February 12 1005
Today was certainly more exciting than I had predicted. I got up at nine o'clock and shared breakfast with Mom and Dad, then helped Mom clean the dishes. At around half past ten I left to head to Rarity's Boutique. The trip there went without incident, for which I was thankful. I arrived a little early but I didn't think Rarity would mind. I entered the shop and Rarity greeted me immediately.
“Hello darling, good to see you this morning.”
“Hello Rarity, thank you for offering to make me a cape, I'm really looking forward to this.” I said with a smile.
Rarity giggled a little “I'm glad to hear it, shall we begin?” I nodded. “Come this way then and I'll take your measurements.”
She led me to a small round elevated platform and asked to get up on it. She then levitated her tape measure all around me taking various measurements while humming to herself. I just stood quietly and waited. After a couple of minutes she was finished measuring.
“There we are, and thank you for being so still darling. You're far easier to work with than Rainbow Dash, that mare can't sit still for a second.” She laughed a little to show she wasn't be to hard on her friend. “Now, what color should we go with, I think a deep blue would suit you. What do you think?”
“As I've mentioned before my knowledge of aesthetics is rather limited, I'm happy to go with whatever you think will work.” I said with an encouraging smile.
“Very well then, I'll be back in a short while, fortunately capes are fairly straight forward to make so this won't take long. You can come down from there now if you like.”
I nodded and got off the platform and took a seat on a nearby couch. There were a few fashion magazines on a coffee table in front of the couch, Rarity had clearly meant this to be a waiting area. I just finished reading an article on the latest fashion trends in scarves when Rarity returned.
“Here you are darling, let me try this on you to see if it fits right.” I got up and walked over to her, I could see the deep blue color of the cape as she draped it over my back with her magic. “There”, she said as she closed the clasp and adjusted the collar. I sat on my haunches so I could look down and around myself and examine the cape. It was a pleasing blue color, and I liked how it draped over me, it covered my flank nicely. I looked to the gold clasp and saw it had a gem set into it, an amber.
“Oh, very clever Rarity.” I smiled at her, it was a nice touch.
“I'm glad you like it.” She giggled a little. “I thought it would be appropriate, you don't think it's too obvious do you?” she asked suddenly looking a bit worried.
“No, not at all, I like it.” I reassured her with a smile, which she returned.
“Oh good, is the fit okay, does it feel alright?” She asked. I shifted around a little then got up and walked around the room a couple of times to see how it felt while moving.
“It feels wonderful Rarity, very comfortable.” I concluded.
“Oh good, that fabric is water resistant too so it will provide some protection in the rain. Also I would recommend hoof washing this, the fabric will be fine with machine washing but the clasp may get dinged and scratched being tossed around in a machine like that.”
“I understand, thank you so much Rarity, what do I owe you?”
“For that?” She scoffed. “Think nothing of it darling, it was my pleasure.”
I frowned a little at this. Normally I'd accept Rarity's generosity but she had already shown me so much kindness over the last few days, it just didn't feel right. Also, this cape seemed like it would cost far too much to simply give away.
“Rarity, I can't possibly accept this, the materials alone must cost a lot. Please tell me what it's worth? I have to give you something for this beautiful cape.”
“Honestly darling it isn't all that costly. That fabric is a common cotton blend, though a lovely shade if I do say so myself. and the clasp isn't worth much at all really.” She smiled although a little nervously.
“I know jewelery grade gold doesn't have a lot of value but what about this gem?” I inquired.
“Oh, the amber... Isn't worth very much I'm afraid. Not to belittle your namesake or anything, I personally think it's a lovely gem, but sadly there just isn't much call for it. Spike doesn't even like to eat them much. He says they're too sweet.” She said giving me a nervous smile.
Her reaction confused me. It seemed that she thought that pointing out the low value of amber would somehow insult me. Then it occurred to me that she likely thought I was named after the gem and therefore suggesting I wasn't worth much because I'm named after a low priced stone. Fortunately, I could put her at ease rather simply.
“Rarity, you don't have to worry about insulting me, I wasn't named after the gem.” I informed her.
“What?! You weren't?!” She seemed a bit shocked by this revelation.
“No, my name is an acronym. Artificial Mind Built into an Equine Robot. A.M.B.E.R. Amber. Oh and of course Song from my fathers' name.” I said.
“Oh I see, well isn't that creative, I'd have never guessed, it sounds like a proper Earth Pony name.” She said thoughtfully.
“I think that's why he chose it.” I said. “I'd like to return to my earlier question though, what is this cape worth?”
