//------------------------------// // Lost // Story: Artificial Friend // by writer283 //------------------------------// A powerful pain throbbed in Binary's head as she slowly awoke. Binary lifted a hoof to her forehead and felt a bandage wrapped around her head. She looked down to see that she was resting on several pink pillows. Binary could see a group of blurred figures talking on the other side of the room. Although the room was brightly lit, light still shown through the window showing that the sun was beginning to set, indicating that Binary had been out for quite some time. “Look, she woke up” Pinkie Pie cheered out. “Remember Pinkie, don't freak her out” Twilight reminded her friend. A light yellow blur approached Binary and asked with a soft voice “Hello, how are you feeling?” The voice belonged to Fluttershy who along with Nurse Red Heart had tended to Binary while she was unconscious. Binary felt her face and quickly realized that her blurred vision was due to her not wearing her glasses. She felt around for them, eventually having them placed on her hoof by, Fluttershy. Binary placed the glasses on her face and quickly took in her surroundings. She immediately realized that she was not in her own house and was way outside her comfort zone. She appeared to be in the bedroom of someone who had an obsession with Pink. Binary's body began to shutter violently which put the ever cautious Fluttershy on edge. Binary suddenly screamed, which in turn caused Fluttershy to scream, which prompted Pinkie to scream, because everyone else seemed to be doing it. “Pinkie” Twilight said sternly. “What, It was totally Fluttershy that freaked her out” said Pinkie Pie. “Don't worry, I'm trained for these sorts of situations” Nurse Red Heart said as she approached, Binary. The Nurse then placed her front hooves on, Binary's shoulders, looked her in the eye and calmly said “Don't be frightened, you're among friends and everything is going to be fine” Binary stopped screaming, sat down and took note of her current state. She then bombarded the four with questions “Where am I? Who are you ponies? Why am I here? Why does my head hurt? Are you an alicorn? Would you like to buy some fudge? Am I missing the end of my horn? Why did the yellow one scream at me and why did the pink one scream too? What is the meaning of life? All except Pinkie had failed to catch most of Binary's questions, and the Pink Pony responded to each of them (in order no less) “You're in my room. This is Twilight, Fluttershy, Nurse Red Heart and I'm Pinkie Pie. You got knocked out. Because you got knocked out. Yes she is. I'd love some fudge if you have any but I don't think you do. Yes you're missing the end of your horn. Fluttershy screamed because she's shy and I screamed because it was funny. And finally, to pursue happiness” Binary was about to ask several more questions of varying relevance when Pinkie grabbed a cupacke off of a tray on her her bed and shoved it into the unicorns mouth to give Binary a chance to calm down as she chewed. “If you feel up to it, we have a few questions for you” Twilight said. Binary swallowed the cupcake and knelt down a bit, noticeably intimidated by the alicorn, which caught Twilight off guard. “What's your name?” Twilight asked, trying to sound as caring as possible. Binary hesitated for a moment, then quietly answered “Binary Steel” “What was it you were trying to do out there?” Asked Twilight. The shift in conversation to a topic, Binary was the expert in instantly sparked her confidence. She shot up onto her hooves “Let me show you” she said excitedly. Binary reached into one of her numerous pockets and pulled out a small metal wand with a green light on the tip. Binary pointed the wand at some pillows on Pinkie's bed... but nothing happened. “Give me a sec” Binary said before she gently tapped the wand on the ground. She pointed the wand at the pillows again and they became engulfed in multicoloured energy, similar to that of a unicorns magic aura but lacking the sparkles. The pillows lifted into the air and circled around the other ponies heads. “That's so neat-o!” Pinkie exclaimed. Binary lowered the pillows back down to their original spot then tossed the wand to Pinkie. “Give it a try” she said. Pinkie caught the wand in her mouth and pointed it towards the tray of cupcakes. The tray of treats hovered above Pinkie's face and she spat out the wand, which allowed the tray of pastries to fall on her face. “It stops working if you let go” Binary said. “I was hoping it would” Pinkie said as she licked the treats off her face. “So that makes it so anypony can levitate?” Twilight asked, noticeably impressed. “Yep, isn't it just the most super duper thing ever” Binary replied with a proud smile. Twilight levitated the wand and examined it “How does it work?” She asked. “I could explain but... Ooh, I know, I'll just give you this” Binary reached into another pocket, pulled out a cassette player and handed (or hooved) it to Twilight “That tape explains it all, I've got one for each of my inventions” “Interesting” Twilight said as she continued to examine the device. Binary's face lit up in response to the very subtle praise of her invention. She then jumped and landed an uncomfortably close distance to Twilight “I have more, do you want to see more?” she asked. Twilight took a few steps back from the suddenly overexcited, Binary. “Maybe you should rest for a little