Dew Drop, a halfling from Metal City, ends up in Canterlot City and tries to start a new life. But when the Cyber Force and the Anti-Cyborg Group attack, he must defend Canterlot City as Android, the Hero of Courage!
Formerly known as "The Cyborg of Canterlot High"
After losing his home, his family, and his friends, young Dew Drop finds himself in Canterlot City. He decides to use this as an opportunity to restart his life. But sightings of an evil group of cyborgs known as the "Cyber Force" make things hard for the lad. Even worse, a radical group of humans known as the "Anti-Cyborg Group" are hunting down any cyborgs they can find in order to exterminate them.
Luckily, Dew Drop has a way to deal with these two groups: He is secretly the former hero of Metal City! His hero name is Android, the Hero of Courage! Armed with a powerful beam sword, a strong robotic arm, and some tough armor, Android is ready to defend Canterlot City at any cost!
It was quite a busy day at Canterlot High School. The halls were flooded with students happily chatting with each other. Like everyday at the school, the environment was positive and cheerful. The students were so busy with their casual conversations that no one noticed a new figure had entered the school. To be fair, it was so easy to overlook the newcomer since he didn’t have a unique appearance.
He had dark brown hair and dark green eyes. His outfit consisted of a light green hoodie, some slightly torn jeans, a pair of old red shoes, and some slightly cracked glasses. While everyone else looked cheerful, he appeared to be somewhat unsure of how to feel. He looked around the school and saw everyone having a good time. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and started walking.
Okay, Dew Drop, this is it, he thought. This is the start of a new life for you. You may have failed to protect your family, your friends, and even your home. But now you have the chance to keep your promise to your dad. Defeat the Cyber Force, stop the Anti-Cyborg Group, and restore peace between humans and cyborgs. Remember, you’re the last halfling of Metal City. Don’t let everyone down.
As he continued to walk, he started to look around for the principal’s office. He had heard many good things about Canterlot High and decided to give it a shot. He began to wonder if anyone would want to be friends with him despite having a robotic arm. He sighed as he recalled the many instances in which humans and cyborgs looked down at him for not being wholly cyborg or human. He scoffed at the fact that to both sides, anyone who was neither a human nor a cyborg was an abomination.
Ugh! Who came up with that stupid logic? He thought angrily. I swear to land, Metal City was filled with so many idiots! If I meet one more person who calls a halfling an abomination, I’m gonna…
*THUD*
*CRASH*
“OOF!”
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he never saw that he was heading straight towards someone. As a result, he and the person crashed into each other and fell to the floor. He looked up and saw that the person he had crashed into was a boy around his age. He had blue spiky hair, blue eyes, and peach skin. He wore a black leather jacket with a shield symbol under a lightning bolt on the sleeves, a pair of light blue pants, and a pair of black shoes with lightning symbols. Another noticeable feature was a red electric guitar on his back.
“Oh, shoot,” said the first fellow. “Sorry, dude! I was so deep in thought that I didn’t see you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” said the blue-haired boy. “Huh. I’ve never seen you around before. Are you new here?”
The newcomer nodded while getting up and helping the blue-haired boy up. “Yeah,” he answered. “I arrived at the school not too long ago. My name is Dew Drop. And you are?”
“Flash,” answered the blue-haired boy. “Flash Sentry. It’s nice to meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Flash,” said Dew Drop with a friendly smile. “Judging by the guitar on your back, I guess I should assume that you’re in a band. Am I right?”
“Yup,” answered Flash. “So, where are you headed?”
“I’m trying to find the principal’s office,” Dew Drop replied. “Can you show me where that is, please?”
“Sure,” said Flash. “Follow me!”
Dew Drop nodded and started to follow Flash. He took a quick glance at his right arm and felt nervous. Best to keep this arm of mine a secret from everyone, he thought. I don’t know how everyone will react to it.
“So, while we’re walking to the office, how about you tell me about yourself,” said Flash. “It’d be better than walking in silence.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” said Dew Drop. “Well, I guess I can start with the fact that I’m 15 years old. Um… I like anime, manga, superheroes, Jurassic Park, and a bunch of other things.”
“So, you’re sort of a geek, huh?” Asked Flash.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Dew Drop admitted. “I also get very passionate about certain franchises to the point where I will defend them. For example, when someone trash talks Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I get mad and jump in to defend it.”
“Wow,” said Flash. “Maybe you can help me understand the movie better.”
“Yeah, if you want me to,” said Dew Drop.
“Oh, here we are,” said Flash as he stopped walking. “This is the principal’s office. So, you just need to get your schedule, right?”
“Well, I think I may need to register to attend,” Dew Drop replied. “It’s been a while since I last attended a school.”
“Why is that?” Asked Flash.
“Let’s just say that… people weren’t very fond of me back at home for a few years,” Dew Drop answered, not ready to go into details of why he was treated so harshly.
“I see,” said Flash. “Well, if you ever want to go into details, I’m willing to listen.”
Dew Drop smiled a little and nodded in response. With that, Flash waved and walked away. Dew Drop faced the door, took a deep breath and knocked on it.
“Come in,” said a voice from the other side of the door.
Dew Drop opened the door and entered the room. It was quite small for an office. There were two bookcases, one next to the door and one at the back of the room behind a big desk. Speaking of big desks, Dew Drop saw that the desk had a computer monitor, a microphone, and a big speaker. Finally, behind the desk on a big green chair, sat a beautiful woman. She had very light skin, purple eyes, and hair that was striped with light green, light blue, and pink. She wore purple lipstick, a yellow overcoat with a sun badge, and a purple and white shirt underneath. That was all Dew Drop could see regarding the woman’s appearance.
He approached the desk and cleared his throat. “Um… hello,” he said. “Um… I’m hoping to register here at this school. See, I’m new to the neighborhood and have been trying to get settled down in living.”
The woman looked up at Dew Drop and her eyes filled up with concern. “Oh, dear,” she said in a very soothing voice. “Your clothes are a bit messy. Are you alright, dear one?”
Dew Drop smiled and nodded. “I’m fine,” he answered. “I’ve just… had a difficult time adjusting to Canterlot City, that’s all.”
The woman stood up and approached him, revealing that she wore purple pants and golden shoes. As soon as she was close to the boy, she gently placed a hand on his cheek. Her expression was like that of a mother who was worried for her child.
“What is your name, dear one?” She asked gently.
“M-my name is Dew Drop,” the young halfling replied.
“Where are you from?” She asked.
Dew Drop felt uneasy about revealing his home. But he decided to answer the question. If I don't work up the courage to be honest with her, then what kind of person am l?
"I'm from Metal City," he said nervously. "I believe that I might be all that's left of it."
The woman looked sad as she stared at the young halfling. "Oh, you poor thing," she said with sympathy. "I heard about what had happened to it. I'm sorry for your loss."
“It’s okay,” said Dew Drop with a sad smile. “I’m sorry for making you sad, Miss…?”
“Oh, right. I never told you my name,” said the woman. “I am Principal Celestia. Welcome to Canterlot High School!”
“Thank you, Principal Celestia,” said Dew Drop. “So… what do I need to do to get registered for this school?”
“Well, right now we need to figure out which classes for you to have,” said Principal Celestia as she went back to her chair and started to type on her keyboard. “Please, have a seat. This may take a while.”
Dew Drop nodded and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. He felt nervous about starting school since he was bullied back at home for being a halfling.
Well, here’s to hoping that the students here are more friendly than the ones from home, he thought.
*****
After fifteen minutes, Principal Celestia had printed out a copy of Dew Drop’s new schedule. “Here you go,” she said as she handed the copy to him. “This is your schedule. You’ll have to come back tomorrow in order to start classes. That way I can notify the teachers about you.”
Dew Drop smiled at the principal and nodded. “Thank you, Principal Celestia,” he said politely. “Um… is there any chance I can get a guide for the school so I don’t get lost?”
“Of course,” said the principal with a gentle smile. She then pushed the button on her microphone and said, “Sunset Shimmer, please come to the principal’s office. Sunset Shimmer, please come to the principal’s office. Thank you!”
A few minutes later, the door opened and closed. A figure stood next to Dew Drop. As the young halfling looked up at the figure, he saw that it was a girl slightly older than him. She had golden skin, aquamarine eyes, and red-and-yellow hair. She wore an orange shirt with a red-and-yellow sun symbol, a black vest with spikes around the neck area, a purple zip-up skirt, and a pair of black studded shoes. In Dew Drop’s eyes, she was quite lovely.
“Principal Celestia,” said the new girl, “you wanted to see me?”
Principal Celestia nodded and gestured to Dew Drop. “Yes,” she answered. “I need you to give this new student a tour of the school since he’ll be starting classes tomorrow.”
The girl turned towards Dew Drop and smiled. “Hi, my name is Sunset Shimmer,” she greeted with a smile. “And you are?”
“Dew Drop,” he answered as he got up and shook her hand.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dew Drop,” said Sunset before turning to the principal. “I’ll give him the tour. No worries!”
“Thank you, Sunset,” said the principal with a smile. “I’m so glad I can count on you.”
Sunset nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. Then she turned back towards Dew Drop. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get this tour started!”
Dew Drop nodded with a smile. “Lead the way, Sunset,” he said politely.
As the two teenagers left, Celestia’s face turned sad. After seeing the state of his clothes, she wondered if the boy had a home at all. It seemed like a possibility since he was from Metal City, which was destroyed during a terrible clash between the Cyber Force and the Anti-Cyborg Group.
Tch, she thought angrily. Those two groups are always fighting. I just hope Android can stop them soon. Everyone may have thought of him as a villain in Metal City. But at least everyone here in Canterlot City knows that he’s a hero.
Her thoughts then went to Dew Drop. Does he have a home? If not, then I should help him out. But how?
*****
Meanwhile, Dew Drop was taking in the sights of the school with a small smile as Sunset led him through the halls. Not gonna lie, he thought. This school is bigger and prettier than my old school. No posters that spout nonsense like, “Kill all cyborgs!” Ugh! I hated those posters.
“Hey, are you okay?” Sunset asked.
“Huh?” said Dew Drop, a little startled at the sudden sound of Sunset’s voice. “O-oh, sorry! I’m fine. Just… deep in thought, that’s all.”
Sunset looked concerned. “About what? Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked.
Dew Drop smiled softly and shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” he answered. “I don’t wanna trouble you with my problems right away.”
Sunset smiled at him and nodded. “Okay, then,” she replied. “Well, if you ever wanna talk about it, I’m willing to listen.”
“Thanks, Sunset,” said Dew Drop. “So, what else is there to see here?”
Sunset simply smiled and led him down the hallway even further. While that happened, Dew Drop had only one thought: I think I’m gonna be just fine here!
After Sunset led Dew Drop to the next location on the tour, she looked at her phone and asked him, "So you're starting classes tomorrow? I hope you aren't too overwhelmed. Am I going too fast?"
Dew Drop smiled at her. "Not at all," he answered. "This tour has been very helpful. In all honesty, this is a lot better than my old school."
He felt a wave of gratitude wash over him as he noticed that there was not a single poster that encouraged bullying towards cyborgs and halfling. Geez! Those posters were so disgusting. I get that cyborgs tend to lose their humanity after they… well, become cyborgs. But that's only because they allow the machine part of them to take over. Halfling, on the other hand, are still mostly human.
Sunset gave Dew Drop a warm smile. "Don't worry, everyone here was new once. Feel free to chat anyone up; the school has undergone a positive upswing lately."
Suddenly one of the lockers on the side of the room swung open, and a pink girl with frizzy pink hair popped out.
"Hi, Sunset! Have you seen anyone new around today? My elbow and nose started itching and that means there's someone new here at CHS!"
Sunset shook her head with a laugh. "He's right here. I was just giving him the tour."
Dew Drop yelped and jumped back at the sight of a girl with frizzy hair popping out from one of the lockers. As she spoke in a really fast and excited voice, he tried his best to hold back any laughter that was building up. Whoa! That was startling. But I can't help but smile.
The pink girl gasped loud and long before grabbing Dew Drop's hand and wringing it thoroughly. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, the head of the party planning committee! Welcome to CHS, you're going to love it here!"
Dew Drop was amazed by how cheerful this girl named Pinkie Pie was. He smiled and chuckled a little. "Well, it's nice to meet you Pinkie Pie," he said with a friendly grin. "I'm not gonna lie! That was the most cheerful greeting I have ever received in nine years!"
"Nine years?" Pinkie repeated. "That’s an oddly specific number. Were you held prisoner by some evil enchantress for nine years before escaping?"
Dew Drop giggled before shaking his head. "No way," he answered before frowning a little. "Let's just say that almost everyone where I'm from was… too quick to judge for not being like them."
Though, strangely enough, he thought. I do have a foe named Cyber Enchantress. I don't think she needs to know that right now.
"Aw, that sounds like a sad place to be," Pinkie hugged Dew Drop for a moment. "But don't worry, I bet everything will be much better for you now that you're no longer at… where did you say you came from?"
Dew Drop smiled at the hug. Then his frown came back as he hung his head. "Metal City," he answered quietly.
"Metal… City?" Sunset said. "I don't think I've ever been there."
"Me neither," Pinkie added. "Although if Dew Drop is happy to be away from it, then I don't know if I want to visit at all."
"You have no idea," said Dew Drop. "I think it's better if you don't hear about Metal City for now."
"Alright, if you say so," Sunset agreed. "Well, we just need to head to the cafeteria to conclude the tour. Right this way?" She beckoned to Dew Drop.
"I'll see you later, alligator!" Pinkie chirped before skipping off down the hall.
"After a while, crocodile," said Dew Drop with a grin. He then followed Sunset to the cafeteria.He decided to try and make a conversation with Sunset since he was curious about Pinkie. "So, is Pinkie one of your friends? She seems very cheerful and friendly.”
“She is indeed!” Sunset told him. “Pinkie’s probably one of the most welcoming people in the school. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants to throw a welcome to Canterlot High party for you.”
The young halfling smiled at the thought. “Wow!” He said. “She sounds like a very sweet girl! Sweeter than… um… a Hershey’s bar!”
“That’s one way to put it!” Sunset laughed. “Anyway, here’s the cafeteria. The lunch lady’s the grandma of one of my friends, Applejack. She’s a genius of a cook too. Makes some of the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted.”
“Ooh,” said Dew Drop while wiping away a little drool. “Just hearing that makes me feel hungry!”
Sunset smiled at that, then took a small bow. “And thus concludes the tour of Canterlot High,” she declared. “Any questions?”
He thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, I think I got it,” he answered. “I just hope that I have a good time here! Thank you for the tour, Sunset!” He lifted up his left arm for her to shake it. I’d rather not have her find out that I’m a halfling right now.
Sunset didn’t seem to think anything of it and shook Dew Drop’s hand. “Well, feel free to hang around if you want. I’ve got to get back to class, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” she then gave Dew Drop a friendly wave and began to walk back towards her classroom.
Dew Drop waved back at her with a smile. “Well, she was very nice,” he said to himself. He placed his hands into his pockets and felt something smooth and oval-shaped. He pulled the object out and saw an ocarina. “Oh, right! I almost forgot about that! Hmm… I think I’ll go to the music room and play a little music.”
Remembering where the music room was from the recent tour, Dew Drop easily found his way there and saw that it was empty. “Huh,” he said. “Looks like there’s no music class at this hour. Oh, well!” He pulled up a chair and sat down in it. Then, he began to play a rather soothing tune on his ocarina: The Aquescent Symphony, a remix of Zelda’s Serenade of Water.
As Dew Drop finished the song a little while later, he looked up to see a woman with blue skin and lilac and deep purple hair standing in the doorway to the music room, watching him. She noticed him looking at her and clapped softly.
“That was quite beautiful,” she said. “Sorry if I startled you. I am vice-principal Luna; I was just passing by when I heard you playing your instrument.”
“Oh, no worries,” he said, rubbing the back of his head shyly. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to hear that. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you, Vice-Principal Luna. My name is Dew Drop!”
“My sister told me that we would be receiving a new student,” Luna said. “Have you already been shown around the campus? If not, I can do that right now.”
Dew Drop smiled at her. “I actually received a tour from Sunset Shimmer,” he said. But I wouldn’t mind walking with you. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”
Luna and Dew Drop left the music room and walked through the mostly empty halls of the school. She didn’t seem to be leading him anywhere in particular just yet.
“That instrument you were playing,” Luna said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. What is it?”
“Oh, this is an ocarina,” he answered. “I’ve had this instrument with me ever since I was six! I would often play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on my N64! After playing the ocarina in the game a lot, I decided that I wanted to own one. So, on my sixth birthday, my dad bought me this! It even looks like the Ocarina of Time! I would play soothing songs if I was ever sad!”
“That’s a touching story,” Luna smiled at Dew Drop. “So you live with your father, then? He sounds like a good man.”
Dew Drop’s smile vanished as he stopped walking and hung his head. Shadows covered his eyes and his lips trembled a little. “No,” he answered. “Not anymore. I used to, along with the rest of my family.” He managed to hold back any tears that threatened to leak from his eyes. “But… they’re all gone now. Including the city I used to live ine.”
Luna stopped too and went back to where Dew Drop was standing and embraced him. “Oh, you poor boy,” she murmured, holding him close. “I didn’t know. You’re from Metal City, aren’t you?”
Dew Drop felt safe in her embrace before nodding. “Y-yeah,” he said, trying not to cry. “I-I’m the last one. The only survivor of Metal City. If only… Android was strong enough to save everyone.”
“I remember seeing Metal City on the news,” Luna said quietly. “I’m sorry to have brought up painful memories for you. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but don’t worry. You’re safe now, and we take care of our own here at Canterlot High.”
The young halfling smiled a little at her kind words. “Th-thank you,” he said gratefully. “A-and no worries. You didn’t know, that’s all.” He glanced at his right arm with unease.
“Wait, but if only you made it out of Metal City, then where are you staying?” Luna drew back a little bit. She looked Dew Drop over and took note of his somewhat ragged appearance. “You do have a place to stay, don’t you?”
Dew Drop shook his head with unease. “I’ve been trying to get a job in order to rent a place,” he admitted. “But, no luck so far. I guess life is a lot harder than I thought.”
Luna’s face grew stern. “This will not do at all. Come on,” she stood up and took Dew Drop’s hand in her own. “We are going to see my sister about this. I won’t stand by while a youth like you is struggling so much. Ever since my niece moved out, we’ve had this empty room in our house. You can stay with us, if Celestia agrees. And she will.”
Dew Drop’s face went into shock. “Celestia is your sister?!” He asked. “Whoa! Um… a-are you sure about me staying with you? I d-don’t want to be a bother.”
“It would bother me more if I didn’t help someone who was in need,” Luna reassured Dew Drop. “You’ve lost your home and your family; giving you somewhere to stay is the least I can do.”
He felt very relieved that this lady that he had just met was willing to help. Not even my step-mom was this kind, he thought. “W-well, okay then,” he said. “Thank you, Vice-principal Luna!”
“What kind of Vice-Principal would I be if I didn’t take care of my students?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. “My sister’s office is just up ahead. After school is over, we’ll take you back home.” --------------------------------------------------------------- True to her word, once the final bell rang for classes to be over, Luna came back into Celestia’s office to fetch Dew Drop. The principal herself had agreed easily to her sister’s request, and she even seemed happier to know that Dew Drop would be staying with them from today onward.
After a short drive, Luna pulled her car into the driveway of a large, two-storey house.
Dew Drop was deep in thought. I never thought I would ever meet any adults who were just as kind as my dad. Even the people who worked on the Android Project were not that friendly. They seemed to be only tolerable towards me. He glanced up at Celestia and Luna with a small smile. Man, Celestia seems more motherly than my step-mom, and Luna is incredibly nice.
As the car pulled up into the driveway, he looked up and saw the house. “Whoa,” he muttered. “Now that’s a very lovely house!”
“Thank you,” Luna said, turning off the engine and leading Dew Drop inside. “I’ll show you to your new room. I hope you don’t mind the smell of perfume; my niece used so much during her dating life that the place kind of smells like it permanently.”
Dew Drop smiled and chuckled. “It’s not a problem,” he said. “If anything, it beats the smell of rust and oil any day of the week.” Considering that Metal City was filled with rusted iron and old broken machines, it was no surprise that it wasn’t very pleasant in its smell.
Luna took Dew Drop up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were. On the far left was a door with the name ‘Cadance’ on it. This was where Luna led Dew Drop to.
“Sorry about the name plate,” Luna admitted. “Celestia didn’t want to take it down even after Cadance got married and moved into her husband’s home. I expect you can replace it with whatever you want.”
He smiled and nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m guessing Cadance was a very nice girl. I guess I can’t blame Celestia for not taking the name plate.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe I’ll use a name plate that is Zelda-themed.”
“We can go shopping on the weekend for one,” Luna suggested. “In the meantime, I hope you can get settled in. The furniture is kind of… pink, but the bed is still good, if a little flowery scented. We’ll get dinner after Celestia gets home. Is that alright with you?”
Dew Drop nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan,” he said. “I don’t know how much I can say, ‘Thank you!’ I’m just very grateful for this!”
“Think nothing of it,” Luna chuckled. “It will be nice to have a bit more liveliness in the house after so much time in silence. Celestia always did complain that our home life is too boring for her tastes.”
The young halfling let out a chuckle of his own. “Well, I guess I can’t blame her!” He said. “A little bit of quiet is okay. But we all need excitement every once in a while, don’t we?”
“Indeed,” Luna reached into her pocket and took out a key. “Here’s a key to the house, in case you feel like going out or coming here while Celestia and I are still at work. Just don’t throw any wild parties and I think we’ll all get along just fine.” She gave Dew Drop the key.
“Thanks again,” said Dew Drop. “And don’t worry. I’ve never once thrown a party before! I get nervous about the party going out of control if I ever throw one.” He had a thought of why else he wouldn't throw a wild party. That, and the fact that the Cyber Force is attracted to wild parties due to the chaos and negativity.
“I’ll leave you to settle in, then,” Luna patted Dew Drop on the shoulder. “I’ve some paperwork to sort out. Give me a shout if you need anything, alright?”
“Will do,” he said with a smile. As soon as Luna left, he went to the bed and fell into it with a sigh. “Oh, yeah! That feels so much better than laying in a box with just a blanket.” He looked up at the ceiling and felt sleepy. “Geez, this bed is so soft that I could fall asleep. Well, I guess a little nap won’t hurt.”
Slowly, he began to close his eyes. As he fell asleep, he felt that he was truly at home.
“Dew Drop,” a soft voice came as he was gently shaken awake. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
Dew Drop opened his eyes to see Celestia standing beside his bed. He sat up and stretched while yawning. “How long have I been asleep?” He asked.
“You’ve been asleep for about an hour,” the Canterlot High principal answered. “I had no idea you were this tired,” she added with a giggle.
Dew Drop rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “Well, to be fair, this is the first time I’ve slept in a bed in quite a while,” he said. He then smelled something tasty and drooled a little. “Mm! That smells good!”
“We thought you might want to have some dinner. We decided to order pizza,” Luna said from the doorway. Both women were dressed more casually now. “I hope you don’t mind pepperoni and cheese.”
Dew Drop nodded eagerly. “I love pizza,” he said excitedly. “Pepperoni is my favorite topping!”
The three gathered on the couch in front of the TV, where two large pizzas were waiting for them. Celestia clicked to the news while Luna and Dew Drop began to eat.
“We heard about Metal City from the news,” Celestia explained. “A lot of the kids at CHS don’t seem to bother watching it, but I think it’s a good idea to stay up to date with the latest happenings.”
The young halfling felt a bit sad that hardly any of the students seemed to care about Metal City. “I guess they feel that stuff in Metal City isn’t exciting. Or, maybe they just find the news boring. I don’t know.”
Celestia nodded and took a bite of pizza. Meanwhile, the news showed a story about a man who had been attacked by pigeons. Luna seemed to think it was interesting, but Celestia simply rolled her eyes and waited until the report was over.
Dew Drop wasn’t sure why pigeons would attack someone. He took a bite and kept watching the news. Hopefully, nothing about the Cyber Force or ACG comes up.
“You know,” Luna said once the pigeon story was done. “I’ve been noticing a strange trend happening on the news.”
“What might that be?” Celestia asked.
“I don’t just get my news from the TV, Tia. I also look online. And there are things they don’t show on TV, like the fact that there have been sightings of strange beings on the outskirts of Canterlot City.”
“Have you been browsing the tabloids again, Luna?” Celestia sighed.
“Not this time. By the time the police get to the scene, all that’s left are some odd footprints and trace amounts of metal. I wonder what that could be?”
Dew Drop felt very nervous by this revelation. “Um… out of curiosity… is there anything else that the police have noticed?”
Luna thought for a moment. “Just that the footprints were rather deep, as if they belonged to something very heavy. Oh, and that the metal traces found with the prints don’t seem to be from Canterlot. I hope it’s nothing, but you never know.”
The poor boy was now shaking. Oh, no, he thought. It can’t be them! Anyone but them! But apparently he was shaking too much because Celestia and Luna took notice of this!
“Dew Drop? Are you feeling alright?” Celestia asked, putting the remote control down.
“What’s the matter?” Luna chimed in.
As soon as he realized that he had been shaking a lot to the point where it was noticeable, he stopped. “Um… j-just a bad memory,” he said. If it’s the Cyber Force, then I should try to figure out what they’re up to. But… should I tell them that I’m actually Android? NO! Not yet! I don’t wanna alarm them!
“Maybe we should watch something else…” Luna picked up the remote and changed the channel to a football game. “Or are you nervous about school tomorrow? Don’t be, Dew Drop; pretty much everyone at CHS is just as friendly as we are, if not more.”
“Er… yeah,” he said. “I have absolutely nothing to worry about.” He looked at the screen with only one thought. I guess I better do some investigating tomorrow. But first, school! ----------------------------------------- The next morning, Celestia and Luna drove Dew Drop to school as they went to work.
“Just remember to call us Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna when on campus, alright?” The elder sister said. “The students gather on the front courtyard before classes begin. Go on and make some friends!”
“Okay,” said Dew Drop with a smile. With that said, he went to the front courtyard. Soon, he saw Sunset and Pinkie sitting with five other girls. Oh! I guess I better go over and say, ‘“Hi!”
So, he went over to the group and waved. “Morning, Sunset! Morning, Pinkie!” He said with a grin.
