Sweetie stood dumbstruck in the open doorway, like all the gears in her gearbox had gotten stuck.
She had heard what Twilight said, but she couldn’t believe it. Had she heard wrong? She checked her sound recievers find that they where working fine. She played back the soundtrack of that strange noise she had picked up five seconds ago. The words looped in her mind like a broken record:
“Today, I’m going to see if I can't teach you some magic.”
“Today, I’m going to see if I can't teach you some magic.”
“Today, I’m going to see if I can't teach you some magic.”
No, she hadn't heard wrong. That must mean that Twilight had spoken wrong. Or meant something completely different. Bots couldn't use magic. That was just silly.
“Sweetie? Hello? Are you in there?”
A purple claw waved in front of her. Sweetie responded in the best way she could think of.
“Wa...Bu...What?”
“Good. Your back.” Said Spike. The purple dragon was gazing into her eyes. “You zoned out a little there.”
Sweetie shook her head.
"You ... You said something..."
“I Said that you didn’t need to put on your coat today,” said Twilight.
“I know. I tried to tell sis. But she wouldn’t listen!” Sweetie said as she made a frown face.
Twilight walked over and patted the little filly on the head.
“You know why she is doing it, right?”
Sweetie’s frown deepened.
“Because she doesn't want me to be a robot.”
Twilight smiled and gave her a hug.
“It’s because she loves you,” She said in her ear.
“She has a funny way of showing it” Sweetie said, frowning even further. “She doesn't let me behave like one.”
(Rarity had been one of the pony's agreeing that sweetie should get her restraints. She might not have suggested it. But Sweetie had still expected a little defense from her sister.)
“She wants to teach you how to behave like a filly” Twilight giggled “I remember a time when all you wanted was to be treated like normal.”
“But I am a robot, and everypony knows it.”
(It was one of the more common lectures she endured back home whenever Sweetie got in trouble for testing her limits. They all basically went: “Don't be such a robot.” And sweetie would answer “I am a robot!" And then it became a circular argument.)
“Everyone might know it,” said Twilight. “But you don't need to flash it in their faces – Like you did that nightmare night.”
“I said Ii was sorry! But I can’t change that I am a robot!”
Spike, who had been standing a little impassive, cut in.
“And I can’t change that I'm a dragon. Nor would I want to. But If I should “behave like a dragon,” he said while flexing his claws "Then I would be running around starting fires, Roaring at everypony and stealing their stuff. You know. Basically being a giant jerk.
(He put emphasis on the word ‘giant’)
“Spike is right,” said Twilight. You can’t choose what you are. But you can chose how to behave. You are not like those awful murder-machines in that awful movie are you?”
Sweetie sighed. “No. But ... It’s all I got. Unicorns do magic, Pegasus fly, Earth Ponies buck trees. Being a robot is all I'm good at."
She tapped her useless contraption of a horn.
Twilight put a hoof under her chin to prevent her head from dropping. She smiled warmly in a way that reminded Sweetie that she had not come here to be scolded for being a robot.
“After today, that may change.”
A light went on in Sweeties mind as she suddenly recalled what twilight had said the moment she stepped through the door.
“You said something about magic?!”
“Yes I did.” Twilight said with a glimmer in her eye. “Follow me.”
Twilight departed the entrance hall while levitating the huge stacks of books along with her.Sweetie followed Twilight, a bit envious of the display of magic muscle that the alicorn possessed, and Spike departed in the opposite direction saying something about a delicious desert he was preparing in the kitchen.
In the old library the kitchen would have been the room next door. While in this castle it lay in an entirely different wing. The wing Twilight took Sweetie too held the sparsely filled library. Twilight had slowly been restocking on books ever since the destruction of the old library. Sweetie still doubted that even if all the books had survived, they would have filled half of this place.
Twilight's new home sure was bigger than her old one. It was no Canterlot Castle. In a sense, it was probably more of a mansion than a castle. But Sweetie still believed she could get lost in here. The place somehow seemed to be bigger on the inside then it looked from the outside.
