Friendship? Emotion not found.

by The Rar

How The Pandorians Do

Ponyville, Equestria.
01:30pm SET

“Hello Miss Twilight, are you ready to leave for Canterlot?”
The two unicorn guard ponies arrived quicker than Twilight had expected, she hadn’t even begun to get ready, and she hadn’t even made it through the front door of her library before they arrived They didn’t look much different to any other member of the Royal Guard, with their white coat and golden armour, they did however have some small pieces of parchment attached to their helmets with wax seals. The parchment had what looked like tiny lines of writing on them.

“Not just yet Mr…”
Twilight held her arm out towards the pony who had spoken, silently asking for his name.

“Faith ma’am, Unyielding Faith. This is my subordinate, Dependable Shield.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both but uh…” Twilight glanced at the elegantly crafted swords each had attached to their thighs.
“Are you uh… Expecting something to happen?”

“Ah, these are for appearances sake, I’ve asked for them to be removed from uniform multiple times but Celestia likes us to be prepared. One can only guess what for.” Faith reassured

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Now,” Faith began
“Where was I? Oh yes. The Princess was quite clear with her orders; we are to bring you to Canterlot immediately. Please ready yourself.”

“Ok”, Twilight smiled
“Just give me a minute”

“Very well ma’am but do hurry. We have a train to catch”
With that, the two guard ponies saluted Twilight and began surveying the town, giving Twilight her time to prepare.

“Good,” Twilight whispered to herself
“That train better be ready to wait because I am nowhere near ready.”

“What do you think of her then Shield?” Faith asked his companion when Twilight had went back into her library

“I don’t understand what you mean sir, was I supposed to be paying any particular attention to her?” Shield asked back, confused

“Yes Shield, you were supposed to be paying particular attention. She’s the Princesses top pupil and we’ve been entrusted with getting her to Canterlot. Twilight and her safety should be your only concerns right now.”

“With respect sir, I don’t find making idle chat safe or something we should be concerned with. I think observing the surroundings and making sure everything is fine, looking for suspicious ponies in the crowd, so to speak.”

“Speaking of crowds” Faith said as he pointed to a large group of ponies moving down a street.

“Trouble?”

“Maybe. They’re moving in the opposite direction to us. Let’s follow them, see what’s up.”

Faith and Shield followed the crowd down several streets, keeping just out of sight. Faith was about to declare that their intentions were not of a dangerous nature and that they were probably just a group walking when the crowd stopped forcing him and Shield to duck behind some boxes. They stopped just before a large open area of the town, Faith knew because he had reviewed some geographical data on the town before he had departed to pick up Twilight.

“What do you reckon Shield?” Faith whispered

“Looks suspicious to me sir, what are they looking at anyway?”
Faith stuck his head over the box they had chosen as cover to get a look at the thing holding everyone’s interest but couldn’t seem to see for the sheer amount of people.

“Can’t quite make it see but I agree, this looks strange. Let’s get a closer look”
Faith and Shield stood up and began making their way towards the crowd.

“Remember Shield, we’ve got our swords if things get ugly but don’t go stabbing anyone, I don’t need a repeat of your Los Pegasus performance, understood?”
Los Pegasus had been a nightmare. A crowd had gotten out of control and a very novice Shield had stuck his blade in some poor pony’s leg. Poor guy was only trying to get out of the way of the mob as well. That incident had almost lost Faith his job when he had defended Shield. Faith also didn’t want to have to fill out anymore accident paperwork.

“Understood sir.” Shield’s voice took on a slightly annoyed tone after being reminded of his failures.

“Make way, royal business!” Faith yelled as he began wading through the sea of ponies.
Shield, taking on a less rude approach kindly apologised to ponies as he brushed past them and also apologised for his commanding officers rude behaviour. Faith didn’t mean to do it, he was just use to dealing with ponies from Canterlot who were a lot less compliant and a lot more vocal when it came to voicing opinions, he forgets towns like these contain a generally friendlier and politer populace.
Both guard ponies, after much yelling and wading, made it through the crowd.