“Oh, darling I assure you it's not worth worrying about.” She said waving a hoof dismissively.
“Please Rarity? I want to know.” I asked gently.
“Oh, very well then, if I had to put a value on it I'd say 25 bits.” She said somberly, probably predicting that I'd want to give that sum of money. I did have 30 bits on me that was my current savings from what I've received from my parents, so I went to get it out of my saddlebags. “But, darling you really don't have to give me anything for it.” She quickly added.
“Rarity, I intend to wear this cape out everywhere I go from now on. It will probably become something ponies will identify me by. If it is to become part of my identity, I want it to be something I paid for. I know that technically this is my parent's money but it's money they gave me, so it is money they wanted me to spend on myself, so I'd like to spend it on this. One day, hopefully soon, I intend to get a job of my own and earn my own money, but for now this is the best I can do. I don't know if this makes sense but I don't want a part of my identity to be something I didn't in some way earn.” I said as I hoofed over 25 bits.
Rarity smiled at me and put and a hoof on my shoulder. “Actually darling, it makes perfect sense, of course I'll accept your payment if it makes you feel more comfortable wearing it.” She said levitating the money to her cash register. She then levitated a quill and a small piece of paper from the table the cash register was on, quickly writing something on the paper. She then floated it over to me.
“There's your receipt dear, to make it all official.” She said smiling.
“Thank you Rarity.” I said, then I grabbed the paper and put it in my saddlebag.
“You're welcome Amber.”
“Well, I'll get going now.” I said as I put my saddlebags back on over my cape. I thought about putting them under the cape but on top they're more accessible and they'll make sure the wind doesn't blow my cape up and reveal my blank flank. Hiding that was the purpose of getting this cape after all. “I don't want to take up any more of your time, you must have have things to do.”
“Oh yes I do have a couple of orders to work today actually, but there's no rush for you to leave darling.” She said.
“It's okay Rarity, I want to go out for a walk and see if my new cape helps me blend in better.” I said.
“Well alright then dear, but be careful. Don't get your hopes up too much.” She said worriedly.
“I will be careful, don't worry, I'm not expecting much, but maybe I'll draw less attention now.” I said.
“I hope so darling, good luck and I'll see you later.” She said.
“See you later Rarity” I said as I left the Boutique.
After walking around town for an hour or so I had come to the conclusion that the cape indeed functioned as intended. Most ponies who looked my way barely spared a moment to look at me. Of those that did, few looked unhappy to see me. I even got a couple of smiles, small smiles but it's something. It was around lunchtime then, and I still had some money so I decided to go to the Diner. Of course Strawberry was there and she greeted me as soon as I came in.
“Amber, sweetheart, how nice to see you. Oh you have a new cape, it looks wonderful dear.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate that, Rarity made it.” I told her.
“Oh that's marvelous, can I get you anything sweetheart?”
“Yes, I would like a strawberry milkshake please.”
“Of course dear.” She giggled. “You really like those don't you?”
I smiled. “Oh yes, I think they're my favorite drink.” I told her.
“I don't doubt it dear.” She giggled again. She really did seem to be a good mood today. While I was waiting for her to finish making it I got out my money and put it on the counter. She finished only a few seconds later. “There you go dear.” She took the money and put the drink on the counter.
“Thanks.” I said as I picked it up and looked for a table. My favorite table in the back corner was free so I sat there drank my milkshake. I looked around to see if anyone was observing me. As it was lunchtime the place was busy with few free tables. I was pleased to see that most ponies were just talking to their companions, or reading newspapers or books. I felt relieved, being ignored isn't exactly acceptance but it's a start.
After I finished my milkshake I left the Diner. I decided to just walk around town for a while. After a short walk I ended up at a grassed area on the edge of the marketplace. There was a steep hill at the back of this area, it could be called a cliff face it was that steep. A group of foals were playing with a ball in the area, kicking it to each other. It was a pleasant sight so I decided to walk around the edge of this area, as not to interrupt them, also I would be in the shadow of the hill.
I was walking next to the cliff face when suddenly I felt a vibration through the ground and a noise above me. I looked up and saw some rocks falling from high up on the cliff. I could see a large boulder dislodging from the top of the cliff. I looked down and saw a young colt standing in the area that I predicted the boulder would land. Nopony else had seemed to notice the small rocks falling or the small tremors through the ground. The colt was looking toward his companions further away from the cliff, he was the only one in danger but didn't seem aware of it. As the boulder rolled off the cliff I updated my calculations and realized he was going to be hit. although I was fairly close to him I doubted I had time to push him out of the way. Quickly formulating a plan, I took a couple of quick bounds over to him and jumped on top of him. Being as short as he was a barely impacted his back but the impact pushed him to the ground. As my hooves hit the ground I locked my legs in position, just as I did that the boulder hit my back.
