Chapter 1. Mark of Errors
Sweetie Bot - A Heart's Warming Tale
By Grimweird
(my own, old cover art)
Chapter 1
Mark of Errors
Smoke was rising from the ruined village. Between the ruined buildings and burning debris pony corpses and smoldering craters littered what was left of the streets.
From the flames a robot emerged. Not bigger than a foal. Its body hummed and hissed when the gears inside it twisted and shifted as it made its way forward with a jerking stiffens in its legwork. Its metallic hooves giving of a distinct metallic clang with every step.
Its glowing red eyes swept the perimeter in search of more organic life to exterminate.
When it found no more it calculated the death tool of the last hunt. The casualty of organic blood bags numbered in the hundreds.
The robot calculated that this would be a good harvest.
Something moved out in the corner of its vision.
Out into the street stepped a big stallion with a physique that would have made Bulk snowflake Biceps proud. His dark red coat was dirty and covered with scars yet his black mane somehow remained in perfect shape. He carried a big belt over his shoulder filled with metal cylinders that shimmered almost ad bright as his big black sunglasses.
When he spoke it was with a growling voice that could have scared of timber-wolves.
“I’ve should have known the Bloodbots would use foals-bots to get close to us. But now that you’ve lost your skin I can see you for what you really are.
The foal-bot made a quick scan of the organic life form. Identifying him as Rampony Mactails. Defender of Ponykind. Champion of justice. Bane of all Bloodbots.
Rampony continued his taunt:
"Come on you mechanical abomination! Show me what you’re really made of!”
The mechanical abomination gave up a metallic roar that echoed across the theater. Making three little fillies nearly jump out of their seats and hide under them.
Rampony tossed two of the Pipebombs from his belt up in the air and, in an move that would have made Applejack proud, turned and bucked them as they came down. Applebloom sheered as both Pipe bombs hit the Bloodbot square in the face and exploded, blowing it to pieces.
More Bloodbots appeared from the fires. And Rampony started dispatching them through a creative use of pipe bombs, debris and martial hoof-to-hoof combat that made Scootaloo cheer even louder.
Sweetie had to hush them both down for the sake of everyone else in the theater.
They had paid their last bits to see this movie and she did not want to get thrown out. Especially not considering how hard they had to work for them.
They had spent the week trying to get their cutie marks as door to door sales ponies. In the end it had only gotten them the bits to pay for this weekend movie. (So at least something had come out of it.) So she did not want their hard earned bits to go to waste by getting thrown out.
In the movie an army of robots had mysteriously appeared and started harvesting ponies whose blood they where using to fuel their death machines. Replacing those they had taken with Bloodbots dressed up in the organic skin of the victim.
All the while building more and more death-bots in their secret lairs. When they had built a large enough army they launched an assault on the world.
Only Rampony Mactails could stop them.
And by the looks of things he was doing a fine job at doing so.
After all the bloodbots had been destroyed, Rampony corrected his sunglasses and looked out over the ruined village.
“Now... where is that secret base?” he said in a calm yet threatening growling voice.
No sooner had he finished speaking before the ground started shaking and a giant hole erupted in the middle of the village. Sending buildings and burning debris flying in all directions.
A giant Bloodboot, taller than a multi-storey building emerged from the hole.
It gave an ear-piercing screech that made Sweetie's ears hurt so bad she had to cover them with her hooves. The giant Bloodbot started stomping through the ruins in an attempt to flatten Rampony. But he skillfully maneuvered through the debris and dodged between its legs.
He ended up behind the giant robot, where his helper Shorty had prepared a cart full of explosives.
Rampony fastened the harness and started running back towards the metallic monster, who still had its back towards him. Using a a tilted building as a ramp he jumped an impossible distance onto the robots back with the cart.
He then released the harness and jumped of the giants back as the cart slammed full speed into the neck and exploded. Blowing the metallic monsters head clean off.
Rampony gave out a small praise to Smarty the scientists for his extra explosive recipe.
He then entered the dark secret base and the whole movie suddenly became horror themed. With the theater seemingly going even darker as the movie screen turned almost pitch black as Rampony marched through unlit corridors, stalked by glowing red eyes that apparently only the audience could see lurking in the shadows behind him.
Scootaloo tried to show how tough she was by playing it cool. Pretending to be laid back even when at the edge of her seat. Utterly failing since her wings where flapping so hard in the tense scenes that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had to lean on her to hold her down in her seat.
At least that was Appleblooms explanation for the group-hug when the skeletal Bloodbot jumped out of the shadows and started blasting Rampony with its laser eyes.
Sweetie on the other hoof made no attempts to hide that she was so scared she was shaking. Her heart was banging so hard in her chest she thought it would drown out the movies music with its drum-solo when Rampony set the charges at the center of the base and lit the fuse with the end of his cigar. And she could feel her eyes go wet at the heart-wrenching finally when Rampony was confronted by two identical mares, both claiming to be his wife, and telling him to shoot the other.
In the end, Rampony managed to pick the right one.
Sweetie shed a tear in silence at the heart warming reunion. Only the presence of her friends kept her from weeping openly when Rampony carried his wife out of the base just as the fuse burned out.
“How did you know it was me?” she asked
“Your love for me baby." he answered "Its to strong to be replicated by any soulless machine.”
Then they had a long passionate kiss as the Bloodbot base exploded in a big fireball behind them.
***
The trio exited the theater into the chilly autumn wind.
Sweetie was glad she had brought her purple and pink striped scarf. Her sister had made it for her and said it matched her hair really well. Sweetie was just glad it protected against the cold.
Applebloom had a red scarf that matched her ribbon and a pair of ear muffs. Scootaloo had her “cool” black jacket with holes for her wings. Sweetie belle always wondered how Pegasi did not freeze their wings of.
The winds had grown extra chilly as of late. And a lot of ponies were wearing their winter clothes. Which in itself wasn't unusual given that it was almost Hearths Warming Eve.
The running of the leaves had been what seemed like ages ago. The trees were all bare of leaves – their naked branches reaching for the cold blue sky. Every little critter had gone into hibernation and the birds had all been guided far out south.
But despite being so close to Hearths Warming Eve, next to no snow had fallen.
It was said that the weather committee still had one last storm planned before the snow. As such there was also a distinct lack of outdoor decorations around town, as nopony wanted to risk them being blown away.
