The Robotic Hero of Canterlot High

by TriforceAndroid

Chapter 2: Unexpected Help

After Sunset led Dew Drop to the next location on the tour, she looked at her phone and asked him, "So you're starting classes tomorrow? I hope you aren't too overwhelmed. Am I going too fast?"

Dew Drop smiled at her. "Not at all," he answered. "This tour has been very helpful. In all honesty, this is a lot better than my old school."

He felt a wave of gratitude wash over him as he noticed that there was not a single poster that encouraged bullying towards cyborgs and halfling. Geez! Those posters were so disgusting. I get that cyborgs tend to lose their humanity after they… well, become cyborgs. But that's only because they allow the machine part of them to take over. Halfling, on the other hand, are still mostly human.

Sunset gave Dew Drop a warm smile. "Don't worry, everyone here was new once. Feel free to chat anyone up; the school has undergone a positive upswing lately."

Suddenly one of the lockers on the side of the room swung open, and a pink girl with frizzy pink hair popped out.

"Hi, Sunset! Have you seen anyone new around today? My elbow and nose started itching and that means there's someone new here at CHS!"

Sunset shook her head with a laugh. "He's right here. I was just giving him the tour."

Dew Drop yelped and jumped back at the sight of a girl with frizzy hair popping out from one of the lockers. As she spoke in a really fast and excited voice, he tried his best to hold back any laughter that was building up. Whoa! That was startling. But I can't help but smile.

The pink girl gasped loud and long before grabbing Dew Drop's hand and wringing it thoroughly. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, the head of the party planning committee! Welcome to CHS, you're going to love it here!"

Dew Drop was amazed by how cheerful this girl named Pinkie Pie was. He smiled and chuckled a little. "Well, it's nice to meet you Pinkie Pie," he said with a friendly grin. "I'm not gonna lie! That was the most cheerful greeting I have ever received in nine years!"

"Nine years?" Pinkie repeated. "That’s an oddly specific number. Were you held prisoner by some evil enchantress for nine years before escaping?"

Dew Drop giggled before shaking his head. "No way," he answered before frowning a little. "Let's just say that almost everyone where I'm from was… too quick to judge for not being like them."

Though, strangely enough, he thought. I do have a foe named Cyber Enchantress. I don't think she needs to know that right now.

"Aw, that sounds like a sad place to be," Pinkie hugged Dew Drop for a moment. "But don't worry, I bet everything will be much better for you now that you're no longer at… where did you say you came from?"

Dew Drop smiled at the hug. Then his frown came back as he hung his head. "Metal City," he answered quietly.

"Metal… City?" Sunset said. "I don't think I've ever been there."

"Me neither," Pinkie added. "Although if Dew Drop is happy to be away from it, then I don't know if I want to visit at all."

"You have no idea," said Dew Drop. "I think it's better if you don't hear about Metal City for now."

"Alright, if you say so," Sunset agreed. "Well, we just need to head to the cafeteria to conclude the tour. Right this way?" She beckoned to Dew Drop.

"I'll see you later, alligator!" Pinkie chirped before skipping off down the hall.

"After a while, crocodile," said Dew Drop with a grin. He then followed Sunset to the cafeteria.He decided to try and make a conversation with Sunset since he was curious about Pinkie. "So, is Pinkie one of your friends? She seems very cheerful and friendly.”

“She is indeed!” Sunset told him. “Pinkie’s probably one of the most welcoming people in the school. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants to throw a welcome to Canterlot High party for you.”

The young halfling smiled at the thought. “Wow!” He said. “She sounds like a very sweet girl! Sweeter than… um… a Hershey’s bar!”

“That’s one way to put it!” Sunset laughed. “Anyway, here’s the cafeteria. The lunch lady’s the grandma of one of my friends, Applejack. She’s a genius of a cook too. Makes some of the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted.”

“Ooh,” said Dew Drop while wiping away a little drool. “Just hearing that makes me feel hungry!”

Sunset smiled at that, then took a small bow. “And thus concludes the tour of Canterlot High,” she declared. “Any questions?”

He thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, I think I got it,” he answered. “I just hope that I have a good time here! Thank you for the tour, Sunset!” He lifted up his left arm for her to shake it. I’d rather not have her find out that I’m a halfling right now.

Sunset didn’t seem to think anything of it and shook Dew Drop’s hand. “Well, feel free to hang around if you want. I’ve got to get back to class, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” she then gave Dew Drop a friendly wave and began to walk back towards her classroom.

