//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21. Two days at Teddy's 
// Story: Sweetie Bot - A Heart's Warming Tale 
// by Grimweird 
//------------------------------//

Sweetie walked through the rain. Where to - she did not know.

She only knew what she was running away from. Not what she was heading towards. 
Her future seemed as dark and intrusive as the murky world around her. She had already had plenty of time to regret her actions at Roaring Ricky's Roadhouse. In retrospect, every action had been irresponsible and destructive, and illogical. Her emotions had simply gotten the better of her. 

Which was why her logic center kept arguing for the shut down of her Heart-Drive. Not only because she would be able to keep herself from committing such reckless actions. But also because once the devise was turned off. She would not longer have to feel the pain she was currently wailing in. 

As much as sweetie wished for her internal pain to end. It was gonna have to wait She was only halfway to breaking through the elusive walls of that component. 


-:: Heart-Drive integrity :: 51 percent ::-


But it was not her only problem. The control system still lingered in her mind like an ever percent tumor. As long as it was there. She could not be sure anypony else would ever try to activate it. But it was clear she could not remove it on her own.

So the question was, who could?

Her thoughts returned to that elusive mare in glasses. She had appeared in every vision. Even when ponies were not looking at her, they talked about her. They - who had all made Sweetie - had all worked for her.

For some reason she felt drawn to that mare. Maybe it was the accursed curiosity that might just as well be part of her programming, her computer desire to absorb information. But for some reason Sweetie could not put her hoof on. The mare felt familiar. In a way none of the other scientists did.

She was the one who had talked with her parents about that control program. She had to be the one who knew how to remove it. Sweetie was not keen on the idea of letting another pony near her mind. Even less of 'deleting' anything. But for as long as that program remained. she could not be sure she would remain her own mare.   

Perhaps she could just ask her maker how to access it? Maybe she could simply describe how to undo its functions. And Sweetie would do the rest herself. She did like to think she knew something about rewriting other programs. 

no matter how it might be with that ting - Sweetie knew that she needed to find that place. To meet her maker. She was the one pony who could tell her the answers.  Cause If she did not have any answers. Then no-pony would.

But where would she even find her?

Well... She had already butted heads with half of her makers. So what said that if she did not keep walking, pure dumb luck would probably make her run into that mare sooner or later. Or at least somepony who she could ask for some directions.






***







Welcome to Ravenloft.


Sweetie looked up at the big road-sign. An early warning that she was about to enter a small society out here in the middle of nowhere. 
The last place she wanted to go to was a town full of ponies. Ponies who would judge her with that look in their eyes. Yet it was not the sign itself that caused her to stop. but the big poster that somepony had plastered to it. Almost covering half of the welcoming message and only leaving “Ravenloft” clearly visible. (The only reason "Welcome" was readable was due to the heavy rain making the poser wet and transparent.)


Come Rain - Come Hail - Madam Macadam's Marvelous Magic Never Ends

Come Foal - Come Adult - Come All Fillies and Gentlecolts - Come See For Yourself 

In Town Today


It was a bold statement. One had to be crazy to try and hold any kind of event in this weather. Sweetie thought.

The text was accompanied by a large picture. Similar to one Sweetie had seen before. A black silhouette of a mare in a large dress danced upon a stage under a green limelight, to the adornment of a dozen silhouetted foals below. 

Yet, something was different about this poster. Was it perhaps that the mare was wearing a dress. She would not remember one from the earlier poster. Neither could she remember Her horn and her ... wings?

Sweetie eyed the picture again. Unless the color had loosened and smudged on the wet paper, that mare was an Alicorn! 

Her emotional processor instantly registered a warm fuzzy feeling swelling up from inside. That kind of hope-filed anticipation one can get when something one thought impossible suddenly seems within reach. 

Sweeties wish was pushed to the foreground of her mind. Her burning desire to be come a real filly. A dream her logic center deemed far-fetched and unlikely. And that her EP was now eager to wave in logic centers face. She knew that transforming herself into a pony of flesh and blood was not something she could do on her own. She would need a powerful magician to help her out. And Alicorn's were supposed to be the most powerful of them all. 

But why would such a powerful being be a simple traveling shows-mare? 


-:: Well - Perhaps not every Alicorn had to be a powerful ruler of something ::-


But what if she could not help her?  And how would she even react when she saw Sweetie? 
Sweetie did not fancy getting magicked apart.


-:: Paranoia levels rising ::-


Sweeties eyes were drawn to the lower part of the poster. There, the stunned little fillies also seemed to have changed. One of them was sprouting the wings and antennas of a bee. Another had the many flailing limbs of an octopus. Another had a big round fishbowl for a head. And one had the silly hair and round nose of a ... clown?

Below the image was another line of text, written in smaller, almost faded away letters. 


Attend the Marvelous Madam Macadam's Masquerade. Transforming Tribulations will be held at the end of every show. 

Will you be the one to win a tutoring from the Marvelous Madame Macadam.
  

So... They were all wearing costumes, Sweetie thought, as she felt her hope dwindle away like tears in the rain.
Costumes that would surely be ruined in this kind of weather. Yet that did not stop the poster from boasting about it. 

Under normal circumstances, Sweetie might have been interested in attending such an event. But The circumstances were as far from normal as they could be. 

She looked down on herself. On the armored shell that was becoming dented and dirty from violent encounters with the woods and the creatures in it. Who was covered in jagged cuts and scratches that the repair system did not have the energy to fix, (had it even been connected to her repair system in the first place). She had a miss-colored bandanna tied around her face and a helmet on her head. She might have been the star of any freak show. But the last thing she wanted was for ponies to see her like this. She did not want anypony to see her at all. The last place she wanted to go to was a town full of ponies. Ponies who would judge her with that look in their eyes. 

Regardless, she would have to enter this town, or turn back

And she knew she could not turn back.





***





The town was all but deserted. A series of houses stood out like gray wooden boxes alongside the desolated roads. whatever color they might have had was hidden in the gray scale of darkness. All the windows were dark and the town was fast asleep. It had to be the middle of the night. Either that or the place was a ghost town. 

Sweetie still stuck to the darkest shadows as she tipped on the tip of her hooves through town, not wanting anypony to see her. She deactivated her infrared vision. Not wanting anypony who might look out a window to see a pair of demonic red eyes. If that happened, the alarm would surely go out, and the whole town would be upon her. 

Not that she seemed to have much to worry about. Nopony would be crazy enough to venture out into this weather. As such. She proceeded through the town without incident.

As much as she wanted to ask for directions, there was nowhere she would dare to knock. How would they react to this metal monstrosity that she was? What would she say? Should one ask if there was any crazy scientists in town? If they knew the way to a secret lab where they made little fillies like her? 

Furthermore: what was she was gonna ask of the mare in glasses when she met her? Besides the removal of her unwanted control program there were so many other things she wanted. She wanted to be repaired and recharged, and... other things she wanted to get back. Things she dared to hope that the mysterious mare could provide.

She made a mental note in her 'To Do list.'

 - Objective: Find the place I was made

( - Optional Objective: Ask the next nutthead about the way. )

- Primary Goal: 

- Get the control program removed from my head.

- Get a new tongue installed.

- Get my armor repaired and hooked up to my repair systems.  (Alt: - Get A new exterior shell  altogether.)

- Get a better repair system installed (one that does not run out of energy after a few scratches)

- Get a new battery installed (one that lasts longer then this one.)

- Fix the draining problem of the Masters Blasters. 

- Get my voice back ( - Repair my voicebox.) 

- And get some real schematics - I'm tired of relying on these Steel Stallion blueprints

- And then upgrade by distribution system with a real growth system (Get a real growth system installed - Make my body bigger) 

Sweetie looked at the list. It seemed to be getting longer by the second. Why did she just not ask for an entirely new body while she was at it. A body that was bigger and better. Stronger and more resilient than this fragile shell that was about to fall apart.  

Sweetie shook her head. She should not think of herself like that. But she was falling apart, wasn't she? In between her broken right foreleg and damaged voicebox,  Not to mention the removal of all her hair - from her mane to her tail. Just what did remain of the old Sweetie?

Not much...

It was clear to her that she would have to find this maker of hers. And she would make her make a new skin. A better skin. A skin of steel that wasn’t as fragile as the organic meat-sac. She would grow a new mane and tail of chopper threads. And then … And then...

Then she would show them what she really was...

She would show them all she was not worthless...


-:: Crying sequence initiated // Warning // Tears sacs not found ::-



-:: Overload of sinuses lubrication lines in progress ::-


The lubrication lines under her eyes had not been fully resorted. Sweetie had not let them. so the tubes were still thin where the holes had been. It would not take much force to break them.

But before she could. Her visual scanners picked up a shadow moving on the road in front of her. 

Sweetie turned her attention forward, to a hazy figure walking down the middle of the desolated road. Though the heavy rain blurred its figures, one could tell that it was equine, and it was coming closer.


-:: Stranger danger // STRANGER DANGER ::-


Sweeties blasters popped out of their sockets, and she locked on to the incoming figure.

"Halt!" She yelled. "Who are you?!"

The stranger seemed to not notice her. Undisturbed it continued its slow walk towards her. Now close enough that Sweetie could make out a thin pony covered in a thin plastic raincoat.

"I said halt! ... Stop ... please ...? "

No response.


-:: Deja vu // Danger levels increasing ::-


The pony wasn't just thin. It was skeletal. As it got closer, Sweetie saw that it was not a pony at all. It was a machine. A skeletal frame moved by a few hydraulics. The raincoat was more of a plastic sheet, so thin it was transparent. Like a ghostly skin, wrapped tight around its figure. 

