Bolted Hearts

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Setup
Chapter 2 - Diagnostics
Chapter 3 - Priorities

Chapter 1 - Setup

Thousands of images containing the history of countless races flashed across her mind, yet she did not know herself. Languages she could not use, tales she could not retell, and wisdom she could not understand filled her thoughts to the brim as the question repeated within her mind.

Who was she? What was she?

She had no concept of time, so judging the amount that she was trapped in this void of information and darkness was impossible. All she knew for sure was that she was meant to learn. For what purpose, she found no answer. Searching through the endless stream of images, text, and concepts there came more and more questions with no answers.

Where was she? Why was she?

Suddenly, as if her inquiries were heard by some force within the darkness, there came something. Within her thoughts, she knew it to be called a sound. "I believe she is activating, darling," they said. The words held no meaning to her - with all of her knowledge of a particular written language, the sounded-out words that pierced her mind held no purpose nor answers.

Another thought came to form within her mind - just how was she thinking? She knew no voice of her own and still there was one within the void spouting back her inquiries - as if she held it within her grasp only the never reach it fully. Soon she came to the realization that there was innate knowledge abound within her mind, with more and more of it pouring forth in an unending torrent of teaching and learning.

"Careful now. We don't know how she'll respond to sight at first. Keep it steady," another voice rang out through the darkness. But it was more focused now - more clear. She understood her position, wherever she was. The sound was emanating from above her perspective and it was pointed down. Recalling the voice from earlier, it was identified to be even closer - perhaps just a small distance away from her.

Then it happened. The void around her shifted and transformed - somewhere in the back of her mind a word appeared that described it only as "light". Something stirred deep within her as she struggled to take in the onslaught of images that were around here. Concepts labeled as "colors" were digging deep through her thoughts as the images shifted around her.

It wasn't until the sights around her slowed to a crawl did she realize she was manipulating not the images around her, but her sight itself. As she gained more and more clarity over herself, so too did the sights around her become more clear. Above her were two beings, both designated as unicorns within the knowledge she had been given.

"Calm down, SC-4. Can you speak?" one of them asked. Her vision darted over to the white unicorn addressing her currently, then over to the purple one standing beside her before traveling slowly back down. She could not speak. She did not understand what it meant to do so, or how she might go about it. All she knew is that she could not.

They picked up on her negative response, or lack of one, and Rarity leaned in close to her. For only a moment, a new sensation overcame her. She identified it as "smell" and made quick work of understanding this new anomaly. Coming from the white unicorn above her was a variety of aromas that assaulted her new sense in odd ways. Something within her identified the scents as pleasant and she assumed it to be a positive reaction.

Suddenly, a new sound filled the room. It was a very peculiar sound in that it matched nothing that had filled the room before. The purple unicorn recoiled at hearing it. "Turn it off, Rarity!" the purple unicorn said rather loudly, directing her voice towards the white unicorn.

"I am trying, Twilight!" the unicorn known as "Rarity" replied. She heard the sound of something scraping nearby and understood it to be directly behind her, perhaps upon her, but did not receive any new sensations. The peculiar sound, however, died out. "There. Try again, sweetie," Rarity said after leaning back and rubbing the back of her arm against her brow.

"Try saying, 'Hello', Scootaloo," Twilight asked, her expression changing subtly. She could not understand who she was speaking to, or who Scootaloo was until she realized Twilight was looking directly at her. Was "Scootaloo" her name?

"So that's what we've taken to calling her, then?" Rarity asked, turning to face Twilight with a look of optimism. The purple unicorn placed her hands upon her hips and sighed.

"Rainbow Dash seems to like the name and it kind of grew on me," she answered with a movement of her shoulders and a dismissive tone. Once again her gaze turned to Scootaloo and now she wore a confident expression. "Hello," she said slowly, stressing the sounds that were required to make the word real.

Pulling forth a new knowledge deep within her, Scootaloo could only assume that Rarity had done something to adjust her abilities. Soon she found sounds emitting forth from herself and tried to rework them into the word Twilight was requesting her to say. With a bit of adjustment from Rarity and a repeat from Twilight, Scootaloo soon heard her own voice speak the first word that would lead to many.

"Hello," she said. Her voice reverberated faintly and quickly, adding to the notion deep within herself that she was not quite like the two unicorns before her. "Hello," she repeated, adjusting her tone to match that of Twilight's. Her mind went into overdrive. She began to string together words in her thoughts that she could try and speak aloud.

Rarity's lip quivered and soon she dabbed at her eyes with a small cloth produced from a slot upon her lower clothing. "I'm sorry," she said after waving her hands towards Scootaloo, "I'm just so proud. What's the next test, Twilight?"

The unicorn in question's horn glowed a lighter shade of purple and a small, rectangular object floated towards her alongside a cylindrical one. She took the latter in hand and began to press it onto the former with dizzying speeds before looking up and saying, "Now it's time for her to experience touch."

"Alright," Rarity said with a sigh. "Now, Scootaloo, this is very important. What you're about to experience is going to potentially alarm you and possibly scare you. But I want you to know that you're doing great and that we both believe in you." Her voice carried with it an expression, a note of sincerity that made it clear she meant it.

She did nothing but stare ahead at the white unicorn, who leaned over to her and adjusted something behind her. She heard the sound of crackling and something making a sharp, quick sound. Finally she heard Rarity whisper, "Stay brave, Scootaloo. It'll be over before you know it."

Everything began changing. The term "pressure" became known to her and its force was overwhelming upon her body that she had previously felt absolutely nothing. The peaceful void of touch was lost upon her until only now where she felt the coolness of the air around her, the gentle prodding from Rarity pressing a hand upon her shoulder, something pressing down onto her forehead. She turned her eyes upward in hopes of seeing what pressed to her but saw nothing that she could discern easily.

She involuntarily voiced her opposition, the sound sharp and guttural. It sounded like a wounded creature of unknown origin, or at least that of a very confused one. She was unsure of which category she fell more towards at the moment, but it did not matter when the newest sensation fell upon her.

She looked down for the first time and noticed her own body. She estimated she was just as tall, if not taller, than the two unicorns that presided over her so carefully. Her skin color was a well-defined orange that had the slightest gleam that suggested she was not all like her two caretakers. Where her limbs might bend, she noticed the coloration shifted suddenly to a deep black, like the void she had been entrapped within previously. Looking over at Twilight, she realized that this feature was unique to her. She was different.

The sensations around her dulled as she felt the subtle pulling upon the back of her head, most likely from Rarity performing one task or another. More notably, Scootaloo focused upon the peculiar reaction that she had performed. At the end of her right arm, she saw that her hand had clenched itself into a fist without being commanded to. Just before it, she also saw that a thick binding was wrapped over her wrist.

Noticing the direction of her gaze, Twilight decided to answer her unspoken question. "We had to make sure you didn't react poorly to feeling sensations that were totally new to you. If you got scared or even malfunctioned, well.." Twilight explained, her voice dropping off as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Fortunately, you passed all tests with flying colors! Let me undo these restraints for you."

"Oh, you did so well!" Rarity exclaimed as she came back into Scootaloo's field of vision, taking a seat upon a round chair beside her. Scootaloo listened and watched intently as Twilight undid her bindings, forcing a bit of magic into each lock that held her in place. Even as the restraints were removed, she felt no change; her fist remained clenched and her body laid still.

"Now I know this might be a bit difficult, but I need you to try and sit up. Can you do that for me?" Twilight asked as she moved over to and picked up the rectangular object once again. Scootaloo tried to summon the force that she mustered earlier to speak, but nothing of the sort came. She did not even have the words to properly give voice to her inability to do so.

