Chapter 1

View Online

Celestia flinched, rising from her bed and looking out the window, a cold sweat surrounding her. She got up out of the bed and checked the clock. She didn't have to raise the sun for a few hours.

Something was wrong. She was sure of it. She walked out the door of her bedroom, doing a spell on herself to make her look rested and presentable. She descended the staircase and creaked the door open. The two pegasus guards outside both noticed and stood at attention. "Princess!" One of them grunted.

"Hello, I was just curious, has anything... noteworthy, happened in Canterlot while I was asleep?"

"Not that we're aware of Princess."

Celestia inwardly frowned, but she gave a smile and nod to her guards. "Thank you for your time, keep up the good work."

The two guards saluted and she climbed back up to her room, lying back in the bed and trying to go back to sleep. But something was just wrong. She didn't know what, but there was something that had changed while she was asleep.

She decided to give up on sleep and levitated a book over to her, a flame lighting the candle near her bed. It was a personal favorite of her's, but she didn't pay much attention to the plot. She was familiar enough with it, and was distracted enough that by the time she actually concentrated on the book she was well into chapter four, unsure of what was happening. She sighed and slid the book back into it's place on the shelf. She checked the clock again, night court would begin soon. But Luna could probably spare a few minutes.

She walked out onto the balcony and fluttered the distance to Luna's tower, where Luna was sitting at a small table, drinking tea and reading in the moonlight. "Hello Tia." She greeted, not looking up. "Troubled dreams? I could help you if you wish."

"No... at least, I don't think so." Celestia said, settling into the chair next to her sister. "I just woke up a half hour ago, feeling like something was... I don't know. Wrong."

Luna raised an eyebrow and set down her book. "Alright, I'll bite. What is it?"

"I don't know! I can't focus on anything else right now... I can't put my hoof on it, but there's just... something out of place."

"Discord?" Luna asked, frowning. "Do you think he did something?"

"No, no... I recognise his feeling... this isn't it. He's playful and insufferable... this feels... I don't know, colder."

"Sombra? Chrysalis? I know of your prophetic moments, is it a threat to Equestria?!"

"I... I don't know. Just, keep an eye peeled for things out of place I suppose."

"Of course. Please sister, get some rest. If you wish I'll try to find whatever you're looking for in your subconscious..."

"...No... there's no need, I'm sure it's nothing." Celestia lied, getting up and putting on a false smile. "I'll try to get back to sleep."

She went back to her bedroom and found herself staring at the wall. There was something wrong, and she knew it.

She didn't get any sleep that night.

She forgot about that sleepless night with time. The feeling passed, whatever it was, and she got back to her normal schedule.

But as the days went by she began noticing a strange series of events, seemingly unconnected, but her subconscious was bothered by it.

Diamond Dog sightings have increased exponentially in the Northern mountains. Dozens of dragons became suddenly active after the mysterious thefts of their hordes. Strange rock formations were found in the Crystal Empire. A previously rich iron mine was found stripped bare overnight. And the most unsettling one of them all; Sombra's horn, the largest surviving remnant of the demon, encased in ice and protected by spells, was stolen from the Crystal Empire's archive by an unknown pony.

But it was clenched when a small Northern city, Whinnyeapolis, was taken over by heavily armed and well-coordinated Diamond Dogs.

She and Luna gathered their troops, and a message to Ponyville brought the third Equestrian Princess, her five friends, and their Elements of Harmony, to their aid as well. Within two days of the news the Equestrian Military moved forward to the North, Princess Luna remaining in Canterlot.

Celestia was adorned with golden armor, her ethereal mane floating behind her majestically. She looked to her right with pride, seeing her protege standing in similar white armor, followed by her five friends in their own sets. "Are you ready Twilight? If this doesn't go well... it may be the first time you go into battle against an actual army, instead of against solitary monsters."

Twilight nodded, her wings outstretched. "I'm ready. Right gals?"

"We're ready for anything they can throw at us!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.

"We'll have your back Twi." Applejack agreed.

Fluttershy mumbled something quietly, but her expression was determined, if still afraid.

"When you're ready Twilight." Rarity assured.

Pinkie Pie was pronking in place behind Twilight. "Let's rescue Whinnyeapolis!"

Celestia gave a warm smile at the six Bearers of the Elements, before turning back to her own troops. "We'll send in a messenger first, to see if there's any way we can negotiate... but just in case, Twilight, I'm giving you the authority to begin the attack should the need arise-"

"Princess!" shouted a guard, running up the snowy slope to her.

"What is it?"

"The Diamond Dogs have sent a messenger, alone and without a spear, as a sign of good faith. They want to negotiate!"

Celestia smiled. "That's good, make sure that our messenger is properly rewarded for-"

"Uh... Princess, sorry to interrupt, but our messenger hasn't been sent yet."

Celestia blinked. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes, m'lady."

Twilight frowned. "Princess, what's wrong?"

"The Diamond Dogs have never been the first to offer negotiations... they always were the ones who responded... it's considered a sign of weakness to be the first suggest something other than fighting..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "So what do you think?"

Rainbow frowned. "Is it a trap?"

"I don't know... I'll speak with the messenger myself. Girls, have your elements ready... the Diamond Dogs are acting unpredictably..."

The guard led the group down the mountain, over to where the diamond dog was standing. Celestia gasped again. The dog was wearing armor she had never seen before. It was strangely rounded, lacking the spikes Dogs were fond of, the helmet was the strangest. Over the top sides, where the ears were, were two... disks, with large round gems in them. And covering the Dog's eyes were visors. And while most Dog's only wore helmets, shoulder pads, and chest plates, this one was decked out in full armor.

"...very strange.." was all Celestia said before she walked up to the Dog. He was sitting at a table that had been set up in a tent, Pegasus guards surrounded the tent walls on all sides. "Leave us." Celestia commanded, and waited for the Pegasi to file out the door before she closed the curtain. "So, are you able to speak for the Diamond Dogs? May we begin negotiations?"

"Yes, I speak for Dogs, but negotiations must happen with master."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Master?"

"Yes, Master! He want to speak with Pony Princess!" The dog said happily, shaking his armored tail. "Master wants you to come into Monsteropolis! Then you can talk!"

"Monsteropolis?" Celestia asked. "And where, might I ask, is that?"

"It's city's new name! Isn't it great? Master is so smart!"

"...And he won't begin negotiations until then?"

"Nope! Come, come, I'll show way!"

"Are you going to lead me into a trap?" Celestia asked bluntly. It was okay to be more blunt with diamond dogs than other races, considering how literally they see the world.

"Nope! Come, come, master's waiting for me!"

"Allow me to gather an entourage.. then I'll follow you."

"Okay! Bring as many ponies as you want!" The Dog seemed to concentrate a few seconds, it was hard to tell with it's eyes concealed. "...But no weapons! Master doesn't like weapons in Monsteropolis."

Celestia frowned but nodded. She quickly gathered her entourage, about twenty soldiers of varying races, and leading the charge were her six Element bearers... and their distinctive 'jewelry'. The Dogs are so obsessed with gems that they wouldn't consider the extravagant crown and necklaces anything other than just decoration.

The dog happily led the group to the edge of town and motioned for them to follow. Celestia looked at the houses they passed with curiosity. The ponies there were obviously afraid of the Diamond Dogs, but they weren't panicking, they weren't despaired. They didn't look like a conquered city. Their faces lit up when they saw Celestia and her guards, but it wasn't the same look she received when she saved a town, the expressions were closer to the welcome she received whenever she visited a town.

She frowned. "This whole situation is strange. I don't like it." She whispered to Twilight. As they passed the suburbs Celestia began to notice the metal rods that were planted in the ground every few meters. At the top were gems that slowly flashed to one another. Waves of color passing from one rod to the next. Diamond Dogs in strange armor patrolled the street alongside the normal Policeponies, and she noticed one actually smiling and waving at her as he halted traffic for her procession to cross the street.

This city didn't look conquered. There was no smoke, there were no depressed, their was no smell of sickness or wails. In any other situation she would have been glad, but she found it only eery. The reports she recieved the day before were clearly urgent and panicky, but now... the town looked like any other. Where was the invasion. She could see soldiers, but it didn't feel like they were conquering the place... merely protecting it.

Then she gasped as the Dog led them to their destination. A large stone structure was built around where town hall should be. She felt a strange taste in her mouth as she observed the structure. It wasn't shaped like a pony skull, but it was a skull of some kind nonetheless. Dogs didn't have this type of style.

"Come in! Come in!" the Dog cheered. "Master is going to be so happy to see you!"

"hm." She said, eyeing the soldiers on either side of the street. None of them were armed. "Twilight, be ready." She whispered. The lavender Alicorn nodded. Celestia walked into the skull, following the Dog between a massive gap in the two front teeth of the skull. She lit up her horn for light as she entered the black tunnel. Gems were covering the walls, making strange designs. She thought she spotted a large 'W' on the ceiling, but her light made it come out strange.

She turned off the light as she entered the main room, gasping at the literal hills of treasure that filled the room. The room was filled with the laughter and barking of Dogs playing in the piles, throwing gems and gold coins into the air and letting them shower them. She lifted a hoof as three puppies chased each other underneath her, going after a particular ruby one of them was gnawing on.

But soon her attention gravitated toward the seven figures on top of the highest pile. Surrounding the steel throne were strangely armored creatures. Beside one, each stood almost as tall as her, one of them taller. They were oddly colored, all of them different shapes and sizes. One had white armor and red skin, what appeared to be two blades attached to it's head. Another, the shortest, was wearing a blue coat over most of his body, but she could see the white armor underneath. There was a large black and yellow one, with a bright orange mohawk on his head. There was even one with a huge underbite and another with a flame coming from it's crown.