“Hey there!” Pinkie waved back. “Girls, this is the new guy I was telling you about! He’s from Metal City, and is a totally cool dude!”
“That so?” A girl with freckles and a Stetson hat came forward. “Name’s Applejack. Welcome to CHS, partner!” She shook Dew Drop’s hand even more enthusiastically than Pinkie had the day before.
The young halfling smiled as she shook his hand. “Nice to meet you too, Applejack,” he said. He gently pulled his arm back. “That’s one heck of a grip you’ve got!” Any harder, and she might have taken off my arm. That would’ve been bad!
“She does that to everyone,” a girl with light blue skin and a mop of rainbow hair stepped up. “I’m Rainbow Dash, the captain of like, every sports team here at CHS. Welcome to our school!” She raised a hand for a high five.
Dew Drop smiled and gave her high five. “Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash,” he said. “So, how many sports are here at this school?” As long as it’s not dodgeball or even cyborg ball, I’ll be fine!
“All sorts! There’s football, tennis, golf, fencing, motocross…” Rainbow began listing them off her fingers.
“Ahem, yes. That’s all very nice, but there is more to school than sports,” a girl with beautifully coiffed purple hair and snowy white skin stepped to the front. “My name is Rarity, and I would like to offer you a warm welcome to Canterlot High.”
As he turned to look at Rarity, he blushed deeply. She was gorgeous! Her aura seemed to say, “I’m fabulous!” Her eyes seemed to sparkle like sapphires! Elegant, beautiful, graceful! There were so many words that Dew Drop couldn’t even use to describe this girl of true beauty! He couldn’t even say anything!
Pinkie waved her hand in front of Dew Drop’s face. “Oh no!” She exclaimed. “We’ve overloaded him with our friendliness!”
Dew Drop shook his head and rubbed the back of his head. “S-sorry,” he said. “I… uh… yeah! I’m fine, really!” He looked up at Rarity and felt very shy. “Um… I-it’s nice to meet you, Rarity! S-so nice to be in the p-presence of a l-lovely lady!” He nervously took her hand and kissed it, trying to be a gentleman. Oh, geez! I’ve never felt this before!
Rarity’s cheeks colored and she blinked. “Oh, my. A man of action, aren’t you?” She giggled.
Applejack sighed and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Let’s move on with the intros.”
A girl with her striped hair tied in a ponytail and wearing glasses was next. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Dew Drop.”
“What, is that all?” Sunset asked jokingly. “You’re not going to mention that you’re also CHS’s top student?”
“I don’t want to brag!” Twilight protested.
“Just messing with you, Twi,” Sunset grinned. “But it’s true, you are the top student here.”
"Wow!" Said Dew Drop. "A top student who is very humble? I like that! Anyway, I'm glad to meet you Twilight!"
“Likewise, Dew Drop,” Twilight replied with a small smile.
“And… I’m Fluttershy,” A butter-yellow girl with long, soft pink hair and large eyes came up to Dew Drop. “It’s nice to welcome you to CHS,” she said quietly. “I hope you enjoy your time here with us.”
Awe, he thought with a smile. That's so cute! "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy," he said. "So, what do you like to do?"
“I like to help animals,” Fluttershy said, looking a bit more outgoing. “I volunteer at the animal shelter every Wednesday.”
"Awe," said Dew Drop with a grin. "That's very sweet! You seem like a very sweet girl!"
“Oh, she is,” Sunset said. “Fluttershy is the very embodiment of kindness, especially when it comes to people and animals in need.”
"Awe!" He smiled at Fluttershy. "So, she's a real sweetheart, huh?" It's very nice to meet someone who can best be described as a sweetheart!
“Oh, yeah!” Rainbow Dash reached behind herself and took out a blue electric guitar. “The seven of us are in a band called the Rainbooms. If you want, you can watch us practice after school in the music room. We’re the best!”
“I think what Rainbow means to say is, we’re quite good,” Rarity interjected sternly. “Being the best is still a goal we have yet to attain.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, but didn’t refute Rarity’s words. “But hey, we’re still pretty good. If you want to listen to some of our songs, stop by the music room, Dew Drop. It’ll be fun!”
"That does sound fun," said Dew Drop. "I play an instrument too." He pulled out his ocarina. "This is my ocarina. I've had it with me ever since I was six. I usually play soothing melodies if I'm sad."
“I’d like to hear you play it,” Fluttershy leaned closer to look at the ocarina. “I’m more into instruments that aren’t quite so… wild.” She looked at Rainbow’s electric guitar and blushed. “That’s why I play the tambourine.”
"Well, I guess I can't blame you," he said with a smile. "I bet you're quite good with the tambourine!"
“Fluttershy’s great with the tambourine!” said Pinkie, taking out a small party popper and pulling the string. A photo of the Rainbooms standing in front of a cheering crowd flew out with a small bang. “See? This is from last month’s performance. They loved us!”
“Yeah, I think-”
Whatever Rainbow Dash was about to say next was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing for class to begin.
“Well, shoot. Guess it’s time to saddle up for school. You know where your classes are, Dew Drop?” Applejack asked casually as she shouldered her backpack.
"I think I got it," he said. He slung his backpack onto his shoulder and smiled at them. "Well, it was nice to meet you all!" He pulled out his schedule. "And my first class is… science! Sweet!"
As the students filed into the school building, nobody noticed a slight shimmer in the air, high above the broken horse statue. The disturbance floated there for a few more minutes and then flew away towards the heart of the city. ----------------------------------------------------------- “This is some good apple pie,” Applejack said as she put a spoonful of it into her mouth.
“Skipping right to dessert?” Sunset asked while shaking her head.
Applejack laughed. “You know it. Granny Smith’s apple pie is to die for.”
They stopped talking as Pinkie Pie came to the table with her lunch, pulling Dew Drop behind her. “Hey, girls! I hope you don’t mind, but I told Dew Drop he could sit with us for lunch!”
“Of course you can,” Rarity smiled, motioning for the Rainbooms to scoot over so that there was more space to sit and eat.
Dew Drop blushed as he found himself sitting next to Rarity. "W-well, it's better than eating by myself," he said. "I gotta say that Pinkie here is really friendly." He smiled at the other Rainbooms and blushed when he looked at Rarity.
"So Sunset says you're from Metal City?" Rainbow asked once everyone had settled down. "What was it like there? I don't think any of us have ever been there."
"I hadn't heard of the place before today," Applejack muttered to herself.
Dew Drop stopped eating and hung his head. "I'd… rather not talk about it," he said. "It's gone now. It no longer exists." He felt the urge to tell them about it, but chose not to so that he wouldn't open any mental wounds.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," Rarity gave Rainbow a reproachful look. "We can talk about something else, right?"
"Uh, yeah, sure!" Rainbow seemed to get that she had trod on something bad and didn’t press the matter further. "How about video games? You like video games, Dew Drop?"
In the meantime, Twilight had her phone out and seemed to be looking up something, but she made sure to stay alert on the conversation.
"Sunset Shimmer has a lot of games," Fluttershy said. "My favourite is the game with the cute little squirrels."
Dew Drop smiled widely! "Yeah," he exclaimed. "I've been a big video game fan since I was six. My favorite franchise in gaming is The Legend of Zelda. My first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time. To this day, it's still my most favorite game ever!"
"I like The Legend of Zelda too," Sunset said with a nod. "The dungeons are a lot of fun, it's like solving a puzzle."
"I'm more of a fighting game kind of person," Rainbow added. "But if you and Sunset say this Zelda is good, maybe I can give it a shot sometime."
"The Zelda series is certainly worth playing," said Dew Drop. "I love the exploration, the puzzles, the dungeons, and even the combat. But my favorite thing about the games is the story that each game has. Even thoughthe story in Ocarina of Time was sad, I still like it." He turned to Sunset. "So which Zelda game is your favorite?"
"My personal favorite has to be The Wind Waker. There was just this huge sense of scale and exploration on the Great Sea that not a lot of games have," Sunset said. "Plus, the figurine collecting sidequest gives it a lot of replay value."
"As, yes! The Wind Waker. That oneis my second favorite Zelda game," said Dew Drop. "It was pretty sad to know that Hyrule was now at the bottom of the ocean due to Ganon's return in the Adult timeline of Ocarina of Time. But, the Hero of Winds is one of the most unique Links of the series. He wasn't even chosen by the gods or fate to be a hero!"
"Sometimes being a hero means standing up to evil, even if you haven’t been chosen by anyone," Rarity said sagely. "It's a lesson that comes up a lot in my detective novels."
"You're a novelist?" Asked Dew Drop in surprise. "AWESOME!" He realized that he had gotten too excited and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Um… I mean… that's cool!"
"I haven't published anything yet," Rarity said humbly. "Mostly I just share my stories with the literature club and on the Internet. Writing novels is something I do to relax when I'm taking a break from my real passion, fashion."
"Oh, you're a fashionista?" He asked. He suddenly felt insecure about his somewhat ragged outfit. Hopefully, the mall has some cool Zelda shirts and hoodies. Also, I may need some jeans and shorts. Plus, these shoes have seen better days.
"I am aspiring to be one, yes. Anyone at this school can tell you that I just love designing clothes and accessories to go with them," Rarity beamed. "I even help Pinkie with costumes for her parties sometimes."
"Yeah, Rarity definitely has an eye for style," Pinkie agreed. "Good thing tomorrow's Saturday, I'll be able to spend it with Cheese Sandwich at the party supply store in the city!"
Dew Drop also remembered that he and Celestia and Luna were supposed to go shopping on the weekend. "Well, that's great," he said. "I'm actually going shopping for some new clothes." He decided to leave out the fact that he was being taken care of by Celestia and Luna. He felt that he would only get special treatment (which he didn't really want) if he revealed it to them.
“That sounds like fun,” Fluttershy gave Dew Drop a happy look. “The Canterlot Mall has a lot of clothing shops, and even a pop culture merchandise store on the third floor. My brother goes there a lot.”
"Wow," he said. "That sounds awesome! I bet they have My Hero Academia, Legend of Zelda, and other awesome merchandise!"
“I actually think they do have stuff like that,” Sunset said. “I’m not into anime, but I know a lot of people who are, and they get a lot of their merchandise from there. You could even join their membership program for discounts.”
“I like anime…” Fluttershy said so quietly that it was barely audible.
“Anyway, I hope you have fun on the weekend,” Twilight said, putting away her phone. “You’ve been through a lot and deserve to enjoy yourself.”
Sunset gave Twilight an odd look, but didn’t say anything. The group conversation continued about video games and pop culture until the bell rang for classes to continue for the day. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Waving goodbye to Dew Drop after school, the Rainbooms went their separate ways, with Rainbow going to soccer practice, Fluttershy to the animal shelter, and Applejack to do her chores on the farm. The rest of the girls didn’t really have plans, though Rarity expressed a desire to work on her most recent dress.
“See you Monday, Dew Drop!” Sunset said as she raised a hand to the boy in farewell. “Have a good weekend!”
“You too,” said Dew Drop with a smile. He walked off while making a plan to find out if the Cyber Force was in Canterlot City. “Well, those girls were certainly nice! Also… what did Twilight mean when she said that I’ve been through a lot and need time to myself? Did… she see what happened to Metal City? Hmm… that’s a big maybe!”
He quickly sent a text to Celetia and Luna, telling them that he was going to take a walk through Canterlot. “Okay, hopefully that doesn’t worry them!” Remembering where the mysterious marks were, he went to the outskirts. “Maybe I can find a clue!”
As soon as he arrived, he saw the deep footprints and knelt down to them. He pulled out a special lens from his arm (since his arm was equipped with handy tools). He looked through the lens and saw that the footprints had a strange black aura. Alarm spread through him. “Oh, no,” he said in a shaky voice. “The Cyber Force really is here! That’s an aura of their power source! But… Why are they here?”
It occurred to Dew Drop that he might be able to follow the footprints to get more information. The prints led to an abandoned looking building that stood next to a factory. The prints here were more chaotic, as if the owner had stopped walking in the straight line. Dew Drop carefully examined them. The black aura was still here, though stronger. He followed them into the building, which was all dark inside, with shafts of sunlight coming in through holes in the ceiling and walls.
Speaking of the walls, there were some strange, long, thin gouges in one of the walls, like someone had taken a nail and dragged it along the surface. The black aura was still there, and that was when Dew Drop came across a severed mechanical arm lying on the floor, leaking a bit of coolant around itself. It was surrounded by a black aura.
He kneeled down and observed it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it had a small gun built into it along with a short sword from the palm. “No doubt about it,” he said quietly. “This is definitely a Cyber Droid’s arm.” He suddenly heard voices coming from a room. He quietly went over to investigate.
He found the room and carefully peeked through a hole. The sight before him made his heart almost stop beating. In the center of the room were four big figures. One of them looked like a combination of the Terminator and a reaper. Dew Drop knew him as Cyber Soul, an evil cyborg with the power to manipulate people into giving up their souls for some empty deals.
The second figure was a cyborg with a rather large head and black glasses under a helmet. It was Cyber Mind, a cyborg who specialized in tricking people by playing mind games with them. He even had the power of hypnosis, though he preferred to use it on females. Next was a cyborg with a broken heart symbol on his chest and an axe as his weapon. Cyber Heart (which was his name) was just as corrupt as Cyber Soul. However, instead of making people sign away their souls, his power allowed him to fill their hearts with evil and corruption.
Finally, there was a cyborg that Dew Drop feared the most. The leader of the Cyber Force. A huge cyborg with a giant sword, armor that was spiky and black, and red eyes under a crown on his head. Cyber Lord!
Together, these four cyborgs formed the leading group of the Cyber Force: The Four Cyber Masters!
Fortunately, none of the cyborgs seemed to notice that they were being spied on. Dew Drop breathed as quietly as possible, watching to see what these cyborgs might do or say.
“So… we were not able to fulfill our plan in Metal City,” said Cyber Soul as he held and twirled his scythe. “What a shame. Well, at least we don’t have to deal with Android anymore. Or any of those human scum back in Metal City. It was fun taking souls; but now that those people are gone, the souls have vanished.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too high,” said Cyber Mind as he held a deck of cards. “There are plenty of humans here in Canterlot City for us to play with. I even heard that there are quite a few lovely ladies here!” He licked his lips with a perverted smile. “Oh, just imagine the fun I could have with them!”
“Tch,” said Cyber Heart. “You’re still the same nerd who was so unlucky with the ladies. I’m amazed that a few of them were pure of heart unlike all of us here!”
“Indeed,” said Cyber Soul. “You were always a hopeless romantic. So alone with no one to ever love you.”
“Sh-shut up,” snapped Cyber Mind. “At least I wanted to keep a few people alive! Android never stood a chance!”
“Said the cyborg who would always whine about being injured by that halfling,” mocked Cyber Heart.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Asked Cyber Mind angrily
“Gentlemen,” said the deep voice of Cyber Lord. “This is not the time for argument. Canterlot City is blissfully unaware of our plans.” He leaned back in his seat. “However, just because we never saw Android after Metal City’s destruction doesn’t mean that he’s dead. For all we know, he could still be alive.”
“Impossible!” Exclaimed Cyber Mind, only to be picked up by Cyber Lord.
“You dare question me?” Asked Cyber Lord in a menacing voice.
Cyber Mind trembled and shook his head. “N-no, my lord,” he said. “N-never would I question you!”
Cyber Lord set him down. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “You were always afraid of me. That’s one of the reasons why you're the weakest of us all.”
Cyber Mind said nothing in fear of being picked up by the Cyborg of Evil.
Dew Drop grew more and more worried the more he heard. Whatever the Cyber Force was planning here, it couldn’t be good. He watched the evil cyborgs converse and gesticulate with their mechanical bodies as they discussed their schemes.
“So, it’s true that there is magic here?” Asked Cyber Heart. “What does this have anything to do with us, my lord? I mean no disrespect at all.”
“That’s what I heard,” said Cyber Lord. “Just as humans can be corrupted, so can magic. Our Black Core is powerful, but imagine the amount of extra power it could have if we combined it with dark magic. Our machines and fellow cyborgs could be powered to the max. No human could ever take a stand against us ever again.”
“But, my lord,” said Cyber Soul. “Where exactly can we find this magic that you speak of?”
“I’m glad you asked,” said Cyber Lord. “I have heard from a few Cyber Drones that magic leaks from a statue at Canterlot High School.”
Dew Drop felt alarmed. Magic at the school, he thought. That could put everyone in danger!
As Dew Drop crouched there, thinking about what to do next, he became aware of a very faint humming noise, so quiet that it almost wasn’t audible at all. It seemed to be coming from about a foot away from him, about head height. Dew Drop shook his head to dispel the sound, but it still came. So he tentatively reached out to the air where the sound was coming from.
His fingers brushed up against something smooth and cold, and the point where his fingers met it slightly pixelated like digital noise.
“Huh?” Dew Drop breathed.
Whatever it was drew away at his touch, becoming invisible fully once again, and the humming noise went away with a tiny rush of wind. The thing must have flown off.
The cyborgs continued their meeting, completely oblivious to anything that had happened. “So, all we have to do is collect the magic?” Asked Cyber Mind. “Hmm… I suppose it’s worth a try. As long as it means that I can fully hypnotize any girl I want.”
“Pervert,” muttered Cyber Soul.
Cyber Lord took no mind of the conversation. He simply stood up and said, “Go forth, gentlemen. Gather up as many Cyber machines as you want. Make plans to gather up as much magic as possible. I want it all to be ready by the end of the next month.”
The other three cyborgs stood up and started to leave. Dew Drop quickly tip-toed away from the area before any of them could see him. Crap, crap, crap, he thought. I better figure out a way to stop them. He ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Looks like Canterlot City may need Android, after all! I guess it’s time for me to don on my armor once more!
After arriving back at his home, Dew Drop was surprised to see that Celestia was in the kitchen wearing an apron that had a pattern of a sun on it. A sweet smell pervaded the air and Celestia came over to welcome Dew Drop home.
“How was your walk?” she asked kindly. “I was just baking some chocolate chip cookies for later. Luna has to stay at school to meet with some parents, but she should be back before dinner time.”
“Good to know,” said Dew Drop, trying to hide the fear in his voice. He calmed down as he smelled the cookies. “Well, my walk was quite… eventful.” I can’t tell her that I’ve been figuring out what the Cyber Force is up to. That’ll make her worried!
“Do you want to tell me about it?” Celestia returned to the kitchen to take the first batch of cookies out of the oven. The sweet smell intensified as the freshly baked goods were exposed to the air. “I won’t be going anywhere until all the cookies are done and I wouldn’t mind hearing a story while I bake.”
Shoot, what do I tell her? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Dew Drop was panicking inwardly as he tried to figure out what to tell her. C’mon, Dew Drop! Think!
“Um… well… I just took a lap around some blocks,” he answered. “I n-never knew that Canterlot City was so large!” Unfortunately for him, the fear in his voice was quite evident.
Celestia seemed to catch on to it as well. “Dew Drop, is something wrong?” she asked, turning around. “Did something happen while you were outside?”
Shoot, he thought. I sound too scared. Okay, calm down, dude! You can do this! “Um… sorry,” he said. “I just had a very close encounter with a snake. I couldn’t tell if it was venomous or not, so it scared me.”
Smooth, dude! Real smooth! He thought with a mental facepalm. Tell her about your fear of snakes! Why don’t you tell her about the fact that you’re scared of being crushed by debris and closed spaces? Idiot!
“A snake?” Celestia repeated. “That would make many people jumpy. Do you remember where you saw it? I could call the pest control people to go catch it. If there’s a possibly venomous snake lurking around, it would be best to make sure it’s caught before it can bite anyone.”
She continued to make the cookies, setting a timer for the next batch in the oven.
“Um… i-it slithered back into the woods,” he said quickly. “No need to worry about that!” He let out a nervous chuckle.
“Hmm. Well, if you’re sure,” Celestia said. “Just take care the next time you go on a walk. Not every part of Canterlot is as safe as this district. There are all manner of unsavory people lurking about the outskirts, for example.”
“N-noted,” he said. He felt inwardly relieved. Too close. If she found out I was spying on the Cyber Force, she would probably give me an earful! Better try and play it safe for now!
Celestia remained blissfully unaware of Dew Drop’s anxiousness. “Tell you what, Dew Drop, why don’t you go and put together a list of things we need to pick up when we go shopping tomorrow? I’m sure you’ll be wanting to decorate your room, as well as take down Cadance’s old name plate. I’ll be here.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” he said with a small grin. He went upstairs into his new room and let out a sigh of relief after closing the door. “Well, that could’ve ended badly.” He started to write up a list for posters, shirts, sweaters, jeans, and shoes. He had been writing for a while, because Luna eventually came home, parking her car in the garage and getting out. She saw Dew Drop at the window and waved up at him.
“Sorry about the wait,” Luna said as she came inside and took off her shoes. “There was a small emergency in the cafeteria and none of the other staff knew how to fix it. But I’m home now,” she sniffed the air. “Are those cookies I smell?”
Dew Drop smiled and came down to see her. Without thinking he hugged her. “Welcome back,” he said.
Luna looked surprised at first, but soon returned the hug. “How was your first day of classes? Not too overwhelming, I hope?”
“It was quite pleasant,” he answered as he broke the hug. “I met the Rainbooms! They were quite a friendly bunch!”
“Yes, the Rainbooms certainly are a welcoming group,” Celestia said, coming over with a towering plate of chocolate chip cookies, still warm from the oven. “Believe it or not, they’ve been known to use magic to help protect the school from multiple potential disasters. CHS might not be here if not for the Rainbooms.”
“Wait, they’ve used magic?” Dew Drop asked with surprise. “So… they’re like superheroes?” Well, this changes everything!
“That’s one way to put it,” Luna agreed before taking a cookie. “Although I don’t think many of them would like to be called superheroes. From all accounts, they enjoy the ordinary life, by and large.”
“I guess that makes sense,” he said as he took a cookie. I can’t blame them. There have been several instances in which I’ve needed a break from being Android.
Luna went to help Celestia make dinner, telling Dew Drop to go pick out a movie from their collection to watch while they ate.
“Just don’t pick a romcom,” Celestia amended from the kitchen with a cheeky smile. “I don’t want to be reminded of my lack of a love life right now.”
Dew Drop rolled his eyes with a grin. “Okay,” he said. He went to the movie section and began to look through the movies. He decided to try out a superhero movie. Eventually, he found one that he loved a lot: Spiderman, Into the Spiderverse! “Sweet!”
Soon all three of them were sitting in front of the TV with dinner in hand, watching one of the most amazing Spider-man movies of all time. It was hard to be worried about anything now, even the Cyber Force. ----------------------------------------------------- Early the next morning, Dew Drop was gently shaken awake by Luna.
“Rise and shine,” Luna said, having turned on the lights. “It’s time to go shopping!”
“Awesome,” said Dew Drop as he got and yawned. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and went to brush his teeth. He was very excited to go to the mall! Oh, all the amazing things he hoped would be there! Shirts with Zelda, My Hero Academia, and other franchises! Nice warm shoes! Finally, some nice jeans that were not tattered like his current pair!
After getting dressed and eating a quick breakfast, Dew Drop, Luna, and Celestia got into the bigger car and were on the way to the mall. On the way, they passed Canterlot High.
There was someone standing in front of the broken horse statue, dressed in mostly white and purple with black and gold accents, and a raised hood. Celestia, who was driving, didn’t seem to notice, and Luna was busy twiddling with the radio and wasn’t looking. As the car passed by, the figure turned their head to watch them go.
Huh? Thought Dew Drop as he thought he saw someone. He looked back at the statue, but saw no one. Strange! I thought I saw someone. Hmm…
“The school looks quite somber without all the students around and in it,” Luna commented, having found her radio station.
“Schools are meant to be for the people, Lulu,” Celestia pointed out, not taking her eyes off the road. “Without them, the building loses its purpose.”
“Yeah, I have to agree there,” said Dew Drop. He smiled excitedly as they were close to the mall.
Since it was still quite early, there weren’t as many people at the mall as Dew Drop had been expecting. Celestia parked the car in the parking lot and the three of them entered the mall.
Dew Drop had never seen so many stores all gathered like this. The mall was five stories tall, and each floor looked like it had hundreds of things to offer. A fountain stood in the center, the jets of water sparkling in the light.
“Well, Dew Drop,” Luna placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re the one with the list. Where should we go first?”
Dew Drop looked around until he saw the clothing department with My Hero Academia shirt on display. He eagerly pointed at it! “There! Definitely there!” He exclaimed excitedly.
“Lead the way,” Celestia chuckled as the three of them entered the store.
They spent a good hour and a half just getting the clothes and shoes. The mall was starting to become more populated by the time Luna, Celestia, and Dew Drop stopped by the fountain, each of them carrying numerous bags.
“I’d forgotten how exhausting clothes shopping can be,” Celestia said as she sat down on the edge of the fountain. “Should we stop for lunch, or is there another shop you want to visit first?”
Fluttershy’s words from the day before came to mind.
“Actually, I’ve heard from Fluttershy that there is a store that sells pop culture merchandise,” he said excitedly. “I’d like to go there, please! Maybe I can find a poster for My Hero Academia!”
Luna reached out with her arms. “Give me your bags and I’ll take them to the car. Meet me in the food court when you’re done; I’ll buy us some lunch while you browse this pop culture shop.”
“Awesome,” said Dew Drop as he walked over to the pop culture shop. He felt like a kid in a candy store as he saw multiple posters of franchises he loved! The Legend of Zelda! My Hero Academia! Shantae! It was all there!
In one corner of the shop was a station for making customized name plates. The staff member on duty carefully explained the instructions, as well as showing off the different styles of name plates there were.
“I have an idea,” Celestia said, bending down to look Dew Drop in the eye. “Why don’t you design name plates for all three of us? It’ll be fun, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
Dew Drop nodded excitedly. “All right! So, before I do that, what franchises do you both like?”
“Me, I’ve always been kind of a fan of that one game where you go around catching critters and putting them into balls. I used to be quite a card collector when I was in high school,” Celestia recalled fondly. Then she whispered in Dew Drop’s ear, “Lulu doesn’t like me talking about it in public, but she absolutely loves the Batman comics. She never grew out of it from when we were kids.”
