Protectorby Maniacal_MuffinChapters1: Primary Function2: Analysis3: More Grease to Your Elbow1: Primary FunctionChapter 1: Primary Function ”I made you to be strong and brave. You still have a lot to learn, and you’ll probably mess up sometimes. But I know you’ll become the hero we need.” - Efi Oladele The sound of falling rain was almost all that could be heard around the streets of Numbani, only broken up by the sound of the occasional hover-car and accompanying horn, but if one strained their ears enough they may have been able to hear the subtle hum of a robot. The hulking quadruped was prone, lightly resting her arm and fusion driver on the composite safety railing of the lookout, lenses scanning and illuminating the stormy night as she monitored the city below, looking for any sign of trouble. She was entirely unmoving, all but a statue as raindrops reflected the warm, yellow glow of her lenses, like little stars in her vision. She closed her apertures and shook her head to dissipate the distraction in her computation core, something she picked up as she would watch young Efi work. It made no sense to her, but as Efi said: “If it works, then it is allowed to make no sense.” The robot resumed her vigil over the city, her lenses only a dull glow through the rain. She sat, silently daring any threat to show itself so that she may eradicate it and prove herself to her city. An hour passed with little of interest happening and the seeded rain only growing heavier, thunder now being heard in the distance and white flashes filling the sky sporadically. But, just as she was contemplating moving to a sheltered position she heard a scream echo down the street and through the alleyways. In an instant she was up, lenses emitting a menacing red glow as her stare pierced the night. Her steps were steady and fierce, her fusion driver at the ready and her hand in a fist as she marched towards where she heard the sound. She scanned alleyways left and right looking for any sign of the scream. Finding only recycling bins and the odd hover-scooter she forged onward. What she saw upon searching the third alley had her apertures angled in a deep scowl, her lenses glowing blood red and her fusion driver quickly trained on her new target. It was none other than the infamous terrorist and Talon member: Reaper. There before the robot was none other than her creator Efi Oladele dressed in a cute light-green raincoat and hat in the hands of the black robed murderer. “Orisa!” Efi yelled over the rain just before a clawed gauntlet was pressed over her mouth. “I know you are stupid Orisa but do us both a favor and lower your weapon, lest you hurt the brat.” he said slowly and menacingly, Efi’s muffled pleas only barely audible over the weather. “Hostile detected. State your business, monster.” Orisa replied, as much fierce anger behind her words as her personality core could muster. “Oh Orisa, and here I thought you only had it out for our Doomfist.” he said, voice dripping in sarcasm as he aimed a shotgun over the robots form. “You don’t have to worry though robot, we are only borrowing the girl. Talon could use a mind like hers.” “Over my decommissioned shell.” Orisa stated with a voice like cold steel as she began a charge on the pair, filled with rage and intent on throwing the terrorist over the lookout with her bare hand. “Arghh-h-h” She only got a couple of steps before her form locked up, skidding to a stop and an infamous purple sugar skull obscured her vision. “S-S-Sombra?” she managed to stutter out as her form only obeyed her in small jitters of movement. “El único.” she heard to her left as a form slid into her peripheral vision. A lithe form garbed in purple approached her with smug satisfaction in her steps. “And it is a shame that such a pretty toy like you has to go too,” she said, pulling a strange device out of her coat that glowed with a faint purple aura through the rain. “I am sure Doomfist will enjoy taking you apart a second time when I translocate you to him.” she said, sashaying towards Orisa and sticking the translocator to her chest. Sombra then took a few steps back and lifted her arm, a single holographic hexagon button manifesting above her wrist. “Adiós!” Sombra called with a grin, but before she could even move her finger to the button a ear-splitting crack reverberated through the street and a blinding white arc of lightning struck Orisa and the translocator, sending millions of volts through both. A blinding flash of purple pierced the night immediately after, and when the three onlookers vision was restored after such intense light, Orisa was no longer there. Sombra looked on in shock at what had happened, as did Reaper who loosened his grip on young Efi as he had trouble figuring out what he just saw. Not one to waste an opportunity though, Efi quickly slipped out of her hat and jacket and out of Reapers grasp and bolted away as fast as she could. Reaper regained his bearings quickly and with a shake of his head and shadow stepped after the girl. Eventually Sombra lowered her hand and dismissed the button, bringing a finger up to her earpiece. “Orisa is gone.” she said in a confused and alarmed tone through the earpiece. “I would have rather done that myself, but so long as it is gone I don’t care.” the unmistakable voice of Doomfist answered over the earpiece. She slowly lowered her hand and silently swore to herself to never personally use a translocator during a storm, not until she devoted plenty of time to tests on what she just witnessed. She stared for a moment more before jumping as Reaper placed a hand on her, his other hand around Efi’s as she squirmed trying to get free. He stared at her and her reaction through his emotionless mask for only a moment, “Help me tie her up and let’s get moving.” he said, before stepping back into the alleyway. Sombra followed a moment after, with less energy in her steps than when she arrived. 