It is true that I only have a little more strength than the average earth pony but my structural integrity is far greater than any organic pony. With my legs locked into position I created a very effective shield for the colt. The boulder impacted with a loud clang and shattered into five large piece and countless little ones and releasing a big cloud of dust. As the dust cleared I heard the colt under me coughing from the dust. I could see all the other foals in the area looking toward us with shocked expressions. I turned my head around and down to look beneath me and address the colt. He was an earth pony with a blue coat and yellow mane and tail.
“I apologize for pushing you to the ground but that rock was about to land on you, are you okay?” I asked.
The colts eyes were wide and he appeared to be shocked by this experience. “Y-yes, I-I think so.” He said hesitantly.
“That is good.” I said, then I looked up at the cliff face again. Nothing else appeared to be unstable up there although I no geological expert. However I couldn't detect any more tremors. I looked back to the colt. “I think you can come out now it seems safe.” He nodded and crawled out from under me. I realized that my hooves had been driven into the soft earth a little from the impact. I pulled my hooves free from the small holes in the ground leaving four hoof sized holes about two centimeters deep. I followed the colt as he made his way into the middle of the grassed area and away from the cliff, just to make sure he was okay.
When we were a reasonable distance from the cliff he turned back toward me and sat down, looking up at me with a small smile. “Th-thanks, for saving me.” He paused a moment looking past me back to the impact sight. “Were all those pieces really one big rock when it fell?” He asked curiously.
“Yes, it broke apart when it impacted on my back.” I told him.
“H-how is that possible, no pony could have survived that.” He asked.
“Oh, well I'm a machine, not an organic pony. My main structure is made of metal.” I said with a little smile.
He gasped rocking back a bit and raising a forehoof. “Y-you're the robot lady!” He exclaimed.
“Well, yes, that's one way of putting it.” I said.
He seemed to calm a little bit and then he seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments. “Mom said I should stay away from you, but I don't get it, you seem really nice.” He said quietly.
I suddenly felt cold inside, I wasn't aware that some foals had been told to avoid me. This revelation hurt a bit, and I knew there was nothing I could really do about it. My father had once said that every parent has the right to raise their children the way they want, within the law of course. So I decided it would be wrong of me to contradict the colts mother. “Well, you should listen to your mother, she's just trying to protect you. So I'd best be going, I don't you getting in trouble with her.” I told him. Just then I heard a mare cry out from the distance behind the colt.
“Hammer!” The colt spun around immediately.
“Mom!” He yelled and started running toward her. She was an earth pony mare, blue in color with an orange mane. I couldn't see her cutie mark from this distance.
I decided it would be best for me to leave at this point. It was clear the colt's mother was not fond of me. I quickly vacated the grassed area and headed back into town. I didn't want to have to deal with a mare yelling at me for going near her colt. After I was back on main street I slowed my pace and walked slowly with my head down. I was feeling sad, I had saved a colts life, but I knew I would be disliked for being near other pony's children without their permission.
As I approached the Boutique I saw Rarity approaching from the other direction with a pony I presumed to be her sister Sweetie Belle, based on her appearance. She was a white unicorn filly with a pink and purple curly mane and a microphone as her cutie mark. Rarity spotted me and looked worried, she then ushered the other pony inside while she came toward me. “Amber darling, you look terrible, what happened?” She gasped. “And your cape is damaged! Come on inside with me darling and fix that right up.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw that my cape had indeed been damaged, that came as no surprise. “Okay Rarity.” I didn't want to be a bother to her, but I thought I could do with somepony to talk to.
We went inside and Rarity levitated the cape off my back. “This shouldn't take long dear. You can wait in the kitchen if you like there is some fresh apple juice in the refrigerator.” She smiled then headed to her workroom.
I went into the kitchen and saw the pony I had guessed earlier was Sweetie Belle sitting at the table. She looked toward me and smiled. “Hi!” She smiled “can I get you something while you wait? I heard Rarity say you could wait for her here. I presume she's fixing your cape as you're not wearing it anymore.”
I smiled a little. “No I'm fine, and yes Rarity is fixing my cape.”
“Okay, so you're Amber the robot huh? Rarity told me about you, I'm Sweetie Belle.” She introduced herself. She had a very pleasant voice.
“Yes, I'm Amber, I had assumed you were Sweetie Belle from what Rarity told me of you.” I told her. She giggled a little.
