The Robotic Hero of Canterlot High

by TriforceAndroid

Chapter 7: Hero or Vigilante?

Author's Note:

Here's the next chapter. A new challenger has arrived.

“You’re home!” Celestia exclaimed as Dew Drop walked into the house. “How was the meeting with Captain Armor?”

Dew Drop looked up at her and said, “Well, the meeting took a slight turn. I found out that Cyber Dragon… was somehow… killed.” He shivered at the thought of the dead cyborg. Just thinking about it made him feel like throwing up.

Celestia gasped, but Luna was less moved.

“Well, he did try to hurt a lot of people at the mall, not to mention putting people’s lives in danger with his rampage,” Luna said. “I don’t know if he deserved to die, but at least now he won’t be any more trouble to anybody. You know how the saying goes: those who kill should be prepared to be killed.”

“W-well, even if that’s true, I didn’t want to kill him,” said Dew Drop, feeling a bit annoyed by what Luna said. “I wanted to try and save him. Even if some people consider me to be a vigilante, I still want to be a hero. A hero’s job is to SAVE people, not KILL people! That includes the bad guys. Even if some of these bad guys deserve to die, it’s not my job to kill them.”

He then sat down on the couch and clutched his head. “I want to know who killed him,” he said in a slightly angry tone. “I want to find them and confront them!”

Luna looked like she wanted to disagree, but said nothing more. Instead she got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a plate of food.

"You've had a long day, and you're probably tired," Celestia patted Dew Drop on the shoulder. "Why don't we just leave work for now and just relax?"

Dew Drop took a deep breath and nodded. “Right,” he said. “That’ll help.” Deep down, he felt incredibly angry. Not just at Cyber Dragon’s death. But also at the fact that he would never have the chance to save him.

The TV was turned on and the three of them sat in front of it as a weather report came on. There was supposed to be a slight drizzle tomorrow but mostly overcast.

"That'll be good," Celestia mentioned. "Coach Spitfire was thinking about organizing a track meeting tomorrow and nobody likes to run in hot weather."

“I can imagine,” said Dew Drop. “Running in hot weather to sweat uncontrollably? No thank you! And that’s coming from someone who likes to take walks.”

“Oh! Before I forget,” Celestia got up and went over to the door, where there was a cardboard box. “The pop culture shop sent these over. They’re the name plates you were working on before the… incident. Free of charge.”

Dew Drop smiled widely and opened the box. The first nameplate had a picture of Batman fighting the Joker with “Luna” written on it. The second one had a Charizard with “Celestia” written in a fiery font. Finally, the third one had a picture of Deku posing heroically with “Dew Drop” written in the “My Hero Academia” font.

“Did you design these?” Luna asked, picking up the name plate with her name on it. “They’re quite good! Even got my favorite comic series.”

“I certainly did,” said the cyborg with a happy voice. “I had a little help in knowing what you both liked.” He winked knowingly at Celestia. “I’m glad you like yours, Luna!”

“I’ll go put it up after the news,” Luna smiled. “And Tia, I thought you said you were over that pocket monster thing.”

Celestia laughed a little embarrassed. “Well, maybe not completely.”

Dew Drop chuckled at the principal of CHS. “I can’t really blame her,” he said. “There are still things from my childhood that I’m not completely over.”

“You’re not that old yet,” Luna ruffled Dew Drop’s hair with one hand. “You should take the time you have now and enjoy things. Goodness knows you don’t have the time when you’re older.”

After the news ended, Luna got up to affix her name plate to her bedroom door. They stayed up talking a little bit longer, then went to sleep to prepare for the next day.
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Dew Drop sat in the music room by himself, once again playing his ocarina. This time, in order to help him get over the rather traumatizing revelation of Cyber Dragon’s death, he chose to play another soothing Zelda song: the Song of Healing. As he played the song, he felt more calm and at peace. All of his anger and regret melted away. Unknown to him, however, a certain group of girls were passing by and heard the music being played.

The Rainbooms stood in the doorway to the music room, holding their instruments but didn’t say a word to interrupt the music that was currently being played. Only once the song ended did they begin to applaud Dew Drop’s performance.

Dew Drop jumped a little at the sound of applause. He looked towards the door of the music room and saw the Rainbooms clapping. He blushed a little. “O-oh,” he said. “I didn’t know you girls were there. Um… how long have you all been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you have tremendous talent, darling!” Rarity exclaimed. “That was a marvelous song you just played.”

“Song of Healing, right?” Sunset asked. “It’s a Zelda classic.”