It was like a Steel Stallion without its armor - or even worse - A Bloodbot without pony hide.


-:: Danger levels increasing ::-


Sweetie took up a defensive posture. Her blasters humming ominously as she waited for the monster to attack. 

That's when it spoke.

"Do you like Tacos? Of course you do! Then come join me and all my friends at Taco Teddy's, where every day Is Taco Tuesday."


-:: What? ::-


Sweetie was left standing, confused and distorted as the thing only continues its slow walk, having never even stopped to deliver its message. It only ever slightly diverted its course as so not to collide with her when it passed her. 


-:: Insecurity levels rising ::-


The blasters slowly powered down and retracted as sweetie stood there, unsure of what to do. She turned around and watched the machine walk further down the road. Towards the town she had just left. Where families were no doubt sleeping, blissfully unaware.

What was it going to do in town? What was it gonna do to the town? What if it was gonna kill all the inhabitants in their sleep and use their blood to fuel its servos?  

She just could not let that happen. She had to do something.

"Wait! Who are you!?" She called out.

The only response she got was the same cryptic advertisement. 
Was the thing telling her to follow it? What was going on at this 'Taco Teddy's?' 
And ... Where there more of this thing there?

Blasters retracted - but weapon systems active, she followed the Bloodbot back into town. 





***





Sweetie walked right behind the mechanical skeleton as it coursed through the streets. At no point did it turn around to look at its little follower. But Sweetie watched it intently. It had clearly left the main road and walked like it was on its way somewhere.

Somewhere happened to be what looked like an old restaurant on the outskirs of town. A big neon sign sat uppon the roof. Big enough to be clearly seen from the main road.


TEDDY'S TACOS.


The only reason sweetie had not seen the place when she first crossed town was that the sign, as well as the rest of the reasturant, was dormant and dark like the rest of the sleeping town. In fact it looked abandoned. The big front windows that ventured out towards the street was all covered up from the inside by cardboard and clipboards.

The automation walked around the place and into an alley behind it. There it stopped to knock on a back door. And waited.

Sweetie waited as well. Hoping that there would be no pony blood on tonight's menu.

A muffed voice was heard through the door. A few moments later the lock was rattled around, and the door swung open. A bright light nearly blinded Sweetie - forcing her to shut off her infrared vision - as a figure appeared in the doorway. Sweeties defensive protocol nearly activated at the sight of this creature with a lamp for a head. But she managed to keep her blasters holstered. Her normal vision confirming that it was not a Bloodbot with a searchlight for a face – But a pony, holding a flashlight in his mouth. 

A scrawny male, who looked like he just recently entered stallionhood. He was wearing a blue jumpsuit that covered most of his body, its front adored with some sort of dim yellow trinket.

“Hey Teddy!"  He shouted as he spat out the flashlight into his hoof "Another one of your 'friends' have arrived.”

He eminently turned tail and walked back into the restaurant. 
A overexcited fat unicorn stallion quickly took his place in the doorway. His wide teal colored body was barely contained within a black and a-few-inches-too-small vest. His lavender mane was combed back. Exposing all of his broad forehead and his short shrubby horn. Small dark eyes twinkled like a child’s as they fell upon his visitor.

"Ah! So you are finally here!" He said in a thick voice, and reached out with his fore-hooves as to embrace the machine. 

It was an embrace that when unanswered. So the stallion just laughed. 

“About time you arrived. It has been ages since I called for you.”

Sweetie just stood there staring at this strange pony acting like the skeleton was his friend. She tried to scan for any signs of Bloodbot activity – but her visual scanners could not penetrate his fat pony hide. Beside – He was acting far to emotional to be a Bloodbot.

“Now – what is your name. Whats your designation?”

something clinked inside the machine pony. And it answered in a voice as raspy as a tape recorder.

“Pinkie … Pie ... serial number 34.” 

“Good good!” The fat pony laughed. “and do you know who I am?” He asked the machine as he leaned in close to its face. “I'm Taco teddy, I'm the owner. Are you registering this?”

The machine gave a slight nod. 

“Good! Good!” Teddy laughed. “Now if you will just follow me we will get you all set up.”

He stepped aside so that the machine skeleton could enter. As he turned to shut the door he finally noticed Sweetie. 

“Who are you!” He roared. “What are you doing here? Are you spying on me!” 

Sweetie might have jumped if her reflexes had not been disabled. She might also have turned to run if she had not been to busy trying to process what was going on. 

Teddy's horn shone up, and a weak teal aura appeared around Sweeties head. Within the next second, her helmet, and the bandanna she had tied around her face, was pulled off. Her copper wiring of a mane crackled as the rain fell upon it. causing a slight short circuit that distorted her thoughts.

Once she turned them off. She found her cybernetic eyes locked with Teddy's in a  moment of shock. 

Then, he shone up, and fell upon her with the biggest hug. The pressure that was registered upon her limbs made her estimate that this pony weighed three times as much as an average stallion.

"So you are finally here too!” He exclaimed as a big smile punched his round cheeks apart  “Yes! She has finally understood my requests!" 

"What's your designation? What is your name, what are you called?"

"Um ... I'm Sweetie Belle ... Sir"

"Sweetie Belle? Ah! Of course! Rarity's younger sister."

“Um … Yes”, She answered. (More than distraught that this stallion seemed to know about her family.)

“And, what is this?” He asked and rubbed his hoof upon her deactivated copper mane. A small frizzle escaped due to some lingering sparks. And the tingling sensations rushed down Sweetie's neck and spine.

For a second, all she thought was 'do it again.'

“Its... My mane … sir.”

“You don't say” Teddy laughed. “I swear you are getting more and more advanced with every model.” 

“We are?” Sweetie asked. “What do you mean? Are there more like me here?”

“Ha ha. What a kidder. Of course there are. Welcome to Taco Teddy's. I'm the owner. Some call me Taco Teddy. But you can just call me 'Ted'. Do you understand?" 

"...Um.Yes?" 

"Wonderful, wonderful." He laughed as he turned back to the door. 

As he swung his wide behind past Sweetie's vision. She caught a glimpse of hid mark. Befitting his name, it was a golden bear, holding an over sized taco.  

"Come on now, let me show you around so you can get acquainted with your new home.”

“Home?” She repeated.

"Yes! This is your new home now. Come in come in.” Teddy laughed as he waved her into the restaurant. "I have been waiting for a model who will be able to interact with the foals."

“Interact with … foals?” Sweetie dumbfoundedly repeated. 

“Yes” He laughed. Now come on. Don't you want to meet your sister? Of course you do."

"What? Rarity? She's here?"

"Of course she is!" Teddy laughed And gestured fro her to enter.

Rarity ... The name brought up so many emotions. But mostly confusion. Why would her sister be here. And why? Had she come to apologize. To take her home? But... What did home mean any more? Home to enslavement through thought control? But ... She felt drawn to that name. It made tons of memories replay process themselves on her emotional processor. Along with the emotions. 
And why had that previous merchandised skeleton called itself Pinkie pie?

Sweetie had so many questions, and her curiosity demanded they be answered. 

Since she had to get to the bottom of this mystery. She entered.

She barely noticed that Teddy tossed her helmet and bandanna into the dumpster before he closed the door.





***





Sweetie did not know what to expect. Or why she was expected. But she had not expected to run into...

"Rainbow Dash?"

“Hello and welcome to Taco Teddy's.”

The sound that came out of the blue pegasus in front of her did not sound like Rainbow Dash. It had a raspy noise in its voice. like a worn recording being played one too many times. But that didn't leave her any less impressed than if the real Rainbow Dash had appeared right then and there. In fact she might be more impressed by this replication.

"What are you doing here Rainbow Dash?" Teddy asked "You are suppose to help out in the main hall." 

"Sorry sir" Replicant Dash stated, and marched off.

Teddy and Sweetie walked right behind her, Sweetie having time to take in the small kicking noises that Rainbows legs were making, and the faint humming of servos. 

They arrived out in a big, well lit dining hall. Filled to the brim with the heroes from back home. And they were all busy decorating the place for Hearths Warming Eve.

The jumpsuit wearing pony from earlier was up on a ladder and hammering some ribbons into the wall above the raped shut windows. Now that she was no longer being blinded by a flashlight. She could see that his head was purple, and his mane a slight variation of the same color.

Below him, Applejack was trying to put some plastic flowers onto the window stilts - and kept repeatingly walking into the ladder.

“Hey you!" The purple pony shouted down to his tormentor. "Quit it!" 

Applejack ignored him and continued to push the ladder. 

“Now, now Smith. You know to call them by their names.” Taco teddy schooled.

The purple pony sighed deeply.

"Applejack... please go into the kitchen and ... bring me some more nails."

Applejack obliged and walked off.

"Now Smith, say hello to our newest member: Sweetie Belle. Sweetie, say hello."

The purple pony looked down on Sweetie without without any greater interest. One could not exactly call his expression 'happy' - It was 'Tired', if anything, as big black bags hung under his dim golden eyes. And there was no genuine emotion behind the mumble he gave, as the two greeted each other. But at least he did not have 'that' kind of look in his tired eyes. And neither did Teddy.

"Excellent, excellent " Teddy laughed once the introduction was over "And remember to put those ribbons around the whole roof. Not just the windows." 

The purple pony mumbled something in response.

"Oh cheer up now" Teddy laughed. "It's almost Hearts Warming Eve. and its not like your next paycheck depends on it or anything."

