“Well, it’s taken months of hard work and programming, but he’s finally done.” A pony in a labcoat said, looking at a monitor that had various readouts displayed. “Shall I begin the activation sequence?”
“Yes, doctor,” replied an older unicorn with goggles, “everything is in place. There is no better time than the present. Let us step into the future.”
“Beginning activation sequence.” The other said, typing furiously on a keyboard as a pony-like mass of metal on a pedestal sparked to life.
“It’s working!” cried the scientist, the blue light of the machine flashing in his thick goggles. He smiled widely, like a child on Hearth’s Warming Eve, and leaned over to check the readings. There was a whirring noise and then the room went dark for a second. When the lights flashed back on, his creation stood before him.
“Yes!” he breathed.
The machine blinked and looked at his creators. “Who are you?” He asked.
“I am your father!” the stallion said, trotting slowly over to the contraption, “I have given you life.” He reached out with one hoof to touch it’s shoulder.
The machine stepped back a bit. “My… father?” He asked slowly.
“Yes,” smiled the scientist warmly, “You are my child. It is my duty to raise you, to care for you. I have given you life.” He continued to reach out with his hoof but did not move any closer.
"Well then, everything seems to be working. Let me know if he does anything... odd. There may be glitches that need working out." The other scientist said.
“I will,” his eyes remained fixed on the horse before him, “you may go now.” He reached up and pulled the goggles down around his neck, revealing bright blue eyes.
"What am I to be called?" The robot asked.
“I will call you Alpha,” his creator smiled, “and you may call me Volt Spark.” He took another step towards Alpha.
Alpha took a step forward as well, but stopped when he hit the sunlight. He lifted a hoof and stared at it, watching the light as it shimmered off of the metal.
“Welcome to Equestria, my son,” Volt Spark said, wrapping an arm around Alpha’s shoulders, “you will love it here, I am sure.” He led the newly born stallion down from his pedestal and into the rest of the sunlit laboratory.
Alpha looked puzzled at the sunlight. "Why is it bright here, but dark up there?" He asked, gesturing back to the pedestal. "Where does all the light come from?"
“It comes from the sun, a large, golden orb in the sky. The area back there is shaded so that the sunlight cannot get through.” He chuckled at the robot’s naivete.
"Can I see the sun?" Alpha asked.
“Soon, we will go outside,” Volt Spark said, angling him towards a large set of double doors, “but we have a few things to do first. I can tell I have a lot of explaining to do.”
"What more can you tell me?" Alpha asked, sitting down and looking at Volt Spark with a look of utmost curiosity and eagerness.
“Well, we are currently in a laboratory,” said the scientist, “You are a robot. You are a machine that i have created. I want you to try to live a normal life, despite that fact. I will help you learn all you need to know, then you will be free to do as you wish.”
"So... I am different?" He asked.
“Yes,” Volt Spark said carefully, “but everypony is different from everypony else. You are just different in a different way. I think that makes you quite special. Do you agree?” He flicked his greyish blue tail and tilted his head.
"Different is... good." Alpha said, letting the fact sink in. "I am different, so thus I am good." He paused for a few seconds before asking, "are there others that are like me? Are there other robots?"
“Yes,” he nodded, “there is one other that I have made. Her name is Omega. Would you like to meet her?”
"Yes." Alpha nodded.
“Then let us go!” cried Volt heartily, “She is probably waiting for us in the living quarters. Come, I will show you.” He began to trot towards the doors again, checking to make sure that Alpha was in tow.
Alpha was indeed following, but he seemed a little clumsy, as if he hadn't quite mastered the art of self locomotion. He caught up with the scientist and nodded to him with a slight smile.
The two walked through the doors and down a long, white hallway. Eventually, the sound of another pony’s hooves on the hard tile floor could be heard. They emerged into a beautiful white and black checkered kitchen where another pony stood, solid black with a short green mane. The sunlight fell in through the windows and glinted off of her blank flank, which was apparently made of metal.
"Are you Omega?" Alpha asked.
“Who is this, Volt?” she said, ignoring the other robot completely.
“This is Alpha,” said the aged stallion, “He is my newest creation. Alpha, this is Omega. She has been with me for a while now. I’m sure you two would get along nicely.” Omega looked him up and down with her shining eyes and snorted, apparently unimpressed.
Alpha looked at Omega's flank, then his own, then at Volt Spark. "Volt," he asked, "what is that?" He gestured to Volt's cutie mark.
“Oh, this?” he said casually, glancing at the twin lightning bolts on his flank, “this is my cutie mark. All ponies get them eventually. They appear when you find your one true talent.” He glanced up at Omega as her synthetic tail flicked over her gleaming flank.
“Now, I’m not sure about you two, seeing as you’re robots, but if you find your talent and one doesn’t appear, I can always paint one on.” He chuckled as if that were a joke and trotted towards the pantry.