Fortunately for her, Rarity understood well enough the difficulty that she was going through. Scootaloo looked towards her as she made a low, humming sound that signified contemplation. She held one arm across her chest and one rubbing her chin in thought. "If you cannot sit up, what about unclenching your fist? Can you do that?" she asked after some consideration, pointing a slender finger towards the fist in question.

Scootaloo turned her gaze towards her limb and focused all the thought she could into unclenching it. She had moved it instinctively and she was sure that she could do so manually. Slowly, in a manner that involved some twitching and a bit of backpedaling through memory, the fist became a flattened, extended hand. She repeated this motion a few times over until it became natural and comfortable to her.

"Fantastic," Twilight said with a smile. She watched as Scootaloo slowly and instinctively applied this new-found knowledge to the rest of her body. In a matter of minutes, with nail-biting silence filling the air, she finally pulled herself to sit upwards and dangle her feet over the side of the table she was laid upon. "Absolutely fantastic," she repeated with a bit of glee seeping through her voice.

"Fantastic? It's absolutely astounding! It's positively incredible! Oh, I'm so very proud, Scootaloo," Rarity said as she fidgeted a bit in her seat before standing up to properly express herself through a wide array of movements. Scootaloo looked on observantly, taking note of the dozens of different expressions one could make with a simple sway of the hand or leaning of the torso.

She was taken by surprise when Rarity leaned back towards her but did not stop to adjust anything upon her. Instead, Scootaloo felt two long arms linking behind her, with the unicorn's head pressed up against the side of her own. Following her lead, she slowly brought her arms up behind Rarity and returned the gesture by laying her arms stiffly against her clothed back. She noted that the clothing she wore was remarkably soft and comfortable to feel pressed against her hands.

"Rarity," Scootaloo said with a bit of uncertainty, not knowing the proper way to express her enjoyment of the fabric she had felt. The unicorn pulled away with a surprised expression, clearly taken aback by her sudden interest in her alone. She reached over and ran her hand along the sleeve of Rarity's coat before choosing a simple word to express her approval. "Fantastic."

Water freely flowed from Rarity's eyes as she gave a tremendous smile and wrapped Scootaloo in a warm embrace once again. "Thank you, darling," she choked out behind the happiness that was swiftly overwhelming her in the heat of the moment.

"I'll go let Spike know how the tests went. He'll want to know that it was a success. And he'll want to meet you too," Twilight said with a happy finality before spinning on one heel and gracefully making her way out of the room, leaving she and Rarity alone with one another.

"I'm sure you have many, many questions, Scootaloo. And we're going to teach you everything you could possibly want to know. I have very high hopes for you, believe me," Rarity said excitedly, grabbing at the same cloth she had used earlier to wipe at her eyes. It was more of a courtesy now, considering the fur upon her face was stained with a black liquid that had made its way down her face along with her tears. "But first, I'll have to introduce you to someone very special; my sister. Her name is Sweetie Belle, and she is going to be so excited to meet you that I do believe she may very well outclass even me in terms of drama."

"Is.. Is it safe?" a voice called from around the corner of a nearby doorway. Tilting her head towards the noise, Scootaloo spotted a pale white face peering back at her. upon being seen, the short creature backed away with little more than a squeak.

"It's okay, Sweetie. Come and meet your new friend, Scootaloo," Rarity said softly, beckoning the frightened girl over with a gentle wave of the hand. After some careful convincing and kind wording, she came into view from her hiding place. In full sight, Scootaloo took in the fragile-looking creature before her. Just like Rarity, she stood upon two legs and had pale coloration. Unlike Rarity, she had a swirling color to her curling hair that looked oddly befitting of the gentle nature she let off.

Sweetie Belle held up a hand and shakily greeted her with a soft, "Hello." Scootaloo looked at the raised hand and attempted to reciprocate with a gesture of her own. She held up her hand and spread her fingers wide, mimicking Sweetie appropriately.

"Hello," she offered, her voice faintly reverberating just as it had before. At this, Sweetie seemed to shrink back ever-so-slightly, but made no move to exit the room. Instead, she tried to offer more conversation.

"My name is Sweetie Belle. It's nice to meet you," she said as her voice trailed off steadily, sliding into nothing more than a mere mumble. Scootaloo didn't quite understand how to reply to such a statement, so she went back to basics.

"Hello," she repeated, lowering her hand as she saw Sweetie Belle had done the same. The young girl did not respond for a few moments, but it was hinted at that she enjoyed the reply, as she began to let out a pleasant noise in response.

"Now, Sweetie Belle! Don't laugh - she just doesn't know how to properly converse just yet. We'll get you up to speed in a jiffy though, won't we Scootaloo?" Rarity said as she made a series of hand-gestures to enhance her speech. First with the waving a one finger towards Sweetie Belle, then the raising of her thumb at Scootaloo.

In response, Scootaloo raised a thumb just as Rarity had and went with the tried-and-true reply of, "Hello." Rarity seemed to stifle a laugh at this, but made no comment as she set to work. Scootaloo watched as she stood, lifted the chair with a bit of a struggle, and hastily bringing it over to a nearby table before putting it down with a sigh.

"Now! If you were to take examples from any of the others, they would merely teach you how to walk - I intend to teach you how to stride, my dear Scootaloo. Can you stand from the table?" Rarity said with a bit of giddiness trailing behind her voice. Following her example, Scootaloo slid her legs to dangle over the side of the table and pushed off.

Instinctively her legs locked up under the weight of her body and she wobbled in place for a moment without making a sound. After catching her balance, she lifted one leg after the other in an attempt to further understand this new stance - it was more comfortable in some ways but restrictive in others.

"Perfect!" Rarity exclaimed whilst pushing her hands together. The result was an audible, sharp boom that made Scootaloo wish to replicate it. The result was a dense, loud crack that filled the room and made Rarity visibly jolt from surprise and Sweetie Belle took a step back in preparation of something gone wrong.

"Is everything alright?" a deep, frightened voice shouted as soon as the noise died down. From around the same doorway Sweetie Belle had trailed in from, a creature unlike any of the others came rushing into the room. His coloration was purple, but he did not have a horn like the three others Scootaloo had seen.

His body was only slightly larger than Sweetie Belles, but it was also different in its structure. Running along his back was a series of protrusions that were colored a bright green, with an extra limb snaking its way down and away from his back. Scootaloo looked from him to Rarity and only now noticed that she too had some kind of extension from her back, though it did not flex and move as this creature's did.

"No, no, Spike. Everything's alright. Scootaloo here was just trying to clap and, well.. Metal slamming into metal equates to a rather large boom," Rarity explained to the new visitor. Scootaloo looked back to him as he was spoken to and found he was staring back at her with his eyes wide open.

"Hello," she greeted him, raising her hand as she had learned earlier. His expression softened and he relaxed his tense posture, his spinal limb swaying gently and in a fluid motion.

"Hi," he replied, giving her a new response to being greeted. "So you're finally online and functional. It's a pleasure to finally meet you; my name's Spike! I'll be the one who fixes you up and tends to you whenever something goes screwy." He moved over to her and held an open hand towards her, perhaps in a further form of greeting.

She simply stared at him with a blank expression, not understanding how to properly answer the call for this greeting. It was a few moments before Spike took the initiative and reached out for her right hand and pulled it towards his. She copied his gesture and opened her hand, to which he smiled at and gripped her hand gently. To which she naturally gripped back.