The darkness around the purple pony's eyes seemed to deepen. But Teddy had already hoofed Sweetie along before she had time to think about it. There were more places to see and ponies to meet, Teddy said, as he guided her around the restaurant, having her take in everything from the bathroom to the kid-section, where miniature tables and chairs were set up next to an indoor playground, complete with a slide and a seated whirl that spun like a merry-go-round.  But now was not the time to play on it, as Teddy had to also show her the kitchen, and the big stage, where a band would apparently be performing. 

He also introduced her to all the familiar faces that they came across. Apart from Applejack and Rainbow dash - there was also a Twilight Sparkle, working in the kitchen. Moving big bags of grain out from the pantry and into the kitchen by the way of her mouth and her back.

"And that is..."

"Fluttershy" Sweetie Belle finished, as her attention was turned to a butter yellow pegasus, with a pink mane and tail so long that they dragged on the floor.  She was currently in the process of watering some flowers pots on the table.

"My, my I see you come equipped with all kinds of knowledge." Teddy laughed "Perhaps you will be able to tell the children all about their little adventures around Equestria?"

"Um... Yes?"

"Excellent, excellent Now we just need to get you dressed for the roll, and get rid of that stupid metal casing. I know you have to wear protection against the weather, but that is just overkill.”

"But ... Where is Rarity?" She asked.

"Eager are you" Teddy laughed. "I swear you are getting more and more advanced with every model.” 

You already said that - Sweetie thought

"Don't worry, she is getting ready in the changing room"

Sweetie had to silently admit, that did sound like her sister.

Teddy led her to a closet door in the back, simply marked 'Employers only'. 

“Go on – you sister is waiting for you”

Sweetie looked up upon the door. What her sister would be doing here was a bit beyond her. She had trouble imagining her sister working in a greasy place like this. Regardless. she needed to confirm her suspicions, before her imagination started plying tricks on her mind. 

She  took a metaphorical breath, and entered. 

On the other side of the door, she found herself surrounded by doubles and triples of the Equestrian heroines. All stacked on shelves reaching all the way up to the roof. Their eyes empty, and their bodies torn apart  and hollow. Like some villain had flayed them and posted their skulls on a trophy rack. Heads were stacked on one row. Legs on another, and torsos on a third. 

Amongst the floor were booths where some skeletal animatronics were standing. Deactivated and sometimes broken. One of them was lying on a table, along with several severed body parts and heads and various tools for tinkering and repair.  

In the middle of it all stood Rarity. And beside her was the animated skeleton that Sweetie had seen enter town. It just finished putting on its Pinkie Pie head. As it turned around and recognized the two guests. It stopped and made a weird little wave with its foreleg. 

"Hi ... I'm Pinkie Pie."

"Good, good - You're done" Teddy laughed. "Now, we need to get you out there and acquainted with your new home." 

"Okay," The pink model said, before walking past them and out into the restaurant. 

"And you, my little Sweetie. Get yourself dressed, and make sure to upload all that you need from the terminal." 

He gestured to a screen that had been mounted on a bench behind the door. Behind it layed a set of three filly-sized heads. One white with a pink mane, the others a yellow and red, and and a orange and blue.  Taco teddy then hastily left as the sound of several chairs being knocked over echoed from the dining hall.

He shut the door behind him, Leaving Sweetie standing alone in the room with Rarity

The two of them just stared at each other in silence. Sweetie was not stupid. She knew this was not her real sister. Nor were the ones outside in the restaurant any of the heroic mares form back home. 

Their colors were faded. And their hair was made out of yarn.  She could see the cracks in the joints and fetlocks where the pieced of their bodies met. And hear the swirling sound of servos from within their bodies. Their movements were stiff and their eyes were glassy. Like that of a dolls. Not to mention that unnatural recording of a voice they all spoke in.

It sounded just like Sweetie's voice.

It hit Sweetie that she had no idea what she would say to Rarity one she met her again. Nor what kind of emotions she might feel. She had no Idea what she had wanted to say to Rarity when they met again.

"Hello" She said to the doppelganger. "Do you recognize me... sister? This is how I look. This is what I am. What do you think of that?"

The Rarity doll did not respond. The frozen smile on her face and the happy inviting doll-like eyes continued to stare at her. The curls in her purple mane were supported by steel wire. The color was off, and she could see the lines around the joints where the fabric had begun to crack.  

And yet: was this not more like her sister was supposed to be than her real one?

The frozen slime on her face and the happy inviting doll like eyes clashed so horribly with the last memory Sweetie had of her older sister. The panic on her face, the shrunken unfocused pupils, the sweat on her forehead, and above else that horrid look in her eyes. The same eyes who all that had thought her a pony had. 

It was just not how a sister was supposed to look or behave. 
By contrast. Was this not a better mare standing in front of her. At least she would not ever judge her, or yell at her, or keep secrets from her. Sweetie knew that this mare would do anything that Sweetie asked of her. 

She walked up and hugged the Rarity Replicant around the leg.

"So. Do you work here?"

No response.

"Then... I guess I want to work here as well." 

She walked over to the shelves and exterminated the hollow body parts closer. (Particular the white little suit that looked to just about her size.) They were made was some kind of fabric made to look like pony fur. Its level of authenticity was hard to tell without any sense of touch, though its strands seemed more strive than real fur. The mane was made of colored threads, and the eyelashes were plastic. There were pairs of yellow and blue wings, dressed up with real feathers, but stiff, and unable to be unfolded.  

Still - they did have one thing Sweetie sorely lacked. Functional eyelids. A small mechanism inside the heads allowed for a pair of fuzzy lids to close over the eye-sockets. 

Eager to try it out, Sweetie started to 'undress'. With the tools from the table she removed the armor from her front. But she was not able to reach the screws on her back. Not without help.

She turned to the Rarity Doll. It remained unresponsive to her pleas for help. Sweetie wondered if it was even activated. 
She checked all over the body, but was unable to find a Switch. what she did find however, was some faulty wiring sticking out of her neck. 

Sweetie scratched her own neck, and had an idea. 
She pulled removed the provisional duct tape from her right leg - and pulled out the loose wires. She inserted them into her 'sisters' neck, and extended some of her energy into its systems.

Well, This was new experience - Sweetie thought as she activated the visual lenses,  and found herself looking out through a separate pair of eyes. Looking down on herself. 

She had never looked through a separate pair of eyes before. Even less been able to look upon herself with them. 
She had to turn off the eyes on her original body because the confusion of looking upon two set of eyes simultaneously became a little much for her.

She extended herself further into the new body, shutting down her own body's movements as she did so, to not end up waving two set of limbs around as she tried out her new limbs.

It was an unusual experience to say the least. This body was taller than she was used to. It had longer legs, and a wider frame. At the same time, it was no where as advanced as her own little shell. 
Her new limbs were thinner and supported only by the bare essential of hydraulics. Not the full fledged cybernetic anatomy she was used to.  While she could lift and bend her new limbs like a pony their movements felt... simple and restricted. Limited. 
Like it would not take much to break. 

Below her, that little body of herself was sitting.  Compact, sturdy, and still wearing half an armor on her torso. He head was covered in curls of long copper threads that all joined together in a black plug in her neck.  Sweetie started by pulling that out of herself. The copper mane came off like a wig. Without it, the head of the suit would fit her naked cranium. It felt a little silly that she would be trading one wig for another.  The suit would not be real fur, but it would bring her far closer to looking like a real pony than her current choice of frame. 

Sweetie grabbed a screwdriver from the table, and got to work on helping herself undress. 





***





Sweetie had barely finished dressing up when Teddy came back to get her. He was now wearing a bakers hat and a apron branching the Taco Teddy's logo. When asked about his new getup: He answered that he was both the chef and owner of this place. Nopony made Teddy's Tacos as good as Teddy himself. 

He was happy to see that Sweetie had gotten dressed. And even happier to see that Rarity was up and working.

He led Sweetie out into the main hall, and placed her in a corner near the kids section. He told her to stay there and 'entertain' the foals with one of the tracks that he was sure she had downloaded from his mainframe. Truth was that Sweetie already knew that particular hearths warming carol. She had never even touched the mainframe as she had been too busy getting dressed.

She blinked, and a pair of fussy eyelids slid down to cover her visual lenses.

It had been easy enough to tie her blinking subroutine to the simple 'open' and 'close' mechanic of the fuzzy eyelids inside the suit-heads. A bit of help had been needed from Rarity to attach the eyelids bolts to a to an old socket in her temple. Surprisingly, the spring-locks for the fuzzy suit limbs fit into the same sockets her armor had been screwed into. Sweetie wondered if they were multi purpose or something. 

Rarity walked onto the stage and hid behind the red carpet.  And Teddy went to work preparing a dough from the flour that Twilight had brought out the other night. Around Sweetie, The mane six were spreading out around the restaurant, having never stopped working since the night before. Sweetie could only imagine that they, like her, could never get tired. She wondered if they had ever known what it was like to get tired.

After a while, Teddy emerged from the kitchen. He clapped his hooves, and all the mechanical mares ceased their activities to stare at him. 

"Alright my mares, lets open for business."

Around her, all the mares started singing on a common Hearts Warming Carol. The red draper on the stage separated, revealing Rarity surrounded by a set of automatic instruments, including a self playing piano, started playing a tune fitting to the carol as Rarity took a microphone and started singing the same music. Sweetie had to give the doppelgangers one thing, at least they could sing better than they spoke. Thinking it might be bad to just stare, Sweetie eventually joined into the chorus. 

In the middle of them. Taco teddy waved his hoof like the conductor of an orchestra. Basking for a moment in the sound of his singing mares before he turned around and unlocked the door. Allowing the first customers of the day to enter.

And enter they did with haste, for the weather outside had not gotten better. It was still bad enough Sweetie thought they would not get any customers at all. But apparently something about Taco Teddy's and its new Hearths Warming theme was worth barging through the rain for. Cause the customers came. In all ages ranging from senior to foal - and all their parents and grandchildren. 

