I, Scrappy

by SkelePone

Good Morning, Equestria

Scrappy's internal clock was telling him it was morning. He wished to tell the six adult ponies and one baby dragon to have a 'Good Morning'. But the words were not yet accumulated to his recordings. He analyzed the area. Maker was not there. Scrappy felt un-energized. He felt low. He didn't know what this emotion was called, so he did not know what to do.

But he was sad.

He had taken a momentary power reserve so long ago. His internal clock couldn't calculate how long ago he had shut himself off. In fact, Scrappy couldn't tell how he had switched back on in the first place. Once he entered hibernation, only he could wake himself up. But he hadn't woken himself up. While Scrappy was conflicting with his information in his records, the girls were in a panic.

"It works!"

"It talks!"

"I think it's listening to us!"

Works. Talks. Think. It's. Listening. Us.

Scrappy was happily acquiring more and more recordings for his vocabulary.

"The way it spoke was so weird, though. It's like all these different voices saying different words... Creepy."

Way. It. Talked. Was. So. Weird (discarded, possibly profanity). Like. All. These. Different. Voices. Saying. Words. Creepy.

Scrappy's recordings and records told him he now had sufficient vocabulary to initiate a conversation.

"I-Am-Scrappy. Do-You-Think-I-Am-Creepy?" He asked. He felt pride that he had put together that sentence. The ponies turned and gaped at the Automaton.

"You-Talked-I-Listening. I-Repeat." Scrappy was less proud of that sentence. But it would have to do. He hoped that they would understand that he needed them to continue speaking so he could acquire more vocabulary.

"Darling, I think... I think that-that thing is talking to us!"

Darling (discarded, unknown word). That. Thing. Talking.

"I-Am-Talking."

"Darn tootin' he is! An' he's mimickin' our voices!" The orange pony could not help Scrappy. Her accent prevented him from identifying several of the words she used. A pity. She was one of the more talkative ones.

"These-Different-Voices-I-Repeat-Are-I-Talks."

Scrappy had been hoping for a more complete sentence, but his vocabulary wasn't extended far enough for that. He'd have to wait for the ponies to continue their chatter.

Instead, they all looked at each other and left the room. Scrappy felt that feeling again. He didn't know he was sad.

"Twilight, it's alive! You simply must send it back to Princess Celestia immediately, darling!"

"Now, Ah reckon Rarity's right. It's probably dangerous, an' we outta make sure we get it outta Ponyville."

"Hey, where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked aloud, looking about for the other pegasus. She was missing.

"Did she faint again? Or did she fly home?"

"Ah dunno, ah didn't see her."

They heard murmuring and creaking from the library they had ran out of. The five mares creaked open the door, peering in cautiously, ready to fight back should the strange metal pony attack them. Instead they saw Fluttershy speaking softly to the machine. It creaked and squeaked, recording every word she said. Every once in awhile, it would create a sentence using many of Fluttershy's recordings. Then she would praise it and reward it for more words.

Twilight went up to stand behind Fluttershy, and the pegasus looked up and smiled at her.

"Oh, hello Twilight. I was giving Scrappy here some more words."

"Giving him... some more words?"

"Yeah, that's how he talks. He listens, learns, and records words and then says them back, like a parrot. Except he can take those words and put them together, into sentences."

"I-Am-Like-Parrot. Fluttershy-Teach-Me-About-Parrots."

The Automaton had spoken up, and was staring at Twilight with seemingly empty sockets. She wondered how the machine could see without eyes or even cameras. Then she remembered he was built from ancient arcane science and unknown technology. The more Twilight thought about it, the more she wanted to study him. Dissect him, even. Because, after all, he wasn't alive. and she could always put him back together.

"Princess-Thinking-Long. What-About?" She whirled around to find the rusted Scrappy staring her eye-to-eye. For a hunk of old metal, he was pretty stealthy and quiet. She was readily impressed by his ability to speak, his voice was now mostly comprised of recordings of Fluttershy's voice, although the voices of the strange, aggressive stallions and the voice of a kindly, old stallion occasionally surfaced.

While the girls had been outside the library door deciding Scrappy's fate, Fluttershy must have been reading to him from a small dictionary.

"Fluttershy, we can't trust that thing." Twilight whispered to the pegasus as the Automaton tottered off, not having been given any instruction.

"But Twilight," Fluttershy said, in a naturally quiet voice, "look at him! He's not a monster, he's like a foal. He just wants to learn."

Scrappy had found a roach crawling about, and bent low to look at it with his empty eyes.

"Hello-I-Am-Scrappy. Who-You?" The roach began to crawl away and Scrappy simply shuffled after, keeping his eyes on it. "Wait-New-Friend-Come-Back! Acquire-Name-Please."

"Well, I'll just send it back to Celestia first thing in the morning."

"No please!" Fluttershy begged, "There's still so much I have to teach him!"

Twilight groaned and tried not to look into Fluttershy's watery puppy-eyes. Eventually, she gave in.

"Fine. I'll just write to the Princess."

Dear Princess Celestia,

Hi, it's Twilight. I got your package and it's working.

It calls itself 'Scrappy'.

Yes, it can talk. And move. And see, and hear, and do anything else a pony can. Fluttershy had been teaching it new words, since it must learn in order to communicate. I was wondering if it would be alright if it stays with her. I would also like to be able to study it further. It seems to be magically controlled, like an animation spell, but its existence just doesn't make sense.

The animation spell that powers it is so odd. It could animate an actual solid statue of a pony. So I wonder why they chose to animate the Automaton. Maybe its because a statue wouldn't be able to see? Or talk? But it still doesn't make sense to me, because the actual engineering and clockwork put into this is astonishing. I still can't even begin to understand how this thing works. But Fluttershy had been keeping to it, and I've sent a letter to Time Turner to come and help her out with it. He seems more experienced with mechanics than I am.

Well, we're waiting for what you have to say about this thing.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle Princess Twilight Sparkle

Dear Princess Twilight,

I would like for Fluttershy to keep Scrappy with her. She seems to be very concerned for the well-being of the Automaton.

Also, I would much rather prefer for you to learn from this experience, not as a student to me, but as a student to Scrappy. The Automaton must have an incredible story to tell. We will be able to learn where Automata come from and why they used to exist in such large quantities. I would also have expected you, as Princess of Friendship to extend your ideals to even those who would not qualify as 'living things'.

With gratitude, Princess Celestia