//------------------------------//
// Short Circuit 
// Story: Tales from Tinies. 
// by MrAquino 
//------------------------------//

The Tinies had been enjoying a peaceful winter period recently, but the village of Trottingham was quietly experiencing one of the biggest breakthroughs they believed would ever be achieved in technological advancements.For you see, the Department of Innovation & Engineering for Trottingham (DIET) had successfully managed to construct a sophisticated, talking robot.   This was not just any robot: this robot was immense to them.  It was the size of a regular pony, an Earth pony mare with a spotless white coat and a yellow-orange mane and tail.   Now, this robot was actually controlled from within – indeed, the way the DIET preferred to view it was as a vehicle.   Its completion had even required the assistance of three ponyfolk: unicorns, sworn to secrecy from Canterlot’s laboratories.  Over the past few weeks, official crews had been assigned to commandeer the robot, elite humans chosen from various squadrons across the new world they now inhabited.

The robot had been taken on its first official outing – ‘maiden voyage’, as DIET’s Chief of Operations Siegfried Apollo had referred to it - to Ponyville, captained by veteran pilot Paul Tibbets; the excursion had been a success due to its accomplished mission of returning safely home with a cargo of food and mercantile for the villagers.   One pony interaction had occurred on this mission - the vendor at the market stall – and it had gone smoothly.   It was Trottingham’s hope that their robot could be used as a way of exploring methods for social cohesion between ponies and humans, removing the threat and fear of being eaten altogether.   To do this, they had to make believe that their mare was a functioning member of the Ponyville society; more difficult than they anticipated, given the ponies’ fascination with eating them.   In fact, an attempt to contact the Breezies for consultation had proved unsuccessful.

Now, the robot was structured thus.   Command centre and cockpit took up most of the head’s interior, with the mouth acting as an entrance to the robot altogether.   A cargo chute led down the ‘throat’ into the storage hold, and the various joints and gears around the body were monitored from platforms forming the basic structure of the rest of the body.  A vast amount of pony hair had been suspiciously obtained to create the mane and tail.   The robot ran on the enchanted minerals the humans had discovered before; these were fed into the fuel intake, the entrance to which was located in the left ‘ear’.   There was a reactor which heated up with the minerals and provided the horsepower; this reactor also featured machinery capable of recording emotional readings.  The cutie mark which adorned the robot’s flanks was a glorious circle of red-rimmed orange with a yellow-and-cyan bolt of lightning piercing through its centre, a creation from the bright minds of the village’s Design Office.  The robot’s eyes were a glorious cyan colour, and whilst its eyes were innocent-enough they acted as the crucial observation decks and windows for the cockpit.   They had landed on CIRCLE BLAZE as the name for their robotic mare, and the voice was activated by a microphone and speech converter located in the command centre, usually operated by the robot’s captain.

Captain M. Aquinas was relaxing having just completed an excursion with Circle Blaze into Ponyville again.  Circle Blaze had managed to string together a lengthy conversation with Lyra Heartstrings on the street, discovering that Lyra was happy to talk to someone about an earlier argument she’d had with BonBon relating to spy activity.   Aquinas was a middle-aged upbeat man with short brown hair and glasses.  A successful military man, he had served in the US Air Force prior to ending up in Trottingham, and his love for pony life fuelled his desire to succeed in the DIET mission; his patriotic 2I/C, Major K. Lukey, had been a Squadron Leader in the RAF and was equally passionate about uniting humans and ponies although he was known as a pessimist.   Lukey was slightly younger but a tall man, with quiffed black hair and a stubbly beard he had let grow since leaving the forces he knew and loved.   Lukey had once been saved by Aquinas from a misunderstanding with Rainbow Dash a year ago, when the pegasus had been halfway to swallowing the British officer before Aquinas had interfered.  The two had been friends ever since, and their most recent mission had offered them great respite as they sat at an outside table making notes on their outing.

“I suspect Lyra Heartstrings would have opened up to anybody” Lukey said thoughtfully.
“Come on.  We did a good job out there, we’re getting better every day.” Aquians retorted.
“I suppose.  But sooner or later they’re gonna wise up to Circle Blaze’s true form.”
“DIET specifically designed her outer body to be flawlessly like that of any of them.”
“Come off it, my friend.   That coating won’t last forever, the maintenance teams will have their bloody work cut out for them if they’re planning to keep that coat of paint up-to-scratch on a daily basis.  What about the panel on the base?   That can be –“

Aquinas held up a hand to his companion, silencing him.   “It’s not OUR job to worry about things like that.”
At this point, a woman came towards them and addressed the Captain.   “Captain Aquinas?  You’re required in the office for debrief.”

Aquinas stood up slowly and offered a hand to Lukey.  “See you this evening, then, crack open a beer to celebrate?”   Lukey nodded; as the captain walked away with the woman, Lukey lit a cigarette and watched his team unload the cargo hold of the robot.   Her giant mouth was open wide, her artificial tongue outstretched onto a ramp where the team were wheeling crates of food out.   The tongue had been one of the hardest mechanisms to perfect for DIET; it was constantly exposed whenever Circle Blaze ‘spoke’, and it would also have to look convincing when the mare was ‘eating’.  Eventually they had got it right after various prototypes had failed, with one test-tongue catching in the teeth with its tip consequently falling off.
The two friends were having a drink together later that night in Trottingham’s hub, and the lively atmosphere of the pub had everyone in high spirits.   Their conversation had moved from jokey to a more serious tone now:
“Debrief wasn’t easy earlier, Lukey.”