“Y-yup,” he answered. He was blushing a lot at Rarity’s compliment. “The Song of Healing is one of the best Zelda songs ever. The soothing melody has a way to calm you down after a traumatizing event.”

“Is that so?” Fluttershy came forward. “Did you, um, experience a traumatizing event? Is that why you’re playing?”

“Nonsense,” Rarity said. “He’s just playing it because it’s a beautiful song, right?”

There was a moment of silence as they waited for Dew Drop to answer.

“Um… yeah,” he said. “Well, I did learn about something that really disturbed me. Um… I don’t want to go into any details about what happened, so I’ll just say that it was really traumatizing!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Fluttershy asked, sitting beside Dew Drop. “A trouble shared is a trouble halved.”

“Um…” He felt very unsure about what to say. He wanted to tell them, but would they be as accepting as Celestia and Luna?

“If you don’t wanna tell us, you don’t have to,” Applejack chimed in. “We won’t force anything out of you.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Applejack,” he said. “Maybe I’ll tell you all about it when I feel ready.”

“That’s fine,” Sunset nodded. “Well, we were going to practice for a bit. Nothing serious, though. Twilight’s not here; she went to some kind of science showcase in the city. Something about a rocket.”

“Wanna stick around and listen to us?” Rainbow strummed her guitar strings.

Dew Drop nodded. “Yeah,” he said before sending a quick text to Celestia and Luna. “I’ve got nothing better to do!”

“Alright, let’s play!”

The Rainbooms played their instruments like the day before, only this time Rainbow Dash took over lead vocals, since Twilight wasn’t present. The song this time was a slower one, titled ‘Shine like Rainbows’.

Dew Drop listened to them play their song and smiled widely. My goodness, he thought. This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard outside the Zelda franchise!

The girls finished their song and lowered their instruments.

“I wish Twilight was here to join us,” Sunset lamented. “But I think we did alright on our own. What do you think, Dew Drop?”

“You girls were amazing,” he answered with a grin. “You all have some amazing talent!”

“Well, we already knew that,” Rainbow smirked. “But I know we’re all glad you enjoyed it. Now we have to- What was that?”

The room grew quiet as a faint scream came from outside.

Dew Drop leapt to his feet in alert. Before the girls could say anything, he raced towards the source of the sound. Outside the school, he saw one of the students, a girl who he knew as Derpy Hooves, being attacked by a rather massive cyborg. He was the size of a house with black bulking armor. His chest symbol was a very angry rage emoji. Dew Drop shivered at the sight of this evil foe: The Cyborg of Wrath, Cyber Fury!

“GRRRRRR,” growled the giant cyborg. “HUMANS EVIL! CYBER FURY HATE YOU! CYBER FURY KILL YOU!!!! RAAAAAAAA!”

Dew Drop quickly ran to the boys restroom. “Time to armor up,” he said. He pressed his armor activation button and took on the form of Android. He quickly raced outside to face Cyber Fury.

Meanwhile, Derpy was trembling in fear as the giant monster loomed over her. “W-what did I do wrong?” She asked while on the verge of crying.

Cyber Fury growled. “YOU! HUMAN!” He roared. “CYBER FORCE HATE HUMANS!” He raised his fists up, ready to crush Derpy. Derpy closed her tear-filled eyes, awaiting to be crushed.

But… it never happened! She suddenly felt herself being picked up and taken away from the spot. She opened her eyes and stared in awe. Holding her bridal style with a heroic smile on his face was Android! He carried her to the sidelines and set her down.

“It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “You’re safe now!” He patted her head. “Now, stay right there, okay? I’ve got a big monster with an anger issue to deal with.” With that, he drew his beam sword out and charged to where Cyber Fury was.

“Cyber Fury,” he called out. “You have been enraged with murdery intentions towards humans for far too long!” He pointed his sword at the Cyborg of Wrath. “Your time of terrorizing people ends now!”

Cyber Fury turned towards the hero of courage and growled. “ANDROID ALIVE!” He roared. “ANDROID DIE!” With a roar of rage, he charged towards Android and slammed his fists onto the ground with the intent of crushing him. But Android was quicker than he looked. He leapt out of the way and grabbed his opponent, throwing him at least fifty feet away from the school.

Now that the students were out of danger for the time being, Android was able to fight his opponent without the fear of anyone getting hurt during the battle.

“Alright, Cyber Fury,” he said bravely. “Now it’s just you and me!”

Cyber Fury roared in anger once again. He charged towards the hero of courage. The two cyborgs collided with each other as giant fist and beam sword clashed against each other, creating a shockwave. They both glared at each other before leaping back. Android raced around his opponent, looking for a weak spot.

