The Machine Dragon

Canterlot, a week later

Twilight let out a long, deep sigh, leaning back in her comfortable chair. A large mirror sat in front of her, with several beauty products (all sent by Rarity of course) being strewn about on the massive table which was pressing into her chest. None of them were used though, (sorry Rarity) given the princess wasn’t exactly focused on vanity at the moment.

“Alright, that’s good, now do another deep breath in,” Spike coaxed, standing a few paces behind his sister. His clawed hands were outstretched, motioning for her to keep up her rhythm

“I know how to control my breathing exercises, Spike,” Twilight said, giving a small roll of her eyes as she turned towards her little brother. “I’m beginning to think you’re more nervous than me about all of this.”

“I’m your assistant, it’s my job to make sure everything goes smoothly,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“And it will, Spike,” she assured with a smile.

It didn’t really improve her brother’s mood, as he just gave a small huff, “Yeah well, you’re not the one who has to make the trip to the Dragonlands to tell Cinder that at any point she can be attacked by a giant walrus or who-knows-what-else.”

“Spike, it’s going to be alright,” she replied, getting up from her seat and trotting over to her brother. She gave him a soft pat on the shoulder with one of her wings.

His tenseness slowly vanished, with him sighing as well as he looked down, “Sorry, Twilight.”

“Look, Spike, there’s a good chance no other monsters appear, alright? This could just be one of those once-in-a-lifetime ordeals nopony will ever see again,” the mare explained, letting go of her brother and stepping back. “There’s a good chance even you or me won’t see another kaiju again!”

He merely raised a brow at his sister, “And if you’re wrong?”

“Then we’ll all face it together,” was her simple response, with the mare giving a comforting, confident smile.

Before much else could happen, a guard opened the door to the room, with a yellow-coated unicorn mare sticking her head into the doorway. She gave a meek smile, speaking, “Princess Sparkle, the press has arrived. They’re ready for your statement.”

“I’ll be back in about an hour Spike; you just sit here and relax for now,” Twilight offered, gently patting the dragon’s head with her forehoof.

“Alright I get it,” he chuckled, lightly slapping her hoof away. “You don’t have to baby me.”

Twilight gave her own soft laugh and soon she was gone, the door shutting behind her as she went on to meet her no doubt adoring public.

Spike twiddled his fingers for a bit, before soon brushing off his emotions. He was a dragon, after all! No need to get scared by some giant evil monsters!...

Alright, maybe he could distract himself with some reading! With that thought, he grabbed a newspaper sitting on a table off in the corner of the room and then took Twilight’s seat, (what? It’s comfy!) before he flipped open to what would hopefully be the funny comics section.

‘PROF. FOSSIL UNVEILS NEWEST CANTERLOT MUSEUM EXHIBIT: GIGANTIC TUSK! ONLY REMAINS OF THE CREATURE DUBBED ‘MAGUMA!!!’ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON PAGE…’

“Oh well that’s just great,” he sighed, slumping down.

The second Twilight stepped onto the stage of the conference hall, she was flashed with a flurry of bright cameras. Her eyes squinted and she quietly groaned to herself. Gotta keep it in, always. Never let the mask slip.

She walked over to a small stand, with the combined sun and moon emblem of the flag of Equestria emblazoned on it. She saw a few non-ponies in the crowd, a changeling or two, and a few hippogriffs mainly. No doubt Novo and Thorax would want answers as well, given their meeting was slated for next week.

Regardless, she gently tapped the small magical mic on her podium and cleared her throat. Everycreature present leaned in, cameras and notepads and such were at the ready. They all listened intently to her next words.

After a moment, she finally spoke, “I understand everycreature here has concerns over the incident in the Crystal Empire. Rest assured I will answer each and every one of them to the best of my abilities. The safety of Equestria and her allies are my number one priority.”

Immediately there was a flash, a dozen reporters scribbling out frantically across their paper.

“Princess Sparkle, what exactly is the machine dragon that fought off the giant monster in the Crystal Empire?” a deep brown coated reporter spoke, raising a forehoof. “I understand Princess Cadance and Prince Armor addressed it as Kiryu at their own public speaking, can you confirm anything else about it?”

“Kiryu…” she ran her flat tongue over her teeth for a second in thought, before nodding, having picked the perfect response. “Kiryu is a cybernetically enhanced creature which resembles a dragon. At this time however, we are unsure of his exact origins. All we know is he was found buried deep within the ice of the Frozen North.”

It wasn’t fully a lie, given the last thing Twilight needed was everycreature knowing about alternate universes and the like. Not yet at least. There was another series of scribbles, and then another question.

“Is the machine of alien origin?” a red-coated unicorn mare asked, leaning up as she looked intently at the princess.

