Sweetie Bot - A Heart's Warming Tale

by Grimweird

Chapter 29. Metalmorphosis

The visual image was unclear at first. But she could make out the blurry silhouettes ponies standing around her. And in front of them, Leaning in over her, was she.

Rarity.

Her fur looked pale, her body thin. Big black sacks hung under her eyes and her mane had lost all curls.

She looked just as she had been the very fist time Sweetie laid her cybernetic eyes on her. The most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Sweetie was able to get her remaining left foreleg working again. She raised it up towards that beautiful face. Rarity saw the gesture, grabbed it with both hooves and hugged it tight.

Rarity's lips were moving, forming words. Behind her, the blurs were also making talking motions. But Sweetie could not hear them. The microphone remained unresponsive.

She focused on Rarity so long that she almost forgot that they where typing on her

No ... not on her. On the computer machine next to her body. The machine connected to her that was now an extension of herself.
They were sending her messages. Trying to communicate.

She processed the question.

It was a simple yes or no question.
There was so much broken with her that 'Ok' was the last thing she was. But at the same time, she was alive. And Rarity was here, right next to her. She knew she should be feeling so happy about that. And that feeling (unable to process as it was) should - despite everything - be enough for a yes. Yet she did not want to lie. But did not want to run the risk of worrying Rarity.

Were 'yes' or 'no' really her only options?

”And there we go” Said Bronco, as he removed the screwdriver from Sweeties left ear. “Now Sweetie. Nod if you car hear us.”

She nodded. And in doing so also confirmed that her neck wasn't broken.

Bronco nodded back. He scratched the bandage that had been wrapped around his shoulder, and put the tool away.

“Sweetie. There is a voice module on this unit... see if you can find it. You'll be able to talk that way.”

She searched the system, and it did not take long for her to find the voice module.

“Sweetie. Please say something.”

“Rarity”

This voice sounded even worse then her previous. Raspy and filled with static.

“Yes Sweetie. I'm here.”

”You recognize her at least.” Said Bronco. “Do you know who the rest of us are?”

Sweetie did not understand why she would not. But she did not question whatever test they were doing. So the raised her left hoof, and pointed at all the ponies that surrounded the bed in a clockwise order.

“There is Mr Trunk's. Twilight Sparkle. Mom and dad. Dr Cardiac... “

She stopped.

“Where is Screwloose … and Sully?"

“Sully got wounded in the neck.” Said Cardiac “But she is okay now. Screwloose is with her. You remember them?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Sorry Sweetie. We just had to check your memory. We were afraid it had been damaged.”

“But it seems to be the only part of her that isn't,” said Bronco. Who where standing at the computer station. Behind him, Sweetie saw Madame Macadam and Dr Pain. She recognized them, despite the bruises. Especially Pain looked like he been put through a meat-grinder.

“And Brick?”

“He is watching over the prisoners.”

In that case he seemed to not be doing a very good job.

“What are they doing here?” She rasped with the voice of an old gramophone.

“Good question.” Mumbled the changeling.

“Well Sweetie. We needed to check up on you. And for that, we needed somepony that actually knows how to fix you. And besides your friend Dr Bronco over here, they were the only once we could trust.“

“Barely!” Rarity hissed . Madam Macadam looked like she needed to puke in response.

“They are here to … to … make you better.” stammered her mother, clearly searching for words.

“Yes. Better.” Father nodded.

“It's Ok. You can say Repair.” Said Sweetie. “You can call me a robot now. It's what I am.”

“No Sweetie. It's not.” Said Twilight Sparkle.

Sweetie thought she would be very irritated at them all for that. She had to go through all of this to finally accept the truth. And now they where gonna say she was not? what did she have to do to convince them?

Tiny pistons twitched, trying to make a frown on her non existent face. The command input also sent several lights on the computer console into a blinking frenzy and caused something in the old console to buzz.

That draw many confused looks. The doctors, who had their heads glued to the monitors looked like they gotten big question marks written into the forehead.

“Um. Sweetie?" Asked Dr Bronco “Are you … angry?”

“Impossible!” Said Madam Macadame, as she looked over the readings on a console. “She should not be able to project emotions.”

“No” Sweetie answered in a apathetic tone “I can not process emotions. But I believe this is the proper response to your statement. It should make me annoyed, if not irritated that you say I'm not a robot.”

For some reason that got even more confused looks. They looked at each other and at Bronco at the console. He just shook his head.

“I do not understand there reading I'm getting. Its like her entire system has been completely rewritten. But from what I can tell her Heart Drive is completely destroyed. Yet ... I'm still picking up its command inputs. Where is she getting them from?”

He looked over at Dr Pain, who was standing over his own console. Smiling as fascinated as ever.

“Fasssscinating. Her Heart-Drive is gone. But I'm still picking up its energy signature. Its even stranger that it seems to be coming ... everywhere. As if all of her was emitting the signals. I cant pinpoint any source."