while longer” Fluttershy suggested. Binary completely ignored Fluttershy. This was exactly what Binary had been hoping for, a chance to show someponies her inventions, she couldn't pass that up for something as irrelevant as head trauma. “Follow me” Binary said as she ran out of Pinkie's room. A few moments passed and Binary peaked her head back into the room “How do I get out of here?” she asked, her face a little red with embarrassment. “Stairs on your left” Pinkie answered. “Thanks” Binary said before once again running away, leaving the four ponies in Pinkie's room. The four ponies followed Binary down to the main floor and found her standing at the bottom of the stairs, petrified at the sight of the numerous ponies in Sugarcube Corner. “Are you okay, Binary?” Twilight asked. “I think my head is starting to hurt again” Binary said as she attempted to back up the stairs only to bump into Fluttershy. “She seems shy” Fluttershy whispered to Twilight. “No, she seems terrified” Twilight responded, also whispering “So blowing an air horn to get her moving probably isn't a good idea” Pinkie said at a normal volume. Binary turned to see that she was blocking the others path and scrunched to the side of the stairs as far as she could so they could pass. “What's wrong, Gizmo” Pinkie asked. “Gizmo?” Binary said, not understanding the nick name. “I think I'll just go out a window, seems like it would be easier” “Is there something scary down there, like a huge spider, or a frowny face?” Pinkie asked, in her own way attempting to try and lighten the unicorns mood. “No, I... just...” Binary sighed and looked out to the ponies being served in the bakery, she then explained herself “Some of those ponies out there were in the crowd, what if they laugh at me” “What's wrong with being laughed at” Pinkie said before she ran out into the bakery, and did several bizarre Pinkie-esque things to get a laugh out of the customers. “She's kind of weird” Binary said to the others. “Not really, she's just being Pinkie Pie” Twilight said in defence of her friend. Nurse Red Heart interjected as she walked past the three ponies “No, she's pretty weird” she said as she left. Binary hung her head and said “I'm sorry” “No need for apologies” Fluttershy said “It's natural to be a little nervous around people, I should know, I'm nervous almost all the time” “...Okay” Binary said, not sure how to react. “Just follow me” Fluttershy instructed. Binary reluctantly followed the pegasus into the main shop area. Binary looked to see a yellow earth pony behind the counter taking orders. A blue earth pony with a pink mane that resembled swirled ice cream came from the back of the store and noticed, Binary. “Hello there deary, are you feeling better?” Mrs. Cake asked Binary. Binary stopped moving, she could feel her nerves once again beginning to seize her. Binary then heard a knock from underneath the floor boards and looked down to see the eyes of Pinkie Pie staring up at her. “Respond” Pinkie advised. “Uh... Okay” Binary said to, Pinkie, who then closed her eyes and disappeared into the darkness. Binary looked back at Mrs. Cake and hesitantly replied to the question “I'm fine... how are you?” “Oh I'm just peachy dear, you have a nice day okay” Mrs. Cake cheerily replied. A small smile came to Binary's face. It felt nice for her to have spoken to somepony who cared about how she was doing and to have been wished to have a good day. Chip had always arranged periodic check ups on Binary's mood but it just didn't seem the same as the small interaction she just had. Binary looked to see Twilight and Fluttershy waiting for her at the door. Binary smiled at the two and walked towards them. The three then exited the bakery. Binary looked around and saw that her house was still where she had parked it. “See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?” Twilight asked. “It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be” Binary replied “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my house and... move away forever” Binary began to walk back to her house, seemingly less positive than she was a moment ago and having completely forgotten about showing the ponies her inventions. “Do you think we should do something?” Fluttershy asked as she noticed the change. “Maybe we should follow her” Pinkie said as she suddenly appeared behind the two, which startled Fluttershy. “We can't just follow her into her house for no reason” Twilight said in an attempt to bring some realism to the situation. “But you saw what happened before, what if she...” Fluttershy paused and forced out the last few words “...hurts herself again” Twilight had tried to keep the thought from her mind, but judging from Binary's apparent instability, it would simply be irresponsible for them to let her go only to potentially do it again... or something more severe. “Hmm, you're right... we can't leave her alone at a moment like this” Twilight said. “Should I bring my party cannon, maybe it can break the ice a little bit?” Pinkie asked, as she pulled her famous cannon out of thin air. “I don't think she's ready for the party cannon” said Fluttershy. Pinkie's expression suddenly sunk into a frown “Aww” she said as she pulled the string on her cannon which sprayed herself with confettie. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at Binary's house, the mare stared at the broken piece of her horn which laid on her door mat. She winced as the thought of what she had done. Binary simply kicked the object away, ridding herself of a reminder of her failure. She sighed before she grabbed the door knob and attempted to turn it, only to find that she had been locked out. “OH Come on!” Binary growled “Chip, open the door, I am not in the mood for this” she called as knocked on the door and waited for a moment, then tried the knob again “Since when do you pull pranks?” Binary began to knock harder on the door, but still received no response from Chip. Binary quickly became frustrated and she began to pound on the door with her hooves. After a few minutes, Binary gave up, then sat down and rested her head on her hooves. “Why won't you let me i...” Binary suddenly stopped as her mind clicked, and thought of a potential situation. She stood, then walked around her home, unfortunately finding what she assumed she would. A broken window; the pieces linked up and the realization of what had happened frightened her. The three ponies approached Binary as she began to panic. Binary turned to see the the group and ran towards them, catching them off guard and causing Fluttershy to seek cover behind Twilight. Binary began to spew out nonsense, her mouth seemingly unable to translate her thoughts into words. “Is little Pipsqueak trapped in the well again?” Pinkie asked, although it was impossible to tell if she was making a joke or actually being serious. “Binary, calm down” Twilight said. Binary took several deep breaths and visibly began to calm down. “Now, what's wrong?” Twilight asked. Binary whimpered for a moment, then cried out “I've lost my friend” Binary began to quickly explain what has happened at a pace that nopony could understand “My friend Chip must have seen me out the window, panicked and put my house in lock down, got into his disc and jumped out the window to try and help me, then got crushed or stolen or eaten or vaporized or liquified or corroded, or blown up...” Pinkie then grabbed Binary and shook her to break her from her freak out. “Thanks” Binary said “Can you help me find my friend?” “What does he look like?” Twilight asked “Well... he'll look like a little blue pony standing on a disc” Binary said. The three ponies were not quite sure how to react, the description had even caught the random Pinkie Pie off guard. Binary had no time to waste with further explanation “Help me look!” she pleaded before darting off. The ponies decided not to question the description and began to ask around town for any information to the location of Binary's friend, even going so far as to ask some of the other residents of the town to help. As the word spread, the description became more obscure and less accurate to the point of being the complete opposite of what Binary had said. Unfortunately the only ponies, or rather the only fillies who had seen Chip were currently just outside ponyville. The cutie mark crusaders had given up on getting the strange device back from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, as the prissy duo had somehow slipped away from them near the edge of the everfree forest. “What do you suppose that thing even was?” Scootaloo asked her friends. “I don't know” Applebloom replied “But whoever it belonged to is probably looking for it” The three were then stopped by Carrot Top “Have you girls seen a big green stallion with a white mane around here, apparently he's standing on a plate” “No, sorry” Sweetie Bell responded. “Oh, well if you see anything go to Sugarcube Corner, there's a unicorn there who's having a bit of a break down” Carrot Top said before continuing the search. “A green stallion standing on a plate, that's just silly” Sweetie Belle said. “Well we certainly haven't seen anything like that” said Scootaloo The sky began to turn orange as the sun touched the horizon. Applebloom took note of the time and said “Well I better be gettin back home, see ya'll at school tomorrow” Applebloom then galloped in the direction of Sweet Apple acres. “Yeah, I better get back home, Mom and Dad will probably be wondering where I am” Sweetie Belle said before trotting back to her home. Scootaloo also began to walk back to... (where ever it is she goes). -------------------------------------------------------------------- Just on the edge of the everfree forest, the two bratty fillies and inadvertently Chip as well, found themselves lost in the dense forest. The two wandered around aimlessly as they attempted to find a way out. Silver Spoon held the device they had taken in her mouth as she followed Diamond Tiara's lead. “Why did you think it was good idea to come in here?” Diamond Tiara asked. Silver stopped and spat out the disc “What, I was following you!” she yelled. “No way, I totally remember you saying we should hide in here so the blank flanks wouldn't catch us” Silver Spoon groaned and walked away from her friend. “Are you kidding me. She said to come in here, honestly I don't why I hang out with her sometimes” she grumbled to herself. Silver Spoon stopped in a small clearing and rested on a large flat rock “Stupid forest” She said to herself as she placed her head onto her front hooves and pouted. Silver Spoons ears shot up as she heard a faint slivering sound. Silver Spoon looked down to see a small elec-python. The creatures black and green body meshed with the ground and its back was lined with small pebbles. The creature raised its head, it's body