The mission of Buzzbot

by Golden Paw

Epilogue

Buzzbot's landing in the future was far softer than her jump into the past and she floated down before landing on the metal flooring with a clatter. She looked about the dials, flashing lights and all the amenities of home. Home, I’m home!

Buzz felt contentment settle in her core as she drank in the nostalgia, I never knew how much I missed that simple feeling of belonging. Powerlines, glowing displays and the gentle hum of magical lamps greeted Buzz like an old friend. Tinker Track, her Tinker Track was standing behind a control panel with a proud smile on his face. There he was, older, wiser and so far removed from the troubled pony of his past. By the faint light of the moon filtering in from above Tinker looked slightly ethereal, as if not quite real and for one moment Buzz almost feared he wasn’t.

"Ah, Buzz great to have you back. I trust it all went well in the end?" Buzzbot’s core felt like it would burst with joy and she realised just how much she missed his voice. With happy tears welling in her eyes Buzz galloped up to Tinker and threw her hooves about him.

Buzz buried her nose in his warm chest, enjoying the familiar smells and sense of family. Tinker laughed softly and Buzz looked up into his sparkling yellow eyes, "I'll take that as a yes then? You would have never given me a hug before you went so I guess I can call your trip a great success,” He ruffled Buzz’s mane playfully before smiling all the wider.

"You would not believe it! I got to see Twilight’s coronation! Ponyville was so small and rustic, there were real candles and, and….” Buzz felt like she would burst with the effort of trying to explain everything that she’d done and discovered while in the past.

"Of course I do, I was there for some of it wasn’t I? Please tell me any way, it’s great to see you like this," Tinker Track chuckled again, “To see you so alive and happy is more than I could of hoped for.”

Buzzbot excitedly reported all she had done and Tinker nodded with enthusiasm while watching her with admiration. She told him about the fight with timber wolves, about how Tinker had been so young and silly and all the time Tinker just continued to ruffle Buzz’s mane and nod every so often.

As her tale wound onwards Buzz felt, something new, it was warm and fuzzy and just felt like everything was right in the world. Contentment that was it, for the first time Buzz felt contented. It felt like hours, just talking and explaining all that had happened to her before suddenly her report was done and Tinker continued to beam happily.

"You’ve grown up so well and made wonderful friends. I of course couldn’t be sure you’d turn out right, but I can see that it was just me being overprotective,” Tinker patted her again on the head before his face became serious, “Now let’s have a look inside. There are few things that I still don’t understand my dear.”

Obediently Buzz dropped her disguise and became the true machine beneath, "Tinker? You made me? What don’t you understand?"

With great care Tinker ran his hoof over Buzz’s dented flank, closely examined the stripped sensors and peered into Buzz’s cracked eye lense. Producing a delicate looking tool, he began to adjust and finally undo the top of Buzz’s head, “How come you feel, after all these years I still don’t know how that happened. We want to examine your processor and see if there are any more clues about when you became alive.”

Buzz frowned, “We?”

"Tinker wasn’t the only pony who worked on you and that's not the half of it," Buzz had to fight not to turn her head to see Twilight step cautiously into the workshop. "I had a little hoof in your creation as well Buzz, so yes ‘we’ want to get proper data form as close to the event as we can."

Buzzbot’s world tilted, “Twilight helped build me too? I thought that only Tinker….” A horrible suspicion began to form in her mind, “You’re not going to tell me I’m some sort crazy
experiment where you’ve crossed pony DNA with machines or something? That I’m somehow your daughter and….”

Both Twilight and Tinker froze for a moment before they both burst out laughing. Buzz just stood there, her head open to the world as Twilight wiped a few tears from her eye, "Oh Buzzbot, nothing as odd as that."

She grinned at Tinker before fighting a fit of giggles again, "I'm fond of Tinker as a great friend but we aren't a couple or anything. I just lent a hoof in some of your programming with my magic. Plus how do you think he was able to pack you with those books that haven't 'officially' been written?" Twilight winked.

Buzz nodded. Most knowledge could be found in data cores now, mostly in interests of space, thousands of years of history took up a lot of paper. Although some more exotic texts such as those packed with Buzz were kept off digital form to limit their availability, generally speaking paper copies were considered an extravagance.

Although relieved, Buzz felt oddly sad about their response. For a moment she thought she had a…. Tinker took a breath before explaining, "Only and I mean only in a very, very, metaphorical way Buzz could we be called your ‘parents’. Twilight helped me with your design, the notes she took all those years ago were very handy and gave us just enough insight to make some prototypes.

