AMAZO visits Equestria

by KingDogbertXIV

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Adventure, Derpy Hooves, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other
Length: 28382

A power-duplicating android from Earth lands in Equestria seeking power.

This fic is about an android from the DCAU whose backstory won't make much sense unless you watch the Justice League episode "Tabula Rasa."

To keep it simple, Lex Luthor manipulates a power-copying android named AMAZO to fight the Justice League and, at the moment where Luthor and AMAZO are about to win, the android duplicates J'onn Jonzz's Martian telepathy and descovered Luthor's treachery.

After a brief skirmish that ended with AMAZO nearly killing Luthor, the android departs to the heavens to duplicate powers beyond those of Earth.

Published 2012-11-22 10:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-17 03:02:48 UTC

Chapter 2

Oddly curious to see if these “Sisters” were doing anything to soothe the child, the being lowered its visibility, floated up next to the abode and peered through the window at the filly. Using one of its earliest abilities, the being concentrated on examining the filly’s head. Beneath the flesh and bone around and in the horn was a mass of infected nerve cells. The invading virus had already inflamed most of the nerves beyond repair and had already worked its way into the front of the brain, causing irreversible damage. Locking onto a stray virus microbe that hadn’t have found a host cell yet, the being looked closer, studying and memorizing the virus’s RNA. Shifting its gaze to an unaffected specimen of each type of the targeted cells, the being studied and memorized the cells’ structure and role. The being then examined how the virus attacked and corrupted each type of cell. Zooming out, the being scanned and mapped the filly’s entire physiology. The being could, in theory, alter the sub-molecular makeup of the infected cells using advanced telekinesis. Subatomic particles, after all, were merely building blocks to be moved and arranged. By reconfiguring the genetic code of the infected cells at the deepest level, the being could rewrite the cell’s programming and tell it to behave normally. The being would then break any stray invaders down into extracellular fluid. There would be no more threat to the filly.

Research complete, the being returned to its thoughts. Why was it concerned for this filly? What had triggered this desire to help these creatures? Ever since scanning the equine at the farm, the being had felt a longing to interact with these creatures. That desire intensified significantly after scanning the lavender mare. Hearing the grey mare’s prayers had pushed the being to figure out a solution to avert tragedy. Did the being truly want to put aside caution to save a life?

The being reflected on these questions as it watched the grey mare, letting tears flow freely, feeding her filly some cold soup. “I love you, Dinky. I always will love you whether you’re with me or not,” the mare whispered before kissing the filly’s head. The being’s eye indentations instinctively drooped in sorrow. For the first time in weeks, the being felt something other than objective curiosity.

These creatures were unlike anything that the being had ever seen. Up until now, the being felt as if it was above other creatures. In the past, any sentient creature that it had seen was consumed with their own desire for victory over their enemies, fame and glory, or similar pathetic goals. These creatures only sought peace and happiness through self-sacrifice and cooperation. This winged creature was desperate, but not angry at the world like so many others in similar circumstances. It appreciated everything that the lavender one had done that evening. She had not uttered a single demand or threat to force the lavender one into helping. In fact, the lavender one helped of her own free will. Perhaps these creatures deserved the being’s powers after all.

Putting any leftover reservations out of its mind, the being made itself visible and did something that, had the grey mare’s words not been so moving, the being thought it would never do. It gently knocked on the window frame to alert the grey mare.

Snapping her head up to see who was knocking at the window, the grey mare’s eyes grew wide in fear and uncertainty.

“Wh-Who…? Wh-Who are you? What a-are you?” the mare stammered with fearful, but still crisscrossed eyes.

“Do not be afraid. I mean no harm,” the being stated plainly. “I am an android, or, in simpler terms, a living machine. My creator called me ‘AMAZO’.”

“Okay,” the mare trailed off, still afraid. “W-What do you w-want with me?”

“You have nothing I require,” the being said, glancing at the sick filly.

“Then why are you here?” the mare asked. Suddenly noticing that the being was glancing towards her child, the mare flew up to the being’s face with daggers in her crisscrossed eyes. “What do you want with my filly?” she snarled.

“Your child has nothing that I require,” the being stated, showing no reaction to the mare’s hostility. The mare, fearing that her and her child was in danger, had an understandable and, frankly, justifiable reason for the fear and hostility. To her credit, the hostility only appeared when she thought her child was in danger.

“Then why are you here?” the mare spat.

“You and the lavender one are concerned for the child’s condition,” the being stated. At this, a look of sorrow washed over the mare’s face.

“Yes,” the mare sniffed. “For the past month, Dinky, my filly, has been slowly dying. Everypony has all but said that it is terminal. I expect her to pass on at any moment. I…,” she trailed off. “You can come in and sit down if you want,” she offered, wiping away a tear. “I’m Derpy Hooves, by the way,” the mare added.

At the offer, the being shifted through the wall into the room and found a seat on a cloud-formed chair that was facing the filly’s bed. Derpy took a seat by the bed.

“Why was the lavender one assisting you?” the being asked as it leaned forward, hands together, and resting its elbows on its knees.

“You mean Twilight Sparkle,” Derpy confirmed. “She wants to help take care of Dinky in her final days. Twilight’s studying the magic of friendship here at Ponyville. Helping friends, even through tragic times, is part of her studies. Though, even if it wasn’t part of her studies, she would gladly lend a hoof to anypony in need,” she explained.

“Why?” the being asked. “Why help others if they have nothing to offer you?”

“Because it feels good to help others,” Derpy said. “Have you ever helped somepony in need?”

“Yes,” the being replied.

“And?” Derpy asked in anticipation.

“He lied to me and used me,” the being answered as its eye indentations furrowed in anger. Contempt had crept into its normally emotionless voice.

“That’s horrible,” Derpy exclaimed. “Why would he do that?”

“He wanted me to use my power to destroy his enemies,” the being said. “He destroyed my home to cover his tracks and only saw me as his pawn. He tried to kill me when I turned on him. His pitiful pleas for mercy were the only thing that saved him. I left him at the mercy of his enemies. I assume they incarcerated him.”

“I’m so sorry,” Derpy said in a sorrowful voice. “How did you find out about his evil ways?”

“I read his mind,” the being answered. “It was the last ability I needed to complete my first evolution. My programming allows me to permanently copy the abilities of any living creature I see and evolve to overcome any acquired limitations. Over the past few weeks, I have traveled the cosmos to acquire any and all abilities that the universe has to offer. This planet is my current destination.”

“Y-You’re an alien robot?” Derpy stammered.

“In a sense, yes,” the being answered, default expression and tone returning. “That is the one description of what I am.”

“So…what sort of powers have you gotten?” Derpy asked. There was no visible fear or hostility at this point.

“Telepathy, telekinesis, flight, shape shifting, density shifting, x-ray vision, macro and micro vision, heat vision, super speed, super strength, perfect memory, energy manipulation on the subatomic level, invulnerability, an energy-disrupting mace, a ring that can create temporary solid constructs at will, and countless others,” the being listed off.

“Wow,” Derpy gasped. Lowering her crisscrossed gaze to the ground, she awkwardly mumbled, “C-Can you h… I mean… Would y… I…”

The mare’s desire was obvious enough that telepathy was not required. She had offered shelter and expressed the ideal reactions to the being’s tale. She even confirmed the lavender one’s altruism. These creatures were worthy in the being’s eyes and deserved its help. “I can help Dinky,” the being answered.

“You can?” Derpy shrieked in awe, her head snapped back to face the being with an ecstatic expression. “How?”

“I can repair her damage at the sub-molecular level,” the being answered. “I can eliminate all traces of the sickness as well. It will take no effort.”

“When can you do it?” Derpy blurted out excitedly.

The being then got up, walked over to the ailing filly and put a finger on her forehead. Its eyes glowed white as a bright gold aura spread from the spot that the finger was touching to surround the filly. Derpy watched in awe as the filly’s colors darkened to a healthy hue and her face lost its pained look. The gold aura then faded as the being withdrew its finger and looked towards the speechless mare. “Done,” it said as it sat back down and its eyes returned to their standard red color.

Derpy, still reeling, cautiously leaned closer to the filly’s bedside and gently put a shaking hoof on the filly’s head. “D-Dinky?” she quietly called.
“Still needs her rest to fully recover,” the being interrupted. “All will be well in the morning.”

Chapter 3

“Ummm, hello?” Two pegasi entered the room: a dandelion-yellow mare with a long pink mane and a trio of pink butterfly markings on her flanks; and her companion, a sky-blue mare sporting a mane and tail of seven bright colors as well as flank markings resembling a rainbow-colored lightning bolt coming out of a cloud.

Derpy had fallen asleep against her daughter’s bedside, the sheets stained from her tears. She woke up suddenly with a light yelp in surprise at the apparent intrusion.

“F-Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Derpy said, focusing back and forth between her guests and her filly.

“Twilight told us about poor little Dinky, and we just had to help somehow,” Fluttershy responded softly yet with concern. She glided over to the bedside and began removing several supplies from her saddlebags; including food, a thermometer, tissues, heated pads, chilled pads, bandages, antibiotics, cold medicine, and orange juice. She began to administer these to the sleeping filly when Derpy caught her.

“Wait,” she called out, suddenly remembering not to wake her filly, “Stop, don’t wake her up! She needs rest, that’s all. She’s going to be alright.”

“W-what?” Fluttershy looked at Derpy with a very confused look, “Twilight told us she could be terminal just last night. How could she be better?”

Now Dash joined the other two pegasi by the bed, listening to Derpy speak.

“Last night, there was a huge thing that stood on two legs, it looked dangerous, but then it healed my Dinky!” She explained.

Dash cut her off: “What? How could something just magically make her better? Even Twilight’s magic wasn’t helpful!”

Derpy looked down at her daughter, sleeping more soundly than she has in a long time.

“I… I don’t know. But I truly believe she’s better.”

Fluttershy added, “You’ve been awake for ages, according to Twilight. Maybe you just dreamt that Dinky was healed. You should get more sleep, Derpy. I’ll try to make her more comfortable.”

Derpy stared at the two concerned mares, convinced that what she saw last night was real. Little by little as she thought, the idea that it was a dream overwhelmed her belief. She looked out the window, and back to the two.

“I guess you could be right… I think a nap might be good. Please, please wake me if something more is wrong with my little Dinky. Please,” the desperate mare pleaded.

Fluttershy hugged her and replied, “Your daughter will be in good care with us.”

Derpy gave a weak smile and slowly walked to her bedroom, sleep finding her faster than her thoughts raced in her head.

Meanwhile, the golden android, having found the tree house where Twilight resided, floated towards a nearby balcony and sat down to rest. It had spent the night scanning the entire town, minus the outlying forest. Something had been bugging it ever since it had healed Dinky: Why did these creatures take such joy in altruism? Why did they help others if they got nothing in return? It was not like the superpowered beings on Earth that did so to protect their inferiors from whatever they deemed evil.

“Whoa! How did you get here?” a voice snapped the android from his thought. “And what are you?” The android looked down to see a small, purple dragon. The android’s programming kicked in and caused it to sprout scales and a nose on its head.

“An android with a message for Twilight Sparkle,” the android answered as its face returned to normal. “May I see her?”

“What the heck was that? Y-Your face was mine for a second! How did you do that? And what do you want with Twilight?” the dragon asked.

“In order: my programming copying you, I copy and add any and all powers I see, and I want to talk to Twilight about Dinky,” the android answered, feeling an acquired snark arise in its speech

“S-She’s asleep at her desk now,” the dragon said, calming down. “I was just about to wake her with breakfast. Want to join us?”

“I do not require food,” the android said, returning to its emotionless equilibrium. “Thank you, though.”

“S’cool. You can still come in and join us,” the dragon said as he gestured towards a nearby chair inside the house. The android entered and sat down. “I’m Spike and I’m Twilight’s assistant. Nice to meet you, Mr…?”

“My creator called me ‘AMAZO’,” the android said. “I used to be his assistant until he…,” it trailed off. “He was Professor Arthur Ivo. He cared for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Spike said in empathy.

“Its fine,” the android replied, not fully understanding empathy.

“So anyway, what did you have to ask Twilight about?” Spike asked. “Do you know her?”

“Not personally. She merely checked to see if I was alright after I got hurt yesterday. I sense her stirring now. Go announce my presence. I do not wish to startle her.”

“I’ll go tell her you’re here,” he said as he headed down some nearby stairs, leaving the android alone to ponder.

“Dash, I…um…can’t find anything wrong with Dinky.” Fluttershy murmured as she fidgeted with her hooves. “She seems better than ever.”

“But how?” Dash asked in wonder. “There’s no way she’s fine overnight.”

“I’m sorry, but she’s been seemingly cured,” Fluttershy said as they stepped away from the bedside.

“Look,” Dash said, “I call horse apples until I hear a certified doctor say she’s cured.”

“Dr. Bighorn, the neurosurgeon that Twilight called for, will arrive tomorrow,” Fluttershy noted. “He can give Dinky a look. For now though, let’s let Derpy and Dinky rest. Both of them have been through so much.”

“Fair enough,” Dash relented. Heading towards the bedroom door, she announced, “I’m off for a quick fly. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Twi?” Spike called, nudging a dead-asleep mare awake. “Wake up. You have a visitor.”

“Not now,” Twilight muttered, still asleep.

“He’s here about Dinky,” Spike continued. “It isn’t Dr. Bighorn, though. He’s a tall, golden statue-like creature.”

With a loud “What?,” Twilight’s eyes shot open as her mind quickly flashed back to checking on the android after it had been hit by Dinky’s magic. “Where is he?” she demanded, pulling herself away from her desk where she had fallen asleep.

“He’s upstairs,” Spike answered, pointing towards the top of the stairs.

“C’mon,” Twilight said as she leaped for her chair and raced towards the stairs. “Let’s not keep him waiting!”

Spike merely rubbed the sides of his nose and sighed.

“It’s you,” Twilight exclaimed as she bounced onto the second floor and caught sight of the golden visitor.

“Yes,” the android replied. “Call me ‘AMAZO’.”

“What are you exactly, AMAZO?” Twilight asked as she mindlessly crept closer. “Are you from the forest?”

“I am an artificial being composed of countless machines called nanobots. I am from a distant planet called Earth.”

“Wait, you’re an alien?” Spike asked as he entered the room.

“...Yes,” AMAZO answered hesitantly, expecting fear.

“Wow! What’s Earth like?” Twilight asked in wonder.

“Hostile, greedy, meaningless, and traitorous,” AMAZO said with utter contempt.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight quickly said. “So... What were you doing at Derpy’s?”

“I was studying the social interactions between this planet’s populations,” AMAZO answered.

“Well, what did you notice?” Twilight asked, knowing that AMAZO saw the Dinky situation.

“You showed kindness,” AMAZO recalled, its voice softening. “Derpy showed gratefulness, but desperation.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said sadly. “I doubt Dinky will make it through the week.”

“Dinky is no longer in pain,” AMAZO said. “I healed her after you left.”

“Pardon?” Spike asked as Twilight stared dumbfounded.

“I repaired the nerve damage and broke down the virus molecules into extracellular fluid,” AMAZO explained.

“How?” Twilight squeaked.

“Telekinesis on the subatomic level,” AMAZO answered, baffling its audience even further.

“Not even Princess Celestia has that kind of power,” Spike mused.

“Who?” AMAZO asked.

“Princess Celestia is the co-ruler of Equestria alongside her younger sister Princess Luna, both of whom are responsible for raising the sun, moon, and stars,” Twilight recited.

“She’s also Twilight’s mentor,” Spike added.

“What do you learn from her?” AMAZO asked.

“I study the magic of friendship here in Ponyville,” Twilight explained. “Can I explain this over breakfast? I’m hungry,” she said sheepishly.

“Yes,” AMAZO said.

“Tell me about your studies,” AMAZO said when the trio was seated at the breakfast table. Two bowls of now cold hay-flavored flakes and two glasses of orange juice were awaiting consumption.

“Well, it’s basically me living in Ponyville with my friends,” Twilight said as she took a bite of her cereal. “We hang out and help each other in times of need.”

“Why?” AMAZO asked.

“Because that’s what friendship means,” Twilight answered. “Ponies who care for each other are friends. For example, I’m Derpy’s friend so I helped her care for Dinky. I would have helped her with the grieving process had Dinky passed on. I’m still a bit thrown after hearing that you healed her.”

“I am unsure of why I healed her,” AMAZO admitted. “Ever since I scanned the orange one at the farm, I have felt a desire to learn more of this world.”

“You met Applejack?” Spike asked, glancing at his glass of orange juice.

“No,” AMAZO said. “I merely landed in an apple orchard and saw her. Her farm is...nice.”

“Well, would you like to visit it after we check on Dinky?” Twilight offered.

“No,” AMAZO said. “I do not want unneeded attention.”

“Alright,” Twilight trailed off. “Let me finish this cereal and I’ll go to check on Dinky. You can stay here if you want”

--

“You sure about taking this case, Dr. Bighorn?” a tall, muscular, black-bearded stallion with a wood-brown coat asked as he shuffled in his train seat. “Horn Cell Disease isn’t just another migraine or tumor you can shock away or carve out with a scalpel. It’s a virus. In all likelihood, the patient is a vegetable now.”

“True,” a shorter and older brown buffalo admitted as he glanced out the train window. “For the family’s sake, though, we must persevere until the end. I just hope we can save her and give her her life back.”

“Have you ever been to a cloud home before?” a third passenger asked. She was a young unicorn mare with a white coat and a long, blue mane.

“I’ve been to Cloudsdale General’s Organ Transplant department a few times,” the stallion answered.

“I haven’t, but I’ve read about them,” Dr. Bighorn admitted. “I may be unfairly hailed as Canterlot’s greatest neurosurgeon, but I’m still earthbound.”

“I got the cloud-walking spell ready for when we arrive,” the mare said as she telekinetically pulled out a scroll containing said spell.

“Good work, Annie,” Dr. Bighorn said. “What were you doing in Cloudsdale, Reigns?” he asked, turning his attention to the stallion.

“Research,” Reigns said simply. “I helped them research organ compatibility.”

“Any conclusive evidence?” Annie asked, stuffing the scroll back into her saddlebag.

“There was a project getting started to see how to clone organs,” Reigns said. “That was a few years ago and progress was slow. Doubt it went anywhere.”

“Cloning organs,” Dr. Bighorn mused. “Could it be possible to clone a brain, or even a fully sentient being?”

“Not for a while, if ever,” Reigns answered, leaning back.

“Speaking of things that take forever, tomorrow needs to get here soon,” Annie groaned, stretching her back.

“I’m sick of this train too, but it’s the fastest way to Ponyville,” Dr. Bighorn sighed. “Tragically.”

Chapter 4

.