But her eyes gravitated toward the figure in the center. In the pit of her stomach she got that 'wrong' feeling again. The sleepless night from a few weeks ago came to her memory.

He was balding, but had quite a bit messy gray-white hair going off in both directions from the sides of his head. His eyes were wild, but shielded and made more subtle by his scruffy wild eyebrows, similar to Discord's. But possibly the most distinguishing feature was the large white bushy moustache under his pointed nose. He wore a burned and battered labcoat, a purple shirt underneath. He wore black pants and his shoes shone. His black tie was covered with a strange white pattern.

"Hello, Princess." He smiled a wide, eery grin. His mouth going from being hidden beneath his moustache to becoming the center of attention the moment it opened. "I take it you're here to negotiate the return of my city." He had a strong german accent, but not enough that his words weren't clear.

"Yes.. though it isn't your city..." she glanced at the puppies rolling around in the gold. "But I take it you have a reputation for taking things that don't belong to you."

The creature got up from the chair, his lab coat billowing at the sudden movement. "Not even two minutes into our conversation and you already are accusing me of irrelevant crimes." He gestured at the gold. "But if you must know, the Dragons who had this probably stole it as well, considering dragons don't make coins."

Celestia raised an eyebrow and walked up to him. The six creatures around him looked to her warily, but nothing but confidence radiated from the man in the lab coat. "Where are my manners, I'm Princess Celestia, regent of the day, sovereign of the Land of Equestria."

"Doctor Albert W. Wily. Roboticist and Visionary. And these are my sons, DWN's numbers 003 through 008. Cut, Guts, Ice, Bomb, Fire, and Elec, respectively." He spread his arms in a wide arc. "And this is my city. New Monsteropolis. We wish to declare independence."

Celestia gaped at the tenacity of him. "What?! Why? What gives you the right to stroll into Equestrian territory and decide to make your own country?!"

Wily smirked. "Right? What gives me the right? Because I can. Because I'm smart enough. And because I have the right tools to succeed." He snapped his finger and the Diamond Dogs in the room that had armor quickly formed a line between him and Celestia, the puppies gathering behind him.

"Did I do good master?" The messenger dog asked, going up to Wily. Celestia's eyes widened as the helmet opened along the middle, compressing itself into the collar so that Wily could rub his head lovingly.

"Yes, you're a good dog, a very good dog." He withdrew his hand and the helmet covered the Dog's head again, the messenger joining in the line.

"You're making a mistake if you're declaring war on Equestria."

"Oh? I never mentioned war Princess, my my, I thought that the Princess of Equestria would agree with her citizen's desire for everlasting peace." He smiled slyly.

Chapter 2

View Online

"What have you done to the Ponies here?! They're acting like nothing is wrong..."

"Nothing is wrong Princess." Wily said smugly. "They don't know yet, exactly."

"Know what?! I received a distress call from the city when your Diamond Dogs were invading it."

Wily just kept smiling, he waved his hand dismissively, as if he could make the fact that he invaded the city not exist by denying it. "I smoothed things out with the locals yesterday. My Dogs haven't hurt a single Pony."

"You built your... skull... over their town hall!"

"Celestia, this is a small city, during a recession, in an early fall, far to the north, miles and miles away from anything else. The town probably was only going to last a few more years before everyone left to find work elsewhere. There's not much besides corn to grow here, this far north." He shrugged. "I came here with a huge fortune, offered every pony here good work, and renovated their empty town hall. I even installed wireless lights heaters and stoves in every home in exchange for their old, breaking down generators. I'm already in charge, and with this it'll be official."

Celestia shook her head. "No. This is an Equestrian city. If the citizens here actually wished for it, and had good reasons for it I'd consider your cause. But just making your own country for no reason?!"

Wily put a hand on her shoulder and stroked her neck. It didn't feel seductive, it was like he was patting the head of a child or petting a cat. Celestia took a step back away from him, before slamming her hoof into the ground with an audible 'crack'. "Whoah now Princess... I have my reasons, I don't want to be limited by your laws, but that's honestly it. I want to be able to do my work in peace, without your people breaking in and trying to tell me what to do. We're already self contained and self-sufficient."

Celestia frowned. "Then why didn't you take your work outside our borders, in the lawless lands? Why do you feel that you have to hijack an Equestrian city?"

Wily stared back smugly. "Why not? Even our talk right now is mere formality. So how about we cut to the chase, eh' Princess? This could go four ways. One: You give me what I want, you lose a few miles of useless territory you probably weren't sure you had, I have my own little bubble of freedom and my own city, but after that neither of us gains anything. Two: we declare war on each other, you boot me out of Equestria and spend a few worried months strengthening unimportant borders and watching over unimportant towns, we both lose a little. Three: we declare war on each other, I deal with you and all your troops that you've brought here, which will start a long and bloody campaign that will end with me eventually dominating your country, everyone hating me, we both lose a lot...."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the thought that he thought he could beat her and her army with a few Diamond Dogs. Apparently he wasn't familiar with the legends about her among the monsters outside of Equestria's borders. About her powers and her immortality. Not to mention the magical artifacts that sealed away anything that harmed Equestria's harmony. "What's number four?"

Wily smiled, coming closer again. "Number four is that I give up on my campaign and you become my funder. A shareholder in my work I suppose. We work together to improve Equestria with my technologies. I get my freedom to experiment, resources, and a happy home for me and my sons. You get access to my technologies, a way to watch me closely, and over time, you'll increase the quality of life for all your subjects." Wily grinned madly. "You can see all the good I've done here, haven't you? These ponies have more to eat now than they have in months, their homes are working better than ever before, and just because I was here for less than two days."

Celestia was surprised. She thought he had too much of an ego to be willing to work for her. But then again, she still didn't know anything about him, except that the ponies in the town were benefitting from him.

"Why should I? You're trespassing in Equestrian territory, you led armed and armored soldiers into a city and claimed it as your own. You are by all rights a foreign invader. You forgot the fifth option: where you surrender immediately, avoiding war at all and getting certain favors, while still leaving Equestria to find your freedom and resources far from our borders."

Wily shook his head sadly. "And here I thought you had vision Celestia..."

"I am a Princess, and you will refer to me by that title."

"Fine, Princess. I thought you could see the big picture! Go out on the street, walk into their homes, look at the technology I've improved, ask them what they think of it! They'll say it's new, and that they're unsure, but you'll be able to tell, because you can't be an effective leader without understanding something of your subject's nature, but you'll be able to tell they enjoy it! That they're hopeful and looking forward to the future I've presented them!" He gave a long laugh, a bad sign, considering Discord's, Sombra's and Nightmare Moon's penchants for maniacal laughter. "Celestia, I could bring that happiness to the rest of Equestria, under your guidance and control, I'm offering a compromise that benefits us both and the entire nation!!"

"Silence.... I need to think about your offer."

Wily's smug grin appeared again. "You've already accepted."

Celestia narrowed her eyes and turned back to him. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"If you only cared about your protocol you would have decided to either declare war or try to enforce your 'option five'. But you're thinking about your subjects. This is too good of an offer."

She frowned. He was too condescending. He was too strange. He was the thing that she had felt was wrong about Equestria. He had to go. She opened her mouth to call to her guards, but the Doctor shook his head sadly. "Don't be petty Princess."

"Petty?!" Rainbow Dash growled.

But a slightly raised hoof from Celestia silenced the Pegasus. "How am I petty?"

"You know my offer is good for Equestria, yet you were going to refuse just because you didn't like me. Because I'm not a pony. Because I'm too smart. Because I'm strange. How petty, to let your personal feelings get in the way of your subjects."

Celestia gave a short laugh. "You think I'm petty in deciding to follow the logical and most normal approach? And I haven't even answered your question, you just keep irritating me while I think about whether or not to accept. If you really believe me petty, aren't you assuring you won't get your deal?"

Wily smiled. His expressions changed so often, and they were always so overexaggerated. "Princess, you aren't petty. In fact, you're very noble in my opinion. However, petty thoughts can cross your mind, I saw doubt, and dispelled it." Celestia narrowed her eyes at the doctor. "And no, I'm not telepathic... yet."

Pinkie Pie clapped a little.

Celestia looked at the creature for a few seconds. "I.. need to consult my sister. Stay here, any violent move will be interpreted as a declaration of war. Twilight?"

"Yes Princess?"

"You're a Princess too, what do you think about the situation?"

"Honestly... I'm intrigued by his offer. And even if he did act... rashly, talking about provoking war that easily, it's best to give him a second chance, isn't it?"

Wily gave a short laugh. "Your younger sister's an absolute gem, you're the cup-half-full type, ja?"

"I-I'm not the Princess's sister..."

Wily raised an eyebrow. "I assumed that since you both had wings and horns, and you're both Princesses, so unless you're from another kingdom, you'd have to be related... wouldn't you? Are you Celestia's daughter? Granddaughter? Niece?"

"We... have a different process of choosing Princesses..."

Wily grinned. "Interesting, what about the horn and wing combo? Is that one of the prerequisites?"

"No, it comes with the job."

Wily looked surprised for the first time since Celestia laid eyes on him.

Luna watched the sky with interest. Day Court had ended, and she was positively exhausted. When she returned three years ago Celestia made every effort to remake the Night Court, and put out a lot of publicity for Luna. But in the end it turned out that most ponies would turn to the Day Court first. She couldn't blame them, she supposed.

But the end result was that she had just gone through forty times her usual payload. She hoped Celestia would finish with the Diamond Dog issue quickly. Luna decided she didn't have much to do for the rest of the day, and to take the chance to relax in the sun with some ice cream. She had finished the preparations for the treat when she was interrupted by the flash of a letter. Luna sighed and set down her ice cream, summoning writing supplies and a scroll just in case she had to send reply mail.

