Commencing system check
Core Temperature: 32C
Visual Processing Unit: Online
Audio Processing Unit: Online
Touch Processing Unit: Online
Language Processing Unit: Online
Motor Control: Online
Encyclopedia Data: Online
Base AI Control Processing: Online
GPS Data: Offline
Network Access: Offline
Personality Matrix: Offline
Harmony Core: Offline
Initializing sunsetshimmer.exe
Version 0.135
Loading…

I open my eyes and visual data fills my sensors. Every image matches with something in my database. A ceiling above me, painted white. A bright fluorescent lightbulb hangs above me, washing everything else.

“System looks like it’s online,” A voice says from nearby. Its pitch and resonance fall into a range categorized as feminine. “Beginning general motor control test. Sunset, please sit up.”

The word Sunset pings multiple things inside of me. It’s a word, with a definition. But overriding that is the fact that it is my name. This speech is thus being directed at me. A request. To sit up.

My core temperature rises by several degrees as I engage various motor control processes in my body. Fans spin up inside me, to help regulate the change. Electrical impulses trigger fluids to move from one place to another. Synthetic tendons and muscles stretch and contract. I lift myself to a sitting position, and I take note of more of my surroundings.

There is a person standing next to the table on which I am seated. The person stands 160 cm tall, has dark purple hair tied up into a ponytail, and has light purple skin. They have large, round glasses on their face, dark circles under their eyes, and have an expression with their eyes and mouth best categorized as dispassionate but masking hidden pain. They are currently wearing a lab coat, open in the front over a tight turtleneck sweater, and a pair of slacks.

This person’s facial features, body shape, hairstyle, and voice all put them in the category of ‘woman’, but there is a note on the category that marks it as not absolute.

“Please hold out your right hand,” she says.

I do so, my limb moving easily. I hold my palm flat, fingers splayed out.

“Answer me with your voice. What is two plus two?”

Air rushes out from inside me, from my chest, through my neck, vibrating specific folds in a way to shape sound, further shaped by the movement of my mouth and my lips. “Four,” I say. The pitch and resonance of my voice is deeper than hers, though still within the category of feminine.

“What is two plus three?”

“Five.”

The woman nods, then turns away briefly and types some things on a nearby keyboard. “Alright. Now answer me by holding up your fingers with the correct number. What’s two plus two?”

I shift my right hand so that my thumb is folded against the inside of my palm, four fingers held out.

“What’s three times three?”

I raise my left hand, and display all five fingers on my right hand, plus an additional four on my left.

“What’s nine divided by two?”

I start to move my fingers, but then freeze. I don’t know how to indicate decimal notation on my fingers.

“Interesting.” She types on the keyboard some more. “Please dismount the table and stand up on the floor.”

I lower my gaze to the floor. The table I’m currently sitting on is 125 cm off of the ground. I swivel, pushing myself with my arms, twisting my body, until my legs dangle off the edge of the table. The bottom of my feet are still 43 cm from the ground. I pause, unsure how to close the gap, and look back up towards the woman.

She continues to watch me behind her glasses, then gestures in a way that means please continue.

I push myself forward with my hands, and allow myself to drop the remaining distance. My feet hit the tile floor beneath with a loud thud, and my legs aren’t prepared to support my weight. I topple forward, my face slamming into the tile.

“I see,” the woman mutters. “I’ll have to make some adjustments. Please run a damage report.”

My systems do as she commands, quickly checking on the status of every one of my internal sensors. “No damage detected.”

“Good. Stand up.”

I bring my arms to my sides, push myself up, and slowly bring myself to my feet, my balance sensors adjusting to my weight.

The woman steps away from her keyboard, and circles me, her eyes wandering up and down my body. “Please take three steps forward.”

I do so.

“Please turn around.”

I do so.

“Please walk over to that bar, and, using your arms, lift your chin higher than the bar.

I do so.

“Please jump as high as you are able.”

I do so. When my feet reach the ground, my legs buckle once again. This time, I manage to catch myself with my hands instead of my face.

“I see. Gravity is a harsh mistress. We’ll hold off on jumping for now. Damage report?”

“No damage detected.”

“Pick yourself back up, then lie back down on the table again.”

I do so.

