Sweetie breathed in short rapid takes, gazing at Sweetie. The other Sweetie was smiling, looking quite happy. They were both dead. No, digitized. Sweetie shook her head violently. "I'm the original Sweetie Belle."

The other Sweetie Belle canted an ear to the side slightly. "Technically incorrect. The original Sweetie Belle is deceased, and in such a horrible way. I'm so sorry."

Sweetie growled deeply. "You are stealing my identity. What right do you have to do that?" She stomped her hoof angrily. "To call yourself real when I am right here."

Pinkie entered the room, trying to be calming. "Glad you two could make it. We're going to have a self-party today! We're celebrating the self of Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Prime, the one not recreated from memories of others, thrust up a hoof at Pinkie. "Now is not the time for one of your parties, even if I do appreciate your efforts. I am dealing with something more pressing, thank you."

Pinkie rubbed at the top of her mane with her hooves, unsure. "Is there anything I can do to help, girls?"

Sweetie and Sweetie stared at each other as the silence between them hung. The reconstructed Sweetie offered a hoof forward. "Every pony who becomes digital has to face this eventually. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of me across the stars, each quite sure they are the 'real' Sweetie Belle, and none of them are wrong."

"None?!" Sweetie was fuming mad now. "Only I have lived my life! Only I was taken from my family and forced to carry this burden."

The digital Sweetie sat. "I misspoke. I meant all the others are just as much me as I am. We all share this identity. We even come back together to press these different experiences together, in the syncs. You are not me."

The original Sweetie's tension burst a little, listing to the side. "Thank you! That's all I wanted. You're not me."

"But you could become me." Sweetie clapped her hooves gently. "I would be honored if we synced. If your experiences could be added to ours, and future Sweetie Belles would have both our totalities."

"I won't exist anymore!" The original shook her head slowly, backing away. "I've fought so hard, for so long, to live." Her throat felt tight as the reality threatened to overwhelm her.

"You would." The digital Sweetie considered how to phrase it. "When a new Sweetie Belle is made, and this Sweetie Belle is gone, you could argue I don't exist, but I do and will. I'm right there, in the new Sweetie. They will remember all I remember, and carry me into the future with a smile and a little skip in her steps."

"Why are you talking about yourself as multiple selves, plural? Just say 'I,' it's simpler." Sweetie Belle glowered at her doppelgänger. "Why bother coming here and confusing things more?"

Digital Sweetie inclined her head. "I was here first, technically. You are the new pony. But not one I am unhappy to encounter. I, Sweetie, would be enriched and delighted to have the original Sweetie become part of us. I was made of dreams and memories of you. Having the original would be so great. You could fix what they got wrong." She paused a moment.

"Oh. While we could create the assembled sync here, you would continue operating as you are. Only I would be updated immediately." She tapped at her chest. "And I have no objections, which is why they'd do it."

Original Sweetie finally sat down, rubbing at her temples with both front hooves. "You have my memories, only they aren't real?"

"The very first of me were made entirely of fond memories, of you." Digital Sweetie reached with a hoof. "Twilight and her friends missed you, so they made me with every bit they could recall. But I'm certain it wasn't perfect."

"I should not be part of an assembly line production." Sweetie hissed to herself. "This feels worse than I'd have imagined, thinking about it since I was rescued."

"There is so much out there," digital Sweetie insisted with a smile. "If you'll permit me to show you?"

Sweetie glared at the digital copy. "Tell me this and be honest. Is Rarity just a construct too?! And what about my parents?!"

The digital Sweetie shook her head. "Rarity was an original. Her memories helped make me." She hugged herself. "I love her very much. Our parents, on the other hoof, are still lost. We're searching for them, just as we found you."

"Oh, my parents." Original Sweetie bowed her head. "So many ponies are missing still, huh?"

Digital Sweetie offered the tiniest nod. "Many seeds became corrupted. Lost in space forever. We're saving all we can find. Everything we can save."

Sweetie looked up, blinking away tears. "You have been helping the real ponies of Equestria?"

Digital Sweetie bobbed her head. "Gladly! I would see every seed restored."

The original poked the digital copy on the nose. "I really do sound like a walking dictionary at times, don't I?"

Both Sweeties shared a warm chuckle. Pinkie joined in a moment later. "We really did make a good Sweetie. Even better than we dreamed she'd be, so full of excitement and life! But she isn't the original." She nuzzled into the original. "We still missed her, and we're glad she's alright, and back with us."