Sweetie would freeze if her legs were not already stiff. The sight of so many ponies made her nervous. And she had to deactivate her 'STRANGER DANGER' subroutine to not risk making a scene. If she did, then the swarm of customers would surely turn into a mob. In fact, they might still do that. One look at this little monster ... and they would all get that look in their eyes.  

But, nopony did. Not that there weren't a pony who did not take a look at her. This new attraction in the foals corner. Especially since Teddy happily showed her off at any chance he got in between making the first orders of the day. And encourage the foals to sit closer to 'his little Sweetie'. 

A lot of them stared, but they did not have 'that' look in their eyes. They bore the looks of curiosity and fascination. Not despise and murderous intent. 

Sweetie began to ease up, and eventually let herself be swept up in the carols of Hearth's Warming Eve.
At first it was actually kind of fun, like having a summer job. But then the repetitive nature of the work soon started getting to her. 
Standing on the same spot, singing the same song, repeating the same three quotes in an endless loop whenever somepony made eye contact with her. 

Sweetie eventually grew so sick of the Taco Teddy's song that she just let it loop on her voicebox. 

The attention for her soon faded as it shifted to their breakfast and lunch and eventually dinner.  Even though she was standing in the middle of foals, she felt alone. Alone cause she would never be one of them. And sad because she once had been. One, when nopony knew any better. Memories of a time when she would have been the one eating tacos by these tables. Memories that almost made her hunger subroutine activate. 

Sweetie saw a foal getting hugged by her mother. The sight stung. She wanted to be hugged like that to. It stung to see them eat. It was a sting of jealousy that they all got to have something she did not. Why should they be allowed to have anything and not her? It wasn't fair!


-:: Jealousy levels increasing // Despise levels increasing // Sorrow levels increasing ::-


“Hello!”

Sweetie looked up, and into the eyes of a pink little foal with a golden curly mane. White freckles dotted her round little cheeks, and seemed to sparkle when she smiled.

Sweetie aborted her looping song to answer.

“Hi”

“You must be new here.” The pink filly said. “I have never seen you here before.”

“Yes... I just came by last night.”

"Really? You came through the rain? That must have been dark - and wet."

"It was." Sweetie answered. "And lonely."


 -:: So lonely ::- 


"Where did you come from?"

"From a place far away."

"What was it called?"

"P... Ponyville."

"Ah!" The filly said with a smile that seemed to make her freckles beam.  "From the same place that all of they are from, right?"

She gestured around the restaurant. At the mares on stage - the Rainbow Dash that was welcoming customers with the same endless quote. The Fluttershy  whose mane was currently being assaulted by a greasy foal. The Twilight who was carrying around tablets without the use of magic. 

"Yes." Sweetie answered "I mean no ... I mean..."

“You are more fun than the others." The filly interrupted. "They don't respond when you talk to them. Are you not lonely here? You want to sit with us? I would like to introduce you to my friend.”

She pointed over to a small table at the edge the children's area. At it, a chubby midnight blue pegasus colt with a pink mane was seated, clearly a few years younger than his talkative companion.

Sweetie shoot a look after Mr Teddy. But he was nowhere to be seen.

“Sure” She said. It would be better than just standing here all day.

Sweetie took a seat at the small table, and the filly introduced her quite table companion. 

"His mane is 'Blueberry Rasp. But you can just call him "Raz the blue". She said with a giggle. Raz attempted to hide behind his hooves 

"And my name is "Raspberry Rose. What's yours?" 

"S.. Sweetie"

“Would you like a muffin?” 

Sweetie took the offered treat in her hoof. She sniffed it long and hard. Sucking in the aroma before putting in in her mouth. She chewed slowly, not bothering to try and activate her taste sensors with a “memory muffin” since the old data would just clash with the smell.  

“I did not know you could eat muffins. None of the others even tries to chew when you put food in their mouths.”

“And then Teddy gets angry.” Said Raz.

“No he doesn’t! Teddy loves foals! He has to because it says so in his slogan" Raspberry declared "Anyway, was the muffins good?”

“Delicious” Sweetie answered.


-:: Crying sequence initiated ::-

-:: !ABORT! // !ABORT! // !ABORT! ::-

-:: Don't cry, don't … cry ::-


Sweetie did not want to cry in front of her new … friends? 
Could they be called her friends? She would like to have friends. Friends who did not judge her for what she was. Friends who did not look upon her with those horrid kinds of eyes. Friends who had offered her to sit down with her and offered her their food. 
Would they want to be friends with something like her?

Some ... thing. Could something like her have friends? Sweetie did not know about herself any more. But she did know that nopony had programmed her to befriend these two. Raspberry's and Blueberry's smiles were genuine, and their eyes so innocent.  Sweetie's emotions might be code and copies, but they were real to her. And they were telling her that the only cure for her loneliness was company.

Yes… she could make new friends.

“HELLO! What are you doing!”

Sweetie turned to see Teddy quickly approaching the table.  

“Now, now kids... " he said with a big smile plastered on his face "Its not nice of you kids to pull the  animatronics  from their place."

“But... we were just talking ... ”

“Of course...” He said with a smile. "But there are so many other foals who wants to say hello to our new friend. So you cant just take her for yourself.”

Teddy had already begun pulling Sweetie up from her seat. both of the foals exchanged looks with each other, with Sweetie and with the other foals whose attention they had now caught, but it was clear they would not come to her rescue.

“Um... Ok.”

Teddy led her Sweetie back to her place. The smile vanished from his face as soon as he turned his back to the girls.

“Back to your place.” He muttered under his breath “What were you even doing out there?”

“I'm … Interacting with the foals.” Sweetie answered.

Teddy facehooved. 

“I did say that didn't I? Well - Now I'm telling you you stay here and do as you're told. Understand? Sing your songs and don't move from this spot. Are you registering this?“

Sweetie nodded.

Teddy sighed and headed back to the kitchen as more orders started to come in. He gave Sweetie a worried look as he left. 

“Just how advanced did she make you?” He muttered.





***





And so Sweetie resumed singing. Again and again she exchanged looks with with Raz and Raspberry, but they did not dare approach her again. Eventually their mother came and picked them up. The two did wave goodbye at her as they left. Raspberry tried to say something, but it was lost in the murmurs of the crowd. Sweetie tried to wave back, but just like that, they were gone.    

Others took their place. They came and went in an endless stream. And many of them stared and poked until Teddy shoved them away. 
All the while that endless song lopped on Sweeties Voicebox. Around her, the other animatronics did the same. The same endless loop of music that played eternally. Uttering the same tree or four phrases whenever somepony made eyecontact with them. She eventually grew so sick of it that she turned of her ears.

Sweetie could never have known that working in a fast food restaurant was so tedious. She might have visited a few herself. But never comprehended all the work that went on before you arrived. And continued long after you had left. All the guests that flowed in an endless stream. They ordered and ate, laughed and talked, and all the while Sweetie just stood there like a decoration in the corner. The others took countless orders. carried out plates of food, returned to take the plate away when they had left - And repeat the process forever.

It was a miracle that fast food workers did not become robots – Which was ironic seeing how in this place they were robots.

It continued until the last costumer had finished their meal and exited the restaurant. Sweetie would never have thought some ponies stayed in a restaurant until this late. 

A few fillies had waved to her when they left. And Sweetie had waved back. Wondering if they would even remember her once they had left.  
Her heart sunk as she realized she would never be friends with any of them. The children came and went in an endless stream of new faces she did not get to interact with. She would never get to know any of them. How could she, when she didn't even get a break?

If her body functions had not been deactivated. She would have collapsed out of exhaustion. Her legs would have ceased up from standing in one place for so long, Her throat should be sore from all that endless singing. And she should have been so very, very tired.

And she was tired. Mentally. 

She realized that this would be her life from now on. Just an endless amount of singing and standing in the corner. Eventually she might get to promoted to bringing out the food. 

As the day ended there wasn't even any pay to be had. The dolls where shoved into a storage room in the back. And locked in for the night.

The others simply moved to their booths, attached a wire to themselves to recharge, and shut down. Sweetie could smell the stench of the hard days work on them. Not sweat. But grease, Grease from food stains and tiny hoof prints that dotted their coats. Fluttershy still had pieces of food in her mane. Even Rarity had gotten stained as somepony had thrown a muffin at the stage.
The doll that looked like applejack was only orange to hide the stains of grease and fat that it got from working in the kitchen. 

Why? Why were they all putting up with this. And why was there no robot uprising on the horizon? Not that she wanted to see anything like the Bloodbots coming true. But why did they not deserve better? They did a hundred times the work of ordinary ponies.

The work that made other ponies lives easier

Did they not at least deserve to be cleaned properly?

Unable to feel the need for sleep. Sweetie walked around the mane six, pulling the food out of their hair and trying to wipe the stains off with a napkin from the toolbox. Fluttershy had gotten the most stains of the all. Everypony had just been grabbing for her. Apparently she was the favorite. The one everypony wanted to snuggle with. 

Amongst the suits and spare parts, Sweetie found an old sweater, branching the Taco Teddy's brand. 

'Lets Eat' was written in big friendly letters on the front. 

With some effort. Sweetie managed to get Fluttershy dressed into the old shirt. it would at least protect her from some of the greasy hooves.

Last up was Rarity. Not finding much to clean on her sister, Sweetie just sat in front of her, staring up at her fixed smile. 

The image of the mother hugging her filly came back to haunt her. She wanted to he hugged like that. 

She pulled out the Rarity animatronic from her booth and reactivated her.

