Romancing the Recently Revealed Robot

by Limescale

Rating: mature
Tags: Sweetie Belle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Romance, Sex, Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Length: 45868

What is Spike to do when his marefriend, Sweetie Belle, is revealed to be a robot? Aside from continuing to date her as normal that is?

Spike and Sweetie Belle seemed like a natural couple. Two young adults just making their first steps in exploring love and life together. And then a freak accident exposes that Sweetie Belle is in fact a highly advanced robot from a seemingly unknown era in Equestria's history.

Spike sees no reason why this or the subsequent aftermath should affect their relationship. Sweet, affectionate robot ponies are hard to come by after all.

An experimental romp focusing on a pairing I haven't seen done yet. Expect pretty much anything to possibly happen from here in, possibly up to and including cyber-clop.

Rest assured Spike and Sweetie are both of legal age in this story.

Cover art by Vavacung

Editing as always by Lunarstallion

Published 2016-08-06 02:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-09-22 05:28:01 UTC

Chapter 1

“Oh no, no, no, NO!” Spike repeated to himself as he ran in the direction of the Carousel Boutique. Smoke was pouring out of the ground floor windows, glass littered the street from where the heat inside had blown them out of their frames. Around the boutique, many of the ponies from Ponyville’s fire house were directing the stream from their hoses into Rarity’s shop, slowly pushing back the flames as they fought to escape to the outside.

“No!” Spike half stumbled, half flew around the boutique. He still hadn’t gotten used to his new wings, and due to Twilight needing him at the palace library more and more frequently, his lessons with Rainbow Dash in how to use them had been sparse indeed. Even if they testified that he was now on the cusp of officially becoming a full adult, the great leathery limbs still seemed to trip him up at the worst of times, like right now as he came upon the sight of an ambulance parked in front of the boutique.

“Rarity!” Spike cried. From where she was raggedly holding an oxygen mask to her face, the white unicorn turned and promptly dropped the mask as the shock caused her to go into another coughing fit.

“*cough*… oh Spike… *cough*… I’m… I’m so sorry…” Rarity wheezed as tears ran from her eyes. “Sweetie Belle... she…*cough*”

“Miss Rarity, please! One breath at a time… we’ll fill in your friend here.” One of the ambulance crew gently insisted as he picked up the mask and placed it back over the unicorn’s muzzle. “That’s it… breathe slowly…”

Spike’s heart leapt into his throat. “Is… is she alright?”

The paramedic pony nodded softly.

“She just inhaled a bit too much smoke. Luckily she was near the front door when the fire started, so she got out safely.” The red earth pony assured as Rarity gasped for oxygen. Spike’s worries were momentarily dashed.

“What happened here?” He demanded as the firefighters put down the last of the blaze.

“*cough*… kit-kitchen… *cough* Sweetie Belle was… *cough*…” Rarity fought to get the words out, but her voice was still too weak, not that Spike needed to hear anything more. The mere concept of his marefriend and the word ‘kitchen’ being used in the same sentence pretty much told him how bad this was.

“Sweetie Belle is in there!?” He asked in a panic. One of the firefighters turned and promptly reached out to grab the dragon as he charged for the smoking boutique.

“Whoah… WHOAH! Easy there sir, we’ve almost got the fire out! One of our boys is in there now searching for any other ponies.” He said while trying to not get yanked off his hooves as Spike fought against his grip. Even if he was still shorter than most dragon’s his age, Spike seemed to have bloomed mostly everywhere else, including his strength. As the firefighter holding him promptly found himself being dragged behind the dragon, his colleague tried to pitch in and hold Spike back. Spike simply bore the weight of the two ponies without breaking his stride, not even when a third and fourth firefighter tried to tackle him and stop him from charging into danger.

“S-Seriously… I’m fireproof! I’ve got a better chance of getting her out of there than you do!” Spike growled as he tried to shake off the rescue ponies. Despite the ambulance staff’s protests, Rarity pulled the oxygen mask off and ran over.

“Spike… *cough*… SPIKE!... *cough* don’t! You… *cough*… I need to… *hack*… you don’t know!”

That seemed to finally do the trick. Spike stopped and turned as the mare he trusted almost as implicitly as her beloved sister stumbled up to him, one hoof pressed to her throat as she continued to raggedly cough.

“Know? Know what?” He demanded. Rarity held up her hoof as she hocked a sickly wad of phlegm onto the ground.

“Sweet… *cough*… Sweetie… is fine… she’s… *hack*… she’s…” The unicorn’s beautiful features screwed up as her throat burned from breathing in the hot smoke.

“She’s what?” Spike yelled, then immediately regretted it as Rarity collapsed into another fit of coughing.

“Hey guys, I found her! Alert the… uh…”

All eyes turned to see a fifth firefighter stepping out of the smoking boutique, a steaming bundle of burned blankets on his back.

“Uh… what’s going on out here?” He asked upon seeing his colleagues all holding onto to different parts of the shocked purple dragon.

“Sweetie!” Spike bolted forward, throwing the four other ponies across the street as they lost their grip on him. “Is she… what happened?”

The firefighter cautiously held up a hoof and bid for Spike to stop.

“Looked like something very nasty happened in the kitchen there. Possibly a gas leak that got ignited when the stove was turned on, or something similar. Poor girl got the worst of it. Had to soak some of the fabric sheets lying around the place with water and bundle her up so she wouldn’t burn me while carrying her.” The stallion said somberly. Spike’s face slowly lost its purple color, turning almost white with fright.

“Is she…” He repeated dumbly. The firefighter frantically shook his head.

“She’s alive… I think. Let me get her to the ambulance crew…” The stallion pushed past Spike. “And then maybe to a mechanic.” He added in a confused tone.

Spike mutely followed behind, not even registering the chatter as the firefighter relayed his findings to the medical ponies. The latter duly levitated the bundle onto a stretcher and delicately began peeling back the burned fabric.

“Word of advice, you might want to notify the hospital to have their maintenance team and tools on standby. Seems the rumors around town were right after all.” The firefighter said with a bewildered shrug. Spike turned and stared in likewise puzzlement as the body of his beloved mare was revealed.

Whereupon the puzzlement reverted back to outright shock.

“S-Sweetie? What… the…”

Before the dragon lay a being who could best be described as a facsimile of his marefriend, in the sense that the hair, coat, horn, cutie mark, and other identifying features were all present, but on a body that was clearly not that of Sweetie Bell. Beneath the sickening black crust of burned flesh and muscle shone an expanse of what appeared to be white metal. Beyond the gore of scorched tissues and dried blood, wires, circuits and mechanical joints were visible. Dumbly, Spike turned to look at his sweetheart’s eyes, and immediately felt his stomach flip. The actual soft starry orbs he loved getting lost in had melted out of their sockets, revealing the shine of glass lenses, mounted atop what looked like some manner of highly advanced camera apparatus modelled in the likeness of a robotic eye. Neon green light shone from within the lenses, flickering wildly as if to signal that life still beat within the shell of… whatever the heck this thing was.

“Sweetie? What… is…” Spike breathlessly asked as the paramedics unwrapped the rest of the blankets and looked in amazement.

“Well I’ll be… so these do exist after all!” One of the ambulance crew exclaimed as he gently touched Sweetie’s exposed metallic flank. He promptly yanked the hoof back upon finding it was still almost glowing hot from the fire. “Guess we’re going to see if this one is as durable as legends would state. Get her in the ambulance. I’ll have somepony notify Princess Twilight.”

For the second time that day Spike came to a dead stop as the right combination of words snapped him back to full alertness.

“Princess… Princess Twilight? Uh, I can do that.” He said. The paramedics turned and looked at him. “That is… uh… if you’d kindly tell me just what in Tartarus is going on???” He demanded.

From where she was being helped into the ambulance, Rarity weakly raised her hoof.

“T… *cough*… Tell Twilight… *cough*… then meet us at the hospital. *Hack*… I’ll… explain everything then.” She promised.

Author's Note

So, as 'Scaleless' continues to give me issues, I thought I'd try another idea I mentioned in one of the groups I belong to here. It seems very few folk have done a Spike x Sweetie Bot pairing, as in the comic I took the cover art from is almost the only example I could find.

Being who loves his robots, and honestly wanted to give a non-Rarity Spike pairing a try, this just demanded to be done.

So here we are. A series of currently undetermined length where Spike finds himself dating a robot.

Chapter 2

"You found this where, dear?” Cookie Crumbles asked. Before her, Hondo Flanks very carefully prodded at various parts of the strange foal Rarity had brought home… well, ‘foal’ was a bit of an exaggeration, to be honest. While the tiny creature bore the mane, tail, hooves, and general physique of a baby equine, the fact it was just standing lifelessly in the center of the room, with a section of its neck open to allow Hondo to inspect its innards, told of how it was clearly something very different.

“It was in the very back of that new cave I told you about.” A very young Rarity replied. “I… I thought it was some kind of doll. You know, like the ones they put the clothes on in store windows.”

Cookie looked to her husband as he lit his horn and shone the light into the foal’s neck.

“Well, that’s not a bad guess. This is clearly an artificial construct of some kind.” The stallion hummed as he finished clearing the dust and cobwebs off, then picked up a screwdriver. “Interesting, the mechanics remind me of the x-ray machines and sonogram equipment at Ponyville General Hospital.”

“What are… mek-niks, daddy?” Rarity asked. Hondo bid his daughter over and showed her how the inside of the foal was neither hollow, nor filled with the guts and bones depicted on the anatomy charts at Rarity’s school. Instead, wires, fiber optic cables, circuits, and synthetic tissues lined the interior of the foal, giving Rarity cause to gasp in amazement.

“It seems this… erm… pony wasn’t born, it was built. It’s a robot.” Hondo explained, much to his wife’s growing confusion.

“That was then abandoned in a random cave somewhere?” Cookie queried. Hondo looked up at her and just shrugged.

“What’s a… ’roh-bot’?” Rarity queried. Hondo smiled and cleared his throat.

“A robot is a mechanical agent, a machine created to perform a service that normal ponies might not be capable of doing. It’s like the things you’ve seen daddy fixing in his workshop for the ponies around town, only robots are more autonomous, and usually…”

“Hondo, dear, what have I told you about using your big stallion words around her?” Cookie chided softly. The pride promptly flushed away from Hondo’s face and he blushed.

“Right… uh… well, basically, this is a robot. It looks like a pony, but it’s not flesh and blood… at least… it shouldn’t be.” Hondo prodded the machine’s side, noticing how his hoof sank into what felt like real, living skin and fur. “Strange that this one seems to have been deliberately designed to be almost indistinguishable from a normal pony.”

Rarity ooohed some more as she tousled the machine’s purple and pink striped mane and watched how it flowed back down just like real hair would.

“I think we need to notify the Royal Guards about this. Princess Celestia, or somepony in her court, is no doubt going to be very interested to know there’s something like this just sitting pretty in Equestria.” Cookie suggested. Hondo nodded as he picked up his screwdriver again.

“Agreed, but first, I just want to try something. If I’m not mistaken, this part right here should be the connection between the CPU and power source… but it looks like the wires got pulled out, and…”

Sparks promptly flew out of the foal’s neck. Hondo stumbled back as it gave a violent shudder and rapidly blinked its eyes. Cookie’s breath caught in her throat as the foal looked at her, then at Rarity. It slowly cocked its head in confusion.

“Ooooh… hello?” Rarity asked. The foal blinked several more times.

- Hello. - It stated blankly. Its voice was rather high pitched, and feminine in tone, yet there was just a hint of a metallic timbre to betray its mechanical nature.

Silence held in the room for another moment or so. Finally Hondo got up from his sprawled position on the floor and stared in amazement at the machine.

“Huh… okay, well that produced better results than expected.” He said. The foal looked at him in confusion. “Uh, hi? My name is Hondo Flanks… and this is my wife, Cookie Crumbles, and my daughter Rarity.”

The foal turned to each member of the household again, staring at them with the same confused nature.

“I found you in a cave!” Rarity proclaimed proudly. The foal nodded mutely.

- A cave.- It repeated.

“Yeah, uh… we were wondering what you are, so I thought if maybe I could turn you on… erm… you could answer that for us?” Hondo asked awkwardly. The foal nodded and closed its eyes for a moment.

-Diagnostic scan reports all systems are running nominally. Memory records reveal…- The robot paused and opened its eyes again. Its head lowered to the ground. –No data available.-

Hondo’s eyes widened in shock. “Really? Uh… you can’t tell us what model you are? Or what your… uh… name is? Or anything?”

The robot closed its eyes, then opened them again with the same sad list of its head.

-No data available. Unit’s designation is unknown. Unit’s purpose is unknown. Unit is otherwise functioning nominally.- It replied. Cookie placed a hoof to her mouth, while Hondo sighed.

“Wow, not only does it look like a foal, but it’s as much of a blank slate as one too.” He replied. The robot looked up at him with what was almost a too lifelike expression of teary eyed want.

-Unit requires programming. Are you able to assist?- It asked, its voice noticeably growing less mechanical with each syllable. The household all looked at each other.

“Uhhh… well, I still think we should turn it over to the Royal Guard… only, I don’t know how much good that would do if it literally doesn’t know anything about itself.” Cookie mentioned.

“I… hmmm… it sounds like it wants to learn. I’m pondering if that means I could teach it…” Hondo rubbed his chin.

“Could I keep her?” Rarity stated out of nowhere. Her parents turned to her in surprise. “She could be like… like my little sister!”

The surprise on Hondo and Cookie’s faces widened.

“She?” Cookie asked her daughter dumbly. Rarity turned to the foal and nodded.

“She sounds like a she.” The unicorn replied.

- ‘She’… female… vocal inflections suggest gender assignment. Like this?” The robot’s voice completely lost its metallic timbre in the space of four syllables, leaving it speaking like a typically adorable baby that had just learned to talk. More looks of shock were shared.

“Yeah, like that.” Rarity said proudly. “She could be like my little sister. She almost looks the same as me!”

Cookie looked to her daughter and then the robot. Indeed aside from the difference in their mane colors, the two could pass as siblings…

“I’m getting a very weird feeling here. I mean… I just saw you poking at it with your tools… yet… as I keep looking at her… it… well…” Cookie snorted and placed her hoof back against her head. “Honestly, even if it’s just meant to look like a real wide eyed little foal, it’s a very good deception.”

Hondo nodded as he looked down at the robot, a smile working its way across his face at it… no, she… kept staring up in want like any child would.

“She is kind of a sweetie… there’s no doubt about that.”

“Yeah! That can be her name!” Rarity jumped up and down. “Sweetie Bot!”

The robot’s ears rose. “Sweetie Bot?”

Cookie snorted and shook her head. “No.”

Her daughter promptly stopped her happy hopping.

“Whatever you’re thinking Rarity, we are not calling her ‘Sweetie Bot’.” The mare insisted. “Regardless of whether she’s living or a machine, calling attention to her status like that is rude.”

Rarity looked crestfallen for a moment, then brightened again instantly.

“What about… uhhh… ’Sweetie Belle’?” She asked. The robot looked down as if contemplating this.

“Sweetie Belle… a moniker invoking positive connotations and amicable reactions. Unit deems this a beneficial designation.” It said, its cuteness factor increasing with how it talked so eloquently in such a squeaky, infant voice.

“So you like it?” Hondo asked.

“Yes. I am Sweetie Belle… designed for…” The now named mare paused as she hit another hindrance. “Purpose not yet confirmed.”

“You’re my little sister!” Rarity exclaimed happily. Hondo and Cookie looked at each other.

“Dear…” The mare began. Hondo nodded.

“I’ll still send word to Princess Celestia. For now, well, let’s see how this develops…”

***

“So after that, dad sent word to Canterlot, and we got the biggest surprise of all. Apparently, Princess Celestia’s standing was we could keep her if we wanted, since she seemed to be acclimatizing to being a member of our household just fine.” Rarity explained to the ponies gathered around her in the hospital waiting room. “She still went in for regular maintenance checks, and the doctors here sent reports on her progress to Canterlot, but aside from that, she fit into her role as a sibling and daughter far better than we were anticipating.”

Spike blinked several times and scratched his head.

“Wait… wait… hold on a second… if Sweetie is actually a robot… how the heck has she still been aging like a normal pony? How did she manage to get a cutie mark like her friends? How is it she can eat and drink, and smell like the rest of us? How is it… erm… uh….” Spike’s voice broke as he realized he was about to ask a much more intimate and very inappropriate question. “Uhhh… actually, I’ll wait on that last one for later.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled and stood up from her seat.

“I think I can answer that. Celestia told me about this while I was studying under her.” The alicorn projected an image of a pony and a mechanical facsimile thereof with her magic. “As you all have heard by now, those of you who’ve met a certain Lyra Heartstrings at least, there allegedly exists, or once existed another race different to those on Equestria. Beings of a furless and bipedal nature, much like Spike, with hands instead of hooves and all that…”

Spike nodded. “You mean humans?”

Twilight smiled. "Something like that."

She created a magical image of one such creature for her friends. “Anyway, according to lore known only among Celestia’s scholars, they had a far greater grasp of and dependence on technology than we do. It’s believed that highly sophisticated robots, much like Sweetie Belle apparently is, were created by them, and left behind when they vanished without a trace. “ Twilight shut off her projection and sat back down. “Celestia actually believes there may be more machines like her littered around the world, evidence that humans, or a similarly advanced race, once lived on Equestria. Sweetie would technically be the first proof she was right, though.”

Rarity cocked her ears forward.

“And… you’re not mad at the fact that I’ve been keeping her in secret all this time?” She asked. Twilight smiled soothingly.

“Hardly a secret. Your parents notified the necessary channels when needed, and they, in turn, have been keeping Celestia and everypony abreast of the situation all these years. There was hardly any need to complicate things, and Sweetie always seemed perfectly happy living here as your sister, so Celestia just let it be.” The alicorn assured.

“Well, yeah… but that doesn’t really update me with what I asked about.” Spike complained. “Seriously, if you found her as a foal, how is it she now looks like a normal teenager? Almost an adult even!”

"Maybe she's like the stone golems Daring Do encountered in her third book? The ones that can assemble larger bodies for themselves by adding more rocks onto their forms?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "Or...ooh, maybe she's like the giant spiders that guarded the lost Temple of Connemara! Daring said they grow bigger by shedding their outer bodies every year...wait..."

The blue pegasus turned to Rarity in suspicion. "If that's the case, how do we know those ponyquins at the boutique aren't actually Sweetie Belle's old shells, left over when she molted?"

Rarity replied with a blank look. "Because they aren't...and now you're freaking me out a little, Rainy."

Twilight’s smile lost a bit of confidence.

“Yes, well I can say is that whoever built her apparently designed her to resemble a normal pony as much as possible. According to the doctors who’ve been doing her checkups over the years, her body is somehow able to augment and build onto itself. Every time she's had an x-ray done or a physical done there've just been new additions to her internal workings. We’re not sure how, but I have several theories based on how sophisticated her construction is.” The alicorn got a strange blush on her face. “I was actually pondering… uh… now that the secret is out… maybe Sweetie could provide some answers?”

Rarity’s head wilted.

“No.” She said. Twilight sighed and nodded.

“Right, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that… I just…”

“No, I didn’t mean my response in that regard either.” Rarity interrupted. “I meant Sweetie won’t be able to help you because she has no idea.”

Twilight, Spike, and everyone else reacted in shock.

“All Sweetie knows is she’s a robot that’s remarkably similar to a living pony. How much alike, or how she can do everything a living pony can do, is as much a mystery to her as it is to us.” Rarity nervously toyed with her hair. “Honestly, I wonder if she in fact was deliberately designed that way, so she’d think she IS a living pony. Certainly there’ve been many times where even I’ve forgotten she’s actually a robot, so great is her likeness.”

Spike sighed.

"Is that why neither of you told me yet? Actually hold on..." The dragon looked at his friends in accusation. "How many of you were aware of this?"

Rainbow, Fluttershy and Applejack all looked perturbed at Spike's raised voice. Twilight snorted and bid her assistant to please calm down.

"Just me, and Rarity." She began, before Pinkie Pie's hoof shot up.

"I knew! I just thought we were keeping it a surprise, you know for when their first anniversary came around and we could celebrate with a 'Congrats on one whole year of robo-romance!' party!"

The pink mare paused as if now noticing her friends were gaping in slack-jawed shock at her. "Yes I know the title needs work, but I've still got time...right?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Anyway we WERE going to tell you, once we knew for certain that your relationship with Sweetie was serious." The alicorn perked her ears. "You two are serious about each other, aren't you?"

Spike blinked as his thought process struggled to pick itself up from where it had derailed and put itself back on the tracks. He looked down at the floor in deep contemplation, only looking up when the ER door swung open and out stepped a stallion in surgical scrubs.

“How… how is it, doctor?” Rarity asked apprehensively. The stallion cleared his throat and smiled softly.

“Honestly, it’s better than we were expecting. Good news is whatever Sweetie’s body… I mean, her actual body, is made from seems to have done a masterful job of insulating her innards from the fire. We had to clean off some ash and scorch marks, but as far as we can tell, she’s working fine.” The stallion took a breath. “The bad news, of course, is we couldn’t save her skin...erm, the covering that was acting as such. That got pretty much destroyed by the explosion.”

Twilight nodded somberly. “And since we have no means of replicating a living tissue covering, we now face a new challenge: what can we do now if she’s no longer able to pass as a pony?”

She looked to Rarity who took a deep breath and brushed her mane aside.

“That’s a discussion I think she needs to be included in. Her and all those she cares for…” The unicorn looked at Spike. He wadded his hands and shifted his wings awkwardly.

“Can… can we see her?” He asked. The stallion nodded.

“Maintenance team is doing one final check. Far as we can tell, she shut down after getting hit by the explosion. Just needs to be turned back on, so if you’d like…”

Rarity nodded and rose. “I can take it from here. Come along everyone.”

The ponies head into the ER, all save for Pinkie Pie who was still debating titles for her upcoming party.

"Maybe something alliterative? Like a 'Proud to be P-600 Party'? No wait, the P-600 series has rubber skin. Sweetie's a way more advanced model than that!" The pink mare said before the door swung shut in front of her.

In the ER, everyone approached the room where the entity that had apparently been masquerading as Sweetie Belle lay limply upon a recovery bed. With all the charred flesh and burn marks cleared away, she cut a very different picture than Spike had been expecting. Her mane and tail had somehow survived the fire intact, indicating they were made of a similarly durable material to her body, despite feeling like normal silky hair. Spike thought of the many times he’d run his fingers through both, either grooming or teasing the adorable filly, and never expecting she was anything more than a lovely, bubbly lass. He also noticed her horn looked a bit longer, and now bore three rings of what appeared to be lights spiraling around the pointed extension. On her legs, where her joints were located, there was a dial of some manner, set with another light. Her hooves now also revealed that each had some manner of a grille style vent underneath the metal cover.

Spike pressed his face to the window of the recovery room as Rarity gingerly stepped inside. For all the newly uncovered aspects that told of how his marefriend was apparently some marvel of technological innovation, on the whole, she still looked like Sweetie Belle. Her mane still had the right colors, her body was still the same brilliant shade of pure white, and on her flank, there was still her cutie mark, sitting there plain for all to see.

“Be ready, everyone. I’ve never had to… uh… oh, what’s the word… reboot Sweetie from a total shut down. Not sure how she’ll react.” Rarity warned as she used her magic to pry open a panel on the robot’s neck. Spike watched in shock as the unicorn pressed something inside her sister’s innards, and her whole body gave a sharp jolt.

“And to think, when you two started dating, I thought you’d defied all expectations by going for someone so plain and pretty. Looks like I should’ve kept my bets on one of you turning out to be something other than normal.” Rainbow commented, much to the dragon’s ire. Rarity carefully pressed her hoof on another part of Sweetie’s neck and stepped back as the lights on her body flickered to full brightness. The robot opened her eyes, revealing they now glowed with an uncovered evergreen aura. Sweetie looked at her surroundings, then slowly rose up off the bed.

-Rarity? Whuh-what happened?- Sweetie asked, her voice now inflected with the same metallic timbre as before. Rarity’s ears wilted as her eyes filled with tears.

“Th-There was an accident… the boutique’s kitchen… oh Sweetie!” She leaned down and hugged the robot. “I’m so sorry!”

Sweetie looked at her sibling in confusion…only for her features to likewise wilt as she held up a hoof and saw its now mechanical nature.

-Right… I remember I was trying to bake bread… but the oven… I remember smelling gas… then the pilot clicked on and…- Sweetie pushed herself back from her sister. – Did anypony get hurt!?-

Rarity sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“No, no, I’m fine… you’re… well, you got the worst out of everyone.” She tearfully replied. Sweetie blinked her neon toned eyes and held up a hoof.