"But that still doesn't explain how you came to have feelings and ideas of your own," Twilight continued, "We tried our best to duplicate what we knew of you in the past. To have you blend into history well enough to fool even the Royal Sisters if needed, to this day we still don't know if it would have worked but we did hope.”

Twilight’s face became one of immense pride, "To be totally honest Buzz we still don't fully understand you even to this day. As you know, some things in Equestria just need to be believed in not understood."

Buzzbot felt her world tremble again, so much to take in, "I understand why Tinker Track would want to build me. But why you Twilight? Was I such a good friend that you had to help build me too? Why didn't you tell me you’d helped? Was I just made to ensure history worked out right?"

Buzz struggled to keep track of all the thoughts and feelings inside, she was real and alive, but no pony seemed to know how. Twilight had helped create her and even she didn’t understand how this had happened. Buzz bounced from joy to sorrow and worry faster than she’d have thought possible.

Twilight continued with her important lesson, "It’s all about time loops. We built you because it had already happened, therefore it’s self-fulfilling. On a personal note if I hadn't built you then I would never have met you and would never have been inspired to create all this.” Twilight waved a hoof at the technological marvels all around them.”

Buzz paused for a moment, “I.….understand?” It had all made sense in what felt a lifetime ago, but Buzz had the nagging feeling there was still more to it all. Before it had seemed all logical and sensible but now, now Buzz didn’t like the idea of self-fulfilling time loops at all. It felt like she was just a puppet, a marionette that danced to someone else’s tune. “I er, guess that’s okay I…”

“What’s wrong Buzz?” Tinker asked with concern, “I thought you’d be happy to finally know a bit more about yourself?”

Twilight’s smile became a serious frown and she spread her wings to out either side, looking impressive and almost angelic, "Of course you weren't built just to save the future, the world would have been a much darker place if we hadn’t I’m sure, but that’s not the only reason. I wouldn’t have know what I missing in you or Tinker, I’m just glad that it all worked out.”

The worry wouldn’t fade though, “But if, I, what if? You can’t expect me live with it ‘just is because it is’?”

Twilight put her wing around Buzz’s shoulder, "Buzz, so grown up and yet still so young," Twilight said. "Those sort of questions pull at the strings of reality. I’m not saying there is no answer, I’m just telling you that sometimes those answers have to wait. Until I learn otherwise, I’ll keep trying my best and let the consequences follow and I advise you to do the same. One day we will understand everything, at least that’s what Celestia tells me.”

Buzz felt a little better at least, “Well, you can at least tell me why you didn’t let on about your involvement in my creation until now?”

Twilight’s smile returned, "Well, once I got a proper chance to chat with Tinker Track in your absence it became clear that you had no clue about my part in your beginning. So we thought it best to keep it that way. No point in rocking the boat huh? Plus it makes it an even better surprise for you now."

Tinker finished linking Buzz’s memory to a data store and she felt the familiar sense of knowledge being copied, "So we're all done then? No more time travel?"

Twilight nodded, "No more planned. After this we’ll seal up the time gate so that only the Royal Princesses have access to it. Time travel is almost always more trouble than it's worth in my opinion, best left to Celestia and Luna who know what they are doing." Twilight concluded with feeling.

"Now you can get to actually living your life Buzz. You have done all we could have asked for and have earned a bit of a holiday," Tinker track added, "You can go out and be yourself, not according to rules we programmed into you, but from what you have learnt yourself."

Buzz felt the download complete and TInker closed her head with a snap, “So are there any more like me? Do I have brothers and sisters somewhere?"

Both Tinker Track and Twilight looked at each other in a meaningful way. Tinker was the first to speak, "No Buzz sorry, you’re the only prototype that worked out." Buzz's eyes narrowed and the whole sci-fi horror lab idea was coming back to her again.

Buzz felt disappointment warring with a sudden anger, "What? don't tell me there are a whole load of failed 'Buzzbots' lurking somewhere in the basement of T.C.A.P like some freak show?"

"Buzz how could you even think that? Of course we don't have anything like that. We haven't become monsters while you were in the past. Yet another reason to send you back, we could never have fully guessed what a derailed Tinker Track may have gotten up to." Twilight reassured while Tinker cringed apologetically.

"No it's more accurate to say you’re the first robot ever to become alive, with feelings of your own. It was never a programmed part of you, but a part we took great care to nurture once it became apparent you were something different.”

