Tales From The Omniverse

Before the building known as the Carousel Boutique stood a filly.

A filly not like the others.

She looked like a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane and tail and green eyes.

But once you got close enough, you could see that the different parts of her body were artificial. Many ponies didn’t even know what were the materials composing her skin, mane, and tail, but they were clearly not normal skin and hair. And it was easy to see how the skin was divided into sections to allow fluid movements, not unlike the different pieces of an armor. Thanks to that, she could move like a normal pony, and even have expressions. She could really pass for a normal pony.

This little wonder of technology was known as Sweetie Bot.

Right now, she had her back open, revealing panels that absorbed the sunlight to turn it into energy.

Everyday, she was standing there, doing that, even if she didn’t really need to do it. Her battery could last almost a whole week, she could allow herself to not do it for a few days.

But she still did it because, truthfully, she didn’t have anything better to do, so she should as well keep her battery full, and look and wave at the ponies who passed before her.

At first, she had been quite the curiosity, and the ponies looked at her in wonder and amazement. But eventually, the novelty of seeing the robotic filly disappeared, and now, the ponies didn’t pay attention to her anymore, except some who waved back at her politely, even if sometimes awkwardly.

Many weren’t sure what to think of the little bot.

Then, she closed her back and walked away. Before long, she was before the school just in time for the bell to ring. A few seconds later, and the fillies and colts were exiting the building, some walking, some running, scattering all over Ponyville ready to spend the rest of the day in activities or to work on their homeworks.

One of the fillies ran toward Sweetie Bot, an orange pegasus with a purple mane and tail and purple eyes.

“Hey, Sweetie Bot!” she called as she approached.

“Hey, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Bot replied. “How was today?”

Scootaloo groaned. “Horrible. We were doing math, then Miss Cheerilee called me to answer a problem, and I couldn’t answer. Then she gave us lots of homeworks.”

“Well, I can help you with the homeworks. Then you will be able to go look at Rainbow Dash doing her stunts.”

Scootaloo sighed in relief. “Thank you, Sweetie Bot, you are a real friend.”

Sweetie Bot grinned at that. She loved when ponies said that she was a great friend.

Which was only Scootaloo.

Yes, the colts found her awesome the first time they saw her, but none of them asked her if they could become friends. Scootaloo was the only one who called her a friend.

Which was why Sweetie Bot always made sure to be present before the school when it ended.

Eventually, they were on a bench, Sweetie Bot working on Scootaloo’s homework while they talked. Despite looking like a unicorn, she couldn’t use magic, so she had to write like an earth pony.

Sweetie Bot read lots of books and had a perfect memory thanks to her database, so she already knew almost everything Miss Cheerilee was teaching. Of course, thanks to her computer brain, things like mathematics were no problem. So she had no problem doing Scootaloo’s homework.

Rapidly enough, she finished them.

“Done!”

“Wow! Thanks!” Scootaloo put her homework back in her saddlebag without looking at what she wrote. “Now, I should hurry up. Rainbow Dash has probably started. There wasn’t much work for her today. Too bad she probably won’t be able to do her stunts tomorrow. Rain is planned for tomorrow night, before the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Sweetie Bot nodded. “It will take her and her team all day to gather the clouds. But I guess that it means that we will be able to play.”

“You are right. Well, see you tomorrow.”

At that, Scootaloo jumped down from the bench and ran away.

Sweetie Bot waved after her. “See ya!”

She waved for a few more seconds before she stopped and looked around, seeing that she was now alone. Sighing, she jumped down from the bench and walked toward her home, the Carousel Boutique.

She entered the home that also served as a shop, then found the owner, Rarity, working on a dress.

“I’m home,” she said.

“Yes, Sweetie Bot,” Rarity replied absentmindedly. “Please, don’t bother me. Go to your room.”

Sweetie Bot’s ears lowered. “Ok, Rarity…”

Then, she climbed the stairs to her room.

She opened the door and entered the room.

An empty room. Like, totally empty. No bed, no closet, no desk, no toys, no books… Nothing.

Sweetie Bot looked around a bit, then went to a corner and lied down.

She didn’t have a book with her this time. The librarian retired a few days ago, and they couldn’t find a new one, so the library was closed.

As a result, she had nothing to do. So she closed her eyes and entered sleep mode.

The next day, Sweetie Bot was standing in front of the Carousel Boutique again, using her solar panels.

Then, suddenly, an earth pony filly she never saw approached her.

The filly had gray fur, a blond mane and tail, yellow eyes, and had a magnifying glass for a Cutie Mark.

“Hello! Are you a robot?” the filly asked when she was close enough.

Sweetie Bot, not expecting somepony to come talk to her, shyly said, “Uh… Yes. Yes I am.”

“That’s so cool! I didn’t know robots existed in Equestria for real!” the filly said excitedly.

“Uh… Who are you?” Sweetie Bot asked.

“Oh! Sorry! I’m Ruby! Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, Ruby. Uh… Are you new in Ponyville?”

“Yes. I just arrived. I’m exploring the town, and when I saw you, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! What is your name?”

“Oh. It’s Sweetie Bot.”

“Well, Sweetie Bot, where do you come from? I mean, who built you? It must have been a really smart pony! I didn’t think we would be able to build robots before at least one hundred years. Maybe two hundred.”