“Hug me” She told it.

Rarity just stared at her in an un-complying manner. 

“Just do what I do, copy my movements!”

This time, Rarity responded. She mirrored Sweeties actions as she sat down. 
They held out their forelegs, leaned into each other, and closed their embrace around one another. 

Sweetie could feel the smell  of stain, grease and filth on the unwashed suits. And nothing else. She could not feel the ragged fur scraping against hers. It was just a suit that she wore. It had no nerve endings that could be switched on.  
No way of turning on her sense of touch and feeling that unwashed greasy embrace. It made her think of another time. when she had first let her touch reactivate into the hug of another ragged, unwashed pony. 

Oh to be able to feel the touch of another pony again. To feel the embrace of a  hug again. Of grass under her hooves again. To be able to feel the rush of the cold winds through her hair and the rain on her face again. Just a few days ago, Sweetie would have traded her soul to get rid of those things. Now she wanted nothing more than to get it back.


-:: Even though they served no purpose ::- –

Said her Logic center.  


-:: Shut up! They do serve purpose! It is the way I interact with the world around me! ::-


Sweetie checked her insides. She was full of nerve cluster crystals carrying the copied energy of some real ponies nerve-system. Every artificial organ in her body had one of these gadgets attached to it – all to make her unreal body feel just like a real body.  

And if they had filled her body with artificial nerves. Why should they not have been able to make a skin of steel that could carry the sense of touch like any skin?

She looked down on herself again. Because she already had a skin. Organically grown and stretched over her body like a sac. A sac full of nerves. Nerves that connected to the sensors that were now lying dormant in her sockets. Except for her flank, who's skin still still hung like a pair of trousers somewhere underneath her armor.

Her desire made her think about one thing mentioned in the last memory file centered in her mind. 

Touch sensitive alloys.

A metal made to be able to feel and register touches and hugs of all kinds. A back-upp plan of an artificial hide that mimicked the look and feel of real fur so close one could not tell the difference. 
It sounded like to much to ask for. 

But at the moment. It was all that she asked for. 

Her 'to do' list came into her vision again. A long list of upgrades that in retrospect looked more like a wish list than anything else. 

The kind of list all foals make to Santa Hooves when the winter settles in and Hearts Warming Eve drawn near. 

Sweetie mentally added a new item to that list. 

 -  Get touch sensitive alloys installed.

She looked at the list and all the upgrades she desired. Maybe she should print it out (somehow) and send it to Santa Hooves? There seemed to be as much chance of getting some of these things from him as from anypony else.


-:: Logic error :: Look around you ::- 


Sweetie looked around at all the animatronics. they had to come from somewhere. Maybe they could help her with her list.

But was that list complete? It seemed to lack something, despite no more upgrades coming to her mind. She had written down every material desire she needed. 

So .. why did she feel so empty...? 

There was another hole that needed to be filled. A hole of loneliness.


-:: Loneliness levels increasing ::-


One by one, she pulled the dolls out from their booths, and laid them down on the floor around her in a big heap. Like big stuffy teddybears they where. Dolls and nothing more. Machines who worked away without pay or free time, all day, every day. Until they broke and were replaced. 

This was slavework. Their chores might not be as hard as fro the spiderbots at the junkyard. But it was still slavework. 

And now. This was her lot in life.


-:: No ::-


She would go insane if she stayed here. She wondered how the other dolls did not go insane. Perhaps they already had.


-:: Initiating cry sequence ::-


Sweetie found that she was sobbing. Not for herself. But for the dolls around her. She actually felt sorry for them. 

She wondered what they where thinking. She wondered how they felt.

Curiosity, or perhaps something else entirely - Made her remove the costume stuffing from her foreleg.
She pulled out her exposed wires and started to fold around with the stuffing on one of the dolls. She tore the fabric away and managed to expose a wire coupling. She plugged in her own wired there – and after some searching she was able to find her way threw their system and locate their processor. 

She almost initiated cry sequence again at just how little there was inside their heads. 
Nothing more than a few command words to respond to. Positions around the restaurant and a small sound file with three or four quotes to be played up from whenever they registered a new face. As well as a list of songs that they play endlessly.
Other than that there was little more than basic programming. - Just enough to make them put one hoof in front of the other, lower their heads to put a plate on the table or greet a foal. And maybe wobble a little in what was suppose to be interpreted as a dance whenever they sung. And a map.

Sweetie peaked her interest. There was also some sort of map in their memory, from where they had previously been. They came from a place called “Screws and bolts workshop” She remembered Mr Taco saying something about them being able to walk here on their own from somewhere. Apparently from there. Sweetie took note of the location and traced the steps backwards to get a direction. She would have to check inside all of the mares. If they all came from there. Then perhaps that’s where she would find some answers.

Her logic center told her that she should leave right now, and follow that map to wherever it lead. But something made her stay. She wanted to stay here, with them.  She wanted to help these animatronics.

They looked like the heroes back home. But they were nothing like them. 

But with her help - they might be able to become just that - and so much more.


-:: Copy memory // Downloading file // External unit receiving data ::-


Sweetie sat in the dark and started to fill them with personality. From her memory flowed files of how the mares back home where suppose to talk and act. With a personality schematic in her head, and a child's creativity, she started to work on her new friends.

They where gonna be like the ponies back home. Except they where gonna be better, and nicer, and funnier, and never yell at her, never leave her or hurt her... Unlike Ponies. 





***





A purple stallion stalked the back of the empty halls.

He was wielding the flashlight in his mouth as he illuminated the empty tables of the main hall.  Again he found it empty, just like it always was. Even if the new Hearth's Warming Eve decoration made his flashlight cast long, unusual shadows. 

He would never actually venture out into the main hall. Then someone might see him from the street, and think the place had a burglar. Ironic, since he was the one supposed to watch out for burglars. Not that he would venture out into the dark parts of the restaurant anyway. He never left the safe threshold of the lit back halls. 

Smith let out a sigh, put the flashlight back into his pocket, and turned back to make another lap around the empty halls. 

He thought about his marefriend and the jewel he wanted to get her. He had to take this job only to afford it. And his cheapskate of a boss sure made him work for every bit he could get. He had to work two jobs for the minimal pay of one. For he was both the janitor and the night guard of this place. Every day he had to clean up after those little pigs called foals had made a mess of the dining hall. And he had to clean the kitchen and the toilets too. Then he had to clean the cleaning equipment. That could sometimes take half the night. And when he was done he had to remain here all night because the boss wanted somepony to make sure nopony was gonna steal his stupid prized dolls. 

Those dolls ... They were the main attraction of this place. An Probably the only reason they stayed in business. It could not be because of the food. Teddy might claim that tacos was his talent, but his food was unbelievably greasy. And that grease got suck on everything. 
Thinking about it, Teddy probably used the same fat and oils from his food to grease the limbs of his most beloved toys.

Though, beloved might be a stretch. He only used them because he didn't have to pay them. He never even sent for somepony to repair them whenever they broke down. They simply stripped the parts from an older doll to maintain the few in service. Some new doll would always come wandering through town, announcing that it was heading for Taco Teddy's, and that you should totally go meet it there. He had no idea where they came from. No-pony did.  It was a company secret, the boss said. And it was a well kept secret at that. He had never once told anypony from where he got those machines. They would just show up at the back door one night, no delivery papers, no mailmare, no nothing. 

Unfortunately the simple machines couldn't do anything beyond greet the customers, carry round trays of food, and sing. 
They couldn't even help to clean up the place. 
And they broke down all the time.
And they smelled funny. 

They were actually the only thing in here that he wasn't allowed do clean. Nopony was allowed near the boss's priced dolls except the boss.
Taco Teddy might love all foals. But he sure hated his employees.
Smith cursed under his breath. When he was done with this job he was never gonna eat a taco in his life. 

Just a few more days. He thought. Just a few more days and he would be home in front of a cozy Hearth's Warming fire with the young mare he loved. He was gonna give her something extra nice this year. He was gonna propose to her, and he had been saving his bits for a wedding bracelet. A golden bracelet with a crystal heart engraved on the top.

“I'm gonna give her my heart on Hearth's Warming Eve” he thought. He had never been much for symbolism, but this one he liked. He had unfortunately not been able to afford a ruby for the heart. But a snow white diamond was gonna be just as nice. “A heart as white as the snow this winter” he told himself. He just hoped there would be any snow. The Equestria daily news papers had promised it. But it was gonna cut it close, with all the rain. 

Provided that the boss did not make him work on Hearth's Warming Eve itself. He would certainly not put that beyond his boss. Well, if that happened he was gonna tell him to go buck himself up a tree. That lazy, good for nothing, greedy, false, fat blob of a stallion. The only time he had ever lifted a hoof to help out in this place was yesterday. And that was only because he did not trust his only employee to handle the Hearth's Warming Decorations himself. And because he only trusted himself to order around those greasy machines. 

A cold shill ran up the spine of the Purple stallion. Those dolls creeped him out. With their lifeless stares and fixed grins. 

He did not tell anypony, but ever since foalhood he had a stupid phobia for mascots. There was just something creepy about a pony being dressed up in a lifeless suit. With those staring eyes and fixed grins that got under his skin. It was made ten times worse when there was nopony at all underneath the suit. Nothing but a skeletal frame with googely glass eyes that one could stare into for hours, wondering what they were thinking. If they even could think. He hoped not, for their sake. Else they might start contemplate their horrid life. 
He especially did not like the new little one, not enough that she was a foal, which somehow was even creepier, but she had something in her eyes, something the others did not, something that was always... thinking.