“Twilight, am I glad to see you,” Dash exclaimed as Twilight teleported in. “We need your expert opinion on Dinky’s condition. Derpy said that a big, scary thing healed Dinky last night and now Fluttershy can’t find anything wrong with her.”

“Hello to you too, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, blinking at the verbal onslaught.

“Hello, Twilight,” Fluttershy greeted from a seat by Dinky’s bed.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted back. “How’s Dinky? And where’s Derpy?”

“Um...Derpy went to rest a few hours ago and...,” Fluttershy trailed off, looking away.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight pressed. “How’s Dinky?”

“She’s...um...great,” Fluttershy mumbled, hiding her face behind her long, pink mane.

“Really?” Twilight questioned as she approached the bed.

“Yes...,” Dash said sullenly. “Derpy mentioned something that stood on two legs curing Dinky. Fluttershy has been monitoring Dinky for the past few hours and has pronounced her cured. Dinky is well, Twilight,” She explained, both loving and hating that she was wrong about Derpy’s seemingly farfetched tale.

“Let me check the patient,” Twilight said. “I need to see it myself.

--

“So what did you do for this Ivo guy?” Spike finally asked after spending an awkward hour doing chores with the extraterrestrial android watching wordlessly.

“He created me,” AMAZO started. “He needed someone to help him with his research and projects late in life. I spent years helping him, even after he became sick. A few months before he...died, he lost his job.”

“It sounds like you two were close,” Spike said, putting away some of Twilight’s books.

“Yes,” AMAZO said, his eyes turning up in sadness. “He was like a father to me. He called me amazing and said that my duplication program would let me evolve into something greater than just an assistant for an old man.”

“What exactly happened to him, if I may ask?” Spike inquired.

“Lung cancer,” AMAZO answered. “He was a heavy smoker.”

“I’m sorry,” Spike said. “So how did you go from being Ivo’s assistant to landing in Applejack’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres?”

“A few days after Ivo died, our home was broken into by a man named Lex Luthor,” AMAZO recalled. “Luthor, too, was dying and needed my help. He tricked me into stealing equipment and nearly killing his enemies, the Justice League. Right before he and I finished them off, I duplicated telepathy and read Luthor’s mind. I turned on him and tore his battle suit apart. I nearly killed him in rage after he tried to kill me.”

“Sounds violent,” Spike said, horrified. “Then what?”

“Disgusted with the pettiness of them all, I departed to the skies to find and duplicate powers beyond those of Earth,” AMAZO answered, contempt clear in its voice.

“Is Equestria any better than Earth?” Spike asked, trying to calm AMAZO down.

“Yes,” AMAZO said without hesitation. “The inhabitants here care for one another unconditionally. There is an overlaying air of peace here.”

“Not everything is perfect here,” Spike said. “We may not be trying to kill each other all the time, but tensions can wear thin sometimes.”

“For example?” AMAZO asked.

“A goddess of the night tried to bring eternal night, a nearby town went to war with a buffalo tribe, Ponyville nearly got eaten by bugs, a chaos god nearly reclaimed his throne after a thousand or so years, Twilight caused a day-long riot over a doll, and a shape shifter queen nearly took over the royal city,” Spike rattled off. “I know I’m forgetting some.”

AMAZO merely raised the closest thing it had to an eyebrow.

Sighing, Spike turned towards Twilight’s room and said, “I’ll be right back with Twilight’s journal detailing her friendship reports. They detail those events better than I can.”

“Fine,” AMAZO said simply.

--

“Well, girls, I’ve reached a conclusion,” Twilight said, putting her medical examination tools back into her saddlebags.

“What is it?” Derpy yawned as she emerged from the hallway leading from her bedroom.

“Hello, Derpy,” Twilight greeted. “Anyway, I’m pleased to announce that, besides extreme exhaustion, Dinky is well. She’ll be fine after resting for a day or so.”

“Yay!” Derpy squeaked before turning to Dash. “I knew AMAZO wasn’t a dream!”

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“AMAZO was the tall thing that healed Dinky,” Derpy answered.

“What exactly was it?” Fluttershy asked, cowering a bit. “Was it scary?”

“It was about ten feet tall, almost completely gold except for two red eyes in black slots, and it had no face otherwise,” Derpy explained. “It said it was a living machine. It got hurt by one of Dinky’s magical discharges.”

“Why would it heal Dinky?” Dash asked as Fluttershy whimpered at the thought of such a being.

“I’m not sure,” Derpy pondered, putting a hoof to her chin.

“Twilight, any thoughts on this ‘AMAZO’ thing?” Dash asked

“I’m just as in the dark as you three are,” Twilight said, stretching the truth a bit.

“Oh well,” Derpy shrugged. “Now, who wants celebratory muffins?”

--

“Spike, where are the Elements of Harmony?” AMAZO asked as it closed the journal that Spike had given it a few hours earlier. “I wish to see them and duplicate their powers.”

A nervous bead of sweat trickled from Spike’s face as he turned towards the android. “The ponies or the artifacts?” he asked, dodging the question.

“Which is stronger?”

“The artifacts are. I don’t know how they work or even where they are exactly,” Spike said, stretching the truth more than he would have liked.

“You’re lying,” AMAZO said as it looked towards the dragon. Its eyes furrowed in anger.

“Huh?”

“I can read your mind. You’re trying to protect Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“Yes,” Spike said, standing his ground.

“I have no intention of hurting anyone. I can remain undetected,” AMAZO said, softening its demeanor.

“They’re in Canterlot’s Royal Palace, behind a wall that only a Royal Sister can open.”

“Where in the palace?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Then I shall find them myself.”

Before the dragon could object, the android then disappeared in a purple flash. Spike blinked, shrugged, then returned to cleaning some dusty bookshelves.

Chapter 5

It was nearing dusk as the android finally located what appeared to be a magically sealed door at the end of a long hallway decorated with stained glass windows. The windows seemed to depict a wide variety of ponies, some vanquishing great foes. A few, however, depicted what seemed to be a crooked creature composed of various parts of various creatures.

AMAZO, turning its gaze away from the windows, approached the door. Remembering how Dinky’s discharge had hurt, the android decided against direct brute force or phasing through the door. Tapping into the second ever power set that it had acquired, AMAZO formed a mace from the nanomachines in its right hand. The nanomachines arranged themselves to recreate the magic-nullifying properties of the original mace. Grasping the mace with both hands, AMAZO aimed at what appeared to be a round keyhole and swung with all its strength. The door instantly caved inward with a loud crash, leaving a hole that revealed a small, jewel-covered box. Before the android could retract its mace, it heard rapid hoof beats and panicked shouting rushing towards the hall. With super speed, AMAZO reached in and opened the box. The android quickly scanned the five jeweled necklaces and the single jeweled tiara, then closed the box.

“Step away from the vault with your hands up and drop the weapon,” an authoritative male voice barked from behind AMAZO.

Retreating the mace, AMAZO turned to see two nearly identical white pegasi in armor. Their wings were out in a menacing manner.

“Good,” one said as the pair inched closer, their eyes as cold as ice.

“Come with us quietly and you won’t be hurt,” the other said.

“I was not going to steal anything,” AMAZO stated.

“Then why did you bust open the vault?” one asked, clearly not buying it.

“To see and duplicate the contents of the vault,” AMAZO answered.

“You can tell it to the Princesses, bud,” the other spat. “Now, must we forcefully escort you to the dungeon?”

Sighing at the futility of it all, AMAZO wordlessly teleported away in a purple flash.

“…The Princesses are going to tear us a new one when she finds out we let a perp escape.”

“We can be cowards and traitors and not tell anypony to save our own skin.”

“Too risky. Besides, we can spin it so we sound like heroes.”

“But we’re not. All that happened was that the gold thing teleported away.”

“Fine. You tell her.”

“Why me?”

“You’re more experienced in reporting unusual things.”

“Fine,” the guard sighed as he and his companion trotted towards the hall’s exit only to encounter a concerned figure looming over the pair. The figure was a six-foot tall, slender female equine with swan-like wings, a long, sharp horn, and sun markings on her flanks, and a crown and breastplate, both adorned with a purple gem. Her elegantly flowing mane seemed to transcend colors and shine as beautifully as the rising sun.

“P-Princess Celestia,” the second guard exclaimed, startled at the regal figure’s stealthy approach.

“Is going to commend you for following proper protocol. It’s nopony’s fault that your ‘perp’ pulled teleportation out of nowhere,” Celestia said.

“But he was stealing the Elements of Harmony,” the first guard said, gesturing towards the gaping hole in the vault.

“Then why did he close the box? If he was clearly good enough to elude an entire castle of guards and break into a magically-sealed door, then he could have easily just taken the Elements if he wanted them,” the second guard pointed out.

“Good point,” Celestia said. “But, what bugs me is how a gold thing teleported away in a purple flash. There’s only one pony I know that teleports purple and she’s busy with a friend’s sick filly.”

“What are your orders?” the second guard asked.

“Remain as you were and keep this incident a secret from the public. We don’t want a riot on our hooves,” Celestia ordered. “I’ll fix the vault tomorrow.”

“Yes, your highness,” both guards barked.

The trio departed, not noticing a certain android just outside the nearest window, glowing eyes dimming and regal wings and horn retreating into its body. The android then vanished in a bright gold flash.

--

“So, Derpy,” Dash started as she swallowed a bite of a celebratory muffin, “what do you plan on telling Dr. Bighorn when he shows up? He’ll be confused as to why Dinky’s well. He’ll want a good explanation.”

“Yeah. The truth is too farfetched for anypony to believe,” Twilight pointed out, glancing at the still skeptical Dash.

“Um... what other explanation is there?” Derpy asked. “Ponies will eventually notice Dinky’s still alive and well.”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said, trying to think. “I can’t claim to have cured her. I couldn’t stomach the unfair praise.”

“I could,” Dash muttered.

Twilight opened her mouth to lecture her cyan friend, but was interrupted by a bright gold flash that, when subsided, revealed a familiar golden android.

“AMAZO,” Derpy shouted as she quickly hugged the android. The android awkwardly returned the hug.

“Hello, AMAZO,” Twilight greeted. “This is my friend Rainbow Dash,” she said, gesturing towards the gaping pegasus. “You missed another one of my friends, Fluttershy, by about a half hour. She left to feed her animals.”

“Hello,” AMAZO said, untangling himself from Derpy’s embrace.

“I...uh...y...,” Dash stammered.

“Dash, you okay?” Derpy asked, turning towards Dash.

“He’s real... I... T... There’s something else stronger than Princess Celestia,” Dash stammered, turning pale.

“Yes. I just duplicated the princess’s abilities during a trip to Canterlot. I also duplicated the Elements of Harmony. I unfortunately broke the vault. Celestia will repair it tomorrow,” the android said.

“Y-You broke in and stole the Elements?” Dash exclaimed.

“I duplicated them. I now can summon their power at will.”

“You’re a thief! You’ll never have our powers without a fight!”

“You wish to challenge me? Why?”

“Nopony copies the Princess and steals the Elements and gets away with it!”

“Dash, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Derpy offered.

Ignoring her, Dash shouted, “You and me! Outside in three minutes! Let’s roll!”

--

“Dash, this is a stupid idea. He’ll cream you. He’s traveled the cosmos duplicating powers beyond comprehension,” Twilight said, trying to defuse Dash. They were on the ground outside Dinky’s bedroom window. Derpy elected to stay inside and watch from the window.

“Ten bits on AMAZO,” Derpy shouted, earning a dark look from the cyan pegasus.

“I can take him! Watch! I’ll beat the Elements out of him,” Dash proclaimed.

“Very well,” Twilight sighed. “AMAZO, Dash, are you ready?”

“Yes,” both combatants said in unison.

“Three... Two... One... Go,” Twilight shouted.

Dash wordlessly darted forward, wings flapping furiously. She flew at her prey that was motionlessly standing fifty feet away. Closer and closer, she approached with each passing millisecond. Then, suddenly, she rapidly decelerated due to running face first into a bright green wall. The wall was emanating from a beam connecting to AMAZO’s ring finger, which now sported a gold ring with a crude lantern symbol on it. Before Dash could peel herself off the wall, it formed into a bubble surrounding her. AMAZO lifted the bubble upwards, and then let it disappear into nothing, leaving the dazed Dash to freefall straight to the ground. Wearily moaning, Dash lifted her head only to meet with the android’s fist. Dash rag-dolled back into a crumpled heap. AMAZO, with untold speed, rushed toward Dash, grabbed her neck, formed a mace in its free hand, raised the mace up to her head, and asked, “Is this the challenge you wanted?”

“S... Stop,” Dash muttered weakly.

The android then gently placed her on the ground and looked at her with sadness. It then looked towards the two other ponies. Both of them were horrified.

“I’m sorry,” AMAZO said.

“It’s f...fine... I’ve h-had worse,” Dash said as she shakily sat up.

“She’s right,” Derpy said.

“No. I overdid it. I apologize,” AMAZO said.

“It’s fine. I’m sorry I challenged you and accused you of stealing,” Dash said sullenly.

“I accept your apology.”

“Thanks. I was about to leave when you showed up. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Dash said as she flew upwards. She then flew up into the clouds, out of sight.

“I’m heading out too,” Twilight said. “Good night, you two.”

“Good night, Twilight,” Derpy called from the window. The unicorn waved, then teleported out of sight.

AMAZO then floated back in through the window.

“Mind watching Dinky while I go rest for a while?” Derpy asked as the android took a seat by the bed.

“Go. Dinky will be safe in my care.”

“Thanks,” Derpy said as she retreated into her bedroom.

AMAZO then turned its gaze to the sleeping filly.

Chapter 7

“Alright, we’re here, but how do we find the Hooves’s residence?” Dr. Bighorn asked.

“Yeah,” Annie said. “None of these houses are labeled. How do we know which one to call up to?”

“See that lavender unicorn up there? Her pacing around means she’s waiting for something. She isn’t a pegasus, so she’s a visitor,” Reigns indicated, pointing towards a pony pacing on the porch of a nearby cloud home.

“Let’s ask her,” Annie said. She then galloped to right under the home and called, ”Hey! Hey, Ms. Lavender Unicorn! Can you come down here? I need to ask you something!”

Within an instant, the unicorn had teleported to ground level and was now facing Annie. “Yes? Are you Dr. Bighorn?” she asked.

“No,” Annie said. Pointing towards the elderly buffalo that was trotting up to them, she said, “He is. And the beefy stallion is Reigns, his assistant. I’m Annie, Dr. Bighorn’s other assistant.”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle. I was up there watching for Dr. Bighorn for my friend, Derpy Hooves. Derpy’s filly, Dinky, has been sick lately, but we think she’s better. It may not have been Horn Cell Disease after all,” Twilight explained.

“That’s great, but I still need to look her over,” Dr. Bighorn said.

“Of course,” Twilight said. “Do you all have your cloud-walking spells active?”

“Annie activated them this morning,” Reigns said.

“Excellent,” Twilight exclaimed. “Now, I’m going to levitate you all up to the house. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” the trio of medical professionals said in unison.

“Alright, now hold still.” Twilight commanded. She then closed her eyes and started the levitation spell.

--

“But, your highness, what if the gold intruder returns? Sure, he didn’t steal anything yesterday, but you can’t be too careful. I suggest we double our guard,” the pegasus guard stationed near the vault said.

“Calm down, Jet. As soon as I fix the vault, we forget it happened. Besides, I doubt it would make a difference anyway,” Celestia said.

“But Zephyr and I want to make sure every inch is safe. What if he goes to the dungeon and breaks the prisoners out?”

“Why would he do that?”

“...That’s a fantastic question.”

“I’ll be improving the structural and magical integrity of the vault. That, and I’ll go personally check the dungeon.”

“All levels?”

“Yes. I’ll check all levels, especially...that level,” Celestia said with a faint shudder.

“...You still have nightmares about him, don’t you? We all do.”

“Yeah...”

“Want to talk about it?”

“...No thanks. You go alert the dungeon guards of my visit. I’ll be here fixing the vault.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Jet then trotted away, oblivious to the android that was following him underground.

--

“Derpy, this is Dr. Bighorn, Reigns, and Annie. They’re here to look at Dinky,” Twilight said introducing the trio of medical professionals.

“I’m Derpy Hooves. I’m deeply grateful that you came all the way here,” Derpy said, shaking hooves with each one.

“I’m just glad that it sounds like Dinky’s better,” Annie said as she telekinetically pulled out a quill and paper.

“Yeah, it was a few nights ago that her condition started turning upwards. We didn’t try anything new so I’m not sure what made her improve,” Derpy explained.

“So her body finally had a breakthrough in fighting it. Sounds like a bad virus, but not Horn Cell Disease. If she had Horn Cell Disease, then, by now, she would be dead, not recovering,” Dr. Bighorn said as Annie jotted some notes down.

“Right. That’s why we think it was a misdiagnosis,” Twilight said.

“Who diagnosed her?” Reigns asked.

“Nurse Redheart down in Ponyville General. She wasn’t completely sure, though,” Derpy answered, stretching the truth.

“Has Dinky stirred at all since her turn for the better? Is she on any meds now?” Dr. Bighorn asked as he approached the bed.

“Not really. She’s been sound asleep. I’ve been giving her Loretab once per day at noon, and Melatonin at 9 at night,” Derpy said.

“Alright,” Annie confirmed, still writing.

“Let’s get some vitals here,” Dr. Bighorn announced. He then opened his saddlebags and pulled out a smaller bag containing an assortment of tools including a blood pressure cuff, a stethoscope, a thermometer, and various lights and scopes.

Without a word, Annie and Reigns trotted toward the bed and began their examination.

--

The dungeon was unsurprisingly dark, yet oddly sanitary compared to most dungeons that AMAZO had seen in its travels. There were multiple levels: one for each type of pony, one for the still injured Changeling Queen where she was sedated, and, finally, a level deep underground that contained something that fascinated AMAZO. It was a gnarled statue of a tall, thin monster with a look of horror upon its face. Its body, composed of various animal parts, was twisted and curled in discomfort. The android sensed no life in the statue. This, according to Twilight’s journal, was Discord’s prison, resting place of the chaos god that nearly regained his evil throne. The statue was located in the back of a 50-foot room. The guards outside his cell lacked proper clearance to enter the cell. Only a Princess, AMAZO assumed, could enter.

Sighing at the lack of telepaths in the dungeon, AMAZO’s eyes lit up to a bright white as he started to scan Canterlot’s most dangerous prisoner. From top of the horn and antler, AMAZO started only to suddenly stop. Confused, AMAZO tried again. Nothing. Was this now just a statue, destined to rot forever in a dungeon cell? AMAZO sensed no abilities within this shell. Furrowing its brow in frustration, the android tried repeatedly to scan the statue, but to no avail. Finally, after a few more failed attempts, AMAZO sighed in defeat, teleported away.