Twilight deposited her stack of books onto the shelves. (Despite the number of books - they only filled one bookcase) Almost subconsciously sorting them as she walked, and had neatly stacked them all away before continuing deeper into the already filled section of the library.There, she walked up to an inconspicuous bookcase. She magically pulled on a few books, and the shelves slid apart revealing a secret doorway – Of course she had a secret doorway! Behind the bookcase was a stairwell leading down into the roots of the castle.
“Considerate of the harmony tree to give me one of these.” Twilight grinned as they descended.
Downstairs they ended up in what was essentially Arcane Science main hub in Ponyville. Current employees: one Head Researcher and one Research Assistant.
Despite being bigger than her old basement, Twilight had still somehow managed to make the new lab even more crowded. The place was filled to the brim with computers, sensitive lab equipment, and science gear was stacked high and low (and sometimes on top of each other.)
In the corner stood the maintenance station mark zero – the prototype of her own “wardrobe”. It was cruder in shape unpainted and had far more exposed parts. The levitation talismans clearly visible in both the roof and floor of the tube. Clearly no esthetic design had gone into it. And it was clearly not designed to fold into a chest. Which was a bit of a shame considering twilight probably needed the space, considering the way it was crudely shoved into the corner behind several stacks of books and boxes with glowing goo.
(some labeled 'Smooze')
Sweetie stepped into the wardrobe and stepped out of her skin. It suspended nicely in mid air where it hovered like the ghostly tortured remains of a flayed victim. Sometimes she wondered why they couldn't just get a manikin for her to putt it on. Or a simple coat hanger. She suspected Twilight was just eager to show off her many different inventions. She had been like that ever since finding out Sweeties true nature.
Twilight’s and Sweeties relation was special like that. Twilight, who was ever ecstatic to acquire new knowledge, loved to test and try anything she could come up with on the newly acquired subject of Sweetie. At the same time it was important to remember that Sweetie was not Twilight’s test subject, but the little sister one of her best friends, and a good friend in her own right.
As much as she loved to come up with new theories she would never do any practical tests on sweetie without her permission.
Permission was almost always given, for Sweetie was just as fascinated about herself as twilight was. And their relationship and friendship had grown thanks to their common interest.
As she watched, the mark on the flank of her skin slowly faded till the flank was blank again. When not connected to her the symbol of her talent would fade away – she guessed the skin itself didn’t have any special talents.
She looked down at her metallic rear. There – permanently burned into the surface was her mark. The one she had gotten once she fully understood what she really was. It was another reason she felt distant to the skin.
Metal held a much more permanent mark.
Anyone who doubted her mark was nothing more than a painting or a welding job could just try and remove it. Her repair systems would restore it. She had even replaced the rear plates many times. And every time a new blank flank plate was put in place her repair and maintenance systems would immediately get to work carving she mark into the surface – color and everything. Her mark wasn't just some external thing. It was part of her Cybernetic being – down to the very core of her processors.
“When you are done daydreaming you can step over here. I have something to show you,” Twilight called out to her from where she stood by a lab table.
In the middle of the table lay a tiny screwdriver with a red glowing handle. The handle was connected to a series of small folding arms that were connected to nothing. It ended in a stump of bare wires, like Twilight had forgotten to connect it to a socket.
“I've spent all night enchanting this,” said Twilight. “The handle is made of crystal that I’ve filled with Magic. More specifically, a spell.”
“A spell?”
“It’s a decompression spell. Once activated it should make the entire package decompress into a size that will allow it to fold into you...”
“You mean like a shrinking spell?”
“No sweetie. It it was a shrinking spell it would shrink all of you when activated. The decompression spell is designed to only decompress this one extension of you.”
Sweetie blinked a few times, trying to comprehend the differences.
“So it’s a localized shrinking spell that only shrinks down a part of me – into me?”
Twilight stared into space for a few seconds. Sweetie wondered it that was what she looked like when she zoned out.
When Twilight returned, it was with a sigh she said “Yes. Like...That.”
“Or a folding spell. Since it’s meant to make things fold in and out of me?”
“Yes. But enough about the theoretical spell naming. Let’s get down to the practical test. Your left hoof please.”