-The worst? One second…-

Her eyes snapped shut and a low humming sound reverberated from within her body. Spike recognized it as the same kind of sound Sweetie made whenever she was warming up for singing practice.

-Diagnostic scan reports no internal damage. All systems operating nominally. – Sweetie took a deep breath. “So… I just lost my epidermal cover… heh, after all these years, and as a result of my continuing insistence on trying to learn how to cook.” She said, her voice now having returned to its normal, perfectly natural sounding timbre. Spike had to gape at how she was able to switch from sounding robotic to sounding like the mare he loved just like that.

“Sweetie, just what were you thinking?? After all the kitchen disasters we’ve had over the years!” Rarity exclaimed. The robot unicorn dipped her ears.

“I could go into a lengthy explanation… but I’d like to make a request first.”

Spike felt himself freeze in place as those unearthly glowing eyes were turned on him.

“Are you all going to just stare at me? Or are you going to come in so we can get the awkward part over with?” Sweetie asked, her ears wilting further in sadness. “Come on, Spike. We both know how this is going to end.”

Author's Note

So here's chapter 2, and hopefully the insight everyone was asking for in regards to how I'm approaching Sweetie Bot. What caught my interest the most about Vavacung's comic was that Sweetie was described as more of a synthetic bioroid, as opposed to a straight machine. Since it was confirmed she could do everything a living pony could do (eat, drink, sleep, breathe, etc) I wondered if that could extend to her also growing and aging like one too. We've had other robots in the past that apparently are made of materials capable of shifting size (Transformers, I'm looking at you :ajbemused: ) so it's not that far fetched of a concept. If nothing else it's yet another avenue that hasn't been explored all that much so that makes it ripe for my own musings!

What do you all think?

Chapter 3

Typically, when one discovered that somepony they trusted implicitly had been lying or hiding something from them, things got awkward. That much was to be expected, and the true test would then be whether one could forgive the other party and move on, or if the deception would prove to be the fissure that thus drove them apart.

As Spike stood listening to Twilight and the robot that he knew as his marefriend, Sweetie Belle, talking away, he found himself wondering which of the above courses of action he would end up opting for. Finding out his special somepony was, in fact, a ridiculously sophisticated machine that resembled an equine in all save for her new appearance was indeed a shock… but the more Sweetie revealed about herself, the more the dragon had to ponder just how much of her masquerade was actually a deception. By her own account, it seemed Sweetie herself had sometimes forgotten about her true status, such was the thoroughness of her design in mimicking that of her organic counterparts, and with no information on why she’d been created in the first place, the unicorn had simply thrown herself into the persona Rarity had assigned to her. If there was any deception at play, it was as much at Sweetie’s expense as it was of her friends.

“So you can eat, drink, sleep, breathe and do everything else we can. Indeed, from my scans of your body, it looks like you were literally designed to be like we are from birth, save that you’re made of metal instead of flesh… at least….” Twilight looked over Sweetie’s flank. “Um… forgive my asking this, but, do you mind if I touch you?”

Sweetie cocked her head. “Of course not. I’ve probably cooled down enough from the fire to not burn anything.”

Nodding, Twilight gently placed a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. Her brow furrowed as she then moved to touch Sweetie’s face.

“Well, actually, no you haven’t. You feel warm… but not as in how metal normally feels if its heated… actually, is this really metal? It feels pliable…” Twilight pressed her other hoof to Sweetie’s cheek and studied how it sank into what looked to be a white steel plate. “It’s almost like skin… or a synthetic imitation…”

Sweetie Belle winced as she was poked and prodded, her expression contorting from Twilight pressing on different parts of her face.

“I guess this would explain how you pass so perfectly as a pony. This epidermal covering seems elasticated enough for you to perform the subtle movements inherent to body language and facial expressions, and with the flesh on top, whatever that was made of, there’d have been virtually no trace that there’s anything different about you underneath like…”

CLICK!

WHIRRRRRRR!

Twilight promptly broke off and backed away as Sweetie Belle’s back split open. Two large panels folded out like a pair of wings, permitting two very alien looking extensions to slide out from underneath.

“Like… uh… those? Whoa.” Twilight said as the cylindrical devices rotated to point at her. Their shape vaguely resembled canons, only they lacked the necessary parts for loading ammo and primer. That, however, didn’t seem to prevent them from performing the same aggressive function as their interiors glowed with the build-up of energy of some kind.

“I… I… uh… oooh, I’m really sorry, Twilight. This… I swear this has never happened before!” Sweetie blushed horribly. Spike cautiously stepped forward, his mind itching as he studied his marefriend’s new additions.

“Are those… blasters?” He asked while scrunching up his face. “They look similar to the weapons that Space Stallion has mounted to his ship.”

Sweetie blushed harder, which in itself was pretty interesting, now that Spike thought about it. It seemed being a machine didn’t mean the unicorn still couldn’t feel embarrassed.

“I… uh… maybe? I dunno, my body just does this from time to time. Somehow it keeps building new parts for itself every few months, or adds a new feature onto an existing component. I think that’s how I’ve appeared to grow older and bigger over the years.”

Twilight’s ears snapped to attention.

“Really? Hmmm...” She looked around the ER and noticed a ceramic cup on one of the counters. “Sweetie, I’m going to do something completely random right now. Be ready.”

The unicorn cocked her head in confusion.

“Be ready? For wha…”

The cup was suddenly thrown full force at Sweetie’s head. It made about half-way across the room before her blasters locked onto it and vaporized it with two streams of pink and purple colored energy. Everyone promptly ducked for cover.

“Twilight! Whatever do you think you’re doing??” Rarity demanded from behind a chair. The alicorn rubbed her chin and smiled in satisfaction.

“The same thing Celestia did to me to test my magical accuracy… or when she felt like having a food fight.” Twilight snickered. “So, much like a normal pony, your body changed to suit your age, but unlike a normal pony, it’s also been upgrading itself with additional defensive and offensive measures. This is immensely fascinating.”

Sweetie whimpered as the dust that had once been a cup drifted slowly to the ground. Seeing this, Spike finally decided to speak up.

“Well, is there a way we can study it without throwing things at my marefriend? I don’t think she wants to risk hurting somepony.” He said. The unicorn robot turned in surprise, as did Twilight.

“I’d say the same, Twi. Don’t want her getting like I did at the height of puberty… which makes me wonder…” Rainbow Dash looked at Sweetie’s smoking canons. “Does this mean robots get blaster boners? Like pegasi get wing boners?”

“Rainbow!” Rarity exclaimed, to her friend’s confusion.

“What? It happens at her age… right?” Rainbow queried. Spike facepalmed and let out a low groan.

“Look, can Sweetie and I have a moment alone? She did say she wanted to talk to me, and I think I know what it’s about.”

Twilight blinked, then winced as she realized what her assistant was getting at.

“Of course, Spike. Just come out to the waiting room when you’re done.”

The ponies left the room, and Spike closed the door after them. It gave him a few extra seconds to ponder just what was he going to say to Sweetie.

“So… uh… that bit about me still being your marefriend…” The robot cut in. Spike sighed and turned around. Of course it’d be just like her to beat him to the punch…

Yeah, it’d be just like her…

“Before we get into that, Sweetie, I need to know one thing: were you planning to tell me at some point about… this?” He asked. Sweetie’s ears drooped again as she rubbed her leg.

“Well, yes… when I remembered.” She said with a cringe. “I mean… you’ve seen how much I resemble a real pony. I'm not lying about how I’ve forgotten what I truly am at times. Seriously, there’ve been days, even weeks where I’ve felt so… so… normal I guess… it’s only when I finally get a reminder about needing maintenance, or I detect a joint is getting squeaky that the illusion breaks.”

Spike let out the breath he was holding as Sweetie looked at her canons.

“You’ve all treated me like I’m just another filly...in both good and bad ways...and you...oh, Spike, you said I’m a perfectly fine and suitable mare. Even if it’s because you didn’t know any better, I’ve never felt like I was any different from anypony else. No one's given me a standard for what's different from being normal. Well aside from my 'blank flank' years but Applebloom and Scootaloo had the same problem.”

The dragon looked to the shield and musical note shining like a badge of honor on the robot’s flank.

“How DID you earn your cutie mark, actually? I mean...uh...can you use magic? Or were all the skills I’ve seen you exhibit just more tricks of your body to maintain your cover?” He asked. Sweetie reared back as if offended by the notion. Spike immediately felt a strange sense of disgust at himself.

“Sorry that..that was the wrong word to use.” He meeped, folding his wings sheepishly around himself. “I just… this is quite a shock, as you can expect.”

“I know, I know Spike. It’s the same for me.” Sweetie looked up at her blasters. “I didn’t even know what these did until now. Guess it’s kind of a weird blessing my secret was exposed before they did it for me.”

The mecha-unicorn closed her eyes tight as if concentrating really hard. Presently, her blasters collapsed in on themselves and retracted into her back.

“So, now that your secret is out, you’re as in the dark about it as we are. You say you only know what we know about what you can do…” Spike walked over to Sweetie, cupping her head in his hands. “Does that include your feelings for me?”

Sweetie blinked as her eyes dilated wider. Spike felt entranced by that, like he was only now looking into the unicorn’s true soul for the first time.

“Of course it does! I mean… in the sense of…I mean” Sweetie sighed. “Oooh Spike, I don’t know if what I’m feeling for you is real, or just a programmed simulation to make me seem more real…”

Spike nodded and gently ran his thumbs across the robot’s cheeks.

“Well...um...okay let's try looking at this from another perspective. What do we know is real? Your body feels warm and soft enough to be real… and how your eyes…” Spike paused as again the green aura burning in Sweetie’s cybernetic eyes drew him in. “What I see in them seems real, it still seems like you…”

Sweetie shivered nervously as she felt Spike’s fiery breath on her muzzle. How that used to make all her hair stand on end whenever the two cuddled together… and now that she had no hair, it instead triggered a different sense of apprehension and excitement in her.

When Spike then kissed her, the robot feared she was going to short-circuit… which, ironically, was the same way she’d reacted the first time they’d shared such a kiss. Not that she’d wanted to admit it then, just as she didn’t want to now, but either way, the fact Spike stirred such emotions in her, that after growing out of his obsession with her sister he’d deemed her to be his ideal match… yeah, there was no way these feelings were just some part of her programming intended to make her seem more lifelike. Spike apparently was thinking the same as he broke the kiss and smiled.

“Yeah, that seemed real enough for me too.” He smirked as Sweetie felt her tear reservoirs filling her eyes. She was going need to refill those, but not before she showed her thanks to this wonderful, wonderful gentledrake. She threw her arms around him, clutching Spike in the tightest, most loving hug she could muster.

“So… so does this mean we’re still together? Am I...real enough to be your special somepony?” She asked, shivering again as Spike hugged her back.

“Yes you are, Sweetie. Whether you’re living or a machine doesn’t change that.” Spike replied before realizing something. “Though it does raise the question of whether I still call you my special somepony, or my special somerobot?”

Sweetie giggled softly. “Uuuh...actually either works for me. Right now, I gotta figure out how the heck we tell everyone else.” She shuddered as the realization of how much her revealed status was going to impact things. “Applebloom, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, Twist, Rumble, Miss Cherilee… Celestia, how are they all going to react to this?”

Spike smiled. “We’ll tell them, together. Just like together we’ll figure out what the heck else there is to know about you, maybe find something about where you might have come from and why…”

The tears, be they real or artificial, spilled freely as Sweetie hugged her dearly beloved drake. Spike let out a very strangled gasp.

“Also… ngh… is there a way to measure your strength?” He meeped. “My… ngh… my spine isn’t supposed to bend inward like that….”

Sweetie meeped too and promptly let go of the dragon. “Oooh sorry! I… without my skin, it’s harder to gauge when I’m exerting too much pressure.”

Spike giggled weakly as he bent over and felt his spine pop back into the right alignment.

“Ow… well, at least that explains why your hugs seem so passionate. And here I was thinking it was due to my charm.” He grinned teasingly at Sweetie, and was duly rewarded by her blasters popping out into his face again.

“Eeeeee… well uh, that was definitely a result of your charm?” Sweetie bleated as she nervously tried to angle her body to where there was no risk of her accidentally sending her boyfriend to the same fate as the cup. “I need to ask if Rarity has any tape lying around. This may be a problem.”

Author's Note

So yeah I caved. Thought I should wait a bit before posting the next chapter but I hated that chapter 2 ended on a rather dour note. I'm almost finished with chapter 4 anyway so at some point in the next few days I'll be updating this again as originally planned.

In the mean time, enjoy your third serving of fluff for this week. Remember to brush and floss after each one so the cuteness doesn't give you cavities.

Chapter 4

“So, I know we discussed waiting another year or so before we tried living together, but, given that the Carousel Boutique is going to need a few days to be rebuilt, Twilight and I thought you could stay with us.” Spike said, blushing cutely as he walked with Sweetie up to the great crystalline doors of Twilight’s castle.

“Is that just because you’re being your normal, charming gentledrake self?” Sweetie queried. “Or so Twilight can study me at her leisure like I’m some kind of lab specimen?”

Spike stopped and looked at his robotic beloved. She was staring at him with an entrancingly unreadable expression, her cybernetic eyes narrowed in a way that could indicate skepticism as easily as it could suggest she was flirting.

“Well… I mean, as the current ruler of Ponyville and the surrounding provinces, Twilight is obligated to do her part for Equestria, including investigating all strange occurrences that may crop up in her realm. However, neither of us would ever dream of treating you like anything less than an honored guest… well, I of course would… Twilight MIGHT get a bit carried away with her tests, so I’d need to keep an eye on… ermmm…” Spike looked to the doors and retracted his hand from where he’d been about to open them. “Uhh… we could get a room at a hotel if you’re that worr… wait… oh no WAIT! I didn’t mean like that! I mean…”

Sweetie finally broke down in giggles.

“Joke, Spike. I was kidding.” She finally replied. “Seriously, if Twilight needs to poke and prod in order to find out more about me, then she’s welcome to do so.”

Spike stopped speaking, let a moment of silence pass, then finally closed his mouth dumbly. Sweetie couldn’t help giggling again.

“Eight years we’ve been friends, almost one year we’ve been a couple, and I can still make you flustered with ease.” She leaned over and kissed the dragon. “You are as adorable as ever.”

Spike sighed in defeat, and smirked slightly at how the unicorn’s synthetic lips still felt as warm as the real deal.

“Well, like Twilight said, the more we change, the more we stay the same.” He replied. Sweetie paused as the dragon pushed open the front doors. From past experience, she knew that was no easy feat, considering how much the doors weighed due to their size. Normally Twilight either opened them with her magic or had two strong sentries to let ponies into her residence, yet where he’d once needed assistance with such a physically challenging task, Spike proved he had indeed changed in as many ways as he’d stayed the same dragon she loved. His dedication to physical fitness had given him quite a bit of muscle, with much of it showing as he pushed the heavy doors out of his way, then picked up her luggage like it was nothing. His muzzle was also longer and more angular like many of the older dragons they’d encountered, and of course, he had those grand new wings. Of course, at the same time he’d still only grown maybe a couple of inches taller at the most, and, as had just been demonstrated, he hadn’t lost any of the cuter parts of his personality.

“That… is true.” Sweetie commented as she looked over herself. Even if Spike had now confirmed that her machine status didn’t bother him, the robot unicorn still felt very at odds. Internally, she sensed she was the same as she ever was, but on the outside… well… really, how much had she changed on the outside? Her body plating, her wiring, her mechanical joints, those had all been there from the beginning, just hidden under her epidermal covering. True, her body had grown, or rather upgraded itself over the years, but that was about all that was realistically different about her.

‘Course, at the same time, would anypony other than Spike share that view?

“Ah, there you two are!”

Sweetie looked up to see Twilight descending the staircase. On a whim, the robot pulled up a recording of the alicorn taken when she’d first ascended to her new status. Yep, comparing the footage side by side with the real deal, there were changes there too. Twilight was almost as tall as Celestia, and carried herself a lot more like the royal she now was. While her mane and tail were still styled in the same plain way as when Twilight had been just a unicorn with a passion for reading, her body language expressed a lot more confidence, authority, and acceptance that she was now one charged as both defender and peacekeeper of Equestria.

“Did you get everything you needed from the boutique?” The properly regal alicorn asked.

“Everything we could find. The explosion took out a fair chunk of the ground floor and the west side of the second floor.” Spike lamented. “You’re sure Rarity is okay?”

Twilight nodding soothingly.

“I’ve already got a whole crew of architects and construction workers to fix the place up good as new. If anything, Rarity said this is a bit of a blessing, since now she can go to Manehattan and focus on the two shops she just opened there without worrying about how things are at home for a while.”

Sweetie’s ears wilted. “Yeah… that’s good and all but… uh… I wish it didn’t have to come from me destroying the place.” She looked up at Twilight. “Should… should I write her an apology card?”

Twilight shook her head.

“She understands it was an accident, Sweetie. Indeed, she actually has something she wants to discuss with you once she gets back.” The alicorn replied before clearing her throat. “On that though… well… as you probably picked up at the hospital, I do have quite a number of questions I’d love to ask about you.”

The robot nodded before sneaking a glance at how Spike was standing quietly to attention, trying to not look like he was straining with the weight of all her suitcases.

“Why don’t you show me where I can drop my stuff off first. Much as I know Spike won’t say anything, I couldn’t live with myself if I let him stand there like a bellcolt.” She sighed as Spike glared at her.

“As I said, Sweetie, these aren’t that heavy! Well, not in comparison to how much Rarity packs for trips.” He protested.

“Exactly, which why I said I’d be fine carrying them myself.” Sweetie flexed one of her metallic limbs. “According to my last system report my body’s carrying capacity is currently rated at approximately 2,800 lbs.”

In a flash, Twilight had a scroll and quill before her to write this fact down. Spike just turned and gaped.

“Two thousand eight… that… that’s 300 more than I can currently bench!” He declared. Rather than disappoint her, Sweetie smiled in embarrassment.

“Yes, well, you don’t have the advantage of a reinforced duramantium alloy for your skeletal structure, or hydraulic joints rated for class 9 load bearing and impacts, or… uh…” Sweetie broke off upon noticing Spike’s pace was slowing down, and not from the weight of her luggage. “I… I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?”

Spike pushed open the door to a freshly cleaned and prepared guest room. Slowly, he put down the suitcases and flexed his own powerful physique. Sweetie felt herself rattle as the sight triggered the usual reaction in her… that is to say, it made all her wires and circuits sizzle with a pleasurable electric surge.

“The same mare I’ve carried in my arms across puddles when it rains, hefted all her bags when we went shopping, and supported on my shoulders during many a town event when the crowds were too thick for us to get a good view… has just admitted she’s stronger than Big Mac AND Snowflake… not to mention me!”

The surge promptly died as Sweetie detected what she interpreted to be disdain.

“Well, you’re also stronger than Big Mac and Snowflake… and you said yourself this is hardly the peak of your development.” She said while placing one of her hooves on Spike’s broad shoulders. “You may be almost an adult, but from what we know of dragon lore, that doesn’t mean you’re done growing… not by a long shot!”

Twilight nodded from the doorway.

“She’s right, Spike. While I’m still perplexed as to your lack of height… Ember said most dragons keep getting bigger for another 200 or so years after they reach adulthood. If you keep up your exercise regime as it is… well… I’m both excited and kind of scared at the idea of what sort of power you may end up packing.” The alicorn blushed.

“She’s not the only one.” Sweetie Belle cooed as Spike sighed.

“You make me fluster so easily… and with a few simple words, I can make you fall over yourself trying to reassure me I’m still your big brawny gentledrake.”

Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped, and Spike turned to take advantage by locking her in another passionate kiss. Through her rising blush, Twilight wrote down her observation that all the lights on Sweetie Belle’s body shone with double the intensity for a full 30 seconds.

“Now we’re even.” Spike grinned as his marefriend swooned. The thought that he could make a machine weak at the knees filled the drake with a very tingly sense of pride. After all, how many others could claim to the same?

“And you’re still my big, brawny gentledrake. Don’t ever think the fact that I’m technically stronger changes that.” Sweetie assured. Her circuits and CPU sizzled again as Spike just held her for a moment, letting her feel his scale clad muscles against her body. It was strange how foreign the experience struck her as, even though the two cuddled all the time. Then again, previously she’d had her epidermal cover to act as a barrier between her body and the world around her. Without it, she felt… like Spike was touching her, as in actually touching her properly for the first time. Sweetie shut her eyes tight as a litany of data flowed through her processors, her mind hungrily consuming and deciphering it to comprehend these strange and yet so enticing feelings.

“So… um… can we go back to that bit about your skeletal structure being metal and your joints being hydraulic? Or… do you two want some time alone?”

Dragon and robot turned to see Twilight trying to hide her beetroot face behind her scroll.

“There’s no rush if I’m interrupting anything!” She meeped. Sweetie found herself wincing again as a warning message flashed across her vision.

“Actually, do you two want to grab lunch? Considering what happened at the Boutique, I haven’t eaten anything for hours.” She said. Spike blinked in surprise.

“You feel hungry? I mean… wait, what am I saying? Of course you do! We’ve gone out on multiple dinner dates together, and we grab shakes at Sugar Cube Corner all the time!” The dragon smacked himself. Sweetie smiled and giggled.

“I know what you mean. It’s jarring, in light of what I am.”

“Right, right. Well, in light of how we found that out, just let me handle the cooking.” Spike bleated.

***

An hour later, the trio of alicorn, dragon, and robot were clustered around the table in Twilight’s expansive kitchen, munching on a nice picnic of grilled goat cheese, clover and watercress sandwiches with baked veggie chips and fresh applesauce, all safely prepared by Spike.

“So Sweetie, if now is an okay time to continue my questioning, do you perhaps know how you’re able to eat like we can? I mean, does your digestive system behave in the same way as ours does?” Twilight queried.

“Yes and no. Whatever ends up in my stomach is first analyzed for all possible nutrients and vitamins before it’s broken down by a colony of nanomachines. The difference is, unlike the enzymes in a normal pony’s gut, mine don’t let anything go to waste. No matter what I eat, my body finds a use for every last chemical and element in the food.” Sweetie replied, much to Spike’s confusion.

“But, I’ve seen you go to the bathroom all the time! I MEAN, not as in I’ve watched you go… no I… nghhhh… I meant I’ve seen you walk into the actual bathroom, and walk out again afterwards, like everypony else! AND THAT INCLUDES CLOSING THE DOOR!” Spike shouted then promptly buried his face in his hands. Sweetie delicately placed a hoof to her mouth, internally telling her mind that it had better to not activate her laughing protocol.

“We get what you meant, Spike. It’s okay.” Twilight said through barely restrained teeth. “Even if it’s still adorably hilarious to see how you trip over yourself to recover.”

Sweetie narrowed her eyes at the princess. “Well just remember he’s mine. You can laugh at him, but no more than that.”

Twilight nodded she would respect that… and the two promptly burst out laughing again as Spike tried to bury himself further into the surface of the kitchen table.

“Yes… well, to get back on track, and let slip a little confession… if Spike were to watch me, even though we both know he never would, there wouldn’t be much to see. I don’t actually do anything in the bathroom besides read something until my systems tell me enough time has passed. That’s why I always grab a book or magazine beforehoof.”

Spike slowly pulled his head from the sanctity of his hands.

“And also why the bathroom at Rarity’s always smells so clean… huh I just thought that was due to all the perfume diffusers she keeps in there.” The dragon raised his head. “So wait, if you don’t need to actually go like we do, why do you bother using the bathroom at all?”

Sweetie smiled with a bit more embarrassment and shrugged.

“As weird as it sounds, I have to. Literally, there’s a sub-protocol in my programming that tells me I have to use the toilet at certain times each day, even though I don’t need to. I’ve tried overriding it, but if I don’t comply it makes me automatically seek out the nearest facilities.” She said. “Those times where it looked like I was bursting or in dire need of the toilet? That was actually what happens if I try to fight my programming.”

Spike arched an eyebrow. “Even though you don’t do anything once you’re in there?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Like I said. It’s weird.”

Twilight’s ears rose as she summoned her scroll and quill and began scribbling again.

“It would, however, tie in with Rarity’s belief that whomever made you wanted to make sure your resemblance was perfect. Hmmm… I wonder...” She looked to the stove. “You mentioned at the hospital that the reason you keep trying to learn how to cook is precisely because you’re so terrible at it.”