--

“Reigns, pass me the multi-scanner. I want a closer look. Her vitals look a tag sluggish, but nothing terrible,” Dr Bighorn said as he wrote down some numbers.

“Multi-scanner? What’s that?” Twilight asked as Reigns pulled out what appeared to be a radio-like device with a main screen, a joystick, and several buttons. On the top and back were various probes and lenses.

“The multi-scanner, invented by Reigns himself, lets us do all sorts of medical scans, such as x-ray or CAT scan or ultrasound without the use of heavy machinery,” Annie explained as Reigns hoofed the device to Dr. Bighorn.

“That’s incredible,” Twilight beamed.

“As long as it works,” Reigns said.

“Let’s see if there’s anything going on in there,” Dr. Bighorn said to no one in particular. He then turned the device on, set it to “all,” and slowly moved it over Dinky’s head.

“Well?” Reigns asked. The device beeped and displayed six different views of Dinky’s head, once for each frequency.

“Everything looks okay, but not great. Whatever she had really knocked her down,” Dr. Bighorn said. Turning towards Derpy, he asked, “Has she been discharging from her horn lately?”

“Yes,” Derpy replied. “Big ones.”

“Then that says she had something big. I’d like a few samples to test,” Dr. Bighorn said.

“Test where? We’re light-years from our hospital,” Annie protested.

“Ms. Hooves just said there’s a hospital here. Surely we can use their equipment,” Dr. Bighorn said as if the solution was obvious. “Now, who has the cotton swabs and the scraper?”

Reigns facehoofed and Annie sighed in annoyance.

--

AMAZO sat on top of the highest roof of the castle deep in thought. What exactly was Discord and what exactly did the Elements of Harmony do to him? Was he just an inanimate statue now? Was there anything left to scan? Or was Discord too powerful for the nanotechnology to duplicate?

“Enjoying the view?” a familiar voice asked. With one fluid motion, the android formed a mace in its hand and whipped around to see Princess Celestia sitting calmly with a pleasant smile on her face. “I mean no harm so please put that thing away,” she said calmly.

“Why are you here?” AMAZO asked.

“Same as you, I imagine: to think in a peaceful place above it all.”

AMAZO, still cautious, said nothing.

“In case you haven’t picked it up already, my name is Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria.”

“I’m AMAZO.”

“It’s nice to meet you, AMAZO. If I may ask, what were you thinking about?”

“There are two problems that I face. One involves Discord.”

“D-Discord?” Celestia stammered, turning pale.

“I could not duplicate his power. I suspect he is nothing but stone now.”

“He is. Were you in his cell?”

“Yes.”

“You saw the statue?”

“Yes.”

“The Elements encased him in an impenetrable, unbreakable stone shell. I’m not sure if you can scan him unless he’s free.”

“Then I shall free him.”

“No,” Celestia screamed.

“Then what? I desire his power.”

“I... Please don’t.” Celestia begged.

The android gave no reply before teleporting away, leaving a horrified Celestia to panic..

Chapter 8

AMAZO reappeared before Discord’s statue and immediately placed a hand on the head. Slowly, the android channeled its reanimation magic to the statue, giving it life. Slowly, the statue gained color and started to move. AMAZO withdrew its hand.

“Ugh... What happened last night?” Discord mumbled groggily. Bolting upright suddenly, he shouted, “Freedom!”

AMAZO said nothing.

“You, my golden friend, freed me. In return, I’ll...do nothing for you, sucker,” Discord laughed.

AMAZO’s eyes lit up as it started the scanning process, morphing its face into a crude gold version of the beast’s.

“Imitating me, eh? Well, we can’t have two of me running around, can we? Guess I’ll just...do this!” Discord shouted before using his eagle claw to throw a blast of green lightning at the android. AMAZO, now done with the duplication process, formed the mace, darted towards the beast, and swung at the offending hand, causing Discord to seethe in agony. The claw was now limp and dripping with orange blood. Discord leapt forward, misshapen eyes glaring hate as he swiped at AMAZO with his lion paw. The android quickly dodged and hit Discord square in the chest with the mace. Discord shot backward into the wall, his lion paw now clutching a bright scar on his chest.

“This ends now,” AMAZO said to the crumpled heap that was once Equestria’s malevolent ruler.

“N-No! Please! Have mercy!” Discord shouted, breathing heavily.

“You no longer have anything to offer me,” AMAZO said as it retracted the mace and raised its hand, which started to glow brightly.

“W-What does that mean? What are you doing?” AMAZO’s hand shone brighter.

“I’m sending you back to stone.”

“P-Please...don’t,” Discord coughed.

AMAZO then tapped into the full power of the Elements of Harmony and fired a massive blast or rainbow-colored energy. The blast hit Discord pointblank in the face, starting a metamorphosis from magical flesh to cold, unfeeling stone. The stone crackled from his nose to his eyes and mouth, then his horn and antler and neck, then down to his scarred chest. Slowly, his arms, both the working and broken one, turned to stone, as did his wings, stomach, and hips. With the changing of Discord’s legs, feet, and tail, AMAZO lowered its hand and gazed down at the statue, now of Discord slumped over in a heap of agony and fear.

--

“And... That’s all the samples we need,” Dr. Bighorn announced as Annie withdrew the syringe containing a sample Dinky’s horn cells.

“I wonder if they’ll find any trace of Horn Cell Disease,” Derpy whispered to Twilight.

“I doubt it. Dinky looks well. If there was any trace of it left, it would’ve bounced back by now,” Twilight whispered back.

“Yeah. Still, Dr. Bighorn did say her vitals were below normal.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Besides, weren’t you the one squealing about how AMAZO cured her?”

“Good point, but I want my filly awake and healthy, not asleep all the time.”

“She needs rest still.”

“I know...”

“Well, we’ve done all the damage we can do for now,” Dr. Bighorn said. Turning to Derpy, he ordered. “Cut back on the sleeping meds and she should be awake in a day or so. Decrease the pain meds and switch to Tylenol.”

“Alright, will do,” Derpy said. “Thanks for everything, all of you.”

“Happy to help,” Dr. Bighorn said. Annie and Reigns nodded in agreement.

“If you’re all done with everything, I can levitate you all down,” Twilight offered.

“Sounds good,” Annie said.

“Goodbye. And if you need us, we’ll either be at the Drop-On Inn or at Ponyville General,” Dr. Bighorn said as he shuffled towards the door.

“Okay, thanks,” Derpy said.

“Goodbye,” Reigns said as he herded Annie toward the door.

“Goodbye,” Annie and Dr. Bighorn said as Reigns went outside.

“Goodbye,” Derpy called as the others headed out the door. Twilight then followed them out.

--

AMAZO stood there, still staring at the agonized statue. Unimaginable power now flowed through its nanomachines. The android’s body glowed as Discord’s magical properties fused with the simple machinery. AMAZO was now above nanotechnology; it was now a god.

“Stop right there, AMAZO,” an authoritative voice said. The android turned to see Celestia, flanked by three unicorn guards on each side of her. Their horns glowed menacingly. “You’re under arrest for breaking and entering into a restricted area and trying to release a prisoner.”

AMAZO simply stepped aside, revealing Discord’s statue still slumped in a heap.

“You released him, and then you sealed him back?” Celestia demanded.

“Yes.”

“Wait... Discord was out?” a guard asked.

“Yes, Ray, he was. This being here released him,” Celestia said.

“So why isn’t there chaos everywhere?” Ray asked.

“Because I sealed him back to stone. His release only benefitted me temporarily,” AMAZO stated.

“His claw,” Celestia noted. “It’s limp and in an unnatural position. You broke it, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Guards, add ‘prisoner abuse’ to the list of charges on AMAZO.”

“Yes, your highness,” the guards barked.

“You wish to incarcerate me? Why?” AMAZO asked.

“You freeing Discord put everypony at risk. Yes, you imprisoned him again, but that changes nothing. We have laws here in Equestria and no one is above the law. Now, I request that you surrender yourself peacefully,” Celestia said.

“No.”

“Fire,” Celestia ordered. Within an instant, AMAZO was hit with seven continuous streams of magical lightning. The android felt the bolts pierce its now magical skin. Acting quickly, AMAZO formed the gold ring and erected a green shield to block the attacks. AMAZO then quickly thrust the shield forward, knocking Celestia and the guards back. Seizing the opportunity, AMAZO flew forward and shot a green beam from the shield at Celestia. Dodging the blow, the princess teleported behind the green shield and fired another bolt at AMAZO. The android dodged quickly and fired another green beam at Celestia’s wing, nicking the top of it. Celestia grimaced in pain and quickly shot off another bolt, hitting AMAZO’s shoulder. Having enough, the android sped towards Celestia, grabbed her neck, and lifter her up to eye level.

Wordlessly, AMAZO withdrew the ring and its green constructs. The android’s eyes then began to glow bright red and seemed to be giving off heat. Celestia, thinking quickly, delivered a pointblank blast with her magic. AMAZO flew backwards into the wall, eyes firing two beams of heat right into the wall, missing Celestia’s head by an inch. Wearily, AMAZO looked towards the guards who were trying to get a clear shot at it. Celestia was coming to as well. Deciding that self-preservation was top priority over winning a fruitless battle, AMAZO teleported away.

“We got a runner,” Celestia coughed. “Scramble the Wonderbolts and everything else we got. Have them patrol all surrounding towns from Ponyville to Apploosa .”

“Yes, your highness,” the guards barked.

Chapter 9

The android was torn. It had made itself a criminal in a land of peace and hospitality. It could not return to Derpy’s lest she and her filly get caught in the crossfire. Yet, it cared for them just as Ivo had taught it to care for others. No. This was between it and Celestia. Celestia wanted security and order, which AMAZO had violated. In fact, his very presence violated the natural order of things. From its cloud perch, AMAZO could see a certain cloud home and hear Derpy and Twilight talking. Sighing heavily, AMAZO got up, floated towards the home, and entered through the window.

“AMAZO, you’re back,” Derpy exclaimed as the android sat down on a nearby chair.

“How was Canterlot?” Twilight asked.

“Terrible. I may have to leave Equestria soon,” AMAZO said.

“What? Why?” Derpy exclaimed, horrified.

“Princess Celestia wants me arrested for temporarily freeing Discord. She attacked me and we fought to a stalemate,” AMAZO explained.

“You freed Discord?” Twilight shouted.

“I put him back in stone after he attacked me,” AMAZO said.

“Can you slowly explain what happened exactly?” Derpy asked.

“I freed Discord, duplicated his power, retaliated after he attacked me, and imprisoned him again,” AMAZO said.

“Then what?” Twilight asked.

“Then Celestia appeared with guards. She told me I was under arrest and to surrender peacefully. I refused and she and her guards attacked me. I retaliated and fought Celestia to a stalemate. I then teleported here to warn you that, for your safety, I must leave,” AMAZO said sullenly.

“Why can’t you just stay and serve time? Dinky and I will come visit you. We’ll bring muffins,” Derpy offered.

“My programming is to travel the universe, not submit myself to meaningless laws,” AMAZO said.

“They’re not meaningless and, technically, you did break the law. On paper, you’re a criminal,” Twilight pointed out.

“Then I leave tomorrow. I’ll watch Dinky tonight and then leave in the morning,” AMAZO said.

“Don’t go,” Derpy said sadly.

AMAZO’s gaze drifted downwards to the floor. “Celestia will be looking for me. It’s best that she doesn’t find me here.”

“Can’t you just surrender yourself for my sake? I’m sure you’ll be out on good behavior in no time,” Derpy suggested hopefully, flying up and putting a hoof on AMAZO’s shoulder.

“I’ll even vouch for you about Dinky,” Twilight offered.

After a long pause and a sigh, AMAZO said, “I’ll surrender myself to Celestia for you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Derpy said as she hugged AMAZO.

--

“I want every available unit looking for this thing. He has Discord’s power and he’s a fugitive. He’s a threat. Have each Wonderbolt assigned to a platoon of pegasi guards and have them search every town within 500 miles. I want AMAZO in a cell yesterday,” Celestia ordered as she exited the dungeon. She was flanked by two royal unicorn guards.

“But how do we start? He could be anywhere by now,” one guard asked.

“We start close, Longshot,” Celestia said. “My gut tells me he...,” she trailed off, a look of realization on her face.

“Your highness?” the other guard asked

“Start in Ponyville. He once had Twilight Sparkle’s teleportation. He was in Ponyville once. Maybe he’s gone back there,” Celestia said. “Have somepony visit Twilight’s library and Derpy Hooves’s home.”

“Who should we send?”

“Spitfire.”

“Why her?”

“She’s fastest and smartest. Send Soarin’ in as backup just in case she finds something.”

“Even if they find AMAZO, how do you figure they’ll catch him? He’s too strong. Heck, even Discord got beaten by him.”

“I’ll improvise.”

“What about the Elements of Harmony?”

“That is a last resort, but have Spitfire distribute them on her trip just in case things get that desperate.”

“What if that doesn’t work?”

“Then all is beneath him.”

--

“Wait, you want us to what?” an orange-maned pegasus stammered. Her Wonderbolt uniform was slowly filling with nervous sweat. She and her teammate, Soarin’, were in the presence of Equestria’s mighty co-ruler, already a nerve-wracking experience as it was, but Celestia managed to top it by giving them an important mission directly.

“You need to look in Ponyville for a golden android that’s about ten feet tall with gold skin. You’ll also be distributing the Elements of Harmony to their respective ponies. Start your search at Derpy Hooves’s house, then, if nothing turns up, go to Twilight Sparkle’s library,” Celestia ordered as she telekinetically divided the Elements of Harmony between Spitfire’s and Soarin’s saddlebags.

“Why us? And why not summon the ponies to Canterlot like you did with the Discord crisis?” Soarin’ asked.

“You two are some of the fastest fliers in Equestria and having the ponies make a round trip would take too long,” Celestia explained.

“Remind me again why we’re going after an omnipotent android that could thoughtlessly strip us of our wings in mid flight,” Spitfire asked.

“Because you’re part of an elite team trained to handle dangerous situations and, right now, Equestria needs you to find and, if possible, apprehend him,” Celestia answered.

“We’ll be there in ten minutes, your highness,” Soarin’ said, bowing. Spitfire bowed as well. The two Wonderbolts then turned and ran out the hall.

“Good luck,” Celestia called.

Chapter 10

By the time the Wonderbolts had reached Ponyville, it was dusk. The gentle rural breeze blazed through their furiously flapping wings as they scoured the countryside for the cloud homes.

“According to the map that Princess Celestia gave us, Derpy’s house should be that poofy one there,” Soarin’ pointed.

“Before we go in, we need to figure out a plan for if we find AMAZO,” Spitfire said.

“We ask him to surrender peacefully.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll go down fighting after ordering Twilight to distribute the Elements.”

”Sounds good.”

The pair then descended to the cloud home and Spitfire knocked on the front door. A few seconds later, a lavender unicorn answered, not expecting to see two Wonderbolts. “Spitfire? Soarin’? Eheh... How m-may I help you two?” she stammered.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of Magic?” Spitfire asked.

“Yes. Why? Is something wrong?” Twilight asked.

“We have reason to believe that a dangerous fugitive named AMAZO is in Ponyville. He’s ten feet tall with gold skin,” Soarin’ replied.

“We’re also distributing the Elements of Harmony to their respective ponies just in case AMAZO proves hostile,” Spitfire added as she used her wing to open her saddlebag and pull out a familiar tiara with a purple five-pointed star on top.

“Do you mind if I go speak with the homeowner about this?” Twilight asked.

“By all means,” Soarin’ said.

“Thanks,” Twilight said quickly before trotting away.

“Derpy, we have a problem. There are two Wonderbolts right outside looking for AMAZO in Ponyville. They’re also distributing the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight panicked as she galloped back into Dinky’s bedroom.

“Oh no...,” Derpy said, putting a hoof to her mouth in shock. “What do we do? AMAZO said he would do the night shift tonight, and then surrender tomorrow. If they take him now, then who will stay up with Dinky? We’re both exhausted from the doctor’s visit so we’ll be bad candidates,” Derpy mused.

“We could divide the shift tonight, and then get Fluttershy to watch her tomorrow.”

“So we turn AMAZO in to the Wonderbolts now?”

“We must remain neutral. We’ll be in trouble if we’re caught with a fugitive. We need to play this carefully.”

“How?”

“I have an idea. Granted, it’s a stupid idea, but it’s better than just ratting him out.”

“What is it?”

“We show them the AMAZO we know.”

--

“Sorry about taking so long. Derpy was in the middle of something. To answer your question, yes, there is something that fits your description here. He’s in Derpy’s filly’s room, watching over Derpy’s sick filly. Would you like to meet him?” Twilight said as she appeared in the front doorway.

“Wait, what?” Soarin’ exclaimed, sweat forming on his brow. “He’s here? He’s caring for a sick filly? The omnipotent android that beat Discord to a pulp is here caring for a sick filly?” Soarin’ was now a pale blue and his dark blue mane was dripping in nervous sweat.

“Yes,” Twilight said, smiling.

“Can you show us to him?” Spitfire asked.

--

“Spitfire and Soarin’, meet Derpy, Dinky, and AMAZO,” Twilight said as she led the two Wonderbolts into Dinky’s room. Derpy was sitting in a cloud chair and watching AMAZO, who was also seated, give Dinky some cold water.

“Hello,” Derpy said as she got up and shook hooves with the two Wonderbolts. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Spitfire said.

AMAZO then sat up. “Hello,” it said, extending a hand. The two Wonderbolts apprehensively shook it.

“Hello,” Spitfire said nervously.

“Hi,” Soarin’ squeaked.

“AMAZO has been here helping me take care of Dinky for a few days now. He watches over her at night while I sleep,” Derpy explained. “He told me that, recently, he got into trouble with Princess Celestia. The way he explained it, he fixed his mistake be imprisoning Discord just after releasing him. As for attacking Discord, that was just self-defense. He meant no harm and he wouldn’t have released Discord if he thought he couldn’t contain the situation.”

“But he refused to surrender and attacked the princess,” Soarin’ said.

“Yes,” AMAZO said. “I needed to get back to Dinky. Retaliating was the only way to make a timely escape after Celestia’s sudden attack.”

“Somewhat justified excuse aside, you still broke laws. We’re ordered to bring you back to Canterlot so you can face justice. Will you go peacefully?”

“Yes,” AMAZO said after a moment. “I’ll go with you on two conditions.”

“What are they?” Spitfire asked, not wanting to anger the android.

“I want visitors as well as a cell in Ponyville.”

“Visitors?” Soarin’ repeated, confused.

“Yes,” AMAZO confirmed.

“The way I see it,” Twilight started, “is that you’re letting him keep tabs on Dinky by letting Derpy visit him easily.”

