Chapter 9 - Getting Acquainted
Twilight goes to her room and slams the door behind her. She flops down on the bed and curls up. Yawning, she mutters to herself.
“I can’t believe I ever cared for someone as inconsiderate as him!”
Unable to stay awake any longer, Twilight drifts off to sleep. Meanwhile, Arc, Ember and Rose reappear on the sigil in his quarters back at Light’s Hope.
“This is my base, Rose.”
Rose nods. She speaks with no emotion. “Light’s Hope.”
Ember turns to her and frowns. “How did you know that?”
“This unit has been programmed with all pertinent information on Arc”.
Arc sighs. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. But in any case, why don’t we sit down and get to know each other?”
Rose tilts her head to one side, confused. “One does not understand. This unit already knows everything about you.”
Ember laughs. “Arc means HE wants to get to know YOU!”
Rose nods as they head for the couch. She sits down between Arc and Ember. “Understood. However that will be very difficult now that you’ve destroyed one’s blueprints.”
“I’m more interested in your thoughts and opinions.”
“Forgive me, but one does not have thoughts.”
Arc shakes his head. “I believe you do.”
“That would be scientifically impossible, as this unit does not have a brain. Only memory banks.”
“Really? Disagreeing with me would require thoughts, would it not?”
Rose nods. “This is certainly a conflict. Error logged.”
Ember frowns. “How about we change the subject.”
Arc nods. “Good idea.”
He turns back to Rose.
“What did you mean by ‘error logged’?”
“This unit’s self-preservation subroutine has put one into ‘Safe Mode’. One is currently working on the problem and will advise you further as information becomes available.”
Arc looks confused. “Um… okay. When you were first activated you started crying and questioning why you were born. Why was that?”
“One apologizes. One’s personality subroutines were not functioning normally due to an imbalance of magical energies.”
Arc nods. “And the source?”
Rose turns to him. “You.”
Ember looks confused. “I’m sorry, what?”
“There appears to be a strange magical energy emanating from you, Arc.”
“Can you tell us anything about this energy?”
“Error. It is not possible for such an energy to exist, yet my sensors are picking it up. Error logged.”
Ember turns to him. “Arc, could that be your aura?”
“My what?”
“Don’t you remember back when you visited Coco Pommel in the hospital?! She improved greatly when you were near, but failed again when you left!”
Rose shakes her head. “That is an impossibility as no such magic exists.”
Arc turns to her. “In that case, what are your scanners picking up?”
“Unknown. Error logged.”
“Did this ‘aura’ hurt you?”
“One is not capable of being harmed. However the source of my system errors cannot be explained any other way. One is currently rewriting the system subroutines to accommodate for this variable.”
Ember shakes her head. “When you were activated you said all systems were running normally. What happened?”
“I am sorry, but I cannot answer that.”
“Why not?!”
“You lack user privileges.”
Arc nods and chuckles. “Make her a… what did Twilight call it?”
Ember sighs. “Administrator?”
“That’s it! Rose make Ember an ‘administrator’.”
“Very well.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Great. Now can you answer my question?”
Rose nods. “Yes. This unit’s systems began malfunctioning five seconds after that statement was made.”
Arc frowns. “And the cause was my aura?”
“Although that is impossible, such is the only logical explanation. Subroutines will be finished compensating shortly.”
“Is that why you seem to lack emotions?”
Rose nods. “Yes, Arc. This unit’s emotion subroutines have been disabled for safety purposes. One apologizes for the inconvenience.”
Ember frowns. “Safety?!”
“Yes. To prevent further emotional outbursts such as was witnessed from this unit’s earlier magical imbalance.”
Arc chuckles. “So it was like you were on your period?”
Ember turns to Arc. “Period?”
“Human females go through menstrual cycles once every… you know what, let’s not talk about that! Short version, it can make them kinda moody.”
Ember looks over at Rose. “Makes sense!”
“As stated, Safe Mode will continue until subroutines finish being rewritten for safety purposes.”
Arc looks back to Rose. “What else do you know about me?”
“Such an explanation will take several hours. Shall this one continue?”
“Just give me a summary then.”
Rose nods stoically. “Very well. You are Arc from the planet Earth. Brought to Equestria via unexplained magical means. Favorite food… pizza. Favorite snack… cupcakes. Family… two female equines and one dragon. Marital status… error. Disposition… Kind, Loyal, Generous, Honest, easily angered. Contradiction noted. Occupation… Hero of Light. Intelligence… very high. Has made friends with numerous different and incompatible species. Powers… Dragon Magic and… unknown aura. Upper limits… incalculable.”