“Come on Shield; let’s see what’s got everyone’s attent- What in Celestia’s name is that…”

Faith was looking into the glowing eye of… Something from Hell. The fictional demons of blood lusting gods would look like pixies compared to this. It was a large metal construct that looked completely non-pony. It stood atop two legs, covered in pipes that dripped black liquid and held a strange device in both of its monstrous hands. Its body was cracked in several places and small tubes ending with sparking wires hung out of them. It didn’t look too healthy, if the condition of health even affected it, but it looked very threatening. It was looking at something, looking with what appeared to be annoyance.
A Pink pony lay on the floor, staring at the thing. The pony did something that obviously annoyed the metal beast, the pony spoke.

“Awww! Why did you stop speaking that funny language?”

“Speak no longer you hell spawned torture master” A mechanical voice groaned.
It raised its clawed hand in the air.

“Pinkie, Move!”
Faith didn’t go on assignments without getting to know everything about the area he was going. Geographical information, recent history and notable inhabitants who may be encountered, they all had to be known before Faith set out.
This time, the important one out of this list was “Notable Inhabitants”. Faith had read up on the Elements of Harmony before he had left, this was just revision though. After all, who didn’t know the names of the ponies that saved Equetria on no less than three occasions?
His deduction of what was about to happen saved pinkie life.

“Weeeeeeeeee!”
Pinkie Pie rolled out of the way and out of the reach of the metal monster, but no hammer hand fell.

“What? You thought I was going to crush it?”

“It can talk?! That’s amazing” Shield said in amazement

“Irrelevant is what it is Shield, focus.”

“I think it’s pretty relevant, I thought the fact that the pink one could talk was relevant, and annoying, very annoying.”

“Well I don’t find it relevant. All I find relevant is the fact that you don’t look safe. All civilians leave this area now.”
The ponies in the crowd were reluctant to leave. Who could blame them? A brand new character quite literally shows up out of the blue and starts speaking the Equestrian language perfectly and they’re just supposed to leave? But after Royal Seals of Authority were shown to the crowd, they had to leave, or face criminal charges. Faith hated having to order people but if it was what it took to get them out of harm’s way, they’d have to be ordered.
The crowd began filing away from the attraction of the metal creature and went back to their lives, no doubt to go and gossip about the recent occurrence or to go and have a bottle of whatever Ponyville’s bar offered with a “Will get you smashed beyond belief or your money back” guarantee on it.

“Now, considering we don’t have an audience listening, how about you fill us in on a few facts related to what you are and how you got here,”
Faith drew his sword with his magical hand, Shield followed suit.
“Please”

“Be careful creature, I am not intimidated by a sword of steel. You however…”
The creature relinquished its grip on the end of its strange device and flexed its hand, examining the talons protruding from every finger. Faith and Shield both took a step back.

“You seem a little tense”

Outskirt of Everfree Forest, Equestria.
01:55pm SET

“Crusaders, forward!” Scootaloo yelled her friends onward but none of them moved.

“Forward!” Still, no one moved.

“Really? I thought we agreed to do this! Don’t be lame and chicken out now!”

“Ah don’t know ‘bout this Scootaloo… This is th’ Everfree forest we’re talkin’ ‘bout here” Applebloom awkwardly said

“And?”

“It’s mighty scary…”

“And?”

“Uh… It’s dangerous?”

“Exactly! This could be just what we need to get our cutie marks, some danger!”

“I’m all for danger Scootaloo but Rarity told me there are loads of horrible monsters in there” Sweetie Belle added.

“That’s lies. I’ve been in there hundreds of times!”

“Really? Ya’ll sure you ain’t exageratin’ th’ truth a bit there Scootaloo?”

“Of course! It’s perfectly safe! Just follow my le-“
A low growl emanated from one of the many bushes surrounding the forest’s border.

“Uh… What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked, afraid she might already know the answer.

“I’m sure it was nothing dangerous or scary” Scootaloo reassured

“Ya’ll sure ‘bout that Scootaloo?” Applebloom asked as she pointed to the set of eyes glowing in the gloom.

