.rarby AnonymponyChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1.Rar by Anonympony Chapter 1 Rarity was about to close up shop for the night. It had been a busy day at the Carousel Boutique; ponies coming and going, admiring the deigns the fashion-savvy unicorn had spent so much time on. Dresses with brilliant rhinestone embroiders, headdresses lined with large plumes, and saddles that were made of the finest faux leather. Rarity had an eye for detail, choosing the only the finest fabrics, and gemstones so shiny, a dragon would go mad. And her clientèle was willing to pay for these expensive designs. Rarity's shop reflected this, the outside walls being made of the finest marble and the tiles that lined the inside were the shiniest porcelain money could buy. But despite all the glitz and glamour Rarity's shop prided itself on, her last customer was indecisive. A dark grey Earth mare with a coiffed black mane paced, trying to make her decision. Her hooves clacked loudly against the tile, echoing in the empty store. Her saddlebags shifted with her weight. Rarity just stood put, growing impatient but keeping a large fake smile in the name of customer service. "Hmm, I just don't know. I really like this dress' design. But this one also draws me to it." the customer said, pacing faster and faster as she thought. "Ma'am, if I may make a--" Rarity started, only to be cut off by a sharp shush from the Earth pony. "I think I've almost come to a decision." the grey mare said, finally stopping, the virtually empty interior of Carousel Boutique going quiet. Rarity would've taken this as relief, but her customer had said this 3 times now, and Rarity knew she wasn't any closer to a decision. "I choose...this one. Yes, this is my final decision." Rarity looked surprise. She had made a decision? The unicorn became excited, finally able to be rid of this hindrance and go soak in a bubble bath. "You're sure? I don't want you to think twice, I want to make sure you're completely satisfied." Rarity said, using her magic to gather a bag and some gift wrap. The items floated to the milky white unicorn wrapped in a deep blue aura. Rarity then focused on the dress, encompassing it in her glow and wrapping the package together quickly. "Yes, I quite sure, unless there is some reason for me not to." the customer replied. "No, no, no! This dress is fine, it'll look good on you, I swear! You'll love it, darling." Rarity said, handing the box to the customer, who put it in her saddle bags. The mare handed Rarity the bits for the outfit and hurried out the door. Rarity stood in the doorway, giving a wave and thanking the Earth pony for her patronage, immediately shutting the door and letting out a very large sigh. "Thank Celestia she's gone! Now I can finally relax." Rarity said, slumping back onto her hind legs in a most unladylike fashion. But just then, she heard what sounded like cans being moved. She listened closer as the noise persisted. It seemed to be coming from outside. Rarity opened the door back open and peered into the night, trying to find the source. She hadn't realised how late it was, the sun was almost about to set. She heard the noise again. It sounded like it was coming from the back of the building, where the dumpsters are. Rarity vowed never to go there when she saw a rat the size of a small dog scamper from behind it while taking out the trash. But this sound didn't sound like rats, it sounded...different. Rarity needed to know what it was. She went back inside, looking for something to defend herself with. She eventually decided on a long ruler that used to measure stretches of cloth. She grabbed it with the cleft of her hoof, held it in her mouth, took a deep breath, and went out to investigate the noise. As Rarity came around the back of the house, the foul odour of rotting apple cores and half eaten carrots penetrated her nostrils, quickly overwhelming her. "Oh Sweet Celestia that's foul! What an awful, horrid smell!" she said to herself. She was about to turn around, disgusted by the putrid smell. But the noise returned, now clear as day. It almost sounded mechanical. Rarity froze for a moment, contemplating running away or facing the danger. She gulped, held her weapon in a magical aura, having it at the ready, and trudged on. As she got closer, the sound became more frequent and the smell more vile. Cans rolled and fell to the hard ground, papers rustled and shifted, glass knocked and clanged. Rarity was now standing directly in front of the large trash receptacle. "H-hello?" the unicorn called. She slowly opened the lid to the dumpster, a small green light emanating from inside, filling her amethyst eyes. She pushed the lid open further, revealing the inside. It seemed relatively normal, except for what appeared to be a screen. Rarity looked closer. The screen held a picture of what looked to be a battery, its charge level split into 5 sections, 4 of which were filled up. Rarity then saw a solar panel leading out the side, catching the last rays of the Sun. The battery then filled its last bar and began to blink, bringing Rarity's attention back to it. "System: Online. Commence Scan." the screen now read. The screen began to move, bits of trash moving out of its way and falling off it. But then more trash began to slide away, revealing more. Rarity could now see the screen was connected to a metal head, which was connected to a metal neck, wires lining the sides. More trash was removed and the unicorn could now see the entire body of the creature. It was a robot! A pony shaped one at that. It moved its head close to Rarity's, the mare able to feel the static from the screen drawing in the hairs on her muzzle. From the head popped out what looked to be a small camera. It produced a strange blue grid. It moved around, covering a majority of the area it was in, finally resting on Rarity. It carefully scanned up, and then down again, retrieving data on its surroundings. "Location: 49.2505° N, 123.1119° W Ponyville. Pony mode activated." a stilted voice called from the robot. Rarity gasped, frightened by the strange voice. It removed itself from the dumpster and stood on the ground, shaking off the last bits of filth. There it stood, a magnificently built machine. Rarity had never seen anything like it. She knew that computers were around Ponyville, her friend Twilight Sparkle had some in her laboratory, but she never knew they had the ability to speak or came in the shape of ponies. The screen on the robots head flickered once more, showing a loading bar that read, 'Initialising Pony OS." Then the screen suddenly popped to life, showing familiar features of a pony face. Eyes, a nose, and a mouth were all present in a digitised form. It stared at Rarity blankly, almost as if it was waiting for a command. After a few silent moments, the unicorn finally spoke. "Um, hello? What are you?" The green, digitised eyes blinked and the mouth moved as the stilted voice responded. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the voice suddenly gargled, leaving the end impossible to understand. Rarity stared at the "PON-E" for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts on the strange piece of technology that stood before her. "Mr...PON-E, was it? Would...would you like to come inside? It is dreadfully cold out." Rarity offered as a cold breeze rolled through. The PON-E stared blankly once again, calculating the best course of action. "Command accepted, please lead on." it responded, the voice more jubilant than before. Rarity slowly started, the PON-E's monitor fixated on her. She began to trot towards the front entrance, hearing the machine start to move its mechanical joints. PON-E moved awkwardly, its legs not fully synchronised like a real pony. It's head moved all about, using its scanner and gathering more data. It followed her into Carousel Boutique. It brought forth its scanner once more and scanned the interior of the building, filling the whole room with a blue chequerboard pattern. "No visible threats." the computer stated. Rarity looked confused. She never thought there was any danger in her home, nor that it looked threatening. "But of course. You don't expect me to live in danger, do you? That'd be silly." the unicorn replied, her voice returning to its brand of dapperness that was standard when speaking. "Directive: Find all possible threats and eradicate them by any means necessary." the robotic voiced said plainly. Rarity continued to observe this strange new visitor, intrigued but also cautious. It was made with an impressive amount of technology. Gears and struts made up the body. The outside shell seemed to be made of a thick and shiny metal. The buzz of the circuits and hum of the fans gave an ambience in an otherwise dead silent room. "Mr. PON-E, do you have somewhere to live? Does anypony take care of you?" "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the end, again, was unintelligible. Rarity looked at the machine with pity. "I'll take that as a no. Hmm. I suppose you could stay here until I can find your owner or somepony willing to take you off my hooves." "Set New Location: Home." the robot responded, the entire screen blinking, as if it had a photographic memory. "Very well. Mr. PON-E, this is your new home. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must get my beauty sleep. You can sleep too, I suppose. However you do that. I'll be upstairs if you need anything, just be sure to knock." Rarity felt silly for saying this to a computer, but didn't know any way else to say goodnight. He is a guest, after all. "Input received. Sleep mode activated." The robot then began to bend it's joints, air releasing and metal creaking as it did. It rested on its hind legs, much like a real pony would. It put it's head to the floor and the monitor switched from the face of a pony to a small animation of three Z's, each one getting bigger and then looping again. 'He is a strange fellow'. I'll show him to Twilight in the morning,' Rarity thought to herself. She retired to her room, finally getting to rest after a long day. Chapter 2Chapter 2 An ear piercing screech awoke Rarity from her beauty sleep. The sleepy unicorn gasped awake and breathed heavily as sounds of objects being thrown around continued from downstairs. Rarity removed herself from the comfort of her plush bed and hurriedly tried to fix her bed mane. The sounds got louder and the unicorn became more concerned. What is going on down there. Rarity added one last detail to her mane and speed down the stairs into the foyer. It was empty, but certainly wasn't clean. Jars of glitter and rhinestones were spilled onto the floor. Dress forms lie injured, the designs they were wrapped in ruined. The commotion continued, louder than ever. Rarity listened harder, trying to find the source. It seemed to stem from behind a closed door that led to the kitchen. Sounds of hissing and galloping became apparent as Rarity trotted closer. She pressed her ear against the cold wood of the door that kept her from what lay within. More sounds became came through. Plates crashing to the floor, objects being turned over, and the distinct sound of mechanical joints. Rarity feared the worst as she slowly creaked the door open. As the scene grew bigger, the whole picture came into view. Opal jumped from a counter-top to the kitchen table, turning over a neatly placed tea set. The china smashed on to the cold tile, shattering into a million pieces. Rarity threw the door open, about to yell at the cat for making a mess, but was quickly smacked back by the same door. The unicorn tumbled back into the foyer, holding her muzzle in pain. She stood back up and marched into the kitchen to see Opal on top of a tall cabinet protruding from the wall and PON-E jumping desperately, trying to reach its prey. "PON-E! What are you doing?! Stop this instant!" Rarity exclaimed, stomping her hoof on the ground. PON-E halted, and looked back at her, his normally green face now replaced with a glowing red one. Opal took this moment to leap off the tall cabinets and scurried off into the foyer, PON-E giving chase and pushing the unicorn to the ground. PON-E and Opal kept at it, running around the foyer, trampling over the spilt glitter and toppled dresses.Soon, the cat found itself trapped in a corner, PON-E blocking all feasible exists. He crept closer and closer, a small node detached itself from his head and brought itself to the cat's snout. PON-E's screen changed from its red angry face to flashing text reading "Exterminate!". The node began to charge, casting a red glow on Opal as she pawed weakly at the screen. "Target Acquired" PON-E said in his digitised voice. Rarity thought about what he said, and then came to the sudden realisation. "PON-E, no!" the unicorn shouted at the top of her lungs. PON-E's screen got closer to Opal, the static making her fur cling. The cat whined and meowed desperately as Rarity watched in horror. The robot's screen came face to face with Opal's, the node still in its charged state. But just then, the screen turned to a blank screen and the robot chirped, "Command Accepted" and returned to its cheerful neutral green face. The node returned to the robot's head and he turned to face Rarity, who was on the brink of tears. As PON-E moved out of the way, Rarity rushed over to her beloved pet, who had fainted in fear. "Oh Opal." Rarity said, picking up the cat's limp body, slinging it across her back. She began up the stairs, PON-E still standing at attention. As the white unicorn started up the stairs, she gleamed over to PON-E. "I'm going to take care of Opal. You've scared him to death! In the mean time, try to clean the kitchen. Then we'll go see Twilight and see what we can find out about you." Rarity said. PON-E gave a salute and sprinted into the kitchen. Rarity was halted by the sounds of vacuums and sweeping. She placed pal's body on the step and hurried down the stairs to see the robot standing in the exact same spot. She eyed him carefully, then continued to the kitchen. It was immaculate. The furniture was turned over to its upright position. The pieces of broken glass and china were swept away, and even the dishes were cleaned. Rarity was speechless. She glanced back and forth between the spotless kitchen and the statuesque robot that still stood at attention in the middle of the foyer. Rarity returned to him once more, giving him one last once over. "I think you for cleaning the kitchen with such speed. But stay away from Opal, she isn't a threat. PON-E's screen turned to a loading bar that quickly filled, and displayed, "New Ally Added: Opal", and displayed a pixelated cat picture before returning to his happy face once more. The unicorn slowly backed to the stairs, picking up the unconscious feline and returning to her room to get ready to go to Twilight's home. She applied her make-up, false eye lashes, fixed her mane, and brushed her coat 134 times until it was silky smooth. The unicorn slowly trotted down the stairs, almost prancing. "How do I look, Mr. PON-E?" she asked, flaunting her fresh look. The robot said nothing, rather just stared off into space. Rarity looked at him with concern, the hum of his fans being the only sign that he was alive. "Well I suppose I look good enough, shall we go?" PON-E quickly shifted his head to Rarity, causing her to flinch. "Following" he said. "Oh, okay then. Off we go." she said, as she opened the doors. Celestia's sun broke through the boutique, reflecting off the metal body of the robot. Rarity trotted out, PON-E awkwardly following behind her, air escaping as the joints bent and moved.It wasn't very far to Twilight's house, but PON-E got many stares from the citizens of Ponyville. PON-E's metallic body left a gleam in the observer's eyes as he and Rarity made their way to Twilight's tree home. The two could hear the hushed murmurs of the citizens, but Rarity made nothing of it, enjoying the attention that was brought to her. "Look PON-E, the masses are flocking to see us." the unicorn said, giving the crowd a small prance as she continued on her way. One mare, another unicorn, slowly made her way to the two. Her green coat and green and white striped mane caught the attention of Rarity, who slowed her pace, eventually coming to a stop in front of her. The crowd fell silent. "Why hello, Lyra, did you need something? I'm kind of on my way to meet somepony." "Uh..." Lyra was stunned by the robot that accompanied the fashionista. PON-E's face had switched from his typical smile to a face of suspicion, turning a light shade of amber that matched Lyra's eyes. She snapped back into reality. "Uh, Rarity...who's this?" "Who, this fellow?" Rarity said. She turned to the robot, who faced her as well. "Why don't you tell them?" PON-E's face changed back to it's neutral, green state. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the pony recited. As before, the end was garbled and unintelligible. The crowd gasped; many of them had never seen a computer like this, let alone hear one speak. Lyra backed up slowly, her eyes widened with fear. "What in the Everfree...?" Lyra said softly to herself. PON-E's face turned back to suspicion, his laser slowly being raised. Lyra's eyes grew bigger, catching Rarity's attention. She looked behind her to see PON-E's screen slowly turning red and his laser beginning to charge. She quickly stepped in front of her friend, standing on her hind legs and blocking Lyra with her forelegs. "PON-E, wait. She's friendly. She's a nice mare, aren't you Lyra?" Rarity said, frantic to prevent her friend from being vaporised. Lyra made her head visible from behind the white unicorn and gave a few small nods, forcing a smile. PON-E stood still for a moment, the crowd's breathing barely audible. The screen suddenly turned green, his familiar smile returning once more. "New Ally Added: Lyra." Rarity gave a smile while trying to shoo Lyra away. The mare slowly trotted off before going at a full gallop towards her home. The other ponies did the same, returning home post-haste, leaving the two alone. "I think we'd best hurry to Twilight's." Rarity said to herself. She speed up her pace, arriving at the tree library in minutes. Twilight laid outside, her muzzle buried in a book. She was shaded from the sun by the tree's large branches and thick leaves. The tree was enormous, easily one of the biggest buildings in Ponyville. It's large oak trunk held a door and many windows. Rarity stopped just short of the library, turning to PON-E. "You see that purple unicorn over there? She's a friend. An ally. Don't threaten her, okay?" Rarity said, moving the robots head to Twilight's direction. "New Ally Added: Twilight." "Good, now let's go. We can't have anymore trouble." The two continued to Twilight's home; the sun slowly going behind the tree's leaves. Rarity arrived next to Twilight, who lifted her head from her book to greet her friend. "Oh, hey Rarity!" Twilight said with a smile. "Wonderful day, huh? Who is that with you...?" "Twilight, this is PON-E." Rarity said slowly, noticing the purple unicorns wide eyed stare. Rarity stepped out of the way, PON-E coming clearer into view. Twilight curled back, unsure of what she was seeing. "Don't be afraid Twilight, he's friendly. Honest. Tell her who you are, PON-E" "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" PON-E announced in his stilted voice. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Twilight questioned, still suspicious of Rarity's new friend. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" The end was still garbled, and Twilight looked with confusion. "Why can't he say that last part?" she asked. "I'm not sure. I found him last night and he wasn't able to say it then either." Twilight walked up to him, PON-E standing as still as stone, his neutral face still displayed on his monitor. She inspected him, looking at the struts that made up his legs; wires lining all down his body. His pony shaped head that lacked a muzzle and instead held a screen. His metal body that was still covered in grime and filth. The fans were generating a small hum, and circuits beeped in sequence. "I...I think you two should come in." Twilight said, opening the door to her library. Rarity commanded PON-E to follow and the three went inside. Twilight's home was always so organised; books lined shelves that seemed to stretch to the ceiling and not a single speck of dirt was to be seen. "Sorry it's a bit dirty. Spike!" she yelled, quickly going through her books. The baby dragon walked into the lobby, a small ice cream in hand. "What is it, Twil--Oh wow! What is that thing!" "It's a robot pony, but that's not important. I need you to find the 'Roboteer's Guide to Robotics'." The small dragon thumbed through the 'R' shelf, quickly finding the book and throwing it Twilight's way. The purple unicorn opened the book and flipped through the pages. "What did PON-E stand for again?" she asked. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was cre--" PON-E was cut-off by Twilight. "I don't need the whole thing." she said, feverishly flipping to the page. "Here's a passage on the PON model of robots. 'Not much is known about these robots. It is unclear where they were made or who made them, but it is estimated there are 15 robots over 5 models. The E-Model is the rarest one to date.' This doesn't really tell us anything about him." Twilight said, disheartened. "Well, at least I have the rarest model. Maybe my true element is Luck." Rarity giggled to herself. "Hmm." Twilight thought to herself. "I may know someone who can help. Spike, take a letter." The baby dragon quickly grabbed paper and a quill. He gave the tip of the quill a small lick and stood read to scribe Twilight's letter. "I have something you might find interesting. Twilight." Spike finished the letter and sent it off with a blast of his fire breath. "And now we wait." Twilight said. "That letter seemed a little vague. Who was it even t--" Rarity was cut-off by the swing of a door. The three quickly looked to see who it was. A figure stood in the doorway, his features masked by glare from Celestia's sun. "I hear you have something I might find interesting." a voice said. "Oh. We meet again, PON-E." Chapter 3Chapter 3 "Who are you?" Rarity asked, shielding her eyes from the intrusive sun. The figure chuckled to himself a little, leaning against the doorway. "Wouldn't you like to know." "Well, um, yes. That's why I asked. And how do you know PON-E?" said Rarity with confusion. "Oh. Right." the figure said, returning to all fours. He trotted into the library, away from the blinding sun, his looks coming into plain view. Rarity was less than impressed. The mysterious pony was a tall, but lean, beige Earth pony; a majority of his bones somewhat visible through his hide. His face was longer than most, leading into a smaller muzzle. His two front teeth protruded out violently from his mouth. His chocolate mane was combed over and quite visibly greasy, giving it a shine in the light of the sun. His eyes were kept behind his glasses that rested at the end of his nose. His face was speckled with acne and he smelt faintly of cheese whiz and alfalfa chips. Twilight closed the door from which this nerdy pony entered and he cleared his throat. "I am Gizmo, Robot Extraordinaire and Wooer of Mares." he said confidently. Twilight rolled her eyes and Rarity looked unimpressed. The white mare noticed how nasally Gizmo sounded, creating an uncomfortable feeling in her ears each time he spoke. "I am Rarity, nice to meet you. I suppose." the unicorn said, handing him her hoof for a shake. His eyes went huge and he began to sweat. He fumbled his words. "Oh, I, um, n-nice to, um, m-meet you. Gosh you're pretty..." Gizmo blushed, his cheeks glowing a vibrant red. "Ah, did I just say that out loud? I-I'm sorry, I, uh, this is so embarrassing--" he continued to mumble to himself. "Gizmo!" Twilight shouted. He snapped back into attention. "Right! Now then, what seems to be the problem with our friend, PON-E, here?" he said, putting his saddlebags down and grabbing a screwdriver. His Cutie