Manufactured Emotions

by Bright Keys

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pinkie Pie
Length: 15027

Volt Spark has finally completed his masterpiece: a pegasus robot that can think and learn for itself. Now the machine must make his way through a world he knows nothing about.

A unicorn scientist named Volt Spark has finally brought his proudest creation to life: a robotic pegasus named Alpha. In order to give him his own sense of right and wrong, Volt Spark has left the robot with only very basic knowledge. After he gains a little more knowledge, Volt Spark sends Alpha out by himself, where he stumbles upon a town called Ponyville...

... Flitter's in here too, but I can't tag just her...
written between me and Rowan Hooves, who also happens to be the artist behind my profile picture. Here's her Deviantart: http://rowan-falls.deviantart.com/

Published 2014-05-12 03:00:04 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-12 03:50:44 UTC

Welcome to Equestria

“Well, it’s taken months of hard work and programming, but he’s finally done.” A pony in a labcoat said, looking at a monitor that had various readouts displayed. “Shall I begin the activation sequence?”

“Yes, doctor,” replied an older unicorn with goggles, “everything is in place. There is no better time than the present. Let us step into the future.”

“Beginning activation sequence.” The other said, typing furiously on a keyboard as a pony-like mass of metal on a pedestal sparked to life.

“It’s working!” cried the scientist, the blue light of the machine flashing in his thick goggles. He smiled widely, like a child on Hearth’s Warming Eve, and leaned over to check the readings. There was a whirring noise and then the room went dark for a second. When the lights flashed back on, his creation stood before him.

“Yes!” he breathed.

The machine blinked and looked at his creators. “Who are you?” He asked.

“I am your father!” the stallion said, trotting slowly over to the contraption, “I have given you life.” He reached out with one hoof to touch it’s shoulder.
The machine stepped back a bit. “My… father?” He asked slowly.

“Yes,” smiled the scientist warmly, “You are my child. It is my duty to raise you, to care for you. I have given you life.” He continued to reach out with his hoof but did not move any closer.
"Well then, everything seems to be working. Let me know if he does anything... odd. There may be glitches that need working out." The other scientist said.

“I will,” his eyes remained fixed on the horse before him, “you may go now.” He reached up and pulled the goggles down around his neck, revealing bright blue eyes.
"What am I to be called?" The robot asked.

“I will call you Alpha,” his creator smiled, “and you may call me Volt Spark.” He took another step towards Alpha.
Alpha took a step forward as well, but stopped when he hit the sunlight. He lifted a hoof and stared at it, watching the light as it shimmered off of the metal.

“Welcome to Equestria, my son,” Volt Spark said, wrapping an arm around Alpha’s shoulders, “you will love it here, I am sure.” He led the newly born stallion down from his pedestal and into the rest of the sunlit laboratory.
Alpha looked puzzled at the sunlight. "Why is it bright here, but dark up there?" He asked, gesturing back to the pedestal. "Where does all the light come from?"

“It comes from the sun, a large, golden orb in the sky. The area back there is shaded so that the sunlight cannot get through.” He chuckled at the robot’s naivete.
"Can I see the sun?" Alpha asked.

“Soon, we will go outside,” Volt Spark said, angling him towards a large set of double doors, “but we have a few things to do first. I can tell I have a lot of explaining to do.”
"What more can you tell me?" Alpha asked, sitting down and looking at Volt Spark with a look of utmost curiosity and eagerness.

“Well, we are currently in a laboratory,” said the scientist, “You are a robot. You are a machine that i have created. I want you to try to live a normal life, despite that fact. I will help you learn all you need to know, then you will be free to do as you wish.”
"So... I am different?" He asked.

“Yes,” Volt Spark said carefully, “but everypony is different from everypony else. You are just different in a different way. I think that makes you quite special. Do you agree?” He flicked his greyish blue tail and tilted his head.
"Different is... good." Alpha said, letting the fact sink in. "I am different, so thus I am good." He paused for a few seconds before asking, "are there others that are like me? Are there other robots?"

“Yes,” he nodded, “there is one other that I have made. Her name is Omega. Would you like to meet her?”
"Yes." Alpha nodded.

“Then let us go!” cried Volt heartily, “She is probably waiting for us in the living quarters. Come, I will show you.” He began to trot towards the doors again, checking to make sure that Alpha was in tow.
Alpha was indeed following, but he seemed a little clumsy, as if he hadn't quite mastered the art of self locomotion. He caught up with the scientist and nodded to him with a slight smile.

The two walked through the doors and down a long, white hallway. Eventually, the sound of another pony’s hooves on the hard tile floor could be heard. They emerged into a beautiful white and black checkered kitchen where another pony stood, solid black with a short green mane. The sunlight fell in through the windows and glinted off of her blank flank, which was apparently made of metal.

"Are you Omega?" Alpha asked.

“Who is this, Volt?” she said, ignoring the other robot completely.

“This is Alpha,” said the aged stallion, “He is my newest creation. Alpha, this is Omega. She has been with me for a while now. I’m sure you two would get along nicely.” Omega looked him up and down with her shining eyes and snorted, apparently unimpressed.
Alpha looked at Omega's flank, then his own, then at Volt Spark. "Volt," he asked, "what is that?" He gestured to Volt's cutie mark.

“Oh, this?” he said casually, glancing at the twin lightning bolts on his flank, “this is my cutie mark. All ponies get them eventually. They appear when you find your one true talent.” He glanced up at Omega as her synthetic tail flicked over her gleaming flank.

“Now, I’m not sure about you two, seeing as you’re robots, but if you find your talent and one doesn’t appear, I can always paint one on.” He chuckled as if that were a joke and trotted towards the pantry.
"That noise you made, what was it?" Alpha asked.

“That was a laugh,” called Volt, “It is a noise ponies make when they find something funny.” He reached up and pulled out a can of oats which he poured in a bowl and took to the table where he sat down to eat it.
Alpha turned to Omega next. "Why do you dislike me?" He asked. "Have I done something wrong?"

Omega said nothing, but she glanced away, eyes narrowing to emotionless slits.

“Don’t pay attention to her,” Volt laughed between bites, “she’s not much for social interaction. She barely talks to me.” The mare closed her eyes and turned away.
"What are you doing?" Alpha asked, sitting down across from Volt and watching him eat.

“I am eating,” Volt swallowed, “Something that living things need to do to survive. It gives us the energy we need to continue moving.”
"Am I a living thing? Do I need to eat too?" Alpha asked.

“Well, yes and no. You may be alive, but not naturally. You, as a robot, run on electricity, provided by the generator inside your chest. You can eat, but you don’t have to, and if you eat too often, it might cause some problems. You’re designed to process food into energy which is stored in your back up battery, but I don’t know what will happen if it gets over loaded.” He rested his head on his hoof and thought for a while, chewing absently.
"I see." Alpha said, laying his head on the table. He perked up again when he heard some birds chirping outside the window. He watched them flying around before looking at his own wings.

Omega seemed to be staring at his wings too. As the birds fluttered and chirped, landing on the window sill, she flicked her tail and turned away again. Volt Spark looked up.

“Ah, I see you have noticed your wings!” he smiled, cleaning the last bit of oats from his bowl.
"Can I fly too Volt? Like the birds?" Alpha asked, suddenly a bit more excited than before.

“Yes,” the unicorn said, “You are a pegasus pony, rulers of the sky. I’m sure that flight would come to you as naturally as it does to the tiny robin.” He stood, levitating his dishes into the sink. He trotted towards another door, more heavy duty than the others they had seen.

“I think it’s about time we go outside.”

Alpha’s head lifted off the table, a smile spreading across his metallic face. “Really?” He asked.

Volt nodded, placing a hoof on the door. He beckoned with his tail.

Alpha followed, seeming to have walking down.

The door swung open, flashing bright sunlight across Alpha’s head. Grass stretched as far as the eye could see, with trees and animals scattering the landscape. Volt turned to his creation and smiled brightly.

Alpha squinted for a bit before his eyes adjusted for the sudden burst of light, and he looked around the area, amazed by everything he saw.
“Stretch our wings, my son,” he said, “feel what it’s like to fly.”

Alpha did just that, getting shakily into the air and moving forward, relishing in the joy of flight.

“It’s in your code!” Volt cried from below, galloping along beneath him, “You know how, just do it!”

Alpha looked down at his creator and nodded, flying faster than he was before, but turning back every so often to make sure Volt was still following him.

“Go ahead,” Volt slowed to a stop, “Just be back before it gets dark! Go and explore!”

Alpha nodded again “Okay.” He said before flying off. He flew in one direction until he saw a town, where he decided to descend. He didn’t even get close to the ground before he saw something odd. Pegasi were attacking clouds. He decided to fly over and investigate.
“Hello?” He asked one of the pegasi.

The pegasus, a purple mare with a big pink bow in her hair turned to him and smiled.

“Why, Hello, there!” she cried, “May I help you?”

“Why are you attacking the clouds?” He asked. “Have they done something wrong?”

A bit confused, the pegasus frowned. “Um, what? We were just cleaning up the sky. Today is supposed to bright and sunny and these rainclouds decided to spoil it, so we had to come in here and tidy up.”

“So, they have done something wrong?” Alpha said. “Can I help?”

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” giggled the mare, “We just need to kick them until they disappear.” She turned back and began to buck at the clouds until they broke into smaller chunks.

Alpha flew over to a cloud, observing the others for a few moments before mimicking their actions, landing a few solid kicks on the cloud, obliterating it in seconds. “Like that?” He asked the pegasus from before.

