A tall, slender pony slowly walked out of the Everfree Forest, her hooves barely making sound as she walked. If one was quiet and close enough to her, one would make out a humming sound. A sound like a computer makes when it boots up. She had fur blacker than the nighttime sky and a medium length mane as white as could be. Her eyes were two golden orbs, piercing and frightening in their own manner.
This mare had wings tightly packed to her sides as she walked out of the Everfree Forest, seemingly in boredom. Her hooves gently made their way to the dirt path, off of the grass. The noises her hooves made were gentle and hypnotic as she walked slowly. She looked like a normal Pegasus, nothing more, nothing less.
Her name was Hard Wire, and had no Cutie Mark on her flank, but it didn't bother her in the least. Hard Wire knew nothing interesting or special, only what she saw. She saw posies and roses, apple trees and corn stalks. The Pegasi's yellow eyes seemed to rotate as she looked around, no sheen in them save for when she was confused.
Hard Wire was almost as tall as Princess Cadance, yet she wasn't much to look at. Wire continued her walk, her eyes scanning a small cottage nearby and the town coming closely but surely. She had an even gate as she walked, her eyes zipping from left to right and back again, registering everything she saw.
She passed many animals, from hummingbirds to deer, and left them where they laid, chirping or sniffing the air, doing whatever they may. Wire's memory seemed to skip from the middle of the path to about ten feet from the entrance to Ponyville. She stopped before it, her eyes blinking mechanically as her golden orbs zapped left and right, almost as if they disappeared when she moved them.
She walked into the small town, other ponies nodding to her as she walked by, however, she didn't truly understand what was going on when they nodded, so she just continued to walk. A hyper pink, puffy pony zipped over to her, smiling and leaning into her face.
"Hey, I've never seen you here before! Are you new to town?" She asked with a smile. "My name's Pinkie Pie, but all my friends call me Pinkie!"
Hard Wire registered the hope in her eyes and the pure happiness of meeting her. Wire decided to indulge this pony, as it was just a part of what she was: a Robotic Pegasus. Her eyes were LED lights and her fur covered a super-tough exoskeleton. Her mane was made out of artificial keratin and her muscles and tendons were wires, her bones nothing but steel support beams. Her brain was a processor and it connected to all five senses as she so desired.
"My name is Hard Wire. Hello, Pinkie," She spoke, a clear British accent present and a doubled voice present.
Pinkie Pie smiled, beaming brightly to hear her name being said from this other pony; the accent and doubled voice didn't raise any alarms in her head- though, she was Pinkie Pie.
"Come with me, I know the best place to get sweets!" She squealed.
The pink Earth Pony pulled the Pegasus along, having a slightly hard time as the Pegasus seemed to weigh almost a ton. However, the Pegasus played along, slowly trotting with her. Hard Wire was taken to a place filled with sweets and goodies on every shelf, a Pegasus colt and a Unicorn filly belonging to two Earth Ponies who ran the place.
"This is Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie explained. "That's Pumpkin Cake and that's Pound Cake, and I'm their Aunty Pinkie Pie!" Squeals of approval came from the young foals who were sitting in a play pin obediently. "These are our cakes, and these are our cupcakes! Lollipops and donuts and we have a bunch more!" She smiled, biting into a cupcake. Pinkie held it out to Hard Wire, who took it in her hoof.
Hard Wire blinked and her LED eyes looked at the cupcake. Her processor began conveying words in her LED lights, the little blinking 'eyes' told her things.
CUPCAKE. CHOCOLATE. STRAWBERRY ICING. SWEET. MEANT TO BE EATEN.
Hard Wire squinted her eyes, looking at it closer. RESEARCHING... HOW TO EAT: PUT ITEM IN MOUTH. CHEW ITEM. SWALLOW ITEM. OCCASIONALLY DRINK WITH WATER OR MILK. SEE MORE ON DRINK?
Hard Wire saw no harm in eating the cupcake, seeing as her body had a functioning artificial digestion system, which allowed her to eat pony food without harm. She was powered by batteries, but food did no harm. She opened her mouth, many rows of sharp steel teeth revealed, a very wide mouth overall. She put the entire thing in her mouth and her teeth ground it to a liquid, which she drank.