“But…where did we go wrong?”
“It’s not that, I just – I had a realisation.   Ever since we lost Tibbets it’s made me realise that I’m…I’m now the most senior pilot on this programme.”

Lukey sighed.  “And I suppose the bastards gave you a kind reminder of this earlier?”
Aquinas nodded and gestured with his bottle, holding it up.  “Cheers.”

They drank in silence for a moment until they were interrupted as a bulky man came towards them with several men behind him.   This was Captain Trenton, an aggressive adrenalin junkie whose past involved an ignominious demotion for reckless behaviour and damage of government property.   Unfortunately for him, Equestria was proving a difficult place to adjust to; he’d nearly killed a pony trying to escape its stomach, and various encounters with Twilight Sparkle had put him off her friendly attitude.   He had a buzzcut of silver hair which affirmed his militaristic upbringing, but his beady eyes betrayed his otherwise imposing nature.   “Hey Aquinas” he called out as he approached.
Aquinas and Lukey finished their drinks before slowly turning up to face Trenton.  “What is it Trenton, I’m tired.”
“Oh, nothing.  I just wanted to congratulate you on your little adventure today” he smiled, in a sarcastically over-the-top way.  “We’ll have enough food here to last over a week for this lot.  Ooh and you made a friend, didn’t you?” he said patronizingly.

Lukey smirked.  “Don’t you have to take charge tomorrow, Trenton?  Pretty tough act to follow.”
Trenton leaned in.  “Damn right I do.   And what you’ll see from MY escapade is what that robot can REALLY be useful for.”  And with that he walked off.

Aquinas shrugged to his friend as they considered what more could possibly be done with the robot.   Ignoring Trenton’s obnoxious interaction, the two slouched in their chairs and chatted late into the night.

Aquinas went to the loading bay of Circle Blaze early the next morning, being saluted by various cargo personnel as he trudged along.   Trenton and his crew were preparing to set off, but not before Aquinas confronted the captain about his earlier comments.   “Trenton!” he called out, “I’m curious.   What is the purpose of your mission, remind me?”
Trenton snarled but his own 2I/C, Pork Penders, called out from nearby to him: “friendship is ridiculous, Aquinas!”
Aquinas turned his head to Trenton, “what does that mean, Trenton?”

Trenton dropped his crate and squared up to his senior.  “It means, CAPTAIN, that this mission is to expose these ponies’ ‘friendship’ for what it really is.”

“Well then I look forward to your debrief, they go public now after all.”

Trenton grunted as he continued his preparations.   Up on Circle Blaze’s left ear, a crew member was loading the minerals into the tank within.   As Aquinas watched, he could’ve sworn that more minerals than normal were added.   Shaking his head, he turned away and headed to the DIET headquarters in town.   He ventured into a board meeting chaired by COO Apollo, where he interrupted and spoke: “Sorry, sir but this is serious.  I think we should put up Mission 17 on the monitor, Sir.”

“Captain Trenton’s?”  Siegfried Apollo looked most unimpressed but reluctantly switched the main monitor in the room to project the view from the robot’s cab, a device which had been fitted as a precautionary measure to interject on missions from mission control downstairs; even though direct access to the robot’s command centre was not possible from this room Aquinas still felt it necessary based on what Trenton had said.   He and the board members watched in silence as the view of the two giant eyes came into focus.

Trenton’s crew checked all the gauges and monitors, radioing each other from the various parts of this complex body of mechanisms, and eventually word got to the captain that all systems were GO.   Circle Blaze set off for town, walking in such a manner that nopony would ever suspect a thing; the engineers had truly done their homework.   The smooth movement of all the limbs was perfect, and the numerous gears and mechanics within this smiling mare gave no creaks or sounds – silenced through the muffling layers of coating placed all over the body.  Trenton rubbed his hands together when they eventually bumped into Lyra Heartstrings on the main street.   Bringing the microphone closer, Trenton licked his lips ready to begin.

“Oh hey again, Circle!  What have you been up to?” Lyra asked.
“Not much, I had a nice sleep actually!  How are things with you and Bon-Bon?”  Circle Blaze asked.
“Better I think.  But I’m just gonna keep my distance for now, let her get on with stuff.” Lyra looked sad.
Trenton radioed his crew in the left front leg to orchestrate the complex manoeuvre of placing a friendly hoof on Lyra’s shoulder.  With this having been accomplished, Trenton afforded himself a smile as Lyra looked at her new friend.
“You’re a nice mare, Circle Blaze.  I wish we’d begun talking earlier” Lyra said regretfully.
“Thanks, Lyra Heartstrings – I have to go into town now, goodbye for now.”
Pork Penders looked up at Trenton in the captain’s chair.  “That was a little cold, sir…”

“Eh.  That pony’s problem will have to wait.  We have a job to do…well, I have a job for us to do…and that foolish pony thinks this hunk of metal is actually befriending her!”   Penders laughed with him, and then Trenton and his crew recorded the readings of the robot’s emotional reactor; this complex device located at the machine’s core was essentially a ‘heart’ which was itself fuelled by interactions with other ponies and the enchanted minerals.   Because Trenton’s crew had overfilled the mineral intake, the reactor was displaying readings suggestive of a level of autonomous thought which startled Trenton and his crew.   Indeed, to the outside world, Circle Blaze had a look of remorse on her face.  Desperate to reassume charge, the robot’s crew steered their mare into town and stopped by the market plaza.  As this white inconspicuous mare walked down the street, few ponies seemed to take much notice; but a few Tinies here and there, hiding or sheltering, knew what that mare really was.   News of Trottingham’s experiment had made it to neighbouring villages and there was no mistaking the ever-so-slight mechanical walk which sometimes slipped through.   As they reached a grocer’s stand, Circle Blaze ordered several crates of produce.

