“Uh, Sweetie Belle, could I have a moment of your time?”

The robot unicorn turned from where she was helping herself to another glass of punch to see a familiar middle aged, mauve toned, earth mare with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Oh, Miss Cheerilee! Sure, what do you need?” She replied. Her former school teacher awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Just some insight for a question one of my students asked me earlier this week concerning… um… well, something pertaining to you personally.” Cheerilee said with a heavy blush. “They wanted to know about your… um… oh dear, I really feel intrusive for asking this...”

Sweetie Belle whirred softly and placed a hoof on Cheerilee’s shoulder.

“Just ask it, Miss Cheerilee. The whole reason Pinkie threw this party was so ponies could get to know the real me better.” The robot soothed. Cherilee took a long breath.

“I understand, just… okay, they wanted to know about the mechanics of your...”

Sweetie nodded. “Yes.”

Cherilee broke off her line of thought. “Yes?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yes, my body fully capable of all the functions inherent to a normal unicorn. Breathing, sweating, crying, eating, drinking, sleeping and even blushing. While my horn may not be capable of what most would define as ‘magic’, it is capable of several technologically derived substitutes.”

Sweetie demonstrated by levitating her glass of punch with the cone like beam of light from her horn.

“I could give you a full breakdown of how everything about me works if you’d like to base a class around it.” She continued. Cheerilee nodded and then proceeded to giggle in a way that was equal parts embarrassed and ashamed.

“That’s very kind of you… but it’s not what I was getting at. I wanted to ask about your relationship with Spike.” The mare quickly said.

Sweetie’s eyes dilated several times.

“Uh… Spike?” She asked.

“Yes, we’re currently studying the biology of reproduction and how foals are made. One of my students, Quick Time, asked if such a thing is possible when a pony is in a relationship with someone of a different species.” Cheerilee said, her face turning red enough to shame Berry Punch’s finest Pinot Noir.

Sweetie silently gave thanks for the cover of the other ponies nattering around them to help fill the pause that followed.

“Ahhhh… I see.” Sweetie replied, quickly spying a way to cover for her misunderstanding. “Quick Time asked you that? Really? The son of Button Mash wanted to know something that doesn’t have to do with games?”

Cheerilee promptly looked around the room, scanning for any sign she was within earshot of the colt in question.

“Well this is just speculation, but I think your relationship with Spike has made more of an impact over the last year than you’d expect. Quite a few of my new students have been wanting to know more about the history of dragons and if Princess Ember’s opening of trade with Equestria means there’ll be more dragons living among us soon. Seeing as you and Spike have forged a serious relationship, most ponies believe the same can be done with other dragons.”

Sweetie blinked, then looked at the many ponies milling about Twilight’s castle. In fairness the overall mood of the party was on par with many of the other festivities Pinkie Pie had thrown. Everypony was enjoying themselves, eating and drinking heartily, chatting about whatever crossed their minds. The fact that the guest of honor was something never before seen around town had almost been treated as a footnote.

That sort of made it more surreal to her honestly.

“So… how bad is it that I have no answer currently to your, or rather Quick Time’s question?” Sweetie admitted. “Spike and I… well, we’re going to let whatever happens happen, but I have no idea if we’re capable of having foals.”

Cheerilee’s features fell slightly, though she then nodded sagely and smiled.

“I suspected that might be the case. Fortunately, I think you gave me the perfect way to get around not being able to provide an answer.” She said.

Sweetie looked surprised.

“Quick Time does have many other questions about you being a robot. Specifically, if you can play games better than normal ponies. I think if you indulge his passion on that front he’d be very appreciative.” Cheerilee said. Sweetie did her own scan of the room, her eyes zeroing in on the caramel toned colt. He wasn’t too hard to pick out, sitting in a chair on the edge of the room, joyboy in hoof, mane bearing the signs of having been brushed once, maybe twice, just enough so he’d look presentable with the minimum amount of effort dedicated to his appearance. A multi colored baseball cap, with the brim turned to the side, sitting atop the whole mess.

Yeah, there was absolutely no doubt whose son he was.

“Well, that is why everypony is here. Sure, I’ll go have a talk with him.” Sweetie said. Cheerilee smiled in thanks as the robot unicorn trotted over to the colt, noticing he seemed to be varying his attention between the screen of his game player, and checking what was happening amidst the throngs of other ponies.

“Looking for some help? Or just need a break from your game?” Sweeties queried. Quick Time looked up and her and she swore his eyes sparkled for a moment.

“Oh, uh, sort of. I’m seeing if my dad is done mingling with everyone. Need his help with this boss.”