Sweetie sat down and extended said hoof. Twilight took it in her own and levitated the screwdriver with her magic. She got to work opening a small port on Sweeties lower leg. Underneath was a tiny socket they had spent their previous meeting installing.
Twilight folded the legs of the screwdriver together into one tiny rectangular package and inserted the end into Sweeties foreleg.
Making sure it fit with Sweeties socket, Twilight used her telekinesis to connect the wires to the port and twisted a few screws in place.
Sweetie was disappointed to note that the screwdriver, despite its tiny size, was to big to fit into the tiny socket in her leg. When Twilight was done she was left with a screwdriver hanging by a series of metal sticks from her foreleg and a questioning look on her face.
Twilight gave her a reassuring smile and sat down beside her.
“Now Sweetie. I want you to try and reach out for that screwdriver. Make it a part of you.”
Sweetie closed her eyelids and concentrated. She sent her energy out to the socket like she had done before, this time detecting the wires connected to it. She ran up them. Through every little nook and cranny that made up the folding arms and finally into the screwdriver itself. There she detected something foreign. A different energy signature that was not of her own. It had to be the crystal Twilight spoken of. It was swirling with energy. Before it Sweetie suddenly felt tiny. Like she was a tiny candle beside Celestia’s sun. Sweetie opened her eyes and looked down on the screwdriver again. It was so tiny, even if it was to big to fit in her socket, and the crystal inside it was even smaller. Yet it contained more energy than there was in all of her.
“Sweetie? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
“How long did you spend charging this crystal?”
“A few minutes. Why?”
Sweetie explanation made Twilight blush and scratch the back of her head.
“I maybe have overdone it a little”.
Showoff, Sweetie thought. The Princess of Friendship might not like to boost about it, but she was one of the most powerful magicians in the realm. And Sweetie had just felt a touch of that power. She didn’t know if she should be excited or terrified.
“I don’t know if I want to touch that. What if I explode?”
Twilight hugged her.
“No silly. You won’t explode. That magic is not the exploding kind. It’s one spell designed for one thing only. To decompress...”
“Shrink!”
“... Shrink the screwdriver down so it fits inside you. What you just felt is another unicorns magic. In fact it’s kind of amazing that you could sense it like that!”
Sweetie looked at Twilight, then down at the screwdriver.
She closed her eyes and tried again. She had to think about this differently. Instead of a sun she thought about it as simply a crystal containing a sun. she surrounded it – a funny thought that you could surround a star – but it was nothing more than a crystal component after all.
She extender herself into that energetic component. The spell inside was still like a star to her. But it was dormant. Just sitting there and doing nothing. Inactive.
She wondered what she should do to activate it. Such energy would be enough to power her for years. She had to admit she wanted to take it. To make it all hers. But she couldn't. The energy wouldn’t come out of the crystal. It was a spell. Not something that could power her.
She sent a little more energy out into the component. Nothing happened, except her energy levels were dropping. Was the star draining her? No! stop! She stopped the energy flow and made a systems check.
No, the star had not been sucking out her energy. Straining, trying to get the spell to work, She had been draining herself. She wondered if this was like how “fleshy” unicorns strained themselves while struggling with magic. Except she had seen them get all sweaty and physically exhausted, while she was literally running her batteries dry with her gears stuck in neutral.
She wondered how she could get the crystal in gear.
A bit grumpy with the screwdriver for stealing her energy, she sent forth a tiny overload, and suddenly there was a spark.
Sweetie opened her eyes to see the screwdriver shrink down and fold itself into the socket in her leg.
“Sweetie. You did it. You did it!”
Twilight started jumping around in a circle, Singing ”Yes!yes!yes!yes!yes!yes!yes!yes!” Fluttering her wings as she did it, she was almost jumping on air.
Sweetie first couldn't believe it had worked. She tried sending the same electric knock to the screwdriver. And it shot out of her leg. Then she retracted it again. Then pulled it out. Then in. Then out. In. Out. In. Out.
She had done it. She had performed an act of magic.