mark was now entirely visible. Not surprisingly, it was a robot. "Excuse, Mr...Gizmo, was it? You never told us how you know who PON-E is." Rarity piped up. "Oh yes. That." Gizmo cleared his throat once more. "Well, I found him inside an old shed, oddly enough. I was passing through a corn field, trying to find potential parts for my robots when I found this shed. It looked to be relatively empty and was clearly abandoned. I figured I'd take a look and I saw a sheet draped over something. I initially thought it was a ghost. I mean, not that was scared or anything!" Gizmo explained, quickly trying to regain whatever confidence he was trying to display. "Anyway, I stepped into the shed and noticed that the sheet was relatively pony shaped. I removed it and sure enough, there was PON-E." He trotted next to the robotic pony and draped a foreleg over him as if he was a friend. "Needless to say, I took him home and tried to figure out what makes him tick. I'd heard about PON model robots floating around Equestria in one of my Robotics magazines, but never thought that I'd see the day. I'd be a fool to leave him there." "So what did you find out?" Twilight asked. "Not much, unfortunately. It seemed that his memory had been partially wiped when I found him. I brought him home, booted him up, and then managed to hack into part of his CPU. Interesting programs. One of which I was unable to decipher completely. From what I could tell, it was a basic AEE. Fun stuff." "A what?" Rarity asked, confused, yet oddly fascinated by the beige Earth pony's story. "AEE. It stands for Android Emotions Emulator. Basically, it would give the impression of basic pony emotions. Allow PON-E to think and feel like we do. Uncanny, really." "That doesn't seem possible. Emotions are something you can just program. How can someone even do that?" Twilight questioned, flipping through a book about programming. "Again, I wasn't able to decipher the rest of the code. But now that I've found PON-E again, I can finally unlock the secrets of the AEE." "You mean 'I' found PON-E. And what makes you think I'd let you get anywhere near him with your techno-whatzits? I barely trust PON-E as it is. And how did you lose him, anyway? It seems like that'd be quite difficult." Rarity chided. "Oddly enough, it was kind of easy to lose him. After I got him up and running, I adopted him as my assistant. By the looks of his frame, I suspect you found him in a dumpster. I guess he saw a rat and saw it as a threat and chased it back. He must've ran his battery out doing so. And by the looks of him, it looks like he just got out of that same dumpster. Did you try to clean him?" "Enough chit-chat, I want to see this thing in action!" Spike said with annoyance. "Spike! We don't even know if this...thing is safe." Twilight scolded. "No, he's right. I suppose I should get to work. It'll take a lot to crack that AEE code. Who knows what could be within it. Maybe he'll recover part of his memory." Gizmo said, digging through his saddlebags for more tools. Rarity trotted to her fellow unicorn friend. "Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?" Rarity asked softly. "I'm not sure, but Gizmo knows most everything about robots. I say we give him a chance." Twilight said, eyeing Gizmo's actions. The beige Earth pony grabbed some books and a small keyboard from his saddlebag. We returned to the android and spoke to it. "Hey PON-E. You remember me?" PON-E brought forth a scanner, which bathed Gizmo is a blue chequerboard. The scanner went up and down him, PON-E's screen displaying a loading bar, which filled and his face returned. "Subject: Gizmo. Ally." He announced in his stilted voice. "Great. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to shut down for a little while, okay?" "Shutting Down." PON-E said, his screen displaying a small animation of a plug being removed from it's socket. The robot lowered itself to the floor and his screen went dark. Gizmo then plugged in his keyboard and accessed PON-E's boot system. His hooves typed away as he went through firewall after firewall, trying to get to the operating system. "I forgot how complicated you are, PON-E." Gizmo said to himself. Lines of code reflected of his glasses as he worked. The others watched intently. Spike sat next to Gizmo, watching him work and type. "How'd you get so good at robots?" Spike asked. "Hmm? Oh, it's my special talent, as shown by my Cutie mark. I just had a knack for taking things apart and figuring out how they work." Gizmo explained. "Maybe we should let him work. C'mon Spike. Let's see if we have any more books on Robotics." Twilight said, her and Rarity beginning to trot towards the other side of the library. "Actually Twilight, I could use an assistant. Spike can stay if he'd like. Who knows, he just might learn something." the Earth pony offered. Spike looked at Twilight with his large, begging, Emerald green eyes. He clasped his claws together and his lower lip stuck out. Twilight thought about it. "You're sure Spike won't get in the way?" "Nah, I think he'll be fine. Although, we could use some snacks. I think we'll be here for a while. You want to take that job, Spike?" Gizmo asked, still typing away at PON-E's code. "Sure thing!" Spike said, running to the kitchen and bringing a considerable amount of cookies and soda in the blink of an eye. "Well, okay then. Spike, just behave yourself and help Gizmo with whatever he needs." Twilight demanded, still unsure of the baby dragon's ability to not annoy her tech-savvy friend. "He'll be fine." Gizmo reassured. "Now please. I must work." "Very well, C'mon Twilight, we'll talk amongst ourselves in the kitchen. I'm famished anyway." Rarity said, as the two trotted away. The two unicorns trotted into the kitchen. Rarity sat at the table as Twilight brought forth some apples to snack on. "What do you think of this whole ordeal?" Rarity asked in between chews. "I don't know. To be honest, I'm a bit worried." "Why is that?" Rarity asked, swallowing her bite. Twilight took another bite of her apple, her maw chewing quietly. "I'm just a bit weary. We don't know anything about that....thing. Where it came from, who made him, and why. It's all just a bit mysterious." Rarity finished her apple and threw the core into a trashbin. "I have things I need to do. Please, if anything happens, feel free to get me at any time" Rarity said. Twilight gave a nod and said goodbye to the white mare. Rarity passed through the foyer of the library, seeing Gizmo and Spike entranced by the dancing flickers of the text that scrolled across PON-E's face. She wished them luck and departed back to Carousel Boutique. It was midday now, and Celestia's sun hung high in the sky. The sheen of the unicorn's coat caught the attention of passers-by. They gave her hellos, but Rarity couldn't be bothered to greet them back. Her head hung low and her body began to sulk slightly. 'I wonder what will happen to PON-E', Rarity thought to her self. 'I hope Gizmo knows what he's doing'. Wrapped in her thoughts, the unicorn almost passed her home completely. She stepped onto the steps leading to the front door. Still deep in thought, she tripped over something. She regained herself and saw a package had been placed on her doorstep. The package was a small box shape wrapped in brown paper and a simple address label. It read: "To Rarity" and nothing else. No return address or sender. She lifted the box with her horn's magic and walked into her store. Rarity placed the box onto a counter within the foyer, setting it down gently. "I wonder what it could be." Rarity jiggled the box, which made a strange rattle. She used her hooves and slowly ripped the paper off. Inlay a plain white box. No ribbons or bows of any sort. Rarity lifted the box to find a note. "You'd best be careful. PON-E isn't your average pony." Rarity read aloud. There was no signature, only the neatly written message. Rarity was confused. Who sent this? How did they know about PON-E? The mare disregarded it, and returned to her work. She had dresses to design.