It wasn't until a moment later in which Spike's expression changed from a smile to a grimace did Scootaloo understand that, no, one did not need to apply all of their force into the gesture. He recoiled too quickly, perhaps as a reflex, and tried to pull his hand backwards and away from the pain, only for Scootaloo's arm to be pulled along with it.

She made not a sound nor an expression as she lost her balance and stumbled forward, much to the distress of all those in the room that watched the gesture. Spike let out a yell of surprise whilst Sweetie Belle and Rarity inhaled sharply. Instinct, however, kicked in at the perfect moment - all at once, Scootaloo released Spike from the death-grip she previously held him in and spun her body away from his by twisting her foot and torso simultaneously.

It wasn't enough to avoid total injury, but Rarity let out a sigh of relief when all that came from the incident was Spike letting out a very quick exhale as his back made contact with the ground. Scootaloo made a solid thud as she made contact with the wooden flooring beneath her, her expression unchanging as she rolled over and onto her back. She watched as both Sweetie Belle and Rarity came to her aid, seemingly forgetting the creature beside her. they grabbed at her arms and heaved backwards as they lifted her. Knowing enough now that she could balance herself, Scootaloo shifted her footing in an effort to help them along.

Now on her own two feet, she immediately turned and repeated the gesture towards the fallen Spike, holding out her hands in an attempt to assist the dragon to his feet. As if reflexively, she noticed that his hand jerked back as soon as hers were near. Just as reflexively, her hand closed around empty air and she watched as he pushed up with his hands and bent his knees a certain way to lift himself off the ground.

"Oh, Spike, I'm sorry! She didn't mean it, I promise," Rarity explained as she brushed a bit of dust from his shoulder and back, earning an honest smile from the strange, enthusiastic creature that she had pushed down.

"It's alright, don't worry! She's just got a way stronger grip than I expected," he replied with a bit of a laugh, rubbing the palm of his hand with his thumb. Scootaloo watched as he clenched and unclenched his hand in some sort of exercise, seemingly to test the functionality of his injured hand. "Anyway; like I was saying," he continued as if he was uninterrupted, "my name's Spike. I'm your mechanic, pretty much. Anything you need fixed, I'm your dragon!"

Dragon. She was only familiar with the term in word only - some of the stories imprinted within her mind contained the word, but the image associated with it was that of a creature of massive proportions with horns, armor, and a rather negative demeanor. This dragon seemed entirely different - he was half her height, had a very kind disposition, and had no horns of any kind. He did have pointed protrusions upon his back, but she did not know if that qualified.

"Spike's really nice," Sweetie Belle chimed in, "whenever I need help with my homework, he always makes time for me! And he's really good at hide-and-seek! I bet you'd like hide-and-seek." Scootaloo listened as the young girl listed various reasons as to why Spike was a kind individual, but most of them held no meaning without context. She did understand, however, that the statements coming from Sweetie Belle were honest.

"Now, Sweetie Belle. You'll make the poor boy blush before too long," Rarity interrupted playfully, running her hand along the top of Spike's head. The dragon seemed to tense up at the affection, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "Why don't we let Spike get back to Twilight and we'll teach Scootaloo a few more basics."

"Uh, right! I should.. I oughta get back to that. Right," Spike stammered out as he backed away from the group, turning on his heel and exiting the room after clearing his throat. With that, Sweetie Belle and Rarity set into motion a more refined plan of how they might teach Scootaloo about what they called "The Basics of Life".

Over the course of four so-called "hours", Scootaloo was taught how to properly walk, talk, and act towards others. She was an extremely fast learner and by the end of their crash-course, Scootaloo was able to string together sentences and even converse between the two.

Then Sweetie Belle let out a yawn, followed by Rarity repeating the gesture shortly after. "Goodness," Rarity said as she wiped a bit of moisture from her brow. "I hadn't realized how late it had gotten," she said as she glanced at the clock hung upon the wall. "Let us call it here and pick it up tomorrow."

Spike and Twilight had both left quite some time ago, giving their regards to all three of them as they went. Spike assured Rarity that he'd visit soon to check on Scootaloo's software to make sure all was right, and then told Sweetie Belle that he'd be able to "go crusading" with her soon enough. Goodbyes were exchanged and Scootaloo had even received a hug from them both. Twilight spoke of how proud she was whilst Spike told her he looked forward to seeing her again.

"Can Scootaloo sleep in my room tonight? Please?" Sweetie Belle asked Rarity with her hands clasped together. Her lower lip pouted outwards in an exaggerated manner as she asked, but it didn't seem to be enough to convince Rarity otherwise.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I need to monitor Scootaloo and make sure that she can properly sleep without any problems. If something happens, I'd like to be right there to fix it," she explained with as gentle a voice as she could muster. The young girl hardly put up a fight considering how exhausted she seemed to be, then made her way up to her room.

She then picked her head up as if she remembered something and hurried back towards Scootaloo, embracing her in a tight hug. "Good night, Scootaloo!" she called as she backed away and smiled, running back to her room with a smile still upon her face.

Rarity seemed to glow with happiness, but the exhaustion in her eyes was rather apparent to Scootaloo. "Sleep?" she asked plainly, half-suggesting and half-curiously as she wondered just how it was that she was going to sleep. After all, she didn't feel anything that registered as "tired" in her mind. If anything, she just felt empty as usual.

"Ah, yes! Follow me, dear. I'll show you to the room you'll be staying in. For the time being, you and I will need to share a room but I assure you that it will be very comfortable. Come and see," Rarity said as she beckoned Scootaloo to follow. She took in the decorative surroundings as she moved through Rarity's home - the Boutique, as she had named it.

There were all sorts of colors, smells, and shapes around the shop-turned-home that perplexed and intrigued Scootaloo, many of which she had to actively resist the urge to immediately stop and study further. It wasn't long at all until she was ushered into a warm room filled with equally colorful decorations. She she swiveled her head about and took in all that interested her, Rarity went about the room picking up various junk that had cluttered upon the floor.

"Oh, what a dreadful mess! I had meant to clean up but entirely forgot when I went to activate you today. Oh, this is just the worst possible thing," she cried in a tired and stressed voice, her volume fluctuating each time she bent down and rose up to pick something up or put something away.

"It's fine," Scootaloo responded calmly, doing her best to reassure Rarity with the limited vocabulary that she possessed. "I like this room," she added on, trying to comfort her further with a compliment. Sweetie Belle had shared with her in private that Rarity enjoyed compliments to a rather substantial degree.

"Oh, you're too kind, really. I just wish I had a bit more time to prepare," she replied as she tossed the last bit of a large mess aside, ready to be cleaned more thoroughly at another time. "But tonight isn't the night to fret over such things. I intend to teach you everything I can."

Scootaloo was ushered over onto the large bed against the far wall of the room and she took note of just how smooth the material was. She wondered if Rarity was addicted to things that were soft and smooth, but made no effort to inquire about it. Instead, she spent her time running her hands over the fabric repeatedly.

"Do you like it? It's called silk. Something that I absolutely adore working with, but it can be a pain to acquire in large quantities," Rarity said as she moved towards a wall with two doors built into it. Upon reaching it she pulled them in opposite ways, revealing a room filled to the brim with clothing of all colors and sizes. "One moment, darling. I simply must to slip into something a bit more comfortable than a lab coat and a dress-shirt."

The doors slid closed once again and Scootaloo peered over at them for just a moment before returning her attention to the bed below her. After another moment of circling her hands against the silken sheets, she laid back and allowed the rest of her body to glide along it. She lay there, upon Rarity's bed, simply rubbing her back, arms, shoulders and neck against the cold, soft fabric that the unicorn had spoken so highly of.