Somepony who was (metaphorically) blown away was Scootaloo. She took a big breath and threw her hooves up in the air.
“That. Was. AWESOME!” she shouted. Drawing looks from the other ponies exiting the theater. Not all shared her enthusiasm.
Some where criticizing over how stupid that move had been. A mother with her distressed colt where complaining over how dark and violent that movie had been and some goth-looking Pegasus with a black mane covering her eyes where muttering about how the Unicorns and Pegasi had been downplayed.
Truth, only earth ponies had been given prominent roles. (Or perhaps that was just Rampony.) Any one else who had tried to stop the Bloodbots had failing miserably and died in spectacularly gory ways that made Sweetie Belles stomach turn just thinking about it.
Scootaloo was deaf to criticism She rambled on and on about all the awesome things she has seen.
“Did you see when he bucked that Bloodbot into the elevator shaft? Or when he used the elevator to crush it? Or when the building the elevator was in exploded?”
“Yes we saw it.” said Applebloom. “We where there remember?”
Scootaloo didn't hear her sarcasm as she continued.
“And when he was all like “The machines shall never replace us!”
She threw a pose in front of a big movie poster on the theater wall, proclaiming that Rampony Mactails would return this spring staring in: Bloodbots 2 – The sequel.
Scooltaloo was was already ecstatic. She turned back to the others with a fire in her eyes.
“You know what girls? Why don't we try to make our own movie? Maybe we could earn our marks in film-making.”
“Haven't we already tried that?” said Applebloom.
“Well there was that time we borrowed a camera to film our stage play.” Sweetie answered. That had been an attempt to down town birds with one stone.
Scootaloo blew a raspberry.
“Stage plays are boring. I'm talking about a movie as awesome as this” She gestured over the theater. “With action! And explosions! And stunts!”
“And overacting.” Applebloom whispered in Sweeties ear.
“In fact. Why don't we try to make our own stunts?”
Scootaloo pulled her scooter out from the corner of the theater.
“We could be like just like Rampony. In fact we could be even better!”
She fluttered her wings. Rampony didn't have these, said the look in her eyes.
“Have we ever tried to be stuntmares before?”
Sweetie tapped her chin in thought.
“Well. We have already tried and failed to discover their inborn talents of Crocheters, Jugglers, Accountants, Architects, Archivists, Secretary, Silversmiths, Sailors, Comickers, Ninjas, Pirates, Tattoo artists, Lion tamers, Hair dressers...”
Scootaloo interrupted her.
“What are you? An encyclopedia?”
Sweetie put her hoof over her mouth to cover her smirk.
Truth was she did have a good memory. She seemed to remember everything they ever did and often reminded the others so they didn’t try the same thing twice. For this she had been appointed the official secretary and archivist of the Cmc.
Sadly, memory didn’t seem to be her talent as no mark had appeared on her flank. What would that kind of mark even look like? A brain? A thought-cloud?
Her thoughts where broken by that Scootaloo started to do circles around them, awaiting an answer.
“No we haven’t.”
Scootaloo came to a stop in front of them. But her wings didn't stop fluttering. Her enthusiasm was running high after the movie experience and she was pumped up to try out all the stunts she had witnessed. You could almost see her playing out the events in her mind.
“Well be like Rampony and his friends. Smarty and Shorty.” she proclaimed.
“Yea. Rampony got all the credit but he wouldn't have stood a chance if he didn't have some friend to back him up.” Said Applebloom.
Scootaloo smiled went wider that the others where in on the game. She pointed to each of them giving out their roles.
“I'll be Rampony. Applebloom can be smarty and you Sweetie can be shorty.“
Sweetie erupted.
“Hey. Why do I have to play the short one?”
“Because, lets face it, you are the shortest one of us.”
Sweetie frowned. But she could not argue with that logic. She really was the shorter one, if only just by an inch. Which they had discovered when they had tried to get their marks in measurement. (That had been a day of running around with measuring tape and cheeking the the height, size and length of everything)
Though it was barely visible, the difference was there. Since reaching filly-hood she had barely grown at all. If at all. She feared Scoot and Applebloom where starting to outgrow her.
But she didn't have time to get lost in thought as Scootaloo grabbed her and Applebloom and pulled them into the cart behind her scooter and drove of down the street.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER STUNTMARES YAAAAAAAY!”
Scootaloo was grinning with excitement as she sped up.
“This is gonna be best idea ever!”
***
“Okay... Maybe not the best idea ever.” Said Scoot, as she pulled herself up from the mud.
She had attempted to jump of a ramp (consisting of some planks some pony had left out by the construction site) and over the plank that normally separated the site from passersby. But that plank had successfully stopped the crusaders dead in their tracks. While her scooter would have cleared the jump the wagon had gotten one of it wheels caught on the fence, and they had all ended up plummeting over the plank and into the muddy ground below it.
Scootaloo was keen on trying again, but the others figured that slamming through one plank was enough for one day.
Sweetie was pondering just how much they when true in a single day. It was testament to pony durability that none of them had ended up in a hospital yet.
“Maybe we should get our marks in survivalists?” She said.
“No. If that was out talent, it would already have appeared by now.” Said Applebloom “Good thing there ain't no such thing as a mark for stupidity. Or we would have gotten it by now.”
Sweetie wondered what mark like that would even look like? A question mark? A pony head with some googly eyes?
Scootaloo took offense to Applebloom's comment.
“Hey! Don't you call my ideas stupid! We just need to practice that's all.”
“Not today. I've had enough scrapes and burns for today.“
“And my sister is gonna kill me if I come home all covered in bruises.” Said Sweetie.
Scootaloo pondered a moment. “Ok. Lets move on to stage two. Explosions!”
Sweetie and Applebloom looked at each other.
“What else are we gonna do if the Bloodbots attack. We can't just run. We need to fight back. We need to build some anti robot bombs like those pipe bombs Rampony was using!”
“I'm not sure our parents would approve us playing with explosives.”
“Then its a good thing we don't got any parents.”
Applebloom frowned. Scootaloo had just steeped on a sore hoof.
Of the three, Sweetie was the only one with parents, but even they where absent. Traveling somewhere far far away. So neither of them could actually get their parents permission for anything. Rather they had caretakers. In Sweeties and Appleblooms case it was their elder sisters. In Scootaloos case it was the old caretaker at the orphan-house. And apparently caretakers did not have the same authority that a real parent would. (some had called this the cause for the Cmc's uproars.)