2: AnalysisChapter 2: Analysis A familiar chime reached Orisa's sensors as she rebooted, her vision filled with diagnostics and errors as her systems purged the hack methodically. After a moment she was finally in a good enough condition to take stock of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed before even opening her apertures was that the rain had stopped, or that she had been moved somewhere sheltered. The second thing she noticed was an absolutely tiny quadruped, too short and stocky and with too large a head and eyes to be any pony she had ever seen online or heard about, stranger still was the set of tiny wings on its back that could never wish to produce enough lift for flight. Yet there it was, hovering in front of her face, with soft features, a coat of warm yellow not unlike her face, and a mane of bright green also not unlike her horns. "Error detected: Impossible anomaly." she said, her base programming taking control in her early moments of consciousness. "Gah!" the small anomaly replied as its wings went stiff with fear and it fell out of the air with a thump. The anomaly then ...backpedaled away from the giant made of metal. "Don't hurt me!" it yelled in a high-pitched and squeaky voice as it tripped over itself and down the other side of a well worn ridge that was most likely a road. The impossible anomaly was now talking to her in English, making havoc in her processing core as she tried to understand the situation through the remnants of Sombra's hack. After a moment she decided that figuring out the impossible anomaly can happen after she figured out where she was. After a beat she recalled her memory prior to shutting down and rebooting, there are even more pressing matters at hand. "Efi!" Orisa exclaimed and hopped to her hooves a bit sluggishly as hacked servos refused to move on their own. "I need to save Efi!" she looked down to the impossible anomaly "Little pony, can you point me to the nearest human city or town?" The tiny quadruped was visibly shaken by Orisa's outburst but still managed to meekly reply "W-What's a human?" "You do not know what a human is?" Orisa asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "No... Sorry." the pony meekly replied, looking defeated. "Oh!" it suddenly exclaimed, "But my auntie Booky might know! She's smart! And she works at a library!" the pony said, looking much happier in only a second. "Point where I need to go small pony." Orisa replied, Apertures moving to a scowl of steely determination as she picked up the little pony in her hand. "My name is Dandelion, robot lady." the pony replied, furrowing its brow at Orisa as it squirmed in her massive hand, limbs dangling through her fingers. "My name is Orisa." Orisa very simply replied, a bit tersely, not interested in small talk when she was needed elsewhere. "Oh... Hello Orisa." Dandelion replied meekly, pulling back into herself after looking into Orisa's orange lenses and angled apertures. The young pony then looked ahead again and pointed north-east along the road. "Hello." Orisa replied with a determined monotone as heavy stomps filled the air as Orisa began her march. Orisa soon realized it wasn't a city. The one and two story houses with thatch roofs, reminiscent of historic German architecture told her as much. Also the fact that she could only see 62 homes or businesses from her vantage point and only saw 43 individual ponies moving between the buildings. The little sign ahead of her that said "Welcome to Sydneigh!" was also very disconcerting for Orisa as she was either among some kind of mutated horses or ponies in the Australian wastes (with inexplicable German architecture) or she was experiencing firsthand the multiverse. She couldn't decide which would be worse for a robot like her. Since the pony new English, she is able to ask at least. "Miss Dandelion," Orisa began "Just Dandelion, Miss Dandelion is my granny." Dandelion said with an annoyed tone, cutting off Orisa. "Affirmative..." Orisa began once again, "Dandelion, What country are we in?" "Uhhh...." the little pony looked at her quizically, tilting her head, "Equestria, duh." she said. "Understood. I am not familiar with anywhere called Equestria." Orisa replied with a semblance of melancholy coming through her robotic voice as she marched on towards the town, some ponies looking like they were scrambling for some reason. "Umm, where are you from then?" Dandelion asked, tilting her head again. Orisa looked down at the cute display and her gaze softened just slightly, "Very far away I am beginning to fear, Dandelion. But I must get home as soon as I can to help Efi." "Is Efi your friend? Is she in trouble?" Dandelion asked, worry entering her voice and sadness entering her eyes. "Efi is my dear friend and creator, and yes. She is very much in trouble, and to be the hero she made me to be I must save her." Orisa replied, her robotic voice sounding strained through her latter remark and her march slowing. "Don't worry Orisa, you are big like a hero, and strong I think, and a robot mare, and you have extra legs! Efi is as good as saved!" Dandelion remarked with a broad smile on her face, looking into Orisa's lenses with no lingering fear, throwing her forelegs up in the air. "Thank you Dandelion. Your kind words fill me with hope, but there is still a long distance for me to travel. Let us focus on this for now." Orisa replied, her voice losing its melancholy and resuming her pace with just a subtle bounce at the child's kind words. A companionable silence fell over the pair after their conversation, Dandelion still smiling subtly after making the Robo-mare happy again and Orisa mulling over the pony's kind words. Not too long after their conversation, as they drew close to the hamlet of Sydneigh two ponies could be seen exiting the now much quieter town. They had armor that shone like gold with green plumes on their helmets, and the pony approaching on the left had a ocean blue horn where the other did not. They stared at Orisa with steely determination but it started to break as they got closer. When they were twenty meters away Orisa stopped and allowed the guards to approach her. She had her Fusion driver and protective barrier at the ready just in case they were hostile, she wasn't taking any chances with Efi in trouble. When they were seven meters away they too halted their advance and looked up at her with strained faces and fear in their eyes as they noticed Dandelion. The one without a horn let out a disdainful whinny and glared back up to Orisa with determination in their deep blue eyes. "By the name of Celestia, unhand that filly you monster or there will be consequences!" he demanded in a deep and strained voice, meeting Orisa's eyes the entire time and crouching low in to a combat stance as his partner did the same. Orisa's lenses shifted towards red and her apertures rotated into slits as she readied her fusion driver and held Dandelion close to her chest. "It is not polite to call someone a monster when they do not deserve it." She