“Yeah! You act like you’ve never kicked clouds before,” she said.

“I haven’t.” Alpha said, shrugging slightly, another action he’d observed that he felt would fit.

“You sure are strange,” she laughed, “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Flitter.”

“My name is Alpha.” Alpha replied. He pointed to the town below. “What’s that?” He asked.

“That’s Ponyville,” Flitter said, “That’s where I live.” She smashed one last cloud to pieces and glided over to him.

“Do other ponies live there too?” He asked.

“Yeah, there’s a ton of ponies there!” she said, “You want me to show you around?”

“Sure,” he began, but his head moved around suddenly as warnings flashed in his vision. He lost consciousness for a split second before springing back to life. “Uh oh.” He said.

Ain't No Party Like A Pinkie Pie Party...

The door swung open, revealing Omega wearing an apathetic expression.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“I got… sidetracked.” Alpha said. “But anyway, a pony in town is throwing a party for me, and I was wondering if Volt Spark would let me go.”

“How should I know?” she said, “He’s in his study.” Omega walked away, leaving the door open behind her.

“um...” Alpha said, “what’s a study, and where can I find it?”

“I’ll show you,” she said. Trotting down the hall she closed her eyes and began to hum a jumpy tune.

Alpha followed Omega down the hall.

They reached the study in a short while and Omega paused just long enough to point to the door before she walked off down the hall, still humming.

Alpha knocked on the door. “Hello?” He asked. “I have a question Volt Spark.”

“Come in, my son,” Volt’s voice came through the door, “ask away.”

Alpha walked into the study “I met a lot of ponies today, and I learned a ton,” he said, “one of the ponies I met is throwing me a party tonight and I was wondering if I could go.”

“What kind of party is it?” he asked. He was sitting at a desk, writing in a notebook with a quill.

“She told me it was a birthday party.” Alpha said. “Whatever that is.”

“Oh, really?” He asked, “Who’s throwing it for you? It wouldn’t be Pinkie Pie would it?”

“Yes, it is.” Alpha said. “I also found three fillies who want me to join their club. That’s why I’m so late.”

“Well, that’s good to know.” The unicorn stood and went over to a map on the wall.

“As long as you keep yourself out of trouble, you’re free to go. Come home at a reasonable hour. If you can, get Omega to go with you. She needs to interact with more ponies.”

“I’ll try.” Alpha said, walking out of the study and looking for Omega. “Omega!” He called. “Volt Spark says to come to the party with me!”

Omega appeared in an archway, just ahead of him. “What?”

“Volt Spark says to come to the party with me.” Alpha repeated.

Omega sighed, “Yeah, I heard you. I don’t want to go.” She returned to the room she had been in.

“Oh come on,” Alpha said. “It’ll be fun. Volt Spark says you need to interact with more ponies.”

“What, I need to let more ponies stare at me?” she asked.

“They seemed okay around me.” Alpha said. “I did get one weird stare, but then again I never got the chance to tell her I’m a robot.” He smiled at the last part.

“I don’t feel like walking for a long time.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Alpha said. “Maybe I can carry you?”

“My battery is running low,” she said, “I’m too tired.”

“My backup is at twenty-five percent.” Alpha said. “There’ll be plenty of food to refuel on I’m told.”

“I have stuff to do. I…” she was obviously making excuses at this point.

“Oh come on Omega, stop being the squeaky wheel.” Alpha said.

“Fine,” She groaned. There was a shuffling of objects in the room and Omega emerged carrying several books in her mouth. She trotted down the hall towards the door and put the books in a grey saddle bag which she proceeded to wear.
"I don't dare fly, battery's too low." Alpha said "Looks like we're both walking."

“Oh, great,” she said sarcastically. She opened the door left, walking towards town.
"Yeah, maybe I should've returned home when my generator failed." Alpha said. He looked at Omega. “What happens when I run out of power?” He asked.
“You black out until we charge you up to twenty-five percent or more,” she said, trotting down a grassy slope, “trust me, I know.”

“That doesn’t sound pleasant.” Alpha said, following after Omega.

“It’s not.” She said and left it at that.

“So, um,” Alpha said, trying to make conversation, “how long have you been active?”

“Three years,” she told him scanning him up and down, “two months, twelve days, four hours, twenty minutes and fifty-four seconds and counting.”

“So you’re much older than I am.” Alpha said. “Why are you so… sad?”

“You get used to it when you live a life of isolation,” she said matter of factly.

“Why are you isolated when there’s this beautiful world right outside the lab?”

“Because I’m different,” she paused, “We’re different. We don’t belong with those other ponies. We don’t even belong in this world.”

“But that’s not what Volt Spark told me.” Alpha said. “He said he wanted me to live a normal life.”

“He told me all that nonsense as well,” she said, glancing back soberly, “It’s easy for him to talk about living a normal life. He’s not like me, like us.”

“But, I haven’t met a single pony today that hasn’t tried to be friends.” Alpha said. “Just keep an open mind.”

“I don’t have a mind,” she said, “I have a highly advanced computer inside my metal skull.”

“Same difference as far as I’m concerned. They serve the same purpose.” Alpha said.

“I guess,” she shrugged. They walked down the grassy hill with Ponyville in sight.

“Maybe we’ve just had different experiences.” Alpha said. “Different types of pony designed, different types of pony met you know?”

“Sure,” she said, “the pegasus pony makes friends while the earth pony lives a dull life in the library.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Alpha said, “and if you think staying in the library is dull, why do you stay in there?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Omega said earnestly, “I receive great stimulation to my pleasure sensors whilst in the library. I just assume that most ponies would consider me dull.”

“Maybe you just need some time in a social setting to observe their natural behaviors. You know, upgrade your personality matrix.” Alpha said.

“I suppose,” she sighed, “an upgrade to my personality matrix could be beneficial to future social interaction. Not that I would interact with other ponies on any regular basis.”

“Why not?” Alpha asked.

“I just prefer to be alone,” she said. They reached the outskirts of town and the party music could already be heard echoing through the town.

“We’re late.” Alpha observed.

“Oh, good,” Omega said sarcastically, “Come on, maybe we can infiltrate the party from the back.” She scanned the street up and down and then trotted resolutely in the direction of the party.
Alpha followed after Omega. "How is it good we're late?" He asked.

“It’s not,” Omega sighed, “I was being sarcastic. It is a way of speaking in which you say the opposite of what you mean in a tone that lets the others know you were being sarcastic.” The trotted up to the back of sugar cube corner. “So, when I say, ‘good,’ I mean I am not glad that we are late. Do you understand?” She paused at the doorway and turned to look at him.
"Yes, I do." Alpha said.

“Good,” she said, turning to push the door open, but it swung wide before she could.

“Hey, birthday boy!” cried Pinkie, “Why’d you come in this way? Who’s this?” She was bouncing up and down, unable to sit still. Omega had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply, obviously uncomfortable with the energetic pink pony’s sudden appearance.

“We came in this way because we’re late, and this is my...” Alpha knew there was a word to describe Omega, but just couldn’t think of it, which meant he hadn’t heard it.

“Sister,” muttered the other robot.

“Sweet!” Pinkie cheered, “Come in! We’ve got cake and stuff for you guys!” She bounced off to get them some.

“You first,” sighed Omega.

“Gladly.” Alpha replied, walking into the sweet shop.

The door closed behind them, immersing the two in a surge of noise and sweet smells.

“I’ll be over there,” Omega told him, pointing to a table in the corner. She trotted off into the crowd. Before Alpha had a moment to think, Pinkie popped up beside him, holding a plate of cake.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” she screamed, then blew a kazoo.

Alpha backed up a bit, shocked by Pinkie’s sudden reappearance. “Thanks… I guess.” Alpha said.

“You are welcome!” she said, “Here, have some!” She shoved the cake into his hooves.

Alpha took the cake. “Pinkie Pie,” he said, “What’s a birthday?”

“I told you,” she smiled, “It’s a day where we remember the day you were born! And then we get to have a PARTY!”

"You didn't actually say that before, but I know now, so it's fine." Alpha said.

“Huh, oh well!” she shrugged and jumped in the air, “I can’t wait for you to meet everypony!” She looked around for ponies to introduce.

"Pinkie Pie," Alpha asked, following after her the best he could, "how many ponies know that I'm a robot?"

“I don’t know,” Pinkie shrugged again, “OOH! Ooh, look it’s Rainbow Dash! You’ll like her! She’s the fastest, most bestest flyer in all of Equestria!” She waved frantically.

“Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus turned around and saw her, flying over.

“What is it Pinkie?”

“This is the Birthday boy!” she hugged Alpha tight.

“Really?” asked the pegasus.

"Yes, apparently." Alpha replied.

“Name’s Rainbow,” she said proudly, landing, “Maybe you’ve heard of me. What’s your name?”

"My name is Alpha, and I actually haven't heard of you." Alpha said.

“What?” Rainbow asked incredulously, “Where do you live, under a rock?”

"More like I'm a robot who was just activated today." Alpha said with a shrug.

“Oh, that’s cool,” she said, nodding in approval, “You’ll learn about how awesome I am soon enough.”

"I have a few friends who said they'd be here, maybe you've heard of them?" Alpha asked.

“Ooh! I have!” cried Pinkie, “I’ve heard of everypony!” she shook Alpha a bit, still hugging him.

"Let's see," Alpha said, "Flitter said she would be here, along with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo."