Her mother and father gasped in unison.

“Are you saying that the energy of the Heart-Drive are still in her!?”

“Impossible!" Macadam repeated. “If heart was destroyed. There should not be any signals from it left!”

“The only explanation is that the heart was converted.” Said Twilight. “The energy is of a different frequency now. The same frequency that she is running on. That's why we can only see it on these computers.”

Rarity leaned in.

“Sweetie? Are you trying to ... feel ... right now?”

“Yes. Though I'm not able to process emotions without a heart drive. I'm actually using memories of other events as templates for how I think I should feel right now. Why?”

"Fassssscinating …” hissed Dr Pain. "She is experiencing phantom emotions. Like how a amputee can feel phantom pain in a missing limb.”

He licked his own malformed front leg. All the metal plates and the potentially very deep lightning blast wound were covered with a bandage. The wound must have been serious if they were able to convince HIM to put on any band-aid.

But Sweetie's primary focus remained her big sister. Rarity made the strangest face she had ever seen. She showed signs of both utmost relief and deepest pity at the same time. Of hope for something she did not quite dare to believe in.

“Oh Sweetie...” She stammered as tears flowed from her eyes. “We feared you would not be able to even try to feel without a heart drive.” She leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead “I can not even imagine how you are feeling right now”

Sweetie wanted to protest that she was not actually able to process any emotions. But kept quiet.

“That's the thing. Said Madam Macadam. "She should not be able to even try to feel anything. Or should she? I'm confused. I Don't understand why she is using old memory as templates. I thought an emotionless creature would be indifferent to what those memory’s represent.”

“Maybe a creature that never had emotions would not care about how they have felt in the past. ” Said Cardiac “But you Sweetie. You remember what your feelings have been towards every pony here. For Your family. For Screwloose. And everypony else you for in your life. Right?”

“Yes.” She said “I remember everything.”

And so, Sweetie told her story. Since she was not able to process the recalling of emotion those memory's held she did it without fear, anger, sadness or shock. Without having to gather her thoughts or even pause for breath. Her family, and everyone gathered on the other hoof expressed all the emotions she could not. She had to stop only on their accords as they burst into tears. She had never seen her mother or father cry so much. So she could not process what that meant. But presumably she would have felt awful.

Twilight had to magically pull the entire Belle family off Dr Pain, when Sweetie told about what he did at the junkyard - and again of Madame Macadam when when she told about her alchemy gone wrong.

But it was when she got to the very end of her tale that a lot of eyebrows were raised.

“And that's how I came to accept that I was a robot. That's why I should be irritated that you still say that I am not despite the fact that you always knew.”

Her parents smiled so proudly despite the hurt look in their faces.

“That's because you are much more than that Sweetie.” Stammered her mother “That's what we meant to say. A robot would never have been able to do what you did.”

“You jumped into a river to save my son.” Rumbled Mr Thrunk's. “No machine would have done that.”

“And you risked your life to save Screwloose and everypony in the hospital” Said Cardiac.

“You refused to shoot any pony despite that you where angry and armed to the teeth” Said Twilight.

“You refused to follow Neurosa's commands even after she activated the control program.”Said Bronco “You chose to ignore your programming. You learned about your systems and controlled them after your own will. You chose what those systems should do - and not the other way around.”

“You are able to channel energy through yourself in a way that would short circuit any equipment, and use that energy to press yourself beyond what what your design should allow” hissed Dr Pain.

“And this last part. About your inner discovery. I don't even know what to make of it. Other than you are no simple robot." Said Farther.

“If this isn't self awareness, Sweetie, then I don't know what is.” Said mother.

Sweetie could not comprehend all this information. She knew she should be dancing at the idea of being more than a machine. But also confused. And since she could not process the drive for a dance that her body was in no state of preforming anyway. She chose to do the other thing, and blinked in confusion.

That drew more concerned looks from the others.

“Sweetie. Is something wrong with your eye?”

”No. I just blinked. Why?”

Dr Pain smiled.

“Fasssscinating” He said, in his usual hissing voice. “Changing a body function to compensate for the lack of eyelids. That would have taken complete rewriting of the components function. Did you do that on your own?”

“Yes. I had to after I lost my eyelids to the fire, it was some time after the evil mechanic deleted my body functions.”

“Fascinating...”

Cardiac wiped of his glasses and took the word.

“Speaking of that evil mechanic. Sweetie, were you by chance connected to his computer?”

“Yes. He tried to take everything away from me, so I tried to take everything back.”

“I think you took more than everything didn't you? You emptied his entire hard drive. Everything was gone from that terminal.”

“Yes. I later used one of his schematics to repair myself.”

“Fasssscinating.” Hissed Dr Pain. “You repaired yourself with an incorrect blueprint. You made out the differences and compensated for them. You improvised. No machine would have been able to to that.”