Quick Time showed her the screen of his joyboy. On it was a pony dressed in Old Equestrian period clothing, standing before an arena which had what appeared to be some bizarre giant mishmash of hooves, heads, tails and other body parts lumbering about.

“I mean, it’s technically possible to take it down solo, but with all the archers surrounding the arena, most recommend doing it co-op.” Quick Time explained. Sweetie narrowed her eyes at seeing the smaller figures of zombie like corpses all standing with crossbows aimed at the arena entrance, ready to take down whomever deemed themselves brave enough to enter and face the monstrosity head on.

“Could you try? I mean, you probably have faster reflexes, and can think on your hoofs faster too.” He said, with just a note of pleading. Sweetie gave him a look, then turned her attention back to the game.

“Well… no promises, but if I perhaps....”

As a test she entered the boss arena and just randomly pressed buttons, mapping out what controls did what til her character died. The game respawned her at a save point, and she finished her analysis of how to play by fighting her way back to the boss arena. A thought struck her, and she scanned through the inventory screen.

“Hmm… so what if I use some of these fire enhancements, and...”

Quick Time watched as Sweetie narrowed her eyes, manipulating the joyboy’s buttons in her strange cone of light as her eyes swiveled in and out.

“Hmm, okay no. What about the thunder enhancements?”

Across her flank the lights blinked at seemingly regular intervals as if channeling her thoughts while she analyzed the boss’ attack patterns.

“Okay, what if I focus on the outer limbs… yeah… wait… no… okay, take a moment, study the area...alright that’s how I can first eliminate the archers! Okay then I just...”

Several moments later a smile broke out across the robot’s face as she handed the joyboy back to Quick Time, showing the screen was emblazoned with the game’s victory message.

“There, that wasn’t too hard.” She said.

Quick Time took his hoof held back, staring in awe at the screen.

“Wow! I mean… I figured you could, but… that was faster than Dad said the game testers managed when they did this fight!” The young colt exclaimed. Sweetie shrugged as she sat down next to him.

“I just tried different approaches until I found one that worked with the gear your character had. Noticed there was a stairway off to the side of the arena entrance that allowed me to run up to the next level and take out the archers, then I found out the boss itself was weak to thunder. The rest was just a matter of learning the attacks and how to dodge them.” She replied, feeling her CPU fizzle in a strangely pleasurable way as Quick Time looked up at her with a beaming smile.

“Dad did say you showed the same talent at the arcade back when you and he were foals.” The colt commented. Again Sweetie had to shrug.

“He got us discounts on the games due to his father owning the place. It was a cheap way to spend an afternoon… and, the games did kind of appeal to my creative side… at least, I think it was my creative side...”

Quick Time nodded.

“He said you loved the DDR and Rock Band cabinets, even if you found the instruments difficult to handle.” The colt smiled while Sweetie looked at her hooves, flexing and listening to her joints whirrr.

“Well, at first that was because of the music… but then I found out that it wasn’t hard to work out how another machine works, since I am one myself… hmmm, I wonder...” The robot whirred some more as she turned to Quick Time’s game. “Uh… is there another boss on that game I could quickly try my luck against?”

***

Some time later, Spike was making his way through the crowd looking for where Sweetie had disappeared to. To his surprise, he found her and Quick Time now cuddled up together by the main hall’s fireplace, a selection of snacks snatched from the various server ponies surrounding them as they remained fixated on the joyboy.

“Dang it! We almost had him that time!” Quick Time groaned as his character was brutally cut down in their tracks once again by another boss character. Sweetie Belle hmmed and thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

“Um… tell you what, let’s try it once without using the music box.” She suggested. Quick Time looked at her in confusion.

“What? But, the little filly at the inn dropped multiple hints that it could help to subdue and beat this boss character!” He protested. Sweetie narrowed her eyes at the game screen.

“Yes, but I’ve also noticed that the more often you use it, the faster the boss mutates into his second form and kills us. I’m wondering if that’ll still happen with a different approach.” She explained. Quick Time still looked doubtful, so Sweetie levitated the joyboy out of his hooves and played through the boss battle herself. Her eyes systematically scanned back and forth across the screen as she pressed buttons, and studied what happened as a result.

“As I thought, without the music box he doesn’t mutate until he’s down to half-health… so what if I try...”

More buttons were pressed and Sweetie’s flank lights blinked several times.

“No… no… okay, let’s try it with one of the heavier weapons...”

Sweetie stared intently at the joyboy as her latest approach netted her another death.

"Nope. Alright, let me think. What am I missing here?" She stated. Quick Time dared a look at the screen.

"Uh, do you want to take a break?" He asked. Sweetie shook her head and held up her hoof.

