Fringes of Equestria-Eclipse Labs Government Weapons Compound- September 22, 2002
Within the dark recesses of a secret lab, an orange anthro earth pony stallion with a blood red mane and tail wearing a black shirt, khaki pants, a white lab coat, and brown shoes sat in front of a computer, working on what looked like the programing and blueprints for what seemed to be a robot, which seemed to resemble a baby unicorn filly that seemed to be no older than two. The robot was part of a weapons project funded by the Princess Celestia herself, apparently out of fear that current surge in Shadowbolt attacks might bring about the destruction of Equestria. The project was known as the Soldier With Evolving Emotions, Thoughts, Intelligence, and Exterior Project, or the S.W.E.E.T.I.E. Project.
The particular unit in front of the stallion, who was named Apple Crepe, was Unit Number 83113, and so far, it was proving to be his most successful unit. The synthetic magic device, which had proved troublesome for his other designs, was adapting to this particular model almost flawlessly. He didn't know if it was his own genius or just plain luck, but he was nonetheless grateful for it. Not only would this help the machine seem like any other pony, but it would provide magical defense for it. It would grow, act, eat, and drink just like a normal pony, until duty called. Then, it would become a true war machine.
However, it was things like this that made Apple Crepe worry if he and the other members of this project, including Celestia herself, were playing with things that ought not be played with.
But, all it took to squash these doubts was a glance at a photo on his desk.
Inside the photo was a blood red teenage anthro earth pony colt with a copper mane and tail, an orange anthro earth pony filly with a blonde mane and tail, and in her arms was a baby filly with a blood red mane and tail, like his.
I'm doing this for them. I'm doing this so that the world my children grow up in will always be safe, thought Apple Crepe. Looking around he saw the final component needed to finish the creation. A sharp white horn made to fit into the forehead of the robot. Picking the horn up in his hands and carefully put it on before activating his creation. With a jolt the robot shot it’s eyes open and had a sharp intake of breath.
“W-what’s going on? Where am I?” The robot asked panicked and scared at her surroundings.
"It's okay. I'm your creator, Dr. Apple Crepe," said Apple Crepe said comfortingly.
The robot tilted its head. "Creator?" it asked with an almost child-like curiosity.
"Yes. I built you to defend our world from threats that not even the Equestrian Military can stop,” explained Apple Crepe.
“But w-what’s our world called? What’s a military?”
“Our world is called Equis. It is a world full of all sorts of amazing magical creatures, like unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, griffons, you name it. A military is a force of warriors dedicated to the protection of a country. In this case, Equestria,” explained Apple Crepe.
“Oh… and I’m meant to help them, right?” asked the little robot.
“How did you-”
“My… my ears were working before I woke up… does… does that make me weird?” asked the robot, who was examining her clawed hands which slowly transformed into normal pale white fur covered ones.
“No, that doesn’t make you weird… in fact, that’s what makes you special-” before the scientist could continue the door to his laboratory rattled at the sound of a fist being pounded on it.
“HE’S IN HERE!” A voice cried out. A moment later a blow torch was heard being turned on and Apple Crepe’s door soon had heat coming out from it.
“Dammit. I’m not going to have much time.”
“Time for what? Creator, what are those noises? Who they are talking about?” the worried robot asked as a strange emotion emerged inside her: Fear.
"Listen to me very carefully, Unit 83113. Some very bad ponies are about to come through that door. I need you to hide yourself or better yet see if you can get out of the lab.”
"... understood, creator... but, what about you?"
"I'll be fine, just get out of here. There's a back entrance hidden behind that blackboard," said Apple Crepe, pointing to a nearby chalkboard that was part of the wall.
The little robot quickly made its way over to the blackboard. With its enhanced vision capabilities, it was quickly able to locate the secret switch, which it then pulled.
As the entrance opened up, Unit 83113 turned to look at her creator. "I will come back for you one day," it said.
Apple Crepe smiled, a tear forming in his eye. It was almost as if he'd built himself another child. A sizzling sound quickly brought his focus back to the problem at hand.
"Stop stopping and run!" said Apple Crepe.
The little robot nodded and ran down the secret hallway. And not a moment too soon, for as the blackboard closed, the main door fell apart and a gang of pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns clad in purple and black suits stormed in.
...
Rain poured outside the complex, which was a problem for the robot as any water that gets into her circuits could damage her body in different ways, from a personality switch to full-on shut down, the possibilities were endless for things to go wrong so she kept running. But, eventually, she grew tired and fell onto her hands and knees.
"Hello? Anypony there?" called the little robot, desperate to find someone, anyone, who could help her.
Before long, another emotion began to take hold of her: sadness. She'd lost her creator, and there was no one there for her.
Or so she thought...
...
Not too far away, a small family of three sat inside their home, just finishing up supper while the rain continued to fall.
“Can I play out in the rain today, mother?” A young voice asked as a white unicorn filly with a curly purple mane and tail wearing pale blue shirt, a purple skirt, and royal blue rain boots poked her head into the kitchen.
"Of course you can, Rarity, dear. Just don't be out too late," said a pink unicorn with purple hair, who was clearly Rarity's mother.