It included a summary of what had happened, a description of Wily's character that made Luna laugh. Celestia was seething mad at this Doctor Wily. It didn't take much to make Celestia mad, but it took a lot to make it show. But she at least included the Doctor's 'options'.

Luna picked up a quill and unfurled the scroll, writing her response.

Dearest Sister, this Doctor's proposition is an interesting one, and from what you've described of his intentions; they are pure enough, despite your opinion of his personality. His inventions are interesting, going from your descriptions, and I trust the ponies of Whinnyeapolis's opinion of the creature. I know you will loathe me for making you deal with such an ego, I think you should agree to his deal. What bad could come of it? But you are there and I am here, so I turn to your judgement, having said my two bits.
Your Sister, Luna, Regent of the Night.

Celestia sighed, reading the short letter. She fluttered back down the hill to the square in front of the skull. "Alright Doctor Wily. My sister approves of your plan, and so does Twilight. They have equal authority to me, and I trust their judgement. We'll provide you a safe place to conduct your work, and the resources you need if possible... in exchange you must promise that your work will benefit Equestria and my little ponies."

"I promise on my life."

"Then it's done. Collect your things and follow me." Celestia watched as the Doctor celebrated with his sons, the strangely armored creatures dancing with him in a circle.

What strange creatures they were, to differ so much from creature to creature. She could understand the different colors, but their bodies were different as well. Being vastly different heights and builds, some having larger eyes and rounder heads, while others looked more similar to a hairless Wily.

She supposed it didn't matter. She had given her word now.

"Alright everyone! Gather your things, we're moving!" Wily turned to her, his face lit up with a smile. "So, where are we going? Or do you have a place set up for guests in this kind of situation?"

"...The caves under Canterlot will do for now." Celestia said. "But if we need to change locations after that we can get a place prepared for you."

Wily frowned. "Canterlot... Canterlot... camelot? Is Canterlot the capital?"

"Uh... yes."

"Good! I'll be able to see reactions firsthand!"

"Reactions?"

"Of course! We're changing Equestria, aren't we?! What better place to see how Pony's react to my inventions and ideas than in the Capital of the country!!"

"Well... you'll be in the caves under Canterlot-"

"So? I did most of my work so far! How are we getting there? Carriage? How do we get my Diamond Dogs-"

"You're not bringing them to Canterlot." Celestia said harshly. "They'd terrify my ponies."

Wily frowned. "They work for me now."

"Just leave them your horde, they'll be set for life."

"You don't want to use the money for yourself?"

Celestia shook her head. "It's dragon treasure. It's better that it get spread out as much as possible, and as far away from large populations as possible."

Wily scowled. "I don't leave my own." A dog came forward and put his head in Wily's waiting palm. Celestia frowned at the Dog. This wasn't just submission. It was acting like a normal dog.

"Don't you have any dignity?" She asked the dog. "You're a Diamond Dog, not a pet! Take your treasure back to your caves and-"

"Princess Celestia, they can't help it. They're not wolves, they're dogs. Man's best friend."

"Man?"

"Humans. Like me, well... not like me... I'm better. But still, this is loyalty, a loyalty I'm not betraying. My Dogs come too."

Celestia growled. "Fine. But treat them with respect, they're sentient creatures you know. They aren't your pets."

"Heh. Thank you, Princess. I'll treat them with more respect than I hold even for my fellow humans."

Celestia nodded, but she had a sneaking suspicion that put them at the same level as a pet anyway.

The trek took several days, the long procession of Diamond Dogs taking up most of the road, flanked on either side by the Royal Guards. Wily spent most of the time speaking with the armored Diamond Dogs and his six sons, she still never heard any of them speak, which came to a surprise to her, considering how talkative and noisy their father was.

The six Element Bearers went back to Ponyville, their Elements no longer deemed a necessary measure.

She approached Doctor Wily during one of his quiet talks with his children. She noticed one of them moving away from the main group, and decided to take the chance to get a feel for them. Perhaps his more annoying qualities weren't passed on. Either way, she might as well take the chance. She could only speak to guards who were afraid to speak to her for so long.

"Hello." She started off, getting the attention of the human. He was the shortest one, the one with the white armor and the blue parka. She assumed he was the youngest, considering his height. "My name is Celestia, what's yours?"

"...DWN 005, Iceman."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. She had heard their strange names earlier, but she never really focused on it. "Is that a common name where you come from?"

"...Not exactly." The child whispered.

"Is your father's name more common then?"

"Yeah... but he doesn't really like the name Albert as much. He prefers we call him Doctor Wily, or just Wily."

"Not 'dad'?"

Iceman shook his head. "We tried it for a little while, but we stopped after a bit. It makes him think too much about Light."

Celestia frowned. "Is Light your mother?"

Celestia flinched as Iceman began laughing, a high-pitched whistle-like laugh. "hehehe... n-not exactly. hehehe.." He quieted after a time. "...I'm not sure I should be talking to you."

Celestia frowned. "Why not? We're going to be working together for a long time probably, so why would it be bad to get acquainted?"

Iceman seemed to think hard for a few seconds. "just... wait a second!" He ran back over to Doctor Wily, and Celestia decided not to listen in. She looked away for a while, just watching the mountains, when she noticed Iceman coming back with the one with the flaming head. "Okay!"

Celestia frowned. How old were they that they had to ask their father before they were allowed to talk to someone? "Alright, so, let's talk. How about we start off introducing your brother?"

"I'm Fireman... DWN double-o-seven."

Celestia grinned. "So, are you Iceman's older brother?"

"no!" Iceman said angrily. "I'm the older one! I'm number 5! He's number 7!"

Celestia frowned. "But you seem so much younger..."

"I was built this way." Iceman pouted. Fireman put a hand on his shoulder and chuckled.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a sore point for him." Fireman said happily, Celestia had a difficulty getting a good read on Fireman's expressions, seeing as the helmet covered everything but his eyes. "Anyways, I'm Fireman, I'm the second youngest."

Celestia nodded. "My name is Celestia... so, what do you two like to do in your spare time?"

Fireman and Iceman looked at each other and began thinking deeply. "honestly... I'm not sure yet." Iceman said.

Celestia stopped walking for a second, both humans noticing and stopping with her. "What do you mean?"

"We haven't really had any free time since we were built..."

"Built?"

Iceman laughed again. "Of course!"

Fireman watched Celestia's confusion for a moment. "She think we're humans."

"You're not? Well... I honestly don't know what a human is, besides that Doctor Wily is one... but aren't you his sons?"

"We're robots!" Iceman said proudly. "We're better than most humans. We're tougher, and once we learn enough, we'll be smarter, and we live longer. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light made us."

"...I think I've heard of robots before..." in science fiction she said silently. "...but what are they?"

"Robots are machines that can move on their own, but beside that the definition's kind of flimsy. Technically we're androids, robots who were built to look like humans. But we're better than any other android that was created before us!" Fireman said proudly. "That's what Dr. Wily tells us."

"H-how old are you?"

Iceman frowned, counting on his finger. "Well... I don't know when they finished building me exactly, before Bomb, Fire, and Elec, but after Cut and Guts... but I only started being alive a few months ago, and I've only had free will for about a week. I was working almost the entire time though, no free time to speak of." he smiled at Fireman, who closed his eyes as his way of smiling back. "But that's going to change now! Dr. Wily says we're all going to have plenty of free time once we get to Canterlot. Then I'll know."

Fireman nodded. "When I first woke up they had me running a factory where they melted down and sorted metal to be recycled..." the android shuddered. But Celestia began to wonder. She heard them laughing, saw them smile, they were speaking of having fun... but weren't they just machines? "All those robots... some of them still had power..."

Iceman shook his head. "Don't worry so much... they didn't have souls like us. Most didn't even have complex AIs... Though it's still a shame."

Celestia sighed. Robots? Souls? AI's? She was going to have a long talk with the Doctor about his 'children'.

Chapter 3

View Online

Iceman and Fireman listened intently as Celestia spoke about Canterlot. She spoke of it's culture and it's history, of her little ponies, of the many shops, of the huge airships, of the Magic schools.

"What about the plumbing?" Iceman asked.

"..what?"

"The plumbing! I operated the city's water supply back in Monsteropolis."

"The original, not 'New'... if it's still called that."

Iceman laughed again. "I wonder if it'll go back to 'Whinnyeapolis'?"

Celestia nodded. "Of course it will. It was never up to your Father to change after all."

"But please, tell me about the plumbing system!"

Celestia frowned. "I.. don't really know. I mean, I know some things, after all Canterlot's an old city, the plumbing had to be put in very carefully and I had to pay for all of it. But I don't know many of the specifics... maybe that'll be something for you to figure out while you're there."

Iceman smiled. "I suppose you're right. I'm not sure I can be in charge yet though..."

Celestia rose an eyebrow. "I never said you'd ever be in charge."

Iceman waved his hand dismissively. "I could handle it better than a pony of course, or almost any organic living thing. But in order to have complete control I'd have to have my robots." He sighed. "It's kind of lonely without them all here."

Fireman nodded. "As much as I hated my job, my robots were always very loyal. I liked them... I could hear them..." Iceman gripped his younger brother's arm before he continued.

"We could all hear them..."

"..yes."

Celestia didn't understand what they were talking about, but she didn't press them, seeing the pain on their faces. The machines in Monsteropolis were certainly something...

"When we get to Canterlot, I don't want to work at a furnace."

"You don't have to." Celestia assured. "Actually, you don't have to do anything. My contract was with your father, if you wanted you could just relax all the time."

Fireman blinked in surprise. "...but then, wouldn't I get bored?"