“Hold on. I'm gonna upload your true Schematic to you now.” Said Bronco.

He pulled out a crystal disc and inserted in into his computer. When it connected, its contents became an open book to Sweetie - who downloaded all the information before Dr Hobo Bobo had even touched the hoof dial.

As she processed the blueprints and compared them to the schematics of her own making, that had came to be during all her 'inner journeys', she could not help but to wonder over what they all saw in her. So many times had she feared what she saw in herself, this mapped out collection of nuts and bolts. And she had been even more afraid that people would not be able to see more than that.

Yet here they were - all going out of their way to convince Sweetie that she was more than the machine on the blueprints. Just like a pony is more than the organs and tissue one sees during an autopsy. Well - maybe she wasn't a simple machine. But she sure believed this was what it would feel like to be one. The irony was that this emotionless state was what she had been striving for.

But now she knew better.

Slowly she processed all that they had said. Memory after memory replayed in her mind of the choices she had made and why. There seemed to be a logical explanation for everything in retrospect. But it was clear that the heart's impulse command had been present, and affected action and thought each and every time.

“You are right I suppose.” She said in an indifferent tone “I would not have done all those things if I did not … feel something. I am incomplete without a Heart drive.”

“You are incomplete without a lot of things.” Smiled Dr Pain “I don't even know where to start.”

“With the heart!” Said Rarity in a very firm tone.

“But...”

Before Sweetie could begin making a list of everything she needed for repair, Rarity's leaned her head forward till their noses touched.

“Sweetie... Do you want to feel?”

“ … Yes.”

Rarity threw up her forelegs in a dramatic pose.

“Well that does it. She needs a new heart and she needs it now. End of discussion!”

Some of the professors advised against it saying that they should get to making repairs first. What if connecting the heart drive causes a system overload? Dr Cardiac also warned Rarity about all the trauma that could come rushing back.

But Rarity said that the real trauma was the pseudo emotionless state Sweetie was now suffering. And she had suffered long enough. Any traumas would make themselves known either way. The only way they would be able to help her, was to make her whole again.

“I will not leave my sister in this dreadful state of pseudo emotions!”

In a flash all her anger was gone, as she turned to face Sweetie again.

“You hear that Sweetie? We are going to repair you. But first... ”

Rarity leaned closer.

“... we are going to have to get rid of that wretched armor.”

Sweetie knew what that meant. They where gonna have to take her apart to be able to give her new parts.
She also knew that the notion of dismantling was supposed to terrify her. Memories of the past week started loading into her mind. (Without finding any heart drive to load onto) as well as older memories of fear and exposure. The thoughts of the mere logical disadvantage of being at the mercy of somepony else, who might strip her down for parts. She could not take that chance. Not with so many ponies whose true intentions she did not have enough information on.

She grabbed Rarity’s hoof with her remaining front leg and said, with the most pleading voice she cold get out of the rust old voice module:

“Please sis. Don't let them disassemble me.”

Rarity grabbed her leg with bought hooves an hugged it tight.

“I won't Sweetie. You trust me that I won't, right?” She asked.

Sweetie nodded. If there was one thing she learned it was that Rarity loved her with all of her heart. She would always be there for her, if she would just let her.

“I won't let anything happen to you! I wont let them take a single part from you, that they don’t need to. I WON'T!”

She hissed the last words through her teeth as she shot icy glares with the promise of great harm to anyone who put a hoof on her sister without her permission.

After that, nopony dared speaking up against Rarity’s again. Not even against her insistence that Sweetie was to stay in bed, and not be moved to a more suitable workbench. Not even when Sweetie herself said it was okay. Her sister was to be treated like any patient, and not like some piece of machinery.

And so the room was transformed into a surgery. With industrial circular saws and bolt cutters seeing plenty of use instead of scalpels and scissors, as the doctors went on with removing what remained of the armor shell.

Sweetie was laid on her stomach so they could access the main connection ports in and around her reinforced spine. One of few parts of her that seemed to remain undamaged. (They had to take extra care as to not change that)

The removing became a slow process since the plating was melted and twisted in many places and they had to work with heavy equipment to get it off. And the crew consisted mostly of earth ponies. The parents were asked to help with their magic but could not bring themselves to cut into their daughter. Luckily they had Mr Beaver there, who was an expert with heavy saws. And Twilight lend a horn as often as she could to cut the metal with magical beams, since blowtorches would risk lighting the the bed on fire. Though she was exhausted, and had to take plenty of breaks due to the magic resistant nature of the armor.

All the while Rarity sat with Sweetie Belle. Holding her hoof while looking deep into her eye. As she did, memory after memory replayed in Sweeties mind of all the good time they had together. Distracting her from the the loud noises and twisting, jerking motions. Every time they did something, Rarity explained exactly what it was. Sometimes even taking over to do it herself. All the while reminding Sweetie to trust her. That everything would be fine.