“So, Pokemon and Batman,” he whispered to her. “Got it.” He went to the nameplate section and began to work on the three nameplates. Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from the center of the mall. What followed was the sound of people screaming in fear! Dew Drop heard the crash and ran to investigate from a distance. He felt scared at what he saw: A familiar dragon-like cyborg with a fiery aura. Cyber Dragon, the Cyborg of Greed! He roared in fiery fury and began to charge into some of the apartments, going forthe multiple cash registers!
“Mine!” He yelled. “It’s all mine!”
The sight of everyone running in fear made Dew Drop feel rage. He quickly raced into a secluded area, unaware that Celestia and Luna saw him run and decided to check on him. Quickly, he slapped a button on his robotic wrist. Slowly, his body started to get covered by green robotic armor due to little nanites that he kept stored in his arm. After thirty seconds, the armor finally covered him from head to toe: Gleaming green armor with a big red letter “A” on the chest and a sword going through the letter; a light green helmet with a blue lens over half of his face, digital lines on the lens to represent eyes, and a pair of antennae on either side; and a glowing white sword powered with pure energy in his right arm. Now, he was Android, the Hero of Courage! “No one is gonna ruin everyone’s day, here!” He said boldly.
Cyber Dragon jumped from apartment to apartment, grabbing money from the registers and scorching everything in sight! Eventually, he started to approach the electronics section when he saw a family of three standing in the way. He growled as fire surrounded him and smoke poured from the nostrils on his helmet.
“Get out of the way, filthy humans,” he growled. “Before I turn you into a human barbeque!” The family was too scared to move. Cyber Dragon growled again. “Fine! You had your chance!” He raised his claw up as it was now covered in flames. The little boy trembled and held onto his parents. They prepared for the worst!
“WHOOSH!”
“BZZZZZZZZZT!”
But the fiery claw never hit them. They slowly looked up and gasped in awe at a marvelous sight: Android had jumped in front of them and blocked the claw with his sword. With a brave smirk, he kicked Cyber Dragon away and stood in front of the family protectively.
“Cyber Dragon,” he yelled boldly. “Leave this mall now! Before I slice off that ugly tail of yours!”
The Cyborg of Greed turned around and saw Android. He gasped in horror. “No,” he cried. “It can’t be you! You died with Metal City!”
“The rumors of demise were greatly exaggerated,” said Android bravely! “But now, I’m back and ready to kick some Cyber butt!”
Cyber Dragon roared with rage and charged at Android! The hero charged at the fiery foe and the two cyborgs clashed their weapons with each other. Positive energy sword met against fiery metal as the two opponents struggled against each other with determined glares in their eyes.
As he continued to fight Cyber Dragon, he was unaware of Celestia and Luna staring at him. The two sisters had taken cover inside one of the side passages that led to the bathrooms, and were watching the fight with amazement and shock. They couldn’t believe it! Dew Drop, the young cyborg they had basically adopted, was the long lost hero of Metal City.
“This… this was unexpected,” Luna commented once she picked her jaw up off the floor.
“You said it, Lulu,” Celestia agreed.
Android continued to fight his fiery foe, continuously blocking the fiery swipes of the monster. That is, until Cyber Dragon succeeded in getting a good swipe at him, causing a little bit of his armor to get scorched.
Android growled in annoyance. “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to fix this armor?” As he blocked another attack, he looked around for a water source. Soon, he saw a fire alarm. Bingo, he thought. He quickly kicked his opponent away and charged at the fire alarm, dodging fireballs that were thrown at him from the dragon-like cyborg’s snout on the helmet. Quickly, he pulled the alarm! A loud sound echoed throughout the building followed by sprinklers letting some water out. Soon, all the fire in the mall was put out, especially on Cyber Dragon. Now that his fiery aura was quenched, Cyber Dragon was powerless. He tried to make his claw catch fire, to shoot a fireball, and emit smoke from his mouth. But nothing was working. Android marched towards him and punched him in the jaw, knocking him down. Then he picked him up by the tail.
“This is the last time you destroy a building just to steal money for your own greed,” he said. With that, he dragged him away to the front of the mall while calling the police.
The crowd that was left watching began to cheer. Celestia and Luna pushed their way to the front of the masses and stood there, watching Android.
“Dew Drop, how long have you been Android?” Luna whispered quietly, not even loud enough for Android to hear her.
Android was unaware of the two women watching him as he tied up Cyber Dragon. The Cyborg of Greed looked up at him and scoffed. “Wow,” he said. “So, you fail to keep Metal City safe and now you’re trying to be a hero to people you don’t know?”
“At least I can still keep my promise to the man who gave me the purpose to defeat both you and the ACG,” Android snapped.
“Ha,” mocked Cyber Dragon. “Even if you do defeat us, that won’t wash away your guilt! You’re still the same pathetic cyborg who couldn’t fit in anywhere. Always will be!” He started to laugh only for Android to kick him on the head with a very angry glare.
“Shut up, hot head,” he snapped angrily. “My past doesn’t matter!” He started to march away angrily to turn back into Dew Drop while he muttered angrily. “Stupid greedy lizard cyborg and his obsession for wealth!” He gave the villain one last look and said, “What a hot head!” With that, he raced away to the restroom, and turned back to Dew Drop. “Well, that went well!”
Celestia and Luna came around the corner, looking worried and wary. Celestia knelt down to Dew Drop’s level and said, “I think we have to talk. Back at home.”
And refusing to say another word on the matter, both sisters took Dew Drop by the shoulders and walked him back to the car. ------------------------------------------------------ The police loaded Cyber Dragon into an armored van, keeping the restraints that Android had tied him up with.
“You wait!” Cyber Dragon growled. “I will escape and come back to burn you all!”
The van started towards the station and Cyber Dragon settled down to sulk. Suddenly there was a burst of fractured light inside the van and a figure wearing a white coat and a hood appeared before Cyber Dragon.
“Who are yo-” he managed before the figure raised both their arms and their forearms unfolded, extending a pair of glowing blades.
With two quick slashes, Cyber Dragon’s chest was sliced open like butter, sparks flying all over the interior of the vehicle. Retracting one blade, the figure plunged their hand into his torso, pulling out the black core. With the one remaining blade, the back doors to the van were carved open and the figure jumped out, vanishing into another burst of fractured light.
In the back of the van, the powerless body of Cyber Dragon sat there, cold and unmoving.
Dew Drop sat on the couch in the living room, feeling nervous. He looked up at the two sisters, who had neutral expressions on their faces. “Um… what’s going on?” He asked nervously.
Luna glanced at her sister. "Do you want to start, or should I?"
Celestia cleared her throat. "What happened at the mall earlier," she began. "That was one of the most astounding things I have ever seen. I just have one question for you."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Luna burst out. "I think that would have been important information!"
“Huh?” Asked Dew Drop. “T-tell you what?” He suddenly became pale as he started to put the pieces together. “Um… d-did you see me as… as... ?” He couldn’t finish the sentence since he was very scared.
"As the hero in green?" Luna finished. "I just have one thing to say about that," the Vice-Principal stood up and walked up to Dew Drop, getting right in front of him. Dew Drop felt very scared. Was she gonna yell at him for lying to them? Were they gonna kick him out? However, he was not prepared for what she said to him. "That was just as brave and bold as anything Batman has ever done." She smiled.
Dew Drop stared at her with a dumbfounded expression! “Wait, what?” He asked. “Um… y-you’re not mad that I never told you that I’m actually Android?”
"Mad?" Celestia said with a shake of her head. "Not really. A bit confused, but Luna tells me superheroes keep their alter egos secret for a reason. I do wish you had given us a hint at least. Might have helped with the shock of finding out like we did."
"Well, I had no idea how you would react," said Dew Drop honestly. "Considering that being Android is a rather dangerous job, I was nervous that you'd be… *ahem* overprotective."
Celestia and Luna both looked at Dew Drop with understanding.
“Being principals of a school, we know that sometimes the students need to be protected,” Celestia said. “But we also know that sometimes you have to let them grow by challenging themselves. You being Android is like another challenge, isn’t it? Besides, if anyone can stop the evil cyborgs, I believe that Android is the one who can do it.”
Dew Drop stared in disbelief before leaning back in his seat, grabbing his head in the process. "Whoa," he said. "This is the first time anyone has said they believe in me… as Android. Most people I meet as Android tell me to die since I'm technically a cyborg."
“Could have fooled me,” Luna told him. “I certainly couldn’t tell you were a cyborg, and you’ve been living with us for three days.”
Dew Drop raised up his right arm and said, "Cloak off." With that, the disguise disappeared and was revealed to be a robotic arm. "You'd be amazed at what cloaking technology can do."
“Fascinating,” Luna gasped. “Is your arm stronger than a human arm? Are there any special features built into it? How did you get it?”
"Well, I don't really have super strength," he answered. "I actually have a few tools built into it to help me investigate strange things. Plus, I have this!" He flicked his wrist upward and a sword hilt popped out. He pressed it, it turned into a beam sword.
“Woah!” Celestia and Luna both took a step back. “A laser sword? Is that safe to carry around like that?”
"It's only dangerous to Cyber technology and other machines," he replied. "It has no power to destroy organic material." He then shivered a little. "As for how I got my arm, I got it when I was six. It was the time when I…" He shivered fearfully as the memory came back. "When I fell into an abandoned building. As I tried to get out, a piece of debris came down and crushed my arm." Now he was quivering uncontrollably at the scary moment that scarred him for life.
“Hey, don’t be nervous,” Celestia put her hand on Dew Drop’s shoulder. “You’re safe here.”
“This house won’t come down on you, I promise,” Luna smiled. “You don’t have to worry about anything like that here.”
Both sisters moved closer to wrap Dew Drop in a group hug. It made him feel warm and safe, and it was quite comforting.
He let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he said. "Also… Celestia, I have to confess about what I really did yesterday. I… went to the outskirts of Canterlot City to see if the Cyber Force was here." He felt guilty about lying to her.
Celestia’s brow furrowed. “I thought you were acting strangely yesterday. I forgive you for not telling me the truth, but I don’t want you doing anything unnecessarily dangerous.”
He hung his head. "I'll try to avoid danger if possible," he said. "That's all I can say."
“Well, now that we have that sorted,” Luna sat down on the bed next to Dew Drop. “Could you tell me more about that other cyborg that was wrecking the mall? You seemed to know each other.”
"Oh, that was Cyber Dragon, one of the Deadly Cyborgs," he answered. "There are seven in total, each one representing one of the seven deadly sins: Pride, greed, gluttony, lust, wrath, envy, and sloth. In the case of Cyber Dragon, he represents greed."
“As in greed for money?” Luna asked curiously. “What’s he going to use it on? It isn’t as though someone like him could just walk into a store and spend it.”
"Well, from what I could gather, he was someone struggling to find a job in order to survive," Dew Drop. "But due to him being a cyborg, no one would hire him. This left him poor. In desperation, he went to the Cyber Force in hopes of having a job. But when his armor and a piece of the Black Core was given to him, he changed completely. He went from a quiet man to becoming a rather greedy bastard." He shook his head sadly. "I wish I was there to help him out before he became Cyber Dragon."
“You did all you could,” Luna said gently. “Even Batman can’t save everyone. Just look at his relationship with the Joker. What will happen to Cyber Dragon now? I don’t think Canterlot has laws for dealing with cyborgs, at least none that I know of.”
"I honestly have no clue," said Dew Drop. "I might have to make suggestions to the mayor or police station. I don't know."
“Hmm…” Luna didn’t seem convinced, but didn’t push the matter any further. “This wouldn’t be the first time something unexpected has happened like this, but it’s usually the Rainbooms who clean it up for us. How fortunate we are to have Android in Canterlot City as well.”
“I have some connections with the chief of police,” Celestia spoke up. “Cadance is married to him. If you want, I could ask if he wants to meet Android or something.”
"Whoa, your niece is married to the chief of police?" He asked in awe. "That's so awesome! I guess that could help. I'm willing to get any help I can get!"
"I'll give her a ring, then," Celestia said and left the room. In the meantime, Luna simply sat there with Dew Drop and held his hand in hers.
"It's going to be alright," she told him.
"I hope so," said Dew Drop.
There was the faint sound of conversation from outside Dew Drop’s room. About five minutes later, Celestia came back in, putting her phone back into her pocket.
"Cadance says Chief Shining Armor will be happy to meet you on Monday," Celestia said. "Apparently he wanted to talk to you about something too."
“Oh, really?” Dew Drop asked. “I hope it’s not too serious. Either way, it’ll be nice to work WITH the police for once, instead of being HUNTED BY the police.”
"It sounds like your time in Metal City was not all that pleasant," Luna observed. "I hope Canterlot treats you better."
“Metal City was quite a terrible place for a cyborg,” Dew Drop admitted. “Especially for a halfling like me.” Luna gave him a confused face, prompting the lad to explain. “I only have a robotic arm. If a cyborg has only one robotic part, they’re known as halflings.”
"Why the distinction?" Celestia asked. "Isn't a cyborg just a cyborg?"
“Well, yeah,” answered the young halfing. “But the thing is that cyborgs who are either half or mostly machine tend to let the machine part of them take away their humanity. Halflings are lucky enough to maintain any humanity at all.”
"That sounds like quite a design flaw," Luna said. "What happens to those cyborgs? The ones that aren't halflings. What happens if they lose themselves to their machine parts?"
Dew Drop lowered his gaze as he answered. “They… they join the Cyber Force.” He recalled several instances in which the cyborgs he was once friends with slowly lost themselves. He was lucky to have a few cyborg friends who refused to give in. “I r-remember a few times when I had friends who joined the Cyber Force. I tried to save them… but… nothing I did was enough.” He felt tears forming in his eyes. He took a few deep breaths while whispering, “Heroes don’t cry. Heroes don’t cry. Heroes don’t cry!”
"It's okay to cry," Luna hugged Dew Drop again. "Crying is a sign of being human. That you still know how to care for others and hurt when something bad happens."
"I can't imagine that you've had it easy," Celestia added. "A hero's strength isn't just measured by how hard he can hit, but by his heart."
Finally, the poor fellow couldn’t hold them back any longer. He clung onto Luna and cried uncontrollably. Finally, after so much pain, anguish, and loss, he was letting out all the hurt he felt. The pain of losing his friends, his family, and his home was finally coming out.
"Go ahead and let it all out," Luna said as she embraced Dew Drop. "You've been very brave."
Dew Drop held onto her even tighter and cried even harder. His tears stained the front of Luna’s shirt, but he didn’t care much for that. For the first time in a long time, he felt loved by someone. He felt like he was in a family again.
Sunday came and went and Celestia and Luna did everything they could to support Dew Drop. When Monday came, everyone was feeling a little better than before.
"We won't tell anyone about your secret identity," Luna promised Dew Drop on their way to school. "Your secret is safe with us."
"That’s right. We won't tell anyone that you're Android," added Celestia. "Not a word."
"Unless you want us to."
"Thank you so much," said Dew Drop gratefully. "I trust you both more than anyone from Metal City."
Celestia parked the car in her spot and after wishing Dew Drop a good day, went off with Luna to deal with the morning's responsibilities in her office.
Dew Drop set off to his first class. As he passed, he heard multiple students talking. They were talking about Android's battle with Cyber Dragon. He was rather curious about what they were saying about him as Android. Soon he saw Twilight heading for Science Class. He ran up to her and greeted her.
"Good morning, Twilight," he said with a grin.
“Good morning,” Twilight said politely. “How was your weekend, Dew Drop?” She was getting her books from her locker for class in a few minutes.
“It was quite… eventful,” he said carefully. “I’m so glad to be in new clothes!” His new outfit consisted of a hoodie with Deku from My Hero Academia, some dark blue jeans, and black sneakers.
“It looks good on you,” Twilight complimented. “Did you get those at the mall?”
“Yup,” answered Dew Drop. “It was quite a fun time!” He paused for a moment. “Say, I’ve heard that the students here are talking about something. Do you know what it is?”
“Yes, actually,” Twilight told him. “My older brother is the Chief of Canterlot Police and he told me there was some kind of fight at the mall on Saturday. He had to work late and cancel dinner with the family.”
“Oh, really?” He asked, even though he knew what really happened. “What was the fight like?”
“I wasn’t there,” Twilight frowned. “But some people uploaded videos on the internet and it seems like there are people with cybernetic enhancements in the city. What I wouldn’t give to examine one up close.”
“Whoa,” said Dew Drop. “Examine up close? Let me guess: You’re a scientist.” He said that jokingly. But as Twilight gave him a serious stare, his eyes widened. “Wait, you ARE a scientist?! Awesome!”
“Science and all things related are my passion,” Twilight confirmed. “I love finding out how things work.”
“Wow,” he said with a grin. “You actually remind me of one of the few friends I had a long time ago. He was passionate about learning as much as he could. He even went on to build his own machines.”
“Really?” Asked Twilight. “What was his name?”
“His name was Benjamin Benson,” Dew Drop answered.
“I know of a few scientists and engineers like that,” Twilight said. “Some of them even wrote books on the subjects, and I have them all. Read them more than twice, too.” She giggled. “I love books. Do you think I could meet Benjamin Benson some time? He sounds like someone I could get along with.”
Dew Drop hung his head a little. “He’s gone,” he said sadly. “All the people I loved at Metal City are all gone.”
“Oh,” Twilight looked mortified. “I’m sorry, Dew Drop. I had no idea.”
Dew Drop patted her head. “It’s okay,” he replied. “I want to talk about it soon. I’m just not sure when a good time to do so is.”
Twilight nodded understandingly. “Just don’t force yourself to anything. Friends understand if one of them isn’t ready to talk about something. I’ll see you later, okay? Class is starting and we should be on time.”
“Yeah,” he said. “See you soon!” He walked away to his class, trying to figure out how to tell everyone how he had lost his entire home and all of his loved ones.
It was definitely not going to be easy. But Dew Drop decided to ask Celestia and Luna about it later. First, he had a meeting with the Chief of Canterlot Police after school, and they would be expecting Android.
Hopefully, Captain Armor will be really helpful, he thought. ---------------------------------------- Dew Drop was deep in thought as he slowly ate the burger he decided to have for lunch. He was hoping that Captain Armor would be chill with him. Considering the fact that the police in Metal City would shoot as soon as they saw him, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to be nervous about meeting him as Android.
“Hi, Dew Drop!” Pinkie’s voice said from behind him. The pink girl jumped up and landed in a sitting position next to him. She had a fruit salad and a slice of apple pie on her tray. “What’s on your mind, amigo?”
Dew Drop yelped as the very cheerful girl landed next to him with a very big grin on her face. He gave her a small smile. “Hey, Pinkie,” he said. “I’m just really deep in thought about something at the moment.”
“I love thinking,” Pinkie said as she began to eat. “One of my favorite things to do! Thinking about parties, about cake, about balloons, about anything I want! It’s fun! What are you thinking about, Dew Drop?”
“Uh…” he said, feeling unsure how to answer. “I’m thinking about how well this meeting that I’m gonna have with someone will turn out. I just want to make a good first impression.”
“Maybe you should bring a cupcake to the meeting,” Pinkie suggested. “A cupcake is something everyone likes, that’ll make a good first impression for sure!”
The halfling giggled. "Well, maybe that could help," he said. "I think I'll give that a try."
Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out a vanilla swirl cupcake, holding it out for Dew Drop to take. "Here! This one's on the house."
He stared in shock as he took the cupcake. "How do you…?" He began.
“It just works,” Pinkie shrugged. “Would you like a different flavor?”
"N-no," he stuttered. "That just caught me off guard, that's all."
Pinkie grinned and went back to her lunch, humming a bouncy tune as she did so.
“Welp, I have to go meet with the party planning committee now,” Pinkie announced once she finished eating. “Something about going above the budget for party supplies. I’ll see you later, Dew Drop!” And with that, she sprang to her feet and skipped away.
Dew Drop giggled as the cheerful girl skipped away. "Man, she's a funny one," he said to himself. "I like her." Thanks to Pinkie, he now felt confident about meeting Captain Shining Armor! As Android, that is.
He put the cupcake into a container and put it into his bag. He hoped the police chief liked vanilla. ------------------------------------------------------ As classes ended for the day and the students left CHS, the Rainbooms passed Dew Drop on the way to the music room for band practice.
“Hey, Dew Drop,” Rainbow said as she tuned her guitar. “Got anything planned for today?”
“Well… I’m supposed to meet with someone soon,” he replied as he noticed they were going to the music room. “Are you guys about to practice some music?”
“Sure are,” Applejack replied with a tip of her hat. She was carrying a bass guitar. “Got us a gig at my cousin’s birthday party this weekend and we need to get in a bit of practice.”
Dew Drop saw each of their instruments: An electric guitar for both Rainbow and Sunset, a tambourine for Fluttershy, a drum set for Pinkie Pie, and electric bass for Applejack, and a keytar for Rarity. Twilight was the only one without an instrument. I guess she specializes in vocals, he thought. “Um… mind if I watch for a bit?” He asked. “I think I can spare a few minutes.”
“Sure,” Sunset gave her guitar a strum. “We’ll mostly be doing warmups for the first fifteen minutes, though. But you’re more than welcome to tag along.”
He smiled at them. “Awesome,” he said. He pulled up a chair and sat down. “I bet you girls are gonna be amazing!”
The girls quickly set up their instruments and turned on the electronics. Pinkie set the beat with her drumbeats, leading the guitarists to play some riffs and chords. Fluttershy and Rarity provided backing beats and Twilight did some vocal exercises to warm up her throat muscles for singing.
Once the Rainbooms were all ready, Rainbow Dash led them in a chorus of a song called “Awesome as I Wanna Be”. It had obviously been written by her, and it showed. It still sounded good, though.
As he listened to the song, he bobbed his head to rhythm. Soon, his foot was tapping to the beat. Dang, he thought. This is actually pretty catchy! I love it!
After a few minutes, the song ended with a guitar riff from Rainbow.
“What did you think, Dew Drop?” Rarity asked, adjusting her keytar strap to be more comfortable. “How did we do?”
“That… was… AWESOME,” said Dew Drop as he jumped to his. “The song was very catchy.” He went on an excited monologue about how amazing the music he had just heard was. It was a habit that he had: Get so excited about something that he couldn’t stop himself from talking nonstop about it!
The Rainbooms looked rather flattered by his speech.
“Aw, shucks, Dew Drop, I’m sure we ain’t that good yet,” Applejack waved her hand.
Rainbow Dash seemed to disagree. “We are pretty good,” she grinned. “I wrote that song myself. Fluttershy writes some pretty sweet ones too. One of them we used to save the school!”
“Good? Good is an understatement,” exclaimed Dew Drop. “You girls were amazing, fantastic, and straight up over the top awesome!” He was grinning as widely as Deku.
The door to the music room swung open, and Luna looked inside. “I thought I heard your voice, Dew Drop,” she said before addressing the Rainbooms. “You sounded magnificent, girls. But Dew Drop, don’t you have to meet someone soon? What are you still doing here?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said apologetically. “I just thought I could spare a few minutes to listen to their music.” He turned to the girls. “Sorry, girls! I gotta go now. It was nice listening to you,” he added with a smile. “I hope to play a song on my ocarina for you girls!” With that, he waved at them and followed Celestia and Luna out of the music room.
“The police chief is waiting at the station for Android,” Celestia whispered once they were alone. “Apparently he doesn’t know what to do and could use some advice. At least that’s what Cadance told me.”
Dew Drop nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. “Looks like it’s time for Android to lend a hand.”
“Alright,” Luna said quietly. “We’re having spaghetti bolognese for dinner, but if you’re running late we’ll keep some warm for you.”
"Thanks, Aunt… I mean, Luna," he said. Shoot! I almost called her "Auntie Luna!" "Um… anyway, where is the police station?"
"It's here," Celestia showed him the address on her phone. "The large blue building in the banking district with the police emblem on the front doors."
“Okay,” he said while writing down the address. “Got it. I look forward to meeting Captain Armor.”
“See you later, then,” Celestia and Luna said. “I hope the meeting goes well.”
The principals left Dew Drop to his own devices and began to go back to their respective offices. The police headquarters were about a fifteen minute bus ride away, or even shorter by car. The question was, how would he get there?
He decided to go there the Android way. He ran into an alley and pressed a button on his wrist. Soon he took on his hero form. With powered up boots, he jumped onto the nearest roof and began to jump from rooftop to rooftop. Soon, he arrived at the police station.
“Okay, this is it,” he said. He marched up to the station and went inside. He was greeted by many policemen who stared at him. “Good afternoon, officers,” he said politely. “I am Android, the Cyborg of Courage! I’ve arrived to see Captain Shining Armor. Can any of you tell me where I can find him?”
“You’re who he was meeting with?” One of the police officers said. “Chief’s in the disposal facility right now. Down the stairs and second door on the left. I’ll call ahead and tell him you’re on the way.”
The policeman took out his radio and said into it, “Captain Armor? Your visitor’s coming down to see you.” He then put the radio back on his belt and tipped his helmet to Android. “Go on ahead.” “Thank you, good sir,” said Android with a smile and salute. He headed down the stairs and saw the second door on the left. He then went inside. “Hello?” He called out. “Captain Armor?”
A tall, muscular man with white skin and blue hair came out from the side of the door. He wore a plain police uniform and he held his hat under one arm. There was a phone in his other hand.
“I’m Captain Armor,” he said seriously. “I take it that you’re the person who Cadance told me I’d be meeting,” he looked Android over. “You’re used to dealing with cyborgs, then?”
“Yes, sir,” Android answered. “I have plenty of experience in fighting the Cyber Force and other cyborgs. Though, I’ve always been alone in fighting them.”
“Well, good,” Captain Armor nodded. “Maybe you can tell me what to do with the one you captured on Saturday. I’ve been keeping its body down here, but it’s taking up a lot of space which we need to run our daily routines.”
“Oh, you mean Cyber Dragon,” said Android. “Wait, did you say its body? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean exactly what I said,” Captain Armor led Android to a bunch of tables that had been pushed together. On top of it was the body of Cyber Dragon. “It’s dead. I had my best engineers look over it yesterday. Its torso is all cut up and they told me the power source has been ripped out. The back of the police van that was transporting it was also sliced open. So this wasn’t your doing?”
Android stared at Cyber Dragon’s dead form with a horrified expression. “How?” He asked. “He was a cyborg! He may have been a villain, but he didn’t have to die.” He clutched his helmet and fell to his knees. “All I wanted to do was save him from further corruption. I don’t kill my opponents. Cripple them, yes. But not kill. A hero’s job is to save lives, not destroy them!”