“We’ll see,” Spitfire said as she and Soarin’ inched closer to AMAZO.

“No. It’s the only way I’ll go peacefully,” AMAZO said. “You do not want to challenge this.”

“Okay. We’ll do everything we can. Now, would you follow us?” Soarin’ asked nervously.

“Yes,” AMAZO said.

The two pegasi then flew up and led the android by the shoulders out of the room.

Goodbye,” Derpy called.

Chapter 11

The two Wonderbolts landed in Canterlot about twenty minutes later with their prisoner in tow. Celestia, hiding her surprise that the two Wonderbolts had captured AMAZO, was waiting for them.

“He came peacefully, but, in return, he wants a cell in Ponyville with visiting rights,” Soarin’ said as they landed. “We said we would do everything we can, your highness.”

“The most secure prison we have is the dungeon here. Ponyville’s jails aren’t secure enough to hold him,” Celestia said.

“Frankly, your highness, I doubt any prison can hold him. He’s too strong,” Spitfire said.

“Then how do we hold him?” Soarin’ asked.

“We can’t unless he wants to be imprisoned. He can teleport out of any cell at will and we don’t know how to stop him from doing it,” Celestia said. Turning to AMAZO, Celestia walked closer and asked, “If you promise to stay willingly, we’ll transfer you to Ponyville jail. You’ll have visiting rights, but you’ll also be monitored 24/7. If you try anything, we’ll attack on sight.”

“Right, ‘cause that went well last time,” Soarin’ muttered.

“We’ll equip his cell with magic nullifiers to dampen whatever magic he has. We’ll also handcuff him and blindfold him so he can’t use the mace, ring, or heat vision,” Celestia ordered. “The blindfold will be off only when he has a visitor.”

“Yes, your highness,” the Wonderbolts said in unison.

“I’ll escort you to the jail once I procure the equipment for his cell. I’ll return shortly.” Celestia said before flying away.

--

“I’m worried, Twilight” Derpy said as she poured herself some coffee. “I doubt AMAZO has ever been in jail before. I’m worried he’ll just decide enough is enough and escape, thus angering Princess Celestia.”

“He said he would cooperate with the authorities,” Twilight said hopefully. “Still, the question arises of how they intend to keep him there.”

“Can’t they just trust him not to leave?”

“He’s an extraterrestrial android that thinks most life as small and meaningless. What’s keeping him from just changing his mind and leaving his cell?”

“I’m the closest thing he has to a conscious. If he thinks that staying in jail will keep Dinky and me safe from constant surveillance and search warrants, then he’ll stay and serve his sentence.”

“Won’t he get bored?”

“He never complained about the night shift. Though, that was under his own power.”

“You have to wonder, though, if it’s really right to subject AMAZO, an outsider with no knowledge of boundaries, to Equestrian law.”

“I can’t answer that, Twilight. I just don’t know.”

“At any rate, you better go sleep. I’ll knock whenever I get tired.”

“Alright. See you in a few hours,” Derpy said before retreating into her bedroom. Sleep found her a few seconds after curling up in bed.

--

AMAZO now sat in his cell. Celestia had personally installed magic nullifiers, laser grid bars, motion detectors, and had personally performed a binding spell on his hands and feet as well as prepared a lead blindfold. Stationed outside his cell were six unicorn guards with shoot-first orders if the prisoner attempted anything.

“Why did you surrender to the Wonderbolts and not me?” Celestia asked. “Does it involve Derpy and her filly?”

“Yes,” AMAZO said.

“You wanted to keep them safe. That’s why you surrendered. You didn’t want them caught in the crossfire.”

“Yes.”

“On the way here, you may have heard Spitfire tell me that you were helping nurse Derpy’s filly back to health. Twilight Sparkle also vouched for you. Is this true?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me, AMAZO, could you escape if you wanted to?”

“Yes.”

“How do we fix that?”

“I do not know.”

“There’s one thing that might keep you there until you finish your time, but we won’t try it unless you try to escape.”

“The Elements of Harmony.”

“Yes. They’re a last resort. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to Canterlot. Goodbye,” Celestia said before trotting away.

--

The sun slowly rose upon Equestria, signaling the end of the long and tiring night for Dinky’s caretakers. Derpy yawned as she tenderly put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, it’s 7:00. Want to trade off?”

Before Twilight could move in her makeshift bed on the couch, there was a soft knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Derpy yawned before flying off to answer the door, leaving Twilight to bury her head under a pillow. “Fluttershy’s here,” Derpy called after about a minute. “She’s here to check on Dinky.”

“Fantastic,” Twilight mumbled, sitting up. “Does she mind watching her while we sleep?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Thank you,” both caretakers said before returning to their sleeping spots.

--

“So this android isn’t from around here? Where’s he from?” a gruff voice asked. AMAZO, blindfolded, could not see whom it belonged to. Removing the blindfold would just cause unneeded panic.

“Not sure, sir,” a second voice said.

“Does he talk?”

“Yes, Warden Penn, he talks. Though, he hasn’t moved or spoken since Princess Celestia left last night. It’s unnerving.”

“Yeah, it kind of is. We’re used to thieves and swindlers here, not prisoners with crimes against the crown.”

“What’s even more disturbing is that he beat Discord in raw combat, then fought Princess Celestia and nearly won. I even heard that Princess Celestia thinks the Elements of Harmony are the only way to make sure he doesn’t escape.”

“Wait, he can escape even though he was blindfolded on the way here? How?”

“We don’t know. According to Princess Celestia’s report, he can duplicate the abilities of anyone just by looking at them. He has Discord’s power as well as countless other powers, including Princess Celestia’s powers. He even duplicated the Elements of Harmony.”

“So this is just us waiting until he gets bored and leaves? That can’t end well. What’s stopping him from ruling Equestria? He’s a threat.”

“If he leaves, we have a search warrant for Derpy Hooves’s home. The Wonderbolts said they found them there helping Derpy’s filly.”

“I still don’t like this. I may be paranoid here, but have Fixit rig up an EMP field and have it placed behind him. That’ll disrupt whatever machinery he has. In fact, have him install laser grids that sound if he somehow vanishes.”

“But we need Princess Celestia’s order to do all that.”

“Then get it.”

“Yes, sir.”

--

“These samples all indicate that Dinky had something other than Horn Cell Disease. There’s no trace of any infection or virus here. For all intents and purposes, she’s well,” Dr. Bighorn said as he pulled away from a microscope. A culture of Dinky’s horn cells rest in the viewing compartment.

“Then what did she have?” Reigns asked.

“I can’t tell. These samples were taken after she was well.”

“But these samples were taken a few days before we arrived,” Annie said as she trotted up to the pair, her horn telekinetically holding test tubes and Petri dishes of various samples. “I got them from Nurse Redheart.”

“Let’s see,” Dr. Bighorn said as he traded samples. He then peered at newly obtained Petri dish through the microscope.”

“Well?” Reigns asked after a moment.

“Are you sure these are Dinky’s samples?” Dr. Bighorn asked.

“I’m sure and so is Nurse Redheart. Why? Is something wrong?” Annie replied.

“This one shows Horn Cell Disease. Pass me a test tube of her horn sample,” Dr. Bighorn said. Annie did so and Dr. Bighorn exchanged samples. “Unbelievable,” he said after a look. “This one also shows Horn Cell Disease.”

“What does this mean?” Reigns asked.

“It means Derpy omitted something big in her story. We’re heading back to her house once we pack up,” Dr. Bighorn said.

--

“Warden Penn, news from Princess Celestia. It says that you are permitted to upgrade AMAZO’s cell as long as you don’t hurt him. I’ll have Fixit rig up the adjustments,” a prison guard said as he trotted into the prison warden’s office.

“Excellent. Good work. We’ll contain this android yet,” Warden Penn said excitedly.

“If I may, sir, I doubt anything short of imprisonment in a heavenly body or the Elements of Harmony would contain him,” the guard said frankly.

“I’ll be honest here. I don’t feel right housing such a dangerous criminal.”

“But he doesn’t act dangerous. He hasn’t moved an inch since last night.”

“Alright... We’ll see how he reacts to his cell upgrades.”

“He shouldn’t mind one bit.”

--

“Oh my... And then what happened?” Fluttershy asked as she lightly sipped her tea.

“Then the Soarin’ and Spitfire escorted him out of the house. We haven’t seen him since,” Derpy said.

“He should be in the Ponyville jail by now. Derpy was planning on visiting him after lunch,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a familiar buffalo voice calling from the ground outside Dinky’s room. “Ms. Hooves, it’s Dr. Bighorn and his team. May we come up and talk to out?”

“Sure. I’ll have Twilight levitate you up,” Derpy called back.

--

“Dr. Bighorn, Annie, Reigns, this is Fluttershy, another pony that’s been caring for Dinky,” Twilight introduced.

“Hello,” Fluttershy said meekly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Dr. Bighorn said. Turning to Derpy, he said, “I’ll just out and out say it: Ms. Hooves, we found traces of Horn Cell Disease in the samples that Nurse Redheart gave us, but not in the ones we took yesterday.”

“We want the whole story. How did Dinky recover from an incurable and fatal illness?” Reigns asked sternly.

Glancing towards Twilight with a look of worry, Derpy asked her, “Should we tell them?”

Twilight nodded with a glum “Yes.”

Turning back to the trio, Derpy said, “You probably won’t believe this, but, a few nights ago, I was visited by a being called ‘AMAZO.’ He said he was an android with power duplication abilities and that he was from a distant planet. He healed Dinky using one of his powers.”

“...An android? An interstellar android just randomly visited you and healed Dinky?” Dr. Bighorn exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yes,” Derpy confirmed.

“May we see it?” Reigns asked.

“He got arrested last night. I was planning to visit him in jail after lunch. We can go now if you like,” Derpy said.

“Why did he get arrested?” Annie asked.

“He got arrested for temporarily freeing Discord, hurting him, putting him back in stone, and then fighting Princess Celestia,” Twilight explained.

At this, Fluttershy fainted and Dr. Bighorn and Annie stood there, mouth agape. Reigns was the only one to speak. “Impressive,” he muttered.

“Yes, well, we’d better hurry if you want to see him before lunch,” Derpy said as she poked Fluttershy awake. Turning to her, she asked, “Are you good to stay here while the doctors, Twilight, and I visit AMAZO?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said.

“Thank you,” Derpy said. Turning to the group, she ordered, ”Come on, everypony...and buffalo, we’re going to visit AMAZO.”

Chapter 12

“I’ve never upgraded an android’s cell before. In fact, I’ve never even seen an android before today,” a scrawny, pale green unicorn with a greasy brown mane gushed as he telekinetically adjusted the new stasis field that AMAZO’s cell had. “I wish I could study him. Who knows what wondrous mechanics could be under that gold shell?”

“You’re here to upgrade his cell, Fixit, not dissect him. That kind of talk could spook him into bailing,” Warden Penn said sternly.

“I know,” Fixit said sadly.

“So, what all are you adding?” a unicorn guard asked as he poked his head out from behind AMAZO’s back. The prisoner was being telekinetically held in place by six unicorn guards.

Perking up, Fixit rattled off, “Stasis field to prevent telepathy, shape shifting, and telekinesis; motion-triggered cannons of liquid nitrogen; extra layers of lasers on his cell door; and a ring of laser bars surrounding his immediate sitting area.”

“Is that enough?” Warden Penn fidgeted.

“No. I also threw in something special: I’ve installed electromagnetic pulse emitters that are constantly disrupting whatever machinery AMAZO’s made of. It won’t hurt him, but he will feel slightly uncomfortable as time goes on. He’ll get used to it, though,” Fixit said.

“What about the powers he got from Discord?” a guard asked.

Sighing, Fixit explained, “Those...I don’t think I can dampen. Discord was above science, above logic. The only thing that hurt Discord were the Elements of Harmony and, somehow, AMAZO.”

“How exactly did AMAZO hurt Discord?” the first guard asked.

“Nopony knows,” Warden Penn said. “The princess got there after the deed was done.”

“For what it’s worth, his cell is ready now,” Fixit said, glancing towards the empty cell.

“Good work, Fixit.” Turning towards the six guards, Warden Penn said, “Escort AMAZO into his cell and don’t let go until Fixit gives the order.”

“Yes sir,” the guards barked as they telekinetically guided AMAZO back to his cell and sat him down. Fixit then fiddled with a keypad next to the cell door, triggering an array of lasers, the two energy fields, and the motion sensors. At the activation of the electromagnetic field, the android felt its entire body slightly seize in shock, then a constant feeling of faint weakness. The field was disrupting the information flow between the millions of nanomachines in AMAZO’s body. The android felt sluggish for the first time since it left Earth.

“You may let go now,” Fixit ordered. The guards did so and AMAZO staggered a bit, but not enough to set off the motion detectors.

“Is he okay? I want him jailed, not dead,” Warden Penn said with concern.

“He’s fine,” Fixit said. “He’ll get used to it.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Warden Penn, we have a situation,” a seventh guard said as he galloped up to the group.

“What now?” Warden Penn asked as he facehoofed.

“There are four ponies and a buffalo here to see the android,” the guard huffed, out of breath.

“Oh for... Let them in and remove only the blindfold,” Warden Penn scoffed.

“Yes sir,” the guard barked before turning and galloping away.

--

“How powerful do you think AMAZO is? I mean, what are his upper limits?” Reigns asked as the group waited for the next step in the visitor clearance process.

“I don’t know honestly. I mean, he can warp reality now so I guess his power is limitless,” Derpy replied.

“Then why is he subjecting himself to jail time? Couldn’t he just refuse to debase himself to such treatment? He could be using his powers for good as community service.”

“He’s doing it to protect me from searches. Princess Celestia knows he’s close to me. If he escapes, then I’m the first suspect on the list of ponies who would hide him from the police.”

“Why did he surrender in the first place?”

“He was going to leave Equestria, but I convinced him to stay for me.”

“That was sweet of him to stay for you,” Annie swooned.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Derpy said.

“You’re clear,” the pony at the front desk finally said. “A guard will escort you to the prisoner’s cell.”

Chapter 13

“AMAZO, you have guests,” the escort announced as he brought into view Derpy, Twilight, and the trio of medical personnel.

“Everypony...and buffalo, meet AMAZO. AMAZO, this is Dr. Bighorn and his assistants, Annie and Reigns,” Derpy introduced.

“Hello,” AMAZO said. Annie and Dr. Bighorn awkwardly waved.

“Greetings,” Reigns said, stepping towards the cell. “May I ask you a few questions?”

“Yes,” AMAZO said hesitantly.

“Is it true that you healed Dinky, beat Discord, then nearly beat Princess Celestia? Is it also true that you came here with no knowledge of Equestrian law?” Reigns asked.

“Yes,” AMAZO said.

“And is it true that there’s concern that you’ll escape? Could you escape if you desired?”

“Yes.”

“Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t your talents wasted by being in here? You can bend reality itself. Don’t you think that doing community service would be a better way to serve your sentence? Instead of rotting in here like a common thug, you could perform miracles for other ponies. Think of how grateful Derpy was when you saved her filly. Now imagine that feeling over and over again.”

“Reigns, what are you doing?” Dr. Bighorn asked. “I don’t think this is our place to intervene.”

“But he could save lives,” Reigns admonished, turning to the buffalo. “Think about how we assumed that Dinky would be a vegetable when we got here.”

“True, but does he want to do community service?” Annie asked.

“What, besides gratitude, can ponies offer me?” AMAZO asked after a moment.

“You can duplicate the abilities of the ponies you help. I’m sure there are some powers out there that would interest you,” Reigns said with enthusiasm.

“We’ll need to ask Princess Celestia about it first,” Twilight said, interrupting the android’s train of thought. “I’m sure she’ll consider it at the very least.”

“Excellent,” Reigns said.

“AMAZO, I’m not sure community service is a good idea,” Derpy said. “Ponies fear what they don’t understand and frankly, Equestria isn’t ready for you. I’m sorry, but I would advise you stay here.”

“What do I have to gain by refusing community service?” AMAZO asked.

“You said you wanted to be under wraps and hidden. That’s the opposite of community service,” Derpy pointed out.

“In fact, why am I even here? I am not a citizen of Equestria so why should I be imprisoned for simply following my programming?”

“You’re here to keep the police from beating down my door looking for you. If that doesn’t matter to you anymore, then I’m sorry I haven’t been a good enough friend to you,” Derpy said sternly.

AMAZO then glanced away. “Is this the best way to protect you?”

“Yes. Though, it’s more about doing the right thing and not scaring everypony by wielding powers beyond that of the princesses. I don’t need protecting. I just want to know you’re safe and not out there disrupting the natural order of things by fighting our rulers over who knows what. I know Reigns has offered you power, but honestly, isn’t the power of a reality-warping chaos god enough for now? Sure, you can duplicate a skill or two by doing community service, but it won’t be very rewarding.”

“Nor is jail time,” Reigns muttered.

“Look,” Derpy sighed. “I know I didn’t say it earlier, but it bothered me how you almost killed Dash and Princess Celestia. You don’t realize how strong you are. Equestria doesn’t need a godlike android running around doing whatever with no regard for his actions. You need to learn you’re not as above it all as you think. Yes, I appreciate you healing Dinky and surrendering, but you also broke laws. I love Equestria too much to agree with you that the laws are meaningless and that you shouldn’t follow them. All I ask is that you stay put, for my sake.”

“For how long?” the android glared.

“I don’t know. The princess hasn’t passed judgment yet.”

“Find out,” AMAZO ordered.

“I’ll find out about the sentence length and the community service,” Twilight said.

“Or you could ask Princess Celestia herself. In fact, you could escape and resume your search for power,” Reigns goaded.

“That’s enough, Reigns. Stop goading him,” Dr. Bighorn stressed, stomping a hoof.

“I’m just giving him options,” Reigns said.

“It seems you have a choice,” Derpy said, glancing downward. “You can respect my wishes by staying in jail and preserving Equestria’s stability, or you can just escape and go back to being a cold, unfeeling machine.”

AMAZO instinctively looked away, torn between power and protection of its friend. Looking back to Derpy, it said, “Am I a threat to you?”

Looking up, Derpy said, “No, but I trust you. Other ponies don’t. They just assume that you’ll just stay here until you get bored. They’re afraid of you, honestly.”

“Yes, in fact, I would bet that the warden here has trouble sleeping at night out of fear. The princess is just a hat drop from ordering the Elements of Harmony to try to contain you permanently,” Reigns said.

At this, the android glared death at Twilight, knowing that she, being the bearer of the Element of Magic, would be leading her friends to betrayal of AMAZO’s trust.

“You would betray me under orders of Celestia?” AMAZO asked.

“If she ordered it, yes,” Twilight said, holding back fear.