“I don’t know. I barely met him before he died…”

“Uh?”

“Well…”

I woke up for the first time a bit over six months ago, and the first thing I saw was this very old unicorn stallion sitting on an old plush chair. Pale yellow fur, grayed mane, and wearing glasses. He had a Cutie Mark made of green 0s and 1s forming the shape of a heart.

Back then, I was like a newborn foal. I knew nothing of the world. So I didn’t understand what he was saying. But thanks to my current knowledge and to my perfect memory, I can tell you that he said, “Welcome to the world, little one. I wish I had gotten to meet you earlier. Now, I’m sorry that I won’t be able to spend more time with you. At least, I was able to finish you in time.”

He was speaking very slowly, very weakly. He really was using his last strength to say these words.

He then tenderly caressed my cheek before he lied against his chair, closing his eyes.

“Goodbye. Have a good life,” he then said before he lost consciousness, never to wake up.

And so I was left on this table, wondering what was going on. Not understanding what happened, I jumped on the stallion and tried to get him to wake up. When I failed, I began to explore the place, finding many machines that I couldn’t tell you what they were used for. Eventually, I found the exit, and I left the building only to find myself in a forest. Not knowing where to go and pushed by curiosity, I wandered around for hours, observing the fauna and the flora, and also the sky, the clouds, the ground, everything.

Then, I found a trail and followed it. A few minutes later, I met these two ponies.

Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks.

You obviously don’t know them, they are a couple who love to go on vacation around Equestria, and hazard had it that they were hiking in this forest.

They were of course very amazed by me. They asked me lots of questions that I couldn’t answer because I didn’t understand them back then, like where I came from, who I was, if I was really a robot, if I would attack them, why I looked like a filly, and so on.

When they saw that I wasn’t answering, that I was just looking at them curiously, Hondo Flanks asked, “Can you talk? Do you understand us?”

In return, like a foal, I began to randomly repeat their words.

Carefully, Cookie Crumbles approached me, and she touched me. I copied her and touched her before giggling. Still randomly saying words, I touched her again and again, thinking of it like a game, which amused her.

Hondo Flanks then approached too, and the two talked for a while about what they would do about me. They wondered if they should leave me in this forest, or bring me to the nearest town, or to a laboratory, or even to Princess Celestia herself.

Then, Cookie Crumbles looked at me again, then at a tree. She pointed at the tree, then looked at me, and said, “Tree.”

Understanding, I pointed at the tree and repeated, “Tree!”

Cookie Crumbles nodded, then pointed at a blade of grass. “Grass.”

“Grass!”

Now smiling, she pointed at a mushroom. “Mushroom.”

“Mushroom!”

She then pointed at herself. “Cookie Crumbles.”

“Cookie Crumbles.”

Next, she pointed at her husband. “Hondo Flanks.”

“Hondo Flanks.”

Then, she pointed at me, but didn’t say anything.

I just waited for her to say anything.

She pointed back at herself. “Cookie Crumbles.” She pointed at her husband. “Hondo Flanks.” And she pointed back at me, not saying anything.

Finally, I understood that she wanted me to say what I was. So I pointed at myself and opened my mouth, only to come up blank. I didn’t know what I was. This made me sad.

Seeing me getting sad, Cookie Crumbles began to think. Then, after a few minutes, she pointed at me and said, “Sweetie Bot.”

Understanding what she did, I became very happy, pointed at myself, and repeated, “Sweetie Bot! Sweetie Bot!”

Then, happy for me, Cookie Crumbles hugged me.

As you can guess, this was my first hug, so I didn’t know what she was doing, nor what to do in return. Still, after a bit, I returned the hug, because it felt good.

She then looked at Hondo Flanks and asked, “Can we keep her?”

He laughed and answered, “Yes, we can.”

And so I remained with them. We took a train, and we arrived at Ponyville a few hours later. They then spent the next few days teaching me the basics. I learned quickly, so they taught me how to read, and then they gave me a dictionary.

Then I began to read more books, so they presented me to the library. After that, they wanted to go on a vacation again, so they presented me to their daughter, Rarity, who owns the boutique behind me, so she could keep an eye on me while they are away.

“And here I am. Every now and then, Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks return to Ponyville, so I spend time at their house until they leave. The rest of the time, I live here, in the Carousel Boutique.”

After a moment of silence, understanding that the story was over, Ruby said, “Wow. That’s sad. I mean, it’s sad that you didn’t get to know your creator. I’m sure he was a great stallion. I would have loved to meet him. But I’m happy that you found nice ponies to take care of you. And what are you doing, standing here?”

“I’m recharging my battery with solar energy,” Sweetie Bot answered before she turned aside and showed the solar panels. “See?”

“Ooooh! Uh. You know, I almost expected you to eat food to use it as a source of energy.”

Sweetie Bot sighed, or mimed sighing since she didn’t breathe. “If only. Maybe if my creator had had more time.”

Ruby nodded. “How full is your battery?”

“Uh. It’s actually full. I just remain here getting energy because I have nothing better to do.”

“What about Rarity?”

“She is… busy. She doesn’t like to be bothered while she works.”

“Mhm… Then, how about you give me a tour of Ponyville?”

