Tales of a robot

Sweetie Bot! Battery at 2%! You need rest!

Me: Aren't my solar panels working?

Sweetie! It's cloudy out! There is no sun to power you!

Me: We're almost there. I can hang on a little longer.

How do you know Scootaloo wasn't just trying to get you to die out here on the edge of these train tracks where nopony would ever find you?

Me: Because of that!

I look in front of me and see a big warehouse about 100 feet away. The windows are broken and it seems rundown. I walk up to the door and realize it's unlocked. I attempt to push it open and when it slides away, a hoard of bats fly out. I sigh. "Well, shelter's shelter."

I walk inside and immediately begin looking around for something to drink.

Sweetie Bot! Analysis of the area confirms there is no water here.

Me: Damn it. Wait! I have an idea!

I pressed onto my command key and entered my terminal. The lights around the monitor were flashing red. Probably a symbol of a very low battery. I begin typing on my computer.

Ah! Very clever!

Me: What?

You're going to reverse the flow of your USB port to charge yourself instead of charging other devices. Interesting!

Me: I always forget you can read my thoughts.

I click a few more keys on my computer and press Run: EXIT.

"Oh No!"

What's wrong?

"I Can't use my joyboy to charge myself! I left it back at the cave!"

What now?

"Can you sense any liquids anywhere here?"

Yes. There's an oil spill in the corner, a gasoline spill in the left side of the room and a crate full of some bottled liquid in the back. It's not water though.

"Right! But maybe there's something drinkable in those bottles!"

I ran over to the back wall. I click my command key. Run: ADV Run:Data

My vision floods with data on what I can sense in each crate. I keep searching until I find my objective. A crate full of bottles.

I used my horn to wrench it open. I hear my AI's voice inside my head. Oh you have got to be kidding me. You had better not even think about drinking all of that.

I laugh and grab a bottle. The crate was full of Apple Loosa apple cider. Upon the first taste, I definitely liked the Apple family's better. But maybe this one was old so it tasted worse. I know the Apples put a bunch of different preservatives in their cider. "Don't worry." I say as I begin to chug the bottle. "I'm only gonna drink what's necessary for full battery. I don't think now's really the time to get drunk."

Why's that?

I shake my head. "I don't know. Something about what Scootaloo said was off to me. I feel like she's planning something. But I'm not sure what yet."

I finish drinking and immediately fall asleep. As my eyes are closed, I can almost feel my battery recharging. I sigh contently as I drift off to sleep.

* * *

"You say you know where she is?"

"Yes Mayor! But she's only gonna be there for one night. If I know Sweetie, she's not gonna stay in one place for very long."

"Okay. I'll send the Princess a message. If we can get the military here soon, we might be able to make it."

Mayor Mare watched as Scootaloo flittered her wings and practically hopped out the door. She shook her head as the door closed. "I swear. Sometimes that mare takes her job way too seriously."

Mayor Mare had never expected anything like this to happen. And of course, she felt compassion for the robot. But if what Scootaloo said was true, and she had killed Apple Bloom, she couldn't let a pony who had committed two murders just walk away unscathed.

She sighed and looked at the stack of parchment on her desk. She walked over and scribbled a quick note.

Dear Princess Celestia,

We have recieved word that Sweetie Bot is causing trouble again.
We have also received notice that she has murdered yet
another pony. I believe that we must resort to destroying the bot
before another incident like this can happen again. I am writing to
request military to go into the Everfree Forest with my best Private
investigator Scootaloo. She believes she knows where the bot is
and she can lead them straight to her.

I know these are troubling times. But I will remain strong to my
town and take care of my citizens.

-Mayor Mare.

"Lyra!" She called.

The teal unicorn walked her way into the room. She had been having trouble finding work playing her lyre so she asked if there was anything she could do for work around town hall. Now she was Mayor Mare's assistant. And a damn good one too. She would refill coffee before it was even asked of her and she organized all of the papers in the filing cabinet on her first day on the job. She was truly a miracle worker. She said she was saving money to help her marefriend Bon-Bon with the bills of the house.

"What's up Mayor?"

"Can you send this to princess Celestia please?"

"Yeah! What's the occasion?"

"Private matter. Sorry sweetie."

Lyra looked a little disappointed. When she's curious, she loves to get herself answers. "That's alright!" She said jumping up happily. "Let me see that!"

Mayor Mare held up the scroll and Lyra shot a magic spell at it. The scroll dissipated into golden particles and went flying off in the direction of the castle. "Thank you Lyra!"

