//------------------------------// // β. // Story: Mechanical Soul // by Albi //------------------------------// Sunset had read and studied a lot. She knew every field of magic, an abundance of science, math, history, and even random pop culture trivia. But none of her research had prepared her for what to do when she had a child, let alone an android child. Questions about how she and Twilight made Dawn and whether or not she could be dangerous buzzed in her head, but she forced them to take a backseat to the bigger question of: what did they do with her? She sat next to Dawn on Twilight’s bed, while Twilight paced the floor. “Okay, mom and dad can’t see this. They’d flip! I’m too young to bring home a child—not that I’m not happy you’re here, Dawn,” Twilight added for the fourth time in her monologue. “But I don’t how to explain magic and science of this level to them! Or to anyone else for that matter! What if we bring her out in public?” “Gonna be honest,” Sunset said, “in my time here, people have acted… pretty casually about the existence of magic, taking dogs, and parallel universes made up of talking ponies. I think robot girl will barely get people to bat an eye, especially if we tell them we built her.” Twilight paused, a faraway look in her eye. “Wow. You’re right. People are really nonchalant about the supernatural around here. But what about my parents?” Sunset shrugged. “They don’t have to know Dawn’s half magic. You’re their prodigy kid; I’m sure they’d believe you if you just told them we built her from scratch.” Twilight opened her mouth, but Sunset beat her to the punch. “And it’s technically not lying because we did build her, we just don’t know how.” Dawn followed the conversation, eyes following Twilight as she paced across the floor. Her mouth turned down and she lowered her head. “Am I… causing complications for Mother Unit Alpha?” “No!” Twilight jumped over and hugged her. “No, no, no, of course not! You’re just… such a surprise, we’re not sure how to break it to everyone else yet.” “Glad to see those maternal instincts are already kicking it,” Sunset said with a smirk. Twilight glared at her over Dawn’s shoulder. “I just happened to have read a few parenting books. When coupled with animal behavior guides, they became very handy for raising Spike.” Sunset looked over at Spike who only shrugged. “Explains a few things,” Sunset mused. “Look, she can’t sit in your room forever. Let’s just take her out and see what happens. Besides…” She moved over and cupped Dawn’s face. “She looks just like us. And how can you say no to a face this cute?” She realized the hint of irony in her sentence, and locked away their initial idea of turning Dawn off to see how she operated. Dawn’s smile returned. “Mother Unit Beta called me cute. I am pleased.” Sunset’s face fell. “Seriously, how did I end up as beta?” Twilight helped Dawn to her feet, grinning superiorly at Sunset. “Come on, beta, let’s go show Dawn her grandparents.” Her face paled. “Oh, this won’t end well.” Dawn took her hand. “Do not worry, Mother Unit Alpha, everything will be fine. I am excited to meet my alpha grandparental units.” She pulled Twilight along, making a series of higher pitched sound bytes that Sunset recognized as an attempt at giggling. The trio moved down the hall, and Twilight knocked on her parent’s door. “Mom, Dad. I… umm… have something… someone you should meet.” In the long interim, Sunset wondered if they would have been better off just making a break for it. But the door opened, and the robed figures of Twilight Velvet and Night Light appeared in the threshold. “Morning, sweetie,” Velvet said after a short yawn. “What time did… you two… get… home?” Her eyes fell onto Dawn. “Umm… what is this?” “Hello, Grandmother Unit, I am Dawn. It is nice to meet you.” She stuck her hand out. “It is customary to shake hands upon greeting new people. Or would a hug be deemed more appropriate?” Night stared in open-mouthed awe. “It talks.” When Velvet didn’t respond to Dawn’s outstretched hand, she turned to Night. “Greetings, Grandfather Unit. Your assessment is correct. I have been programmed with an extensive vocabulary.” Velvet blinked. “She’s calling us… grandparents.” She turned her confused gaze to Twilight and Sunset. “Care to explain?” Twilight put her hands on Dawn’s shoulders. “This is Dawn. Sunset and I built her, and