IRM: Integrated Robotic Mechanoid

by The Psychopath

Climbing slopes

This particular mountain was actually a lone spike in the crust. Supposedly, it belonged to a longer chain of mountains that was mined away by a long-gone species. This giant stone was named "Sharp Arrow" by any who have tried to climb it. The name was taken from the reference of anypony climbing it to die as if they had been struck by an arrow in one of their vital points, their bodies tossed off the giant rock like dolls. Whatever beast was up there, it possessed a great deal of strength and ability.

IRM was simply placing hand after foot after hand, and he easily managed to climb the steep sides of the mountain. Cocoon, on the other hand, was struggling and seemed to be having trouble just keeping her concentration. They were still near the base, but the height was still enough to intimidate her, and thus why she had started to hug the wall and was making weird little whimper noises. In distance, Cocoon was already several feet lower than IRM, who had, as stated previuosly, been climbing without any trouble. Noticing the lack of the nearby superiority complex, the mechanoid looked down and face palmed.

"Come on! Just a few thousand more feet. It's not the end of the world."

"Gah!"Cocoon nearly fell as a piece of her ledge crumbled."How? I-I-I'm st-stuck here! C...can you come get me?"she asked, widening her eyes.

There was a long moment of silence, and, if it were possible, the IRM would have frowned, turning his inexistent eyebrows into a monobrow. With a loud, robotic sigh, IRM jumped off his spot and used his right hand to latch onto the wall, creating an increasingly longer crack on the surface of the rocks. A final skid and IRM was finally where Cocoon had been holding onto for dear life.

"Th-thank you for...LET GO OF MY TAIL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

IRM had grabbed the tiny queen's tail and looked upwards. He was preparing to throw her like a rock in a sling-shot.

"N-Don't throw me!"

"It'll be faster like this."

"Can't you just carry me on your back?"

"...Nope."

"WAAAAH!"

Cocoon was flung with so much power that her body began to whistle thanks to her holes. She shot straight up through the low clouds, making it look like she fell into some mist. IRM simply resumed his climbing, grumbling about how long it would take him now. The Sharp Arrow was very dark thanks to its clouds sliding along its surface. Strong, cold winds were capable of freezing anything but the most tough and resistant of climbers, and their strength could knock off even those. Every clamp upon the mountain echoed into the wide void in the empty space, and small pebbles would fall, making one think that they would fall to their doom quite quickly. IRM didn't falter, mainly because he didn't have any blood to freeze or any body parts to slow down with the cold. If anything, he'd be bored with the situation. A few minutes later, he was a few thousand feet about the ground, and there was a small cave right above him. The mechanoid struggled to keep his grip within the stone, but at least the cave would give him respite for a few seconds. He would still find Cocoon...eventually.

As he continued his ascent, two giant gray-furred feet stomp on the ledge. The creature these belonged to was a gigantic creature with extremely pointy fingers possessing sharp nails. Its canine teeth outgrew the rest and became fangs outside of its massive maw. It was enormous and very bulky, and its green eyes seemed to glow with irritation.

"How DARE you climb upon me mountain. It's MY MOUNTAIN! MINE! You ALWAYS come and bother me. I kill you-AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhh..."

Paying no attention to aforementioned beast, the mechanoid, in his ascent, tried to grab for a higher rock and mistook the beast's foot for one. Once he pulled, the giant was thrown off the ledge to the hard ground far, far below. Its screams becoming muffled by the powerful winds flowing from the mountain-top. The metal creature literally paid no attention to the troll, actually more concerned about his three seconds of rest.

---

King Sombra, with his fatigued body, climbed the mountain himself, using every inch of fury in his body to push him through his searing pains jabbing at his body like white-hot needles. His face expressed his anger and his frustration to climb this hilltop. If he could get that weapon, then it would all be worth it. Every. Single. Shard of pain he felt rebuilding his body and losing his powers in the process. He could definitely destroy the Elements of Harmony if he could get a weapon from some unknown world standing in the cold void of space. Who knows what the thing could do? He was filled with more energy as he thought about it. Maybe it could turn him into an alicorn? Maybe he would become supreme ruler of shadows? Perhaps a power not yet seen would be his? The possibilities were endless, and the stallion of shadow eagerly hoped to get to the impact point first.