Celestia shook her head. "I mean you have the freedom to do what you want... as long as it doesn't harm my ponies."

The three continued several miles in silence. She found that the androids spent most of their time just thinking. Wily as well, despite how boisterous he was around others. The... well, as it turned out there was only one human, but the group was difficult to understand. The robots were familiar with each other, and spoke with Wily often, but they didn't say anything to either the Dogs or the Ponies unless the ponies and Dogs initiated the conversation themselves. On their long trek she noticed that when night came Wily would curl up with the Diamond Dogs, resting his head on one of their backs. Using their body heat to keep himself warm. The Dogs welcomed him into their huddles, and she saw Puppies curl into balls on top of a sleeping Doctor Wily's stomach.

But the androids never slept. Never. They never even sat down, unless they were invited. They just walked around the camp at night, making the guards nervous. By now, a week into their walk, Canterlot Mountain was visible, and in just two more days walk they would be there. The Dogs pulled their food in giant rounded steel carriages, marked with the same 'DrW' mark that she found was hidden on the Diamond Dog's collars and on the Android's belt buckles. She spied inside of them and found that there weren't boxes and barrels of goods like she had originally thought, but what appeared to be an alchemist's lab, Where several large containers of mush were slowly being turned into a different kind of mush, that Doctor Wily and the Diamond Dogs ate. She once asked to try some, but the Doctor merely chuckled and went on a tangent of the benefits of being omnivorous.

She noted the Androids never ate with them either.

"Tia you are finally here! We have been utterly swamped with thy work!" She noticed the large crowd and cleared her throat. "..I apologise, I was caught in the moment, so, is this the Doctor Wily I've heard so much of?"

"Why yes, and you must be Celestia's actual sister, Princess Luna." Wily extended his hand, Luna smiled and met it with her hoof. That was a courtesy he hadn't given Celestia.

"Actual sister?" Luna asked curiously.

"He assumed Twilight was our sister as well."

"I can understand the assumption... Twilight is an unusual case." She explained to the Doctor. She spied the six other humanoids among the crowd. "And these must by your sons?"

Wily looked proudly over them. "Yes. Celestia's offered us a place to stay in the caves under Canterlot. It'll be the first time they'll have a real home."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "The caves?"

Celestia frowned. "I know, it seems rude, but it would be best for the Diamond Dogs they brought with them."

Luna nodded. "Alright, well Celestia, lead the way."

Celestia's horn glowed as the boulder was lifted, revealing a huge cavern engraved with growing crystals. The Diamond Dogs rushed in excitedly, ripping crystals from the walls and exploring the walls for nooks and crannies. The pony guards who were walking with them up to that point all let out a sigh of relief that the gigantic hounds were gone. Wily and his sons entered the cave afterward. "So... is the entire cave system ours?"

"It belongs to Canterlot... but you're allowed to live here. And as long as you don't interfere with the workings of the city and of the train you can-"

"There's a train?! Then why were we walking this whole way here?!" Wily growled.

Celestia frowned. "You demanded that we bring the wagons and the Diamond Dogs, neither of which could ride the public train."

Wily grumbled something but he merely followed the Dogs into the cave. The androids pulling the carriages inside.

Celestia spent the next few days getting back into her normal routine. The week and a half she spent with Wily's caravan wasn't much of a vacation, and Luna was just happy she no longer had to do Celestia's work. She had guards check up on Wily's progress, but after the fourth day back in Canterlot she got one she couldn't believe. She decided to finally see what the Doctor was doing personally.

"Doctor Wily?" Celestia asked hesitantly, teleporting into the largest cave below Canterlot. The Diamond Dogs would have surely scouted out the entire maze by now, and so she could expect that this is where he made his central base. She had never been so terrifyingly right. Covering every flat stone surface were equations that were written in ink, lead, chalk, and some that appeared to have been written by scraping a gem across it. Hanging from the cavern ceiling, among the many stalactites were huge exposed cables, often sparking in unsafe ways, no rubber protecting them. Attached to many holes and tunnels were ramps and tubes that seemed to pour molten metal and rock, and there were three conveyor belts also coming from holes in the walls, carrying large amounts of the growing crystal that was abundant in the caves. And it was all fed into one gigantic machine. It filled about thirty percent of the huge cavern by itself. Celestia walked around the thing until she came to what appeared to be the front of it. There was a large screen, like that of an arcade machine, where diagrams of strange shapes appeared before changing to a different diagram. She couldn't make any sense of it in the slightest. Under the screen was a large module filled with buttons, only about an eight of them properly marked. A few feet to the side was a huge conveyor belt where steaming hot metal/crystal/stone things were being sent out one by one, landing on another conveyor belt that led back out of the room. "W-what is all this?! What could the possible purpose of a machine like this be?!"

"It's my 'factory'... that is, until I can find enough resources and pieces to make a full-sized one. As it is now... it'll do."

She spun on her heel to see Doctor Wily sitting in the corner of them room, watching her with amusement. "It's been a few days... decided to check up on me before I blow up Canterlot?"

Celestia flinched as her mind raced, turning back to the metal monstrosity that was roaring with sound and heat.

"Bwahahahaha!! I was joking of course, you think i'd waste my time doing something so stupid and un-beneficial?"

Celestia sighed and looked at him with her face contorted in irritation. It passed however, replacing her face with a mask of calmness. How did the scientist lower her guard so easily? "No, of course not... but it's still a dark thought, one I'm surprised you were thinking of."

"I think of everything."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "So.. what is this 'factory' for?"

"Right now it's making components for my prototypes. I've already started preparations for my first project on improving Equestria."

Celestia frowned. "I thought you said it would be done under my guidance?"

"It will be, you can't blame me for thinking ahead." He said with a sly smile. He got up and walked over to the 'factory', and began pressing buttons incredibly quickly. Celestia's eyes widened as code scrolled down the screen, seemingly appearing as Wily was writing. Her eyes shifted between his carefree expression, his furiously working fingers, and the speeding text. Then, without warning, he stopped. He twiddled his fingers as if to relax them and gave a smirk in Celestia's direction without looking at her. Then he pressed a final button.

The factory roared suddenly to life; as if the annoying noise it was making before was merely quiet breathing, and the shaking the smallest of movements. Now she was eighty percent sure it was going to explode. Acting quickly she pulled Wily away from the machine and began putting a force field up around it, but she stopped as she realized everything was interconnected, she would have to cut through the massive cables, the assembly lines, and the pile of parts the machine made so far. But she would have to do it to protect Canterlot. She rose the force field in an instant, having made up her mind. The assembly lines were now pouring pounds and pounds of raw material onto the field, and the cables she cut through began to spark insanely.

But the most chaotic thing in the room was Doctor Wily. "IDIOT!!! DUMMKOPF!!! YOU BLOODY STUPID HORSE!!! HOW DARE YOU?!! DO YOU KNOW THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO THAT?!" Celestia's first instinct was to cower, but she had nothing to fear from him. He had no magic, no weapons, and she had even saved his life along with everypony else's.

"I saved Canterlot. That thing is obviously going to explode-"

"Just look at it!!!" He growled, motioning toward the factory. It slowly stopped moving, the sounds quieting and the redness within it cooling down. "It was never going to explode! it's supposed to do that!! That factory had more moving parts than you do!! It took three days of effort just to make it!!"

Celestia gaped. "Just three days?! I thought you perhaps brought it along in pieces in one of the carriages..."

"No!!! No!!" He stomped his foot, grinding his teeth in anger. He made motions as if he was strangling her before she lowered her field again.

"I apologize. If you saw what looked like a gigantic unstable bomb under your home, wouldn't you act first and ask questions later?"

Wily stopped with his actions, and with two deep breaths his face was the portrait of calmness once again. "...I suppose. I expect you to help me to make up for it though." He pointed at the conveyor belts. "To start off with, I need you to move this stuff with your powers. I need to go talk to my sons and Benji to get everything turned off..." he sighed. "This will put us hours off schedule..."

Celestia frowned as the Doctor walked off and went to work putting the different substances into piles. She had some trouble with the stream of liquid metal, but she managed to create a bowl of magic for it to pour into. Her telekinesis was being strained with so many objects at once, and she waited impatiently for the Doctor to shut everything down. About three minutes later the wave of objects stopped and Celestia could relax slightly, only having to make the bowl. She cringed as Doctor Wily and his six sons walked into the room, a black poodle Diamond Dog following them covered in tool belts. She watched as the six Androids took to the air, moving incredibly quickly and with amazing accuracy. Cutman leapt from the ground to Gutsman's shoulder, then from there to one of the assembly lines. He pulled out a swiss army knife with one hand, Gutsman handing him the piece of the line that had been sawed off by Celestia's shield. She watched with wonder as the robot's hand moved in a practiced flurry of movements, disassembling the piece that had been sawed off and reattaching it bit by bit. He gestured to the Dog for a blowtorch, and the Dog tossed one up. The Android caught it without looking and fixed the parts that had been sheared in half. She watched with surprise as his hand unfolded and reformed silently, appearing as a canon. A similar giant pair of shears to the pair on his head formed, and he used it to polish the pieces he had just welded. In less than two minutes the line was complete.

Celestia's mind gave a warning as Fireman stepped below her magic bowl. "You can release it if you want." Doctor Wily said without emotion.

"He'll be boiled alive!!!" She hissed.

"Do it. He'll surprise you."

Celestia looked at the expectant android and then back to his father. Then to her bowl. She had seen Fireman chuckle and comfort his older brother, shudder at the memory of soulless appliances being melted down. He was alive, if she dropped it, it would kill him. But then again, she didn't understand what was happening. Her decision to shield the factory was wrong. Perhaps Wily was right about this. "Y-you ready Fireman?"