we kinda sorta programmed her to be our… daughter,” she finished in a tiny voice. “You… built her?” Night repeated. “When? How?” “Last night in the garage,” Sunset said. “In one night?” Velvet asked, dumbfounded. “I know you girls are smart but…” She shook her head. “Why did you program her to be your daughter?” Twilight and Sunset both rubbed their shoulders and laughed, muttering out half sentences. Night raised a skeptical eyebrow, but smiled regardless. He finally took Dawn’s outstretched hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dawn.” “It is nice to meet you as well, Grandfather Unit,” she said, eyes seeming to brighten at her handshake finally being acknowledged. “Please, you can just call me, grandpa,” he said with a playful smirk. “I guess you can call me grandma then,” Velvet said. Her eyes went wide, seeming to come out of her trance. “I’m a grandma…. I’m a grandma! I mean, it’s not the way I expected it, and I thought Shining would bring me kids first! But welcome to the family, Dawn! Oh, let me get a camera!” She ran back into the room. Night leaned forward, stroking his chin. “She seems incredibly self-aware. Like, next generation sort of technology. What software did you use to program her?” Dawn opened her mouth, but as much as Sunset wanted to hear the answer, she covered Dawn up, certain she already knew. “Oh, you know. We just modified some existing software and enhanced her response potential.” Sunset grinned widely, hoping Dawn wasn’t programmed to only be honest. Velvet came back, camera in hand. “Okay, family picture!” She looked over Sunset and Twilight, and frowned. “Sweetie, go put some longer pants on, it looks like you’re barely wearing anything. And Sunset, go put a shirt on.” Twilight pulled down on the ends of her lab coat and laughed, backing up into her room. Sunset followed her, covering her bra with her arms. “They seem to be taking it well,” Sunset said, catching the shirt Twilight tossed at her. “Every parent wants grandkids, I guess.” Twilight pulled a new skirt on and relaxed her shoulders. “That’s better. I would like to reiterate that I am never drinking again.” They found Dawn and her new grandparents had moved downstairs into the living room. After fixing up their hair so it wasn’t completely obvious they had slept in the garage, Twilight and Sunset moved in for the picture. Dawn stood between them, holding both of their hands and smiling brightly. Sunset looked down at her, unable to resist smiling as well. As weird as the situation was, as sudden and unprecedented having a child seemed, something about it felt right. “That’s it, girls, big smiles!” Velvet said, holding the camera up. As the flash went off, Sunset heard Dawn giggle again. ****** After a few more pictures, Sunset and Twilight’s appetites had returned, and they settled down for the breakfast Dawn had prepared for them. Sunset couldn’t figure out where Dawn’s impressive cooking skills had come from, as she herself was okay at best, and Twilight, for all her intelligence, had never bothered to learn how to cook anything that couldn’t be popped into the microwave. While they ate, Night and Velvet sat with Dawn on the couch, asking her basic questions. Sunset hoped they kept it that way, wanting to downplay Dawn’s intellect. Magic doubtlessly influenced her processing power, and Sunset wouldn’t be surprised if she and Twilight had tried to cram as much knowledge into her as possible. “So, Dawn, how old are you?” Night asked. “I have three hours logged into my active status.” When and Night and Velvet giggled, she tilted her head. “Oh, did you mean my designated age? I am designed to be fourteen years old.” “Fourteen, huh?” Velvet mused. “So, do you know what you want to be when you grow up?” “I do not believe I was designed to age. Nor was I given a primary function.” Their smiles became a little more awkward. “Well, that just means you can be anything you want to be,” Night said. Sunset leaned across the table toward Twilight. “This is cute. But is this getting a little weird?” Twilight nodded. “This is getting a little weird. But what do we do now? We promised to meet up with the girls in a couple of hours.” “Oh great, that’ll help things.” Sunset pressed a hand to her forehead. “At least we can tell them the full story.” “You mean you want to take Dawn with us?” Sunset looked over Twilight’s