Ember’s head snaps over to Rose at the last statement. “Wait! Are you saying Arc can become MORE powerful than he is now?!”
“Yes. Shall I continue?”
Arc shakes his head. “That won’t be necessary. Twilight was certainly thorough in Rose’s design.”
Ember nods. “She was! But so were YOU!”
“What are you talking about?!”
“You totally blew up at her!”
Arc frowns. “Of course I did! She wanted to KILL Rose!”
Rose shakes her head. “That is not possible. This unit is not alive, and therefore cannot be killed.”
Ember frowns. “Look, all I’m saying is you went WAY too far with Twilight! She was just trying to help you!”
Arc sighs. “I… I get that. But… I guess I just kinda reacted.”
“I saw that much! What to exactly?!”
“Rose’s expression when she heard Twilight was going to dismantle her.”
Ember shrugs. “Can’t argue with that. She looked so scared!”
“Wouldn’t you if someone was going to take you apart?!”
“I suppose. But could it have been because you cared about her as an individual like you told Twilight? Or… because she looks just like Cherry?”
Cherry sighs. “I must admit… it really is a strange feeling to look at her.”
“This unit apologizes for that.”
“No, no! I can’t blame you for being built as you were!”
Rose looks to Arc. Her voice unwavering in its monotonous tone. “Arc, is this the creature I was designed to emulate?”
Arc sighs. “Yes. That’s Cherry Jubilee. My… fiancé. Or at least she was.”
“This unit will do its best to become a suitable replacement for her.”
“I don’t want a replacement for something irreplaceable!”
“You do not want this unit?”
“That’s not what I mean! Nothing can replace Cherry in my heart! Although Twilight must have been trying to do so for SOME reason!”
Ember sighs. “I think it was because she cares.”
Arc sighs. “In that case, she has a LOT to learn about love!”
“Maybe. But so do you.”
“What are you talking about?! I know what love is!”
Ember shakes her head. “Do you? Twilight was trying to make you happy by building you something that should have been impossible to create! She did it because she didn’t want you to be alone.”
“Maybe. I can’t help think there was more to it though. But I guess I’ll never know now.”
Rose turns to Arc. “Why do you not just go an ask her?”
“She… doesn’t want to see me anymore after what I said.”
Ember shakes her head. “Look, you were both angry and said things you probably shouldn’t have. But that doesn’t mean your friendship is over! Give her some time to cool down before you go over there to apologize.”
“Wait… ME apologize?!”
“Uh… yeah.”
Arc frowns. “Why?! She started this!”
“Because you escalated it!”
“I… I guess I did.”
He sighs.
“I just don’t know what came over me!”
“Maybe you should head back there and patch things up.”
“I don’t know. She was pretty mad! A cooldown period might be in order.”
Ember shrugs. “Fine. That’s up to you, after all.”
They are silent for a time.
“You think I should go over there now, don’t you?”
Ember replies without missing a beat. “Yes, I do.”
“Fine! I’m going!”
Arc leaves the room but pokes his head back inside momentarily.
“But if she blasts me, I’m blaming it on you!”
“Duly noted.”
Arc quickly makes his way back to the Golden Oaks Library. He pauses outside the door for a moment before knocking lightly. A few moments later Auriel answers. She looks uncomfortable upon seeing him.
“Oh… um… hi Arc.”
“Hi Auriel. Is… uh… is Twilight around?”
“Kinda. She’s sleeping at the moment.”
Arc frowns. “Is that normal for her this time of day?”
“Kinda. We… don’t exactly have a set schedule.”
“I… I see.”
“Do you… want to come in? I can wake her up for you.”
“Um… no. Just let her sleep. I’ll come by another time. How is she doing though?”
Auriel looks nervously over her shoulder. “Really angry. Probably not a good idea for you to be here now.”
Arc sighs. “Yeah… I understand. Well… I’ll see you Auriel.”
“I… okay. In the meantime I’ll get to work on that artificial sun idea then. Not sure how far I’ll get without those notes though. I hope Twilight can remember enough to get the job done.”
“Sorry, but it had to be done.”
Auriel nods. “If you say so. While I don’t understand, I trust you.”
Arc nods, turns, and walks away. Auriel closes the door behind him. Sighing, she walks back toward the basement.
“I hope you two can work past this! For all our sakes!”
Arc returns to Light’s Hope. Ember and Rose are in his quarters talking. Ember looks up as he walks in.
