//------------------------------//
// >:Awaiting Input... (Travelling Talk) 
// Story: Aperture Science Otherworldly Exploration Initiative 
// by Swordoath 
//------------------------------//

	"The Fact Sphere does not know where you are taking him." Said the purple-eyed ball of metal for the eighteenth time.
"I told ya', I'm taking ya' to somepony who can fix ya' up." AppleJack said, turning her head so she could see it in her saddlebag.
"Data file not found. The Fact Sphere is unfamiliar with the term 'somepony'. Explain."
"It's somebody, but talkin' about a pony."
"New fact found. The Fact Sphere thanks you for new information."
"Your welcome. Now, will you stop asking where we're going?" 
"The Fact Sphere will cease to request informa-a-a- Alpacas are amphibious."
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."



"So then I made reigns from the vines and lassoed myself a shark a mile off the coast, and draw him close enough to get on it's back and ride it away from the island, just as the volcano erupted into an column of ash and blazing fire. Course, I saved about thirty of the native monkeys from the island too. I only wish I could've taken a few more..."
"Oh, that's so nice of you. I'm sure they were very grateful to you."
"Yeah, well, all in a day's work. Where we headed anyway?"
"I'm taking you to meet my friend Twilight. I was also hoping she might be able to tell me what a 'core' is, since I don't know, and you won't tell me." She said the second part almost silently.
"Right, cause it's, uh, classified." 
"You sure you won't tell me?"
"No, sorry. Private, secret stuff."
"Oh, okay then. You know, it's pretty amazing I've only met one of your kind. Aren't there others?"
"Well, yeah, but they're... Well they're just awful. One of them is totally useless, taking about pointless, unrelated facts. Another one just never shuts up about leaving space, after he only talked about going there for goddamn years! And that last one, he's such a pushy-"
"That's so rude! How could you be so talk so meanly about them?"
"Because it's true, that's how! I was stuck in space listening to them talk about nothing for years! It damn near drove me insane!"
"But-"
"But nothing! I can't stand them. The lunatic, the textbook, and the moron! All of them!" Rick shouted.
There was a brief moment of silence. Then, from the saddlebag, the core heard sobbing. He tried to look around at her face, and caught a glimpse of a tear falling to the ground. FlutterShy was crying, and it was his fault.
"Ooh... Now, don't do that, c'mon. Please? Listen, I didn't mean any of that. Honest. They just annoy me, and I got worked up, is all. It's like when your around people too long, and they start to bug you because they get boring. Hey, y'know what? I'll say sorry to them. Just... oh for the love of... STOP CRYING!"
Her sobs stopped abruptly."Y-you... you're really going to apologize?"
"Yeah, sure whatever! You gonna stop crying?"
She sniffed. "O-okay."
"Good. That's... good."



"When're they coming? When're they coming?" Asked the metal sphere. 
Twilight laughed softly. "Soon. I'm glad to know your friend is with the Princesses. He explained everything to Celestia, and she to me."
"Celestia? Who is Celestia?"
"She's one of the two- wait, three, including me- rulers of Equestria."
"Celestia is an alicorn? Who else rules? Wanna know. Ba."
"Celestia is an alicorn, and her sister, Luna, is an alicorn and ruler too."
"Alicorn siblings. The mother? Father?"
"I... I don't know. Hm. I never thought to ask if they even had parents..."
"Don't know? Wanna know, wanna know. Gotta know more about alicorns. All about them."
"We can ask her when she arrives. Does that work?"
"Wanna know now. Can't wait. Can't wait for Alicorns."
"Well you'll have to."
"Can't wait. Gotta meet alicorns, wanna know them all. Getting bored of library."
Twilight huffed. "Why don't you read a book then?"
"So many. Nnnn-gotta read them all. Wanna read them all. Ba. Ba ba ba!"
Twilight levitated a book over to the where the core sat on her desk, A History of Equestria, Volume 1. That should keep him occupied for a little-  
"Next page! Done! Done with this one!"
Twilight sighed. That was short-lived.