crackled with electricity as it hissed at Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon was not frightened by the small creature “Eww gross” she said before she kicked the serpent away. The rock the grey filly was resting on suddenly began to rumble. Silver Spoon looked down beside her and saw a large eye staring up at her. “Diamond Tiara!” She screamed for her friend as a much larger elec-python began to lift it's head off the ground. Diamond Tiara ran to where Silver Spoon had screamed and watched in horror as the creature revealed it's imposing stature. The larger elec-python was close to fifty feet long and it's back was lined with massive boulders. The creature flipped it's head back, launching the terrified Silver Spoon into the air, then caught her with the end of it's tail. “Help me!” Silver Spoon screamed as she hopelessly struggled against the creatures grip. Diamond Tiara immediately began to throw anything she could find at the beast, although the objects didn't even bother it enough to warrant a response from the serpent. The pink pony looked around for a better projectile and grabbed Chip's storage disc then chucked it at the beast. As the disc impacted some of the creatures electricity transferred into the disc triggering Chip's systems to restart. Chip's holographic body appeared as he struck the ground. The damage to his systems caused the worlds colours to be temporarily inverted. Chip looked up and scanned what was happening as the elec-python raised the grey pony up to drop it inside it's mouth. In Chip's eyes the grey fillies body and silver mane appeared reversed and Silver's glasses caused Chip to assume that the pony in peril was, Binary. Chip's mind moved quicker than it ever had before as he attempted to find a way he could save the pony in peril. The sudden increase in stress caused Chip's disc to quickly overheat. Chip's body began to glow red and he suddenly expanded his holographic body to be much larger than that of the serpent. The creature stopped and stared at the now massive Chip. Chip was too lost in his reactive state to notice that the pony was not Binary “Put her down!” Chip yelled with his speakers at max volume. The creature appeared stunned for a few moments but quickly shook off the surprise and advanced upon Chip. As the beast drew closer Chip's body began to crackle and fizz and his form morphed into a sleeker, more intimidating body shape. A large mouth with jagged teeth suddenly appeared on Chip's face as well as large black eyes with yellow pupils. Chip stood his ground and let out a computerized scream “BBBBBZZZZZZZOOOOOORRRRRTTTT!!!” Chip continued to assault the beast with a barrage of loud computerized sounds. The serpent dropped Silver Spoon to the ground as it attempted to cover it's ears with it's tail. The grey filly covered her ears with her hooves and ducked to the ground, as did Diamond Tiara. The elec-python slowly began to succumb to the sound and after a few moments quickly retreated into a denser part of the forest. Chip's body continued to crackle and spark as his hologram shrunk back down to it's original size. Chip looked to see the two fillies holding each other and shivering from fear. “It saved me” Silver Spoon said. Diamond Tiara pulled away from her friend “No way, I threw it, you should be thanking me” “Incorrect” Chip stated “You obviously don't understand my functions, thus you did not plan for me to... what did I do?” “What do you mean?” Diamond Tiara asked. “I don't quite understand what I did to make the flee” Chip said. “Well... you scared it away” said Silver Spoon. “But, I am not frightening” Chip said, obviously confused. “Well you were, once you grew and made a lot of noise” Silver Spoon explained. “Yeah, and if my ears are damaged, you are so going to pay” Diamond Tiara hissed. Chip's body fizzed for a moment “I do not understand” he said. “Who cares,” Diamond Tiara whined “let's get out of this stupid forest before something else wants to see what we taste like” Diamond Tiara thrust her head back and held her nose high in the air as she proudly walked forward. “If you're desired destination is ponyville then you are heading in the completely wrong direction” Chip said Diamond Tiara stopped and shot an annoyed glare at Chip. The pink filly turned around and walked in the correct direction. “Did I do something wrong?” Chip asked Silver Spoon. “No, she's just like that” “Why?” “Do you even care?” Chip's body flickered once again and he replied “...Care?” “I didn't think so, and no one else seems to either” Silver said as she looked to her helplessly stuck up friend. “I suppose you need somepony to carry you?” Chip looked at his disc and answered “Affirmative” Silver Spoon leaned down to grab the disc but stopped “Could you... not be... whatever it is you are now?” she asked the holographic pony. Chip deduced what the filly meant and turned off his holographic form. Silver Spoon picked up the disc and trotted off after Diamond Tiara. --------------------------------------- Back in Sugarcube corner, Binary sat at a table as she slowly sipped from a milk shake, she had been given. The treat was a welcome change from her usual diet of experimental re-hydrated meals, but her mind was too busy to appreciate it. Binary thought back to when Chip had suggested they just go back to the hill. “Why didn't I listen to you” she said to herself as she hung her head over the table. The shops