Chapter 1.Rar by Anonympony Chapter 1 Rarity was about to close up shop for the night. It had been a busy day at the Carousel Boutique; ponies coming and going, admiring the deigns the fashion-savvy unicorn had spent so much time on. Dresses with brilliant rhinestone embroiders, headdresses lined with large plumes, and saddles that were made of the finest faux leather. Rarity had an eye for detail, choosing the only the finest fabrics, and gemstones so shiny, a dragon would go mad. And her clientèle was willing to pay for these expensive designs. Rarity's shop reflected this, the outside walls being made of the finest marble and the tiles that lined the inside were the shiniest porcelain money could buy. But despite all the glitz and glamour Rarity's shop prided itself on, her last customer was indecisive. A dark grey Earth mare with a coiffed black mane paced, trying to make her decision. Her hooves clacked loudly against the tile, echoing in the empty store. Her saddlebags shifted with her weight. Rarity just stood put, growing impatient but keeping a large fake smile in the name of customer service. "Hmm, I just don't know. I really like this dress' design. But this one also draws me to it." the customer said, pacing faster and faster as she thought. "Ma'am, if I may make a--" Rarity started, only to be cut off by a sharp shush from the Earth pony. "I think I've almost come to a decision." the grey mare said, finally stopping, the virtually empty interior of Carousel Boutique going quiet. Rarity would've taken this as relief, but her customer had said this 3 times now, and Rarity knew she wasn't any closer to a decision. "I choose...this one. Yes, this is my final decision." Rarity looked surprise. She had made a decision? The unicorn became excited, finally able to be rid of this hindrance and go soak in a bubble bath. "You're sure? I don't want you to think twice, I want to make sure you're completely satisfied." Rarity said, using her magic to gather a bag and some gift wrap. The items floated to the milky white unicorn wrapped in a deep blue aura. Rarity then focused on the dress, encompassing it in her glow and wrapping the package together quickly. "Yes, I quite sure, unless there is some reason for me not to." the customer replied. "No, no, no! This dress is fine, it'll look good on you, I swear! You'll love it, darling." Rarity said, handing the box to the customer, who put it in her saddle bags. The mare handed Rarity the bits for the outfit and hurried out the door. Rarity stood in the doorway, giving a wave and thanking the Earth pony for her patronage, immediately shutting the door and letting out a very large sigh. "Thank Celestia she's gone! Now I can finally relax." Rarity said, slumping back onto her hind legs in a most unladylike fashion. But just then, she heard what sounded like cans being moved. She listened closer as the noise persisted. It seemed to be coming from outside. Rarity opened the door back open and peered into the night, trying to find the source. She hadn't realised how late it was, the sun was almost about to set. She heard the noise again. It sounded like it was coming from the back of the building, where the dumpsters are. Rarity vowed never to go there when she saw a rat the size of a small dog scamper from behind it while taking out the trash. But this sound didn't sound like rats, it sounded...different. Rarity needed to know what it was. She went back inside, looking for something to defend herself with. She eventually decided on a long ruler that used to measure stretches of cloth. She grabbed it with the cleft of her hoof, held it in her mouth, took a deep breath, and went out to investigate the noise. As Rarity came around the back of the house, the foul odour of rotting apple cores and half eaten carrots penetrated her nostrils, quickly overwhelming her. "Oh Sweet Celestia that's foul! What an awful, horrid smell!" she said to herself. She was about to turn around, disgusted by the putrid smell. But the noise returned, now clear as day. It almost sounded mechanical. Rarity froze for a moment, contemplating running away or facing the danger. She gulped, held her weapon in a magical aura, having it at the ready, and trudged on. As she got closer, the sound became more frequent and the smell more vile. Cans rolled and fell to the hard ground, papers rustled and shifted, glass knocked and clanged. Rarity was now standing directly in front of the large trash receptacle. "H-hello?" the unicorn called. She slowly opened the lid to the dumpster, a small green light emanating from inside, filling her amethyst eyes. She pushed the lid open further, revealing the inside. It seemed relatively normal, except for what appeared to be a screen. Rarity looked closer. The screen held a picture of what looked to be a battery, its charge level split into 5 sections, 4 of which were filled up. Rarity then saw a solar panel leading out the side, catching the last rays of the Sun. The battery then filled its last bar and began to blink, bringing Rarity's attention back to it. "System: Online. Commence Scan." the screen now read. The screen began to move, bits of trash moving out of its way and falling off it. But then more trash began to slide away, revealing more. Rarity could now see the screen was connected to a metal head, which was connected to a metal neck, wires lining the sides. More trash was removed and the unicorn could now see the entire body of the creature. It was a robot! A pony shaped one at that. It moved its head close to Rarity's, the mare able to feel the static from the screen drawing in the hairs on her muzzle. From the head popped out what looked to be a small camera. It produced a strange blue grid. It moved around, covering a majority of the area it was in, finally resting on Rarity. It carefully scanned up, and then down again, retrieving data on its surroundings. "Location: 49.2505° N, 123.1119° W Ponyville. Pony mode activated." a stilted voice called from the robot. Rarity gasped, frightened by the strange voice. It removed itself from the dumpster and stood on the ground, shaking off the last bits of filth. There it stood, a magnificently built machine. Rarity had never seen anything like it. She knew that computers were around Ponyville, her friend Twilight Sparkle had some in her laboratory, but she never knew they had the ability to speak or came in the shape of ponies. The screen on the robots head flickered once more, showing a loading bar that read, 'Initialising Pony OS." Then the screen suddenly popped to life, showing familiar features of a pony face. Eyes, a nose, and a mouth were all present in a digitised form. It stared at Rarity blankly, almost as if it was waiting for a command. After a few silent moments, the unicorn finally spoke. "Um, hello? What are you?" The green, digitised eyes blinked and the mouth moved as the stilted voice responded. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the voice suddenly gargled, leaving the end impossible to understand. Rarity stared at the "PON-E" for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts on the strange piece of technology that stood before her. "Mr...PON-E, was it? Would...would you like to come inside? It is dreadfully cold out." Rarity offered as a cold breeze rolled through. The PON-E stared blankly once again, calculating the best course of action. "Command accepted, please lead on." it responded, the voice more jubilant than before. Rarity slowly started, the PON-E's monitor fixated on her. She began to trot towards the front entrance, hearing the machine start to move its mechanical joints. PON-E moved awkwardly, its legs not fully synchronised like a real pony. It's head moved all about, using its scanner and gathering more data. It followed her into Carousel Boutique. It brought forth its scanner once more and scanned the interior of the building, filling the whole room with a blue chequerboard pattern. "No visible threats." the computer stated. Rarity looked confused. She never thought there was any danger in her home, nor that it looked threatening. "But of course. You don't expect me to live in danger, do you? That'd be silly." the unicorn replied, her voice returning to its brand of dapperness that was standard when speaking. "Directive: Find all possible threats and eradicate them by any means necessary." the robotic voiced said plainly. Rarity continued to observe this strange new visitor, intrigued but also cautious. It was made with an impressive amount of technology. Gears and struts made up the body. The outside shell seemed to be made of a thick and shiny metal. The buzz of the circuits and hum of the fans gave an ambience in an otherwise dead silent room. "Mr. PON-E, do you have somewhere to live? Does anypony take care of you?" "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the end, again, was unintelligible. Rarity looked at the machine with pity. "I'll take that as a no. Hmm. I suppose you could stay here until I can find your owner or somepony willing to take you off my hooves." "Set New Location: Home." the robot responded, the entire screen blinking, as if it had a photographic memory. "Very well. Mr. PON-E, this is your new home. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must get my beauty sleep. You can sleep too, I suppose. However you do that. I'll be upstairs if you need anything, just be sure to knock." Rarity felt silly for saying this to a computer, but didn't know any way else to say goodnight. He is a guest, after all. "Input received. Sleep mode activated." The robot then began to bend it's joints, air releasing and metal creaking as it did. It rested on its hind legs, much like a real pony would. It put it's head to the floor and the monitor switched from the face of a pony to a small animation of three Z's, each one getting bigger and then looping again. 'He is a strange fellow'. I'll show him to Twilight in the morning,' Rarity thought to herself. She retired to her room, finally getting to rest after a long day.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 An ear piercing screech awoke Rarity from her beauty sleep. The sleepy unicorn gasped awake and breathed heavily as sounds of objects being thrown around continued from downstairs. Rarity removed herself from the comfort of her plush bed and hurriedly tried to fix her bed mane. The sounds got louder and the unicorn became more concerned. What is going on down there. Rarity added one last detail to her mane and speed down the stairs into the foyer. It was empty, but certainly wasn't clean. Jars of glitter and rhinestones were spilled onto the floor. Dress forms lie injured, the designs they were wrapped in ruined. The commotion continued, louder than ever. Rarity listened harder, trying to find the source. It seemed to stem from behind a closed door that led to the kitchen. Sounds of hissing and galloping became apparent as Rarity trotted closer. She pressed her ear against the cold wood of the door that kept her from what lay within. More sounds became came through. Plates crashing to the floor, objects being turned over, and the distinct sound of mechanical joints. Rarity feared the worst as she slowly creaked the door open. As the scene grew bigger, the whole picture came into view. Opal jumped from a counter-top to the kitchen table, turning over a neatly placed tea set. The china smashed on to the cold tile, shattering into a million pieces. Rarity threw the door open, about to yell at the cat for making a mess, but was quickly smacked back by the same door. The unicorn tumbled back into the foyer, holding her muzzle in pain. She stood back up and marched into the kitchen to see Opal on top of a tall cabinet protruding from the wall and PON-E jumping desperately, trying to reach its prey. "PON-E! What are you doing?! Stop this instant!" Rarity exclaimed, stomping her hoof on the ground. PON-E halted, and looked back at her, his normally green face now replaced with a glowing red one. Opal took this moment to leap off the tall cabinets and scurried off into the foyer, PON-E giving chase and pushing the unicorn to the ground. PON-E and Opal kept at it, running around the foyer, trampling over the spilt glitter and toppled dresses.Soon, the cat found itself trapped in a corner, PON-E blocking all feasible exists. He crept closer and closer, a small node detached itself from his head and brought itself to the cat's snout. PON-E's screen changed from its red angry face to flashing text reading "Exterminate!". The node began to charge, casting a red glow on Opal as she pawed weakly at the screen. "Target Acquired" PON-E said in his digitised voice. Rarity thought about what he said, and then came to the sudden realisation. "PON-E, no!" the unicorn shouted at the top of her lungs. PON-E's screen got closer to Opal, the static making her fur cling. The cat whined and meowed desperately as Rarity watched in horror. The robot's screen came face to face with Opal's, the node still in its charged state. But just then, the screen turned to a blank screen and the robot chirped, "Command Accepted" and returned to its cheerful neutral green face. The node returned to the robot's head and he turned to face Rarity, who was on the brink of tears. As PON-E moved out of the way, Rarity rushed over to her beloved pet, who had fainted in fear. "Oh Opal." Rarity said, picking up the cat's limp body, slinging it across her back. She began up the stairs, PON-E still standing at attention. As the white unicorn started up the stairs, she gleamed over to PON-E. "I'm going to take care of Opal. You've scared him to death! In the mean time, try to clean the kitchen. Then we'll go see Twilight and see what we can find out about you." Rarity said. PON-E gave a salute and sprinted into the kitchen. Rarity was halted by the sounds of vacuums and sweeping. She placed pal's body on the step and hurried down the stairs to see the robot standing in the exact same spot. She eyed him carefully, then continued to the kitchen. It was immaculate. The furniture was turned over to its upright position. The pieces of broken glass and china were swept away, and even the dishes were cleaned. Rarity was speechless. She glanced back and forth between the spotless kitchen and the statuesque robot that still stood at attention in the middle of the foyer. Rarity returned to him once more, giving him one last once over. "I think you for cleaning the kitchen with such speed. But stay away from Opal, she isn't a threat. PON-E's screen turned to a loading bar that quickly filled, and displayed, "New Ally Added: Opal", and displayed a pixelated cat picture before returning to his happy face once more. The unicorn slowly backed to the stairs, picking up the unconscious feline and returning to her room to get ready to go to Twilight's home. She applied her make-up, false eye lashes, fixed her mane, and brushed her coat 134 times until it was silky smooth. The unicorn slowly trotted down the stairs, almost prancing. "How do I look, Mr. PON-E?" she asked, flaunting her fresh look. The robot said nothing, rather just stared off into space. Rarity looked at him with concern, the hum of his fans being the only sign that he was alive. "Well I suppose I look good enough, shall we go?" PON-E quickly shifted his head to Rarity, causing her to flinch. "Following" he said. "Oh, okay then. Off we go." she said, as she opened the doors. Celestia's sun broke through the boutique, reflecting off the metal body of the robot. Rarity trotted out, PON-E awkwardly following behind her, air escaping as the joints bent and moved.It wasn't very far to Twilight's house, but PON-E got many stares from the citizens of Ponyville. PON-E's metallic body left a gleam in the observer's eyes as he and Rarity made their way to Twilight's tree home. The two could hear the hushed murmurs of the citizens, but Rarity made nothing of it, enjoying the attention that was brought to her. "Look PON-E, the masses are flocking to see us." the unicorn said, giving the crowd a small prance as she continued on her way. One mare, another unicorn, slowly made her way to the two. Her green coat and green and white striped mane caught the attention of Rarity, who slowed her pace, eventually coming to a stop in front of her. The crowd fell silent. "Why hello, Lyra, did you need something? I'm kind of on my way to meet somepony." "Uh..." Lyra was stunned by the robot that accompanied the fashionista. PON-E's face had switched from his typical smile to a face of suspicion, turning a light shade of amber that matched Lyra's eyes. She snapped back into reality. "Uh, Rarity...who's this?" "Who, this fellow?" Rarity said. She turned to the robot, who faced her as well. "Why don't you tell them?" PON-E's face changed back to it's neutral, green state. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the pony recited. As before, the end was garbled and unintelligible. The crowd gasped; many of them had never seen a computer like this, let alone hear one speak. Lyra backed up slowly, her eyes widened with fear. "What in the Everfree...?" Lyra said softly to herself. PON-E's face turned back to suspicion, his laser slowly being raised. Lyra's eyes grew bigger, catching Rarity's attention. She looked behind her to see PON-E's screen slowly turning red and his laser beginning to charge. She quickly stepped in front of her friend, standing on her hind legs and blocking Lyra with her forelegs. "PON-E, wait. She's friendly. She's a nice mare, aren't you Lyra?" Rarity said, frantic to prevent her friend from being vaporised. Lyra made her head visible from behind the white unicorn and gave a few small nods, forcing a smile. PON-E stood still for a moment, the crowd's breathing barely audible. The screen suddenly turned green, his familiar smile returning once more. "New Ally Added: Lyra." Rarity gave a smile while trying to shoo Lyra away. The mare slowly trotted off before going at a full gallop towards her home. The other ponies did the same, returning home post-haste, leaving the two alone. "I think we'd best hurry to Twilight's." Rarity said to herself. She speed up her pace, arriving at the tree library in minutes. Twilight laid outside, her muzzle buried in a book. She was shaded from the sun by the tree's large branches and thick leaves. The tree was enormous, easily one of the biggest buildings in Ponyville. It's large oak trunk held a door and many windows. Rarity stopped just short of the library, turning to PON-E. "You see that purple unicorn over there? She's a friend. An ally. Don't threaten her, okay?" Rarity said, moving the robots head to Twilight's direction. "New Ally Added: Twilight." "Good, now let's go. We can't have anymore trouble." The two continued to Twilight's home; the sun slowly going behind the tree's leaves. Rarity arrived next to Twilight, who lifted her head from her book to greet her friend. "Oh, hey Rarity!" Twilight said with a smile. "Wonderful day, huh? Who is that with you...?" "Twilight, this is PON-E." Rarity said slowly, noticing the purple unicorns wide eyed stare. Rarity stepped out of the way, PON-E coming clearer into view. Twilight curled back, unsure of what she was seeing. "Don't be afraid Twilight, he's friendly. Honest. Tell her who you are, PON-E" "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" PON-E announced in his stilted voice. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Twilight questioned, still suspicious of Rarity's new friend. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" The end was still garbled, and Twilight looked with confusion. "Why can't he say that last part?" she asked. "I'm not sure. I found him last night and he wasn't able to say it then either." Twilight walked up to him, PON-E standing as still as stone, his neutral face still displayed on his monitor. She inspected him, looking at the struts that made up his legs; wires lining all down his body. His pony shaped head that lacked a muzzle and instead held a screen. His metal body that was still covered in grime and filth. The fans were generating a small hum, and circuits beeped in sequence. "I...I think you two should come in." Twilight said, opening the door to her library. Rarity commanded PON-E to follow and the three went inside. Twilight's home was always so organised; books lined shelves that seemed to stretch to the ceiling and not a single speck of dirt was to be seen. "Sorry it's a bit dirty. Spike!" she yelled, quickly going through her books. The baby dragon walked into the lobby, a small ice cream in hand. "What is it, Twil--Oh wow! What is that thing!" "It's a robot pony, but that's not important. I need you to find the 'Roboteer's Guide to Robotics'." The small dragon thumbed through the 'R' shelf, quickly finding the book and throwing it Twilight's way. The purple unicorn opened the book and flipped through the pages. "What did PON-E stand for again?" she asked. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was cre--" PON-E was cut-off by Twilight. "I don't need the whole thing." she said, feverishly flipping to the page. "Here's a passage on the PON model of robots. 'Not much is known about these robots. It is unclear where they were made or who made them, but it is estimated there are 15 robots over 5 models. The E-Model is the rarest one to date.' This doesn't really tell us anything about him." Twilight said, disheartened. "Well, at least I have the rarest model. Maybe my true element is Luck." Rarity giggled to herself. "Hmm." Twilight thought to herself. "I may know someone who can help. Spike, take a letter." The baby dragon quickly grabbed paper and a quill. He gave the tip of the quill a small lick and stood read to scribe Twilight's letter. "I have something you might find interesting. Twilight." Spike finished the letter and sent it off with a blast of his fire breath. "And now we wait." Twilight said. "That letter seemed a little vague. Who was it even t--" Rarity was cut-off by the swing of a door. The three quickly looked to see who it was. A figure stood in the doorway, his features masked by glare from Celestia's sun. "I hear you have something I might find interesting." a voice said. "Oh. We meet again, PON-E."
Chapter 3Chapter 3 "Who are you?" Rarity asked, shielding her eyes from the intrusive sun. The figure chuckled to himself a little, leaning against the doorway. "Wouldn't you like to know." "Well, um, yes. That's why I asked. And how do you know PON-E?" said Rarity with confusion. "Oh. Right." the figure said, returning to all fours. He trotted into the library, away from the blinding sun, his looks coming into plain view. Rarity was less than impressed. The mysterious pony was a tall, but lean, beige Earth pony; a majority of his bones somewhat visible through his hide. His face was longer than most, leading into a smaller muzzle. His two front teeth protruded out violently from his mouth. His chocolate mane was combed over and quite visibly greasy, giving it a shine in the light of the sun. His eyes were kept behind his glasses that rested at the end of his nose. His face was speckled with acne and he smelt faintly of cheese whiz and alfalfa chips. Twilight closed the door from which this nerdy pony entered and he cleared his throat. "I am Gizmo, Robot Extraordinaire and Wooer of Mares." he said confidently. Twilight rolled her eyes and Rarity looked unimpressed. The white mare noticed how nasally Gizmo sounded, creating an uncomfortable feeling in her ears each time he spoke. "I am Rarity, nice to meet you. I suppose." the unicorn said, handing him her hoof for a shake. His eyes went huge and he began to sweat. He fumbled his words. "Oh, I, um, n-nice to, um, m-meet you. Gosh you're pretty..." Gizmo blushed, his cheeks glowing a vibrant red. "Ah, did I just say that out loud? I-I'm sorry, I, uh, this is so embarrassing--" he continued to mumble to himself. "Gizmo!" Twilight shouted. He snapped back into attention. "Right! Now then, what seems to be the problem with our friend, PON-E, here?" he said, putting his saddlebags down and grabbing a screwdriver. His Cutie mark was now