Maybe it was actually a good thing she didn't have a Heart-Drive just yet. That way she couldn’t feel fear or dread or helplessness over her situation. She just had to block all the memories of such feeling from replaying in her mind. All the bad things that experience said she should be feeling. And just focus on the good memories with Rarity and all her other friends and family. It was like fighting the control program the evil Screwbolt had used. Only this time she was fighting herself. Constantly reminding herself to trust Rarity.

She had replayed the same memory of them playing hoof clapping together a thousand times in an endless loop when the buzz of saws suddenly stopped.

“That's ... odd.” Said Cardiac.

“What is?” Asked Rarity.

“The armor has melted, but the frame underneath seems just fine. In fact its like some of the metal has merged with her frame. But we are unable to remove the reinforcements on her spine. It has completely melted and merged with the frame.”

Rarity looked up over Sweeties head to see her back.

“I don't see it.” She said in confusion.” Granted I am no mechanic but, that looks like a chromed spine to me."

“That's not chrome, Miss Rarity.” Dr Pain hissed. “That's Titanium in it's purest form. It seems to have been drained from the armor and applied to the spine.”

“So? What can we do?”

“Nothing." Said Bronco "In fact I suggest we leave it as it is, since it does not hinder or hurt her. In fact it strengthens her. If the rest of her frame has undergone the same transformation, then maybe she is not as hurt as we feared.”

That was the first good news Sweetie had heard in a long time.
If she had a Heart-Drive, she was sure she would be feeling hope right now. And without it, the logical part of her valued getting stronger.

Though Cardiac feared he had spoken to soon. The removal of the last pieces – Her Flank armor – proved far more difficult. It had melted and twisted in ways far worse than the rest. So bad that it had fused with her frame. And unlike her spine this ugly chunk of burned metal could simply not remain on her.

With a lot of magical precision cutting, from an already exhausted Twilight, they were able to get it off. The unicorn practically stumbled out of the operating room after that, to get some much needed rest.

That's when Cardiac called out again. This time much lest optimistic.

“What is it?” Asked Rarity.

“Its worse than we thought. The circuitry has melted.”

Rarity got a concerned look Sweetie thought she would have shared, if she was able to process the emotion.

“We where able to remove her flank armor but the damage continues underneath. Bronco explained "Here, the very circuitry crystals have melted, along with several main wires and gears. For all we know the damage goes all the way to her rear core.”

“It's weird though." Said Cardiac "The damage is so concentrated. Just this circular area on her flanks. No other part of her has received such damage. Weirder still. It looks like the melted parts have reformed into some kind of pattern. Mrs Rarity. As our crystal expert I think you need to see this.”

Rarity assured Sweetie this would be the only time she left her side and she moved out of her field of vision to see what had got the doctors attention. All Sweetie could do was listen.

At first Rarity gasped, but then she slowly started to hum the same way she did when inspiration entered her mind.

“Yes. There is a pattern to it" She said. "Look at those swirls … And look at that in the middle. It looks like a symbol.”

“its probably just a burn mark or some random lump formed of melted Krystal.”

“No, look closer.”

“look at that... it looks like... It can't be!”

Every-pony gave a collective gasp.

“Sweet Deus ex Machina!” Exclaimed Cardiac.

“Well would you look at that.” Hissed Dr Pain.

“I don't believe it!” Rumbled Thrunk's.

“By the Stars!” Said Bronco.

“Wahaha!” Proclaimed Rarity

“What is it?” Asked Sweetie. But the grown ups where to stunned to answer.

"Tell me Doctor. Do you think this change goes deeper. Perhaps all the way to her core?"

"I don't know. The only way to make sure is to open her up."

Sweetie knew she should be concerned about several grown stallions staring at her behind.
Cheerilee had once told them that it was not okay if anyone was looking at you or wanting to touch you in ways that made you feel uncomfortable. But she had no real memories or experiences of such a thing ever happening to her.

And now Rarity had joined them. Did that make it okay?

When Rarity returned to her field of vision, it was with a new smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
She leaned down and gave sweetie the biggest hug she could.

“Oh Sweetie. Its beautiful.”

“What... What is?”

Rarity put her hoof to Sweeties non existent mouth in a kind, hushing gesture. Her blue eyes were positively tindering with delight.

“Just wait. I promise I will tell you everything. But first I am going to give you a new heart.”

Rarity immediately got back to work on the new heart crystal with renewed inspiration.
She sat in front of Sweetie and wove her magic into shaping and reshaping the crystal until it resembled a heart. Apparently looking at Sweetie's melted ass had given Rarity all the inspiration she needed to finally finish the thing.

As she worked, the doctors worked on preparation for the heart transplant. Even the changeling Madam Macadam was able to work short shifts, due to the optimism in the air.