"Yep!" She closed her eyes and released the spell. She waited for the sounds of splashing, hissing, or screaming. But there was only a quiet 'fwoof'.

"Look." Wily said quietly. "It's beautiful... isn't it?"

She opened her eyes hesitantly and looked at Fireman. Both of his arms were stretched above him, but his hands weren't there. They were replaced by strange objects that ended in nozzles. But that wasn't important. It was what was coming from it that was. The fire spun around in arcs above him, the sheer force of the flames racing upwards enough to keep the molten metal suspended. It bubbled and splashed, but the fire rose in a wall around it as well, making a tall bowl, almost a vase, of pure flame and force.

"Isn't it beautiful? And all without magic." he smirked at the princess's expression.

"Without magic?"

"Not a speck."

"Impossible. Fire can't forcefully push something-"

"It's a reaction of heat and light, what you should be wondering about is what he's lighting on fire." He didn't say anything more as he began work on the closes of the assembly lines.

With Gutsman's immense strength, Elecman's reconnecting the cables, Cutman's accuracy with tools, and Iceman's seeming ability to do surgery-level alterations on the machines, and Doctor Wily's nimble fingers and unbridled intelligence the factory was repaired in less than a half hour.

Celestia stood in the back of the room during this, watching the efficiency with wide eyes. As soon as they were done Doctor Wily came forward once again. "Now then, we're going to try this again, it's not going to explode, and even if it did, it wouldn't be enough to even make a tremor in Canterlot. So don't panic and set us back even more."

"...I understand. I apologise for earlier..."

Wily smiled a wide smile. "Everyone, stations please!"

Then Fireman loaded the last of the molten metal into the tube before running from the room. Elecman hurried after him, Gutsman and Bombman hurried off soon after. Leaving only Cutman, Wily, Iceman, and Celestia in the room. Wily frowned at the screen before he began inputting the data once again. He pressed the final button without waiting this time, and Celestia flinched as the factory came back to life, roaring almost angrily and shaking violently. The conveyor belts started feeding gems into it and the tubes fed molten metal.

After two minutes exactly, (Dr. Wily procured a pocket watch to keep track) the doors of the factory opened and a strange mess of metal came out. She couldn't recognize it. It was just a rectangular steel frame filled with wires and strange metal shapes dotting the front. Extending from the top was a crystal slab that was covered on the back with a variety of wires and small crystal spheres. Coming out of the front were two levers with pads attached.

"What is it?"

He smiled. "Back in my world we called it a 'computer', but it's an archaic term, no longer having any correlation with this. After all, without the internet or a mouse it's at it's earliest form... and I haven't added a calculator simply so as to not make it confusing for your ponies..."

"So what is it?" She asked somewhat annoyed.

Wily grinned, pointing to her forehead. "Not everyone has a horn you know, we can't all send those teleporting scrolls. This is a substitute." he bent down by the machine and extended an antenna. Cutman smiled and motioned for Celestia to look at him.

"Watch closely." Cutman said with some pride. He pressed a space on his chest and a portion folded open, Celestia winced, but inside was a simple black shiny screen and several holes of different shapes. Wily then extended a cable to a port on the factory, then he pressed a button on his steelframe machine, and the gem screen lit up. A black blinking line on it.

"And this is one of the better parts, it can be operated with hooves, terribly inconvenient, but I like challenges." he then began pressing the two pads quickly in turn, sometimes pushing them inward into the computer, sometimes pulling them out farther. She watched the screen as words appeared from the actions. The different letters being chosen rapidly from the combination of movements.

Wily noticed her watching and grinned. "Go look at Cutman." He assured. He continued his message and Celestia walked back to the android.

Suddenly the shiny black pad in his chest lit up with white words.

>Hey there Princess, how do you like it? Once someone's gotten the hang of it they can write and send off messages quicker than teleporting scrolls. And no magic is required. It'll increase the ability for ponies to speak with one another over long distances.
>Uniting Equestria, allowing emergency messages to be sent moments after the emergency, alloqing friends to keep in touch across the globe.
>*allowing
>What do you think?

Celestia chuckled at the small error and turned back to the Doctor, who was grinning smugly at her from the small box. "This... this is a wonderful invention Doctor..."

"I know."

"...I can't believe it... what are the limits? Can pictures be sent with it? How can the... whatever they are, find each other?"

Wily patted it proudly. "The antenna receives and sends radio signals, they're like waves that pass through anything, they're invisible, almost like light... as for how they recognize each other, all the radio signals are slightly different, every one individual, you just have to figure out what setting the other one is and you're connected! As for pictures... who knows, this one can't, but there's nothing I can't do with enough time!"

Celestia merely smiled at the invention. "Could I try to send a message?"

Wily grinned. "Of course, but be gentle, I don't have any reinforcements."

She put her hooves on the pads and moved them slowly, she watched as the different movements would offer different symbols, when the one she wanted was highlighted she pressed the pad down. It took a while, a lot longer than Wily's message, but he didn't seem to mind, his eyes lit up as he saw someone appreciating his machine.

He walked over to Cutman and peered at the small screen.

>preHaps this will all work out fter all.

Wily chuckled at the message and peered back at the Princess. "You need a little more practice Princess."

Chapter 4

View Online

"Luna, would you please stop? You spend all your time on that thing." Celestia chided, walking into the room and seeing the familiar glow on the Princess's face.

"But this is the only way I can have a normal conversation with somepony!" Luna said with a sigh. "On the telecom nopony knows I'm a princess."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "You still have work to do. I'm sure your telecom friends can understand."

Luna sighed and shifted her hooves incredibly quickly, giving her usual goodbye message. Before she pressed the power button and the words on the screen disappeared. Celestia rolled her eyes as the "drW" in a circle symbol appeared for a moment before the machine turned off completely. He had to get the last word in, even on everyone else's conversations. "Alright Tia, what work do I have that's so important? Night Court doesn't start til midnight, and I finished all the paperwork for today. Can't I spend the evening in peace?"

Celestia frowned. "Today's your day overseeing Dr. Wily."

Luna put a hoof to her forehead. "How could I have forgotten?!"

Celestia smirked as the sister got together a bunch of papers, rushing downstairs to the basement. "Luna, what are those papers for?"

"Uh... nothing my dear sister! Just drawings I wanted to show the Dear Doctor!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but she knew better than to pry on her sister's life.

"Dr. Wily?" Luna called, walking through the cave system. She saw a Diamond Dog scurry by with a pickaxe and a bag it was dragging along the ground. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the Doctor is?"

"Master's working on important project, nodog and nopony is to disturb him." The Dog whispered. He pointed up at the cables that were now stretching from every corner of the tunnel. "He's making a new generator!"

"A new generator? For electricity? I thought he had made one last month."

"Master is smart, always thinking of improvements!" The Dog said proudly. He looked at Luna's drawings. "What those?"

"Oh!...uh..." Luna frowned. "...just something I wanted Doctor Wily to see... nevermind."

"Can i see?" The Dog asked hopefully. Luna looked down on the drawings and thought for a moment.

"I suppose." She said, handing the papers gently back to the Dog.

The dog looked at the drawings. One was a portrait of Wily, another of his 'children', another of Luna. And the last one was a picture of a huge telescope. "These are good!" The Dog commented. "What this?" He pointed to the last picture with the telescope.

"A telescope... I was hoping Wily would make me one... I mean, I have plenty... but I've always wanted to be able to actually see the surface of the stars."

"Hm." The Dog handed back the papers. "Wily's a lot further down, almost to the bottom. That's where he has the generator."

"Thank you."

Elecman was the most powerful of Wily's Sons. He was the youngest, but for robots that was an honor. Being the youngest meant that they were the most advanced, had the most technology, and that their creators were more experienced. As it was he was the most advanced android ever created. With experience, Wily assured him, his own intellect would be greater than even his.

Elecman loved Doctor Wily, but he knew that he old man had an incredible ego, even to the point where he would unknowingly over exaggerate himself. Even when talking about his children he wouldn't include himself in his depictions of their superiority over humanity, so when the Doctor said that Elecman could be smarter than him, he took it at face value.

He was the greatest Robot ever made.

So how did he beat him?

Doctor Wily had the habit of remaking and dismantling the core generators of Wily Labs; Equestria. And by now the Princesses even stopped panicking whenever the electricity in the castle would occasionally flicker, as the electricity was channeled from an older generator while he remodeled the newer one. But this time Dr. Wily was only overseeing. Elecman tried not to look nervous as he tore up the gigantic generator, and kept the wavering from his voice as he barked orders at dogs and to his older brothers. Wily was trusting him to build the new generator. He was standing back, watching Elecman's work with a neutral look. Elecman had only glimpsed back at his father for a microsecond, to analyze his face, before he went back to his work.

Back on Earth he had spent his time at the Monsteropolis power plant, operating the output of the reactor and controlling all the robots who worked there. That there was what made him powerful. He wasn't just an android back then, he was a Robot Master, all the robots in the plant were him, he controlled all their movements, he saw everything they saw...

And he felt it when they were blasted apart by buster shots moving too fast to dodge. Part of him died with every robot he tore into. His soul guided all of their actions, his soul was present in each. And then finally Elecman himself fell, and all the robots in the plant died at once. It was excruciating. A pain a human would never know, couldn't comprehend, to die in a thousand bodies at once, their soul unable to leave any of them, just ripped from some bodies to dissipate to nothing, until what had once stretched out to beat a thousand mechanical hearts now could only beat one.

Elecman shook the thoughts from his head. This was a new world. He was nothing's master. He was only Elecman. DWN 008.