Sweetie nodded in further embarrassment. “I can’t explain it. I have detailed files on every cookbook available in Equestria, I know exactly what’s needed to make a delicious dish… yet when I try putting it into practice, somehow it just doesn't come out right.” She looked to her cutie mark. “It’s like either I'm missing something only you organics can understand, or my programming only allows me to be an expert at certain skills, and a failure at others. The magnitude of… erm… ’accidents’ I’ve had in the kitchen are again what happens if I try to correct that.”

Spike cocked his head further to the side. “You think you're pre-programmed to have faults?”

Sweetie blushed harder. “It’s more like I may have evolved them the more I’ve adapted my personality over the years.”

Twilight looked to her own cutie mark and idly chewed the nib of her quill.

“Well, that again fits in with you trying to maintain your cover… not to mention, it’s a rather striking parallel to several of the recently published theories on how cutie marks function… hmmm.” The alicorn frantically jotted down a dozen more notes, then lifted her scroll to read through them. “We are going to have to get seriously in depth as to how alike you are to us, Sweetie.”

The robot sighed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I figured this was going to get complicated once it all spilled out.”

Spike rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Hey, so long as it helps us understand you better, I can deal with complicated, even if it does extend to asking you about… wow…” The dragon’s eyes widened. “Did we really just spend the last 10 minutes talking about whether my marefriend poops or not, and why she sucks so much at cooking?”

Silence held in the kitchen… the ticking of the nearby clock providing the only background noise until, on the hour, everyone burst into giggles.

“I think the fact that you can openly discuss such things and not feel awkward is a sign your union is indeed strong.” Twilight finally replied. “Let’s explore how strong it can be!”

Author's Note

And finally we have another chapter to hopefully smile and squee over. Not sure if the latter part is to everyone's liking but I wanted to explore a bit more of how my interpretation of Sweetie Bot functions. Thought it'd be interesting if the faults canon Sweetie has demonstrated in the show were in fact default parts of her programming to make her more life like, since all organic beings are imperfect as standard and thus she'd have to be likewise in order to fit in...that or whoever made her put in some routines in her programming that she has no control over to mimic how an organic has no control over some aspects of their body like breathing, or arousal. :ajbemused: Hey, it'd explain why she can't help popping blaster boners!

Also before anyone comments on Sweetie and Spike's carrying capacity, an adult horse typically weighs in the region of 900 - 2,000 lbs (depending on breed of course) and can comfortably carry around 20 - 30% of that weight. It's not that hard to imagine Sweetie Bot could lift more than that given she's both more durable and was most likely purpose built for heavy lifting tasks. As for Spike, well in the show, even as a baby, he's shown performing some pretty heavy lifting too. If we're to imagine he's thus tried to make up for not growing taller in the intervening years by instead making himself stronger, we can presume his own weight limit is at least higher than what we puny humans can manage.

And they say sci-fi writers have no sense of scale!

Yes, yes, I'm seeing myself out now.

Chapter 5

“Now, reaction time is a factor in this, so please pay attention.” Twilight explained as she adjusted the apparatus on the table. Before her, Sweetie Belle sat with a look of somewhat aggravated disbelief, her cybernetic eyes half-lidded as the alicorn focused a needle thin beam of light into one of them. “These first few questions I’m going to ask are intended to help calibrate the equipment. I’ll let you know after that when we’re ready to begin the test.”

Twilight turned to check a set of bellows that were quietly pumping away on the side of her apparatus. Sweetie sighed impatiently.

“Twi, while I understand you want to find out all you can about me, isn’t this kind of redundant?” The robot asked. “We know what I am, there’s no question about it.”

Twilight nodded softly.

“Indeed we do, but that’s not the only thing this test was designed for. It also measures your empathy levels, your ability to replicate the same manner of physical and emotional reactions to stimuli that living ponies have.” She explained. Sweetie just looked confused.

“And what’s that going to prove?” She asked. Twilight smiled.

“Just indulge me. I promise this will be the last thing I ask of you today.” She said while pressing one of the buttons on her equipment. Sweetie looked to Spike, who was trying to hide himself in a comic book. The dragon sheepishly smiled and shrugged that no matter how bizarre Twilight’s methods for examining his marefriend’s newly revealed robotic state were, there was always some logic behind them.

“Okay, let’s start with the calibrations. What is your name?”

The robot looked quizzical. “Sweetie Belle?”

Twilight hummed as she study something on her equipment. “Mmm… is that really your full answer? Or just how you’re used to responding for those who aren’t aware of your true self?”

The lights around Sweetie’s horn and her legs flickered slightly, as if expressing resentment.

“You want me to respond how you think I’m supposed to respond? Like a machine? Is that it?” She asked in a slightly harsh tone. Twilight took it in stride.

“Only if you want to. I just need you to answer how you genuinely feel inclined to answer for this.” She said. Sweetie took a deep breath.

-Fine.- She said, her voice picking up its metallic timbre again. –I am designated unit Sweetie Belle, or Sweetie Bot, if you wish. Activated by Ponyville mechanic Hondo Flanks on April 16th at 2000 hours and assigned to the role of younger sibling to his offspring, Rarity. Does that work better for you?-

Twilight looked at her instruments.

“Perfectly, and thank you.” She replied, ignoring Sweetie’s skeptical expression. “Where do you live?”

Sweetie took a moment to breathe, telling herself this was just Twilight being thorough in her investigation.

-I am assigned to two residences: the domicile of Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles, 1982 Tranquility Lane, Ponyville, Equestria, and the domicile and commercial exchange center of Rarity, the Carousel Boutique, 451 Main Street, Ponyville, Equestria.- She replied, slowly and mechanically. Twilight checked her instruments again and nodded.

“Alright, I think that’s all I need for the calibrations. Let’s begin the actual test.” She said while pulling up a scroll in her magic. “These next questions are intended to provoke emotional and physical responses. Please don’t think too long about them, just answer as quickly as you can.”

Sweetie sighed. –I know how this works, Twilight. A cursory scan of the equipment is all I need to deduce its function.-

Twilight blinked in surprise.

-No one understands machines like another machine.- Sweetie replied. Twilight grabbed a quill and hastily scribbled another note.

“Alright, then I’ll begin.” She checked her scroll. “Picture yourself on a train at a station. You notice somepony is there at the turnstile…”

Sweetie’s eyes dilated, casting their evergreen light across the table. Twilight noted this too.

“As you get off the train you notice a purse of bits drop from the pony’s flank onto the floor. Before you can tell them, they hop on a bus outside the station and disappear.” The alicorn continued. Sweetie sat in silence for a moment.

-I… give it to one of the plasticine porters with looking glass ties and tell them it was dropped by a pony with kaleidoscope eyes? Possibly answering to the name of ‘Lucy’?- She finally replied. –Seriously, Twi, that’s the sort of question you’re going to ask me?-

The alicorn studied her instruments and nodded with a mysterious smile.

“It is if it provokes this sort of reaction.” She said while jotting away. “Okay, how about this: you’re reading a magazine when you notice there’s a spider crawling up the window next to you.”

Sweetie thought for a moment then shrugged. - I’d open the window and coax it outside.-

Twilight nodded. “Alright, let’s say you go back to the magazine and notice there’s a full page photo of a mare lying on a bearskin rug…”

Another silence fell as Sweetie just stared at the alicorn.

-Yes? And? Rarity has plenty of magazines with that kind of content. It’s a typical photo pose.-

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “What if she were nude?”

-Most ponies are, in a casual situation.- Sweetie replied.

“What if you showed it to Spike and he wanted to pin it to the wall of his room?” Twilight asked. Now the dragon in question had to stare at her in disbelief.

“Twi, what… what sort of question is that?” He asked, aghast. The alicorn again turned to her equipment.

“The kind that gets me the data I need. Very interesting these results.” She smiled while writing some more. Sweetie now had to glower at her.

-What are you going to ask next? The one about the turtle in the desert? Cause my answer is that’s cruel and you’re sick for imagining I’d do anything like that!- The robot said. Twilight noted how her voice seemed to grow more metallic in tone the more aggravated she became.

“Nah, that one’s too common. All these questions I wrote myself for the sake of this specific test.” Twilight replied, to a dismissive snort.

-I’m honored.- Sweetie grumbled. Twilight pursed her lips in thought.

“Well, maybe this will be more pleasant if we tried a different approach. Spike, would you like to ask the questions instead?”

The dragon looked up from his comic book.

“We might get better results if I remove myself entirely from the test. Make it so it’s more like you two just having a conversation.” Twilight explained. Spike looked to Sweetie, who nodded that yes, the process would be a bit less bothersome if he was involved.

“Uh… okay.” He got up and walked over to where Twilight was sitting.

“Just note if the needle here moves, and keep an eye on how far to the left or the right these two pointers move.” Twilight pointed to her apparatus. “I’ve organized the questions into low, medium, and high intensity. Please try to ask a good balance of each.”

“Sure, no problem.” Spike said as he read over the alicorn’s scroll. Giving another shrug he turned to his marefriend. “Sorry about this.”

Sweetie shook her head.

-It’s fine, just seems a bit pointless.- The robot looked to Twilight. –But if she thinks it’ll reveal something then I’ll still do it.-

Twilight nodded in thanks and stepped away from the table, allowing Spike to take over.

“Okay, so uh, let’s try this one…” Spike cleared his throat. “You’re selected to join the Ponyville hoofball team. The coach asks you to pick a position of your preference.”

Sweetie thought for a moment.

-Honestly, I’d rather be on the track team, or the gymnastics team. Hoofball has too many avenues for me to accidentally hurt somepony with my abilities.- She replied. Spike looked rather surprised, and carefully noted what the instruments told him.

“Okay, next one: it’s 1,000 years in the future, you’re tending to a memorial garden set up for those whom you’ve known during your lifetime, and have since passed on.” Spike made a face at the question, then noticed the instrument readings were all over the place.

-Are… Are you among that number?- Sweetie hesitantly asked. Spike put the scroll down and reached over to hold her hoof.

“Most likely? No. Ember’s dad, Torch, is like 5,000 years old, and I think he’s considered to be just at the end of his middle age. Not exactly young, but not an old relic either.” He said, giving her hoof a squeeze. Sweetie exhaled in what definitely sounded like relief.

-Then I’d probably be watering the flowers… making sure I was growing everypony’s favourite kind.- She replied. Spike noted the readings, and also wrote down his observation that the robot didn’t even seem phased at the idea of living so long, provided he was there with her all the way.

“Right… let’s try a more pleasant one.” Spike checked the list and smiled. “Okay, it’s ‘Have-A-Laugh Day’, Pinkie Pie has charged you to come up with the best prank you can think of to play on somepony.”

Sweetie thought for a moment, bit her lip, and then giggled.

-I manipulate the power wattage on dad’s razor, so the next time he shaves he gets an electric shock.- Sweetie’s eyes glowed brighter.

“And then, when he does, I say something like ‘Well you’re the one who’s always talking about getting a charge on current events!”

Spike furrowed his brow, yet smiled at the same time. The puns were give or take, but the way his marefriend’s voice switched back to its normal and very harmonious tone, seemingly of its own volition, struck him as quite endearing.

“Alright, let’s see here… umm, okay, here’s a good one.” Spike tapped the scroll. “You have a little colt, he shows you his butterfly collection, plus the killing jar.”

He turned back to Sweetie awaiting her response. He waited, and waited, and waited, while Sweetie’s eyes swiveled and dilated in some unreadable line of thought.

“I have a colt? An actual foal of my own? I mean… I know it’s hypothetical, but… well, actually, that’s been something I’ve been pondering for a while.” The robot replied. On his side, Spike noted the needles on the testing equipment were again going crazy.

“Really?” He asked softly. Sweetie nodded.

“I’m sure some would say we’re both too young to be even talking about it, but given how many other normal pony things I can do, I’ve… um…” She looked to Twilight. “Uhh… is this something I should reveal in her presence?”

Spike looked to the alicorn, who in turn looked to the door of her lab, clearly happy to leave if Sweetie wanted some privacy.

“It’s your call, Sweetie. I’d trust Twi implicitly with anything, but if you’d rather not have her hear what you’re about to say…”

Sweetie winced as pink bled into her cheeks.

“No, no, if that’s the case, then she’d probably appreciate this.” The robot took a deep breath. “As you may or may not have guessed, Spike and I have explored a bit of the physical side of a relationship. Not full on sex… but heavy petting at least.”

Twilight looked shocked, but then giggled as her own cheeks began to turn red.

“Well that’s only to be expected… though… uh…” She clamped her teeth together in embarrassment. “How… how did that go?”

Sweetie looked down at her hoof, feeling her circuits sizzle again at how Spike hadn’t let go of it. That was good, it gave her more time to process the resulting data that seemed to best fit into the category of ‘courage’.

“Like… like it should, I guess. As far as just touching and fondling go, I’m still capable of replicating how a pony’s body should react. The thing is, I want to know if that extends to the more intimate areas…”

Spike felt a second hoof place itself on his hand, the grille cover lightly grazing his scales.

“If you really still want to be my coltfriend, Spike, I gotta know if I can return your love physically as well as metaphorically. I want to know if we actually can… erm… mate, if I’m capable of having foals… if you eventually decide you want them I mean.”

Spike looked to the instruments, his eyes swinging back and forth as the needles continued to jerk and sway with their readings on the robot’s feelings. He let out a long gust of breath as he himself processed what Sweetie had just said.

“Well… if nothing else, I feel a little less embarrassed that I’m not the only one who’s been thinking about this. I mean, I swear it’d make no difference if it turned out you couldn’t do either, but seeing as you… I mean…” The dragon cleared his throat a little more awkwardly. “As you have the parts, and they seem to work just fine… I’d be happy to give it a try.”

The two looked to Twilight, both of them now glad she was present to lend a more educated opinion on their conundrum. That, and for the comic value of seeing her again blushing so hard she was hitting shades of purple that were previously unknown.

“As always, there’s a multitude of tests we can run, examinations we can do to see if you’re capable of carrying young, and so on. If you two really love each other to the extent that you want to go all the way, then I say do it, and see what happens.” Twilight said with a nervous giggle. “Just be responsible about it okay? Like you said, you’re both young, and really should enjoy life before you think about settling down.”

Spike looked back at his marefriend, feeling his body burn with a comforting warmth at how her eyes just glowed with her adoration for him.

“We don’t even know if dragons can reproduce with regular ponies, let along robotic ones.” He said, murring as Sweetie leaned forward and pressed her head to his.

“Then as Twilight said, we’ll just have to find out… when the time is right of course! I don’t want to sound like I’m forcing you.” She replied, letting out a pleased hum as Spike wrapped his other arm around her neck and held her face gently against his own.

“It’s not really forcing somepony if they love you is it?” Spike cooed, before hearing a familiar click and whirring sound, and looking up to again be met with the business end of Sweetie’s blasters. “Even if they are holding you hostage until you do it.”

Sweetie winced and grit her teeth as she again frantically tried to retract her body’s weaponry.

“Twi… at some point, do you think you could also find out how I can stop this from happening? It’s… eee… it’s embarrassing.” The robot feebly meeped. Twilight placed a hoof to her mouth and politely held in her laughter.

“It’s a sign you love Spike just as much. But I’ll see if there’s a workaround.” The alicorn walked over and shut off her testing apparatus. “In the meantime, I think we’ve gotten all we can from this, and I’ve taken up enough of your time. Go enjoy yourselves while I analyze the results.”

Sweetie nodded awkwardly as she flexed and shifted her shoulders, letting out a relieved sigh when her blasters finally retreated into her back.

“Milkshakes at Sugar Cube Corner?” Spike asked.

“Love to. Just... let’s keep the conversation away from intimate things for now, please.” She pleaded before turning to Twi. “So, when will we know if I’m a pony or a machine?”

Twi giggled. “Again, this wasn’t that sort of test. I’ll let you know what I was after in due time, of course.”

Sweetie looked disappointed, but at Spike’s urging, she shrugged and departed with her drake. Reading over her observations from the instruments, Twilight summoned a fresh scroll and began to compose a letter:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I conducted my first foray into seeing if an artificial construct can still be said to possess a soul…

Author's Note

So I've been reading some of the comics that Vavacung has been posting to Deviantart, notably the other stories that focus on Sweetie Bot. I know a lot of folk are probably reading this just for when Sweetie and Spike bang, but honestly I'm seeing a lot more substance to be explored beyond that and as such I will continue to do so, even if it does cost me half my readership.

Rest assured if I feel this series warrants sex then I won't shy away from doing it, but I'm not writing it just for the pron. If you want dragon on robot romping then go read Sweetie Bot's First Night if you want to peer into the other intricacies that come with such an unusual relationship stay here and keep watching this spot.

Also, Blade Runner FTW! *grabs popcorn and goes to watch the movie for the umpteen billionth time*

Chapter 6

“So remember, when you go to the polls, a vote for Tiara is a vote to keep Ponyville our shining diamond in the rough!” Diamond Tiara stated from the stage. Beside her, Applebloom raised her hooves to lead the gathered ponies in a round of applause, her smile growing tense as the crowd initially regarded her with silence, but then finally came round to show their support after a moment or so. Both mares heaved a sigh of relief as the atmosphere in the town square turned to their favor, several ponies hefting banners declaring their support for Diamond Tiara as the new mayor of Ponyville. From where they were sipping their milkshakes, Spike and Sweetie watched in quiet observation.

“I gotta admit, considering her family's’ reputation, the somewhat questionable slogan, and what her mother’s done to try and wreck this place, Diamond’s prioritizing of the common ponies’ needs is pretty admirable.” The dragon commented as he read one of the campaign brochures. “Making the Everfree Forest an official wildlife sanctuary, getting a new orphanage and hospital built for the town’s growing population, revamping the zoning laws to allow for a larger residential sector… is this really the same mare that used to loathe those she saw as beneath her in her foalhood? Or do you think the changelings captured the real Diamond Tiara and sent an imposter disguised as her?”

Sweetie looked to Applebloom as she lead Diamond off the stage, checking the mare wasn’t about to hyperventilate from how raggedly she was breathing.

“Well I could tell you my own conclusions, based on my analysis of her respiration, heart rate, blush factor and eye movement in response to the rather emotionally provocative questions she was asked… or I could just let you run wild with your own fantasy.” The robot unicorn giggled. “I would like to posit whether it really matters in the end. If she wins this, then Ponyville will be that much better off, and even if she doesn’t, at least Applebloom will still be better off.”

Spike glanced up as Diamond bid for Applebloom to stop for a moment. The cream colored mare got a worried expression as her pink colored fiancé placed a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath. After a moment, Diamond gestured she was okay, then smiled and patted Applebloom’s shoulder in reassurance that there was no need for her to fret. The farm mare shook her head that she couldn’t help worrying over those she loved, but if Diamond was certain all was well with her, then Applebloom would trust her.

“Honestly, if she can make her smile again after all what happened, then I don’t care who she is.” Sweetie replied. Spike features fell as he recalled memories that still seemed painfully recent, even if they had in fact happened over a year ago. First had come the inevitable death of Granny Smith, the old mare having seemingly deemed she had done all she could for her family and passing away peacefully in her sleep one quiet spring night. The weeks afterward had been solemn, but respectful, with everyone paying their support to Applejack as she prepared to assume ownership of her farm.

And then came the funeral itself… an event that had started out so well, and ended so disastrously when a certain Spoiled Rich prevented Granny’s body from being buried in the spot her will had specified in the Ponyville Memorial Garden, proudly stating about how she had purchased the entire garden for her family and her friends to be buried in, seeing to it that the land not be tainted by common farmers and other such low life rabble. A lot of stress and arguments later, Applejack had finally conceded, stating Granny could be buried under her favorite tree on Sweet Apple Acres instead.

Well, that apparently turned out to be just the opportunity Spoiled had needed to deliver the second part of her one-two punch. Seems there were also several still lingering debts and property issues with who owned what part of the Apples’ orchard, and with Granny’s death, everything now fell to Applejack to deal with. Since the farm mare wasn’t exactly loaded down with bits, and the orchard represented one of Ponyville’s biggest industries, Spoiled had been hankering to jump on that and claim it for herself, see to it that, again, those pesky low life farmers were made to work for the ponies that mattered, and only the ponies who mattered were able to make use of the profits.

More arguments, legal battles, and endless headaches had ensued, with it looking very much like the end of the oldest generation of the Apple family was going to be followed by the end of their family business too. The only reason that things had turned out differently was due to what Spike saw before him, quite possibly the last source anypony had expected to aid Applejack.

While she may have been a scared, angry, and bitter soul in her foalhood, the ensuing years had gifted Diamond with growth that was not only physical, but also spiritual. Once she had buried the hatchet with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and repaired her relations with Silver Spoon, the pink mare had finally come to realize she didn’t need to constantly live under her mother’s hoof, or stand idly by while Spoiled did her best to be a constant pain to everyone else. Using her education in business and economics, Diamond subtly worked to start a new chain of jewelry stores and silversmiths with Silver Spoon, amassing each of them a handsome fortune that neither of their parents could meddle with (even if Silver swore her own folks were nowhere near as insane or money hungry as Diamond’s). Once her own position was secure, Diamond officially disowned Spoiled as her mother, cementing the separation by paying off all of Applejack’s debts, and ensuring Sweet Apple Acres would remain firmly in the hooves of its founding family. It had been intended largely as a final ‘buck you’ to the one who had made Diamond’s life a nightmare, but it had also attracted Applebloom’s attention and affection to see her foalhood bully had truly discarded her old ways.

Just as well really, with Diamond’s efforts to replace Mayor Mare, now that she was retiring from her position, meaning she was again going to be butting heads with her ex-mother, the pink mare probably needed all the emotional support she could get.

“Alright, let me ask you a different question then, is this enough for you to vote for her when election time comes around?” Spike queried as the two stepped away from the town square.

“Presuming I’m qualified to vote… well, I know I have to register first but… in light of what just happened…”

Sweetie awkwardly averted her gaze as two more passing ponies turned to look at her, caught off guard by the sight of her robotic self. In fairness, they quickly realized their error, and nickered an apology. At the same time, however, before today, no one had seen cause to give Sweetie any manner of passing glance. She was just another pretty but normal unicorn… and now… the truth was out for all to see, for better or for worse.

“Are you afraid you might be disqualified? Is that it?” Spike queried. Sweetie pulled her milkshake closer and took another somewhat nervous sip.

“I know I should give our neighbors due credit. They’ve come a long way from the days when a zebra in a cloak sent them running in fear. However, at the same time, we still made waves when we started going out.”

Spike furrowed his brow. “Well, yeah, but hardly in a bad way. We turned heads because cross species relationships just haven’t become commonplace yet, not because anypony sees them as wrong… erm… right?”

Sweetie lowered her gaze to the table, her eyes dilating as if she was scanning the threads of the table cloth for imperfections.

“I bore being a ‘blank flank’ in stride because Scootaloo and Applebloom were in the same boat as me. I accepted my problems applying for the Canterlot Opera because I know there are hundreds of other aspiring singers wanting to snag one of the few coveted spots. This, however…” Sweetie looked at her leg, moving the fetlock, bending her knee, and listening to her well maintained mechanical joints whirr with the motion. “This I have to deal with all on my own. Unless there’s some dramatic revelation that there’s other robots in our midst, I’m the only one around.”

Spike cocked his head. “Does that bother you?”

Sweetie snorted. “I’ve run through hundreds of simulations on what might happen if and when my true status was ever revealed. I’ve calculated the probability of every possible reaction from other ponies according to every potential situation. If you’re wondering, this exact course of events is what I investigated with simulation #1109.”

Spike snickered slightly. “And did your findings reflect what’s happened so far?”

Sweetie looked to the square, watching as the crowd dispersed to resume their daily lives.

“Pretty much, yes… which is why I find this emotional feedback so paradoxical. I’ve planned for this, I know what to expect… yet I’m still experiencing anxiety.”

The lights around Sweetie’s horn sped up with their alternate rotation. Spike noticed her pupils grew and shrank rapidly as she processed her feelings.

“Well, if you’ll forgive me for going a bit Twilight-ish here, but in every situation there’s always some element of unpredictability… or maybe she called it the ‘chaos factor’… no wait, that was from her studies on Discord’s hobbies…” Spike sighed and shook his head.
“Whatever, the point is, there’s always something you can’t plan for, no matter how much you try. That’s actually why I tell Twi to always include a ‘random act of Celestia’ entry on her checklists. Believe me, it never fails to come up at some point.”

Sweetie looked up from her table cloth musings and giggled slightly at her coltfriend’s expression.