Dew Drop waved back at her with a smile. “Well, she was very nice,” he said to himself. He placed his hands into his pockets and felt something smooth and oval-shaped. He pulled the object out and saw an ocarina. “Oh, right! I almost forgot about that! Hmm… I think I’ll go to the music room and play a little music.”

Remembering where the music room was from the recent tour, Dew Drop easily found his way there and saw that it was empty. “Huh,” he said. “Looks like there’s no music class at this hour. Oh, well!” He pulled up a chair and sat down in it. Then, he began to play a rather soothing tune on his ocarina: The Aquescent Symphony, a remix of Zelda’s Serenade of Water.

As Dew Drop finished the song a little while later, he looked up to see a woman with blue skin and lilac and deep purple hair standing in the doorway to the music room, watching him. She noticed him looking at her and clapped softly.

“That was quite beautiful,” she said. “Sorry if I startled you. I am vice-principal Luna; I was just passing by when I heard you playing your instrument.”

“Oh, no worries,” he said, rubbing the back of his head shyly. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to hear that. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Vice-Principal Luna. My name is Dew Drop!”

“My sister told me that we would be receiving a new student,” Luna said. “Have you already been shown around the campus? If not, I can do that right now.”

Dew Drop smiled at her. “I actually received a tour from Sunset Shimmer,” he said. But I wouldn’t mind walking with you. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

Luna and Dew Drop left the music room and walked through the mostly empty halls of the school. She didn’t seem to be leading him anywhere in particular just yet.

“That instrument you were playing,” Luna said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. What is it?”

“Oh, this is an ocarina,” he answered. “I’ve had this instrument with me ever since I was six! I would often play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on my N64! After playing the ocarina in the game a lot, I decided that I wanted to own one. So, on my sixth birthday, my dad bought me this! It even looks like the Ocarina of Time! I would play soothing songs if I was ever sad!”

“That’s a touching story,” Luna smiled at Dew Drop. “So you live with your father, then? He sounds like a good man.”

Dew Drop’s smile vanished as he stopped walking and hung his head. Shadows covered his eyes and his lips trembled a little. “No,” he answered. “Not anymore. I used to, along with the rest of my family.” He managed to hold back any tears that threatened to leak from his eyes. “But… they’re all gone now. Including the city I used to live ine.”

Luna stopped too and went back to where Dew Drop was standing and embraced him. “Oh, you poor boy,” she murmured, holding him close. “I didn’t know. You’re from Metal City, aren’t you?”

Dew Drop felt safe in her embrace before nodding. “Y-yeah,” he said, trying not to cry. “I-I’m the last one. The only survivor of Metal City. If only… Android was strong enough to save everyone.”

“I remember seeing Metal City on the news,” Luna said quietly. “I’m sorry to have brought up painful memories for you. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but don’t worry. You’re safe now, and we take care of our own here at Canterlot High.”

The young halfling smiled a little at her kind words. “Th-thank you,” he said gratefully. “A-and no worries. You didn’t know, that’s all.” He glanced at his right arm with unease.

“Wait, but if only you made it out of Metal City, then where are you staying?” Luna drew back a little bit. She looked Dew Drop over and took note of his somewhat ragged appearance. “You do have a place to stay, don’t you?”

Dew Drop shook his head with unease. “I’ve been trying to get a job in order to rent a place,” he admitted. “But, no luck so far. I guess life is a lot harder than I thought.”

Luna’s face grew stern. “This will not do at all. Come on,” she stood up and took Dew Drop’s hand in her own. “We are going to see my sister about this. I won’t stand by while a youth like you is struggling so much. Ever since my niece moved out, we’ve had this empty room in our house. You can stay with us, if Celestia agrees. And she will.”

Dew Drop’s face went into shock. “Celestia is your sister?!” He asked. “Whoa! Um… a-are you sure about me staying with you? I d-don’t want to be a bother.”

“It would bother me more if I didn’t help someone who was in need,” Luna reassured Dew Drop. “You’ve lost your home and your family; giving you somewhere to stay is the least I can do.”

He felt very relieved that this lady that he had just met was willing to help. Not even my step-mom was this kind, he thought. “W-well, okay then,” he said. “Thank you, Vice-principal Luna!”