door bell rang out signalling someponies entry. Binary looked to see Twilight Sparkle, who approached her with a disappointed look on her face. “Did you find him?” Binary asked, oblivious to Twilight's body language. “No, I'm sorry” Twilight replied. Binary quickly became frustrated “Maybe you didn't look hard enough” she said bitterly. Twilight didn't show it but she was quite offended by the accusation. Twilight was about to say something but was cut off by an already apologetic Binary. “I'm sorry... It's just that I've never been away from him for this long... I need him, and he needs me” “How long have you two been friends?” Twilight asked as she sat down beside the unicorn. “Since I was filly” Binary answered “Although he wasn't actually alive until seven years ago” Twilight's eyes widened as she took in what was said “What do you me....” Twilight cut her sentence short, as she assumed it was not a good time to be questioning what Binary had said. “I know why you're doing this” Binary said. “What?” Twilight asked, unsure of what Binary meant. “You saw me hit my head on the door” Twilight's ears lowered slightly. “I'm not depressed, or crazy... I just get frustrated when I let anypony down, but Chip was always their to make it better” Twilight's expression sunk lower as she realized just how much Binary had lost in just one day. Binary stood up from the table and said “I suppose I'll go sleep on my porch tonight (yawn) then start looking for Chip in the morning” Binary hung her head as she slowly walked to the exit. “Wait” Twilight said as also left the table. “What?” Binary asked. “I can't let you stay outside all night, we should find somepony who could take you in for the night” “Like who?” “Well...” Twilight thought on the subject. She couldn't very well let Binary sit in a motel room all alone. It would most likely be unwise to leave Binary under the care of Pinkie Pie, Applejack had not yet met Binary, Rarity's back was still injured, Fluttershy's animals may make Binary uneasy and as for Rainbow Dash the reason was obvious (she lives in the clouds). “...I guess, you could spend the night in the library with, Spike and me” “You live in a libra...” Binary stopped, as she realized how rude she was being and then said “Well... as long as it's not too much trouble” “Not at all” Twilight replied. Binary's expression rose to a slight smile “Thanks” she said as the alicorn led her out of the bakery. --------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile... Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara approached the mansion of the grey filly. The manors size and grandeur was only matched by, Diamond Tiara's own home which of course was larger than any other in ponyville. The grey filly stopped outside the large silver gates as Diamond Tiara continued on her own path. Silver Spoon dropped Chip's disc for a moment “See ya tomorrow” Silver Spoon said as her friend's distance increased. Silver Spoon waited for response but did not receive one, any other pony would have taken this as a sign of Diamond's stuck up attitude but Silver Spoon could tell the subtleties of her friend. In truth the pink filly was just embarrassed because she had almost gotten both of them eaten. Silver Spoon approached the large gate, pushed it open and quickly trotted to the large red doors and entered. The interior of the building was just as grand as the outside although the grandeur was overshadowed by the sheer lack of life or noise inside the mansion. Much of the buildings size was taken up by rooms such as the families private library, lounge area and kitchen, witch left the upper floors for the families bed rooms. Silver Spoon's father and her step mother had most likely retired to their room. Silver Spoon quietly walked along the polished black and white checkered floor until she reached a large marble stair case. The filly softly climbed the stairs, wary of creating any unnecessary noise, especially considering that she would need to explain to her father about what the disc and what she was doing with it in her mouth. Once at the top of the stairs, Silver walked down one of numerous hallways which were decorated with pictures of Silver Spoon and her family in some of their more happy moments. One such picture was a of a baby Silver Spoon sitting on the floor in front of a fire place trying on a pair of her biological mothers glasses, as the proud parents watched from a long sofa, both thoroughly amused. Silver Spoon walked a little further down the hall and stopped at the sight of another, newer picture. This one of the present day family posing outside the house. Silver's step mother happily clung to the rich stallion, as Silver Spoon sat almost out of frame with a forced smile on her face. Silver Spoon groaned as she continued to her room. She dropped Chip's disc to the ground, which triggered his holographic body to reappear. Chip stared up at the filly as she turned the appropriately sliver door knob and pushed the door open. Silver looked back down and jumped back slightly at the sight of Chip. “Where am I?” Chip asked. “Shhhh... You'll wake my Dad” Silver Spoon whispered. Silver Spoon bent down to pick the disc up, but stopped half way, seeing it as too awkward to have a the body of small pony so close to her face. Instead she simply gave the disc a small kick witch caused it to slide into Silver Spoons room like a curling rock across the grey stone