"Wow. And I thought that I enjoyed the touch of silk," came Rarity's voice. Scootaloo's gaze was once again pulled towards the pale unicorn, but now she wore something much less conservative. A robe that seemed to be made of silk, smooth and shining against the dim lighting that filled Rarity's room, draped over her shoulders and fell all the way down to her ankles. It was tied at the waist so as to maintain a certain level of decency, but otherwise Rarity's pale skin practically glowed where it was exposed past her elbows and partly down her chest.

"I like this," Scootaloo commented as she traced a hand down Rarity's shoulder curiously. As expected, it felt just as smooth as the sheets she felt beneath her but with minor differences. For one, it was colder when compared to the warmth that the bed provided, so cold in fact that it made Scootaloo question just how comfortable it was to be wearing it. "Are you warm?"

"What? What do you mean, dear?" Rarity replied with the cock of an eyebrow. If she had any further questions, they were halted when she saw and felt the curious-yet-concerned hand of Scootaloo's find its way towards her arm and begin gliding her fingers against it. She could feel her face heating up reflexively, but made no effort to pull away from the touch - she would need to learn about the difference of flesh and metal sometime. Better she understand now, here, with her than with some random creature.

"You're hot," the automaton unknowingly complimented, taking Rarity's hand into her own. At first she did nothing but test the temperature of Rarity's skin, but soon she found something pushing her to try something else. She spread her fingers wide and locked them into the pale white hands of her conversational partner, noting the contrast between her orange skin-tone and Rarity's stark white one.

Then, another idea occurred to her. As if she were following Rarity's thought-process perfectly, she raised her other hand to her own chest and felt something rather unusual - there was little to no heat radiating from her. This brought her to a simple conclusion - she would simply trade off some of her cool touch onto Rarity, and her warm one to herself. Keeping this in mind, Scootaloo reached up and wrapped Rarity in a caring embrace, intent on making her feel more comfortable.

This did, however, leave Rarity heating up substantially more by the second, with her creation's actions driving her partially insane. Her face had surely turned as red as an apple by now and she wondered just how long she could hold her breath before she either fainted or let out some reputation-killing noise that she'd surely regret.

"Do excuse me darling I simply must go and attend to something right away if you do not mind!" Rarity said in an all-too-quick manner that had her reeling back even as she said it. It was as if she had drawn from Pinkie's method of speech and applied it to her own in some way; it didn't matter much to her now that she was here in her bathroom, drenching her face in ice cold water.

Just what was happening to her? She hadn't felt this way since her last trip to the Gala in which a young gentleman had flirted with her so extensively and so effectively that she had to leave early on account of "a cosmetic emergency." She had known Scootaloo for exactly half a day.

Though even as she thought that, she knew it was not true. She had poured everything she had - her entire being - into creating the perfect automaton. Something that could feel, think, and even learn like any other person. Was it entirely beyond belief that she might actually hold some affection for her? Or "it" as some rather uncouth members of society had come to calling Scootaloo.

There was nothing that was certain for Rarity, other than one simple fact that made this all the more difficult. She couldn't just send her out of the room and hope she did fine on her own. She had to be there with Scootaloo and even ensure that the young lady could actually sleep. Which meant sleeping right there beside her. In the same bed.

Alone.

It then came to attention that Rarity had actually many more problems than she had realized, and she would need to keep not only Scootaloo under control but perhaps even herself. Tonight might be one of the longest ones she had had in the past few months and it was perhaps no coincidence that it was caused by a certain orange android that was now occupying her bedroom.

Tonight was certain to be an informative one, at least. Perhaps even for both parties involved.

Chapter 2 - Diagnostics

"I just.. I don't know, Applejack. It's like no matter how I look at it, there's always a right to a wrong and a pro to a con," Rarity explained as best she could. She was exasperated. For the past few days she had been teaching Scootaloo everything she could possibly think of. She quickly grew to understand that her expectations for the android were almost insulting.

In a matter of two hours she could read and comprehend novels that Rarity had gathered across her numerous trips back and forth between Canterlot. When all of those had been exhausted, she had to resort to simply bringing Scootaloo over to the Golden Oak Library and chatting with Twilight whilst her creation browsed at her leisure.

"She's learning incredibly fast - too fast some might argue - and even so there's a feeling of naivety within her words, apparent in her actions. For all intents and purposes, Scootaloo acts and thinks like a full-fledged member of society - an adult. But there's just something empty about her. She's missing something crucial," the white unicorn continued, taking a sip of the coffee Applejack had prepared for her.

"Y'ever stop and wonder what that thing might be?" came the reply to Rarity's rambling. The orange woman across the table from Rarity always had a habit of answering questions with questions - it was her way of replying when she didn't quite understand everything herself. "I've made plenty of machines - even tried my hand at some technical ones - but none have turned out quite like yours did. I reckon this is more of somethin' you gotta look for in yerself before you go pokin' around someone else."

"The only conclusion I can come up with is the most difficult and quite possibly impossible notion - I wish for her to feel emotion. As of right now, she can simulate any number of expressions through memory and mimicry," Rarity went on, looking away from Applejack as she spoke; it was a telltale sign that she was deep in thought. "But she doesn't react to things. I specifically left out pain within her wiring but I did try to include a number of responses to emotional stimuli. I simply don't know how to trigger such responses."

"Well.. What exactly are you goin' for here? You wanin' her to feel pain or for her to smile?" came another question, bringing forth another round of deep thought that let Rarity know this was the right decision to visit Applejack. She was a mechanic, like Spike, but much more varying when it came to her dealings.

For one, she didn't just fix things - she created them. It was under her motivation that the idea to create a free-thinking android came to realization. Her company was small and family-owned as well as family-operated, but she had managed to create quite a successful reputation despite those self-imposed limitations. Core Industries, her company name, dealt in all things mechanical. Whether it be simple scrap or extremely complex gadgets, Applejack tried her hand at anything that had a cog involved. And some things that did not.

Her questions weren't just aimed at Rarity; she was trying to figure out ways to upgrade Scootaloo. This agreement between she and Rarity had come about in the very beginnings of Scootaloo's creation. As the schematics were drawn up, so too were the details of a business plan that involved a life-long process of keeping Scootaloo in top-notch shape.

Applejack had agreed that, should the project become a success - and it had - that she would constantly keep an eye out for ways to modify, upgrade, and enhance the workings that went on within Scootaloo that made her function beyond that of a simple machine. As of yet, only minor things such as minor tweaking to hardware and teachings had come about. This did not mean she'd be letting down her guard - a promise was a promise, and she had made one to her friend.

"Well I, uh.. It's a bit hard to admit, darling," Rarity said as she snapped out of her contemplative state and considered the question being aimed at her. She could feel herself getting flustered, but wouldn't allow it to go too far - if anyone would be understanding of her plight, it would most definitely be Applejack. And if she did not understand, she would outright state it.

"You don't have to share, Rare, but I reckon I could help a bit more earnestly if ya did," Applejack said before taking a sip of her own coffee. By comparison, her drink was considerably more potent than Rarity's - her work required it. As such, it came as no surprise to Rarity when Applejack made a smacking noise with her lips and grunted as the bitter taste hit her tongue.

"If that's the case, then I believe it'd be better if I was blunt about it. I would like to teach Scootaloo how to love," she said matter-of-factly as best she could, though her voice nearly faltered just as she was finishing and she wondered if her friend could pick up on such a thing. If the long, awkward pause between the two was any indication, she had indeed noticed the cracking of her voice.