At this, AMAZO’s eyes glowed white briefly as all the cell’s motion sensors and lasers disappeared in a bright flash. The vengeful android then rushed towards Twilight and quickly lifted her up by her mane and punched her right in the gut, sending her into a crumpled heap. Immediately, Dr. Bighorn, Reigns, and Annie jumped AMAZO in a futile attempt to slow it down. AMAZO merely grabbed them each individually and threw them aside, then sprouted the mace from its hand. The android then rushed towards Twilight, telekinetically held her up, punched her again in the chest, and then prepared the mace.

“Stop, AMAZO. This isn’t you,” Derpy said through tears.

AMAZO then gently lowered the unicorn and wordlessly teleported out of sight to leave a devastated Derpy and a dazed trio of medical professionals to get the badly bruised unicorn to the nearest hospital.

Chapter 14

“Ugh... What happened?” Twilight moaned to nopony in particular as her eyes fluttered opened. Slowly taking in her surroundings, she groggily concluded that there was a sharp pain in her chest and stomach and that she was in a room in Ponyville General’s ICU wing. She then groaned in pain again.

“She’s awake,” Dash’s voice said from across the room. Instantly, Spike, Dash, Annie, and Rarity, a white unicorn with long purple mane with fabulously curled ends, surrounded Twilight. On her flanks were markings resembling a trio of four-sided diamonds. “How do you feel, Twilight?”

“Terrible,” Twilight coughed. “What happened?”

“AMAZO attacked you, Twilight. He went nuts when you said that, if the princess ordered it, you would use the Elements of Harmony on him. Fluttershy is at Derpy’s house trying to console her,” Annie said with worry.

“I wrote to Princess Celestia a few hours ago. She’s already given the order,” Spike said. “She has every available unit looking for him.”

“And they have guards patrolling around Derpy’s house. Poor thing,” Rarity said.

“The Wonderbolts came by and gave us our Elements,” Dash said, gesturing towards a pile of necklaces and a tiara on a nearby table.

“How long was I out?” Twilight moaned.

“It’s night now. You’ve been out all afternoon and evening. You have a bruised stomach and a few cracked ribs,” Annie said. “You’ll be fine in a few days.”

“The jail’s surveillance cameras saw everything. Reigns is being held for questioning about his conning AMAZO into escaping,” Dash said.

“Good,” Twilight said. “He’s the reason why I’m here.”

“Now, darling, if I heard right from Annie earlier, you were the one that said you would betray AMAZO. You yourself set him off,” Rarity pointed out.

“In fact, a few days ago, AMAZO mentioned that he was once betrayed before. It was a sore subject for him,” Spike said.

“That explains why he flipped out and attacked Twilight. He saw her at a traitor,” Dash said.

“The only reason he didn’t kill her was because Derpy told him to stop,” Annie said as she flushed Twilight’s IV. The lavender unicorn winced at the burning sensation.

“What about the guards at his jail cell? Didn’t the warden make sure that he couldn’t escape without them attacking?” Rarity asked.

“The guards gave us privacy, not thinking that he would escape while Derpy was there,” Annie answered.

“Does anypony have a clue as to where he might be?” Dash asked. “Would he be back at Canterlot?”

“I don’t know, Dash. My body hurts too much to think right now,” Twilight said.

“Then rest, dear. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Rarity said, telekinetically turning out the lights.

Sleep then quickly found its way into Twilight’s mind as her friends were bidding her good night.

--

The warden’s blood was boiling and his nerves were shot. Not only did his prisoner makes half its cell vanish into nothing and attack a visitor, but now, he was dealing with a failed interrogation.

Taking a gulp of coffee, Warden Penn tiredly asked, “Any luck?”

“Reigns still refuses to explain why he turned AMAZO against Twilight Sparkle, sir,” a guard answered. “If I may, sir, why did nopony stop Reigns before he fully planted the seed?”

“Because we’re idiots,” the warden snapped. “We let him stand there and spoon-feed our prisoner ideas about escaping all in the name of not bothering the visitors! We thought Derpy could keep him from escaping, but no! Now we’re out a prisoner and we have injured visitors to add to our report this month! On top of that, we have to get this screwball to tell us why he made this all happen!”

“It’s getting late, sir. We’re about to order bedtime. What are your orders?”

“Stuff him into an empty cell until morning. There’s one next to AMAZO’s now empty cell. I’ll sort him out tomorrow.”

“Yes sir,” the guard said before returning to the interrogation room.

“I need a vacation,” the warden mumbled.

--

“Here we are again, looking for AMAZO,” Soarin’ sighed as he bit into his late dinner of fruit salad. “Except, this time, we have orders to report his location to Princess Celestia and avoid confronting him. If you ask me, this is just a wild goose chase if not a suicide mission. I mean, how do we even know he’s still in Equestria?”

“Because Derpy,” Spitfire said, sipping her iced tea.

“Pardon?”

“Celestia’s report said that Derpy and Dinky are the only ponies on the planet that AMAZO cares about. Case in point, he stopped beating Twilight at Derpy’s request.”

“Here’s another problem: How do they plan on keeping AMAZO still for long enough to use the Elements? He knows that, the minute that Twilight is well, he’s in trouble.”

“I guess Princess Celestia will probably fight him and wear him down until the bearers can get a clear shot.”

“But he can bend reality now. What’s keeping him from just poofing Princess Celestia and the Element bearers to another dimension?”

“I guess nothing. For all intents and purposes, he’s a god with no reservations about attacking innocent ponies if he sees them as a threat.”

“If he does that, then how do we win?”

“We can’t. Our only hope is to get him with the Elements as soon as possible. Before that, though, we need to find him.”

“Can I get dessert first?”

Spitfire then facehoofed with a sigh.

--

Reigns silently watched the other prisons go by as he was being escorted down the hall to his cell by two pegasi guards. Most were getting ready for bed or were already asleep. At the end of the hall was where AMAZO’s cell was. Empty cells surrounded it on both sides and on the opposite wall. Fixit was currently replacing the missing laser bars in AMAZO’s cell with the standard steel bars that the other cells had.

“New prisoner?” Fixit asked without looking up as the guards herded Reigns into the open cell next to AMAZO’s.

“Yeah. He’s the guy that got AMAZO to escape and attack a visitor. His belongings show that he works at the Canterlot Medical Center,” one guard said.

“How?” Fixit asked, still not looking up.

“By reminding him that he has to fear one of his friends, the bearer of the Element of Magic,” Reigns said. “I meant no harm. I was simply giving him advice.”

“Sure, buddy,” the second guard said as he closed the cell door and locked it.

“Oh, I’m serious. Or was it wrong to warn him of Twilight Sparkle’s blind obedience?” Reigns grinned.

“You played him like a fiddle,” the first guard said. “Why?”

“I played nopony. But, as expected, you won’t believe me,” Reigns said.

“You played an android, not a pony,” Fixit pointed out as he tightened a screw.

“No,” Reigns said, sitting down. “I played nopony or android.”

“Right,” the second guard muttered. Turning toward Fixit, he asked, “You done yet? The prisoners can’t sleep with you making noise.”

“Almost. Genius can’t be rushed,” Fixit said.

“Genius, huh?” Reigns asked, turning towards Fixit. “You know, I have a few invention plans that you might like.”

“Like what?” Fixit asked.

“Mostly medical equipment.” Reigns replied. “Oh, and some minor non-medical things. Meet me at the edge of the Everfree Forest the midnight after I’m released. I’ll give you a demonstration of my latest invention.”

“Will do, partner. I’m done here and I’m headed home. It’s been a rough day,” Fixit said as he levitated his tools into his toolbox. “Good night,” he said as he trotted off, toolbox now levitating behind him.

“Good night,” Reigns grinned before lying down and dozing off.

Chapter 15

The sun was rising and the Everfree Forest was slightly teeming, as usual, with the croaks and growls of creatures not native or liked by the citizens of Ponyville. Few ponies ventured outside the natural trails of the forest, fearing the wild and savage beasts that made the eerie place home. Hidden amongst the thick woods and upon a rotting log sat AMAZO, silently contemplating things. Derpy’s words about AMAZO having nowhere to go after acquiring the power to bend reality buzzed in its head. Had the android completed its programming? If so, then why was it confused and empty? Had AMAZO reached its final evolutionary step? Or was it the other thing that Derpy had said when it attacked Twilight? Who was it when it was attacking Twilight? Twilight was Derpy’s friend, AMAZO’s friend. Why did it attack a friend? Yes, under Celestia’s order, she would use the Elements, but, before Reigns brought it up, things were fine. Was Reigns the reason why AMAZO attacked Twilight, or was it a conscious decision independent of any goading? Was it fear that made AMAZO attack? If so, fear of what? It could bend reality, thus ensuring that the bearers fail. Again, Derpy’s comment about AMAZO not being an attacker sprung forth. Who was it really? Ever since it left Ponyville, it had caused problems for the peaceful creatures of Equestria. Was that its purpose: to spread fear and panic all while searching for power? Moreover, what of Dinky? AMAZO’s only good deed it had done in Equestria was taking care of her. Now, her mother probably hated the android for attacking Twilight. Once again, Reigns’s reminder came to mind. Who or what was truly responsible for the attack? Was it a reflexive action caused by the reminder of the potential betrayal, or was it a conscious action? AMAZO needed to know. Sensing that the Reigns was in jail and just waking up, AMAZO stood up and flew up and towards the jail.

--

“Good morning, Twilight. Are you feeling any better?” Nurse Redheart, a pony with a white coat, a pink mane, and a nurse’s cap asked as she noticed the unicorn’s eyes flutter open in response to a round of morning vitals. On her flanks were markings resembling a red medical cross with hearts in each corner.

“Still asleep,” Twilight mumbled.

“We need to know how you feel. You’re about to be moved to a regular room as soon as the day shift gets their act together. Rainbow Dash and Spike are on their way up here as we speak.”

“Good,” Twilight yawned.

“Now, are you feeling alright? How is your pain level? Annie gave you some morphine a while ago so you should be good for a while. You had a great night last night.”

“I don’t remember it. And my pain’s 4.55 out of 10.” Nurse Redheart then wrote some numbers down, rounding the pain level up to a five.

“That’s because you fell asleep the minute Rarity turned the lights off,” Spike said as he and Dash entered the room.

“Hey, Spike. Hey, Dash,” Twilight greeted.

“Good morning,” Spike replied as he approached the bedside and sat down in a chair.

“Hey,” Dash said, pulling up another chair. “Feeling better?”

“A little,” Twilight said. “It’s still a bit hard to breathe at times.”

“That’s to be expected since x-rays show your ribs are cracked. Whoever the prisoner was, he really worked you over,” Nurse Redheart said, glancing towards Twilight’s x-ray. “Now, I’m off to herd the day shift into getting you transferred. I’ll be back shortly,” she said as she trotted out of the room.

“Any luck finding him?” Twilight asked as soon as Nurse Redheart was out of earshot.

“No,” Spike said.

“For all we know, he might have left the planet by now,” Dash said.

“No, he’s still here. My bruised gut says he’s hiding somewhere close to Ponyville,” Twilight said.

“Where?” Dash asked.

“I don’t know. In fact, for all we know, he may have gone up north to scan Princess Cadence and my brother,” Twilight mused. “I doubt it, though. How’s Derpy?”

“Not good,” Dash said sadly. “She’s devastated that her friend attacked you and is now the most wanted guy in Equestria.”

“Fluttershy’s still with her, though,” Spike said.

“Moving time,” Nurse Redheart announced as she entered the room with two more nurses.

“Let’s roll,” Twilight yawned.

--

“Breakfast time, prisoner,” a pegasus prison guard said as he approached Reigns’s cell with a disgusting looking meal of oatmeal and milk. Opening the cell just enough to slide the food in, he added, “That, and the warden is here to see you.”

“He is? Well, isn’t that special?” Reigns grinned.

“It is since, against my will, I’m releasing you,” the warden sneered as he trotted into view and opened the cell door. “Turns out, there isn’t a single law that you broke. The guard up front has your stuff.”

“Can I eat breakfast first?” Reigns asked.

“No,” both the warden and the guard said in unison.

“Very well,” Reigns said as he trotted out of his cell. “Tell your mechanic that I’m being released.”

“Why?” the warden snapped as his right eyebrow shot up.

“I have my reasons,” Reigns said as he trotted out of view.

--

AMAZO, sensing that Reigns was leaving, floated to the ground and shifted underground to await its prey.
About thirty minutes later, Reigns exited the front gates with his belongings and started towards the hospital. AMAZO, seizing the moment, shifted under Reigns, reached out of the ground with a hand, grabbed Reigns’s tail, then teleported itself and Reigns away in a bright flash.

Chapter 16

The android and the pony reappeared near a murky pond in the Everfree Forest. AMAZO now dangled Reigns by the mane at eye level. “Why did you do it?” AMAZO sneered.

“Do what?” Reigns asked as he struggled in the air.

“Provoking me and tricking me into attacking Twilight.”

“I was just trying to help you. I was warning you.”

“Why? What do you have to gain?”

“Nothing. Ponies help each other. Or, in this case, they help androids.”

“Your help was not helpful. It cost me the peace that Derpy wanted, that I wanted.”

“You want peace? Equestria was never peaceful. Why do you think dungeons exist? Ponies aren’t peaceful. They never were. They attack and fear what they don’t understand.”

“Derpy and Twilight didn’t fear me.”

“They do now.”

“Because of you.” AMAZO then formed the mace in its free hand.

“And what do you think killing me will accomplish?”

AMAZO then wordlessly slammed the mace into Reigns’s right rib, leaving a huge gash and sending Reigns flying to the ground. AMAZO then lifted the mace above Reign’s head and prepared to swing downward. Before AMAZO could, though, the android noticed something. The gash was slowly closing itself up. After a second or two, the gash was completely healed. AMAZO staggered back in surprise.

“You never scanned me, did you?” Reigns noted as he stood up. “I neglected to mention one thing: I’m immortal, just like you.”

“How?”

“The time the meteor granted me power was over 25,000 years ago. Equestria was but a desolate wasteland back then. While my fellow primitives cowered with fear, I dared approached the strangely glowing rock. It was warm and the night was very cold. I slept curled up next to it, not realizing what its rays were doing to me. But, over the millennia that followed, as I watched those around me grow old and die while I remained unchanged, I discovered the truth and came to accept my destiny: to rule over a peaceful Equestria.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because, one, we’re kindred spirits who desire power and can’t die, and two, you can help me create a peaceful world for Dinky to wake up to. Ponykind is prideful and belligerent and needs a guiding hoof. However, before I fix that, I intend to show them whom to trust. Remember how I wanted you to serve ponies? You, being a stranger, don’t know what they need. I do. Together, we can create peace.”

“What do I gain from helping you?”

“You regain Derpy’s trust and see to it that she can raise Dinky in an era of peace.”

“With you in charge.”

“It’s better than some lawful stupid peahen that attacks the person that healed a filly. Ponies will happily follow a leader who offers food, comfort, and order. With your reality bending powers, you can distribute those better than the princesses can. You can also ensure that Derpy and Dinky have happy lives that include you.”

AMAZO then glanced away and retracted the mace. “Will this truly help Derpy?”

“Yes.”

“I… I need time to think about it.”

“Very well.”

AMAZO then flew up and super sped out of sight towards Canterlot, leaving the immortal pony to resume his trek to Ponyville General.

--

“Spitfire, I got a visual of something gold and travelling at a very fast speed towards Canterlot. Do I approach?” Soarin’ asked as he hovered a few yards from the edge of the forest.

“I see it. I think it’s our android. Let’s see if we can warn the princess,” Spitfire said as she took off after the android.

“But he’s too fast. We’ll never make it in time,” Soarin’ shouted, taking off after Spitfire.

“If not, then we can at least be Princess Celestia’s backup if things go south.”

“Right… This is going to end badly, isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

--

“I just don’t understand it, Fluttershy. One minute he’s sitting in his cell, then, the next, he’s beating Twilight,” Derpy said sadly. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. “How does somebody go from healing fillies to assaulting innocent ponies?”

“I…um…don’t know. I’ve never actually met AMAZO before so I don’t know what he’s like,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“He used to be caring towards ponies except when he was directly challenged. Now, everypony wants his head on a plate. Call me naïve, but I think he’s just confused, not evil.”

“Everypony, I believe, deserves a second chance.”

“But he’s not a pony. He’s an android that travels the cosmos searching for power who is now a fugitive. What’s worse is that I have no way of talking to him without causing an incident. Even if I could, I haven’t a clue as to where he is or what he’s doing. I feel bad for saying this, but I felt that Equestria was safer with him locked up, even if it was under his own choice.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said sadly, hugging Derpy.

“I just wish there was a way to talk to him w…,” Derpy trailed off. “That’s it!”

“What’s ‘it’?”

“I need to see Twilight right away. Can you watch Dinky?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks,” Derpy called as she flew out the window.

Chapter 17

“Hurry up, Soarin’. He’s almost to the princess,” Spitfire called to her teammate who was trailing behind.

“He’s faster than us, period. We’ll never catch up. In fact...,” Soarin’ trailed off as he noticed the android come to an abrupt halt above the main courtyard of the castle. “Why did he stop?”

“I don’t know or care. Right now, we need to warn Princess Celestia,” Spitfire yelled as she descended and flew into one of the castle’s open windows. Soarin’ followed suit, leaving AMAZO, who, unbeknownst to the two pegasi, was putting some last-minute considerations to what it was about to do. It then floated downwards and through the open window.

--

“Princess Celestia, we’ve spotted AMAZO. He’s about to come in at any second,” Soarin’ shouted as he and Spitfire flew into the break room where the princess was calmly sipping tea.

“What are your orders, your highness?” Spitfire asked as she landed on the floor in front of Celestia.

“I would advise you to move behind me because I’m going to attack with full force the second he appears,” Celestia warned as she put her tea down. Just as the Wonderbolts were flying past the princess, a bright flash emanated from all three ponies. The light subsided and the now wingless Wonderbolts dropped to the ground. They quickly looked towards the princess and gasped in horror. AMAZO had the now hornless and wingless princess by the throat.

“What do you want, AMAZO?” Celestia grunted. “Or are you going to finish the job like some common thug?”

Letting its grip loosen a bit, AMAZO said, ”All I truly want is for Derpy and Dinky to be happy and in peace. I was offered a chance by somepony to personally ensure that they and the rest of Equestria stay in peace, but...”

“But what?” Celestia asked, sensing hesitation.

Glancing away, AMAZO said, “But he’s the one responsible for provoking me into attacking Twilight Sparkle. His name is Reigns and he’s headed towards the hospital in Ponyville now. I’m not sure Derpy would want me following his command so I came here to give you an offer: Promise that Derpy and Dinky remain safe and I’ll give you and the Wonderbolts your powers back. I’ll even return to my cell in Ponyville.”

