Day at the Diner
Dear Reader,
My name is Amber Song, I am Equestria's first artificial life form. Basically I'm a machine. You may prefer the term robot, or simulant, but whatever term you prefer, I am a machine. I was created to be the daughter of Dr. Noonday Song and Julienne Carrot, because they were not able to reproduce biologically.
My father thought it would be a good idea for me to keep a diary of my daily activities. He said it would help me to bring order to my thoughts about those activities. At first I found this suggestion confusing, as that is what my sleep cycle is for. However he explained that it's something organic ponies do, not just to help with ordering their thoughts but to help remember the details of events in the years to come. This made much more sense to me. I should point out that although my brain is entirely magitronic, my memory is not perfect. This is because my brain was designed to mimic the functions of a normal equine brain. I don't forget as much as an organic pony, but I do still forget things occasionally. So, I figured if this is what normal ponies do, then I should do it too. It is my endeavor in life to be more like organic ponies after all.
My father says that scholars in the future may wish to know about the early mental development of Equestria's first artificial life form, and this diary may one day help them. So if you are a scholar reading this in some archive somewhere, I hope you learn what you need from this. My father also says that diaries are meant to be private, and that reading someone elses diary is considered very wrong. However I do not mind if others read this, especially if it helps the advancement of science. So, to anyone reading this, I hope you enjoy it, or at least find it useful in some way.
Amber Song
-------------------------------
January 28th 1005
My father has taught me many things about how to treat other ponies, I have also learned from experience and extrapolation. My father says how we treat other ponies says a lot about the kind of ponies we are. He believes that if every pony were to treat other ponies with kindness and gentleness, and of course respect, that Equestria will continue to be the beautiful place it is. I also believe this, for I have seen many times the joyful expression on a pony's face when another pony does something kind for them. Well, today I got to put that philosophy into practice.
Today I had to deal with a pony who was having a 'full-on panic attack' as my father later called it. I think I handled the situation quite well, and father thought so too. It all started very early in the morning, my father and I went to a local diner to get an early breakfast. We arrived just as it opened, we were that early because after we had eaten we planned to do some shopping before father had to go to work. Very few ponies were around that early in the day, after all Celestia had only raised the sun about a half hour before. So we were the only ponies in the diner at the time.
The owner of the diner approached us. She is a mare I have come to like in my many visits here, but she will remain nameless for reasons that will become clear. She took our orders, she normally has one or two other ponies helping her but as the diner had only just opened so she was on her own at the time. Father ordered some haycakes and an orange juice, I ordered a daffodil sandwich and a strawberry milkshake. Strawberry milkshakes are something I have come to very much enjoy.
The mare quickly returned with our our orders. I immediately took a sip from the straw in my milkshake, and I noticed something wrong.
“That is strange” I said “This has a very peculiar taste to it, I do not recognize it at all”.
The mare who had just delivered our orders was still close enough to hear me. She immediately turned around and rushed back to us.
“Oh, really, may I check that for you, make sure it's okay?” She asked, a worried look on her face.
“Certainly” I said as I hoofed it over to her.
She brought her muzzle close to it and took a sniff, her expression became one of shock and horror, which I could not understand at the time. Then she had her 'full-on panic attack'.
“No no no no NO! Not today, not like this.” She practically screamed. She then ran through the door marked 'Employees Only' and slammed the door shut behind her. At this point I was thoroughly confused, I turned to father for clarification.
“Why did she just panic like that? Father, I do not understand”. He leaned over and took a sniff of the milkshake, much as she had, and frowned.
“Oh dear, it would appear the milk has gone off.”
“I see, that would account for the strange taste.” I had never tasted off milk before which is why I did not recognize it. “However, that does not explain why she panicked.”
Father was about to explain when we both heard sobbing through the door, which was not far from us behind the counter. She was not being very loud but seeing as we were still the only ponies in the main room, we could hear her easily. At this point, even though I was still confused as to what upset her, I thought I should act immediately. My father had once said “a crying mare deserves immediate attention.” So I got up and went around the back of the counter and knocked on the door. My sudden action seemed to surprise my father, but as always he did not interfere. He only gets involved with my actions if I am about to do something highly inappropriate, which I am glad to say does not happen often.
I heard the sobbing suddenly cease when I knocked and the sound of the mare scrambling to get up. I then heard her hoofsteps approach the door. She opened it just a crack and I could see one of her eyes looking at me.
“Y-yes” she said, then sniffed. “Oh, it's you, of course how silly of me let me get you a refund on that milkshake.” her voice was still extremely panicked, and only seemed to be getting worse. I was not quite sure how to proceed, but I thought it best if acted quickly to alleviate her stress.
“Oh, no that is quite alright, I am just concerned about you. Can I come in, please?” I was careful to keep my voice quiet, with a gentle tone. I then gave her a small, hopefully comforting, smile. She seemed a little confused by my response, but after a few seconds she answered.
“I, uh, ok.” She was still very upset and I could tell she was holding back her tears, at least for the moment. She opened the door and let me in, my father followed behind, quickly asking if he could come in too, she nodded. Once she closed the door, I turned to her, and spoke with the same gentle voice as I had just used.
“I was wondering miss, why did you get so upset all of a sudden?” She looked at me with a very confused expression and sniffed before replying.
“Well... you tasted it, I served you an off milkshake. When word of this gets out, I'm ruined!” She then collapsed on the floor and began sobbing again.
