Sentience - The Ultimate Party Machine

by PinkamenaParty

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Sad, Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2846

Pinkie Pie has always loved parties and smiles, but in her advanced age, she just can't be the same party pony she used to be. One morning, she devised the plan to build what she called "The Ultimate Party Machine". This is the story o

Imagine Ponyville, 40 years after Twilight became a princess. Pinkie Pie is still the same random pink bundle of laughter she always was, and the others are still doing what they've always done. Pinkie, by this time, has realized she cannot continue to spread happiness and cheer like she once could as her health began to decline, so she began to build a machine. This machine would carry on Pinkie's legacy and continue to bring smiles to the faces of ponies even after her passing. Pinkie pours her very heart and soul into the design and construction of this machine. How will those feelings reflect the machine's actions? Will this machine work as she had planned?

Published 2013-04-23 07:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-30 03:40:26 UTC

Activation

Introduction

Ponyville has always been a small town, built on friendships and hard work. Ponies who live in this town all know each other well and normally get along. This can be attributed to the shenanigans of a single pony, who helped keep the smiles going all around for all this time. This pink mare with the poofy mane, usually seen hopping around town on all four hooves with a big grin on her face, Pinkamena Diane Pie, known by her friends as Pinkie Pie.

Lately, however, Pinkie hasn't been able to keep up as much as she used to, and has been seen visiting the Ponyville Hospital more and more often. Some of the younger fillies have also reported seeing her sneaking around an abandoned workshop not far from Sweet Apple Acres, but this information is still unconfirmed. Given Pinkie's celebrity status, her reasons for such secrecy must be somewhat important.

Final Assembly & Boot-Up

As she tightened the last few bolts, Pinkie heaved a heavy sigh. The hard work she had put into designing and building the machine was finally complete. She picked up a dirty rag from the toolbox and wiped away the oily stains in her slightly-graying coat.

"Finally! You and I are going to have so much fun!" Pinkie squealed with joy, seeming to defy her aging appearance by prancing around happily while picking up the remaining tools she had left out.

Pinkie had just finished cleaning up the shabby workshop when someone began knocking on the old wooden door from outside.

"Hey, Pinkie, You in there?" A curious voice asked, from outside.

"Oh, Dashie! Come on in!" Pinkie replied loudly, struggling to contain her own excitement.

The door swung open, a flood of light illuminating the entire room, glimmering off of the pony-shaped machine in the middle of the room. Rainbow Dash stepped in slowly, the bandages on her wings from her most recent accident snagging a bit on the splintering doorframe. She stops a few feet in, her eyes fixate on the pink-colored machine in the center of the room.

"W-what is that?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously, seeming a bit confused as to what she was seeing.

"Oh, you're just in time to meet her," Pinkie said.

Pinkie giggled quietly as she poked a small metallic rod into a slot in the pony-shaped machine's ear. At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds of silence, the machine's eyes opened. Its deep blue-colored eyes darted around curiously, taking in the surroundings.

"Is THAT a p-pony?" Rainbow dash stammered, backing off a bit.

"Don't worry, Dashie, This is Felicity, a robot I built to spread joy among ponies everywhere!" Pinkie replied, the excitement in her voice quite apparent at this point.

The mechanical pony jumped down from the workbench it was placed on and walked a bit unsteadily over to Rainbow Dash.

"D-Dashie?" Felicity spoke, seeming to look up and down Rainbow Dash's form nervously. She reached out her metallic hoof and prodded her cheek gently.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie with an annoyed expression while Felicity continued softly prodding her cheek.

"That's odd, she's supposed to wait for voice triggers before doing things," Pinkie said, astonished that the robot was actually showing signs of free will, unlike those previously built construction bots they used in Canterlot.

Pinkie proceeded to examine Felicity and check the small diagnostic screen hidden beneath her mane.

"Everything seems okay from what I can tell," Pinkie sighed, before covering the screen again and looking over Felicity's body one more time.

"I-Is there something wrong with me?" Felicity inquired, looking back at Pinkie with a somewhat sad expression on her face.

After that, Pinkie realized exactly what was going on, and began prancing around the room again, jumping for joy.

"This is awesome," -Pinkie cried out with joy- "I invented a robot with free will and emotions!"

"Wow, that's cool and all, but I gotta fly" -Rainbow Dash folded her bandaged wings back "I mean, I gotta go, obviously not fly," She corrected herself.

As Rainbow Dash left, she looked back at Felicity, who was standing in the doorway gazing at her with a curious expression on her face.

"That thing creeps me out," Rainbow Dash thought aloud.

Pinkie walked out of the workshop and turned to Felicity.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she blurted out, grinning like a little girl.

"Um... I'm Felicity." Felicity replied nervously, looking down at the ground in front of her.

"I know that, silly filly!" Pinkie said, putting her hoof on the robotic mare's head and messing up her mane.

Pinkie turned around and began walking back towards Ponyville, the setting sun casting a warm glow over the small workshop behind her.