“Agreed,” Celestia said as AMAZO let go.

AMAZO’s eyes then briefly glowed white and, after another flash, the three ponies were restored to normal. The android then wordlessly teleported away.

“Fly to Ponyville General and question Reigns when he gets there,” Celestia commanded. “That, and tell Twilight and her friends to bring the Elements to the jail as soon as she gets well. I hate to double-cross, but AMAZO’s a threat and unpredictable. I’ll send word to Warden Penn now of AMAZO’s deal.”

“Yes, your highness,” the Wonderbolts barked in unison. They then got up and flew off, not knowing that the android had merely teleported outside the room and was eavesdropping.

--

“Hello, Twilight. Hello, Dash. Hello, Spike,” Derpy greeted as she trotted into Twilight’s hospital room.

“Hey, Derpy. What brings you here?” Dash asked as Twilight weakly waved.

“How are you feeling?” Spike asked.

“I’m...better. I came here to propose a plan,” Derpy said as she approached the bed.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“I was talking to Fluttershy about how I felt the safest when AMAZO was in jail. One part of me thinks he’s just confused, but at heart, good. Another part thinks he’s a threat to all of Equestria. Case in point, he has Discord’s power and he attacked you and the princess. I hate saying this, but I think you need to use the Elements on him. That, or get him to leave the planet,” Derpy said.

“How do we use the Elements on him? He knows he’s wanted and he’s hiding,” Dash asked.

“He’s probably back at the jail by now,” Soarin’ said as he flew into the room. “You might want to talk quieter; I heard you from the hallway.”

“S-Soarin’! W-What are you doing here?” Dash swooned.

“Spitfire’s outside waiting to question Reigns about his involvement in AMAZO’s escape. I’m here to tell Twilight to get well enough to put the android down. He’s back in his cell in exchange for Derpy’s promised safety and peace,” Soarin’ said.

“Then why does Princess Celestia want him put down if he’s already in jail?” Spike asked.

“Because he’s too dangerous to leave alone,” Soarin’ said.

“Speaking of dangerous, how do you think Reigns will take being interrogated again?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure what we’re fishing for,” Soarin admitted. “Though, I’m confident that Spitfire can handle herself if things go south.”

--

“You’re here why, Spitfire, to question me? The warden failed miserably at that already. You might as well quit before you waste any of your time,” Reigns said as he slowly approached Spitfire.

“AMAZO said you offered him a way to ensure an era of peace for Derpy and Dinky. He was skittish about you. Why?” Spitfire asked.

“So the android ran to you and snitched? That can’t be the entire story. What else happened?” Reigns asked as he poked a hoof into his smock.

“That’s irrelevant. What did you promise to AMAZO and why? And what are you reaching for in your smock?”

“This,” Reigns said calmly as he yanked his hoof out of his smock. A metal hoof-glove like contraption now adorned Reigns’s hoof. Reigns then quickly aimed towards Spitfire and fired a stream of lightning. Spitfire immediately reeled backwards from the hit. Electricity was crackling around her, and searing her costume and fur. Reigns, keeping his aim on her, ordered, “Be a good girl, and tell me what AMAZO said and did when he visited you. Keep quiet and I’ll turn up the voltage.”

Shakily getting up, she said defiantly, “Talk is cheap. Backup, however, is priceless.”

Before Reigns could question this statement, he was tackled from behind by Soarin’, who had just exited the hospital and saw Reigns attack. Soarin’ then pinned Reigns down and yelled, “You’re under arrest for assault on a Wonderbolt!”

“Sue me,” Reigns said as he used his tail to grab Soarin’s leg and twist it, tripping the Wonderbolt up. Reigns then rolled onto his back and kicked upwards into Soarin’s stomach, sending him rolling off his captive. Reigns then grabbed his weapon, which had been sent flying when Soarin’ attacked, and used his teeth to crank a knob on it to the right. Reigns then took aim and fired at the now recovering Spitfire, causing her to scream and black out. Holding the weapon right over Spitfire’s wings, Reigns turned towards the seething Soarin’ and demanded, “Tell me what happened with the android or I burn her wings off.”

“He made a deal with Princess Celestia and he’s now back in his cell in exchange for Derpy and Dinky’s safety. The princess plans to use the Elements on him anyway, saying he’s dangerous and unpredictable,” Soarin’ grunted, still in pain.

“Thanks,” Reigns said before aiming and firing at Soarin’, causing him to scream and black out as well. Reigns then pocketed the weapon and headed towards the jail.

Chapter 18

It had been about forty-five minutes since AMAZO ambushed Celestia and AMAZO was now sitting on a cloud above the jail waiting for a good time to surrender and, hopefully, talk to Reigns about Celestia’s double-crossing. The android had spent the comparatively short trip back to Ponyville pondering Reign’s offer. The android was considering accepting the immortal pony’s offer to help him create a perfect world for Dinky to wake up to. But why? Why not just leave and move on to the next planet? True, Derpy wanted AMAZO in jail, but she did have a point: AMAZO had tainted Equestria like so many worlds before it. Despite that, though, AMAZO imagined, Derpy still cared for the android. Would she really approve of it working with such a shady pony? AMAZO then remembered how Ivo wanted it to evolve and find a purpose beyond helping him in his last months. Was this the destiny that he wanted for AMAZO? Would Ivo approve of the android helping Reigns?

Before AMAZO could form a proper answer to these questions, two unicorn guards emerged from the jail. Without hesitation, the android stood up and floated down in front of them.

“Are you AMAZO, the android that Warden Penn is expecting?” one guard asked.

“Yes,” AMAZO confirmed.

“Are you here to turn yourself in?” the second guard asked.

“Yes,” AMAZO confirmed.

Trotting closer, the two guards then telekinetically moved the android’s hands to behind its back and lightly pushed their prisoner into walking with them back towards the jail. A third unicorn guard was waiting at the door, and, as the trio approached, he telekinetically opened the door for them. Going through the door, the android could clearly see a smirking Reigns sitting on a bench opposite of the reception desk. Without breaking momentum, AMAZO glanced right at the immortal pony, who gave a quick nod of his head, eyes trained on the prisoner at all times. A second or so later, the guards had escorted their prisoner out of Reigns’s sight.

Looking back at the reception desk, Reigns asked the stallion receptionist, “When can I see that prisoner?”

“Warden Penn told me to not let you or anypony else near the prisoner until he’s locked up in a cell,” the receptionist said.

“Alright,” Reigns said, shuffling his position in his spot.

“Looks like he’s coming around,” Nurse Redheart said.

“Yeah,” a second female voice said. “What do you think happened to him and Spitfire? There wasn’t a storm scheduled for today.”

Reluctantly, Soarin’ cracked his eyes open to see that he was now in a hospital room as a patient, not as a visitor and that he was covered in bandages and slightly burned. Immediately, he bolted upwards and shouted, “Where’s my costume? I’m getting out of here.”

“We had to cut your costume off you and you’re not leaving here until we treat your burns,” Nurse Redheart said. “I’m Nurse Redheart and this,” she said gesturing towards the other nurse, a green pegasus with a blue mane and winged heart flank-markings, ”is Nightingale, a med student.”

“Hey,” Soarin’ said,

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nightingale said.

“Likewise,” Soarin’ said. “Where’s Spitfire? Is she alright?”

“She’s in the next room. She got burned badly, but she’ll recover. A respiratory therapist found you both crispy outside the hospital. What happened?” Nurse Redheart said.

“Spitfire was questioning a pony and he attacked us both with a hoof-glove thing that shot lightning. He...managed to get information about a fugitive by threatening Spitfire,” Soarin’ said as he lay back down.

“What was he doing here?” Nightingale asked.

“I don’t know,” Soarin’ said. “He was probably here to check on Twilight Sparkle or something.”

“Huh? Why would a crook come to check on a model citizen?” Nurse Redheart asked.

“Long story short: The crook got a prisoner to attack Twilight and escape temporarily. The two of them are probably plotting evil or something back at the jail and Spitfire and I are too banged up to arrest him,” Soarin’ sighed.

“The prisoner must have been a real brute in order to work Twilight over like that,” Nightingale said.

“Yeah,” Soarin’ said absentmindedly.

“I hate to break this up,” Nurse Redheart said, glancing at the clock, “but Nightingale and I have other patients to attend to.”

“Will you tell Twilight that Spitfire and I were attacked and are stuck in here?” Soarin’ said. “Thanks.”

“Alright,” Nightingale said as she and Nurse Redheart trotted out. “One of us will go right now.”

Chapter 19

“What?” Dash screamed at the top of her lungs. “The Wonderbolts were attacked?”

“Yes,” Nightingale said, reeling from the scream. “by somepony they were questioning. They’re downstairs in the burn unit. Spitfire hasn’t woken up yet. It’ll be a few days before they’re back 100%.” Turning towards Twilight, she asked, “How are you?”

“I’m stressed, but better. The pain of breathing is slowly going down,” Twilight said.

“You’re doing great. If all goes well, you can leave the day after tomorrow,” Nightingale said.

“That’s great,” Spike said, pulling a quill and piece of parchment from the saddlebag that he brought from the library.

“In fact, I’m about to go get Nurse Redheart to help you get up and walk around a bit just to keep your lungs and muscles from atrophying. I’ll be back in about ten minutes,” Nightingale said as she backed out of the room.

After a second or so, Dash turned to Spike, who was dutifully writing something on the parchment. “What are you writing?” she asked.

“I’m writing to Princess Celestia about Reigns attacking the Wonderbolts. This situation is spiraling out of control and we’re running out of ponies to throw at this,” Spike said.

“Good thinking,” Twilight yawned.

“What do you think she’ll do?” Derpy asked.

“I’m not sure,” Spike admitted. “She might just contact the jail and have them arrest Reigns.”

“Good,” Dash said. “That nut needs to be locked up.”

“Yeah, well, I’m going to go outside and send this,” Spike said as hopped off his chair, parchment in hand, and walked the door. “I’ll hurry,” he said as he exited the room.

“Now, AMAZO, I have good news and bad news,” Warden Penn said as the three guards approached with the android. “The good news is that we’re not going to bother upgrading your cell. The bad news is that you’ll be monitored constantly, even when you have visitors. Speaking of visitors, Reigns is here to see you. A guard will escort him in shortly,” he said as a fourth guard opened a cell door and motioned for the other guards to herd AMAZO into the cell.

“Oh, and try not to make half your cell vanish this time. Although, the warden did turn a lovely shade of angry purple,” Fixit said as he trotted up to the group.

“Fixit, Reigns wanted to see you when you got off of work,” Warden Penn said, turning to Fixit. “Why?”

“He said he wanted to talk to me about some of his invention plans,” Fixit answered, rubbing the back of his greasy hair with a hoof. “Did they find anything when they were looking through his stuff?”

“They found some glove-like contraption that nopony could get to work and some sort of medical scanner,” a guard chimed in.

“I’ll be honest here, Fixit, and advise you to stay away from Reigns. He makes my skin crawl and I deal with crooks two-thirds of my life,” Warden Penn admitted.

“No. Science demands I see what he has to offer,” Fixit declared, causing the warden to facehoof.

Sighing, Warden Penn said, “Whatever. You and the guards can go fetch him. I’ll stay here with the android until you come back.”

“Yes sir,” the guards and Fixit said before trotting off.

“How does it feel to be up and around, Twilight?” Derpy asked as she, Dash, Nightingale, and Nurse Redheart escorted the somewhat wobbly Twilight around a corner.

“It’s unnerving,” Twilight said, shakily taking a few steps. “I feel like I’m about to fall over.”

“Don’t worry. We got you,” Dash said, hovering at Twilight’s side.

“You have four ponies around you. You’re not falling anytime soon,” Nurse Redheart said, pushing Twilight’s IV pole along with a hoof.

“I know, but still...,” Twilight trailed off.

“You’re doing fine,” Spike said as he approached the group from the closing elevator.

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, looking back at him and smiling.

“Encouragement helps in these situations,” Nightingale said.

“If I may ask,” Nurse Redheart began, “what exactly happened at the jail? Why did Dinky’s doctors and Derpy bring you in? What were you guys doing there? In fact, how is Dinky anyway?”

At this, Dash coughed loudly and Derpy and Twilight’s eyes grew wide in panic. Thinking quickly, Spike said, “It’s kind of a delicate subject and it also involves some Wonderbolt stuff. It’s confusing and stressful and nopony feels like talking about it.”

“Fair enough. How’s Dinky?” Nurse Redheart asked as the group completed their final lap around the floor and turned into Twilight’s room.

“She’s...better,” Derpy said awkwardly as she flew to Twilight’s bed and rearranged the sheets.

“That’s great to hear,” Nightingale said as she and Dash helped Twilight to the bed. Twilight then shakily climbed into bed and rolled over on her back as Nurse Redheart watched her IV. Derpy then pulled the covers up over Twilight. After making sure that Twilight was alright in the bed, Nightingale said, “We’ll let you rest for a few hours, then get you back up again.”

“Sounds good,” Twilight yawned.

“Alright. See you in a few hours,” Nurse Redheart said as she and Nightingale trotted out of the room.

After a moment, Dash turned towards Twilight with a worried look. “I just had a scary thought about this situation. What happens when we show up at AMAZO’s cell to use the Elements? He’ll know why we’re there and he’ll retaliate. How can we fight an all-powerful being like that?”

Sighing, Twilight said, turning her head to the side, “The way I see it, getting him to leave the planet is the only surefire way to win here. It’s that or somehow wear him down enough so that we can use the Elements.”

“What if those two options fail?” Derpy asked worriedly.

“I honestly don’t know what would happen then. AMAZO’s not into ruling Equestria; he just wants power,” Twilight said.

“But remember,” Derpy started, “Soarin’ said that AMAZO made a deal with the princess that he would return to his cell in exchange for the guaranteed safety of Dinky and I. It’s a stretch, but we may be able to convince AMAZO that he’s gotten everything he can from this world. I mean, what higher power is there than Discord?”

“Exactly. He’s milked this planet dry and I have a feeling he knows it too,” Twilight said.

“So,” Spike began. “He’s just staying here for Derpy?”

“I guess,” Twilight said. “My fear is that Reigns is going to manipulate him into using Discord’s power for evil.”

“But AMAZO isn’t evil, just confused,” Derpy said.

“Besides,” Spike began, “he’s been used before so he probably knows the warning signs.”
“I hope so, for all our sakes” Derpy trailed off sadly.

Chapter 20

“AMAZO, your visitor is here,” Fixit said as he and three prison guards escorted Reigns into the android’s sight and up to the cell. The warden nodded, then trotted away.

“Hello,” Reigns grinned as the four escorts stepped back.

“Why are you here?” AMAZO said after a moment.

“I’m here to warn you that the princess plans on betraying your deal. She still has an order for her ‘little ponies’ to use the Elements of Harmony on you anyway.”

“I know.”

“Oh really?” Reigns inquired, raising an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

“I overheard Celestia give the order.”

“Then why are you upholding your end of the bargain and not retaliating like the brute she thinks you are?”

“Derpy and Dinky are safe now that I’m in here. That is all that I desire.”

“You don’t desire power anymore? Not even the power to withstand the full force of the Elements?”

“Yes. My programming is to evolve and adapt to overcome any weaknesses.”

“So you don’t need my help?”

“What can you offer me?”

“Knowledge. The Elements only work on malevolent magic it seems. Surely, in your travels, you found a way to disrupt magical energies. Case in point, you beat Discord and his chaos magic so you can at least damage magical beings.”

“Yes.”

“Hold on,” Fixit piped up, stepping forward. “How exactly did you beat Discord, AMAZO?”

Without a word, the android formed the mace in his right hand and held it up to the bars so that everypony could see. Fixit then crept closer and lightly touched the mace with his hoof. “Where did it come from?” he asked in wonder.

“This weapon was duplicated during a battle on a distant planet called Earth and has electrical and gravitational properties that disrupt magical energies,” AMAZO said simply.

“And with Discord’s power, you can turn anything into this wondrous alloy,” Reigns mused.

“Why?” AMAZO asked, retreating the mace.

“Assuming that something made of this alloy could withstand the Elements or any other magic attack, you could turn yourself into this alloy to protect yourself from the Elements,” Reigns grinned.

“Then what? Why would I want to fight back? Dinky and Derpy will be at peace knowing I’m no longer a threat to Equestria.”

“You really want them to be happy?”

“Yes.”

“Then, ask yourself, what would make them happier: sitting there in your cell, waiting to be put down, or,” Reigns paused, grinning, “using your power to create a perfect world of peace and order for Dinky to wake up to?”

AMAZO then glanced away and, after a sigh, asked, “What would this world look like?”

“It would be whatever you want it to be. As I said before, I can help you figure out what ponies need in order to help you create that world.”

“That’s not how you worded it in the forest,” the android said, turning back to Reigns with a glare. “You’re planning on using me for your own gain.”

“To some degree, yes, but it’ll be worth it for Derpy and Dinky,” Reigns said.

“What would I have to do?”

“First, you need to figure out how far your reality warping abilities can affect. Then, you need to figure out how to alter a pony’s mind. Discord could do it with a simple touch.”

“How would that help Derpy and Dinky?”

“She has a problem with her eyes, correct? I imagine that some torment her about it. You could either fix her eyes, or alter the minds of those who mock her. Yes, that would be a good first step towards a perfect world, but...,” Reigns trailed off.

“But what?”

“You would have to leave your cell in order to do either one.”

“I refuse to leave again.”

“You can’t create a perfect world while in jail.”

“What do you propose then?”

“I’ll make you a deal, AMAZO: if you’ll somehow loan me a fraction of your power, I’ll run errands for you as long as I’m free. You get to stay in your cell and boss me around. I’ll report back here once each errand is done. Any objections?”

“How do I keep you from abusing your power?”

“We could set up a system where you reward each errand with more power. You could start off by giving me just enough power to quickly complete your first task, then, slowly give me more and more power. That’ll create incentive for me to keep doing your bidding.”

“I accept. My first wish is for you to heal Twilight Sparkle of her injuries.”

“But then, she and her friends will immediately come for you.”

“We’ve already established that, if I turned into the same alloy as the mace, I would be immune to the Elements.”

“True, but it wouldn’t hurt to have backup just in case the Elements put you down. Give me a sample of Discord’s power to heal Twilight, transmutation in order to create more of the alloy, and the powers of the Elements to free you if or when the ponies get to you. Give me those and I can promise backup and Twilight’s recovery,” Reigns said as he extended a hoof to the cell bars. AMAZO then reached up and touched the hoof with a finger. “Do we have a deal?”

