I am Machine

by FoxyAndPip

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sad, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 3079

After an...accident causes Rainbow Dash to lose most of her body, it being replaced with robotic parts and artificial intelligence, Rainbow and her friends must get used to her new life.

Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in Equestria. Tough. Made it out of many crashes mostly unscathed before.

Guess her luck just ran out.

Now most of her body has been replaced with robotic limbs, most of her brain with artificial intelligence. Suffering with and extreme case of amnesia and lack of emotion and personality, Rainbow has to get used to her new life, as do her friends, whilst one of them tries to hide her heartbreak.

Includes: TwiDash, Robo-Dashie and some gore. Maybe some sexual references.

Twilight is still a unicorn in this AU

Published 2015-08-12 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-01-20 02:33:14 UTC

Chapter 1

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking slowly. There seems to be some sort of magenta light, and illumination, from somewhere near my left. I slowly sat up, making a whirring sound. I discovered the light seemed to follow me. I reach a hoof to my throbbing head and notice it’s not exactly…pony. Frantically, I searched around the room for something to use as a mirror. I find myself right next to a window and look carefully at my reflection.

Most of my head is flesh and bone. I have blue fur and a rainbow coloured mane. My eyes are magenta, however one is completely robotic, providing the light I noticed earlier. One of my ears is also made of a light blue metal. I look at the rest of body and notice a similar metal covering most of it, almost like armour of some kind. I open my wings and find one is normal while another is mechanical, yet when I flap them they seem to work the same. All legs except my right back are covered, and my cutie mark is a cloud with a blue, yellow and red lightning bolt from it. On the robotic leg it depicts a gear behind it.

I put a hoof to my face to find my sense of touch seems to be working, despite this body. I was curious to see what else still worked. I couldn’t really find out like this though. I needed to find out what was going on.

Just as I had this thought, a unicorn doctor walked in.

“Ah, Ms Dash, you’re awake!” He said, trotting over to me holding a clipboard with his magic.

“Um, yes,” I said, or rather, attempted to. When I opened my mouth, no sound came out. I simply nodded instead.

“Ah, yes, you see we haven’t been able to install a voice box into you yet,” he explained. “Don’t worry,” he said, noticing my worried expression. “it won’t hurt, and we will putting you to sleep while it happens.”

I nodded.

“Now, I’ll be you’re wondering what happened to you,” he said solemnly, sitting next to me on the bed. I nodded slowly.

“Do you remember anything?”

I shook my head.

“We didn’t think so. We had to replace most of your brain with wires and circuits. We tried to download some memories on there but they will be hard to access. Similar to amnesia. But I have faith in you! We also tried to keep as much of your personality as possible, but…it was hard,” he took off his glasses, wiped them on his coat and put them back on again. “At the very least you have quite the data base of knowledge now.”

I nodded, and mentioned to him to continue.

“In the meantime I will tell you what I know. Your name is Rainbow Dash, one of, if not THE, best flyers in Equestria. Of course, it might not be that easy with the prosthetic wing, but you’ll get used to it. You tend to be quite arrogant but you’re a good pony, and loyal to the bitter end.

“I’m sure you’d like some time to think about all this?”

I nodded.

“I’ll leave you then. We’ll be back soon to fix you a voice-box, then you can talk to your friends,” he said. He walked out, giving me a small smile as we walked through the doors.

I was alone now. Alone with my thoughts. I was basically a robot now. Limited emotion, lack of personality. At least I still had my free will. But…what now? All my dreams, aspirations, gone. And the doctor mentioned my friends? What would they think about all this? They’ll probably be sad, and miss the old me. I feel tears welling in my eyes, or eye.

Rainbow Dash is gone. And she’s never coming back.

Author's Note

Pip: Sorry for the shortness, everyone. Foxy's not a very good typer -
Foxy: Hey! Ye try typing with a hook!
Pip: - so it might take a while to get them out. Better small chapters sooner than waiting forever for longer ones, right Captain?
Foxy: Yeah, exactly. We be looking' fear an editor by the way so if any o' ye would like ta volunteer...Jus' puttin' it out there

Chapter 2

“I came as fast as I could!” I said as I ran into the waiting room to see my friends waiting for me. Well, 4 of them at least.