Sweetie Bot was surprised by that. “Really?”

“Uhuh. As I said, I was giving myself my own tour, but I wouldn’t mind a friend giving it to me.”

Sweetie Bot stared at Ruby in shock. “I’m your friend?”

“Of course! You are very nice, so now, you’re my friend! You don’t mind, right?”

“Uh… No, I… I like it. Sorry, I don’t have a lot of friends…”

“Well, now, you have one more friend!” Ruby exclaimed before she hugged Sweetie Bot.

The robot was shocked at first, but quickly recovered and hugged Ruby back, smiling.

“Thank you.”

Sweetie Bot had a difficult time letting go, but Ruby didn’t seem to mind, so they remained like that a bit, until Ruby said, “So, and this tour?”

Sweetie Bot released her new friend. “Oh! Of course!” She closed her solar panels. “Well, let’s go. First, here you have the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity makes dresses. If your parents ever need to go to a fancy party, they should go here.”

And so, the tour began. For the following hours, Sweetie Bot and Ruby walked around Ponyville, the robot presenting buildings one after another. The library, the spa, Quills and Sofas, Sugarcube Corner (where Pinkie Pie surprisingly didn’t start to prepare a party upon meeting Ruby), the town hall, and so on.

They finished at the school.

“And finally, here we have the school. And no, I don’t go there. It was judged that I didn’t need a teacher to learn. Thanks to my photographic memory, I only need to hear or read something once, so I already know almost everything Miss Cheerilee teaches. And if she teaches something that I don’t know yet, then I go to the library.” Her ears then lowered. “Also, I’m not really a filly, so…”

Ruby stared at Sweetie Bot, then rubbed her chin in thought. “Well, your creator made you a filly, so for me, you are a filly. But I guess that it would be unfair to the other foals to have you among them. They would be envious of you, and things wouldn’t go well.” She then grinned. “That is if you entered this school as a student. But with the immense knowledge you have gathered and your capacity to learn very rapidly, you could ask Miss Cheerilee if you could become her assistant. You could help the foals learn, and you could give advice to them if they have difficulties somewhere.”

Again, Sweetie Bot stared at Ruby in shock. “You… You really think I could…?”

“I don’t “think”. I’m sure! And I’m sure that the foals would love you! Or, since you love going to the library, you could ask the librarian to let you work there. When the foals come there to search for books for their homeworks, you could help them. Or you could do fifty-fifty, part time teacher during school hours, part time librarian once school is over. That’s up to you.”

It… It seemed so obvious, now that Ruby was saying it. “I… I would love to. But would Miss Cheerilee and whoever will become the next librarian accept me?”

“Why would they not?”

Sweetie Bot became silent, not knowing what to answer for a moment. “Because… I’m different?”

Ruby gave her an “Are you kidding?” look. “You being different is exactly why these jobs are perfect for you. Heck, many ponies would kill to have somepony like you with them. The scientific community would pretty much beg you to join them. You would make an archivist’s job much easier. Historians would love you. No, really, Cheerilee and TwiAhem! the future librarian will have no reason to refuse you.” She then muttered aside something that Sweetie Bot was able to hear. “Especially the librarian.”

Sweetie Bot stared at Ruby in confusion, but before she could ask anything, the school’s bell rang.

“Oh!” Ruby exclaimed. “It’s already the end of school? We sure spent a lot of time on that tour!”

Sweetie Bot nodded. “I planned everything so we would end up here just before the end of school so I can reunite with my friend Scootaloo, like I do everyday.”

And right on cue, Scootaloo arrived, shouting, “Hey, Sweetie Bot! Uh? Who is this?”

Ruby waved at Scootaloo. “Hello! You are Scootaloo, right? I’m Ruby! Sweetie Bot gave me a tour of Ponyville. I’m new here, you see.”

“Oh! I didn’t know we had a new filly in town! Nice to meet you, Ruby!”

“So, Scootaloo, I’m guessing that you have homework,” Sweetie Bot said.

“Like always. Well, let’s not lose time. Once it’s done, we will be able to have fun,” Scootaloo said.

“Do you mind if I tag along?” Ruby asked.

“Not at all. More ponies means more fun,” Scootaloo answered.

So they went to a bench, and Scootaloo gave her homework to Sweetie Bot, to Ruby’s confusion. Then, to the earth pony’s shock, she began to do the homework. She quickly calmed down however before they could see her face. However, you could see a small twitch.

“Uh… So, how did you two become friends?” she eventually asked.

Scootaloo was the one who answered. “When I heard that there was a robot in town, I knew that I had to see her, pretty much like everypony else. When Pinkie Pie made a party for her, I was present. I asked her if she could become my friend, and the rest is history. Who wouldn’t want an awesome robot for a friend? Well, for some reason, pretty much everypony else. I can’t understand why I was the only one who asked to be her friend. She is really cool to be around. And we have lots of fun. And she could help them with their homework too.”

Ruby eyed Scootaloo. “I see.”

“Done!” Sweetie Bot exclaimed. “There wasn’t much today, thankfully.” She gave the homework back to Scootaloo.

“Great! Thanks! Now let’s go!”

What followed were a few hours of fun, going here and there in Ponyville, hanging out, until it was time for Scootaloo to return home.