“Point is, I doubt you could have anticipated everything about this point. I mean, could you have anticipated I’d still want to be with you? That I wouldn’t care whether you’re a pony or a machine?”

Now the mecha-unicorn blushed slightly.

“Well… I calculated the chance was there… but it was far from a certainty.” She said feeling her circuits sizzle when Spike reached over to hold her hoof. He was fond of doing that, like it would convey how much he wanted to hold onto her better than words could. It made her feel… comfortable, would be the closest classification.

“Well, if that much was something you couldn’t see coming, then maybe we might want to look into the other random parts your calculations didn’t account for. Explore the unknown, so it doesn’t give you anxiety!” Spike replied. Sweetie nodded slowly.

“And… how do we do that?” She asked. Spike finished off his milkshake and rose.

“Well, you said you haven’t registered to vote yet. So, let’s do that, and see what happens. Town Hall is only two blocks away from here.” The dragon bid his marefriend to follow him. She did so with minimal fuss, telling herself this was just like any other walk the two had made through Ponyville. Sure, ponies continued to stare, but they didn’t bolt from her, or scream, or show any other sign of alarm. They just weren’t used to seeing Sweetie as she truly was, that was all… at least, the robot hoped so.

The two were soon climbing the steps to the newly rebuilt Ponyville Town Hall, a rather eclectic building that showcased the hamlet’s rustic roots, while still demonstrating how the extra bits Princess Twilight was bringing in were being put to good use. While the exterior utilized the same thatch roofing and simple white stone as the houses around it, inside the furnishings were considerably more up-scale. No example of this was more prominent than the fountain situated in the center of the lobby, and behind that the huge polished mahogany desk which the receptionist mare, Callie Grapher, was sitting at.

“Oh good day Spike! And… ermm…” The teal colored earth pony paused as she beheld the robot beside the dragon. “Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie nodded cautiously. “I know, I know. Don’t feel like you have to hide your reaction to this.”

Callie blinked then frantically waved her hooves.

“Oh no, no, I didn’t mean to infer… you just… well, it’s a shock to see this. That’s all I assure you!” The mare smiled awkwardly. “Um, how are you and Rarity doing? In light of what happened at the boutique, I mean.”

Sweetie blinked then her pupils did some more dilating as she processed that she might have misjudged the receptionist’s initial reaction. She too now had to give an awkward smile.

“We’re all fine, even Opalescence. Stroke of luck for that darn cat; she was having her weekly grooming session at the pet salon when everything went up in flames… including me.” Sweetie said, hoping a bit of humor might diffuse the tension. Unfortunately it didn’t do much beyond shocking Callie more, to the point her jaw just flopped limply onto her desk.

“I’m fine! Seriously, I’m just… well… I’m still me.” Sweetie quickly assured. “Well… that’s part of why we’re here at least.”

Callie nodded dumbly, then seemed to snap back into gear upon realizing that was meant as a prompt for her to respond.

“Yes… yes of course! I mean, what can I do for you?” She asked.

Spike nodded outside.

“The political rally in the square got us eager to help. We want to query if Sweetie can be registered to vote.” He replied. Callie nodded and turned around to start hunting in a filing cabinet.

“Well that shouldn’t be too hard. We’ve tried to keep the guidelines updated for every race…”

The mare turned back around and dropped a small mountain of documents on her desk.

“Let’s see here… uh… we’ve got axexes, changelings, chimera, dragons, gryphons, manticores, sea serpents… uh… sphinxes… zebras… wait…” The mare shuffled back to the top of her pile. “Natural born citizens… permanent residents… visiting dignitaries… green card holders…”

The teal pony went through her papers a third time, pulling sheets out at random and reading through them at speed.

“Extra-terrestrial landers… inter-dimensional immigrants… mirror world refugees… there’s gotta be something here for robots!”

A fourth shuffle of the papers was made, with Callie looking increasingly despondent as every time she failed to find any literature on whether machines were allowed to be part of the Equestrian democratic process. Sweetie felt a creeping trickle of negative data seeping through her CPU that her own phobia of the fallout from being exposed for who she was was about to be realized.

“Is there a problem out here?”

All eyes turned to see Diamond stepping out of the lobby’s rest room, her face damp as if she’d been splashing water on it. Behind her Applebloom followed tossing some used paper towels in the trash can.

“Uh… maybe?” Callie said through tense teeth. “We… we have a mare who wants to register for the upcoming elections, but, as you can see, she apparently is of a stature not covered by the official guidelines.”

Diamond looked to Sweetie Belle, narrowing her eyes as the robot stared awkwardly back. A very tense silence held the room.

“Hmmm…I know this isn’t really what one says when greeting an old acquaintance, but you were… ’born’ here in Ponyville, right?” The tiara wearing mare queried. Sweetie Belle’s lights flickered in confusion.

“I was… well, I was activated here… if you want the truth.” She replied. Diamond nodded.

“And since then, you’ve lived here, worked here, and earned all your income domestically, right? Nothing to indicate you were ever a resident of anywhere else?”

Sweetie nodded in perplexity. Diamond exhaled softly.

“Just give her the form for a natural born citizen, Callie. Save yourself the headache.” Diamond turned to the flustered receptionist.

“B-But… Miss Tiara, the due process…” Callie began.

“Can be revised later. Sweetie fits the criteria for a citizen of Equestria, let’s go with that so she can do her part for our cause.” Diamond turned back to the robot with a suspicious look. “It is our cause you want to aid, right?”

“Diamond!” Applebloom scolded, to which the tiara wearing mare let out a long exhale and hung her head.

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right, I shouldn’t insist. The stress is still messing with my manners.” Diamond said apologetically while smoothing back her mane. “Thank you for wanting to participate in the polls, Sweetie, remember, the choice is ultimately yours. Make the right one.” Diamond turned and walked out of the lobby. “Can we go to our usual quiet spot for a bit? A few moments away from everything would really help steady my nerves, Bloomy.”

Applebloom nodded softly. “Course we can, Di. Nothin’ else is on the schedule till tomorrow.”

The farm mare shot her friend a quick apology, and hurried over to drape a comforting foreleg over Diamond’s shoulder. Silence held in the town hall lobby for a moment after the two had left, both Sweetie and Spike just staring at the entrance in quiet amazement.

“Okay… so… that happened.” Spike finally said. “Uh… so, are we good here, Callie?”

“Huh? Oh, sure!” The receptionist mare turned and grabbed a form from the filing cabinet. “Just fill this in, Miss Belle.”

Sweetie accepted the form and grabbed a quill, levitating it with her horn in a manner similar to typical magic, but instead of an aura surrounding the feathered writing instrument, a cone shaped beam of neon blue light shot out of the robot unicorn and ensnared it like a net. Spike made a note to ask about that later as he watched his marefriend jot down her information and credentials and slide it back to the receptionist.

“Thank you, we’ll notify you around the time of Election Day what polling station to report to!” Callie stamped the form and slid it back into the filing cabinet.

“Thank you, Callie. We’ll be going now.” Sweetie gestured for Spike to follow her back out into the square.

“Guess that proves you’re still a pony to somepony other than me.” Spike suggested.

“Yes, and true to your previous statement, that somepony was not in any of my simulations.” Sweetie raised her eyes to the horizon. “Can we chase after Diamond, Spike? After what just happened...I...I think we should continue your idea of exploring this unknown factor.”

Spike now snickered. “Sure. I’m certain they’ve gone to the same place we all usually gathered at when we wanted to get away from things.”

Sweetie looked dubious at this statement, but a playful wink from Spike had her blushing again.

“Ponies may change, but they don’t change that much.” The dragon intoned, before spreading his wings. The two ran down the road leading out of Ponyville, to a quiet cliff area overlooking one of the nearby valleys. True to the dragon’s words, Applebloom and Diamond were there, the farm mare gently holding her marefriend in her forelegs, rocking her back and forth as she vented what was on her mind.

“You worry way too much, Di. You heard the cheers, yah saw the banners, we got this in the bag!” Applebloom soothed as Diamond groaned.

“Yes, until that… that bitch holds her own rally. A few promises of rewards for those who kiss her flank, or cushy jobs, or some other crap she ultimately won’t deliver on, and she’ll have all those ponies eating out of her hooves again. Like she always does!” The pink mare whimpered. Applebloom just shushed her gently as she stroked her mane.

“So? Let her rant. Ya spoke the truth, plain as day, that ultimately she wants to see only the privileged few benefit, while the rest o’ society suffers. Believe me, enough ponies will remember that come Election Day to matter. Can’t fool all the ponies all the time, as one of our past leaders once said.” The farm mare replied, to the amazement of her friend and lover. “Yeah Di, Ah do actually listen to you when you go off on your political tangents. May not understand a lot of what you say, but Ah remember the important bits.”

Diamond just stared, then leaned in and kissed Applebloom thankfully on the lips.

“And that’s why I need to make certain things will be okay for you, and ponies like you. In the end, it’s the simple, honest souls who really make a difference.” The pink mare said, much to Applebloom’s amusement.

“Hey now, Ah ain’t that simple! Ah proved Ah know enough ‘bout marketing and salesmanship to see yer campaign keeps right on rollin’!” She said with a smile, and a sigh as Diamond rested her head against the farm mare’s chest.

“I didn’t mean ‘simple’ in that regard, Bloomy. Just that you’re different enough from me in the right ways, the ways that matter. Silvy’s good at making bits but she hasn’t benefited Equestria the way your sister or you have. Same goes for the other upper crust ponies who think they hold all the power, but ultimately have just deluded themselves into believing being rich is the same as being important. Just like I… once did.” Diamond sighed. “Out of all the Elements of Harmony, Twilight’s the only one who had any big social status beforehoof. Every other one, including your sister, was just an average soul trying to make it in the world, and look at the difference they’ve made. Not even dad can claim to have saved the populace on a regular basis, nor can Fancy Pants, Hoity Toity, or… her…” Diamond’s voice briefly gained a hint of venom before she shook her head. “Point is, with Mayor Mare stepping down, we can’t let the town that’s bred such influential and accepting souls fall into the hooves of those who want to just turn it into another company sprawl. We gotta protect that which has protected Equestria… and now I’m just reiterating my speech from the rally.”

Applebloom giggled as Diamond slapped a hoof to her face.

“After Election Day, whatever happens, we need to get you away from all this. Yer working yerself way too hard.” The light yellow earth mare mused. Diamond looked up and smiled softly.

“Well, I’ve got hearts to win over, and opinions to sway, which I trust I’ve done for two of the most unusual types in town.” Diamond turned to look at the bushes. “Are you two going to come out here and join us? Or just sit and eavesdrop like some sleazy reporter trying to get a scoop?”

Spike and Sweetie Belle emerged from the bushes, both looking equally amused at being discovered.

“Sleazy reporter? That’s harsh, Diamond. Even if it’s been years since the whole Gabby Gums incident, the memories still nag at me.” Sweetie said, noticing with intrigue how the tiara wearing mare just pointed to a spot next to her and went back to cuddling with Applebloom.

“Not as much as they nag at me. It’s one thing for others to forgive you for what you did to make life terrible for them, it’s another to try and forgive yourself.” Diamond sighed. Sweetie’s eyes narrowed as she sat down.

“Is that why you stepped in to see to it I could register to vote?” She said. Diamond shot her a likewise disdainful look.

“Is it so wrong I want everypony in this town to feel included?” She said. Sweetie Belle increased the skepticism of her expression, her eyes glowing with greater demand for the truth. Diamond finally sighed and hung her head.

“Look, I need every vote I can get, okay? If that bitch gets into office, you know who’s gonna be first on her hit list!” The pink mare retorted, before adding. “And I wanted to get the awkwardness of seeing you as you are now out of the way as quick as possible. Show you right off the bat I wasn’t going to regress to my old ways of calling you out for being… heh… what you are.”

The glow in Sweetie’s robotic eyes dimmed slightly.

“Really? You have no reservations that the mare you tormented for years for being different is in fact even more different than you originally thought?” Spike asked. Whether it was intended as a test of Diamond’s character or if he really did still harbor doubts that Diamond had reformed herself, it did the job of raising the pink mare’s hackles.

“Oh don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of questions about you being a machine, and the fact that you hid it from everypony! As I’m sure Applebloom has!” Diamond replied, weathering her lover’s shocked reaction.

“Wha? No Ah don’t! Well… not bad questions… Ah mean…” Applebloom groaned and rested her face against her hoof. “So Sweetie’s a robot. Okay fine, that’s jarring fer sure, but what does making a whole song and dance about it accomplish? Ah mean, Sweetie, are you still Sweetie?”

The robot looked to Spike, blushing as he hugged her for assurance.

“Spike seems to think so, as does Twilight, and my sister. I suppose if you want my own personal opinion on it… well.” Sweetie closed her eyes and emitted that strange harmonious hum again. “My opinion is, I really can’t be anypony else. The data and system augmentations that I’ve accumulated and put into shaping my identity are all I really have to go on. There’s nothing in my programming to indicate if I was supposed to be anything else, thus what you see and who you’ve known all these years, that’s pretty much who I am.”

Diamond snorted her approval.

“And thus, the physical differences are irrelevant. Least they should be… others, I’m sure will say differently, but hopefully if I get elected I can…”She broke off upon noticing Spike and Sweetie were giving her funny looks. “What?”

“Just… heh… look, I know it’s been years, we’ve all grown up and done stuff and changed and so on, but… I still never thought I’d be hearing you of all ponies saying stuff like that.” Sweetie commented. Diamond looked to the horizon, comparing how the valley looked now versus how it did when she was a foal.

“I never thought I’d be actively fighting against… that… bitch… and engaged to be married to a mare I spent so many years tormenting. I’m sure if you told Spike he’d be with someone other than Rarity, he’d have laughed you off.”

Spike furrowed his brow, then let his face slacken.

“Point is, Equestria is always changing. It’s not the same place it was 1,000 years ago, it’s not even the same place it was 10 years ago. Trying to keep things the same, just because you feel comfortable doing so, just means you’re going to stagnate and get left behind. Instead, we need to embrace change, and welcome it, and part of that is accepting even the ponies you’ve known all your life aren’t the same as they were before, whether that means they’ve come to regret their past behavior, or they’re actually a… well… a robot in disguise.”

Sweetie narrowed her eyes as a smile crossed her lips.

“Do you always have a speech prepared?” She asked. Diamond suddenly looked horrified and slapped both hooves to her face.

“She’s still in ‘work mode’. Don’t worry Ah’ll fix that.” Applebloom stood and helped her fiancé up. “What say we stop by Berry Punch’s shop and grab a bottle or two of her best cabernet? A few glasses of that, a nice brie, and watching ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ for the 200th time and we’ll get ya unwound from the stress o’ today.”

Diamond’s ears rose in utter adoration of what she was hearing, to the point she had to giggle like a nervous lovestruck school mare.

“Sometimes it worries me that you know me better than even Silvy.” She said while kissing Applebloom again. The farm mare just shrugged.

“Ah have had to promote the real you fer this whole campaign, and that was after you had me over for multiple sleep overs… and what you did that gave me cause to want to focus on you and you alone.” Applebloom smiled lovingly. “Speaking o’ which, mah sister wanted to run an idea by ya: would it be premature if we stuck a dedication plaque in your name on the front gate o’ the orchard? Jest so everypony knows who made it possible for us to hold onto our family business?”

Diamond’s filly-ish expression faltered.

“Has she done as I asked first? Replaced the gate with a sturdier metal version and put some padlocks on it?” She asked. Now Applebloom’s cheery visage faltered.

“It’s… it’s still on the to-do list."

Diamond sighed.

“Come on now, Bloomy, I only made one request, and it was so you can keep ‘vermin’ off your farm.” She said.

“Yeah, in front of the whole town… while giving a lot of ponies the evil eye. Ah know you were angry as a hive o’ bees at the time, but we kinda got an image to maintain for the folk like yer father who relies on us fer supplies.” Applebloom replied as the two began walking off.

“And I’m sure taking one precaution won’t tarnish it too much. I just don’t want any ponies with sinister intent trying to get revenge for what happened, and…” Diamond said as they disappeared into the brush, leaving Sweetie to just stare in amazement, and Spike to snicker.

“Did you estimate THAT in your simulations as well?” He asked. Sweetie let out another low hum as the lights on her body flickered on and off.

“No… no I didn’t. How strange that I actually feel better now because of it.” The robot turned to the vista, pulling up a file full of images she’d taken from the many times she’d come here over the years. “Then again I think that helps illustrate your point. Kind of like this valley…”

“Oh?” Spike propped his head on his marefriend’s shoulder, relishing how her mane felt as silky and soft as ever.

“I’ve run over 1,000 simulations on how the view here might change. I’ve estimated which trees will grow, which flowers will bloom, how the size of the lake will change due to climate factors…” Sweetie hummed softly again. “Looking at it now, and comparing to my estimates from 10 years ago… even with the multitude of revisions, I was only around 78.32% accurate.”

Spike rubbed Sweetie’s barrel, fascinated by the fact that even that felt relatively warm and plush, not in the sense that she was putting on weight, but more just she didn’t feel like a machine.

“That tree over there as an example? I calculated it would be 18 feet tall now. Instead, that freak thunderstorm we got last summer reduced it to an ashen stump.” Sweetie pointed to the valley. “Then there’s the wild daffodils that sprung up and pushed out the daisies I estimated would be growing strong all along the lake, and the frog population that’s expanded far beyond my simulations…”

Spike nodded with a smile. “Just goes to show the future is not set. You can estimate how everything might be later on but in the end there’ll always be something to show there is no fate but what we make…“

Sweetie gave her coltfriend a stern glare. “You’re seriously going to start quoting a movie about killer robots, to the love of your life who also happens to be a robot?”

Spike’s smile quivered slightly as he tried to hold it on his face.

“Well… it’s to help illustrate why I want us to still be together. I want to see what sort of future we can make, what can be possible if we give the unknown a chance. Whatever that entails, I’ll do what’s needed to make it work!”

Sweetie’s ire faded somewhat, then promptly went out like a light when Spike kissed her again. She turned and hugged the wonderful gentledrake, trying not to blush as he wrapped his arms around her to hold her back panels closed.

“You’re a geek, Spike, in all the right ways.” Sweetie whinnied as she turned and let Spike hold her while they both just stared as the beautiful vista.

“You trusted me enough to show me the real you. Least I can do is return the favor.” He replied.

Silence fell with the slowly setting sun, colors all across the spectrum rising up across the landscape to provide a feast for the eyes of the two onlookers.

“You know, some of those killer robots got reprogrammed to be good. Think that might be the case with…”

“SPIKE!” Sweetie said indignantly.

"Right, right, dropping that line of thought now!" The dragon hastily meeped.

Author's Note

So a few chapters back, someone mentioned in the comments they were fond of Diamond Tiara x Applebloom shipping. Admittedly it's a pairing I'd never considered before, but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed it could be fun to explore as the story turns to focus on what the other foals around Ponyville have grown up to be.

Please, everyone note, I am NOT making any commentary on current political situations. The set up of Diamond running for mayor is just an idea I thought would mix well with her cutie mark power of being a natural leader, and also provide an avenue to demonstrate how far she's matured and redeemed herself in the years after the TV show.

Funny to think that two years ago I had a whole series planned around Diamond being the main villian of a given situation with the CMC, and then the TV show had to show us the true reason why she was so horrible to everyone which in turn made me realize I could never cast her in that light. A mare growing up with that sort of maternal figure just does not deserve to be demonized, she needs to be pitied and helped, ideally in a way that will make her realize she's way better than she thinks she is. So yeah, that fanfic will most likely never see the light of day now.

I am such a complete softie. :rainbowkiss:

Chapter 7

“So all this time you’ve actually been some kind of high-tech android? Hiding in plain sight?” Scootaloo queried as she pushed her scooter down one of the ramps in the Ponyville skating park.

“Pretty much… though, I swear it wasn’t for any nefarious purposes!” Sweetie Belle replied. “I just… well, as I said, whoever made me this way seemed to really want me to believe I’m a normal pony… so, that’s just how I acted.”

Her friend spun herself around to ride down the ramp backwards, then hopped into the air and spun her scooter in a circle, before landing and riding it down to the flat part of the ground. Sweetie snickered as her vision promptly analysed the move and matched it to a list of stunts, identifying it as a ‘Caballerial’.

“Whoever made you… hmmm… I wonder.” Scootaloo carved her way across the long, curved arc part of the park next, heading towards a set of steps with a long metal rail mounted atop the center. “You know, I’m guest speaking at a seminar in Phillydelphia next month on bringing out one’s hidden potential. Something to try and motivate more foals into trying their hooves at sports.”

Sweetie perked her ears and her glowing eyes expanded as the orange pegasus ground up onto the railing, sending a shower of sparks all across the steps. Sweetie knew that wasn’t at all good for the rail, or for one’s set of wheels, but having Rainbow Dash as her surrogate sister and mentor, Scootaloo had developed a bit of a flair for showmareship.

“I know Rarity has you running her boutique here, but… seeing as that’s still in the process of being rebuilt, would you have any interest in being a guest speaker there too?” Scootaloo queried as she headed for the curved handrail along the edge the park next.

“A guest speaker? How? I mean…” Sweetie let her questions hang so her friend could do likewise, mounting the handrail and hanging onto her scooter as it slid across the metal like greased lightning.

“Well, why not? I mean, you’re a pretty blatant case of somepony who’s got a lot more going for her than some might have thought at first.” Scootaloo replied. Sweetie narrowed her eyes as her friend flew off the rail, letting go of her scooter and letting it spin in a corkscrew manner under her hooves as she sailed through the air. Even if her stunted wings had meant the pegasus was never going to be able to fly properly, she’d shown a strong and admirable spirit in never letting that get her down. Since joining the Wonderbolts or taking on other typical aerial pursuits were now out of the question, Scootaloo had turned to her talent with her scooter, using her skills to start making a fairly lucrative career as a stuntpony and professional athlete.

Sweetie had to acknowledge that there was a pretty strong aesop to be taken from that as her friend hit the ground and headed for the ramps again.

“Because I’m a robot?” She asked, not to be mean, but just to clarify what Scootaloo was getting at.

“Well… that too. I meant more from just our experiences together as the CMC.” Scootaloo replied as she flipped on and off the ramps, doing several more tricks. “We all thought we had some unknown hidden talent, yet when we were proven right, it was in a form none of us expected.”

Sweetie furrowed her brow. From where he was sitting on a nearby bench flicking through a magazine, Spike spoke up.

“While I get where you’re coming from, Scoots, I don’t know if Sweetie is ready to start parading her true status around yet. Even if it’s no longer a secret, we’d prefer not making too a big deal out of it.” He said, catching a querying flash from his marefriend’s eyes. “That is, unless she wants to.”

Sweetie turned back to Scootaloo as she finished up her practice stunts. Truthfully, she still wasn’t sure where she stood, now that everypony was learning the truth about her. On one hoof, her programming parameters still indicated that maintaining a low profile was paramount, yet on the other, so far, one of her closest friends, and one of her former enemies, had taken her revelation as no big deal, her other closest friend was having a fairly normal conversation with her…

And the dragon she’d pledged her love to had already confirmed he still loved her back. Really, at this point, what reason was there to keep trying to shy away from attention?

Sweetie recorded and catalogued each of Scootaloo’s moves. If she wanted an example of a pony who wore their unusual status on their sleeve, there it was, right in front of her.

“Let me think about it. I know Rarity wants to discuss something with me as soon as she’s back from Manehattan… and really, if I’m going to be traveling anywhere, I gotta make sure Spike is available to come with me.” The robot unicorn said, smiling as Spike lowered his magazine and looked at her. “If he wants to still be by my side, I can’t really leave him behind… even if it’d only be for a few days.”

Spike snorted and scooted over to sit by his beloved cybernetic beauty.

“Like I’d let anything keep me from going with you. If it’s what you want to do, just say when and I’ll be right there with you.” He replied, kissing her on the cheek. Sweetie promptly lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree, her horn, flank, and joints all exploding with light for a brief second. Scootaloo pulled up beside her friend and smirked.

“Bit of warning,” The pegasus said as she pulled off her helmet, “if you’re going to be that open about your relationship, folks might want to ask about that during the Q&A. A dragon and pony dating each other is unusual enough, but a dragon and a robot pony, well, there will inevitably be a lot of curious minds wanting to know more.”

Scootaloo brushed back her flowing length of mauve toned hair. “That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with it… actually, it kinda makes me a bit envious.”

Sweetie giggled in the same manner both of them remembered how she giggled, just one more sign that, a machine she may be, but beneath all the hardware, she was still the same mare.