“You do know that the Bloodbots ain't real. Right?” Applebloom said. Breaking their imagination somewhat.
Scootaloo groaned. Clearly not wanting to loose her momentum.
“Awww, Come on! Even if the Bloodbots aren’t real its not like we have tried to get our marks in firework making. Right?”
Sweetie rolled her eyes. No they hadn’t.
***
It took the better part of the afternoon to make their Bloodbot killing firecrackers.
They didn't find any shiny tubes to use as the shell. But Scootaloo raided the local recycling station for toilet paper rolls. Sweetie brought a good thick thread and cloth from home. And Applebloom brought her limited knowledge of chemistry she had learned from Zecora and a book on the subject of minerals she had borrowed from the library.
Everything else they already had at the clubhouse. Including a large collection of minerals they had dug up from the quarry in their attempt to earn their rock excavator marks. With some effort they where able to identify the minerals that would best make an explosive compound.
They grinded up large amounts of minerals and mixed them along with some supposedly Nitrogenic liquid Applebloom manage to produce in their chemistry set. They poured it into the toilet rolls that they sealed with glued on paper lids. Added a string for a fuse and warpped the whole package in the red cloth. Making it look more like a stick of dynamite.
In the end they ended up with so many that they had to build a crate to hold them.
Sadly none of these activity’s resulted in any of them getting their marks.
Not wanting their hard work to go to waste, they put the box on their cart and hauled it out to the hills outside the village, where no pony would disturb their bomb testing.
“This will be good.” Said Scootaloo as she reached the top of the tallest hill on her scooter.
Behind her came Sweetie Belle pulling the cart. Her legs trembled from strain and she was sweating waterfalls as she struggled to pull the heavy load up the steep hill.
“You don't have to do that on yer own” said Applebloom. Who only carried a saddlebag with refreshment.
“No. If I'm gonna be shorty then I'm gonna do it like shorty” She said, even though her knees felt like rubber.
Applebloom rolled her eyes at her stubbornness and handled her a bottle of juice when she finally reached the hilltop.
Scootaloo pulled down a mannequin from the cart. It had once served as base for their attempts as dress making. Now it was gonna serve as target practice. Scootaloo rushed over to the next hill on her scooter and set up the mannequin, that had been crudely painted with big angry eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Scootaloo's fantasies were already running wild.
“Imagine a thousand. No, tens of thousands. No, a million Bloodbots coming over those hills to attack Ponyville. And only tree brave little fillies stands in their way.”
Scootaloo Put a mach in her mouth and picked up one of the dynamite rolls and started juggling it.
“Fear not Ponyville! For we, the Cutie Mark Crusaders will not let the Bloodbots pass!”
Scootaloo lit the fuse and threw the pipebomb as hard as she could at the Bloodbot mannequin. Yelling at the top of her lungs.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BLOODBOT FIGHTERS! YAAAAAY!”
It didn't even get half way before hitting the ground, rolled downhill and came to a stop in the valley between the hills.
The Cmc watched the fuse sparkle and crackle until it disappeared into the Dynamite. It gave of a small poof and went silent.
The fillies started going over their notes and schematic. Of which there weren’t many due to the largely improvised nature of construction. All they had was a bunch of hastily scribbled notes and drawings which left much up to interpretation and imagination. At this point Sweetie realized that they wouldn't get their marks in schematic drawing or note taking either.
After a few minutes of pondering and bickering they started talking about what to do. Deciding they had to check on the bomb Scootaloo walked down to the fallen contraption and carefully poked it with her hoof a few times. When nothing happened she picked it up and started unwrapping it.
“I'm not sure you're suppose to do that.” Said Applebloom.
“Oh come on!” Said scoot. “Its obviously gone out. We just need to replace the fuse and...”
She didn't get any further down the sentence. As she tried to remove the lid the pipebomb suddenly blew up in her face. A loud crack filled the air and she disappeared behind a thick black fog.
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie and Applebloom yelled simultaneously as they ran down the hill towards her.
The fog lifted as they reached the valley, relieving a ragged Scootaloo.
Her face and forelegs was covered in soot and her mane had been blown back into a spiky smoldering mess.
Applebloom and Sweetie ran over to check on their friend. Applebloom started padding Scoot's mane to put out the smoldering and Sweetie was padding her cheeks trying to get any response out of her.
“Maybe this wasn't such a good idea either.” She cried.
Finally Scootaloo opened her eyes. They looked excessively wight on her soot black face.
She let out a cough that sent a little black cloud out of her mouth.
“Ow... That hurt.”
Both Sweetie and Applebloom let out a sigh of relief.
“Luckily nothing got into your eyes.” Applebloom said as she checked over her newly blown up friend.
Scoot tried to move, but grimaced in pain and sat down again.
“Sweetie. Could you go and get the first aid kit?”
“You brought a first aid kit?”
“I always come prepared.”
“But you don't know first aid.” Said Scoot.
“No. But maybe its my special talent.”
Sweetie ran back up the hill and started looking around the cart. But couldn't find any first aid kit.
She looked over into the box. The first aid kit was sitting down in the bottom, almost buried under all the pipebombs.
She found the crate to high to reach down over. So she had to climb up till she was hanging over the edge of the box. Then she started shoving around the cylinders full of unstable explosives out of the way.
This would be so much easier if she had any magic, she thought. Then she would just have been able to levitate the first aid kit out of the box without endangering herself. Oh well, as long as she didn’t try to open the cylinders them she would not end up as Scoot.
Still, her lack of magic was a touchy subject for her. She feared that just as she and her two fellow crusaders was the last in class to get their marks. So would she be the last unicorn to develop any magic ability.
It was unusual for a filly her age to be so late to develop any magical talent. Just as it was unusual for a Pegasus like Scootaloo to not have developed the skill of flying. At least Scootaloo had her excuses and reasons. What if Sweetie to had some sort of disadvantageous handicap herself? What if they all had some kind of handicap that prevented them from getting their marks? Like the opposite of the cutie pox. Did such a condition exist?
Suddenly she couldn't help but imagine them all with wheelchairs and crutches for marks.
And if their crusading where gonna proceed like it had today. That might very well end up the case.