floor. Chip's disc met a sudden stop when it impacted a dark red rug. The sudden cease in momentum caused Chip's disc to flip over, much to Chip's annoyance. Silver Spoon's room in no way reflected her age. Her bed, which was placed against the west wall, was larger than she needed, with purple covers and perfectly fluffed white pillows decorated with small silver designs along the edges. On the south side of the room was a small fireplace, a real oddity for a fillies room. Large doors to a walk in closet occupied the north wall and to the east there was a large window with a beautifully carved wooden desk and chair just beneath it, the desk itself had many trinkets on it, including a jewelry box and a small mirror. Silver Spoon picked up Chip's disc and carried it to her desk. Silver sat in her chair and dropped the disc onto the desk, not noticing that it was upside down. Silver Spoon examined the device, having not had the chance to look at it in depth before. “Excuse me” Chip said. “uh... what?” Silver asked. “Could you please flip me over” Chip requested. Silver spoon flicked the device over, once again revealing Chip's hologram. Chip quickly examined the room. “Would you care to give me a designation for this area” “Huh?” Chip spoke slowly, under the assumption that Silver Spoon had simply not been listening “Where... am...I?” “Oh... My house, I guess” “Incorrect, my house is parked in ponyville, this I am assuming is your house” Chip said, reacting to the key words rather than the context. “Wha...?” “You're name?” “Silver Spoon” “Intriguing, seeing as how their is a silver spoon on you flank area” Silver quickly looked at her flank “You mean my Cutie Mark” “Ah, yes, Binary has one of those as well... do all pony's have these?” “Well... once they find their special talent, then it just appears” “Interesting” “We call fillies who don't have theirs, blank flanks” “Hmm... anyway, my friend would appreciate it greatly if I was returned to where you located me” “Why?” Chip hesitated and his voice strained to force out a simple explanation “... she needs me” “Oh, well, I... wait a second, I'm sitting here taking orders from a pony on a plate” Chip's ears flattened and his body crackled slightly indicating his annoyed state “It is not a plate, its my mobile A.I storage receptacle, my friend made it, and me” “Well... why can't she just make another one of you” Chip's body fizzed, he had not considered such a thing as a possibility... what's stopping him from being replaced... the thought disturbed him. “What's wrong with you now?” Silver asked as she steadily began to lose interest. Chip's fast moving mind scanned the question over and over again as he attempted to find a reason why he could not be replaced. He soon reached his conclusion... their wasn't a logical reason why he couldn't. Chip's body turned red and crackled “Take me home now!” he yelled. “Shhh... Remember the volume thing” Chip quickly calmed down and stared at the ground, his mind did not tend to dwell on things for long but he somehow couldn't shake the situation he had been presented with. He hung his head low and stared at the ground. Silver Spoon had seen a look like that before on Diamond Tiara, right after the pink fillies cutecenera when the blank flanks had thoroughly stolen the spotlight from Diamond at her own party. Silver decided to do what she did then. “It's okay... we'll do what ever you want, okay” “I just want...” Chip paused, what he wanted was for this day to never have happened; but on one hoof he was lost and separated from his only companion, yet on the other hoof he had learned so much about the world around home and he would be lying if he said it had been a total waste “I want to go home” “Well... is it okay if I do that tomorrow?” Chip looked back up at the filly and slowly nodded. An awkwardly long pause ensued, witch was broken by a long yawn from Silver Spoon. “Well, I guess it was nice to meet you... whatever you are” “You may refer to me as Chip” “Okay, Chip” Silver Spoon stood up from her chair and walked over to her bed. Silver Spoon suddenly stopped as she heard strange electronic music coming from Chip. Silver Spoon turned to see Chip staring at her. “Uh... what's with the music” Silver Spoon asked “it sounds like really weak trot step” “It is a lullaby I play for Binary every night” Chip said “Does it bother you?” “Yes, please stop” Silver said bluntly as she took off her glasses and necklace, then placed them into a turquoise heart shaped box that seemed far older than everything else in the room. The filly then crawled into bed. Chip turned and looked to the window, knowing that somewhere out there Binary was most likely going crazy with worry over his disappearance. ------------------------------------------------------------ Binary stared at the golden oak library as the two approached it. “So you live inside a tree?” Binary asked. “Yes... is that a problem?” Twilight asked. “No... I just wonder what kind of pony would hollow out a poor tree for a library filled with books that are made from more trees” said Binary. Twilight stopped at the door and gave Binary a quick confused look. Twilight opened the door and led Binary inside, where the two found Spike asleep in a chair. The small dragon had attempted to wait for Twilight to return but was too tired to keep himself up. “Aww. Is that your pet?” Binary said at the sight of the small dragon. “What, no, he's