“Got a big dinner coming up or something, deary?”  The vendor asked.

Cicle smiled.  “Only a little fun I might be having with some Tinies I’ve held onto.”   As the vendor gave a hesitant smile, the crates were stacked up to one side, but Circle asked if they could be laid out.  The vendor looked confused but presently laid out the crates so that none were stacked.   A complicated move saw them make Circle Blaze crouch down and open her mouth, and presently Trenton sent Pork Penders and some of his crew out to begin loading the food into the robot.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were strolling down the street slowly, enjoying the bustling market around them.   The pegasus had been finding life difficult since promising to Stacy that she would give up on Tinies, and - secretly - she had actually broken the promise on one occasion a few nights ago.  The feeling had been phenomenal but the guilt was arguably more felt.   Despite her inability to resist the strong urge, she continued to enjoy her friend’s company in her house above the town, and she was indeed able to put her mind off eating humans...most of the time.   Rainbow’s efforts to inspire others to give up Tinies for good hadn’t gone quite as well as she’d hoped; rather, humans were continuously getting eaten by ponies who themselves seemed determined to become the new ‘Gulper’.   This had left her feeling moody and down a bit.  Rather, she had come to accept that she might not ever be able to deter ponies from eating Tinies, and so she would just focus on cleaning her own habit up.   However, as they walked through the market, Rainbow Dash suddenly prodded Twilight and pointed to one side.  “There!  Look, there she is!”  Twilight looked with a puzzled expression, and saw a white mare pony crouched down, seemingly eating tomatoes in bulk.  But the tomatoes were moving in such a way that the princess could just-about make out that they were being carried by Tinies.
“I guess that is kinda weird” Twilight said suggestively, but Rainbow shook her head.

“No, she’s awesome!  I’ve never seen a pony so enthusiastic about eating Tinies!”
“And coming from you, Rainbow Dash, that’s quite a statement.”

Rainbow snorted, “Um, I’m trying to put those days behind me, Twilight - She, however...her name is Circle Blaze - Applejack met her the other day.  Apparently she wanted some apples, but then she totally made Tinies carry them into her mouth!”  And so the two watched as the white pony allowed numerous Tinies to run in and out of her mouth in an endless chain.

Twilight frowned.  “Hmm, how is she doing that?   Either she has one strange gag reflex or she has an unlimited supply of Tinies helping her out there.  She must be like...snatch offender no.1,”  she joked.   It was at this moment that they also realised that the pony hadn’t even moved since they’d started watching; not even a blink.  “Let’s go talk to her.”

Trenton was nudged by a crewmember that there were incoming pegasi starboard-side.  Trenton shouted into his radio to his loading crew “Abort mission, stay outside!  Repeat, stay outside.”   Circle Blaze closed her mouth and turned her head to face the two friends as they advanced.

“Hi there,” Twilight began.

“Hello.  You must be Princess Twilight, it is nice to make your acquaintance.”
Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a glance before Rainbow proceeded with a direct approach.  “So I see you’re a fan of Tinies.  How’d you find them all?”

Circle Blaze wore a blank expression for a few moments.  “I located them in the park last week.   I only moved here a month ago.”

Rainbow sighed.  “Well you clearly like to eat them, which is totally cool with me...”  She looked down on the ground and noticed the Tinies moving slowly around their hooves, and she found herself licking her lips.   No come on Rainbow, keep it together…

Circle Blaze smiled.   All the while, Aquinas, Apollo and their board were observing this exchange of pleasantries from their office, curious to see how their robot’s first interaction with members of the so-called ‘Mane 6’ would go.
Twilight Sparkle pressed on.  “So…Circle Blaze, is it?  How are you managing to get all these Tinies to help you eat all this food, do you have a digestion problem or something?”

“No, not at all.” Circle replied.   “But I do enjoy watching them enter my mouth along with my food, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Twilight rolled her eyes but Rainbow seemed to enjoy this school of thought, and pointed to the ground.  “Are those some of yours there?”   A few Tinies moving on the ground stopped and stood completely still.  Circle Blaze looked up at Rainbow with a longing expression, and Trenton hurriedly forced the conversation along, noticing the pegasus starting to look intently at his crew down below.

“So, how is your castle, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Oh nothing really, I have Spike helping me with some spring-cleaning but a couple of Tinies broke in the other day.  I suppose they -”

“Aah I can’t fight it anymore!”  Rainbow Dash burst out-loud suddenly, and she thrust a hoof to scoop up a Tiny.

Twilight gasped.  “Rainbow, what are you DOING?”

Rainbow dangled the Tiny above her maw.  “I have to, Twilight - what’s the use?   If I try and give up, and nothing changes.   Nopony gives a damn what I do either way so why should I deprive myself?  You even said I’ve been too much of a Debby Downer recently.”

“All your hard work, down the drain” Twilight lamented sadly.