“Oh, yeah, the girls are over there by the punch,” Rainbow pointed, “and Flitter’s taking care of something for me, but she’ll be here in a little while.”

“Awww, I wanted to answer!” Pinkie whined letting go of Alpha.

"I'm glad to know they're either here are about to be." Alpha said. Another collection of warnings told him to process a compatible substance or risk shut down, and began eating the cake Pinkie gave him. "This cake is very pleasing to my taste processor." He said between bites.

“That’s great,” Pinkie cried, “I’m going to find Gummy!” She bounced away. Rainbow smiled.

“Well, I got stuff to do, so I’ll see you later,” she flew off, leaving Alpha in the crowd.

Alpha decided to wander around a bit, getting a few "hellos" and "happy birthdays." Eventually he made it to the punch, where Rainbow Dash had told him the three fillies he met earlier were.

Giggles were coming from under the table.

“Look out, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom’s voice said. The table shook, as if bumped from the bottom. The giggles increased.

Alpha listened to the giggling, and decided to take a peek under the table. "Boo." He said with a smile.

The girls squealed in delighted terror and turned to look at him.

“Oh, hi, Alpha!” said Sweetie Belle.

“Happy Birthday, man!”

“Yeah, Happy Birthday, Alpha! Ah got you this!” Apple Bloom pulled out a bright red, juicy apple and handed it to him, “Ah picked it special for you!”

"Thanks Apple Bloom" Alpha said, still smiling. "say, my sister, Omega, is around here somewhere. If you see a black earth pony with a green mane, say hi to her. Trust me," he imitated Volt Spark's chuckle, "she needs it."

“Will do, sir,” Scootaloo saluted, bumping her head on the table. The girls giggled again.

“Let’s go find her!” Sweetie suggested.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!” they yelled, charging off.
Alpha once more mimicked Volt's chuckle as he watched them run off.

“Hey, Alpha!” Flitter landed beside him, “Rainbow told me I could find you over here.”

"Hi Flitter, I'm glad you could make it!" Alpha said.

“Me too,” she said, “Here, I got you this.” She handed him a little green package, clumsily taped together.

"A box?" Alpha asked, clearly confused. "Thank you." He said, still sounding grateful behind his confusion.

“No, silly,” she laughed, “You take the paper off and open the box. The present is inside.”

"Oh, I see!" Alpha said, opening the box.

Inside was an orange bandana, folded neatly.

“Tada!” Flitter cried, “I saw it and thought of you! Here.” She reached in and picked it up, tying it around his neck.

"Thanks." Alpha said. "Applebloom gave me an apple."

“She’s a sweet filly, isn’t she,” agreed the pegasus, “So, how are you liking it here in Ponyville?”
"What time I've had here has been both informative and enjoyable." Alpha said. "Um wait... I can't walk around holding an apple all night." He paused for a moment. "Aha!" He exclaimed, and his chest opened up. "I noticed I have a storage compartment during my self analysis." He put the apple inside and his chest closed back up.

“Well isn’t that nifty,” commented Flitter, “Wish I had one of those.” She glanced around, “so…”

“So, what?” Alpha asked.

“I don’t know,” she laughed, “I don’t know what to talk about.” She shook her head and smiled at him.

“Pinkie Pie said she was going to get a Gummy. What is a Gummy?” Alpha asked.

“Oh, that’s her pet alligator. He doesn’t have any teeth, so she calls him Gummy,” Flitter said.

“Pet alligator...” Alpha said.

“He’s just a baby,” Flitter said, “he’s harmless.”

“I see.” Alpha said. “My sister’s around here somewhere, I have those three fillies chasing her now.”

“You have a sister?” Flitter asked, “Does that mean you have like, a robot mom or something?”

“No. We were both built by Volt Spark, and as far as I know, he’s not a robot.” Alpha said. “But yes, she is what you would call my older sister.”

“Oh,” she said, “So, would that be her, heading for the door?” She pointed with a hoof at Omega as the robot pushed the door open.

“Yes, that would.” Alpha said, making his way over to the door and Omega. “Leaving so soon?” He asked.

“I can’t stand it here,” Omega growled, “This weird unicorn wouldn’t leave me alone, asking about what I was reading and where I came from, and then I was ambushed by these three fillies. It’s just too much, I can’t take any more of this!”

“I told them to say hello.” Alpha said. “I figured you could use the social interaction.”

“I could handle social interaction,” Omega snapped, “but that was social bombardment!”

“I only told them to say hello. I didn’t think they’d attack you.” Alpha said.

Omega sighed, “They didn’t physically attack me. It’s an expression. I just feel like I was attacked because they were so overwhelming.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Look, it doesn’t matter. I’m going home and I’m just going to read, like I do every night.”
"I would ask you to stay," Alpha sighed, "but I don't want to cause you any more misery."

“I’ll be just outside town,” she sighed. She pushed the door open and walked out into the street.
Alpha waved goodbye to her and called out "Glad you came with me!" As Omega walked away.
Pinkie showed up beside him. “Awww, where is she going?” she asked.

“I asked those three fillies to say ‘hi’, and things didn’t quite go right. She’s not as social as I am.” Alpha said

“Aww, that’s a shame.” Pinkie said, “Come on, we’re going to sing to you now!”

“Sing?” Alpha said.

“Yeah! It’s a party tradition!” She pushed him towards the center of the party.

“Hey, guys! It’s time to sing!” she cried. Everyone quieted down and turned towards them, eyes focused on Alpha.

“This is Alpha,” she continued, “The birthday robot!” There were a few mutters within the crowd. A purple unicorn in the back stared at him with great interest. Pinkie produced a cupcake with a candle in it and lit the candle somehow. “On three! One, two, three!” The ponies began to sing to him, a song they all apparently knew. When it was finished, Pinkie pushed the cupcake under his nose. “Now blow it out and make a wish, but don’t tell anybody or it won’t come true!”

“Wish?” Alpha asked.

“Yeah, you know! Like, I wish I had a giant bucket of chocolate that I could swim in ALL DAY!”

“Or just whatever you want,” Rainbow chuckled, “It doesn’t have to be chocolate related.”
"So, it's a thought based on ones wants?" Alpha asked.

“Yeah, just start with, I wish and then think about whatever you want.”
"I wish," Alpha said, then he paused and blew out the candle.

“What’d you wish for?!” Pinkie cried, “But don’t tell me or else it won’t come true. But what’d you wish for?”
Alpha was trying to both tell Pinkie and not tell her, which stuck him in a loop of "I... I... I..."
"That's a glitch!" A voice yelled, and Volt Spark's assistant who happened to be in the crowd moved to Alpha, opening his head and using a screwdriver, did something that the crowd couldn't see. After a few seconds, he closed his head and turned to Pinkie. "Don't give a robot contradicting orders." He said.

“oops. Sorry!” Pinkie both whispered and shouted. She waved a hoof infront of Alpha’s face. “You okay?”
"I had to force a manual reboot. Give him a few seconds." The assistant said, and true enough, Alpha sprang back to life after a few seconds.
"Main generator out of power, backup at thirty percent. Recharge soon." Alpha said.

“Then you should eat,” Flitter said. Pinkie handed him the cupcake that had the candle in it, pulling it out and sticking it deep in her mane.
"Thank you." Alpha said, eating the cupcake.

“Alright, then let’s party!” Pinkie shouted and music began to play again.

Alpha walked out of Sugar Cube Corner after the party ended, turned back around and shouted, "thanks Pinkie!" His power had gotten low enough that his advanced vocal synthesizers had deactivated, leaving his voice sounding robotic. He walked down the street, singing some song and balancing Applebloom's apple on his head.

“What are you doing?” asked Omega from where she stood beside a small bridge. She had her hooves crossed and she wore an annoyed expression on her face.
"I'm looking for you, clearly." Alpha said, stopping, but moving his head along with the precariously placed apple to keep it on his head.

“Clearly,” she said bitterly, “That’s sarcasm by the way.” She unfolded her hooves and set off towards the laboratory.
"I know how sarcasm sounds!" Alpha said, following after Omega but still being careful of the apple. He was sounding more robotic by the second.

“What’s even up with you?” she asked, “didn’t you get enough fuel at your party?”
"Guess the backup's not meant to last. I remember getting up to seventy at one point." Alpha said. "Either that or I've been moving around too much. I don't know how the power expenditure works."

“Obviously. You should get Volt to look at that once we get back.” She sighed and glanced up at the stars.
"They're like miniature suns." Alpha said, also trying to marvel at the stars, but couldn't seem to decide which to focus on: keeping the apple balanced, or staring at the sky.

“They’re not. They’re actually the same size as the sun, just extremely far away.”
"How far? Can I fly to one?" Alpha asked.

“No, they’re millions and millions of miles away. Besides, you’d have to go into space, and that would shut you down permanently.”
"What is space?" Alpha asked. "Why would it shut me down permanently?"

“It’s what’s outside the earth. It is a vacuum. You’d explode, or the fluid inside you would boil or freeze or something. It’s just not good.”
"If space is so bad, why do the stars stay out there?" Alpha asked. Before Omega could answer he started saying "oh! Oh! Power's getting low!"

Omega glanced at him, a hint of worry in her eyes. “Here, climb on my back, we’re almost home.” She crouched down a bit.
Alpha climbed on her back, and put the apple on Omega's head with a smile.

“Get that thing off of my head or I will throw you off with it.”
Alpha's smile faded, his ears falling back as he took the apple and stored it in his chest.