Twilight nodded and replied swiftly into the mic, “I cannot say at this time; the leading theory is that Kiryu is a being built by an advanced civilization. Whether or not it’s alien or older than Equestria itself isn’t known.”

More scribbles.

“Your Majesty, what will you do if another giant creature attacks Equestria?” a gray stallion asked, scratching his head with a forehoof. “Will this ‘Kiryu’ lend his assistance?”

“Kiryu is an independent creature. I cannot control his actions, just as I’d never want to control the actions of any other thinking being,” Twilight replied honestly.

There was a series of hushed whispers and uncertain murmurs among the crowd at this. A giant robot, with its own inhibitions. Not the best thing to learn. However, Twilight quickly brought the crowd’s attention back to her, as she spoke once more, “While I cannot assure you Kiryu will be there to help us, we have managed to remove the large cannons mounted on his forearms and back.”

Suddenly she summoned a small projector with her magic. She nodded to a few guards, and immediately the windows were quickly shuttered by regal, purple drapes. She continued levitating the projector and magically pressed a button on it.

A large, black and white photo of Kiryu, with his battle gear and all appeared before the crowd on the far wall. There were a small series of gasps, likely from those who hadn’t yet seen a full picture of the massive machine.

“Notice the massive railguns and… well, for lack of a better term, jetpack mounted on Kiryu in this image,” Twilight said, magically levitating a small pencil over to the image, pointing at the obvious armaments for the members of the crowd who were oblivious… or blind.

“Kiryu disliked being seen as nothing more than a weapon,” Twilight continued, giving another clear of her throat to ensure everycreature was focused on her. “Therefore, I figured I should remove several weapons from him. He now resembles what I assume to be his more natural frame. Should he ever reawaken, hopefully he will enjoy his newfound freedom at not having to be a tool of warfare. Despite this, he will be free to request this equipment back if he so chooses.”

Twilight then tapped the projector once more and the image switched. It was almost exactly the same, though the railguns and battlepack on the kaiju’s spine were no longer there. He just resembled a large, spiky, wingless dragon now. While he was still obviously made out of metal, he seemed far more natural; far lither.

There was another series of scribbles and hushed mumblings from the crowd.

“Princess Sparkle, why would you give back such a major defense at any further monster threats to our country?” a deep purple pegasus mare asked, her pen and notepad held in her wings.

“It is not our property in the first place,” Twilight answered, her tone stern. “I am not going to deny anycreature their rightful ownership over their own possessions, no matter what they are; pony, changeling, hippogriff, or gigantic robotic dragon.”

There was a wave of nods, especially from the non-ponies of the room. A couple of “fair enough’s” rang out as well.

“I have made this one exception due to Kiryu’s nature and the potential future risks any further kaiju attacks could pose,” the princess explained, before tapping the projector again. The image changed to one of Kiryu’s removed rail cannons and jetpack, which were being held in a large loading bay. Numerous ponies in labcoats were eyeing the machinery over. “We have relocated these weapons to Manehattan; over the coming months we will study, and hopefully duplicate this firepower. If there’s any other threats to our nations, by then, we should have successfully replicated this anti-kaiju weaponry.”

There were a small series of positive sounding murmurs at this.

“How long will it take for these machines to be recreated?” an earth stallion questioned.

“I cannot give you an exact timeframe, but I have pooled many resources and horsepower into this project.” Twilight said. Getting dozens and dozens of minds on the task wasn’t exactly easy, but the safety of the motherland was obviously something worth sparing no expense for. “We should make great strides by the end of the year; however, we can expedite the process should any giant creatures appear before then.”

The crowd seemed pleased at this answer, and a few hoofclaps rang out throughout the conference hall. The non-ponies seemed just as hopeful as well, looking between themselves and nodding, grins adorning their faces. Twilight gave a small smile at this; unity, just as she desired…

Well, unity on all fronts except for one…

???

…

Battery Percentage: 1%...

…

Was this any better?

Well, the rocket-filled battlepack and arm-mounted railguns were gone, so there was no more fighting, at least. Despite this, the cold, uncaring snow was devouring him as the ice had, and before that, as the waves had. Once every day, he would see them. Well, see was a loose term. Eyes weren’t active, and yet he knew they were there; could feel them, watching him, cheering him on occasion, or even giving him looks of hate and disgust.

He felt like an exhibit in a way. Nothing more than a statue meant to be gawked and pointed at.

None had entered inside. It was as if they respected the wishes. Let him rest.

A mother stood beside her child at his feet. Two barely visible specs of color in the bleak, white snow.

It seemed to be some type of ritual. They weren’t the first who approached his massive frame, especially after the blizzard had begun to die down. He was sure soon enough the soldiers in armor would lock it down; create a barrier between him and the outside. Then none of the equines could make their journey.