“Goodbye, Sweetie Bot!”

“Goodbye, Scoot!”

“Goodbye!”

And so, Sweetie Bot and Ruby were alone. Ruby then stared at Sweetie Bot.

“So, you do her homework?”

Sweetie Bot looked at her questioningly. “Uh… Yes? I’m helping her.”

“...Why?”

“Uh? Isn’t this what friends do?”

Ruby groaned and facehooved. “You aren’t helping her at all.”

“What?”

“Why do you think the teacher gives homework? It’s to help the students learn. Some are to see if they understood the lesson. Others are to help the lesson, or to prepare the lesson. They teach to work independently, to plan, to organize, and a lot of other stuff. They help fillies and colts to grow into responsible adults. So, tell me, how are you helping Scootaloo by doing her homework for her?”

Sweetie Bot looked horrified. “But… But if I don’t help her with her homework, she won’t want to be my friend anymore!”

“You can help her without doing her homework for her. And it correlates with that potential job of teacher assistant I told you earlier. You don’t teach others by doing their work for them, you help them understand so they can work by themselves. You give them a helping hoof here and there, you explain when they don’t understand, you show where they are wrong, but you don’t write the answer to a problem they are supposed to solve by themselves. Do you understand?”

Sweetie Bot thought for a bit. “I… I think, yes, I understand.”

Ruby nodded. “Good. So, tomorrow, when she asks you to do her homework, remember that. Don’t do the homework for her. Work together with her so she can do them herself. It may take a bit more time, but you will see, it will be worth it, and she will be just as thankful. No, she will be even more thankful.”

“O… Ok. Thank you, Ruby.”

“So… I guess it is time for us to do like Scootaloo and return to our homes before our families get worried.” She saw Sweetie Bot lower her ears. “What?”

“I… I don’t have a family…”

Ruby looked at her in confusion. “Don’t Cookie Crumbles, Hondo Flanks, and Rarity count? Especially Rarity with how much time you have spent in her house?”

Sweetie Bot looked down. “.........Rarity never takes time for me. I… I don’t know if Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks consider me as… as their daughter, but Rarity certainly doesn’t consider me as a sister. For her, I’m more a nuisance that her parents dropped on her without warning, barely tolerating me. But… But I don’t mind. I know that she didn’t ask to look after me, so I try to avoid bothering her.”

Ruby bit her lip and began to mutter. “I guess that, since she grew as an only child, she never learned to care for a little sibling, so she learned instead to put all her time for herself.” Then, aloud, she said, “Maybe you could do a drawing for her?”

“A drawing?”

“Yes. Ponies love when their children or little siblings do drawings for them.”

“Hum… I don’t have pencils. And paper.”

“Then I can bring some tomorrow, after your time with Scootaloo. Let’s meet before the Carousel Boutique, and we will draw in your room.”

“Oh………….. Ok…” Sweetie Bot clearly looked hesitant. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

With that, Ruby waved goodbye and walked away, and Sweetie Bot walked to her home. Once inside the Carousel Boutique, she went to her room and entered sleep mode.

The next day was the Summer Sun Celebration, so Rarity will be busy all day decorating the town hall for when Celestia will come to raise the sun.

The children still had school, but only in the morning. It was tomorrow that they won’t have school, because they will have spent all night up waiting to see Celestia raise the sun.

Sweetie Bot knew that, so she went to the school at noon to wait for Scootaloo. Once the pegasus was out of school, they went to Sugarcube Corner so she could have lunch.

“You know, Ruby wasn’t at school today. I expected to see her by now,” Scootaloo said.

“Maybe her parents decided to wait until after the Summer Sun Celebration?”

“I guess.”

Scootaloo finished her lunch, then they went on a bench so Sweetie Bot could do her friend’s homework. Of course, because tomorrow was a holiday, Cheerilee decided that it was a good occasion to give more than usual.

Sweetie Bot remembered Ruby’s advice, and she looked down at the first homework. Mathematics. Multiplications of decimals by 10, 100, and 1000.

Oh! Those are easy!

3.14x10

Her mind immediately answered “31.4”.

But she didn’t write the answer. Instead, she said, “Oh! There is an easy trick for these ones! You move the dot to as many spaces to the right as there are zeros. See? 3.14 multiplied by 10. There is one zero, so…?”

“Uh… 31.4?”

“Exactly! Good job, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Bot congratulated as she wrote the answer. “Now, 1.62 multiplied by 100. Now, there are two zeros. This means…?”

“162!”

“That’s right! Now, 2.8x1000! Note: if the dot goes too far to the right, then you add zeros to fill the empty spaces!”

“So… 2800?”

“Yes!”

“Wow! It really is easy!”

And so, Sweetie Bot worked to help Scootaloo answer all the multiplications, and in just a matter of a few minutes, the mathematics were finished, and it was Scootaloo who answered all of them!

They continued like that for all the remaining homeworks. Sweetie helped, Scootaloo answered, they even had a bit of fun, and they didn’t see time pass.

“Already finished? What time is it?” Scootaloo asked.

“It has been exactly one hour and thirteen minutes since we started.”