With the final pieces of the armor out of the way, they were able to magically cut through the melted bolts and open her chest.
They told Sweetie to look away. But she said she would not want to deny what she was any longer, and loaded determination for learning as much a possible of herself. (Curiosity was supposed to be her driving force after all.)

She had no past experiences of looking at her own interior. So she had no fitting memories of being grossed out, or panic about having her rib cage opened like a double door. Nor excitement for the unknown.

As she studied her innards, the feeling she chose to load was a memory of simple frightened curiosity she had felt when standing in front of the dark pirate cave that Scoot had promised was full of treasure.

In a way, the hole in her chest was similar to that cave.

A crystal cave with walls that shimmered in the light.
Her inner parts had a sort of shimmer to them. A swirling, complex circuitry like pattern dotted every surface of every component that seemed to shift in a faint pulsing glow. And all the circuitry glowed in multiple shades of pink.
It had not melted - it had reformed.

Now she understood what her sister must have seen. All her inner components must have undergone the same transformation. It really did seem to form symbols that appeared one moment and disappeared the next. And she was surely right. That it was, despite the internal damage, beautiful. Not only because big sis said so and she trusted her judgment. But even without a heart-drive she was able to tell that the pattern was arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Even the processor in her head must share it now Because of this, she knew she should be hoping to receive her new heart-drive soon, so she could feel excitement she should be having.

The crystal that made up the core of her Heart-Drive had shattered into a thousand needle sized fragments that had rattled around her insides. Twilight was able to collect most of them. But many had melted and merged with the surrounding components, adding to the new color and shape.

Upon examination of the pieces she confirmed her theory. The entire heart had been converted into a new material with a completely different signature composition from the original crystal. And that traces of the same signature could now be found in all of Sweeties components.

“How is this possible!” Asked a stunned Cardiac.

“There is more to Sweetie than meets the eye.” Said Twilight “There is more running through her circuitry than just Electricity. It's magic. But not the kind of energy that we ponies use. Its a completely different frequency unique to her. A magic that has slowly transformed her into what she is now.”

“I’ve never heard of a machine possessing magic before. Let alone cast a transformation spell on themselves." said Mr Trunks.

“This is no mere transformation spell” said Macadam. “This is evolution. She has undergone a complete metamorphosis. Or I guess we could call it a “Metal-morphosis”

Twilight made a face at the namesake. But went along with it.

“Yes. The transformation doesn't just extend to her programming.”

“But where is this magic coming from?” Asked mom and dad.

“From the blue disks." said Twilight. "Everything made out of that artificial crystal - from her processors to her circuitry disks - gives of a small magic current that travels on electricity. A magic that slowly transformed all her electrical components into a material with properties similar to those crystals - In other words allowing them to store information and energy. Energy like the one from your heart-drive.”

Twilight smiled as she turned to speak directly to Sweetie.

”If I'm right about this, then your circuitry has absorbed everything. You still have all that makes you you in your system. Every cord, every wire that has carried energy through you has transmuted. Every cybernetic fiber in your body can now carry information, like a cell carries a DNA string. This means that all your emotional data is safe in your system. If we just connect a Heart-Drive, it should all come back to you.”

“So the energy from that old crystal is still in her?”. Said Rarity. “But I sensed it go out before it got destroyed.”

“More like converted it into her own 'magic'. Didn't you Sweetie?”

“Yes.” Said Macadam. “The Metalmorphosis changed the energy in the Heart-Drive to a frequency that could be absorbed by her system."

“Yes.” Said Sweetie in her apathetic voice. “I completed the conversion of my heart-drive mere seconds before I was shot. The experience was ... enlightening. The conversion, however, did not rob me of emotions as you seem to think. If anything it allowed me to finally understand something about myself. That I love Rarity. And that she loves me.”

Rarity grabbed her head with dread.

“We were wrong.” She shuddered “We all thought that the Sweetie we loved would cease to be if the heart was converted. But it was the only thing that truly allowed her to become one with herself.”

Her parents shared her concern.

“We were supposed to transfer your emotions to a new heart drive. But we were afraid that without a Heart-Drive, we would have nothing to transfer.” Lamented her father.

“What if we had actually had replaced the crystal? What if we had thrown the other heart away? We would have prevented her evolution!” Cried her mother.

“Not necessarily” Said Twilight, in an attempt to calm them. “More like prolonged it. All the energy and all that was in the original heart was to be transferred to her new heart anyway.” Se gave a weak smile. “The change was underway the entire time. The things she has gone through, like the alchemy and the... electrocution ...” she said with distaste. “It all simply sped up the process.”

“So in a way. This journey was the best thing that could have happened to her.” Said Dr Pain.

Rarity was about to whack him in the back of the head for that. But stopped herself halfway as she realized the machinist would probably like it.

“One thing I can't understand is how the Heart drive and the logic center became aware of each other in the first place.” Said Macadam
“We put up a pretty good firewall to prevent that from happening.”