Sweetie was so happy she joined Twilight in her victory dance.
“Sounds like I should break out the victory cake,” Spike said, having appeared on the top of the stairs and were now looking down on the two celebrating mares.
"Yes!yes!yes!yes!Yes. Peace do! This breakthrough in theoretical cybernetic magical compatibility calls fro a celebration!" Twilight laughed, finishing her last victory lap so abruptly that Sweetie almost jumped onto her back.
She would have, had Twilight not grabbed her in her magic, and swung her around to stare into her eyes.
“Can you do it again?” She asked. Levitating Sweetie back to the table.
This time Twilight hooked her up to a lot of sensory equipment and started collecting the data from her magic performance.
Sweetie sat down and played with her screwdriver. Making the little folding arms bend around, tapping herself, and making the head of the screwdriver twist around to do and undo the screws in her own leg.
She was as happy as a foal playing with a new toy.
The idea that she could perform unicorn magic with the right upgrades was a fascinating thought indeed.
But at the same time, a small part of her logic center reminded her that her horn was still sitting unused on the top of her forehead.
Sometimes she hated the bluntness of her logic center.
She had just learned a new trick. But She had not actually learned any spell. Just how to activated a spell that was already there. She had not read any book of spells nor had she practiced to perfect it. It sort of felt like cheating.
The magic was already there. Her own energy had just given it the nudge to do what it was already designed to do. Her own cybernetic energy could not perform magic.
Twilight looked up from her monitor. Noticing the contemplative and sort of concerned look on Sweeties face.
“Is there something wrong Sweetie? Is the screwdriver not working properly?”
“No the screwdriver is cool and all. It feels nice to have some unicorn magic inside of me. It’s just that I didn't use my horn.”
She tapped her horn with the screwdriver. A bit concerned that she hadn't cast any spell with it.
“It feels like such a useless contraption. If I was made to look like an earth pony I would have no problem.
But since I’m not a real unicorn, it feels useless.”
In a way this made her think of herself as an earth pony with a contraption sticking out of her forehead.
Twilight walked up to her and patted her bald head.
“I do not think your horn is useless Sweetie. In fact I think it has a lot of potential”
Her hoof came to a rest behind Sweetie’s horn. There she twisted a small nob. There was a click from inside Sweeties horn. She then pressed down on the tip of the horn, which gave way like a button, and her horn opened up.
“Now” she said, “As for using some real unicorn magic. Time for phase two... “
She slapped her science googles on for emphasis, then walked over to the table and began to rummage among her things.
“Now where did I put...?” She mumbled.
Frustrated over not finding what she sought she walked out of the laboratory and yelled up the stairs.
“SPIKE! WHERE ARE THE CRYSTALS?”
“They will be ready soon” Came spikes voice from the other end of the castle.
“Ready? What do you mean ready?” Twilight made an irritated growl and started walking up the stairs and headed off towards the kitchen.
Sweetie pulled the plug out of her neck and followed. The thought of cake was to much to resist. She hoped it was Spikes famous crystal cake, with crystallized frosting (consisting of real crystals) with crystal berries from the crystal kingdom. Not only where they juicy and crispy, but the crystal ingredient also restored her energy. She and spike where the only ones that could eat it – except for Pinkie’s sister Maud.
Sweetie 'shrunk' the screwdriver back down into her leg, and was about to follow Twilight, when she noticed something else. Her power supply dropped a little every time she used the screwdriver. It was an almost insignificant difference. No more then when she moved her legs to walk. It made sense that it would take a small amount of power to drive any part of her.
But she also noticed, Upon a quick scan, that the energy inside the screwdriver crystal had shrunken. The energy inside was still bright like a sun – but it was a smaller sun. The difference was almost non existent. But it was there. That meant she burned out a small amount of the magic energy in the crystal every time she used it.
Oh well. Her own energy would soon be restored by sweet crystal cake, but she was not so sure about the screwdrivers crystal.
She followed Twilight back out into the hallway.
The princess and the dragon had met half way through the castle, right in the big throne room.