stated, meeting the guard's gaze with twice as much mettle. The guards tensed and looked uneasily at each other at the obvious threat. "Hey, stop!" Dandelion yelled, startling both parties. Then looked between Orisa and the guards during their standoff, head poking through Orisa's thumb and index. "Orisa! Don't threaten guards!" she yelled pointing a hoof at Orisa, "and you! Don't threaten my new robot friend! She is on a mission to save her creator!" The horned guard looked suitably confused but relieved. The horned guard quickly whispered something to his partner before he too visibly relaxed. Orisa had a look of surprise after that. The guards were actually listening to the filly. Considering this Orisa recalculated their chance of being hostile. "A robot?" the hornless one questioned aloud, turning his head and furrowing his brow. His partner shrugged. "Orisa was it?" the horned one asked in a deep but much softer voice than his partner. "Affirmative." "We apologize for not being diplomatic and jumping to conclusions," the hornless one grunted at that, "aren't we!" the horned one said, jabbing his partner in the foreleg with a hoof. "Yes." the hornless one relented with a sigh. "Apology accepted." Orisa replied, her lenses fully softening to a warm yellow with a spin of her apertures, giving the hornless one a glare for good measure regardless. "You said your creator was in trouble?" the horned one began, his expression even. "Affirmative. My creator and friend Efi Oladele is in grave trouble and likely hostage to Talon, a terrorist organisation from my country," Orisa guessed the 'possibly from another planet and/or universe' bombshell should be dropped under better circumstances, "I must return home as soon as I can to help her." she replied, giving the guard a calculating gaze. "By way of apology for a failure of diplomacy, that had to be dispersed by a cute filly," Dandelion sat up in Orisa's hand and had a smug look on her face, "the Equestrian Guard hereby promises to assist you in returning home and the saving of your friend in any way it can. You have my word Orisa." the hornless one gave his partner a sidelong glance and nodded then both guards looked up to Orisa with determined faces with soft smiles. "That is generous of you sirs. With The Guard's help the chance of success increases immensely." Orisa said with a nod, 'if I can get home at all.' she thought to herself. "Can we still go meet auntie Booky Orisa? Can we?" Dandelion asked, looking up at the robot with her oversized eyes, the cuteness even overwhelming the robot. "Affirmative." Orisa replied with a nod and began walking towards the town. "I still have some questions and a library will likely be the best possible place for answers." "Was that a yes?" Dandelion asked herself aloud as the guards pulled up beside Orisa. "It is a yes, young one." the unhorned one replied, causing the filly to let out a little 'woot' and resume giving the robot directions. 3: More Grease to Your ElbowChapter 3: More Grease to Your Elbow The town streets were empty as Orisa entered its limits, and she was made expressly aware to how large she was in comparison to the little ponies. She was barely shorter then the smaller single story buildings and could often see scared ponies looking down at her quite easily as she walked passed the few two story houses in the hamlet. It was a big difference to the towering mega-structures of Numbani filled with humans and omnics. "That's where my friend Tarnish lives!" Dandelion exclaimed, interrupting her guidance as the group passed a single story house with a wide door and some warm yellow roses planted in front. At that moment the door was opened a crack and a small face was pushed through the opening with gunmetal fur and a rusty, short mane. "Hey Tarnish! I made a robot friend!" Dandelion exclaimed happily from her spot now upon Orisa's broad shoulders. "Dandelion? Is that you?" the figure in question asked with a tilt of its head, its ears perking up. "Sure is you silly colt! Climb on!" Dandelion replied as the colt started approaching us wearily, Orisa halting her march so the colt could approach safely. "Uh, where'd you find a robo-Tirek?" he questioned as he approached. Stopping a fair distance away once realizing that the robot's hooves were so much bigger than his entire head. "I found her sleeping and twitching on the road in to town!" Dandelion replied with a grin as she looked down from her perch. "Mum says that it isn't safe to leave the town." The colt replied smartly. "Well, that's why no adults found Orisa before me then, isn't it?" Dandelion replied without missing a beat. Orisa couldn't find any faults in the small pony's logic. "Huh. That's true I guess." The colt replied, still eyeing Orisa's colossal form wearily. "Do not be afraid small pony, I will not harm you." Orisa offered, placing Dandelion on her back, kneeling and offering her hand out to he colt. "Climb on." she said, her apertures rotating and forming a pair of upwards pointing chevrons. The colt gazed at her wearily until Orisa lowered her hand for the colt to climb up on to. He questioned to himself whether listening to the filly was such a good idea, but the presence of the guards was enough to remove his fears and he quickly jumped on. Once Orisa placed the colt upon her other shoulder she began steadily moving towards the building Dandelion had pointed to earlier, her steps lightly shaking the ground as she walked. Orisa was quickly running out of street that she could comfortably move through as she got further in to the town. Thankfully, the long two story building up ahead she was assured to be home to this "Booky" pony, and the town library. Inside, a pegasus mare sat at a desk filling out the library's ledger, fountain pen firmly lodged between her teeth. She had fur of ivory, mottled with graying hairs, and a mane and tail of ink black, that when the light hit it just right would appear a deep green, also mottled with graying hairs. Marks adorned her flanks of a closed book with a deep green cover, underneath a magnifying glass. Her work was interrupted though, as something caught her attention at the corner of her eye. Upon her desk was a simple glass of water, but currently the normally still water would fill with ripples at regular intervals, ripples growing is size as each shock shook her desk. Her gaze passed over the glass and towards the newspaper also on her desk, some news about a new monster that the Element