Pinkie merely giggled, smiling to see that Hard Wire was eating it. Pinkie being Pinkie? Maybe. Just plain insanity? No, she was being Pinkie Pie.
"You wanna meet my friends? Huh?" She asked with a smile.
Hard Wire's eyes adjusted. ELEMENT OF HARMONY. ELEMENT OF LAUGHTER. GOOD FRIEND. COMPATIBLE. MORE DATA?
Her eyes zapped back to Pinkie's blue eyes with a nod. "Sure."
Pinkie happily bounced outside, the Robotic Pegasus following slowly. Mr. and Mrs. Cake just gaped as they watched the pony walk out with Pinkie, Mrs. Cake's eye twitching as her husband fainted.
Pinkie Pie talked the entire was to Carousel Boutique. "My friend Rarity makes the most beautiful dresses! She's a Unicorn and she's really awesome. And Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus like you and she loves flying a bunch! Oh, Fluttershy is also a Pegasus and she loves little critters and Applejack works super dee duper dee hard on her farm! Twilight is also our friend, she's an Alicorn and she's tall and knows, like, everything!"
Hard Wire blinked as she looked at the words that covered her LED eyes. ELEMENTS OF HARMONY. RARITY: GENEROSITY. RAINBOW DASH: LOYALTY. FLUTTERSHY: KINDNESS. APPLEJACK: HONESTY. TWILIGHT SPARKLE: MAGIC. SAFETY: 99%. COMPATIBLE FOR ALL. MORE DATA?
Wire followed Pinkie to the Boutique, walking in slowly. The Unicorn turned and jumped slightly as she saw Hard Wire, but smiled nonetheless.
"Hello, Pinkie. Who's this with you?" Rarity asked, tilting her head.
"Her name's Hard Wire. She talks funny but we're already bestest friends! I brought her so she could meet you and AJ and Rainbow and Fluttershy and Twilight!" Pinkie explained. "She also has a British accent!"
"That's lovely," Rarity smiled, holding a hoof out. "Nice to meet you, I am Rarity."
Wire looked at the hoof. RESEARCHING... SHAKE GIVEN HOOF GENTLY. MORE DATA? Wire shook the hoof gently, no smile or frown present.
"Hard Wire," She said quietly, her voice gently doubled still.
Rarity didn't exactly hate it, per say, it just brought back bad memories of Queen Chrysalis. "Lovely name, dear."
Pinkie suddenly jumped. "We should go to Rainbow Dash! And then Fluttershy. And Applejack too! Twilight is for last, because she's the last one that comes to mind for whatever reason." She smiled.
"Oh, Pinkie, I'd love to but I have-"
"Come on, Rarity! We gotta help Hard Wire fit in!" She whispered loudly at Rarity, "You haven't noticed but she's kinda really weird!"
Rarity held her chest as she whispered back. "Besides the doubled voice?"
"She has like, a bazillion rows of teeth that are all pointy. It's crazy!" Pinkie whisper-yelled.
Rarity looked to Hard Wire, but decided against asking the strange and rude question. With a sigh, she spoke again. "I suppose I could leave Sweetie Belle in charge for a while."
Suddenly the Trio were by Rarity's side with smiles. "We can handle it, sis! Don't you worry!"
Wire examined their faces. PEGASUS: SCOOTALOO. EARTH PONY: APPLEBLOOM. UNICORN: SWEETIE BELLE. EASILY HANDLED. MORE DATA?
Pinkie Pie continued to lead them to Rainbow Dash's home, never stopping for breath as she spoke. Rarity walked along, sometimes eying Hard Wire but looking away when her yellow eyes glanced at her. The entire ordeal went over with the respective ponies, all with similar and different reactions. Soon enough they were at Golden Oaks Library.
"Are you sure she's home, Dashie?" Pinkie raised a brow.
The Pegasus nodded. "I know her schedule like clockwork!"
"And how in Equestria did you memorize it?" Applejack raised a brow with a grin.
The cyan Pegasus blushed and looked away. Hard Wire's LED eyes conveyed information. RAINBOW DASH HARBORS AFFECTION FOR PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE. SEEMS TO BE SECRET OR BETWEEN LOVERS. DO NOT ENGAGE.