my assistant” Twilight replied. “Oh, does he bite?” asked Binary. “No... because he's my assistant not a pet ” Twilight replied slowly, trying to make the message clearer. “Can I pet him?” Binary asked. Twilight stared at Binary in disbelief, she had seemed so intelligent and down to earth at certain points and now she couldn't seem to grasp the concept of Spike's role. Twilight of course did not voice this concern, instead she opted to calmly respond to the question “I don't think he'd appreciate that” Binary let out a disappointed “Oh” “I'll set up a spot for you to sleep upstairs” Twilight said as she went up to her loft to prepare the guest bed, leaving Binary downstairs unattended. After a minute or two Twilight descended the stairs and to her surprise found Binary next to a stack of books, holding a strange black device resembling a pen in her mouth. A hologram the size of a piece of paper appeared from the device and hovered over the ratty book that Twilight had been studying. The hologram then descended and passed through the book. “What are you doing?” Twilight asked. Binary turned to see Twilight and dropped the device onto the book. “I'm scanning your books” “Scanning?” Twilight said, obviously confused “Yeah, it took a lot of time to figure out how to get the scanner to read imprint what was there, but then I just thought of how a projector works and then I figured out to imprint that onto a hologram in the shape of a book” Binary pushed a button on the device witch created a green hologram of the book with every detail and imperfection perfectly presented. Binary then tossed the device to Twilight who caught with her magic. Twilight stared at the book cover. She looked back and forth between the hologram and the that actual book, seeing how every detail was copied exactly. “Move your eyes like this” Binary said as her eyes looked to the right then swept over to the left. Twilight did so and the holographic book opened, revealing the first page. “Did it track my eyes?” Twilight asked. Binary nodded in response “It even has a mode where it reads the book to you, but it's really robotic sounding and creepy" “That's amazing” Twilight said as she glanced through the holographic book. Binary's face went red in response to the praise “Well, Chip helped me... kind of” Binary's expression sunk as she was reminded of the situation. Twilight placed the device on her desk. Once again Binary's persona confused Twilight, it seemed she had the attention span of a filly going from soaring highs to depressing lows in a matter of seconds. Twilight decided the best course of action was to keep Binary's mind off of Chip. “Hey, why don't we go upstairs and you can tell me all about how these things work” said Twilight. Binary's expression once again shot up and she bounced up and down in excitement. Twilight then led the strange mare upstairs. Binary examined the cozy loft. Just like everywhere else she had been to in the town, it felt warm and welcoming yet so unique and interesting. “This pad is killer” Binary said. “Pardon?” said Twilight. “What, pony's don't say that anymore?” “I haven't heard anyone talk like that in a decade, but it's a nice change of pace” Binary walked to the plain white guest bed and flopped onto it. Twilight then proceeded to her own bed then crawled in and laid down. “So about your inventions?” Twilight asked. Binary then went into a lengthy explanation “Well, it's sort of funny, my gadgets actually run on bone dust that I file off of my horn. You'd be surprised how much energy courses through unicorn horns if you mix it with certain chemicals. All I need is a little bit of dust for the power sources and they'll run for... actually my gadgets have never ran out of power so I have no idea how long a little keeps them running” The explanation intrigued Twilight “So what's the reason you make all this stuff?” Twilight asked. “Well..." Binary said through a yawn "My dad was an earth pony black smith, a lot of people thought it was weird for an earth pony to have such a talent because it's usually a unicorn thing” “Yes, because of magic making it easier” said Twilight as she nodded along with the story. “Exactly; anyway I would sometimes see him having trouble, so I thought to myself, what if an earth pony could levitate things like a unicorn can, and that's how I got started on my first ever invention, the levitation wand... it's nothing special, all I had to do was figure out how to turn off gravity in a small area... but my Dad never really understood any of it, and then he died... then it was just me” "And Chip, right?" asked Twilight. "No... Chip wasn't always there, for a long time it was just me" she said as she looked off to the side and adjusted her glasses. Twilight quickly began to understand why Binary was so upset over Chip's disappearance, he must have been the only friend she had. “But Chip didn't come around as much as he used to, I guess we were getting a little too old for each other... but I needed him” Twilight suddenly realized this was no longer a story about her inventions and she listened more intently. “To me the world was scary, everything outside my door just led to more heartache, but I couldn't stay alone in that house anymore... so I made him real” said Binary. “What?” asked Twilight as he eyes widened. “I made him real” she replied. “You mean he was fake?” Twilight asked, her voice doing little to hide her sudden