“The offer to hook you up is still open, you know. I’ve got plenty of names and phone numbers from Rarity’s contact list.” Sweetie replied. Scootaloo looked unsure.

“I… well… I’m sure I’ll find my special somepony in due course. Right now, I’ve got my career to focus on.” Scootaloo replied. “And I’d really like to avoid another incident like with that thestral stallion.”

Now Sweetie looked confused. “What? Why? He was the son of one of Princess Luna’s Night Guards, and a rising steeple runner! An athlete like yourself, and pretty tasty to look at too! I assumed he’d be a good match!”

“He was also barely 16 at the time! You know what they call a pony like that? It’s called jail bait!” Scoots sighed. “I appreciate the effort, Sweetie, but I’d prefer to not have my date end up landing me behind bars.”

Sweetie’s eyes dimmed, a low whirring noise coming from deep within her chassis.

“Well, he looked older than that when he came in for a suit fitting. Must’ve been the coiffed mane...” She muttered.

Scootaloo giggled. “Hey, you got yourself a fine match there. Just hold onto him, and I’ll eventually find some pony I can do the same with.”

Scootaloo put her helmet back on and remounted her scooter. “As for right now, it’s getting late, and didn't you say you two actually have a date tonight?”

Sweetie blinked at them, checking her internal clock.

“Oh, yeah!” She exclaimed. “Come on, Spike, we gotta get to the restaurant! Our reservation’s in five minutes!”

Spike looked to the horizon, gauging the distance between himself and said restaurant.

“Five minutes...I think I can swing it!” He said.

“Huh? Swing what? Spike what are you… OOOOH!” Sweetie meeped as her dragon grabbed her and spread his wings, taking off into the air like a rocket.

“Yikes!” Scootaloo stumbled back from the blast of the sudden take off, seeing her friends be reduced to small blips in the air in mere seconds.“Well that’s either going to end disastrously, or fantastically.” The pegasus sighed. “Either way, damn romantic move there, Spike.”

The dragon grit his teeth as he flew as fast as he could towards his destination on the other side of Ponyville. In record time, he spotted the restaurant, the ‘Field of Gold’, and dove in for a landing. In his arms, Sweetie’s mind was fritzing out with the sensation of being literally swept off her hooves, again, and the feel of Spike’s powerful body against her back, while her barrel was caressed by the brush of the passing air.

It almost made up for the impromptu crash. Spike overshot his landing area and ended up sending them both tumbling head over heels, past the maitre’d’s podium and into a hedge surrounding the eatery.

“Oh! Uh, good evening sir, and ma’am?” The tuxedo toned earth pony cautiously replied as dragon and robot extracted themselves from the shrubbery. “I… erm… trust you both are okay?”

Spike sheepishly coughed up some leaves while Sweetie shook branches off her side.

“Yeah… uh… I think?” The dragon grinned awkwardly. “Erm… reservation for Spike, table for two?”

The maitre’d turned and checked his notes for the evening.

“Ah yes! Right on time.” The stallion swept up two menus and gestured for the two to follow him. “We thought you might like a place near the stage. It’s open for all tonight.”

“Sure, thanks… erm…” Spike looked at Sweetie as she continued picking pieces of wood and sap off her flank. “I… uh… I am so sorry! Rainbow’s been running me through how to compensate for added weight during takeoff and landing, so I thought… well… uh…”

The dragon’s face turned a delightful shade of violet as the maitre’d showed them to their table.

“Okay, honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing. Just seemed like the most affectionate way to make sure we wouldn’t be late and… I mean… err…”

Sweetie Belle sighed and bade her gentledrake to sit down.

“Spike, it’s fine. Honestly, that was… heh, quite a rush.” She giggled. “Besides, if you recall, I crashed into multiple trees and bushes and other parts of the terrain during my years as a Cutie Mark Crusader. If anything, this is more nostalgic than it is embarrassing.”

Spike nodded, yet still kept his tight, awkward smile.

“Regardless, uh, could we get some water here and a few towels? Just so Sweetie can clean herself up?” He asked.

“But of course. One moment, sir!” The maitre’d trotted off, letting Spike exhale in relief at his professionalism. Behind him, the band started up a tune to help cover for the uncomfortable moment.

“Well, regardless… I also remember how much you hated always ending up covered in sap, so…” The dragon cleared his throat as Sweetie fixed him with her robotic eyes.

“Would it help if I mentioned it’s not as bad as before? Since I don’t have my fur covering, there’s less for it to get stuck to.” She giggled again as a unicorn waiter approached levitating a pile of towels and a pitcher of water in his magic. “And… well, it’s hard to feel mad after being in your arms again.”

Spike’s awkwardness faded slightly at that. The waiter poured a glass of water for both him and Sweetie, then left the robot to soak the towels and wipe the rest of the sap off.

“Still, Rainbow’s been kind enough to train me on her off time to master these wings. All those hours of practice, and still…” Spike unfolded one of his leathery appendages, giving it a shake. “I should be more apt at using these now!”

Sweetie pulled a particularly big glob of amber adhesive off her neck, dabbing the area dry and sighing.

“Well, I should have perfect control over all my bodily systems, yet how often over these last few days have I come close to blasting you in the face with my cannons whenever you… well… make me feel so loved?” She asked.

The awkwardness promptly descended on Spike again, though this time it was for more pleasant reasons.

“True I… uh… I mean… touche?” He bleated, earning himself more cute laughter from his marefriend.

“How about you buy me a drink and we’ll call it even? I notice they’ve got quite a varied cocktail menu here.” She said, levitating the aforementioned document up so she could read it.

“Heh, sure, take your pick.” Spike smiled with a heavy sigh. “Think I could do with one myself to steady my nerves…”

***

“So you think that’s why Rainbow is so averse to ponies touching her hooves?” Spike queried as he speared another cube of delicately seared cheese, tomatoes and toasted bread onto his fork.

“Yeah, she tries to make it sound like some foalhood aversion, but when Lotus and Aloe insisted upon trying to groom them after she got them all scuffed up… well… I dare you to interpret this face I saw her making any other way.” Sweetie did a ridiculous expression with her mouth hanging open in a large O shape, her tongue hanging limply out of it, and the light in her cybernetic eyes dimming so they looked glazed over. Spike clasped his hand over his mouth to stifle his giggles.

“I guess that explains why she seemed so shaken when we were practicing landing and she accidentally grazed her hooves through that patch of loose rocks. Huh, makes me wonder why she doesn’t have the same reaction whenever she’s walking around normally…” He mused. The lights on Sweetie’s horn grew brighter as she smiled in apparent embarrassment.

“Well, I could explain how normal sensory input differs from the more intense stimulation of an apparent erogenous zone… except we’re in public here.” Sweetie turned around, noticing none of the other diners seemed to be paying her much mind. Spike noticed that seemed to both calm her, and make her look more embarrassed as the lights on her body glowed brighter as well.

“Course, if you really, REALLY want me to go into further detail…” The robot whispered while batting her eyelashes. Spike looked sorely tempted for a moment, then just popped his fork into her mouth.

“Much as I love seeing you want to be more outgoing, maybe we should save that for later.” The dragon smiled as he speared some more of his marefriend’s meal. “Come on, you’ve spent enough time sharing gossip with me and barely touched your food. Seeing as your body actually needs it, I’m not letting you go hungry!”

Sweetie swallowed then felt her circuits flicker with more new sensations as Spike slide another forkful into her mouth.

“I don’t actually require nourishment as often as you do, my body just makes use of it as it’s available.” She said, before letting out another giggle. “Seriously, Spike, you don’t have to feed me.”

“Why not? It’s cute, and you’re clearly enjoying it.” He said, waving another forkful of sweet cheese, veggies, and crisp bread in front of her nose. “Truth be told, I’m still loving how at ease you are at being out in public.”

Sweetie looked at the offered food, her nose frantically sniffing the rich scents. The levitation beam shot from her horn and yanked the fork out of her gentledrake’s hand, allowing her to slide it in her mouth without his aid. Spike looked crushed. Sweetie just smiled.

“Well, give thanks to our friends for that. Not that I wish to be detrimental to Scootaloo or Applebloom, or Diamond, or anyone else… but I thought they’d be more averse to seeing the real me.” The robot unicorn said. “Now that they’ve proven me wrong, I feel… an overriding urge to just show myself off, to see how many other ponies will accept me as just another mare, albeit one who’s mechanical rather than organic! Only...”

Sweetie’s brow furrowed.

“Only I’m not sure how I could do that more than I already have so far.” She said. Spike’s eyes slowly drifted to the stage, an inspired smile stretching across his mouth.

“Hmm… let me see if I can inspire you then.” He said. Wiping his mouth, the dragon rose and walked over to the band, whispering something to them then mounting the stage. Sweetie watched as he tapped the mike and cleared his throat.

“Good evening everyone! My name is Spike, Number One Assistant to her royal highness, Princess Twilight. With your permission, I’d like to do a little number that… I believe best summarizes my feelings for a certain special somepony here tonight.” He began, nodding to the band. The keyboardist began to play a rather retro-sounding intro, something that definitely sounded, to Sweetie, like it had come from 20 years ago.

The robot unicorn closed her eyes as her ears began to whirr back and forth. She could swear she knew this tune… from when Spike had first tried to...

I can’t fight this feeling any longer.
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow.
What started out as friendship has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show

Sweetie’s eyes snapped back open upon hearing Spike’s voice.

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
'Cause I feel so secure when we're together
You give my life direction
You make everything so clear

Sweetie looked up at the stage, her circuits crackling with electrified data. This was the same song Spike had sung when he first tried to ask her out, one day when he’d come to see her at the boutique. He’d said he’d had something he wanted to say to her, only he didn’t know how to put it in words… so he’d asked Pinkie Pie if he could borrow her karaoke machine and try to use music instead.

And even as I wander
I'm keeping you in sight
You're a candle in the window
On a cold, dark winter's night
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

Sweetie’s vision flickered as her CPU pulled up a video of that time. In one eye she saw Spike on the stage putting his heart into his voice. In the other she watched a playback of him doing the same from so many months ago.

The robot’s hooves began wading at the tablecloth as she felt herself start to react in almost the same exact way now, as she had when Spike had first made his feelings for her clear.

And I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars, forever..

The band’s drummer played out the last word with a particularly heavy beat upon his instruments. Sweetie felt her body rumble in turn, though whether that was from the beat, or the synthetic pumping apparatus that functioned as her heart overclocking itself, she couldn’t determine.

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
And if I have to crawl upon the floor
Come crushing through your door
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore

The guitarist picked up the solo interlude that followed, allowing Spike to lower his mic and smile at his marefriend. Sweetie placed a hoof to her chest, feeling it rumble loudly as her body did its thing in simulating the same reaction she imagined most mares would experience in this situation. Spike gave a small gesture to the space next to him on the stage, nodding an unspoken request at Sweetie as the solo part ended.

My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you
I've been running around in circles in my mind
And it always seems that I'm following you, girl
'Cause you take me to the places
That alone I'd never find

Sweetie looked to the empty part of the stage, catching what was being asked. She looked at everyone else, ran a simulation of what she could best estimate happening if she granted her gentledrake’s request.

And even as I wander
I'm keeping you in sight
You're a candle in the window
On a cold, dark winter's night
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

The band heralded the final repetition of the chorus with a properly big strike of both strings and keyboards. Sweetie felt herself shiver terribly, leading her to finally slam her hooves on the table and stand up.

And I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
It's time to bring this ship into the shore
And throw away the oars, forever

Both dragon and robot now sang together, Sweetie feeling her mind just surge with unimaginably intense exhilaration as she heard her voice sounding as clear and fine as ever.

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore
I've forgotten what I started fighting for
And if I have to crawl upon the floor
Come crashing through your door
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore

Sweetie slowly mounted the stage, singing the last few lines with all her heart as Spike took her hoof and helped her stand by him. The band played them off as the pair hugged.

“Still works like a charm, I see.” Spike whispered as Sweetie buried her face in his warm pecs.

“Well, seeing as this time you actually remembered the lyrics properly… yeah… kinda hard to resist.” She sighed, feeling the heat of her drake’s scales infused into her circuits and wiring. “Okay, you charmed me up onto the stage. How are you going to follow that up?”

Spike grinned like he’d just won the lottery.

“I’m glad you asked.” He said while turning to the band. “Boys?”

A more upbeat, and even older sounding intro tune began. Sweetie’s ears again whirred in recognition.

“Seriously?” She asked, feeling herself smile as Spike just shrugged.

“Consider it a declaration and a promise between us, for the future.” He replied before launching into the song.

Don’t go breaking my heart. He sang. Sweetie rolled her eyes and felt her smile growing uncontrollably wider.

I couldn’t if I tried. She sang in return.

Oh honey if I get restless. Spike teased.

Baby you’re not that kind. Sweetie assured.

The band played a quick interlude, during which time Sweetie leaned up to whisper in Spike’s ear.

“You are a complete and utter dork you know.” She said, before kissing him on the cheek. “And I will never forgive you if you change that.”

Spike gently nodded he never would as he leaped into the next verse.

Don’t go breaking my heart. He began again.

You take the weight off of me. Sweetie replied.

Oh honey when you knocked on my door. The dragon reminisced.

Oooh, I gave you my key. His beloved robot followed.

Oooh hoo, nobody knows it! They both hinted to the audience, turning to lock eyes with each other.

When I was down. Spike continued.

I was your clown. Sweetie replied, prompting the drake with another round of ‘Ooooh hooo!’

Nobody knows it! Nobody knoooows...
Right from the start
I gave you my heart

The two sang together, then Spike stopped, feeling himself quiver in delight as Sweetie actually took a step forward.

I gave him my heart! She declared to the diners. Several of the other ponies looked to Spike, then to her. Sweetie’s mind sizzled again as she caught several expressions that were tinged with envy that the two souls on stage were this head over hooves for each other.

So don’t go breaking my heart. Spike prompted her again. Sweetie placed her hoof on her chest as a gesture that she was about to say the utmost truth.

I won’t go breaking your heart. She sang, turning to Spike as the music picked up in tempo.

Don’t go breaking my heart! The two commanded, swearing in the same breath that they never would.

***

“Well, I’d say we need to do that more often.” Spike replied as the two walked back to Twilight’s castle. “Been too long since I got to hear you sing with such passion.”

Sweetie rubbed her chest, feeling the heat was still there and her heart pump was still hammering away.

“It’s been too long since I remembered what it feels like to really carry a tune. Where I know I’ve just got my voice perfect and am hitting every note flawlessly. Celestia, it’s such a rush!” She gasped. Spike smiled as he pushed open the front doors for her.

“Pinkie still has that karaoke machine, you know. In case you want to revisit a few other tunes...” He said. Sweetie giggled as she stepped into the grand foyer.

“Ooooh, way ahead of you two! I knew you’d want it as part of your celebration!”

Dragon and robot turned to see the foyer was set with picnic tables, half-inflated balloons, streamers hanging from the walls, and boxes full of other party stuff. Pinkie zipped into view, brandishing her aforementioned karaoke machine.

“Granted, the celebration won’t be until tomorrow, but I had so many good ideas I had to ask Twilight if I could get started now!” The pinkie mare smiled maniacally, then immediately lowered it to a more sympathetic level. “I figured we could skip the surprise this time. You two have had more than enough of that in the last few weeks.”

Spike and Sweetie looked around at the quasi-festive decor. From a side door Twilight walked in, looking resigned to the mess.

“Twi, you really agreed to this?” Spike asked, getting a shrug.

“In fairness Spike, if I’d refused then Pinkie would’ve found some other way to celebrate this. Besides I hear you and Sweetie have already made the first steps towards introducing our friends to Sweetie’s true status. I figured we might as well let the rest of Ponyville at least see her for who she really is.” Twilight replied. Spike looked to his marefriend, who likewise had to giggle and shrug.

“It’s kind of hard to argue with that, especially considering we just showed ourselves off to an entire restaurant of ponies.” Sweetie hummed softly. “And only about 35% of them seemed unsettled by a robot and dragon singing a duet.”

Pinkie went wide eyed.

“35%? But… that’s terrible! We gotta get that down to zero! To let everyone know you’re the sweetest and coolest electronic equine around!” She exclaimed as her eyes went wider. “Oooooh, ‘electronic equine’, I gotta remember that one for the invitations!”

Pinkie zipped over to one of the boxes and dug out a pile of cards and envelopes.

“Twilight, I’m going to need your study for the next few hours!”

Twilight raised her hoof, then lowered it as the pink mare was already past her and galloping down the hallway.

“Well at least she’s doing this now, when everything is done for the day and I’m ready to just curl up with a huge stack of books. What about you two?” The alicorn sighed.

Spike checked the time, and the state of the party to be.

“Well, if we’re expected to continue giving a good impression tomorrow, then sleep is probably a good idea. That is...” The dragon turned to his beloved unicorn. “Are you okay with this? I mean, Scootaloo and Applebloom were one thing but an entire party?”

Sweeties glowing cybernetic eyes dilated several times as the lights around her horn slowly rotated in thought.

“A few days ago, I’d have said no… but after tonight? Heh, Spike, if you’re brave enough to swoon me with song in front of everypony and declare I’m yours… I feel like I can manage.” She replied. “Just, yes, let’s get some sleep. I need time to compile my input from today… see if there’s anything I did that might make ponies uncomfortable or afraid of me.”

Spike looked at her reproachfully.

“Based on the reaction at the restaurant, I’m pretty sure you don’t need to worry about that. I mean… aside from that 35%, but that’s hardly a majority...” He said. Sweetie swivelled her ears and sighed.

“I know, but… I’ve spent my entire life being super careful about keeping my true identity concealed. It’s a bit hard to overwrite that parameter now that I can’t.” She giggled. “I suppose you could call it a case of old habits dying hard.”

Spike smiled and kissed his marefriend.

“Well, if you need some more reassurance it’s all going to be okay, you know where my room is.” He said before ascending the stairs to the aforementioned chamber. Now that he was older, bigger (at least by a small amount) and had wings, his usual basket bed wasn’t really sufficient for his needs. While he still kept it as a sort of memento (being one of the few things that he’d managed to recover from the destruction of the Golden Oaks Library) it now sat at the foot of a proper king sized bed, in a room that was equal parts regally fancy crystal decor, and utterly geeky comic and game memorabilia. Posters and collectibles from the stories Spike had adored as a child lined the walls and shelves, another tidbit to make Twilight’s castle feel more like what the dragon remembered as home. As much as he appreciated having the new deluxe accommodations, it was comforting to know not everything around him had to change.

The dragon let out an amused snort as he pulled the thick quilt back and got underneath its heavy, warm cover. How ironic that he was now having to apply that philosophy in triplicate for his marefriend, to show Sweetie that, while her life was indeed going to change quite a lot, she could take some solace in knowing there would still be constants.

Like him.

The dragon let his wings flop open as he rested his head against the pillows. Part of him still felt things might be moving too quickly… but at the same time, the most important souls in Ponyville seemed adamant about proving themselves as the most accepting community in Equestria. They’d taken Twilight’s ascension, Tirek’s attack, the bugbear incident, the changelings, and so many other unusual developments in stride. In the broad scheme of things, finding out one of their number was a super-advanced machine wasn’t that much of a drastic surprise, and assuming the rest of the town could follow Applebloom, Scootaloo and Diamond’s lead...

Spike let out a long exhale and folded his arms under his head. If Sweetie wasn’t worried about this then he wouldn’t be either.

At least, he was pretty sure she wasn’t worried about it...

Spike’s head fans turned as he heard his bedroom door slowly creak open, turning to see the robot unicorn in question stepping in with a more apprehensive look on her face.

“Sweetie?”

The unicorn closed her eyes, lightly grinding her hooves against the crystal floor in indecision.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but I just realised: if we’re going to basically be the center of a party tomorrow, that’s pretty much going to cement our status as a couple isn’t it? To everypony in town, I mean...” She said. Spike furrowed his brow.

“Yeah, I’d imagine that’ll be the case.” He said, sitting up as the light from Sweetie’s glowing eyes shot out across the room to envelop him in their gaze.

“And, you’re okay with that?” She asked. Spike looked even more confused.

“Of course I am, Sweetie. Why would you think not?” He asked. The unicorn’s horn lights sped up, her joint lights glowing brighter as if simulating a blush.

“I… don’t know. I just...” The unicorn’s ears rotated down as she winced. “As much as I’m prepared to face it, it’s still a big step.”

Spike nodded and smiled as he pulled the covers open. “Well as I said, if you want some reassurance...”

Sweetie smiled and trotted over to climb into her gentledrake’s bed, letting him again embrace her and hold her reassuringly.

“I know, and… thank you, Spike. Thank you for everything!” She whispered, feeling her body again surge with electricity as Spike kissed her softly on the lips.

“My pleasure, Sweetie. Always was.” He replied, lying back down and cradling his beloved robot. She nuzzled further into his chest, letting his heat scramble her epidermal sensors in all the right ways.

"And if there's anything else you want to do, you know you only have to ask." Spike added, smirking as those glowing robot eyes swiveled to meet his own, conveying that Sweetie did indeed have something else on her mind.

"Well..." She began.

Author's Note

Okay finally I think it's time to post this. Been messing with it constantly for well over a month, feeling like it needed something more, only in true fashion I could never figure out what.

I guess this is the point where I turn to the readers for that all important question: is it time now for clop? I did leave the option open when I started this series, and the more I think about it, the more I have to admit it probably needs to happen at some point. Better now that I'm late with it than never eh?

Regardless, I hope this new installment made the wait worth it for everyone!

Chapter 8 WARNING: ADULT CONTENT!

“Okay Sweetie, how’s that?” Spike queried as he pressed down on the duct tape wrapped around his beloved robot’s mid-section. Sweetie looked at it, and closed her eyes as she flexed the synthetic plates on her back. The tape on them bulged considerably as the blaster cannons concealed underneath struggled to get out.

“Ummm… maybe one more layer? Just make sure I’m absolutely safe?” She asked with a nervous giggle. Spike looked at her funny, and tried his best to suppress his snickers as he wound another layer of duct tape around his marefriend’s body.

“I’m pretty sure when they taught you about the needs of ‘safe sex’ in health class, this isn’t what they meant.” He quipped, smirking as Sweetie giggled again.

“No, but it’s what’s important. The last thing I want is to ruin the mood of our first time by accidentally blasting you, or the room, to pieces.” The robot unicorn meeped, feeling her CPU fizzle as Spike finished applying the impromptu ‘protection’. She still detected that her body’s defensive measures could rip through the tape if she felt her life was honestly in danger, but given she couldn’t calculate any possible way the current situation could turn dangerous (at least without her help), she deemed it was an acceptable risk.

“I still think you’re worrying too much.” Spike sighed as he placed the tape on the night stand and lay back down on the bed. “You may have popped numerous blaster boners, but so far you’ve stopped yourself from actually hurting me. I’d say that proves we won’t have any accidents.”

Sweetie felt her face heating up as Spike took her frontal hooves, helping her climb on top of him.

“Well, save for the accidents we planned for.” She said, her circuits sizzling again as she settled down against her sweet dragon’s muscular front. Even now, when they’d spent so many days and nights cuddling together, the feel of those warm, smooth scales was still electrifying, more so now that she no longer had her synthetic coat and outer skin to act as barrier. She stared down at the dragon’s softly smiling face, feeling her heart pump and start to speed up as her nether regions began to grow wet.

“You’re really okay with doing this… and letting come what may?” She asked. The simple nod from Spike made every light on her body glow like a cluster of stars.

“You said you wanted to know if you’re capable of bearing foals. I meant what I said about wanting to give it a try.” He replied while cupping her face. “Regardless of whether you’re metal or flesh, whomever designed you wanted you to be able to fulfill all the parameters of being a normal pony. While Twilight may say we’re still young, it’s not that uncommon for either ponies or dragons to be having offspring at our age.”

Sweetie’s gaze averted as the intensity of her lights died down.

“Yeah, but a dragon and a robot pony together? That’s still introducing a considerable degree of unknown factors, and...”

The mare broke off as she noticed Spike’s gaze narrowing at her in the darkness.

“You’re right, I’m worrying too much. I’ll stop now.” She said, then murred as Spike leaned up to kiss her gently on the lips. “I just… like any mare who’s experiencing her first time having sex, I want this to be the best it can be. Something I’ll treasure every time I remember it.”

Spike smiled with notably more smugness as one of his hands slid down to the glistening folds between his marefriend’s legs.

“Well, it feels like you’re off to a good start.” He said, feeling his own heart speed up as Sweetie squirmed like she tended to do whenever he touched her down there. “A little cuddling and you’re already wet?”