Captain Armor looked at Android, then the body of Cyber Dragon. “I believe you. But Canterlot doesn’t really have hard and fast laws to protect cyborgs. As far as the law is concerned, you’re a vigilante and cyborgs aren’t covered by city jurisdiction. Meaning I can’t charge this as a murder,” he rubbed his chin. “I just really wanted to know what to do with this body now. My engineers told me to send it to the scrap heap, but I’m not so sure.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure either,” Android said. “This is the first time I’ve seen a dead cyborg. I’ve never had to deal with this kind of thing before. Well, since he’s still part human, I guess he needs to be buried. Though, we should keep his armor to see if we can figure out what killed him.”
“I’ll get some of my people on it,” Captain Armor said. “Unless you’d rather do it yourself. Doesn’t really matter to me, as long as the body’s dealt with in a timely fashion. We have actual criminals to catch and we need all the space and manpower we can get.”
“I’m not really sure I can deal with this,” said Android while hanging his head. “I’ve dealt with burying people enough times already. I had to do that for everyone who died when Metal City fell during the battle between the Cyber Force and the Anti-Cyborg Group. I know that I’ve done a lot of fighting, but… I’m still just a teenager.”
“Kids shouldn’t be putting their lives on the line at all,” Captain Armor said sternly. “But even I have to admit there are things even the police can’t deal with. As long as you go about your business safely, I’ll try to keep the police from arresting you.” He took out his phone and typed a few lines on it. “Once we manage to get the armor off, where should we send it? You got a base of operations or something?”
“Um…” Android rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “Honestly, I haven’t had the time to set up a base of sorts at all. I’ve been trying to find a good place for that, but no luck so far.”
Shining Armor thought. “You know, as chief of police, I can’t help you find a base. But I’m also definitely not allowed to tell you that there’s a defunct police building in the east end of town, at 12 Oak Lane, and I’m definitely not allowed to tell you that nobody’s used that place in years, but the city keeps it for tax reasons. And what’s more, I totally can’t tell you that the keys are in the pocket of my jacket hanging on the wall over there. Totally against the rules for me to tell you any of that,” he finished with a small grin.
Android processed everything he had just said and grinned. Wow, he thought. “Well, I guess that’s that,” he said “I guess I’ll be on my way.” He started to walk and ‘accidentally’ bumped the jacket, causing it to drop. “Oops,” he said as he picked it up, sneakily slipping the keys out and hiding them in his arm. “Good day, Captain!” With that, he walked out of the building. Clever man, that one!
The other policemen watched Android leave, some of them giving him a salute on the way out. The sun was just setting, which meant it was almost dinner time. He hoped there was still some spaghetti left by the time he got back home.
“You’re home!” Celestia exclaimed as Dew Drop walked into the house. “How was the meeting with Captain Armor?”
Dew Drop looked up at her and said, “Well, the meeting took a slight turn. I found out that Cyber Dragon… was somehow… killed.” He shivered at the thought of the dead cyborg. Just thinking about it made him feel like throwing up.
Celestia gasped, but Luna was less moved.
“Well, he did try to hurt a lot of people at the mall, not to mention putting people’s lives in danger with his rampage,” Luna said. “I don’t know if he deserved to die, but at least now he won’t be any more trouble to anybody. You know how the saying goes: those who kill should be prepared to be killed.”
“W-well, even if that’s true, I didn’t want to kill him,” said Dew Drop, feeling a bit annoyed by what Luna said. “I wanted to try and save him. Even if some people consider me to be a vigilante, I still want to be a hero. A hero’s job is to SAVE people, not KILL people! That includes the bad guys. Even if some of these bad guys deserve to die, it’s not my job to kill them.”
He then sat down on the couch and clutched his head. “I want to know who killed him,” he said in a slightly angry tone. “I want to find them and confront them!”
Luna looked like she wanted to disagree, but said nothing more. Instead she got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a plate of food.
"You've had a long day, and you're probably tired," Celestia patted Dew Drop on the shoulder. "Why don't we just leave work for now and just relax?"
Dew Drop took a deep breath and nodded. “Right,” he said. “That’ll help.” Deep down, he felt incredibly angry. Not just at Cyber Dragon’s death. But also at the fact that he would never have the chance to save him.
The TV was turned on and the three of them sat in front of it as a weather report came on. There was supposed to be a slight drizzle tomorrow but mostly overcast.
"That'll be good," Celestia mentioned. "Coach Spitfire was thinking about organizing a track meeting tomorrow and nobody likes to run in hot weather."
“I can imagine,” said Dew Drop. “Running in hot weather to sweat uncontrollably? No thank you! And that’s coming from someone who likes to take walks.”
“Oh! Before I forget,” Celestia got up and went over to the door, where there was a cardboard box. “The pop culture shop sent these over. They’re the name plates you were working on before the… incident. Free of charge.”
Dew Drop smiled widely and opened the box. The first nameplate had a picture of Batman fighting the Joker with “Luna” written on it. The second one had a Charizard with “Celestia” written in a fiery font. Finally, the third one had a picture of Deku posing heroically with “Dew Drop” written in the “My Hero Academia” font.
“Did you design these?” Luna asked, picking up the name plate with her name on it. “They’re quite good! Even got my favorite comic series.”
“I certainly did,” said the cyborg with a happy voice. “I had a little help in knowing what you both liked.” He winked knowingly at Celestia. “I’m glad you like yours, Luna!”
“I’ll go put it up after the news,” Luna smiled. “And Tia, I thought you said you were over that pocket monster thing.”
Celestia laughed a little embarrassed. “Well, maybe not completely.”
Dew Drop chuckled at the principal of CHS. “I can’t really blame her,” he said. “There are still things from my childhood that I’m not completely over.”
“You’re not that old yet,” Luna ruffled Dew Drop’s hair with one hand. “You should take the time you have now and enjoy things. Goodness knows you don’t have the time when you’re older.”
After the news ended, Luna got up to affix her name plate to her bedroom door. They stayed up talking a little bit longer, then went to sleep to prepare for the next day. ----------------------------------------------------- Dew Drop sat in the music room by himself, once again playing his ocarina. This time, in order to help him get over the rather traumatizing revelation of Cyber Dragon’s death, he chose to play another soothing Zelda song: the Song of Healing. As he played the song, he felt more calm and at peace. All of his anger and regret melted away. Unknown to him, however, a certain group of girls were passing by and heard the music being played.
The Rainbooms stood in the doorway to the music room, holding their instruments but didn’t say a word to interrupt the music that was currently being played. Only once the song ended did they begin to applaud Dew Drop’s performance.
Dew Drop jumped a little at the sound of applause. He looked towards the door of the music room and saw the Rainbooms clapping. He blushed a little. “O-oh,” he said. “I didn’t know you girls were there. Um… how long have you all been standing there?”
“Long enough to know you have tremendous talent, darling!” Rarity exclaimed. “That was a marvelous song you just played.”
“Song of Healing, right?” Sunset asked. “It’s a Zelda classic.”
“Y-yup,” he answered. He was blushing a lot at Rarity’s compliment. “The Song of Healing is one of the best Zelda songs ever. The soothing melody has a way to calm you down after a traumatizing event.”
“Is that so?” Fluttershy came forward. “Did you, um, experience a traumatizing event? Is that why you’re playing?”
“Nonsense,” Rarity said. “He’s just playing it because it’s a beautiful song, right?”
There was a moment of silence as they waited for Dew Drop to answer.
“Um… yeah,” he said. “Well, I did learn about something that really disturbed me. Um… I don’t want to go into any details about what happened, so I’ll just say that it was really traumatizing!”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Fluttershy asked, sitting beside Dew Drop. “A trouble shared is a trouble halved.”
“Um…” He felt very unsure about what to say. He wanted to tell them, but would they be as accepting as Celestia and Luna?
“If you don’t wanna tell us, you don’t have to,” Applejack chimed in. “We won’t force anything out of you.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Applejack,” he said. “Maybe I’ll tell you all about it when I feel ready.”
“That’s fine,” Sunset nodded. “Well, we were going to practice for a bit. Nothing serious, though. Twilight’s not here; she went to some kind of science showcase in the city. Something about a rocket.”
“Wanna stick around and listen to us?” Rainbow strummed her guitar strings.
Dew Drop nodded. “Yeah,” he said before sending a quick text to Celestia and Luna. “I’ve got nothing better to do!”
“Alright, let’s play!”
The Rainbooms played their instruments like the day before, only this time Rainbow Dash took over lead vocals, since Twilight wasn’t present. The song this time was a slower one, titled ‘Shine like Rainbows’.
Dew Drop listened to them play their song and smiled widely. My goodness, he thought. This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard outside the Zelda franchise!
The girls finished their song and lowered their instruments.
“I wish Twilight was here to join us,” Sunset lamented. “But I think we did alright on our own. What do you think, Dew Drop?”
“You girls were amazing,” he answered with a grin. “You all have some amazing talent!”
“Well, we already knew that,” Rainbow smirked. “But I know we’re all glad you enjoyed it. Now we have to- What was that?”
The room grew quiet as a faint scream came from outside.
Dew Drop leapt to his feet in alert. Before the girls could say anything, he raced towards the source of the sound. Outside the school, he saw one of the students, a girl who he knew as Derpy Hooves, being attacked by a rather massive cyborg. He was the size of a house with black bulking armor. His chest symbol was a very angry rage emoji. Dew Drop shivered at the sight of this evil foe: The Cyborg of Wrath, Cyber Fury!
“GRRRRRR,” growled the giant cyborg. “HUMANS EVIL! CYBER FURY HATE YOU! CYBER FURY KILL YOU!!!! RAAAAAAAA!”
Dew Drop quickly ran to the boys restroom. “Time to armor up,” he said. He pressed his armor activation button and took on the form of Android. He quickly raced outside to face Cyber Fury.
Meanwhile, Derpy was trembling in fear as the giant monster loomed over her. “W-what did I do wrong?” She asked while on the verge of crying.
Cyber Fury growled. “YOU! HUMAN!” He roared. “CYBER FORCE HATE HUMANS!” He raised his fists up, ready to crush Derpy. Derpy closed her tear-filled eyes, awaiting to be crushed.
But… it never happened! She suddenly felt herself being picked up and taken away from the spot. She opened her eyes and stared in awe. Holding her bridal style with a heroic smile on his face was Android! He carried her to the sidelines and set her down.
“It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “You’re safe now!” He patted her head. “Now, stay right there, okay? I’ve got a big monster with an anger issue to deal with.” With that, he drew his beam sword out and charged to where Cyber Fury was.
“Cyber Fury,” he called out. “You have been enraged with murdery intentions towards humans for far too long!” He pointed his sword at the Cyborg of Wrath. “Your time of terrorizing people ends now!”
Cyber Fury turned towards the hero of courage and growled. “ANDROID ALIVE!” He roared. “ANDROID DIE!” With a roar of rage, he charged towards Android and slammed his fists onto the ground with the intent of crushing him. But Android was quicker than he looked. He leapt out of the way and grabbed his opponent, throwing him at least fifty feet away from the school.
Now that the students were out of danger for the time being, Android was able to fight his opponent without the fear of anyone getting hurt during the battle.
“Alright, Cyber Fury,” he said bravely. “Now it’s just you and me!”
Cyber Fury roared in anger once again. He charged towards the hero of courage. The two cyborgs collided with each other as giant fist and beam sword clashed against each other, creating a shockwave. They both glared at each other before leaping back. Android raced around his opponent, looking for a weak spot.
Meanwhile, the students made it to the front of the school and watched the fight unfold. A lot of them were in awe at the sight of Android. Others were more focused on Cyber Fury and quivering in fear.
As the two cyborgs fought, a couple of the students’ attention was caught by something bright in the sky near the city end of Canterlot. It looked like a tiny silver pencil trailing flame and smoke, going up into space. A rocket.
“That must be what Twilight was gone to see,” Sunset said as it went up and out of sight. Then she remembered the battle that was unfolding near the school.
Cyber Fury’s attention was also captured by the rocket, and he paused to look at it.
Android also noticed the rocket. “What the heck is that?” He muttered. He shook his head. “No, I can’t focus on that. I have to beat Cyber Fury!”
Cyber Fury turned his attention back to the hero of courage. “CYBER FURY KILL ANDROID!” He roared. He picked up a chunk of concrete and threw it at Android, who responded by stabbing it. Because of this powerful stab, the piece of concrete exploded into tiny pieces. Unfortunately, this left him wide open for an attack! Cyber Fury wasted no time and punched Android in the stomach. Android flew back and ended up crashing through five cars. He groaned as he got up and looked towards the students.
“I’m sorry to everyone who owned these cars,” he said. “Please, give my apologies to any car insurance companies involved.”
Cyber Fury loomed over Android, raising his huge fists to bring down on his opponent’s form. Android quickly leapt out of the way as the fists came down. He sliced away at him, hoping to find a weak spot. He leapt over him and saw what appeared to be a square cover, supposedly hiding some wiring for the armor. He quickly leapt to it and pried it off.
Cyber Fury roared once more and tried to pry Android off. But Android had a very firm grip and drove his robotic arm into the circuitry. Electricity shot through his armor, but he ignored the pain and pulled at the wires. Soon, Cyber Fury’s armor began to act up.
“NO!” Cyber Fury yelled. “ANDROID NO TOUCH ME! NO ONE TOUCH ARMOR!” He tried to maintain control of his armor, but it was no use at all. “NO! CYBER FURY NO GO DOWN! NOOOOOOOOO!”
Soon, the armor short-circuited and Cyber Fury stopped moving. Android pried the armor open to reveal Cyber Fury’s true form: A very short cyborg with thin armor and the same symbol on his chest. Tiny Cyber Fury threw his fists in anger. “No fair!” He shouted in a very tiny and high-pitched voice. “Cyber Fury no lose to you! Cyber Fury will…”
Android rolled his eyes and flicked him on the forehead. “Oh, zip it,” he said. “Cyber Fury? More like Cyber Temper Tantrum.”
Suddenly, Derpy appeared in front of his face, making him jump back in surprise. “Wow,” she said. “You’re so amazing! Thanks for saving me, mister… Um…”
“Oh, right,” said Android. “My name is Android. And… no problem…” His face turned into shock at one fact: Derpy just thanked him for saving her. He smiled a little before he felt a tear roll down his cheek, causing Derpy to stare at him with concern. As soon as he realized that there was a tear on his cheek, he quickly wiped it away.
As he opened his mouth to tell Derpy just how much that mean, he heard a scream. A scream from Cyber Fury.
He turned to look and saw a figure in a white coat stabbing Cyber Fury with a pair of glowing blades that came out of their forearms, before retracting one and plunging the hand through his chest, ripping out the black core inside in a shower of sparks.
The crowd gathered gasped and stepped back as the figure in white straightened up, examining the black core with a face that was hidden under a hood. The figure in white turned their head to look at Android. Under the hood there was a sort of white mask in the shape of a wolf’s head. Then they began to walk away, the students parting before its stride.
“Wait, stop,” Android called out, running towards him. “What did you just do to him?” He gasped in realization as a look of rage filled his face. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who killed Cyber Dragon, aren’t you?!” He drew out his sword once more. “Who are you? Why did you kill him and Cyber Fury?!”
The figure in the wolf mask turned around. In a metallic voice, they said, “I’m doing what you won’t. Time and time again you defeat these creatures only for them to escape and kill even more people. I’m doing what needs to be done, I’m taking them down permanently.” The eye holes of the wolf mask blazed with clear blue. “Or are you not a hero enough to protect those who need protecting?”
“A-are you saying that hero is supposed to be a killer?” Asked Android. “Because I don’t believe that!” He charged towards the figure. “A HERO’S JOB IS TO SAVE LIVES, NOT DESTROY THEM!!!”
The figure raised an arm and the glowing blade shot out, humming with blue energy. “A hero is supposed to protect people who can’t protect themselves. This… thing,” they pointed at Cyber Fury’s body. “What were you expecting would happen once the police caught up with him? Spend a few days in a prison not even designed for cyborgs only for the others to break him out?” The lights behind the eyes grew even brighter. “You had your chance to be a hero in Metal City. Let someone else have a turn for a change.”
“SHUT UP!!!!” Yelled Android angrily. “I ONLY WANT TO SAVE PEOPLE! IF I CAN’T SAVE SOMEONE FROM CORRUPTION, THEN HOW CAN I BE A HERO?! I’VE SEEN MANY CYBORGS BECOME MEMBERS OF THE CYBER FORCE AGAINST THEIR WILL!!! DO THEY DESERVE TO DIE TOO?! DO THEY?! IF YOU THINK THAT, THEN YOU’RE NO BETTER THAN CYBER LORD OF THE LEADER OF THE ACG, WHOEVER THEY ARE!!!!”
The masked person continued to stand there, blade extended. They dodged Android’s charge and shook their head. “Saving one person means not being able to save another. Stand in the ashes of Metal City and ask the ghosts if the method matters. The silence is your answer. Humans have lost too much already to cyborgs, and it’s time they owned up to their wrongs. If that means staining these hands, then so be it. I will be a hero who achieves things, by doing what the people need.”
“If you decide to kill just because you don’t see any other way, then you have no right to be a hero,” said Android as he glared at him. “THERE IS ONLY ONE CYBORG THAT I DO BELIEVE NEEDS TO DIE!!! THAT’S CYBORG’S NAME IS CYBER LORD! IF I DESTROY HIM, THE CYBER FORCE WILL CEASE TO EXIST! STAY OUT OF MY WAY!” He charged at the figure once more, swinging his sword wildly in a vain attempt to slice him down!
The wolf-masked figure waited until Android was within striking range, then a compartment on their wrist opened up and a wire shot out at Android. A blue energy pulse blasted down the wire, paralyzing Android’s robot arm.
“If you destroy Cyber Lord, the Cyber Force will cease to be?” The figure mused, holding the black core. “Thank you for that piece of information, Android. The ionic pulse will wear off in about five minutes. I suggest you think long and hard about what it means to be a hero, and when you do, remember all the people who died in Metal City because of cyborgs, and because you failed to stop them in time. Goodbye.”
The masked person retracted the wire and stepped away, vanishing in a burst of prismatic light. There was no more sign of them other than the quickly fading shock paralysis in Android’s arm.
Android stood there in shock before the lens on his helmet turned black. He started to breathe heavily. Then he screamed angrily and clutched his helmet with his left hand. “BASTAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!” He yelled angrily. He kept screaming with rage until he stopped and fell to his knees. Then, the sound of sniffling could be heard coming from him. Finally, he stood up and ran away, crying as he ran.
The Rainbooms watched Android run, looking like they wanted to go after him. But only one of them was quick enough. Rainbow Dash sprinted after him, using her geode to enhance her speed.
“Hey! Hey, Android! Wait up!” She shouted.
Android didn’t even hear her through his crying. Finally, he reached the outskirts of Canterlot and fell to his knees, crying uncontrollably. He clutched his helmet with both hands and slammed it against the ground, yelling out, “BASTARD!” over and over and over!
Eventually, he stopped banging his helmet on the ground and remained on his knees, continuing to cry. “Is he right?” He said tearfully, unaware of Rainbow right behind him. “Would Metal City still be standing if I just killed all the members of the Cyber Force? But, if I do kill them, I’ll just be breaking my promise to my dad! What do I do then?”
Rainbow looked hesitant, but she knelt down next to Android.
“I… I don’t know,” Rainbow admitted. “I wasn’t there at Metal City and I don’t know what happened there. But you risked your life to save us from that big cyborg, and I know that actions speak louder than words. That guy in white might not be completely wrong either, but I don’t think much of their method. Metal City is gone, Android, and all you can really do is find those responsible and bring them to justice, one way or another.”
Android looked up at her with his cheeks stained with tears. “H-how did you find me?” He asked.
“I followed you,” Rainbow sighed. “I’m good at running.”
“Oh,” he said with a small smile. “I never knew people with superpowers existed here. But still,” he added with a sad sigh. “I don’t want to kill anyone. I feel like that would make me a villain. It’s like I said to him: A hero is supposed to save lives, not destroy them.”
“Is it true, what the other guy said?” Rainbow Dash asked hesitantly. “That the bad guys keep breaking out after you arrest them?”
Android nodded sadly. “Yes,” he answered. “But there’s a lot more to them than you may think. Not all of those cyborgs became evil on their own accord. Most of them were brainwashed by Cyber Lord. Others became members of the Cyber Force because no one would help them. They never had a hero to save them. I’ve been trying everything that I can to make sure that they have a real hero to look up to. If I can’t save someone who has been calling out for a hero for so long, then what right do I have to be a hero?”
Rainbow Dash picked up a rock off the ground and moved it around her fingers. “What about those who are too far gone? I remember a saying Rarity had in one of her novels, ‘society needs butchers as well as shepherds’. I’m not saying killing is the answer to everything, but if human lives are at risk, maybe it’s not completely wrong to look for a more permanent solution,” she threw the rock away. “From what I heard, the wolf mask guy sounds like he has some history with Metal City. I’d be mad too, if a city was destroyed and those who destroyed it got away.”
“I guess,” said Android. “However, there is only one that I need to defeat for good. A cyborg who refuses to change himself for the better. The one who brainwashed all the other cyborgs. Cyber Lord is the one who needs to be defeated permanently. However, I won’t kill him. I’ll find another way to make sure he never hurts people ever again.”
“I hope you do,” Rainbow replied. “I don’t want Canterlot to go the way of Metal City. What’ll you do if you run into that guy again? He had those arm blades, so does that make him a cyborg too?” She sat back and pressed her fingers together. “He claims to be a hero as well.”
“I honestly don’t know,” he answered. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” He stood up with his head still hung.”I hope I don’t run into him again. He may call himself a hero, but that doesn’t mean that he is one for real. If he really is a hero, then he’ll find another to permanently disband Cyber Lord without killing. He would actually try to save those who were always calling for help.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Rainbow said, taking out her phone. “I got a video of you and wolf mask talking. I don’t know if it’ll help, but maybe Twilight can do a voice analysis or something. It’s really a matter of principles,” Rainbow said. “Like Red Hood vs Batman. Neither of them are really villains, but what can you do? People look up to both of them.”
Android looked at her as she mentioned Twilight doing a voice analysis. Then he smiled and hugged her without thinking. “You’re an awesome person,” he said happily. Then he saw what he was doing and pulled away, embarrassed. “Oh… sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. “I… er… I usually hug people who help me when I’m really happy. I guess my dad was right about me. I guess I really do have a big heart.”
“Eh, it’s no problem,” Rainbow smiled. “I’m just happy you’re feeling a bit better. A smile better suits a hero.”
“Right,” said Android with a small smile. “Thanks. I feel like Deku when I save someone with a smile. A hero who smiles makes people feel more safe. Anyway, I should go. I have to get home.”
“Sure,” Rainbow dusted herself off. “Need me to accompany you?”
Android shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” he answered. “I’ll be fine on my own. Besides, I have a secret identity to resume. And… you know how it is.”
“Oh. Right,” Rainbow said. “Well, I’ll see you later then. Keep up the good fight, Android!”
“Thank you,” he said. He started to walk away. Then he paused and waved at her. “Take care.” With that, he started to walk home.
Android managed to transform himself back into Dew Drop. Despite his pep talk with Rainbow, he felt haunted upon watching Cyber Fury get killed. As he slowly walked home, he began to remember the many events that had happened to him.
The Corporation of Robotics in Metal City: Two years ago…
Dew Drop stood on a high rail, watching in awe as scientists worked on many machines. Machines that could help people walk over large gaps. Special rays that could instantly heal any injury. There were even tiny robots that could assist with jobs.
“Man, there are so many machines here!” He said. “It’s so cool how dad is able to manage all of this!” He looked over to a window where an office was set. “Hmm… I wonder if he’s working on anything special!”
Dew Drop arrived at the office and went inside. “Dad?” He called. There was no answer. “Dad? Are you here?” No answer. The only sound he heard was from the television. He glanced over and his face turned from curious to disgusted!
“And in other news, yet another fight has occurred between the Anti-Cyborg Group and a cyborg gang. The cyborgs claim that they only fought out of defense while the ACG claims that they were attacked. Both sides have been put into custody until further notice. With so many fights happening, who knows what kind of awful things might be in store for our city?”
The lad had seen enough. He walked over to the tv and turned it off. “When will people realize that the more they fight, the worse things become?” He muttered. “Yeah, no wonder people keep dying in Metal City. Why can’t cyborgs be treated as normal people? What went wrong?” He sighed as he sat in his dad’s chair. “Man, if only I could help out somehow. But… I’m only human. What can I possibly do?”
“That depends on your performance and willingness to help, doesn’t it?” Said a gruff voice. Dew Drop looked up and smiled as he saw a big man with black hair, a black beard, a black mustache, and blue eyes. This was Dew Drop’s father. A kind man named Bigheart. If anyone were to ask why Dew Drop was so kind, the boy would just point out his father. He loved his father a lot. While his mother was very neglectful and his step-mother was abusive and obsessed with him being perfect (even he felt that she knew it was impossible), Bigheart was more kind and gentle. He understood how much Dew Drop struggled to please people and was willing to spend time with him to cheer him up. “It’s nice knowing that you want people to get along, son.”
Dew Drop chuckled. “Yeah,” he said. “Thanks, Dad.” His smile dropped a little. “But seriously, why do cyborgs and humans hate each other?”
“I don’t know,” said Bigheart sadly. He went over to the boy and patted his head. “But hopefully, we can figure it out someday.” He then smiled. “So, what brings you into my office?”
Dew Drop smiled a little. “Well, you know me,” he said. “I was just hoping to see if you were working on any secret projects.”
Bigheart rolled his eyes and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Well, if I showed you, it wouldn’t be a secret now, would it?” He said. “Maybe I’ll show it to you. But first, why don't you go pick up your sisters? They must be waiting for you.”
Dew Drop looked at the clock and gasped. “Oh, shoot,” he cried. “You’re right! I better get them right now!” He raced towards the door. “Bye, Dad!”
10 minutes later…
Dew Drop ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Dang it, he thought. Why didn’t I check the time? Shiny is gonna kill me! I know I should call her, “Mom.” But it’s kinda hard when she makes things difficult for me!