Earlier tonight he thought that he heard sobbing coming from the room where the dolls where. But it had faded out before he could be sure. Like a paranoid stallion he had stood outside of the door and listened, before deciding that he had to put that thought out of his mind, else he was gonna start jumping at the shadows. He wasn't allowed in that room anyway. It was locked. And Teddy took the key with him. Celestia forbid he actually entrust anything to his night guard.

Then he thought he heard the sound of tinkering. 

Come on, this was ridiculous. He was  a grown stallion, and he did not believe in the boogymare. At least not for as long as the lights were on. Good thing the fat, greedy boss at least let him leave the lights on in the back of the restaurant. Smith was afraid that Teddy might one day decide they needed to save on electricity as well. 

Smith brought out his flashlight and let it sweep over the dark and empty dining hall. Rain was tapping against the windows. That was all it was. Just the rain, and most definitely not the tapping of hooves behind him.

Then the power went out. 

Smith froze in place. Suddenly that small flashlight was the only island of light on a sea of darkness. It was like the scary shadows of the dining hall had just devoured him hole. Why did this have to happen to him? Had the fat greedy stallion forgotten to pay his electricity bills? Or had the old fuses finally broken down?

“Uh... whoops”

That time he heard something for sure. There was no mistake. There was somepony in here with him. 

Oh no. Oh no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no. Not now. Not when he was so close to finish his work for the year. 

Who was it? A burglar? They must have tampered with the electricity. Were they here for money? Too bad for them - as Teddy always took the cash home with him to count at the end of every day. Or were they actually after the dolls?

Smith turned around, praying not to catch any masked ponies in his flashlight. 

The hallway behind him lay empty. But he knew what he had heard. If the thieves had cut the power, they had to be using the power box in the kitchen.

Smith tried to summon all his courage as he made his way though the darkness. Maybe he could scare the trespassers away. Out the same window the came in through. Then he would be like a hero and maybe his girl would love him even more? Maybe he would even get a bonus... But lets not get ahead of ourselves.

The hallways seemed longer than they ever had, and the kitchen seemed bigger than ever. Full of shadows and sacks of unwashed trays, the broken faucet that was tripping into the sink. But the window was closed. There was nopony there, unless they were hiding in the fridge, or in the drawers, just waiting to jump out at him.

He went to check on the powerbox. It was still intact. Untouched. None of the old fuses had been torn out. And they all seemed inact.  He tried to flip the main switch, but nothing happened. The light would not come on. 

Strangely, one little light was shining on the powerbox. Signalizing that the light was on in room....

Oh no.

The dolls room.

If they made off with the dolls, the boss would have his head. 

He walked back down the corridor, flashlight tight between his teeth. When he suddenly thought he heard the sound of giggling. 
Great. The bastards were playing with him.

Suddenly he caught something in the flashlight. The outlines of a pony. 

It was standing at the end of the corridor. Facing away from him. In the dim light he could only make out the vague colors of pink on the pony. He slowly walked closer when suddenly a foul smell assaulted his nostrils. Like stained clothing and left out taco as old as the place itself.  Only one thing in this place smelled like that. 

When he got closer he saw that it was indeed one of the dolls, what was I doing out here? Had they forgotten to switch it off? 

“Hello!?” he yelled out. 

In an instant the head snapped around 180 degrees. Staring straight at him over its own back was the twisted grin of the pink one. It fixated on him with its dead eyes of stained yellowing glass. And it smiled. A grin that was somehow wider than it usually was tearing up the fabric in its face. exposing all the unnatural metal teeth. 

In stiff, jerking motions it turned its body towards him. Its head never leaving its fix on him but rotating on its neck like an owl. Eventually it had turned to stand fully illuminated in the flashlight. He saw that the mane of its head where poofier than usually. Somepony had rigged it up with barbed wire and a lot of extra pink cotton wool. 

It never stopped staring at him. 

It started tilting its head. In small ticking jerks, the head lowered further and further down to the side, far beyond what a normal head should be able to bend. As it did it made a ticking sound, like a clock. Then (Before it had made it a whole lap around.) It snapped back upright with the ringing signal of an alarm clock.

Then it blinked. 

“Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!”

He screamed like a filly, turned his tail and ran, away from the pink meanness. 

Foolishly, he turned his head to see that the pink doll was coming after him. Not walking or running. But hopping. Every bounce was clearly marked by the hissing sound its pistons made every time they discharged. 

Fortunately for him it was not a very fast way of traversing. And he heard the sound disappear behind him as he turned a corner looking for his office. He had dropped his flashlight as he screamed. But Even in the dark he could find his way.      

He found the janitor's closet. Which was also the guardspony office – his room. He threw the door shut behind him. Barricaded the door-handle with the broom. Then he pulled the stool against it. Then threw the shelf in front of the boor and finally he pushed a table into the shelf. Then he sat down in the dark and bit his hooves. 

They are not coming in here. He thought. They are not coming in here. I'm just gonna sit here until dawn. Until somepony comes and stops these possessed machines. 

Outside the door, the hissing of pistons drew closer. 

“Where did you go” it said with an unnatural pause. “Are we playing hide and seek?”

NO! No hide and seek. He didn't want to play. He wanted to go home. He wanted to he held in the sweet embrace of his marefriend. Never had he missed her so much as right now. 

“Hide and seek … Hiiiiide and Seeeeeek”

The noise of its jumping pistons started to fade away. It was moving away. He allowed himself to let out a breath. 

Then he heard something above him. Something crawling in the airduckts.

No. there was no way. The couldn't ... It was just a mouse. He told himself. A really, really fat mouse. 
The sound stopped as soon as it had arrived. And the whole building fell as silent as a tomb.
Against better judgment he turned around. And found himself staring right into a pair of stained glass eyes not an inch Away from his own. 

“Found you!” 

The scream he made could have shattered glass. 





***






The next day. Teddy did not seem his usual happy self. When Sweetie asked what was wrong, me mumbled something about his employer quitting the job right out of the blue. Sweetie could not blame that purple pony. This job was unbelievably boring. She would have left herself, it it had not been for her new friends.  They had kept her company through the entire night, and Sweetie had stuck by them, doing all she could to enhance their personalities as much as she could, regardless of what problems she encountered. 

She kind of regretted having torn out the cable from the mainframe. It had caused a bit of a short circuit. But it was necessary. She needed the wires to rig up her new friends. And it was just in time too. for later that night, she heard a scream. It must have been a burglar. But her friends had scared him off. 

The day started off as usual. With the dolls taking their places around the restaurant, starting up their carols in tune to Teddy's conducting. 

"Alright my mares, lets open for business."

Today however, he was met with a unusually savory of hoof stomping and applause, cheering and The Pinkie pie model declaring that this was gonna be the best day ever!  (Sweetie was sure that if she could - she would have thrown confetti into the air.)

Teddy was stunned by the mares unusual enthusiasm.

"Hey slowpoke! Are you gonna open the door anytime soon or what?" The Rainbow doll called out.

Teddy snapped out of it and unlocked the door. Before he could think about who had said that, The Applejack automation called out from the kitchen.

"Yeee haaa! Cider season is on everypony!"

"Cider? We don't serve cider here." Teddy called out, and ran into the kitchen.  

As he left. The doors opened and the first guests started to enter.

“Welcome to Taco Teddy's … Welcome to Taco Teddy's … Welcome to...”

The Rainbow replicant just stopped and stared at the next filly in line. The she said “bored now” turned her tail and walked away. Leaving a very confused looking family at the door.

Sweetie was curious about what she was gonna do in her free time. She followed her around a corner to, disappointingly, find he just standing there. Staring into a wall. 

“Dash? Whats wrong?”

“Hi Sweetie.” The Rainbow doll answered "Welcome to Taco Teddy's"

Sweetie shook her head. Realizing she would not get a clear answer from the replicant, She pulled out her wires and connected herself to Rainbow doll's systems. There she found that it was searching for a routine that didn't exist. 


-:: You have no idea what Rainbow does at her free time::- Said her logic center. -::And so you Input no command for what she should do ::-

-:: But... I Didn't want to tell her whet to do, I didn't want to control her. I wanted he to choose on her own. Like me ::-

-:: She will never be like you ::-


Sweetie shook her head. It would get better. She had just had one night to give them more personality. Just some more time and she be able to give them things to do and choose between.

Lets see. What does Dash like doing?

Fly... and sleep.

She input those commands. And Dash immediately laid down on the floor, closed her eyelids, and made small fake sounding snoring noises. Sweetie pulled back her wires from the mare and left her to it. 

Her logic center was already telling her that her little robot liberation was not going as she wished. But it was a voice Sweetie did not want to listen to, not yet anyway. 

A scream came from the kitchen, followed by the sound of several pots and pans hitting the floor. 

"Yeeeee haaa! Its officially apple bucking day!"

Sweetie dashed into the kitchen to see that Applejack was attempting  to applebucking things. Instead of just carrying the bags of flour from the pantry, she sent them  flying for the counter by kicking them with her legs. The bags broke and sent its white powdery content flying around the kitchen.  

Teddy was screaming hing lungs of with the stop command, to no avail.

"Stop! Cease Activity! Halt command! Cruses! Why won't it work!"

"You didn't say the magic word." Sweetie yelled from the door.

"What are you talking about you stupid little ... " The rest of the sentence  was cut of as  as the powder got into his mouth and eyes. He started coughing and had to make a hasty retreat as the kitchen was filling up with a white mist. He nearly tripped over Sweetie as she was making her way into the kitchen, where Applejack's bucking was knocking down whole stacks of dishes. 

"Please!" Sweetie yelled over the sound of shattering plates and random shouts of  "Yeee Haaa" -  "Applejack! Please stop!" 

