//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Overclocking-Part Two 
// Story: Mechaniquus 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

With an audible clicking, Fluttershy turned off the transmitter and called out as loudly as she could, though still barely audible for most.
“Kindness! Here girl!”
In the backroom of the divided tent, a loud squeal of delight was followed by a loud scuffle as something started her way. Waiting patiently, Fluttershy’s vocal emitter gave a sharp whistle that filled the tent, causing a loud squealing as a strange object darted out of the back, and slithered across the floor towards her.
Clearly unbothered by this, Fluttershy gestured encouragingly at it with her metal hoof.
“C’mon sweetie, Rarity has a special treat for you.”
Picking up speed, the strange object reached her forehoof. It resembled a living carpet of metallic composition, possessing no eyes and yet it seemed to be able to see just fine. Fluttershy smiled at it, as it swiftly slithered up her forehoof and onto her back where it contently curled up, and seemed to emit a gentle cooing noise though it had no visible mouth; almost like purring. Fluttershy giggled at it.
“That’s my good girl.”
Still smiling, Fluttershy took a moment to look at a framed picture on the wall; though the edges were charred, the image was still very much visible. A large serpentine-like being; possessing both the clawed talons of a griffon and the paws of a manticore. A male, the back of his neck was lined with a zebra’s mane, while his tail possessed ruby red dragon scales. His eyes were bright yellow with glowing red irises; almost chaotic in nature. And in his manticore paw, he held a small white rabbit.
Her eyes slightly dimmed as she viewed it, but she kept her sunny smile. She spoke to the pair lovingly.
“Alright boys, watch the house while I’m gone. And Angel, be good for Daddy. I’ll be back soon. “
I’ll be back soon. The last words she got to say to them four years ago. If only she had known, what else would she have said to them, to him? Shaking her head, she banished her forlorn reminiscing to the back of her mind. No time for that now. Tickling the cooing aberration on her back with a hoof, she smiled as it squealed in joy.
“Come on, Kindness, Rarity is waiting for us.”
Lifting the flap, and playing an unknown whistling track, she stepped through the ray shielding, that protected her belongings and into the hellish inferno of the camp. Though the flames raged all around her, her sensors allowed her to ignore and see through the eternal firestorm. Her metallic Pegasus form shone brightly with a stunning pale yellow. Meanwhile, her holographic mane and tail were a silky cotton candy pink, and the LEDs in her ocular receptors a soft baby blue.
“Doctor Shy, is that you?”
Stopping for a moment, Fluttershy turned towards the speaker and smiled brightly. Through the flames stepped an equine-like creature with a brilliant white fur coat, with dragon scale-like plates on the bridge of her muzzle and lining the top of her back. A Kirin. The holographic design of her mane and tail were that of a lion’s and boasted a rich mahogany color. The horn on the mare’s head was a uniquely twisted variety and was a dark red in color.
“Autumn Blaze! H-how have you been?”
The words were barely a whisper, but Autumn heard them as clear as day. Her voice was like that of a whimsical melody; filled to the brim with optimism.
“OMS! I’ve been doing great! I just went to one of Pinkie’s parties! It was so much fun!”
Fluttershy chuckled to herself; Pinkie had that effect on any and all creatures that attended her parties. So much so in fact, when any creature felt down, they were sent to the Party Tent to get back their smile by a royal command prompt of the princesses. 
Glancing at the back of Autumn, Fluttershy smiled at the transmuted ball python gently draped over her shoulders. It stared back at her, giving a soft hiss of contentment, as she gently ran her hoof along its spine.
“I’m so happy for you. And how is little Feyfyre doing?”
Autumn grinned, still riding the excitement wave that was Pinkie’s party, as she practically sang out.
“She is doing so much better! You were right about changing her diet to a less mineral-intensive oil. She hasn’t had any scale build-up in her mouth since! And she has been a lot calmer as well. Isn’t that right, sweetie?”
Fluttershy nodded and cheerfully told her how wonderful that was, right as a joyous squeal erupted from the strange aberration on Fluttershy’s back. Both Fluttershy and Autumn watched in shock and awe as Kindness launched itself off Fluttershy’s back and landed on Feyfyre. 
Fluttershy chuckled at the display remarking in a clear, gentle, and concise voice.
“It would seem Kindness has detected a bit of rust on Feyfyre. When’s the last time she had an oil bath?”
Kindness slowly crept along the snake’s metallic scales making strange sucking sounds, the snake staying completely still, continuing to hiss softly. If anything, it seemed to be enjoying the experience. Autumn blinked for a moment before looking down and scuffing her hoof, responding nervously.
“Ponyfeathers! I completely forgot about that.”
Fluttershy laughed and shook her head while whispering soothingly.
“Having a pet is a big responsibility Autumn, remember, she needs the maintenance as much as you do. And even more so, since she can’t do it herself.”
Autumn lowered her eyes at the lecture being given, but she also knew that Fluttershy only wanted Feyfyre to be well. Ever since the transmutation event, all organic life had been transformed into fully metallic machines; including the remaining wildlife and pets. Fluttershy had swiftly adapted to this and took to caring for these new forms. 
As the camp’s Metallurgy Veterinarian, Fluttershy ran a clinic, for the residential metal life; everything from welding their joints to checking wear and tear on their metal frames. Diagnostics and repairs, Fluttershy was well-versed in both and none doubted her affinity for the animalistic constructs.
“I’m sorry, Doctor Shy I-”
Fluttershy’s demeanor changed in a hoofbeat as she lifted Autumn’s chin and smiled sweetly.
“I’m not mad. Just file a little reminder for an oil bath once a week. Kindness has no trouble fixing the rust, so if you would like just bring Feyfyre in once a week. Look how happy Feyfyre is now.”
The ball python having been thoroughly scraped of any build-up, now sparkled a beautiful banana yellow in the sunlight, and hissed happily, almost seemingly conversing with the aberration as it leaped back onto Fluttershy’s back; its meal now completed and fully content. It began to purr once more, as Fluttershy gently tickled it with her hoof.
The Kirin stared in amazement at the peculiar living metal, grateful and yet, unsure of what to say. While all in the camp knew of Kindness, no creature knew what exactly it was, including Fluttershy. Created by Sweetie Belle when a mixture of mineral oil magically fused with some liquid plating; creating a magical reaction, the living metallic carpet had been aggressive. 
Originally it had actively attacked the ponies of the camp, chewing on their metal exteriors, much to every creature’s chagrin. Just as the Princess was preparing to deal with the troublesome and shivering aberration, Fluttershy had stepped in and amidst much amazement, gently tickled it with her hoof causing it to purr. Every creature was surprised at it purring like a cat, and when Fluttershy had a heart to heart with it, learned that the poor creature was scared and hungry.
Soon after, it was determined it was a beneficial parasite-like creature; feeding on rust, limescale, and all forms of corrosion; and so Fluttershy trained the aberration to ‘clean’ animal and creature metallic forms, alike.
Autumn Blaze smiled at Kindness.
“Thank you…um…little girl…guy…uh?”
Looking at Fluttershy for a hint, she was surprised when Fluttershy just giggled.
“Kindness isn’t really really either of those, so either works just fine and both work just as well, though I call it a ‘she’. If you really want to praise her though, gently run your hoof down her middle. She really enjoys that.”
Still confused by the odd remark, Autumn reached out her hoof and trailed it down the middle of the metallic carpet, only to be greeted by a loving purr. Autumn chuckled at the display, as Kindness turned over suddenly and stretched out for more pets like a playful puppy. Fluttershy nodded as Autumn continued petting it.
“See? She responds to touch and appreciates that more than any praise words could give. Oh my Starlight, I almost forgot! Rarity! Sorry Autumn, I-I gotta get going.”