The ex king continuously grunted as he climbed every stone and pebble. There wasn't much for him to notice besides the screams of something he did not recognize. What sort of beast was it? Perhaps a flying beast. Yes. That would aid the ruler of shadows greatly. Sombra schemed constantly the higher he went.

"I. Hate. Climbing. I'll kill everypony who ever defied me and I'll corrupt the rest. Hahahaha!"Sombra's laughter bounced off the stone surface of the mountain, his deep voice creating a frightening ambience in the already death giving location.

---

IRM had found his way up to the top, his joints screaming in unison for the work they performed. With a creaking of his internal mechanisms, the machine witnessed his weapon castrated into stone and rock, the surface still heated from the impact and temperature. Around him sat several heightened piles of mountain rock. It gave the place a certain feeling of constant change, for only the place that was flat was the place where the weapon had landed. The entire area was surrounded by the thin layer of clouds usually found at such heights. As a consequence, the area was extremely cold and the sky was as white as could be.

"Ahhh. My Adaptive Weapons Module."

Wanting to advance and grab his weapon when a voice yelled out to him in anger and fury. Cocoon, however, was still dazed and waiting on the side, her contorted face demonstrating much of her current mental state.

"That's mine! You'll never get it! It is mine by right! I saw it land here first. It is the key to give me back my powers and my throne. You won't remove it from my grasp you...what in the Abyss are you?"

What lay in front of IRM was a tattered stallion that had certainly seen better days. His anger ceded to a more confused stare as the mechanoid's optics focused in place.

"Hey! Why'd you throw me?!" Cocoon yelled from behind a few rocks she wa stuck in.

"Hm?"

"Gnah!"

The little changeling hit IRM's leg, creating a tink sound. She soon fell to the ground and held her little hoofsie as she began to tear up from the pain.

"Who are you?" the robot asked as his optics focused.

"I'm the one asking the questions here!"

"Then we are getting nowhere."

"...Fine. I am King Sombra of the Crystal Kingdom."

"A king?" IRM said with a condescending attitude.

Even on this high peak with powerful winds, a white sky, and thick, cold fog that ran through your flesh like blades, IRM was capable of distinguishing the traits of this entity. He was certainly not relatable to a king.

"How does a so called 'king' reach your position? You are filthy, seem to have been malnourished, and you possess no clothing of rare materials. Were you deposed?"

Sombra was horribly irritated by the way this creature spoke. It was non-chalantly peaking ill of him and even worse, it did not know him.

"I have told you my name. What is yours?"

"Ah. Yes. I am IRM: Integrated Robotic Mechanoid."

"Great. Relinquish that artifact to me at once." the dark pony ordered.

"No. It is mine. It has always been mine, from my rebirth to my darkest days."

"I don't care. It will become mine."

Sombra took a fighter's stance and reared his head. He was ready to destroy whatever this creature was to regain his title and former powers. The goal was all that remained in the stallion's shattered mind. He cared of nothing else. It was all he needed, and it was just there in reach! He was even being taunted by the creature's non-menacing stance. It was more of a common stance taken by the minotaurs when they would hold a claymore to their waist with both hands. Meanwhile, Cocoon had managed to struggle her stubby legs out of her stony prisons and was looking at the scene from atop a small rock. Even if this unicorn was, as he put it; 'A fallen king', he still held enough power to be distinguishable from the common horned pony. She was sure the fight would last moderately long. It would be a way to test her name peon if he was worthy enough to stand in her shadow.

The black unicorn pounced at his enemy, his body encased in a thin, vibrating shield of black crystals. IRM moved to the side and slapped the pony into a rock wall with his hand. The weapon then morphed into a rather large pernach. The pony groaned and wiped some dust off his head. He then charged once more towards his enemy, determined to blast dark energies through its body upon impact. IRM understood that this equine was desperate, but thwacked it away with the pernach anyways, creating a resounding echo of metal destroying a magic barrier. This continued on for a few minutes. All the while, Cocoon became bored of the repeating spectacle.

"I'm disappointed. I was hoping for at least a reasonable fight. Not even. All "

Finally, Sombra fell to the ground, gasping with fatigue.

"We'll...call it a draw..."

"A draw? I crushed your defenses many times over."

"Nonsense. The king...of the Crystal Kingdom...will never submit..."

"Not my problem. I see that you are downtrodden. Perhaps you would appreciate company that could provide for your current needs?"