Bearers defeated. She looked back and forth between the two items before her eyes opened wide and her mouth opened in shock. Not a moment later she yelled "Quill!" at the top of her lungs, "Something big is coming!" "You're telling me!" a pale blue unicorn mare with deep purple mane and tail yelled in reply from across the room, her complexion showing similar gray signs of age. Marks adorned her flanks depicting a white, closed book with a purple wisp of magic flowing out of its cover. "Get over here and get a look at this!" Quill yelled in reply. The mare at the desk quickly made her way past bookshelves to the front of the building to a large window with a couple of beanbags at is base and the aforementioned Quill gazing out of it. "Sweet Celestia..." Was all she could say as she soaked in the behemoth that was casually walking towards her humble abode. "This is going to be interestin'!" Quill quipped as the building continued to subtly shake around her. Orisa eased to a stop in front of the building she was guided to. It was barely one and a half times her height even with its tall roof, and in a large first floor window she could see an ivory pony and a light blue pony looking at her with shock and mirth respectively. She held her hand flat above her head in front of Dandelion and Tarnish, "Hop down," she said, "I will need you to retrieve this "Booky" as I cannot enter the library due to my size." Tarnish jumped aboard Orisa's hand and she quickly set him down whereas Dandelion chose to glide down from Orisa's shoulder, towards the entrance to the library. Tarnish quickly ran after her as soon as he was set down. "Orisa!" the horned soldier from before yelled at her right, "I have sent a letter off to Canterlot notifying the guard and the princesses of your situation. If anypony has a chance of getting you home in time to help your friend, they would be in Canterlot." "Thank you sir," Orisa replied, "this is good to hear." Her gaze met the soldiers and her apertures rotated into upwards facing chevrons, showing her satisfaction. A loud "WHAT!?" was heard from the now open entrance to the library, pulling Orisa's attention from the guard. An ivory furred mare glared down at Dandelion from the entrance. "Wait until your mother hears about this!" the mare threatened. "Are you the pony known as "Booky"?" Orisa asked the mare, interrupting the mare's tirade before it entered full swing. The mare quickly looked up and glared at the robot as laughter could be heard from within the library and her cheeks started to tint red. "My name is Tome Seeker, and I would rather be called that than my niece's nickname of "Booky", thank you very much." "My apologies Ms. Seeker," more peals of laughter from inside the library, "I will keep that in mind." Seeker took a moment to glare back inside the library, silencing the laughter momentarily. "I require your aid, Ms. Seeker. I must find my friend and creator Efi, urgently. She was in grave danger when I was unexpectedly transported here and I have little to no information on how far away from home I am. I wish to confirm some theories of mine." Orisa said mater-of-factly. Tome Seeker's features softened as she heard Orisa's story, her glare moving to one of determination rather than annoyance. "That is terrible to hear of Orisa. I will do what I can to find the information you need." "Thank you immensely." Orisa replied with a dip of her head in thanks, "I need only a map of the continents to prove or disprove my theories." The mare turned around "Astral Quill, pull yourself together and make yourself useful! Grab a map for our friend in need." she barked. A "Yes Ms. Seeker - ma'am." was replied in a snarky tone. Tome Seeker's cheeks quickly went pink before she barked out a "Just go!" as the other pony went deeper in to the library, taking her giggles with her. Only a moment later was a map handed to the pony known as Tome Seeker. She looked at the map for a moment, let out a soft "Well, it will have to do." and handed the map through the doorway into Orisa's large awaiting hand. "Sorry it isn't too detailed, but if you recognise any of these places you should be able to figure out where you are. We are on the eastern coast, in the south." clarified Ms. Seeker. The map depicted a rough approximation of a super-continent with an area marked "The Frozen North" at its peak. Other areas of interest, and the only ones marked on this map were an mountain with an apparent city growing out of the side of it marked "Canterlot", and the apparent desert and mesa area to the south of that labelled "Southern Frontier". There was a crude red lable with a red dot marked "Sydneigh" to the east of the "Southern Fronteir" label. Further east and north over a small ocean was another label marking the western coast of a smaller continent as "Griffonstone" and to the south of that, and just east of the "Sydneigh" label was a second smaller continent with a simple stylised depiction of a dragon next to a large volcano. All of this information was interesting of course, but the worst kind of information for Orisa. She realised that with none of these areas being familiar, nor with the continental shapes being recognisable, she was undoubtedly on another world, with many questions about how and why flooding her processors. With an even tone only slightly betraying her annoyance she managed to get out a "Thank you for this" towards the pony in the doorway. "My fears have been proven." Orisa suddobenly said after a good 25 further seconds studying the map, startling the guard beside her. "I am indeed on another world than the one I call my home." "Another world? Are you sure?" The horned soldier asked, look up at Orisa and tilting his head. "Certain." she replied. "I have extensive knowledge of the geography of my home planet including the shapes of my worlds continents, of which none in my memory banks match the ones on this map. This can only mean that I am further from home than any other has ever been." she said, her voice even and gratingly robotic, with the barest hint of melancholy. Suddenly, a bright light formed nearby, with energy sparking from it and a great blast of wind emanating from it. Orisa moved herself between the ball of expanding energy and the library, readying her fusion driver and readying her protective barrier, her optics turning a deep red, and her apertured forming two straight, aggressive lines. Suddenly, a purple pony dropped from the energy ball as it cracked closed, letting out a soft "ouch" as it landed.