At this, both AMAZO’s eyes and hand started to glow white. Slowly, the glow spread from AMAZO’s finger to Reigns’s hoof to his arm and shoulder. Reigns grinned as the glow engulfed his neck, head, and other arm. It then crept down his body and, eventually, made it to Reign’s tail. “Yes... I can feel it. It’s beautiful,” Reigns said as the glow increased in intensity. A moment or two later, AMAZO withdrew its hand, causing the glow to instantly vanish.

“You now have your desired powers. Use them well,” the android said as its eyes returned to their default red.

“Oh, I will,” Reigns smirked. Turning towards a stunned Fixit, he added, “I still want your opinion on some projects I’m working on. Though, instead of the forest, let’s meet at my room at the Drop-On Inn. It’s Room 25. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Fixit said shakily.

“Good,” Reigns said before teleporting away in a bright flash.

“I’m getting worried, Spike,” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia hasn’t replied to your letter yet.”

“Relax, Twilight. She’s probably talking to the warden right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already had Reigns in custody,” Spike said.

“You overestimate her,” Reigns said as he teleported into sight next to Twilight’s bed, triggering a collective gasp.

“H-How did you do that? Earth ponies can’t teleport,” Twilight stammered in awe.

“The android loaned me some of his power in exchange for favors. My first task is to use Discord’s power to heal you, Twilight Sparkle,” Reigns said.

“Y-You have Discord’s power?”

“I only have a fraction of his power. Now be a good patient and cooperate,” Reigns said as he levitated the covers off Twilight.

“Get away from her,” Dash yelled as she flew into Reigns, knocking him into a nearby wall.

Reigns shook his head groggily while blinking, sat up, and glared at the livid Dash. “That was uncalled for,” he said as he stood up. A bright flash later, Reigns had Dash in a headlock and was floating with her. “Promise to be a good girl and I won’t snap your neck. Agreed?”

“Fine,” Dash choked.

“Good,” Reigns said as he let go, still floating. Turning towards a mortified Twilight, he said, “Don’t be shy; I’m a doctor.” Floating over to the bedside, Reigns put one hoof on Twilight’s chest and another on her stomach where then both hooves quickly flashed and, instantly, the bruises on Twilight’s chest and stomach disappeared. Withdrawing his hooves and floating down to the floor, Reigns said, “Now to brainwash the doctors into quickly discharging you.” Reigns then turned towards the door and trotted out.

“That meeting was longer and more stressful than it should have been,” Celestia muttered to herself as she exited one of the castle’s many ornate conference rooms and turned right down the hall where she noticed a royal pegasus guard waiting with two pieces of parchment in his hooves.

"Your Highness, there are two letters awaiting you from Twilight Sparkle," the guard blurted out as he started flying at Celestia’s side as she continued to walk. “A janitor found them in your ‘urgent’ inbox and gave them to me to give to you after your meeting. The first letter reports that a pony named Reigns attacked Soarin’ and Spitfire and put them in the hospital.”

“I see,” Celestia said solemnly. “What about the other letter?”

“The second letter says that Reigns made a deal with the android. Reigns has some of AMAZO’s power in exchange for favors. Reigns’s first task was to heal Twilight Sparkle. She’s presumably being discharged as we speak.”

“Where is Reigns now?”

“We don’t know. The letter just said that Reigns teleported out of sight after using Discord’s mind control to brainwash the doctors and nurses into getting the discharge process going.”

“I assume the android’s still in custody?”

“Yes, princess. What are your orders?”

“I’ll go tell Warden Penn to arrest Reigns. If they fail, transfer the guards that we have stationed at Derpy Hooves’s home to AMAZO’s cell. I have a feeling that the android is staying put for a while. Reigns, however, worries me. Even with a fraction of Discord’s power, he’s a threat.”

“I see what you mean, but what would the guards do?”

“Ideally, they would overpower Reigns and order AMAZO to strip him of his power, but I doubt we’re that lucky,” Celestia said as she stopped at a set of large, ornate double doors. To the right of the doors was a plaque with Celestia’s name on it. “Well,” Celestia sighed, opening the doors with her magic, “I’m off to send that letter to the warden.”

“And I’m off to return to my post,” the guard said as he flew back down the hallway, leaving Celestia to enter her office alone.

Chapter 21

It was almost dusk by the time Twilight finally exited the hospital, followed by Derpy, Dash, and Spike. The cool air refreshed the group and reminded them of the task that lay in front of them.

“I’m not sure we’re doing the right thing by using the Elements on AMAZO. Yes, I have royal orders, but Reigns is clearly the bigger threat here,” Twilight said as she turned to face her friends. “I don’t trust him.” Pointing to Derpy with a hoof, she explained, “You and Dinky serve as AMAZO’s conscience and he’ll willingly stay put for your safety. Reigns, however, isn’t like that. He’s not like other ponies. Case in point, he immediately approached AMAZO and even outright played him.”

“So what’s the plan?” Dash asked.

“The plan is for each of us to distribute the Elements to our respective friends and have them meet up at the jail,” Twilight said as she levitated the Elements out of her new saddlebags that she bought at the hospital’s gift shop. “Derpy, you go home and swap off with Fluttershy. I promise that we won’t fight your friend unless he strikes first. Dash, you give Applejack and Pinkie Pie their Elements and fully explain the situation. Spike, do the same with Rarity.”

“What will you be doing?” Spike asked as Twilight distributed the Elements.

“I’m going to the jail now to talk to AMAZO about stripping Reigns of his new powers,” Twilight explained.

“But what if he attacks again?” Dash said with worry.

“He wouldn’t attack me again after sending Reigns to heal me,” Twilight pointed out.

“Good point,” Dash admitted.

“Thanks. Well, is everypony...and dragon ready?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Derpy, Dash, and Spike said in unison before going their separate ways.

“Radius of power is about twenty feet in all directions,” Reigns noted as he examined the tape measure indicating the area that he had turned from forest floor to concrete using Discord’s power. After rolling the tape measure back up, pocketing it, and willing the forest floor back to normal, he then picked up a nearby rock and with his hoof and concentrated on it. Slowly, the dull, brown rock started to smooth itself into a small sphere. Relaxing a bit and rolling the sphere around in his hoof, Reigns then took a few deep breaths and began to focus again. The sphere slowly began to change from brown to glistening silver. Relaxing again and examining the now metal sphere, the immortal pony sighed. “It’ll take hours to make enough of this metal to make anything useful with just forest debris. Discord’s power apparently has trouble creating a magic nullifying alloy,” he said to himself. Looking up from the metal sphere, his eyes fell upon a pile of large, dead leaves and branches next to a mud puddle. Getting an idea, he dropped the sphere and telekinetically twisted the branches together into something resembling a crude pair of wing bones. Holding the frame aloft, he then dipped the stem end of several leaves into the mud, stirred them about a few times, pulled them out, and attached them to the branch frame as feathers. Levitating his creation close, Reigns then touched the frame with a hoof, closed his eyes, and started to focus on the shape and atomic structure of the makeshift wings. Slowly, the wings began to take a sleek, uniform shape and, more importantly to Reigns, the same glistening silver as the sphere. Reigns opened his eyes and turned the wings around in the air to examine them. The wings were now structurally stable and the feathers were now broad, but sharp at the edges. Setting the wings gently on the ground and turning his attention back to the pile of leaves and branches, Reigns telekinetically lashed together some of the branches into a crisscross-shaped harness and tied it to the wings. Walking forward and touching the harness with a hoof, Reigns began concentrating once more. Slowly the harness turned from flimsy forest debris to durable leather. Reigns then relaxed, wiggled into the harness, gave the wings a few test flaps using his shoulder muscles, then flew up into the twilight sky.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle, you can see the prisoner, but I advise against it. The android nearly killed you last time,” Warden Penn said as he and Twilight entered the prisoner holding area. “Reigns, who is now wanted and has powers now, warned AMAZO that you and your friends will be coming for him. Oddly enough, AMAZO ordered Reigns to go out and heal you.”

“Reigns did heal me and got me quickly discharged. I still don’t trust him with any sort of powers, though,” Twilight confirmed. “He’s dangerous. Case in point, he put two Wonderbolts in the hospital.”

“The princess ordered me to get the android to strip Reigns of his powers, if possible.”

Stopping, Twilight gave the warden a look. “I came here to do just that.”

“Hopefully, between the two of us, we’ll be able to get AMAZO to cooperate.”

“Fluttershy, I’m home,” Derpy announced as she entered the front door. Flying into Dinky’s room, she continued, “I’ve brought your Element of Har...” Derpy’s words were caught in her throat at what she saw. Dinky, eyes open and ears perked, was listening to Fluttershy read from the filly’s favorite collection of short stories. Without warning, Derpy dropped the magical necklace, dived towards the filly, and scooped her up into a tight hug.

“Mommy,” Dinky chirped, grinning ear to ear.

Tears streaming down her face, Derpy sobbed, “I’ve missed you, muffin, more than you will ever know.” Glancing at Fluttershy, she asked, “When did she wake up?”

“She woke up about two hours ago,” Fluttershy replied, wiping away a joyful tear. “We’ve been reading and talking ever since.”

“Did you tell her about all that has happened?”

“You mean about AMAZO?” Dinky asked, nuzzling Derpy. “She did. I want to meet him and thank him, Mommy.”

“Dinky, are you well enough for us to fly you to the jail tonight?” Fluttershy asked as she picked up her Element of Harmony and fastened it around her neck.

“Yeah,” Dinky answered, turning around in her mother’s loving embrace.

“We need to hurry; Twilight’s waiting on you, Fluttershy,” Derpy announced as she carried her filly out of the bedroom with Fluttershy following behind.

Chapter 22

“The warden and Twilight Sparkle are here to see you, AMAZO,” a guard announced as the two ponies trotted into the android’s line of sight and up to the bars.

“The warden and I are here to talk to you about Reigns,” Twilight started. “While I appreciate you sending him to heal me, let me just say that we’re both apprehensive about what he might do with his powers.”

“In fact, he’s wanted for attacking two Wonderbolts,” the warden added. “I’ll just bottom-line it and ask that you take his powers back.”

“Then what?” the android asked. “He promised me backup in case that you follow through with Celestia’s orders of using the Elements on me.”

“I’m willing to try to talk the princess into changing her mind about that if you agree to take your powers back,” Twilight offered.

“What of my imprisonment?” AMAZO asked.

“I honestly don’t know. We’ll see after you deal with Reigns. Technically, you’re still a criminal,” the warden said.

Just then, another guard escorted four more ponies and a baby dragon into AMAZO’s view. Dash was at the front of the group; followed by Rarity; then Spike; then a bright pink pony with a brilliant raspberry mane and tail, light cerulean eyes, and flank markings of three balloons, two blue on either side of a yellow one; followed by the orange pony that the android recognized as Applejack, the pony from the farm. All ponies were wearing their respective Element of Harmony necklace. “Girls, this is AMAZO, the android that I told you about,” Dash introduced. “AMAZO, this is Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack.”

“He’s so shiny, like a caramel candy,” Pinkie squealed.

“Howdy,” Applejack greeted, tipping her hat.

“Charmed to finally meet you,” Rarity said.

“Hello,” the android said after a moment.

“How can he talk with no mouth?” Pinkie asked with a puzzled expression on her face, earning stares from everyone present. Noticing the looks, the pink pony blurted out, “What?”

After a moment, Applejack turned towards Twilight and asked, “So what are we all doing here anyway, Twi?”

“Good question, my little pony,” a regal voice said from behind the group. All heads turned to see Princess Celestia approaching. At the sight, everypony and Spike bowed respectfully.

“What brings you to Ponyville, Princes?” Twilight asked, rising up after a moment. The others followed suit.

“I came to offer guidance, my faithful student. As things stand now, Reigns is the bigger threat here. AMAZO, having indirectly healed you at the risk of his own safety, has proven to me that he deserves a second chance,” Celestia answered. Turning towards the android, she continued, lowering her head, “I was wrong to double cross you after we made a deal. I deeply apologize for that.”

“I accept your apology,” AMAZO said.

Lifting her head back up, Celestia offered, “To make amends, I am willing to grant you a royal pardon and make you an honorary citizen of Equestria if you agree to help us arrest Reigns.”

“I accept your offer,” AMAZO said.

“Thank you,” Celestia said. Turning to face the warden, she asked, “Warden Penn, would you please open this cell and escort us outside?”

“Yes, princess,” Warden Penn said as he fished a key out of his coat pocket and used it to open AMAZO’s cell. Pocketing the key and pushing past the group, he said, “Follow me.”

Night had fallen by the time the group had completed the prisoner release process for AMAZO.

As they reached the front doors, Celestia held up a hoof called out, “Wait.” All eyes turned to her. “I have a bad feeling about what lurks outside. I sense a fraction of Discord’s magic nearby.”

“Reigns,” Dash growled.

“Yes,” AMAZO said.

“What do we do?” Spike asked nervously, fidgeting.

“You stay here out of harm’s way,” Celestia ordered. “AMAZO and I will go first. Twilight, you and the others form waves of two ponies each that come out five seconds after we go. AMAZO, can you super speed up to Reigns and drain his powers?”

“Do you mean the ones I loaned him?” the android asked.

“What others would the princess be referring to?” Warden Penn asked.

“He means my inability to die,” a voice said from the back of the group. All eyes jerked backwards to see the winged Reigns appear next to AMAZO in a bright white flash, raise his right hoof, and fire a blast of rainbow-colored energy pointblank at the side of the android’s head. All present watched as the android almost instantly disintegrated, nanobot by nanobot, into a fine, gold cloud that slowly settled onto the floor into a pool of thick, gold liquid. Lowering his hoof, Reigns said, smirking, “I’ll be outside.” He then teleported away in a bright white flash.

“What...just happened?” Spike stammered.

“Reigns just took out our trump card,” Twilight said, still in shock.

“We’re doomed,” Pinkie wailed, flailing her front hooves.

“The Elements of Harmony are our only chance now. Problem is that Fluttershy isn’t here yet. What’s worse is that Reigns is between us and her flight path. I’ll go out and fight him until she shows up. You ponies stay here until Fluttershy shows up,” Celestia ordered.

“I’m going with you,” Twilight said. “I can’t let you fight him alone.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Celestia said sternly. “You’re staying here”

“How is this different from Discord? You trusted us to take him out and we delivered,” Twilight countered.

“Fair enough,” Celestia relented. “You and only you can come.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Twilight said, bowing her head.

“If I may, your highness, what were those silver wings that he had on?” Rarity asked.

“The android gave Reigns transmutation powers after they discussed a certain magic-nullifying metal,” Warden Penn explained. “Those wings may be made out of said metal.”

“Fascinating. I never knew such a metal existed,” Twilight said, glancing at the warden.

“Apparently it’s from a distant planet or something,” Warden Penn shrugged.

“Alien metal or not, it’s still an unknown. We must be very cautious, my little ponies,” Celestia warned. “I’ll go first. You stay behind me, Twilight. We’ll play this on both fronts. I’ll shield us while you take potshots at Reigns.”

“Yes, princess,” Twilight confirmed as she got behind Celestia. The princess then cast what appeared to be a gold, see-through sphere around herself and Twilight. Celestia then opened the front doors and slowly exited through them with Twilight in tow.

Chapter 23

“There they are,” Reigns said to himself as the two ponies ventured out of the jail. “And look, they’re hiding behind a magic shield.” Reigns then flew down from the tree he was hiding in and landed in front of Celestia and Twilight.

Without a word or warning, Twilight quickly poked her head out from behind Celestia and fired a quick shot of purple magic at Reigns. Acting almost instantly, Reigns jerked his wings around to the front of his face and reflected the shot back at the duo. The shot hit the shield and bounced off into the night sky. Reigns then launched forward and struck the shield with his wings, shattering it. Feeling the force of the blow, Celestia staggered backwards. Seizing the moment, Reigns advanced and started slapping Celestia’s head between the two wings with a sadistic grin on his face. Twilight, horrified and desperate, teleported herself onto the immortal pony’s back, took quick aim, and fired a magical shot at the back of his head. The blast sent the three ponies rolling in different directions. Coming to after a few seconds, Celestia and Twilight looked over at Reigns and gasped at what they saw. Despite being disintegrated by the shot, the back of Reigns’s head was slowly regrowing and taking the shape of a normal stallion head again. “Nice try,” he said, standing up. Rushing towards the two ponies with outstretched wings, Reigns stopped just before Celestia. Holding his left wing to her throat, he said, “You have a hundred seconds before I kill you unless you give me total dominion over Equestria in writing. Nopony is fast enough to stop this, especially not your little ponies. The timer starts now.”

“What do we do?” Spike panicked as he watched from the front doors.

“If the princess and Twilight can’t beat him, then we’re all doomed,” the warden said nervously.

“Um... Guys, you may want to see this,” Dash said shakily. All eyes turned back towards her, then, to the gold puddle that she was pointing at. Slowly, the puddle started moving and rising upward until it stopped in the shape of a ten-foot tall blob. The blob then began to form legs, hands, arms, body, torso, and lastly, a featureless head. Within a few seconds, a black indentation formed with two red eyes seated in it. Without a word, the android rushed past the ponies and dragon using its super speed and out the doors.

“...ten...nine...eight...,” Reigns counted down. “You do realize that your stubbornness is about to get you killed, right?”

“I’d rather die than let you rule,” Celestia said sternly.

“One way or another, I’ll rule anyway. Also, time’s up,” Reigns said as he pulled back the other wing to strike. Before Reigns could thrust the wing forward, the android sped up to behind him and grabbed him by the head, and lifted him up. Almost instantly, Reigns, now looking pained, started to glow a brilliant white along with AMAZO’s eyes. The glow crept from the pony, up the android’s arm, then, engulfed its body. After a second or two, the glow subsided and AMAZO dropped Reigns who landed in a crumpled heap. The android then grabbed both wings, forcefully pulled them apart from the leather harness, and crushed them in its hands. Tossing the crumpled wings behind its back, AMAZO then telekinetically lifted Reigns up to eye level and glared death at him.

“You used me, Reigns. You used my power to serve your own despicable ends,” the android said, voice filled with hate.

“You gave me that power. In fact, you’ve done nothing but disrupt things since you got here. You have only yourself to blame,” Reigns countered.

“Wrong,” Derpy’s voice said from the distance. All eyes turned to see Derpy, Dinky, and Fluttershy galloping up. “He saved my filly’s life and, from the looks of things, saved everypony here from you, Reigns.”

“It’s true,” Celestia said as she and Twilight stood up. “AMAZO saved our lives.”

“Is that my purpose?” AMAZO asked, turning towards Derpy. “Am I here to protect you from problems that I have caused? If so, then have I reached the end of my evolutionary process?”

“It seems to me that you’re still confused about your own purpose and existence,” Celestia noted as she magically bound Reigns’s hooves together and took over holding him. “We can help you in your search for meaning.”