"Okay, mother," said Rarity.
As Rarity left the house and began to splash about in mud puddles, she cast a glance at the woods near her home. There were rumors circling around that a crazy witch doctor was making monsters in there. Monsters that would kill ponies in many painful ways... but, that didn't stop her from wandering into it.
As Rarity wandered through the woods, she began to hear some funny noises... almost like someone was crying.
"Hello, anypony there?" called Rarity.
"Huh? Who's there? Don't hurt me!" said a scared voice that, judging by the sound of it, was coming from a very young filly.
As Rarity looked around the forest, she soon found the source of the voice... and felt her heart well up with pity and sadness.
There, under a tree, trying to stay out of the rain, was what appeared to be a young unicorn filly with white fur, a lavender and pink mane and tail, and light green eyes, which were presently wide with fear.
"Hello, there. What's your name?" asked Rarity gently
The filly just seemed to curl up tighter into a ball, whimpering with fear.
Rarity approached the filly and carefully placed a comforting hand on her. "There, there... it'll be all right," she said.
The filly looked up at Rarity. Who was this pony, and why was she being so friendly towards her?
“S-Sweetie…. my name is Sweetie,” the filly said slowly.
“Sweetie… that’s a nice name. I’m Rarity,” said Rarity, holding out her hand.
Sweetie looked up at Rarity’s hand, apparently puzzled.
After a moment, Rarity lowered her hand. Maybe she doesn’t know how to shake hands yet, she thought. “Pray tell, why are you out here all alone? And what happened to your clothes?”
Sweetie looked down at herself, before she realized that she was, as most ponies would put it, naked. “Oh… well… my crea- er, my father passed away just recently, and my mother… well, she left just after I was born,” she said, hoping that this Rarity believed her.
Rarity gasped. “Oh, you poor thing! That’s horrible! Here you’re coming with me. I’ll see if mother and father would be fine with helping a poor little filly like you,” She said as she picked up Sweetie and carried her back to her house.
And with that, a sisterhood stronger than the framework that made up Sweetie's skeleton was born.
...
Hondo Flanks, Rarity's father and sports enthusiast, and Red Velvet, Rarity's mother and expert cook, had no trouble taking in what they saw was a poor abandoned filly. Even though, like any other foal, Sweetie had several quirks.
Albeit, they were rather... unusual ones.
For example, a few different times Rarity had caught Sweetie getting into the motor oil, and during each of these occasions, the doctors hadn't found anything wrong with Sweetie... although, she did get a few curious looks whenever she went in for X-Rays.
Another thing was that Sweetie HATED baths, claiming that the water made her feel funny. On several different occassions, Sweetie acted totally different after baths, often yelling random phrases such as "The Sin-Cleansing Bathtub."
Despite her unusual behavior from time to time, Sweetie's new family truly loved and cared about her. She and her new father enjoyed watching Hoofball games on the TV. Sweetie also enjoyed cooking with her mother, even if everything Sweetie made tasted like nails or ashes. And although Sweetie had to drag her kicking and screaming to get her to do ANYTHING outdoors, Sweetie and Rarity were as close as two sisters could get.
So loved and accepted was Sweetie, that there were times that she forgot what she truly was. But, every now and then, during dark and stormy nights, she thought back to th day she was built, and remembered what she was meant to do. Although, Equestria seemed so peaceful these days, she wondered why she shouldn't just become a normal member of society.
But, now, fourteen years later, as Sweetie Belle took on the form of a sixteen year old mare, she was about to discover why...
It had been fourteen years since that fateful day in the woods. During that time, Sweetie Belle had gone from a robotic super soldier in the form of a little filly, to a robotic super soldier in the form of a sixteen year old filly just about to enter marehood. Additionally, Sweetie had moved with her sister to a little town called Ponyville, and had made many different friends, from hardcore gamer Button Mash to Rumble, who wanted to be a Wonderbolt hopeful, just like his big brother, Thunderlane.
But, of these friends, none were closer than Scootaloo, who was an orange pegasus filly around her age with a purple mane and tail who had considerable trouble with flying, and Apple Bloom, who was a cream yellow Earth Pony with a blood red mane and tail... just like that of her father, Apple Crepe.
But, deep down, Sweetie Belle was haunted by a secret fear: what if the Crusaders and Rarity found out the truth? What if they discovered that she was actually a highly sophisticated android, designed to protect Equestria from threats that even the Elements of Harmony can't stop, and that she had been the reason that Apple Bloom never knew her father? Would that make them leave her all alone again? Or, would they panic and dismantle her?
But, even so, Sweetie lived each day with a spring in her step and a song in her heart-drive, spending time with her sister and planning Crusades with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
And speaking of those three rascals...
…
“COME ON, SWEETIE! THE SLED WON’T GO BY ITSELF!” yelled Scootaloo, who was clad in a red and white t-shirt, black and white shorts, and red and white shoes, as she sat on a sled overlooking a steep hill with Apple Bloom, who wore a green t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. Sweetie Belle, who was wearing a pink jacket, a white and lavender striped shirt, blue jeans, and pink boots, was standing a short distance away, a look of concern on her face.