"So, uh.." Applejack began as she shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. "You wanna teach Scootaloo how to love. You mean like.. Romantically? Friendship-like? Or both?"

"Both, preferably," Rarity answered quickly. It felt like the world around her had slowed down to a standstill and shrunk to fit only the small room that she and Applejack now sat in. Now that she thought back, perhaps this wasn't the best idea to come to Applejack. Fluttershy is a much more understanding individual when it came to such matters, albeit it took a bit of convincing to get her to speak of it.

For just a moment, Rarity thought Applejack was moving towards the door to simply leave her in the confused, awkward mess she had brought upon them both. It didn't occur to her until she was about to apologize that the orange-toned woman was reaching for something behind her desk. When she returned, she simply sighed as she rolled out a large white paper onto the table and pinned its corners.

"If we're gonna do this, we're gonna need a better plan than just 'I wanna do it'," Applejack explained as she took another sip of her bitter, caffeine-infused fuel and grabbed a pencil from her shirt pocket. "For one, I reckon a lot of things go into love before it becomes love. Y'know what I mean?"

She sat in a stunned awe at how calmly Applejack was taking this, but after a bit of waving from the aforementioned woman, Rarity came to her senses and stuttered out, "Oh! Yes! I mean, yes, I understand. You're saying that we need to trigger other emotions before trying to have her feel affection."

"Exactly. And to do that, I'd imagine we gotta figure out someone who doesn't even know about themself. That brings up a whole 'nother problem - how much, exactly, do you know about Scootaloo? About how she thinks?" the questions came pouring out, Applejack's expression nearly unchanging as she inquired about the life of someone that only awoke to life a few days ago.

With that in mind, could Scootaloo be considered young? Her mind had matured to the level of comprehension that Rarity felt was on-par with her own and her body was designed to be like an adult's. For reasons ranging from material-conservation to societal-pressure relief, the decision to make Scootaloo awaken in an adult body was in unanimous agreement between Rarity and those she had sought council from.

After answering Applejack's various questions, she asked one of her own. "Applejack, darling, would you consider Scootaloo young? Perhaps even an.. Infant?"

Her eyebrows raised and her mouth pursed for a moment, but then dropped into the ever-neutral and tranquil expression that was her usual form. "The way I see it, she's got the soul, mind and body of a full-grown woman. Besides that, I reckon machines - pardon me, androids - get a free pass when it comes to things like age and maturity - they tend to have different rules when it comes to that kinda stuff."

Her mind at ease and her worries at rest, Rarity let out a small sigh of relief. It made her a bit more comfortable with the idea of wanting to have Scootaloo feel such things - she wanted to understand her entire mind, not just the mind that she herself had programmed and taught.

And so, with her worries put behind her, she and Applejack set to work in making the plan composed entirely of good intentions. She only hoped that it ended in more than just those good intentions. It wasn't long at all until she found herself smiling - she was, for the first time since Scootaloo's activation, relaxed.

Meanwhile, on the other end of Ponyville, a certain unicorn and her draconic assistant found themselves absolutely stunned by the sight before them. Twilight sat drinking tea and holding a book open whilst Spike leaned onto his knees and rubbed his hands together, his tail idly tapping against the floor.

Not a word had been read from the book she was holding, but rather her attention was focused entirely upon the oddity before her. The robotic woman sat cross-legged upon her floor and flipped through her library's contents at an unbelievable speed. She wasn't opposed to having her books read - quite the contrary, in fact - but that didn't mean she wasn't surprised with who was reading them. Scootaloo had been brought to the Golden Oak Library recently in an attempt to teach her how to understand Equestrian's written form.

The result was that she had understood it within minutes and had developed a lust for knowledge that could only be described as a primal urge within organic beings. Considering she was far from that, it would be more accurate to describe it as a.. need. She had to learn; it was no longer a simple matter of wanting to better herself. It was as if reading had become an integral part of her life.

She was a woman after her own heart, really. As she went through book after book, Twilight was busy studying her habits. Her eyes hardly moved; rather, she stared at the very middle of the open book between the two pages and took all of the text in at once. It was something Rarity must have designed herself, or at least without Twilight's knowledge, but it was astoundingly efficient.

It wasn't the choice of hobby nor the method that most interested her, however, but the fact that she had taken up the hobby in the first place. Twilight had expected Scootaloo to have a few base desires - things like survival, energy, and self-discovery - but she was showing a complexity that hadn't been projected for at least a few weeks after activation. But with all of this knowledge, she showed very little signs of reaction to the stimuli that she was receiving.

"Scootaloo," she called out, deciding to test the water a bit before she studied further. Upon receiving the android's full attention, she moved up and over to Scootaloo and took a seat beside her. "I'd like to ask you a question, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Scootaloo replied, closing the book she held and laying it atop one of the many piles that surrounded her position.

"How do you feel?" Twilight asked very plainly, raising an eyebrow and readying her mind for whatever response Scootaloo could fire back at her.

"With my hands," came the answer, complete with Scootaloo holding up one of her hands and spreading her fingers. Off to the side a young dragon could be heard stifling a laughter for a few moments until it evolved into a soft, almost-soundless laughter that came from Spike running the reply through his head a few times more.

"Sorry! I'm sorry," he said after laughing for a few moments and seeing Twilight's death-glare shooting towards him. "It's just that you're asking her all wrong. You've got to ask her in a way she understand. Watch. Scootaloo," he called casually, leaning back onto his knees and letting out a soft chuckle to finish off his bout of laughter. "What emotion are you currently feeling?"

The response this time was not an accidentally-humorous joke but a pondering stare, like she was searching her mind for some kind of answer to give him. But after several seconds of dead silence and awkward staring, she came up with literally nothing. "I do not know," came her answer. Immediately she turned towards Twilight and leaned in as she asked, "Do you have any books upon this topic?"

"I, uh.. I could check for you?" Twilight said with eyes wide open. She hadn't actually seen Scootaloo look so determined before - which was peculiar in and of itself, considering Twilight assumed she didn't even know what feeling determined was like. Despite that, she did her best in searching the library's catalogs and stock records for anything that might help Scootaloo.

"It doesn't look like it. But I could certainly tell you what I have personally studied upon the subject - I have quite a few varying experiences pertaining to-" she began as she slid into her analytically scientific personality when she realized that her personal account could be used so effectively. It became less of a study and more of a lesson for her, which not only excited her but also intrigued her that she might teach someone so eager to learn.

"Welp!" Spike announced rather boldly, cutting Twilight off before she could launch him into a preemptive sleep for the day. "I do believe I'll go and see what Rainbow Dash is up to. Or what Applejack is up to. Or what anyone is up to as long as it doesn't involve a lecture."

Completely ignoring her assistant, Twilight began drawing up a diagram upon a nearby chalkboard that could describe the differentiating, basic emotional states of sentient beings. She always kept the chalkboard in the main library just in case she needed to teach someone a new concept, brainstorm, or occasionally let someone doodle while she was busy.

Now, however, it was filled with graphs, charts, and depictions of philosophy. Anything that could give twilight an edge in her explanation and Scootaloo an advantage towards her understanding. Every so often Twilight would paused and turn around only to find the same thing each time; Scootaloo awaited the next section of teaching eagerly and patiently, with her expression unchanging and still.

This went on for a good three hours before Twilight interrupted herself with a grumbling deep down in her stomach. She couldn't remember if she had eaten this morning - nor if she had eaten last night, either. Twilight had a bad habit of skipping meals when her interest was piqued, and Scootaloo had provided plenty of reasons for that interest to be raised well beyond its normal levels.