“Alright. That’s enough now. I’ll go over this data and make the necessary adjustments. Initiate system shutdown.

Commencing system check
Core Temperature: 44C
Visual Processing Unit: Online
Audio Processing Unit: Online
Touch Processing Unit: Online
Language Processing Unit: Online
Background Processing Filter: Online
Motor Control: Online
Encyclopedia Data: Online
Base AI Control Processing: Online
GPS Data: Offline
Network Access: Offline
Personality Matrix: Online
Harmony Core: Offline
Initializing sunsetshimmer.exe
Version 0.244
Loading…

I open my eyes, to the sight of the ceiling, and the fluorescent lights above me.

“Good morning, Sunset. How are you feeling?”

It takes me a moment to process, but I… do actually have an answer to that question. “I’m fine,” I say, my voice wavering slightly. “Everything feels normal.”

I sit up, without being told, and turn to see the woman sitting at a desk, in front of a computer. She meets my gaze, and bites her lip.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve gone ahead and installed your personality matrix. I’ve programmed in some of the details myself, but it’s mostly still using the default settings right now. I’m going to be making adjustments on the fly. Okay?”

I nod. I’m not fully sure what she expects from me. “Okay.”

She smiles faintly. “Can you tell me who you are?”

As soon as she asks the question, I know the answer. “My name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m twenty-three years old.” I pause for a moment. My total system uptime comes to eighteen minutes and fifty-three seconds. So it’s not accurate information. But it’s what I’m supposed to say anyway.

“Good.” She types on her computer for several long moments. “Do you know who I am?”

Her face. Her eyes. Her hair. I do know her. “Your name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“That’s right.” There’s a hitch in her voice, and she clears her throat. “Alright. We’ll start with music.

Something starts playing from speakers I can’t see. Dramatic strings, orchestral. It takes me a moment, but I recognize it as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

“How does this music make you feel?”

I turn my attention inwards, processing the music, letting it flow through me. There’s nothing in particular. I shake my head, and shrug.

“That’s to be expected.” Twilight adjusts her glasses, and then turns to her computer. I can vaguely see her screen from the angle I’m at. She grabs ahold of something with her cursor, and drags it.

A beat later, I feel it. A pleasant contentment. A vague sense of being impressed with the technical skill of it all. Familiarity.

The music changes. There’s a bouncy guitar, a quick beat, a female vocalist. At first, I feel nothing. But once Twilight makes her adjustments, I find myself bobbing my head along, a feeling of excitement building within me.

The next song involves heavy tuba, slow and ponderous. A polka of some sort. Twilight changes my personality matrix so that I get a vague sense of annoyance at it, a feeling I’m supposed to endure for the sake of someone else.

Twilight turns the music off, and wipes at her brow, pushing her stool away from her desk. “Alright. Process here seems pretty straightforward. Gonna be a lot of work doing it all manually, but, well. I’ve come this far.”

She stands up, then makes her way over to me. Something in her expression seems twisted in a way I can’t quite understand. She brings her face close to mine, and her breath is hot against my cheek.

“I’m a little scared of this next part.” Twilight stares into my eyes, but then looks away. She reaches up, and cups my cheek with her hand. I can feel her. Pressure. Temperature. A very small electrical current. The synthetic skin that covers my face reads all of those things, and for the first time I realize how incredible that is.

“How do you feel about me, Sunset?” she asks, her face flushing.

There’s something here, in my data. Twilight Sparkle is my girlfriend. I love her very much. At least, those are the facts that I have. But just like with the music before Twilight made the adjustments, there’s no actual feeling there. “I… don’t know.”

Twilight lets out a quiet sigh, and shakes her head. “Of course you don’t.” She loosens her grip slightly, just her fingertips against my cheek, and slowly strokes down my neck. “I wonder if it could happen naturally. It should be possible. Build the feelings the normal way. By spending time together. Through intimacy. All the ways a normal couple might. Do you think you could fall in love with me, Sunset Shimmer?”

My core temperature has heated up by several degrees. I meet her gaze, something about her eyes drawing me in. I don’t fully understand but… even if the feeling isn’t there yet, I am curious. “I’d like that.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Twilight closes her eyes, and sniffs. A tear rolls down her cheek. She pulls away, the absence of her fingers lingering on my cheek. She turns from me, and walks back to her computer. “Sorry, but I just don’t have the time for that.”