Suddenly he stopped as he heard crying. He looked around and saw that he was in front of an abandoned store. Tilting his head, he approached the store. The crying got louder and louder as he got closer and closer.
“Hello?” He called out. “Is someone in there?” The crying stopped and was replaced with sniffling. “Who are you? Are you okay?” He asked in a caring tone.
“Wh-who’s there?” Said a soft voice.
Dew Drop arrived at the door and carefully opened it. “My name is Dew Drop,” he said. “I’m supposed to be picking up my sisters from school when I heard you crying.” He went inside and looked around. “Where are you?” “I’m trapped under this rubble,” said the voice. Dew Drop looked towards a pile of rubble and saw a boy with light blue hair and brown eyes looking up at him. The poor boy looked scared. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Why on earth would I hurt you?” Asked Dew Drop gently until some light blinded him for a second. He looked carefully and noticed that the boy had a robotic arm. “Oh, that’s why. You’re a cyborg.”
“Yeah,” said the boy. Just then, Dew Drop approached and tried to lift up the rubble. The cyborg looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to free you,” said Dew Drop. The cyborg was about to protest, but Dew Drop ruffled his hair. “Listen, I know that it’s weird for me to help you. But I hate all the crap that spewed about your kind. Why can’t we all be friends?” He then gave him a smile. “What’s your name, buddy?”
The cyborg raised an eyebrow at him before answering. “Sharpeye,” he answered. “And I’m confused as to why you’re helping me.”
Dew Drop ruffled his hair. “I have no resentment or hatred towards you,” he said. “Now, let’s see if we can get you out of this rubble.” He stood up and looked around carefully until he saw a beam. “Maybe I can use this!” He went over and dragged the beam over to the rubble. He placed an end under the rubble and laid the beam down. Then he found a fairly large rock and placed it under the middle of the beam.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s see if this works!” He climbed onto the beam and slowly worked his way towards the end. Slowly, the rubble began to lift. “Awesome! Okay, Sharpeye. Start crawling!”
Sharpeye nodded and began to crawl out as the rubble was lifted up. At last, the young cyborg was free. But, just as he tried to stand up, he gasped and fell onto one knee. Dew Drop threw off of the beam, causing the piece of rubble to crash, making an echo!
He paid no attention to what had happened with the rubble and rushed over to Sharpeye. “Dude, what’s the matter?” He asked. “What happened?”
Sharpeye clutched his ankle. “It’s my ankle,” he said. “I think that piece of rubble crushed my foot.”
Dew Drop wasted no time! He grabbed the young cyborg and helped him up. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you out of here.” With that, the two began to head back for the door.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from outside! They both jumped and looked around. Then they heard voices.
“You think that freaky metal-armed boy is still in there?”
“I hope he is! I can’t believe he has a cannon built into that arm!”
“No kidding. I can’t believe that cyborgs were given special privileges to use weapons built into them as self-defense thirty years ago!”
“Yeah. Dr. Silver certainly had no idea of the fact that some cyborgs just let the privilege go to their heads! And look at them now! So many are using them as a means to establish power over us humans!”
“Well, thank goodness the ACG will put a stop to that!”
“Enough chat! Let’s destroy this place before the kid’s parents try to look for him!”
More explosions occurred, shaking the building! Rubble and debris began to fall! Dew Drop gasped. “Come on! Let’s get out of here, now!” With that, the human and the cyborg ran as fast as they could!
They got closer and closer to the door, rubble and debris crashing all around them. Dew Drop kept looking up, trying to make sure that they wouldn’t get crushed in the process. Suddenly, the color in his face disappeared as he saw a huge piece of rubble falling right towards them! Thinking quickly, he grabbed Sharpeye and threw him towards the door.
Suddenly, the piece of rubble landed right on top of his right arm, pinning him down. He tried to free his arm, but it was no use. Suddenly, he heard Sharpeye calling out to him.
“Dew Drop! Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” said Dew Drop. “But my right arm is pinned!” More debris and rubble landed on top of the piece that had pinned his arm down. He yelled in pain. “Sharpeye, go! Get some help! Now!” “Okay,” said Sharpeye. “Hang on!” The next thing he heard was the sound of footsteps receding. Dew Drop looked around as more debris fell around him. He was terrified and alone!
Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back of the back. His head hit the ground and he blacked out.
*****
Beep… beep… beep… beep…
A heart monitor. That’s the next thing that Dew Drop heard. He slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing but blurriness. He blinked a few times and his vision cleared. As soon as his vision was cleared, he noticed that he was in a hospital room. He looked to his right and saw a bunch of “Get well soon” cards.
He reached out to…? Wait a minute! His right arm! He couldn’t see his right arm! Where was it? He glanced down and felt his heart sink! His right arm was… gone! There were bandages wrapped at the end of the stump that was once his right arm, halfway through the upper section. He laid his head back onto the pillow of the hospital bed and stared at the ceiling.
What happened? He thought. Oh, right! Now I remember. I managed to throw Sharpeye out of the building when it was falling apart. I hope he’s…
He was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. He saw his dad come in with his two sisters, Snowy Love and Pink Glow. The two sisters ran over to him and hugged him tightly while crying their eyes out. Dew Drop looked up at his dad, who had a sad smile on his face.
“We heard about how you saved someone from an abandoned building,” he said. “That was a very brave thing for you to do, son. However…”
“DEW DROP!?” Yelled a voice. Dew Drop shivered in fear as his sisters got in front of him protectively. He knew that voice anywhere. Before he could say anything, the door flung open and revealed a lovely woman with brown hair, red eyes, and a very angry expression. As soon as she saw Dew Drop, she grinded her teeth and stomped over to him.
“Um… h-h-h-hi, mom,” said Dew Drop nervously. “In case you’re wondering, I’m okay. You see, I…”
“SHUT UP,” yelled the woman. “You left your sisters hanging at the school for three hours! I don’t care if you were trying to save one of those filthy cyborgs from getting crushed! Your family should always come first!!!” She made it to him and raised a hand to slap him.
Dew Drop shut his eyes, ready for impact. But it never came. He opened his eyes and saw that Snowy Love and Pink Glow had grabbed the woman’s arm before she could slap him.
“That’s enough, mom,” said Snowy as her icy blue eyes glared at the woman. “Dew Drop just lost his arm while saving an innocent cyborg from getting killed and you’re yelling at him for a minor flaw in your schedule!”
“Yeah,” said Pink as her red eyes looked like fire. “How about you show some concern for something other than your stupid schedule!”
The woman was about to explode only for Bigheart to place a hand on her shoulder. “Shiny, dearest,” he said. “Why don’t you wait outside for us? You can see Dew Drop later.”
Shiny just sighed. “Fine,” she said. “However, I’m gonna give that young man an earful when he comes home!” With that, she stomped out of the room!
Dew Drop let out a sigh as soon as she was gone. “Thanks, guys,” he said. “I love her, but she really scares me to end.” He looked down sadly. “Dad, why can’t Shiny Wave show at least a little concern for others?”
Bigheart sighed sadly. “I guess it’s because she believes that she’s perfect and is led to think that everyone needs to be exactly like her,” he said.”I wish you would call her ‘mom’ when she’s not around.”
Dew Drop looked up. “It’s hard to call her that when she doesn’t act like a mom,” he retorted.
Snowy patted him on the head as her brown ponytail came over her shoulder. “Don’t let her get to you, bro,” she said. Her icy blue eyes softened a little as she gave him a smile. “She’s just too prideful to admit when she’s wrong.”
“Yeah, man,” said Pink as her red eyes glowed with cheerfulness, making her blonde hair look like it was glowing like the sun. “I think you did the right thing. You saved a cyborg from dying.”
Dew Drop smiled at his two sisters. “Thanks, you two,” he said. He looked at Bigheart. “So… what will happen now?”
Bigheart smiled a little. “Well, son,” he replied. “I plan on doing something very big for you. I believe that you could be living proof that humans and cyborgs can coexist peacefully.”
“What do you mean by that?” Dew Drop asked.
“You’ll see,” Bigheart replied. "For now, get some rest. You'll be out of here soon."
Dew Drop nodded and laid back onto the bed. He watched as his family left. He glanced up at the ceiling and sighed. I hope that Sharpeye is okay.
Two weeks later…
"Son, stop looking at your arm like that," said Bigheart. "You've done everything with your right arm up to this point. Surely you'd want to use it again."
Dew Drop glanced at his new arm for the tenth time in a row. "I know, dad," he said. "It's just really difficult to adapt to something that has bent so many spoons and broken so many pencils."
Dew Drop now had a robotic arm. Unfortunately, he struggled to adapt to it. It was so difficult since he couldn't hold a pencil or spoon without breaking it. So… I'm a cyborg now. Maybe I can easily reach out to other cyborgs this way. He sighed sadly. I don’t think I can say the same for my human friends. They don’t even know that I’m a cyborg yet.
Shiny Wave just rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You better get used to that new arm of yours,” she said. “I can’t wait for your father to make a cloaking device so I don’t have to see that disgusting thing!”
“Honey, please,” said Bigheart. “Dew Drop is very sensitive about that thing. You know how much he hates seeing cyborgs and humans constantly fight.”
“Maybe it would be easier for me if I was unaware of the fact that our son is now a cyborg,” said Shiny Wave.
Dew Drop started to grind his teeth. He absolutely hated it whenever his own mother made him feel like garbage. He hated it even more when she would get onto him for not being perfect.
Snowy Love glared at Shiny Wave. “Mom, you need to stop,” she said. “Big bro is still traumatized over the fact that someone tried to commit murder against a cyborg.”
“He shouldn’t have wasted his time on him,” she said. “All cyborgs ever do is abuse the skills that they end up with for personal gain! What’s to stop Dew Drop from doing the same?”
Finally, Dew Drop snapped. “WHAT?!” He shouted, making everyone jump. “SHINY WAVE, YOU’VE GOT A LOT NERVE TO SAY THAT ABOUT ME!”
Shiny Wave recovered from the outburst as she glared at him. “Don’t you dare raise your voice at me! You have no right to-”
“HOW DARE YOU COMPARE TO OTHER CYBORGS!!!” Dew Drop shouted, getting very close to her face and forcing her against the wall. “DO YOU THINK THAT I WANTED TO BE A CYBORG?! FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, YOU ALWAYS EXPECTED ME TO BE PERFECT!!! WELL, NEWS FLASH FOR YOU: PERFECTION IS IMPOSSIBLE!!! NO MATTER WHAT I DO, I WILL NEVER BE PERFECT!!! I WILL NEVER LIVE UP TO YOUR STANDARDS!! EITHER ACCEPT IT OR LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”
Shiny Wave stared at the young cyborg in shock. Then, her face slowly twisted into anger. “You dare talk to your own mother that way?” She said, “Kids need to respect their parents and…”
“Parents should never provoke their own children to wrath,” Dew Drop interrupted her. “Stop expecting me to be perfect and accept that I will always be flawed. Further, stop being so judgemental towards cyborgs. Sharpeye was very scared!”
The young lad took a few deep breaths. “I need to take a walk,” he said. Before anyone could stop him, he stomped towards the front door and stepped outside, slamming the door in the process.
*****
One month later…
Dew Drop walked into the C.O.R. building. Employees were cleaning up. As soon as they saw him, they gave him friendly smiles and waved at him. The boy felt a little better from the cheerful greeting he received. For the past month, his supposed friends found out that he was a cyborg and turned their backs on him. Luckily, Sharpeye was there for him along with two other cyborgs who helped him out. Sharpeye, Steel, Kunai… I’m so lucky to have those three as friends.
Meanwhile, The meltdown he had towards his mother was still fresh on his mind. Maybe I was a little too harsh to her, he thought. Even though she rubs me the wrong way, I still love her.
He looked up to where his dad’s office was and decided to take a look around. Dad has been very busy with something. But what? What is he working on that is so important that he barely spends time with us? I’m gonna find out.
He carefully made his way to the office, making sure that the employees didn’t see him. He went inside and saw a corkboard with a lot of papers in it. To his shock, there were pictures of him whenever he practiced swordplay with his teacher. There were also blueprints for some kind of armor and a strange-looking sword. At the top of the corkboard were three words: “The Android Project.”
“What in the world is this?” He said quietly. He approached the board. “Dad, what are you working on? What does this have to do with me?”
He glanced at the desk and noticed that there was a laptop opened up and running. Curiously, he approached it and saw video files. He clicked on the one that said, “Entry 1.” The video came up and he saw his father looking guilty.
“Entry number 1,” said Bigheart. “It’s been three days since Dew Drop received his new arm. Yet, I can tell that he feels scared of using it. I want him to feel as if he can do some good as a cyborg. But how? What can my own son do to make him feel as if he is important in this world?”
The video ended and Dew Drop clicked on the second video. Once more, Bigheart appeared on the screen. “Entry number 2. I’ve got it! I know what to do for him! Ever since he was six years old, Dew Drop always dreamed of being a hero. With the Cyber Force and the ACG constantly at each other’s throats and the police not doing anything about it, it’s only a matter of time before our own home falls. What if Dew Drop became a hero who could fight both groups in the name of peace? I know exactly what his hero name should be. I will call him “Android.” It’s time for the “Android Project” to begin!”
Dew Drop was amazed. “Me? A hero?” He said. “But… how?” With curiosity filling his head, he clicked on the next two videos. One at a time. The third video revealed some strange green armor that looked to be his size. The fourth was about a beam sword that couldn’t harm organic material. He was impressed by the status.
Now it was time to see the fifth video. “Entry number 5. The status of the armor and sword is very impressive. However, we need to speed things up. The fighting between the Cyber Force and the ACG is getting worse. I just hope that Dew Drop can defeat these enemies and save everyone! Metal City needs him, whether or not the people can understand!”
Dew Drop looked at his right arm and clenched his fist. “Well, Dad,” he said. “If saving Metal City is so important, then I’ll do it. I promise to defeat those two groups, no matter what it takes!”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” said Bigheart who was standing at the door. Dew Drop jumped in surprise as he saw his dad looking at him. “I see you found out about my secret project. Once the “Android Project” is complete, you’ll be able to fight the Cyber and the ACG.”
Dew Drop smiled. “I hope so,” he said. “So, in the meantime, how can I help right now?”
*****
“Oof!” Dew Drop grunted as he crashed into the wall of a testing room once again. “Dang it! I thought I had it that time!”
“That was better,” said Bigheart as he came into the room and patted the boy on the head. “At least we know how tough your armor is.”
The father and son were in a testing room with fighter bots standing by. Dew Drop was now in some green armor. It included a helmet with antennae on the sides and digital eyes on the lens, a brown leather belt around the waist, and a big red letter “A” with a sword going through it. He glanced at his father, his digital eyes narrowing to form a horizontal line.
“Quick question,” he said. “Why did you include digital eyes on my helmet? Wouldn’t that scare people?”
“Well, I actually thought it’d be cool,” said Bigheart with a sheepish grin. “Thought it would make you look a little more expressive.”
Dew Drop rolled his eyes. “Dad, you’ve been watching anime again, haven’t you?”
“Maybe a little too much,” said Bigheart.
Dew Drop smiled and hugged him. “It’s all good,” he said. “I guess the eyes make me look a little cooler.”
“Anyway, back to training,” said Bigheart. “We’ve gotta get you ready for any upcoming battles!”
Dew Drop sighed. “I know, I know. It’s just that… having to dodge and reflect lasers while moving around is really hard. This armor is pretty heavy!”
“Yes, but remember: People need you. I know that you’ll be ready soon. You’ve got the sword skills down. It’s just your dodging that needs improvement. So, let’s keep going.”
Dew Drop nodded with a determined smile and took a stance as the training bots started up once more.
One month later…
Dew Drop stood on the top of a building in his new armor as Metal City’s new guardian. He was now Android, the Cyborg of Courage. He looked in the distance and saw what appeared to be an explosion. With a brave look on his face, he climbed onto his motorcycle and drove to where the explosion took place.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Cyber Droids and ACG soldiers firing at each other. He took a deep breath and held onto his beam sword. Focusing his energy into the blade, he swung it towards the middle. A large wave of energy flew from his sword and sliced between the two fighting groups, making them stop. He stood up and saw that they were looking around in confusion.
“What was that?” “Trying to locate the source… Source not found…”
“Whatever it was, it interrupted our fight!”
Android finally stepped down, revealing himself. The humans and the Cyber Droids stared at him as he approached. “ACG… Cyber Force,” he said. “Good evening. Sorry to interrupt your battle, but it was getting out of hand anyway. I must ask you to stop this nonsense.”
“Why should we listen to you?” Asked one of the humans. “Who the heck are you?”
A Cyber Droid approached him. “Scanning newcomer… Processing… unable to identify.”
Android pushed the Cyber Droid aside. “I am Android, the Cyborg of Courage,” he said. “I have come to end this war between the Cyber Force and the ACG. If this fighting keeps up, Metal City will be destroyed!”
“We don’t need a cyborg to tell us what to do,” snapped another human as he pointed a gun at him. “Stay out of this!” He pulled the trigger, firing at Android.
The young cyborg pulled out his sword and blocked the blast. Then he swung his sword down, slicing the gun. The humans gasped in shock. The Cyber Droids opened fire on them. Android jumped in front of the humans and reflected the blasts, destroying most of the droids. He then lunged at one of them, grabbed its head, and drove a flash drive into it. A few minutes later, he pulled the drive out and the robot fell to the ground.
He turned to the ACG soldiers, putting the drive away. “Does anyone else want to fire at me? No? Good. Now, who are you people working for?”
“We’re not gonna tell you anything,” said another soldier. He was pulling out his gun when one soldier stopped him.
“Do you really want to stop this fighting?” Asked the other soldier. When Android nodded, he smiled. “Well, I for one want this to stop as well. Most of my family has died due to this fighting. Our leader is Dr. Ironside!”
“Dr. Ironside, huh?” Asked Android. “Where may I find him?”
“Nobody knows! He never reveals his whereabouts to anyone.”
“I see.” Android patted him on the head. “Thanks, friend. You’ve done Metal City a huge favor.” He got back onto his motorcycle and drove away, leaving most of the ACG soldiers dumbfounded!
*****
“Dr. Ironside?” Asked Bigheart with disbelief. “But that’s impossible! He’s been working with COR for years.”
“Then he must be very good at hiding his true intentions,” said Android as he put the flash drive into his laptop. “That’s what the ACG soldier told me.”
Android was now in Bigheart’s office, going over the info he had received. A file came up on the laptop and the cyborg clicked on it. “Here we go! Now I’ll be able to see the droid’s memories!” He began to type away, hoping that he would see who the Cyber Force’s leader was. Soon, he found something that said, “Cyber Lord.” Curiously, he clicked on it. An image appeared and the young cyborg felt his heart stop beating for a moment as he was struck with fear.
It was a huge cyborg with a giant sword, spiky black armor, and red eyes under a crown on his head. His smile was filled with evil intentions. Who the heck is this?!
“So… this must be Cyber Lord,” said Bigheart as he came behind Android.
“Cyber Lord?” Asked Android as he managed to calm down a little.
“Yes,” answered Bigheart. “The Cyborg of Evil. The leader of the Cyber Force. I don’t know much, but I do know this: Every human or cyborg who goes to him never comes back alive or the same.”
Android looked at his dad with concern. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“I believe that he has the power to turn humans into cyborgs as well as corrupt cyborgs,” Bigheart said. “Where else would the Cyber Force get so many cyborgs?”
Android looked angry. “So he’s just using people for his own purposes? I can’t let that slide!” He stood up and marched towards the door. “I wanna know how many people he’s destroyed! How many families he’s broken!”
Before Bigheart could stop him, Android ran out. Bigheart could only sigh. “Oh, son,” he muttered. “Don’t let anger and hate cloud your judgment.”
*****
Android stood outside the entrance of Cyber Tech, Inc. It was a very large gate that prevented anyone from looking inside. Looks like Cyber Tech doesn’t want anyone snooping around, he thought. Well, too bad. The Cyber Force came from them, originally with the intent on being a peace group. But something has happened to them. And I’m gonna find out what went wrong!
He jumped up and landed on top of the tall wall that was connected to the gate. Looking down, he spotted several Cyber Droids patrolling the area. He carefully leapt down and looked for a way inside. He noticed trucks were being unloaded into the building. So, he made his way to the trucks and hid inside of the boxes. Soon, he felt the box being moved into the building. As soon as the moving stopped, he carefully looked out and saw that he was inside the building.
A few moments later, he carefully made his way through the building. Suddenly, he saw a black glow. Cautiously, he approached it and saw a big black core. What the heck is that? Wait! Is that the fabled “Black Core?” Why is it here?
Suddenly, he heard footsteps! He hid himself as quickly as he could. Soon, he saw the large form of Cyber Lord in front of the Black Core. “We’ve made so much progress,” said the large cyborg. “All thanks to this! What do you think of it, Cyber Seductress?”
A pink cyborg came next to him. Her symbol was a heart with a spiral inside of it. “I think it’s wonderful,” she said in a sultry tone. “With this, I’ve been able to get so many cute boys under my thrall. Mm! Just seeing them with lust-filled eyes makes me so happy! No more boys hating me. No more being walked on! Just boys worshiping me!”
“Ugh! Seriously?” Said a new voice. This time, there was a cyborg that bore resemblance to a lamia. “Boys are the only thing you ever think about, Cyber Seductress!”
Cyber Seductress laughed. “Of course I think about boys, Cyber Serpent,” she said. “You only use your power to make people fight over something out of envy. Envious little serpent.”
Cyber Serpent growled. “I told you not to call me that,” she hissed.
“Darling, darling,” said another voice, this one belonging to male cyborg with a star symbol. “We’ve been able to use this core to corrupt many people. Cyborgs and humans alike. Of course, I’m the best one when it comes to using this!”
Cyber Lord turned to them. “Ladies, gentlemen, we can do so much more with this,” he said. “I need seven cyborgs to form a special team. The Deadly Cyborgs. Remember, I chose you as a result of the sin you represent the most.” He smiled evilly. “This Black Core will get stronger and stronger. The more humans and cyborgs fight, the stronger it gets. This will soon make the Cyber Force unstoppable!”
Cyber Seductress shivered lustfully. “Mm! Think of the boys I can hypnotize with my powers,” she said while licking her lips. “Boys at my feet, worshiping me like a goddess!”
Cyber Serpent smirked a little. “With my green eyes, I’ll be able to lure people into fighting over some petty little thing that makes them jealous,” she said. “Then, with my strong coils, I’ll crush them!”
Cyber Lord patted them on the heads. “Now then, let’s find more members! All we need are cyborgs to represent greed, wrath, sloth, and gluttony!”
“Say no more, darling,” said the star cyborg. “I, Cyber Star, will bring in the rest of the members!”
With that, they all left. Android came out of his hiding place, processing everything he just heard. So that’s what the Black Core does. I better destroy it! He drew out his sword and stabbed it… only to be thrown several feet away. Groaning, he got up. What was that?! What happened?
“Well, well, well,” said a voice. Android turned around and saw another cyborg. This one looked like… a knight? “Someone dares to intrude into our hideout!” He drew his sword. “You must’ve seen too much! Now, fall before Cyber Knight!”
Android put on a brave face and drew his sword as well. “Not a chance, you medieval knockoff!” He took a fighting stance. “I won’t let the Cyber Force and the ACG fight anymore!”
Cyber Knight looked impressed. “I see,” he said. “So, you’re a peacekeeper. State your name!”
“It’s Android, the Cyborg of Courage!”
“Well then, Android. Show me your skills! Show me your resolve!”
With that, the two cyborgs charged at each other! Their swords clashed against each other, making white and black flashes appear! More cyborgs poured into the room. Cyber Lord showed up and looked down at the fight happening. He grinned evilly.
“Hmm,” he said. “It looks like we have a visitor.”
“Shall I crush him, my lord?” Cyber Serpent asked.
“No,” Cyber Lord replied. “Let’s see how well Cyber Knight does against him.”
As the two cyborgs kept fighting, Android found himself on defense. Dang it! He’s very skilled! I better think this through carefully! If I lose here, peace will never be restored!
He leapt back and glared at his opponent. He took a few breaths and readied himself as Cyber Knight charged at him. He quickly blocked the attack and leapt over him, slamming his sword onto the helmet! Cyber Knight staggered as Android landed behind him. Android kicked the evil cyborg away. Then he heard clapping. He looked up and saw Cyber Lord approaching him.
“Impressive,” said the Cyborg of Evil. “I thought you were just some ordinary kid, but you’ve proven me wrong. You managed to defeat one of my soldiers. Consider me impressed!”
Android scowled and took a fighting stance, his blade raised up. “Flattery doesn’t work on me,” he said. “You’re the leader of the Cyber Force, right? You’re Cyber Lord!”
“Well, well, well,” said Cyber Seductress as she strutted next to the Cyborg of Evil. “This one is not only cute, but also very smart!” She licked her lips and held her whip. “Oh, the fun I could have with him!”
“Ugh, don’t start with your little fantasies again,” said Cyber Serpent as she slithered on the other side. “Whoever this kid is, I’d like to crush him!”
Android glared at the cyborgs approaching him. “What are you planning to do with me?” He said. “Whatever it is, I won’t let it happen.”
Cyber Lord chuckled. “Aren't you afraid, little cyborg?” He asked. “No one has ever beaten the Cyber Force. So why are you eager to fight us?”
“Because this bloodshed between humans and cyborgs needs to stop,” said Android. “I may be the only to fight for peace. But I won’t stop until I’ve defeated both the ACG and the Cyber Force!”
“My lord,” said Cyber Knight as he approached. “I demand a rematch with this boy! He’s a worthy opponent!”
Cyber Lord nodded. “I see. Well then, take him to the center of Metal City. Give the people a show!” He snapped his fingers and the two cyborgs were teleported to the center of Metal City!
Android looked around in shock. “What?” He exclaimed. “How did he-?”
“My lord has many talents,” said Cyber Knight as he glowed with black energy. “For example, he can give his fellow cyborgs a boost in power! Like so!” He groaned as he glowed even more. “So… much… power!!!!”
Android felt alarmed at the sight before him. Then he scowled. “Even if your evil lord powers you up, I won’t let you win,” he said before charging at him! He slammed his sword against the chest armor piece… only to be thrown back into a building! Grunting, he got back up and saw Cyber Knight approaching him.