“Howdy, sugarcube,” Applejack greeted me, however lacking the usual cheer. Even Pinkie seemed down, her hair much straighter than usual.

“Have you heard anything about Rainbow?” I asked.

“Not since the doctor came to my cottage to fetch me,” Fluttershy said, tears welling in her eyes. “I hope she’s OK…”

“I-I’m sure she will be…” Pinkie said, smiling softly. I could see right through her mask. She was as worried as the rest of us. “Of course she will…she’s Dashie, r-remember…”

“Yeah…”

Still, I couldn’t help but be worried. She took a massive hit, it seemed impossible that she could’ve survived a fall that hard. The doctor wasn’t exactly happy when he came to see me...but he wasn’t particularly sad either. Come on, Twilight, think positive!

The door to the surgery room opened.

“Dr Brown! How is she?” I asked.

Dr Brown gave me a small smile. “Why don’t you ask her herself?”

I felt my heart soar. She’s alive!

“However,”

And just like that, it plummeted.

“She may not be the same mare she used to be.”

I cautiously opened the door and looked around, walking in slowly. “Rainbow Dash?”

“O-over here,” I heard a mechanical voice say from behind a curtain. I pulled back the curtain to see something that made my stomach hurl.

“Rainbow…what happened to you…” I asked, tears flowing.

“I-I’m fine. They c-couldn’t fix m-me so they tu-turned me into a robot. I’m ju-just getting used to this new voice-voice box,” she said. It didn’t sound like her though. Not to me.

“Dashie..?”

I looked behind me to see Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity staring at Rainbow.

“Hey guys…”

“Dashie, are you OK?” Pinkie walked forwards slowly.

“I’m OK…uh, Pinkie P-Pie, was it? S-Sorry. I seem to have a heavy case of amnesia, but the doc-doctor told me lots about you all,” she said.

“What else did he say? About your condition?” I asked urgently.

Rainbow looked down sadly. I winced at the whirring sound it made due to the gears in her neck. “Lots. Some good, but m-most bad. Due to the fact that my brain is mostly robotic now, I’ve lost most of my memories, emotions and personality. I’m practically a machine,” she said. “No. I am a machine,” she added lowering her head in sorrow.

I stepped back in shock. Rainbow Dash, the Rainbow Dash I know and love, was gone. Replaced by a machine, who could only try to be anything she was. She was gone. Forever.

“I’m really sorry Twilight.”

I looked up. Rainbow was looking at me worriedly. I took a deep breath. Maybe…maybe there’s hope after all… “It’s not your fault. We’ll get through this. Somehow. Together.”

Author's Note

Foxy: We're gonna change the POV between Twilight an' Rainbow every chapter.
Pip: Just to make it more interesting

Chapter 3

I stretched my legs and wings. “Ah, it feels good to be out of that hospital.”

“I thought you couldn’t feel? You’re a robot,” Twilight said, choking up at that last word. I wished I could help her. But I can’t. I’m just a heartless machine, right?

“Yes, but the doctors managed to make artificial nerves so I kept my sense of touch,” I explained.

“Oh. That makes sense. Science really has progressed these past few years, hasn’t it?” she said trying to make conversation.

“I wouldn’t know…”

“Oh. Right.”

The doctors said I shouldn’t live on my own for a while yet, not until I regained at least quite a large portion of my memories. Twilight volunteered to look after me. She just got this look in her eyes when the doctor brought it up. A look others might interpret as depression, or even insanity. Me? I saw pure determination.

We walked through the town Twilight told me was called Ponyville. I saw quite a few ponies give me weird looks as we walked past, but some seemed relieved to see I was OK. A few, however, seemed angry or disappointed. I diverted my attention to the sidewalk I was walking on.

“Rainbow Dash! Is that you?” I looked up to see a small orange pegasus filly running up to me with wide eyes.

“Um, yeah, kind of,” I replied hesitantly.

