This mare was looking at me in bewilderment. I was confused. This mare, shouldn't she be used to seeing Robot Units like me?
"What are you staring at, Citizen?" I asked her. She shook her head back and forth, as if coming out of a trance.
"Wha-?" She said.
"What are you staring at, Citizen?" I asked her again.
"I, I, it's just," She said. She took a step towards me. "You answered."
"Yes," I said.
"I mean, the other Robot Units, they don't usually answer questions."
"They don't?" I asked. "Is it against the law here? My sources don't say so. Or could that law have been established after the laws where downloaded into my programming?"
"Oh, uh, it's not against, never mind."
"I know that I am not on-duty today, but please adjust your uniform." She looked own at her black jumpsuit and adjusted it with her hoof. She then stood there for a moment, standing awkwardly.
"What is your name, citizen?" I asked her. She looked confused.
"That's not in your programming?"
"No. I can tell your citizen number from my files, race, and where you live. But not your name."
"Oh, um, Blossom Wing."
"Blossom, Wing?"
"Yes?"
"My sources tell me that you have a good relation with citizen 734-25." I cocked my head. "The security footage tells me that he once mooned a Robot Unit." Blossom Wing started to laugh.
"He actually did that? Oh my Equestria! He actually did that?" She rolled on the ground, clutching her stomach with her hooves, giggling. I cocked my head at her. My programming told me that this was something that ponies did when they thought something was funny. Strange, though. After seeing that security footage, I felt a little bit like laughing, too.
Is that...strange?
She got up from the ground, still giggling. "Oh, Tornado," She said. "That's so like him!"
This mare seemed a bit distracted to me. She just went from bewilderment to awkwardness to laughing. Is this normal for ponies? I have a lot to learn.
*************
I stood there for a moment, staring at him, after I had finished my laughing fit. He stared right back. There was no doubt in my mind that this Robot Unit is very different from the others. Is he a defect? A malfunction to the machine? Or something created to give ponies a false sense of security, and when they gain their trust, to the point where they do anything around them, and then the Robot Unit arrests them?
Now Blossom Wing. Stop thinking like Tornado.
456770 turned away from me and launched himself in the air, hovering away,
"Wait!" I called, launching myself in the air after him. "Please, stop!" What am I doing? "456770!" No Blossom, you are stepping in uncharted territory. "No! Stop!" YOU STOP! He's just a robot Unit!
And now he's gone.
The next day, I woke up with a start. I had dreamed that the Robot Unit that I had met yesterday shot me down. And I was just standing there, doing nothing, and he killed me.
I breathed heavily, trying to calm my nerves. "Oh." Breath. "My." Breath. "Equestria."
"Blossom?" Little Leaf sat up in her bed across the room. "Are, are you okay?" I slipped out from underneath the covers and walked over to the chocolate brown pegasus filly, and hugged her.
"Yes. Everything, everything is fine." I looked out the dark, broken window nearest to me.
"You don't sound fine." I looked down at her. She looked back up at me with worried eyes.
"Don't worry, Leaf. I'm fine."
"Okay." She nodded.
"Hey, how about I get you some of your favorite bagels from the sunny side?"
She was quiet for a moment. "The hay bagels?"
"Yep."
"Yay!"
"Just don't wake mom up before I get back, okay?" She nodded, her eyes wide and smiling.
"I promise."
I started to make my way out the door, then Little Leaf stopped me. "Blossom! don't forget your uniform!"
"Oh hayseeds!" I covered my hoof with my mouth. "Oops. I slipped." Little Leaf giggled as I put on the black jumpsuit and flew out the door. "Bye, Leaf!" I called down to her.
"Bye Blossom!" She called back.
I made my way to the side of Area 4 where the sun never sets.
I purchased the hay bagels and walked out, the bag tucked underneath my wing. I looked down the busy walkway, then flew over, landing gracefully (sorta) on the other side. I looked down at the bag. "I hope that Little Leaf enjoys the blackberry cream cheese."
I looked back up and came face to face with a Robot Unit. I squinted my eyes at him. Could he be 456770?
"I NEED YOUR IDENTIFICATION FORM, CITIZEN." Nope. Not him.
"Sure, yes," I said. "It's right here..." I reached into my front pocket and felt around. Nothing. "Oh, uh, must be in the other pocket." I reached in, and again, nothing. I started to panic.
"YOU DO KNOW THAT FAILURE TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION FORM WILL RESULT IN ARREST."
"Yes, yes, I know! It has to be here somewhere!" I frantically searched everywhere. I looked on the ground to see if I had dropped it, but there was nothing there either. "Oh Equestria. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap."
"COME WITH ME, CITIZEN."
"No! This must be some kind of mistake!" A few ponies had noticed my predicament and had formed a crowd around us.
"COME WITH ME, CITIZEN." It reached out and grabbed me with its cold, metallic hoof.
"NO!" I screamed. "Please!"
"COME WITH ME."
"Wait!" I am going to be arrested. I might never see Little Leaf again. I won't see mom, I might never see Tornado.
Wait, yes I will. He has probation.
I struggled with all my might to get away, but the Robot Unit held on tight. And the crowd around us continued to just stand and watch. I myself had watched arrests like this. And now it was happening to me.
"STOP!" I heard a voice yell. I saw the Robot Unit who had a hold on me look up into the sky, as well as the hundreds of on-lookers with confused eyes. But I did not have to. I knew who it was. 456770.
He hovered in the air for a moment before landing next to me.
"ROBOT UNIT. THIS CITIZEN HAS FAILED TO SHOW THEIR IDENTIFICATION FORM AND MUST BE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY."
"Yes, I understand. But you see, she has her Identification Form. Right here." A tiny hatch opened up in his chest and a claw carrying a slip of paper popped out.
My Identification Form.
The other Robot Unit scanned the form but did not let go of my hoof. I saw that 456770 had hid the claw in his chest again.
"SPECIES: PEGASUS. MANE COLOR: BROWN AND PINK. "COAT COLOR: LIGHT BROWN. EYE COLOR: GREEN. CITIZEN NUMBER: 400-25. YOU MAY GO." The Robot Unit let go of my hoof and hovered off. The crowd dispersed, having nothing else exciting to see, and left me and 456770 standing there. 456770 turned to face me, looking at me with his beady, glowing, red, mechanical Robot Unit eyes. I broke the silence between us.
"Thank you," I said.
"It was not a problem," He said.
"Yeah, but you saved my flank! I owe you."
"You owe me nothing, Blossom Wing."
"How did you find my Identification card anyway?"
"It had fallen out of your pocket a few blocks back. I saw it while doing my sweeps, and I was going to return it to you. Then I saw you getting arrested. It was not hard."
Sweeps? I had forgotten. He has now started his Robot Unit duties, and now has become like the rest of them. A regular Robot Unit.
No, Blossom. I thought. What regular Robot Unit would save your flank like that?
"Goodbye." He suddenly hovered into the air, but I lept up after him.
"456770!" I yelled after him. He stopped in mid hover an I flew around to face him.
"What do you require, Blossom?" He asked.
"Do you, do you know that you seem... a little bit different than other Robot Units?" He hovered there for a moment, staring at me. He hesitated before answered.
"Yes."
I didn't know what he is, but Robot Unit 456770 is definitely not normal. It's almost like he is...
BROKEN.