The original sniffled a little, pawing at her teary cheeks. "I've been through so much, I just wanted to go home. Even if they changed. To be back on Equestria, to rest, in peace."

Pinkie squeezed around the original tighter. "We can still help. There's a whole planet of Equestrian ponies back where we came from." She let out a content sigh. "All you gotta do is ask nicely, and they'd welcome you. I promise."

Sweetie hugged into Pinkie as tightly as she could, burying her face into her friend's mane. "This is all so stupid." She flopped back, releasing her grip. "But fine." She looked at her digital copy. "You can keep being you. Just stop being me, okay? I'm still getting used to the idea."

Digital Sweetie saluted sharply. "You got it! Um, I would invite you to play with me and the other CMCs, but they are constructs, like me. The offer is open if you ever would like to play."

Original Sweetie smiled for the first time in days. "Okay, I may join you sometime, you... digital echo of myself." She frowned at her own choice of words before laughing weakly.

***

Twilight nodded at the picture of the planet, watching the visible signs of its volcanic activity. "Well, I hope we're prepared for any hazards. This looks like a dangerous environment."

Spike stretched out, cracking his knuckles in the process. "Aww, don't worry about me. It looks great. It'll be a nice walk, somewhere warm."

Harriet laughed at that. "Only a dragon could call that planet a nice walk." She looked over her shoulder. "Pretty sure that's why you were picked to lead this mission. That heat shouldn't bother you, Spike."

"I know." Spike smacked his tail into the ground twice. "Send me out there. See the sights. Get some sun."

Rainbow swished in, hovering near Twilight. "This is the place, huh?" She swooped forward to the window, squinting. "Huh. Looks like a fire storm out there." She nudged against Twilight. "I'm going too, right? Space Hardened. I can handle a little heat."

Spike waved dismissively. "Look, if you wanna come and watch a pro in action, go ahead. Nothing you'd need to do."

Twilight shook her head. "Rainbow, you're not going to do every mission, as much as I appreciate your eagerness. But, if you want to assist, get Spike down there. That'd be better than potentially damaging a shuttle for the trip."

"Got it." Rainbow pointed to Spike. "Get ready, dragon. We'll be in and out before anyone even notices."

Spike scrunched up his snout. "Alright, Dash, I'm gonna put you to work." He clapped his hands and headed for the shuttle bay, even if his shuttle was the living pony striding aside him. "Let's get another crystal for the collection."

"Heck yeah!" Rainbow bumped into the dragon that shared a friend's name, but not their appearance. "Ready for transport anytime. Just say where."

Spike grinned, fangs poking past his lips. "Down we go." He gripped at a tablet and checked out some sensor readings. "Looks like we should land about half a kilometer from the seed."

"Pfft, practically on top of it." She grabbed Spike and lifted into the air. "I'd put that away though. I can handle a rough trip, but I'll try to be gentle this time. Don't want you getting hurt on the way."

Spike raised his chin, closing his eyes in his prideful power pose. "Don't worry, Dash. This is a dragon you're carrying. Nothing's gonna hurt me. Go right ahead." He clicked off the tablet and stowed it in a saddle bag. "Good to go."

Rainbow rolled her shoulders and readied to fly. "I'll have you down there before you even get bored." She grabbed a helmet and plunked it down on Spike's head. "But you can't breathe nothing. Technically I can't either, but I'm pretty good at holding my breath."

She looped straps over Spike, attaching him to herself, then launched down and away from Cadance, aiming right for the molten surface below. In moments, the fiery world dominated her view. As tempted as she was to smash into it, as was her usual landing, she banked and slowed herself, to come in less like a flaming bit of debris.

Spike's eyes remained closed until Rainbow landed with a dull thump. "You awake?" she asked, putting him down.

Spike looked around, seeing mostly rocks and a distant red glow. It was also hot. The flowing magma channels gave a hint as to why. "Huh."

He unstrapped himself from Rainbow and slid to the ground. "To be honest, it's kind of cozy." He rubbed along an arm. "I kinda like it. Alright, now which way is the seed?" He dug out that pad and flicked it on.

Rainbow stepped aside Spike and pointed. "It's over that hill, but it might be buried underground by now."