1: Primary FunctionChapter 1: Primary Function ”I made you to be strong and brave. You still have a lot to learn, and you’ll probably mess up sometimes. But I know you’ll become the hero we need.” - Efi Oladele The sound of falling rain was almost all that could be heard around the streets of Numbani, only broken up by the sound of the occasional hover-car and accompanying horn, but if one strained their ears enough they may have been able to hear the subtle hum of a robot. The hulking quadruped was prone, lightly resting her arm and fusion driver on the composite safety railing of the lookout, lenses scanning and illuminating the stormy night as she monitored the city below, looking for any sign of trouble. She was entirely unmoving, all but a statue as raindrops reflected the warm, yellow glow of her lenses, like little stars in her vision. She closed her apertures and shook her head to dissipate the distraction in her computation core, something she picked up as she would watch young Efi work. It made no sense to her, but as Efi said: “If it works, then it is allowed to make no sense.” The robot resumed her vigil over the city, her lenses only a dull glow through the rain. She sat, silently daring any threat to show itself so that she may eradicate it and prove herself to her city. An hour passed with little of interest happening and the seeded rain only growing heavier, thunder now being heard in the distance and white flashes filling the sky sporadically. But, just as she was contemplating moving to a sheltered position she heard a scream echo down the street and through the alleyways. In an instant she was up, lenses emitting a menacing red glow as her stare pierced the night. Her steps were steady and fierce, her fusion driver at the ready and her hand in a fist as she marched towards where she heard the sound. She scanned alleyways left and right looking for any sign of the scream. Finding only recycling bins and the odd hover-scooter she forged onward. What she saw upon searching the third alley had her apertures angled in a deep scowl, her lenses glowing blood red and her fusion driver quickly trained on her new target. It was none other than the infamous terrorist and Talon member: Reaper. There before the robot was none other than her creator Efi Oladele dressed in a cute light-green raincoat and hat in the hands of the black robed murderer. “Orisa!” Efi yelled over the rain just before a clawed gauntlet was pressed over her mouth. “I know you are stupid Orisa but do us both a favor and lower your weapon, lest you hurt the brat.” he said slowly and menacingly, Efi’s muffled pleas only barely audible over the weather. “Hostile detected. State your business, monster.” Orisa replied, as much fierce anger behind her words as her personality core could muster. “Oh Orisa, and here I thought you only had it out for our Doomfist.” he said, voice dripping in sarcasm as he aimed a shotgun over the robots form. “You don’t have to worry though robot, we are only borrowing the girl. Talon could use a mind like hers.” “Over my decommissioned shell.” Orisa stated with a voice like cold steel as she began a charge on the pair, filled with rage and intent on throwing the terrorist over the lookout with her bare hand. “Arghh-h-h” She only got a couple of steps before her form locked up, skidding to a stop and an infamous purple sugar skull obscured her vision. “S-S-Sombra?” she managed to stutter out as her form only obeyed her in small jitters of movement. “El único.” she heard to her left as a form slid into her peripheral vision. A lithe form garbed in purple approached her with smug satisfaction in her steps. “And it is a shame that such a pretty toy like you has to go too,” she said, pulling a strange device out of her coat that glowed with a faint purple aura through the rain. “I am sure Doomfist will enjoy taking you apart a second time when I translocate you to him.” she said, sashaying towards Orisa and sticking the translocator to her chest. Sombra then took a few steps back and lifted her arm, a single holographic hexagon button manifesting above her wrist. “Adiós!” Sombra called with a grin, but before she could even move her finger to the button a ear-splitting crack reverberated through the street and a blinding white arc of lightning struck Orisa and the translocator, sending millions of volts through both. A blinding flash of purple pierced the night immediately after, and when the three onlookers vision was restored after such intense light, Orisa was no longer there. Sombra looked on in shock at what had happened, as did Reaper who loosened his grip on young Efi as he had trouble figuring out what he just saw. Not one to waste an opportunity though, Efi quickly slipped out of her hat and jacket and out of Reapers grasp and bolted away as fast as she could. Reaper regained his bearings quickly and with a shake of his head and shadow stepped after the girl. Eventually Sombra lowered her hand and dismissed the button, bringing a finger up to her earpiece. “Orisa is gone.” she said in a confused and alarmed tone through the earpiece. “I would have rather done that myself, but so long as it is gone I don’t care.” the unmistakable voice of Doomfist answered over the earpiece. She slowly lowered her hand and silently swore to herself to never personally use a translocator during a storm, not until she devoted plenty of time to tests on what she just witnessed. She stared for a moment more before jumping as Reaper placed a hand on her, his other hand around Efi’s as she squirmed trying to get free. He stared at her and her reaction through his emotionless mask for only a moment, “Help me tie her up and let’s get moving.” he said, before stepping back into the alleyway. Sombra followed a moment after, with less energy in her steps than when she arrived.