Twilight thought for a moment. Back to when Sweetie said she first became aware of her true nature.

“Blood. It was the blood that made it.” She took a long deep breath that turned into a yawn.
“The Metalmorphosis must have been going on for a long time. And spread all the way out to the bottoms of her hooves. When the Cmc had their little explosive accident it tore up her skin and exposed her circuits.
She bled into Metalmorphosed wires and the energy in the blood was absorbed into her system. The blood that had once been mixed with the heart to create the spark. It no doubt recognized the energy and that started the entire process.”

“That, and seeing her mechanical insides could have something to do with breaking her barriers.” Said Cardiac "Since the consciousness was no longer able to deny her true nature.”

“Are you saying that I have a piece of Rarity in my system?” Asked Sweetie.

Twilight smiled.

“Yes. An energy that mixed with the energy of the stillborn infant - thus creating a spark of life. Your life.”

“Fasssscinating. You are making it sound like we have created an artificial soul.” Said Dr Pain.

“Please don't use the term artificial” said father. “It makes it sound not real.”

Sweetie processed this. Was the energy in her like magic? Was it not also her essence, her soul? She had searched for conformation of a soul. And in a way, she had found it in the depths of her design. A soul that Rarity had given her. A life that Rarity gave her. That made her come to one logical conclusion, that still seemed so weird that she had to ask about it.

”Does this mean that Rarity is my mother?”

An embarrassing silence followed.

”No, no, NO!” said Rarity. who's face was getting red. ”Mom and dad created you. And then I created your heart. And the doctors and scientists created your body and... We all... They...We.... Oh!”

She magically summoned a napkin to wipe the sweat from her brow.

”Well. They do say that a foal is a little bit of mother and a little bit of father inside them.” Mr Trunk's chuckled, making Rarity's face go even redder.

“Yessss. We are all one big happy family.” Said Dr Pain.

Twilight giggled, but cut in to save her friend.

“Its more like you have a little piece of your whole family in you. Mother, father and sister.”

Sweetie looked down into her open chest. Several cables had been connected, and were now running out of it to even more monitoring equipment. (In secret, she had made those machines part of her). The thought of having a little bit of her family inside her brought up many memories of past Hearth's Warming Eves. And the gifts they had shared.

She moved her hoof into her chest where the heart was to be. Though it was gone, she still had that energy coursing through her. She touched her components. Registering the energy moving between her circuitry and an exposed wire in her fetlock. She sent a charge flowing out the circuitry and up her foreleg, past her shoulder and down back trough her insides. Round and around her little charges where moving. She could even make little white dots of energy move along the patterns of her Metalmorphosed components
For some reason she thought this would be a happy feeling. Memories of being tickled entered her mind.

“Should she be doing that?” Said Mr Trunk's “Shouldn't that short circuit her?”

Rarity cursed herself for being distracted even one second from her self destructive little sister. But Bronco grabbed her before she pulled Sweeties foreleg out of her. He told her to calm down and to look closer at the little light show playing in Sweeties chest.

“She should. But she isn't. She is in complete control of it” he Said as he looked at a computer terminal. “She is able to direct energy through herself at will.”

“Fasssssinating...”

Sweetie looked up.

“Is this pattern aesthetically pleasing to your eye, sister?”

Rarity nodded. Touched by the gesture.

“Then why are you frightened?”

“I was just scared that you would start pulling at your pieces.”

“I wasn't. But I believe I would wish to give some part of myself to Rarity as repayment for the one she gave me. That way we could both have a piece of each other inside us. Then we could be soul sisters.”

“We already are.” Said Rarity and gave her another hug. “Just please don't pull anything out of yourself!”

“I won't. That would be counter productive.”

Every pony was touched by the scene. Except Dr Pain. Who still wanted answers.

“That still does not explain the big green flames of doom we all saw!” He hissed.

“Maybe she had years of magic energy stored in her systems, that was released when the conversion was completed?” Twilight theorized.

“Released energy? After she was shot and shut down?” said Macadam skeptically. “Did she also actively cast a spell that made her burn with green flames?”

Twilight tapped her head before turning to Sweetie.

"Do you remember what happened when you came back? What did you do?”

Sweetie processed the question for a moment.

“I saw Celestia.”

“You saw Celestia?” they all echoed.

Sweetie did her best to explain what she had seen. But it was all very fussy and unclear. She did not think there were words that could describe where she had been. She had just been with Celestia and then she was back. The only thing she remembered clearly was her conversation.

“Maybe that was just some dream?” Madam Macadam theorized “A near death experience? What do you think Miss Twilight?”

Twilight said nothing. She sat on the floor with both hooves covering her mouth with a look of pure awe.
The others stared at her.

“...Do you know something ...about this?” Rarity asked her friend.