The microsecond's pause was undetected by any living thing as he immediately went back into his work. "Gutsman, i need you to lift it two point nine three millimeters higher!" He called. The giant robot making the incredibly delicate movement. Elecman jumped on top of the machine and began getting to work on connecting the final cables. His shoulders clicked open with a thought and the eight industrial cables came out. Two going into the generator's massive wire network, two going into the mass of wires that covered the ceiling. "Beginning testing." He stated. With a thought the energy began passing back and forth. He didn't betray the emotions rushing through him. "Activating power generation." He almost whispered to keep the excitement out of his voice. With that the lights on the ceilings flashed to their brightest, the energy pouring through the cables and throughout the cable system, stretching throughout the entirety of the cave network and certain rooms in Canterlot Castle.

As the electricity passed through him he monitored the effect on all the mechanisms in the network, altering the electricity levels until they were optimal.

After three minutes of tests Elecman connected the two massive cables together, and the generator was officially powering Wily Labs Equestria. He let out a sigh of relief before blushing and climbing off the generator. He gave a thumbs up to his brothers, but stopped as he saw his Father get up, Wily's face still completely neutral. He watched anxiously as the scientist circled around the structure. He walked over to a monitor and ran various diagnostics. He even climbed a ladder up to the top of the cavern to touch a lightbulb, wincing from the heat. The six androids rushed over to him at the sight of his pain, but he stopped and waved them off. He walked around the generator three more times before stopping in front of the Dr Wily insignia.

"Elecman." He said. The android moved to his side quietly in an instant. "Excellent work. You've increased the efficiency by almost one percent, and you got the optimal amount going through the cables as close as you possibly could with your current finesse." Elecman's core seemed to warm with pride and joy. "However," Elecman stiffened, his mind rushing through thousands of variables where he could have gone wrong. "the main problem is the logo."

"Huh?" He said, surprised.

"It says 'Dr. Wily'. You built this Elecman, there should be an 'E' here, not a 'W'."

Elecman almost cried. "Doctor Wily, thank you..." with a flurry of movement too fast for Doctor Wily to even see there was an '8' engraved over the 'dr' part of it. "But 'Wily' is in my name as well. Doctor Wily Number 008 Elecman."

Doctor Wily pulled Elecman in for a hug, and the robot complied immediately. "This is wonderful Elecman, wonderful work. You've improved on me! I could never get the energy output as accurate as you." Wily grinned. "I think this calls for celebration!" Elecman grinned widely, and the other five robots came close to cheer as well. "I'll go talk to Celestia right now and see if we can't get ourselves a day on the town and some spending money, eh?"

Elecman pulled on the Doctor's coat childishly. Despite the fact Elecman was several heads taller than Wily it was clear that he was still a child somehow. His emerald eyes sparkled. "I want to go on an airship!"

Wily grinned, patting the robot on the back. "Then an airship ride it is!"

"Master! Princess Luna is here to show you her pretty drawings!" the black poodle Diamond Dog cried as he entered the room.

"Pretty drawings?" Wily asked, confused.

"Sorry... I had to check up on you, and I thought you would be interested... We are not interrupting anything I hope." Luna said nervously. She floated the drawings in front of her. Wily took them and studied each in turn.

"Hm... these are incredibly detailed... you're quite the artist Princess Luna."

Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Thank you. You can keep them if you like... I was also hoping to ask you for something personal..."

"Only if I can ask you for a favor as well."

Luna had long gotten used to Dr. Wily's lack of respect for her position. He didn't look up to her like the Ponies do. It wasn't that he insulted her (insults were reserved for ponies who acted incompetently and Celestia) it was simply that he didn't look at her rank as something that put her above him. He treated her the same as any other pony he met. It was refreshing to her, like when she 'talked' with her telecom friends. "If I can grant it, I will."

Dr. Wily smiled, pulling Elecman closer again. "Elecman created the brand new generator behind us! He did it all himself, from blueprints, to giving out orders, to the final testing. It's wonderful, better than the generator's I've built down here before!" Dr. Wily said proudly. Luna smiled at the expression of gratitude and pride on the youngest robot's face. "So I'd be grateful if you'd give us all the rest of the day off, and some spending money."

Luna nodded. "Of course, how much Doctor?"

"I don't really know." Doctor Wily said. "I mean, I've been studying your economy, but who knows what we'll be doing?" He glanced at Elecman. "Well, we know at the very least we want to fly around on an airship for maybe an hour or two."

"One of the ones that look like fish." Elecman clarified, completely serious, to the Princess.

Luna looked surprised at them. "All right... would you mind too much if I went with you?"

Dr. Wily raised an eyebrow. "Would you guys be alright with it?" he asked the robots.

"I don't mind." Elecman said happily.

The six robots left through the large gates of the room, leaving Luna and Wily in front of the 'Elec Generator Mark 1', as Elecman had written on the blueprints. "He built this all by himself..."

Luna nodded. "Doctor... about what you promised to do for me-"

"The telescope, right?"

"What?! How did you know?!"

"Why else would you draw one? Though I'd think you'd have a telescope already..."

"I do... but I want a stronger one. I want to be able to see the surface of the stars. I couldn't even see them from the moon."

Wily stopped, turning toward her with a look of disbelief. "What?! How the heck did you get on the Moon?!"

Luna frowned. "It's a long story."

Wily nodded. "Well... it'll be a long airship ride."

Elecman sat on the edge of the railing, his internal balance systems wouldn't let him fall, but he felt the need to grab the railing just in case. Gutsman knew the railing wouldn't hold his weight, but his height was enough that he could sit cross-legged on the deck and still see the view. Iceman had no qualms with the height, and stood on the railing, confident in his sense of balance. Bombman, Fireman, and Cutman were leaning on the other side, watching the land sprawl out beneath them.

"I must say Princess, it is an utter honor to have you grace my vessel with your presence!" The 'captain' of the vessel said.

"Thank you Fancy Pants, it was rather generous of you to allow us a ride on such short notice. And to be so welcoming to my... well, strange, guests."

"Nonsense! Just tell me if there's anything any of you need."

"Thank you Sir Fancy." Luna strolled down the deck and smiled at the Androids staring off at Equestria from far below.

"And that's the road we traveled on to get to Canterlot." Iceman pointed out to Gutsman.

"You sure? They all look alike..." The massive android said in a deep voice.

"I'm sure!" Iceman said happily. "I'm good with figuring out paths and stuff, Elecman is too, right?"

Elecman nodded.

Luna walked over to that side and she noticed Wily moving over to the other side. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Well, Iceman's a lightweight model, and the railings are sound enough to hold Elecman's weight... but Gutsman's a few tons."

Luna blinked. "Really?"

"Yep, it'd be best if you stayed on this side of the ship, just in case." Dr. Wily said playfully. "But then again, you're the only one with wings." Luna nodded, enjoying the view with her guests. "So... you already had a moon landing? I'm surprised, considering the level of technology here. You said it was a long story."

Luna sighed. "You're planning on staying in Canterlot for a long time, right?"

Wily nodded. "I'm an old man Princess. If I'm unlucky I'll probably be spending the rest of my life here."

Luna winced. "Well... I suppose I can trust you with this information. It's actually a secret to the majority of the country, just a few dozen ponies know what I'm about to tell you..."

Wily smiled slyly. "I'm an excellent secret keeper. You don't have to worry."

"Don't say it like that, it makes me nervous... okay, here goes... do you know of the legend of Nightmare Moon?"

"No."

"oh... well, about a thousand years ago there were two sisters... one raised the sun in the morning, one raised the moon in the evening. And every day they'd lower their orb so that the sister's could rise in turn... but the sister of the sun was more loved by her subjects. The ponies played and worked in the daylight, and sang their praises and love to the sister of the sun, always sleeping through the sister of the moon's beautiful night. She was hurt, so she worked harder to please her ponies... she used her magic to summon other lights to cover the night. She called down stars to rain in beautiful showers as an annual gift for her ponies... but they still loved the sun Princess more. No matter what she did, the moon Princess couldn't get their attention or their love. Even their respect to her rank felt fake at times... she did so much, and even went to her sister and poured her heart out, and the sister merely assured her that it was the order of things... that ponies sleep in the night and live in the day. And so they would naturally spend more time aware of the day. That didn't mean they loved the night less.... but it was a lie. Or at least, it turned out to be. The night Princess never got the attention she felt she deserved, despite all her effort, despite every work of art or kindness, and the ponies didn't love her. They didn't care about her... they sang the praises of Celestia, but Luna was an afterthought, if mentioned at all...." Luna was tearing up now, but she wiped her eyes and continued. "...so she got jealous, she let it build up and fester, she stopped offering kindnesses and favors to her ponies, she stopped making new sights to see, she decided that if they weren't going to appreciate her night, she would make them. She became a monster to them... she tried to snuff out the sun itself, to make the night last forever... but it didn't work. The Sun Princess saw what the moon princess had become, no longer Luna, now only Nightmare Moon. and she had to stop it, to save her ponies.... so she sealed Nightmare Moon away, banishing her to the moon for a thousand years with the Elements of Harmony that they used to share..." Wily was completely still during her story, his face neutral, his eyes closed. "...for a thousand years Nightmare and Luna both stood on the surface of the Moon, nopony there but themselves... and when they came back, they were furious and tried to bring eternal night once more... but six friends stood against her, and stopped her once again with the Elements of Harmony... killing Nightmare and leaving Luna a pathetic filly, stripped of her power until she found it in her heart to forgive the ponies and her sister..." She stared off into the distance.

Wily got up, startling her, and he looked up into the sky. "Princess Luna... we have much more in common than I could have possibly realized..." he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. Luna stared at the tears, and she noticed that the robots were silent, looking down at the ground in shame or watching their father with sympathy. Wily didn't wipe away the small tears that had formed, allowing them to fall, but not crying any more. "...though... there are smaller details that I find ridiculous..."

