Circuitry

by Show Off

Surprise

>Boot Ready
>Load: RUAI V 3.2.1

>Social Skill.exe

>Basic Emotion.exe

>Advanced Emotion.exe

>Cognizance.exe
>System Test…
>OK
>Load: AMPmem.pon
>Ready…

I am back in the observatory. I should be dead. Twilight must have elected to rebuild me. These logical assumptions and inferences are the first thoughts to cross my re-awakened mind.

The second is the observation that Twilight is incredibly upset. She throws her hooves around my neck and buries her face in my mane, unfolding her wings to cover both of us in an intimate moment. “Oh A.M.P.!” Her voice is slightly muffled by the synthetic fibers of my hair. She tucks her wings back against her sides and takes a step back. “What were you thinking?!”

“I…I am sorry, Twilight.” Overridden with a sudden guilt, I cannot meet her eyes. She takes the cue to jump into a long-winded rant

“I just don’t understand what could’ve possessed you to…jump. Barely able to grasp existence, and you make a conscious decision to commit suicide!”

“I-”

“Did you even stop to consider what it would do to me? What it would do to phase? Even Splice Bolt was heartbroken!”

“I-”

“I know you were hurting, A.M.P. But that’s when you come to us.” She is crying now. All of the insults and hate thrown at me over the span of my short life have never made me feel this terrible. I want to hide and power off until she calms down. “We love you, A.M.P. Didn’t that mean anything to you?”

It takes me a moment to process what she has said. Perhaps I did reach an illogical conclusion. I certainly had not expected such a strong emotional reaction from Twilight; I make a mental note to brace myself for my reunion with Phase.

“At least tell me what your rationale was,” Twilight whispers tearfully. “I know you wouldn’t do something that rash without a good explanation.”

“Everypony always seemed to be upset when I was present,” I tell her. “They weren't angry about anything I did specifically; they just resented my existence. It seemed to be in the interest of the common welfare to discontinue that existence.”

Twilight slumps from her previously stiff posture and stares blankly at the floor. “And what about the rest of us? Me, Phase, Splice; even Luna was in tears! Princess Celestia wept for you, A.M.P. Did you ever stop to consider what your death would mean to us?”

“The needs of the many must outweigh the needs of the few,” I echo my previous thoughts. “…If it is any consolation to you, Twilight, my last words were of you.” I step over to the mainframe computer and recall my audio files from that day.

“I wish I could cry for you, Twilight.” The speakers in the lab reverberate off the walls, filling the silence that has settled over the room.

Twilight says nothing for an uncomfortably long time. I am just beginning to wonder what I should say next when she finally stands. I try to look into her eyes, but she keeps her head down, her mane hanging in the way of her face. She pulls me into another tight hug.

I feel the same spark I felt so many weeks ago. Somewhere locked within my circuits, a new emotion begins writing a new and complex code. For the first time, Twilight is more than an ally or a companion; she is a friend, one whom I have wronged dearly.

I squeeze Twilight back tightly. “I…I am so sorry, Twilight. It was never my intention to cause-”

She pulls back and puts a hoof over my mouth. “Shh, it’s okay. But there are other ponies who want to see you.” She presses the ‘call’ button on the intercom, and moments later, the double doors leading into the lab swing open, and all of the ponies Twilight had mentioned previously poured into lab.

“Are you quite well?” Princess Luna was the first to address me. I made to bow, but she quickly swept me into yet another embrace. “We were all so heartbroken when we received Twilight’s letters.” She stepped back to regain an air of royalty, but no sooner than that and I was pulled into yet another hug as Princess Celestia stepped forward.

“Never again, my little pony,” was all she said. I am quite sure it is a command, but it is one I suddenly feel compelled to follow.

The Princess’ responses were significantly more restrained than Phase’s; the tan unicorn bowls me over in a full tackle, crying all the while. “A.M.P.! I missed you so much!” Her voice sounds tinny as it echoes through my head. She has buried her head in my neck, and is sobbing almost hysterically. I stroke her mane to try to calm her.

“It…it is alright,” I whisper gently.

“But it’s not! Why didn’t you come to us!?” she cries.

“I made an error in judgment,” I say.

Celestia steps forward and towers over us. “And one I certainly hope you have learned from. It’s not every pony that gets a chance to learn from their own death,” she says darkly. “Remember well what has happened today.”

“I will.”

“Very good.” She turns to address Twilight. “Thank you for inviting us, my faithful student, but Luna and I must return to our duties…”

The younger alicorn pulls me aside while Celestia and Twilight exchange a few more words. “That was quite a foolish act from you,” she chides. “Twilight loves you more than anything, and you threw it away like it was nothing.”

“It was never my intention to hurt her-”

“But hurt her you did. How is she to trust you if you are so quick to throw away her affection? You are like a daughter to Twilight-”

“Do you think I am unaware of that?” I finally snap. “Are you aware of the guilt I feel for my suicide? I barely have a grasp on the most basic equine emotions and you wish to put me on the defensive about it? I am tired of being told I have to feel sorry for what I did, because I feel such a great regret I do not know how to express it.”