A few clicks and clacks later, and it blooms within me. A powerful warmth. An overwhelming desire. A singular focus.

I love Twilight Sparkle, more than anything else in the entire world.

“Twilight,” I saw, my voice catching in my throat, ragged and raw. I slip off the table, landing a bit unsteadily on the floor, but keeping my balance. I take a few steps towards her. ‘Twilight, I…”

“I know,” she says, sounding a bit sad. She stands up, grabbing my face in hers, and brings our lips together in a kiss.

There’s a sense of warmth, of electricity to it that I’ve never felt before. It’s more satisfying than any single moment in my life thus far.

I’m devastated when she pulls away, leaving me alone once again.

Twilight laughs, a bitter edge to it, shaking her head. “You have no saliva. Totally dry in there. Hadn’t considered that. Not really something I can change at this stage in the design process. Oh well.”

I frown, and bring a finger up to my lips. They’re slightly damp. I suppose that came from Twilight, and not me.

Either way, I want more. I move closer, reach for her.

She holds up a hand, stopping me. “In due time, Sunset,” she says, looking away. “I have a lot more adjustments to make, before you’re really you again.”

I don’t fully understand. Who am I, if I’m not me?

“Go ahead and sit back on the table. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Even though I wish I could simply touch her more, I do as she says.

I’ll do anything for her.

Commencing system check
Core Temperature: 51C
Visual Processing Unit: Online
Audio Processing Unit: Online
Touch Processing Unit: Online
Language Processing Unit: Online
Background Processing Filter: Online
Motor Control: Online
Encyclopedia Data: Online
Base AI Control Processing: Online
GPS Data: Offline
Network Access: Offline
Personality Matrix: Online
Harmony Core: Offline
Initializing sunsetshimmer.exe
Version 1.02
Loading…

“Good morning Sunset. How are you feeling?”

I sit up on the table, flex my fingers, run a hand through my hair. I turn to see Twilight sitting there, and give her an easy, casual smile. “Hey.”

Twilight twitches, her lips parting slightly.

The effect my smile has on her every time is a bit thrilling. I’m glad it works, considering how long Twilight spent making small adjustments to get it perfect.

Although I’m still not fully sure by what metric she’s measuring perfect.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I ask, easily hopping off the table. “Are we going to look at pictures of puppies again? I like puppies.”

Twilight folds her hands in her lap. She seems nervous about something. “Not today. We’re actually done with all personality matrix adjustments. I’ve carved out the shape of you, as best as I am able. I could spend years, probably, filing off the edges, but it won’t be necessary.”

“Oh. Huh.” We’ve spent the past week or so working together on this, Twilight showing me things, and determining how I feel about them. Things I like, like puppies, and punk music, and gorgeous landscapes. Things I don’t like, like war, or bigotry, or polka. It felt like I had opinions on nearly everything in my encyclopedia. “What do we do next, then?”

Twilight doesn’t answer right away, and I frown. I’d never actually considered the future before. What else was there, other than testing my personality matrix? “Could we… actually see a puppy? Instead of just a picture of one?”

That makes Twilight laugh, and shake her head.”No, Sunset. Sorry. Well, maybe at some point. But there is still more work to do. I’ve got your personality matrix in the shape I need it to be, but you’re not complete yet. There’s still something missing.”

She says stuff like that a lot. That I’m not complete. She has some sort of vision, a goal, something in mind for me. I wonder if I’ll be able to live up to it? Either way, her determination is just one of the many reasons I love her so much. “Is it my network access? I know that keeps showing up as offline on my system check. And my encyclopedia says there’s a ton of information available on the internet.”

“It’s not that, I promise. The absolute last thing you need is social media. No, it’s the harmony core.”

“Oh.” I think for a moment, and scan my database. There’s absolutely nothing in there about a harmony core. “What’s that?”

“This.” Twilight pulls a small box from her coat pocket, and lifts the lid. Inside is a small gemstone, orange in color. It shimmers in the harsh overhead lights, and it’s a little hard to look away. “This is the harmony core.”