Rainbow smirked, “Down the hatch, more like.  Don’t mind if I do…” She smiled as she inhaled the Tiny’s intriguing ‘flavor’, and muttered to Twilight, “just don’t tell Stacy…”

Twilight frowned at her.   “Rainbow, you don’t need to be so rude.  That person isn’t even yours to misuse.”  She turned to Circle.  “I apologise for my friend’s erratic behaviour.”

Circle’s pupils appeared to dilate for a moment.   Behind them, Trenton and his crew were panicking.  “Holy crap, that’s Penders up there!  The rainbow one has Pork Penders!”

“Sir, what do we do?”
“Sir we have a man in danger”
“Sir!”

“ALRIGHT!”  Trenton blared out, as silence resumed.   “Let’s think, how can we prevent losing our man without sounding too suspicious…?”

Meanwhile, the group at HQ were watching the screen intently, noticing too that the unfortunate Tiny was indeed one of their veteran co-pilots.

“Um, can you…” Circle Blaze began, but it was too late.  Rainbow Dash tilted her head back and dropped the Tiny in before Circle had time to say anything.

Pork Penders was scared stiff.  He hadn’t moved at all once the giant blue hooves had scooped him off his feet and carried him high up into the air.  He had flailed his arms around and screamed, trying anything to attract the attention of Circle Blaze’s eyes; he could feel his whole crew watching him behind those massive black circles.   All of a sudden, his whole world seemed to spin and everything around him became a blur.   He managed to focus his eyes on the gaping mouth below him, and the gleaming spectrum of this stupid mare’s rainbow mane.   Her tongue stretched out to ensure his landing, and he felt himself falling through the air, wind gushing past his ears, until he landed with a thump on the soft and wet tongue.

Instantly he felt saliva secrete onto the tongue, and the huge muscle lurched upwards to thrust him further inwards to the beckoning dark cavern.   Rainbow’s mouth clenched shut behind him, and he turned to see the dismal sight of her clenched front teeth.   She could do with a toothbrush, he thought to himself.  Just as he was about to stand himself upright, the tongue thrust him around in a splashfest of saliva.

“Mmm, this guy has an amazing taste!”  Rainbow said happily, whilst Twilight continued to scowl at her.   Circle Blaze was standing motionless again and it was making the princess somewhat suspicious.   Trenton and his crew were too busy in the emotional reactor, having abandoned the cockpit in a panic; the reactor was starting to heat up and readings were saying that Circle Blaze’s control panel was being autonomously operated to feel sadness at seeing a Tiny get eaten.Amazed, the crew rushed back to the front and quickly manoeuvred a blink and turn of head to show that Circle was ‘alive’…  They noticed Twilight had been looking at their mare’s face, but they both now turned to the noisy Rainbow Dash, who was licking her lips.

Inside Rainbow’s mouth, Pork Penders was being fondled and curled around the pegasus’ tongue, the massive organ moving so smoothly as if it were the oscillating waves of a great ocean.Eventually, however, Pork was tossed upwards and catapulted towards the back of the throat at an electric speed.   He had just enough time to observe Rainbow’s uvula swing out of his way before he was launched down the throat, a massive ‘gulp’ emanating from her mouth above.   Penders closed his eyes as the seemingly-endless fall continued; he couldn’t see where he was and he was afraid of what might happen to him.   The last thing he remembered seeing before passing out from nerves was the gurgling stomach acid appearing through an eventual opening below.

“Perfect, just bloody perfect.”

Lukey was shaking his head as he sat on a bench in the village square with Aquinas.  “I know,” his friend replied, “it’s a bit of a cock-up.   But at least it was Trenton who’s responsible for clearing up this mess.”   Lukey let out a sigh as the two of them people-watched the lively square.   Circle Blaze stood dormant, casting a massive shadow over the village, as her cargo hold was unloaded.   Various crates of food and goods had been brought back, but the villagers were all talking now about the crewmember who had been tagged as ‘missing’ following the publication of Trenton’s report and mission log.   Townsfolk were now starting to debate whether or not this project was too dangerous, but the abundance of food and the sense of security the robot provided were ensuring that these doubts didn’t escalate.

“Our first contact with a serious member of Equestrian society and we’re too busy focusing on that bastard getting eaten.”  Lukey fumed.   “Twilight Sparkle could be integral to achieving a peaceful future.”

Aquinas nodded.   “Yes, it’s a shame.   But we mustn’t let people think that we don’t know what we’re doing.  That’s what I fear Trenton may have accomplished.”  He turned to one side. I wonder if that was his intention all along…? He thought to himself.

As nighttime came, the villagers settled down and the robot was sent to sleep mode; her industrial-sized batteries were left charging overnight.

It was at about 1 in the morning that Circle Glaze would have startled anyone watching from a distance.  Somehow, the emotional reactor was ignited by the charging batteries reaching a certain level, and sure enough, the control panel lit up and flickered its many tiny bulbs.   One of the giant eyelids slowly lifted up, letting light emit from the eye’s bulbs (for the eyes could be lit up slightly as if headlights).   However, just as the gears began to grind into life inside the immense body, Cody the night watchman - right down below at her feet – was shocked to see and hear the mighty machine come to life, and set about carrying out his duty of shutting off the battery chargers at 01:06 so as to save power.   He knew he would have to report this most-bizarre activity in the morning.   He began to walk around it for inspection.  However, as the reactor cooled and all commands and transmissions shut off, the giant mare seemed to tilt to one side.  Realising that he may have caused a gear systems malfunction, Cody watched helplessly as the dominating leviathan started to lean backwards to where he stood behind it, and the robot’s back legs gave way, crouching downwards.   Cody watched as the robot’s giant rear end headed down towards him at a steady pace and, the next thing he knew, he was caught in the crack of the giantess’ artificial butt.   A small bang emerged from the sound of this, and as he muffled for help, Cody slipped out of consciousness.

