A few seconds go by tensely as Rose lies on the table motionless. Arc turns to Twilight.
“Is something supposed to be happening?”
“She should restart any moment now.”
A full minute passes. Arc looks to Twilight nervously.
“Um… should we turn her off and on again?”
“Yes.”
Twilight lowers her glowing horn to the mole on Rose’s cheek, touching it gently. Moments later the sound of moving parts can be heard from within her body. However nothing happens.
“I was afraid this would happen.”
“What is it?”
Auriel looks at the screen. “There must have been some sort of glitch from removing the directives.”
Arc frowns. “Define ‘glitch’.”
Twilight sighs. “Her current programing can’t function without the directives its supported since activation.”
“They’re part of who she is now?”
Twilight nods. “Yes. But don’t worry! All I have to do is format her memory banks, reinstall the operating system, and reupload her memories.”
“And the directives?”
Twilight turns back to her screen. “I’ll remove them from the operating system before installing.”
“Then when she awakens she’ll be okay?”
“Yes. Just let me do a few things over here…”
Twilight pushes some buttons on her keyboard.
“Alright. Removing all directives from the Operating System. All I have to do is reconfigure a few settings in her root files and… done.”
Twilight turns to Auriel and nods. She watches as Auriel puts the patches on Rose’s forehead before turning back to her keyboard.
“It will take a couple hours for this to upload, Arc. If there’s something else you need to do…”
Arc shakes his head. “No, I’ll stay here.”
Twilight stands up and pulls a tray of tools over with her magic. “I think I’ll use this opportunity to do some maintenance on her. Is that okay?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Thanks. Would you undress her please?”
“What?!”
Twilight looks to him, confused. “I have to open her up, remember?”
“Oh… right.”
Twilight looks Rose over. “That was rather silly of me.”
“Which part?”
Auriel points a claw at the patches on Rose’s forehead. “Those will make it difficult to remove her clothes.”
Arc blushes. “I… might have an idea. But only if there’s no other way.”
Twilight shakes her head. “It’s important that I have unobstructed access to her components, Arc.”
“Very well.”
Arc reaches for his ring and pulls out the knife from Lord Gestal. Taking Rose’s collar he slowly and carefully slices her tunic down the middle and up each sleeve. The cloth easily parts exposing the android’s artificial flesh.
“Is that better?”
Twilight nods. “Almost. I’ll get the rest.”
She uses her magic to carefully remove Rose’s undergarments.
“Sorry, but I really need to access everything.”
Arc nods. “I… understand.”
Twilight sets the ruined clothes in a corner before looking Rose up and down.
“It appears her auto-repair systems are functioning normally. I don’t see a blemish on her. Although…”
Arc frowns. “Something wrong?”
“I… this just doesn’t feel right.”
Auriel looks confused. “Twilight?”
“She’s so helpless lying there bare.”
Twilight looks up at Arc.
“I believe I’m beginning to understand why humans cover themselves.”
Auriel turns to Arc. “This confuses me. After all, everyone has similar parts. They’re just in slightly different locations. For example, Twilight and Rose’s mammary glands are…”
Arc interrupts, blushing. “I know!”
Twilight shakes her head. “We should probably get to work, Auriel.”
“You want me to assist you?”
“Of course! I’m certainly not perfect in my own right. It would be nice to have a second set of eyes.”
“Very well.”
Twilight picks up a scalpel with her magic. “You may want to leave the room, Arc.”
Arc shakes his head as he looks into Rose’s face. “No thanks. I’ll stay here with Rose.”
He gives her hand a squeeze.
“She stuck by my side. I’ll do the same for her.”
Twilight and Auriel get to work. Auriel looks over Twilight’s shoulder as she carefully cuts through Rose’s artificial skin.
“It looks like her components held up very well under duress.”
Twilight nods. “I used only the best parts to build her. Well, from what I could afford, that is.”
Arc turns to Twilight. “I’m sure you did your best.”
Auriel frowns. “The power regulator is a bit miscalibrated though.”
Twilight looks over at the screen. “It is?”
“For those wires, yes.”
“You’re right, Auriel! How did I miss that?!”
“Shall I make the adjustment?”
“Sure.”
Auriel pushes a few buttons and writes something down on her clipboard.
“I’ve made a note of the change on her chart.”
“Thanks. Can you add it to her blueprints?”
Arc looks over. “What? But I…”
“I’ve been trying to redraw them since you… um…”
“Understood. And… sorry.”
Twilight nods. “Let’s not talk about back then. It didn’t end well last time.”
“Agreed.”