“Uh…”
Another set appeared.

“Maybe we should run?” Sweetie Belle asked
At least 10 more sets of eyes appeared.

“I think that’s a good idea” Applebloom and Scootaloo simultaneously said.

Ponyville, Equestria.
02:10pm SET

“So you’re a robot, called “Ajax”, manufactured by a company named Hyperion on a planet called Pandora and you’ve got no idea whatsoever as to why or how you got here?” Faith asked baffled by many of the terms the creature had used to describe its situation, but he thought he was on the right track.

“If you cut away the details from what I said and just look at the very basics, yes, that’s correct.”

“Uh… Faith? Can I speak to you for a moment?”
Faith walked a few paces away from the newly named “Ajax” to where Shield was standing.

“What is it Shield?”

“I have a question.”

“Go on.”

“What the hay did that thing just say? It lost me at “29q3B Power Core””

“It claims to be from a different universe entirely and has no idea how it’s ended up in Equestria”

“So what the hay do we do with it?”

“We ask it to come with us to Canterlot where we will hand it over to Princess Celestia; she’ll have a better idea of what to do than us. That’s the best course of action I can think of.”

“Is this even covered by our job description?”

“Yes, it’s covered by the “I don’t leave giant robots from different universes that has access to Celestia knows what in the middle of a public place’ sub section. Do you recall that one Shield?”

“I might, how do we even know it’s going to come with us? How do we know if it is safe to bring before the Princess?”

“Well,” Faith glanced back at “Ajax” who was patiently waiting where he had left him.
“It hasn’t killed us when it clearly has the power to do so. So I’m guessing it doesn’t want to.”

“So we’re doing guess work now?”

“It would appear so, are you going to help your commanding officer?”

“Now that Faith, is in my job description. Let’s go”

Ponyville, Equestria.
02:10pm SET

“Keep running!”

“I can’t!”

“Just keep running Sweetie Belle! We’re almost back at Ponyville! Someone there will know what to do!”

Ponyville, Equestria.
02:11pm SET

“Mr… Ajax.”

“Ajax will do, thank you”

“Ah… Ajax? We have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition? I don’t know you and I don’t belong in your reality and you have a proposition for me. This should be good, go on”

“Well, we understand you don’t belong in Equestria and that you obviously aren’t a pony.”

“Well observed “Pony”.”

“Yes… We know someone who might be able to assist you, or at least shed some light on your situation”

“Assistance eh… I admit this has been a damned crazy day. I’ve robbed a piece of technological mastery, been robbed of said device, held in a field of light, crushed half to death and drifted through a void, I could use some assistance. Very well “Pony”, even though it doesn’t please me to go through such dribble, I will accept your assistance”

“That’s great. If you would just follow me we have someone to pick up before we go and uh… Could you please put that thing in your hands away somewhere? I think it may scare the public.”

“Stow my weapon? I will do no such thing. And must we pick up another? I’m already sick to death of this tripe.”

“Fine, you may keep the weapon and yes, we must pick up another. She is of great importance. Shield, go fetch Miss Twilight”
No answer or even the sound of footsteps followed Faith’s order.

“Shield? That was an order.”
Still nothing.

“Shield damn it, respond to me”
When Faith turned to see what was wrong with his companion, he found something that wasn’t out of the ordinary for Shield, he was distracted.
Shield may be one of The Princesses most trusted guard but he did get distracted by the smallest of things.

“What is it Shield?” Faith asked in an annoyed tone

“Those fillies, they’re being chased.”

“Fillies? What fillies?”
Shield pointed them out to Faith.

“It appears you’re right. Being chased by what I wonder? Mayb- Damn it”

“Timber Wolves” Shield spat
Timber Wolves, fearsome creatures spawned from the Everfree forest. Why nature had decided that trees needed to have teeth, Faith will never know.