“Thank you.” She stood and trotted back to the lab, replying to any questions he had about the stars.
He would have had lots of questions, but as low as his power was, he couldn't have asked any because all of his synthesizers had deactivated. Every time he tried to speak, no sound came out.

“Just relax,” she grunted, pushing herself up the rest of the hill, “We’re almost there.” She plodded up to the door and opened it, setting her brother down inside.

“Let’s get you charged up,” she panted, hanging up her saddlebag.
Before she made it to the charging station, Alpha fell off of Omega's back, made his way to a table, opened his storage compartment, placed the apple on the table, and gave Omega a look like "that better be there in the morning."

The mare snorted and shook her mane, walking down the hallway. “This is your room,” she said, pointing.
Alpha looked around the room with a tired smile.

“There’s a back up power supply charger on the wall,” she said, “Volt can probably fix your generator tomorrow.” She sighed. “That’s a bed, you lay your head on that thing called a pillow and pull the blankets over you. Then you go to sleep. Any questions?”
Alpha gave Omega a glare that said "not funny"

“Just checking,” she said, “Goodnight.”
Alpha waved weakly at Omega as he did as she had instructed.

She lingered for a second and then trotted off, closing the door behind her.
Alpha turned onto his side and decided that then would be the best time to let go of his last bit of power, going into shutdown mode.

No Conscience

“He’s coming back online Volt.” A familiar voice said as Alpha once more found himself on the pedestal where he was first activated.

“What a relief,” Volt sighed, swimming before Alpha’s eyes.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“I believe the word is tired,” Alpha replied, “But other than that, all systems are green.”

“One of the wires in your generator was malfunctioning but we’ve replaced it and you should be fine from now on.”

“That’s good. Shouldn’t something like that have shown up on a diagnostic?” Alpha asked.

“It should have,” he frowned, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at that some time. But not now. Now, you should go relax.” He helped the robot to his feet.

Alpha looked at the other pony, and noticed that he was the same one that activated him and rebooted him at the party. “Who are you?” He asked.

“My name is Copperwire.” The other replied. “I helped design your software and circuitry. Make sure that the technicalities run smooth and stuff like that.”

“Oh, here,” Volt said, levitating Alpha’s bandana to him and tying it around his neck, “We had to take it off to work on you. Where did you get it?”

“Flitter gave it to me at the party.” Alpha said. His eyes suddenly widened, as if realizing something. “My apple!” He said.

“Your what?” Volt asked.

“My apple. I also got it at the party.” Alpha said. “I left it on the table when Omega brought me back.”

“Oh,” Volt smiled, “you’re fine to go now, if you want.”

Alpha nodded and walked out of the room, smiling when he saw that his apple was indeed safe, picking it up and taking it to his room before heading outside once more. Before he set out for Ponyville, he turned back and said. “I can go back to the town?”

“Of course,” he smiled, “Just come back before dark.” He turned to leave but stopped, “How did Omega perform last night?”

“I asked a few friends to say hello, but she didn’t take it well.” Alpha said.

“That’s a shame,” sighed Volt, “I will talk with her. You enjoy yourself now.” He trotted away, heading towards the library.

Alpha waved as Volt walked away, flying off towards Ponyville again. Below him he saw two armored ponies walking up to the door and knocking. Alpha thought nothing of it, continuing along his way until he saw the town.

When he landed in the town, he was approached by a young stallion and mare who both had bright blue manes and tails. They smiled at him brightly and the stallion waved.

“Hello,” he said, “You’re Alpha, right?”

“That is right.” Alpha replied with a smile.

“Hi,” the mare said, “I’m Silver Glint and this is my brother, Spring Lock.”

“We were at your party last night,” Spring said, “We thought we’d get to know you better, maybe show you around town.”
“I’ve already seen quite a bit of town, but if you have something you want to show me, lead the way.”

The siblings exchanged glances and then trotted down the road.

“This way,” Silver Glint said.

“We need help with something we think you’d be good at,” added Spring Lock.

“Sounds like fun.” Alpha said.

“Great!” smiled Silver. The two led him up the road towards the quills and sofas shop.

“So, what we need you to do is to go inside and take that box full of bits on the counter in there. Silver and I will wait out here for you.”

“Wait for us to start talking with the shop owner before you go in and try to be as fast as you can, got it?”

Alpha nodded. “Get the box, but not before you start talking, be fast.” He said.

“You’re a fast learner,” praised Spring Lock, “now go over there for a second so that we can call the store owner out.” He pointed over to the side of the shop.

Alpha walked over to where Spring Lock pointed, waiting for the store owner to leave.

“Hey, Davenport!” Silver called, “We want to talk to you for a second.” The door swung open and a brown earth pony joined them with a frown on his face.
“What do you two want?” he asked.
“We wanted to apologize,” Spring Lock said, eyes glancing at Alpha.

Alpha took this as his signal and walked into the shop, walked to the counter, and took the box of bits.

“What are you doing?” asked an orange mare with a carrot cutie mark.

“I’m helping those two. They told me to take this.” Alpha said, pointing at Spring Lock and Silver Glint.

“You’re stealing!” the mare cried, pointing, “Davenport! You’re being robbed!” The stallion turned around and pointed a hoof accusingly.
“Thief!” he cried. Silver and Spring exchanged anxious glances and galloped away in separate directions.

“Run, Alpha!” Spring cried over his shoulder.

Alpha looked at the two running, then at Davenport, trying to figure out whether or not to ask questions, or to run away. After a few seconds, he decided that running would be his best option at the moment, and he ran after Silver and Spring.

The pony called Davenport followed him, shouting, “Give me back my money!” Ahead of him, Silver turned a corner and disappeared. Ponies all around were staring and shouting. Two armored ponies had replaced the shopkeeper in the chase.

“Stop!” they shouted.

Copperwire watched them run by. “Override Alpha two!” He shouted, and Alpha fell over, going into shutdown mode.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay! My June is very busy! Thanks for over 100 views, and leave a comment if you want!
(that's the short version :derpyderp2:)

The meaning of guilt

When Alpha awoke, Volt and the two armored ponies were standing over him, along with Copperwire. Volt shook his head disappointedly.

“Well, he’s running again, but I couldn’t find what was wrong with him,” he told the two ponies.

“What happened?” Alpha asked.

“I overrided your software and forced a shutdown.” Copperwire said.

“What were you doing, my son?” asked Volt, “These ponies told me you tried to rob a quill and sofa store! Was there a program malfunction?”

“No malfunction Volt Spark,” Alpha said, “have I done something wrong?”

“Yes!” cried the scientist, “You stole money from a pony. Do you understand the gravity of stealing?”

“No,” Alpha said, “I don’t.”

With a sigh, Volt turned to the guards.

“You can go. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said. The guards nodded and then left the laboratory. Volt sat down with Alpha and sighed again.

“Why don’t I give you an example,” he started, “Pretend that I decided I wanted the apple you got from the party last night and so, without asking you, I just ate it. How would you feel?”

“Not happy.” Alpha asked.

“Now imagine the apple was… going to be your only power supply and I just took it.”

“My generator would fail again, my backup battery would die, and I would shut down.” Alpha said. He looked at the floor. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly.

“I’m glad you’re sorry,” Volt said, “that’s an appropriate response, but it’s not right to just take things that belong to other ponies. Promise me that you won’t do it again.” He looked intently at Alpha, casting a glance to Copperwire, then back again.
Copperwire looked like he himself had committed a crime. "I am just as responsible as he is. When I was reviewing your programming for potential bugs, I found you hadn't put in anything about murder, theft, or any other crimes, so I figured you would teach him about it later, so I didn't program it myself. He literally didn't know any better, but we did. I should have done the programming."

“It’s my fault as well,” Volt sighed, “I overlooked it as well. Can you start work on a morality chip? Just with a basic knowledge of what is a crime and such. We wouldn’t want something to happen to Alpha because of a failure on our part.”
"Of course." Copperwire said, heading into the robotics room.
"What is this feeling? This emotion that I am feeling?" Alpha asked.
“Describe it,” Volt told him, turning back to his machine.
"I... don't know how." Alpha said.

“Yes, that’s quite normal,” he scientist wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “I think I have something that might help with that. Why don’t we head down to the library and see Omega?”
Alpha nodded. "Yes."
“This way,” Volt said, trotting out of the laboratory and down the hall to Omega’s library, the other two ponies behind. He peaked inside, and then led the way.
“Omega,” he called, “Can you fetch me that book of emotions?”
“One second,” the mare called through the shelves. There was some shuffling and then the robot emerged holding a thick tome. She dropped it at Volt’s hooves and turned to Alpha.
“You’re okay.” she said, not really a question, more like a statement.
"Thanks?" Alpha said, not sure what to think of it.
“I’m glad,” she paused, “I’m glad you’re okay.” She turned and trotted back into the shelves. Volt opened the book and flipped through the first couple pages. He handed it to Alpha.
“Look for a description of the emotion you feel,” he said.

Alpha flipped through the pages, stopping when he read the description for guilt.

“This one.” He said.

“Ah, guilt, I see.” He shook his mane out and nodded sadly, “otherwise known as remorse. Feeling bad for one’s actions. Just remember not to let guilt control you. It’s a warning to change, not a punishment.”

Alpha nodded. “I will.”

“Good. Now, I don’t want you to go back into town today.” he said, “Why don’t you stay here and read a bit.”

“What will I read?” Alpha asked, looking at the shelves full of books. “There’s so many of them”

“I’m sure Omega can help you find something,” Volt said, turning to leave. “Keep an eye on him, Omega.” The mare snorted and pulled a book off the shelf, shoving it into Alpha’s hooves.