“Wow… It’s… a bit longer than if you had done them yourself, but much faster than if I had done them by myself. And… I actually loved doing them with you. You really made it much easier for me. But, why did you help me like that?”

Sweetie Bot hesitated a bit, but eventually decided to tell the truth. “Ruby told me how doing your homework for you wasn’t helping you at all. How they help you become an adult, and teach you a lot of stuff. So she advised me to help you this way instead. It works better apparently.”

Scootaloo looked down at her completed homework, frowning a bit. “I… think that I see what she means. Now, I better understand what Miss Cheerilee tried to teach me today. I mean, yes, I guess that if I had better listened, I would have understood right away that multiplying by 10 and so on simply moved the dot to the right, but…” She sighed. “I didn’t really bother. I had difficulty understanding, I failed tests, and I told myself “How will this help me anyway?” so I stopped trying. You doing my homework was just a way for me to keep pretending. To… To tell you the trust, that’s why I came to you the first time. I wanted to use your robotness.”

“Oh…”

“Hey! Don’t worry. That was at first. But now, I really consider you a friend. You are fun to be with. You aren’t like these robots in stories that are like “NEGATIF. DOES NOT COMPUTE. YES MASTER.” You are… You are a real pony.”

Now, Sweetie Bot wished she could cry. “Oh, Scoot…” She hugged her. “Thank you.”

Scootaloo patted her back. “So, all this to say that… Maybe… I should start to try again… If you continue helping me like that?”

“Yes, Scootaloo, I will! If there is anything you need help to understand, I will be here! We will work together!” She released Scootaloo from the hug. “Actually, Ruby told me that I could maybe become an assistant to Miss Cheerilee. To help you and the other foals, like I helped you today. What do you think of that?”

“I think it would be really great! I would love to see you in school with me!”

“Then… Tomorrow, I will talk to her after the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Scootaloo gently tapped her on the shoulder. “I’m rooting for you. Now, enough sentimentality. Let’s have some fun before tonight.”

“Yes!”

Later that day, Sweetie Bot walked to the Carousel Boutique and found Ruby waiting for her with a box on her back.

“Oh! I hope that you weren’t waiting for me for too long!” Sweetie Bot said.

“Nah. Don’t worry.”

Sweetie Bot then hugged her. “Thank you. Thanks to you, I’m now really friends with Scootaloo.”

“So things went okay with her?”

“Yes. I did like you told me, and everything went okay.”

“I’m glad. So, how about we enter? I think that I saw Rarity enter earlier with a purple mare with a funny mane. It looked like Rainbow Dash crashed on her.”

“A purple mare?”

“Lavender, to be exact.”

“Uh. I don’t remember ever seeing a lavender mare in Ponyville. Probably somepony who came for the Summer Sun Celebration. In that case, Rarity is probably dressing her. Let’s go to my room so we don’t bother them.”

“Yes. Also, the mare had a baby dragon.”

“Really?!”

Sweetie Bot opened the door and hesitantly said, “Here is… my room…”

She winced.

Ruby stared wide eyed at Sweetie’s room.

Then, she glared. “She really gave you the bare minimum, uh?”

“Uh… Yeah… But like I said, it’s not like it’s bothering me. I don’t need a bed to sleep, I don’t wear clothes, so I don’t need a closet, I don’t need… well, anything.”

“Why does she even have an empty room?”

“She wanted to make it a guest bedroom, but then, I arrived, and plans changed.”

“Yeah. A plan to no plan,” Ruby deadpanned. “Her friendship lessons can’t come soon enough…” she muttered. “I guess that, at least, she gave you a room. Anyway, let’s draw.”

Before long, they were both on the floor, and Ruby opened her box to reveal a box of pencils on top of a small pile of paper.

Before Ruby could even start, she looked in amazement as Sweetie Bot grabbed a pencil and began to work with a precision that only a master artist could hope to achieve after dozens of years. Again, her robotic brain showed her worth. Each movement was calculated so the robotic filly was drawing a masterpiece.

With pencils.

And very rapidly too. She wasn’t taking her time. She drew one line after another without pause. It was like she was possessed.

When she was finished with a pencil, she grabbed the next one and resumed her work.

In just a few minutes, Sweetie Bot had drawn a full portrait of Rarity wearing the most resplendent dress made of diamonds.

It looked like a painting right out of the golden age of paint, made by the greatest painter ever.

With pencils.

Sweetie Bot admired her work. “Do you think she will love it?”

Ruby closed her jaw. “If she doesn’t love it, then her tastes need serious help.”

They exited the room and descended the stairs, Sweetie Bot holding the drawing, and they found Rarity at the entrance of the Carousel Boutique. It seemed like the lavender mare and the baby dragon were gone. Before Rarity was Pinkie Pie giving to her an invitation. The next instant, the pink mare was gone.

“Hum…” Sweetie Bot hesitantly began. “Rarity. I…”

“Not now, Sweetie Bot. I must finish decorating the town hall,” Rarity interrupted her before she passed the door.

“Oh… You aren’t finished. Sorry…” Sweetie Bot had time to say before Rarity closed the door.

Sighing, Sweetie Bot dropped the drawing and climbed the stairs, leaving behind a glaring Ruby.

“You two are going to love each other. I swear.”