"H-How about we trust her for now?" Fluttershy whimpered.
Rarity smirked and bumped Applejack, raising a brow. "It's funny that you seem to know my schedule too."
Applejack blushed and looked back at Rarity. "Well y'all know mah schedule, sugar cube!"
Rarity and Applejack blushed and turned their heads, their hooves still close to the others. Wire received more messages. RARITY HARBORS AFFECTION FOR APPLEJACK, AS DOES APPLEJACK FOR RARITY. SEEMS THAT MOST KNOW. ENGAGING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
Pinkie Pie chuckled and put her arm around Fluttershy. "Why can't you silly fillies be like me and Fluttershy here?" She asked, rubbing noses in an Eskimo Kiss fashion with a smile. Fluttershy giggled at the soft touch of her mare friend's nose on hers.
More words zapped to Wire. FLUTTERSHY AND PINKIE PIE HARBOR AFFECTION FOR THE OTHER AND FLAUNT IT. ENGAGING CAN BE DONE EASILY.
The door was suddenly covered in a violet aura, the Alicorn stretching her wings with a smile. "Hello, ladies." She noticed Hard Wire. "Oh, hello. I'm-"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle." Hard Wire finished, Twilight's wings flaring as she heard her strange voice.
"What are you?!" She screeched in fear, her horn covered in magical aura.
"I am not a Changeling," Hard Wire said, her voice not wavering.
"Twilight, calm down!" Rainbow said, trying to ease her. "She's cool!"
"How do you know she's cool?!" Twilight growled in response.
"Well..." Pinkie said, biting her lip.
"We just thought she might be... diff'rent." Applejack finished.
The five other ponies uncomfortably scooted to Twilight's side. Hard Wire blinked slowly and held up her right front hoof. She opened her mouth and pulled at the fur with strength, pulling off the exoskeleton to reveal wires and a steel beam acting as her radius and ulna. One could see electricity sending signals through the wires, and the sound of humming could be heard.
Wire spit out her exoskeleton, making a large dent in the ground and a loud noise as she dropped it. She sat down and held out her foreleg, offering it to Twilight.
"I am not a foe. I am a Robotic Pegasus. I simply wish to be in the real world." She explained. "My voice is doubled because my creator used their voice for mine and changed it as to not be found."
"Who is your creator?"
"No pony you know. I cannot say, as it has been blocked from my hard drive, but it is not Chrysalis, Celestia, nor Luna."
Twilight smiled, running up to Hard Wire. "This is amazing!" She inspected her foreleg in happiness. "Do you mind if I take a look at your wiring?"
"Not at all. Just please do not break anything."
"Come in!" Twilight hopped in after Wire, who had picked up her exoskeleton.
Her five friends followed her inside Golden Oaks Library, their mouths gaping slightly, still shocked from the revelation of their new friend.
"This is amazing! Simply stunning!" Twilight smiled as she examined Hard Wire's foreleg. She retracted her hoof when the electricity zapped at her, but was happy to examine her nonetheless. "What do you do when you need an upgrade or the like?"
"I go to the DATA EXPUNGED and DATE EXPUNGED fixes me." She replied quietly, the 'data expunged' words louder than the others.
"What does expunged mean?" Pinkie asked.
"It means that the data has been moved, altered, or deleted in some way," Rainbow answered. All eyes went on her. "What? When Twi's busy I just kind of read random books that look cool.... And last time it happened to be a robotics manual."
Twilight continued to fiddle with the wires gently, writing things down on parchment as she did so. Hard Wire didn't mind at all; it didn't hurt in the least. The other ponies were thinking of something to do as the awkward silence was eating away at the flesh and blood beings.
Wire's eyes zapped to life as it registered their emotions. ALL SEEM UNCOMFORTABLE... RESEARCHING... ICE BREAKERS: TELLING TRUTHS. TELLING ABOUT PAST. MORE DATA?
Wire looked at them. "How about we tell truths to ease your discomfort?"
"Oh, oh! Applejack always tells the truth!" Pinkie smiled. "Element of Honesty and all!"