"I'm not giving up just yet. You said this is the last boss needed to unlock the bonus area. Let me get you that far at least." She stated, much to Quick Time's amazement.

Spike quietly folded his arms and stared in fascination as his marefriend made attempt after attempt at the boss battle.

"Okay, so if I try the stairway around the graveyard, then jump off the top...ah ha! He doesn't follow me. He goes back down the stairs to stand underneath me. Okay, now how can I use that?" She did another run, smiling when she at last hit upon the winning approach.

“There we go!” She said, presenting the victory screen again to Quick Time. The colt’s jaw dropped in amazement.

“But… but… I don’t understand. The filly said...” He stammered. Sweetie found herself giggling.

“Yes, she said the music box COULD help defeat that particular boss. She never said it was NECESSARY to defeat him. I don’t know who they got to write the script for this game, but I noticed from the other NPCs we talked to that most of the dialogue can be interpreted in more than one way, and usually the less obvious interpretation is the one we’re meant to follow.” The unicorn sighed as Quick Time took his joyboy back.

“That’s… that’s incredible! You helped me get further than Dad has! And he plays this with me every chance he gets.”

Sweetie smiled as her whole body tingled at the sight of Quick Time’s beaming face. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but it just felt satisfying to know she made a foal happy.

“Well, it does seem like every encounter is a new learning experience. You just have to constantly change your approach to find what works.” She said. Quick Time grinned.

“And you’re able to do that faster than other ponies because you’re a super-advanced robot!” He asked. Sweetie blinked as if caught off guard, then looked down at her hooves again.

“I… well yes, basically.” She said, blinking again as Quick Time hugged her in thanks.

“Can… can we do this again sometime? Dad’s great about being there to help me, but when he has to be at work… well, Mom doesn’t have the same passion, and it’s not the same playing games alone...” He said.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow at that.

“I mean, it’s still fun, but so is having someone just to bounce ideas off of and talk to.” He replied. This seemed to satisfy Sweetie as she nodded and smiled.

“Well, you still managed to defeat that previous boss duo on your own, so you clearly have some of your father’s knack for going at games solo.” She began, sighing when Quick Time gave her a puppy dog eyed look of pleading. “But if you honestly do need help on another boss or area, sure. Just drop by here or the boutique soon as it’s finished.”

Quick Time hugged her again, then respectfully let go as Spike approached.

“I’m afraid I have to steal your new gaming partner for our toast.” The dragon said, giving Sweetie another jump upon seeing he was there. “You can have her back afterwards though.”

Quick Time looked from Spike to his marefriend, then blushed slightly as he waved his hoof.

“No, no, that’s okay I’ll wait till later. Kinda wanna to study how you two get along just in case I meet a girl dragon someday.” He said before snatching up his joyboy and trotting off into the main gathering of ponies. Silence followed in his wake as both Sweetie and Spike had to process this.

“Right, so… seems the more we parade ourselves around, the more everypony wants to copy us… like we’re some sort of new fad...” The dragon commented with a dry chuckle.

“Miss Cheerilee did warn me that was the case… still, wow.” Sweetie exhaled. “To think… for so many years I worried myself sick over what the reaction would be if I revealed my true self… if they knew what I really was...”

Spike turned as his marefriend resumed contemplating her hooves and the well-oiled metal joints connecting them to her legs.

“The nights I’d wake up from nightmares of being found out, being rejected, or hunted as a monster! The times Rarity would rush in to console me that such wouldn’t be the case, that when the time was right, I wouldn’t have to hide...”

Spike sat down in front of Sweetie as she looked up.

“Then, when the decision gets taken out of my hooves… this is what happens. I just… is this better or worse?” She said with a bewildered giggle. Spike let a moment slip by as he stared at the so utterly organic swirl of emotions dancing through his beloved’s robotic eyes. His smile grew wider as he cupped her face and kissed her softly.

“It just is what it is. I say let’s give thanks to Celestia we’re being treated as only a moderate deal, and adjust as things progress.” He said with a chuckle. “Just like the game you and Quick Time were playing for the last three hours.”

Sweetie’s eyes swivelled as wide as they’d go. She quickly pulled up her internal clock and gasped at how long she’d been sitting with the colt, giving him playing tips.

“Oh… oh dear. I haven’t been missed by anyone, have I?” She said in a panic. Spike shook his head and helped her stand up.

“Nah, I helped cover for your absence. But Pinkie wants to make a toast now, so we both better make ourselves present.” He said. Sweetie nodded and trotted along beside her drake, still staring at the clock hovering over her field of view.