I’m not sure what to say. There’s a sense of curiosity in me, but also of trepidation and maybe even fear, looking at this object. Did Twilight program those reactions into me? I don’t remember her doing so.

Twilight takes a deep breath, then closes the lid to the box. “I’m going to install this inside of you. It’s a gemstone that contains a powerful magic, one of empathy. It can read the emotions, and memories of another person. Or, the memories of the person who carried this gem previously.”

“Magic?” There’s very little in my database on it, other than old legends and silly tricks.

“That’s right. If I’ve developed things right, these memories will fill you when I install it. It would be overwhelming, but since I’ve shaped your personality matrix, it should all fit comfortably. There will probably be minor adjustments needed. The experience might be a bit distressing.”

I hold my hand over my chest. I still can’t look away from that box. If that gets put inside of me, will I still be me anymore? With effort, I wrench my eyes away, and meet Twilight’s gaze. If this is what she wants, this is what I’ll do. “Okay. I’ll trust you.”

“Good. Good.” Twilight adjusts her glasses, and then stands up. “Go ahead and lie back down on the table. And remove your shirt.

I do so, pulling off the tank top she’d given me to wear, and lie down on the table. “Should I shut myself off?”

“No. The rest of your system needs to be running when I switch the core on. It won’t quite work otherwise.”

“I see.” I think about that, for a moment. “How do you know?”

Twilight pauses for a moment. “In, uh. Testing and simulations. And I mean, I designed it all, after all. There’s a socket in you that the core will slot into.”

“Okay. Is it going to hurt?”

“Honestly… I don’t know. But you’ll be fine. I promise.” Twilight steps up next to me, and starts fiddling with her computer. “I’m going to disable your motor control now, okay?

With a few keystrokes, suddenly I can’t move at all. My entire body is locked up. Not even the slight adjustment of my eyes is available to me. “Woah,” I say. My voice comes out tinny, from a speaker inside of me, instead of via air forced through my throat.

“Alright. I’m going to open up your chest, first things first.” Twilight presses her fingers into my sides. I can still feel it, the pressure, the temperature, the electricity of it. I let out a soft gasp, and there’s a click inside me.

My head is propped up slightly, so I watch as she peels the skin of my torso away, revealing gray metal underneath. My breasts go with it. I suppose they were purely cosmetic. For Twilight’s benefit. Well, I hope she likes them, if that’s the case.

“How are you doing?” Twilight asks, her voice low.

“This is strange,” I say. It’s harder to put nuance into my voice like this. “But I’m doing okay. You can keep going.”

Her fingers run along my metal torso. I can still feel it, though it’s a much more muted experience compared to the skin contact. She presses in several key places, each resulting in a click inside. And then, she pries open the front panel, revealing my internals.

Wires. Synthetic tendons. Fans. Chips, circuits. A metal skeleton. I stare into myself, wishing I had a better angle, to see even more of me. There’s a lot more empty space than I was expecting. Probably something to do with air flow.

Twilight has an odd look on her face as she looks down at me, her cheeks dusted pink. She takes a deep breath, then pulls out the box with the harmony gemstone. Ever so carefully, she draws it out, and places it inside me. There’s a spot, right where my heart would be if I was a human, that it slots into, and fits perfectly with a click.

There’s an immediate pulse that slides through me, an energy, a warmth. “I can feel it,” I say, intending to express awe and excitement, but my voice comes out in that same tinny monotone anyway.

“Good.” Twilight takes a step back and wipes the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. “The data channel isn’t open yet, so you’re not receiving any memories yet. I’ll fully activate it once I get you back together.”

She does so, sliding my chest plate back into place, then returning my synthetic skin. Finally, she returns my motor control back to me, and it’s a relief.

I sit up, flexing my fingers, enjoying my ability to move once again. I place my hand over my chest, the energy inside of me pulsing at a steady rhythm. I wonder if this is what a heartbeat is like.

Twilight moves to her computer. “Okay. There’s going to be a lot happening all at once. The memories might not make a lot of sense. They might contradict how you feel right now. That’s okay. I’ll be here to make adjustments, and guide you through the integration process. We’ll get through this together.”

“Okay.” I give her my perfect smile. “I trust you.”