"I don't...need the help...from a thief..."

"It is not for me that I steal, but it is for this object that I've come to this peak. It is imperative that I also pick some fruits nearby due to their extremely high sugar content. It is a suitable food source for the tiny queen over there."

"Hey!"

"Tiny...queen? Is that a changeling?" Sombra said as he looked to his right.

"Yes."

"I refuse to consort with such abominations."

"Well, analysis tells me that you will perish up here within hours if you are not removed. You have also not been nourished for a few days. You either expire here or you come with us. After you have been properly fed, you may decide what you wish to do."

"I...Fine. I will come with you. I will leave immediately after I am sated, but I will not give up on obtaining that weapon."

"What? But I don't want him! He's stupid looking!" Cocoon yelled.

Sombra shot an angered look at her, causing the tiny changeling to take a few steps back.

"We shall leave later. Right now, rest for a few minutes. I believe I should be capable of creating a deep bowl to hold the fruits out of these stones with my AWM."

" 'Yours'? "Sombra taunted.

IRM's optics simply readjusted as they looked at the stallion before he began going through the rubble to find a proper stone.

"You and Cocoon can make use of this time to evaluate your thought son each other."

The two looked at the robot, then to each other, and frowned. This was not going to be an easy thing to get used to, but at least it would be brief.

---

"It's a Twin-Lock Mazeiyan!" yelled a stallion before being cut in two.

"Watch out! Noo--" yelled a griffin before getting picked up and thrown far away.

A group of pony researchers had been escorted by several mercenaries comprised of minotaurs and griffins. They had delved deep within the immensity of the Everfree forest and its many, many enigmas. This place housed many an interesting fauna and flora as well as ruins of ancient civilizations. In fact, the town closest to this haze of green was Flauna. It had been created specifically for researchers and scientists of study and explore the forest. The groups of ponies that lived there had enough funds to usually hire a mercenary company once or twice every year, but no more than that. The expeditions usually happened without much trouble. The worst that could happen was usually a manticore that would burst out of nowhere, but the mercenaries were well equipped to deal with such mundane threats. However, they were not equipped to fight what was considered extremely powerful and dangerous in the MH Guild.

The researchers, covered in suits, cowls, or simply wearing backpacks full of necessary supplies, were hiding behind a vast array of thickets, trees covered in vines, and many a boulder claimed by moss. The mercenaries, wearing suits made of a bluish leather, were being tosses, turned, and sliced in mere moments. The creature they were fighting was quite bizarre. Ir possesses a lower torso comprised of two gray, muscular legs, but the upper portion split into two separate bodies, both back-to-back. One was lime green and the other sky blue. The creature itself was very muscular, but it wore no armor, save for the breechclout it wore around its waist, the brown, stone cuffs around its wrists, and the helmets they wore that depicted a demonic face with long spiked teeth, a long tongue, and feathers on its head. These seemed to have been carved delicately from stone and had many inscriptions and drawings etched on them. The strangest thing was that this creature seemed to have been a statue at some point as well, judging by the rocky, geometrical shapes of its muscles and body. It held one macuahuitl in each of its hands, and its strength was adding tearing power and hitting power as well.

Somehow, it could twist on its waist to give way to spinning whirlwinds of power. Many a minotaur was torn to pieces or smashed through several tree trunks. No matter what the mercenaries would use, they couldn't stop the creature. It would even tear a tree out from the roots and smack many of the griffins out of the air.

"What frightening beast! It is curious though." one of the scientists said from behind his boulder.

"Yes. It is reminiscent of ancient Mazeiyan culture. Notice the carvings in its head and wrist bands. They seem to sport the art styles and craftings of the time." a mare answered

"What are you two babbling about? We risk getting killed by this abomination!" a scientist scolded.

Almost as soon as he was done, shuffling came from behind them, causing the scolding scientist to jump in fear.

"What is that? Is it another one of those things?!"

"Heehee. Not at all." spoke a joyful and light toned voice.

A pink pony with fluffy, cotton-candy hair came out from behind the thickets and showed herself. Her eyes had been replaced with black, crystal orbs holding a diamond-shaped green crystal. She was also wearing a black, iron armor over her body and legs, but a poorly kempt red over-shirt was pushing out from beneath it. This mare also had a long scar going through her mane, specifically starting at her right eye and going diagonally across. The scolding scientist asked:

"Are you Pinkie Pie? One of the lead Chaos Hunters?"