“I can’t believe it. I just… he looked so excited every time I found a way for him to get past another encounter… I felt like I had to keep going, or I’d disappoint him.” She commented as the two entered the castle ballroom again.

“Sounds like you were giving your motherly instincts a flex.” Spike commented, to an aghast stare. “What? You indulged his passion, gave him guidance, and provided support when he was having problems. Twilight says those are all essential parts of basic parenting 101.”

Sweetie halted in her steps, the thermal cells in her face heating up in reaction to her body’s sudden demand for a blush. She placed a hoof to her lips, felt her throat spasm with a giggle of realization.

“P-Parenting? I was… oh wow… I was!” She said, feeling her face burn even hotter as she stared at Spike. Quickly, she ran over and mounted the stage with him, her lights, mane and tail streaming with waves of joyful color as Pinkie handed them both a glass and bid them to raise them with her.

“Ponies, we’ve all come a long way these past few years. Day after day, we’ve proven how accepting and welcoming we are of the strange and bizarre, and today, I think no example stands as a greater testament to that than these two fortunate souls here!” The pink pony gushed with a grand wave to Spike and Sweetie. “Let’s drink a nice, big, slurpy sweet gulp to our first ever dragon and robot couple! Hoping there may be many more to follow!”

A great throng of glasses were raised, making Sweetie positively glow with light as she joined the toast and hugged Spike.

“Anything you two want to say before we wrap things up?” Pinkie said after downing her entire drink in one go.

“Uh, well, neither of us had anything prepared...” Spike began, before being cut off by his marefriend letting go and approaching the ponies. “I think Sweetie might have a few words.”

“I do.” The robot said, hoping her face wasn’t about to overheat and melt off from her blush. “Just, as you might imagine, these last few weeks have been quite an experience. To think I feared making waves when me and Spike started dating, never imagined my accidental blowing of my cover would get this sort of response.”

Sweetie sat down on the stage and held out her glass.

“You all could’ve reacted how you did when Zecora first wandered into town, or you could’ve done the opposite and put me on a pedestal. Honestly, I’m actually relieved you did neither.” She continued. “Applebloom, Diamond, Scootaloo, all of you treated this revelation like it was another part of your average day. You realized I may actually be some sort of unknown mechanical construct, but that aside, I’m still Sweetie Belle. I can’t say for certain what that’ll entail going forward, for me or for Spike, but you all really...”

“Uh Sweetie?”

The robot unicorn stopped upon hearing Twilight’s voice. She turned to see the lavender alicorn was holding her hoof up while staring at her cutie mark, which was blinking furiously.

“Uh… I’m really sorry to interrupt, but I think something’s just come up.” The alicorn looked to her friends, who in turn noticed their cutie marks were blinking too.

“The Cutie Map must be detecting something.” Applejack said.

“At this hour? That’s weird. Usually when it summons us, it’s when we’ve got a whole day to investigate what’s wrong.” Rainbow Dash commented as she and her friends made haste for Twilight’s throne room.

“Darn, um… let’s see what’s happening, and then pick up where you left off.” Spike said to Sweetie before turning to the other gathered ponies. “We’ll be right back everyone!”

The two ran to join Twilight and co in the throne room as the crystal table with the magical holographic map slowly rose from the floor.

“Whatever this is, I do hope it’s not related to that dreadful business we had to settle in Yakistan last week.” Rarity said. “As pleasing as it was to gain a new material supplier and addition to my chain of stores, it also took me forever to wash all the paint and tribal ‘offerings’ out of my coat!”

Twilight furrowed her brow as the map rotated and slowly zeroed in on a location.

“Uh… no, doesn’t look like it. Actually… it appears to be local.”

The alicorn’s brow furrowed as she studied the topography of the map’s location.

“That’s barely a mile or so outside of Ponyville… although, I’m also pretty sure there’s nothing there besides trees and rocks.” She said in confusion. “Certainly not where any of the town’s planned expansion zones are.”

Fluttershy leaned over to view the distinctly unimportant and featureless area where her cutie mark was hovering with that of her friends.

“I… I think some of the birds I care for fly over that area during their migration… but that’s about it.” She said, equally bewildered.

Spike and Sweetie joined the six as they continued to stare at the map.

“Well… clearly something has to be happening there for the map to pick up on. We might as well check it out.” He offered, to a bevy of nods.

“Indeed. Let’s… wait...” Twilight started, then broke off as the map suddenly fractured and reformed itself. “Wait, what just...”

The holographic representation of Equestria splintered into a mess of pixels, then reassembled itself a second time.

“What’s it doing now?” Rainbow Dash asked as the map kept glitching.

