.rar

by Anonympony

Chapter 1

.Rar

by Anonympony

Chapter 1

Rarity was about to close up shop for the night. It had been a busy day at the Carousel Boutique; ponies coming and going, admiring the deigns the fashion-savvy unicorn had spent so much time on. Dresses with brilliant rhinestone embroiders, headdresses lined with large plumes, and saddles that were made of the finest faux leather. Rarity had an eye for detail, choosing the only the finest fabrics, and gemstones so shiny, a dragon would go mad. And her clientèle was willing to pay for these expensive designs. Rarity's shop reflected this, the outside walls being made of the finest marble and the tiles that lined the inside were the shiniest porcelain money could buy.

But despite all the glitz and glamour Rarity's shop prided itself on, her last customer was indecisive. A dark grey Earth mare with a coiffed black mane paced, trying to make her decision. Her hooves clacked loudly against the tile, echoing in the empty store. Her saddlebags shifted with her weight. Rarity just stood put, growing impatient but keeping a large fake smile in the name of customer service.

"Hmm, I just don't know. I really like this dress' design. But this one also draws me to it." the customer said, pacing faster and faster as she thought.

"Ma'am, if I may make a--" Rarity started, only to be cut off by a sharp shush from the Earth pony.

"I think I've almost come to a decision." the grey mare said, finally stopping, the virtually empty interior of Carousel Boutique going quiet. Rarity would've taken this as relief, but her customer had said this 3 times now, and Rarity knew she wasn't any closer to a decision.

"I choose...this one. Yes, this is my final decision."

Rarity looked surprise. She had made a decision? The unicorn became excited, finally able to be rid of this hindrance and go soak in a bubble bath.

"You're sure? I don't want you to think twice, I want to make sure you're completely satisfied." Rarity said, using her magic to gather a bag and some gift wrap. The items floated to the milky white unicorn wrapped in a deep blue aura. Rarity then focused on the dress, encompassing it in her glow and wrapping the package together quickly.

"Yes, I quite sure, unless there is some reason for me not to." the customer replied.

"No, no, no! This dress is fine, it'll look good on you, I swear! You'll love it, darling." Rarity said, handing the box to the customer, who put it in her saddle bags. The mare handed Rarity the bits for the outfit and hurried out the door. Rarity stood in the doorway, giving a wave and thanking the Earth pony for her patronage, immediately shutting the door and letting out a very large sigh.

"Thank Celestia she's gone! Now I can finally relax." Rarity said, slumping back onto her hind legs in a most unladylike fashion. But just then, she heard what sounded like cans being moved. She listened closer as the noise persisted. It seemed to be coming from outside.

Rarity opened the door back open and peered into the night, trying to find the source. She hadn't realised how late it was, the sun was almost about to set. She heard the noise again. It sounded like it was coming from the back of the building, where the dumpsters are. Rarity vowed never to go there when she saw a rat the size of a small dog scamper from behind it while taking out the trash. But this sound didn't sound like rats, it sounded...different. Rarity needed to know what it was. She went back inside, looking for something to defend herself with. She eventually decided on a long ruler that used to measure stretches of cloth. She grabbed it with the cleft of her hoof, held it in her mouth, took a deep breath, and went out to investigate the noise.

As Rarity came around the back of the house, the foul odour of rotting apple cores and half eaten carrots penetrated her nostrils, quickly overwhelming her.

"Oh Sweet Celestia that's foul! What an awful, horrid smell!" she said to herself. She was about to turn around, disgusted by the putrid smell. But the noise returned, now clear as day. It almost sounded mechanical. Rarity froze for a moment, contemplating running away or facing the danger. She gulped, held her weapon in a magical aura, having it at the ready, and trudged on. As she got closer, the sound became more frequent and the smell more vile. Cans rolled and fell to the hard ground, papers rustled and shifted, glass knocked and clanged. Rarity was now standing directly in front of the large trash receptacle.

"H-hello?" the unicorn called. She slowly opened the lid to the dumpster, a small green light emanating from inside, filling her amethyst eyes. She pushed the lid open further, revealing the inside. It seemed relatively normal, except for what appeared to be a screen. Rarity looked closer. The screen held a picture of what looked to be a battery, its charge level split into 5 sections, 4 of which were filled up. Rarity then saw a solar panel leading out the side, catching the last rays of the Sun. The battery then filled its last bar and began to blink, bringing Rarity's attention back to it.

"System: Online. Commence Scan." the screen now read. The screen began to move, bits of trash moving out of its way and falling off it. But then more trash began to slide away, revealing more. Rarity could now see the screen was connected to a metal head, which was connected to a metal neck, wires lining the sides. More trash was removed and the unicorn could now see the entire body of the creature.

