//------------------------------// // Realizations // Story: Artificial Friend // by writer283 //------------------------------// As Celestia rose the sun over the land of Equestria, the citizens of ponyville slowly awoke to the new day. The dawn's orange glow was a sight to behold for ponyvilles early risers such as Applejack, who along with her brother Big Macintosh were already up and ready for a hard days work of apple bucking and ploughing fields. Twilight was not one of these early risers. Which was ironic due to her devotion to Princess Celestia. The studious unicorn slept soundly under her beds covers, with one of her legs lazily hanging off the bed. Downstairs, the light shined into the library and gleamed onto Spike's closed eyes as he lay sleeping at Twilight's desk. The light roused the dragon from his slumber. He opened his eyelids and the bright sun burnt his eyes slightly. Spike covered his eyes with his hand then looked around and quickly saw something that didn't belong. Spike hopped out of his chair and went to examine the strange device on the library's table. Spike took the device in his hand and pushed one of the buttons on it which caused a holographic book to appear. The action startled Spike, he dropped the device to the ground then took a few steps back. Spike rubbed his chin as he tried to deduce what the gadget was or how it had got there. He wondered if Twilight would know what the device was. Spike then ascended the stairs. The early hour suddenly began to take it's tole on the dragon as the the time caught up to him. He was noticeably tired and he walked with his shoulders slouched and his eyes resisting to stay open. Spike ascended the stairs and suddenly stopped as he entered Twilight's loft. He looked and saw that the guest bed was out and appeared as though it had been slept in. Spike quickly perked up a bit at the odd sight. “Somepony must have been here last night?” Spike thought to himself. Spike looked and saw Twilight sleeping peacefully. He could simply wait for her to wake up but his curiosity quickly got the better of him. Spike walked over to Twilight's bed and lightly poked the leg that stuck out. The contact caused Twilight to unconsciously pull her leg back under the blankets. “psst, Twilight” Spike whispered. “Shh...” A voice said from behind Spike. Spike froze in response to the strange voice. He then slowly turned his head and saw an unknown white unicorn with a broken horn standing beside him. Spike stared at the unicorn with a surprised expression on his face “She's trying to sleep” Binary whispered. “Who are you?” Spike asked. Binary looked down and awkwardly scratched her foreleg with one of her forehooves, as she tried to find the courage to speak to yet another new face “I'm Binary...” Binary looked up at the dragon and asked “Can I pet you?” “No” Spike responded “Why are you here?” “Why am I... Oh yeah, you were asleep last night. Well, I was looking for my friend, Chip, because he got lost, then I got locked out of my house and the whole town started looking for Chip and then Twilight took me in because she assumed I was mentally unstable... could I at least pat your head?” “You're a barrel of misfortune aren't ya?” Spike asked. “I don't think so... so, about the petting thing?” Spike let out an annoyed sigh and replied “Fine” Binary reached her hoof out and just before touching the dragons head, she pulled her hoof back and asked “You're not gonna bite me are you?” Spike's crossed his arms and raised an eye brow as he replied “No... ya know why, because I am not a dog” Binary slowly patted Spike on the head and after a few pats she attempted to scratch behind his ears. Spike pulled away from Binary “Hey, stop that” he said. Binary couldn't help but giggle at the flustered baby dragon. Spike looked back at Twilight and decided not to wake her. He then motioned for Binary to follow as he led her down to the library so they could speak at a normal volume. “Okay, you said Twilight let you stay here?” Spike asked as the two reached the ground floor. “Yep, she said we're friends” Binary stopped for a moment to let what she had said sink in “Friends” she said to herself. Binary looked at the ground and moved her hoof in a circle a few times, then barely squeaked out “Do you want to be my friend too? Spike was quite surprised, he had just met this odd pony, and that mixed with Binary's bizarre mannerisms prompted Spike to reply “Eh... maybe, give it some time” Binary's face slunk down into a slight frown, although she was much more displeased than she let on. Spike quickly noticed that he had somehow hurt Binary's feeling and concocted an excuse to make her feel better “It's just that being friends is so super duper special that it can't just happen instantly. The best friendships are the ones you give time to grow and those friendship will last forever” Binary tilted her head and shot the dragon an inquisitive stare. Spike nervously smiled at Binary, hoping she wouldn't see past his excuse. Binary smiled “Okay, that makes sense” Binary said before walking toward the door of the library. “Wait, where are you going?” Spike asked. “I need to go find my friend” she replied. “Do you want to help me look?” Spike hesitated, he knew he should go get Twilight and clarify the situation, but Binary's innocently worried expression drove him to a different reaction “...Okay” Spike replied. A large smile came to Binary's face before she jumped toward Spike and scooped him up onto her back. “I'm going to regret this” Spike thought to himself while he clung to Binary's mane as she darted outside, loudly slamming the door behind her. The noise roused Twilight from her slumber. The princess yawned and looked over to the guest bed. Twilight quickly became concerned as she saw that Binary was nowhere to be seen. Twilight then got out of bed and walked downstairs. She searched for Binary and to her surprise she found that Spike was missing too. In her mind, Twilight deduced the reason for the disappearances. “Binary must have gone looking for Chip and taken Spike with him. I hope Spike knows what he's getting into with her” Twilight said to herself. Twilight thought on what Binary had said before, and her pity for unicorn only grew, as she knew, Binary would never find Chip; after all, how do you find something that doesn’t exist. Twilight stopped and ran the idea over in her head again. “Wait, how do you lose something that was never there?” she asked herself. Twilight had no time to think about the idea further. She quickly found her saddlebags and filled them with a few apples from the library's pantry, and a few gems that Spike kept as snacks; as she assumed the missing pair would be hungry when she found them. Twilight walked to the library's exit, but stopped before leaving. She looked at Binary's book scanner which lay on the ground. “How can somepony who can make that need an imaginary friend” Twilight thought to herself. The very question suddenly prompted an inner response “I guess the magic of friendship has no bounds” Twilight then exited the library. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A few hours later... on the rode to the schoolhouse. Silver Spoon walked down the rode at a leisurely pace, even though she was nearly late for school. The grey filly made a point of never seeming too eager to get to school for what appeared to be an attempt at being fashionably late, although the main reason was to attempt to avoid any interaction with anypony besides Diamond Tiara, lest she may be forced to socialize with anypony without the buffer zone that Diamond Tiara created. The rich filly wore a small purple purse over her shoulder, which carried Chip's disc inside. The A.I waited patiently to be returned to his home, oblivious to Silver Spoon's detour. Silver Spoon approached the schoolhouse and saw Diamond Tiara already attempting to irritate the blank flanks, never noticing how little it bothered the trio as of recently. Silver Spoon finally arrived at her destination, just as Diamond Tiara stormed away from the cutie mark crusaders. The prissy pink filly stomped towards Silver Spoon “Those three are no fun to mess with anymore” “Maybe that's a sign” said Silver Spoon “A sign of what?” asked Diamond Tiara. “That you should stop messing with them, duh” “Never” Diamond said with a touch of mock anger. Diamond Tiara then looked down at Silver's Spoon purse “Ugh, what did I tell you about wearing purple, it clashes with everything on you” “Well it's just to carry this thing... wait, my eyes are purple, so how can...” Diamond Tiara scoffed at her friend “You're eyes are violet, it's completely different from purple” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes in response. The school bell then began to ring, signalling the students to come inside for the mornings lesson. The two walked to the schoolhouse, taking their own sweet time getting there, much to the annoyance of Cheerilee, although she would hardly ever get after any of her students for something so small. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inside the school house... Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat in their desks and stared inattentively towards Cheerilee at the front of the classroom. Cheerilee sat at her desk and greeted her students “Good morning everypony” “Good Morning Ms. Cheerilee” The stidents responded in unison. “I hope you've all remembered your show and tell projects for this month” Diamond Tiara's eyes widened and she quickly scribbled a few words down on a scrap of paper then crumpled it up. She then waited for Cheerilee to turn to the chalk board before she tossed the ball of paper over,Applebloom's head, to Silver Spoon. The paper struck the side of Silver Spoon's glases and the grey filly glared at Applebloom, under the assumption the farm pony had thrown the projectile. Applebloom did not turn her attention to the grey pony, instead she simply pointed her hoof over to Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara peeked past Applebloom and mouthed “Read the note” Silver Spoon un-crumpled the paper and read the message in silence “Do we have a show in tell project?” Silver Spoon looked to Diamond Tiara and nodded, prompting a sigh of relief from the pink pony. “If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times” Cheerillee said, making use of her excellent peripheral vision. She turned and looked at the duo. The pair stared back at Cheerilee, both of them attempting (and failing) to look innocent. Cheerilee's annoyed gaze continued and the two fillies shrunk down into their desks. The students all stared at Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. All of them finding it incredibly amusing to see the two squirm, especially since it was Ms. Cheerilee that was making it happen. “If you two are so eager to talk to somepony then you can be the first to present your show and tell projects” Cheerilee said, her voice sounded a bit more stern than usual. The two fillies smiled and nodded, eager to get back on the teachers good side, or at least off her radar. The two walked to the front of the class. Silver spoon carried her purse with her. Cheerilee was pleasantly surprised that they had not needed to come up with some excuse as to why they didn't have a project. “One at a time” Cheerilee said, noticeably having slipped out of her rarely seen strict side. “Well actually...”Silver Spoon began to say. The teachers expression slightly sunk as she thought to herself “Here it comes” Diamond Tiara then interrupted whatever Silver Spoon was about so say “Our project is so spectacular that it'll take both of us to present it” she wrapped one of her front legs around her friend and gave her an exaggeratedly friendly hug. Cheerilee's expression brightened “Alright, go ahead” Diamond Tiara then took advantage of her close proximity to her friend to ask “What do you have anyway?” she whispered. “That thing we took from the blank flanks” Silver Spoon quietly replied. “What!” Diamond Tiara quietly shrieked, as she pulled back from the grey filly. The pink pony then looked to see the class staring at them and stifling laughter. The class had been waiting for a chance to enjoy the repercussions of the duo's laziness for quite some time, the only regret was that nopony had a camera. Silver Spoon placed her purse on the ground and pulled out the small disc, then held it up for everypony to see. The reveal resulted in more of a, “Huh?” reaction, rather than oohs or awes. “That's very interesting... what is it?” Cheerilee asked. The cutie mark crusaders instantly recognized the device, and wanted to tell Cheerilee about how the two had taken it from them, but that would simply bring more trouble. Diamond Tiara puffed her chest out and proudly began to say “It's a...” The filly's paused although she still held her prideful pose. She then blurted out “a thing” The entire class burst out into laughter. Silver Spoon groaned, although she couldn't be heard due to the laughing. Cheerilee raised her voice, although not in an angry way, and said “Everypony calm down. Just because Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon don't have a name for their project does not mean it deserves to be mocked” Cheerilee looked at the two and asked “You do know what it is, right?” “Of course we do” Diamond Tiara said “Silver Spoon, why don't you tell them all about it” Silver Spoon let out a nervous chuckle, she knew if she actually told anypony what it was they would most likely just laugh again. The grey filly quickly concocted a story “It's an antique plate from my Grandmare” “Ooh, how interesting, please continue” Cheerilee said. “Uh... that's all I have to say” Silver Spoon replied. Cheerilee hid her disappointment behind an encouraging smile “A for effort anyways” she said before marking the two down for a C+ “Would you like to let the class take a look at your... interestingly designed plate” If the device actually was an antique, Silver Spoon would have said that the class could keep their grubby hooves off it, but since that wasn't the case, she simply replied “Sure” Silver Spoon gave the (quote)plate(unquote) to Twist, who examined it for a few moments before she passed it to the pony sitting behind her. The device circulated through the three rows as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon watched their classmates who were all clueless as to what it truly was. The device eventually reached Dinky Doo. The unicorn filly attempted to lift the device into the air with her magic. Through a good deal of effort