entirely visible. Not surprisingly, it was a robot. "Excuse, Mr...Gizmo, was it? You never told us how you know who PON-E is." Rarity piped up. "Oh yes. That." Gizmo cleared his throat once more. "Well, I found him inside an old shed, oddly enough. I was passing through a corn field, trying to find potential parts for my robots when I found this shed. It looked to be relatively empty and was clearly abandoned. I figured I'd take a look and I saw a sheet draped over something. I initially thought it was a ghost. I mean, not that was scared or anything!" Gizmo explained, quickly trying to regain whatever confidence he was trying to display. "Anyway, I stepped into the shed and noticed that the sheet was relatively pony shaped. I removed it and sure enough, there was PON-E." He trotted next to the robotic pony and draped a foreleg over him as if he was a friend. "Needless to say, I took him home and tried to figure out what makes him tick. I'd heard about PON model robots floating around Equestria in one of my Robotics magazines, but never thought that I'd see the day. I'd be a fool to leave him there." "So what did you find out?" Twilight asked. "Not much, unfortunately. It seemed that his memory had been partially wiped when I found him. I brought him home, booted him up, and then managed to hack into part of his CPU. Interesting programs. One of which I was unable to decipher completely. From what I could tell, it was a basic AEE. Fun stuff." "A what?" Rarity asked, confused, yet oddly fascinated by the beige Earth pony's story. "AEE. It stands for Android Emotions Emulator. Basically, it would give the impression of basic pony emotions. Allow PON-E to think and feel like we do. Uncanny, really." "That doesn't seem possible. Emotions are something you can just program. How can someone even do that?" Twilight questioned, flipping through a book about programming. "Again, I wasn't able to decipher the rest of the code. But now that I've found PON-E again, I can finally unlock the secrets of the AEE." "You mean 'I' found PON-E. And what makes you think I'd let you get anywhere near him with your techno-whatzits? I barely trust PON-E as it is. And how did you lose him, anyway? It seems like that'd be quite difficult." Rarity chided. "Oddly enough, it was kind of easy to lose him. After I got him up and running, I adopted him as my assistant. By the looks of his frame, I suspect you found him in a dumpster. I guess he saw a rat and saw it as a threat and chased it back. He must've ran his battery out doing so. And by the looks of him, it looks like he just got out of that same dumpster. Did you try to clean him?" "Enough chit-chat, I want to see this thing in action!" Spike said with annoyance. "Spike! We don't even know if this...thing is safe." Twilight scolded. "No, he's right. I suppose I should get to work. It'll take a lot to crack that AEE code. Who knows what could be within it. Maybe he'll recover part of his memory." Gizmo said, digging through his saddlebags for more tools. Rarity trotted to her fellow unicorn friend. "Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?" Rarity asked softly. "I'm not sure, but Gizmo knows most everything about robots. I say we give him a chance." Twilight said, eyeing Gizmo's actions. The beige Earth pony grabbed some books and a small keyboard from his saddlebag. We returned to the android and spoke to it. "Hey PON-E. You remember me?" PON-E brought forth a scanner, which bathed Gizmo is a blue chequerboard. The scanner went up and down him, PON-E's screen displaying a loading bar, which filled and his face returned. "Subject: Gizmo. Ally." He announced in his stilted voice. "Great. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to shut down for a little while, okay?" "Shutting Down." PON-E said, his screen displaying a small animation of a plug being removed from it's socket. The robot lowered itself to the floor and his screen went dark. Gizmo then plugged in his keyboard and accessed PON-E's boot system. His hooves typed away as he went through firewall after firewall, trying to get to the operating system. "I forgot how complicated you are, PON-E." Gizmo said to himself. Lines of code reflected of his glasses as he worked. The others watched intently. Spike sat next to Gizmo, watching him work and type. "How'd you get so good at robots?" Spike asked. "Hmm? Oh, it's my special talent, as shown by my Cutie mark. I just had a knack for taking things apart and figuring out how they work." Gizmo explained. "Maybe we should let him work. C'mon Spike. Let's see if we have any more books on Robotics." Twilight said, her and Rarity beginning to trot towards the other side of the library. "Actually Twilight, I could use an assistant. Spike can stay if he'd like. Who knows, he just might learn something." the Earth pony offered. Spike looked at Twilight with his large, begging, Emerald green eyes. He clasped his claws together and his lower lip stuck out. Twilight thought about it. "You're sure Spike won't get in the way?" "Nah, I think he'll be fine. Although, we could use some snacks. I think we'll be here for a while. You want to take that job, Spike?" Gizmo asked, still typing away at PON-E's code. "Sure thing!" Spike said, running to the kitchen and bringing a considerable amount of cookies and soda in the blink of an eye. "Well, okay then. Spike, just behave yourself and help Gizmo with whatever he needs." Twilight demanded, still unsure of the baby dragon's ability to not annoy her tech-savvy friend. "He'll be fine." Gizmo reassured. "Now please. I must work." "Very well, C'mon Twilight, we'll talk amongst ourselves in the kitchen. I'm famished anyway." Rarity said, as the two trotted away. The two unicorns trotted into the kitchen. Rarity sat at the table as Twilight brought forth some apples to snack on. "What do you think of this whole ordeal?" Rarity asked in between chews. "I don't know. To be honest, I'm a bit worried." "Why is that?" Rarity asked, swallowing her bite. Twilight took another bite of her apple, her maw chewing quietly. "I'm just a bit weary. We don't know anything about that....thing. Where it came from, who made him, and why. It's all just a bit mysterious." Rarity finished her apple and threw the core into a trashbin. "I have things I need to do. Please, if anything happens, feel free to get me at any time" Rarity said. Twilight gave a nod and said goodbye to the white mare. Rarity passed through the foyer of the library, seeing Gizmo and Spike entranced by the dancing flickers of the text that scrolled across PON-E's face. She wished them luck and departed back to Carousel Boutique. It was midday now, and Celestia's sun hung high in the sky. The sheen of the unicorn's coat caught the attention of passers-by. They gave her hellos, but Rarity couldn't be bothered to greet them back. Her head hung low and her body began to sulk slightly. 'I wonder what will happen to PON-E', Rarity thought to her self. 'I hope Gizmo knows what he's doing'. Wrapped in her thoughts, the unicorn almost passed her home completely. She stepped onto the steps leading to the front door. Still deep in thought, she tripped over something. She regained herself and saw a package had been placed on her doorstep. The package was a small box shape wrapped in brown paper and a simple address label. It read: "To Rarity" and nothing else. No return address or sender. She lifted the box with her horn's magic and walked into her store. Rarity placed the box onto a counter within the foyer, setting it down gently. "I wonder what it could be." Rarity jiggled the box, which made a strange rattle. She used her hooves and slowly ripped the paper off. Inlay a plain white box. No ribbons or bows of any sort. Rarity lifted the box to find a note. "You'd best be careful. PON-E isn't your average pony." Rarity read aloud. There was no signature, only the neatly written message. Rarity was confused. Who sent this? How did they know about PON-E? The mare disregarded it, and returned to her work. She had dresses to design.