It was a robot! A pony shaped one at that. It moved its head close to Rarity's, the mare able to feel the static from the screen drawing in the hairs on her muzzle. From the head popped out what looked to be a small camera. It produced a strange blue grid. It moved around, covering a majority of the area it was in, finally resting on Rarity. It carefully scanned up, and then down again, retrieving data on its surroundings.

"Location: 49.2505° N, 123.1119° W Ponyville. Pony mode activated." a stilted voice called from the robot. Rarity gasped, frightened by the strange voice. It removed itself from the dumpster and stood on the ground, shaking off the last bits of filth. There it stood, a magnificently built machine. Rarity had never seen anything like it. She knew that computers were around Ponyville, her friend Twilight Sparkle had some in her laboratory, but she never knew they had the ability to speak or came in the shape of ponies. The screen on the robots head flickered once more, showing a loading bar that read, 'Initialising Pony OS." Then the screen suddenly popped to life, showing familiar features of a pony face. Eyes, a nose, and a mouth were all present in a digitised form. It stared at Rarity blankly, almost as if it was waiting for a command.

After a few silent moments, the unicorn finally spoke. "Um, hello? What are you?"

The green, digitised eyes blinked and the mouth moved as the stilted voice responded. "I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the voice suddenly gargled, leaving the end impossible to understand. Rarity stared at the "PON-E" for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts on the strange piece of technology that stood before her.

"Mr...PON-E, was it? Would...would you like to come inside? It is dreadfully cold out." Rarity offered as a cold breeze rolled through. The PON-E stared blankly once again, calculating the best course of action.

"Command accepted, please lead on." it responded, the voice more jubilant than before. Rarity slowly started, the PON-E's monitor fixated on her. She began to trot towards the front entrance, hearing the machine start to move its mechanical joints. PON-E moved awkwardly, its legs not fully synchronised like a real pony. It's head moved all about, using its scanner and gathering more data. It followed her into Carousel Boutique. It brought forth its scanner once more and scanned the interior of the building, filling the whole room with a blue chequerboard pattern.

"No visible threats." the computer stated. Rarity looked confused. She never thought there was any danger in her home, nor that it looked threatening.

"But of course. You don't expect me to live in danger, do you? That'd be silly." the unicorn replied, her voice returning to its brand of dapperness that was standard when speaking.

"Directive: Find all possible threats and eradicate them by any means necessary." the robotic voiced said plainly. Rarity continued to observe this strange new visitor, intrigued but also cautious. It was made with an impressive amount of technology. Gears and struts made up the body. The outside shell seemed to be made of a thick and shiny metal. The buzz of the circuits and hum of the fans gave an ambience in an otherwise dead silent room.

"Mr. PON-E, do you have somewhere to live? Does anypony take care of you?"

"I am the Pony Operating Node, Model E. Or PON-E for short. I was created by--" the end, again, was unintelligible.

Rarity looked at the machine with pity. "I'll take that as a no. Hmm. I suppose you could stay here until I can find your owner or somepony willing to take you off my hooves."

"Set New Location: Home." the robot responded, the entire screen blinking, as if it had a photographic memory.

"Very well. Mr. PON-E, this is your new home. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must get my beauty sleep. You can sleep too, I suppose. However you do that. I'll be upstairs if you need anything, just be sure to knock." Rarity felt silly for saying this to a computer, but didn't know any way else to say goodnight. He is a guest, after all.

"Input received. Sleep mode activated." The robot then began to bend it's joints, air releasing and metal creaking as it did. It rested on its hind legs, much like a real pony would. It put it's head to the floor and the monitor switched from the face of a pony to a small animation of three Z's, each one getting bigger and then looping again.

'He is a strange fellow'. I'll show him to Twilight in the morning,' Rarity thought to herself. She retired to her room, finally getting to rest after a long day.

Comments

[Valkahike]

Oooh, sounds interesting

I'll give it a shot

[Anonympony]

438165 bare in mind, this is the first edit. A few typos still linger.

[RavensDagger]

Hmm, intresting name, and description, nice, short and enough to pique my intrest.

[Relevant Heavy Metal]

Computer God - Black Sabbath

[Rain Dust]

"Then the screen suddenly 'pooped' to life, showing familiar features of a pony face." assuming that should be popped instead of pooped? also interesting story idea, I don't believe I have ever read a fic about a robopony.

[Anonympony]

438380 That is thoroughly embarrassing.

[Rain Dust]

438382
Sorry about that. At least now its been caught, and it gave me a good laugh
happens to the best of us.

[Burraku_Pansa]

An interesting start, indeed. I did notice a few mistakes here and there, though, some of which have been corrected, but some of which haven't (i.e. "interior of Carousel Boutique going quite."). Still, solid work so far.

[CoastalSarv]

Watched.

[Anonympony]

438833 Thanks!