I, Scrappy

by SkelePone

Revitalized

"So you understand, Twilight, why I would like you to accomplish this task?"

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood before Celestia, looking apprehensively at the pony-shaped hunk of metal. From the way it looked, it was mostly composed of bronze and brass. There were rusted hunks of iron as well. In all, it was a statue that looked like it was put together with trash. Twilight wasn't too sure what to say. But Spike did.

"I'm not so sure about this, Princess Celestia. It just looks like a heap of junk." He said, giving the rusted machine a light kick.

Twilight thanked Spike silently as she continued to inspect the machine. This 'Automaton'. It ticked slowly. And the ticks weren't the usual ticking sound like with a metronome or a clock. Ticktock-ticktock-ticktock... Twilight dared to imagine it sounded more like a heartbeat than clockwork. But a machine with a heartbeat? The idea was ridiculous. Twilight turned back to Celestia, and looked up at the taller Alicorn.

"I'm not too sure, Princess... I mean, how can I make this... thing... turn on?"

"From what we understand, it is that Automatons are clockwork, and the gears are so deteriorated it fails to work again. When Daring Do discovered this one, however, it was in prime condition. Like it was new, besides a bit of rust. The fact it's still ticking means it's in operation. It's just missing something. And we don't know what."

"Could it be... magic?"

Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight, answering her question.

"I don't know... I can try. That's the least I can say, though. I'll take him back to Ponyville. Maybe the girls can help me figure out how to make it work." Twilight cast a spell, which struck the statuesque metal masterpiece. It vanished with a loud POP! Spike marveled at the empty space where the statue had once been until Twilight magically levitated him onto her back. He walked out onto the stargazing balcony and opened her wings.

"Farewell, Twilight Sparkle. And do send me a letter when you figure it out!"

"Will do, Princess. Have a good night."

And with that, Twilight flew off into the night.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"So what in tarnation is this doohickey 'sposed ta be?" Applejack exclaimed, looking at the trash heap with a puzzled expression.

"Perhaps it is nothing more than modern art, darling." Rarity answered, critiquing the Automaton.

"I think it looks awesome! Is it gonna come to live and destroy all of Ponyville?" Rainbow Dash asked, her voice bursting with glee.

"Oh my... I hope not... Maybe it'll be friendly... I mean... If it wants to..." Fluttershy mumbled. Angel Bunny sniffed at the metal pony, then looked away in disgust.

"MAYBE IT'S A PARTY ROBOT! AND IT THROWS PARTIES AND MAKES CAKE!" Pinkie Pie squealed. She was bouncing around the statue, blabbering on about everything that goes on at a party.

"Girls, this is an ancient artifact. It is thousands of years old. Treat it with respect." Twilight chided. The girls muttered their apologies before going right back to poking and prodding at the machine. Applejack gave it a swift tap with her hoof, and the chest-plate fell off with a clang. Twilight glared daggers at Applejack while the Earth pony grinned sheepishly.

"At least now we can see inside better." Rainbow commented, peering into the Automaton.

"Woah, that's a whole lotta parts! We better be careful not to lose any!" Twilight said, also peering in.

Spike was standing off to the side. He was pretending to file his claws when he was really checking out Rarity's plot. He jumped when Twilight shouted for him. He dropped the file and scrambled over to where the ponies were crowded around the junk.

"Some light, please."

Spike obliged, letting off a steady stream of green fire. It illuminated the inside, and Twilight immediately wished he hadn't. The Automaton's inside was completely gears. Gears, gears, springs, and more gears. None of them were moving, but that ticking heartbeat continued. The light, however, illuminated the bolts attaching the Automaton's head as well. Twilight studied them, then used her magic to slowly unscrew the bolts attaching the neck.

"What happened to being careful not to lose any parts?" Rainbow Dash grumbled as she picked up the bolts when they fell to the floor. Twilight didn't listen. She was too focused on her task of removing the machine's head.

Then, finally, she ripped it off.

Behind her, she heard a thud. Alarmed, Twilight turned to see that Fluttershy had fainted. Twilight felt she should have warned the timid pegasus before decapitating any metal ponies.

Twilight returned her attention to the head in her hooves as her other friends helped move Fluttershy to a nearby bench. There was a faint glowing in the forehead region, from what little she could see by looking through the neck. Twilight could sense some dim magical energy radiating from the light. The Automaton did run on magical energy. Or, at least, magical energy helped it somehow. And whatever spell had been cast upon the machine had long since faded to nothing more than a dim shimmer.

Twilight levitated several books towards herself.

Principals of Magical Engineering II

Basics of Arcane Sciences

Automata: For Dummies!

Magical Device Repair Guide #23

None of them told her what she wanted. Then she saw a different book, one she had never even thought about opening:

Archimaredes' Automata Appraisal And Accepted Activities

Twilight cracked it open, reading the table of contents. There, chapter thirty.

"'On magical maintenance; it is unknown of what spells were once used to assist specific Automatons. But it is possible that it is a mere animation spell. Of course, if this fails, perhaps a powerful combat spell would be enough to reboot any faulty systems. Of course this is only a-'" Twilight stopped reading and looked to her friends, still trying to wake up Fluttershy. A powerful combat spell, eh? Well, the Elements of Harmony could be used to solidify a draconequus and to remove the Nightmare Forces from Princess Luna's soul. That's pretty powerful combat magic, in Twilight's opinion.

She had reassembled the Automaton and carried it with a levitation spell into the center of the spacious room.

"Spike, go get the Elements."

"Sure thing, Twilight."

While he waddled away, Twilight cast a reviving spell at Fluttershy, who woke up immediately. When Spike had returned, they all placed on their respective elements while Twilight explained the plan. The others were skeptical.

"So lemme get this straight." Applejack said, hooking on the Element of Honesty, "we're gonna blast the thing ta the high-heavens and hope it wakes it up instead of vaporizin' it?"

"Well, if you put it that way... Yes."

"Fair enough."

They gathered together, the Elements of Harmony beginning to glow. Twilight began her spell, the magical energy flowing from each element into the crown on her head. Her horn began to shine dangerously. She bent low, and fired the shot directly at the machine's head. The magic died down, and the Elements returned once more to being shiny golden jewelry. They all waited, in hushed breaths.

The machine didn't move. Rainbow Dash began to snark:

"Well, THAT sure worked, I mean, c'mon how can-"

"I-Am-Scrappy. You?"

Comments

[Wacky]

6378810 As is the way of all ponies...

One question though; why is the story's status "On Hiatus" when you just updated it?...are you planning on taking a break with this one for a while?

[SkelePone]

6378816 Well, Scrappy isn't a pony, technically speaking (heh heh. Pun. Technically. He's an Automaton. Get it? No?) Scrappy is an Automaton, a machine, not a pony.

[Wacky]

6378821 And I said, "Is the way with all ponies..." while implied didn't necessarily refer to Scrappy himself.

[SkelePone]

6378986 And it was On Hiatus because I planned on taking a break and working on Four Ponies & A Time Machine. I might finish that story first before completing Scrappy's story