2: AnalysisChapter 2: Analysis A familiar chime reached Orisa's sensors as she rebooted, her vision filled with diagnostics and errors as her systems purged the hack methodically. After a moment she was finally in a good enough condition to take stock of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed before even opening her apertures was that the rain had stopped, or that she had been moved somewhere sheltered. The second thing she noticed was an absolutely tiny quadruped, too short and stocky and with too large a head and eyes to be any pony she had ever seen online or heard about, stranger still was the set of tiny wings on its back that could never wish to produce enough lift for flight. Yet there it was, hovering in front of her face, with soft features, a coat of warm yellow not unlike her face, and a mane of bright green also not unlike her horns. "Error detected: Impossible anomaly." she said, her base programming taking control in her early moments of consciousness. "Gah!" the small anomaly replied as its wings went stiff with fear and it fell out of the air with a thump. The anomaly then ...backpedaled away from the giant made of metal. "Don't hurt me!" it yelled in a high-pitched and squeaky voice as it tripped over itself and down the other side of a well worn ridge that was most likely a road. The impossible anomaly was now talking to her in English, making havoc in her processing core as she tried to understand the situation through the remnants of Sombra's hack. After a moment she decided that figuring out the impossible anomaly can happen after she figured out where she was. After a beat she recalled her memory prior to shutting down and rebooting, there are even more pressing matters at hand. "Efi!" Orisa exclaimed and hopped to her hooves a bit sluggishly as hacked servos refused to move on their own. "I need to save Efi!" she looked down to the impossible anomaly "Little pony, can you point me to the nearest human city or town?" The tiny quadruped was visibly shaken by Orisa's outburst but still managed to meekly reply "W-What's a human?" "You do not know what a human is?" Orisa asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "No... Sorry." the pony meekly replied, looking defeated. "Oh!" it suddenly exclaimed, "But my auntie Booky might know! She's smart! And she works at a library!" the pony said, looking much happier in only a second. "Point where I need to go small pony." Orisa replied, Apertures moving to a scowl of steely determination as she picked up the little pony in her hand. "My name is Dandelion, robot lady." the pony replied, furrowing its brow at Orisa as it squirmed in her massive hand, limbs dangling through her fingers. "My name is Orisa." Orisa very simply replied, a bit tersely, not interested in small talk when she was needed elsewhere. "Oh... Hello Orisa." Dandelion replied meekly, pulling back into herself after looking into Orisa's orange lenses and angled apertures. The young pony then looked ahead again and pointed north-east along the road. "Hello." Orisa replied with a determined monotone as heavy stomps filled the air as Orisa began her march. Orisa soon realized it wasn't a city. The one and two story houses with thatch roofs, reminiscent of historic German architecture told her as much. Also the fact that she could only see 62 homes or businesses from her vantage point and only saw 43 individual ponies moving between the buildings. The little sign ahead of her that said "Welcome to Sydneigh!" was also very disconcerting for Orisa as she was either among some kind of mutated horses or ponies in the Australian wastes (with inexplicable German architecture) or she was experiencing firsthand the multiverse. She couldn't decide which would be worse for a robot like her. Since the pony new English, she is able to ask at least. "Miss Dandelion," Orisa began "Just Dandelion, Miss Dandelion is my granny." Dandelion said with an annoyed tone, cutting off Orisa. "Affirmative..." Orisa began once again, "Dandelion, What country are we in?" "Uhhh...." the little pony looked at her quizically, tilting her head, "Equestria, duh." she said. "Understood. I am not familiar with anywhere called Equestria." Orisa replied with a semblance of melancholy coming through her robotic voice as she marched on towards the town, some ponies looking like they were scrambling for some reason. "Umm, where are you from then?" Dandelion asked, tilting her head again. Orisa looked down at the cute display and her gaze softened just slightly, "Very far away I am beginning to fear, Dandelion. But I must get home as soon as I can to help Efi." "Is Efi your friend? Is she in trouble?" Dandelion asked, worry entering her voice and sadness entering her eyes. "Efi is my dear friend and creator, and yes. She is very much in trouble, and to be the hero she made me to be I must save her." Orisa replied, her robotic voice sounding strained through her latter remark and her march slowing. "Don't worry Orisa, you are big like a hero, and strong I think, and a robot mare, and you have extra legs! Efi is as good as saved!" Dandelion remarked with a broad smile on her face, looking into Orisa's lenses with no lingering fear, throwing her forelegs up in the air. "Thank you Dandelion. Your kind words fill me with hope, but there is still a long distance for me to travel. Let us focus on this for now." Orisa replied, her voice losing its melancholy and resuming her pace with just a subtle bounce at the child's kind words. A companionable silence fell over the pair after their conversation, Dandelion still smiling subtly after making the Robo-mare happy again and Orisa mulling over the pony's kind words. Not too long after their conversation, as they drew close to the hamlet of Sydneigh two ponies could be seen exiting the now much quieter town. They had armor that shone like gold with green plumes on their helmets, and the pony approaching on the left had a ocean blue horn where the other did not. They stared at Orisa with steely determination but it started to break as they got closer. When they were twenty meters away Orisa stopped and allowed the guards to approach her. She had her Fusion driver and protective barrier at the ready just in case they were hostile, she wasn't taking any chances with Efi in trouble. When they were seven meters away they too halted their advance and looked up at her with strained faces and fear in their eyes as they noticed Dandelion. The one without a horn let out a disdainful whinny and glared back up to Orisa with determination in their deep blue eyes. "By the name of Celestia, unhand that filly you monster or there will be consequences!" he demanded in a deep and strained voice, meeting Orisa's eyes the entire time and crouching low in to a combat stance as his partner did the same. Orisa's lenses shifted towards red and her apertures rotated into slits as she readied her fusion driver and held Dandelion close to her chest. "It is not polite to call someone a monster when they do not deserve it." She stated, meeting the guard's gaze with twice as much