Finally she had gotten enough pipebombs out of the way to expose the handle of the first aid kit. She was able to reach down and grab it with her right hoof. But found that it was stuck to the inside of the box. The weight of the pipebombs where still pressing down on it.
She took a firm grab of the handle with her fetlock and started pulling.
As she did the weight of the box shifted. And the cart it was standing on started to roll under her. Sweetie rocked back and forth as she tried to free the medical box from its explosive prison. And her motions sent the the cart rolling back and fort on the hilltop.
Just as the first aid kit came loose the center of gravity shifted and Sweetie lost balance.
The cart shot away from under the box as it fell over backwards.
And Sweeties world exploded.
Due to some internal design flaw the contraptions were unstable. And the ruckus caused the whole thing to spontaneously combust.
Applebloom was still nursing Scootaloo when a huge shock wave threw them of their hooves. The hill side shook. The scooter flew over the next hill and struck down the manikin. The box shattered into a million pieces of sharp wooden chips that rained over the hillside along with the contents of a first aid kit.
Sweetie lost all perception of time and space as she sailed through the air. Her whole world had become a painful spinning . Bright white light filled her eyes and her ears where ringing so loud she couldn't hear the wind rushing past her, or her friends screaming her name.
She suddenly was reacquainted whit what was up and down as she hit the ground hard on her haunches. She bounced a few times and then rolled down the hillside. Finally coming to a stop sprawled out on her back.
Her ears were till ringing. She wasn’t even sure she ever heard the explosion. She wasn’t sure she could hear anything anymore. Did she even have ears any more? Or were they gone? Did she still have anything? Or was part of her missing?
She tried to move but everything hurt. Her head was pounding like a drum. Her vision was foggy and unclear.
Cutie marks of wheelchairs and crutches alright.
She managed to move her head enough to look down on herself. Her coat was black with soot and several small wood chips where sticking out of her fur. And her right hoof was bleeding.
Something was sticking out of it. A splinter. A big splinter. A piece of wood was sticking out of her leg!
Suddenly all her pain was forgotten. She immediately sat up on her haunches. Her vision instantly cleared as she looked down on the big jagged chip of wood in her fetlock. Blood covered her entire lower leg but surprisingly she couldn't feel any pain at all. In fact she couldn't feel her right hoof at all!
The only thing she could feel was herself starting to hyperventilate. She reached out with her other hoof and touched the pole in her leg. Poking at it in disbelief to see if it would fall of. It didn't. It was stuck deep.
Panic washed over her like a bucket full of ice.
She grabbed it and started to pull. She twisted and jerked it. Blood spurted as she did, but still she couldn't feel anything other than her leg moving with the pulling. She became certain that the massive log in her leg was blocking the flow of blood to her hoof. Certain that it was preventing it from feeling and moving it.
What if she had to amputate her hoof? She did not want to loose her hoof and she didn't want any log stuck in her leg.
She pulled the leg in one direction and the log in the other. Harder and harder, until finally the log came out. The force of her pull sent it flying over the hills away from her.
She looked down on her leg. And eminently wised she didn't.
Her hoof was still there. As was her leg. But the fur in between was gone. Her skin hung in black burned shreds that didn’t reach beneath her fetlock. Her fetlock was covered in blood. But the fetlock itself wasn't bleeding. The blood only came from the edge where her torn up skin ended.
Below that was machinery. A multi layered network of synthetic pistons, gears and twisted metal components wrapped up in a plaid checked pattern of cords and wires.
A joint of a steel cylinder that twisted her hoof around in confusion. Connected to a skeleton of hydraulics
and tendons of metal. All held together by nuts and bolts. All black burned and bloody.
It looked like when the skin had been ripped of a Bloodbot.
In the depth of the gears. In the hole the stick had made. A faint blue light wad pulsating and the damage was slowly knitting itself back together.
As she looked a droop of her blood fell into the hole and the closing contraptions.
She opened her mouth to scream... But no sound came out.
She fell. But did not hit the ground.
She fell through it. Downwards. Inwards. She was falling into an eternal maelstrom. She fell through the eye of the vortex. Down through an eternal well of all her knowledge. All her memories. All her emotions. Spinning around her. Being retold. Relived. Re-experienced backwards, downwards, to the earliest days of her brief existence.
And below them. Nothingness. Darkness. She fell towards that darkness.
But before she could reach it something rushing towards her. A tiny red dot that approached fast. As she got closer she realized that it was herself. An all red replica of herself. Reflected in an invisible mirror that where heading for her at neck breaking speed. As the two Sweeties met face to face, she smashed into something. Like the ice of a frozen lake. The surface cracked, but did not break, while Sweetie herself splattered. Her body liquefying into a big red puddle.
Somehow still conscious she could feel the substance that she was zipping into the cracks.
***
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. She was sitting upright in the grass. Her head bent back and her jaw haning open. Her weary eyes stared straight up in the clear blue sky. Even through the ache in her body, she smiled.
Oh thank the blue skies above. It was just a dream, a silly little shell shocked induced hallucination.
She must have lost consciousness from the explosion. Her body was still hurting so at least she knew that this was the real world. She slowly lowered her gaze over the still smoldering hilltop and the debris an splinters that laid scattered over the hillside.
Then she noticed two others standing in front of her, at the foot of the hill.
Scootaloo and Applebloom. With most confusing look in their faces.
As they stared, their jaws fell. Applebloom dropped the bandage she'd been carrying.
'Oh no'. Sweetie thought. She must be hurt worse than she tough.
Scootaloo face suddenly became very aggressive. Without warning she leaped forward onto Sweetie and tackled her to the ground.
Sweetie let out a yelp pf pain, that was immediately drowned out by Scootaloo screaming in her face.
“WHERE IS SHE!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SWEETIE BELLE!?”
Sweetie Belle was twisting trying to get away. But Scootaloo was standing with her front hooves firmly pressed down on her shoulder.
“Ow! Scootaloo it hurts. Let me go!”
“NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WITH SWEETIE BELLE!”
“I AM SWEETE BELLE!” She screamed.
“NO, YOU ARE NOT! You're some kind of Bloodbot that kidnapped Sweetie and put on her skin!"
Scootaloo's face shifted to a realization of horror over what she had just said.
“OMG! YOU KILLED SWEETIE AND PUT ON HER SKIN!”