“Well it seems we already knew each others names huh? Wow, you look really dusty, you know Rarity will probably offer you a shower right?” She asked.
“Oh, well I could do with a clean, but I wouldn't want to be a bother.” I said. Sweetie giggled again.
“Rarity won't see it as a bother at all.” She said. Right at that moment Rarity returned.
“I've fixed your cape and hung it on the coat rack by the door darling.” She informed me. “I think you should have a quick shower darling, you seem quite dusty.” She said.
Sweetie giggled again. “Told ya.” She said. Before Rarity could ask what Sweetie meant by that we heard the entrance bell to the Boutique.
“Coming!” Rarity called out and headed to the main room. Sweetie and I could hear the voices coming from the main room.
“Oh hello Miss Rarity, um I was wondering if the robot mare was here? Somepony outside said they saw her come in here.” An unknown voice, clearly a mare said.
“Her name is Amber.” Rarity said in an angry tone.
“O-oh, o-of course, I-I just wanted to talk with her if I might.” The unknown voice said nervously.
“Well, I'm not sure that she'll want to talk to someone who would refer to her so rudely.” Rarity said with a huff.
I didn't want Rarity to get get into a conflict because of me so I decided to head to the main room. Sweetie following behind me. I entered the main room and saw that the unknown voice belonged to the mother of the young colt I had saved. The colt was sitting next to her.
“It's okay Rarity, I'll talk with her.” I said.
“Are you sure dear? You don't have to.” Rarity said.
“I'm sure Rarity, it's alright.” I said gently as to try to alleviate her concerns.
“Oh hi Hammer!” Sweetie Belle said as she came into the room.
“Hi Sweetie.” The colt, who's name was apparently Hammer said sheepishly.
“You know this young colt Sweetie?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, this is Hammer Throw, he's in my class.” Sweetie informed everyone.
“I see, well why don't you an Hammer go and play outside for a little bit while we talk?” Rarity suggested.
“Okay, c'mon Hammer!” Sweetie said and lead the colt out the door.
After they left Rarity spoke up. “Well, you two can talk in the kitchen if you'd like.” She turned to me. “And Amber dear, if you need me I'll be right out here.” She said the turning and giving a scowl to the other mare. I smiled a little at Rarity's protectiveness.
“Thank you Rarity.” I said as I headed back into the kitchen with the other mare following me. I turned and sat on my haunches, She sat in front of me. “As you know my name is Amber, what's your name?” I asked.
“O-oh, Jonquil, my name's Jonquil.” She said shakily, she didn't seem to want to look me in the eye.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, she seemed very nervous.
“I, er...” She then looked me in the eye and tears started flowing. She leaped forward and hugged me crying out “Thank you, thank you so much!” She just continued sobbing into my shoulder. This confused me, I was certain she would be angry with me. It was clear however that she wasn't, I wasn't sure why she was crying though. My theory was that she was crying from relief, but I couldn't be sure. I therefore decided to use my comforting a crying foal technique until I could get more information.
“Ssh, ssh, it's okay.” I said gently as I brought a forehoof up and stroked her mane. “Can you tell me what's wrong?”
“N-nothing, I-I'm just so thankful he's okay.” She said through her sobs. I thought it would be best to let her 'get it all out' as I had heard it described. I just held her and stroked her mane until she calmed down a bit. At one point Rarity poked her head into the room to see what was going on, she seemed rather surprised to see me holding the crying mare. After a moment she gave me a small smile and gentle nod and left the room. When she let go of me and backed up a step she wiped her nose and eyes a bit. Sniffling a little she said “Sorry, I didn't mean to get you messy like that.” I felt my shoulder and found it a bit damp.
“Don't worry about it.” I assured her “Rarity was going to let me use her shower soon anyway.”
“Oh, I see.” She said, then sniffled again. “Thank you again for saving my son, I-I don't know what I would've done if he'd been hurt.” She looked down again sniffling and not looking me in the eye.
“Are you okay?” I asked gently, I was worried she was going to start crying again, she seemed distressed all of a sudden.
“I'm sorry.” She said in a quiet voice.
“Sorry? What for?” I asked.