mettle. The guards tensed and looked uneasily at each other at the obvious threat. "Hey, stop!" Dandelion yelled, startling both parties. Then looked between Orisa and the guards during their standoff, head poking through Orisa's thumb and index. "Orisa! Don't threaten guards!" she yelled pointing a hoof at Orisa, "and you! Don't threaten my new robot friend! She is on a mission to save her creator!" The horned guard looked suitably confused but relieved. The horned guard quickly whispered something to his partner before he too visibly relaxed. Orisa had a look of surprise after that. The guards were actually listening to the filly. Considering this Orisa recalculated their chance of being hostile. "A robot?" the hornless one questioned aloud, turning his head and furrowing his brow. His partner shrugged. "Orisa was it?" the horned one asked in a deep but much softer voice than his partner. "Affirmative." "We apologize for not being diplomatic and jumping to conclusions," the hornless one grunted at that, "aren't we!" the horned one said, jabbing his partner in the foreleg with a hoof. "Yes." the hornless one relented with a sigh. "Apology accepted." Orisa replied, her lenses fully softening to a warm yellow with a spin of her apertures, giving the hornless one a glare for good measure regardless. "You said your creator was in trouble?" the horned one began, his expression even. "Affirmative. My creator and friend Efi Oladele is in grave trouble and likely hostage to Talon, a terrorist organisation from my country," Orisa guessed the 'possibly from another planet and/or universe' bombshell should be dropped under better circumstances, "I must return home as soon as I can to help her." she replied, giving the guard a calculating gaze. "By way of apology for a failure of diplomacy, that had to be dispersed by a cute filly," Dandelion sat up in Orisa's hand and had a smug look on her face, "the Equestrian Guard hereby promises to assist you in returning home and the saving of your friend in any way it can. You have my word Orisa." the hornless one gave his partner a sidelong glance and nodded then both guards looked up to Orisa with determined faces with soft smiles. "That is generous of you sirs. With The Guard's help the chance of success increases immensely." Orisa said with a nod, 'if I can get home at all.' she thought to herself. "Can we still go meet auntie Booky Orisa? Can we?" Dandelion asked, looking up at the robot with her oversized eyes, the cuteness even overwhelming the robot. "Affirmative." Orisa replied with a nod and began walking towards the town. "I still have some questions and a library will likely be the best possible place for answers." "Was that a yes?" Dandelion asked herself aloud as the guards pulled up beside Orisa. "It is a yes, young one." the unhorned one replied, causing the filly to let out a little 'woot' and resume giving the robot directions.
3: More Grease to Your ElbowChapter 3: More Grease to Your Elbow The town streets were empty as Orisa entered its limits, and she was made expressly aware to how large she was in comparison to the little ponies. She was barely shorter then the smaller single story buildings and could often see scared ponies looking down at her quite easily as she walked passed the few two story houses in the hamlet. It was a big difference to the towering mega-structures of Numbani filled with humans and omnics. "That's where my friend Tarnish lives!" Dandelion exclaimed, interrupting her guidance as the group passed a single story house with a wide door and some warm yellow roses planted in front. At that moment the door was opened a crack and a small face was pushed through the opening with gunmetal fur and a rusty, short mane. "Hey Tarnish! I made a robot friend!" Dandelion exclaimed happily from her spot now upon Orisa's broad shoulders. "Dandelion? Is that you?" the figure in question asked with a tilt of its head, its ears perking up. "Sure is you silly colt! Climb on!" Dandelion replied as the colt started approaching us wearily, Orisa halting her march so the colt could approach safely. "Uh, where'd you find a robo-Tirek?" he questioned as he approached. Stopping a fair distance away once realizing that the robot's hooves were so much bigger than his entire head. "I found her sleeping and twitching on the road in to town!" Dandelion replied with a grin as she looked down from her perch. "Mum says that it isn't safe to leave the town." The colt replied smartly. "Well, that's why no adults found Orisa before me then, isn't it?" Dandelion replied without missing a beat. Orisa couldn't find any faults in the small pony's logic. "Huh. That's true I guess." The colt replied, still eyeing Orisa's colossal form wearily. "Do not be afraid small pony, I will not harm you." Orisa offered, placing Dandelion on her back, kneeling and offering her hand out to he colt. "Climb on." she said, her apertures rotating and forming a pair of upwards pointing chevrons. The colt gazed at her wearily until Orisa lowered her hand for the colt to climb up on to. He questioned to himself whether listening to the filly was such a good idea, but the presence of the guards was enough to remove his fears and he quickly jumped on. Once Orisa placed the colt upon her other shoulder she began steadily moving towards the building Dandelion had pointed to earlier, her steps lightly shaking the ground as she walked. Orisa was quickly running out of street that she could comfortably move through as she got further in to the town. Thankfully, the long two story building up ahead she was assured to be home to this "Booky" pony, and the town library. Inside, a pegasus mare sat at a desk filling out the library's ledger, fountain pen firmly lodged between her teeth. She had fur of ivory, mottled with graying hairs, and a mane and tail of ink black, that when the light hit it just right would appear a deep green, also mottled with graying hairs. Marks adorned her flanks of a closed book with a deep green cover, underneath a magnifying glass. Her work was interrupted though, as something caught her attention at the corner of her eye. Upon her desk was a simple glass of water, but currently the normally still water would fill with ripples at regular intervals, ripples growing is size as each shock shook her desk. Her gaze passed over the glass and towards the newspaper also on her desk, some news about a new monster that the Element Bearers defeated. She looked back and forth between