the device became engulfed in a yellow energy and lifted into the air. Dinky smiled, pleased with her levitation, not noticing that she had the device upside down. The magical energy inadvertently forced Chip out of his sleep mode. Chip's holographic body appeared from the disc. The sight of Chip startled Dinky. She let out a small yelp before she threw the device away. Chip's disc flew through the air and impacted Cheerilee's desk, the damage caused Chip's body to spark red. Chip quickly examined the room and a realization dawned onhim; he was not home, he was not with Binary. For the first time in his life he had been lied to... and it hurt. “What in the world!” Cheerilee exclaimed as she looked over her desk at Chip. “Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara what is the meaning of this?” Silver Spoon quickly made a lame excuse “Oh, I must have brought that by accident, it's a” “Liar!” Chip yelled, interrupting Silver Spoon. Everypony in the classroom looked at the now glowing red Chip. Silver Spoon quickly picked up Chip's disc and placed him on Cheerilee's desk. “Silver Spoon, what is that thing?” Cheerilee asked. “It's my project” Silver Spoon answered. Chip glared at the grey filly and yelled “P-Project!?! I am not you're project! “Hey, you can't talk to her like that!” Diamond Tiara said in defence of her friend. “Shut Up!” Chip roared at Diamond Tiara, his words dripped with frustration. The entire class grew more uneasy as Chip's voice grew louder and angrier. “Calm down” Silver Spoon pleaded. “No! You said we were going home, I need to go home, she needs me!” Chip yelled. His mind relied on things adding up and making sense, he had no patience, nor methods to cope with lies, the very idea of somepony saying something which was then contradicted made the entirety of his being hurt, and the more he hurt the faster he thought, and the faster he thought, the more he overheated, and the more he overheated the less logical he became. Chip's body fizzed and crackled, he then lifted his front legs into the air and with a mighty shock wave of sound he stamped his hooves to the ground and screamed “You lied to me!” The massive amount of sound blew out every window in the schoolhouse and sent everypony except Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and Cheerilee running in fear. Some of the fillies screamed “Monster!” as they scrambled out. The red glow of Chip's body began to illuminate the room and enveloped the three. The ears of the remaining ponies rang from the sound. “I didn't lie to you” Silver Spoon cried as she cowered in fear. Another lie sent a painful zap through Chip's body “Say it!” he screamed. Cheerilee stepped in front of the the two fillies to defend them. “I was going to take you home after school” Silver Spoon said. Chip needed truth, not excuses “Say you lied!” He roared. “I didn't” “Admit it!” “Please stop yelling” Silver Spoon quietly protested. Chip's voice suddenly became more low pitched and distorted and he yelled “No! I need to hear you say it!” “Please stop!” she said as tears began to fall from her eyes. “Say it!” Silver Spoon began to cry and she repentantly wailed “Alright! I lied to you, I should have taken you straight home, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!” And with that the pieces in Chip's mind began to fit back together, and as it did his body turned back to it's normal blue colour. Chip however seemed mentally exhausted from the ordeal, he hung his head low and flinched when his body sparked. Cheerilee motioned for the two to leave. Diamond Tiara grabbed the sobbing Silver Spoon's hoof and led her outside. Diamond Tiara whispered to her friend that she would treat her to a milkshake to help make things better. Cheerilee waited for the two to leave and was about to follow them out but stopped as she saw, Chip glance up at her then quickly looked away. The teacher couldn't help but recognize that look, a look she had gotten from many of her students when they had a problem but couldn't bring themselves to ask for help. “...Are you okay?” Cheerilee asked hesitantly. Chip looked up at the teacher and answered, his voice somehow sounding depressed despite it's monotone nature. “No” Cheerilee walked closer to Chip and knelt down to be at eye level with him “Would you like to talk about it?” Chip looked at the trusting face “...maybe” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Binary walked through the town while Spike rode on her, still looking for any trace of Chip. Spike asked as he walked alongside Binary “So he's like, a small pony standing on a plate?” “Well it's not actually a plate it's his storage disc, it just looks like a plate” “So does he see out of the disc or out of his eyes” “He doesn’t really have eyes, his camera's are positioned in a way that allows him to see through where his eyes would be on his body” “So he's like a magic guardian?” “No, I made him” “So he's like an imaginary friend” “He was a...” Binary words were then cut off by the voice of Twilight Sparkle, whom trotted towards the two. “I've been looking for you two all morning” She said as she caught up to the pair. Spike hopped down from Binary's back and explained “Sorry Twilight, we were just out looking for Binary's friend, and you were sleeping so, you know, let sleeping pony's lie” Twilight frowned a bit at the mentioning of the imaginary friend “Maybe you two should take break, I brought some food for everypony... and everydragon” “Gee wilickers, snack time!” Binary said excitedly. Twilight levitated an apple and an emerald out of her bag and gave them to their appropriate connoisseurs. Spike happily nibbled away at the emerald, as Binary stared at the apple in awe. It was so red and full of life, just like every she hadn't interacted with in years, it had a certain welcoming feel to it. “Ooh, idea” Binary said as she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out what appeared to be an apple peeler on a tripod. Binary sat the device on the ground and dropped the apple onto it. The device beeped as it detected the apple and the blade began to slash around sporadically cutting through the apple and leaving nothing but mush. Binary frowned and let out a disappointed “Aww...” “What was that supposed to do?” Spike asked. Binary poked the mush with her hoof and replied “It was supposed to take the skin off... but obviously didn't work” “Don't worry, I have more apples” Twilight said. Binary perked up as she saw another apple floating towards her. She took it and once again admired it's beautiful redness. She took a small bite out of it, hoping to savour the treat but as soon as the juicy apple taste touched her tongue, she immediately devoured the rest in a singe bite. The long forgotten taste of good fresh fruit lightly stung Binary's taste buds. Binary's eyes turned up as she chewed. Twilight and Spike couldn't help but stare at the odd scene. Spike whispered to Twilight “Twilight, what's up with this unicorn?” “She's hasn't interacted with anypony for years and I think it took a toll on her psyche” Twilight quietly explained. “But what about her friend?” Spike asked. “She said he was an imaginary friend” Twilight replied. “What!?!” Spike asked, a little louder than he should have. “Don't worry, I'm going to try