Sweetie grit her teeth as she felt every fiber optic cable in her burn with the intensity of pleasurable data, all blooming upward from her loins.

“That… and the feel of your body… ngh… the realisation that I really do want this… that I’m ready for this...” She meeped, her voice crackling slightly as Spike slid his fingers in deeper.

“I’m ready and want this too, Sweetie. So long as you’re good to go.” Spike soothed as he kissed his mare on the neck. He made sure to be gentle, watching that he didn’t hurt Sweetie with his claws or his teeth. Granted, he wasn’t actually sure if he could, given her body had already proven durable enough to survive being incinerated in a fire, but then again, he’d never tried to be rough with the unicorn before, and thus there was no reason for him to start now!

“Oooh, believe me, Spike… when you start doing… mmmph… that… oooh, I am so ready!” Sweetie moaned as Spike lightly nibbled at her synthetic flesh. It really did amaze him how she still felt so soft and plush. Granted, she was smoother now, due to her coat having been burned off, but the synthetic skin otherwise felt real. It was as warm and tender as a pony should be, quite appetizing in fact! Not that Spike would ever dream of eating his marefriend… well… not in a final sense, at least.

Sweetie moaned again and wrapped her front legs around Spike’s neck as he traced her labia. His tail curled upward to help add to the stimulation, rubbing itself against the mare’s increasingly soaked sex as Spike moved to kiss over her chest. He could sense her growing want to get to the main part of the action, but at the same time, he wanted to thoroughly explore her body. Even if they had at least done this much together before Sweetie’s true status had been revealed, she now felt like a wholly new, and utterly wonderful being, one Spike wanted to memorise every inch of.

As he got to her barrel, Spike felt Sweetie tug on him, coaxing him to lean forward, and by extension help her to lie down on her back. He looked up to see her staring down at him, her glowing green eyes burning with the same desire he’d seen so many times after the two had officially become a couple. Smiling, Spike shifted forward and lay his beloved mare out on the bed, kissing her again on the lips as her legs curled away from him, signifying the dragon could do whatever he wished now.

What he wished was to see how much of a true mare his sweet robot was. Her sex felt real enough and hot enough to his fingers, but would it to his nose? To his mouth?

To his tongue?

Sweetie’s legs inadvertently kicked as she sensed her drake’s next destination. Spike grabbed them, and held them still as he closed in on what he desired. The heat of his breath was feeding that which coursed through the mare’s circuits, making her want to struggle all the more. She knew she could just temporarily disable her limbs, at least so she didn’t accidentally send Spike flying from a hoof to the face (that had rather soured the mood during a previous time of intimacy), yet the dragon seemed to relish having to hold his wild love down. Not to mention the feel of his dense, muscular arms, fighting against her well maintained mechanical strength, that felt good in a wholly different way.

By the time Spike applied his tongue to Sweetie’s petals for the first time, the mare felt that familiar sensation building up both above and below. The sense that her cranial CPU was about to hit critical from the overload of emotional data, as her nether regions exploded in that strange yet oh so deliciously satisfying sensation of heat and pleasure that ponies dubbed an orgasm.

Spike licked deeper into his marefriend’s folds, his mouth salivating as he found she indeed still tasted like he remembered. He directed some hot breath onto her pearl, feeling her sex ‘wink’ around his maw. Yes, down here, much like everywhere else, she was indeed a very proper female. Machine or not, she was capable of fulfilling every criteria that was expected of a mare, right up to the ragged moaning, and the muffled screaming as juice splashed all over Spike’s muzzle.

The dragon dug his claws into Sweetie’s hind legs, feeling them thrash and battle him with even greater vigor. His arms flared with purple scaled strength as he held those squirming limbs against the mattress, licking and cleaning Sweetie’s sex up before finally rising and beholding his blissfully panting love.

“Well, that took even less time than before.” He commented, getting a breathless giggle.

“Well, you’ve never used your tongue on me before… and it felt so much more intense without my epidermal covering… heh...” Sweetie sighed in relief as she beheld her dragon’s noble features. “At least this time I didn’t leave you with a black eye. Was kind of worried about that after last time...”

Spike snickered and shook his head.

“As I said then, dragons are supposed to be able to take a pounding. As presumably are robots...” He stated with a slightly more lewd tone. Sweetie felt her loins grow even hotter as she looked down to her gentledrake’s crotch, seeing the action had arisen that which had her both awed and feared at once.

“Are you ready to continue?” He asked, stroking the length of his ridged and knotted penis. Sweetie bit her lip, recalling that odd tidbit she’d read about in one of Twilight’s books on dragon anatomy. As a species whose entire existence was defined by how perilous their environment and their society was, dragons had evolved specific means to ensure that they had the best possible odds of conceiving when mating, both by stimulating the female to ovulate and also ensure none of their seed was wasted. While that was all well and good for when one dragon mated with another, it added a sense of considerable danger when one did so with a pony. The fact that Spike was exceptionally huge for his small sized body didn’t help either.

Sweetie bit her lip as the HUD in her eyes gauged Spike’s maleness and flashed several warning signs that taking it inside her was going to be damn risky. Silently she calmed herself, repeating her sweet drake’s statement that they were both durable creatures.

“Yes Spike, please, let’s keep going!” She said, forcing herself to look up at Spike’s eyes as he climbed on top of her. “And don’t stop, no matter what.”

Spike slowly slid his hands up along his marefriend’s body, taking hold of her front legs as he slowly lined himself up with her sex. Internally, the robot accessed the system for her pain receptors, preparing to switch them off if the next part hurt too much.

It certainly did as Spike began to enter her, though the angular shape of his cock helped a little. He still took his time, letting her get used to the gradual spreading of her petals as he pushed himself further in. More warning signs flashed across Sweetie’s eyes, but she simply dismissed them. This is what every mare went through during their first time, even if their lovers tended to not be endowed in the same manner. There was pain and blood, but both would only be temporary.

“Ngh… so tight… oooh, you okay?” Spike asked as Sweetie raised her face into his chest, letting his scent and his warmth quell her worry.

“Yeah… just.... ngh… I think you’re at my hymen… ngh… which means the next part is going to be the worst.” She said in a muffled voice. Spike looked at her in shock.

“You have a hymen?” He asked. Sweetie nodded meekly as red began to bleed through her ears. “Wait… so does that mean whomever created you also intended for you to also function as… as… uh… actually, you know what? I don’t want to know the answer to that.” Spike muttered as he caressed the unicorn’s mane. “Let… mmm… let’s just save that question for later.”

From between his pecs, Sweetie muffled a ‘thank you’. Steeling his nerves, Spike gripped the sheets with one hand while he stroked through the unicorn’s silky locks.

“You’re right though, Twilight says this next part is supposed to hurt the most, so if you need a moment...”

Spike paused as he felt Sweetie suddenly wrap both forelegs around his hips. With a strangled sob, the robot pulled him fully into herself, tearing through her hymen and also really stretching her outer lips as the knot entered her too.

“AGH… guh… Sweetie!” Spike gasped, feeling a sudden rush of both pleasure from his flesh being fully nestled in the warm, wet confines of his love, as well as fright that said love was also crying into his chest as the lights on her body flashed in a schizophrenic manner.

“Sweetie?” He looked down in worry as the unicorn extracted her tearful visage and hastily wiped her eyes.

“I’m… *sniff*... I’m okay. Just… ahhh… felt it was better to get it over with. Ngh… get past the hurdle.” She said, blinking as damage reports flickered repeatedly across her vision. Spike tenderly cupped her face, dabbing away her tears with his thumbs.

“You’re sure?” He asked. The mare nodded as the emerald glow of her orbs slowly returned to its usual hue and brightness.

“You’re my first now, Spike. You’ll always be my first. That’s what matters to me.” Sweetie said. “Whatever damage you’ve done, I can fix it. Just again, don’t stop!”

Spike felt his own eyes start to tear up. He brought Sweetie up to kiss her again, then carefully laid her down on the mattress so he could position himself to commence with the real action.

The first few thrusts brought more pain and blood, as Sweetie’s now deflowered treasure struggled to adapt to the size of her dragon’s length. Yet, as Spike maintained a slow, gentle rhythm, it indeed began to get better. Sweetie felt herself actually start to experience the pleasure that was supposed to accompany sex, albeit with some awkward starts and stops as the tape wrapped around her midsection kept catching on the sheets. She tried to ignore it but as Spike picked up the pace it began bunching up, causing him to have to thrust harder, then pause as he felt his mare yelp from her skin getting pulled, while her body stuck fast to the bed.

“Ngh… um… think we need to change position. Hold on.” Spike rolled over onto his back again, pulling Sweetie on top of him. “Let’s see if this is any better.”

He began to piston his hips upward, keeping a firm hold on his mare’s flank.

“Ooooh… ngh… y-yeah… oh Spike that’s much… ngh… sooo much better!” Sweetie moaned, feeling even less pain and even more glee. From this position, she not only had the pleasure of his measured thrusting, but also the visual feast of his muscles rippling and flexing with the effort. He might have been small of height, but as he was currently demonstrating, everywhere else he was big and powerful where it counted the most!

On his end, Spike was finding Sweetie to be the exact opposite, which just made it more perfect. Her body squeezed and smooshed around his length on each thrust, her hips and barrel giving into his secure grip like real flesh was supposed to. She was a marvel, just as she’d always been. The only difference was now she was even more so, because she was HIS marvel.

Gritting his teeth, Spike tried to maintain his rhythm, worried any lull in his marefriend’s moans meant he was doing something wrong. With this being his first time as well as hers, he couldn’t hope to dash all of his stage fright, more so with his wings and tail just wildly flapping about every time another bolt of pleasure shot through him. As both of them were learning, one could read all the romance novels and sex guides around to learn what to do during these most intimate moments, but that didn’t automatically make one a master lover.

“Ack! S-Sorry Sweetie...” The dragon blushed as his tail inadvertently whipped up and smacked the robot across her back again. “Ngh… didn’t think it’d be such a problem keeping all my extra limbs under control...”

Sweetie meeped as Spike suddenly lurched upward, causing her to almost fall off him. She looked down and giggled softly as the dragon stretched his wing back out from where it’d crammed itself under his back during one of his thrusts.

“It’s fine Spike… mmm… seriously.” She soothed, leaning forward to kiss him again. “This still feels wonderful, still lets me know I can be the mare you deserve… eeep! And… you’re not the only one who doesn’t quite know what to do with their body”

Sweetie looked behind herself as she felt the tape start to tear. Spike’s tail had weakened it with the smacks, and her blasters were now trying to take advantage and bring themselves into the action again.

“Hmmm… well maybe we can take advantage of that...” He hugged Sweetie and slowly sat the two of them up. “Why don’t you turn around and lie down on your front...”

Sweetie looked confused but did as instructed.

“Thanks, now if I just get behind you… and… mmmm… yeah!” Spike growled as he grabbed his beloved’s plush flank and slowly entered her again. “And now...”

Sweetie bit her lip as she felt the tape being ripped off, followed by her blaster cannons springing out of their compartments on her back like a pair of jack-in-the-boxes.

“I can use these as grips!” Spike said triumphantly as he grabbed the weapons’ mountings and began to pound his mare again. Sweetie bit down harder as she felt some small slivers of painful feedback dig their way through her circuits, before the pleasurable sensations returned. Silently she paid Spike due praise for his clever thinking, realising that in this position both of their extra parts were out of the way.

“Yeah… ngh… Celestia this is good.” Spike moaned as his pelvis rammed Sweetie’s flank harder.

“S-So good… ahhhh… you’re so deep in me, Spike… ngh… please… d-don’t pull out. Ahhh… cum in me! Grrr… fill me up… I want everything you’ve got!” She begged. She could feel a second orgasm building as the ridges of Spike’s penis dragged to and fro across her sensitive depths. Her walls convulsed around his knot, ensuring he’d stay right where she wanted him. They’d crossed the threshold, and now they were both going to join each other in going all the way to the end.

Spike wordlessly confirmed he’d do as asked by picking up his pace again. Now that he didn’t need to worry about his wings, or tail, or getting shot by Sweetie’s blasters, he could focus all his energy on bringing things to an explosive ending. Even if he still had no idea about what might follow, he was going to respect his marefriend’s wishes! Especially when she was making it so damn satisfying for him, with the tightness and the whimpering, and the pleasurable winks as he thrust and pounded till at last he felt his entire body seize up in unimaginably sweet release.

“AHHHH YEAH, SPIKE!” Sweetie screamed as she felt a rush of searing hot seed flood her womb. Again, her CPU hit critical capacity as an overload of pleasurable feedback was fed into it, making her join her dragon in crying and thrashing in the throes of a final peak. Her body lights heralded the union by shining bright as stars all throughout the unicorn’s climax.

As he shot a generous amount of his cum into his mare, Spike let himself slowly wilt, collapsing onto the bed beside her and holding Sweetie tightly as she likewise came down off her orgasmic high. Silence finally fell upon the bedroom as the two lay still, their breathing barely a whisper as they let the afterglow bond their souls together like the sex had their bodies.

“Spike… heh… thank you.” Sweetie whimpered, letting a few joyful tears run down her cheeks as Spike stripped the tape off her barrell.

“No, thank you, Sweetie. For giving me a chance, letting me show that I truly love you for who you are, my beautiful, kind, and wonderful robot mare.” He replied, kissing her again as she turned and wrapped her forelegs around her neck. “So… feeling ready for the party tomorrow? To show the world how happy we are to be a couple?”

Sweetie’s eyes whirred and dilated as she thought it over, leading her to let out an embarrassed giggle.

“Maybe if we did it again? Just to be sure?” She asked. “I mean so long as we’re not stopping for anything… and now I know I can keep myself from shooting up the room...”

Spike chuckled and nuzzled the unicorn.

“I think I’m up for a few more rounds. Just how about this time we try a few other positions?”

***

In her own room, Twilight lay on her bed, amidst her long forgotten pile of books. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling as all around her she felt the crystal walls shake ever so slightly with the sounds and the action taking place in Spike’s room just down the hall.

“Note for tomorrow: contact the Ponyville press and ask that my ad be put back into their lonely hearts column.” She muttered to herself. “I have got to start dating again!”

Author's Note

So after some thought and reading through the comments to chapter 7, I decided this had to happen. Wanted to give non-anthro pony clop a try, and after debating where I wanted the series to go next it seemed like Spike and Sweetie needed to become sexually active.

I tried to make this half-arousing, half-realistic for their first time (since, let's face it, no one is automatically great at sex from the get go) show that while this is a major stride in their relationship they've still got a lot more ground to cover if they want to be as perfect a couple as possible, and that's before they find out what other complications are looming on the horizon.

Yes, while we're now at the point I'm sure many were waiting for, this series isn't done yet. I'm going to explore a bit more about about Sweetie's possible origins and of course if indeed she and Spike are ever going to become parents. Also contemplating a few other pairings for their friends, hence the ending tidbit with Twilight deciding she might try finding somepony for herself.

Again, I'm open to suggestions on who you think she should end up with.

Chapter 9

“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!

Chapter 10

“This is where you found me?” Sweetie asked in amazement as Rarity ventured further into the cave. “You’re certain?”

“Absolutely!” Rarity said with equal awe. “I was seeing if there were any traces of gems, then I just got curious as to how deep this cavern went.”

The unicorn gestured for her friends to follow as she continued into the darkness, stopping when the cave opened up into a modestly sized chamber.

“Right here, yes, right there in the center is where you were standing.” Rarity said, pointing to a spot illuminated by a small shaft of sunlight shining through a hole in the chamber’s roof. Sweetie stared at it as the lights across her body blinked in a random and confused manner. Next to her, Spike arched an eyebrow as he surveyed the chambers very plain and unremarkable features.

“So, the Cutie Map summoned us here to check out the place of Sweetie’s birth?” He asked. “I mean, that’s interesting, just… I was expecting something a little more… uh… fancy, I guess?”

Sweetie sighed then smiled at her dragon.

“Well, I don’t know if this really qualifies as the place of my birth. I wasn’t active at the time, not until Daddy switched me on once Rarity brought me to our home.” She explained.

“Indeed. I thought you were a statue at first, or possibly a cute doll someone had lost. You were just standing there, so small and pretty… though quite dusty too.” Rarity added with a hint of nostalgia. “I thought I should at least take you back and clean you up. Let your foalish beauty shine unmarred.”

Sweetie turned to her sister, and felt her face heat up again as Rarity gave her a loving smile. Overhead, Rainbow Dash did a quick circle of the chamber and furrowed her brow.

“Yeah, adorable as that is, it does bring up the question of who the heck just abandons a foal, robot or not, in a random cave in the middle of nowhere.” She said.

“Well, it seems that’s what we’re here to find out.” Twilight replied as she scanned the rock face with her horn. “To start with, Rarity, you said Sweetie was covered in dust when you found her? Like she’d been here for quite a while?”

Rarity nodded.

“It was quite dreadfully filthy. Indeed, it still is.” The unicorn scowled. “Not much has changed since I was last here.”

Twilight hummed as she walked around the circumference of the chamber, slowly running her scanning beam across the walls and the floor.

“So there’s no hoofprints, or signs that anypony else was here before or after you, could that mean...”

The alicorn closed her eyes and made her beam wider. She swept it up and down through the air, then from side to side.

“Ngh… wait… it’s faint, but...”

Twilight focused harder, gritting her teeth as she searched with her magic for something only she could apparently detect.

“So faint… so long ago… ugh...”

She finally shut off her horn and sat down.

“There’s a very small trace of magical residue… like from a spell. Only it’s been here so long and is so badly degraded it’s almost impossible for me to determine what kind...” The alicorn groaned while rubbing her head. “However, if we’re to run with the assumption that Rarity was the only one to have come here… yet Sweetie somehow ended up in this chamber before she found it… I wonder...”

Twilight looked to the robot, narrowing her eyes as an idea slowly took root.

“Sweetie, could you help conduct a quick test?” She asked while standing up again.

“Sure, what do you need?” Sweetie replied. Twilight gestured to the spot in the small pillar of light.

“Scan that area for a teleportation spell. Admittedly, this is jumping to a conclusion, but the evidence points towards that being the only means by which you could’ve ended up in this cave.” The alicorn explained.

Sweetie nodded and cast her own cone of light from her horn, slowly sweeping it across the center of the room. Her eyes slowly dilated as she picked up the same faint signature Twilight had, only with her machine abilities she was able to determine aspects about it the alicorn wasn’t able to purely with magic.

“I.... yeah… I think you’re right, Twilight. It’s slightly more concentrated here, just a little bit more than around the walls...” Sweetie replied.

“As I expected. Now the question is...” Twilight walked over to stand next to the robot. “What if we try to track it? Cast a reversal spell and see if it teleports us back to wherever its point of origin is?”

The alicorn took a deep breath and channeled the spell through her horn. A bubble of lavender bloomed and floated off from the tip, dancing down through the air to rest at the spot illuminated by the light overhead. It then began to grow in size, while on the floor around it, several other lights of varying colors began to flash into existence.

“Whoah… uh… okay, that’s something.” Spike said as the ball of Twilight’s magic slowly grew to encompass its brethren of illumination...

Whereupon it proceeded to pop like a balloon and went out, as did the light around it.

An awkward silence fell as the cave was returned to its dormant, darkened state.

“Er… well, it WAS something at least.” Spike added. “What happened?”

Twilight snorted in disappointment.

“I guess there wasn’t enough residue remaining for the spell to track. Darn.” She bleated. Sweetie furrowed her brow and stepped into the pillar of light.

“Well, hold on. If that was the means by which I ended up in here, then what if I try something...”

The cone of neon blue stretched out from her horn, sweeping across the floor again.

“I think I can match the frequency if I just concentrate...”

The robot bowed her head as her light rotated around her body. To the amazement of the other ponies, the other lights on the floor began to blink again.

-Yeah… ngh… it’s like… ngh… trying to remember a math equation… or no, a code!- The robot said, her voice slowly gaining a metallic edge. -Ngh… scanning… scanning… locking coordinates...-

The lights around Sweetie began to flash at a faster rate as she closed her eyes.

“Okay, now this is getting a little freaky.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Not to mention itchy.” Applejack rubbed at her neck in bother. “Mah fur’s standing on end… like when a lightnin’ storm is about to...”

CRRRAAAAAAACK!

The ponies jumped back as a jagged bolt of ionized lightning split across the cave, making it shudder with the ensuing thunderous report.

“Eeep! Yeah… like that.” Applejack concluded as Sweetie’s eyes snapped open.

-Locked. Destination confirmed. Ngh… initiating teleportation in 20 seconds. All personnel please step inside the designated area.- She stated mechanically. Another peal of lightning flashed through the cave as the now swirling rainbow of lights shot up from the floor to form a larger column around Sweetie.

“Uh… should we be doing something?” Spike asked in concern. Twilight shook off her momentary surprise and cleared her throat.

“That… depends. I guess if we want to follow Sweetie, we better do as she says. If you want to play it safe though, just stay where you are.” She said while stepping into the column. “Personally, I’m now curious as to what’s going to happen.”

Spike balled his fists and ran in after the alicorn.

“Well, I sure as heck ain’t staying behind if my marefriend is about to vanish to parts unknown!” He declared.

“I second that. Where my sister goes, I go!” Rarity joined her friends, and her mane promptly frizzed out from the growing electric charge around the cavern.

“Erm...in hindsight perhaps I should’ve brought my mane curlers and brush...” She lamented.

“Oh! Right here!”

Pinkie ran into the technicolor vortex next, pulling the requested grooming supplies out of her own mane.

“You ask, I deliver!”

Fluttershy bit her lip as the light show grew increasingly violent around her friends. On one hoof she didn’t quite feel the same motivation to throw herself into who knows what kind of danger...

...then again, on the other there was lightning now striking the ground all around her, and none inside the vortex where her friends were.

“Wait… I’m coming!” The pegasus flew into the storm.

Sweetie rotated her head left and right, as if tracking the number of other ponies she would be taking with her.

-Teleportation in 10 seconds. All personnel please step inside the designated area.- She repeated flatly.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.

“Well I didn’t have anything else planned today.” The blue pegasus intoned.

“So long as Ah get back in time to let the cows out to pasture...” The farm pony replied. “Eh, let’s see where we end up.”

They leaped into the cyclone of color, with the repeated lightning strikes closing in behind them.

-Teleportation in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1. All personnel brace for impact.- Sweetie stated as the storm engulfed everyone, and in a flash they vanished from the cave.

***

At an undefined point in time, in an undefined region of reality, Spike, Sweetie and their friends hit bottom. The immediate sensation was of being zapped by several million volts, enough to toss them into the air and let them crash back onto the ground again at high speeds.

As the resulting flash of light faded away, eight bodies groaned and pulled themselves up from their crash arrival, finding themselves in a much larger and far darker area.

“Oooogh… ow. Okay, so when you said brace for impact, that wasn’t a figure of speech.” Spike muttered as he got back to his feet and cracked his back. Sweetie’s lights flickered back into life as she shook her head.

“When I said… wait, I said what?” She asked, looking at her surroundings in shock. “Uh… what just happened? I… I think I had a momentary blackout, or something.”

Twilight activated her horn and cast its light into the darkness.

“I can only theorise that you must have activated some dormant sub-routine in your system trying to track the residue. Something that let you home in on the means by which you were sent to that cave from… well, here I guess. Wherever ‘here’ is.”

The alicorn whistled as her light fell on a wall of finely polished metal. She tracked upwards, finding it rose to a ceiling plated in the same manner, and a wall on the opposite side with the same flawlessly clean shine.

“Well, this is fascinating.” Twilight said with growing excitement as her light revealed some manner of high tech control console mounted on the far wall. “Seems we’re in some sort of highly advanced underground bunker, or possibly a lab… somewhere where… AIEEE!”

Everyone turned as the alicorn took several steps forward, and promptly dropped out of sight.

“Twilight!” Spike ran over as there came the sound of Twilight rolling down an unseen decline. The dragon promptly stopped as he felt his toe claws encounter the edge of a platform, and he beheld the body of his friend lying about a foot or so below where she’d been standing.

“Twilight, are you okay?”

The alicorn coughed and got back up.

“Uh, yeah. Fine. Should’ve watched my step, I guess.” She turned her light to see a short row of metal stairs leading up to the platform her friends were standing on.

“Oh… oooooh!” Twilight’s tone went from pained back to excited as she studied the platform, noticing it had a circle of lights mounted on its base that matched the colors which had manifested around everyone in the cave. She raised her horn and revealed a pair of curved pylons arching over the platform, both of which had thin plumes of smoke rising from them as if they’d just gotten fried by some manner of high voltage.