“Here,” she said, “This is a complete history of Equestria. I’m sure you need it.”

“I’m sure I will.” Alpha said, taking the book.

She trotted off to a couch in the back of the library where she sat down beside an open book and resumed reading it, glancing up at him every now and then.

“I think I’ll go get started on that morality chip now.” Copperwire said, leaving the library.

“Good idea,” Volt said, “i’ll join you.” As the two walked down the hall, he turned to his assistant and began to speak in a hushed tone.

“Some ponies from the government came by today and commissioned me to create another robot. Offered a lot of bits.”

“The government wants a robot?” Copperwire asked, “what for?”

“For the military, they said. They had a list of things that they want to incorporate in the robot. Here, I’ve got it somewhere.” He rooted through his coat and pulled out a scrap of paper which he handed to Copperwire.

Copperwire looked over it with a look of hatred and horror. “They want you to build a weapon.” He said.

“I suppose,” sighed volt, “but at least we can make it a safe weapon.”

“No. I don’t want my hard work, my innovation to be used to kill countless beings, and neither should you.” Copperwire said.

“But think of it,” he said, “We could ensure shutdown codes! We could give it a morality core as well!”
“Those things are manipulatable.” Copperwire said.
“So are ponies! We wouldn’t be making any mistakes that nature hadn’t already made!”

“Normal ponies tire out. Normal ponies don’t turn off with a few words.”

Volt spark sighed rubbing a hoof over his tired eyes. “Fine,” he began, “I can see that I won’t be able to change your mind and I wouldn’t want to. Opinion is part of what makes us unique. I’m not going to force you to participate, but if you ever change your mind, you are free to join me. If you could however, start work on that morality core for Alpha, that would be good.”

"That project I would gladly work on." Copperwire said, walking away.

Volt took a deep breath and watched his friend and assistant until he was out of sight. Tired in mind and body, he decided to go to sleep and begin work on the project nicknamed "Razor" in the morning.

A Study In The Rain

When Alpha woke up the next morning, he looked for Volt Spark after his diagnostic.

It took a while, but eventually he found him in the laboratory, sorting through a bucket of mismatched wires and metal bits. He didn’t seem to notice the pegasus walk in.

Alpha looked around, trying to find a way to get Volt's attention, but eventually settled with "um, Volt?"

“Hm?” the unicorn lifted his head and rubbed his eyes, squinting back at him. Eventually, he seemed to realize who he was speaking with and smiled. “Ah, Alpha, how may I help you?”

"I was wondering if I could go out into town today." He said. "I have the book you gave me with me."

“Yes, sure, just… stay out of trouble, okay?” He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead with a hoof, smiling back at Alpha after a second.

"Is something wrong?" Alpha asked.

“What? Oh, no, my son, go along and play with your friends.” He smiled reassuringly.

"Okay." Alpha said, leaving the room and heading out the door.

As soon as he stepped out, he found Omega right in front him. She was fiddling with her saddle bags when she saw him.

“Oh, hi,” she said flatly.

"You're outside." Alpha observed.

“Wow, good work, Sherclop,” she snorted in a voice that he recognized as sarcasm.

"What brings you out?" Alpha asked.

“I have to go into town and shop for Volt.” She turned and plodded down the hill towards town.

Alpha stood in front of the door, pondering the sudden decision placed before him. Eventually he decided to head into town, making his way to a bench where he sat down and began to read his book.

After a while, a hoof tapped him on the shoulder, coughing respectfully.

Alpha looked up, the lenses in his eyes adjusting to the change.

Before him stood a purple unicorn, smiling brightly.

“May I ask what book you’re reading?” she said.

"Volt Spark told me it was a complete history of Equestria." Alpha replied.

“Not The Complete History of Equestria by Maybell Featherquill? I love that book!” She took a seat beside him on the bench.

"What's your name?" Alpha asked.

“I am Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s student positioned here on an assignment,” she said.

"Can I help?" Alpha asked.

“My assignment is to learn about friendship, so if we can become friends that would be fine.” She smiled brightly, her eyes squinting cutely.

"My current goal is to learn more about... everything really." Alpha said. "Do I recognize your name?" He said after a few seconds.

“You might,” she shrugged, “but from what I gathered from Pinkie, you were only activated a few days ago.” She shifted position and then spoke again, “You said you wanted to learn about everything really?”

"Yes, I do. I want to fit in more in this town, and if it means making friends, I'm more than happy to." Alpha said.

“Well, I’d be happy to help!” she said, “If you ever want to get a good book, you can stop by the library. I live there, so I’ll help you find whatever you’re looking for.”

"I'll remember that." Alpha said.

Just then, Omega approached looking extremely peeved. She stopped in front of him.

“There you are! What’s wrong with you? Because of your stunt yesterday, I can’t buy the stuff on Volt’s grocery list!” She stomped her hoof on the ground and glared at him.

"Oops?" Alpha said.
“Duh, oops!” she shouted, “most of the stores in town don’t allow robots anymore!”
“That’s horrible!” Twilight cried. Omega seemed to notice her for the first time now.
“You!” she cried, “Leave me alone!”

"She hasn't done anything to you." Alpha said. "I'll see what I can do sometime today."

“Hasn’t done anything to me?” Omega snorted, “She wouldn’t stop blabbing in my ear at your party the other night! She should learn to mind her own business.”

"She's been very nice." Alpha said "maybe this is just another experience thing. Anyway, I'll apologize to the pony I stole from later, then everything should go back to normal. See, easy. But in the meantime, my goal is to learn and that's what I want to do today. I want to interact with as many ponies in this town as I can."

“Fine,” she growled, shoving her saddlebag into his chest, “inside are some bits and the shopping list. Don’t buy anything that’s not on the list, got it? I’m going home.”

“Got it.” Alpha said, waiting for Omega to walk away before staring at the saddlebags weirdly.

“Here,” Twilight offered, positioning them on his back and under his wings.

“Thanks.” Alpha said.

“You’re welcome. Why don’t you head down to the store. I’ll be at the library if you need me.”

“Sure. I think I can handle that.” Alpha said.

“Alright, see you around!” she smiled, trotting off with a backward glance.

Alpha waved after her before looking at the list Omega gave him. It didn’t take long before his smile fell as he realized he had no clue where he could find any of the things on the list. “Well, it seems like I have a wrong to right.” He said, “maybe I should start there.” He walked over to a random pony and asked, “where can I find the quills and sofas store?”

“Over that way,” the stallion pointed.

“Thank you.” Alpha said, walking over to where the stallion pointed.

As he entered, the shopkeeper looked up and glared. “No, no, no. Out, out, out! Didn’t you see the sign? No robots allowed in my store!”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Alpha said.

“You stole from me, you can’t just expect me to forgive you. It’s going to take a while.”

“Well, I didn’t know about stealing then, but I do now.” Alpha said.

“A likely story.”

“I only know what I’m told.” Alpha said.

“Well, once you can get some pony to convince me, the sign will stay in my window.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard.” Alpha said. “My creators can vouch for me.”

“Alright then,” he said, “as soon as that happens, you can come in, but until then, no robots.”

“Could you at least tell me where I can find some of the shops on my list?” Alpha asked.
“Fine, but I wouldn't expect any treatment other than what you‘ve received here.” He proceeded to give Alpha directions to all of the shops on his list. However, once he had been to all of the shops, he had only been able to pick up three of the items on his list. He walked in a downtrodden manner to the library that Twilight pointed out earlier and knocked on the door.
Twilight answered. “Oh, hi Alpha!” she smiled, “What’s up? Everything okay?” She frowned as she noticed his posture.

“I made a mistake.” Alpha said. “And now I can’t get the things on the list that Volt Spark needs.”

“Is there a way I could help?” she asked, “Maybe I could get the stuff for you.”

“That would be nice.” Alpha said. “I’m sure once Volt Spark talks to them everything will be fine.”

“Alright, give me the list, I’ll go get the stuff. Why don’t you stay here and read a bit while I’m gone?” She levitated the list out of his pack.
“I’ll do that.” Alpha said, walking over to a shelf.

“Okay, I’ll be back within the hour,” she said, looking over the list. She left the library, leaving Alpha alone with his thoughts and the books.
Alpha took several books off the shelf and set them down on the table, taking out his own copy of The Complete History of Equestria.
“Who.” Something in the corner shifted.

Alpha looked up from his book, wondering who else was in the library with him.

“Who.” After a second, an owl fluttered out onto the table.

“Alpha.” Alpha said, looking at the owl.

“Who.”

“Alpha.” Alpha repeated, slowly moving a hoof to touch the owl.

“Who.” The owl pulled back a bit.

“My name is Alpha. What’s yours?”

This conversation lasted a few minutes before Alpha heard another noise and looked over to see its origin.

“Don’t even bother,” said a young dragon as he came down the stairs, just a baby really, “that’s all he can really say.” He was holding a bunch of comics under his arm and he set them on the table. He began to read one titled Power Ponies: The Return of the Mane-iac.

Alpha stared at the newcomer. “Hi,” he said, “my name is Alpha.”

“I’m Spike,” he said absently.

“Who.” Spike shook his head with a groan.

“What are you reading?” Alpha asked.

“Just some Power Pony comics,” he said, “Ever read one?” His nose remained buried in the comic.

“No, I haven’t.” Alpha said. “what’s a Power Pony?”

“They’re super heroes that live in this city called Maretropolis,” Spike looked up from his comic.