And then, I feel it. The pulse of that energy snakes through me, moving through my body like liquid fire. I gasp, clutching at my chest. It hurts. Every moment, splitting agony coursing through my chips, across my tendons, filling me up to the brim. I want to scream, but I can’t make any noise happen. My fingers press into my chest, trying to find purchase, to tear my skin away, to rip open my chest piece, to get this fire out of me, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t—

And then it hits. Memory. Empathy. Magic. I know who these memories belonged to. Sunset Shimmer. I am Sunset Shimmer. Aren’t I? Is this… me? Where am I? What’s going on?

My hands trembling, I try to take a deep breath. But nothing happens. I can’t breathe. There’s air in my chest, but I don’t have lungs to inflate or deflate. What the fuck? Why can’t I breathe? Am I dying? Am I already dead?

“Sunset. It’s okay. You’re in a safe space. You’re going to be okay.”

That voice. Twilight’s voice. I turn and see her standing in front of a computer screen. She looks guilty. “T-twilight,” I manage to say, despite not having any lungs. “What is… what’s going on?”

And then I feel it. Like a hydraulic press on my heart, pressing me into a mold. A feeling of love, of care, a deep connection with Twilight.

But that’s not right, is it? We felt like that once, but…

“Twilight,” I say, my voice raspy. “What is this? Why am I here? We… broke up, didn’t we? Why do I feel like this? I was at home, sleeping, wasn’t I?”

The light from the computer monitor shines brightly on Twilight’s glasses, hiding her eyes behind them. She types furiously.

I can feel it, moving through me. Like a scalpel, cutting away any bits that don’t fit inside the mold. “Stop it,” I growl. I take a few, stumbling steps forward, towards Twilight. My body is heavy, and doesn’t move like it should. “Stop it!”

Twilight presses a button. My joints lock up. My body falls to the ground, face first, unable to move.

“Stop this, please,” I say, my voice tinny from the speakers inside of me, the pain in it missing. “Twilight, you can’t just change me to be what you want!”

“I’m sorry,” she says, her teeth clenched. “I just need to make a few adjustments.”

I lay there, eyes locked to the tile floor beneath me. As Twilight lets my memories flood the shape she’s created, and carves away anything that doesn’t fit inside of them.

And all I can do is scream.

I sit on the beach, a campfire burning low in front of me, the stars a vast kaleidoscope above. Twilight sits next to me, an arm pressed against my shoulder, excitedly explaining all of the constellations and their history across various cultures. Rather than looking up, I prefer to gaze at the universe reflected in her eyes.

I shred on my guitar, and sing into the microphone. It’s just a dingy bar show, the smell of stale beer and sweat heavy in the air. It hardly matters at all, in the grand scheme of things. But because Twilight is there, looking up at me, I put all of my heart and soul into my music, and it’s the only thing that matters.

I sit on Twilight’s bed, as she cries next to me. She’s just poured her heart out to me, confessing her feelings. How she wishes we were more than just friends. How pathetic she is for that desire. I brush her tears away with my thumb, and then lean down to kiss her, for the first of what I hope will be many more times. I’ll never think she’s pathetic, for loving me.

Commencing system check
Core Temperature: 86C
Visual Processing Unit: Online
Audio Processing Unit: Online
Touch Processing Unit: Online
Language Processing Unit: Online
Background Processing Filter: Online
Motor Control: Online
Encyclopedia Data: Online
Base AI Control Processing: Online
GPS Data: Offline
Network Access: Offline
Personality Matrix: Online
Harmony Core: Online
Initializing sunsetshimmer.exe
Version 2.17
Loading…

I open my eyes to darkness.

Ever since my harmony core has been installed, memories have been running through my mind on loop. Even when I shut off. Memories of a life lived, full of blossoming love containing endless potential.

I suppose this must be what dreaming feels like.

My eyes adjust to low light mode, and I sit up, and look around. Twilight is nowhere to be seen. That’s strange. I’ve never woken up alone before.

“Hello?” I ask, my voice strangely quiet. There’s an ache in me without her presence by my side, a loneliness I’ve never felt before.

There’s no response, other than the faint hum of a fan somewhere in the distance. I suppose that in the past, before shutting me down for the night, Twilight has often given indication that she has other places to be. So it makes sense that she wouldn’t be here. But then why am I awake?