Glancing downward briefly with drooped eye indentations, the android answered, “No. I have caused enough damage to you all already. It is best if I leave and find meaning on my own. Professor Ivo created me to evolve and I cannot evolve any more here.”

“I understand, but, before you leave, I think somepony has something to say,” Celestia said, glancing towards Dinky. AMAZO followed her gaze.

Trotting up to AMAZO and placing a hoof on the android’s leg, Dinky smiled and said, “Thank you for taking care of me, AMAZO. Mommy and I appreciate it.”

“Will you ever return, AMAZO?” Derpy asked as the warden led the others out of the jail and up to the scene.

“Yes,” AMAZO said after a moment. “I will return one day.”

“Thank you for everything and have a safe trip,” Derpy said as she flew up and hugged the android.

“I will,” AMAZO replied, returning the hug.

“Goodbye,” Derpy said, letting go.

“Goodbye,” AMAZO said sadly before looking to the stars and taking flight and super speeding beyond the sky.

A moment later, all eyes turned towards Celestia who was still magically holding Reigns. “Book him,” she ordered, turning her gaze to the warden and dropping Reigns at his hooves.

“I will, your highness,” Warden Penn affirmed as he lead Reigns towards the jail, not noticing the sinister smirk that the prisoner had on his face.

Chapter 1

"So Ah replace 'h' with 3, 'b' with 4, git 12 as a prahduct, then divahde by 2 t' git 6 as the area? That raihght?" a somewhat garbled childlike voice asked. It sounded as if the voice's owner had something in its mouth.

"Eeyup," a second voice confirmed. This voice was deeper and, while still carrying a hint of a similar accent, sounded much wiser than the previous voice.

“Ah’m gittin’ the hang of this stuff, huh Big Mac?” the first voice inquired as a faint scribbling noise was heard.

“Eeyup,” the deeper voice confirmed with the same sage-like tone.

“Thanks fer helpin’ me with this math homework, big brother,” the first voice chirped.

“Anytime,” the second voice said.

Hidden amongst the apple orchards about seventy feet away from the two speakers sat a nearly invisible being. He had just arrived to this place a few hours ago on his quest for bigger things. This place seemed oddly peaceful. There weren’t any swordsmen, enslaved creatures of unthinkable power, or even a persistent force kidnapping the local monarch. The being had spent the afternoon sitting in the natural beauty of the flora, listening in on the inhabitants of the nearby farmhouse, and reflecting on the past few weeks’ discoveries and what, if anything, this place has to offer.

These contemplations were soon interrupted by the faint sound of what seemed to be approaching footsteps upon the fertile land. Curious, yet reluctant to attract attention to itself, the being shifted under the ground and slowly moved towards the source of the footsteps. At about twenty feet away, the being poked its head out just enough to spot the noise’s source: an orange equine-like creature with green eyes, a blond mane and tail, a Stetson hat, and markings on its flanks that resembled a trio of apples. Upon seeing the equine, the watchful being’s eyes briefly glowed white and its limbs briefly became hooves, and then reverted to their previous form. Fascinated by the equine, the still partially submerged being followed, noticing that it was headed towards the farmhouse.

Upon arrival, the oblivious equine entered the farmhouse and shut the door, leaving the watchful being, still maintaining its distance, outside in the cool, mid-evening breeze. Though the being had at least six different ways of entering the farmhouse undetected, it kept its distance. The being, remembering how the previous lands had reacted to its presence and how they tried to use it for their own meaningless endeavors, decided to lay low and stay out of this land’s affairs. Letting out a weary sigh, the being concluded that the less these creatures knew of their strange visitor, the better. Its plan would to secretly study these creatures for a day or so, covertly adding their gifts into an already mind numbingly large set of skills, and then head off to a new destination.

Goal in mind, the being shifted up out of the ground and headed upwards above the trees to get a better view of what was, assumedly, the rest of this settlement. After quickly surveying the horizon, the being, like a moth to a flame, felt compelled to head towards the most peculiar sight it saw yet in this land: a cluster of floating houses seemingly made out of the clouds themselves. Even stranger, one of these houses was radiating with a significant amount of magical energy. With irresistible curiosity, the being briskly floated towards the radiating cloud abode. Slowing its pace at about five feet away, the being reduced his visibility again and floated towards an open window and peered into the room before him.

--

Inside the room were three more pastel-colored equines: The first one had wings, a blond mane and tail, a grey coat, a bubble pattern on its flanks, and gold, crisscrossed eyes and was tending to an obviously distressed small filly with a faintly glowing horn, the same blond-colored mane, and a pale purple coat. Its flank markings, if any, were not visible as the filly was currently tucked into bed. The third, another unicorn, had a dark blue mane and tail with a single pink and purple stripe through them, dark purple eyes, a lavender coat, and flank markings that resembled five small white stars surrounding a large pink star. The two elder equines wore worried expressions while the filly had its face twisted in discomfort.

Upon seeing the elder equines, the being’s eyes briefly glowed white as wings and a horn sprouted from its body in quick succession then disappeared. Curious as to what ailed the filly, the being remained at the window.

“When do you think the fever will go down, Twilight? My little muffin is burning up,” asked the grey equine as she felt the filly’s forehead with a hoof.

“I’m not sure... Maybe tomorrow,” the unicorn said. “Though, the fever is just a side effect of Horn Cell Disease. Between Zecora, the doctors, and I, we still can’t figure out how to cure it or even treat the symptoms. The nerve damage is usually irreversible. The horn acts on its own, using random bursts of magic, then atrophying along with the brain. I’ve already contacted Canterlot’s top neurosurgeon, but he won’t get here until the day after tomorrow. I’m sorry, Derpy, but we’re running out of options.”

“Please... I... I can’t lose Dinky. She’s my life. My sweet little muffin can’t... She can’t die,” the grey mare cried as she put both her arms around the filly whose horn seemed to be crackling with energy.

“We’ll think of something. Don’t worry,” the elder unicorn said as she placed a reassuring hoof on the grey mare’s shoulder. “Speaking of,” she segued with a glance at a nearby clock, “it’s time for Dinky’s pain medicine again. I’m just going to go a glass of fresh water for her first. I’ll be right back,” she said as she trotted out of the being’s view, not noticing that the filly’s horn was slowly building up power.

Just as water spews from a hose at a great force, the built up magical energy contained in the filly’s horn released itself in the form of a pale gold lightning bolt. The bolt that bounced around the room for a second or two, startling the grey mare and causing the lavender mare to rush back into the room, then launched itself straight through the nearby window, hitting the watchful being right in the face and causing the being to crash to the ground below with a terrible thud.

“That bolt hit something, Twilight,” the grey mare panicked, her wings flapping instinctively. “There was something at the window that got hit and knocked to the ground! What was it? Was it a dragon? Is it after Dinky?”

“I’ll find out, Derpy. You stay here with Dinky while I teleport down there to see. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” the lavender mare said with a determined look. She then looked to the impact site, closed her eyes, and disappeared in a purple flash.

--

The lavender mare reappeared on the ground next to the impact site, expecting the worst. Her anxious mind assumed that the bolt had killed whatever was at the window. After clearing her head of these thoughts with a shake, she took in the sight that instead filled her head with questions.

Picking itself up off the ground was what appeared to be a solid gold statue of a muscular bipedal creature with limbs and fingers, but no toes. Its head featured no ears or mouth. The only real feature that resembled a face on it was two solid red eyes that were placed into a solid black indentation. Standing up at about ten feet tall, it turned its head towards the lavender mare.

“Ar-Are you okay?” the mare stuttered, a bit rattled about this unknown creature. “Y-You aren’t h-hurt, are you?”

“No,” the being somehow replied, despite having no mouth. Its voice sounded reserved and emotionless, yet undeniably male.

“Th-That’s a relief,” the mare replied with a nervous smile that was instantly replaced with a frantic look. “The bolt came from my friend’s sick filly. I’m so sorry. She’s sick and can’t control her magic. She didn’t mean to hurt you. We didn’t even know you were there. Is there anything I can do to help?” the mare chattered. Beads of nervous sweat were pouring down her neck.

“No,” the being said in the exact same tone of voice.

“Alright then,” the mare said awkwardly. Her mind wanted to ask an endless list of questions as to who this being was, where he came from, and why he was near the window, but her conscience tugged at her to go back the sick filly. “I’ll just be going back to my friend’s house. Sorry about the accident. Good bye,” she said as she turned toward the cloud abode and closed her eyes to teleport.

The being knew that getting involved in this world’s affairs would end in disaster, yet there was something almost compelling him to aid the filly. Thinking back to the dark time that had prompted its journey, the being remembered that the last time it helped a sick person, the situation escalated into betrayal and the near annihilation of seven heroes. Deciding to stick around and see how things played out, the being shifted into the ground to avoid any more attention, but was still able to see and hear up to where the lavender mare rejoined her friend.

“What did Dinky hit?” inquired the grey mare.

“I’m not sure exactly but it looks like a gold statue that can talk and move,” the lavender mare replied slowly. “I think it was watching us.”

“What?” the grey mare recoiled in shock. “Why was it watching us?” the grey mare asked as she reflexively looked to the window only to see nothing but sky.

“I’m not sure. I don’t even know what it was or where it came from. It looked too…I don’t know…’clean’ to come from the Everfree Forest. Of all things to spy on, why us? It didn’t seem hostile, just…distant,” the lavender mare explained before turning towards the window and looking out it at the impact site. “It’s gone now. I… Look, let’s just forget about it. It’s probably some species of forest creature that I’ll remember after a good night’s sleep. Let’s get Dinky back under control then I’ll leave for the night. I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

While the two mares tended to the filly, the being went back to his own contemplations. This land was a utopia compared to some of the previous stops on its journey. The inhabitants showed no visible malice or fear, not even upon seeing the strange being. These creatures seemed to exist only to serve others. The being could tell that the lavender mare had been working herself ragged to help her friend. Why? What made her sacrifice so much for another? What did she gain from such sacrifice? Is there something to be gained from revealing itself to these creatures or, at least, researching a way to heal the filly? Why should it help when it could easily gain everything it desired from these creatures without further detection? Why not just gather their knowledge and powers, and then leave this place behind?

Turning its attention back to the cloud abode, the being noticed two things: First, the lavender mare was gone. The being assumed that she had teleported home during the time the being spent lost in thought. Secondly, the grey mare was whispering something while staring blankly toward the now evening sky.
“…and please, above all, help my little Dinky have a safe trip to be with the stars. I know I shouldn’t give up hope, but… I don’t want Dinky to suffer anymore. I just want what’s best for her, even if that means she…dies. Please, Sisters, help her in whatever way you see fit. Thank you,” the grey mare said through tears.

Chapter 6

The sun was rising upon Equestria and AMAZO was deep in thought. It had spent the entire night watching over a sleeping filly. Why? Why did the android feel connected to these creatures? They had nothing to offer besides their abilities, which it could duplicate with a glance. This feeling started after scanning Applejack, who was, according to Twilight’s journal, the Element of Honesty. Perhaps the farmer’s love for others had embedded itself into AMAZO’s programming. Scanning more ponies only seemed to enhance this compassion.

“Good morning, AMAZO,” a voice said from behind the android. AMAZO turned to see Derpy yawning.

“Good morning,” AMAZO replied.

“How’s Dinky? Would you like some breakfast?”

“She is still asleep and I do not require food.”

“Okay...,” Derpy trailed off awkwardly. “There’s something I want to know. Why did you heal Dinky?”

Looking downward, AMAZO admitted, “I do not know exactly. Perhaps I duplicated something that compelled me to assist you. I scanned a pony named Applejack, then felt...obligated to help. My programming was altered to want to help. I fear that I can never be objective again. Most life forms have had nothing to offer me. I simply travel from one planet to the next duplicating powers and evolving. Here, however, I feel attached to the life forms.”

“You weren’t attached when you broke into the vault or when you fought Rainbow Dash,” Derpy pointed out.

“True. I was simply doing as programmed. Rainbow Dash challenged me. It has been months since I had fought. ”

“Who did you fight?”

“A very evil man ordered me to fight a group called the Justice League. I nearly killed them. I spared them all out of disgust and contempt. I sometimes still wish to kill the evil man. He used me and ruined my home.”

“Revenge isn’t the answer,” Derpy said, putting a hoof on AMAZO’s hand. “Some ponies make fun of me for my eyes and personality. I turn the other cheek, though. I’m blessed to have a wonderful daughter and wonderful friends.”

“What do ponies have instead of programming?”

“We have a purpose, AMAZO. Each pony discovers their own purpose by discovering their special talent. A mark, called a cutie mark, appears on a pony’s flanks when they discover their purpose. My cutie mark represents my bubbly personality.”

“Can androids have a purpose? If so, what is mine?”

“Only you can answer that. Now, I’m off to make breakfast,” Derpy said as she flew off into the kitchen, leaving AMAZO to return to its thoughts.

--

“I’m just saying that ponies aren’t ready to know about alien robots,” Spike said as he sat down at the breakfast table. He then took a bite of his cereal as he let his ward mull over this truth.

“I know, but what other choice do we have? The neurosurgeon is arriving today and he’ll want to know why Dinky is cured. AMAZO is too powerful for the public to know about. On top of that, there’s the matter of keeping him under wraps and in line. He broke into the vault and duplicated the Elements and Celestia’s powers. We could bribe Nurse Redheart to say she misdiagnosed, but she’ll ask questions. Plus, she’s finicky about her reputation. Then again, she’s just a general practitioner so she may not know she was dead-on with her diagnosis,” Twilight rambled as she paced around the room.

“Can’t we just say she got better on her own?”

“Horn Cell Disease is almost always fatal. You don’t just bounce back from it overnight.”

“Dinky did. Maybe she can be a miracle filly. Horn Cell Disease isn’t that widely known, so at worst, the doctor will do a tissue sample, then, go home.”

“The doctor will subject Dinky to test after test to try to find a cure.”

“No he won’t. He’ll just be thankful that Dinky’s well. He’ll probably think it was a misdiagnosis and say she’s past the worst of it. It’ll be fine and AMAZO won’t be involved.”

“Even so, how do we keep everypony quiet?”

“We tell them as we see them. The doctor will likely go straight to Derpy’s house. With a name like Dr. Bighorn, he’s probably a unicorn with knowledge of the cloud-walking spell. Derpy can just fly him up to her home.”

“So, telling Derpy is top priority. We were discussing it last night before AMAZO showed up. Dash, being an idiot, wanted to beat the Elements out of AMAZO for copying the Princess and breaking into the vault.”

“How did that go?”

“Dash got roughed up pretty badly. She’s probably going to stay home and rest all day. She didn’t even touch AMAZO.”

“Ouch.”

“AMAZO felt bad about overdoing it afterwards. You have to wonder, though, just what his upper limits are. I mean, he was very close to killing Dash. He stopped just before splitting her skull with a mace that seemed to sprout from his very hand.”

“That’s great and all that he spared Dash, but you should head to Derpy’s to deliver the cover story.”

“”Will do. See you later, Spike.” Twilight said as she headed out the door.

--

“Oh salvation! Still earth! I could kiss it if I weren’t in public,” Dr. Bighorn exclaimed as he limped off the train’s boarding platform

“Settle down. We’ve been in that train too, but you don’t see us making a scene about it,” Reigns admonished. “Now, we need to find the patient’s house. Annie, go ask that unstable-looking, mint-green unicorn where the cloud homes are.”

“Why her?” Annie whined.

“Because she looks like somepony with knowledge of things way outside her musical talents. Now go,” Reigns ordered. At this, Annie rushed off towards the unicorn.

“How did you get musician from that creepy grin?” Dr. Bighorn asked as he quickly swallowed a nearby tuft of grass.

“Her cutie mark is a lyre,” Dr. Reigns said flatly. “Please tell me I’m not the only one here who notices things.”

“I noticed this tasty grass. Does that count?” Dr. Bighorn beamed as he took another bite, causing Reigns to facehoof.

“The cloud homes are to the south of here. Follow me,” Annie said as she trotted past the pair.

--

“So you want me to pretend that Dinky is still sick? Why? Wouldn’t the doctor notice that she’s well?” Derpy asked.

“I’m banking on him thinking it was a misdiagnosis. Horn Cell Disease, while usually fatal, is rare. Nurse Redheart, could have ‘misdiagnosed’ and mistook it for a bad fever,” Twilight said

“What about Dr. What’s-his-face, Caramel’s brother? He said it was Horn Cell Disease too.”

“Dr. Bighorn doesn’t have to know that.”

“What if he asks?”

“Be vague, Derpy.”

“I still don’t get why we can’t tell him about AMAZO.”

“Because he’s too strange and powerful for the public to know about. They’ll want a savior or a pawn and AMAZO doesn’t deserve that. Besides, you saw how Dash ran home after losing to him. He has powers beyond even Celestia and a stable empire can’t have him upstaging her.”

“I agree,” AMAZO said finally. The android had been silently watching the two ponies go back and forth. “This world is not ready for my power. No worlds are. It’s best if I remain undetected from others, lest they wish to use me for evil.”

“Who out there would use AMAZO for evil?” Derpy asked.

“Thieves, con men, traitors, ruffians, and generally bad ponies,” Twilight listed.

“Fair enough, but AMAZO has telepathy. He can read minds. He can find out who’s bad or good,” Derpy countered.

“Not pony minds,” AMAZO said. “I can read dragon minds, but not pony minds. I am trying to overcome this weakness.”

“So it’s up to trust,” Twilight mused. “Why can’t you read our minds?”

“Ponies have evolved a resistance to telepathy to combat the temptation of prying unicorns,” AMAZO offered.

“So you healed Dinky because you trusted me?” Derpy asked.

“Yes,” AMAZO said. “You showed kindness and gratitude despite desperation. Applejack’s altruism that I duplicated ensured that I help you.”

At this, Derpy hugged the android and said, “That’s so sweet of you.”

“Yeah, it is, but Dr. Bighorn will be here soon,” Twilight interrupted. “AMAZO, you better go before somepony sees you.”

“Agreed. I shall be at Canterlot,” AMAZO said as he stood up, and released Derpy.

“Bye. Don’t break anything,” Derpy said, returning to her chair by Dinky’s bed.

“Good bye,” AMAZO said before teleporting away.

“Now,” Twilight started as she turned towards Derpy, “to review, what are we going to tell Dr. Bighorn?”

Sighing, Derpy recited, “We tell him that we’re not sure that Dinky ever had Horn Cell Disease since, a few nights ago, she suddenly got better on her own. We then say that she must have had just a bad fever or something.”

“Good,” Twilight chirped. “I’m going to go out to see if he’s lost out there wandering around.”

“Alright,” Derpy said as Twilight departed out the door.