“So brave, but so foolish,” said Cyber Knight. “I admire your courage to stand up to the Cyber Force. However, to fight us alone is suicide! As long as we have the power of the Black Core, we’ll be unstoppable!”
“Then I’ll shatter that power source of yours!” Android exclaimed. He leapt to the side as a blast of black energy was sent flying towards him. He saw the amount of destruction that the blast had left behind and felt afraid. Suddenly, he felt his face being punched by a hard metal fist. He flew back and crashed into the first floor of another building.
Shoot, he thought. He’s even stronger than ever before! What am I supposed to do?!
“Android, this is Bigheart,” said a voice from within his helmet. Android gasped. “Don’t say anything, son. Listen to me. Just as the Cyber Force is powered by the Black Core, you are powered by something special as well. I’ve given your armor a chunk of the White Core, the positive power source that we use for our machines. If you concentrate, you can use the power of the White Core to overwhelm the Black Core’s corruptive power!”
Android glanced at his chest as he got back up. He closed his eyes and began to focus. Soon, his armor began to glow brightly as a white aura surrounded him. He lifted his sword up and opened his eyes as he saw Cyber Knight charging at him. Just as the evil cyborg brought his sword down, Android blocked the attack and kicked him away.
“What?” Cyber Knight cried as he was pushed back. “How?” He saw Android glowing and nodded. “Oh, I see. You’re powered by the White Core. In that case, I’ll step my game up and finish you with a single blow!”
The two cyborgs charged at each and clashed their blades. Black and white energy filled the air as the blades clashed against each other. Android was desperately trying to find some way to end the evil cyborg. Then he noticed the black energy coming from the chest.
I better hit that spot right now! He kicked his opponent and stabbed him in the chest. Cyber Knight stopped moving. As he looked up, he saw the armor fall off and revealed the face of a teenager. The teenager looked shocked.
“Why?” He asked quietly. “I didn’t want to fight you. I was forced to do so. Is this the answer? Are you going to kill every single cyborg of the Cyber Force?” He coughed up blood. “Murderer.” With that, the boy that was once Cyber Knight died.
Android took a few steps back as he saw the dead body. He began to shake as he realized that he had killed someone. He looked down and saw blood on his hands. Shakily, he ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
Back to the present…
Dew Drop arrived at his new home and closed his eyes. I can’t bring myself to take a life ever again. I just can’t! He scowled as he walked towards the front door. I’ll show that wolf dude! He can be a cold-blooded murderer, but I won’t be!!!
Luna and Celestia were both looking worried sick as Dew Drop came back home.
“Thank goodness you’re back,” Celestia said, rushing up to greet Dew Drop. “After the battle nobody could find you, and we assumed the worst.”
Dew Drop was silent at first. Then, he clung on to his guardian and held onto her tightly. “I-it happened again,” he said. “I saw someone kill Cyber Fury. He didn’t need to die. He needed someone to save him from the brainwashing of Cyber Lord.”
“Yes, I hear he very nearly killed one of our students,” Luna frowned. “Thank goodness you were able to save her in time.”
Dew Drop nodded. “True,” he said quietly. “But still… just knowing that Cyber Fury got killed makes me feel bad. I could’ve saved him from Cyber Lord.”
“It’s not as if you did it,” Luna pointed out. “Though, by all eyewitnesses, this Cyber Fury was disarmed and harmless when he was slain. A bit excessive, perhaps.”
“My thoughts, exactly,” he said. “I’m not happy that he died.”
“At least you’re all right,” Celestia knelt down to hug Dew Drop. “Although some people are going to have a fit when they see their cars.”
Dew Drop chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, no kidding,” he said.
“Captain Armor showed up to pick up the pieces,” Luna spoke up. “Although since the city doesn’t have laws that pertain to cyborgs, he said he can’t charge it as a murder. He said he wouldn’t even know who or what to look for.”
“Yeah, I don’t know who it is either,” he said.
Celestia and Luna exchanged looks. “Well, at least the masked man didn’t hurt you. He disappeared after you tried to attack him, is what everyone saw.”
“Well,” said Dew Drop. “He didn’t hurt me physically. But… his words really stung.”
“What did he say?” Luna asked, looking concerned. “I know a lot of other people heard it too, but I would rather hear it from you.”
Dew Drop sat down on the couch with a sad look. “He told me that I can’t be a hero if I don’t kill the Cyber Force,” he answered as he hung his head. “He said that since I didn’t kill the Cyber Force, Metal City fell. But the thing is… It wasn’t my fault entirely. The Cyber Force and Anti-Cyborg Group were constantly fighting each other. Their refusal to stop fighting led to Metal City’s downfall. The Cyber Force was blamed for it all though.”
“Maybe this masked person thinks you should have done more,” Luna shrugged. “But if I know you, then you must have given it your best. The Cyber Force does need to be stopped, I think we all agree there.”
“But it’s not fair to blame the entire destruction of the city on you,” Celestia finished. “It was a tragedy, yes, and we absolutely cannot let it happen to Canterlot. If the Cyber Force is here… then you and wolf mask might have a common enemy.”
“Tia!” Luna exclaimed.
“Remember when we used to fight, when we were still just teachers at CHS?” Celestia reminded Luna. “You always said you were never appreciated enough by the students and that I was everyone’s favorite. But then that Sombra became principal and we had to put aside our differences to gather evidence on his crimes and get him locked up. What I’m saying, Dew Drop, is that you need to set your sights on the biggest threat. I don’t know much in the way of cyborgs or your history in Metal City, but I know you’ll always do the right thing for the people. To us and many others, you are a hero.”
This made Dew Drop feel so much better. He smiled with tears in his eyes. He hugged Celestia and Luna very tightly. "Thank you," he said. "Celestia, you act a lot like a mom. Luna, you feel like the aunt I never had." He suddenly realized what he said and blushed with embarrassment. “Um… I think I’ll just head upstairs for now.” With that, he went upstairs, feeling very awkward by what he said.
Celestia and Luna looked at each other and smiled.
"A mom, huh?" Celestia said, feeling somewhat warm inside. ------------------ The next day, the Rainbooms met in the music room, but didn't start practising just yet.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I missed a battle here at school," Twilight exclaimed. "Good thing someone recorded it."
Dew Drop walked past the music room, not even noticing the Rainbooms. He was very deep in thought with so many emotions going on inside him: Anger and rage towards the mysterious figure who killed Cyber Fury; sorrow from the words the stranger spoke; and embarrassment from the fact that he basically called Celestia his mom and Luna his aunt.
Geez, he thought. First, that mysterious… anti-hero kills off Cyber Fury and left me confused about what’s right and wrong, then I end up calling Celestia my mom and Luna my aunt. What else is gonna happen? What, are the Rainbooms gonna ask where I was yesterday?
"Where were you yesterday anyway?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"Oh!" Twilight beamed. "I managed to get a VIP pass to the ACG's big event!" She took out a card from her wallet. "A backstage pass to the rocket launch. I won it in an online contest."
Dew Drop stopped as soon as he heard “ACG.” What?! ACG?! He quickly turned a corner and started to listen to the conversation. ACG as in “Anti-Cyborg Group?” Oh, please don’t tell me that they’re here too!
"ACG?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah!" Twilight replied. "Aerospace Communication Geotech. I got some pictures with the staff, the lead director, and with the rocket itself. I'm so pleased."
Dew Drop narrowed his eyes. I don’t trust that, he thought. I remember seeing a rocket yesterday during my fight with Cyber Fury. Okay, that’s it! I’m going over to this event in order to figure out what’s really going on.
Meanwhile, the Rainbooms oohed and aahed over the photos on Twilight’s phone.
"I've never seen a rocket launch up close before!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It must have been fun!"
"You have no idea," Twilight said, giggling. "But from what I hear, CHS had some excitement of its own while I was gone."
"Yeah, Derpy almost got killed by some big cyborg monster," Applejack told her. "Luckily two heroes appeared and took him down before he could hurt anyone."
"Two heroes?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, yeah," Applejack crossed her arms. "The green one and the white one."
Dew Drop heard what Applejack said and pinched his nose with frustration. I still fail to see how killing a criminal makes a hero. If I had a say, I would do all I could to make sure he never uses Black Core energy ever again. He let out a very soft sigh as he shook his head. Applejack, how can you support a killer?
Twilight was talking to Rainbow Dash. "You said something about a voice analysis?"
"Yeah," Rainbow said. "On this video I took of yesterday's fight."
"Well, the quality isn't great, but I'll see what I can do," Twilight began downloading the video to her laptop. "Why do you want this done anyway?"
"Oh, you know," Rainbow said carefully. "A favor for a friend."
Dew Drop smiled at Rainbow’s response. Rainbow Dash, you are awesome! I see that you really care for your friends. Hmm… I see an aura of loyalty!
Twilight fiddled around with her laptop, playing back the speech. "Like I said, the quality isn't great, but I can at least tell you this. The green guy is talking with a normal human voice, but the guy in white is using a voice scrambler or synthesiser. And both of them are very angry."
Wait, is she gonna recognize my voice? Dew Drop thought with alarm. No way. There’s no way she could figure that out! Nobody has ever recognized my voice when I’m Android!
"Is that all?" Rainbow asked, sounding slightly disappointed.
"Afraid so," Twilight said. "However, the video itself has a few more things I'd like to point out. Look at the blades that the man in white is using. See that distinct blue glow? That's an HF blade."
"HF?" Fluttershy asked.
"High Frequency," Twilight clarified. "The blade uses electrical impulses to vibrate the blade at an extremely high speed, vastly increasing the cutting power and making it extremely painful to cyborgs and anything with electronics."
"Yikes," Sunset muttered.
"HF blades are very high tech," Twilight continued. "Whoever the guy in white is, he definitely geared himself up for fighting cyborgs. The ionic taser wire shuts down electronics, inducing a temporary shut down of cyberware. Very skillful. I also wouldn't mind having a look at the green guy's beam sword."
Well, that would explain how such a blow killed Cyber Fury, thought Dew Drop. As well as why my right arm stopped working. Also, should I show her my beam sword? Better question: Does she support that killer?
Twilight finished her analysis and closed her laptop. "I'm happy nobody was hurt yesterday. It could have easily turned out much worse if that big cyborg was allowed to run wild. Do you mind if I skip practice today? I want to write a thank you letter to the director of the ACG for letting me attend the event."
"So long as you're not going to skip the rest of the week," Sunset laughed. "I guess that means we have this afternoon off."
"Okie dokie!" Pinkie hopped to her feet. "I'm going to visit the Cake twins! See you girls tomorrow!"
Pinkie bounced out of the music room and almost ran into Dew Drop.
"Oops! Sorry, Dew Drop!" She spun around him and kept going.
“Oh, no worries, Pinkie,” he said. He smiled before attempting to tip toe away in hopes that he wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping. I hope no one heard Pinkie say my name.
Applejack was the next to leave, followed by the rest of her friends. Sunset and Twilight brought up the rear, admiring the photos Twilight had taken of the rocket launch event.
Dew Drop noticed the photos and gasped quietly. Wait! That’s the rocket I saw yesterday! Okay, I better see when this event takes place! He pulled out his phone as saw that the event that Twilight was going to would be today. Shoot! I better get over there right now! I need to make sure that Twilight stays safe!
As Dew Drop walked, he ran into Luna.
"Ah, yes, I've been looking for you," Luna bent over to whisper in Dew Drop’s ear. "Captain Armor says he'll have the, ah, contraband delivered to the defunct police station later today. For Android."
“Oh, cool,” he whispered. “Glad I took the time to… redecorate the interior a little. Wait, what time will he arrive?”
"Around five in the afternoon," Luna told him. "He also said he would bring the remains of Cyber Fury as well."
“Great,” he said. “I have to go to something at seven. Twilight is going to this thing that is being held by the ACG. She said that it stands for Aerospace Communication Geotech. But… I have a very bad feeling that it’s actually the second group of enemies I made in Metal City: The Anti-Cyborg Group.”
“Well, I hope it isn’t,” Luna said, worried. “The ACG here has been around for some years already. They’re known for working on all manner of things, from satellites to phones to cars. But if you want to investigate, fine. Just don’t cause any trouble if it’s not necessary.”
“Okay, will do,” said Dew Drop. “First, I better finish getting my new… um… headquarters ready.” ----------------------------------------- The police van came around to the abandoned police station, carrying a large container. The vehicle pulled up outside and a team of officers carried the container over to the side doors.
“I don’t know why the chief wanted us to bring this stuff here,” one of the officers grunted as they set down the container. “Nobody’s been here in years.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” another officer pointed out. “This is a place where you take stuff to forget about it. Honestly, I was fine before all this cyborg hokey pokey came to Canterlot. The laws don’t have anything for them.”
“Whatever,” the first officer said. “We brought the stuff here, as ordered. Whatever happens to it next is not our problem.”
They got back in the van and drove away, leaving the container at the station.
Android came out and, after making sure that no one was around, brought the container inside. After closing the door behind him, he brought the container to the big table in the middle of the main room. He opened the container and pulled out Cyber Fury’s dead body. He looked at it sadly and hung his head. “If only… there was a way I could’ve saved you from Cyber Lord,” he whispered. He then slammed his robotic arm onto the dead cyborg’s chest and yelled, “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, YOU WOLF HEADED MURDERER!”
He calmed down and started to examine Cyber Fury’s body, unaware of the fact that some of his White Core energy entered the dead cyborg. He saw that all of the cybernetic parts within were burnt with no trace of Black Core energy. “Well, I guess he is free in a way,” he muttered. “But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
He decided to take a small break from examining the dead body and went over to his computer to finish downloading the stealth mode for his armor. Unknown to the young hero, that small amount of White Core energy began to repair Cyber Fury’s damaged parts. However, instead of being corrupt, the cyborg was slowly being filled with positive energy. The once dead heart began to slowly beat as Cyber Fury was slowly waking up as a completely different person.
Android didn’t even notice what was happening at first until he saw the room being filled with a bright glow. Gasping, he turned around and saw Cyber Fury slowly being repaired! What’s happening? He thought. Soon, the glow died down and the unmoving cyborg landed on the table. Gone was the black armor. It was now replaced with bright red armor with a white fist symbol on his chest. Instead of a helmet that covered his whole face, there was a helmet that only covered the top of his head with a bandana-like mask around his head and eyes. Suddenly, he began to get up, clutching his head and groaning.
“Huh?” The revived cyborg said. “Where am I? How did I get here?”
Android stared in awe at the miraculous sight before him. He approached the newcomer slowly. “Y-you’re alive,” he whispered before he began to jump for joy. “OH, MY GOSH! YOU’RE ALIVE!” He stopped for a moment and asked, “Who are you, friend?”
The newcomer looked at Android and answered, “Firm Soul.”
Android gasped. “F-firm Soul?” He said. He took off his helmet and stared with tears in his eyes.
Firm Soul looked at Android, who revealed himself to be Dew Drop, and gasped. “D-dew Drop?” He asked. Not another word needed to be said. The two cyborgs charged at each other and hugged each other tightly while crying. Firm Soul wasn’t just another cyborg. He was one of the cyborgs from Metal City who was not only a friend to Dew Drop, but also a hardcore Android supporter. “Dew Drop, what happened?” Asked Richard. “What have I been doing this whole time?”
“Y-you were brainwashed by Cyber Lord,” answered Dew Drop tearfully. “He turned you into one of the Deadly Cyborgs, Cyber Fury!”
Richard hung his head sadly. “I’m so sorry,” he said.
“It wasn’t your fault, Firm. It was all Cyber Lord. You were then killed by a guy in a wolf mask because he thought that the Cyber Force should die.”
“What?! That’s bullshit!” Firm Soul was very angry. “Where is that wolf-masked bastard? I’m gonna beat him to a pulp.”
Dew Drop held him back. “Easy there… Robofist?”
“Huh?” Asked Firm. “Robofist? Why are you calling me that?”
Dew Drop put on his helmet and spoke as Android: “Firm Soul, you were once brainwashed by Cyber Lord and turned into Cyber Fury. But now, you’re free. Now, I offer you a choice! Join me and help me defeat both the Cyber Force and ACG. Will you accept?”
Firm smirked confidently. “Hell, yeah,” he said. “I’ma knock some sense into those war-loving idiots!”
Android grinned. “Great! From this moment on, you will be known as Robofist! The Cyborg of Strength! May your great strength and strong heart bring fear upon your enemies! Robofist, I welcome you to the newly founded RoboSquad!”
“Sweet,” said Robofist. “So, what’s our course of action?”
“First, I better call Captain Shining Armor and see if he can send Cyber Dragon’s dead body here,” said Android. “If I can revive and save you, then I can do the same for Cyber Dragon! Then, we need to go to this event and see if Canterlot’s ACG is the ACG that we know.”
“All right,” said Robofist. “Let’s get this party started!”
Twilight got out of her taxi, starry eyed at the venue. It was being held on the rooftop of one of Canterlot’s taller buildings, and there were banners and streamers all over the entrance. Security cameras watched every inch of the place, but Twilight wasn’t nervous about them. She had been invited, after all.
Twilight walked up to the entrance, where there were metal detector gates and at least two dozen heavily armed security guards, as well as some staff members. She presented her invitation to the guards.
“Everything seems to be in order,” the guard said. “Go on up, Miss.”
Twilight stepped into the elevator with some other adults and was soon on the way up to the roof.
Once she got out, she was checked again for her pass and had to go through a second security check before being allowed in.
But was it worth it. There were displays of various projects lined up along the side, while about two hundred chairs had been positioned to face the stage. Twilight squealed with delight and went to inspect them, recognizing many famous scientists and engineers all round.
“This is the greatest day of my life!” She exclaimed.
Unknown to anyone, however, two figures were stealthily making their way towards the area Twilight was approaching. Android and Robofist stood ready for anything.
“If it’s the ACG that we both know, I’ll pound them to dust,” said Robofist quietly.
Android rolled his eyes. “Sure, sure, whatever suits you, dude,” he whispered.
Twilight stayed to admire the displays for about half an hour. Next to her, a teenager about her age wearing a formal-looking overcoat with a tie and a beret came up.
“Enjoying the display?” He said, smoothing out his sharry brown hair.
“Oh, yes!” Twilight said. “I’ve been a big fan of the ACG for a while now. Their constant innovations to further humanity’s prospects are very admirable. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“I know,” the teenager said. “I’m part of the staff,” he pointed to a patch that was sewn to his coat, picturing a wolf howling at the moon while a shooting star flew overhead. “I’m the director’s assistant. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see such a young mind has an interest in helping humanity. He’ll be giving his speech in about ten minutes, so try to find a seat before then, okay?”
“Oh! Sure thing,” Twilight replied.
The teenager tipped his hat to Twilight and walked towards Android and Robofist, but didn’t stop to talk, passing right by and disappearing into the crowd.
“Be careful,” whispered Android. “You never know when danger is about to hit.”
Robofist smirked to himself. “I’ll be ready,” he whispered to Android confidently.
Twilight left the displays a while later and grabbed a seat near the front, where she would have a clear view of the stage. The rest of the crowd got seated as well, while the guards stayed by the sides of the room, looking around carefully.
The lights dimmed and a spotlight was cast on the stage.
A tall man in a lab coat and jeans came up onto the stage. The screen behind him lit up with the logo of a wolf howling at the moon with a shooting star, and everyone quieted down.
“Welcome to the ACG’s celebration expo!” the man said, looking warmly at each guest as if he knew each of them personally. “We at Aerospace Communication Geotech are so glad you could come. Most of you already know who I am, but for those who might have had a bit too much to drink, my name is Dr. Henry Allister, and I’m the director of the Canterlot branch of the ACG.
“As many of you know, yesterday was a historic moment as the final components to the ACG’s newest project was launched. We made the news, everyone, and we couldn’t have done it without you!”
The screen displayed the rocket on the launchpad.
“The rocket will have linked up with the rest of the satellite, providing constant, uninterrupted internet to anyone subscribed to the ACG’s net plan in the world. How is this possible, you ask? Well, let me share the secret with you. Over the years, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of defunct satellites in orbit around the earth, cluttering up the atmosphere and just being space junk. For the past year or so, the ACG has been repairing and repurposing these satellites so that they no longer litter orbit, but can be made useful again. By bouncing the signal all over the globe, anyone anywhere in the world can have a lightning fast internet, GPS, and streaming connection.”
The crowd cheered, and Dr. Allister raised his hands. He stroked his moustache and smiled wider. “What’s more, the satellite network will be used to help map out the globe. So much of the world remains a mystery and is constantly changing, so we made it our mission to provide people with an up to date map of anywhere in the world, down to the tiniest detail. It’s a side project, I know, but I’m just so excited about it,” Dr. Allister grinned, and the crowd shared his happiness. Cameras flashed.
“As you can see, this venture couldn’t have been done without my team of scientists and engineers at the ACG, or my faithful lab assistant. Why don’t we give them a big hand?” Twilight sat there, enraptured by the speech. She had her phone out and was taking pictures.
“Again, I’d like to thank all of you for coming today,” Dr. Allister said. “Truly, I’m happy that so many people care about the future of humanity, and taking the next big step forward. I’ll be open to any questions after the speech, but for now, glory to mankind!”
He raised his fist in a sort of salute before bowing and stepping off the stage. The doctor was immediately swarmed by reporters and other guests. The projector screen flashed back to the logo of the project.
Android sat there, feeling relieved. “Well, I guess there’s nothing to worry about,” he said with relief.
“No, wait,” said Robofist. “Look down there at the man with glasses.”
Android followed his teammates' glance and saw a man with glasses and a lab coat. However, as he looked more closely, he saw a symbol that made him clench his fist in anger: A picture of a cyborg with a big red circle around it followed by a big red line across it. The symbol of the Anti-Cyborg Group! That man in particular was the leader of the group, Dr. Ironside. Long ago, his own home was attacked by a cyborg gang who terrorized humans due to the fact that they looked hideous and were treated like trash. Now, Dr. Ironside hated all cyborgs!
“Dr. Ironside,” said Android quietly. “What do you think he’s about to do?”
“Better keep an eye on him,” said Robofist.
Android nodded in agreement as they both kept watch over the mad doctor. What was he up to?
Twilight finally made it to the front of the queue. “Dr. Allister!” She exclaimed. “It’s such an honor to finally meet you. I’ve followed your career since you joined the ACG, and it’s so inspiring!”
Dr. Allister chuckled. “I’m honored to have such a loyal fan. I’ve made some steps in my career, yes, but this global connection program will be my best achievement yet. Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without the funding of my fellow doctor, Dr. Ironside.”
“Lightning fast internet all over the world,” Twilight grinned. “When does it go into operation?”
“That’s a little secret,” Dr. Allister told her. “But make no mistake, that day is soon. Hey, tell you what, why don’t we get a picture together? Something that’ll look good on the front page of tomorrow’s paper.”
Dr. Allister stood next to Twilight as the reporters snapped photos of them both grinning.
“Thanks for coming, Twilight Sparkle,” the doctor said. “I hope I’ve lived up to your expectations.”
In the background, Allister’s lab assistant leaned against the wall, sweeping his eyes over the guests. He lingered on Android and Robofist, but he didn’t make a move to do anything.
“Shoot,” said Android quietly. “I think he saw us. Robofist, we gotta go now.”
“Awe, no fair,” said Robofist quietly. “I wanted to kick some butt.”
“We can’t do that now,” explained Android. “We’ll look like suspects if we stay here any longer. Besides, we have no evidence yet.”
“Ugh! Fine,” said Robofist. “But if I find out that the Anti-Cyborg Group is involved in anything, I won’t hesitate to fight.”
“Noted,” said Android. “Now let’s get out of here.” With that, they both began to make their way to the exit quietly.
Twilight left the venue about an hour later, looking as giddy as a kid in a candy shop. “I can’t believe I got to meet Dr. Allister of the ACG!” She squeed. She had even managed to get his autograph on her notebook. “I wonder if I can become his lab assistant after I leave high school?” ------------------------------------------------------ Later that night, at the Canterlot ACG headquarters, which was a tall tower in the middle of the city.
Dr. Allister stood in his lab while his lab assistant stayed close behind.
“What’d you think of my speech?” Allister asked the teenager. “Too overblown?”
“Not really, I thought it was adequate,” the young man said. “I’m pleased to report that Project Iris is 67 percent done. The processing power of the Ragnarok space station was more than enough to speed up the schedule. Not to mention its key function in Project Aegis.”
“Yes…” Allister muttered, a shadow passing over his face as if he was remembering something terrible. “I couldn’t have done it without Dr. Ironside’s funding. Where is he, anyway?”
“He’s currently in the room where we keep the WM-01,” Allister’s assistant told the doctor. “I hear he has some suggestions to make.”
“Of course he does…” Dr. Allister sighed. “The wolvin units are only part of the plan. You focus on continuing Project Iris and Project Aegis. I’ll go find Dr. Ironside.”
“Yes, sir. Would you like an update on Android? We know where he lives. I can send a wolvin-”
Dr. Allister waved to stop his assistant. “No. Android isn’t our enemy. He was incompetent, but that doesn’t make him a villain. It’s the real villains, Cyber Force we’re after. Keep watching Android, but don’t touch him.”
“He had a new accomplice with him today,” Allister’s assistant continued. “They were watching your speech. I saw them, trying to blend in with the guests, but I have a sharp eye.”
“I’m aware,” Dr. Allister said. “Do what I told you to do; I’m going to go talk to Ironside.”
Dr. Allister ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Then he stepped into the elevator and went down three floors to where Ironside was.
Dr. Ironside was very busy in creating a new invention when he heard Dr. Allister coming down to meet him. “What is it?” He grunted.
"My assistant said you had something to say about the WM-01," Allister said. "Let's hear it."
“Very well,” said Ironside. “The WM-01 has the right amount of armor to go against the Cyber Force, but it lacks two important factors: Weapons and resistance to the Cyber Force’s corruptive energy.”
Allister sighed. He went over to a pod on the side of the wall and wiped the fog off the glass. Behind it was a white wolf mask. "I disagree with the second one. As for weapons, the WM-01 is still a prototype. We can always improve on it. It's every engineer's dream, not having to rely on electricity or black core energy to function. My Papillon Reactor will one day pave the way for clean energy all around the world."