"Yup."

"What are you doing here?"

"We were told about a nasty beasty around here by a certain Flicker."

"The animal tamer?"

"Yupperino. And judging by this creature..."Pinkie's eyes lit up."This is...I can't believe it."

"What?"

"This thing has been animated by residual energies of Blumarak."

"Bluh-mer-ack?"the scientist shrugged.

"No. Bloo-muh-rack. A god of blood and marrow. It supposedly tried to conquer Equestria thousands of years ago, but its plans were foiled. I didn't realize its energies were still around. They had practically dried up. I could bring it to Flicker, though."

Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin in pensive thought, just narrowly avoiding the leg of a griffin.

"STOP THAT AND KILL IT ALREADY!"

"Fine. We'll capture it."

"' We'?" another scientist wondered.

Several ponies jumped from the trees and covered the creature in a net of powerful, magically infused steel strings. The creature still flailed about and managed to throw some of the ponies into boulders.

"Get the weapons!" Pinkie yelled.

Executing the order, the Chaos Hunters tried their best. They were either crushed and torn to pieces whilst trying to do such a task. The pink pony just rolled her orbs and ran towards the creature. She took a dagger out from a hold on her back and held it in her mouth. The green side spotted her, then lifted itself up. It somehow lift its left arm into the air and smashed it down, creating a small trench. The hunter jumped onto the stony arm and jabbed the blade into a crevice on the wrist, making the creature howl in pain and having it twist around. Pinkie jumped off and slid under the legs, jamming the dagger into both of the Mazeiyan's ankles. It fell to its knees with a loud roar of pain and a tremor, allowing the pink pony to immediately get to her hooves, jump on the green portion's chest, and apply a run to its forehead and the back of the blue torso's head. All the hunters fled for cover, just as Pinkie did, although she hid next to the scientists.

"What are you doing? It's still alive."

"It will still be, just watch what happens.' the pony said with a smile.

As the dazed creature began to return to its senses, a loud, booming crackled came from above, and the scientists and remaining mercenaries all began to look around as they noticed the sky darkening. Much to their horror, thousands of thunderbolts began crashing down and striking the beast were it lay, charring and destroying the branches and the ground in their way. After a few seconds, the creature fell to the burnt ground, smoking and charred. Everyone poked their heads out of their cover to see the frightening scene. Other than the hunters, there was hesitation to move, mainly because the dark clouds above were still rumbling.

"What was that?!" the scolding scientist yelled.

"Paralysis rune." Pinkie answered as she walked over to deal with the stunned creature.

"PARALYSIS?!"

The scientist was slapped behind his head by one of the minotaurs of the mercenary group.

"We didn't sign up for this. Now give us our money and we'll leave. We've lost too many members to a supposedly 'safe' mission. Come to think of it, you should pay us extra for indemnities."

"Extra? And you're leaving?! We don't nearly have enough to pay you more than what was agreed upon in the contract! We even said that there was a possibility of something like this happening."

"SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENING?! That was a tri-star beast as indicated by the hunter's book of the MH guild! Star monsters are FAR from our expertise!"

"He's right. Why didn't you send an inquiry to to guild for hunters?" spoke a feminine voice.

"Because you don't have the income for such an expensive mission. We are only allotted certain quantity of money and we save some for missions like this...Who said that?"

"I did." spoke a cowled mare.

The scientist began to tremble as two figures walked through the forest towards them. The minotaur simply looked behind him with frustration.

"And who are you?"

"Twilight Sparkle. A lunar mage of Queen Lisis."

"A l-l-l--"

"Yes, and I overheard your conversation. The lunar mages are more than capable of getting your indemnities and pay. I would ask that you ignore the contract with these researchers and give me the information of your group so that I may provide the payment."

"And how do I know I won't be tricked and lied to?" the minotaur pointed at the unicorn with fury.

The minotaur began to groan in pain as it seemed like his skin was tightening around his body. It was visible to the naked eye, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Sharpshire! Enough."

"I sorry. I not like it when memers are thretnd. It is a difficolt thing. You can trust we, minos."

"Fine...I...But I will have a meeting with the king if this is not sorted out." the minotaur gasped.

"Take this paper and quill and write your company's information. I will do as I have said."

"What about ink?"

"It is filled with ink. It is a new project."