Inside the castle throne room, Rainbow Dash was excitedly telling Pinkie Pie about the mare she’d met earlier, Circle Blaze.  Twilight Sparkle was reading something at the table and gave an unamused look across towards Rainbow.
“…and then she totally takes them along with her food!”

“Wow, that’s efficient” Pinkie thought.
Rainbow smiled, “yeah she’s awesome!  And she let me have one of her Tiny guys…”
“Well, Rainbow…you didn’t really ask, did you…” Twilight interjected.

Rainbow shot a look her way and shrugged, “Whatever, he tasted amazing” as she rubbed her stomach slowly.

Pinkie tilted her head, “wait, you ate one?  What happened to you ‘being done’ with all that?”

Rainbow rested a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, “Well I know, I’m still trying with that, even if it’s proving a wasted effort.  But I can still treat myself once in a while, eh?”  She rubbed her stomach sensually.

Twilight Sparkle stroked her chin.  “I don’t know, there’s something odd about her.  The way she speaks, moves…it’s like she’s under a spell from somepony.”

Pinkie Pie laughed as Rainbow spoke up: “Ah, you’re just jealous because there’s a new cool pony and you just want to be centre of attention.”

Twilight smirked, “and I guess it’s good that you’re not jealous of yet another pony being the biggest threat to those poor little Tinies…after all, the ‘Gulper’ has been off the hunt - at least that’s what they all think.”

Rainbow frowned, “hey!”

Aquinas and Lukey were preparing for their excursion a few days later; they were to take Circle Blaze into town on an interaction mission.   The DIET officials had decided that, after the encouraging conversation with a lively Rainbow Dash, the crew were to capitalise on this and oversee a further meeting with Rainbow.

The crew were preparing the robot and on today’s excursion they were to be joined by an experienced Knight of Unification, Wyatt.  He had been intrigued about the project whilst in the town and had already been on a few excursions inside Circle Blaze.  He was overseeing the loading whilst the two captains paced nearby holding their clipboards.   “I don’t really know what to make of it, Lukey.   She eats one of our personnel the other day, and we’re meant to go and befriend her?  What about Lyra?”  Aquinas asked.

“I think the purpose of this is to understand why Rainbow Dash gave up on Tinies, to understand the philosophy behind it.”  Lukey offered back.

Aquinas nodded.  “That might well benefit the aim of this project.”
Lukey smiled, “yes, we need to know what’s going on in Rainbow’s head.  Her and all the other…offenders.”
“Hmm.  We’re gonna have to try not to be unsubtle about this.  It might end up a good thing we have Wyatt with us.”
“Yes, and what was up with that malfunction the other night?   Cody was left unconscious!”  Lukey asked, as Aquinas shook his head.

“Who knows?   I think DIET were informed that their machine just blew a gasket.  It’s a shame Cody can’t remember anything now.”

They boarded and fired up the various parts, eventually steering Circle Blaze towards Ponyville.  The two captains had a light-hearted chat and the crew were all in high-spirits; indeed, Circle Blaze walked flawlessly today as it was becoming second nature to this elite assembled crew.  Aquinas peered through the giant eye window as he began scouting the street for the rainbow-maned pegasus, but their search was mercifully short-lived.

“Hey, Circle Blaze!”  Rainbow Dash dived towards the robot from the sky, and it was only the quick-thinking of the captain which saved them from an unwelcome crash with the incoming pegasus; Aquinas steered the robot one step to the right and sent Rainbow smacking her face into the ground, rubbing her jaw.   A collision could have been catastrophic.
“Hey, what gives?  Haha, oh well, the joke’s on me I guess.”  Rainbow chuckled.

“How has your day been, Rainbow Dash?” Circle Blaze asked.

“Good, not bad.  I trained a bit this morning but now I’m quite hungry, wanna go get lunch?”
A brief and panicked exchange between the crew ensued, before eventually: “Um, yes.  Let us go.”
Rainbow led them to the café and they sat and ordered.  “How come you just ordered a drink, you not hungry?”  Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

“I had a few Tinies this morning lol…and an apple.” Circle winked back, before taking her straw and guiding it up to her mouth.

Inside Circle’s mouth, Lukey and several crew members were on hand, waiting for the incoming straw to arrive.  Once it did, the 2I/C led them as they carried and guided it towards a specific pipe leading from the mouth down into a storage tank for food and drink.   For now, Lukey had warned that due to the recent overnight malfunction, the mouth was not ready to activate chewing mechanisms yet. Giving a go-ahead signal to the radio crewman, the straw presently rumbled as liquid came gushing into the oral cavity.   The soda splashed its way through the straw and roared out into the shaft below; a gulp sound came out of Circle Blaze’s ‘voicebox’ located nearby behind the uvula.   Back in the command centre, Aquinas watched through the eyes as Rainbow Dash tucked into a sandwich.   She really was hungry, because she devoured the thing in only a few loud bites.   I hope Penders is okay in there, Aquinas thought, before he turned to the sound of the chamber door opening behind him.