aggravation “He was my imaginary friend” said Binary. Twilight could not believe what she had heard, she sat up in her bed and yelled “What?!? You had us running around the whole town all evening looking for an imaginary friend!” Binary let out fearful a whimper as she hid most of her face under the blankets. Twilight quickly realized the consequence of her outburst and apologized “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you” Binary hid her head under the blankets completely and said, her voice almost childlike “I wish I had listened to Chip and just stayed on the hill. It was good enough for me for seven years and then I had to go and ruin everything!” Twilight choked up a bit at the words “Seven years” Twilight thought “Seven years alone with nothing but an imaginary friend” What had Twilight gotten herself into, she had taken in a mentally broken, possibly schizophrenic pony. But above all else that was going through her mind one thing stood above the rest; Twilight had to help this pony. Twilight slid out of her bed and walked over to Binary “Is their anything I can do to help you” Binary hesitated for a moment and replied, her voice straining through her sadness “Could you... no, forget it, it's kind of weird" "What is it?" asked Twilight. "Well there's this lullaby my dad used to sing to me, then I taught it to Chip. He'd sing it every night before I went to sleep. I can't remember the last time I slept without hearing it.” “Of course” replied Twilight. “You mean it?” asked Binary. “Yes, that's what friends do” Binary poked a hoof out and waved Twilight to come closer. Twilight leaned in and Binary whispered the tune to her. Twilight raised an eye brow as she listened. "Um... I'm not sure I can sing that" said Twilight. "You don't need to be very good, no one's going to hear you anyway" said Binary. Twilight took a moment to memorize it and ignore how silly it sounded. “Beep bop, buh da, beep bop boop beep bop, duh da, da, beeeep beep bop, buh da, beep bop boop find yourself counting sheep Beep bop, buh da, beep bop boop beep bop, duh da, da beeeep beep bop, buh da, beep bop boop that means it's time to sleep” “Thanks” Binary said, now sounding much calmer. “Anytime” “Twilight... did you mean it when you said we're friends?” asked Binary. “Of course” replied Twilight. “You're not just saying that to be nice, right?” asked Binary. Twilight's eyes went wide for a moment. Binary guessed the situation spot on. Or at least how it was at first. “No, you and I are friends” Twilight said without a hint of doubt. “That's cool... good night” Twilight walked back to her bed and before getting in, she looked back at Binary, who was still covered up in the blankets. Twilight smiled as she climbed into bed. ----------------------------------------------------- Later in the night, as Twilight lay fast asleep, Binary poked an eye out from under the blankets. Binary stared out a window at the moon partially hid behind a cloud. Binary was aware of the old cliche of looking at the moon and hoping a lost friend was looking at it too, and she knew how absurd it seemed; but it was still a comforting thought. ------------------------------------------------- On Silver Spoon's desk, Chip viewed a collection of holographically projected photos of Binary during several of her experiments. He stared at a picture of Binary in which she smiled through a face full of soot from her first model of an automatic chimney cleaner “Please be okay” he said. Chip looked to the moon and said as it was completely shrouded by the cloud “I need you to be okay” “Shut Up!” Silver Spoon yelled before she got up and stumbled over to the window. She then grabbed the curtains and closed them. Chip's holographic body however still lit the room, resulting in Silver Spoon angrily glaring at him. Chip looked at Silver Spoon and began to say “Annoying little Bi...” Chip then turned off his holo-body before he finished. “Hey!” Silver Spoon yelled, knowing fully what Chip was about to say. She then aggressively tapped the device with her hoof. The door to the filly's room opened, allowing the orange glow from a candle, levitated by Silver Spoon's unicorn step mother to shine in. The step mother stood in the door way with a disgruntled and tired look on her face. She wore a fancy silk nightgown over her faint orange body, and her long red mane was full of loose hairs and frizz which hung over one of her peach coloured eyes; a real rarity given the mares self admiring nature represented by her cuite mark of a golden mirror. “Be quiet, I have to get my beauty sleep” the mare hissed. Silver grumbled as she tiredly walked to the door “I know it takes a lot more than sleep to make you look presentable” The step mother gasped in response and she quickly became angry “You annoying little bi...” Silver Spoon cut off the gold diggers words as she slammed the door in her face, leaving the filly in total darkness. “I never have to put up with this kind of stuff when Diamond Tiara's around” Silver Spoon said as she stumbled through the darkness to her bed. Silver Spoon climbed into her bed and just before she closed her eyes she realized she had forgotten something. Silver Spoon had been so wrapped up in her exploits with Diamond Tiara that she had forgotten to find a show and tell project for school the next day. Silver Spoon's worried expression turned to a mischievous smile as she looked over at Chip's disc.