that Twilight and the others will defeat Sombra, but until the guard is ready to protect the ponies properly again as they did before, then I want a backup. This is my backup," Celestia sighed as she rested her hooves against her head. "Besides, if Robocop has taught me anything in the short time that he's been here it's that mechanical law enforcement can work. That machines can be just as good defenders as ponies."
"Yes, but he is only ninety nine percent a machine," Luna reminded her sister. "And I believe that that one percent of humanity plays a larger role than we believe."
"If you say so sister, but right now my biggest concern until Sombra is brought down is safety and that is why I stay up so late into your rule to finish these," Celestia yawned as he started working again.
"I'll bring you some coffee then or else you'll pass out on the desk again. Then I get some funny pictures to post around town," Luna said with a laugh as she left Celestia to her work, heading out to grab her a drink.
"Yes, these will hopefully keep the ponies safe," Celestia whispered as she looked over her designs again, making sure that there was no flaw that Sombra could exploit in them. "So will Twilight and the others. And hopefully Robocop, you will too."
\\\\>
Down the dark streets illuminated only by the light of the posts that were placed to show the way did a single pony walk, a smile on her face a she held her purse tight within her grasps while keeping an eye out in case of another mugger. But her good spirits couldn't be dampened by the thought of being mugged, for she was one of the few ponies in Canterlot that had met the only law enforcement officer that Twilight had appointed.
"I do need to get home though. My little Raindrop will be missing me," she muttered to herself as she turned a corner...and came face to face with a dark pony whose mere presence sent shivers down her spin and froze her with fright. He had a mane as black as the night and his horn upon his head was tipped with red, leaving no room for doubt who the pony was before her...and that she should be afraid.
"Hi there. I take it that I don't need to introduce myself?" Sombra asked with a smile, chuckling to himself when the pony couldn't answer him as fear overtook her completely. "That's fine, I don't need you to talk, just listen. I'm currently trying to destroy the princesses and take over all of Equestria for myself, yet I've run into two problems that I just can't seem to find a solution for. One is how to be rid of Twilight and her annoying group of friends and the other is that shiny new officer that is patrolling the streets."
Sombra vanished in a flash of smoke and appeared besides the pony, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder as he continued to talk. "I mean, my dark magic doesn't work against him and his firepower is far superior to anything that I can throw at him, so you see my dilemma. However, I know that he has to have a weakness and I believe that I'm onto something, yet I need something. I need a pony to help me fight him."
"A-are you kidding me? I would never work with you!" the mare yelled as she went to push him away, yet her hooves struck smoke as Sombra vanished and appeared behind her with a laugh.
"That's fine, because I don't need you to willingly fight with me," Sombra chuckled before his laugh became darker and far more menacing as he glared at her with his green eyes flashing. "As a matter of fact, this whole experiment centers around you being an innocent caught in the crossfire. Now what do you say?" Sombra laughed as his tendrils of dark magic began to seep into the mare, who couldn't even scream as Sombra forced her under his will, a single tear escaping her before Sombra's influence consumed her.