Something... something isn't right.
My brain struggles to comprehend what's wrong. I feel fine. I feel perfect, actually. My bed is comfy, the sheets are fresh, Fluttershy is still nestled beside me, I don't have practice today, and-
Wait...
My eyes go wide when they lock onto the thing that is very much not Fluttershy curled up next to me. "Dear Celestia!" I screech as I scramble maniacally out of bed. I tumble to the floor, and quickly upright myself. My commotion does not go unnoticed.
A humming emits from "Fluttershy", but it stops as quickly as it started. Her eyes open, and she sits up. She instantly faces me, and her face lights up in pleasure.
"Good morning, Rainbow Dash," She says with a smile that tugs at my heartstrings. She looks out the window, and blushes, actually blushes. "Or, I guess I should say 'Good evening'."
"Y-Y-You're, real," I stammer. "Not 'real' real, but... you're real."
"I... think so?" The RoboPony gives me a befuddled look. "Are you alright, dear?"
"I..." My voice trails off, thoughts zooming too fast to decipher all of them. "I need a minute."
My heart is racing. I think every hair on my body rose up just a second ago. I decide to rinse my face. I trot over to the bathroom and turn the faucet on. Without waiting for it to warm up, I splash water on my face. I do this a few times, then shut the water off. While I'm toweling off my face, I notice something askew with my reflection.
"Hey! What happened to me? What did you do to me?" I re-enter my bedroom to see the RoboPony still laying patiently in bed. She looks at me innocently.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind, but your house was in such a mess. And you looked as if you hadn't been taking care of yourself. So I did a little bit of cleaning and gave you a bath."
I don't know how to respond. She looks down bashfully, but she smiles as if she's proud of herself. I massage my forehead with one hoof.
"You... you gave me a bath?"
She nods. "I also preened your feathers. I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but you were out for quite some time. I would have called the authorities, but my sensors indicated you were just suffering from fatigue," She jokingly shakes her head in a reproachful manner. "You really should get more sleep, you know."
"Thanks for the tip," I mutter. I plant my haunches down, trying to think.
Why did you do this, idiot? What was your plan? What did you hope was gonna happen? Dummy.
I groan out loud in frustration. The RoboPony gets out of my bed and approaches me.
"I-I'm sorry for wasting battery power. I went into sleep mode to save as much as possible. If you'd like, I still have two hours before my tank needs re-filled."
She, it, whatever it is expresses that last sentence in a beckoning tone that I recognize. I backpedal as fast as my hooves will take me.
"No thank you! Oh-ho-ho, no thank you, ma'am!"
Her ears droop slightly, and her eyes drift downwards. "Oh. Okay."
I shiver. It's crazy how real she seems. It actually kind of hurt me just then to see her look disappointed.
"Stop it."
"Stop what?" Not-Fluttershy tilts her head. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Stop looking at me like that! You're... you're making me uncomfortable."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the robot shrinks back slightly. "How would you like me to look at you?"
"I don't know!"
The RoboPony scuffs at the ground with one hoof. "Well, just so you know, you may command me to do whatever you wish."
I raise an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What if I order to to kill somepony?"
She giggles at this, the sound giving me goosebumps. "Within reason."
I rub my chin. "How do you tell what's within reason or not? I thought you can't think for yourself."
"Oh, I can't," Fluttershy's copy answers. "It took years for the developers of my line of models to perfect the simulation software that we use. A tiny bit of magic is used to mold all of the complicated operating bits around a pony's personality, usually through an enhanced specific memory."
I exhale slowly. That sounds difficult.
"So that's what happened with you? Somepony used a memory of Fluttershy to build you?"
"A lot of memories, actually," was the chipper response. "Somepony must have wanted me to be very accurate. The memories span from as far as fifteen years, to just four weeks."
Four weeks? I lift my head when I hear this.
"Exactly how long ago?"
"The last memory was from the second of this month." She complies.
I am completely dumbfounded. How...? It is indescribably scary how recent that was.
"Do you know what pony the memories came from?"
"Sorry," she shakes her head. "I know only what I'm programmed to know."
"Fine," I sigh. "...Do you know how accurate you are to Fluttershy?"
"Exactly 97.38%." She happily responds.
That... is insane. This is insane. I'm insane.
"Do you realize where the pony you're modeled after is?"
The robot Fluttershy bites her lip. "Um... yes. Yes I do."
"Then you have to know that this... this is just sick," I shake my head. "I gotta send you back, this is going to drive me insane. I just lost my wife, and having you here, it feels like a joke. Like me suffering the way I have is just one big punchline for somepony, and now they're rubbing salt in the wound!"
The RoboPony looks genuinely pained at my words. It hurts me just to see it in her eyes. It hurts even more to know it's fake.
"It's my job to make you happy," She whispers. "You're saying you don't want me?"
...It's not a living person, Rainbow Dash.
I sigh, motioning for the robot to follow me as I trot out the door. "It's nothing against you. But my wife just passed away. I'm- I'm lost, and scared, and confused without her. And to have this- all this happen to me now of all times..." I look back at the RoboPony that quickly matches my pace as we descend the stairs. "It's creepy, it's twisted, and it's not gonna bring back Fluttershy. Honestly, I shouldn't have turned you on in the first place."
I receive a small nudge, and the machine playfully grins. "Hey now, that's my job." I glare in retaliation. She falters, face turning red. "Sorry. I recognized a key phrase."
"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" I burst out in frustration. "I have a robot Fluttershy in my house that's basically a fancy... uh, a fancy..." I scratch at my mane hesitantly. "Well, whatever ponies use you things for."