Spike was carrying a bucket full of frosting that he was still stirring, and if Sweeties visual scanners were not mistaken, there were bits of gems glimmering in the frosting. Sweetie liked her plastic lips.
Twilight on the other hoof was not amused.
“YOU GROUND DOWN THE CRYSTALS TO USE AS SPRINKLES?!” She yelled.
“You all sounded so happy so I thought for sure you wanted victory cake,” Spike replied, “And since Sweetie was coming over I figured I should make some of my famous cake with extra crystals on top.”
“And you used all the crystals in the house! Even the ones from my Lab? Spike! Those were for research only.”
“First of all. It’s not a house , it’s a castle.” Spike corrected. “And secondly you said you were done with those crystals yesterday when I cleaned up the place.”
“I said I was done with them For Today Spike. That was yesterday. Now I need them again for something else!”
“Well excuse me princess!”
Sweetie giggled at the way the little dragon talked back at Twilight.
Twilight hung her head. “So you ground them all up.” She said in defeat as phase two of her research would have to be put on hold until they could get more crystals.
“All except the ones that I was gonna use as cherry's on top.”
Twilight grinned. She disappeared in a purple flash"
"Wait, Twilight!" Spike complained, and ran off to save his precious 'cherries'. As if his little dragon feet could outrun the instantaneousness of teleportation.
Twilight reappear in the throne room a second later, with a coffee cup and a white diamond like crystal in her magical aura.
Sweetie looked on a bit envious as Twilight took a sip from the cup and sent Spike back to the kitchen to make more coffee. She mumbled something about never letting Spike into the lab again. Her cup empty, she put it on the armrest of her throne and then turned her attention to the crystal.
She closed her eyes and the glow around her horn gained a second layer, as did the magic around the crystal.
At the same time the light inside the crystal intensified. It glowed brighter and brighter until Twilight ceased whatever she was doing, and the light – and the second aura – disappeared into the crystal.
“There.” She said. ”I've just charged this crystal with a little levitation magic.”
She levitated the crystal over to her hoof and released it from her magic. Sweetie could see that the previously transparent white crystal had become light purple with a darker purple glow inside of it, not unlike the color of Twilight's magical aura.
Twilight walked up to Sweetie and inserted the crystal into her still open horn, (she had forgotten to close it in her thoughts of cake) and closed it.
“Now Sweetie. Extend yourself into that and we shall see if you can't learn some telekinesis.”
Over excited to be able to use the unicorns most basic spell she got to it. Telekinesis was like a fifth hoof for most unicorns. An invisible limb that could grab anything within reason – depending on the strength of the unicorn. As fundamentally a part of them as a Pegasus wings or any ponys tail. Some unicorns described it as a fifth hoof. Only Lyra Heartstrings insisted on calling it an invisible “Hand.”
It was easy to extend herself into the crystal now that she knew how to do it. She noticed the magic inside was much smaller than the overcharged screwdriver, but would still be able to power her for days were she able to access it directly.
She sent the same lovetap to her horn as she had to the screwdriver – and her horn blinked once. She tried it a couple of more times and her horn flickered but the magic light refused to stay on.
Then she realized that magic like levitation was not a burst of energy, but a continuous stream. She would not be able to sustain any spell with just a tap. She tried again and let her energy flow through the crystal. This time the light stayed on!
Sweeties eyes rolled up into the back of her head trying to look at the purple light coming from the top of her head.
“A Mirror. Can I get a Mirror! I want to see!”
Twilight conjured up a mirror, and Sweetie stared at the purple aura that was surrounding her horn.
She broke into another victory dance around the throne room. Singing “I got a magic horn. I got a magic horn. I got a magic horn.
Spike, where is the cake!?”
Beside her Twilight clapped her hooves, equally excited over the quick progress sweetie was making.
Sweetie stopped herself and looked around for something to levitate. Twilight gestured to the mug with the label “Have a nice day!” that was standing on the armrest of her throne.
Sweetie took aim at it, and thought about shooting some energy at the mug. But instead she hit a metaphorical wall as the restrictions would not let her.