“So, clean energy, huh?” Ironside said. “Good luck with that. Last time I checked, Android is the only being with that kind of power. Yet… I saw that he had an ally with him. I don’t know why, but… there was something familiar about his ally. Like, I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Allister turned away from the pod and frowned at Ironside. “We’re scientists for a reason, making the world better for humanity. Besides, you’ve already seen what the Papillon Reactor is capable of. If we can just replicate it in scale and make it less unstable…” Allister trailed off. “And I knew there were cyborgs at my speech. But since sensors didn’t register black core energy, I decided to leave them alone. You yourself said that the fall of Metal City was because of the Cyber Force, so that’s who we’re going after.”
"Tch," said Ironside with a sneer. "If Android hadn't tried fighting both my group and the Cyber Force, things would've been different. He's a fool to believe that humans and cyborgs can coexist. Peace between humans and cyborgs is impossible. Cyborgs are all villains, end of story!"
Allister sighed. He took out his phone and looked at the background. It was a photo of himself, a beautiful woman in a green dress, and a teenage girl dressed in white and purple. "Maybe you're right about humans and cyborgs, but even if we want there to be an end to the fighting, we should target the biggest problem first. That's the Cyber Force." He put his phone away. "Project Aegis will do that. It will be a shield for humanity, make sure nobody has to lose a loved one to cyborgs again."
"Then why not aim for Android," said Ironside. "He's a cyborg as well."
Allister shook his head. “Android is still useful to us. He fights the Cyber Force, who are also our main target. Once we finish off the Cyber Force, we can decide what to do with Android.”
“Fine,” growled Ironside before getting back to work. Then he whispered quietly to himself: “Mark my words, Android. You will die by the hand of the Anti-Cyborg Group. I will see to it myself. Then, I will never have to deal with cyborgs ever again!”
"Well, if that's all, I'll make the necessary adjustments to the WM-01. I'm going back upstairs to oversee the projects," Allister turned to leave. "You're welcome to stay here and do whatever it is you're doing."
“Fine by me,” said Ironside as he stopped working for now. He decided to go and get some coffee.
Celestia and Luna were finishing up their respective paperwork when Dew Drop entered the house. This time, Dew Drop wasn’t alone. As he came into the house, he was followed by a boy who looked to be at least a year older than him. He was a bit muscular with brown hair, hazel eyes, a red hoodie, black jeans, and black sneakers.
“Okay, Firm Soul,” said Dew Drop quietly. “They both know that I’m Android, so it’s fair for me to tell them about you. Don’t worry. You can trust them.”
The new boy, Firm Soul, took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. “I trust you.”
Dew Drop smiled at his friend and told him to wait. “Celestia, Luna, I’m home,” he called out.
“Welcome home, Dew Drop,” Luna said, turning around to smile at him. “How was your day?”
"My day was a lot better than yesterday," said Dew Drop with a smile. "Do you… guys remember Cyber Fury? The guy that the wolf mask killed?" He was very eager to tell them the good news about the former Cyber Force member!
"Yes…" Celestia said slowly. "What about him?"
“Well, I somehow brought him back to life,” said Dew Drop as he tried to hold back his excitement. “Not only that, but I also managed to purify him and restore him to the person he was before. It turned out to be… one of my friends from Metal City!”
“... Come again?” Luna asked hesitantly.
"Let me show you," said the young cyborg before turning to the door. "Come on out, buddy!"
A few seconds later, Firm Soul stepped into the room with a rather nervous expression. "Hello," he said. "My name is Firm Soul, formerly known as Cyber Fury. But now I'm free! My new name is Robofist, Cyborg of Valor. I hope you don't mind my presence."
Dew Drop wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he looked at his guardians. "Firm Soul is an old friend of mine," he explained. "The very first cyborg to befriend me. That was until he was brainwashed by Cyber Lord and corrupted by the Black Core."
Celestia and Luna both blinked in unison. Then Celestia managed, “Hello, ah, Firm Soul. You’re one of Dew Drop’s friends?”
“She’s still somewhat sore about you trying to murder our students,” Luna said flatly. “And frankly, so am I. But Dew Drop seems to trust you, so we will at least hear you out.”
Firm Soul stepped forward and bowed his head a little. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was always called a poor excuse for a cyborg just because I was bad at fighting. I would often get angry at them because I have anger issues. Cyber Lord came along and promised to grant me power so people would respect me. However, it turned out to be a trap and soon I was trapped in cybernetic armor as he placed a piece of the Black Core into my chest. Soon, I ended up forgetting about my old life and the few friends I made. Since I have anger issues, Cyber Lord used my anger to brainwash me. When I finally woke up, I saw Dew Drop and… well, here we are." He hung his head and looked like he was about to cry.
Dew Drop rubbed his shoulder with a soft smile. "It's okay, Firm Soul," he said. "I'm just glad to have my friend back."
Celestia and Luna exchanged looks, turning away to whisper. Finally they seemed to reach an agreement.
“As long as you don’t lose control of yourself again, I’ll be okay with you being with Dew Drop,” Celestia said. “He already places himself in danger to protect people, and if you are going to help him, then I suppose it could be worse than having one of his old friends backing him up.”
“You’re not the only person with anger issues,” Luna told Firm Soul. “What’s important is that it doesn’t make you lose your sensibilities.”
Firm Soul looked up at them and smiled a little. "Thank you so much," he said. He then put on a determined grin. "I'm not going to let Dew Drop fight this fight alone. As the Cyborg of Valor, I promise to help him beat the Cyber Force and the ACG."
Dew Drop chuckled. "You always were strong, passionate, and loyal to me and our other few friends."
“Dew Drop could use a few more friends,” Celestia smiled. “At least a few more who can help him out if he’s in danger.”
“Do the Rainbooms know your secret?” Luna asked. “Not saying that you need to tell them. I just thought that they could be helpful too.”
"Not yet," said Dew Drop. "I just want them to get used to me first."
"The Rainbooms?" Asked Firm Soul. "Who are they?"
“A band of girls with remarkable powers, not unlike your own,” Celestia said. “But I respect your decision. Now, I heard from Captain Armor that you have a base of operations? Is that where you will be staying?”
"Yeah, for the time being," said Dew Drop. "Plus, I won't be alone there. I'll at least have a roommate."
Firm Soul grinned. "You can't get rid of me that easily," he said.
Dew Drop smirked and lightly punched his shoulder. "No kidding," he said. "It's impossible considering how much you care for our friends. I wonder if Captain Armor still has Cyber Dragon's remains. I still want to try and save him."
Firm Soul ruffled the young lad's hair. "Heh," he chuckled. "You always did have a big heart!"
“Do you two want something to eat before you head off again?” Celestia asked. “I’ve already cooked dinner, and there’s plenty to go around. I hope you like spicy wings and steak and kidney pie.”
“Spicy wings?” Asked Firm Sould before a big grin spread across his face. “HELL, YEAH!”
Dew Drop did a light facepalm. “Right, I forgot two things,” he said. “One, Firm Soul is tough when it comes to eating spicy foods. Two, he… doesn’t have the cleanest mouth.”
“Sorry,” said Firm Soul. “I’m like that when I get passionate about stuff that I like. Please, excuse my language.”
"I think we can forgive a little ripe language," Luna shrugged as Celestia brought out the food. "Nobody’s perfect. Besides, if you’re going to be battling with Dew Drop, he could use the backup."
"Oh, yeah," said Firm Soul as he posed confidently. "I'll be honest here: I am so eager to break some Cyber droids!" He punched his fists together, wincing a little in the process. "Bring them on!"
Dew Drop chuckled. "Easy there, tough guy," he said. "Don't hurt yourself."
Firm Sould could only chuckle sheepishly. "Yeah," he said. "That's fair."
“Do what you need to, just don’t do anything irresponsible,” Luna advised. “So long as you don’t do anything reckless, we’ll be willing to support you in everything.”
"Thank you, Aun- I mean, Luna," said Dew Drop quickly.
Firm Soul gave him a rather confused stare. "Um… were you about to call her your aun-?" He tried to ask only for Dew Drop to cover his mouth. With that, he quickly ran upstairs with his friend to get washed up for dinner.
When both of them had washed their hands, the four people sat down in front of the TV to eat. Celestia put on the evening news and they ate while listening to a report on the weather and a story about how Android and the Wolf Masked man had stopped an attack on CHS by a hostile cyborg. There were several students who were interviewed by the reporter, including Rarity, Applejack, and Derpy.
“I most certainly am glad that there are heroes out there, ready to swoop in and save the day,” Rarity said. “I only wish I could show my appreciation better.”
“Android saved my life!” Derpy cheered. “He’s my hero!”
“Great job on the both of ‘em,” Applejack told the camera. “I feel a lot safer now that the bad guy’s been stopped, in every sense of the word.”
Dew Drop felt a mix of gladness, annoyance, and disappointment. He was glad that the students were showing appreciation to him. On the other hand, he didn't understand how they could call the man in the wolf mask a hero. He took a glance at Richard and sighed a little.
I won't destroy lives like a murderer, he thought. I will save everyone! Even villains need to be saved.
Firm Soul noticed his friend's face and felt concerned. "What's wrong, Dew Drop?" He asked.
"It's just that… These students are calling the man in the wolf mask a hero," he said. "I don't understand how they can call him a hero. I mean, he was the one who killed you when you were Cyber Fury."
Firm Soul smiled a little and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, you did the one thing that he couldn't hope to do," he said reassuringly. "You saved someone that everyone else gave up on. You saved me from serving the Cyber Force any further. The fact that you want to save people that everyone else has given up on tells me that you're the real hero here."
Dew Drop felt a little better. "Thanks, man," he said.
“He did seem to have a solid foundation of what it means to be a hero, though…” Luna said aloud, thinking. “A hero is supposed to protect those who can’t protect themselves, is what he said. His methods are on the extreme side, but at least he talks a good game.”
“The world isn’t divided into two different types of people, good and bad, each wearing different colored hats,” Celestia added. “Heroism also comes in many different shapes and forms. The man in the wolf mask might see himself as a hero who does things that nobody else is willing to do. What’s that called again?”
"Anti-hero?" Dew Drop guessed.
"Well, what if the villain only became a villain because he was forced to be one?" Asked Firm Soul. "Suppose someone really needs help with a traumatizing situation like abuse from a dad or having no control over their skills. Now, think of society noticing what's happening to that person, but not doing anything to help them."
"Yeah," added Dew Drop. "Let's take Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia for example. As a child, she developed her quirk and had a sudden thirst for blood. Her parents could've taken her to a therapist to help with her problem. But instead, they looked at her with disgust and said, 'Why can't you be a normal child?' This led to her becoming a villain. So… who's the real villain here: The abandoned girl who needed help and became a villain because no one would help her; or the people who turned their back on her when she needed help? Which one is the true villain?"
"Or, Tomura Shigaraki from the same franchise," added Firm Soul. "When he was a child, he wanted to be a hero. However his father was abusive towards him for having such a dream, telling him that being a hero is a waste of time since the hero doesn't always have time for their family. Later, he developed his decaying quirk and accidentally killed his whole family. He searched desperately for someone to help him. But… society didn't bother to lift a finger to save him from his traumatized self. Nor did any hero try to help him. As a result, he was found by the big villain All For One. AFO raised him to be hateful, which led to him becoming a villain. But again, who's the real villain here: The boy who was hurt by his family and abandoned by everyone when he needed help; or the people and heroes who refused to help him?"
"The point is… it's really easy to label someone as a villain just because they're evil," said Dew Drop in a serious tone. "But everyone should ask why the person became a villain. If it's because no one tried to help them in the first place, then we should try to save them. If it's because they love being evil and have no sense of love or compassion in them… Well, then maybe those people need to die. It's not all black and white as you may think. The whole world is a shade of grey."
“Some villains can’t be redeemed, though,” Luna said. “Some like the Joker either believe themselves too far gone or aren’t of sound enough mind to recognize when they’re being given a chance. Goodness knows Batman would like nothing better than to not have to fight the Joker and other villains, but they don’t give him much of a choice. Would Gotham city be better off without them? Undoubtedly.”
“Not to mention they won’t kill the Joker because he makes such a great foil to Batman,” Celestia added with a smirk.
“Yes, there is that,” Luna admitted.
"Now, I won't lie," said Dew Drop. "I do see some villains that I want to die! Like Cyber Lord and the other Cyber Masters." He let out a sad sigh. "I've tried to figure out why they're evil for such a long time. Yet… I have no answer. I agree that those guys have lost all humanity and need to die." He hung his head sadly. "The thing is… I'm scared that if I kill them, I'll become a murderer and end up commiting genocide on the cyborgs. I don't want to do that."
“You know yourself better than anyone else,” Celestia said gently. “But the Dew Drop that we know wouldn’t become like that. Like Richard said, you have a good heart.”
“Besides, if you really don’t want to be the one to take their lives, you could always put them through due process,” Luna said. “Although I don’t think we do the death penalty anymore. You might know better than me.”
"Probably," said Dew Drop quietly. He looked back up at the screen and smiled a little at the sight of Derpy holding a hand drawn picture of Android. He teared up a little. "Derpy… was the very first person to ever thank me as Android for saving her," he added.
The news changed to show the next day’s weather forecast. It was due to be a cloudy day.
“Firm Soul, I have a question,” Celestia turned down the TV volume. “Dew Drop is currently enrolled at CHS. Do you plan to do the same, or do you have some other place to be while Dew Drop is at school?”
“Um… well... “ Firm Soul said. “I haven’t been to school in a long time. So, I guess I can give that a try.”
Dew Drop grinned a little. “Don’t worry, dude! I’ve made quite a few friends at this school! I think they’ll like you!”
“We can sort out your documents right now, if you want,” Celestia suggested. “Luna and I are the principals of the school, so we have some leeway with new students.”
Firm Soul nodded in agreement. “All right! Let’s do this!” He gave a very confident smirk.
They spent the rest of the night filling out forms for Richard to go to CHS, after which the group decided to call it a night.
“See you at school tomorrow, Firm Soul,” Celestia said with a wink. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”
“Sweet,” said Firm Soul. He left the house with a very confident grin. As Dew Drop watched his friend, he smiled a little. Cyber Force, you only had to deal with one cyborg! But now, you’ll have to deal with two!
Dew Drop and Firm Soul stood before the school, grinning widely. Firm Soul lost his grin however when he noticed the crater in front of the school. “Whoa,” he whispered. “Did I do that?”
“No,” said Dew Drop quietly. “That was me. You just broke the fall.”
Firm Soul rolled his eyes and lightly punched his shoulder with a grin. “Smart aleck,” he said.
“Yup,” said Dew Drop. “I can be like that when I wanna be. You know, liven things up a little.”
The front of the school began to slowly fill up with students, some of them waving hello to Dew Drop and wishing him a good day. Before long, there was a familiar skipping sound as Pinkie Pie popped up near Dew Drop and Firm Soul.
“Hi, Dew Drop! Good morning! Who’s your friend?”
"Good morning, Pinkie," said Dew Drop. He took a glance at Firm Soul before smiling. "Firm Soul, this is Pinkie Pie, the most cheerful girl you'll ever meet! Pinkie, this is an old friend of mine! This is Firm Soul"
Firm Soul gave Pinkie a grin. "Sup?"
“The sky, silly!” Pinkie held out her fist for a fist bump. “Are you new here at CHS? I’d be happy to show you around!”
She reached behind her back and pulled out a cupcake. “Here you are, Firm Soul! Your welcome present to Canterlot High. Enjoy!”
Firm Soul grinned as he gave her a fist bump. Then he took the cupcake with a chuckle. "Well, thank you, Pinkie!" He said. Then he turned to Dew Drop and whispered, "Dude, I like this girl! She's a funny one!"
"Yup," said Dew Drop. "She has ways to get people to laugh!"
Pinkie giggled. “Ah, that’s nice of you to say, Dew Drop. I just want everyone to be as happy as can be! After all, isn’t that what being a hero is about?”
"Yeah… Wait, where did that come from?!" Asked Dew Drop curiously.
“After that amazing display of heroism the other day, I thought we could all try to be a little more heroic,” Pinkie shrugged. “And welcoming someone new is a good deed in my book, right?”
Dew Drop nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that really is a good deed," he replied. Whew! She doesn't suspect a thing! I'm not ready to tell them yet.
Firm Soul was grinning. "Well, looks like Android has become an inspiration, huh?" He said. "Well, this is the first time I've heard of Android inspiring people."
"Yeah, no kidding," said Dew Drop.
"Android has gained quite a fan club online," Pinkie added. "So has that other guy, but anyone who saw the video can see that Android did most of the heavy lifting. Don't tell Applejack I said that."
"No worries, Pinkie," said Dew Drop. "Applejack won't hear it from me or Firm Soul."
"Hell, yeah," said Firm Soul with a smirk. "Android has a fanclub? Where do I sign up?"
Dew Drop had a noticeable sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head. I always forget that passion he had for me before he became Cyber Fury.
"Just like and subscribe to the Android Fan Club page on Mystable," Pinkie took out her phone and showed them the page. "You can talk to everyone there, and see fan art, and all kinds of cool stuff!"
Dew Drop took a look at the page and felt his eyes widen at all the fanart of him. Some pictures showed him posing heroically with his sword raised up. Some showed him using a special sword technique. There were even some that showed his battle with Cyber Dragon and Cyber Fury.
My word! I never thought that I would get this many fans!
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Pinkie continued. "Seems like maybe there are heroes out there besides me and the girls. It's a nice feeling, isn't it? For Android, I mean."
“I’m sure it is a nice feeling for the guy,” said Dew Drop. “The poor dude has been always fighting on his own with no one to help him.”
Pinkie shrugged. “Sounds like he could use the help. Maybe Android and the White Wolf can work together?”
"White Wolf?" Asked Dew Drop. "Is that what we're calling that masked guy now?"
"He didn't give us a name like Android did, so people have been calling him that. The White Wolf, on account of his coat and mask. Catchy, isn’t it?" Pinkie said blithely.
“Actually, yeah,” said Firm Soul. “That does sound very catchy! Way better than Wolfhead!”
“Yeah, that’s for sure,” said Dew Drop. “Well, I better help Firm Soul find his classes. I’ll introduce him to the rest of you girls later.”
“Okie dokie,” Pinkie nodded. “Catch ya later then!”
The pink girl waved and skipped back to her friend by the front doors of the school, where they usually waited before class began.
"So, you have some other lady friends?" Asked Firm Soul with a smirk. "Which one do you have a crush on?"
Dew Drop blushed heavily. "Let's just get to class," he said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to their class.
------------------- Lunch had arrived and the two cyborgs were looking for Dew Drop's friends. Soon they saw them and went to sit with them.
"Are you sure that they'll be okay meeting me?" Asked Firm Soul.
"Of course," said Dew Drop. "Trust me, they're very sweet girls!" Soon they arrived as Dew Drop greeted the Rainbooms. "Hey, girls," he said.
“Hello!” Sunset turned to greet Dew Drop and Firm Soul. “How are you finding CHS so far, Firm Soul? Pinkie told us you’re new here, so I hope everything hasn’t been too overwhelming.”
Firm Soul saw Sunset and blushed. "O-oh," he said. "Y-yeah. I'm doing quite well here so far."
Dew Drop grinned at how Firm Soul sounded when he spoke to Sunset. "Anyway, I am happy to say that I'm not the only survivor of Metal City. Firm Soul here is from MC as well," he smiled at his friend. "It's nice knowing I'm not the only one."
“That’s great!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Does that mean there might be others who survived as well?”
"I… I don't know," said Dew Drop. "I hope so."
Firm Soul patted his shoulder. "If there are others out there, we'll find them."
“It’s truly wonderful that you’ve found someone who you can relate to so much,” Fluttershy said happily. “I hope you both settle here in Canterlot well. You deserve that much.”
"Thanks, Flutters," said Dew Drop.
Twilight raised her hand. “Since you’re from Metal City, maybe you can tell us more about these other cyborgs that have been attacking people,” she said. “We need to know as much as we can in case we have to deal with them again. Derpy almost died, and if it wasn’t for Android and the White Wolf, someone could have gotten seriously hurt.”
As much as Dew Drop wanted to argue about the White Wolf being a hero, he decided to give Twilight some info. "Okay, so I should point out that these cyborgs are not the only threat that Android has had to deal with," he explained. "There was also a group of human beings who believed that all cyborgs are abominations that need to be destroyed. That group came to be known as the Anti-Cyborg Group."
Firm Soul growled a little. "Ugh, the Cyber Force and the Anti-Cyborg Group were always at each other's throats," he said. "They each believed one to be better than the other. I don't know who is more evil here! The Cyber Force's leader, Cyber Lord, for brainwashing cyborgs to join his group and serve him and forcibly turning humans into cyborgs? Or the Anti-Cyborg Group destroying houses that contained cyborgs, regardless of whether there were humans in there or not?" He clenched his fist in anger. "Monsters, all of them!"
“I see,” Twilight mused. “But we haven’t been attacked by this Anti-Cyborg Group. Just the… Cyber Force, was it? I would like to know more about them.”
“You may get your chance,” Rainbow said, holding up her phone. “News says that the police are rushing to some kind of disturbance. There was some kinda fight?”
Looking at Rainbow’s phone, the group saw a cyborg that had been smashed into the wall of a building hard enough to embed the body inside the concrete. A pair of broken sunglasses hung from one side of the cyborg’s face and a damaged star-shaped weapon lay nearby. The chest area of the cyborg had been savagely cleaved up and there was a gaping hole where the power source would have been.
“A daring raid on the Canterlot Police Station was thwarted today by the efforts of the Canterlot Police Department and a person that the internet seems to be calling the White Wolf. A dangerous cyborg attempted to break into the police department, assumedly for the remains of another cyborg that was being held there, but thanks to the brave efforts of Captain Armor and his officers, they were able to hold the cyborg to a standstill.”
A police officer was being interviewed. “At first I thought we might not be able to handle it,” he said, taking off his hat to wipe his brow of sweat. “But Captain Armor, he never lost his cool and directed us to use our guns and tasers to keep the cyborg from getting into the building. It was then that the White Wolf came in and finished the job. I’m just happy that nobody was hurt and that the station wasn’t compromised. We at the Canterlot Police Department take all our security very seriously. To any and all Canterlot citizens watching this, we’re here for you.”
Rainbow put her phone down. “Maybe your brother will let you examine the cyborg’s remains,” she said to Twilight.
“It could be an interesting learning experience,” Sunset agreed. “If a bit morbid.”
Dew Drop recognized the dead cyborg. Cyber Star, the cyborg of pride, he thought before sighing a little. I better get to Captain Armor before he disposes of the body. If I can revive both Cyber Star and Cyber Dragon, I can form a new group to fight the Cyber Force and the ACG. Like a… Robo Squad!
“I wonder where Android was this time?” Rarity frowned a little.
“Chill, Rarity,” Applejack told her. “Maybe he had something else to deal with. Even a hero can’t be in more than one place at a time. Good thing someone else stepped up to deal with the threat.”
Dew Drop muttered under his breath: "How is killing a bad guy heroic? Is that saying that all bad guys need to die? When is killing even a good thing?" Unfortunately, his muttering was heard by the Rainbooms as he continued. "That anti-hero never considered that maybe those cyborgs needed to be saved. Last time I saw a cyborg, he was looking at me with a look that said, 'Please help me!' How is killing someone who is clearly asking for help even heroic?"
“Well, you see, working on a farm, you quickly learn that if ya don’t stomp out the pests, they’ll just keep coming back to cause trouble,” Applejack explained. “A good society can’t grow if you got villains chewing up the roots and leaves, see? Besides, I’m pretty sure trying to hurt kids and break into a police station ain’t a cry for help.”
Dew Drop looked up with a very serious expression. "Yes, I understand that. But what if the person has been brainwashed?" He asked. "What about that? A person being brainwashed to kill. Who needs to die then: The brainwashed, or the brainwasher?"
“I’m no expert on morality, but in my opinion, whoever is doing the most harm at the moment should be stopped with all necessary force,” Twilight said. “If the one who is brainwashed is intent on causing immediate harm to people, they need to be neutralized. A person who brainwashes people isn’t an immediate threat, so they can be dealt with once the immediate danger has passed. My brother deals with organized crime and his people are most often sent to stop relatively minor crimes like hold ups and robberies. The actual crime bosses have to wait until that’s done, otherwise there would be an uproar.”
Dew Drop couldn't believe such an answer. He hung his head as shadows covered his eyes. So… this whole time, I've been fighting for a lost cause? He thought bitterly. I know I saved Richard from continuing to be Cyber Fury, but still. If… I can bring back other members from the Cyber Force before I go for the Cyber Masters, will I still be a hero?
"I personally think that if possible, you should try and go for both," Rarity commented. "Not that I'm belittling the police force in any way, but don’t they have departments that focus on stopping the crime lords while other divisions deal with the immediate threat?"
"Well, yes," Twilight admitted. "But a lot of people don't see that and therefore give the police trouble for not putting enough effort in stopping the more obvious crimes."
“Quick question,” said Firm Soul. “What if Android had a cyborg friend who was willing to work with the police to stop immediate threats while Android dealt with the crime lords? Would that work?”
“That would be ideal,” Twilight nodded. “All the more reason why maybe Android and the White Wolf should team up! If they aren’t already.”
“I’m not sure that’s what Firm Soul is asking,” Fluttershy spoke up.
"No reason," said Firm Soul "Just curious."
Dew Drop gave Firm Soul a curious stare. The only thing Firm Soul did was give him a stare that said, "We need to talk."
The Rainbooms watched as Dew Drop and Firm Soul excused themselves and went off to a quiet corner of the cafeteria.
"So, what's up?" Asked Dew Drop.
Firm Soul put on a very serious look. "I don't trust this Wolf Head at all," he said. "In all honesty, I think I should work with the police on the smaller crimes while you deal with the bigger threats."
"Wait, why have me work on the bigger threats?" He asked. "I thought you would want to deal with the four Cyber Masters."
"As much as I want to do that, I think I need to start small," answered Firm Soul. "Besides, you still have a promise to keep, right?"
"How do you know about my promise to my dad?" Asked Dew Drop.
"I heard you make it to him before you became Android," Firm Soul replied. "Plus, it was before I… became Cyber Fury," he added regretfully.
Dew Drop smiled gently before patting him on the head. "Firm Soul, you are not Cyber Fury anymore," he said reassuringly. "You've changed now. You are back to being the friend I once had." He sighed sadly. "Though, I don't think the Rainbooms would understand what I went through. I bet they don't know what it's like to lose a friend at all."