“So that’s it! This is indeed some sort of matter teleportation apparatus, that Sweetie was able to remotely activate!” She declared, to several confused looks.

“You can do that?” Spike asked his marefriend. She blinked and cocked her head.

“Uh… same question, Twilight, I can do that?” She asked as the alicorn turned to survey the rest of the darkened chamber. “I mean, well, evidently I can, just how?”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled like her namesake as she illuminated other bits of extremely advanced and alien looking technology all around her.

“I don’t know, but I bet we’ll find out if we do some exploring. Come on!”

She trotted away into the darkness. Sweetie switched on her night vision and felt a strange spark shoot through her systems as she beheld the room in much clearer detail. It held all the traits of a futuristic subterranean complex, though she could only guess at its purpose, given everything looked so foreign and advanced it was impossible to tell what anything did.

“So… this place is what? Where I was created? Where I was stored? Are we even still in Equestria? Heck are we even still in the present?” She asked with growing apprehension.

A warm hoof gently rested upon her shoulder.

“It’s where we’re going to finally get some answers, together.” Rarity said softly while brushing the frizzes out of her mane. “I know it’s a shock, believe me, we’re all feeling the same way. But it seems some power that be has decided since you’re letting everyone see the real you, then you should know everything there is to know about who you are.”

“Exactly, I understand you’re nervous, Sweetie, but please take heart that we’re here, and I’m here beside you for this unexpectedly monumental discovery.” Spike soothed, while taking his beloved robot’s hoof. “Now, let’s do as Twilight said, and explore this place together!”

Author's Note

So thought I should at least post a short snippet of what I've got done next, even if I'm still debating on the exact details of Sweetie's origins. I'm set on her being built elsewhere and sent to Equestria, but as to why, well I have at least three possibilities, and frankly I kind of like all of them.

At the same time, I'm also kinda curious what might happen if I just leave this here and let the readers form their own theories. Who knows, one of you might suggest something that changes my mind. :raritywink:

Read, enjoy, and please discuss!

Chapter 11

“Maintenance Bays 240-460… left. Cryo-storage cells 280-320… right. Data Archive Rooms 200 - 385… straight ahead. Crud, how big is this place?” Rainbow Dash commented as she read the directory signage printed at an intersection. “Hey girls, if we want to keep exploring, we might want to consider making camp somewhere soon. Getting the sense this isn’t so much a facility as it is a full blown city.”

The pegasus flew back into the massive assembly area where the rest of her friends were resting their hooves. It was just one of the numerous chambers they’d happened across in their search of the complex they ended up in after the Cutie Map had teleported them to the cave where Rarity had found Sweetie Belle many years ago. Sweetie had managed to locate and operate the means by which she’d first ended up in the cave, and now the ponies found themselves in what was definitely the true place of their robot companion’s creation. Each chamber they had come across provided further evidence of the aforementioned, containing the materials, parts, manufacturing equipment, and other resources needed to build a mechanical equine (among other similar machines) from scratch. The chamber in which they now stood was just one of the latest steps in the process, filled with conveyer belts and assembly stations where various copies of Sweetie’s body parts were in the process of being put together.

The robot unicorn looked particularly awed as she stared at an almost finished replica of herself, standing lifelessly near the end of the conveyors. It was missing its eyes and mane, revealing that the inside of its head had yet to be fitted with the necessary circuitry to give it life, but the structure of the muzzle, the tail design, and the shape of its legs were all unmistakably her.

“I’m getting the same sense. Which means we may want to turn back soon, before we stray too far from our means of getting home.” Twilight said as she studied a control console next to the conveyors on the other side of the room. “I’ll have to get some of the guards and scientists from Canterlot to come back here with me later so we can continue investigating. This could quite possibly top our discovery of the Floating Gardens of Ponylon last year!”

Fluttershy looked horrified upon hearing this.

“Oh no! Discord will be terribly disappointed to learn that. He’s been so proud and happy since being made the new caretaker of one of Equestria’s seven ancient wonders!” The pegasus worried. “I’ll have to break the news very softly to him when we next meet for tea.”

Twilight pressed her hoof to a faintly amber colored symbol, similar in shape to a pentagon, on the console. She encountered a smooth, glass like surface, but otherwise could produce no discernible results.

“Well… I wouldn’t be so sure just yet. Right now, it looks like this room is the same as the others. Nothing has power, and thus nothing is working.” She lamented. Beside her, Spike knocked on another black glass panel mounted on the wall. Given the lightning bolt printed above it, and the iconic ‘I’ and ‘O’ stamped on the top and bottom, he could deduce it had to be a light switch, or possibly a fuse box. However, much like all the technology around it, it had no means currently of performing either function.

“Shame, really. This would be a lot more more impressive if it wasn’t so dark and lifeless.”

He sighed and walked over to Sweetie.

“Still, I can’t deny it’s quite something to finally see where you came from.” He said with a smile, only to see Sweetie still gaping at her partially completed doppelganger. “Erm… I hope this isn’t too much of an identity crisis for you?”

Sweetie snorted and took a deep breath.

“Not really. Truthfully, I always had a inkling, somewhere in the back of my head, that I might not be the only one of… uh… me around.” She said as her head sunk. “I’m more frustrated that finally getting an answer to one of the biggest questions of my life only results in more questions.”

The other ponies turned to Sweetie as she began pacing the room.

“Okay, so this is where I was made… or built… manufactured… whatever! Fine, that much makes sense. Still leaves the issue of why… and how… and who.”

Rarity lowered her head in sympathy as her sister’s tone grew louder and more aggravated.

“Who built this place? What was the purpose? Where IS this place? WHEN is it? Why was I sent from here to Equestria???” The robot shouted, throwing her hooves up in the air.

A minute passed and then she awkwardly lowered herself down to all fours again.

“And why am I yelling when you’re all less than ten feet away from me?” She said in a far more embarrassed tone. Rarity walked over and wrapped a leg around her sister’s neck.

“That’s a perfectly natural reaction, Sweetie. Trust me, it’s a lot for all of us to take in.” The unicorn soothed. Twilight smiled as she joined her friends.

“And rest assured, I have every intention of getting answers to your questions. It’s clearly going to take a while, given the sheer size of this place, but now that we know it’s here, I’ll do whatever it takes to unravel the mystery.” She swore.

“Ooooh! OOoh! I just had a brilliant idea!” Pinkie Pie bounced in. “We could have a follow up party in here! Make it a ‘Sweetie’s Birth Place Commemoration’ celebration!”

The ponies watched their pink friend prance around the room, clicking her hooves together in excitement.

“I mean, just look at all this space! We could fit the entire population of Ponyville in here, with room to spare! Just need to move a few of these dusty contraptions, maybe put some glitter on these other robot parts to give the room more energy...”

“Uh… Pinkie” Twilight tried to interrupt as the mare began knocking various pieces of machinery off the conveyor belts.

“If I threw some colorful cloths down, these would make excellent buffet tables! We’ll need to paint the walls and add some nice, rich carpeting to break up the dull metal grey...”

“Pinkie...” Twilight said, raising her voice as her friend pulled paint cans and roller brushes out of her mane.

“Hmm, maybe some floor lighting to maintain the ambiance of this place. It is sort of like a sacred tomb, or a place of reverence… but should we maybe use purple lights so it doesn’t seem so dead in here? Or would pink work better, given...”

“PINKIE!” Twilight said, managing to hit the Royal Canterlot voice at just the right pitch to make everyone jump a good foot in the air from shock.

She took advantage of the momentary pause as everyone landed back on the ground to turn the light from her horn on Pinkie Pie, refill her lungs and speak in her normal, far more dulcet tones.

“While I appreciate your intent, could I ask you to please wait on remodeling this place as a party house? We don’t even know what half of the technology we’ve seen in here does, let alone if it’s safe to remove it from the premises. Let me round up some of my fellow researchers and a few of the royal engineers, we’ll spend a few weeks cataloguing everything and mapping this place out, THEN we can see about maybe holding a ceremony in here.”

Pinkie looked heartbroken.

“But… but this is a place of special significance! To Sweetie at least! We need to make everypony aware of how marvellous it is!” She argued, prompting Sweetie to place a hoof to her head and step in between her friends.

“In which case, perhaps I might say something?”

The robot flexed her neck and projected the cone of light from her horn.

“If I can apparently interact with and operate the teleporter that brought us here, maybe I can figure out how some of the other machines work. What’s more, I’ve already mapped out all the areas we happened across during our exploration. If you’ll let me stay here, spend another day or so just checking this place out, I might be able to get answers faster.”

Twilight’s ears perked as Sweetie scanned the assembly area, cocking her head from side to side as if trying to view what she could of the room from every angle.

“I am made from the same technology that was used to make this facility after all.” The robot unicorn added.

Twilight nodded softly.

“Point taken. I’m going to need another day or so anyway to inform Celestia what we found, and request a team.” She noted.

“And given how long we’ve been exploring this place, Ah’m bettin’ some ponies are gonna start to wonder what happened to us.” Applejack added. Pinkie’s eyes ballooned to three times their size and she yanked her pocket watch out from… wherever she had it stored.

“Oh sweet Celestia, forget a follow up party! I left all our guests by themselves at our current party! For the last four hours! I gotta get back to the castle now!”

The pink mare turned and galloped back towards the door on the opposite side of the assembly area like her tail was on fire.

“Pinkie, wait!” Twilight called out from behind as the mare rounded a corner of the hallway, and promptly crashed into something further ahead in the darkness. Wincing, the alicorn ran after her friend, casting the light from her horn on Pinkie’s prone body, lying under a Pinkie Pie shaped dent she’d made in the front of a strange looking six legged vehicle parked in the hallway.

“Pinkie… we came from that direction to get here.” Twilight said, pointing her hoof at another adjoining corridor. Shaking off her momentary daze, Pinkie stood up and giggled shamefully.

“Right… I… I knew that. Just...” The mare fumbled for words, then noticed the vehicle she’d accidently head butted. “Uh… I saw this and thought it would make an excellent new Party Mobile! I mean, look at it! It’s got plenty of room for carrying supplies, fits nicely into an enclosed space, and it even has my face on it!”

She smiled and gestured to the indentation her head had made in the vehicle’s hood. Twilight just rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Well, maybe if you can figure out how to make it run, I’ll see about taking it with us later.” She gestured for the pink mare to follow her. “Come on, it shouldn’t take me long to replicate the effects of that teleporter and return us to Ponyville.”

Pinkie looked to the vehicle, whipping out a cleaning cloth and wiping a spot where she’d smudged the front with her impact.

“I’ll be back for you!” She said, kissing one of the headlights then running back to join her friends.

“So, you’re going to be okay searching this place alone until I return with the research team?” Twilight asked Sweetie.

The unicorn nodded confidently.

“You said it yourself, nothing in this complex is apparently working. I doubt I’m going to run into anything dangerous.” Sweetie said, adding with a knowing smirk. “Also, I don’t think I’m going to be alone while I’m here.”

She looked to Spike, who could only shake his head and shrug.

“Hey, my marefriend stays, I stay. Worse case scenario, both of us have excellent night vision, and Sweetie can easily get us home if needed.” He said. Twilight still looked hesitant, but then reminded herself of the number of times both Spike and Sweetie had held their own in similar situations before.

“Okay. I’ll be back soon as I can.” She said, kissing Spike on the cheek. Beside her, Rarity walked over to hug Sweetie tenderly.

“And I still have that something I need to talk to you about. Let’s make it a spa date since… well, I dread to think of how your coat is going to look after a night in this dusty abode.” The older unicorn fretted. Sweetie fought back the sudden demand from her CPU for a groan.

“I’ll be fine, sis. Promise!” She replied.

Overhead, Rainbow Dash came in for landing.

“One thing you might find of interest: I noticed about half a mile down the hall on that side was a sign pointing to something called a ‘Main Computer Core’. Looked like quite a walk from here, but so long as you’re going to be hanging around.” The pegasus said. Sweetie’s eyes dilated excitedly.

“I think that is definitely worth investigating! Thank you, Rainbow!” She exclaimed, much to the pegasus’ amusement.

“Just stay safe you two. Awesome as this place may be, there’s a reason Daring Do exercises extreme caution when checking out mysterious locations.” Rainbow said, before perking her ears. “Actually, I wonder… would A.K. Yearling include this in one of the future books if I told her about it? I gotta write her a letter!”

The pegasus hurried after her friends back in the direction they’d come from, leaving Spike and Sweetie to finally have a moment to themselves in the darkened chamber.

“Well… while this wouldn’t be among my first choices for a place to have romantic night together… I suppose the fantastic scale and exotic nature do kind of make this place magical.” The dragon huffed, much to his marefriend’s amusement.

“Spike, so long as you’re with me, any place is magical. Thanks to Rainbow, however, I have to wonder if maybe we can make this place more than that.” Sweetie intoned as she turned and made for the corridor on the far side of the assembly area. “Come on, let’s go for a stroll.”

The two proceeded deeper into the darkness, finding themselves coming across multiple other chambers that shed just a little more light on the nature of the facility. Specifically, it was clearly intended to serve not just a manufacturing base for machines like Sweetie, but also an area of residence for… some manner of beings.

An hour or so into their walk, the dragon and robot came across what appeared to be cabins, similar to those found on a luxury cruise liner. Beds, desks, couches, bathrooms, and other fixtures to keep one very comfortably lodged greeted them as they explored the decently spacious living quarters… only, much like before, the discovery was offset by the question of why there was no one, save for them, around to make use of them.

“Huh… check this out!” Spike said as he stepped through another doorway and found himself in a similarly huge dining area. “This could match most of the restaurants in Canterlot for finery! Look at these place settings!”

He picked up a plate from one of the polished round metal tables.

“This is like… proper bone china! And these napkins!”

The dragon plucked one from the table and unfolded it.

“Actual silken cloth! Darn, whoever used these facilities clearly had the same fine taste as your sister.”

“More than you’d expect, it seems.” Sweetie said as she shone her light into a well stocked pantry area. Levitating one of the metal containers from the shelves, she peered intently at the label stamped on its lid.

“Spiced pate with cognac? Really?” She said while leaning in to make sure she wasn’t mis-reading the small font. The action caused her nose to bump against the container and the robot promptly jerked her head back. “EEK!”

“Sweetie?” Spike quickly ran over to his beloved machine. “What’s wrong?”

Shaking her head, Sweetie looked at the food container in shock.

“Nothing, just… this is freezing cold!”

Spike delicately took the container from Sweetie’s beam of light, finding it indeed was very chilly against his scales.

“Well yeah, it’s pate. You’re supposed to chill it for a few days so it can reach its full flavor.” He said, much to Sweetie’s dismay.

“Spike, given the state of everything else in this place, I’m pretty certain that’s been here for a bit longer than a few days… which begs the question of how is it still chilled?”

Spike’s wings tensed, and his face blushed as he picked up on the obvious problem. To be sure, he wet his finger and stuck it up in the air, finding the pantry itself was at the same modestly warm temperature as the dining area.

“Uhhh… well, that is a good question. Guess the only way to get an answer is to open it.” The dragon said sheepishly as he prodded the container and felt his claw catch on something that felt like a latch. He pushed on it and then nearly dropped the container as its lid popped open and a rush of razor cold air spilled out over his hands.

“EEEEE! Oooh, ack, should’ve brought some gloves!” The dragon said as he slid the lid off and beheld a surprisingly moist looking slab of pureed food nestled in a frame of ice covered metal bars.

“Huh… wow. Okay, so apparently this container works like the freezers at Sugar Cube Corner? Just in a more compact and portable form?” He commented. Sweetie looked at it and arched an eyebrow.

“And it’s still working after all this time?” She said. To her shock, Spike stuck his finger in the pate and scooped a generous amount into his mouth.

“Apparently so.” He said while studying the makeup of the spread. “Hmm, bit too much cognac for my tastes, could benefit from a few more onions, too...”

Sweeties mouth dropped as Spike tasted another sample.

“That said, the ginger does help add a bit of kick. Nice use of tomatoes to balance the flavor out, though I think...” The dragon continued to his beloved’s disbelief.

“Spike… you’re… you’re eating food that’s possibly several years… if not centuries old?” Sweetie exclaimed. Spike paused in his critique of the pate, letting the third helping on his finger slide off and plop back into the container.

“Well… my digestive system can handle gem stones, so I’m pretty sure it can handle this too. Not to mention, this doesn’t taste like it’s that old. Maybe a week or two, but it’s still edible.” He said, which only further bewildered Sweetie.

“So… these containers can keep food fresh for far longer than even magic can?” She said, before turning to cast her light into the pantry again. “And there’s enough of them in this one room alone to feed Ponyville’s entire population!”

Spike again halted his noshing, following his marefriend’s light and counting the number of other metal food containers.

“Yeah… that is strange… seriously, where ARE all the folk that were supposed to be using this place?” He asked. Sweetie shut off her light and glowered.

“And how does all this tie to me… okay, now I gotta try and get some answers!”

The robot turned and centered her gaze on another directory list by the dining area door, detailing what lay around it and in which directions.

“Come on, Spike! We’re finding that Main Computer Core!”

She galloped out into the darkened hallways, leaving Spike to swallow what was in his mouth and look down at the remainder of the pate.

After a moment, he decided to take it with him. There was hardly any sense in letting it go to waste.

***

“Ahh, well this is… brighter?” Spike intoned an hour or so later as the two stepped into a dimly lit chamber the size of a stadium. “So why are the lights on in here, if the rest of this place apparently has no power?”

Sweetie trotted over to what could best be described as an ornamental octagonal monolith, rising a good 30 feet up from the center of the room. A very artistic circuit pattern was etched onto each of its eight flawlessly smooth faces, a fine decorative testament to the creative power of whatever mind, or minds, built it along with the rest of the facility.

“Give me a second… and I may be able to explain that.” She said while casting the cone of light from her horn onto the monolith. She noted the circuit patterns seem to react to her scan, briefly flaring with the same neon blue hue before going dark again.

“Incredible… it’s like… whispers… echoes of so many voices...” The robot unicorn closed her eyes and continued scanning the room. “Everywhere… so many voices everywhere around us...”

Spike cocked his head as Sweetie slowly walked around the monolith as if in a trance.

“Voices?” He said while cupping a hand to where his ear hole was. “Uhhh… Sweetie… I can’t hear anything.”

The robot shook her head.

“Not like that… just… uh… how can I describe it? It’s like records, archives… files upon files of information all stored in here… waiting… sleeping...”

Sweeties eyes snapped open as she sharply took in a huge breath of air.

“No wait… not just sleeping… standing by!”

Spike arched his eyebrow as his marefriend looked around the room.

“This facility isn’t without power, it’s in standby mode! Kind of like what happens when I sleep. Everything except my most essential systems shutdown to minimize power expenditure… until I awaken again!”

Spike blinked and nodded slowly as he helped himself to more pate.

“So… this place… you’re saying it’s asleep?”

Sweetie nodded as she frantically looked around the room again.

“Basically yes! Just… it’s been this way for eons… like what I was picking up were dreams… uh… sort of… from countless years ago!”

Spike felt a momentary urge to ask if any of those dreams were of electric sheep. He then thought better of it as his marefriend centered her gaze on a long console under a giant bank of what looked like screens.

“Eons in standby mode… no one to wake it up… no one besides us in this entire complex… Celestia, what happened here???” Sweetie asked frantically as she spread her light across the various controls. A few of them lit up, but nothing else happened. Snorting in mild irritation, Sweetie raised a hoof to the console, only to pause as she realised there was another problem.

“Ugh. Uh, Spike, could you literally give me a hand here? I think this interface was designed exclusively for folk with fingers.”

Spike raised his eyebrow again as he walked over to join his beloved.

“Really? I mean, okay, that tells us something, just… why then would they dedicate so much of this place to building machines that only have hooves?” He asked. Sweetie could only shrug as she continued to scan the console.

“Do as I say, and maybe we’ll find out.” She replied. “Okay, to your left there should be a large green hexagon that just lit up. Push it down into its socket.”

Spike looked in the stated direction and blinked as he beheld the aforementioned geometric shape, hovering slightly above the console. It reminded him of the light projections Twilight often made with her magic. He reached over and earned himself another shock when the projection felt amazingly solid against his scales, allowing him to move it into the receptacle below.

Another section of the console lit up, as did several of the screens.

“Okay, now on that panel that started blinking, I need you to enter the following sequence of characters.” Sweetie instructed.

Spike looked at the aforementioned console and noticed a field of small tile like projections, each far too small for his mare to manipulate, and each of which had some bizarre rune like symbol stamped on them.

“Okay, easy enough. Though… if I may just ask… how do you know this?”

Sweetie looked up at the screens, reading the text scrolling across them.

“It’s telling me. I mean… it’s like when I somehow operated the teleporter… I’m just hearing the instructions in my head all of a sudden.” She said. Spike gave her a concerned look, but Sweetie just cleared her throat and began pointing at the tiles.

“First press the one that looks like a capital R, but with four legs. Next the one that looks sort of like an hourglass. Then that one that’s like a fish with a droopy tail...”

Spike typed each character, looking up and noting how they each appeared on the bottom of the screens.

“Right, now the one that’s like the infinity symbol with a line through it… okay, now press the tile that’s shaped like a backwards L.”

Spike did so, and a flurry of additional text streamed upwards across the screens as more of the console lit up.

“Okay, next, if you could follow me over to this section on the far end.”

Sweetie trotted over to what looked like a multicolored mosaic of basic shapes. It reminded Spike of the puzzle game Button Mash used to love that involved stacking oddly shaped blocks together so they all disappeared.

“I need you to press this one and this one at the same time...” Sweetie instructed. Spike did so, and the screens changed to show what looked like a royal crest, or possibly a logo. It consisted of a golden arch decorated with six wings on either side, elegantly curving around a field of stars. More of the runes flashed into existence underneath.

“Great. Now, I need you to press that one, that one, that one that looks like a stretched out plus sign… and then press the first two at the same time again.” Sweetie said in a slightly nervous voice. “That should do it.”

Spike nodded slowly as he tapped on the respective shapes.

“Sure, just… what exactly am I doing?” He asked while pressing the first two shapes simultaneously. Sweetie Belle took a sharp swallow.

“Providing a long overdue wake up call to...”

The room suddenly exploded in light. Spike stumbled back from the console, covering his eyes as his vision became a mess of white sparks. Around him, he heard a symphony of hums, beeps and pulsating timbres as the chamber stirred from its slumber.

“Uh… to that. Hee hee… oh dear.”

Sweetie ran over to her gentledrake as he frantically rubbed his eyes, trying to dash the sparks away.

“Oh geez, I am so sorry, Spike! I swear I thought I’d have another moment to warn you that was about to happen!’ She said sheepishly as the dragon blinked and slowly lowered his hands.

“It’s… it’s fine… heh… ugh… no worse than how Twilight is when I try rousing her for one of her early morning addresses.” He groaned as the now brightly illuminated room slowly came back into focus. “Okay… so at least now we’re not having to wander this place in the pitch dark. What next?”

Sweetie turned to the monolith in the center of the room. The circuit patterns on its faces were now dancing in a grand ballet of light, countless lines of neon rushing across and around each other like the traffic in the streets of Manehattan. A pillar of light in the same shade of neon blue rose from the summit of the monolith, casting itself high into the seemingly infinite heavens of the chamber.

“Next we say hello, I guess… and hope this isn’t going to be like Twilight is before her morning cup of coffee.” The robot mare said in a choked voice as several of the screens switched to show an image of her and Spike standing in front of the monolith.

-Good morning personnel, this is Artemis.-

The voice that echoed across the room was soft, feminine, and yet distinctly robotic in nature.

-Diagnostic reports confirm I am completely operational and all my circuits are functioning perfectly.-

The image on the screens slowly zoomed in on Spike and Sweetie.

-May I ask that you please identify yourselves?-

Author's Note

Okay, finally finished another one of these off. Ehhh, so now I'm uploading at the rate of one story per month because work and family (and other non MLP related projects) take that much of my time. Heh, go figure.

Well at least I've gotten to the point where my real challenge begins. Sweetie has at last met her true mother and is about to learn the truth behind who she is and why she was on Equestria. Thank you to everyone who pitched in with their ideas on that. While I may not be able to use all of them, I've planned out a way for most of them to feature so here's hoping I can present that soon.

And for those who might be drawing some new theories from this chapter, no Artemis did not kill everyone in the facility. Sorry but the trope of machines being outright evil shall not feature in this series. Or indeed any of my series if I can help it.