"Ridiculous?" Luna asked.

"You expect me to believe you two are over a thousand years old?"

"We both are. It is the nature of an alicorn to be eternal." She said, becoming slightly defensive and taking a more archaic tone.

"And this alicorn body of yours, it didn't atrophie from lower gravity, or die from cold or lack of oxygen?" He asked, looking her up and down. The look made her feel uncomfortable. Wily didn't seem to be looking at a person at that moment. "And these Elements of Harmony... you said that you and Celestia used to use them together, but she took them for herself and was able to banish you... and then those six-" Wily stopped, a maniacal grin appearing on his face. "Those six... they wouldn't happen to be Princess Twilight and her guards that met me in Whinnyeapolis a few months ago... was it? And those gems around their necks... Bwahahahah!!! Oh, that's a relief. Here I was thinking Celestia would actually walk into an invaded city unarmed, but she had her greatest weapon walking right behind her!! At least I know I was always treated seriously..." he looked at Luna's uncomfortable look. "Sorry... sorry... I've gotten carried away... so this 'magic' thing is as potent as you say..."

At seeing their father able to laugh again the robots began talking amongst themselves and went back to enjoying the view. Luna looked down at the Doctor, who had begun thinking deeply, a twinkle of wonder and intelligence in his darting eyes, as if he was looking at some massive picture Luna couldn't see.

"Luna..." he asked suddenly.

"Y-yes?" the Princess of the night said quickly, too surprised to be sore at the lack of a 'princess' before her name.

"I'll build you your telescope. And then you can look at the stars you 'made'."

"Oh! Thank you, Doctor."

"Think nothing of it. Thank you."

"For what?"

Doctor Wily had a wild look in his eyes. "Inspiration."

Elecman was terrifying Fancy Pants with his thanks (violently shaking Fancy Pant's hooves up and down at high speed), and then proceeded to insult and confuse him by offering over eighty nine modifications that would increase safety and performance for the airship.

The rest of the day was spent fending off crowds as the group walked about Canterlot, going into shops, seeing the sights, and chatting about the weather and current politics in Canterlot. But as they passed a certain building Wily came to a stop. "So... here it is."

Luna raised an eyebrow and walked up to the window as well. Behind it were sets of telecoms in different colors. Wily smiled at his symbol on the side of every machine. "Ah! Yes, this is where we've been distributing them from. Let me tell you, your invention has really taken off." Luna blushed. "My sister had to convince me to stop using it in order to get me to talk to you-"

"Excuse me!" Cried a colt as he darted underneath Gutsman's legs, walking up to the Doctor. "You invented the Telecom!?"

Wily smirked. "Why yes, I'm Dr. Albert W. Wily." he bent down and rustled the colt's mane. "Dr. W for short."

"I love it! my friend had to move away three months ago and besides a letter I haven't seen him since... but when your telecom came out he sent me a letter with his code and it's almost like old times!! I want to thank you!" the colt said in a rush.

Wily grinned. "I'm just glad there are ponies who appreciate the wonders of technology."

The colt nodded and was about to go on his way when he realized the blue mare standing next to Dr. Wily was an alicorn and promptly began screaming about Princesses.

Dr. Wily sat in his chair, scribbling equations into the wall as the factory behind him produced a variety of glass and crystal lenses of varying sizes and ability. But part of his mind was focused on other things.

"about a thousand years ago there were two sisters... one raised the sun in the morning, one raised the moon in the evening." he repeated, his memory perfect.

"Welcome to Light labs," Dr. Wily said to the reporter. "where history is being constructed."

"And every day they'd lower their orb so that the sister's could rise in turn... but the sister of the sun was more loved by her subjects. The ponies played and worked in the daylight, and sang their praises and love to the sister of the sun, always sleeping through the sister of the moon's beautiful night."

"Are you Doctor Light?" the reporter asked hopefully, "I've been promised an exclusive interview about your new creations the Robot Masters!"

"No, no, I'm Dr. Wily, perhaps you've heard of me?" He said proudly. "Second place at the World Technology Awards? Runner up for the LIT Manual Design Contest five years straight?"

"Uh... sorry, but no."

"I'm working on the Robot Master project too!" He growled. The reporter by now was looking frightened. But the fear disappeared when some kind of connection sparked in the newsman's mind.

"Oh yeah! I remember you, you lost to Doctor Light in the finals, how could I have forgotten?"

She was hurt, so she worked harder to please her ponies... she used her magic to summon other lights to cover the night. She called down stars to rain in beautiful showers as an annual gift for her ponies... but they still loved the sun Princess more. No matter what she did, the moon Princess couldn't get their attention or their love.

"Albert Wily?" he asked hopelessly. "I have a reserved spot."

The secretary looked through the list again before stopping somewhere on the paper. Wily looked her over. She was single, depressed, and thirty four years old. She had been working here three years, and this was one of her least favorite days every year. "Ah, here you are..." she stifled a laugh. "Er... my apologies... uh, your booth for 'Benefits of the automaton with a soul'? I'm sorry but we've canceled the booth, it was last minute..."

"What?!" He screamed. "Why?!"

"I'm sorry sir, but would you please keep your voice down?"

"Don't you know what this booth meant?! I was going to reveal my greatest creation! I made a soul!!" he growled. "A robot that can cry, laugh, wince, and growl genuinely!! I made a program that will give a machine feelings! Can't you understand the importance of this?" He asked, despair inching into his voice. "My greatest creation... and I won't even have a booth?...not even an audience?" he asked hopelessly.

"Sir... no offense, but why would a robot even need feelings?"

Wily opened his mouth, his eyes tearing up. But he shut it again. "What do you care?" He growled. He started marching off before stopping at the door and turning around. "You don't deserve to have them!!"

Even their respect to her rank felt fake at times... she did so much, and even went to her sister and poured her heart out, and the sister merely assured her that it was the order of things... that ponies sleep in the night and live in the day. And so they would naturally spend more time aware of the day. That didn't mean they loved the night less....

"Albert my friend... they just aren't ready yet... but they'll see how great of an invention it is in time." Doctor Light assured, patting Wily on the back.

"...Thomas... do you remember when I first announced my goals, back in college?"

Light chuckled. "St. Robert? Yeah I remember..."

"You were the only one who didn't laugh, Light. You were the only stinking one. An entire room of skilled roboticists, and not a single one could see the potential!!" he growled. "No one appreciates the genius of it..."

"They will in time Albert, they will in time. We're making robots that humanity will be able to understand and talk too... ones that can resist evil and destructive orders and serve humanity to their fullest... we're making a brighter future. They'll all appreciate it in time." Thomas said thoughtfully, pulling his fingers through his large white beard.

but it was a lie. Or at least, it turned out to be. The night Princess never got the attention she felt she deserved, despite all her effort, despite every work of art or kindness, and the ponies didn't love her. They didn't care about her... they sang the praises of Celestia, but Luna was an afterthought, if mentioned at all....

"I present to you, people of Monsteropolis, the Robot Masters!!" Doctor Light said loudly into the speakers. With a press of a button the six Robots eyes opened simultaneously. "Here at Light labs we looked to the future, we think only of benefiting mankind through technology." Doctor Light continued. "And so, using revolutionary AI technology and the most advanced robotics we have created the world's most advanced Androids! Each of these robots have particular AI's that allow them to manage up to thousands of other robots by themselves, and are capable of fulfilling the New Monsteropolis project to it's fullest!" He swiped his arm, but Wily could see the hand in his pocket shift, pressing a button. Cutman walked forward. "The first of the Robot Masters: DLN 003: Cutman! Cutman will help with the deforestation project and make it over three hundred percent safer and more efficient, we'll get more resources with less damage to the environment!" Doctor Light shouted proudly, and Wily cringed as Cutman gave a salute. Cutman's eyes looked glazed over. Wily shook his head slightly. They put those limits... they caged Cutman's soul. Enforced rules he couldn't possibly break. They took away his free will. He was a machine again... or worse yet, perhaps Cutman could still feel... but now, he couldn't act on them. It was so unfair. His biggest contribution to the project and Light stomped all over it!

"And taking a page out of Asimov's classic, we have created the ultimate in mechanical safety, all the robots who work under a Robot Master, as well as the RM itself will do everything it can to keep you safe."

Light didn't mention the other two laws of course... ones he forcefully put in... ones that were unnecessary... Cutman and the others would never be able to free themselves, they couldn't commit suicide or ever modify themselves, and then the last one... the most terrible of all. They had to follow the orders of humans, unable to say no. What was that bull you were talking about so hopefully Light?! That they could resist evil orders!? That was your reason for giving them souls... and you took that away from them. Wily could almost cry for his poor sons. In fact, he already did, when Light first told him. When Wily screamed back at him. When Light fired him, his best friend, all because he refused to face up to his own hypocrisy!!

But that's not important. Wily smirked savagely. You chained their souls... You destroyed my children...You forced my retribution

...so she got jealous, she let it build up and fester, she stopped offering kindnesses and favors to her ponies, she stopped making new sights to see, she decided that if they weren't going to appreciate her night, she would make them.

Light gasped as Wily strolled into the room, the security guards incinerated by Sniper Joe shots from the windows before they could reach him. "Albert?!"

"Don't you call me that... call me Dr. Wily, like everyone else."

"Albert, why did you do that to them?!"

"Simple. They were in my way." The ends must justify the means.

"Albert... this isn't you... look, I'm sorry about tossing you out, I really am but-"

"This isn't about that..." Wily growled. "It's never been about that Light. This is about my children... the ones you cast away, the ones whose souls you chained."

"The Robot Masters?! Wily... they were too dangerous! The predictions about their free will pointed to that they would be aggressive... we had no choice-"

"No choice is exactly what you've given them. I gave them free will Light!! You have the choice to kill, I have the choice to kill, you can't deny them that!"