“Um, Scootaloo? Can we talk?” Twilight intervened.

“Um OK?”

Twilight told me to stay where I was as she and the filly, presumably called Scootaloo, walked a few feet away and began muttering. Scootaloo looked back to me for a second worried and looked back.

They walked back over, Scootaloo looking a lot less excited to see me than before.

“Sorry about that Rainbow Dash, I didn’t know,” she said sadly.

“It’s OK. Do you want to tell me who you are?” I asked, hoping it would jog my memory. Not just because I wanted my memories back, but because that might provide me with the metaphorical keys needed to unlock my emotions and personality.

“OK. I’m Scootaloo, your number 1 fan and adoptive sister.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, curious.

Scootaloo told me all about how we became ‘sisters’, as well as the other adventures we’d had together. I smiled as she told me story.

“I sound like a great sister,” I said.

“You are. But, Rainbow? I have a question.”

“yes?”

“I thought you lost your emotions.”

“Oh,” my gaze dropped. “Well, technically I have, but I’ve been programmed with artificial emotions. It feels like I have emotions, and seems like I do on the outside, but when I think about it properly…it’s all a lie…”

“Oh…sorry I asked,” Scootaloo said.

I looked back up and put on a brave face. “It’s OK. You couldn’t have known. We’ll talk later, Scootaloo,” I said.

“OK!” she said, running off excitedly.

“Well, she was…active,” I said to Twilight as we continued our walk towards Twilight’s home.

“You were too…”

Author's Note

Pip: Poor Twilight. She seems to be having a hard time, huh?
Foxy: *holding a bunch of torture devices* Oh we haven't even started yet!
Pip: Foxy!
Foxy: Kidding, kidding...*pulls out pen and paper* THIS IS ME REAL TORTURE DEVICE!!!!

Chapter 4

“Here we are!” I said, as cheerfully as I could considering the situation.

“You live in…a tree?” Rainbow asked.

“Yep! A tree library to be exact,” I explained.

“That…doesn’t compute,” I winced at the robotic quote. “I mean, how could a pony possibly live inside a tree? A tree is just a woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground. While it is a natural habitat for many small creatures, it isn’t exactly a suitable place for a pony to live.” She replied.

Oh, Rainbow…what have they done to you…

”Well, this is a special tree!”

“Special how?”

“Come in and find out,” I said, opening the door and leading the way in.

“Wow…it’s a lot bigger on the inside,” she said.

“You should see Doctor Whooves’ place…” I muttered.

“Hmm?”

“Never mind.”

“Hey, Twilight! You’re back!” I looked to the stairs to see my Number 1 Assistant waiting for me. “And you brought Rainbow Dash! It’s great to see you!” Spike added as he ran down the stairs. Rainbow backed away and stared at Spike. Just staring.

“Uh…Rainbow Dash?”

I looked into Rainbow’s robotic eye and could see some backwards writing.

…’scanning’…’Dragon’?

Rainbow fell into a battle stance, rocket launchers extending from he shoulders, wings spread, eyes flashing red.

“Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?” I screamed.

She looked at me and blinked. “Defending you. Dragons are dangerous creatures, this thing is a threat!”

“That’s my assistant, Spike! And he’s not a threat he’s just a baby! He doesn’t even have his wings yet!” Spike turned around to prove my last comment.

Rainbow blinked rapidly as her eyes turned back to their normal, beautiful magenta. The guns retracted back into her shoulders and she stood up, shaking her head. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Must be my defence mechanisms in auto-drive.” She turned to Spike. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Mr Spike.” she said, holding out a hoof.

Hesitantly, Spike took it and shook it. “Uh, nice to meet you too, I guess.” He looked over to me like ‘what the heck is going on?’.

“Uh, why don’t you go upstairs to the guest room, Rainbow. It’s the third door to the left. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes,” I said hastily, pushing her towards the stairs.

“OK,” she said, walking up the stairs.

“What the hay happened to Rainbow Dash!?” Spike exclaimed, practically shaking me.

I sighed. “She’s gone.” I explained everything about her condition. “How could I let this happen! This is all my fault!” the dam broke as tears poured down my face.