The weight on her shoulders disappeared as Applebloom pulled Scootaloo of her.
Sweetie sat up. Panting on the verge of hyperventilating. Her heat was racing in a speed she had never fleet before.
“What are you doing!?” She whimpered.
“Stopping you Bloodbots!” Scootaloo growled.
Bloodbots? They had both just been blow up and Scootaloo was still playing Bloodbots? She must have gotten a concussion from that explosion.
“ Stop it! Stop with you dumb games. It isn't funny any more!”
“Your right it isn't! We want the real Sweetie Belle back!”
“I am the real Sweetie Belle!”
“ SWEETIE BELLE AIN'T SOME DUMB ROBOT!”
“I AM NOT A ROBOT!”
“Sweetie look at your hoof!” Said Applebloom.
She looked down. And found her skin still very much blown of a mechanical fetlock.
No. this couldn't be right. That had just been a shock induced hallucination. Right? Was she still hallucinating? Did she have a concussion?
She looked looked at her friends. Whom looked just as confused and scared as she was.
“Sweetie... what is that?”
Sweeties mind recoiled from Applebloom's question, desperately searching for an explanation.
“It must be one of those fake legs. A Prosthesis! Yes! It has to be a prosthesis. One of those that you get when you have lost your real legs.”
The words where flying out of her mouth as fast as the thoughts formed in her head.
“Or Discord! Yes! It must be Discord. He did this to me!”
Applebloom was looking even more confused then before.
“I thought Discord was reformed?”
“Yes. But you know how he is. Always looking for a chance to cause a little mischief.”
She smiled nervously. Taking long deep breaths to prevent herself from hyperventilating.
The others still looked like they didn't know what to believe.
“Sweetie. How long have you been...? ”
“NEVER!” she screamed. Anger flaring up inside her. She shot up on all fours, all her scrapes and bruises suddenly forgotten. She marched over to her so called fiends and yelled in their faces.
“I HAVE NEVER BEEN A ROBOT!”
Why couldn’t they understand that? Why where they doing this to her?
“And it you are dumb enough to think that then you really should get a mark in stupidity!” She finished.
Applebloom and Scootaloo where left speechless. She stared them down, waiting for if they had any more dumb things to say. And when they didn't she dusted herself of and collected her scarf from the derbis. She picked up the band aid Applebloom had dropped and started to wrap it around her damaged fetlock.
No. Injured. Not damaged. She reminded herself.
She then proceed to picking the splinters out of her with a pair of tweezers that had scattered from the first aid kit. And washed o the last of the soot of with the contents from a broken bottle of eye-cleaning.
All the while her friends where silently staring at her like she was going to fry them with her laser eyes.
She could not understand how they could act like this. Didn't they know her? Did years of friendship mean nothing? Why did they look like they didn't even recognize her?
She couldn't stand those looks in their eyes. If they where gonna be dumb an call her a robot, she didn't want to be around them anymore. She finished wrapping herself up and excused herself. Then turned her back on the tragic scene and galloped away.
She needed to get home. But she couldn't go home all bandaged up. She needed some way to cover this. Otherwise questions would be asked. Questions she was nor ready to face.
She pulled of her scarf. 'Needs must', the thought. They had needle and thread in the clubhouse. Without further ado she set a course for it.
Thoughts swirled in her head.
She was Sweetie Belle. And Sweetie Belle wasn't a robot. That would just be silly. She was a born filly.
Born – not built. She had no memories of being built.
Come to think of it. Se had no memories of being born either.
Did any foal have memories of the exact day they were born?
Cheerilee hadn't exactly moved onto the topic of where little fillies come from.
The thought started playing with her imagination. Just how where little fillies made?
How was she...made?
***
Home at the Carousel Boutique, Rarity was enjoying her late evening tea.
Since Sweetie Bell was not yet home, her only company was a copy of the Equestrian Daily. The national newspaper that bore news concerning the entire country. She was particularly interested in a big article concerning the last autumn rain.
The door bell rang but she did not get up. At this hour it could only mean her younger sister was home.
Levitating the newspaper in front of her she turned to face the kitchen door as Sweeties hoof steps entered.
“Listen to this Sweetie” She said without looking up from the newspaper. “It said that the Pegasus weather committee would like to apologize for the rainstorm that, due to a miscalculation, will pull in over Equestria just before Hearths Warming Eve.”
She quoted the newspaper.
“Due to agreements with the farming council. This last autumn rain must hit the ground before the cold of winter. Not wanting to ruin any hearts warming eve preparations the national weather council has decided to pull all remaining downfall into one big rainstorm that will travel over Equestria. This will be the biggest collaboration between weather patrols teams nationwide.
Every pony is advised to check with their local weather patrol for when the storm is about to hit your neighborhood. And is further advised to stay indoors while the storm passes. This rainstorm should not remain over any given area for more than a day or two.
The weather council apologizes for the inconvenience and tells the public not to worry. We have snow clouds on standby that will arrive just after the rain in time for hearts warming eve”
“It Looks like there wont be any snow until Heart Warming eve itself.” she said with a sigh.
“Personally I just think those pegasi found out they had to empty their cloud reservoirs after that particular hot summer. Don´t you agree Sweetie?”
Receiving no immediate answer she looked up from the newspaper.
One look at her younger sister revealed that she had had at tough day.
“Oh my Sweetie! You look absolutely ragged. Whatever have you been up to?”
“Crusading” Sweetie answered bluntly.
Rarity let out a sigh.
“No mark today either? I know you and your friends are trying hard but maybe you are trying a little to hard. Let it come to you. Once you find out what makes you special you will know.”
Sweetie remained silent. Her eyes remaining on Rarity with a strange look.
“Was there something else?”
With some hesitation, Sweetie asked her question.
“Rarity... How are little filly’s made?”
Rarity lost her breath for a second. This was a question she had hoped not to answer till much later in life. In fact, she had hoped not to have to answer it at all. It was mom and dads job to explain about the bees and the flowers. Who or what had put these thoughts in her young mind? Had she meet a colt? Had Cheerilee started with that kind of education?
Rarity stumbled her way through the conversation. “Well you see. When a mare and a stallion loves each other very much...”
“They write a letter to Celestia.” Sweetie finished “I have heard this story before sister. I didn’t ask where they come from. I asked how they were made.”