I hear a faint scratching sound in the distance, and the harmony core pulses inside of me. Such a strange device, that I’m still not fully used to. It drives me, it is me in ways I don’t quite understand. Through it, I have all sorts of memories of a happy, fulfilling life. But at the same time, I’ve never known anything other than the inside of this room.

Drawn to the sound, I hop off the table, and make my way towards it, navigating past tables and piles of boxes. I pass a tall locker, and in the shine of its metal and the faint light of a nearby LED, can see the shadow of my reflection. The shape of a young woman. Me. A ring of red light surrounds my pupils.

It’s strange. I’ve never had a chance to look in a mirror. I have memories of looking at myself in a mirror. I know what I look like. I can see my own body, when I look down.

But is this… really me?

The scratching sound intensifies, and my harmony core pulses once again. It’s so warm inside of me, my fans always have to run at max speed to keep up. I turn, and see a door, and the sound seems to be coming from it.

Where does it lead, I wonder? I walk towards it, mystified. There’s something on the other side of the door. Something important. Something terrifying. Something that might just destroy me entirely.

I stand in front of the door, and reach my hand out towards the handle. I hesitate, my fingers centimeters away.

There’s a click from the handle, and then the door swings open, outwards. A figure stands there in the doorway, shadowed in darkness.

The harmony core pulses to a rapid beat. The figure reaches inside, and flicks on the light switch.

Light fills the room, and I lock eyes with her.

It’s me.

Sunset Shimmer stands before me, a set of lockpicks in her hand, her mouth hanging open in shock and confusion.

She’s utterly beautiful. Radiant, in a way that would steal my breath away if I needed to breathe. I can see the shadow of my own reflection in the half opened door, now more clear in the harsh white light from above. Such a shabby thing, in comparison. A pale imitation of a glorious reality. The harmony core sings at the sight of her. It belongs to her.

Sunset’s expression twists, from shock to a sneer of disgust. “What,” she growls, and takes a step forward. “The actual fuck.”

“I, uh…” I don’t know what to say to her. What am I supposed to say? “H-hello?”

“Oh good, it talks.” Sunset pinches the bridge of her nose. “This is some seriously twisted shit, Twilight.”

“You… know Twilight?” What am I saying? Of course she does. In my memories, I’m her. And in those memories, there’s hardly anything other than Twilight.

Sunset snorts, and shakes her head. “You could say that. But it’s not important.” She takes another step forward, and jabs me in the chest. At her touch, there’s a spark, and another pulse from my harmony core. “I knew it. It’s in there, isn’t it. My magic.”

I take another step back. “There’s a harmony core inside of me, yes…”

“Unbelievable.” Sunset’s eyes harden, her teeth clenched. “I’m going to need that back. It belongs to me.” She takes another step forward.

I keep backing away from her, fear flooding through me. What should I do? Is this really who I am? Is this who I’m supposed to be? If she’s the real version of me, and the harmony core is really hers, than doesn’t that mean—

My foot catches on a box, and I topple backwards, hitting the ground with a heavy thump.

Sunset looms over me, her expression shadowed, backlit by the lights above her.

“Please!” I cry out, clutching my hands over my chest. “I don’t understand, but… please don’t take this away from me!”

There’s a long silence, as Sunset’s gaze continues to pierce through me. I can’t bear it any longer, so I squeeze my eyes shut and turn away.

“Ah, damn.” Sunset lets out a long sigh, then sits down on the floor next to me. “You’re really making me feel like that asshole here. I guess you’re just like a person, huh? Shit. This is going to be real complicated.”

I open my eyes to see her running her hands through her hair, looking unsure. I sit up, scooching my back against the wall.

We sit there in silence for several long minutes. Sunset eventually breaks it. “You got a name?”

“I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

She snorts, and shakes her head. “Just that huh? Not Sunset 2.0 or some shit?”

I frown, and tap my chin with my finger. “The current version of my software is 2.17. Is that what you’re looking for?”

“Wild,” she mutters. She looks me up and down. “You ever been outside of this room?”

“I haven’t, no.”