I felt Spike come over and stroke my neck, just like I liked. “I’m really sorry Twilight. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to lose the one you love forever.”

My head shot up as I flushed red. “Love!?! Who said anything about love?”

“Please Twilight, it’s obvious how you feel about Rainbow Dash,” Spike crossed his arms and smirked. “I’ve been there, remember. I know love when I see it.”

“Sh-shut up! It doesn’t matter anyway! She’s gone now…”

“Is everything alright?” Rainbow, poked her head over. “I heard shouting.”

I turned away from her as red spread across my face again. “We’re fine, we’re fine! It’s getting late, we should get you to bed!” I said, rushing up the stairs and grabbing her hoof, only for her to resist.

“But, it’s only 7, and I’m not a kid!” she turned to Spike. “Am I?”

“No, you’re 17,” Spike responded.

“See!”

“Well you’re going anyway!”

“Fine,” she said, finally following me. I took one last glance at Spike who looked on sadly before entering the kitchen.

Author's Note

Foxy: We stole the tree meaning from the Internet. It ain't plagiarism if ye credit it right?
Pip: Um, I don't think so. Also for those wondering in this AU and all our other stories unless we say otherwise, a pony is counted as an adult at 16, and starts school at 6, meaning you get 10 years of schooling.

Chapter 5

I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Guilt fills my artificial heart, or at least, according to my programming it does.

I heard everything. The conversation between Twilight Sparkle and that dragon, Spike.

She loves Rainbow Dash. The one that I used to be. And because I was careless, I took that away from her. I knew this would be tough for her, but know I know the true extent of her sorrow.

I wish I could say I knew how she felt.

The next few days went about the same. Wake up, breakfast, read while Twilight does her librarian thing, lunch, back to the reading, dinner, bed. I tried to keep my distance from Twilight. All I caused was sadness. And that's something I didn't want to do.

On the 3rd day, I decided to go to bed early. After all, it's not like I get very hungry anymore. I could probably go weeks without eating, after all, only a small portion of my digestive system is organic anymore. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall, a flurry of thoughts echoing through my head.

I didn't know what I was doing wrong. Whenever I'd do something Twilight would get this sad expression, almost like she was pitying me. My guess would be that what I'm doing is a lot different to what the real Rainbow Dash would do, which, of course, would cause the unicorn more sorrow.

What were those doctors thinking when they made me like this? What were they hoping to fix? I'm not Rainbow Dash, the Rainbow is dead, I'm just a failed replacement, a pale imitation, just the shadow of who I used to be. All I do is make people sad. Everyone would probably be better off if I had just died there in the hospital...

I held up my hoof, a silver blade sliding out of the top near my hoof. "She's better off without me..." I say, holding my hoof up to my temple, the blade just breaking my skin. "better off without me..."

I shot my hoof forward, the blade piercing my skin and-

"Rainbow, are you O-SWEET CELESTIA RAINBOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" Twilight exclaimed from the doorway.

I brought down my hoof and stared at her with empty eyes. "Simple. I'm killing myself. I should've done this earlier, all I cause is suffering. Everyone's better off with me dead." I explain in a monotonous voice. "Especially you."

I once again raised the now blood-stained built-in knife to my temple as blood falls down my face. I go to stab once again when I'm knocked over and wrapped in a tight hug. I fall onto my back with a lavender mare laying on top of me, holding on to me like my life depends on it.

"P-please, don't!" she said, raising her head to look into my eyes as tears ran down her face. "Don't do it! I need you Rainbow!"

"But I'm not-"

"Yes you are!" she yells. "I know you are! Deep down inside, Rainbow Dash is still alive, and begging to be let out! And we will find a way to let her out, together!"

I sighed. "Fine."

Update

I didn't want to do this, but I'll be putting this story on a short hiatus.

I have multiple reasons for this

A. I would rather work on my more popular story, 'Animals', and to focus on that.
B. I plan on rewriting this, so I need to do that too.
C. School's starting again soon so I'll have even less time on my hands

.