“Success” Lukey said to Aquinas, resuming their seats.

“Now we just need to get some information out of this pony” Aquinas urged, as they turned to face the eyes.
“Buuuurrpp!” Rainbow Dash erupted and looked pleased with herself as she slumped back and patted her belly hard.   “You don’t know what you missed out on, Circle.”

“I am sure it was delicious.   So how long have you lived in Ponyville?”   The crew knew this was not of paramount importance, but they wanted to seem genuinely interested.

“Oh I can’t remember.  So much has happened here but I’m originally from Cloudsdale.”
“And how many Tinies do you think you’ve eaten since they arrived here too?”
Rainbow laughed.  “A lot.”

“Um, Rainbow Dash?  If you enjoy eating them so much, why was Twilight saying you shouldn’t eat one of my men...I mean, my Tinies?”

Rainbow Dash sat upright.  “Erm, it’s a complicated thing with my...housemate.”
Circle Blaze smiled and leaned forward.   “Well, tell me now please.”
Rainbow retreated a little.  “I don’t know, Circle; it was personal and I don’t really want to get into it at the moment.   Why you being weird?”   Circle Blaze’s eyes seemed to widen slightly as she stared deep into Rainbow’s.   “You…you’re not gonna try eat me now are you, Circle?”  Rainbow laughed nervously.

“We’re losing her, Sir” said one of the crew.

“Dammit” Aquinas cursed under his breath as he fuddled around with the control panel.
“I am just curious to talk about Tinies since I have heard you had a reputation” Circle replied.  Down in the mouth, another sip was taken.

“Yeah, ‘had a reputation’.   Whatever.   Wanna go for a run?”  Rainbow asked.
“Oooo” Lukey moaned, as Aquinas sucked air through his teeth.   “I honestly don’t think she’s ready for that kind of workout yet, AQ.”

“Okay, let me think.” Aquinas said.
Circle Blaze let out a sigh.  “Um, I am quite tired actually, Rainbow Dash.  Anyway, what is the best way to eat a Tiny?”
Rainbow Dash looked quizzically at Circle.   “Is that the best you could come up with?” Lukey said with a smirk.
“I just tried to move the conversation from exercising, I know it was dumb…” Aquinas rebuffed.
Rainbow Dash spoke up: “Erm, I’m gonna go for my run, Circle.  Catch you round…I guess.”  And with that the light blue pegasus flew off.

Aquinas banged his hand on the panel in anger; the crew hung their heads low.    They had failed in their mission, and so unsuspecting passers-by watched Circle Blaze walk back to Trottingham at a slow pace with her head down.   As the crew sat in silence, the robot’s head appeared to turn suddenly, and all around the cockpit they could hear Circle Blaze’s voice resonating around through the speakers.

“You’re not very good at this, are you?”  

The crew jumped out of their seats, terrified by the unmistakable sound of the voice they had created.   Instantly they looked to Aquinas, but he was nowhere near the voice microphone; no one was.
Now Wyatt, whose violent past had left him as impulsive as ever despite attempts to keep it down, jumped into action as the crew stood stupefied; he jumped towards the control panel and began frantically pressing buttons.   “I got this!”   Lukey tried to pull him back but he continued to aimlessly enter commands in; his work was in vain as sparks flew from the panel and sent him reeling backwards.The panel then appeared to reset itself slowly as the room went quiet once more.
As they all stood in fear of what would come next, the mare’s booming voice returned: “I do hope you get better soon…Wyatt.”

Wyatt was visibly disturbed by this, and turned to the captain for any kind of consolation.   Aquinas stood open-mouthed, and after a nudge from Lukey the captain sat back down in his chair and spoke loudly, to no one in particular:  “Now hear this, Circle Blaze – this is your Captain speaking.   If you can hear my voice, please respond with an address as you did Wyatt.”   There was a silence before one of the panel’s screens lit up and presently displayed the text: At your command, Captain Aquinas.   “Dammit!” he cursed, “what the hell’s going on with this cursed thing?!”
“I don’t know what he did, but I bet it was Trenton” Lukey muttered.

Aquinas stroked his chin.  “Hmm, I recall one of Trenton’s crew overfilling the fuel intake the other day.   It could well be that that may have somehow caused the emotional reactor to effectively teach itself self-operation.”  As a few of the crew gasped, the captain continued: “let’s get this machine back to base.  I don’t want anyone operating anything except the walking gear unless I give permission, understood?”   With a few murmurs of ‘yes’ the crew resumed their positions, and Circle Blaze walked out of town.

They were stopped all of a sudden by a crash on the port-side.   It turned out to be Lyra Heartstrings tapping Circle’s flank, and they steered the head round to face the pegasus.   “Oh, hey Lyra.”

“What’s the matter?  You seem down.” Lyra asked.

“No I am fine, just thinking.”

“Well I was thinking too; I miss Bonbon and I usually go to the café with her today.  I was wondering, would you want to go to the café with me?  I’d kill for a latte.”