something” said Twilight. Binary swallowed the apple and thrust a hoof up into the air “Now back to the search” she said. “I think we could find Chip faster if we split up” Twilight suggested. “I... guess that's a good idea” Binary replied. Twilight then walked far enough away that she was out of Binary's line of sight. Then after a few moments, she returned with a forced smile on her face. “Hey would ya look who I found” Twilight said, forcing enthusiasm. “Is it Chip, it's Chip isn't it?” Binary asked. “You bet your hooves” Twilight said before she stepped to the side as though somepony was behind her “Here he is” Binary stared at the nothingness for a moment, her expression was completely blank. Binary's expression sunk into a sad frown, then twisted into a hurt grimace “Are you... mocking me?” Binary asked, as she restrained her hurt feelings. Twilight then attempted to explain herself “No, it's just that...” “If you don't want to help that's fine, but you didn't have to go and do something mean like that” Binary was about to storm away from the two when a trio of filly's suddenly ran past her, talking about a pony shaped monster on a plate. Binary looked in the direction they had came from. “Chip” she said before she darted off down the rode. “Why did you do that?” Spike asked Twilight. “She's physically looking for something that's in her head, what am I supposed to do, just let her keep looking for a friend that's not there” Twilight looked to where Binary had gone “Come on, we better follow her” Spike hopped up onto Twilight's back and the two pursued Binary. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile back in the schoolhouse... Chip sat on Cheerilee's desk with a book in front of him as, Cheerilee gave the A.I some pointers on how to control a future outburst. “And what are we going to do the next time we get mad?” Cheerilee asked. “Think happy thoughts, or go to a happy place, or count to ten” The A.I replied. “Very good. Would you like another book?” Cheerliee asked. “Please, thank you” Chip responded politely. Cheerliee opened a drawer on her desk and took out a book from a small collection she kept to read to her students in case a lesson ran short and she needed some filler before they were dismissed. She then placed the book in front of Chip. Chip observed the cover and read aloud “Notable ponies in Equestrian history” Large green eyes appeared on Chips face, from which several strands of light beamed out. The lights scanned the book, and the information was instantly downloaded into Chip's mind. Cheerilee had nearly jumped out of her skin the first time Chip used this scanning procedure. Still a little off put by the eyes, she looked away as Chip scanned the book, although she disguised this by pretending to look out one of the now broken windows. The green beams and eyes faded away “Interesting” Chip said as he looked over the data he had collected. Cheerilee looked back at Chip, and said “I wish my students could look at a history book and say that” “So much history that I was never aware of until now” “Well that's what you can learn when you look into books” “Golden Alloy” Chip said. “Who?” The mare asked. “Page 57, a unicorn who designed the armour for the royal guards” Cheerilee opened the book and flipped to the aforementioned page “Hmm... you're right, here's a portrait of her” Cheerilee then turned the book and showed Chip the image. In the image, the unicorn could be seen being saluted by several guards, who were all wearing early versions of the armour that would eventually become standard issue for all of the royal guards. The unicorn however wore a full body set of gold plated armour which was seemingly designed to be near impenetrable, with only her red mane and tail visible. “She looks... like a machine” Chip said as he examined the scene. “I suppose she does. Unfortunately it says that the prolonged usage of the heavy armour damaged her muscles and spine to such an extent that she needed to be hospitalized, poor thing” Chip looked at the image intently, specifically the helmet. The pivotal piece of the armour had an intimidating sleekness to it and did not simply conform to the wearers face, which gave it a somewhat bestial quality that seemed as though it would fit better as the head of some monster rather than on a pony, and the eyes holes had red glass over them to hide any emotion the wearer may show. The two then heard the sound of somepony pounding on the school house door. Cheerilee stood from her desk, and said as she walked towards the door “It's not locked” The voice of Binary then embarrassingly squeaked out “Oh” Binary pushed the door open a crack and peaked inside. At the sight of Chip on the desk, Binary's face lit up into a near deranged looking smile, and she squealed in excitement before she ran down the rows of desks, nearly crashing into Cheerilee. Binary stood on her hind legs and picked up Chip with her front legs, then hugged him, although Chip had no means to hug back. “I assume this is Binary” Cheerilee said to the smothered A.I. “Affirmative” Chip replied, barely able to hear the teachers question through Binary's hug. Binary then looked toward the purple mare. Binary's face suddenly turned very serious “Are you the one who took Chip from me?” “Oh heavens no, I think it was...” Cheerilee took note of just how upset the unicorn looked. Binary appeared as though she was ready to pounce on somepony “I'm not sure who brought him in” Luckily the lie was not heard by Chip, who still remained buried in Binary's hug. Binary couldn't tell that she had been lied to. “Uh-huh, yeah whatever, I don't have time for revenge anyway” she said. Binary then directed her attention back to Chip “Chip, look at you, you look like you've been overheating, and your little legs have fallen off. What happened to you?” she asked. Chip thought back to how he had acted before and the idea of being replaced. He quickly concocted an excuse that was not necessarily a lie, but a withholding of information “It's possibly just from exposure to the elements” Chip looked into the Binary's tired red eyes and asked “Are you okay?” “Pfft, of course I am... other than some head trauma-ama-ama-ama-ama” Binary continued to repeat that part of the sentence on a never ending loop. Chip looked to Cheerilee “Could you give her a slight slap in the back of head” He requested. “Is that safe?” Cheerilee asked. “It can't damage her anymore than she is right now... literally” Cheerilee wasn't sure if what Chip said was meant to be a joke, or if he was serious, but either way she complied and struck Binary in the back of her head, effectively knocking her out of her stupor. Binary rubbed the back of her head “Thanks” she said. “Ready for a pocket ride, Chip?” Binary asked her companion. “When is one not ready for a pocket ride?” Chip replied, his voice made it impossible to tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere. Chip then turned off his holographic form. Binary then placed it in one of her many pockets. “Thanks for taking care of him” Binary said to the teacher. “You're welcome, it was actually quite interesting. Aside from the bumpy first impression” “I don't know what you mean by that so I choose to ignore it” Binary said, blissfully unaware of the hint of Chip's actions. Cheerilee raised an eye brow in response to the odd comment, as Binary walked toward the door. Binary pushed the door open and started off down the dirt rode back to ponyville. She held her head up high and smiled, as she happily trotted down the rode. Things were starting to go back to normal and she couldn't be happier... until she saw Twilight and Spike approaching from a little ways further down the rode. Binary frowned, she was not too keen on interacting with Twilight again. Binary had not yet realized the misunderstanding at all. To Binary, Twilight had simply made fun of her problem; her seven year long solitude with Chip, and her dependance on him, left Binary unable to comprehend anypony not understanding the concept of her companion. An idea then came to Binary's mind and her expression crept up into a sly grin. “Binary” Twilight called, after which she increased her walking pace, quickly decreasing the distance between herself and Binary. Binary stopped and narrowed her eyes “Hello... Ms. Annoying ...pants...” Binary said to Twilight in a failed attempt to insult her. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just thought if I could make you think you found Chip then it might make you feel better” “Well that was a stupid idea” Binary said as she thrust her nose in the air in an attempt to seem superior. Twilight's brow furrowed a bit. The alicorn knew she had made a mistake, but she was only trying to help and certainly didn't deserve to be insulted (especially not by some nutso unicorn). Twilight emitted a barely audible groan, then kicked some dirt to the side. Spike couldn't help but snicker at the comment, himself agreeing that Twilight acted a bit rashly. Binary quickly lost her look of superiority, then looked at the ground and sighed “But thanks for caring” she said, her face slowly warmed back up into a smile. Twilight smiled in response “So, I suppose you want to go try to find, Chip?” Twilight asked. Binary closed her eyes, puffed out her chest slightly and proudly said “Nope, I found him” “But... he's a... I mean... why couldn't you” Twilight couldn't help but be frustrated “He's an imaginary friend, how did you find him!?!” Binary pointed back to the school “He was in the school house” Twilight ground her teeth together as her frustration grew, it was getting harder to tell if Binary was smart, insane, or just plain stupid. Binary let out an exaggerated yawn, and said “I don't know about you but I got zero sleep last night, so I think I'm gonna head on home, because I'd rather pass out there than on the rode” Binary then walked by Twilight and Spike and after she walked a few feet away, Binary stopped, turned and asked “But I suppose I could find some energy, if you still wanted to see my inventions?” Twilight's expression lightened a bit. The mention of Binary's gadgets had peeked Twilight's interest, she had never seen anything quite like them, and she would be disappointed if she didn't get a chance to see more. Spike had not heard or seen anything about these inventions and was instantly curious. “I guess so” Twilight said, her slightly annoyed tone made it hard for any positivity to come out of the words. Binary smiled the same sly smile from before “Good, Chip will be soooo amped up” Twilight and Spike glanced at each other and slightly shrugged their shoulders, both unsure of what Binary meant. Binary noticed the glances and explained before either of them could ask “And by that I mean excited” Twilight and Spike pretended they knew what she meant all along. Binary sighed, her interest in the two was fading fast and would barely last long enough for her to play her little trick. The three then headed back to Binary's home which was still parked in the centre of town. Neither of the three said anything to each other along the way, which caused the trek to feel very long and awkward at times, as Binary would occasionally look at the two, then chuckle quietly. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- By the time they had got back to Binary's house, Twilight and Spike's willingness to follow Binary had almost completely faded. Binary walked up onto her front porch, grabbed the door knob and attempted to turn it. Binary giggled; it was time for her trick. Binary stifled more laughter “Oh silly me, I forgot that, Chip locked my house” Twilight let out a small sigh, she was quite sick of hearing about, Chip. Binary reached into one of her vest pockets, then pulled out Chip's disc and showed it to Twilight and Spike. “Go ahead, ask what it is” Binary insisted. Twilight began to answer, as Binary pushed a button on the disc. The holographic body of Chip appeared, which caused Twilight's eyes to widen in shock. Binary observed Twilight and Spike's reaction and was a bit disappointed that neither of them freaked out. Spike approached Chip and the two assistants quickly examined each other, then both asked Binary in unison “What is that thing?” Binary replied to Spike's question “This is Chip” Twilight raised an eye brow “But didn't you say, Chip was an imaginary friend?” she asked. “Yeah, and then I said, I made him real... Oh, now I get it, you just thought I was crazy. That makes so much more sense than what I was thinking before” Twilight chose not question what Binary had thought about her “So is it... alive?” she asked “You may direct such questions to me, thank you” said Chip. “He seems pretty alive” said Spike. “Binary, who are these beings?” Chip asked his creator. “Well that's Twilight Sparkle, she's a princess and that's Spike, Twilight's pet dragon” Spike crossed his arms and rolled his eyes in response to the unintentionally insulting description. “They're my frie...” Binary paused for a moment, then asked “We're still friends, right?” Twilight simply stared at Chip, trying her best to comprehend how Binary had created an entirely independent entity. Twilight was only shaken out of her stare by Chip, who said to the alicorn in a stern tone “She asked you a question” Twilight looked back at Binary, who was currently staring at Twilight with the best sad guilt trip face she could muster. Twilight could admit to herself that she had rushed into a friendship, but she couldn't say that the whole thing hadn't been any crazier than anything her friends had ever put her through. “Of course we are” said Twilight. Spike also nodded in response. Binary's faced lifted up to a smile. She turned Chip's disc to face herself and asked her companion “Chip, do you want to be friends with Twilight and Spike?” “No” Chip replied flatly and without hesitation. “May we please go inside” “But, I was going to show them some of my inventions” Binary said. Chip glanced over at Twilight and Spike for a moment, then groaned as he turned back to face Binary. Spike nudged Twilight's side with his elbow and whispered to her “I don't think he likes us” Chip was about to insist that the pair leave and allow Binary to rest, but before he did, he paused and took notice of Binary's happy expression. He had not seen Binary smile like that in years, although he couldn't understand why Chip sighed “Whatever you think is best” he mumbled out. “Great” Binary said, as she turned and tapped Chip's disc on the door knob. A blue spark appeared as the disc and door knob touched, showing