“Shield, with me.”
Faith pointed to Ajax.
“And you, wait here”
Ajax said nothing. Shield, who hadn’t stowed his sword throughout the entire conversation, was just waiting for an order to charge, which he got.

“Attack!”
Faith and shield ran at full speed to the wolves, ready to destroy them and save the fillies that were being chased. They got into combat immediately, melee combat, the worst combat. Melee was the combat that lost ponies their limbs, leaving them with bloody stumps. Melee was the combat where it was all about skill.
That was a fact, skill was a huge part of melee combat and that fact played well for Faith and Shield. They were obviously the more skilled combatants, masterfully dodging and countering every blow from the wolves. They had already incapacitated four of the twelve wolves. Odds said that they would be the victors. But not three seconds later, the facts changed.
A larger timber wolf decided to rear its ugly head. It burst through a wall of crates and howled. The other wolves followed suit and began howling, Faith took it as an opportunity to get in one massive slice at a wolf’s neck. It was a powerful swing and it took the head of the wolf clean off, sticky sap spraying from the stump that formed its neck.

“Aye you damned beast, bleed”

Faith instantly regretted this decision when the large alpha wolf made a charge straight for him, mouth wide open. It looked like it could fit two ponies stacked on top of each other in its huge mouth.

“I’ve got you sir!”
Shield stepped in front of the alpha wolf, sword at the ready.

“No Shield!”

The alpha wolf battered Shield aside and sent him flying into a crate. It didn’t look like it killed him, but he was sure to be out of action for a few days.
Faith was sure he couldn’t stop it; it would take a train to stop that thing.
Faith closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

“Ponyville”, “Equestria”.
02:20pm SET

Ajax was very confused. He’d been warped to a strange dimension, listened to a four legged pink creature detail how his welcome party will look, been threatened by two armoured creatures, asked to come to a place called “Canterlot” and he was now watching the two armoured ponies going toe to toe with living trees, living, walking trees. He’d accepted to go on a little trip with the creatures as well, that annoyed Ajax. Why in God’s name did he agree to go with them? He had no interest in going for what could be a very lengthy walk with these strange creatures, but there was promise of answers. Ajax supposed he could deal with all of this craziness if it meant getting some answers, maybe even a way out of this dimension.
Ajax was brought away from his thoughts and back to reality by the sound of wood being crushed. Sadly though, it wasn’t the sound of wooden wolves being stomped on, it was the sound of an even bigger “Timber Wolf” crashing through a wooden stand. Ajax had to give the two creatures credit; they had done well for themselves. They hadn’t taken a single hit and they had taken out a good few of the wolves, but all of their work was about to be for nothing. You can have all the skill in the world going against an opponent with little skill and still lose. Take a battlefield as an example. Two armies going head to head, one is a well-trained, well-educated and well-equipped army and the other is a bunch of sorry looking dregs gathered together at the last minute. You’d assume that the first army would be victorious, and you’d be right, but give the second a tank and the tide changes dramatically.
A tank isn’t just a vehicle or a weapon; it’s a symbol. It hardens your men’s spirits and makes them want to fight.
The large timber wolf was, in its most basic form, a tank, and said tank was about to plough down some very interesting creatures.
Ajax was intrigued by the creature of this dimension, though he didn’t show it. They were… Different to what he was used to. Some, such as the two he’d just met, were skilled in combat, the kind of thing Ajax was interested in. He couldn’t let them be killed by the wooden wolf for two reasons. One, he found them interesting in a strange kind of way and two, they were innocent. Ajax wasn’t usually the kind to be emotional or any sort of kind; he’d been told many times that he was “A cruel, heartless, thief. Even though you encourage other machines to develop emotions you’re incapable of showing them yourself. You lack the skill or the desire to build friendships even though you again encourage others to do so.”
The words of Dex. Who else would say such a thing when you’ve just handed them a box of cash? Even though he was a little hard on the emotional front, he felt a little spark for these creatures. It could just be the fact that more than a few of his vital wires were hanging out of his armour covering him with sparks though.
No matter what his motive to do so was, Ajax had decided to spare the creatures their fate.
Ajax took aim at the running wolf with his weapon, he was in bad shape though, and his aim looked poor. He would just have to hope that his shaking hands didn’t get the better of him and that his shell hit home.