“How’d it go with Twilight?!”
“She was asleep, so I didn’t wake her up.”
“What?! Why not?!”
“It can wait.”
Ember furrows her brow. “Can but shouldn’t!”
Arc sits down on the couch. “That may be. But I’m not going all the way back over there! It’s probably for the best anyways. Give her time to cool down.”
Rose turns to him. “My subroutines are now ready. Shall I disengage Safe Mode?”
Ember looks nervous. “Is that… safe?”
“Yes. However, this will require a full system restart for the changes to take effect. The down time should be less than two minutes.”
Arc sighs. “Go ahead then.”
Rose nods and closes her eyes. Slowly she lies back before falling over onto Arc’s shoulder. He stands and helps her lie down.
“She could have warned me about that.”
Ember laughs. “She did!”
Arc sighs as he stands back up. “Yes, I suppose so.”
The pair look down at the sleeping android. Ember turns to Arc and smiles.
“You know, she really is pretty cute when she’s asleep like that.”
Arc shrugs. “I suppose so. Nothing to do now but wait I guess.”
Another minute passes before Rose’s green eyes again open. Arc extends a hand to her in an effort to help her stand up.
“Feeling better?”
Rose blushes. “I… I am!”
Suddenly, and without warning, she jumps up and wraps her arms around Arc’s neck and kisses him! Ember’s jaw drops!
“WOAH! What the…?!”
Arc pushes Rose’s face back from his lips. “Hey, what are you doing?!”
Rose sheepishly looks up at him with an innocent smile on her face. “I… I’m sorry. But I couldn’t help myself! I just love you SO much, my dear!”
Arc blushes. “Well… don’t be so forward about it!”
Rose looks down sadly. “I… I’m sorry.”
Ember mutters to herself. “You’re sorry?! I’m jealous!”
Arc gestures to the couch. “It’s okay. Um… I guess we should probably have a talk.”
Ember looks to the door and snickers. “Should I leave you two alone?”
Arc quickly turns to Ember. “Not a chance!”
Ember shakes her head as they sit down. “Okay, okay! Sheesh!”
Arc and Rose join Ember on the sofa. Rose smiles up at Arc.
“I’m sure you have many questions, Arc! Ask away!”
“Are you functioning normally now?”
Rose nods her head fervently. “I am! And I feel GREAT! All these feelings! All these emotions! I’m just blown away by it all!”
Ember grins as she looks at Arc from the corner of her eye. “You’re not alone in that!”
Arc blushes. “Is that why you… kissed me?”
“Isn’t that what a fiancé does?”
Ember frowns. “A… what?”
Rose smiles at her as she holds onto Arc’s arm. “A fiancé, silly Ember!”
She turns her attention back to Arc.
“I’m looking forward to us getting married, dear! Tell me, do you want a large or small wedding?”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “This is kinda disturbing.”
Cherry sighs. “I’ll say! Did I act like that?!”
Arc pushes Rose away gently by her shoulders. “Not in the least!”
He looks down at her.
“Listen Rose. What makes you think we’re getting married?”
She looks up at him, confused. “Because you asked me to, and I said yes!”
“I asked Cherry to marry me, and SHE said yes!”
Rose puts her arms around his midsection and hugs him. “I understand that. But I’m here to take over for her, as she isn’t around anymore! Don’t you worry about a thing, Arc! As your wife, I’ll see to it you’re well cared for as long as you live!”
Cherry growls at the sight before her. “I’m right here!”
Arc shakes his head. “Rose. That’s… very nice of you, but… I can’t marry you.”
“Why not? Is it because I’m a machine?”
“No.”
“Then why not?!”
“Because I don’t love you!”
“Don’t I look just like Cherry though?!”
Arc nods. “You do! But… you’re not her!”
Ember frowns as she watches the spectacle unfold before her. “Why would Twilight program her to be like this?!”
Arc sighs. “I think… it was actually an accident.”
Rose draws back. “An… accident?! But… but my feelings for you are real!”
Arc frowns. “While she may have studied the magic of friendship, Twilight apparently doesn’t understand how love works.”
He looks down at Rose and sighs.
“And you’ve paid the price for her ignorance.”
Rose nervously scooches away. “So… what’s going to happen to me?! Am I going to be dismantled?!”
Arc shakes his head. “No. As far as I’m concerned you’re a living creature. You have committed no crime and have harmed no one. Under the circumstances, you have every right to keep on living.”
“But… but what about my Prime Directive?!”
Ember sighs. “More directives?”