Later that evening, as the sun was setting, many inhabitants of Ponyville were having a party at the library, welcoming one Twilight Sparkle.

Without the guest of honor, who went to her room alone, leaving the others to party without her.

Among the partygoers was Rarity who was having a drink when, suddenly, a gray filly with a blond mane approached her, holding a drawing.

“Excuse me, miss, I think that you should see that,” the filly said before she showed the drawing.

Rarity looked down, then saw the drawing, and she gasped, taking it with her magic. “Oh my! What a magnificent drawing! Who drew this? Oh, whoever they are, I must see them! They captured me perfectly! And that dress!”

“Sweetie Bot is the one who drew it,” the filly said.

Rarity stared in shock at her. “R-really?”

“Uhuh. It is what she wanted to show you earlier.”

“Oh…”

“She put all her heart into this drawing. She really wanted to make you proud.”

Rarity stared at the drawing silently.

“It really saddened her when you refused to listen to her, again. She abandoned the drawing and went to her room. She hasn’t left it since.”

“...Why?”

“She really wants your approval. You may think of her as just a machine, but she is much more than that. She is a filly who wants a family.”

“But…”

“I know it is a big change,” the filly interrupted her. “And you didn’t ask for this, you are too used to your way of life by yourself, but this little robot needs somepony, and in your parents’ absence, she only has you. You pride yourself in your generosity, so give to her at least that. Just some of your time, to acknowledge her. And some love. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? Please, do the right thing.”

Rarity looked back at the drawing, then back toward the filly.

There was no filly anymore.

She looked around, but saw the filly nowhere, and for a moment, she wondered if she had been part of her imagination. But then, she looked at the drawing and knew she had been real. How else would she have gotten this drawing?

She told Pinkie Pie that she was feeling a bit tired, so she decided to leave the party to rest a bit before the celebration. Then she left the library and returned to the Carousel Boutique.

Once inside, she climbed the stairs and, after some hesitation, opened the door to that room.

She looked around at the empty room. So empty…

Then she spotted Sweetie Bot in a corner, in sleep mode. Before her were many drawings.

Rarity approached to give a closer look.

A few drawings were of Rarity, like the first one, in various poses, with various dresses. They were all just as beautiful.

Then, other drawings were of Rarity doing some activity with Sweetie Bot. Rarity pushing her on the swing. The two taking a walk. The two working on a dress together. Rarity recounting a story to a sleeping Sweetie Bot.

Then, there was the last drawing. Sweetie Bot, in the middle of a group hug with Rarity and her parents.

She looked so happy in it.

Rarity looked between the drawing and Sweetie Bot, then she sighed and put a hoof on the robot’s wither, slightly shaking her.

“Sweetie Bot?” she almost whispered.

Sweetie Bot opened her eyes, then she saw Rarity, and her jaw opened in what would have been a gasp.

Rarity lowered herself on her knees, showing the drawings. “They are beautiful.”

“Really?” Sweetie Bot hesitantly asked.

Rarity nodded. “All of them.” She then showed the first drawing. “Including this one. A mysterious filly gave it to me at the library. Do you know anything about her?”

“Yeah. She appeared yesterday, we became friends, and she has been helping me since then.”

Rarity frowned and began thinking. Then, she looked around at the room, then at the drawings, then at Sweetie Bot, and her ears lowered.

“I haven’t been… a good host, am I right?”

Sweetie Bot looked down at the floor.

“I didn’t mind. I’m just a robot who dropped into your life without warning, after all…”

“..........” Rarity sighed. “You are clearly more than just a robot. I can see that you are hurt. A normal robot would never feel hurt. I guess… that I had seen that a long time ago, but I refused to accept that. I was too used to being alone. I didn’t want things to change. I wanted to continue to do my work, to bring out the diamond inside each ponies… Without admitting that there was a beautiful diamond inside you that waited for my help to shine, because then, my life would change. I kept telling myself, “She is just a robot. I don’t care about robots,” and continued my life as if you didn’t exist. I was just not ready to take care of somepony.”

Rarity looked at Sweetie Bot and saw that she clearly wanted to cry.

Awkwardly, she continued. “But… But I guess that I can try? To learn? To accept change? I’m so sorry.”

She was suddenly hugged by Sweetie Bot, taking her by surprise. Awkwardly, she wrapped her legs around the little bot, then began to rub her back.

Then, she said, “So, hum… How about we go together? To the Summer Sun Celebration?”

“Yes, please!” Sweetie Bot agreed right away, still hugging the mare. “I would love to!”

Maybe it isn’t so bad, Rarity thought as she continued to hug the filly.

Sweetie Bot and Rarity spent the night talking to each other, Rarity wanting to learn more about the robot. Like, how were her days (she was shocked to learn that Sweetie Bot spent a lot of time just standing in front of her boutique doing nothing). What she liked. What she didn’t like. Where she came from. What she wanted to do (she honestly loved the idea of Sweetie Bot becoming Cheerilee’s assistant. It would be a very good use of her talent, and it would be better than just remaining standing in front of the boutique). And so on.

They didn’t have much else to do. Rarity didn’t have a board game, or toys, or story books for children. In the end, they decided to try to work together on a dress.