shoulder to the couch. “Would you rather we leave our magical robot offspring here with your unsuspecting parents?” “Well argued.” They finished breakfast and got cleaned up, taking separate showers so one of them could keep an eye on Dawn at all times. They also gave her a new set of clothes so she wasn’t walking around the mall in her parent’s dirty shirt and skirt. She wore a simple blue dress that matched her eyes, and an old pair of sandals they found after rummaging deep into Twilight’s closet. They were the only footwear that fit Dawn. As Sunset slipped her boots on, a thought froze her in place. “Twilight, how are going to get there?” Twilight slipped her jacket on. “We’ll take your motorcycle like we always…” Her eyes moved over to Dawn. “Oh… uhhh…” On top of not learning how to cook, Twilight had also not obtained her driver’s license yet. She cleared her throat. “Mom, can we borrow the car?” Velvet briefly mulled it over, then reached into her pocket and tossed her keys to Sunset. “Please be careful.” “Pinkie promise,” Sunset said, catching the keys. They marched out the front door, Sunset keeping a hand on Dawn’s shoulder. “It’s a good thing we made her old enough to not need a car seat.” It was a short drive to the mall, but Sunset took extra precaution using Velvet’s small car. She took a deep breath as she put it into park. Breaking the news to their friends wouldn't be as awkward as telling Twilight’s parents, but it would still be one heck of a bombshell. Dawn got out of the car and marveled at the sight of the mall’s reflective glass front. Sunset followed her gaze and flinched at the sharp glare the sun threw at her. Apparently, harsh light didn’t register to Dawn. “This is my first time going to the mall,” she said. “I shall log this as an important moment. I am excited to go inside and shop.” She looked at Sunset. “Will you buy something nice for me, Mother Unit Beta? I have been well-behaved.” Not if you keep calling me that. Sunset cracked a smile. “Sure, sweetie, I’ll buy you some of your own clothes. First, you have to meet all your aunties.” She saw Twilight flash a smug grin, and lightly punched her shoulder when Dawn wasn’t looking. Finding their friends wasn’t hard, not with Pinkie jumping up and down next to their table. Her frantic waving and gesturing slowed as Sunset, Twilight, and Dawn approached. Five pairs of eyes briefly looked at the couple before falling to the young girl next to them. A long pause greeted the trio as they stopped at the table. Applejack waved a hand to ease some of the tension. “Uh, hey, you two. Ah see you’ve… got someone there with you.” “Hello, my name is Dawn, insert-familiar-name.” Dawn stuck her hand out. Her voice dropped to a metallic monotone when she couldn’t give Applejack a proper name. Rainbow’s mouth fell open. “Is that a robot?” Pinkie poked her a few times in the cheek. “She feels like a robot.” “I think this is invading my personal space,” Dawn said. Mouth still hanging open, Rainbow looked up at the girls. “When did you build a robot?” “How did y’all build a robot?” Applejack added. “What on earth were you thinking?” Rarity said aghast. “That dress might work with her eyes, but it’s clashing with her hair! She is adorable though.” “Okay, from the top,” Sunset said, making gestures with her hands. “Twilight and I went to a little party last night and had a few too many drinks. Somehow, we made it home and… well… we built Dawn here. We’re not one-hundred percent sure how. We were drunk off our as—butt,” she said quickly. No more liberal cursing for a while. “So, any notes we have are mostly illegible nonsense. From what we can gather, we sorta made a newer version of Twilight’s amulet from the Friendship Games and powered it with some magic from our gemstones.” Silence followed after Sunset’s explanation, broken only by Twilight adding, “She’s our daughter.” Even with the background noise of other shoppers and mindless mall music, the silence from their friends intensified. Applejack recovered first, working her jaw for a bit before saying, “Let me get this straight. Y’all got drunk, and instead of going at it like jackrabbits like normal people, you went and built a robot in one night that runs on magic, and you decided to call it your daughter?” “I think her being our daughter was the original idea behind making her, but yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Sunset said. Applejack took her hat off and rubbed her temples. “Well, all things considered… this still isn’t the strangest thing to happen to us.” “Are you kidding!” Pinkie wrapped her arms around Dawn and pressed their cheeks together, shivering at the touch. “This is the greatest thing to happen to us! Sunset and Twilight are mommies! I have a new friend to babysit! I can be her babysitter, right? Huh, can I, please?” She stuck her bottom lip out and gave her best puppy-dog eyes. “Mother Units, this woman is hugging me without my permission. Should I activate my sexual assault alarm?” Dawn asked. “We gave her an alarm for that?” Sunset looked at Twilight. “We had a lot of foresight for being wasted.” Twilight gently pulled Pinkie away from Dawn. “Yes, Pinkie, you can babysit her if needed. Dawn, these are your aunts. This is Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.” Twilight gestured to each of them in turn. Dawn’s eyes turned purple and she focused on each face. “Registrations complete.” She smiled. “Hello, Aunties, it is nice to formally make your acquaintance.” “My, she’s well-behaved,” Rarity said. “I wonder who she gets that from.” She gave Sunset a smug smile. “Hey, I’m polite. Most of the time.” “That’s all well and good,” Applejack said, “but do you think she should be out in public like this? It feels risky.” Sunset scoffed. “Like I told Twilight, the people around here have seen angels, demons, plant monsters, and portals to other dimensions. No one’s going to bat an eye at a robot. Especially since we built her.” “Is she safe?” Fluttershy said softly, speaking up for the first time. It was Twilight and Sunset’s turn to be silent. Twilight reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty, handing it to Dawn. “Pinkie, why don’t you take Dawn to buy something fun. Dawn, be good for Aunt Pinkie.” “Oh boy!” Pinkie took Dawn’s hand. “We’re gonna have so much fun!” “Thank you, Mother Unit Alpha.” She walked away, taking quick steps to keep up with Pinkie’s skips. Her optic lenses managed to look a little apprehensive. Rainbow grinned and raised an eyebrow. “So how come Twilight's the alpha?” “Shut up, Dash,” Sunset said. Applejack snapped her fingers. “Hey, Fluttershy asked a question and a valid one at that. You know Ah trust you two, but y’all weren’t in the right state of mind when you made it… her. So, is she safe?” Twilight raised a hand a wiggled it back and forth. “Probably?” Applejack gave her famous eyebrow raise. “Like we said, our notes are mostly illegible. We know we used a modified version of my amulet as her core, and it’s fueled by magic, but I also know I’m not dumb enough to make the same mistake twice, not with Sunset around. I’m ninety-nine point nine percent positive she’s not going to go around sucking up magic.” “And the point one percent?” Twilight looked down at her shoes. “That’s the small variable for us not being sure why we made her apart for wanting a child in a heated spur of the moment.” A growl of disapproval came from Applejack’s throat, but she said, “Ah trust you two. But until proven otherwise, Ah’m keepin’ my guard up.” She put her hands on her hips. “Besides, y’all aren’t even married; why did you want a kid?” “Again, heat of the moment,” Sunset said. Rarity pulled up two more chairs and gestured for Sunset and Twilight to finally sit down. “The biggest question now is: are you even ready to take care of a child, robot teenager or otherwise? We just started college. You’re taking on a whole new responsibility.” Sunset fidgeted with her hands, keeping her eyes on the table. “I mean, other couples do it. And we don’t even have to go through the whole birthing and changing diapers and terrible twos phase. We could just let Dawn go to Canterlot High while we’re at the university. I mean…” A cold lump landed in her stomach. “We might have to spend less time with you guys…” “Hey, you just said we were her aunts,” Rainbow said. “Which means it’s my job to be the coolest aunt. Which means she, and by extension, you, are going to be seeing a lot of me.” Rarity giggled. “You know what they say. ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ And if we set her up with our sisters, I’m sure we’ll find plenty of time to spend together.” Twilight beamed and wiped a tear from her eye. “You girls are the best.”