Unknown to them, a figure was watching from the shadows. The figure, who was female, had a look of sympathy on her face.
“Iris Project at 68 percent,” Allister’s lab assistant reported once the doctor came into his lab. “I foresee no complications, now that I have the processing power of the Ragnarok space station at my disposal.”
Dr. Allister went over to a wall at the side of his lab and stared at a human sized pod that was mounted there. He wore an expression of determination on his face. There was a photo of a teenage girl with white hair, dressed in a purple jacket and white striped stockings taped to the wall there. The pod’s surface was covered in fog, but Allister knew exactly what was in it.
“It’s more than halfway done…” Allister mumbled. Then to his assistant, he asked, “Has the prototype come back with the most recent Black Core yet?”
“Yes, sir,” his assistant reported. “I had it placed in the sealed environment where it can’t influence or corrupt anyone. I’ll have it moved to the Raganrok as soon as I can.”
“Good, good,” Allister said distractedly. “I’ve been making the adjustments to the next line of wolvins. Even Ironside couldn’t find something to complain about this time. No Cyber Force cyborg will stand a chance once Project Aegis is ready.”
“Very good, sir,” Allister’s assistant said. “I will continue my work, doctor.”
“Do that,” Allister confirmed. “Meanwhile, as Ironside requests, I’ll write up today’s report on Android.” —--------------________________—---------------------- The school day came to an end and the students of CHS got ready to either go to their clubs or leave the campus.
Meanwhile, Dew Drop and Firm Soul snuck away to their headquarters and saw the dead bodies of both Cyber Dragon and Cyber Star. Dew Drop felt sad by what happened to them. He took a deep breath. “Okay, I hope this works,” he said.
He reached out with his right arm and placed his hand on Cyber Dragon’s chest. After letting it rest there for thirty seconds, he moved it to Cyber Star’s chest. He backed away and stood next to Firm Soul with a nervous look. Soon, the two bodies began to glow with a white light. They both levitated and began to change. Cyber Dragon’s lizard-like armor changed from looking scaly to looking more smooth. Instead of a robotic right claw, he now had a big robotic arm. The dragon helmet then changed into a helmet that looked like Android’s, but without the antennae.
Cyber Star still had black armor, but it now had a white aura around it. Instead of star-shaped weapons, he now had a katana and kunai knives. The armor changed from looking like a vain celebrity to a more ninja-like appearance.
Soon the two figures landed on the ground, remaining emotionless. Dew Drop felt nervous until he saw them slowly get up. They both rubbed their helmet-covered heads before looking at Dew Drop and Richard. The boy with a big robotic arm gasped and spoke in a timid voice: “D-dew Drop? Firm Soul? Is that you?”
The other figure looked up and gasped. “Oh, my goodness,” said the second boy, whose voice was quiet and humble. “I never thought I’d see my friends again.” He gave them a slight bow. “Drew Drop-san, Firm-san, I am happy to see you both once more.”
Dew Drop gasped as he instantly recognized the voices. “Sharp Eye? Kunai?” He couldn’t hold back his tears of joy as she charged at them and hugged them both. “Guys! I thought I lost you!”
Firm Soul smiled and brought them all into a group hug. “Welcome back, you two,” he said.
“Um… did we miss something?” Asked the boy named Sharp Eye.
The boy who was named Kunai closed his eyes and grunted a little. “I feel as if we were both corrupted by evil,” he said. “It seems that we were both weakened by our flaws. I, Kunai Blade, should’ve never been obsessed with being popular.”
Sharp Eye looked sad and hung his head. “I-I may be smart, but I often f-feel very weak,” he said meekly. “I thought that wealth would make me stronger. But I was wrong. I should’ve kept to my studies.”
Dew Drop smiled at them. “Don’t worry, guys,” he said. “You are no longer under Cyber Lord’s influence. You’re free now.”
“And, if you sign up now, you get to help us both in our fight with the Cyber Force and the ACG,” added Firm Soul. “What do you say? Wanna join our little Robo-Squad?”
“Robo-Squad?” Asked Sharp Eye. “W-well, if I can use my knowledge for good measure, then I’m in.”
Kunai nodded and said, “Pain has been an excellent teacher. I will now use all that I have learned from before and after I became corrupted for the greater good.”
Dew Drop smiled as he turned into Android. “Well then, welcome to the Robo-Squad,” he said. “Sharp Eye, I’ve noticed that you have a cannon built into your right arm. Therefore, I give you your hero name: Bot Blaster, the Cyborg of Wisdom and Knowledge!” He turned to Kunai and said, “Kunai, you have always been a patient individual with everyone around you. You will now be known as Ninjadroid, the Cyborg of Patience!”
The four cyborgs now grinned at each other as the Robo-Squad had been born! —------------------------------------------------------------------ At the Canterlot Police headquarters, Shining Armor was drinking coffee on a late night shift. Ever since cyborgs had appeared in the city, he hadn’t much of a way to enforce the law on them, and the policemen he had under his command weren’t trained to handle enemies like this. It was at times like this that he wished he were at home with Cadance watching a movie or stargazing, something which he had liked to do with Twilight since they were young.
The fight with the cyborg earlier had only proven to Captain Armor how dangerous these cyborgs could be. If it hadn’t been for the appearance of the White Wolf, the cyborg might have managed to break into the station.
He sighed and drank more of his coffee. If he could get a chance to talk to Android or the White Wolf, maybe he could learn something, but as it happened he had no way to contact either of them, though there was a chance Android might be at the defunct police station he had given him.
“You want to go for the throat,” a metallic voice said in front of Shining Armor’s desk.
The police chief almost spat out his coffee as the White Wolf appeared there in a burst of prismatic light.
“Oh, it’s you,” Captain Armor gasped. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
The White Wolf held out one hand. A hologram of Android appeared there, floating above the Wolf’s palm.
“You know this person?” the White Wolf asked.
“Yes,” Captain Armor said. “That’s Android. Aren’t you two working together?”
“Not quite,” the White Wolf replied. “We share a common goal, but that does not necessarily make us allies. I have come to you with a proposal.”
“Oh? And what might that be?” Captain Armor asked.
The White Wolf held out a finger and a laser beam scorched a frequency onto Shining Armor’s pile of loose paper. “This is my contact details. It only works one way, but if you catch any sign of Cyber Force activity, I would like you to contact me. That way I can move in faster before any Cyber Force cyborg can do more damage. I want to minimize the risk of loss of life.”
Captain Armor looked at the piece of paper and quickly memorized the number. “Thank you,” he said. “Minimizing loss of life is something I also care about. But what about Android?”
“Deal with him as you see fit,” the White Wolf said dismissively. “I don’t require a concrete answer from you right now. All I ask is that you think about it.”
Then the White Wolf gave Captain Armor a salute and walked away, vanishing in a burst of prismatic light.
“Robofist, hold him down,” Android called out as he and his comrades were fighting Cyber Pig, the Cyborg of Gluttony. Cyber Pig certainly lived up to his name as he was able to eat large portions of food but never be satisfied.
Robofist had a good grip on the large foe. “I’ve got him, but he’s struggling,” he called out.
Bot Blaster flew high into the air and aimed his arm cannon at the gluttonous fiend, making sure to not hit Robofist. He turned the dial on his cannon to ice and fired. “Hey, fatso,” he called. “Chill out!”
Cyber Pig found his lower half frozen as he tried to move. Ninjadroid leapt high into the air and threw some kunai at him. With a special kind of chemical built into them, they were able to finally slow down the enemy.
“Android, do your thing,” he called out. “Purify him before that Wolf Head guy shows up.”
Android nodded and gave Cyber Pig a slash, opening up his chest cavity. He stabbed the black core with his sword and slammed his right hand onto the villain’s chest. From a distance, the police were witnessing the fight. Before they could do anything else, Cyber Pig began to change. His armor slowly melted away and the noticeable black aura vanished. Soon, a young boy fell to the ground unconscious.
Everyone stared in awe at the sight. Android went to the boy and propped him up. The boy woke up and looked around. “Huh?” He said. “Where am I? How did I get here?” Suddenly, he looked scared. “Is Cyber Lord still here? DON’T SEND ME BACK TO HIM! PLEASE!” He clung onto Android, crying.
Android smiled gently and hugged him. “Fear not, friend,” he said. “You’re free now. The Robo-Squad and I have freed you from Cyber Lord’s control.”
The boy looked at Android and smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much,” he said. “I always knew that everyone in Metal City was wrong about you!”
“Were they?” the White Wolf said from atop a nearby building, watching the scene below. Behind the wolf mask, there was an intense blue glow. One of his HF blades was out, but it quickly snapped back into its sheath. “So that’s how we’re playing, is it, Android?”
Android scowled at the White Wolf. “Are you going to kill this boy too?” He asked. “Just like you killed the others?”
Robofist came beside Android and pounded his fists together. “I guess I should thank you for killing me,” he said sarcastically. “But Android brought me back. I was being controlled by the Cyber Force, but Android set me free.”
“Same for me,” said Bot Blaster as he stood with them. “You want the Cyber Force to be gone, and that’s understandable. We all want the same thing. But the thing is this: Not all of these cybernetic cyborgs enjoy being evil. Some of them long for freedom from Cyber Lord.”
Ninjadroid spoke next. “Your heart is in the right place. But we believe that your methods are wrong. To kill all the Cyber Force is to kill those who need to be saved.”
The White Wolf cocked his head to the side. “Four against one. Not all that valorous, if I may say so,” he unsheathed both his HF blades. They hummed in the air for a moment before being put away. “You might be surprised to find that I bear you no ill will. Android was able to bring you back because I removed the source of your corruption. As far as I am concerned, once the black core is gone, you don’t really matter to me for the moment.” The White Wolf turned away and began to leave. “This just moves things up a bit. Enjoy your victory, I imagine that you worked quite hard for it.”
And then he was gone.
Android let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, he didn’t go for the kid,” he said. “I am so thankful for that!”
“So, what do we do now?” Asked Bot Blaster.
Android was silent before he carried the boy to the police. “What’s your name, buddy?” He asked the kid.
“Th-theodore. Theodore Davis,” the boy answered.
“Well then, Theodore, I’m gonna ask Captain Shining Armor to find you a family,” said Android. He saw the captain. “Hello, captain,” he said politely.
“Not bad of a fight,” Shining Armor complimented as he took Theodore’s hand. “You seem to have found some companions. That’s good,” he smiled. “Everyone needs friends to help them out on occasion.”
“Well, yeah,” said Android. “Between you and me, those four are actually friends that I thought had died with Metal City.”
“Really?” Shining Armor looked impressed. “I’m willing to bet you’re glad to have them back, right?”
“Definitely,” answered Android. He looked back at his companions with a grateful smile.
“Well, the police will do all they can for young Theodore here,” Shining Armor assured Android. “I will say that it makes for a nice change not to have to pick up a body after all this. Your friend didn’t seem too happy about how things turned out here.”
Android sighed. “Sir, with all due respect, he and I are not friends,” he said. “I want to know why he believes that killing is the right thing to do. I find his tactics to be too drastic. With the way he kills every single Cyber Force member, I can’t help but ask if he values any life at all.”
“Is he a cyborg like you?” Shining Armor asked as another officer escorted Theodore to a squad car. “From what I’ve seen, he’s packing some serious weaponry that makes him seem like a cyborg.”
“I don’t know,” said Android. “It’s really hard to tell.” He grunted a little. “Man, this makes me feel like I’m in the world of My Hero Academia. Regarding our thoughts and opinions on what a hero is supposed to be, I mean.”
“I hope you can get it sorted out someday,” Shining Armor said. “Meanwhile, I need to write up reports about what happened here. See you around, Android. Keep up the good work.” Then he paused. “By the way,” he turned around. “The White Wolf paid me a visit a few nights ago. He gave me his radio frequency so I could contact him about any cyborg threats. Since he never told me not to share it, I have to ask, do you want it?”
Android nodded. “I don’t want him to kill any more cyborgs,” he said. “The only ones I will allow him to kill are the Four Cyber Masters. They’re too evil to convert to good.”
Captain Armor took out a card and wrote some numbers on it. “Here. My best engineers couldn’t track where it goes, but maybe it’ll be useful all the same.”
Android took it with a grateful smile. “Thank you, sir,” he said gratefully. “Well, I better get my teammates someplace to rest up. Take care!” He gave him a salute and walked off. —--------------------------------- “What was that?” Dr. Ironside asked angrily.
“What was what?” Dr. Allister said bluntly.
“You could have used the WM-01 to kill Android and his little cyborg friends right there! Why didn’t you?” Ironside demanded.
Allister pressed a few buttons on the keyboard and faced Ironside.
“Because none of them were radiating black core energy. The Cyber Force is the only cyborg group that uses black core energy. It seems that Android has found a way to purify black core energy without having to kill the cyborg.”
“Robs you of your revenge, doesn’t it?” Ironside sneered.
“It’s never been about revenge,” Allister said stoutly. “It’s always been about justice. Though I will admit, watching the WM-01 kill the Cyber Force members was very satisfying.”
Allister walked towards the pod on the wall and checked the status.
“Project Iris is at 82 percent completion,” Allister’s assistant said, stepping out of the corner.
“You care more about your dead daughter than you do about ridding the world of cyborgs,” Ironside called from across the room. “Don’t you remember it’s because of the Cyber Force that you lost your wife and child in the first place?”
Allister clenched his fist and bit back a biting response. “I haven’t forgotten,” he said quietly. “And I would thank you very much to not talk to me like I’m your enemy. I’m not. I care about destroying the Cyber Force like you. And my daughter isn’t dead! I will save her.”
“Whatever,” Ironside scoffed and walked over to Allister. “You yourself said that this moves things up the schedule. We both know Project Aegis has to be activated now. The wolvin units are ready. We cannot afford to let more Cyber Force trash escape justice.”
Allister rubbed his chin. “Alright. I’ll have my assistant run the final checks tonight, and we can launch Project Aegis tomorrow. Thanks to your knowledge, Dr. Ironside, Project Aegis will usher in a new era of peace for humanity. Soon, the Cyber Force will be no more.”
“Excellent,” Ironside said before walking away. The doctor’s fingers reached into his coat and caressed the grip of a gun hidden in there. He waited until he was out of hearing range before adding, “And then I will have no more need of you, Dr. Allister.” —---------------------------------- Celesita, Luna, and Dew Drop were gathered around the dinner table, eating their meal while Dew Drop told them about the day he had experienced.
"So, I'm glad to know that my team and I got to Cyber Pig first before the White Wolf showed up," he said. "With three teammates by my side, I have a better chance at beating the Cyber Force and the ACG. Plus, he did NOT go for the boy who was Cyber Pig. I'm thankful for that."
“That’s good,” Celestia agreed. “How are you acclimating to this city? I know it’s been a few weeks, but I want to know how you’re adjusting.”
“Especially with this whole hero business,” Luna added. “I know Bruce Wayne found it difficult at first.”
"I'm adjusting quite nicely," said the young cyborg. "This is far more friendly than Metal City. Heck, I found out that there's a fanclub for Android." He pulled out his phone and showed his guardians a page on the internet that was all about Android. The way he fought, the way his armor looked, and even people trying to figure out his sword worked.
“And how have you been proceeding with your schoolwork?” Celestia asked a bit more seriously. “I know you have duties as a hero, but as a student you also need to maintain some decent grades.”
“I’ve been doing well with my grades,” said Dew Drop. “I’ve been making sure that I get all my schoolwork done before moving on to my other hobbies.”
"Nice to hear," Luna said approvingly. "So what's next for our amazing Android?"
Dew Drop chuckled before responding. "Well, my team and I plan to find where the White Wolf is," he replied. "I'm not gonna fight him. I'm just gonna try to figure out his motives and who he is. I want to help him understand that killing isn't always the answer. Plus, I want to see if he'll agree to only kill the Four Cyber Masters. In all honesty, those four have lost all sanity and humanity." He sighed sadly. "I don't want them to die, but I've come to realize that I probably can't save them."
“Be careful with confronting this White Wolf person,” Luna said, looking at Dew Drop with a stern expression. “I’ve seen this kind of behaviour in the Batman comics. It’s not certain he’ll agree with you on your points, especially if he’s committed enough to his own ideals as to kill for them.”
Dew Drop nodded. “I got it,” he said. “I’m a little scared, but I won’t let fear win. As long as I have my teammates, I’ll be okay!”
Celestia and Luna picked up the empty dishes and got to washing them up, leaving Dew Drop to do his own activities for the evening. The two sisters didn’t say much, but both of them were thinking about Dew Drop and what might lie ahead for him.
“I’m worried about him, Lulu,” Celestia said quietly as she put the plates in the dishwasher. “He’s still a kid, and he has all these responsibilities. It doesn’t seem right to me.”
“You seemed fine with the Rainbooms,” Luna pointed out. “What makes Dew Drop any different?”
“The Rainbooms weren’t up against the same foes that Dew Drop is,” Celestia shut the dishwasher and turned it on. “I’m not saying he can’t handle it, but it seems like an awful lot of stress to put on one boy.”
Luna tossed an empty box of crackers into the trash. “On that, we can agree. But what can we do? It’s not like we can go out there and fight with him. We wouldn’t last five seconds.”
“I know,” Celestia said somewhat unhappily. “But I do wish there was more we could do to help.”
Luna placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder and gave her a smile.
“We can trust in Dew Drop. I’m sure that he knows already, but if we believe in him, I’m sure things will be alright.”
The next morning, Celestia drove Dew Drop to school, with Luna having left early to deal with some complaints from parents regarding Cyber Fury’s attack on the students.
Dew Drop looked at Canterlot City as he had some mixed thoughts. He was desperate to tell the Rainbooms that he was Android. But how could he do it? He wasn’t sure if he could just tell them or just show them. Another thought was how the Rainbooms would react. What would they think of the fact that their friend was secretly Metal City’s former champion? What would they say about him fighting the Cyber Force all by himself? Would they be worried? Angry? Hateful?
And then there was the idea of them wanting to get involved in his battles. He knew they were magical girls from what Celestia told him. But magic was exactly what Cyber Lord and the other Cyber Masters were after. If humans and cyborgs were so easy for them to corrupt, how easy would it be for magic to be corrupted? He shook at the thought of his friends becoming corrupt.
Celestia parked her car and got out. Before parting ways with Dew Drop, she turned to him and said, “If there’s anything we can help you with, be it as Dew Drop or… anyone else, don’t hesitate to ask me or Luna. We’d be glad to help you.”
“Thanks, mom. I’ll keep that in mind,” said Dew Drop. Suddenly, he realized what he just called her and covered his mouth. “Um… See ya!” With that, he raced off, feeling embarrassed.
Celestia watched him go with a touched smile on her face. “Mom, hmm? It has a nice ring to it.”
Then her phone rang, and she took it out to see that it was Captain Shining Armor. She picked it up and said, “Hello, Captain. Wait, what?”
She ran off after Dew Drop, telling Captain Armor to stay on the line.
Dew Drop didn’t even hear Celestia running after him. He was too embarrassed at the fact that he called her “mom.” Geez, he thought. Why the heck did I say that? I guess I really missed having a mom. Suddenly, he heard an explosion from a distance. He stopped and looked, seeing smoke rising from the distance. Whoa! Which villain is it this time?!
Celestia caught up with Dew Drop, holding her phone. “It’s Captain Armor,” she said, handing him the phone. “He says it’s quite urgent.”
Dew Drop quickly took the phone and disguised his voice to sound like Android. “Captain, what’s going on?”
“Android, you need to get to the police HQ now,” Shining Armor said. He sounded frantic. “There’s something you need to see.”
“I’m on my way,” said Dew Drop as he hung up and gave Celestia the phone. “I gotta go, mom.” He gasped and ran off. Dang it! Again?! Okay, I’m sure Celestia is gonna want to have a talk with me! He raced off towards the side of the school, hoping no one would see him. Unknown to him, a certain fashionista noticed him running frantically and became concerned. Rarity raced to where he ran. But before she could call out to him, she saw him push a button on his right wrist. Then, to her shock, he transformed into Android! Android leapt off, unaware that he had been caught.
“Dew Drop is Android?” Rarity whispered. She wanted to tell her friends, but her wisdom told her to keep this to herself for now. If Dew Drop wanted them to know his alter ego, he would have told them himself. She just hoped he wouldn’t be angry at her for knowing early.
As he ran, he quickly put his wrist to his mouth. “Richard, Nathan, Benjamin! Come in,” he said. “We have a big emergency!”
“What’s wrong?” Richard asked.
“I’m not sure,” answered Android. “Captain Armor sounded frantic!”
“Hang on,” said Nathan. “We’re on our way.”
“Just get to the station as fast as you can,” said Benjamin. “We’ll meet you there!”
Android nodded and ran to the station as fast as his armored legs could carry him. I hope it’s not too serious!
At the police headquarters, Shining Armor was standing in a room full of computer screens. His eyes darted from screen to screen, but he did not give any orders. He simply stood there and watched while he waited for Android to arrive.
Suddenly, Android came bursting in. “Captain Armor,” he panted. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve been getting calls about fights all over the city,” Captain Armor said. He pointed to a screen where a Cyber Force cyborg was being cut down by the White Wolf. Then he pointed to another screen where another Cyber Force cyborg was facing the White Wolf, only this time instead of using two blades, one hand was emitting some kind of red energy that was melting the cyborg’s armor into slag. The White Wolf plunged his hand into the molten metal and tore out the black core. The same thing was happening on many other screens. “Looks like you’re not the only one with friends,” Captain Armor said grimly.
Android stared in shock at the sight before him. “No,” he muttered before falling to his knees. He clutched his helmet and growled a little. “That bastard!” He looked back up and suddenly noticed something. “Wait! What’s that?!” He stood up and pointed to some black mist rising up into the air.
“I noticed something too,” Shining Armor said. “Look at the upper sleeve of their jackets.”
On each of the White Wolves’ sleeves was imprinted the word in gold lettering: Aegis.
“The first White Wolf didn’t have that,” Shining Armor said.
“Aegis?” Android said. “Where did they come from?”
“Of that, we’re unsure,” Captain Armor replied. “Each one seems to have a personal cloaking device of some kind. Once they get the black core, they just vanish. This is making the people nervous, though. We’ve tried tracking their signal but it’s no good, there are too many of them to tell them apart.”
Android was very nervous. What on earth was happening? Suddenly, the rest of his teammates came in.
“What did we miss?” Asked Robofist. He looked at the screens and gasped in horror. “What the hell?!”
“So, it seems that the White Wolf has decided to recruit people to join his legion of genocide,” said Ninjadroid as he closed his eyes. “They don’t know the two dangers here.”
“What dangers?” Asked Bot Blaster.
“The first is that the more they kill, the easier it becomes to distance themselves from all of humanity,” explained Ninjadroid. “The other danger is one I remember from before I was turned into Cyber Star: Any Cyber Force cyborg who is slain gets some of their black core energy to go back to Cyber Lord.”
Android gasped in horror. “Oh, no,” he said. “If Cyber Lord receives enough Black Core energy, he’ll be unstoppable! The White Wolf is just giving him exactly what Cyber Lord wants!!!”
“Aegis is an old word that can be roughly translated into the word ‘shield’,” Shining Armor said. “I don’t know who’s behind this-”
At that moment the screens fizzled out and was replaced with the blue eyed face of the White Wolf. “Your deductions are most astute, Mr. Ninjadroid,” he said. “As are yours, Captain Armor. Aegis is exactly the word for this. A shield around humanity to protect them from anything like Metal City from happening ever again. As for Cyber Lord… we’ll get to him later. I’m just calling to tell you that so long as you don’t fight the wolf pack, they won’t touch anything other than their targets. You have my word. Have a nice day, and glory to humanity.”
The screens resumed their broadcast.
“Android,” Shining Armor said. “Did you have any luck tracking the frequency I gave you? Maybe you can use it to find out where this is all coming from.”
Android was silent for a moment. He tried not to scream in rage and let out tears. Then, he took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I believe I have," he answered. "All thanks to Bot Blaster."
Bot Blaster rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Oh," he said. "It was nothing,"
The signal that had just taken over the police screens was pinpointed to the Aerospace Communication Geotech tower in the city's center.
Dew Drop sighed as he saw the location. "Well, that's very subtle, isn't it?" He asked sarcastically. "Dr. Ironside was there last time I checked."
"Who?" Shining Armor asked.
“Dr. Ironside is the leader of the Anti-Cyborg Group,” explained Bot Blaster. “They’re a group of people who are dedicated to destroying any and all cyborgs.”
Robofist growled and grinded his teeth in anger. “They’re constantly against the Cyber Force,” he said angrily. “Despite that, they still try to kill all cyborgs they come across! Ugh, I HATE THOSE GUYS!!!”
Ninjadroid placed his hands on the Cyborg of Valor’s shoulders. “Control your anger, my friend,” he said. “Before your anger controls you.”
Android looked at Shining Armor and sighed. “If the White Wolf and Dr. Ironside are working with each other, we might get a repeat of the Metal City incident. It wasn’t just their fighting that destroyed Metal City. It was the fact that they constantly fought each other and never considered the innocent people who were on the battlefield.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Shining Armor protested. “The White Wolf just said this Aegis thing was to prevent another Metal City incident. And if he was with the Anti-Cyborg Group, he wouldn’t just be going after the Cyber Force. He clearly knows you and your team are here but he’s not attacking you. It doesn’t add up.”
“Perhaps Ironside has a grudge against cyborgs that he refuses to let go of,” said Ninjadroid. “Holding a grudge can often blind someone from what’s really important in life. Maybe he’s working on a secret project that White wolf has no knowledge of.”
“It’s all guesswork unless we hear it directly from whoever’s behind this,” Shining Armor said. “Look, the city doesn’t have any laws that pertain to cyborgs or anything like them, so I can’t send out the police to stop this… wolf pack, as the White Wolf called it. But if you want to go to the Aerospace Communication Geotech tower and confront this Ironside person, I can’t legally do anything to stop you either.”
Android nodded and turned to the Robo-Squad. “Come on, guys,” he said. “Let’s go to Aerospace Communication Geotech and see what’s really happening there!”
The other three cyborgs nodded and followed Android as he marched towards the building with only one thought in mind: What in the world was really going on in the Aerospace Communication Geotech?