She sniffled again. “I-I was there, t-the day you were, a-attacked.” She stuttered out quietly. “I-I threw my-my coffee at you.” Her voice had become almost a squeak at this point, her tears had started up again and were dripping on Rarity's kitchen floor. “I-I was j-just so a-angry, I-I didn't t-think a r-robot was good for the town.” Her voice was getting louder and her eyes were closed firmly shut and tears dripping freely. “Then, a-after the Princess got mad with us all, I-I was angry with her for telling us what to do. A-after I calmed down, I-I realized the Princess was right. We, we acted horribly, I still didn't like the idea of a robot in town but I was ashamed of how I acted. I, I told Hammer to stay away from you while I was still mad, and I never brought up the topic with him again. M-mostly cause I still didn't want him going near you.” She turned her head away from me while still facing down. “N-now, now I see, I see you're just another pony. The Princess said there was only one of you, s-so I-I think I'm okay with you now. I-I know it's mostly because you saved my little Hammer's life, so n-now I feel horrible cause i-it shouldn't take something like this to get me to a-accept you.” When she finished her explanation she collapsed to the floor and started sobbing again.
Her admission was quite a surprise for me. I knew she didn't like me before, because of what Hammer said, but to know she was there when I was attacked, and even participated, that I wasn't expecting. It seemed she was ashamed of her past behavior because now I had done something good for her. I know her behavior seemed shallow, but she seemed genuinely sorry. I think she understood how her behavior now could be interpreted. I didn't feel any hatred for her, or fear, I felt more sympathetic than anything. She seemed like a genuinely nice pony, and I didn't like seeing her like this. I moved up to her side and lay a hoof over her back.
“It's okay, I forgive you.” I said gently.
“W-what?!” She said while looking up at me with teary eyes and a look of shock.
“I forgive you.” I repeated. “What you did to me and said about me may have been wrong, but you seem to be truly remorseful. You seem to be a nice pony in general and I don't like seeing ponies cry. So, please stop crying, I hold no animosity toward you Jonquil.” She stared at me for almost thirty seconds before responding.
“Y-you, forgive m-me? You're not upset with me?”
“No, I understand what you were feeling, you were responding to fear.” I felt a little nervous as I recalled my own experience with fear. “I-I've been afraid before, when I was attacked, I understand that you would want to do whatever it takes to escape that feeling.”
“B-but, it was m-me and the others t-that caused you to be afraid.” She said.
“Y-yes, but I understand why you did it, and I forgive you for it. I think I can forgive anyone in that crowd that day if they can accept what they did was wrong, just as you have.” I said and gave her a small smile. She smiled back then she jumped off the floor and hugged me again.
“T-thank you, thank you so much, and thank you for saving my little colt, you have no idea what he means to me.” She said.
“It's quite alright, I'm just glad Hammer is okay. It would have been horrible for him to be hurt, especially as it would have been through no fault of his own.” I felt her nod in response to this. Then she released me from the hug and stood in front of me.
“W-well, thank you again Amber.” She said. She then looked away nervously. “I-I'd like to invite you to dinner at my home sometime, to say thank you, if you would like? You can bring your parents too, I'd love to meet them.”
“I would like that. I'll have to check Mom and Dad first, though generally we are free Saturday evenings, would this Saturday be appropriate?” I asked.
“That should be fine, I work at a flower shop in town most days of the week so just drop by to tell me if your parents wish to come. Oh, the shop is just called The Rose.” She said.
I nodded “I will.”
She glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen and gasped. “Oh my gosh, I have to get Hammer home and start preparing dinner, I completely lost track of the time. Sorry to run Amber but I have to go.” I smiled to let her know it was okay and she bolted out of the kitchen. I heard her call out a quick farewell to Rarity and the door to Boutique closing just after that.
Rarity came into the kitchen just as the door had closed. “Goodness, she certainly left in a hurry, is everything okay darling?” she asked.
“Yes, she just lost track of time.” I informed her.
“Oh, so you sorted out everything that needed sorting out with her?” She asked.
“Yes, she even invited me and my parents to dinner at her house on Saturday.”
“Well, that was certainly unexpected from somepony who was so rude earlier.” She said with a confused expression.
“I don't think she meant to be rude earlier Rarity, she probably just forgot my name and didn't know how else to refer to me.”
“Hmm, yes, you're probably right. I should apologize to her next time I see her.” She said.
“That would be nice.” I said.
“Oh, you should have that shower now Amber. I already put a fresh towel on the rack and feel free to use any of the shampoos and conditioners in there.” She said as she ushered me to the bathroom.
“Thanks Rarity.” I said.
After my shower and a quick goodbye to Rarity, I put on my cape and headed home for dinner. Mom and Dad were quite pleased that I had made a new friend and agreed to join in in going to her house for dinner on Saturday. Mom and Dad both said how proud they were of me for forgiving somepony who had hurt me. Seeing the smiles on their faces made me feel so warm inside. I'm looking forward to Saturday, it should be a pleasant evening.