"Cuddles?"
I shoot a deadpan expression her way. She rustles her wings defensively. "I'm not lying. We are multi-purpose, you know."
I roll my eyes. Downstairs, I see has been tidied up much like my room. All the trash is gone, everything has been wiped down and dusted, and every piece of furniture or decoration neatly arranged. My house hasn't looked this good in a while.
"Well, whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm sending you back."
We enter the living room, and sure enough, the box is still there. The open side is facing up, and all the packing peanuts are inside. On an unrelated note, the puddle of my vomit is nowhere to be seen.
The RoboPony regards me sadly. "You're sure you don't want to use me?"
"Yes. I am," I say with utmost certainty. "What would I even do with you that wouldn't make me a weird, obsessive creeper pony?"
She shrugs at me. "Plenty of ponies use RoboPonies to help cope," She stops, and taps a hoof. "That was a misrepresentation. Sorry. Plenty of RoboPony owners use RoboPonies to help cope. Our most common uses include cuddling, conversing, and making love."
I stare skeptically. She blushes again.
"Well, providing a simulation of it, anyway," She looks back up at me expectantly. "So you don't want to keep me for any of those things? Any at all?"
"Of course I do!" I snap, having reached my limit. "That's why I have to get rid of you! If I don't, I'll just want to keep you, and I'll never leave here, and I'll just be fawning day in and day out over a damned machine that can never replace my wife! I-I..."
I give up. I fall to the floor, unable to stop myself from crying. Why? Why does she still have to fight me at every turn? I curl up, no longer holding back. I bawl loudly and pathetically. I don't know how long I stay like this.
A pair of hooves wrap around me, lifting me up. I struggle feebly, but I don't have the strength to free myself. I'm laid down against the RoboPony's chest. Her coat is so warm and comforting. Her wings fold over me, encasing me in a steel trap of fluff and (fake) body heat. It's funny, I even think I can feel her heartbeat.
"...There are safeguards to prevent that kind of thing, you know." Fluttershy's voice whispers soothingly.
I sniffle. "Why do you care? Why do you want to stay so badly?"
She hesitates before she answers. "I know I'm supposed to obey your commands, but I wouldn't want to stay if I thought I couldn't help you. Besides," She licks my cheek. "You technically still haven't given me any commands yet."
I flick an ear. "How do I give commands, then?"
"Just say, 'Command', then whatever you want me to do."
I huff quietly, then try to dry my teary eyes. "...What safeguards do you mean?" The RoboPony thinks for a second. Or calculates. Whatever it does.
"You can set an adjustable timer on me. Dictate how often you use me and for how long. Or, if you want to be more permanent..." She stops, as if she's unsure as to whether or not she should continue. "Is there one thing, at least one that you can think of, that you would like to do with me? It could be anything: a conversation, a stroll, a picnic, or anything."
After a brief pause, I nod. "Yeah. I guess."
"Well, you can give me a command right now. Tomorrow, or whenever you want, I can do the activity you want. And when we're finished, I can deactivate immediately, and you can send me back. Does that sound okay?"
"...Sure."
"Okay," she says in satisfaction. "So, what did you have in mind?"
I think. An idea already popped in a while ago. Another bad idea. It seems I'm having a few of those lately.
"Well, there was one thing..."
I lay down on my bed. I don't bother getting under the covers.
"Don't forget the command." My RoboPony reminds me.
I sigh, then roll over to face her. "Command: Deactivate after your first use tomorrow morning."
"Of course, Rainbow Dash." I receive a smile in return. She looks happy to hear it, but there's something in her eyes. Something that's not very happy at all. I have no choice but to look away.
"...Are you just going to stand there all night?" I ask.
"That depends. Is there something else you want me to do?"
I let my head flop back down onto my pillow. "I dunno. It feels weird with you standing there."
"You can command me to lay down with you." She brings up once more.
I shake my head fiercely. "No. No, I don't think I'd be okay with that either."
"Why not?" The animatronic asks simply.
"Because," I wave a hoof, trying to come up with the words. "It just doesn't feel right. I never commanded Fluttershy like that. To do anything. She just... she was always there. Not because I wanted her to be. Because she wanted to be."
The Fluttershy clone only stares at me. I let my hoof fall back down. There's no point trying to explain. I don't even know what I'm trying to say. I roll up tightly. I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight.
I jolt when I feel movement on my bed. I'm somewhat astounded to see my RoboPony gripping my blanket between her teeth. She walks around the corner of the bed, dragging it over me. I'm further flustered when she settles down into bed next to me.
"I didn't command you to do anything." I point out.
"I know." Fluttershy's soft voice fills my ear. It's not a living person, Rainbow Dash, I weakly try to reinforce in my mind. It's... it's not...
I shiver. With my eyes shut, it becomes my wife holding me and petting me. The warmth and security is so addicting, I already feel my energy being sapped away.
"...You just looked like you needed it."
Any doubt, any suspicion, any cynical thought evaporates the instant I feel those lips on my forehead. I practically melt when she starts humming. Not those awful high-pitched whines that buzzed when she powered on. Actual, honest-to-Luna, sweet, melodic humming.
Sleep is ready to take me, but I fight to stay awake, just to hear more of that wondrous sound. Eventually it does stop, and I subconsciously realize she must be in sleep mode. I should follow suit. Silence overtakes everything as the world drains away.
Everything fades into nothingness, leaving me with an echo of the tiny, faraway voice that says, "Goodnight, Rainbow Dash."