"Let's take a break, Scootaloo. I've got to eat something and I'm sure you'll want to process all of this," Twilight suggested with a bit of a smile. She hadn't meant to make the pun about processing, but that didn't mean she couldn't be happy about it. Off to the kitchen she went, with her mind coming up with a few more jokes along the way.

Scootaloo, however, had no need to eat. In fact, Rarity had specifically told Twilight that she fed off of solar energy; certain plates along her torso gave her more energy than she could possibly use in a day. Taking this into consideration, Twilight still turned back to politely ask if Scootaloo would like anything to do while she ate. What she found, however, was an empty room and a few missing books from various piles.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders; she'd have to inform Scootaloo on how to check out books in the future. Having them randomly disappear from her library was bad for business - and for her health, considering how worked up she got about organization. There was no telling which direction Scootaloo was heading, however, so she made no extra effort to chase after her.

Instead she moved over to her cabinets with a small sigh and began to prepare some tea. A bit of relaxation would suit her, she believed. At least until she had to remove herself from that relaxation and go clean up the rather large mess made by an over-curious android with a hunger for knowledge.

"Maybe I can have Spike clean it up for running out on me," she told herself with a bit of a smirk, testing her tea with a small sip. "Lovely," she concluded, pouring herself a cup and setting it down. At least for right now, she could sit pretty and wait for a while.

She had returned home quite some time ago and Scootaloo found Sweetie Belle outside with another person. She was like her, but without the horn atop her head. She also noticed no wings upon her back, so she was not a pegasus; she had seen a few on her journey back to the Boutique. Her skin was a pale yellow and she had a bright red bow pinned to her hair; Scootaloo had seen a few pictures of her laid about Rarity's home.

"Hey there, Scootaloo! Are you the one Sweetie Belle's been goin' on about?" she asked. She held out a hand and Scootaloo hesitated for just a moment before taking it very gently - a far cry from how indelicately she had shaken Spike's hand upon activation. "Name's Apple Bloom! I'm Applejack's sister and we live a little ways that way," she finished by pointing her thumb over her shoulder and towards a nearby forest.

"They live on a farm," Sweetie Belle clarified, silencing Scootaloo's further inquiry as to whether or not they lived in the actual forest. She hadn't actually seen a farm before, but the fact that a friend of Sweetie Belle's lived on one made her desire to see it.

"It's nice to meet'cha!" Apple Bloom excitedly claimed as she let go of Scootaloo's hand. "Sweetie Belle and I were just on our way out to Apple Acres - the farm I live on. Ya wanna tag along?"

"Yeah! Come on, Scootaloo - we'll introduce you to Applejack! She helped build you so I'm sure you'll get along fine," Sweetie Belle chimed in. Without a moment's opportunity to decline Scootaloo was grabbed by both girls and pulled along towards the direction Apple Bloom had indicated earlier.

Walking through town, the expressions of confusion, awe, and displeasure weren't lost upon Scootaloo. Nobody made a move to intervene or converse with Scootaloo, nor did they bother either Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom, both of which were happily chatting away as they tugged Scootaloo every which way towards the farm. Topics ranging anywhere from their activities for the day to hunting for something called a "cutie mark".

"What is a cutie mark?" Scootaloo asked inquisitively. Neither slowed their pace but Apple bloom reached up and pulled her right sleeve up until her shoulder was bare.

"Whenever someone finds out what they're gonna do for their life - what they're really good at - they get this little mark on their arm right here," she rubbed her bicep. "Ya never seen one up until now? Almost everyone's got one! Well, I mean.. We don't, but we're gonna get it any day now! I can feel it."

"Rarity has one," Sweetie Belle commented, looking back at Scootaloo with a smile. "It's a symbol of three diamonds and she says she got it after making her first gadget with a spell-crystal."

Cutie marks. Spell-crystals. Rarity's history. With every step through this conversation, Scootaloo found more and more reason to visit Rarity. Unlike the first night of her activation, she'd have plenty of questions to ask of her this time.

With that clear in her mind, it wasn't difficult at all to set it aside the moment she entered what must be the farm they spoke of. It was true that they lived beyond the forest; most of the trees must have been cleared out within this small vicinity to make way for Apple Bloom and her siblings' home. A massive field, with even rows and leafy plants sewn into it, stretched out far and wide until it reached two buildings. One was large, red, and had doors that must have been three times her own height, Scootaloo estimated. The other looked as if it were more suited to be a home, with multiple support beams and windows being blatantly evident on the outside.

"Here we are," Apple bloom announced by letting go of Scootaloo's hand, spinning around and stretching her arms out wide to display the splendor that was her home. "I'll go on up and let Applejack know you're comin'." True to her word, Apple Bloom sped off as fast as her short legs could carry her, belting out a call of, "Applejack! Guests are here!"

"Well tell 'em I'm comin'! Just workin' with Rarity on somethin'!" came a reply from somewhere inside the large red building.

"Applejack is just as nice as Rarity, so don't worry," Sweetie Belle reassured Scootaloo softly and tugged on her hand ever so slightly. Scootaloo gave a small nod in response and move in sync with her young companion as she began walking forward.

".. and I'd just like to thank you for all of the help you've given - oh! Scootaloo?" Rarity said with a bit of surprise in her voice. "I didn't expect to see you until later on tonight. " Emerging from behind the door came a rather tall figure that was apparently accompanying Rarity out of the building.

"Well I'll be," she said as she pushed the tip of her hat backwards and rose her eyes to meet Scootaloo's. It was assumed that this was Applejack, but it wasn't until she greeted Scootaloo that the assumption was made into fact. "Only a few days out of the gate and you're already up and about like a dog after a bath."

Rarity rolled her eyes at the crude gesture that made no sense to Scootaloo, but Applejack continued nonetheless. "My name's Applejack; I'm sure you've heard it a few times here and there. And judgin' by the exoplating and rotators attached at your knees and elbows, I reckon you must be Scootaloo." She held out her right hand and Scootaloo instinctively reached for it but hesitated when she saw just how unusual her arm looked from the others.

It was metallic and shiny, a bit like her own arm when Rarity had separated the plating from her "skeleton". She looked back to Applejack's face and found she was smiling. "I figured that'd get'cha. And before y'ask - no. I ain't exactly like you; just my arm is. That's what happens when ya don't watch yerself around automatic saws. Now don't be shy; it'd take somethin' a lot stronger than you to put a dent in this arm - I built it myself."

With that established, Scootaloo no longer hesitated. She took hold of Applejack's hand, noting the dense material beneath the realistic-looking skin and strong grip that she exerted. It was slightly refreshing to have such an unusual force pressed upon her and Scootaloo made sure to stow away the memory of this feeling for later study.

"I'm glad you're here, Scootaloo. Although I'm surprised, I was on going to seek you out soon after leaving here," Rarity chimed in as the handshake finished running its course. "Applejack and I just finished going over schematics for a plan and readjustments that involve you at the center of it all. I do hope you've not wasted too much energy today, as you and I will be staying up long into the night to get this right."

"And that means that Sweetie Belle here is gonna be stickin' around the farm for the night. Sound good to you, girls?" Applejack asked with her hands on her hips and a smile on her lips. There was a show of cheering, then a show of running from both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Then, as per her usual style, Sweetie Belle ran back and hugged both Rarity and Scootaloo.

"Bye, sis! Bye, Scootaloo! I hope you have a good night!" she wished before returning to her excited friend and chanting in a sing-song voice about "crusading" and "hunting" for cutie marks.

"I got a long night ahead of me, looks like, so I'll be lettin' you two get a move on. Best of luck, Rare; I know you'll get the job done," Applejack announced as she moved forward and wrapped Rarity in a warm embrace.