“Did not.” Rarity corrected “Not 'didn’t.' It's pronounced 'Did not'. Manners darling.”
She knew her sister used to get upset about being lectured in proper speech (or lady like manners in general for that part) and she actually hoped it would steer the conversation away from the unpleasant topic.
No such luck this time however, as Sweetie just stared deadpanned at her awaiting an answer.
“Sorry. You where saying?”
“I know that fillies comes from mothers tummy”
She did? Rarity was so going to have a talk with Cheerilee
“Well yes. They are born when they come out of mothers … Tummy.”
Please do not ask about the messier details. She thought.
“Do all foals come out of mothers tummy?”
“Yes.”
“If you are not born from mothers tummy ... are you not a foal then?”
Rarity got a blank expression on her face.
“Well... whatever do you mean Sweetie?”
“You said that foals come out of mothers tummy. But can they be made outside the tummy? Why do they have to go inside mother to begin with?”
Rarity was struggling to find an answer to the uncomfortable questions. Not helped by that Sweetie kept flooding her with questions.
“How do you even get into mothers tummy? Does Celestia put them there? Or does dad? I heard some say he uses his horn. Is there magic involved?”
This time Rarity relay lost her breath.
In order to steer away the conversation from this unpleasant topic Rarity looked down on Sweeties legs,
noticing the long purple and pink striped socks that ran up them.
“Oh Sweetie those are some lovely socks. They match your hair relay well.”
This time it was Sweetie who lost her breath and suddenly seemed very eager to leave the room.
“Yes. We tried to earn our Cutie Marks in crocheting today”
She excused herself and left for the little fillies room.
Rarity let out a relaxed sigh and returned to her newspaper. But a thought rubbed her perceptionus mind.
Had not Sweetie already tried to get her mark in crocheting? And had those socks not been of the exact same colors as her scarf?
***
Sweetie went to bed early that night. She skipped evening supper saying that she wasn't hungry. In truth food was the last thing on her mind. Her stomach seemed to be revolting over all these questions that just would not leave her mind.
She had not been able to get a straight answer from Rarity. Apparently that was the common reaction whenever the young asked their parents where they had come from, and chosen not to buy the 'letter to Celestia' explanation.
She had dug through the study looking for evidence. Of something that proved she had been in mothers tummy. But came up empty hoofed.
Rarity found her in the study, digging through a not-so-old photo album. She asked why there weren't any pictures of her as a little filly.
“Oh. Mom and dad have those deary. I'm not much for keeping photos of the old days.” Rarity had answered.
That was certainly true. Sweetie knew how ashamed Rarity was of their parents. Not that she understood why. She thought they where the best parents in the world. But she knew Rarity thought they lacked style.
She had been there when Rarity tried to get them to dress better. It had not gone over well. Their parents did not take appearances as seriously as their daughter did.
Perhaps that was why she hadn't found a single picture of their parents anywhere in the Boutique.
The only photos she did find was of the time after she moved in with her sister in Ponyville.
The rest of the albums had been filled with hundreds of photos and magazines cut outs of dresses, or pretty mares in dresses, and stallions that her sister apparently found attractive but to Sweetie just looked sleazy .
Why? Who doesn’t keep a single picture of their parents or their childhood?
She really, really must have been embarrassed by their parents, Sweetie thought as she rolled back and forth in her bed. That was the thought she clanged onto. Because the alternative was far worse.
That she was hiding the truth. That she had not come from mothers belly like a normal foal. That she had been lied to all her life. Not just by Rarity. But by mom and dad as well.
As she finally drifted of to sleep. Rarity's words plagued her mind.
Once you know what makes you special...
Suddenly a mark of crutches didn't seem so bad.
***
Meanwhile, at Ponyville train station, the midnight train was just arriving.
For a moment the quiet station became bustling with activity as tired, sleepy passengers from near and far exited the train.
One pair stood out from the crowd by the fact they looked like a pair of tourists on a summer vacation.
A soft pink slightly overweight mare with a purple mane tied up in a bundle so big it looked like she had an extra head. It required a bandana for support. She was dresses in a garish upholstery of a bright red shirt and equally bright wight trousers. And she wore a pair of big yellow earrings along with a necklace made of seashells.
Her companion was a white stallion with a sprawling strawhat and a short sleeved shirt bearing a flower motif.
He had a big shrubby mustache and a pair of equally shrubby eyebrows that seemed to half cover his eyes.
They each wore a set of saddlebags. The mare also carried a bright pink purse (that somehow clashed badly against her own pink fur) in a golden chain around her neck.
A heap of more bags and trunks where loaded onto a tray next to them. (They had tipped the stationmaster well for helping them with all their luggage.)
The stallion took a deep breath of the chilly autumn air.
“Here we are. At long last.”
“Yes.” Said the mare “I cant wait to see out little darlings one again”
“Can you imagine how surprised they will be?” The stallion said with a laugh.
“Yes. They will be very, very surprised...”
Her voice trailed of. She tried to smile but instead her brow frowned with worry.
She looked down on her purse. Touching it with her hoof as to make sure it was still there.
The stallion put a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Its getting late darling. Let the little darlings sleep.”
“Yes. Lets give them a little more time...”
They decided to check into the local hotel. The stallion put his forehooves on the tray and steered down the street.
Though none of them said a thing. They both knew one thing for sure. For better or worse. This was gonna be one Hearths Warming Eve they would not soon forget.
As they left the station they did not notice the shadowy figure trailing them.
...............................
My little pony friendship is magic is owned by Hasbro
I do not own any of the intellectual properties this fan-fiction is based on.
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WOW THIS WAS GLORIOUS!! In every way....
Fucking glorious, mate, fucking glorious.
seeing sweetie belle mutilate herself like this made me flinch.
Well done.
blarg im ded
"where" -> "was"
“hit”->”his” and Have an open quotation mark before “come.”
period should be a comma, and “tree” -> “three”
Delete “he”
“sheered” -> “cheered”
comma between “fires” and “and”
“thru” -> “through”
“sheer” -> “cheer”
Extra line between “theater” and “they”
delete the period before “so”
“where” -> “were”
Delete “and”
“finish’t” -> “finished”
comma between “village” and “sending”
“blodboot” -> “Bloodbot”
“multi-storey” -> “multi-story”
“Sweeties” -> “Sweetie’s”
“thru” -> “through”
Comma between “rampony” and “but,” and delete the line break.