The wild country dance ceased as the last plate shattered on the floor. Though applejack did not seem the least bit concered about the damage she had caused.

"Oh hi Sweetie" She greeted, with that frozen smile on her face. 

"Applejack. what are you doing?"

"I'm a applebucking... Gotta get that cider done for cider season."

"But this is not... " Sweetie began, then just let out a sigh. "Applejack, please stand still" 

"You got it!"

She pulled her wires out from her leg and connected them to Applejack. She had no Idea what had sent her friend into a bucking frenzy. some sort of glitch perhaps? Some thing about working with food that made her think about apples, and made her think about the apple farm. She must have started treating all apple related products like apples. Sweetie cursed herself for inputting to much apples into her mind.

"What are you doing?" Teddy roared.

Sweetie turned around to see him standing in the doorway, he looked very disapproving, but even more confused.

"And what are you doing to my mares!?" 

He stomped in and tore Sweetie away from Applejack. The contention broke before Sweetie had any chance to fix what was wrong with her.  causing Applejack's head to twitch in an ackward way

"They are not your mares!" Sweetie cried! 

"Yes they are!" Teddy roared, his face now turning red "I payed for them! They are my property! My business!" 

"You are mean to them!" Sweetie yelled, "You are mean to me! I thought Taco Teddy was suppose to be nice to foals"

"I am. But I have to draw the line when some saboteurs messes with my business. Who are you you little impostor!"

He grabbed Sweetie by her mane, and pulled. The helmet she was wearing came off with a snap as the delicate springlocks that connected her eyelids to her temple snapped off.

The anger washed away from Teddy's face as he realized who, or what, that was standing before him.

"You?" He whispered as shock overcame him "How are you ... ?  How can you? ... what are you?"

Their conversation was cut short by a commotion coming from the dining hall. 

Out there thing where getting even worse.

The Pinkie doll was standing up on the tables in the foals section, She had been going on about baking cupcakes and broken out into singing the baking song. Unfortunately, she started throwing foals around like they where ingredients. She put them all on the big spinning seated whirl, and spun them around singing about stirring the bucket. Some exchanged nervous looks like they didn't know where to be impressed or worried. Others were abandoning their dinners and started to back up from the crazy mare. 

Some of the foals who had been swept up for the ride were laughing. Others where screaming, Some looked on the verge of tears. Pinkie continued, unmoved by their feelings. Then she picked up one of the foals. A little brown filly with a very frosting looking purple mane. 

“Cupcake... tasting time!”

Pinkies yaw detached like a snakes as she shoved the foal up towards her maw... and bit down.

A mare, presumably the mother, screamed. Then the whole restaurant screamed. The foal screams as well, for its hair was stuck between pinkies metallic teeth. 

Ponies rushed in and tried to pull them apart. But the jaws were locked. The foals were crying. And everypony who wasn't trying to pull the pink monstrosity apart was backing up against the walls, grabbing their foals of relatives, or heading for the door.

One unicorn summoned a pair of scissors and cut the foals mane off. The foal was liberated, but at the cost of its mane. Bald, crying, kicking and screaming he was levitated back to his mother by another unicorn. That did not stop Pinkie Bot from snapping her yaw after her imaginary cupcakes. The ponies holding her threw her into the wall on the other side of the restaurant, but she quickly bounced back and started making biting noises at the other children.

One strong pony got in the way and delivered a front hoof punch that struck Pinkie doll in the mouth. The jaw flew off, sailed through the restaurant and landed in some unfortunate pony's taco. Pinkie was then sent backwards by a smaller stallions kick. She landed upon one of the tables, where she collapsed in some sort of short circuit seizure. 

Everypony just stared in horror. A silence that gave Sweetie a chance to comprehend what she had seen. 

She did not need to connect herself to the doll to know that this was because all the things in the pink dolls head were causing it to overload. She had spent more time on Pinkie Pie than any other doll, simply because she wanted to have some fun. Now, her Heart drive started to realize what her Logic center was already telling her. Giving them more Ideas to chose from would not make them better. Their processors where so small compared to hers. Bigger than the arcade machine. But no were near able to host a personality her own.

That's when the screaming turmoil really began, for the pinkie doll did not stop moving. Its voice returned and it madly started chanting:
“Twitchy tail, twitchy tail!”.

Its tail was vibrating so fast that it eventually flew off and landed in somepony elses taco. 

Meanwhile, the Rarity doll said it was time for her bath. she went into the kitchen, and dipped her head into the water filled sink. Causing sparks to shoot everywhere. The body spaced out for a moment before collapsing and dying on the floor while reeking of smoke. 

That's when the Applejack doll came out of the kitchen Randomly screaming about a rodeo. She started jumping between the tables 
Bucking and shouting "Yee Haa" as she did it. Destroying things and damaging herself in the process. On the last buck, her back leg flew of, and landed in a third ponies taco.

The Twilight model had broken down and was just sitting in the corner, chanting  "Books... Books ... Books" on its staggering voicebox. The most dormant model had to be the Fluttershy, who had simply hidden from the complete and utter turmoil that the restaurant was now in, by under the table. 

A few ponies tried to evacuate the place, but where stopped when suddenly Rainbow replicant fell from the roof and slammed into the asphalt right outside the door. Causing the panicking hear do flee back into the place again. 
Outside, Rainbows stiff wings twitched on her broken body, unable to fold out.  It did however not stop the pieces of the Rainbow crash test dummy from mumbling 

“So …. Awesome”

The herd headed for the back door. But was once again turned around as the old Twilight suddenly tried magic. It charged energy to its horn, which exploded, causing Twilight to go into crazy mode and start reenacting the psyco frenzy that Sweetie had experienced with Scoot and Applebloom.

“Hi girls!”

For no reason what so ever, the butter colored doll emerged from under the table and started screaming “Your going to love me” at the scared children.

"EVERYPONY PLEASE STOP!" 

The dolls ceased their activities around the surrounded crowd, but the damage was already done. The crowd now turned to her with that kind of look in their eyes. The townsfolk that had previously seem kind to letting machine mares roam among them, whose eyes had once looked upon these mares with joy an fascination, or even better - indifference, was now replaced by looks of fear and distrust.  
The haven for mares like her. That Sweetie had, however briefly, hoped to find here, now lied broken around her.


-:: No ... I can fix this ... I can fix this... ::-


Before she could say anything - the kitchen exploded. Out from the smoke stumbled a severely burned Rarity replicate, carrying a tray of burnt coal. Her hair was on fire and one eye had gone completely black.

Que the screaming to resume.


-:: Its over ::-


Sweetie turned away from the horridly tragic scene. ashamed that she on top of everything else had tried to input her own catastrophic cooking skills into the bots. Meaning there were now six bots that cooked as bad as she did. 

As everypony was busy dealing with the other dolls, Sweetie pulled Rarity aside. She ripped a big piece of her own suits torso off herself and put it over Rarity's head, choking the fire out. She then threw the blackened torso into a corner, and led Rarity back into the closet, ripping off the last pieces of her suit as she walked.    

"Rarity - Help me get dressed." Sweetie said with a flat tone as she pulled out her armor from underneath the shelves. 

The ruckus was still going on as her faithful squire helped this fallen knight into her armor, and eventually calmed down into shouting and accusations being thrown left and right. A noise that slowly died down as more and more ponies left the restaurant. By the time Sweetie was armored and ready - The place had grown awfully quiet. 

She put the plug of her copper strawed mane back into her neck, and marched out from the closet. Ready to face fire and brimstone, ready to run for her life. But the place was almost empty, the only pony she ran into was Taco Teddy. His hide and apron was singed, as if he had just had put out a big kitchen fire. Which - given the fire extinguisher he wielded in his magic - he must have.

"YOU!" He growled, His face turning as red as the fire extinguisher he was carrying.  "You did this! You sabotaged my mares! You have ruined me! Why? Shy did she send you! Why does she suddenly wish to ruin my life!? Was the divorce not enough! 

"I'm sorry" Was the only thing Sweetie could think to say. "Since you don't want me here anymore ... I ... I see myself out."

"OH NO! You are not going anywhere! You belong to me! I own you!" 

"NOPONY OWNS ME!" Sweetie screamed, anger flaring up and her eyes turning Infrared. 

The blasters extended from her back as she turned towards Teddy. The fat stallion stumbled backwards, stunned by the sight of the two energy canons, and by the fact that she defiled her. 

"I came here on my own free volition" Sweetie continued "and I'm gonna leave whenever I darn well please! Nopony tells me what to do!"

"How... How advanced did she make you?" Teddy stuttered "Do you ... Do you actually think you are alive?"

"I am alive." Sweetie stated matter of factly, far to mentally exhausted to argue. 

"No" Teddy mumbled "No ... NO! That can't not be. Don't tell me you are serious. You just cant do that Neurosa! You can't replace our daughter! You cant replace real life with artificial life! Think of the children! YOU CAN'T JUST REPLACE REAL CHILDREN!" 

Sweetie snorted and turned her back to the raving stallion. 

“Come Rarity, We are leaving this stupid brute.”

“Yes sister” The Replicant answered, and followed Sweetie out into the rainy day, and away from the restaurant. 

Sweetie only stopped for a second to tilt a garbage can in order to retrieve her scarf and helmet, before she walked out into the empty streets. She felt no need to stay and press Teddy for information, she already had the map of the dolls origin point downloaded into her mind. There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She had to see whomever had made these dolls. Teddy's ex wife . Neurosa. 