With my rant over, I finally see that Luna has taken a step back, and is staring wide-eyed at me. I turn to look back at the others, and each of them is staring at me with a similar look of shock. Turning back to Luna, I bow. “Apologies, Princess. It has been a very trying day.” Their expressions do not change. “I am going for a run.”

I step out of the lab and into the morning sun. I flex each joint experimentally, testing the range of motion of my new body. As I turn my head to observe my hind legs moving, I notice that Twilight has altered the paint on my skin. Where before it was a glossy white, it was now a matte-finished, off-white color.

I start running at an easy canter, weaving through the streets toward the main gates of the city. The other ponies turn to watch me run past, but they don’t seem to be as hostile as before. A few still glare at me, but the majority of them seem to look after me with something closer to pity or shame.

Outside the city, I break into a full gallop and race down the winding road to the base of the mountain. Every so often I pass a traveler or two, but the road is fairly quiet today. Even at top speed, it takes nearly two hours to reach the cave I had discovered nearly six months ago. I scuff at the ground with a hoof. I am relieved to learn that the cave is undisturbed.

As I pace around the cave, I think back on the other ponies I encountered on my run. I realize that my suicide has had a profound impact on everyone in the city, not just on my friends. Perhaps I have misjudged the true feelings and intentions of the rest of the herd.

Something in my aural processors begins beeping. I search my software files for the source of the noise, and discover a new program that controls a radio signal transmitter and receiver. It dawns on me that Twilight must have wanted to make sure she could contact me whenever she needed to. I activate the program and answer the signal.

“Yes, Twilight?”

The static that comes through is very minor, and I can easily hear my maker’s voice. “A.M.P.! I’m glad the radio works; I’m thinking of developing a hoof-held device for mass use. Where are you?”

“I am currently standing in a cavern at the base of the mountain.”

“Wow…I had no idea you loved running that much! Come on home, I have one more surprise for you.”

“Yes Twilight.” I close the program, and begin the long run back to the lab.

* * *

Twilight greets me as I walk in; it appears as though Phase has gone home for the evening. “You’re home!” she cries happily as she hugs me.

“Yes,” I state. “You asked me to come back.”

“Right, of course. I’m just happy that you’re okay.”

I can tell she is uneasy about leaving me alone since the incident. “I am alright, Twilight. I have learned a valuable lesson today.”

“Which is?”

“Self-worth. I have been overly critical of my own existence up until this point, and I have discovered a new-found respect for life; mine in particular.”

“Good, I’d hoped that’s what you’d have discovered. So…” she gives a soft smile, “you’re probably wondering what your surprise is.”

“It has crossed my mind.”

Twilight levitates a train ticket up in front of me. “Ta-da!”

“A train ticket,” I say.

She gives a sigh that indicates her exasperation. “Yes, A.M.P.”

“To Ponyville-”

“Yes, A.M.P., I’m sending you to Ponyville to continue your development. You’ll be working closely with my friends to learn more about friendship.”

“An interesting idea, Twilight. You propose to send me to a town where every-pony is less familiar with me. You hope that getting away from the city and the citizens’ presuppositions will be more beneficial for learning social skills. ‘A change of scenery’ is the colloquialism, I believe.”

My creator rolls her eyes at me. “Nothing gets past you, does it sweetie?”

“Very little.”

She shakes her head and continues. “You’ll be staying with Applejack, working on her farm to earn your keep.”

“Will you be staying as well, Twilight?”

“No,” she admits sadly. “I’ll keep up with my usual every-third-Tuesday visit, but I can’t stay. This is your adventure, A.M.P. You can do it without me, you’re ready.”

She seems slightly uncomfortable with the idea of sending me off on my own. I step in and give her a hug. “Thank you, Twilight. I will miss you.”

I feel Twilight grip me tighter and start to cry, and I stroke her mane to help her calm down. After approximately two minutes, she backs away and rubs her eyes. “Now off to bed, you silly filly. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

* * *

Twilight runs through her final-stage checklist for a third time at the train station. “Tickets: check! Overnight bag for me: check! A.M.P.’s portable solar-charging station: check! Looks like we have everything!”

“Great! Have a good trip, Twi, I’ll see you when you get back.” Phase Shift has accompanied Twilight and me down to the platform. “And you,” she says, addressing me, “You take care of yourself. No more jumping off cliffs.”

“It is my understanding that there is only one cliff in Ponyville, and that it may be avoided by bypassing Third Street,” I reply.

“You know what I mean.”

“I…suppose I do. Goodbye, Phase. Thank you for your companionship.” I give her a brief hug and step onto the train.

Twilight exchanges farewells with Phase and follows me onboard. As we settle into our seats, a few of the other passengers throw me angry glares, but quickly look the other way when they see the Princess next to me. The train begins to pull out of the station.

“Are you excited for this, A.M.P.?”

I look out the window and see Phase begin to shrink into the distance. I am leaving behind everything I knew, starting a new life away from the old prejudices that hurt me in Canterlot. I am leaving behind the only friends I’ve ever had, trusting that I would make new ones on the way. I pull Princess Prettypants out of my saddlebags and examine her momentarily.

“Yes, Twilight. I believe I am…”

Comments

[rcman914]

This pleases me........continue.

[Spike in mlp]

Johnny five, is alive