"No problem! By the way, I forgot to tell you! I gave the main room a new coat of paint. It really needed it. So don't go leaning on the walls unless you want your coat dyed."

"Thanks Lyra. Bon-Bon sure is lucky to have you." Mayor Mare chuckled a little when she saw the mare's face go a little red. Lyra walked out the door and Mayor Mare returned to her desk. She now had a very important piece of paperwork to write. And a couple visits that had to be made.

* * *

Mayor Mare walked across the fields of Sweet Apple Acres as she carefully avoided puddles of mud. She reached the house and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Applejack. Mayor Mare sighed as she looked at Applejack's smiling face. She knew that she would have to break that smile in just a few seconds.

"Howdy there Mayor! What can I do you for?"

"Hi Applejack. Is the rest of your family home?"

Applejack smiled. "Well yeah! All of us except Apple Bloom. But she's still out in the Everfree forest with Scootaloo. I tell you. That mare won't stop until she finishes a job. That's why she's such a great help on the farm."

"About that. I need to have a word with you all. Can you gather everypony together?"

"What happened?" Applejack asked. She rang a bell that sat by the door. The sound was ear piercingly loud but Mayor Mare resisted the urge to cover her ears. "Big Mac!" Applejack yelled. "Get over here! The Mayor wants to see you!"

Mayor Mare noticed as an older green pony walked her way out of the house. "What's all this now?"

Big Mac came running up the fields and met them all at the door.

Mayor Mare sighed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Our friend Scootaloo came back to my office this morning."

Applejack laughed. "Well that doesn't seem so bad! I know she can be loud sometimes but she's still a nice mare! I wonder why Apple Bloom isn't here though. She loves to tell us all about her adventures whenever she finishes a job."

"About that. Scootaloo informed me that..." Mayor Mare stuttered over herself as she spoke the next words. "Apple Bloom was attacked and killed in the Everfree Forest."

Big Mac clapped a hoof to his mouth and Granny Smith immediately buckled down crying. Applejack however, grew a very angry expression. "It was those damn timberwolves wasn't it! I swear to Celestia! I'm gonna rip those bastards limb from limb!"

"Hold on Applejack. It wasn't the timberwolves."

"Well, there's plenty of other creatures in that forest. Which one killed her. I want to find this thing."

"The creature that killed your sister is more of a robotic type."

Applejack stared at Mayor Mare in horror. "You don't mean?"

Mayor Mare dropped her head as she nodded.

Applejack paused. Her angry expression faded as her brain began to process the information she had just received. "But how?"

"Scootaloo reported that Sweetie Bot stole Apple Bloom's knife and stabbed her dead."

Applejack sighed as she didn't know what to do. She knew in her heart that she wanted to kill that damned robot. But she also knew that the culprit was Rarity's sister. Even if not by blood, she still held a very special place in Rarity's heart. She knew that destroying Sweetie Bot would in turn destroy Rarity's heart as well.

"Listen. I know this is hard for you. But I want you to know that we're handling this and that we're going to bring Sweetie to justice. We're going to have Scootaloo lead us to Apple Bloom's body. That way you all can have a proper burial."

Applejack nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek. By now, the entire family was crying right in front of Mayor Mare. "I'm sorry to leave on such short notice but I have to have a meeting with Miss Rarity regarding all of this." Applejack nodded as she softly closed the door. Something broke in Mayor Mare's heart. She had gotten the hardest meeting out of the way though. There was only one more to get through.

* * *

"Guards!"

Princess Celestia sat on her throne with Luna right by her side. It was noon. By now, Luna would usually be asleep. But every once in a while, she decided to stay up with her sister a little longer.

Luna tilted her head at her sister. "What's wrong? What does the letter say? Is it from Twilight?"

Celestia held up a hoof to her sister to signal silence for a moment as the guards rushed into the room. "Yes Princess?"

"I need you to gather the military and send them all to Ponyville Town Hall. There's been another murder. The culprit is very powerful and I need you all to bring her down." The guards nodded in agreement and went to go collect various members of the military.

Luna gasped. "A murder? Who died?"

The Princess sniffled a little as she said, "Little Apple Bloom."

Luna gasped. She had met Apple Bloom before in her dreams. She was anxious about what her curie mark was going to end up being. She was scared for her future. Luna sighed a little. That was a long time ago. But she still couldn't be older that 180 or 190 moons old.

Luna looked up to her sister. "Who did this? I must have a few words with them."