"Come on, Felicity, -Pinkie beckoned to her- "lets go home, to Sugarcube Corner!"

Felicity smiled shyly and followed the spastastic pink mare towards town. She looked around at the fields on both sides of the road, staring in awe at the massive amount of apple trees that lined all the way to the hills in the distance. As she followed Pinkie through the town, she began feeling a bit self-conscious as other ponies stared at her and she hid her face behind her mane.

"Here we are!" Pinkie exclaimed as she stopped in front of Sugarcube Corner.

Felicity bumped into Pinkie, not realizing she had stopped.

"S-sorry!" Felicity stammered, stumbling back a few steps.

"It's okay, you didn't mean any harm," Pinkie said, putting her hoof on Felicity's shoulder, "come on, let's get you settled into your new home!"

Felicity followed her inside quietly, closing the door behind her. She followed Pinkie upstairs to a room with a dusty sign on the door that read "Pound & Pumpkin" on it.

"This used to be the Cake Twins' room, but they moved to Manehattan when they expanded their confectionery business, so you can use it for now," Pinkie said with a little smile on her face.

She opened the door. The room itself was dusty, and there were a few cobwebs in the corners, but otherwise well maintained. A bunk-bed sat in front of the window, the beds still made from last time they were used. Other than the bed, the room was entirely empty, the rest of the furniture gone.

"I'll buy some furniture for you tomorrow, just talk to me about what you need tomorrow and i'll see what I can get," Pinkie smiled as she walked across the hall to her own room.

"O-Okay," Felicity replied, again sounding nervous and a bit confused.

"Good night, Felly," Pinkie giggled at the nickname she had just come up with and closed the door behind her.

Felicity sat down on the bed and looked out the window at the sky, which was darkening more and more as the sun set. As she gazed up at the stars which were beginning to appear, she began to wonder why she existed and what she was meant to do.

Author's Note

This is just an idea i came up with while roleplaying as a robotic replica of Pinkie Pie on some other site. I'm not much of a creative writer, but constructive criticism is welcome.

Partition

Friendship & Learning

As the sun slowly began to rise, the town began to come to life. The sun dispersing the shadowy veil of night and giving way to the day, and the hardworking Apple Family duo already out in the fields tending to the apple trees. Ponyville was a wonderful sight to behold in the morning glow.

Felicity had spent the entire night looking out the window at moon and stars in the sky, deep in thought. She thought about what her purpose might possibly be, and why she was created. She thought about the ponies she might meet and make friends with. But she thought the most about Rainbow Dash, who was the first pony she saw when she was activated. Felicity couldn't help but think about the older, but still beautiful pegasus with the long, multicolored mane. Every time her mind wandered to thoughts about Dashie, she experienced a sensation she couldn't understand, as if somepony was holding her up in the air, but her hooves were still firmly on the floor.

Just as she was about to leave her room to go downstairs, Pinkie opened the door and walked in casually, looking at her with a smile on her face.

"Good morning!" Pinkie said cheerfully.

"G-good morning" Felicity replied softly, still a little deep in thought from the night.

Without another word, Pinkie beckoned her to follow and trotted down the stairs and out the front door. Felicity hesitated for a second, slightly confused, then followed Pinkie outside, running to catch up to her. Pinkie began running as well, staying ahead of her as much as she could and darting around corners at a fairly high speed, keeping Felicity fairly far behind her.

"Wait for me!" Felicity shouted ahead as she followed Pinkie around yet another corner, trying not to lose sight of her.

Pinkie only snorted and giggled back from her lead position, glancing back to make sure Felicity didn't get lost.

Pinkie stopped in front of the town library and knocked on the door, planting her hoof firmly on the doorframe and laughing, all the while trying to catch her breath.

"That was fun!" She exclaimed as Felicity finally caught up to her.

"Was that supposed to be a race?" Felicity questioned her, fairly annoyed that she had almost run into a shop stand after rounding the last corner.

"Yeah! Wasn't it fu-" The door suddenly opened and Pinkie lost her balance, falling flat on her face.

"Oh, good morning Pinkie," a mare's voice spoke from behind the door.

"Hey Star!" Pinkie giggled as she stood up again.

"Who's this?" Star asked as she stepped out from behind the door, her deep purple coat and mane frizzed up as if she had just gotten out of bed.

"I-i.... ummm..." Felicity stuttered nervously.

"It's okay, I don't bite." Star said, while using her magic to brush her mane.

"I-i'm Felicity.... Pinkie made me." She managed to say, looking down at the ground in front of her shyly.

"She MADE you?" Star asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah! She's a robot." Pinkie interjected, still giggling.

"You haven't been eating cupcakes all night again, have you?" Star looked down at Pinkie in disbelief.

"Well yeah, but this isn't one of my pranks, she's actually a robot! see?" Pinkie said, as she pushed some of Felicity's mane out of the way to show Star the display screen embedded in her lower neck.