The Restriction was more of a spell then a program. Specifically a spell designed by twilight and put on her energy distribution that prevented her from overcharging her systems in such a way that she became unable to perform more than the average filly.
Sweetie had settings in her systems that limited her abilities to that of a normal filly. It was just that since discovering her true self she had been learning how to override them. With the spell however she became unable to do so.
The screwdrivers shrinking function had just required a little push to activate. But this? She had no idea of how much energy was required to lift a cup. And neither could she try to find out. The same Restrictions that prevented her from shooting electricity at fools at school (I will still not mention any names) was now preventing her from using magic. Sweetie groaned in frustration. It just wasn't fair.
“Sweetie? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.
She told twilight about her predicament. And suddenly she saw a way out of these chains that grownups had put on her.
“You are gonna have to remove the restrictions. Otherwise we won’t be able to test properly.”
Twilight chewed on her lip, clearly weighing the options between Sweeties punishment and her own scientific curiosity.
Finally she sighted and gave in “Ok. For the purpose of this test I'm going to remove your restrictions.”
Yes! Score one for Sweetie Belle.
Twilight bowed her head and touched her horn with sweeties forehead. The magic flowed into her and released the locks on her distribution system.
“But It’s only temporarily. Once we are done I’m putting the spell back on.”
“Awwwwwwww.” Sweetie sighed.
Score one for twilight. But Sweetie wasn't about to give up.
“Please don't put them back on.” She pleaded. She initiated her best puppy eyes, a subroutine she always used when pleading for something.
Twilight however, proved immune to her charm.
“Sorry Sweetie. But we all agreed that you have to have the restraints until those foals can walk again.”
“I said I'm Sorry!”
-::Initiate crying sequence::-
“Sorry isn't enough this time Sweetie. Some of those foals where hospitalized because of you.”
-::Initiate really sad face::-
“Please twilight. I have been wearing this restraint for ever.”
“The game was three days ago!”
Ouch! Score two points for Twilight.
Sweetie was silent for a moment.
“For a robot, a second is like an eternity.”
“Don't pull that one with me. We both know your perception of time is just like everypony else's.”
Score three points for twilight. They really had been running a test on that.
“But how will I be able to use magic if you put the restraints back on?”
“First we need to test if it works. If it does then I will modify the spell to allow you to channel more energy to your horn. After we talk with Rarity.”
Sweetie sighed in defeat.
Three strikes and you are out. You win this round Twilight.
“Now. Back to the test at hoof.” Twilight tapped the mug with her hoof.
Sweetie took aim at it again, and thought about making it rise. But to her increasing disappointment nothing happened. She increased the energy output to her horn, and jerked her head around like a fisher would yank their rod, hoping to make the mug at least slide off the armrest. Yet the mug did not seem to get caught on her metaphorical line.
Unwilling to give up she increased the energy flow even more. She could feel the air around her horn electrify as her horn gained a second magic aura. What she did not feel was any invisible hand or hoof reaching out for the mug. No levitation aura was forming around it. It just stood there taunting her with its message to have a nice day.
Her day would become much nicer if she was able to lift that smug little mug.
Maybe she was not just trying hard enough. She had no idea how much energy or concentration that was needed to lift a mug. And she was determined to get some leverage for altering the Restrictions on her, so she sent even more energy to her horn and began staring at the mug like she was trying to beat it in a staring competition. Since she did not have to blink she could stare for eternity.
She concentrated on it so hard that her mind was drawing diagrams of it. She scanned every inch of the mug so perfectly that she would be able to perfectly reconstruct it down to the coffee stains on its brim and the wear on the handle.
She pushed more and more energy into her horn. A triple layer of magic formed around it and it shone so bright she lit up the throne room in purple. Yet the mug refused to move. Out of stubbornness she closed her eyes and pictured it lifting of the table. Like the beginners book for unicorns said you should do if you had trouble.
“Up” she thought repetitively. “Up, Up, UP WITH YOU!”
Eventually the aura grew so big that it started to creep down over her head. Sweetie still having her eyes closed in concentration did not notice the levitation field extending itself down over her body until it completely enfolded her.