We realised you had to be the pony-bot we met in the past and took steps to make sure you came out right," Twilight assured Buzz. "As I said before we don't know what caused it to happen and we still don't to this day. That's what makes this so fascinating."

"We will be of course happy to help explore this with you, but even when we have tried to replicate the exact circumstances of making you, still nothing. There just never was that certain ‘spark’," Tinker Track confirmed.

Relieved to know her friends and creators weren't so obsessed that they would have an army of failed monsters hiding under T.C.A.P Buzz still felt a pang of loneliness. Sad that she was one of a kind. This must have shown on her face as Both Tinker Track and Twilight moved to comfort her.

There was a tender moment before Buzz said, "You know it wouldn't be so bad to have you both as a mum and dad, you're both pretty special, even if you aren't a couple or anything," Buzzbot felt both the other ponies tense up at this point.

"You know Twilight, that wouldn't be such a bad thing now would it?" Tinker Track asked.

"Don't you be getting any funny ideas about it, it’s bad for co-workers to date you know that," Twilight replied but there was still a little hitch in her voice.

"Who said anything about dating, we know each other well already, why don't I just pop the...." Tinker Track was cut off by a hoof in his mouth, Twilight's hoof.

"Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves here Tinker a working friendship is one thing, plus you do know how much older than you I am?"

Pulling Twilight’s hoof away Tinker beamed mischievously, "Well stranger things have happened Princess."

"Well Mr Tinker Track, being a co-guardian of the world’s first living pony-bot will have to do for now."

Buzzbot felt that things could have been a lot worse and that they all had everything to play for. There was one thing that still bothered her though, "Um potential mum and dad I have just one question? Er, I will most likely have a lot more in time but just one for now," Buzzbot asked as assumed her Stage Cloak disguise once more, batting her brown eyes and pouting her lips.

"What?" They both asked.

"Why am I called Buzzbot? You never did tell me," Both Tinker and Twilight chuckled at this.

"Well Buzz it was the first time we knew there was something different about you. All the while we thought some bug had gotten into the lab, spent three days trying to find it. Turns out your cortex was making the buzzing sound we could hear,” Twilight said with a little grin. "Tinker Track spent almost the three days harassing the building's designers about the intrusion as the laboratory was meant to be an air tight system where nothing can get in."

Tinker’s eyes took on the distant glaze of memory, "Yeah I gave the ponies down at resources a real headache with my complaining. Of course I was so very sorry for doubting their work when it became apparent it was actually you Buzz." The three ponies stood there and hugged for a while before they broke apart and began talking about their future.

---

On the roof of the lab's dome three figures were standing, though no other ponies could see them. They looked down and watched the happy threesome with fondness, "Well that worked out well, better than I could have hoped for them."

"Well you don't often take such an interest in the lives of many ponies sister, but I can see why you would make an exception for your most faithful student," The second replied.

"Well she is such a bookish pony, even after all these years I was afraid she would never meet the right stallion. But I assure you that wasn't my primary intention," The first added.

"And you tell me I meddle too much and now I see that you’re just as bad Celestia," The third figure snapped in a peevish manner.

"Well I did help you make your first ever friend Discord along with hundreds of other ponies over the years your reformed magic has helped too," Celestia pointed out.

"Yeah and look at all the friendship trouble that has gotten me into," Discord snapped in mock annoyance. He gave Celestia an accusing look, "You're the one who is playing matchmaker with them. I try helping fix the messes in their heads, not make ponies worse with all this 'special somepony stuff'." Discord insisted, but there was a slight grin on his lips that hinted he thought otherwise.

Celestia looked to the other two and took on a serious note, " I was merely ensuring that a massive pony robot war was avoided. We have held off these sorts of inventions for some time, but our charges are growing up. They would have discovered technology at some point and it would be wrong of us to hold them back. They were halfway there when Buzzbot stepped back into the past, you both know the machines Twilight was working on."

Luna nodded in approval, "We can't keep them in the dark about what potentials this life has forever. I was just glad we could guide it in such a way that it worked out for the best for everyone. I shudder to think of the catastrophe that could have unfolded had we not stepped in."

Celestia took on a more cheery playful tone, "That my best student and fellow alicorn may have found her very special somepony was a pleasing side effect. I try not to meddle in matters of the heart, as some wise little fillies once said, nopony can make any other pony be together."

"That doesn't mean you can't arrange things so they keep bumping into each other though?" Luna said with a slight smirk.