I can post a blog discussing why if anyone is curious.

Chapter 12

“Artemis? Uh, well, hello! I guess?” Spike awkwardly greeted the shimmering monolith as the screens next to it closed in on him. “My name is Spike, Number One assistant to her royal highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle… of Equestria?”

Spike’s normal introduction wavered slightly as the screens profiled him, typing out his full name as he dictated it. For a moment, the dragon looked at his visage with the very wordy moniker next to it. He wondered if maybe he could pump it up some more with a few of the other titles he’d earned over the years.

“And my name is Sweetie Belle… uh… though, you may have another name for me?” Sweetie said as half the screens switched to show her. The monolith profiled her, and made her blink as two names were added next to her image: one was what she’d been called by all her life… the other was something far different.

-Identity confirmed. You are LTRU-706F6E79, originally dispatched to variation #64 of Equestria.- The monolith replied cheerfully, to a pair of weirded out faces.

“LTR… you… wha?” Spike said, raising an eyebrow.

-Long Term Reconnaissance Unit, a series I was instructed to design and construct, then dispatch to every known version of the realm commonly known as ‘Equestria’.- Artemis explained, to the same expressions as before. -Your reactions indicate that ‘Sweetie Belle’ has now become your preferred moniker, though.-

“Yeah… it… well, it rolls off the tongue a little more easily.” Sweetie said while staring up at the tower of glowing metal. “Though, wait… you’re saying you’re the one that… made me?”

I am the administrator of this facility. Directive #2 of my duties is the research and manufacturing of other machine entities, including units such as yourself, designed for exploration of other worlds.- Artemis intoned.

Silence held in the room as the impact of this settled on the two occupants.

“Okay, so… in other words, you’re her actual mother?” Spike said, before realizing the carelessness of the question. “Or, does Cookie Crumbles still hold that title for you, Sweetie?” He said to his marefriend.

-Cookie Crumbles?- Artemis asked.

“Yeah, she’s uh… erm.... wow, how do I put this? She’s the mother of Rarity, Sweetie’s big sister… only… well, they aren’t technically siblings… Rarity found Sweetie in a cave… so Cookie isn’t technically her mom… but uh...” Spike found himself tripping over his words as he realized the sheer bizarreness of trying to explain his beloved’s origins and subsequent family dynamic.

Fortunately, Sweetie was kind enough to raise a hoof to signal that she would take it from there and spare her gentledrake any further embarrassment.

“Let’s just say we have a lot to tell you, and a lot of questions you can hopefully answer.”

-Indeed. Curiously, records indicate you are the first unit to return from your assigned world of operation… in which case, may I welcome you back, and apologize for this.-

A pillar of light suddenly encompassed Sweetie, causing her to freeze, then start violently shaking like she was having a seizure. Spike moved to help his beloved, only to stop as he caught sight of the screens behind Sweetie and noticed a progress bar filling up under the words ‘SYNCHRONIZING UNIT DATA...’

Upon filling completely, the bar vanished, and the words changed to ‘SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE’. The light pillar promptly vanished, releasing Sweetie from its hold.

-Thank you. This will at least inform me of what you have experienced and recorded during your time on variation world #64.- Artemis said as Sweetie picked herself up off the floor.

-Sure, just… ugh.- Sweetie groaned, in her own version of the robotic metallic pitch. -Ugh, I am never going to get used to that.-

Spike knelt beside her to help her back to her hooves.

“Are you okay at least?” He asked. Sweetie shook her head and nodded.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. It’s just unsettling how easily my mind can be remotely accessed like that.” She groaned, switching back to her normal voice.

-Rest assured, it will not be done without advanced warning. At least not by me.- Artemis soothed as images from the more significant moments of Sweetie’s life flashed across the screens. -Perhaps I may make amends by answering some of your questions?-

Dragon and unicorn looked up at the monolith with renewed interest.

“Yes please. And if there’s any tea in this place, you may want to get it ready. We’re going to have quite a talk.” Spike said.

***

-Thus after cataloguing so many different versions of a single realm of existence, I was instructed to seed each one with a long term reconnaissance unit. These units were to spend multiple years of their realm’s local time observing and interacting with the populace. To help us understand how each variation had come to differ from its parallel counterparts.- Artemis concluded some time later.

Spike looked to the screens, each of which was displaying an image of him and his friends, though with each one there were notable differences. In some versions he and the girls all walked on two feet, with hands on their forelimbs instead of hooves. In others he was a she, and Twilight and co likewise had their genders swapped. In one he was the only pony pictured, and all his friends were dragons instead.

“So, you’re saying that across the infinity that is reality, there’s other alternate-Equestrias? The same place we live in, but also different in some way?” He asked while sipping his steaming cup. After the storeroom full of pate, the dragon had only been half kidding when he mentioned tea. It had still been a considerable shock when Artemis had brought in a freshly brewed pot of the jasmine blend he and Twilight both liked, apparently synthesized purely from their telling Sweetie Belle of the flowers used to make it and how they were prepared.

-Yes. It was hypothesized that this phenomenon may not be limited only to Equestria, however, Equestria was the first example discovered.- Artemis replied. Sweetie Belle snorted in disbelief.

“Okay, so you made me to basically explore and learn about my version of Equestria as I saw fit. Fair enough, but why was I sent there as the equivalent of a foal?” She asked.

-Initial reconnaissance indicated that significant individuals of every populace exhibited a heightened awareness of anomalies.- Artemis continued as the screens changed to show multiple versions of Celestia, Luna, Starlight, Twilight and others. - The decision for me to design units that would grow and age normally was twofold: the chance of them being detected was minimized, and each unit, it was believed, would act as an apt case study of how the differing environments had thus shaped the personas of their inhabitants.-

Sweetie nodded slowly.

“Is that also why I was programmed as a blank slate? I mean, as in having no idea who I was or why I was on… uh… my version of Equestria?” She asked.

-Yes.- Artemis replied softly, much to the robot’s confusion.

“So… why was I then also found in a deactivated state? According to Rarity, I spent who knows how long in that cave just collecting dust until she found me and Dad… I mean Hondo Flanks… the stallion I’ve called Dad… nrggghh… no!”

Spike jumped as his marefriend slammed her hoof down while raising her voice.

“Hondo Flanks is my dad, just as Cookie Crumbles is my mom and Rarity is my sister! They took me in as one of their own. Cared for me. Raised me. They deserve to be called my family!” She declared. Spike tactfully set down his teacup and pointed to the monolith with equal tact.

“But, Artemis is the one who technically made you.” He intoned. Sweetie nodded in frustration.

“I know… and I mean… ugh… what DOES that make you?” The robot demanded, staring at the summit of the glowing structure.

-I am whatever you deem me to be. The life and choices you have made since activation are your own. If you have formed a familial bond with others, that only confirms the intent behind your creation was successful.- Artemis replied with neither a trace of offense or lament. Unfortunately, her acceptance of Sweetie identifying with others only seemed to further trouble the robot.

“Yeah, but… I mean… should I see you as my mom… or would that hurt Mom… I mean Cook-... no, I mean Mom… .just...” Sweetie stammered and fizzled, looking like she was on the verge of short-circuiting… or possibly giving herself a headache.

“Uh… hey, let’s try looking at this from a different perspective.” Spike cut in. “You know how some mares get pregnant before they’re ready to care for a foal, right? So they put them up for adoption, and another mare takes the foal in? Becomes their mother and takes care of them?”

Sweetie nodded, even though her expression indicated she had no idea where Spike was going with this.

“Well, sometimes that foal, after growing older that is, wants to find their biological mother. Twilight and I have to deal with multiple cases of ponies who were left at the Ponyville orphanage and now want to know who the mare who gave birth to them was and why they gave them up.” The dragon replied.

Sweetie looked at Artemis’ computer core, then back at her coltfriend with an even more weirded out expression.

“You’re saying this… is sort of the same thing?”

Spike shrugged. “Well, it shows one can have more than one mom. Artemis is the mom who made you, Cookie Crumbles is the mom who took care of you.” Spike smiled awkwardly. “At least, if you discount the fact that Artemis didn’t make you in the way mares and stallions usually make foals… no wait, that’s not relevant at all to my point!” Spike exhaled several wisps of green flame as he shook his head violently. “Nrrrgh! Look, if you’re open to it, Artemis and Cookie can both be your mother! That’s what I’m trying to say.” He finally stated.

Sweetie blinked in astonishment, while Artemis emitted a melodious humming sound.

-His logic is quite solid. A fine choice in a special somepony… or do you prefer to think of him as your special somedragon?- The AI queried.

Sweetie’s eyes half-lidded as her previous anxiety vanished upon processing Spike’s commentary.

“Right now, I just think of him as the saving grace that’s solved so many problems for me and my friends. This being one such example.” The unicorn smiled as she hugged Spike. “Okay fine, so Artemis and Cookie are both my mom. I just hope you won’t take offense if I hold off on inviting the former to any family reunions just yet.”

Spike snickered and shook his head.

“I’d say we should focus more on what to tell Twilight once she gets back here… assuming… wait.”

He turned to Artemis.

“On that, we didn’t come here alone. Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack came with us. They just left before Sweetie found you and helped me turn you back on.”

Spike checked the time on one of the screens.

“But Twilight’s probably gonna be back here with several of her fellow scientists and researchers in just a few hours, so… uh… is it okay that she’s going to have a lot more questions to ask you?”

Artemis emitted a gentle buzzing noise. Spike noted it sounded similar to a ‘meh’ type of audible shrug.

-It was anticipated that any returning units may bring others from their version of Equestria. Provided they present no danger to the well being of this facility, I am prepared to relay whatever information they may require.-

***

“Whatever information huh? She wasn’t kidding.” Spike commented. It was many more hours later. Twilight had returned as expected and reacted as expected upon being told what her assistant and his beloved robot had found in the interim.

“You’re sure you don’t want to grab lunch or something, Sweetie? I don’t think Twi and Artemis are going to be wrapping up their little chat any time soon.” The dragon sighed as Twilight gestured for another roll of parchment. Around her lay a veritable fort of scrolls completely filled with her notes from talking with the computer, and as a scribe entered the chamber pulling a cart full of fresh parchment, it was clear the alicorn still had a ways to go in documenting this new find.

“If you want to, sure. Just… this is pretty amusing to watch.” Sweetie snickered as Artemis mentioned something about her processing speed, and Twilight’s eyes sparkled like her namesake as she scribbled another litany of notes without even looking at them.

“It kind of reminds me how you used to behave around my sister… and then me once we started getting more serious.” Sweetie grinned. Spike raised an eyebrow… and his face slowly contorted as he studied Twilight’s body language and found that, yes it was similar to how he behaved when he first felt the pangs of affection for another soul.

“Dear Celestia… you mean… well, I suppose it would figure, given Twilight’s as smart as a computer and does love her gadgets… just… her and a machine… it’s like...”

Spike looked at his beloved robot, seeing her smile turn downright smug as he made the connection.

“Hoo boy, and just when the gossip around Ponyville was starting to die down.” The dragon groaned as Twilight continued to scribble.

“So, like, one thing I gotta know for the sake of several of my subjects… the race who made you, and ordered you to build this place and make robots in the likeness of ponies… what were they like?” The alicorn asked while biting the edge of her scroll in anticipation.

-I can best describe them as a civilization as advanced in intellect as they were in technological innovation. Their primary desire was to learn whatever they could about the universe around them, thus the discovery of your world and the multiple parallel versions of it were of exceptional interest.- Artemis replied softly. Twilight copied her statement verbatim and then took a deep breath.

“Yes but, what were they like physically? Were they… humans? Or… humanoid at least?” She asked.

There was a pause as the lines of energy ebbed and flowed across the circuit patterns decorating Artemis’ core.

-Physically, they were bipedal. Similar to Spike, but lacking the scales and wings. A few of them did match his color tone, though.- The computer mused as she projected an image on the screens of… well… it was both similar to what the others in the room were expecting, and yet, not quite the same.

“Right, so… that’s a human?” Spike said as he looked up at the tall, strangely attired biped.

Twilight cocked her head as she stared at the image.

“Uh… I think so. It has the same anatomy as what Lyra described… two hands, two feet, one head, two eyes...”

Twilight scratched her head.

“But… the color of the skin… Lyra said humans were more of a tan complexion, or various shades of brown… not purple, like what that is...”

-They came in other colors, too.- Artemis intoned, changing the image to other beings of various hues, similar to the variety that ponies came in. Unfortunately, this just made Twilight even more confused.

“Yes, but… the nose should be more pronounced… and why do none of them have hair? Also the eyes… well, to be fair, those eyes are very pretty with the way they glow like stars… but… humans are supposed to have more muted colors, with no glow at all.”

Twilight quickly levitated one of her other scrolls over, causing an entire wall of her make-shift fort to collapse and scatter paper everywhere.

“What about all those muscles? Were humans that well built?” Spike queried as he flexed his arm and compared his own defined and chiseled physique to that of the tall and very powerful looking being on the screens.

“Uh, some were… again, it’s like almost exactly what Lyra described… and Celestia told me about… but… the facial features, the clothing… it’s not quite the same.”

Twilight finally put down her scroll and snorted in deep thought.

“Hmmm, well, it’s entirely possible both of the aforementioned only had partial details to impart, so the inconsistencies were just things none of us knew about, meaning my information is both supported and challenged… as scientific theories often are… damn, now I’m really interested!”

Twilight looked up at Artemis with the same starry eyed gaze again.

“Are any of your creators here? Can I meet them?” She asked.

Again there was a pause… one that seemed to weigh the air with tension, as if Artemis suddenly was stuck on how to respond.

-My final orders from those who made me are… troubling. I was to seed every recorded version of Equestria, then continue to manufacture and store reserve units, and prepare this facility for when my creators returned...-

The computer lapsed into silence for another beat.

-My operating records, however, indicate that around 100 years after my creators departed, I was remotely ordered to enter standby mode, thus powering down this entire facility, and putting it to sleep along with myself. The next record is when Sweetie Belle and Spike reactivated me.-

Silence again settled upon the chamber, the tension now having been overridden by disbelief.

“So… does that mean they’re here? Or… actually, let me ask it a different way.” Spike piped up. “Who else besides us do you detect in this complex?”

Artemis emitted several soft beeps.

-50 legions of reserve units are standing by in cryo-storage. I can have another 10 legions assembled, activated and ready upon receiving consent to restart the manufacturing facilities.- The computer reported, much to the dismay of its listeners.

“And… that’s it?” Sweetie asked.

-Yes. There are no other records of anyone entering this complex upon my completion of it.- Artemis responded in a slightly more troubled tone. Twilight shared the sentiment.

“So, your creators made you, had you create this… this incredible city sized wonder, and just left you alone?” She said.

-So it appears. I can offer no further information at present.- Artemis replied.

Another silence, one even heavier than that before it, settled.

“Right, so… in true form, getting answers to one set of questions just leads to more that apparently have no answers.” Spike sighed while massaging his eyes. “Well, it’s not like we haven’t had other adventures turn out the same way.”

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow.

“But… all those voices… I heard so many… uh… presences, I guess, echoing through your core when I scanned it...” She said.

-Yes. I have several centuries worth of recordings from my security cameras when my creators were surveying my progress in constructing this facility, as well as the programming for every other unit built here.- Artemis explained. -What you were most likely hearing, if I may use your analogy of ‘family’ for a moment, were your siblings....or possibly your children.-

The screens switched to a camera feed of a room in which hundreds of robot ponies stood in perfectly organised lines. Sweetie’s jaw dropped as the feed zoomed in to show how several shared her mane and features as they were now, while others were to look more like generic equines.

-I was ordered to recycle the LTRU template for the first 20 legions, varying up the age brackets as needed. After that, my creators told me to use my own initiative in building the rest. They said they were interested to see how creative I could be.-

Artemis switched the feed to show a line of baby foals, likewise standing stock still like lifeless dolls in their perfect rows. Another room showing several kid sized versions of Sweetie Belle, alongside more generic pony designs.

“Yeah, cause that’s not creepy at all...” Spike cringed as he stared at the immense army of robots. “Did your creators say why they needed so many?”

Again that buzzing sort of audible shrug came from Artemis’ core.

-Given how many variations of Equestria were known to exist, it was hypothesized that there could be an infinite number of parallel worlds. I can only hypothesize my creators wanted me to plan accordingly.-

Spike nodded slowly and cautiously as he folded his arms and watched the camera feed pan over copy after copy of his girlfriend.

“Still sure you’re not having an identity crisis from this?” He asked Sweetie.

The robot unicorn blinked in dumb silence several times, before finally reaching for her jaw and pushing it shut.

“Let me ask you this, Spike: does the fact that so many of those other robots look like me mean they possibly could be me?” She asked.

Spike twisted his features in thought as he looked from his marefriend to the other copies.

“I… um… I doubt it. I mean, they haven’t been through your life, haven’t been shaped by your experiences… doubt if we turned one of them on right now it’d resemble you in anyway except your looks.”

Sweetie’s shoulders relaxed as she smiled.

“Then no. I’m pretty confident in who I am.” She said.

-As you should be. The time you’ve spent on Equestria #64 and how it has molded your character both attest to a resounding success of this project.- Artemis continued, adding in a slightly more jovial tone. -Not bad considering you were one of the prototypes.-

Sweetie’s smile promptly vanished.

“Excuse me?” She said, turning to the steel monolith.

-While you were eventually assigned to one of the more recently discovered versions of Equestria, you are in fact one of the first 10 prototypes I designed and built.- The computer replied as the screen switched to a blank design schematic. -Initially, my orders were simply to find the most practical template for a unit that could study Equestria without being detected. Naturally, this could not be done without some experimentation, more so given ponies alone have three unique variations.-

The schematic generated a generic earth pony design.

-Earth ponies were deemed too limiting as the unit would not be able to research or exhibit a great number of the supernatural abilities you commonly call ‘magic’.-

The earth pony was stamped with a giant red X and then replaced with a pegasus.

-Pegasi were deemed impractical given the ornithopteral requirements to enable a unit to fly.-

The pegasus got the X too.

“So that only left unicorns.” Twilight said as her eyes brightened with realization.

Sweetie nodded, then let out a chuffed snort.

“So I was what? A test model?” She asked.

-Indeed. Despite having a practical foundation to build from, I still had many other challenges to overcome in designing the optimum reconnaissance unit. You had to be able to use magic, or at least replicate the effects of magic, you needed to be able to gain an occupation designation symbol at the appropriate time...-

Spike furrowed his brow.

“An occu-what?” He asked.

“I think she means a cutie mark.” Twilight giggled.

-Yes, that is your more common term for it. What’s more, your body had to be able to do all this flawlessly, in addition to performing the normal biological functions. As your recordings indicate, I wasn’t able to work out all the bugs before I was ordered to dispatch you.- Artemis continued.

Sweetie looked at her back. Her eyes and flank lights glowed in shameful mirth.

“So is that why I have these stupid blasters that keep popping out whenever is least appropriate?” She asked.

-Indeed. While I designed you as best as I could, I learned there is much in the process of creating life that cannot be anticipated.- Artemis responded, before emitting a short chirp. -I could, however, attempt to repair that glitch in your system, as well as generate a new epidermal covering for you… with your consent that is.-

Sweetie blinked.

“My consent?” She asked.

-Yes. As has been stated by Spike, you are a unique entity that has been shaped by your experiences on Equestria #64. My directives indicated that interfering with the process is… unwise. It would be a violation of those directives if I was to… change you from what you are now.- Artemis replied, much to Sweetie and Spike’s confusion.

“But you made her, right? So if she had something wrong with her, you could fix that, right?” The dragon spoke up.

-Only if she desired me to do so.- The computer replied.

Another pause fell on the chamber. This time it was one filled with awe.

“You were programmed with that much insistence on the morals and choices of the individual?” Twilight said.

-My creators believed I would not be able to build convincing simulacrums of your kind if I was unable to comprehend the core aspects that define what makes you unique.- Artemis replied as the screens switched to show a close up feed of Twilight, staring at the computer core with an expression that could’ve been enthralled… and could also have been enamoured.

Whichever it was, it made Spike slap both hands over his mouth to cover his giggles.

“Celestia, you really did call it, Sweetie.” The dragon whispered. His marefriend just gave a bashful shrug.

“Well, now I know where I get it from.” She said before letting out a long exhale. “That said, I think you’ve got the right idea about lunch. This is a lot for me to take in, and even if I don’t actually need food, a full belly would make it easier for me to process everything.”

Sweetie quietly walked over to Twilight.

“Do you still need us here? Or can Spike and I head back to Ponyville now?”

Twilight slowly came out of her stare like a therapy patient slowly waking up from the effects of hypnosis.

“Uh… oh! Uh sure, Sweetie! Actually...”

Twilight conjured up a clock and blinked.

“I should probably join you. I gotta tell Celestia about this! Get her here for proper diplomatic introductions and everything!”

The alicorn looked around the room.

“Probably will have to bring Pinkie back too, so she can make it a proper ceremony… and also see if I can safely transport some reporters at the same time… maybe a film crew too, to document this facility… but that’ll have to be after I get the scribes back to archive all of our findings here...”

Twilight started to look panicked.

“Oooh, I’m really going to have to plan this out properly. I’ve never had to teleport a huge number of ponies back and forth, across reality… better ask Fluttershy and Nurse Red to tag along in case something goes wrong… wait, maybe Flutters could ask Discord to help… though he might still be peeved I forgot to invite him to the last Grand Galloping Gala, so...”

-Perhaps I might suggest an alternative?- Artemis cut in as the screens changed to show another robot pony. This one had a very distinct profile… much more voluptuous in the barrel region, with a long, neon blue toned mane, an ice white coat, elegantly slender and pretty legs, a well proportioned plump flank, and a tail with plenty of length and healthy volume.

-One of my creators asked me at one point what I saw as the ideal template if I myself were a pony. While they may not have intended for me to take the question literally, I designed and built this particular custom model in response. It only requires me to install a copy of myself onto it and I will be able to return to Equestria #64 with you.-

Twilight stared at the robotic mare, her lips quivering as a trickle of drool seeped through.

“C-Could you? Please?” She said, her eyes sparkling with an emotion of which there was no question now.

Spike and Sweetie looked at each other, not sure whether to be amused, enthralled, or very disturbed.

“We may have started something from which there’s no going back here.” Spike intoned, feeling his nerves settle slightly as his marefriend broke down in giggles.

“In which case, you may want to clear out your schedule… as I may have to do the same.” Sweetie said as she looked at how Twilight’s wings were struggling not to burst open as she kept staring at Artemis sculpture like body.

“Looks like we’re going to have to ease Equestria into a very interesting new age.”

Author's Note

Annnd finally we come to the end of this little series...even if it's only a temporary finale.

Yeah I think I'm pretty much done with this series for two reasons:

Assuming I continue the plot in another series it won't focus as intently on Spike and Sweetie. I want to explore a few of the other relationships I set up in the previous chapters, as well as try out a few new ones hinted at by this chapter. Sweetie and Spike will still be integral to the plot but a few other members of the MLP cast will take center stage at one point or another to help set out how this new revelation will affect Equestria.

I really, REALLY need to get back to focusing exclusively on what I guess is my other big contribution to this site and the fandom. It's bugging me how Friendship is Scaleless has kept slipping, specially since I now have an ending planned for that series too. So, with my audience's permission, I'd like to advance that a bit before I return to this world.

Now with that said, we have a lot to talk about given what I've set up. According to feedback from the last chapter not many folk were keen on there being humans possibly in this series, even though I unfortunately indicated they might be involved back in Chapter 2. I tried to work around that by introducing the species that created Artemis, and thus the complex and the legions of robot ponies were actually humanoids...possibly humans who've evolved a few new traits after a few hundred more years, or possibly an alien race who just happened to resemble humans save for a few glaring differences.

Either way, I set this up so if people feel that was a cop out, well, I can certainly make it so they never actually feature in the next story arc. Alternately I can give them a healthy nod without having the plot deviate from the central 'ponies and robots' theme.

On that, I also throw it open to my audience if they want more robots to feature or if they feel Artemis x Twilight, and Sweetie x Spike are enough. Frankly I'd love to try and fold a few themes that were going to feature in 'Wish Weaver' into this, but if folk don't want more robots, I can work with that too.

What's more...given I've now introduced the idea of 'parallel Equestrias' into this series...anyone want a cameo? I'm not going to play the idea of alternate Equestrias up too much, but so long as its there, I can throw the occasional mention of another 'alt-world' that everyone is fond of.

Stage is yours, readers. Tell me what you think! *bows and steps backstage for a much needed breather*