'Any pony who sees this laboratory may wonder how it got this way. The low lighting. The constant sounds of machinery. The strange incoherent mumbling of voices that sound oh-so similar. Although, there is no pony to wonder. No one has never been allowed in. My research started many moons ago. My friends still wonder what I have been up to all this time. It's been almost longer than I can remember since any of us had an actual conversation.
Almost every hour of my day is spent in the lab, constantly working. I am constantly trying to perfect my expert creation. Project 001SB. Sweetie Bot. I have nicknamed the small robot 'Sweetie Belle.' It will be an experiment to figure out two different things: The possible troubles of youth as well as, more importantly, if a pony would be able to figure out that it is an artificial being. If/when it discovers its true form, it has been made to self-destruct. I feel that this could help us better understand robotics. Today is the first day the bot will be sent out into the world, to school. I can only hope this will go well. First, all I have to do is change a few ponies memories and it'll all work out just fine for me...' After completing the entry in her notebook, she quickly put it away in her desk drawer.
Moons Later: Sweetie Bot.
Sweetie Belle happily arrived at the clubhouse, ready to see her best friends, The Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three of them had been searching for their special talents for a while now, and all of them were quite eager. When she arrived, got to the door, she used her magic to open it and pranced in happily, her limbs squeaking slightly as she went. She was the last to arrive.
"Hi! Hi!" She squeaked. Although they saw each other every day, she couldn't help but miss them when she was with Twilight. She was not a fan of being home.
"Hello, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom greeted, looking to her with a smile. "We were thinkin' we could have a sleepover tonight! Here!"
Scootaloo nodded to what she said. "I bet that'd be totally fun! We both got permission already, you should ask Twilight!!"
Sweetie Belle smiled for a second, excited for the idea, but it quickly turned to a frown. "Twilight has never let me sleep anywhere besides home before... I doubt she'd let me have a sleepover..."
"Well, there's no reason not to ask! The worst that could happen is that she doesn't let you stay over," Scootaloo suggested, smiling at her, trying to offer comfort.
"That's true... I'll do that later today, then!" Sweetie Belle squeaked with excitement. "When I go, if I don't return that just means Twilight didn't allow me!! I really really hope I get to stay."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah do, too!"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!"
Sweetie Belle arrived back home, rushing to Twilight's office. She wanted nothing more than to stay over with the crusaders for the night. When she got to the correct door, she locked a few times. The door opened a few moments later, still sitting at her desk, closing her laptop.
"What is it, Sweetie Belle?" Twilight asked, her voice mostly monotone.
"I was wondering if I could have a sleep over with the crusaders!!" The tiny pony grinned, hoping to persuade her, but Twilight's gaze quickly showed rage.
"Sleep over?! You know you can't be out at night!" She scolded.
"Please, Twilight? I promise I'll-"
"NO!" She screamed, grabbing her with her magic and shoving her head first into a nearby wall. Her horn sparked, and her limbs jerked like a glitched video game. Sweetie Belle whimpered, and Twilight dropped her on the floor. After a few seconds of staring at her, she walked back into the office, slamming the door shut.
Sweetie Belle struggled to her hooves, the twitching of her body beginning to slow down. "I should of known..." She muttered to herself, heading to her bedroom. She went to her bed, lying down. It was a flat plate with a blanket and pillow, attached to wall by the cord, which Twilight had always said was for heating. With a few blinks, she easily fell asleep, her horn still sparking lightly.
The next day, Monday, she was playing on the playground with the crusaders.
"Tag, you're it!" Scootaloo said, tapping Sweetie Belle and running off.
Sweetie Belle giggled. "No way! You can't escape me!" She squeaked, running after her. She almost caught up when she heard a voice behind her.
"Hello, blank flanks!" Diamond Tiara scoffed, Silver Spoon following behind her.
"Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom greeted with annoyance, rolling her eyes.
"We were thinking we could play tag with you guys," Diamond Continued, her brows furrowed, a smirk on her face.
"No way!" Sweetie Belle argued, "You two just want to make fun of us.
"You really are really gonna deny us?" Silver Spoon chided, approaching her.
"Get out of my face!" She squealed, her horn lighting up, sparking.
"What are you gonna do, push me away with your magic or something? That's not too impressive," She teased, going closer.
Sweetie Belle huffed in anger and and used her magic, lifting Silver Spoon of the ground.