“Oh, I was just there!   That is sweet of you but I have to be somewhere now.” Circle explained, and Lyra bowed her head.
“Okay, next time perhaps.”  And Lyra walked off.   Aquinas and Lukey exchanged glances, feeling they’d done a good-enough job of that, and begun the journey back to Trottingham. As they did so, the voice of Circle Blaze came back once again:

“Better”.   Although unnerved again by the autonomous speech, the crew recorded this and continued their walk back.
Apollo had authorised for Cody to be given a leave of absence until he was fully recovered.  As a result, a substitute night watch was to be dispatched that night.   As Circle Blaze returned to the town, heading towards her dock - which was concealed behind a large bush – some of the DIET officials headed towards the unloading area, and they eagerly ushered Aquinas to fulfil his report duties as soon as he’d disembarked the robot’s mouth onto the platform.   “That night watch better be attentive,” he concluded after retelling the events, “because I’m afraid I don’t know what the robot is capable of right now.”

Apollo spun slowly in his chair.  “I see.  Alright very good, captain.  Tests are being carried out on the minerals recovered from the fuel intake; we shall let you know if the labs pick up anything.   Dismissed.”
As night-time drew closer, the night watchmen were assembled near the bush where Circle Blaze sat idly.   There were three of them there, and each one was an inexperienced young person who had little sense of the scope of the robot project.   “I don’t want anything to do with it, keep me as far away from it as possible.”  Amelia said.
“Come on, we have a job to do.  It’s not like it’s gonna attack us” Brian retorted.
“Yeah stop being such a girl!” Conrad taunted.  “Now let’s go; we’re supposed to do our first inspection soon.”
As Conrad and Brian stood up and adjusted their torches, Amelia stayed put on her chair in the small security office.   “I think we should keep our distance.  We can see what’s going on from here.”
The two young men sighed but reluctantly returned to their seats, and the three resumed their cards game.   All of a sudden, a flash of light burst into their dimly-lit office, and the trio rushed outside to see its source: Circle Blaze’s eyes had opened.  It made for an eerie sight, this dark shrub with a pony hidden behind it, save for her eyes which now stared out with a blank expression.   The tiny trio down by her feet were terrified.   “What do we do?  What the fuck do we do?!”  Conrad cried.

“Someone must’ve snuck into her without us seeing…” Brian said.
Amelia wept, “We’re going to get in such trouble for this!”
Sure enough, Circle Blaze’s left front leg lifted dramatically off the ground, giving an almighty creeeaaak as the gears came into life and were forced into action prematurely.   With a giant THUD she takes her first step, until the trio spot two figures running with intent, dodging the giant legs and climbing up the tail from behind.   “Hey, stop!”  Amelia shouted.
“Halt!”  Brian belted out, but the two silhouetted figures ran speedily along Circle’s back, climbing up her neck and managing to drop down onto the muzzle.   “What are they doing?” Brian asked, as Conrad blew his whistle loudly.   The figures swung themselves into Circle’s open-hanging mouth, and the three youths were left aghast as the giant mare proceeded to walk another two or three steps before appearing to shut down rather abruptly.   As they stood there, the base of the robot – the underbelly, rather – made a strange creaking noise and the two figures disembarked from a small hatch which they had opened there.

“Run!” Amelia yelled, once they realised the tall figures were heading towards them.
“Wait” one of the silhouettes called out, and as the three shocked youths turned to face their fellow humans, Brian shone a torch on them all of a sudden.  “Ah, Christ!” one of them complained, as they shielded their eyes.
“Chief Apollo?!” Brian asked, as sure enough, Apollo offered a twisted smile.
“We have subdued the robot, crisis averted” the chief offered, but his companion spoke out now.
“What in GOD’s name are you good for?!”  the man blurted out.
“Easy, Fergus.”

“Well what the fuck are they paid to do, Siegried?”
Apollo shot the man a stare and he was retreated, before muttering “bunch of assholes.”
“Please excuse Fergus, he’s a little on-edge these days.”
“Sir, how did the robot operate itself?” Amelia ventured to ask.
Apollo sighed: “Um, I’m afraid the robot is displaying signs of potential over-efficient self-maintenance.”
Brian looked puzzled, “you mean to say, Sir, that DIET have created life?”
Fergus sniggered whilst Apollo ignored him and spoke. “Well, that remains to be seen.  But this thing is displaying capability for emotions.   Christ knows how.  What we just did was simply shut her down from within.   The project may have to be postponed until we can properly control it.  For now, back to your stations.  No one is to approach Circle Blaze unauthorised.”

It began to rain heavily as the two men walked away from the young trio.  Wrapping up warmly, Fergus looked at Apollo, “are you sure Trenton is okay to captain tomorrow?”
“We have to resume as normal.   Who knows, he may well know how to tame the beast.”
Circle Blaze was walking back into town at lunchtime the next day.   Unbeknownst to Captain Trenton – whose suspension had been revoked – Aquinas had been allowed to sneak on board through the base hatch, authorised by Apollo so as to keep an active eye on the captain.  He had located the fuel intake and, curious to see what the results were, he had added more enchanted minerals, watching the reactor heat up.  He now made his way into the command centre and kept his distance, whilst Trenton and his crew focused their attention on the walking mechanisms; it may have seemed like a normal pony walk to the external observer, but every step had to be perfectly executed by the various crew stationed inside the lumbering giant’s web of gears.

Trenton was still determined to oversee his mission, even if he had lost his deputy in doing so.   He was still upset about Pork Penders, and now held a bitter grudge towards Rainbow Dash.   If they caught sight of the rainbow mare today, he was going to have Circle Blaze give her an earful.   It was at this moment that they spotted Lyra on the street, and the pegasus didn’t hesitate to come over to them.  “Excellent” Trenton muttered to himself, as he prepared his microphone.
“Hi Circle!”