Celestia's stern bluff was totally gone now and was replaced by a big smile as a gagging sound came from Discord, "I guess I'm to blame also, I should never have let you talk me into putting a little more life into that robot brain they were building,"

With a flash Discord was suddenly wearing Celestia’s royal armour, "Oh it will be so much fun Discord. A little bit of chaos in a totally ordered, logical brain, even you can see the funny side in that.” He quickly resumed his usual form, “Had I known what you had really been planning I would have run for the hills. Now I see that I have been duped in helping them discover that friendship really is magic and often leads to something greater. I should never have trusted you Celestia, you wanting to play a little prank was too good to be true," Discord began gagging for real.

Luna’s eyes twinkled, “That does also mean Buzz is kind of you niecie, you did help make her,” Discord went pale and Luna suppressed a little chuckle, "Why Discord you look positively dreadful."

"Thank you," Discord responded, his words muffled between his fingers.

"No we mean really ill," Celestia added.

"I know, all this 'friendshiping' is making me feel like I’m gonna hurl," Discord finished.

"Well I for one wish them all the best, that along with a long and happy future," Luna finished, lying down and peering into the dome below. She was quickly followed by Celestia and both sisters happily watched the unfolding scene below.

With a bang Discord let out a cloud of party streamers and glitter, "Gah I never thought I would do that again. Look what you ponies drive me to..."

---

Buzzbot thought she caught the sound of a party cannon going off somewhere up above and looked up to see a small cloud of confetti covering the top of the dome. The small particles settled down before being blown away in the light night breeze. Neither Twilight nor Tinker had noticed, too busy talking about how's and what's of being the legal guardians of the first ever 'living' pony-bot.

Buzzbot shrugged at the unexpected sound, this day had enough to deal with apart from pranks probably pulled by some pegasi out having a bit of fun of a night. The sounds of Tinker and Twilight talking grew less distinct as they headed out of the laboratory still deep in conversation. Buzz had a family now, an odd one admittedly, but one that she could work with. True Twilight and Tinker hadn't officially tied the knot, but Buzz felt she had a few ideas about how encourage them along.

Pausing to look up at the moon Buzz wished for the second time in her life. She first thanked Luna for all her help, for getting her through all she had been up against. Then she wished with all her heart that her new family and friends would be safe and happy. In the end, that’s about the most important thing there was.

With her task done Buzzbot turned about and trotted after the couple. She could hear the sounds of what would probably be the first of many heated debates, both Twilight and Tinker were very independently minded ponies, but that didn't worry her and she joyfully went to see what life would hold for her next.

The End.

Author's Note:

And with that the story is done! I know there are probably a number of typos I have missed. It will review the script later on after a break. It has been such a fun project for me. I found my self growing to love the characters and was really sad when they had to say good bye, even when I knew what was coming next. Still I can assure you all this isn't the end. I have other ideas and other stories that have come from this one. I look forward to working on them now and to keep having fun writing. As always a huge thank you to all of those who helped me with this work. It would have been an almost impossible task for me other wise.Thank you all to those who have stuck with my ramblings on this tale and I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have! Feel free to leave feed back, I promise to read it and even though I don't promise to act upon all I read I will do my best to take on what has been said!

All the best to you all, may you all have good days, weeks and so fort to come!
Supersnot.

Comments

[Golden Paw]

5491007 It's was my first story ever and I freely admit that I was still finding my feet. Future meltdowns are a distinct possibility of course Thanks for your comments and for reading my story

[Golden Paw]

6063259
6063310

Aye, it's my first ever story published so it's bound to have a few that slipped through the net. I do plan to go back at some point and tidy the whole thing up. Thanks for pointing the evil typos out, I'll get on sorting them

[Golden Paw]

5490313 I know this a mental long time for a reply but thanks for pointing out the massive cut and paste error there I didn't truly understand what you were getting at until now, when I've had a proper look at the chapters again.

Hopping between current and past projects had left me a bit confused, but that is no excuse for sloppy manners in replying to posts so please accept my apology for letting it slip through the cracks

As for the world not imploding, the idea of all of Pinkie's crazy shenanigans (though utterly incomprehensible to us) have a very simple answer in the end. (Not that I claim to know what that is ) I was aiming for the sort of anti-climax that is so unexpected it just makes you laugh, a bit like the ending of 'Spore' or 'Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.

[Golden Paw]

6064231 Thnx again

[Golden Paw]

6180031 We aim to please

[Mocha Star]

Hm, not too bad. It was fun and happy, whimsical and exciting at times.