that Chip had transferred back into the house. Several locks could be heard clicking open as Chip called off the lock down. Binary then opened the door and led Twilight and Spike inside. The pony's hooves, and the claws on Spike's feet, clicked on the metal floor. Binary then spun around to face her guests, and proudly said “Welcome to our humble abode” Binary's voice echoed through the metallic house. Twilight and Spike looked around and took their time to soak in the bizarre look of the chrome house. From where they were they could see a metal stair case a small ways in front of them, as well as a living area to the right the through an arch shaped door hole in the wall. The only living room was the only place they could see that wasn't completely covered in metal. The room contained a red rug, some old wood lounge chairs and stools with red cushions on them, and a wooden coffee table in front of a fireplace, over which hung a rolled up projector screen. “It sure is... shiny” said Spike. “That's cuz it's self cleaning” Binary said, just before a pair of mechanical arms with claws holding wash cloths appeared from hidden panels on the floor, and quickly scrubbed where the three had entered. Once finished, they quickly retracted back into the floor. “Where did Chip go?” Twilight asked as she looked around for the A.I. Chip's voice then replied through speakers in the walls, making his voice sound more metallic and muffled “I'm all around you” A small blue light then zipped around on the floor and stopped beside Binary. Chip's body then blinked on. Chip presented his body in a larger form than he had before, now standing tall enough to be at eye level with Spike. Binary looked down at Chip and asked “What do we have that we could show our friends?” A small checklist of product names with either green or red dots beside then appeared in front of Chip. Green meaning the gadget was operational, and red meaning it was either unsafe or not yet perfected. The A.I quickly looked over the list and compiled a smaller list of appropriate inventions to show. Binary read the list over Chip's shoulder and quickly darted off up the stairs, to retrieve the devices. Twilight and Spike waited for Binary to return. They stood in awkward silence while Chip stared at them. “So...” Twilight looked around to try and find a topic of conversation to fill the silence “Binary created you?” Twilight asked, Chip. “That is correct” Chip replied. “So, how did she go about doing that?” “I do not think you would be able to comprehend the process, but I'll explain it in terms I think you may understand; She needed me, so she made me” Twilight raised an eyebrow and thought to herself “Did he just call me dumb?” “So basically, she wanted a friend?” Spike asked. “Incorrect, want and need are two very different subjects” Chip replied. A loud clattering sound interrupted the pointless back and forth between Chip and the two outsiders. The three looked to see Binary tumbling down the stairs, along with dozens of gadgets, all of varying sizes, shapes and colours. Binary quickly crashed down to the foot of the stairs and laid there with her face flat on the floor. Binary stuck a foreleg up in the air, and said “I'm okay” her voice was humorously muffled by the floor. It was moments like this that Chip wished he had some way to assist Binary in more than just a logistical sense. Binary shot back up onto her hooves and gathered up as many of the devices as she could. Although she quickly began to take more than she could handle, as they slipped from her grasp and fell back onto the floor. Twilight and Spike walked closer to Binary to eliminate the need to move the devices. Binary then began to give Twilight and Spike as many devices as they could hold, all while trying to explain what they were and what they did. The scene was similar to that of a child showing their parents a new toy and trying to explain why they must have it. “Binary!” Chip said sternly “One thing at a time” Binary stopped and stared at Chip for a moment, then took a look at herself. She quickly realized how impolite she was acting. Spike struggled under the weight of the collectively heavy devices until Twilight levitated them out of Spike's grasp, then placed them on the floor in front of them, in several tidy rows. “Which one did you want to see first?” Binary asked, doing her best to control her still overflowing excitement. Twilight, nor Spike had any idea which devices did what. Each device looked different, ranging from wand like devices to simple cubes and even one that resembled horseshoes. Twilight looked over the devices and eventually picked one at random “How about... that one” Twilight pointed a hoof towards one of the wand like devices. Binary knelt down and adjusted her glasses as she looked at the device “That's a P.D.W, it's a personal defence wand that shoots intense waves of sound” “I don't recommend we start with that” Chip said. Chip then looked over the tidy rows of gadgets. Chip's body once again disappeared into the floor and suddenly one of the cube shaped gadgets lights began to blink “Try this one” Chip said through the speakers in the walls. Twilight's horn began to glow and the device became engulfed in magical energy. As the device was lifted into the air, Chip's light once again flashed to the ground. Twilight placed the device on her hoof. Upon closer inspection Twilight found a small orange button on one of the sides. Twilight pressed the button and the device began to emit several metallic clinking noises. The top of the device suddenly burst open, startling Twilight. The device then began to fold down onto Twilight's hoof, covering the end of it. A sudden surge of fear took hold of as she swung her foreleg around violently. “What is it doing!?!” Spike asked in shock. Twilight calmed down as the device ceased it's operation. She then looked over the results, the cube had folded down onto her hoof and left a pincer at the end. Twilight moved the end of her hoof around and as she did the pincer moved slightly. “That's...” Twilight paused a she tried to find a descriptor for the device “interesting” “Flex the muscle in your wrist” Binary instructed. Twilight did as instructed, and as she did, the pincer opened and closed. Twilight then knelt down and used the pincer to grab another one of the devices. “Does it hurt?” Spike asked. “Pfft” Chip scoffed at the dragon “Of course it doesn’t hurt, it's designed to be completely comfortable and feel like a natural extension of the users body” “It does feel comfortable... or as comfortable as a claw on my hoof can feel” said Twilight. “And that's just one of my gadgets, and I have like a biji-zillion-quintillion more” Binary said over enthusiastically. “That's not a word” said Twilight. Chip agreed and added “It's also not a true statement, we have exactly 169 fully operational devices as well as an additional 114 still in their test phase” “What do you plan to do with all this stuff?” Spike asked as he picked up one the wand like devices. “I don't recco...” Chip began to say before being cut off by Binary. “Well the main plan is to totally level the playing field between the different species of ponies. Unicorns can levitate, Bam, levitation wand!” Binary grabbed a levitation wand and proudly held it