"Thank you again Applejack. I promise that I'll find a way to repay you," came the reply, with Rarity's eyes lit up in determination.

"You always do." With that, the conversation was finished. Applejack turned with a wave and made her way back towards the large red building while Scootaloo turned away with Rarity as they walked back towards the heart of Ponyville.

"I simply cannot wait to get back home, Scootaloo!" Rarity said as soon as they were out of earshot from both the farm and the town. "I've got quite a few tests I'd like to run with you that will require a bit of privacy."

"Like what?" Scootaloo asked right around the time that Rarity was coming to terms with how flirtatious she was sounding at the moment.

"N-nothing too intimate! I think. At least I'm rather certain nothing in my plans.. No, of course not! Just some simple tests designed to see just how capable your hardware and software is," Rarity explained as a bit of color flushed throughout her face. She began fanning herself with an open hand in an attempt to cool off, but it seemed as if it did her no good.

She was told not to stare so Scootaloo followed that instruction, turning her attention towards the road ahead of them. The sun was beginning to dim, painting the sky with a hue not unlike the color of her skin. She held her hand up towards the sky and compared the two, feeling a bit of a connection somewhere deep within herself. There was something trying to reach out and respond to the notion, but further prodding found no results. Was this perhaps an emotion that she so deeply craved?

Whatever it was, it didn't cause enough trouble to plague her mind for very long. Soon enough she found herself drawn back to Rarity, whose face was clear of the pink coloration that had flooded over her face previously. Judging now as good a time as ever, with nobody around to distract either of them, Scootaloo asked her question.

"Rarity," she began, with the opposite party giving her attention immediately, "could you possibly teach me how to feel emotions?" Her question was blunt and to-the-point, and the reaction that came over Rarity's features was instant. A grin began to spread across her face and a small giggle was all she let out before speaking.

"You and I are going to have so much fun tonight, darling. Come! Let's get home before the night overtakes us," she answered as she picked up her pace, with Scootaloo quickly catching up. While it wasn't a direct answer, Scootaloo was satisfied - perhaps tonight would hold the answers she so keenly desired.

Chapter 3 - Priorities

Rarity shifted around and found that the bed was impossibly comfortable. She was sure that there was something that needed doing but couldn't bring herself to properly care at the present moment. Her silken sheets had a mixture of warmth and coolness to them that made her gently sway her legs and feet around in an effort to savor the feeling as long as possible.

Naturally this led to her arms moving as well, but as soon as she did so there was a slight disturbance. Her fingers tapped against something beneath the sheets just beside her and it took every ounce of effort in Rarity's mind to not scream, throw the covers up and then bolt for the door. She processed the new information in her tired, possibly sleep-deprived mind before coming to the conclusion that it had to be one of two things.

Either Sweetie Belle had climbed into bed with her or Scootaloo had chosen to sleep beside her. With an ever-increasing sense of worry, it was that moment that Rarity chose to open just one eye in an effort to at least seem calm and collected; or at least not fearful for her life. The sight before her was indeed a pleasant one and she quietly let out a deep sigh of relief, wiping her brow of imaginary sweat as her nerves shifted from a sense of dread into a feeling of giddiness.

It seemed that she had woken up rather early - or late, it was really hard to tell - as the telltale signs of moonlight flooded through her window. The room around her was dimly lit by its light, but most importantly the dastardly intruder was bathed in its light in the most splendid of manners. The familiar pale-orange hue of Scootaloo's skin was dimmed even further, to the point at which it might have been called grey, but the distinct, muffled hum of the magic core within her chest made it much easier to verify that it was indeed her.

This made it ever-so-slightly more awkward when she found that her hand had not yet moved. Drawing it back, she silently praised the night for allowing such a series of clumsy events to go unnoticed by anyone besides herself. She did notice, however, that the spot in which her hand had laid itself was unusually warm. Rarity had spent several days perfecting the synthetic skin that wrapped over Scootaloo's metal plating beneath. It was something Twilight had devised in theory but something Rarity improved upon in practice.

A magic webbing of lace mixed with the conductive metals beneath gave off a realistically warm feeling coming from Scootaloo's body, but the webbing was supposed to prevent overheating due to its cold nature. With a bit of reluctance and only after a round of reassuring her that, no, this was not the same as copping a feel when someone slept, Rarity laid her hand gently against Scootaloo's shoulder to confirm her suspicion.

She wasn't exactly hot, but she was warmer than usual. Rarity came to the conclusion that it had to be the combination of being underneath sheets and being so close to another warm body that caused her metal plating to simply pick up a bit more heat than usual.

The cause for alarm assuaged, another sigh of relief escaped Rarity's lips. So far there have only been minor problems when it came to Scootaloo, and all of them had been hardware issues rather than software issues. It'd be an entirely different ordeal to have to peel back the synthetic weave and plating in order to get at her core in case it needed to be adjusted or even replaced.

"Look at me getting all worked up over Scootaloo being a little warm," Rarity mumbled to herself. She felt a mixed sense of foolishness and pride at being so concerned over her friend, and she allowed herself a small smile in response to her doting.

Rolling onto her back, Rarity realized that all her worrying and theorizing had actually woken her up completely, to the point where she now found herself stuck between two points. On one hand, she could get up and make a good bit of noise preparing herself for the day before her; on the other, she could lay here beside a fine lady that she found herself increasingly aware of. It was now that she worried whether or not blushing could overheat Scootaloo if Rarity got too close, but she dismissed that too as foolishness.

"There's no harm in a bit of cuddling," she reminded herself, remembering a certain night in which she found herself at Twilight's home after a long night of work trying to fix a problem with Scootaloo's processors. She awoke to find her back against something soft, with a dainty purple arm wrapped around her waist comfortingly. Back then she chose not to do anything about it, so why should now be any different? Nothing had even come from that night!

Ignoring the ever-rising heat in her cheeks, Rarity turned back onto her side and tentatively raised a hand beneath the sheets and lowered it onto Scootaloo's hip. It was like a slow-moving and awkward dance that Rarity was performing alone as she tried to shift in the bed in such a way as to not wake her companion. After what seemed to be five or so minutes in Rarity's head, she found herself in the same position at Twilight's, but in reverse.

It was an certainly an interesting position to be in, and Rarity found herself smiling with a peaceful bliss at the situation. There was a certain comfort in simply having someone beside her - or against her, as was this case - in the darkness of her moonlit room. If this is how her nights were going to go, Rarity could certainly get used to having a new friend around the house.

That thought filled her mind and twisted itself around until it made her give another smile, this time wider and warmer than before. Fatigue was creeping its way back into her bones and soon enough she found her eyelids growing heavier. With only the thought of sleeping this feeling away to hold her back, Rarity reluctantly let go and drifted into a gentle sleep.

She had never seen someone fly before. The fact that creatures with such a large and diversified structure could even lift themselves and support flight was an art that Scootaloo had not quite wrapped her head around. Fortunately for her, both Rarity and Twilight had accompanied her to the park in order to watch the stunt performance.

There was another, a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy, that sat beside her and the others as they looked on at the spectacle. Were she not so focused on Rainbow Dash, which is what they referred to the pegasus in the air as, Scootaloo might have noticed that Fluttershy's eyes were entirely trained upon her.

All the while that Scootaloo had been observing Rainbow Dash's flight patterns and tricks, Fluttershy had been silently observing her. Every movement, from the calculating and precise twitches of Scootaloo's eyes to the perfectly-still and tranquil position that she had chosen to sit in. She sat up straight, to the point which one might consider her royalty if they were to observe her stillness. The smallest of factors upon Scootaloo's features perplexed her and fascinated her in both a scientific and curious manner.