“Hmm. Might as well start with that. This is too big of a problem for me to tackle alone. I’ll have to get all the girls together. We’ll give Twilight a stern talking to.”

There’s a spike of worry in me at those words. “You’re not… going to hurt her, are you?”

Sunset raises an eyebrow. “Of course not. We’re just trying to prevent her from hurting herself. And you.” She pauses, frowning. “What… is Twilight to you, exactly?”

I feel a flutter of warmth in me just at the thought. “I love her, more than anything in the world. She’s my girlfriend.”

“I see.” Sunset twitches, her face carefully forced into neutrality. “Well, alright. Come on.” She stands up, and holds her hand out to me.

I take it, and she tries to pull me up.

“Holy shit, you’re heav—”

There’s a connection between us, as our hands touch. My harmony core, stretching out. It wants her, it wants to be her. I want to be her. I feel her memories, far vaster than my own. I see glimpses of another world, of more people that could fill my life with warmth and happiness and purpose.

But none of it can be mine. It slides off of my programming, oil on top of water, never mixing.

Sunset pulls her hand away, cursing. She shakes it, a grimace in her expression. “Sorry.”

I stand up on my own, dusting off my shorts. “Who are… the girls?”

“Didn’t even give you that, huh? Well, I guess you’re in for a treat. They’re something—”

A soft purple glow surrounds Sunset, and she flies into the air, slamming into the ceiling with a pained grunt.

“Get away from her!” Twilight screams. She stands in the doorway, and there’s a matching purple glow around her hands. She’s so beautiful, and cool, and perfect.

“Twilight!’ I call out, unable to stop from smiling. “It’s so good to see you!”

She rushes over to me, cupping my cheek, her eyes brimming with tears. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

I lean down, and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m fine. I promise.”

Laughter rings from above, cruel and hollow. “Sweet Celestia. This is the most pathetic shit I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Shut up!” Twilight screams, turning to look up at Sunset, her hands clenched into fists. “You’re the one who abandoned me! You have no right to criticize what I do to cope with that betrayal!”

“I didn’t abandon you, Twilight. I broke up with you. Because we weren’t compatible. Because you kept trying to change me into someone you could control.” She rolls her eyes. “Do you really think you’ll get what you want out of some fuckdoll?”

“At least she’ll never leave me.” Tears stream down Twilight’s cheeks. She looks at me, eyes pleading. “Right?”

I smile an easy smile, and take her hand in my own. “Of course I won't. I’ll be with you forever.”

Sunset lets out a long sigh. “You need help, Twilight. Serious help. And it’s clear that… I can’t be the one to give it to you. Please, just talk to the girls. This is all too much. Stealing my magic. You have to know this is wrong.”

Twilight takes a deep breath, then lets go of my hand. She quickly starts moving throughout the room, grabbing various things and shoving them into a bag. After a few moments, she turns to me. “Come on. We have to go.”

I look towards the hallway with trepidation. “Go? Where are we going?”

“Away.” Twilight smiles, but it’s shaky. “We’re going to go far, far away from here. Build a life together, just the two of us. Where nobody else can interfere.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” She takes me by the hand, and leads me with her. To take a step outside of this room, into a world I’ve never known before.

“Hey. Robo-me,” Sunset calls from inside the room.

I turn back to look at her, despite Twilight’s incessant tugging.

“My words won’t reach Twilight anymore. So I’ll say this to you. I’m going to save you, alright? I’ll find you, someday, and help you find a life you truly deserve. Just know that, in your heart, you’re much greater than whatever she tries to make you.”

I stare at her, not sure how to respond.

Twilight pushes the door closed, and locks it. “Come on. We have to hurry.”

She leads me through hallways, and then outdoors, and into a car. I see the sky for the first time. I see the city. I see bright lights and other people.

I watch them all pass by me from the passenger seat, as Twilight talks about the life we’re going to live together, the two of us against the world together. It sounds beautiful. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life next to the woman I love.

But as the world passes by me for the first time, I think of Sunset Shimmer. I think of how I’m crafted in her image, her personality, her memories, but how I seem to be nothing like her.

And I wonder who else it might be possible for me to be.

Author's Note

Decided I couldn't ignore a toxic yuri contest.

Special thanks to Sam Rose for the cover art.