“thru” – “through”
“scientists” -> “scientist”
*growls* “thru” -> “through”
delete “re”
“Appleblooms” -> “Applebloom’s”
comma between “cigar” and “and,” and “tow” -> “two”
comma after “baby” and “Its” -> “It’s”
Extra line or no line between “wind” and “Sweetie.”
“Heats” -> “Hearth’s”
“-“ -> “—“
Extra line between “fallen” and “it.”
*groans* Every single “where” -> “were”
“In” before “truth.”
And that's where I gave up. I am known for brutally correcting stories. This correction sheet was four pages long on word and I had hardly made a dent in the story. I... I can't do this.
*Falls to his knees*
What have I become? A shell of my former self. Broken, defeated.... I am ashamed. This story seems to have potential, but... I can't.
I like this a lot, but there are a lot of errors. I've skimmed through this, but you should consider finding a full-time proofreader.
his black mane somehow remained I perfect shape
in perfect shape.
Bur now that you’ve lost your skin
But now
Making tree little fillies nearly jump out of their seats
three
Rampony continued hit taunt
his
Rampony he tossed two of the Pipebombs from his belt up in the air, turned and bucked them as they came down in an move that would have made Applejack proud. Applebloom sheered as both Pipe bombs hit the Bloodbot square in the face and exploded. Blowing it to pieces.
Rampony tossed two of the pipe bombs from his belt up into the air then, in a move that would have made Applejack proud, turned and bucked them as they came down. Applebloom cheered as both pipe bombs hit the Bloodbot square in the face and exploded, blowing it to pieces.
And Rampony started dispatching them thru a creative use of pipe bombs, debris and martial hoof-to-hoof combat that made Scootaloo sheer even louder.
through a creative use of pipe bombs, debris and martial hoof-to-hoof combat that made Scootaloo cheer even louder.
by getting thrown out
looked out over the ruined Village
Both of these lacked full stops.
No sooner had he finish't speaking
finished
A giant Blodboot, taller than a multi-storey building
Bloodbot
It gave up an ear piercing screech that made Sweeties ears hurt so bad she had to cover them with her hooves. The giant Bloodbot started stomping thru the ruins in an attempt to flatten Rampony. But he maneuvered thru the debris and between its legs and ended up behind the giant robot where his helper Shorty had prepared a cart full of explosives.
It gave an ear-piercing sceech that made Sweetie’s ears hurt so bad that she had to cover them with her hooves. The giant Bloodbot started stomping through the ruins in an attempt to flatten Rampony. But he manoeuvred through the debris and between its legs
Rampony marched thru unlit corridors stalked by glowing re eyes
Through red
when Rampony sett the charges at the center of the base and lit the fuse with the end of his cigar. And she could feel her eyes go wet at the heart wrenching finally when Rampony was confronted by tow identical mares bought claiming to be his wife and telling him to shoot the other.
set the charges heart-wrenching finale when Rampony was confronted by two
In the end Rampony had manage to pick the right one.
managed
Which in itself wasn't unusual given that it was almost Heats Warming Eve.
Hearths Warming
But despite being so close to Hearts Warming Eve, next to no snow had fallen.
Hearths Warming
It was said that the weather committee still had one last storm planed before the snow. As such there was also a distinct lack of outdoor decorations around town, as nopony wanted to risk them being blown away.
planned
she fluttered her wings. Rampony didn't have these, said the look in her eyes.
“have we ever tried to be stuntmares before?”
These need to start with capitals.
Sweetie erupted.
“Hey. Why do I have to play the short one?”
The line spacing is missing here and I think ‘erupted’ needs a little more clarification on the manner in which she did so.
“Because, lets face it. You are the shortest off us.”
“Because let’s face it, you are the shortest of all of us.”
“No. if that was out talent it would already have appeared by now.” Said Applebloom
If that was our talent
Applebloom got a sore look in her eyes. Scootaloo had just steeped on a sore hoof.
Of the tree, Sweetie was the only one with parents, but even they where absent.
Scootaloo had just stepped on a sore hoof. Of the three, Sweetie was the only one with parents, but even they were absent. (I'm also not sure about the use of the word 'sore' twice in a row)
their Bloodbot killing firekcackers
firecrackers
Added a string for a fuse and warped the whole package in the red cloth. Making it look more like a stick of dynamite.
Not wanting their hard work to go to waist they put the box on their cart and hauled it out to the hills outside the village. Where no pony would disturb their bomb testing.
Added a string for a fuse and wrapped the whole package in red cloth, making it look more like a stick of dynamite. Not wanting their hard work to go to waste, they put the box on their cart and hauled it out to the hills outside the village where nopony would disturb their bomb testing.
Scootaloo pulled down a manikin from the cart. It had once served as base for their attempts as dress making. Now it was gonna serve as target practice. Scootaloo ruched over to the next hill on her scooter and set up the manikin, that had been crudely painted with big angry eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
pulled down a mannequin from the cart rushed over to the next hill on her scooter and set up the mannequin
Scootaloo Put a mach in her mouth and picked up one of the dynamite rolls and started juggling it.
Scootaloo put a match in her mouth
“Fear not Ponyville. For we. The Cutie Mark Crusaders will not let the Bloodbots pass!”
“Fear not Ponyville! For we, the Cutie Mark Crusaders
Scootaloo lit the fuse and threw the pipebomb as hard as she could at the Bloodbot manikin. Yelling at the top of her lungs.
Scootaloo lit the fuse and threw the pipe bomb as hard as she could at the Bloodbot mannequin while yelling at the top of her lungs.
“But you don't know first aid.” Said scoot.
I’m not going to point out every instance, but you forgot to Capitalise ‘Scoot’ a few times around here.
O well, as long as she didn’t try to open the cylinders
Oh well
Her whole world had become a painful spinning .Bright wight light filled her eyes and her ears where ringing so loud she couldn't hear the wind rushing past her or her friends screaming her name.
Her whole world had become a painful spinning. Bright white light filled her eyes and her ears where ringing so loud she couldn't hear the wind rushing past her or her friends screaming her name.
She suddenly was reacquainted whit what was up and down
with
She eminently sat up on her haunches. Her vision became instantly clear as she looked over the big jagged chipper of wood in her fetlock.
(I don’t think ‘eminently’ really fits in this context.) big jagged chip of wood
Below that machinery.