up “Now Earth ponies and Pegasi can levitate stuff. Pegasi can fly. Bazow! Rocket boots for everypony!” Binary grabbed a pair of boot like gadgets off the ground and held them up with her other fore leg. With no support for the front of her body, Binary fell to the floor. “And also, maybe make a billion bits in the process so I can make even more stuff” Binary concluded, her voice muffled from her face being pressed against the floor... again Spike shook the device around a little as he tried to figure out what it did. With Binary's rant over Chip continued what he had tried to say before “Please don't touch that” “Why?” Spike asked just as he found a button on the device and pushed it. The end of the device glowed red and suddenly a stream of fire burst from the end, luckily not igniting anything... except the end of Binary's tail. Twilight's jaw dropped in response to the near death of Binary. Spike dropped the device to the ground “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!” “Didn't mean to do what?” Binary asked as she stood herself up. Binary eyes suddenly went wide “Chip, am I on fire?” she asked her companion. “Don't worry, I have it under control” Chip said as he disappeared into the ground. A piece of ceiling panelling slid away, which allowed a mechanical arm carrying a fire extinguisher to descend. The device turned, but it's joint couldn't quite turn to face Binary. “If you would, please move a little to the left” Chip requested. Binary did as instructed. The extinguisher then sprayed her tail with foam that was specially designed to smother fires. Binary turned to look at her now partially charred tail. She swished her what remained of her tail around, flinging away the little bits of foam that remained. “I had just grown that back to the way I liked it too” she mumbled to herself. Spike held his hands behind his back as an embarrassed smile came to his face. Binary sighed “I remember the first time I lit something on fire... I was bald for so long after that” Binary said, as she stared off into space while she thought about all of the times she had nearly burnt herself to a crisp. “Yes, that was the day we discovered that an air conditioner hat was not a good idea” said Chip. “Pfft, it would have had so many applications, you just gave up on it because the prototype blew up on my head” said Binary. “To be honest, that does sound like a good reason to stop working on something” Twilight interjected. “Thank you” The A.I responded. “But the main thing is simply to make not just Equestria, but the entire planet better... but since I messed up showing everypony my inventions... I don't know if I have the courage to face them again” Binary looked down at the ground with a slight frown on her face, and poked one of her gadgets. Twilight and Spike exchanged sympathetic glances, both of them wished they could say something reassuring, but nothing came to mind. Chip then looked at Binary “It will be alright, Binary, we can just go back to the hill and you won't need to worry about it anymore” Binary looked at Chip, and a warm smile came to her face. Binary then turned her attention back to Twilight and Spike. “Now, which one do you want see next?” Binary asked. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 hours later... The group had moved their test area into the living room. Binary and Twilight sat on a red, two pony couch. Twilight and Spike had nearly looked over all of the inventions, leaving only some of the larger and dangerous looking ones untouched. Twilight and Binary were currently testing a pair of devices called, smart books, one of Binary's proudest achievements; although she seemed to say that about all of her inventions. The devices hung from the users neck via a metal strap. Attached to the strap was a metal tray with a hinge on the far side from the user, which allowed the top panel of the tray to flip up, revealing a screen. Just above the screen, embedded into the device was a camera which tracked the users eyes, allowing them to select things by blinking, or type messages without the user needing to use their hooves. Unfortunately the devices did not currently allow for much content due to the need for others to contribute their own work. The only feature, Binary could properly show was the electronic message function which allowed two users to instantly send messages to each other. Meanwhile, sitting on a short cushioned stool, Spike was currently suggesting to Chip, a few ideas for some dragon exclusive gadgets. Unbeknownst to the dragon, Chip was secretly not listening to him, instead reading his lips while his audio receptors listened in on the conversation between Binary and Twilight. “This messaging reminds me a lot of, Princess Celestia and I sending letters to each other through Spike” said Twilight Binary didn't respond to the comment. Her eyes were glued to the screen in front of her as they darted around as she typed a message. “Send” Binary said to the smart tray. A message then appeared on Twilight's screen. Twilight read the message aloud “You use your friend as magical postal service?” Twilight looked past her screen, and said “It's not as bad as it sounds. Except that one time, Celestia sent me all my letters back and... maybe that's a story best left untold” Binary once again didn't respond, her attention was placed fully on the smart books screen. Twilight sighed and looked back at her own screen. Twilight then began to move her eyes about to write a reply. The process took much more time for Twilight than it had for Binary. Twilight hesitated slightly before she said “Send” The idea of talking to an inanimate object when the pony she wanted to speak with was right in front of her, understandably felt a little awkward. Binary received the message and almost immediately began writing a reply. Twilight sighed and closed her smart book, then levitated it off of herself. Twilight then placed her hoof on Binary's tray and pushed it shut. Binary looked up and blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted back from looking at the screen. “Why'd you do that?” asked Binary. Twilight rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure she was not the one being rude “Sorry, it just seems silly to send messages back and forth when we're right next to each other” “Well all of the other stuff is user generated, and I have no users” Binary said as she began to open her smart book. Twilight placed a hoof on the tray and closed it again. She preferred to speak with words rather than text. “I see you've grown tired of the smart books” Binary said as she took her device off and and placed it on the seat beside her. “Well that's pretty much it. You've seen most of my life's work... so what do ya think?” Binary asked. “It's all quite interesting, but I just don't understand how you've managed to do all this by yourself” “Oh, I'm not alone, I've got Chip” Binary looked past Twilight and quickly waved at Chip before turning her attention back to Twilight. Twilight turned to look at Chip for a moment. “Yeah, about Chip, is he technically... alive?” “Well... I guess, he's as alive as he needs to be” Binary replied. Chip heard the statement and thought to himself as he repeatedly scanned the words for meaning “Alive as I need to be... what does