“Hello, Lyra.”

“What are you up to today?  I’m going to the market if you wanna come too.”
Trenton spoke into the microphone: “well that sounds nice, Lyra.  You know, you’re a great gal - it’s interesting that you’re so eager to befriend me, because there’s something you don’t know about me.”  Lyra raised an eyebrow.
“Trenton, what the fuck are you doing?!”  Aquinas shouted from the other end of the room, lurching towards the microphone.  Several of the crew now turned and seemed equally surprised.
“Sir, you’ll compromise the entire project!”

Trenton wrestled with Aquinas as he yelled at them all.  “Good!  The project was never aimed in the right direction anyway – we should be exposing these idiotic ponies for the false friends that they are!  Eager to befriend anything that comes their way!”

“No, dammit!”  Aquinas threw a punch at Trenton and managed to deactivate the microphone before Trenton, unaware of this, screamed into it: “I’m a robot!”

Of course, Circle Blaze did not say this, but the entire cockpit were given a fright when it was filled with her voice again:  “No.”

“What was that, Circle?” Lyra asked.

Aquinas and several crew members managed to restrain Trenton, who was shouting profanities at an alarming rate, some directed at Twilight Sparkle who had just appeared at the stall.  Aquinas quickly assumed control of the microphone.  “Oh nothing, Lyra.  I was just saying that one thing you may not know about me is that I love wild strawberries!”  Circle gestured towards a market stall selling the fruits, and Lyra squeed as the two approached it.
“Phew” Aquinas wiped his sweaty brow, and gestured to the crew to assume their positions, whilst treacherous Trenton was knocked out by Regent - Wyatt’s brother and Trenton’s new 2I/C - to shut him up.   Regent saluted Aquinas as the assuming captain, and Aquinas gazed longingly out of the massive eye windows.

“Hi girls, how’s it going?”  Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Good, just getting some of these because they’re Circle’s favourite” Lyra said, proudly holding up a small basket of wild strawberries.  “Here, catch it in your mouth” Lyra said, preparing to throw a strawberry.
“Okay, battle stations” Aquinas said ironically to his crew, as immediately some of them were dispatched to the mouth.   Regent led them down, and once they reached it, he pulled the lever which opened the giant jaws of teeth like a pair of doors.   Aquinas’ voice came through on their radios: “Okay, anticipation and coordination is imperative.  Let’s get this right.”   The cockpit watched intently as Lyra tossed the strawberry, and they turned the head slightly to catch it.   Down in the mouth, the giant strawberry came flying in perfectly, and as soon as it entered they got to work operating the chewing mechanisms, which grinded and creaked into life.

“Wow, perfect catch – nice one, Circle!”   Lyra cheered as Twilight smiled.
“Thanks” Circle said, chewing happily.  Inside her mouth, the giant strawberry was pressed into a pulp and sent down the pipe into the food storage tank.   Regent wiped some juice from his face and proceeded to shut off the chewing mechanism, whilst the various crew proceeded to venture into the mouth to wipe the prosthetic teeth clean.
Rainbow Dash now made herself known to the trio of mares, and landed next to Twilight.  “Hey guys, what’s up?”
“Lyra and I bought some of these nice wild strawberries.  Have you ever tried one, Rainbow Dash?” Circle Blaze asked.
“Ew fruit” Rainbow then lowered her volume and spoke softly, ”that Tiny of yours gave me stomach cramp all night, little devil…he must be getting comfy in there.  Oh well, I guess one strawberry couldn’t hurt me…or him.”  With that, the rainbow-maned flyer took a strawberry and tossed it into her mouth.  “Mmm” she said as she swallowed it.   Circle Blaze stared intently.
“She’s incredible…” Regent muttered beside Aquinas, having returned with his mouth crew.   Aquinas nodded silently, but then the control panel in-front of him shut down completely.
“McKay, status report!”  He radioed his man in the reactor chamber for an immediate explanation.
“It’s no good Sir, the reactor’s heated up too much and I’ve lost control of the regulator.”
“Fuck knows what’s happening…” Aquinas thought aloud, as all of a sudden the giant head they all occupied turned towards Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry I was being odd yesterday.  I had a lot of things on my mind and I was not really thinking straight.”    Circle Blaze had spoken unprompted.   The crew were indeed shocked, but were now beginning to get used to surprises in this thing!  Aquinas facepalmed and sat contemplatively in his chair whilst some of the crew pondered where they went from here.

“That’s okay, Circle.  I should have paid more attention in that case” Rainbow offered.
“Aw nice to see” Twilight smiled, as the four turned to see Rarity and Sweetie Belle strolling through.  “Oh, hey Rarity, hey Sweetie Belle!”

“Morning darlings - my, what a tremendous turnout today!”  Rarity exclaimed, surveying the busy town square.  “Pity it rained earlier.  Hopefully it clears up.”

Twilight nodded in delight whilst Rainbow shrugged, and Circle Blaze was introduced to them.  Aquinas attempted to control the microphone, with a bit more success this time.  “Nice to meet you both,” he spoke, and presently the words came out of Circle’s mouth.   As the group had a leisurely stroll, Sweetie Belle was quietly troubled.   She had looked at Circle Glaze and noticed what appeared to be rust on the mare’s flank, and thought to herself “I know what that means…”