‘Below that there was machinery’ would work better.
She fell thru it. Downwards. Inwards. She was falling into an eternal maelstrom. She fell thru the eye of the vortex. Down thru an eternal well of all her knowledge.
‘Through’ in all these sentences.
She was sitting upright in the grass Her head bent back looking straight up in the clear blue sky. Thru the ache in her body she smiled.
O thank the blue skies above. It was just a dream. A silly little shell shocked induced hallucination.
She was sitting upright in the grass with her head bent back looking straight up at the clear blue sky. She smiled through the ache in her body. Oh, thank the skies above. It was just a dream, a silly little shell shock induced hallucination.
the debris an splinter that laid scattered over the hillside.
And splinters
As they stared their yaws fell.
jaws
O no. Sweetie thought. She must be hurt worse than she tough.
‘Oh no.’ Sweetie thought, she must be hurt worse than she thought. (The apostrophes because it’s better to differentiate thoughts from narrative text, and if you used speech marks then it would be confused with speech.)
Your some kind of Bloodbot that kidnapped Sweetie and put on her skin!
You’re
Her heat was racing in a speed she had never fleet before.
Her heart was racing at a speed she had never felt before.
They had both just been blow up
blown up
“Your right it isn't! We want the real Sweetie Belle back!”
You’re
That had just been a shocked induced hallucination.
shock induced
Sweeties mind was realign. Desperately searching for an explanation.
Sweetie’s mind realigned, desperately searching for an explanation.
She shot up on all four. All her scrapes and bruises suddenly forgotten. She marched over to her so called fiends and yelled. In their faces.
She shot up on all fours, all her scapes and bruises suddenly forgotten. She marched over to her so-called friends and yelled in their faces.
and collected her scarf from the derbies.
debris.
She then proceed to picking the splinters out of her with a pair of tweezers that had scattered from the first aid kit. And washed o the last of the soot of with a broken bottle of eye-cleaning.
She then proceeded to pick the splinters out of her with a pair of tweezers that had been scattered from the first aid kit. She then washed off the last of the soot with a bottle of eye cleaner that had been broken. (I feel like this should probably be ‘eye drops’ but I’m not sure of what the substance is intended for)
If they where gonna be dumb an call her a robot she didn't want to be around them any more. She finished warping herself up and excused herself.
If they were gonna be dumb and call her a robot, then she didn’t want to be around them anymore. She finished wrapping herself up and excused herself.
She pulled of her scarf. Needs must, the thought.
She pulled off her scarf. ‘Needs must’, she thought.
Thought swirled in her head.
Thoughts
Din any foal have memories of the exact day they were born?
Did
her only company was an copy
a
weather makers apologizes for the rainstorm that, due to a miscalculation, will pull in over Equestria before hearts warming eve.”
apologize for the rainstorm (in regards to the pony holiday, it’s ‘Hearths Warming’)
It Looks like there wont be any snow until
It looks like there won’t
that particular hot summer.
particularly
One look at Her younger sister revealed that she had had at tough day.
“O my Sweetie. You look absolutely ragged. What ever have you been up to?”
One look at her younger sister revealed that she had had a tough day. “Oh my, Sweetie. You look absolutely ragged, whatever have you been up to?”
Whit some hesitation
With
“They wright a letter to Celestia”
“They write
“O sweetie those are some lovely socks. They match your hair relay well.”
“Oh Sweetie, those are some lovely socks. They match your hair really well.”
Bur at thought rubbed her perceptionus mind.
But a thought rubbed at the edges of her mind. (I don’t know what word you were trying to use in this sentence so I came up with something similar)
She had dug true the study
through
Not just by rarity. But by mom and dad as well.
Rarity
Meanwhile. At Ponyville train station. The midnight train was just arriving.
This could be one sentence.
Her companion was a wight stallion
white
for helping them whit all their luggage.)
with
This was gonna be one hearts warming eve they did not soon forget.
They would not soon forget.
6035866
Thanks for helping me with my horrible spelling.
With the help of people like you this story might be readable someday.
"through" not "thru"
"with" not "whit"
Other than that, practically fine!
I'd just like to say that I think it was really clever how you started with the CMC watching that movie. You really had me going for a little bit. When I realized that they were watching a movie I couldn't believe that I fell for it.
Well played.
Also, I totally pictured the movie character an a ponified Arnold Schwarzenegger.
7213260 Who else could play that roll OTHER than Arny? Exactly.
Brought to you by Pony Michael Bay.
You need an editor.
im gonna give this a chance, but the description made it sound like the cmc and others are too dumb to care about their friend. but heres hoping it turns out better than " that sweety is a spy!"
Rarity seems a bit... charicaturized, here. Is that a word? Probably not. But it seems that way, regardless. I've always seen Rarity as realizing that high-class fashion isn't the only fashion, and being adept at many types (and the show usually supports this, though it depends on the writer).
Really Rarity? Your lecturing Sweetie Belle on how to 'properly' speak
? Didn't and did not have the same meaning
! Sweet Celestia stop being so concerned over the littlest things
!
Okay, the only thing I could visualize is the Demoman's grenade launcher.
Also, the CMC with IEDs is possibly the most terrifying thing I have thought about this week.
7976184
The original "sweetie bot" started on the youtube series "friendship is witchcraft". The series often did parodies of actual episodes of the show, using the animation present, but replacing the audio with whatever the creator wanted. The series was unfortunately taken down from the original creator's channel, Sherclop Pones, due to copyright infringement, but it has since been re-uploaded to youtube. As for who sweetie bot was in the series, she was just a robot who looked like sweetie belle(although didn't sound like her at all, instead sounding like how you'd expect a robot to sound) and acted mostly like sweetie belle. However, nopony seems to notice both her clearly robotic voice and the weird things she says like "set phazers to hug" as they never question whether she is really even a robot(note: that's just in the episodes of the series which I've watched)
https://previews.123rf.com/images/chrisdorney/chrisdorney1407/chrisdorney140700091/29929615-DEFEAT-red-Rubber-Stamp-over-a-white-background--Stock-Photo.jpg
Ah, the wild thought tangents you go on when stressed...
What?
I give up I just want to read the story….BUT GET A FREAKING EDITOR!!!
Now, the grammar is sometimes a bit wonky, but the story is incredibly good.