Sweetie only opened her eyes as she felt her hooves leave the floor and she started floating up towards the ceiling.
Her horn was running on autopilot, maintaining the energy flow necessary to keep her suspended even as her concentration broke to the surprise of slowly rising into the air.
She kicked with her legs to no avail as she left the floor and started to rotate inside the magic field, until she was floating upside down. That's when her hooves touched the ceiling. And she felt the magic aura pressing her against it like some sort of reversed gravity. No doubt she would have floated even higher had the castle ceiling not been in the way.
“Well this was certainly something” She said with a big smile as she looked down on her mentor.
Twilight stood dumbstruck. Her jaw would have hit the floor was it not attached to her face.
Self levitation was supposed to be a near impossibility even among the strongest unicorns. And here she was, dancing on the ceiling suspended in her own levitation field.
Then she noticed her energy readings were nosediving into depletion. One negative side effect of exceeding her recommended settings were that her energy consumption increased dramatically. But she had never experienced it dropping this fast.
Before she could lower her energy output and perhaps slowly descend there was a loud cracking noise from her horn, like glass had just shattered, and Sweetie ended up taking a very literal nosedive into the floor.
As she became acquainted with it she realized she had no idea what the floor in this castle was actually made of. But it felt like stone.
Twilight rushed over.
“Sweetie! Are you alright?”
Sweetie rubbed her forehead. Partially to check that her skull hadn't dented, and partially because it hurt! Her pain receivers told her that she would have had a big lump on her forehead had she been wearing her skin. It was one of these moments she cursed her sensors and their oh so accurate depiction of pain.
She rebooted her pain receivers and made a quick internal check to make sure nothing was broken. Turning the sensors off and on again always made the pain go away.
“I'm fine” she said.
She tried to take a step and almost went face first into the stone floor again. Her leg was responding slowly and felt like it wanted to give out under her. The other three legs were heavy. Her eyelids where half shut and her head wouldn’t stay straight up.
Her body had entered sleepy mode to conserve energy. Most of her secondary systems began shutting down and those still running only did so at half capacity.
“Sweetie what’s wrong?”
“Just... running low on power” She said with a big simulated yawn.
She could disengage sleepy mode if she wanted to. But it was best not to since she would drop dead in a few minutes if she tried running at full capacity. She had once tried running her battery dry and had ended up collapsing into a heap on the street.
Twilight pressed down on her horn and opened it. Both their noses were assaulted by a stinking smell as white smoke rose from her open horn.
At that moment Spike entered from the kitchen with an upside down teapot on his head, stuck onto one of his spikes.
“Whats going on out here?” He asked.
“Whats going on with that,” Twilight asked back and pointed to his new choice of headgear.
“I was just making some refreshments when suddenly there was this loud bang! It startled me and...”
He stooped as his nose became aware of the smell.
He liked his lips like he had just smelled candy.
Twilight made a check on Sweeties horn to see that no internal components were damaged.
“Its just as I feared.” She said “You burned out all the energy stored in the crystal. But I had no idea it would result in such an explosive decomposition”
“Come again?”
“The Crystal in your horn, Sweetie. It burst from the strain you put on it. It must have been because you tried to overload it past its depletion point and it evaporated.”
She waved her hoof to clear the smoke.
“That's what the smelly smoke is. Crystal dust.”
“So that's what burned crystal smells like,” Said Sweetie, glad that none of her own circuitry had burned up.
“Don't worry ladies. I’ll take care of this,” Said spike. He jumped up on Twilight’s back and leaned in over Sweetie whereupon took a big sniff that sucked all the white smoke into his nostrils.
He made a long satisfied “Mmmmmmmmm” and stretched out his long tongue to lick the remaining dust particles off her horn.
At that very moment the library front door slammed open and Applebloom entered.
“Good morning Twi'. I'm just here to...”
She froze as she noticed Twilight watching over a tailless, maneless and skinless Sweetie Belle getting her horn licked by Spike wearing a teapot on his head.
“I'm not interrupting something, am I?”
Twilight smiled, and slapped her science goggles on again.
“Actually Applebloom. You are just in time”