Would that be better?

A small forehoof touched his foot. One of his claws was bigger than the mother and the foal combined.

“Thank you for saving my home, mister Keeyroo,” the little one said, utterly butchering his “name.”

Girl? Boy? Sounded squeaky. Hard to tell the differences; dimorphism did make the males bulkier, but this was just a child.

This one was merely the dozenth in the past few days who had journeyed to the great metal dragon. Others came. Sometimes with a parent. Sometimes with other children. Rarely, they came alone.

Kiryu just stood there, frozen in place. Unable to react or respond to any of the words. Did the words even matter?

Like a statue he remained, ever vigilant, ever drained.

Was this a punishment for what he had done? The families he ripped apart? The lives he’d destroyed?...

The people he’d killed?

…

The better question was… did he deserve it?

The monitor turned on, an audio recording replayed, a feminine voice speaking out. She was… the pink one. Had wings and a horn.

“Kiryu… have you ever felt the sensation of love? I’m not trying to be cheesy but love itself is more than romance. It is a passion for those around you, no matter what. Many creatures can feel love. No matter what they are, love, and caring is in their nature…

Kiryu, whenever I was a filly, before ascending to become an alicorn, I took a trip to a farm. On it, I saw a mother cat who had taken in a pack of orphaned ducklings. She did this because she had recently given birth; her love was so powerful, it removed her predatory instincts, giving her the desire to nurture and care. That is how strong love is…

…

I understand. You have no desire to talk to me. I will not waste more of your time, but just know, no matter what… You Are More.”

The lack of the feline killing the avian was merely a hormonal imbalance, surely. Regardless of the reasons, once the princess’ voice log finished playing, another began. This was… the male? The orange male. Only the horn, no wings for some reason. Sexual dimorphism?

“Look uh… K-Kiryu. I’m not really the best guy to talk to when it comes to science or philosophy or… well, a lot of things, but well, I know you’ve been through so much, so I’ll keep it brief. My uh… my best friend. She went through a lot as well. She was left alone… Yeah, I did it. I’m an idiot for never going out and finding her…

B-but the fact is, we met up. After all of that time, all of the mistakes we both made… some worse than others—those didn’t matter. What does matter, is the fact no matter how long it’s been, it’s never too late to turn things around, you know? I mean, I was just some nopony, sitting in my room, studying spells and well, doing nothing with my life. With her help, I realized one thing… Ooohh, how do I put this?… ‘You Are More.’

…

Nothing, huh?... W-well, I won’t bug you anymore, especially considering you’re a giant robot dragon and all h-heh… Oh, I wish Starlight was here; she’d be a lot better at this than me!”

It was doubtful this ‘Starlight’ would do any better… Regardless, another audio log began to play; it was the white horned one. He was burlier than the orange male, same species, different physique. Likely because he was a soldier. He was the… the captain. Right.

“I can’t say I know what it’s like to be forced to fight… Every time I did it, it was because I volunteered to protect my country, my friends, my… family—Did you have a family at any point? Everycreature, no matter what they are, has one, even if it’s not by blood, you know?

…

I remember when my wife first gave birth to my daughter; Flurry Heart, she uh… It’s hard to exactly describe how it made me feel when I first held her. It was like—like holding a pure, condensed bundle of myself. Everything I was made of—everything my wife was made of; our love, our relationship, it all came together into one being. One I could love and hold and cherish.

…

I’m not the best at giving speeches, or pep talks, but I do know even the most grizzled, hardened, unfeeling guy can have a heart. No matter how much he tries to deny it or fight it off or keep himself cold, like an emotionless suit of armor, he always has something inside. A love or a passion, for somepon—somecreature, or some activity or anything else. What I’m trying to say… is there’s no reason to hide the fact that ‘You Are More.’

…

I know you don’t want to talk, but I think you understand where I’m coming from.

…

I’ll leave you be, then.”

For what it’s worth, he did remember the child. Strange thing. The mother, Cadance, flew up with the tiny being in her forehooves, right up to his gigantic, house-sized synthetic eyes. She showed him her daughter, her most prized possession.

She didn’t cry or squeal or even sneeze despite the cold on her face, (which was the only part of her visible in the bundle Cadance and Shining had put her in) she just smiled, and then giggled and then waved.

The term “Cuteness” was a human one. It was made in the minds of humans so they would fend for their small, feeble, rounded young. Just another weakness, like sentimentality, like nostalgia, and like so much else.

He didn’t find little Flurry Heart cute, even when she reached out and gently tapped his large, dimmed eye. But he did feel something. It was a minor warmth, no different than the foal who had tapped his foot.

Just something else he could ponder over…