Meanwhile, the students made it to the front of the school and watched the fight unfold. A lot of them were in awe at the sight of Android. Others were more focused on Cyber Fury and quivering in fear.

As the two cyborgs fought, a couple of the students’ attention was caught by something bright in the sky near the city end of Canterlot. It looked like a tiny silver pencil trailing flame and smoke, going up into space. A rocket.

“That must be what Twilight was gone to see,” Sunset said as it went up and out of sight. Then she remembered the battle that was unfolding near the school.

Cyber Fury’s attention was also captured by the rocket, and he paused to look at it.

Android also noticed the rocket. “What the heck is that?” He muttered. He shook his head. “No, I can’t focus on that. I have to beat Cyber Fury!”

Cyber Fury turned his attention back to the hero of courage. “CYBER FURY KILL ANDROID!” He roared. He picked up a chunk of concrete and threw it at Android, who responded by stabbing it. Because of this powerful stab, the piece of concrete exploded into tiny pieces. Unfortunately, this left him wide open for an attack! Cyber Fury wasted no time and punched Android in the stomach. Android flew back and ended up crashing through five cars. He groaned as he got up and looked towards the students.

“I’m sorry to everyone who owned these cars,” he said. “Please, give my apologies to any car insurance companies involved.”

Cyber Fury loomed over Android, raising his huge fists to bring down on his opponent’s form. Android quickly leapt out of the way as the fists came down. He sliced away at him, hoping to find a weak spot. He leapt over him and saw what appeared to be a square cover, supposedly hiding some wiring for the armor. He quickly leapt to it and pried it off.

Cyber Fury roared once more and tried to pry Android off. But Android had a very firm grip and drove his robotic arm into the circuitry. Electricity shot through his armor, but he ignored the pain and pulled at the wires. Soon, Cyber Fury’s armor began to act up.

“NO!” Cyber Fury yelled. “ANDROID NO TOUCH ME! NO ONE TOUCH ARMOR!” He tried to maintain control of his armor, but it was no use at all. “NO! CYBER FURY NO GO DOWN! NOOOOOOOOO!”

Soon, the armor short-circuited and Cyber Fury stopped moving. Android pried the armor open to reveal Cyber Fury’s true form: A very short cyborg with thin armor and the same symbol on his chest. Tiny Cyber Fury threw his fists in anger. “No fair!” He shouted in a very tiny and high-pitched voice. “Cyber Fury no lose to you! Cyber Fury will…”

Android rolled his eyes and flicked him on the forehead. “Oh, zip it,” he said. “Cyber Fury? More like Cyber Temper Tantrum.”

Suddenly, Derpy appeared in front of his face, making him jump back in surprise. “Wow,” she said. “You’re so amazing! Thanks for saving me, mister… Um…”

“Oh, right,” said Android. “My name is Android. And… no problem…” His face turned into shock at one fact: Derpy just thanked him for saving her. He smiled a little before he felt a tear roll down his cheek, causing Derpy to stare at him with concern. As soon as he realized that there was a tear on his cheek, he quickly wiped it away.

As he opened his mouth to tell Derpy just how much that mean, he heard a scream. A scream from Cyber Fury.

He turned to look and saw a figure in a white coat stabbing Cyber Fury with a pair of glowing blades that came out of their forearms, before retracting one and plunging the hand through his chest, ripping out the black core inside in a shower of sparks.

The crowd gathered gasped and stepped back as the figure in white straightened up, examining the black core with a face that was hidden under a hood. The figure in white turned their head to look at Android. Under the hood there was a sort of white mask in the shape of a wolf’s head. Then they began to walk away, the students parting before its stride.

“Wait, stop,” Android called out, running towards him. “What did you just do to him?” He gasped in realization as a look of rage filled his face. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who killed Cyber Dragon, aren’t you?!” He drew out his sword once more. “Who are you? Why did you kill him and Cyber Fury?!”

The figure in the wolf mask turned around. In a metallic voice, they said, “I’m doing what you won’t. Time and time again you defeat these creatures only for them to escape and kill even more people. I’m doing what needs to be done, I’m taking them down permanently.” The eye holes of the wolf mask blazed with clear blue. “Or are you not a hero enough to protect those who need protecting?”

“A-are you saying that hero is supposed to be a killer?” Asked Android. “Because I don’t believe that!” He charged towards the figure. “A HERO’S JOB IS TO SAVE LIVES, NOT DESTROY THEM!!!”