she mean by that?” Chip thought to himself. “Did you want to see some of the stuff I'm still working on?” Binary asked, Twilight. “Hmm... maybe another time” Twilight replied. “I don't really think theirs going to be another time” said Binary. “What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked. Binary looked down at the ground, her cheery nature seemed to have momentarily left her. “I... don't think I was ready to come here yet. I think I need more time to prepare” Still listening, Chip was pleased that Binary had taken her advice, yet he couldn't understand why Binary looked upset about it. Once again the feeling of pity that Twilight had felt before, returned to her. She felt as though she needed to say something to reassure Binary. But Twilight didn't feel like it was her place to give advice, after all she had only known Binary for a day. In truth, the whole ordeal was more than anypony else would probably have done for such a new acquittance. After a few moments of thinking, Twilight decided on her next words “Whatever you think is best” Only the sound of Spike's rambling suggestions broke the odd silence between the two. “Well, I suppose we should get out of your hair” said Twilight. “Okay” Binary replied, her voice already seemed to be returning to it's almost annoyingly peppy tone. “Come on Spike, I think it's about time we let Binary and Chip rest” Twilight said as she stepped off the couch. Spike hopped off of the stool “So you'll think about a dragon scale polisher, right?” Spike asked Chip. Chip did not reply, instead he zipped over to the door and eagerly awaited for the two to leave, so he could finally tend to, Binary. Twilight, Spike, and Binary walked to the door. The small dragon opened the door and walked out of the house, then waited on the porch for Twilight. Twilight followed Spike out the door, as did Binary. Chip of course could not follow the three outside, and instead stayed inside as the door closed in front of him. -------------------------------------------------------- Just outside... The afternoon sun burned bright in the sky and warm light lit the town. Twilight and Spike stepped down from the porch and turned to say their goodbyes. “It's been really interesting” Spike said to Binary. “Just, interesting?” Binary asked. “Well I'm not going to say it was great, it was actually a little awkward at times” Twilight said jokingly. Twilight didn't feel the need to correct Spike. It honestly hadn't been the most enjoyable day ever but it was exactly how Spike had described it, it was interesting. “Well to be honest, I think the awkward came from you guys” Binary said to the two. “Whatever you think” Spike replied. Binary then turned her attention toward Twilight, expecting some parting words. Twilight thought back to what Binary had said about leaving ponyville the next day. Binary's inventions were a little odd and somewhat unnecessary, but it was obvious that a lot of love had gone into them. It would be a shame to just let Binary waste her potential by locking herself away again. “Are you sure you want to leave so soon?” Twilight asked. “It's not that I want to... I just need to be ready” Binary replied. “I'm sorry Binary, but that's silly” Twilight said “If you want to get ready to be apart of the world, how does shutting yourself out again help?” Binary stood still as she thought about what Twilight had just said to her. Binary looked down at the ground. Her eyes moving around slightly, indicating deep thought going on in her head. Spike then whispered to Twilight “I think you broke her” Twilight rolled her eyes in response to Spike's comment. “Goodbye Binary” Twilight said. Binary shook her head slightly, to break herself out of her thought process. She smiled and waved at the two... although they hadn't left yet. “Bye” she yelled as she continued to wave. Twilight and Spike exchanged quick, awkward glances before they departed back for the library. Binary kept smiling and waving until the two were far out of sight. All the while still thinking about what Twilight had said. Binary reached into one of her pockets and pulled out one of her levitation wands. She simply stared at it as she stood there. She had waited so long to show her inventions to the world, and it had felt so good to show them to somepony. Binary paused as she asked herself “What was the difference between showing Twilight and showing everypony else?” An idea suddenly came to Binary's mind. She smiled and turned around to enter her house. Binary opened the door and excitedly jumped toward, Chip, then knelt down to be at level with her assistant. “Are we excited about something?” Chip asked. “Kind of... incredibly!... or maybe just a little, I don't care. Chip, what was the difference between me trying to show my inventions before, as apposed to me showing them to Twilight and Spike? “Small group interaction” Chip replied. Binary hopped up into the air and cheered “Exactly! I was overwhelmed by all the ponies out their that I couldn't do dinkily-diddle-squat. But if I showed my inventions to one pony at a time, then I could get over my fears and sell some of my gadgets all at the same time” “No” Chip said flatly. “Wha... What do you mean, no?” Binary asked. “You have been through an extremely traumatic experience and I would prefer it if you slowed your momentum down and let me inspect your condition” “Chip, I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me” “I am designed to worry about your happiness, in the present and in the future. I can tell far faster than you can if something is going to hurt you and I only see pursuing this endeavour without proper preparation resulting in further harm to you” Binary turned away from Chip and sighed as she walked to the stairs. She then paused at the foot of the staircase “Chip... you don't understand. I can't keep being scared” Binary then turned back to face, Chip. “Today, I realized just how much I've been missing. I barely recognized an apple when it was given to me... Being out there with all of them, it felt nice... better than nice, it felt like I was getting back into the world, and it felt so good, and warm, and welcoming...” Binary paused as if for dramatic effect “I won't shut myself in again” Binary concluded. Her last words carried a gravitas unlike anything Chip had heard Binary say before. Chip stood in silence. He simply stared at Binary. Nothing that she had said seemed to add up. Feelings, warmth... apples; Chip had an understanding of these things but he simply couldn't acknowledge how they could have made Binary think so irrationally. Binary then walked back towards Chip and knelt down to be at eye level with him. “Chip, if we're going to make the world a better place, then we need to be a part of it... no more hiding” Chip looked at the ground “Whatever you think is best” He replied. Binary smiled “Good, we start tomorrow” she said. Chip stared into Binary's eyes and said “But, please, just one day. I need to make sure you are okay” “Okay. But after tomorrow, we're getting ourselves out there” Binary said before she turned and ascended the stairs, leaving Chip in silence. Chip turned and looked at the door. Chip had already been out there... and he didn't like it. His body fizzed and he then began to count “1, 2, 3, 4...”