“What kind of Vice-Principal would I be if I didn’t take care of my students?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. “My sister’s office is just up ahead. After school is over, we’ll take you back home.”
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True to her word, once the final bell rang for classes to be over, Luna came back into Celestia’s office to fetch Dew Drop. The principal herself had agreed easily to her sister’s request, and she even seemed happier to know that Dew Drop would be staying with them from today onward.

After a short drive, Luna pulled her car into the driveway of a large, two-storey house.

Dew Drop was deep in thought. I never thought I would ever meet any adults who were just as kind as my dad. Even the people who worked on the Android Project were not that friendly. They seemed to be only tolerable towards me. He glanced up at Celestia and Luna with a small smile. Man, Celestia seems more motherly than my step-mom, and Luna is incredibly nice.

As the car pulled up into the driveway, he looked up and saw the house. “Whoa,” he muttered. “Now that’s a very lovely house!”

“Thank you,” Luna said, turning off the engine and leading Dew Drop inside. “I’ll show you to your new room. I hope you don’t mind the smell of perfume; my niece used so much during her dating life that the place kind of smells like it permanently.”

Dew Drop smiled and chuckled. “It’s not a problem,” he said. “If anything, it beats the smell of rust and oil any day of the week.” Considering that Metal City was filled with rusted iron and old broken machines, it was no surprise that it wasn’t very pleasant in its smell.

Luna took Dew Drop up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. On the far left was a door with the name ‘Cadance’ on it. This was where Luna led Dew Drop to.

“Sorry about the name plate,” Luna admitted. “Celestia didn’t want to take it down even after Cadance got married and moved into her husband’s home. I expect you can replace it with whatever you want.”

He smiled and nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m guessing Cadance was a very nice girl. I guess I can’t blame Celestia for not taking the name plate.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe I’ll use a name plate that is Zelda-themed.”

“We can go shopping on the weekend for one,” Luna suggested. “In the meantime, I hope you can get settled in. The furniture is kind of… pink, but the bed is still good, if a little flowery scented. We’ll get dinner after Celestia gets home. Is that alright with you?”

Dew Drop nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan,” he said. “I don’t know how much I can say, ‘Thank you!’ I’m just very grateful for this!”

“Think nothing of it,” Luna chuckled. “It will be nice to have a bit more liveliness in the house after so much time in silence. Celestia always did complain that our home life is too boring for her tastes.”

The young halfling let out a chuckle of his own. “Well, I guess I can’t blame her!” He said. “A little bit of quiet is okay. But we all need excitement every once in a while, don’t we?”

“Indeed,” Luna reached into her pocket and took out a key. “Here’s a key to the house, in case you feel like going out or coming here while Celestia and I are still at work. Just don’t throw any wild parties and I think we’ll all get along just fine.” She gave Dew Drop the key.

“Thanks again,” said Dew Drop. “And don’t worry. I’ve never once thrown a party before! I get nervous about the party going out of control if I ever throw one.” He had a thought of why else he wouldn't throw a wild party. That, and the fact that the Cyber Force is attracted to wild parties due to the chaos and negativity.

“I’ll leave you to settle in, then,” Luna patted Dew Drop on the shoulder. “I’ve some paperwork to sort out. Give me a shout if you need anything, alright?”

“Will do,” he said with a smile. As soon as Luna left, he went to the bed and fell into it with a sigh. “Oh, yeah! That feels so much better than laying in a box with just a blanket.” He looked up at the ceiling and felt sleepy. “Geez, this bed is so soft that I could fall asleep. Well, I guess a little nap won’t hurt.”

Slowly, he began to close his eyes. As he fell asleep, he felt that he was truly at home.

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Hey, a new chapter! Good stuff.
I do have a question, though: Why is the Cyber Force attracted to chaos and negativity? Are they like Windigoes?

[TriforceAndroid]

11057079
Sort of. They're powered by a black core that gets strong with negative energy.

Think of it like the red core from the Astro Boy movie.

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

11057197
I see! That sounds like a rather dangerous design choice. Were these cyborgs designed to use such a core from the beginning, or was it a later modification?

[TriforceAndroid]

11057289
They were supposed to be a peace group. Until one cyborg told them peace was impossible. The black core came by and was used as a power source, which corrupted them.

Luckily, Android has a white core that's more positive and has no way to harm life.

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

11057296
That sounds like a problem that Dew Drop will have to solve. I look forward to learning about these cores and how they came to be. Keep on writing!