"Hey! Put her down!" Diamond Tiara screeched.
Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes in effort, but after just a few moments the sounds of crackling and shocking were heard from the magic, and Silver Spoon howled. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, just realizing what she'd done. The magic stopped and the gray pony fell to the grass below.
"Is Silver Spoon okay?!" Scootaloo asked, peaking over Sweetie Belle's shoulder.
"Are you insane?!?" Diamond Tiara yelled, rushing to her friend.
"I-I didn't mean to do that! I just wanted to get her out of the way!" Sweetie Belle sniffled, also going to her side. Cheerilee had seen the incident and ran over, and before and of them knew it, Silver had been taken to the hospital, school dismissed early, and Sweetie Belle just laying solemnly with the crusaders at the clubhouse.
"Sweetie Belle... you know that wasn't your fault..." Scootaloo consoled, saddened by frowning expression of her friend.
"Yeah... That's never happened with my magic before..." Sweetie Belle sighed, "I think I should get home though, Twilight will be waiting." She couldn't help but shiver a bit at the thought if the previous night.
Apple Bloom nodded with understanding. "We'll see ya' tomorrow then," She said, not sure how she could comfort her any farther. Sweetie Belle waved her goodbye, and trotted out the front door.
When she arrived back at Twilight's house, she couldn't help but space out a bit. Twilight was in a chair in the living room, reading a book like usual. Just like Sweetie Belle expected, she didnt even both to say a simple hello. She began to make her way to her bedroom, but before she could even get a few feet she bumped her head on dining table sending a glass of water flying towards her head. Immediately, Twilight jumped from her seat but failed to interject.
"SHIT!"
Sweetie Belle began to howl in pain, her limbs moving unnaturally. "H-H-HELP!" Her voice was robotic and delayed, and a moment later she crashed to the floor.
Next thing she knew, Sweetie Belle was in a dark room. "Hello..?" She looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. She lit up her horn, which didn't seem to be sparking anymore. She began to examine her surroundings, but quickly regretted it. There was hundreds, if not thousands, of identical versions of herself all around the room. She screeched in surprise at the unexpected sight. Every single one of them was still and lifeless, their eyes blank and unblinking. Random robotic pieces could be seen through out the room, and to the right tons of paper was taped to the walls, covered in notes. Sweetie Belle approached the notes, beginning to read:
'Project 001SB (My First Project: Sweetie Bot) has so far been a success. It was sent to school just as any real pony would. No pony seemed to suspect anything strange from it. It seems to think of me as a caretaker, not a relative, which works out just fine. All I had to say was that I adopted it, and every pony not only believed me, but celebrated my actions. Who knew a robot could make friends?'
"ROBOT?!" Sweetie Belle screeched.
"Project 001SB complete." The voice was unknown and almost robotic.
"W-what?" Sweetie Belle squeaked in confusion, but soon felt a strange pain on her flank. Afraid, she turned her head. In the place of a cutie mark, there was a timer counting down from ten minutes. Her first thought was to get to the crusaders and fast. But how?
She began to search again. Next to the notes was a door, but she doubted going through there would be a good idea. She could only assume that the door either lead to Twilight's office or somewhere else within their large home. As she looked around some more, it was hard for her to ignore the unsettling sight of all the other bots. She noticed a trash can, which seemed to have one in it, charred with black. Was that..? She shook her head, trying to get back on track. although it took a few more minutes, she found a tiny window, almost unnoticeable because of the curtain in front of it. She used her magic to open it up, before climbing out and racing off.
Three Minutes were left on the timer.
She raced into the clubhouse as fast as she could. "Sweetie Belle!! Apple Bloom!!" She wailed.
"Sweetie Belle?? What's going on?" Asked Scootaloo, concerned.
"What's that on ya' flank?" She asked, looking at the timer. "Did you get your cutie mark?!" She squeaked in excitement.
"No! It's a timer! And I know this doesn't make any sense but... I'm a robot."
"What?! A robot..? What are you talking about, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo queried, tilting her head.
"It doesn't matter! I just... don't know what happens at the end of this timer. So i wanted to come to you guys."
One minute.
"Well... if ya' really are a robot or somethin', we'll still be ya' friend, right scoots?" Apple Bloom tried her best to comfort her.
Scootaloo nodded. "Yup!"