Rose nods as she slowly walks toward him. “This one is above all others!”
“What is it?”
She presser her body against Arc. “See to your happiness above all else!”
Arc stands and looks out the window toward Ponyville, sighing. “Twilight… I understand now why you did this.”
“Arc?”
He kneels down in front of Rose. Taking her hand in his, Arc looks her over.
“Rose… I get what Twilight was trying to do.”
“You… you do?”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Please enlighten us.”
“She… she was just trying to make me happy.”
“By making you a robot girlfriend?!”
Arc sighs. “You’re closer than you think, Ember. In truth, I think she was sad to see me alone in a world devoid of other humans.”
“Alone?! But you’re surrounded by those who care about you!”
“I know. But… I think Twilight believed that I needed a permanent human companion. A human wife! She intended for Rose to fill the role that Cherry couldn’t.”
Ember frowns. “I’m not sure if that’s just plain creepy, or really nice of her!”
Cherry sighs. “Agreed!”
Rose looks nervous. “You aren’t angry at me, are you miss?!”
Cherry giggles. “No, dear. You were built to fill a role that I left vacant. If anything, I’m happy you’re here!”
Arc looks surprised. “I didn’t want to bring it up, but I too thought you would be jealous, Cherry.”
“Well, I suppose I am a bit. But this is going to take some getting used to.
“That’s good to hear! Kinda…”
They are silent for a time. Ember turns to Arc.
“Maybe this isn’t the best time to ask about this, but… why do you suppose Twilight gave her weapons?!”
Rose smiles. “So I could fight by your side!”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Come again?!”
Rose calls forth her R-Cannon and L-Blade. “She didn’t want us to have to be apart when you went on missions!”
“But you could get hurt!”
She takes up a defensive position. “The unit’s frame was built with some of the strongest of materials, so I won’t go down easily!”
Ember frowns. “No one is invincible!”
Rose nods as she recalls her weapons. “True. However, should something happen to me, I can simply auto-repair all but the most severe of damage!”
Arc nods. “Like you did back at Twilight’s Lab?”
“Right! It takes a bit more energy to heal, but it’s nothing I can’t handle! We’re going to have so much fun together, Arc!”
“Y-yeah… I suppose we are.”
“Is something troubling you?”
Arc nods. “Kinda. You see, I understand you’re an android and all. But… I don’t like the idea of you being forced by your programming to stay by my side.”
Rose’s eyes grow wide. “But I WANT to!”
“No. You’re directives are forcing you to think that.”
Ember turns to Arc. “Can’t something be done?!”
“I’ll have to speak to Twilight about it later. That is… if she’ll talk to me.”
Rose looks suddenly serious. “She will! I’m sure of it!”
Arc sighs. “I sure hope your right.”
He looks over to Rose.
“I guess I should give you a room.”
Rose looks to Arc, clearly puzzled. “Shouldn’t I sleep with you, Arc?”
Ember growls at Rose! “NO! That’s my job!”
Arc facepalms. “This isn’t happening…”
“Arc has plenty of nice rooms around here. You’ll be comfortable there!”
Rose shakes her head. “I don’t really need a room.”
Arc shrugs. “Everyone needs somewhere to rest.”
“But I don’t…”
Ember interrupts her. “Yeah we know! But you wanted to sleep next to Arc though! And we all know that’s MY job!”
Rose looks to Ember with a smile on her face as she covertly latches onto Arc’s arm. “I only wanted to keep him company… and warm.”
Ember grabs Arc’s other arm. “Well in that case, you’re going to need a bigger bed, Arc!”
Arc sighs. “What have I gotten myself into?”
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Youre gonna need a bigger bed, Ember said with a shark like grin on her draconic face?
Wouldnt that be a downgrade?
Oh crud, Twi has Really messed up.
10123654
While she knows Arc isn't interested in her in that way, Ember just doesn't give up. 
Ember is envisioning a ménage à trois.
Implied herd based romantic comedy... gotta love it.
10123756
My wife and I know this phenomenon as a the "harem genre". We grew up with anime like Tenchi Muyo and Ai Yori Aoishi, where a single male is surrounded by multiple females whom are all looking for his attention. Where this will all end is anyone's guess though.
10124353
She is pretty understanding of their point of view. Even after they tried to kidnap her in the previous chapter.
11351321
Fixed.
... I'm going right back to hating Twilight again.
At this point, I'm assuming that she has learned nothing from all her years of having a limited group of friends and has decided to shove her interpretation of friendship down Arc’s throat, his feelings and desires be damned.