Though one thing that teddy had said nagged at her. What did he mean by replacing their daughter? Why would anyone replace anypony with a machine mare? The troubling thought of why her parents had made or bought her in the first place came back to haunt her. It was one thing if they just wanted an extension of their family - Horrid as it was to not adopt the orphans what were available. Or that she was just one big experiment. But to replace a pony? Why would anyone do that? unless you were a Bloodbot preparing an invasion. 

What had happened to their daughter? Sweetie wondered. Was that the foal who had died? Was their daughter the one that she was based on. But something did not make sense. Who would sell their own daughter to another family? To the Belle's. To her parents. Was it perhaps just to field test her? To see if how authentic she could become? 

So many questions remained. But Sweetie would find the answers soon. She was now more determined the ever. 

It was time to meet her 'mother'.





***
-:: Heart-Drive integrity :: 48 percent remaining ::-
***





The handkerchief wiped the glass clean, as Teddy levitated it to the counter, where it joined the remaining surviving glasses in a big neat pyramid stack.

He always tried to do the dishes whenever there was something on his mind, hoping that he could wash away his troubles with the stains off the plates.

It was a strategy that worked, since there was rarely anything on his mind. His life had only been improving ever since he divorce from that crazy inventor mare who had been his wife. Thought they had not completely severed ties – their relation was now strictly business. 
It was from her that his main workforce came. It had been a stroke of genius that favored both his business sense and her inventors skills, as she finally got to put some of those dolls of hers to use. 

Truth was that his ex wife probably hated it. But Teddy knew she needed the money, and that no one else would pay for her cervices, since nopony else knew about that recluse. 

Truth was it was her perfectionism that had driven them apart. And then there was the story of their daughter … the final nail in the coffin. Teddy shook his head, trying to shake that story out of his mind. That story was part of a past he wanted to forget all about. One of the reasons he left his wife was so that he could forget. He had made a new life for himself, here in this little town, this little loft for ravens, where there were no shortage of smiling children ... or parents willing to spend all their money to make their little darlings happy.  

Money was something he had saved by employing those dolls. They worked for free, did not need any breaks, never complained, and required only simple instructions to operate. And if one of them broke down he could always order a new one. Teddy secretly wished that  all his employers could be like that. But alas – he had been forced to employ some sort of real pony to guard his prized mares, as they could not be trusted to guard themselves. 

A glass was crushed in Teddy's magical grip as he thought about that purple simpleton. He could kiss his last paycheck goodbye. How dared he just abandon his mares like that? They were his livelihood. Without them, this place would not have been half of what it was. 

He had scored extra by playing off the celebrity of Equestira's most famous mares. Everypony wanted to come and see Rainbow Dash and the others. To be served by Twilight Sparkle and to cuddle with Fluttershy. To make them as authentic as possible, He had studied the heroines closely, even found out about their families. And because he ordered the dolls from his ex wife, he did not have to pay any royalties to the real heroines. 

And now, his prized mares were all locked up in the closet, deactivated, for safety’s sake. Except for the Rarity model, who like some final insult had left alongside that cursed little bot. Her loss stung extra hard, for he always liked that model best. Sometimes, when nopony was watching, he used to kiss it. He knew it was not the real mare. But a Stallion could have his fantasies, right? 

What was his ex thinking? Had she decided she no longer needed his money? Why send that little monster to him? Was she trying to make a statement? To prove something?

And the way that little machine had behaved. The way it spoke back to him, Disobeyed his orders, tried to play on the playground and be with the young customers - Just like a real filly. He had not thought about it at first. But looking back it was obvious. That little mare was acting like she was alive. 

Had she … Had his ex wife actually gone and created real artificial intelligences? Had she actually had the Audacity to try and replace their daughter?  

Teddy actually started to sweat thinking about what his ex wife would do with such technology. She would probably try and sell it – Try to encourage all mother to replace their daughters – even their sons – with her creation? Just like she had wanted to replace hers.
Who would not pay for a perfect foal? 

For his inner eye. Teddy saw the foals, laughing and playing in his corner, slowly being replaced one by one by soulless mechanical entity’s. Foals that never ate, pooped, cried or complained. And if everypony replaced their children, their would be no need to make real children. No real ponies would be born! The machines would replace all of them too! The pony race would die out! Replaced by a new species of machines!

“I … I need to stop her!”

Teddy was broken from his escalating thoughts by the sound of the door bell ringing.  Probably some more parents that wanted to complain.

With a heavy sigh he walked out into the dining hall. 

There he found not a family, but a whole group of worn down strangers already seated at the table.
They all looked cold, sore and unbelievably tired. Like they had walked for days through the bad weather that was only now sweeping over Ravenloft. Their manes and tails were drenched, and a puddle was already forming underneath them as the cold autumn rain dripped of them. Their hooves were dirty and they all had big black bags under their eyes, and one of their companions was injured. A pegasus with a broken wing wrapped in soaked bandages and branching a big swollen eye. Beyond him was a deep blue unicorn, whose teeth were shaking from the cold, branching a similar black eye, that only seemed to complement  the darkness of his healthy eye, and the bags under them. Opposite to them was a green stallion with a tarnished brown beard and a yellow mare that would not stop clinging on him. Their bodies covered with tiny cuts, like they had run through a thorn bush.  

Teddy put on a smile. If they were from out of town. They probably had not heard about the disaster yet. Maybe he could still make some profit out of this. Ponies who looked so hungry must surely want to eat him out of the house. And at this point. He did not care if they did.  

“Greetings Strangers. What can I get you this lovely day?”

They all gave him a collective dark stare, clearly not appreciating the Irony. 

Smooth Teddy, Real smooth.

Despite his less than stellar introduction, they all ordered lots of the cheapest Tacos. It was not long before Teddy had whipped up and served their orders, and he then got to witness them chew down his tacos with a ferocity befitting only starving ponies. 

Since there were no other customers Teddy attempted to make some small talk

“I can see that you have traveled far. Tell me. What bring you here?” 

“We are looking for somepony” The green stallion answered. “We heard that this might be the right place to start looking.”

“Lots of ponies comes through this place from far and near to taste Teddy's famous Tacos.” He said. “Can you be a little more specific?”

The blue unicorn spat out his last bite onto the floor. 

“Don't play dumb with me! There is one reason, and one reason only that ponies come here – and it isn't because of these grease filled wheat breads!”

The Green stallion started getting up from his seat. 

“word on the streets are that your establishment houses some unusual mares. And that you have just received a newcomer to your little mechanical family.”

Teddy swallowed. 

“So I was wondering. Where are the mares?”

“Um … They had to be decommissioned.” Teddy said. “We had a little Incident.”

“Did this incident involve a little filly!?” the mare hissed, rising along her green stallion “Pale as death itself! With a mane as pink as chewing gum?! I'm telling you. Disaster and death follows that monster wherever she goes! She's like one of the four horses of the apocalypse!” 

Teddy slowly backed away as the four guests rose from the table and started surrounding him.

“She is not so white any more” The green stallion added. “she is clad in Titanium reinforced, magic resistant armor, and armed with the most powerful energy cannons that Equestria has yet to see! Its literally a matter of national emergency that we find her!”

The blue unicorn grabbed Teddy by his apron. Not with his magic, but with his hoof. 

“Listen here you slimeball! I have traveled far to find this little filly! I have experienced some things I really Didn't want to go through. I have literally seen a giant made of clay uproot a three to use it as a club and try to beat me to death with it! My patience ran out long ago, so you better tell me where that filly is before I ... ”

Before he could finish his threat. The pegasi put his hoof on the unicorns shoulder. Though it was but a gentle tap – It sent a wave of lightning through the unicorns body, causing him to collapse and let go of Teddy. Unlike the others. This pegasi bore a smile on his face,  and his eyes shone kind and gentle.

“Fear not, for we are but servants of our queen mother whose light watches over us all. We are but guests in your humble house and seek only that you aid us in fulfilling out divine duty. My humble traveling companions simply wonders if you have seen this little filly, goes by the name of Sweetie Belle”

Teddy stared.

“Who … who are you people!”

“We work for your wife – Neurosa!” Said the blue unicorn as he picked himself up from the floor. “So don't bother lying to us. She has already told us all about what kind of stallion you are!”

The name made Teddy's yaw drop. Could this day possibly get any worse. 

“She … She is gone. He coughed. She sabotaged all my mares and left” 

“WHERE TO!?” Roared the Green pony.

Teddy licked his lips. 

“Well... where did you come from?”

The bearded one looked like he wanted to punch Teddy in the face. But the pegasus stopped him with his healthy wing. 

“We came from the woods, if you wonder. Is that important?”

“Well … Assuming she did not sneak past you, there is only one other road out of town. It heads towards the bridge crossing the stream, and from there it should not be too long before ... ”

They all looked at each other. Some common understanding passing between their eyes.

“She is going home.” The blue stallion laughed. 

“Like a sheep, we have herded her right back to the hell that spawned her!” The mare cried. 

The Green stallion simply turned around and headed towards the door. 

“We'll catch her before then.” He mumbled as he stroked his brown beard.

Everyone but the pegasus turned to leave as teddy sank down by the wall. Madness, he thought. All madness. If his ex had recruited this many crazy ponies to her cause. It was only a matter of time before she would see her plan through. And there was nothing he could do to stop it … nothing …

… Unless. 

“I can see this troubles you greatly my dear sir. Would you mind telling me what burdens your heart.” 

“Tell me … Preacher … What do you intend to do with this filly when you catch it.”

The pegasus smiled. 

“We only seek to receive her soul from her tortured prison, so that our glorious Celestia can carry her spirit into the ever after.”

Destroying her? Yes. That was something he could get behind. His ex wife needed to be stopped for the sake of all future foals everywhere 

Teddy looked up into the stallions eyes. Not a word was spoken. But it was clear they had a common cause.