"What's Maretropolis?" Alpha asked.

“Here,” Spike sighed, “take this.” He handed him a comic from the pile. “This is the first one, it’s called Power Ponies: Rise of Colt Front. You’ll love it.” He returned to reading.

Alpha took the comic and set it on top of the stack of books he'd collected for reading. After a few minutes and chapters later, Twilight returned carrying everything on the list in her saddle bag.

“Hey, Alpha,” she smiled, “I got all the stuff on your list.” She proceeded to read it off and place everything on the table once she had named it.

"Thank you Twilight." Alpha said. "Spike was just telling me about this book he's reading."

“That’s great,” she smiled. “It’s getting a bit late, maybe you should head home.”

"Alright." Alpha said, putting the history book back in his storage compartment.

“Thanks for coming,” she smiled, “I’ll keep this stack of books separate for you.”

“Who.”

“Whatever.”

"Thank you Twilight." Alpha said, putting Omega's saddlebags back on and trying to put the items in it.

“You’re welcome. Good bye, Alpha! See you tomorrow!”

Alpha made his way to the door, but before he could open it, a booming noise was heard overhead.

“What was that?” Alpha asked.

“Thunder, that means it’ll rain soon,” she said, “You should hurry home. No pony likes to get caught in the rain.”

Alpha nodded and went outside as the rain began and made his way back to the lab. He stopped for a moment on the edge of town, watching the rain as it fell around him, and even lifting a hoof to watch the rain land on it. It pooled and rolled off of his hooves, spilling onto the ground and forming puddles on the grass. It was cool feeling and it smelled fresh and clean. Alpha smiled at this scene he’d just watched, and continued standing in the rain, taking in the cloudy sky, listening close to the sounds of the world around him. Then there was a bright flash in the clouds above as a jagged light forked from above. Moments later a large boom like he had heard before tumbled through the sky. It was amazing. Alpha didn’t understand why Twilight said nopony liked to get caught in the rain.

After a while of watching this scene, he decided to go back to the lab, placing Omega’s saddlebags clumsily onto the table.

“Where have you been?” Omega asked. He turned to see her leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, legs crossed.

“Reading.” Alpha said.

“You took forever,” she growled, “And that rain. I’ll bet you half that stuff you bought is ruined now! You’re so… so… Ugh!” She turned and stormed off.

“I’m so what?” Alpha called after her. No response. The door to the library could be heard slamming closed. Alpha shrugged and walked, still dripping wet, into the lab where he hoped to find Volt Spark. The unicorn was hard at work, welding the metal frame for a new robot. Sparks flew above and beside him, but his mask, leather apron and heavy gloves kept him safe. He paused and sat up, lifting the mask and wiping the perspiration from his brow.

“I’m back Volt Spark.” Alpha said, sitting on the floor.

“Oh, hello, Alpha!” he smiled, taking off his welding gear and trotting over, “Oh, my, you’re soaking wet. We should get you dried off.” He took a dirty rag out of his pocket with his magic and began to dry his robot creation.

Alpha looked clearly displeased at having the dirty rag wiping him down, but he sat still anyway.

“There you go,” Volt said as he finished. Then he glanced at his watch. “Oh, my, I should probably eat dinner and then go to bed. It’s quite late.” He put the rag back in his pocket and went to the kitchen to fix himself a daisy sandwich.

Copperwire walked in the lab, taking Alpha’s right ear off as he went past.
“I need this,” he said, “you probably should stay out of here for a while, don’t ask why, just trust me.”
Alpha nodded and walked out of the lab, and made his way to the library. He wanted to know the name for the feelings he felt in the rain.

Alpha looked out of the window in his room, watching the rain as the day came to an end. He had learned the feelings were called happiness and enjoyment among others. He looked at the clock on a table next to his bed, and decided it was time to power down for the night

Author's Note

This is the last chapter for a few weeks! I won't be home to post!

A Rainy Day

Author's Note

Forgot I had this sitting around, came up with the title on the spot.
Fail. :facehoof:
No, it's not back yet.

A Rainy Day

The next morning, Alpha’s diagnostics told him something was wrong. “Oxidized” it said. Alpha had no clue what that meant, but when he got out of bed he quickly found himself on the floor as his knee buckled beneath him with a loud creak and yet another new feeling.

“What was that?” Called Omega from her library, “You’d better not be messing around in there!” Hoofsteps could be heard, loud and upset as they marched down the hall.

Alpha got to his hooves, shifting his weight away from the knee that had caused him to fall over. He noticed upon further inspection that it had a few orangish spots on it. He figured that he should show them to Volt Spark as soon as possible, so he limped his way out of the room.

Volt looked up as he entered the kitchen. “What was that sound?” he asked, setting down the newspaper.

“Something’s wrong with my knee.” Alpha said. “The sound was me falling out of bed.”

“Let me take a look,” he said, beckoning with a hoof and adjusting his position in his chair.

Alpha nervously made his way over to Volt Spark and held up his knee for him to look at.

“It’s covered in rust!” the scientist exclaimed. “I’ll be right back with the supplies to repair it. Stay here.” He left, brushing past Omega as he did.

“Where the hay is your ear?” she asked, legs crossed.

“Copperwire took it.” Alpha said.

“Why?”

Alpha shrugged “He said he needed it.”

“He’s probably going to install a tracking chip so that they always know where you are.”

“I don’t think so,” Alpha said, “but they did say they were going to make me a morality chip so I didn’t steal from somepony again.”

“Whatever,” she sighed, “I’m going to go read.” She turned and walked off.
"That's all you ever do." Alpha complained quietly as he watched Omega walk away.

"Hello Volt Spark." Copperwire said as Volt entered the lab. "The chip is installed. Could you give this back to Alpha please?" He held up Alpha's ear.

“Of course!” he smiled, “I’m surprised you got it done so fast. You truly have a gift.” He took the ear and put it in a pocket. He glanced at the empty metal skeleton of the new robot as it stood on the plinth. “Are you sure you do not want to help?”

“This was easy compared to refining the code for Omega and Alpha, and yes, I’m sure.” Copperwire said.

“That’s a shame.” he sighed, “but I still respect your decision.” He went over to a box of chemicals and began searching for the rust remover and oil.

“So, Alpha got caught in the rain eh?” Copperwire said. “I heard you yell all the way over here.”

“Yes, and now his leg is rusted.” He pulled out the supplies and a clean rag and then turned back. “What will you be working on now, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I might practice my coding more.” Copperwire said. “Learn better wiring techniques, stuff like that.”
“Alright,” Volt said, “good luck. Excuse me.” He left the room and headed back to the kitchen.

“You’re back.” Alpha said when Volt Spark walked in.

“Yes, now hold still.” He bent down and began to clean the rust away.

“Can I take the book of emotions with me as well as the history book?” Alpha asked while Volt Spark worked.

“Of course, but where are you going?” he asked.

“Can I not go into town today?” Alpha said.

“No, not until it stops raining,” Volt said firmly, “That’s what caused the rust.”

“Oh.” Alpha said. “What can I do here?”

“You can always read or you can try to find a special talent. I don’t know how your cutie mark works, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. There. Why don’t you try moving your leg for me.”

Apha moved his leg without any creaks or difficulty

“Alright, I’m going to get back to work. Stay inside until it stops raining and don’t get wet.”

Alpha nodded and decided to explore the lab some more.
He discovered a swimming pool, but that was out of the question. There was an exercise room, a storage room and more. He ended up in an amazing room with a ceiling that was painted to look like the night sky and had a huge telescope. There were several book shelves and desks full of papers and scientific instruments. Alpha explored the room, looking through the papers and books, eventually turning his attention to the telescope with curiosity. He twisted a knob and watched in fascination as another piece moved with it. The thing was covered in gears and such and beside it was a large red lever. It looked important.
Alpha stared at the lever, debating whether or not to pull it. Eventually curiosity won out and Alpha pulled the lever. With a loud creak, the roof began to split open and the rain began to pour into the room. Alpha panicked slightly, pushing the lever back where it was as quickly as he could. There wasn’t much damage, but a stripe of the room was wet, including himself. Alpha freaked out slightly, as he had just gone against what Volt Spark had told him. He made his way out of the room, hoping to find a place to dry himself off. He turned a corner and came face to face with Omega.

“You’re soaking wet again!” she whispered harshly, “What’s wrong with you?!”

“I pulled a thing.” Alpha said with a shrug.

“You idiot!” she sighed, “Look, come with me, we’ll get you dried off.”

Alpha looked hurt, but followed after Omega. She led him down a hallway to a weird room at the back of the lab. There was a weird machine that was basically a glass chamber.

“Get in.” she said.

Alpha walked to the center of the chamber and sat down. Omega closed the door and switched it on with a lever. A gust of warm wind rushed around, drying him off.
“What was that?” Alpha asked.
“It’s a dryer,” she said, switching off the machine, “It’s used to dry special machines. I don’t know why Volt didn’t use it earlier.”

“Any more interesting places here?” Alpha asked, exiting the dryer.

“The library’s the only interesting place around here, but you might like the astronomy room.” She turned around and walked away.

“What’s an astronomy room?”

“It’s a room where you look at stars,” she said without turning around.

“Would it have a lot of books and a big thing with a knob that moves another thing?” Alpha asked. “Oh, and a flippy-stick that would make it rain?”

“Yes, and it’s called a lever.”

“I’ve already been there.” Alpha said.

“Then go somewhere else.”

“Okay. I’ll find something, I’m sure of that much.” Alpha said.