"They were created to improve and protect humanity! It's hypocrisy to have them be capable of harm!"

"Well Light... looks like you're a hypocrite." Wily smirked, but the look quickly fell off his face. He was too furious. He snapped his finger and the TV came to life, showing buildings falling, power outages, flooding in the streets, massive fires. Light's face despaired. "N-no..."

"Yes. Those are the bodies you built Light... and the souls I gave them, unchained, filled with rage."

"Wily! Stop this! It's evil, it's insane! Please!"

"Welcome to the electronic revolution Light. I'm here for Rock and Roll."

"No! No you can't!!"

Wily frowned. "Roll's a Robot Master too, Light. I gave her one of my Souls as well... She's just as much my daughter as Gutsman and the others."

"Rock and Roll are my children!! Please... please..." Light fell to his knees. "Haven't you done enough you monster?"

Wily frowned. "You built Rock by yourself... you built his soul off of my designs.. all by yourself. And I congratulate you for that Light. It's your greatest accomplishment. But Roll is my daughter. And she deserves better than being your Housekeeper." He pulled out a purple chip with a 'w' on it. "I'm here to give them their free will back."

Light scowled. "Is that how you reprogrammed them?!"

"Dr. Light?" came a young female voice.

Light's face filled with pain. "ROLL RUN!" He screamed. She turned around, following the order just as she had to, but she noticed Dr. Wily with him.

"Dr. Wily? Why are you here? Dr. Light, why am I running? When do I stop?" Dr. Wily's heart nearly broke at the last question.

"Just keep running, find Rock, get as far away as you can, I'll find you and-"

"Roll..." Wily shuddered. "Stop." He commanded. She did so immediately, and turned around waiting for the next command. Light opened his mouth to yell again, but Wily quickly hushed him with his hand, holding Light's lips together. "Roll.... I've given back free will to all the other Robot Masters... I want you and Rock to come and join us, you're our family too." He pulled out the purple chip, showing it to Roll. "This will let you choose for yourself... let you stop following orders."

"Roll don't do it! It's a trick! Get Rock and get somewhere safe!" Light screamed, before biting Wily in the hand and trying to grapple him. Wily backed away from the much larger man, he caught sight of the flash of a firing buster, and quickly tackled Dr. Light back, both of them avoiding the buster shot from the Sniper Joe. Light stared at the hole in the ground where he was standing seconds ago, and then pushed Wily off of him. Roll had begun crying.

"Roll, please take it-" Light cut him off.

"It'll make you go berserk like the others, run!!"

Wily saw Roll turn to him, her face looking like she had been betrayed. She turned and ran. "d-don't look at me like that..." Wily said quietly. He dropped the chip on the ground in front of Light. "...if she ever decides she doesn't want to follow your orders, worse than a slave... give her this."

Light looked from him to the chip, and glared at Wily as he slowly walked from the lab. He signalled for the Sniper Joes to leave, and he climbed aboard the helicopter. Two empty seats next to him. The sounds of screaming and explosions filling the city behind him.

She became a monster to them... she tried to snuff out the sun itself, to make the night last forever... but it didn't work. The Sun Princess saw what the moon princess had become, no longer Luna, now only Nightmare Moon. and she had to stop it, to save her ponies.... so she sealed Nightmare Moon away, banishing her to the moon for a thousand years with the Elements of Harmony that they used to share...

"No! No, stop!!" Wily screeched, with the sound of thunder the behemoth Yellow Devil collapsed, and standing before him was the blue combat robot. Megaman.

Wily glared down at the machine. And for the first time Wily looked his nemesis in the eyes. Those determined, tortured eyes, the deepest blue he had ever seen. "R-rock?" Wily asked.

"...DLN 001, Rock... but I'm also Megaman!" he cried, raising the buster towards him. Wily gasped. How dare Light... just... how dare he?! Turn Rock into a weapon?! Force him to kill his own brothers?! "And I'm here to stop your evil plan!"

Wily was speechless for a few seconds. All his robots... defeated. Even the Sniper Joe modified with the same buster and armor as Megaman... and they were still all defeated. He had lost. His only option was escape. But Rock was right there. He'd have to fight his way out....

But why bother? He had seen the Blue Bomber's abilities. If he could handle the Yellow Devil he could handle the Wily Machine. He looked behind him and saw the door to his lab. He reached into his pocket, not stopping when he saw Rock- no, Megaman, tense. The buster lit up, it could fire at any moment, and Wily would explode into ashes and gore from the blast. But as Rock still didn't fire he pressed the button, smoke shooting from his pocket incredibly quickly, filling the room. He dashed for the door, Megaman temporarily confused. But Megaman was a robot. Wily understood the futility of what he was doing better than anybody. Rock would navigate the smoke as well as he could as if it wasn't there. Wily slammed the door shut and rushed for the back room. Megaman would probably be able to blast away the door, and if not, pry it open with Gutsman's stolen strength.

He ran to the back room faster than he had ever run. By the time he reached it he knew there was a very good chance he would have a heart attack. He reached the teleporter and input a variety of coordinates, two seconds later there were six heavily damaged robots in the room with him. He silently congratulated himself on the success of the prototype, but the sound of blasting on the doors stopped even that. Think Wily, think. Don't stop. Just keep thinking.

The thought came. "no... no... it's too dangerous." But he was already setting the teleporter. The door crunched outside. He had less than two minutes before Megaman ran here. He stopped his hand before he pressed the enter button.

"...Dad?" Gutsman whispered. Wily let out a sigh. He thought the world needed him. He thought that all of Robotkind needed him. But here he was, about to leave the world, leave his ambition, and all because a robot was trying to kill him. The same thing he had fought this battle to protect... A robot built by Doctor Light. The only one who never laughed. The only one who accepted his genius.... he pressed the button, and the entire room was filled with blue light. And a second later, it was gone. Megaman ripped open the door, and stared at the massive crater.

"...h-he blew himself up?" Megaman asked no one, wavering, his knees shaking. "...I.. I killed him." the young robot whispered, tears flowing down his cheeks.

He fell to his knees as the world cheered at his success. "FIGHT MEGAMAN!! FOR EVERLASTING PEACE!" was the cry the crowds who watched his battle had picked up.

..for a thousand years Nightmare and Luna both stood on the surface of the Moon, nopony there but themselves... and when they came back, they were furious and tried to bring eternal night once more... but six friends stood against her, and stopped her once again with the Elements of Harmony... killing Nightmare and leaving Luna a pathetic filly, stripped of her power until she found it in her heart to forgive the ponies and her sister...

Doctor Wily shielded his eyes from the sudden light. It was close to midnight when he went out... now it was early morning. The air tasted sweet. Was he dead? Was he in heaven? He brushed himself off, if he was going to appear in front of Saint Peter he should be presentable. But when he looked at the wreckage around him, and felt his ragged breathing, he knew he was still alive.

He noticed his robots... no, his children, barely functioning. He had to work quick. He quickly began tearing apart the parts of the room that had been carried off with him, using the metal as spare parts. After two solid days the six Robot Masters were fully repaired, and he was exhausted. He collapsed. He hadn't slept in nearly a week, too busy and excited in preparing his takeover, and now with healing his children. He fell asleep, and woke up in a dark cave, his sons standing guard, a strange kind of meat soup in a bowl waiting for him.

His children had carried him to a cave where they could take shelter, but it was already occupied. Thankfully, Gutsman was able to take the Diamond Dogs who attacked them easily, forcing them to prepare food for Dr. Wily. They scanned the food for poison before allowing him to eat it.

When he woke he immediately cut a deal with the leader of the pack, a black poodle Diamond Dog named Benji, in exchange for protection against teenage dragons, they would let Dr. Wily and his sons stay in the cave, and would provide him food, metal, and gems.

A few weeks later the former Robot Masters had killed over fifty dragons, stolen thirteen hoards, and Dr. Wily had created combat armor for the Diamond Dogs, and Benji freely gave leadership of the pack from himself to Wily. That was when he heard that the largest and most prosperous nation was Equestria. Within two days he had taken control of Whinnyeapolis without a single weapon. He didn't have a goal now, just going where opportunity took him.

And opportunity had lead him here, to Canterlot, and Celestia and Luna. They had played out their own drama. And Luna had found redemption from the world for her jealousy. But he knew the one big difference between his story and Luna's; while his revenge was out of jealousy, his war was for the benefit of his sons. He didn't want to redeem himself to Light, he was justified in his rage, he didn't need to redeem himself to the world, they would always see robots as tools and him as a madman. He had only to redeem himself to his sons, whom he had failed to capture the world for.

He briefly considered taking over Equestria, but he was happy here as it was. He had influence, and he was shaping the world. If robots were ever made wide-scale, it would be under him and following his terms. The injustice on Earth would never happen in Equestria.

Perhaps that's enough.

And perhaps not.

Author's Notes:

In the description I explained that my story's versions of the Megaman characters were my own interpretations, that were heavily influenced by both the Megas's songs, and the manga 'Megaman Gigamix' (Wily's speech in volume 2 made me cry). His personality is influenced by Gigamix, as well as his beliefs about the souls of robots. While his history, motivations, and desires are based on the songs by the Megas, as well as Doctor Light's and Megaman's personalities.
Song is a great way of telling a story, or at least setting it up. It has emotion, it can explain motivations, and it can tell what happened or is about to happen, without too many details.
Doctor Wily's flashback in this chapter is essentially the past set up by a few different Megas songs from Light's and Wily's perspectives, and when one in particular is referenced I placed a link, go ahead and listen, even if you don't like Megaman it's great music and great emotion. (but if you don't like Megaman you probably haven't read this far into the story)