Sweetie Bot revealed to be a lot of help. While she had to learn at first, once she got things going, she was the perfect assistant, and Rarity even let her use the sewing machine. As expected of a robot, she was very meticulous, even more than Rarity herself. She could sew to the micrometer.

Now, Rarity just had to teach her which colors were good with which colors.

Before they knew it, it was time to go to the town hall.

However, things didn’t go as planned once the celebration began. Celestia didn’t appear, and in her place appeared none other than Nightmare Moon. Sweetie Bot quickly hid under a table, between Scootaloo and who she recognized was Apple Bloom, from Sweet Apple Acres, the apple farm outside of Ponyville.

She may be a robot, but an alicorn of darkness was still scary!

As she listened to her speech, she suddenly heard, “I wish that I could do something about her.”

The three fillies jumped in surprise and dropped on each other. Poor Apple Bloom found herself crushed under Sweetie Bot’s weight. A robot was heavy! Thankfully, the yellow earth pony filly was very strong.

Sweetie Bot quickly got up, then the three looked to their left, seeing Ruby present under the table with them. They could swear she wasn’t here before!

To their surprise, Ruby wasn’t scared by Nightmare Moon, but was instead glaring at her, grinding her teeth.

“Ruby?” Sweetie Bot called.

Ruby stopped glaring at Nightmare Moon, then grinned at Sweetie Bot.

“So, how did it go with Rarity? I saw you enter the town hall at her side.”

Sweetie Bot smiled, then awkwardly hugged Ruby from above Scootaloo.

“I can’t thank you enough. Everything went well, thanks to you.”

“Glad to hear.”

Scootaloo suddenly got up, separating the two.

“Uh, girls? I don’t think this is the moment. Scary alicorn over there.”

Ruby waved dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about Miss Grumpypants. She will eventually be taken care of.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s like in story books. Villains always get their well deserved spanking.”

“Uh… We aren’t in a story. This is real life,” Apple Bloom said.

Ruby snorted.

“The night… will last… FOREVER!” Nightmare Moon announced before her mane turned into a whirlwind releasing lightning bolts as she cackled.

“What a drama queen,” Ruby deadpanned.

After pushing back some guards, Nightmare Moon then flew out of the town hall, chased by Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle, the lavender unicorn mare who came to the boutique, then ran out with the baby dragon on her back. Rarity eventually followed her, along with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.

“Well, the show is over,” Ruby said. “You girls should probably return to your homes. Don’t worry. In just a few hours, the sun will be back.”

Sweetie Bot, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom looked at each other, confused, then looked back at Ruby, only to see that she was gone.

“What? Where did she go?” Scootaloo almost shouted.

Sweetie Bot looked outside from under the table. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

“Sweetie Bot, your new friend starts to scare me.”

“We still should do what she said. Ah should go find Big Mac and return home,” Apple Bloom said.

“Same with my aunts,” Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Bot looked down. She had nopony to worry about her. Rarity left, apparently to go look at what was going on, and Cookie Crumbles and Hondo Flanks weren’t in Ponyville.

“Well, goodbye, girls,” she eventually said before she walked out from under the table, toward the exit of the town hall.

Arriving at the Carousel Boutique, she entered, then remained sitting in front of the door, waiting for Rarity.

Hours passed.

Then, suddenly, the sun rose. Not long after, she heard a party begin outside.

She wanted to go and investigate, but she preferred to remain here and wait, not wanting to miss Rarity.

Later, the door finally opened, and the white unicorn entered, yawning.

She found herself tackle-hugged.

“Rarity! I was so worried!”

Rarity looked down in surprise at the little robot.

“Oh! Sweetie Bot! Did you wait for me all this time?”

Sweetie Bot nodded. “I didn’t know where you went, so I remained here waiting for you! When you weren’t coming back, I became really worried!”

Rarity looked down at the filly, then got tears in her eyes before she wrapped her in her hooves.

“Oh… Sweetie Bot… I’m sorry I made you worried.”

The two hugged for a moment, until Sweetie Bot released the mare.

“So, what happened?”

Rarity yawned again, hiding her mouth behind her hoof.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Bot. After everything that happened, I need my beauty sleep. I will tell you once I wake up.”

“Basically, she and a few other ponies entered the Everfree Forest, found the Elements of Harmony, blasted Nightmare Moon with them, and turned her back into Princess Luna,” they suddenly heard from the boutique’s entrance, behind Rarity.

With a scream, the mare turned around, Sweetie Bot moving beside her. There, at the door, they saw Ruby.

“See? I told you everything would be alright!”

“Ruby!” Sweetie Bot exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to have one last talk with you before I moved on my way. Can I enter?”

Rarity came out of her shock thanks to the question.

“Oh! Of course! You are Sweetie Bot’s friend, right? So you can.”

“Thank you.”

The three moved deeper into the boutique, Rarity closing the door.

“What did you mean?” Sweetie Bot asked. “You are already moving away? You barely arrived!”

“I know, but I think that my job here is done, so it is time for me to leave,” Ruby answered.

“Your job?” Sweetie Bot asked.

Rarity frowned at Ruby. “You aren’t a normal filly, are you?”

Ruby answered with a giggle.

“Who are you?” Rarity asked.

“I’m the Spirit of the Present Summer Sun Celebration!” Ruby exclaimed.