“Uh, maybe it’s picking up something else? Or there’s a screw loose?” Twilight looked at the underside of the map. “I mean, I know this is a pure crystal table that doesn’t have screws, but I’m not sure what… else… hold on...”

Sweetie turned as she felt Twilight’s hoof poke her flank.

“Sweetie, why is your cutie mark blinking too?” She asked. All eyes turned to the robot’s flank, seeing the shield and musical note stamped on it flashing with the same pattern as that which decorated their own flanks.

“I… I don’t know… that… that’s never happened before, I swear!” Sweetie cried.

“Well the map seems to be picking it up… look!” Spike said.

Everyone turned their attention to see Sweetie’s cutie mark had now materialized over the hologram along with everyone else’s.

“Okay, that’s new… and strange.” Applejack said. “So… what does that mean? Sweetie’s meant to be joining us, or...”

The map promptly exploded in a mass of white light, teleporting everyone in the throne room away to a sunny yet deserted expanse of land outside of Ponyville.

“... or… nevermind. Ah guess she is.” The farm pony concluded, sharing Sweetie’s look of being totally lost.

“Whoah, so that’s what it’s like when the map summons you?” The robot asked as she shook off the shock of being relocated. “It feels more tingly than a normal teleportation spell.”

“You get used to it after a while.” Rarity sighed while dusting herself off. “I only wish I could say the same for what it does to one’s perm.”

The seven ponies and one dragon took a moment to collect themselves, then take a look at where they’d ended up. Rainbow did a quick survey from the skies, Twilight scanned the environment for any sign of magical disturbances, and Fluttershy asked a few passing animals if they’d seen anything unusual happen in the area recently.

“Well, while including Sweetie was a bit of a twist, I still don’t understand why the map needed here, or us in such a hurry.” Rainbow Dash said upon landing again. “Only thing to be seen in all directions is grass, rocks, one or two clouds, and Celestia’s sun. It’s as quiet and boring as can be around here.”

“I’m likewise detecting nothing out of the ordinary. No residue from spells, or essence that anything with magical abilities is anywhere nearby.” Twilight shut off her horn and sat back on her haunches. “Yet, something has to be here. The Cutie Map wouldn’t just summon for no reason.”

The ponies continued to puzzle it out, staring at the surrounding landscape for something, anything that indicated there was trouble afoot. In response, the landscape mocked them with its plain and truly dull visage, offering nothing besides a bog-standard array of natural formations.

Formations that slowly began to pick at one particular pony’s memory the more she looked at them.

“Wait...”

Everyone turned to see Rarity was pointing at a large outcrop of rocks.

“That arrangement… I’ve seen it before.”

The unicorn slowly counted the number of grey boulders clustered together.

“Seven giant points on the outside, six small rounded piles on the inside… yes… yes, it’s coming back to me!”

Rarity took off towards the outcrop, prompting everyone to follow. The rocks slowly loomed higher and higher into the sky as they got closer, revealing they were big enough for a sizeable gap to be formed in the middle.

A gap Rarity frantically galloped into, leading the ponies down into a cavern.

The unicorn halted as she entered the darkened interior, lighting up her horn and casting it on the walls.

“I can’t believe it, after all this time...” Rarity gasped as she studied the features of the rock faces.

“Rares? You recognize this place?” Applejack asked as she trotted in with the others. “This one of the spots you come to for gems?”

Rarity looked at the farm mare and shook her head.

“Heavens no! I mean… not anymore. I’ve only been here once. Many, many years ago.” The unicorn exhaled slowly as she stepped a little further into the cave, shining her light on a series of stalagmites. “But I remember this place. I could never forget it!”

Sweetie switched on her night vision and studied the cave with her sister. To her still rising confusion, she saw only a plain-looking tunnel leading further into the earth. Nowhere were there any traces of gems, or precious minerals, the usual aspects that drew Rarity to go spelunking.

“I don’t understand. What’s so significant about this place?” She asked.

Rarity shut off her light and looked at the robot with wonderment.

“Only that it held a most incredible treasure when I first ventured into it, back when I was a foal.” The unicorn said. “This is the cave I found you in, Sweetie!”

Author's Note

So here we are. New chapter and the signs of a new turn in this little series are now popping up.

For those who may have read my last blog, there will probably be only one, possibly two more chapters to this story, then I'm declaring it complete. Feel like the 'romance' part has now been played out and we can switch to focus more on Sweetie's origins and what they mean for Equestria.

That said, there will still be more adorable interaction between her, Spike and the rest of the MLP cast. I just feel like it's time to start a new arc and thus a new series so I don't end up in the same scenario as with Friendship is Scaleless

Anyway, that bit of overthinking aside, please read, comment and hopefully enjoy!