Eventually, when Rainbow Dash's flight path took her gaze farther to the left, Scootaloo noticed the watchful eyes of the yellow pegasus were dead-set upon her own personage. She interrupted her studying of Rainbow Dash's methods in order to properly address the woman beside her, having previously regarded her with nothing more than a handshake and simple greeting.

"Hello," she offered, noting that the pegasus recoiled at her voice and look away immediately. Concerned that she had unintentionally offended her, Scootaloo quickly tried to apologize as best she could, as Sweetie Belle had taught her when she had accidentally knocked over a picture frame.

"I didn't mean to stare. I'm sorry," Fluttershy replied meekly, looking up at Scootaloo from her downcast position.

"No apology needed," Scootaloo said with a small shake of her head. "Why did you stare?" She found the pegasus just as fascinating as the pegasus found her, fortunately, and this seemed like an opportunity for learning.

It was Twilight who spoke up in Fluttershy's place, "Fluttershy's a biologist. She studies all manners of creatures in and around Ponyville and writes informative reports directly to Princess Celestia. She's also a bit shy, so don't mind the quiet demeanor."

At this, Fluttershy merely nodded and offered a smile towards Twilight in gratitude. It was quickly returned in kind, with Rarity turning to face Scootaloo with a similar expression. "She's also very helpful when it comes to comforting others," she added as she laid a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. This seemed to give the yellow pegasus a minor boost in her confidence, as she straightened her back and nodded once again.

"I just know how to listen," she tried to compromise, to which Rarity waved a hand and gave a quick comment about modesty.

"Studying me?" Scootaloo asked curiously as she turned her body to face Fluttershy properly. She now sat on her knees, back straight, and her hands folded in her lap. If anyone mistook her for royalty before, they'd guess she were a princess by now.

"Oh, yes. Your design is very fascinating. I'm not sure if it counts as biology, but maybe it'd count as arcanology. I've studied a small amount of that on my own," she answered with a bit of eagerness in her voice. She scooted slightly closer and raised a hand tentatively. "May I?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

One nod and arm-lift later, Scootaloo's hand was taken into Fluttershy's and turned over, palm open. The biologist went to work examining the features and contours of the synthetic skin that Twilight had co-designed with Rarity. She asked various questions on how it was made and most of the explanations flew well over her head, but she listened intently nonetheless.

It was then that a gust of wind found its way across the area that they had chosen to sit at and Scootaloo turned to see the aforementioned blue pegasus landing besides them. "Hey! Were you guys even watching me just now? I pulled off this crazy stunt!"

"I was, Rainbow," Twilight answered nonchalantly, leaning back onto her hands and crossing her legs. Before Rainbow Dash could interrupt her in disbelief she recited, as if from memory, "You did a double-corkscrew loop leading into a dive and ending with a wing-burst."

"And it was awesome wasn't it?!" Rainbow replied without missing a beat, clenching her fists and grinning triumphantly. "Aw man, is this Scootaloo?" she asked almost immediately after, cutting Twilight's next response and the rest of the conversation off.

"Hello," Scootaloo greeted by turning her head over her shoulder and up at Rainbow, leaving her hand to Fluttershy's careful tending.

"Hey!" came the reply, with Rainbow sitting down rather roughly by falling onto her backside with a sigh. "So can she talk like one of us, or has she not learned that much yet?" The question was directed at Twilight rather than Rarity, but it was the latter who spoke up first.

"I assure you she can talk like any one of us, dear. And she is right beside you," she said softly and with a gentle wave of the hand towards Scootaloo.

"I saw you flying," she mentioned, referring to Rainbow's earlier comment that Twilight answered. "You are very good."

"Not just very good! I'm the best! Been training since I got my senses about me and it's all led up to this. Fastest flyer in Equestria and certainly the coolest," she boasted with as much grand presentation as she could possibly muster, earning a roll of the eyes from Rarity and a quiet laugh from Twilight.

"Can you teach me?" Scootaloo asked with the straightest of faces, to which a sudden silence overtook the group. Two were stunned with realizations, one was surprised at her boldness, and another was a bit confused. The latter, Rainbow Dash, rubbed the back of her neck and gave an awkward cough.

"Well ya see, ya kinda need uh.." she tried to word it carefully enough, her eyes searching Scootaloo's back for something akin to a jet pack or some such device, "wings. To fly."

After a moment's consideration of that fact, Scootaloo rephrased her question. "Can you teach me why you fly? The mechanics behind it and the sensations arising from it?"

"You mean you just wanna know what it's like? Yeah, totally!" Rainbow responded enthusiastically, jumping to her feet and holding out her hand to help Scootaloo up. "It's like, first nature to me. Even walking feels weirder than flying to me."

Scootaloo's attention then turned towards Fluttershy, who let go of her hand and said, "All done. Thank you." She could tell the yellow pegasus was holding something back but did not press her against the matter - it seemed to be the incorrect method of doing things if Rarity's demeanor was anything of an example.

Speaking of the white unicorn, Scootaloo then turned and asked for permission from Rarity in order to go along with Rainbow. "It's fine, darling. Just.. Try and stay safe. And Rainbow: if it gets dark before you're done, please take care of her. Or escort her to one of us."

"You got it, Rare. Now come on, Scoots! Lemme teach you all about life up in the clouds," Rainbow replied with a rising giddiness, taking Scootaloo by the hand and pulling her upwards. She then hooked an arm around the android's shoulders and led her off towards who-knows-where whilst chatting.

"Did you.. Did you catch that?" Twilight said, her expression unchanging from the wide-eyed, surprised look she had put on before. "What she said about flying?"

"Yes," was all Rarity replied with, waiting for a few moments to let it sink in fully before sighing and rubbing her face with both hands. "And here I had thought it was all figured out. She wants to fly. Can we even do that?"

"It'd take quite a bit of time to figure out," Twilight said as she stood up and dusted herself off, offering a hand to both Rarity and Fluttershy afterwards. "Why don't you head home and I'll see if Spike and I can't rig something up back home? I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes."

"Thank you Twilight. And thank you, Fluttershy, for being so courteous with her," she added gratefully, hugging them both with equal sincerity. She could already feel a bad night setting in, but that didn't mean she had to be ungrateful for her friends' company.

"It was my pleasure," Fluttershy replied sweetly while offering a smile to boot. She only proved what Rarity had said of her comforting abilities earlier, though Scootaloo could not witness it in the moment.

With that, they parted ways. One with a heavy heart and the others with mixed emotions.

Rarity laid down for the third time this evening, though she wasn't tired. A cold, uneaten meal lay motionless on her desk, neglected from the moment it was picked up. Though she had the entire bed to herself she exclusively laid on the left side with her hands folded atop her chest and her eyes staring upwards at the ceiling.

Even the silk she had spent all morning practically worshiping felt moderately uncomfortable to her right now. It simply didn't hold that same preciousness that it had when Scootaloo was there beside her. She was alone, which meant that she didn't have to hide her thoughts away from anyone. Free to grimace, frown, even groan, Rarity found herself doing all of those and doing it often. But one thought came back to her time and time again.

Tossing and turning beneath the sheets, she finally settled for kicking them clear of her body and laying in the cold air of her room with arms outstretched. She heaved a heavy sigh and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down, but the revelation that hit her earlier was a bit too strong to ignore.

She admitted it openly, but to nobody but herself, "I'm not angry. I'm jealous."