20 Seconds.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!" The three of them rushed into a hug.
5 Seconds.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Twilight watched through the cameras on 001SB's eyes. Her gaze was focused on the laptop in front of her, the screen was read as the countdown counted from ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. For a brief second, an ear piercing sound filled her ears, then the camera went black. Her screen lit up white once again, and the words 'project complete' in big, bold letters appeared on the screen. Twilight couldn't help but grin.
Later.
Twilight pulled out a notebook from her desk and began to write:
'It has been a few months since the end of Project 001SB. I think it went mighty well, even if the self-destruction ended in a tragedy. The deaths if the crusaders effected many ponies, yet no pony, except I, has ever learned the cause. I feel like a year ago I would feel a lot more guilty for my actions. But it was all for research. It took longer than I expected for her to figure out the truth, but only because of my failure to keep Sweetie Belle from harm. My AI must not have been the greatest, as it managed to run into a table and get itself all fried up. But hey, that's what the replacement models were for anyway.
The apple family must be quite distressed. I hope Applejack isn't too effected by what happened. She was the first to the scene after all. It was difficult to pretend like I cared when she told me of what happened to the three. I was obviously already perfectly aware of the situation. Rainbow Dash must feel quite bad, too. Although the two weren't related by blood, they were practically sisters. I'd be upset if someone told me that my sibling exploded, too, anyway. At least I would of a year ago. I don't know how effected I'd be now. I mean... I'd be upset, but not distraught, right? All of town was at least a bit upset by what happened. I know not to think of it as a bad thing. I knew something like this would likely happen eventually. I think th-'
Her writing was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. She trotted over and opened it, trying to hide how annoyed she was.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash," She said with a fabricated smile, "What do you need?" It was unusual for any one to stop by. Ponies rarely did.
"Hey, Twi. I was just wondering if I could hang out, I guess. We haven't in a long time, plus... I'm feeling a little down," She admitted.
Twilight pulled her into a quick hug before stepping back. "I'm sorry to hear that, Rainbow Dash. But I am quite busy today, and I'm not really feeling the best either. Is it okay if we do this another time?" She wasn't busy. She didn't plan on doing it another time.
Dash's expression saddened slightly. "That's fine, Twi. I'll see you later, hope you feel better."
Twilight closed the door with no hesitation, muttering to herself in frustration. She didn't understand why they wouldn't just leave her alone. It couldn't be that difficult to do, really. She trotted back to the office to finish her writing:
'-at this experiment was for the greater good. Just like all of my future projects will be. I have no doubts that 001SB was just the beginning of my great discoveries. No pony would understand if I told them, though. No pony besides myself knows that a few measly lives aren't worth as much as research. Especially not the lives of a couple of blank-flanked fillies and a robot. Technically, I didn't kill Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle did. If it just stayed in the lab it wouldn't of destroyed any pony but itself. It would of just been easier to wipe ponies memories of the stupid robot, but because it ended the way it did it's more trouble than it's worth. It's not like I could revive the other two, so what would of been the point?
Maybe Sweetie Belle will teach ponies to keep a better eye on their foals. That'd be a nice plus. It's basically Applejack's fault for not paying enough attention to her sister. She was the one who was meant to be watching over her. Speaking of: I'm not sure If Scootaloo's parents are aware of her unfortunate demise. They are rarely in town, as mostly they've just left whatever ponies are available at the time to look after their daughter, which is clearly irresponsible. At least get the
her a full-time caretaker so she wouldn't be put at risk. Just like I did for instance! I wonder how Spike is doing now that he lives with Rarity. I haven't seen him in months. I'm sure he understands that my research is the most important thing.
I know someday I will make a huge effect on all of Equestria. Every pony will look up to me. I bet I'll be even more famous than Princess Celestia! Hell, bet I could even replace her! Why would some pony look up to her when there's me? I'm the one doing the most valuable research of all time! Even more important than Star Swirl the Bearded! I remember when I used to look up to him. How foolish of me. He should be the one looking up to me. It just would make more sense. Soon, I will brainstorm ideas for my next project. I know it won't be too hard to do. It only took me a half hour to come up with 001SB! I bet after that experience I'll be able to come up with a better idea in even shorter time. But only time will tell.'
Twilight closed her notebook, and used her magic to place it back in the drawer. The unicorn yawned, and walked out of her office to head to her bedroom, eyeing Sweetie Belle's old room as she went. When she arrived, she sat down on her bed with a grin. She knew she'd done well.