"That noise you made, what was it?" Alpha asked.
“That was a laugh,” called Volt, “It is a noise ponies make when they find something funny.” He reached up and pulled out a can of oats which he poured in a bowl and took to the table where he sat down to eat it.
Alpha turned to Omega next. "Why do you dislike me?" He asked. "Have I done something wrong?"
Omega said nothing, but she glanced away, eyes narrowing to emotionless slits.
“Don’t pay attention to her,” Volt laughed between bites, “she’s not much for social interaction. She barely talks to me.” The mare closed her eyes and turned away.
"What are you doing?" Alpha asked, sitting down across from Volt and watching him eat.
“I am eating,” Volt swallowed, “Something that living things need to do to survive. It gives us the energy we need to continue moving.”
"Am I a living thing? Do I need to eat too?" Alpha asked.
“Well, yes and no. You may be alive, but not naturally. You, as a robot, run on electricity, provided by the generator inside your chest. You can eat, but you don’t have to, and if you eat too often, it might cause some problems. You’re designed to process food into energy which is stored in your back up battery, but I don’t know what will happen if it gets over loaded.” He rested his head on his hoof and thought for a while, chewing absently.
"I see." Alpha said, laying his head on the table. He perked up again when he heard some birds chirping outside the window. He watched them flying around before looking at his own wings.
Omega seemed to be staring at his wings too. As the birds fluttered and chirped, landing on the window sill, she flicked her tail and turned away again. Volt Spark looked up.
“Ah, I see you have noticed your wings!” he smiled, cleaning the last bit of oats from his bowl.
"Can I fly too Volt? Like the birds?" Alpha asked, suddenly a bit more excited than before.
“Yes,” the unicorn said, “You are a pegasus pony, rulers of the sky. I’m sure that flight would come to you as naturally as it does to the tiny robin.” He stood, levitating his dishes into the sink. He trotted towards another door, more heavy duty than the others they had seen.
“I think it’s about time we go outside.”
Alpha’s head lifted off the table, a smile spreading across his metallic face. “Really?” He asked.
Volt nodded, placing a hoof on the door. He beckoned with his tail.
Alpha followed, seeming to have walking down.
The door swung open, flashing bright sunlight across Alpha’s head. Grass stretched as far as the eye could see, with trees and animals scattering the landscape. Volt turned to his creation and smiled brightly.
Alpha squinted for a bit before his eyes adjusted for the sudden burst of light, and he looked around the area, amazed by everything he saw.
“Stretch our wings, my son,” he said, “feel what it’s like to fly.”
Alpha did just that, getting shakily into the air and moving forward, relishing in the joy of flight.
“It’s in your code!” Volt cried from below, galloping along beneath him, “You know how, just do it!”
Alpha looked down at his creator and nodded, flying faster than he was before, but turning back every so often to make sure Volt was still following him.
“Go ahead,” Volt slowed to a stop, “Just be back before it gets dark! Go and explore!”
Alpha nodded again “Okay.” He said before flying off. He flew in one direction until he saw a town, where he decided to descend. He didn’t even get close to the ground before he saw something odd. Pegasi were attacking clouds. He decided to fly over and investigate.
“Hello?” He asked one of the pegasi.
The pegasus, a purple mare with a big pink bow in her hair turned to him and smiled.
“Why, Hello, there!” she cried, “May I help you?”
“Why are you attacking the clouds?” He asked. “Have they done something wrong?”
A bit confused, the pegasus frowned. “Um, what? We were just cleaning up the sky. Today is supposed to bright and sunny and these rainclouds decided to spoil it, so we had to come in here and tidy up.”
“So, they have done something wrong?” Alpha said. “Can I help?”
“Um, yeah, I guess so,” giggled the mare, “We just need to kick them until they disappear.” She turned back and began to buck at the clouds until they broke into smaller chunks.
Alpha flew over to a cloud, observing the others for a few moments before mimicking their actions, landing a few solid kicks on the cloud, obliterating it in seconds. “Like that?” He asked the pegasus from before.
“Yeah! You act like you’ve never kicked clouds before,” she said.
“I haven’t.” Alpha said, shrugging slightly, another action he’d observed that he felt would fit.
“You sure are strange,” she laughed, “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Flitter.”
“My name is Alpha.” Alpha replied. He pointed to the town below. “What’s that?” He asked.
“That’s Ponyville,” Flitter said, “That’s where I live.” She smashed one last cloud to pieces and glided over to him.
“Do other ponies live there too?” He asked.
“Yeah, there’s a ton of ponies there!” she said, “You want me to show you around?”
“Sure,” he began, but his head moved around suddenly as warnings flashed in his vision. He lost consciousness for a split second before springing back to life. “Uh oh.” He said.