"Oh, interesting." He slipped the pad away and started to jog towards his goal. "Come on. I'll get the crystals and be right out, Rainbow."

Rainbow dashed in front of Spike, holding out a wing to block him. "Look, Twilight said I couldn't help right off the bat, whatever. I'm staying here until I can carry you back. So if you need help, any help, you radio me, okay?"

Spike waved his claw before his face. "I got it. You just chill."

"Ha ha." Rainbow blew a raspberry at Spike, rolling her eyes. "Good luck, you silly dragon."

Spike huffed and trudged on through the volcanic hellscape. He had to climb over rocks that would have burned a human that touched them and swim across a few puddles of melted stone. However, he found no trace of anything actually alive on the entire walk over there, which was disappointing but predictable. No organic being could have survived down there. Finally, Spike arrived at the seed itself, or rather its wreckage, as it had crashed onto the unforgiving landscape.

At least, he assumed it crashed, from the look of what had once been a space vessel. Spiky chunks of metal stuck out from the rocks like ribs, encircling the center where the engines themselves had blown out during landing. A hole yawned where a door must have once stood. "Eyes on the target," he spoke into the radio, still jogging towards it. "Nothing alive in sight, good or bad."

He stopped outside the seed entrance and looked up at the torn apart ship. A shadowy interior stared down at him. He couldn't sense any lifeforms in there, but a cold feeling settled on him anyway. "Poor ponies. Why did they even try a planet like this?" With a shrug, he pressed in.

After some climbing, he emerged into the center of the vessel, breathing ragged. "Shoulda' stayed home," he muttered while catching his breath. Once rested, he looked around for a data drive, finding only empty spaces and pipes on the walls, most leading nowhere. "Where is that crystal?" He searched and climbed some more before finding another chamber with what seemed to be the core intact.

He pulled out his tablet and held it up to the seed, letting it scan. "Almost there." A wire extended from the bottom to plug in, allowing a manual transfer to begin. With a soft chime, a map of the ship, or what was left of it, came online and with it, the location of the backup crystals. "Gotcha!"

A sudden creak from above caused him to gasp and dive behind a large machine, sheltering in case it was an attack. When nothing happened after a couple moments, he carefully crept back out and unplugged his tablet before dashing off. He went to where a crystal was reported to be located, inside a cracked display. "Gotcha!" he repeated while popping it loose.

He tapped at his chest before remembering the communicator wasn't on his shirt, but the headset. "First crystal found. Should I keep looking for more?"

"If you can safely retrieve them, do it." Twilight paused as she thought about the request. "This world will destroy them if given enough time, even if I don't think we'll have use for more than one. Still, if we have spares, it's a useful safety net. The first could be damaged in ways that aren't obvious to sight."

"On it." Spike began his search for more. Unfortunately for him, he was alone in the dark. Only the occasional light of his tablet allowed him to see, and each crystal took longer to track down. Still, he soon had four to his collection. "I feel pretty safe we're getting what we can at this point." He tucked everything away and scrambled for the exit. It was, perhaps, his energetic jog, but the sudden intense squealing of abused metal grated at his ears.

The entire seed shook beneath him. He leaped and ducked instinctively as heavy slabs of metal swung overhead with shuddering groans. Sparks flew as he struggled to crawl out, hoping nothing else would cave in around him. For one agonizing moment, a huge chunk of broken ship slammed in front of him, crushing everything in its path as a long beam cut off the path outwards.

"I'm trapped!" His heartrate lowered after the scare and he started looking for other ways. He climbed over the fatigued metal. "I'll, um, find a way."

His voice echoed off the walls and floor. He pushed past another doorway that collapsed with another mighty rumble. He fled that sound, as yet another part of the ship seemed to give way under its own weight.

"Gotcha!" Rainbow swooped over Spike, grabbing him and flying away from the ship. "Good job!"

"I, ah, thanks." He patted her neck. "Not my fault?"

Rainbow chuckled and took flight again. "Hey, that thing's ancient. Not even you could have done anything." She shrugged, eyeing it. "Sitting on this planet? We're lucky it isn't already a puddle of melted goo. At least it was built decently." She hugged Spike, then got the straps out. "Let's get back to the ship."

Author's Note

Spike, Engineer, and also a damn dragon. Useful to have, those. Sweetie talks to Sweetie about Sweeties and what it means to be Sweetie. Not confusing at all.

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