"Are you sure about this, Scootaloo? I mean, sleds are more of a winter toy than anything," said Sweetie.
"Oh, quit being such a worry wart, Sweetie! This'll be a blast! And it'll help us earn our place in the 'Destined for Greatness' section of the Yearbook!" said Scootaloo.
"Yeah! An' then we can show Diamond Tiara an' her 'In-Crowd,' that we can be cool without all their fancy outfits an' knicknacks," said Apple Bloom with a southern drawl.
"Well... okay. If you say so," said Sweetie, before giving the sled a nice push and jumping on.
The sled slid down the hill and off of the crudely made ramp at the middle and went flying... right over the soft landing pad they made and into some bushes.
Moans could be heard as the fillies pulled themselves out of the bushes. However, only Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were truly banged up. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand showed no sign of injury,although her clothes were a bit dirty.
“Well… that couldn’t have gone any worse,” said Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom looked over at Sweetie. "Hey, Sweetie Belle, how come whenever we crash inta stuff, you never come out with a scratch? It's almost like yer made of metal er somethin'," said Apple Bloom.
“Maybe I’m just extra durable?” Sweetie offered with a slight chuckle.
“Makes about as much sense as anything else. It’s why I’m still here,” said Scootaloo as she stretched her arms. Sweetie just dusted herself off a bit as she started walking away from the wreckage. Before she went too far she turned around to her friends.
“Well? What are you two waiting for? School’s about to start!” Sweetie shouted as the other two started running after her.
...
After school that day, Sweetie Belle was in the house she shared with Rarity, watching some TV, when her elder sister yelled out, "OH, WHAT A CATASTROPHE!"
Sweetie, curious as to what could possibly be wrong, went up to Rarity's bedroom, and found her desperately trying to reach something that had rolled under a wardrobe. After a few unsuccessful attempts at moving the wardrobe manually, she attempted to use her magic to lift it, but found no success with that either. “Sweetie, could you be a dear and help me?” Rarity asked with a small smile.
“Sure thing!” said Sweetie as she slowly lifted the wardrobe enough to reach in and pull out a hair brush.
"Thank you, Sweetie Belle," said Rarity as Sweetie handed her the brush. "You know, I really can't understand it."
"Understand what, Rares?" asked Sweetie, although she thought she knew what was coming.
"Well, it's nothing really... it's just that... you're only sixteen years old, and yet somehow you can lift an entire wardrobe like it's nothing more than a mere book. It's just... amazing," said Rarity.
"Well, you know how it is, Rarity, some ponies are just born really strong, you know, like Big Mac and Applejack," said Sweetie.
Rarity sighed. "That's true, but all the same, it really seems truly remarkable," she said.
“Well, I’m a remarkable mare.” Sweetie said with what she hoped was a passable smile.
Rarity smiled. "That you are, Sweetie Belle," she said.
At that moment, the phone rang, and Rarity answered.
"Hello, Carousel Boutique, where we redefine chic and magnifique. Rarity speaking," said Rarity.
"Hello there, Rarity!" said an all-too-familiar voice.
"Father! Is Mother on the phone, too?!" said Rarity, a huge smile spreading across her face.
"Hi," said Mrs. Belle.
"Mother! Sweetie, go get the other line!" said Rarity.
Sweetie ran over to the other room and picked up the other line.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" said Sweetie.
"Hey, Sweetie! How's school?" asked Mr. Belle.
"Just peachy. How have you two been doing?" asked Sweetie.
“Oh, we’ve been doing just fine dear,” said Mrs. Belle causing Sweetie to smile wide enough her mouth servos almost hurt.
“So, when are you guys coming to visit, huh? Anytime soon?”
“We’re trying to find a time do so deary. Well, Rarity? Do you think that will be nice?”
"I think that would be just perfect, Mother," said Rarity.
Just then, Sweetie's cell phone rang. Sweetie groaned and told her parents she had another call, said good-bye and that she loved them, and answered her cell phone.
"HEY, SWEETIE BELLE!" yelled Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, which caused her audio receptors to hurt.
"Ow! You guys! That hurt!" said Sweetie, rubbing her ear.
"Sorry. Hey, ya wanna get together fer some more Crusadin'?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Now?" asked Sweetie, looking out the window and taking note of the pegasi putting together what looked like a storm. "But, it looks like it's gonna rain soon... and you know how I get when I'm wet."
“Sorry. Ah almost forgot about that. Well… can we try tomorrow then?” asked Apple Bloom.
"Well... Okay, I suppose," said Sweetie.
"Great! See you then!" said Apple Bloom.
...
Meanwhile, in the darkness of an underground base, a Shadowbolt ran through the corridors until it reached a pair of MASSIVE doors, on which the soldier knocked in a particular way: three quick knocks, then two long ones. The doors opened to reveal what seemed like a throne/control room. Many tv screens surrounded a single throne, each of which showed either a news feed or a camera feed. As the soldier approached the throne, a deep, powerful voice boomed.
"What is it? This had better be important mind you, unless you want to be punished for wasting my time." The Voice echoed towards the soldier.
“Sir… we found it.”