“Let show ‘em how people from Pandora deal with a misbehaving mutt.”

*Boom*
The loud boom echoed in Faith’s head.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the alpha wolf, the one made of a good few tonnes of wood, be reduced to splinters.
Faith was amazed when he realised what caused the event.
Standing, not 10 meters away, was Ajax. He was holding his so called weapon in both hands and had it pointed at where the alpha wolf had stood before its unfortunate accident.
Smoke drifted from the end pointed at the wolf and a red object was falling away from it.
Faith was lost for words, what the hay just happened? Obviously Ajax had used his weapon on the timber wolf but how in Celestia’s name did it cause so much damage?
Faith was so busy wondering just how an alpha wolf had been turned into tooth picks that he had forgotten about Shield.

“Urh…”
Shield hobbled out from the remains of the box he had crashed into and over to Faith.

“Not good Faith, I think my leg is broken”
Shield lifted his rear left leg up and showed it to Faith.

“Yep, that’s broken alright. It serves you right for trying to be a hero you idiot.”

“I would like to point out that “Shield” trying to “be a hero” gave me enough time to shoot the large wolf. If he had not, it is very likely you both would have been killed.” A mechanical voice boomed.

“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that his leg is broken.” Faith said back

“In fact, it does”

“How?”

“Well, I respect those who would risk their life for a superior officer. You did just that, Mr.Shield. Because of that, I would like to give you a gift.”
Ajax pulled a glowing red stick from a box attached to his waist and began inspecting it. It ended in a needle point.

“That doesn’t look like a gift. I don’t know who you are or where you came from, I’m sketch about trusting you at all and you expect me to let you stick me with a needle?”
Ajax shrugged.

“Fine, I still expect to get to this “Canterlot” place and the assistance you promised. If you want to walk there with a broken leg that’s fine by me”

“Urg… Just do it then…”

“With pleasure, this won’t hurt a bit. Well, maybe a little.”

“Thanks for making me feel sooo- Ah!”
Ajax stuck the needle into Shield’s leg.
Faith couldn’t help but get his sword at the ready.

“Have no fear, Faith. I have healed your friend.”
Faith was unconvinced.

“Shield?”

“Ha! My leg feels fine! I feel a little strange but my leg is ok.”
“How the hay did you do that?” Faith asked
“It’s just magic.” Ajax said as he crushed the now empty glass vial to dust.

“You know “pony”, you’re not that bad in a fight.” Ajax said

“Thank you,” Faith said proudly
“You’re not too shabby either.”

Twilight’s Library, Ponyville, Equestria.
02:30pm SET

Twilight was ready to leave, finally. She’d spent an age trying to find everything she needed, most of which was scrolls, quills and ink pots.

“Do you really need all of this stuff Twilight? Don’t you think Canterlot will have plenty of paper?” Spike questioned

“Better safe than sorry Spike. Who knows? Canterlot could have completely run out of writing material!”

“Very unlikely”
Twilight patted Spike on the head, much to his displeasure.

“Better safe than sorry”

*Knock knock*
Twilight’s door transmitted a knocking sound.
“Oh! That’ll be them time to go!”
Twilight said her goodbyes to Spike and made sure he knew what he was doing before heading to the door. When she opened it, she got quite a shock.
Along with the two pony guard, something else was standing at her door. Something that made Twilight want to run and hide.

“Hello purple pony, I am Ajax.”
Twilight, in a style much like Rarity’s, collapsed with a yelp and fainted.

Train station, Ponyville, Equestria.
3:40pm SET

“What was that all about Ajax?” Faith asked while he carried Twilight on his back.

“I don’t know. Was it something I said?”

Comments

[Foody Poody]

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[The Rar]

1582553
I'll correct that when I get on my computer. Thanks.
Due to the fact that I speak English and only English the russian was incredible patch wortk stuff.