"Okay, so she is a robot, but she seems a bit odd for a robot," -she pointed her hoof at Felicity- "Since when do robots actually move like real ponies and talk like real ponies? They usually have computer-generated voice software, and you know as well as I do that those sound like the buzz of a bee. Why, if Felicity really is a robot you created, you've made an incredible breakth-" Star stopped to breathe and calmed herself before her excitement got out of control.

"We should call everypony over, i'll explain the details then, okay?" Pinkie said calmly.

"Okay, just make yourself at home, i'll go get the girls." Star sighed and began a quick trot down the street.

Felicity waited upstairs while Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Star, and Pinkie were having a quiet discussion below. Felicity tried to listen in, but couldn't hear them whispering. Felicity was beginning to let her imagination run wild when Pinkie finally beckoned her to come down with her hoof.

"Okay, as i've just explained, Felicity here is a robot I designed and built to carry on my legacy" Pinkie said, standing up.

"What in tarnation are you talking about?" Applejack interjected, "Where are you going?"

"That's what i was just getting to. According to the blood tests they ran at the hospital, I'm afflicted with an incurable disease that's slowly eating away at my brain's involuntary muscle control. When the results came back, I was told i have a mere 3 months to live." Pinkie stated with a hint of sadness in her tone.

At this, everyone in the room gasped from sheer shock. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, Rarity showed the same reaction, but Fluttershy was the first to break down in tears.

"N-No! It can't be true! Please tell me this is one of your pranks!" Fluttershy cried, her hooves gripping Pinkie's shoulders.

"Also, this news was given to me almost three months ago. My heart could simply stop any time now." Pinkie said as she turned her head, looking away, her mane falling straight, losing it's poofy appearance as she spoke.

Felicity fell back on her haunches, unable to believe what she's just heard. Her creator, whom she had so wished to befriend, was going to die.

"W-Why...? Why does this have to happen?!" Felicity sobbed, unable to physically cry even though her emotions were begging for tears to flow.

Pinkie turned around and walked towards the front door, opening it and turning around.

"I have some final business to attend to in Canterlot. If i don't make it back, for what it's worth, making you all smile was the greatest joy of my life." Pinkie smiled and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

After Pinkie had left the room, all of the color and life had seemed to drain from the room, leaving the brokenhearted friends to cry and console each other. Fluttershy needed it the most, she wasn't crying anymore, but she was staring at the floor blankly, feeling the full emotional force of the knowledge that one of her best friends was going to die. Rainbow Dash was crying and hugging Fluttershy, in a mixture of trying to console Fluttershy, and grieve on her own. Star and Rarity were hugging each other, literally soaked in each other's tears. Applejack was fighting back her tears, all while trying to console Felicity, who was already screaming from the sorrow that had overwhelmed her.

After Pinkie had boarded the train, she began to wonder how Twilight was doing and felt a little excited to see her for the first time in several years. She made a mental list of things she wanted to do, then yawned and drifted off to sleep. Sleeping soundly, her straight pink mane fluttering in the breeze coming through an open window a few seats ahead of her, Pinkie seemed beautiful as she drifted away, her last breath bringing a peaceful smile.

Crash & Recovery

Grief and Despair

Although Felicity couldn't understand her own emotions all too well yet, she knew losing somepony she cared about was a painful experience. In the days before Pinkie's funeral, Felicity spent her time sitting in front of the small workshop where Pinkie built her, staring into the dark windows from the outside, as if hoping Pinkie would somehow jump out from the fireplace, covered in soot, and yell "SURPRISE! IT WAS ALL A JOKE!". However, deep down, she knew that wouldn't happen.

Everyone who had known Pinkie showed up for the memorial services and burial at the edge of the Everfree Forest, paying their respects and giving their final goodbyes. Even in death Pinkie continued to smile, almost as if it were her way of telling everybody to keep smiling too. This sparked something in Felicity's mind, a blurred memory of a time she couldn't previously remember.

That night, Felicity dreamt of a beautiful melody. the soft, but happy humming seemed to lift her spirits, even if only a little. A soft, lovely voice began to sing to her, even though all she could see was darkness and nothing else, it sounded so familiar to her as the song went on.

"It's true some days are dark and lonely..... and maybe you feel sad, but Pinkie will be here to show you that it isn't that bad"

Suddenly, she could see again, she saw Pinkie crouched in front of her, working on the wiring in her chest compartments.

"There's one thing that makes me happy, it makes my whole life worthwhile. And that's when i talk to my friends and get them to smile!"

Pinkie then looked up at Felicity and smiled.

"Someday, you'll know what true happiness is, and you'll learn how joyous it is to share it with others."

She awoke from the dream to find herself lying on the floor at the foot of Pinkie's bed, remembering she had fallen asleep there the previous night after feeding Gummy, who was now curled up around her protectively. Gummy was easily as large as a table, but still as friendly as he always was, even comforting Felicity in her time of grief.

Author's Note

Sorry about the sloppy and short nature of this chapter, but i've been neglecting this story a lot more than i should lately. I'll probably get into writing it a bit more here soon.