“I... I need to write a letter to Celestia about this” Twilight stammered.

“No! Please Twilight!” Mom and dad begun to plead.

“Its OK” Said Sweetie. “She already knows anyway. I told her everything.”

She turned her eyes to Dr Bronco.

“She asked me to say hi.”

Twilight left the room. Saying that she needed to be left alone with her swirling head for a bit. The rest of the ponies gathered, stared at each other in confusion.

“Are you saying that if she had been shot in the head, she would have come back just fine as long as we contested a suitable replacement to the energy in her?” Dr Pain asked.

“Despite the gruesome image of that … Yes.” Said Bronco.

“Speaking of the skull. One thing I wonder is. Does this “Metal-morphosis” go all the way?” Dr Pain asked, and tapped his head.

“Only one way to find out.” Said Bronco, and turned to Sweetie.
"I'd like to open up your head to see if this Metalmorphosis has affected your main processor as well.”

Rarity actually growled in defense of her sister, but Sweetie gave permission. Truth was she thought she would be curious about that as well.

Bronco went to work with a screwdriver and removed her cranial plate. Almost every pony was standing behind her to look down into her open neck. Sweetie could not see. Her eye searched the room for any reflective surface. Any way to look behind her. But instead found a video camera up in the center of the roof. She searched through the rooms network for a way up there and found that the camera was connected to the same energy grid as all the other equipment. It seemed like a logical conclusion that everything must have been connected so they could monitor and record their research.

She extended herself through the electrical wires of the machines and found herself looking out over the room from an elevated position. From there she could look down on her own open head, and she saw just what the others where seeing. A shimmering orb in shades of pink and purple. With a green swirling cybernetic pattern running over its surface. Sweetie believed this sight would amuse her. For in a way, it looked like she had wrinkles on her brain.

“Doctor. Didn't that orb use to be blue?” Asked Macadam.

“It was.” Bronco sighed as he closed up Sweetie's skull.

Inspired like never before, Rarity set on finishing the new heart. She took the pieces of Sweetie's old heart and wove them into the new Heart Drive, using the same spell she had unknowingly used all those years ago. She did not have to push herself to the breaking point this time, as Twilight once again reassured her that all that love and energy was already in Sweetie's systems. And she aided Rarity in the construction of the spell. (In truth, Twilight believed she could have done it herself – but Rarity needed this.)

When it was finished, it was no longer the crude aberration it had once been but a symmetrically perfect heart shaped crystal, that in ways reminded Rarity of the heart she had once gotten as a gift from Spike. (Dr Cardiac theorized that maybe her desire for that gift came from a subconscious recognition of the heart she made for Sweetie as a filly.) It wasn't exactly the same as the original. It was slightly redder and bigger. thanks to the added pieces. Rarity said that it was so Sweetie would be able to process more emotions, without the risk of an overload. (Though Sweetie's logic processors lacked the information to confirm that statement.)

Then came the final tweaks, as they had to drill some holes in the heart and attach the proper contraptions that turned it into a real Heart Drive, and not just a crystal. All of which had to be taken from Sweeties own chest and reformed to fit the new heart. It was then connected to her open chest by several wires, and placed above her like a nutrition infusion bag for a hospital patient.

Sweetie extended herself into it. And as data and energy started circulating between her processor and the Heart Drive, it slowly lit up in a soft light.

“Sweetie. How do you feel?”

“I feel like... like...” She stammered insecurely.

She knew not how she should feel. A dull hollowness filled her and for a moment that made her afraid she would not be able to feel again. She looked at her family. Conflicted between the love she had for them and the sorrow that came with discovering the things they kept from her. And all the horrid things she had thought about them. The horrid thing she had said to Rarity. But still they had still come for her. That made her feel like...

Like...

She felt!

“...I FEEL!”

Realization dawned on her that this was not an old memory of an old emotion. This was new data. New feelings forming in her Heart Drive and flowing into her. Her emotional processor was threatening to overload. She didn’t know what to do with all this emotional energy. She didn’t know which emotion she was supposed to feel.

Her body couldn’t respond to all the commands telling her to smile, scream, shake ect...

Instead, she redirected the energy to her eye sockets.

The energy just kept building until a tiny overload caused the lubrication lines under her remaining eye, and her empty eyesocket, to burst.

Rarity ruched to her side. Terrified.

“Sweetie! Whats wrong?”

Sweetie touch her cheek, staining her hoof with lubricating fluid that had started to flow down her cheeks.

“Nothing. I just initiated my crying sequences.”

“Oh Sweetie." Said Rarity, summoning a napkin to wipe her sisters cheeks. "Crying isn’t something you should just “Initiate.”

“I know.”
The few remaining bolts to Sweeties missing jaw stated shaking. And she realized that if she still had lips, they would quiver.
“... But I really feel like crying. Don't worry. Its tears of happiness... Or sadness... I don’t know. Maybe both.”