"Well, I'm an open book. Ask away." Applejack said with a confident smile.
"You do enjoy Rarity's comfort, correct?" Hard Wire asked, tilting her head.
Applejack and Rarity blushed immediately.
"I sense that I have overstepped a boundary. I apologize for my words." Hard Wire said again, blinking slowly.
"Well, I do love 'er a might. How about we learn more 'bout you, sugar cube?" Applejack asked, scratching her neck.
"Very well." Hard Wire thought for a moment. "I was created five years ago. I recall being close to Fluttershy's cottage when I was younger."
"I live by the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy said quietly.
Wire nodded. "Yes, close to there I believe. I recall being by DATA EXPUNGED often. I can remember that I often tried to come to Ponyville but some pony always caught me and made me go back home."
Twilight was still messing with her foreleg, a clear smile on her face.
"Do you remember who it was?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, but their name has been blocked by a chip in my processor. I cannot-" She was cut off by Twilight.
"Oh! If I remove it, then-"
"No!" Rainbow said, jumping between ponies. "If you pull out the chip wrong, it could erase everything she knows! She won't remember anything! Nothing! She wouldn't even know right from left!"
Twilight frowned, sheepishly backing away. "S-Sorry. I got caught up in mechanics. And how did you know so much about robotics?" She queried, looking at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash sat next to Twilight and gave her a green mechanics book, looking away. "I started reading it the other day when you were busy and I was waiting and I got hooked on it so I kinda read it all... Twice."
"Twice?" Twilight raised a brow.
"Well, Tank's mechanics were getting worn out and I wanted to try it on my own so I brought it home and I stayed up all night last week and fixed it, okay?" Rainbow pouted, looking away. "I'm not an egghead!"
Hard Wire stood up, putting the exoskeleton back on, a click sound assuring it was attached firmly. She looked at her new friends and tilted her head. "What are your occupations?" She asked out of curiosity.
"I'm on the Wonderbolt Reserves. But I work as a Weather Patrol Pony for now," Rainbow Dash said, grinning.
"I am a librarian. And an Alicorn, so I guess that means I also take care of... uh, Princess business." Twilight Sparkle added, rubbing her chin.
"I take care of animals in my home and around Ponyville really...." Fluttershy squeaked.
"I'm a baker! I make cupcakes and cookies and cakes and pies and for Fluttershy's birthday I make her her favorite cupcake! A Zap Apple Cupcake! I save the Zap Apples every year so I can make one for her!" Pinkie Pie grinned, nuzzling Fluttershy affectionately.
"I work at Sweet Apple Acres. Mah lil' sister Applebloom works on the farm, and mah big brother Big Macintosh works too. Granny Smith don't work, but she does help." Applejack explained.
"I work at Carousel Boutique and I make the most beautiful gowns and clothes any pony could want!" Rarity smiled.
"What was your prime directive?" Rainbow asked. She got many strange looks. "It means what she was programmed to do."
Hard Wire's head made a humming noise before she answered. "My prime directive is to learn, observe, study, and protect all fauna life. I am meant to learn. I watch and I record information. I suppose that would be my prime directive, yes?"
"This is so awesome!" Twilight squealed.
Hard Wire's ears perked as she heard some pony approaching, and her wings stiffened. A purple and green baby dragon walked in and yelped, backing away.
"Spike, this is Hard Wire. Hard Wire, this is Spike."
Hard Wire extended a hoof, and Spike shook it. "She feels cold."
"She's a robot." Rainbow grinned.
"Cool! What do you know? Do you know anything cool?" Spike asked, smiling.
Her eyes analyzed him for a moment. "CHECKING DATA, PLEASE STAND BY." She spoke loudly. Her eyes refocused and she looked at him. "Your name is Spike, you were hatched from a violet egg when Twilight Sparkle was five years, eighteen weeks, fifteen days, six hours, and about twenty nine minutes ago. You are a Dragon that breathes fire and you also send letters Twilight Sparkle writes to Princess Celestia. You came from a family of dragons who live on Smokey Mountain and they did not intentionally leave you behind. Celestia found you as an egg after they were escaping poachers. CALCULATING.... That is all I know."