The minotaur hesitated, looking from the paper and quill floating in front of his face to the cloaked pony. His eyes were still bloodshot, but he had no real choice.

"Fine." he said as he reluctantly took the objects."Guys. Grab the bodies. We'll bring them back to camp."

"Sharpshire will retrieve the papers when you have finished. I must attend to the scientists, and then the hunters."

"Whatever. I just want my money and to get back to camp."

The unicorn lowered her head and stuck out a foreleg to salute the minotaur, then walked towards the scolding scientist.

"I believe that things have become much too dangerous for your research teams here. We will have a meeting with the king and queen to see if we cannot assign a team of hunters from the guild to scowl the forest. It would minimize casualties and improve income in knowledge and research."

"I...Okay. I just don't want this to happen ever again. Please. Take care of it. I must...WE must return to the town. I think you would need to speak to the hunters over there. The pink one said something about a blood god? I don't know. My head hurts."

"C'mon, stallion." one of the scientists said as they held him up and helped him back to the town.

Twilight Sparkle was met with the sight of a scarred, pink mare surrounded by an aura of tainted, orange magic. Each being was surrounded by an aura that the lunar mages could see, but the Chaos Hunters all had chaos tainted magics. Nopony really knew why, as they were a semi-independent unit whose existence had been kept secret from the magistrates.

"Pinkie Pie." the lavender pony spoke with a calm and serene tone.

"Hmph. Twilight. Why are YOU here?" the pink pony lashed out.

"I would very much prefer to speak to your face, rather than your rump."

"I'd prefer not to see you."

"That is hardly fair, but it is your choice. I've come to ask the aid of the Chaos Hunters in tracking a creature of unknown origin."

"Oh? The great and mighty Twilight Sparkle needs MY help? No, OUR help? What has changed that you would ask outsiders?" the pink pony laughed.

"It is something from space. This is clear from the particles and samples we have studied. We thought we had a lead but were lead astray in a forest. Which one, I have already forgotten, but we need the tracking ability of...your kind?"

"Haha...OUR kind...Fine. Bring me a declaration from Sol Invictus and we'll help you. Just be warned."Pinkie turned around and glared Twilight straight into her eyes."It might be useless as we don't know if this creature even has magic. If it is from space, it might not be like our world's kind at all. That, and we're made to hunt beasts of chaos, not walking space rocks. Now, I have to deliver this Mazeiyan to Flicker."

"The animal trainer? You followed a trainer so easily but not that of a pony given a high stature in the social order of things?"

"He thought it was a being of chaos. It turned out, somehow, the magics of Blumarak from the fallen Carnassian Imperium had concentrated enough into that statue and gave it life."

"That is bizarre. Supposedly that magic was sealed off quite a few centuries after the fall of the Imperium."

"Hmm. You said it came from space, correct?"

"Suddenly you wish to converse?"

"Fine. Whatever. Let's go. We're delivering the beast." the pink pony shouted to her group members.

Sharpshire walked towards Twilight with a folded piece of paper floating in front of his face, looking at the large group leaving next to the mercenaries.

"Dey aren't happeh?"

"No. Did you get the paper fully signed?"

"Yes."

"Then let us retreat to the tower. We will begin taking reports from cities in a specific radius that should be decided with our committee. Too big and we'll thin ourselves out too much. Too small and we will certainly miss the visitor.

---

Back in the mountains, IRM had returned from his trip around the side of the mountain with a deep bowl full of what looked like eggplant-shaped orange fruits. It only came back to see Cocoon and Sombra having a stare contest.

"I have no idea what sort of reaction I'm supposed to be having here." IRM thought to himself as we watched the scene.

Author's Note:

Welp, it seems I lied when I said it was going to come back with a few more chapters. Boredom and stress tend to do that. And THIS is why I NEVER make promises. Ever. I TRIED MY BEST!

Pernach. (These will be important to know later on. I'm saving you the trouble of research)

Breechclout

Macuahuitl

Funfact: I had started this chapter immediately after the previous one was finished, but never finished it due to fear of never being able to write on here again.

On a side note: BREEZIES!

Comments

[Emv7]

yay updates
and what short of madness is this Ink filled quills?!
they will break so easy and enchantments for that will make them very expensive
I mean think on the number of featherless birds that this will cost

[The Psychopath]

4166939 WORTH IT!