Both Rarity and Sweetie started crying and laughing at the same time.

As they quieted down, a thought surfaced in Sweetie's mind.
She thought that all of the questions and all of the answers, all of the philosophy and theories she had received along her journey hadn’t taught her anything. For it hadn’t taught her what she wondered most of all.

“Rarity. What am I? I’m not really a pony. But I’m also not really a robot. So what am I? Am I just the copy of the brain pattern that remained in my previous stillborn self? Am I a copy of you because of the magic and blood that you gave me? Or am I something in between?”

Rarity diverted her eyes for a second. It was clear that she had no answer. But when she looked back into Sweeties eye, she said with determination:

“You are Sweetie Belle! And what you are is my little sister! And don’t you ever forget it!”

She emphasized every word with a boop on her nose.

Then, out of no where, she blew a raspberry on Sweetie's belly.

Even though she couldn’t really feel it, Sweetie laughed and waved her arm and legs as memories of the tickling feeling resurfaced from her foalhood and sent her body into the corresponding wailing. The wires that hung from her body waggled and tangled up on the equipment and in her sisters hair. Rarity joined in the laughter as she untangled the knots, before her sister turned herself into a marionette. Her parents to started laughing because she was laughing.

Sweeties laugh sounded cruel and broken coming from an old voice module somewhere off to her side. But it was the most honest laugh she had had in far too long. The only ponies that didn't laugh were the professors, who told her to be careful lest she damage herself further. Sweetie did not care. She wanted that laugh to last forever.

Eventually, they quieted down, and were left staring deep into each others eyes.

“Rarity. I'm sorry I scared you.”

“Oh no. If anyone should apologize it's me. Who hit you... and lied to you and... scared you... away.”

Rarity's voice died down and she collapsed on the bed. Crying into the sheet.
Sweetie petted her mane softly with her one hoof. Softly whispering in her raspy machine-voice that everything was gonna be fine.

She looked up at her parents.

”Why did you never tell me?”

”We are sorry. We should have...” Stammered father.

“But that would have gone against the goal of the project.” Hissed Dr Pain. "To see if artificial life could believe ….”

“Shut up!” Barked mother. “It has nothing to do with any project!”

“No. It was because you deserved to be a normal little filly.” Said father.

“If we had told you.” Continued mother “You would have to go through every day of your life feeling different. Having to hide something from every-pony. We would have made you promise never to reveal your secret to anyone. Because we were afraid of what would happen if people found out. We did not want to put you through that. So we said that you where just like everypony else. So that you could live a normal life, just like everypony else.”

“And you have.” Said father. “You are the most beautiful little filly a parent could ask for. You where so perfectly normal that in time we allowed ourselves to forget the truth. We told ourselves that you where just a normal little filly, with an abnormal little diet.”

“A crystallized diet.” Clarified mother.

"I know." Said Sweetie.

At the confused looks of her parents, she explained that she had been able too look back on her memories and see the code of her taste sensors.

“Well ... Yes." Mother admitted, feeling more than a little ashamed. "There was always a reason your favorite cookies were just for you.
I took special care in grinding up the crystals into powder and hiding it in chocolate filling. And making sure only you got to eat them. Sometimes i wonder if your taste for them was for the chocolate flavor of the crystals inside.”

It all made sense. Mothers talent was making cookies after all.

“If it wasn’t for Rarity we would probably have gone broke” Said father.

Sweetie looked up at Rarity.

“You used to hide them in frosty vanilla - I recognized the substance from your ice cream after the mechanic taught me to eat crystals.”

“Yes.” admitted Rarity. “I'm not so good at baking as mother. And I could not go the Sugarcube Corner and ask for a crystal muffin without drawing attention to myself. So I had to find other ways. I learned from a casual conversation with Spike which crystals tastes most like vanilla.“

She looked over at Twilight.

"Little Spikey Wikey sure likes his gems.”

Sweetie pondered. She ate gems just like a dragon. Despite a new Heart-Drive, she did not know if that should that make her feel cool or freaked out? Regardless of what - she believed she would have some interesting conversations with Spike in the future.

“In the end we all allowed ourselves to forget and lived on like any family.” Said father.

Both her parents and Rarity hung their heads.

“Of course I do!” She bellowed so loud that the old voice module cracked.

Her family surrounded her and gave her a collective hug. They did not care that the oil stained their clothes as it leaked from her eye-sockets.

Sweetie could feel the overload coming. The waves of emotions that flooded her systems and built up till she feared her new heart drive could not take it any more. She knew she might not be able to take another mental meltdown. So she redirected the energy output out to the computer mainframes.
Every screen went crazy as her energy overflowed their systems and sparks shoot out as their circuits overloaded. Even the lights started flickering. And eventually blackened as the fuse went out.

The only light remaining in the room was the Heart-Drive, that shone like a star in the night winter sky.