The figure raised an arm and the glowing blade shot out, humming with blue energy. “A hero is supposed to protect people who can’t protect themselves. This… thing,” they pointed at Cyber Fury’s body. “What were you expecting would happen once the police caught up with him? Spend a few days in a prison not even designed for cyborgs only for the others to break him out?” The lights behind the eyes grew even brighter. “You had your chance to be a hero in Metal City. Let someone else have a turn for a change.”

“SHUT UP!!!!” Yelled Android angrily. “I ONLY WANT TO SAVE PEOPLE! IF I CAN’T SAVE SOMEONE FROM CORRUPTION, THEN HOW CAN I BE A HERO?! I’VE SEEN MANY CYBORGS BECOME MEMBERS OF THE CYBER FORCE AGAINST THEIR WILL!!! DO THEY DESERVE TO DIE TOO?! DO THEY?! IF YOU THINK THAT, THEN YOU’RE NO BETTER THAN CYBER LORD OF THE LEADER OF THE ACG, WHOEVER THEY ARE!!!!”

The masked person continued to stand there, blade extended. They dodged Android’s charge and shook their head. “Saving one person means not being able to save another. Stand in the ashes of Metal City and ask the ghosts if the method matters. The silence is your answer. Humans have lost too much already to cyborgs, and it’s time they owned up to their wrongs. If that means staining these hands, then so be it. I will be a hero who achieves things, by doing what the people need.”

“If you decide to kill just because you don’t see any other way, then you have no right to be a hero,” said Android as he glared at him. “THERE IS ONLY ONE CYBORG THAT I DO BELIEVE NEEDS TO DIE!!! THAT’S CYBORG’S NAME IS CYBER LORD! IF I DESTROY HIM, THE CYBER FORCE WILL CEASE TO EXIST! STAY OUT OF MY WAY!” He charged at the figure once more, swinging his sword wildly in a vain attempt to slice him down!

The wolf-masked figure waited until Android was within striking range, then a compartment on their wrist opened up and a wire shot out at Android. A blue energy pulse blasted down the wire, paralyzing Android’s robot arm.

“If you destroy Cyber Lord, the Cyber Force will cease to be?” The figure mused, holding the black core. “Thank you for that piece of information, Android. The ionic pulse will wear off in about five minutes. I suggest you think long and hard about what it means to be a hero, and when you do, remember all the people who died in Metal City because of cyborgs, and because you failed to stop them in time. Goodbye.”

The masked person retracted the wire and stepped away, vanishing in a burst of prismatic light. There was no more sign of them other than the quickly fading shock paralysis in Android’s arm.

Android stood there in shock before the lens on his helmet turned black. He started to breathe heavily. Then he screamed angrily and clutched his helmet with his left hand. “BASTAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!” He yelled angrily. He kept screaming with rage until he stopped and fell to his knees. Then, the sound of sniffling could be heard coming from him. Finally, he stood up and ran away, crying as he ran.

The Rainbooms watched Android run, looking like they wanted to go after him. But only one of them was quick enough. Rainbow Dash sprinted after him, using her geode to enhance her speed.

“Hey! Hey, Android! Wait up!” She shouted.

Android didn’t even hear her through his crying. Finally, he reached the outskirts of Canterlot and fell to his knees, crying uncontrollably. He clutched his helmet with both hands and slammed it against the ground, yelling out, “BASTARD!” over and over and over!

Eventually, he stopped banging his helmet on the ground and remained on his knees, continuing to cry. “Is he right?” He said tearfully, unaware of Rainbow right behind him. “Would Metal City still be standing if I just killed all the members of the Cyber Force? But, if I do kill them, I’ll just be breaking my promise to my dad! What do I do then?”

Rainbow looked hesitant, but she knelt down next to Android.

“I… I don’t know,” Rainbow admitted. “I wasn’t there at Metal City and I don’t know what happened there. But you risked your life to save us from that big cyborg, and I know that actions speak louder than words. That guy in white might not be completely wrong either, but I don’t think much of their method. Metal City is gone, Android, and all you can really do is find those responsible and bring them to justice, one way or another.”

Android looked up at her with his cheeks stained with tears. “H-how did you find me?” He asked.

“I followed you,” Rainbow sighed. “I’m good at running.”

“Oh,” he said with a small smile. “I never knew people with superpowers existed here. But still,” he added with a sad sigh. “I don’t want to kill anyone. I feel like that would make me a villain. It’s like I said to him: A hero is supposed to save lives, not destroy them.”

“Is it true, what the other guy said?” Rainbow Dash asked hesitantly. “That the bad guys keep breaking out after you arrest them?”