***

Walking through the tent flap, Fluttershy was greeted by a pretty grim-faced Twilight standing over a repair table; on which lay the still form of Starlight. She seemed to be coated wingtips to hooves with horrible scale, grease, and rust buildup. Instantly the familiar squealing of Kindness’s excitement filled the tent as the little carpet launched itself onto the Alicorn.
Walking over to Twilight, who watched as Kindness slowly crept along Starlight’s body, Fluttershy addressed her with her ever soft voice, though clearly concerned, even if it was barely audible.
“Twilight, what happened?”
Sighing, the Alicorn Princess continued to watch as Kindness enjoyed its equivalent of a luxurious feast with little squeals here and there, explaining with a sad smile.
“She ran out of battery power and shut down as I carried her here. Starlight’s been overclocking her central processing unit, trying to handle everything herself. It was a bit more than she could handle at once.”
Coming out of the back, where she had been preparing a warm oil soak, Rarity told Twilight.
“Oh Darling, don’t you worry, after sixteen hours her batteries will be fully recharged and you can bet, that I’ll have her looking and feeling like a brand new unit in no time afterward.”
Fluttershy stayed silent as she stared at Rarity, clearly seeing her fatigue that she was desperately trying to hide. So, it’s not just Starlight. No wonder you called me. However, refusing to soil Rarity’s pride in her own Generosity, Fluttershy just faked a smile and agreed.
“Oh y-yes. Once Kindness removes all the impurities on her frame, we can lower her into the oil together, and jack her in for a wonderful soak and recharge session.”
Twilight nodded, satisfied at the response. She hadn’t been fooled for a second at the bad acting of the two. Knowing they didn’t want her to worry and were willing to help each other through it, was fine with her. I’ll let them have this. 
Twilight decided Starlight was in good hooves and stepped through the ray shielding to attend her daily duties. That’s when she noticed a dot on the horizon growing swiftly larger as it headed towards the camp’s direction and her audio receptors picked up a faint shouting emitting from the object. What’s this now?

***

The instant Twilight left the tent Fluttershy pointed a metallic hoof at a charging mat in the corner.
“Recharge Rarity, now. W-we both know you're low on power.”
Rarity didn’t bother to argue, her battery indicator saying 10%, and gave a grateful smile to her friend as Fluttershy gave her a hug, and whispered softly.
“I’ll handle this, y-you recharge those batteries, That way you’ll be fully energized when it comes time to hammer out the imperfections.”
As Rarity jacked in and powered down, Fluttershy turned to see Kindness hopping off a perfectly polished Starlight onto her back once more. Slowly running her hoof along its supposed back, she listened as the aberration let out a squeak of contentment before a loud purring issued from it.
“That’s my good girl, now let’s get the Princess into her oil soak.”