* * *

Rarity answered the door happily. "Oh! Mayor! Have you finally come to take up my offer on a custom dress? Come with me! I have much to show you."

Before the Mayor could speak a word, Rarity had pushed her inside and was now looking over different fabrics. "Let's see, green could go with you eyes, but purple would compliment your mane quite well."

"Miss Rarity? I'm actually here on more official business."

Rarity felt her heart stop. She had been incredibly nervous since everypony heard the shots from the Everfree forest. "Yes Ma'am? What about?"

Mayor Mare looked her dead in the eyes. "I think you know what this is about."

"I'm guessing she's caused trouble again?"

"Let's start this off with an easy question." Rarity nodded. "When we had a town meeting a couple days ago, you confirmed to us that Sweetie Bot's weapon defenses were disabled. However, our private investigator Scootaloo has confirmed to us that Sweetie Bot's guns were the cause of the shots heard in Ponyville two days ago. So I would like you to tell me why you lied to me. Keep in mind that lying to public authorities is in fact a crime and if you don't cooperate with me I may punish you with jail time. Answer me honestly and I might forget the fact that you even lied in the first place."

Rarity sighed. "I know that part of the agreement was that her weapon system would be disabled. But the Everfree Forest is a very dangerous place and she was just a little filly. I didn't want her to get hurt. And, if she had something she was shooting at, then clearly I was right in giving her defenses."

Mayor Mare nodded. "Okay Rarity. That transitions nicely into our next question. Scootaloo also told us that she found six empty bottles of alcoholic Apple Cider in Sweetie Bot's makeshift home. When questioned about it, she admitted that she was under the influence of alcohol the day her first murder took place. Why did you give alcohol to an underage filly?"

"I do not believe that giving a robot alcohol is illegal."

"yes but you also put it in her head that this was the kind of thing she could drink. What if she were a real filly? Would you have still given her this?"

"No. Of course not."

"Well this one is more of an ethical question so I'll forget it. Thank you for answering the questions. Now for the heavy hitting news."

"What did she do?"

"You see Miss Rarity, while Scootaloo returned to us this morning, Apple Bloom did not. Scootaloo has told us that Sweetie Bot has murdered Apple Bloom."

Rarity gasped. She put a hoof up to her mouth and said nothing. Mayor Mare continued. "Obviously, this was an intentional murder and we can not let it go unpunished. I think you see where I'm going with this."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"She wouldn't do this! Bring her back! Check her memory files! She wouldn't."

"I'm sorry. The military has already been deployed to destroy her. She has been located in a warehouse on the northern train tracks."

"You can't do this! What happened to fair trials?" Rarity was getting more and more angry with each word that Mayor Mare spoke.

"She had her fair trial. She was pronounced guilty. We have sufficient evidence to believe that she could and would do this."

Rarity began to advance on the Mayor as Mayor Mare backed away.

"I want to talk to her."

* * *

I never really understood where I went when I fell asleep. I mean, I understood where I was... I was in my head. But I didn't know if I ever really dreamed of anything. Until now. You see, I fell asleep in the warehouse that night.

"Sweetie Bot?"

"Princess Luna?"

"You seem to be in quite a lot of trouble. Everypony believes that you murdered Apple Bloom."

"What do you mean? Scootaloo let me go."

Luna sighed. "I have to warn you! Scootaloo didn't tell you about this place so she could help you. She led you here so she would know where you are and she could launch an attack on you."

My eyes widened. Or rather, my eye opened. The other one was still broken. "How do you know?"

"She had the mayor send a letter requesting military access on this location."

I gasped. "She betrayed me. She had this planned all along. How did I know that she wasn't here now? I looked at Luna. "So she didn't go to help Apple Bloom either?"

Luna sadly shook her head. "Unfortunately, I do not have a dream of hers to enter. If she's alive, she's not sleeping."

I sighed. "You know I didn't do it right? It was Scootaloo!"

Luna sadly shook her head again. "I'm sorry Sweetie Bot. Without proof, I can't make a decent case for you."

"Why can't they just look at my memory files again?"

"Not an option. Mayor Mare isn't offering you a trial."

I close my eyes for a minute. "Thanks for warning me Princess. Don't worry. I'll find a way out."

She smiles. "I know you will."

I opened my eyes and surveyed the room. I saw no movements. I took a deep breath trying to process everything that had just happened.

Run:Adv

I saw my battery level was at 50% That would have to do for now.

As I continued to look around, I jumped as the door to the warehouse was opened with a bang.