Sweetie Bot mimed a gasp. “Really?! Wait… Wouldn’t there be a Past and Future Spirit?”

Ruby waved dismissively. “Past and future are overrated with me.”

Rarity sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Sweetie Bot. She is obviously joking. There is no such thing as Spirits.”

Sweetie Bot looked as if her world was destroyed.

Ruby giggled. “Oh, you are adorable. But Rarity is right, I’m not a Spirit. Well, she is also wrong. A Spirit does exist out there. Quite the chaotic fellow. Difficult to support at first, but once he learns about friendship, he becomes more tolerable, but it won’t be before he learns a very important lesson that he becomes fun to be with. He gives the most epic prank wars.”

Rarity looked as if she wasn’t sure if Ruby was foaling again or not.

“Who are you really?” she asked.

Ruby smiled, then disappeared in a cloud.

“I am the Omniversal Traveller, Mistress of the Void, Queen of Floralia. Some call me the Fatal Cutie, others, Evil’s Nightmare, or the Sweet One. I am…”

The cloud disappeared, revealing…

An alicorn Sweetie Bot, made of flesh and blood.

“Sweetie Void!” she exclaimed.

Sweetie Bot and Rarity’s jaws dropped.

“Before you start asking questions, yes, I’m Sweetie Bot. To be more exact, I’m a counterpart from another dimension. My real name is Sweetie Belle, but we call me Sweetie Void to differentiate me from other Sweetie Belles. And sorry for hiding my real identity, but when I found out that I arrived in this universe just a few days before Nightmare Moon’s arrival, it was better to hide myself. I didn’t want to derail such an important event, and you can guess how ponies would have reacted if they had seen an unknown alicorn filly walking around. Also, your situation was already delicate enough without adding an alicorn alternate self. Thankfully, I was able to convince Pinkie to not give me a party.”

“How are you a living pony?” Sweetie Bot asked.

Sweetie Void sighed. “It’s not because you are a robot that you aren’t living, but I see what you mean. Well, actually, most Sweetie Belles out there are flesh and blood. You are the first Sweetie that I meet who is made of metal. I’m sure that there are more Sweetie Bots out there, but we clearly outnumber you.”

“Who… Who is your family?” Rarity asked, wanting to clear a doubt.

Sweetie Void smiled at the mare. “My parents are Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles. I have a big sister named Rarity. And no, I’m not adopted.”

Rarity put a hoof on her mouth to stop a gasp, then she looked at Sweetie Bot.

Sweetie Void smiled sadly. “Funny how fate works.”

“Did you help me just because I’m you?” Sweetie Bot asked.

“When I arrived in this universe, I didn’t even know about you. I mean, I knew that a Sweetie Belle was around, but I didn’t know your particularity. When I saw you standing in front of the boutique, I was very surprised. I immediately wanted to know more about you, not just because you are me, but because it’s not everyday I see a robot in a normal Equestria. So I got to know you, found out how unique you are, and discovered how much your life honestly sucked. Not wanting to leave my new friend in such a bad situation, I decided to help. I admit, it pained me to see you being used by somepony who was supposed to be one of your best friends, and having practically no relationship with Rarity. But most important of all, I saw a sweet filly who needed help, and it was only normal that I answered the call, me or not me.”

Once she finished, Sweetie Void smiled knowingly and raised her front legs.

“Come here, you.”

Immediately, Sweetie Bot hugged her, and Sweetie Void wrapped her with her legs.

“Thank you, for everything,” the robot said.

“It was only natural, my friend,” Sweetie Void said before she looked at Rarity. “It’s a good start, but you both still have a long way to go, a lot to learn about becoming a family. There will be ups and downs, lots of mistakes, but I’m sure that everything will be alright in the end.”

She looked back at Sweetie Bot as she released her. “Little warning. Twilight Sparkle, the new librarian, is an absolute neeeerd. As soon as she sees you, she will want to study you. Agree or not, but I’m sure that once you two start to work together, you will do a lot of good things for Equestria, and Equus. Maybe she will even be able to do what your creator couldn’t do, and give you a digestive system, or the possibility to use magic. She is that smart.”

Sweetie Bot got excited at that.

“And don’t forget to talk to Miss Cheerilee. What am I saying? Of course you won’t forget. You would forget something only if you erased your memory yourself, or somepony did it to you.”

Sweetie Bot nodded. “Uhuh. Uh… I know that you said that it was time for you to go, but would you like to remain a bit longer? I really want to talk more to you while Rarity will be asleep.”

“Mmh… Oh, alright. Nothing forces me to leave now. But don’t expect me to reveal the future to you. With you being a robot, I’m not even sure how some things will go.”

“Yay!”

Rarity yawned. “Yes you do that. It’s time for me to go. It was nice to know you, Sweetie Void.”

And so, Rarity left for her room, leaving the fillies to talk and play.

As soon as Rarity woke up, Sweetie Void decided that it was time for her to go, advising her robotic counterpart to help Rarity prepare breakfast. She also reassured her that she will eventually return, much to Sweetie Bot’s joy.

Sweetie Void waved goodbye while Sweetie Bot and Rarity left for the kitchen.

Then, tears appeared in her eyes, and she sobbed. Controlling herself, she opened a rift and walked through it.