Auriel and Twilight work on Rose’s body for several hours. Eventually they step back.
“Everything looks good now.”
Arc turns to them. “Anything wrong? “
Auriel shakes her head. “We polished her joints and cleaned some residue from around her heart.”
Twilight nods. “It wasn’t too bad. Nothing a little scrubbing wouldn’t fix.”
“Good. What about her joints?”
Auriel smiles. “They just need some maintenance to stay working.”
Twilight sighs. “I couldn’t afford better parts in that regard.”
Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t hold it against you, Twilight. And I’m sure Rose doesn’t either.”
Auriel nods as she stitches Rose back together. “She’s very understanding in that regard.”
Arc chuckles. “Like her mother.”
Twilight sighs as she stitches one of Rose’s legs shut. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Is Rose really going to be okay?”
Auriel nods. “Yes, Arc. We have to sew her shut by hand right now though. Her auto repairing function is offline.”
Twilight smiles at him. “Yes. As soon as she reactivates it will come back online though.”
Arc nods and puts a hand on Rose’s cheek.
“You hear that, Rose. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Twilight and Auriel turn back to the screen. They whisper to one another.
“She can’t hear him right now.”
“I know, Auriel.”
“She should be almost ready to reactivate.”
“Yes. Just let me verify that the changes were saved.”
Twilight pushes a few buttons and looks over the screen before turning back to Arc.
“Alright. It looks like everything checks out fine.”
Auriel sighs. “We should probably start her in Diagnostic Mode though.”
“Agreed. Are you ready over there, Arc?”
“Yes. Let’s wake her up.”
Twilight pushes some buttons on her keyboard. “Okay. Starting basic systems now.”
Rose’s eyes open but remain unfocused. Arc does not let go of her hand.
“I’m right here, Rose.”
Auriel looks over the readout. “She can’t hear you yet, Arc.”
Twilight turns to Arc. “Well, she kinda can. Diagnostic Mode is now active. Try talking to her.”
“Okay.”
Arc clears his throat.
“Rose, can you hear me?”
She looks toward him. Her expressionless face and emotionless voice fills the quiet lab.
“Yes.”
“Are you in any pain?”
“This unit does not feel pain.”
Twilight clears her throat. “Activate auto repair program.”
“Affirmative. Program has been activated.”
“Repair all external damage.”
“Affirmative.”
A few moments later the cuts in her body begin to heal. Arc reaches into his magic ring, pulls out his magic cloak, and uses it to cover Rose’s naked body. Auriel turns to Rose.
“Acknowledge when repairs are complete.”
“Affirmative. Order will take another thirty-seven seconds to complete.”
Arc winces. “This is kinda painful to see.”
Twilight smiles at him. “She’s okay, Arc. You’ll see.”
“Repairs complete.”
Twilight nods. “Give me your status.”
“Sensors online. Central nervous system twenty-five percent active. Power supply properly aligned. Memory banks show several errors.”
Auriel looks over. “What?! Describe errors!”
“No objectives have been set by an administrator.”
“That’s a relief!”
Arc nods. “Do you require objectives to function?”
“No.”
“Any other system errors?”
“Mobility is offline. Weapons are offline.”
Auriel nods. “That’s because she’s in Diagnostic Mode, Arc.”
“Can we bring her online now?”
Twilight thinks for a moment. “Just one more thing.”
She turns to Rose.
“What are your objectives?”
“Error. No objectives found.”
Auriel nods. “Confirm. What is your Primary Directive?”
“Error. No primary objective found.”
Twilight turns to Arc. “I guess that’s it. Prepare to bring systems fully online, Rose.”
“Error.”
Arc frowns. “Error?!”
“It is not advisable to bring this unit online without set objectives. Please see an administrator for assistance.”
Twilight nods. “Override. Prepare to disable Diagnostic Mode.”
Arc leans forward. “Is there any danger in starting you as-is, Rose?”
“Unknown.”
Twilight turns to Arc. “I can always restore her to the way she was before. Directives and all, Arc. What do you want to do?”
“Let’s talk to her. See if she’s okay in there.”
“Alright. Give the order when you’re ready.”
Arc turns back to Rose. “Bring all systems online.”
“This action requires a system restart. Please confirm.”
“Restart when ready.”
“Restarting now.”
Rose’s eyes slowly close. They remain that way for a solid minute. Arc does not take his eyes off her.
“Come on, Rose. You can do it!”
A moment later Rose opens her eyes and looks around the room.
“Mother… Auriel… Arc? What happened?”
“There was an error when removing your directives. I had to reinstall your operating system.”
“I see.”