Android nodded sadly. “Yes,” he answered. “But there’s a lot more to them than you may think. Not all of those cyborgs became evil on their own accord. Most of them were brainwashed by Cyber Lord. Others became members of the Cyber Force because no one would help them. They never had a hero to save them. I’ve been trying everything that I can to make sure that they have a real hero to look up to. If I can’t save someone who has been calling out for a hero for so long, then what right do I have to be a hero?”

Rainbow Dash picked up a rock off the ground and moved it around her fingers. “What about those who are too far gone? I remember a saying Rarity had in one of her novels, ‘society needs butchers as well as shepherds’. I’m not saying killing is the answer to everything, but if human lives are at risk, maybe it’s not completely wrong to look for a more permanent solution,” she threw the rock away. “From what I heard, the wolf mask guy sounds like he has some history with Metal City. I’d be mad too, if a city was destroyed and those who destroyed it got away.”

“I guess,” said Android. “However, there is only one that I need to defeat for good. A cyborg who refuses to change himself for the better. The one who brainwashed all the other cyborgs. Cyber Lord is the one who needs to be defeated permanently. However, I won’t kill him. I’ll find another way to make sure he never hurts people ever again.”

“I hope you do,” Rainbow replied. “I don’t want Canterlot to go the way of Metal City. What’ll you do if you run into that guy again? He had those arm blades, so does that make him a cyborg too?” She sat back and pressed her fingers together. “He claims to be a hero as well.”

“I honestly don’t know,” he answered. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” He stood up with his head still hung.”I hope I don’t run into him again. He may call himself a hero, but that doesn’t mean that he is one for real. If he really is a hero, then he’ll find another to permanently disband Cyber Lord without killing. He would actually try to save those who were always calling for help.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Rainbow said, taking out her phone. “I got a video of you and wolf mask talking. I don’t know if it’ll help, but maybe Twilight can do a voice analysis or something. It’s really a matter of principles,” Rainbow said. “Like Red Hood vs Batman. Neither of them are really villains, but what can you do? People look up to both of them.”

Android looked at her as she mentioned Twilight doing a voice analysis. Then he smiled and hugged her without thinking. “You’re an awesome person,” he said happily. Then he saw what he was doing and pulled away, embarrassed. “Oh… sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. “I… er… I usually hug people who help me when I’m really happy. I guess my dad was right about me. I guess I really do have a big heart.”

“Eh, it’s no problem,” Rainbow smiled. “I’m just happy you’re feeling a bit better. A smile better suits a hero.”

“Right,” said Android with a small smile. “Thanks. I feel like Deku when I save someone with a smile. A hero who smiles makes people feel more safe. Anyway, I should go. I have to get home.”

“Sure,” Rainbow dusted herself off. “Need me to accompany you?”

Android shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” he answered. “I’ll be fine on my own. Besides, I have a secret identity to resume. And… you know how it is.”

“Oh. Right,” Rainbow said. “Well, I’ll see you later then. Keep up the good fight, Android!”

“Thank you,” he said. He started to walk away. Then he paused and waved at her. “Take care.” With that, he started to walk home.

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

I'm with the wolf face guy, he seems like the kind of guy who can get things done. Why does it look like Android values volume over reason?

[TriforceAndroid]

11109018
I suppose you could say that he doesn't have the stomach to kill someone. Despite being the Cyborg of Courage, he's scared of killing. He's afraid that if he kills, he'll be a monster.

You'll see a little more of why he believes that killing the Cyber Force isn't right in the future.

[Jojoleopard]

11109018
11109203
I do agree that sometimes, it's the best way. Putting someone in jail repeatedly, only for them to break out and kill more people is more ineffective than just taking out the bad guy once and for all. I don't think he's demonstrated courage much just yet. I guess we'll probably see more of that later on? By the way, there also seems to be a lot of stuff that happened before this story. Is that ever gonna get covered?
And is he a cyborg now? You mentioned in this chapter he's a cyborg, and before, there was that whole halfling thing.

[TriforceAndroid]

11109712
I'm gonna try to cover that part soon. Also, I've gone back to cyborg.

[TriforceAndroid]

11109712
I promise to cover as much info about Dew Drop/Android as possible in the next chapter. You'll see his origin, how the Cyber Force came to exist, why humans and cyborgs hate each other, and why he won't kill a villain.

[Jojoleopard]

11109827
Oh ok, I must've missed that part where it transitioned from halfling to cyborg.
And ok I look forward to seeing more of the backstory, because I have no idea why anything is the way it is.