the two items before her eyes opened wide and her mouth opened in shock. Not a moment later she yelled "Quill!" at the top of her lungs, "Something big is coming!" "You're telling me!" a pale blue unicorn mare with deep purple mane and tail yelled in reply from across the room, her complexion showing similar gray signs of age. Marks adorned her flanks depicting a white, closed book with a purple wisp of magic flowing out of its cover. "Get over here and get a look at this!" Quill yelled in reply. The mare at the desk quickly made her way past bookshelves to the front of the building to a large window with a couple of beanbags at is base and the aforementioned Quill gazing out of it. "Sweet Celestia..." Was all she could say as she soaked in the behemoth that was casually walking towards her humble abode. "This is going to be interestin'!" Quill quipped as the building continued to subtly shake around her. Orisa eased to a stop in front of the building she was guided to. It was barely one and a half times her height even with its tall roof, and in a large first floor window she could see an ivory pony and a light blue pony looking at her with shock and mirth respectively. She held her hand flat above her head in front of Dandelion and Tarnish, "Hop down," she said, "I will need you to retrieve this "Booky" as I cannot enter the library due to my size." Tarnish jumped aboard Orisa's hand and she quickly set him down whereas Dandelion chose to glide down from Orisa's shoulder, towards the entrance to the library. Tarnish quickly ran after her as soon as he was set down. "Orisa!" the horned soldier from before yelled at her right, "I have sent a letter off to Canterlot notifying the guard and the princesses of your situation. If anypony has a chance of getting you home in time to help your friend, they would be in Canterlot." "Thank you sir," Orisa replied, "this is good to hear." Her gaze met the soldiers and her apertures rotated into upwards facing chevrons, showing her satisfaction. A loud "WHAT!?" was heard from the now open entrance to the library, pulling Orisa's attention from the guard. An ivory furred mare glared down at Dandelion from the entrance. "Wait until your mother hears about this!" the mare threatened. "Are you the pony known as "Booky"?" Orisa asked the mare, interrupting the mare's tirade before it entered full swing. The mare quickly looked up and glared at the robot as laughter could be heard from within the library and her cheeks started to tint red. "My name is Tome Seeker, and I would rather be called that than my niece's nickname of "Booky", thank you very much." "My apologies Ms. Seeker," more peals of laughter from inside the library, "I will keep that in mind." Seeker took a moment to glare back inside the library, silencing the laughter momentarily. "I require your aid, Ms. Seeker. I must find my friend and creator Efi, urgently. She was in grave danger when I was unexpectedly transported here and I have little to no information on how far away from home I am. I wish to confirm some theories of mine." Orisa said mater-of-factly. Tome Seeker's features softened as she heard Orisa's story, her glare moving to one of determination rather than annoyance. "That is terrible to hear of Orisa. I will do what I can to find the information you need." "Thank you immensely." Orisa replied with a dip of her head in thanks, "I need only a map of the continents to prove or disprove my theories." The mare turned around "Astral Quill, pull yourself together and make yourself useful! Grab a map for our friend in need." she barked. A "Yes Ms. Seeker - ma'am." was replied in a snarky tone. Tome Seeker's cheeks quickly went pink before she barked out a "Just go!" as the other pony went deeper in to the library, taking her giggles with her. Only a moment later was a map handed to the pony known as Tome Seeker. She looked at the map for a moment, let out a soft "Well, it will have to do." and handed the map through the doorway into Orisa's large awaiting hand. "Sorry it isn't too detailed, but if you recognise any of these places you should be able to figure out where you are. We are on the eastern coast, in the south." clarified Ms. Seeker. The map depicted a rough approximation of a super-continent with an area marked "The Frozen North" at its peak. Other areas of interest, and the only ones marked on this map were an mountain with an apparent city growing out of the side of it marked "Canterlot", and the apparent desert and mesa area to the south of that labelled "Southern Frontier". There was a crude red lable with a red dot marked "Sydneigh" to the east of the "Southern Fronteir" label. Further east and north over a small ocean was another label marking the western coast of a smaller continent as "Griffonstone" and to the south of that, and just east of the "Sydneigh" label was a second smaller continent with a simple stylised depiction of a dragon next to a large volcano. All of this information was interesting of course, but the worst kind of information for Orisa. She realised that with none of these areas being familiar, nor with the continental shapes being recognisable, she was undoubtedly on another world, with many questions about how and why flooding her processors. With an even tone only slightly betraying her annoyance she managed to get out a "Thank you for this" towards the pony in the doorway. "My fears have been proven." Orisa suddobenly said after a good 25 further seconds studying the map, startling the guard beside her. "I am indeed on another world than the one I call my home." "Another world? Are you sure?" The horned soldier asked, look up at Orisa and tilting his head. "Certain." she replied. "I have extensive knowledge of the geography of my home planet including the shapes of my worlds continents, of which none in my memory banks match the ones on this map. This can only mean that I am further from home than any other has ever been." she said, her voice even and gratingly robotic, with the barest hint of melancholy. Suddenly, a bright light formed nearby, with energy sparking from it and a great blast of wind emanating from it. Orisa moved herself between the ball of expanding energy and the library, readying her fusion driver and readying her protective barrier, her optics turning a deep red, and her apertured forming two straight, aggressive lines. Suddenly, a purple pony dropped from the energy ball as it cracked closed, letting out a soft "ouch" as it landed.