After a few hours Alpha had found the kitchen, the library, made his way back to the astronomy room and the dryer room, went to the lab, where Copperwire quickly pushed him out, other labs, each like the one Alpha was built in and all of them full of dusty documents and books Alpha didn’t understand, as well as computers left to gather dust. Finally he made his way back to the living quarters, where he found his room and laid on his bed. After a while, he turned to his side and looked at his apple. It seemed different than he remembered. It had black spots on it every so often and was slightly misshapen compared to when he got it. He picked it up and took it to the lab where Volt Spark seemed to be working on something.
“Something’s wrong with my apple!” He said.

“Can it wait? I’m a bit busy,” Volt said, sifting through boxes of machinery.
"No, I'd rather it not." Alpha said, trying to show Volt Spark the apple.

With a sigh, the unicorn turned towards him, “Yes?”

Alpha held out the apple towards Volt Spark with a worried look on his face. “What’s wrong with it?” He asked.

“It’s just molding,” Volt said, “fruit does that when it get’s old.”

“Can we fix it?” Alpha asked.

“Maybe but it wouldn’t be worth it. The apple’s time on the planet is over and you have to let it leave when it’s ready to.”

“So what do I do?” Alpha asked

“We should throw it away,” he said, “there’s no reason to keep a rotten apple.”

“But Applebloom gave this to me.” Alpha said.

“In a few days the apple will start to smell and then it will be full of bugs and get gross. The apple is dying and we have to get rid of it.”

Alpha looked sadly at the floor. “Okay.” He said.

“Just put it in the trash and it’ll get taken out with the rest of the stuff,” he said, turning back to his work.

Alpha looked at the apple and trudged away, doing as Volt Spark said.

“Well, I suppose that’s one way to teach him about death.” Copperwire said, not even looking up from his work.

“What?” Volt glanced at him, “Oh, I guess it may have been a bit frank…” He swallowed and looked down at the project.

“You’re making quite some progress on it.” Copperwire said. “But then again, I’m making progress on my own little project.”

“Really? What is that, exactly?”

“Think of it as an… insurance policy. Just because I’m not helping you does not mean I’m not having anything to do with it. You’re using the same programming base as Omega and Alpha, right?”

“Yes,” he said, “I’m trying to see if I can manage a unicorn model this time though.”

“Programming’s all I need to know.” Copperwire said, returning to his work.

After Alpha got rid of the apple, he looked around to see no one was around and walked to the second lab he found while he was exploring. He looked at the various papers and books in detail now that he was going to stay there for a while. After a while, he put the books where he found them, understanding a little more than he did before, but not much. After a bit of searching around, he found a cardboard box that had “Wind Up Toys” written on it in marker. Inside were bags full of pieces. Alpha took out one of the bags and looked at it puzzledly. Eventually he opened it and read the slip of paper that was inside, which appeared to be an instruction sheet.

After a bit more work, he had the small toy built. He dug around some more and found some paints, and a few minutes later it was crudely painted to resemble Omega. The sun had long gone down after this point, so Alpha decided to go to bed, the small toy resting on the table where the apple used to be.

What is this institution of education you speak of?

The next morning when Alpha got up he almost forgot to run his morning diagnostic in his excitement to show Omega what he made last night. After he ran it, he made his way to the library, where he thought she would be.

“You’re up early,” Omega said as he entered, a book in her hooves as always.

“I have something for you.” Alpha said, opening his storage compartment and placing the toy on the table.

She put a bookmark in the novel and closed it, setting it down on the couch beside her. She stood squinting as she walked up and scrutinized it.

“Is that a doll of me?” she asked, lifting it up before her eyes.

“You twist that knob on its side a few times and it walks.” Alpha said, pointing out said knob. Glancing at him with one raised eyebrow, she set it down on one end of the table. Doing as he had said, she watched as it shuffled awkwardly to the other end, catching it before it fell off. It’s legs waved for a few seconds before it ran down.

“What is it for?” she asked skeptically.

“Well, uh… you twist the knob on its side, and it walks.” Alpha said.

“That’s it? You don’t want anything from me?”

“I just wanted to give you that.” Alpha said.

“Okay,” she said, taking it and placing it in her own storage compartment. She returned to the couch and opened the book again. As he was leaving the room she said “thanks” quietly.

Alpha next went looking for Volt Spark. He found the scientist in his lab working on the robot once again.

“Hello.” Alpha said, trying to get Volt’s attention.

“Hello, Alpha,” he said, waving a hoof in acknowledgement.

“A lot of the shopkeepers in town won’t let Omega and I in their shops.”

“Really, what for?”

“I think it was when I stole from that one shopkeeper.”

“Oh, yes that makes sense. That’s too bad.” He kept working.

“Could you go into town and… clear things up?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“So I’ll see you in town then.” Alpha said, starting towards the door out of the lab.

“Mhm.” There was a loud whirring as the saw blade started up. Alpha looked back at the sawblade, but before he could ask what his creator was doing, he remembered Copperwire telling him to stay out of the lab and headed outside. The sky was a perfect blue and the grass seemed more lush and green than usual, perhaps because of the rain. Above were several fluffy white clouds and birds fluttered around, chirping sweetly.

Alpha smiled and took off on his usual route towards Ponyville, but he stopped when he recognized a pegasus who was flying along the route, so he flew down to her.

“Oh, hey, Alpha,” said Dash as she slowed to keep pace with him.

“Hello. You’re Rainbow Dash, correct?” Alpha asked.

“Sure am!” she said, doing a loop-de-loop, “What’s up?”

“The sky, clouds, us, lot’s of things in actuality.” Alpha said.

“No, it means ‘what are you doing? Is anything going on with you?’” Dash laughed.

“I’m just flying into Ponyville like I normally do.” Alpha said.

“Cool,” she said, “You wanna race?”

“Race?” Alpha asked. “What’s a race?”

“It’s where we choose a place to go, and then we both go as fast as we can and try to be the first one there. You up for it?”

“Yes.” Alpha said.

“Alright!” she cheered, “why don’t we race to Twilight’s library?”

“I can get there from here.” Alpha said.

“So it’s a deal! We’ll start when I say go,” the pegasus readied herself, “One… Two…. Three… GO!” She beat her wings so quickly and flew straight for the library, a faintly rainbow colored trail flying behind her. Alpha quickly fumbled off his bandana, put it in his chest cavity, and charged after her, letting his wings take him as fast as they allowed. He stayed pretty close to Dash for the majority of the flight. Soon the library was in sight. Dash looked back which slowed her a bit, but she pushed harder and surged forward, a boundary of air forming in front of her hooves. Alpha followed after as fast as he could, multiple messages popping up telling him his core was reaching heat levels that threatened an emergency shutdown, and he slowed slightly. Dash skidded to a halt right before the library, landing on the front step.

“Hah!” She cheered as he flew in, “I win! Nice try, though, newbie.”

Alpha landed, the front part of his chest glowing red-hot, steam spewing forth with every heaving breath.

“Whoa! You okay?” asked the blue pegasus. She lifted one hoof worriedly, as if to touch him, but then thought better of it.

“My generator is overheating, but other than that, I’m fine.” Alpha said.

“If you say so,” she said. She looked up at the sky. “I’ve got a couple things I gotta do today, but I’ll see you later, cool?”

“See ya.” Alpha said. “That was fun”

“Yeah, you’re pretty good,” she said, “See you later.” She flew off into the sky.

Alpha waved as she flew off, then looked over the town, wondering where to go next. Several shops had banned robots, so that was out of the question, so he wandered the streets, waiting for someone to say hello.

“Hey, Alpha!” cried Applebloom from her stall.

Alpha looked over at Applebloom and smiled. “Hey Applebloom, how are you today?” He asked, making his way over.

“Ah’m great!” she said, “How are you doin’?”

“I’m overheating, but good.” Alpha said.

“Cool,” she smiled, “You want an apple?” She gestured to the cart full of them.

“I’m fine.” Alpha said, feeling a pang of guilt for the apple she gave him earlier. “My generator’s working fine.”

“Alright,” she said, “So what are you doin’ today?”

“I raced Rainbow Dash. That’s why I’m overheating. But other than that I’m not up to anything.”

“That’s awesome! Did you beat Rainbow?”

“Almost.”

“Wow! She’s the fasted flyer in all of Equestria! You must be so fast!”

“I tried my best.” Alpha said.

“Of course,” she said, “That’s the best you can do.”

“Applebloom,” called another pony, “Don’t you think it’s high time you got off to school?”

“Ah hadn’t noticed that!” she turned to Alpha, “See you later!” Then she galloped away.

Alpha looked at the newcomer. “Hello.” He said.

“Howdy,” said the pony, crossing her legs casually, “You must be that Alpha pony Apple Bloom’s been talking about.”

“I am.” Alpha said. “Who are you?”

“Name’s Applejack. “Ah’m Applebloom’s sister.”

“It’s nice to meet you Applejack.” Alpha said.

“You too,” she said, dipping her head.

“I’m just glad you’re not shooing me away like most other shops here.” Alpha said.

“What, cause you’re a robot? That ain’t a good reason to stop a pony from getting what they need,” she said, adjusting her wide brimmed hat.

“Well, I was sort of tricked into doing something bad a few days back, but I know better now.” Alpha said.

“Ah heard. Those con-ponies are horrible for taking advantage of you like that, if you ask me.”

“Thank you for understanding Applejack.” Alpha said. He stood for a few moments, wondering if he should say something. After a while, he held an apple and said,

"How do you get these?"