Arc looks her in the eye. “Are you okay, Rose?”
“Yes. My head feels a bit… empty though.”
Auriel smiles at her. “We reformatted your memory banks. That feeling should pass as you become accustomed to it.”
“Rose, look at me.”
She turns to him.
“Do you remember who I am?”
Rose smiles. “Of course! You’re Arc! The one mother designed me to care for.”
“Good! I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me.”
Twilight nods. “All her memories are still intact, Arc.”
“Rose, tell me your directives.”
Rose thinks for a moment. “They don’t appear to be in my memory banks any longer. Can I assume you were successful in removing them?”
Twilight nods. “Yes, Rose.”
Arc smiles at her. “You can now do or be anything you want.”
“What should I do?”
“Only you can answer that question.”
Rose puts her arms around herself.
“I… I feel so… strange.”
Auriel frowns. “Describe the sensation.”
“Kinda… adrift. Like I don’t have a purpose. Which I suppose is true right now.”
She turns to Arc sheepishly.
“I… does your offer still stand? Can I… come with you?”
Arc smiles at her. “Of course. But remember you can leave and go anywhere you want at any time.”
“Th-thank you.”
She begins to shiver
“Twilight! What’s happening to her?”
Twilight looks at her screen. “It must be a side effect of her copied memories still trying to hold onto their original directives.”
Auriel looks worried. “What do we do about it?”
“We can’t do anything. Rose has to.”
Rose shakes as tears begin to fall. “What?!”
Arc frowns. “Are you saying she just has to deal with it?”
“Sadly, yes. Rose just like the rest of us, you have to come to terms with your purpose in life.”
Rose puts her face in her hands. “But… but I don’t know what that IS!”
“We’ll figure it out. Do you want me to take you home now?”
Rose nods sadly.
“Okay. Just a minute.”
He turns to Twilight and Auriel.
“Thank you for your hard work on this. I’ll see to it Rose is cared for until she’s ready to stand on her own.”
Twilight nods. “Take care of her, Arc. She trusts you.”
“I will.”
Arc turns back to Rose and calls forth his gauntlet. He opens a portal and picks Rose up.
“Let’s get you home.”
Rose looks away and blushes as Arc puts an arm behind her bare back. “Thank you.”
Auriel smiles at her. “Good luck, Rose.”
Arc walks through the portal. The pair find themselves back in Arc’s quarters in Light’s Hope. He carries Rose to his room.
“Let’s get you situated.”
Arc lays Rose down on the bed and walks over to the chest of drawers. She looks down at the robe draped over her body.
“Wh-what happened to my clothes?!”
“Sorry about that. Twilight had to do some maintenance on you. I had to cut them off.”
Rose blushes heavily as Arc sets the clothes down on the bed next to her.
“I’ll wait in the other room. You okay to get dressed?”
“I uh… yes.”
“Okay.”
Arc leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Rose sighs.
“Who… who am I?”
She again puts her face in her hands.
“What do I do?!”
A few minutes later Rose emerges from the bedroom fully dressed. Arc stands and walks over to her.
“Better?”
Rose nods.
Arc takes her arm and leads her over to the couch.
“Have a seat, Rose. I think we need to talk.”
She wordlessly does so. Arc looks her in the eye.
“I want you to know you’re welcome here with me as long as you need. But if you ever want to go or do something else, you can of course do that as well.”
Rose begins to cry. “Arc, I… I feel so… empty inside!”
Arc sits down next to her. “Like you don’t have a purpose?”
Rose nods sadly.
“I kinda know how you feel.”
“You… you do?”
Arc nods. “When I first came to Equestria, I didn’t fit in here. Being the only human in the world makes for a lonely existence.”
“What did you do?”
“Kept busy until I found my place.”
Rose sighs. “My place… where is that?”
“Your place is anywhere you want to be. Wherever makes you happy.”
Rose looks down at her hands. “Before I would have said ‘my place is at your side’.”
Arc nods. “I’m heading back to Earth tomorrow. You can come with me, or stay with Twilight. Or whatever else you want to do.”
“I… I don’t know. But I really don’t want to be alone right now. If I wouldn’t be in the way, could I come to Earth with you?”
“Yes, of course. But are you okay?”
“My systems are all functioning normally. Why?”
Arc looks uncomfortable. “Um… Twilight… sliced you open earlier. For maintenance I mean!”
Rose nods. “I don’t have any access ports. That’s the only way.”
“So you’re not in any pain?”
She shakes her head. “No. But like I said before, now I feel empty inside. Like I don’t have a reason to live anymore.”
Arc stands up. “I have an idea. Follow me.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”