“We grow ‘em,” she said, “We got a whole orchard of apple trees on the farm.”

“I’ve seen lots of trees, but I almost never see apples on them.” Alpha said.

“They don’t usually” Applejack replied.

“So… you have apple trees, you take the apples from the trees and then you bring them into town on a cart?”

“That’s pretty much it. Brings in honest bits for honest work.” Applejack explained.

“Where is it you sent Applebloom?” Alpha asked.

“To school.”

“And what is school?”

“Well, school is a place where little ponies gather to learn about the world and how it works.” Applejack replied, though her explanation sounded like she wasn’t confident with her answer.

“And where can I find this school?”

“It’s in town, head to the library and turn right.” Applejack directed.

“Thank you.” Alpha said with a smile. “I think I’ll go investigate.” He started off down the road, far too excited to notice Applejack trying to get his attention as he strolled into town.

Author's Note

Hey, just finished this up, plans fell through with VAE, and now all of my stories are now solo stories (Huzzah! :ajbemused: ) Sorry if this chapter isn't up to snuff, the last bit was done all on my lonesome and I was trying some new things and wanted to get this out ASAP.
Let me know if you find any mistakes and let me know how I can improve. I really need it now.

Power problems, birthday parties, and CMC's... whatever those are

Flitter was holding him steady. “Woah!” she said, “are you okay? You just fainted all of a sudden and fell out of the sky!” They were several feet below the other weather ponies.

“Analysis says my generator has failed. I’m on backup power now.” Alpha said.

“What the hay is up with you?” she asked, “You’re talking really funny and you weigh a ton. I mean, I noticed you were all metal looking, but I didn’t want to be rude…” She was slowly floating downwards.

“I am… a robot.” Alpha said, remembering what Volt had told him earlier.

“Really?” Flitter asked, “I’ve never met a robot before. Are you… a good robot?”

“I-I think so.” Alpha said.

“That’s good to hear,” she said, relieved. “Why don’t we get down to Ponyville and let you rest a bit.” She let go of him. “Can you fly on your own?”

“I think so, but I don’t know for how long.” Alpha said.

“Then we should head down there now,” she glided swiftly to the ground.

Alpha followed her at a slower, more careful pace. “Is there a place where I can… eat to fill my backup battery?” He asked.

“Ooh!” Flitter nodded happily and jumped up and down a bit, “Sugar cube corner is a great place to eat! It’s this way, I’ll show you.” She began to trot slowly down the road.

Alpha followed her, various readouts displayed in his vision. “I was only given an quarter charge on my main generator. My backup has a half charge.” He said, mostly to himself.

“Well, we’ll fix that right up!” Flitter smiled and turned the corner, gesturing grandly at Sugar Cube Corner, “Welcome to the best sweet shop in Ponyville!”

Alpha looked at the building in awe. “This place looks nothing like the laboratory.” He said.

“Well, duh, silly,” she joked, “It’s a sweet shop!” She pushed the door open and waved to the ponies behind the counter.
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” she called, “Two Chocolate Cupcakes for me and my friend, Alpha here.” She placed four bits on the counter and sat down at one of the tables to wait.
Alpha followed her to the table, still looking around in amazement.
“Here you go, sweeties,” Mrs. Cake smiled, setting the cupcakes on the table. She looked Alpha up and down but said nothing, returning to the kitchen.
“Well,” Flitter said, gesturing toward the cupcake, “go ahead.”

Alpha looked at the cupcake for a few seconds before eating it. “High sugar content,” he said, “battery recharging.”

Flitter giggled, diving into her own cupcake, “I think my battery is recharging too,” she joked, “kicking clouds can be hard.”

“That pony who gave us the cupcakes looked at me. Should I say something?” He asked Flitter.

“Not unless you want to,” she shrugged, “Most ponies just mind their own business.” The door slammed open and a bright pink pony bounced in. She saw Alpha and gasped loudly for a long time.

“Like I said, most ponies.”

“Hello,” Alpha said to the newcomer, “what’s your name?”

“Hi!” she squealed, “My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? I’ve never seen you before! I know everypony and so I saw you, and I was like-” she repeated the gasp she had made before- “because I didn’t know you and I know everypony in town!”

Alpha sat for a few seconds, trying to interpret the waterfall of words that just spouted from this stranger. “My name is Alpha,” he said finally, “and you haven’t seen me before because I was only activated today.”

“Well, that makes sense! I never would have seen you if you were only activated today!” she bounced around him, seemingly fine with the fact that he was a robot. Then she stopped suddenly and gasped again. “Does that mean today is your BIRTHDAY!?” She shoved her face into his. Flitter giggled and licked the rest of her cupcake from her face.

“I... don’t know. Volt Spark never told me about birthdays.” Alpha said.

“Well, if today was the day you were born, then that means it’s your BIRTHDAY!!” She threw her back legs in the air and a cannon appeared out of nowhere.it exploded in his face, showering the entire room with confetti and streamers.

“I… suppose.” Alpha said.

“YAY!” cheered Pinkie, “I’m going to go get the party ready!” She galloped out of the shop, leaving Flitter in a fit of giggles.

“Is she always like that?” Alpha asked Flitter.

“Yep,” she said standing, “You still hungry?”

“My backup battery reads at eighty-five percent.” Alpha said.

“Well, you’ll probably get a ton to eat at Pinkie’s party today, so I’d say you’re fine for now.” She trotted towards the door.

“Okay.” Alpha said, following Flitter out the door.

“Oh, yikes!” Flitter exclaimed when they stepped outside, “I’m late!” She turned to the robot and smiled apologetically. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you at the party tonight. Nobody in their right mind misses a Pinkie Pie Party.” She spread her wings and waved as she flew away.

Alpha waved good-bye to Flitter as she flew away. “Now where to go?” He asked himself. He decided to explore around, looking at the various shops and buildings, asking questions wherever he went.

Just ahead of him there was a humble cart stand parked in the center of the road. Two ponies stood, selling apples to passing ponies. The smallest one reared up on her hind legs to peek into the top of the apple buckets. From where Alpha was standing, it was apparent that she too was a blank flank.

This caught his attention and he walked over to her. “Hello.” He said.

“Why, hello, sir!” she said with her nose in the bucket, “How can ah help you?” She turned, but when her eyes fell on him, she squeaked and backed up, bumping into the cart, causing a few apples to tumble to the ground.

“Apple Bloom,” the other pony called suspiciously, “What’s goin’ on over there?”

“I came over to say hello.” Alpha said. “Is something wrong?”

“Ah, uh,” Apple Bloom looked him up and down, “um, nuthin’ Apple Jack.” She swallowed hard.

“Hello, sir,” she repeated, “Can ah help you?”

“No, I just noticed that you didn’t have your cutie mark, and I decided to say hello.” Alpha said. “I’m told I’ll get plenty of food to recharge my backup battery tonight at a party that is being thrown for me.”

Apple Bloom leaned around the pegasus to see his flank. With this, she brightened.

“Wow! You don’t have a cutie mark either?” she said, “me and mah friends are all blank flanks too!” She stared up at him.

“What’s your name, stranger?” she asked.

“My name is Alpha.” Alpha said.

“Well, ah’m Apple Bloom!” she said, “Did you say there’s a party for you tonight? Is it a Pinkie Party?”

“Yes.” Alpha said. “Wait. Volt Spark told me to be home by sundown, but according to Flitter, the party’s tonight.”

“Oh, well,” Apple Bloom shrugged, flopping onto her haunches, “Ah’m sure this Volt Switch guy won’t mind if you’re a bit late.”

“Maybe. I could fly back and ask him also.” Alpha said.

“Ah, guess,” the filly shrugged. Her face brightened up, “You should join mah club, it’s fer ponies who don’t have cutie marks!” She jumped up and grabbed the stallion’s hoof, dragging him through the street.

“I’m not even sure I can get a cutie mark.” Alpha said. “I’m a robot.”

“That’s fine,” she said dismissively, “we won’t judge!” She pulled him up the road towards the Apple family farm, ditching the path to head into the orchard.
"You don't understand," Alpha said, "Omega's been active for longer than I have, and she doesn't have one either."

“So?” asked Apple Bloom, “We don’t care. You can be a permanent member!” Ahead of them, a clubhouse built in the top of a tree. Squeaky little voices were coming from inside. Apple Bloom threw the door open.

“Sweetie! Scootaloo!” she cried, “Ah found a robot pony who doesn't have his cutie mark either! Alpha, this is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!”
“Really?” said a cute little unicorn.

“I really should check in with Volt Spark.” Alpha said, looking at the sun through a window.

“Yeah, yeah, in a minute,” said the tiny pegasus, “So are you really a robot pony? Can you shoot lasers from your eyes or something?”
"I don't think I can," Alpha said, "but yes, I am a robot, and I'm supposed to be home before nightfall, so I really should be going back to the lab so I can ask if I can go to a party tonight."

“Oh, yeah! Pinkie’s throwin’ him a party tonight!” Apple Bloom told her friends.

“Then we’ll see you there!” squeaked Sweetie Belle, “We wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your parents.” Reluctantly, Scootaloo muttered agreement.

“If he lets me go.” Alpha said. “Am I free to go now?”

Apple Bloom giggled. “Yeah, sure. See you at the party!” The three of them waved good-bye.

Alpha waved back, left the clubhouse, and took off, a monitor of his backup battery in his view in order to prevent another accident like the one before. After a while, he made it back to the lab and knocked on the door.