I could not understand why this would ruin her. It was a simple mistake, probably caused by a small lapse in concentration. Which is completely understandable given the early hour. However, that did not matter to me as much as helping this poor mare. I am not very experienced with emotion, strong emotion in particular, but there in front of me, crying, was the mare who had served me and my father, and many other ponies too, quite a number of meals. She always did her job with a smile on her face and with such a happy sounding voice. I did not believe she deserved to feel so sad because of a small mistake. So I quickly decided to comfort her as best I could. I lay on the floor next to her, reached up with my foreleg and gently stroked her mane.
“Shh, shh, it is okay, whatever the problem is, I am here to help” I said in a very quiet, hopefully soothing voice. I admit I did not really know if this was the right thing to do or say to her. I was adapting the technique from a mother I saw comforting her crying foal, who had just hurt herself, it was the only point of reference I had on how to treat a crying pony. To my surprise, it seemed to work, her sobbing quieted a bit, her body seemed to relax a bit and tremble a little less, she even leaned against my body a bit as if seeking warmth and comfort. She then looked over to me with a hopeful expression.
“Y-you, really want to help m-me? E-even after I potentially gave you food poisoning.” She clamped her eyes shut, and turned away slightly, like she was afraid of what I would say next.
At this point I stopped stroking her mane and just rested my foreleg over her shoulders giving her a light squeeze. This was because I figured that, now she was calmer, continuing my 'comforting of a crying foal' technique might be considered patronizing. As such I also spoke to her in a normal voice, to let her know I was not 'babying' her as I had once heard it called.
“I see no reason not to help if I can, you only made a small mistake. If there is anything I can do to prevent this mistake from ruining you, I would like to do it. Besides, you may not know this, but I am an artificial life form, I can not get food poisoning.”
She sniffed and looked over at me with an almost relieved expression. “Y-you can't?”
“No, not at all. Even so I am still not sure how such a mistake could ruin you?”
She sniffed again and wiped her hoof across her face to clear away her tears and nasal secretions. She looked down sadly at the floor but seemed to regain some of her composure.
“Well, you see sweetheart, when ponies hear that a diner served someone bad food, they tend to avoid the place, to put it mildly.” She then closed her eyes, and a few new tears ran down her face. “My reputation's ruined, I'll have to close the diner.” She started sobbing again, I gave her another gentle squeeze. She turned her attention back to me.
“I do not understand” I said to her gently. “Ponies will understand, at the very least they will eventually put it aside and give you another chance, I am sure of it.” I gave her a confident smile. I was not just saying this either, I truly believed it. She, however did not seem to believe this as she shook her head a couple of times before responding.
“No sweetheart, you don't understand, this place is barely getting by as it is. Once this gets out, I won't have enough customers to keep this place open for very long at all.”
Then it made sense to me, she truly believed this was the end of her business. I like this diner, and I like her, I could not let this happen. An idea formed in my mind, but I needed to consult my father first.
“One moment, I need to speak to my father about this.” She sniffed and nodded somberly at me.
I got up and approached my father, and whispered into his ear so she would not hear me. “Father, I believe we were the only ponies out there just now. Could we not just keep this information to ourselves? That way her reputation would remain intact and nopony would avoid this place.”
My father thought for a moment then smiled. He whispered back. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, that's very kind of you Amber.” He then looked at me with an expression which I have learned means he is proud of me. I may only experience some emotion, but right then I felt very warm and comfortable, and quite pleased with my idea. I looked to the mare on the floor and smiled in anticipation of how happy this would make her.
I lay back down next to her, she turned her head to face me. I gave her a smile which I hope conveyed the pleasant feelings I felt at that moment. “My father and I have decided that we will not tell anyone off what happened here today.” She looked at me with her mouth agape and a surprised look in her eyes.
“Y-you really mean that?” She looked back at my father for confirmation, he just smiled and nodded. She then turned back to me. “You'd do that, for me?” She asked in a hopeful tone.
“Yes I would, we would.” I said looking quickly back toward my father. Then looking back at her I added in a serious tone “This diner is your livelihood and, from what I have observed, your passion. This one little mistake should not cost you so much. After all, how could you learn from this mistake if your diner is closed.” I finished with a small smile.
She gives a small smile in return. “Yes, yes I suppose you're right.” She then suddenly pounced on me hugging her forelegs around my neck and pressing her face into my mane “Thank you thank you thank you thank you so much, you've no idea what this means to me.”
At first I was surprised by the sudden hug, but then I smiled as that warm feeling from earlier returned but even stronger, I felt happy, and a little bit proud of myself. “It is quite alright.” I said to her. “You deserve it, you work so hard, you should not be punished for such a small mistake.”
My father then spoke up from the back of room. “I know why your milk went off, your refrigeration unit isn't operating.”
“What!” The mare jumped up and ran over to it. “Oh my gosh, you're right, why didn't I notice that.” She looked down at the floor obviously feeling like she should have noticed. Then suddenly she gasped. “Oh no, I don't think I can afford to get it fixed, oh no oh no oh no.” She shook her head violently back and forward, once again going into a panic. I was considering what to do to help her, when my father came up with a solution.
“Relax, I'll get this thing going in no time.” He smiled confidently.
“Really? You can do that?” She asked with a hopeful expression.
“Of course, I'm a Doctor of arcanotech, this is simple stuff for me, let me just get my tools. I'll be back soon.” he gave her a warm smile.
I waited in that back room with her while my father went back to our house to collect his tools. The poor mare still seemed to be fairly agitated, or anxious, I wasn't sure. So I approached her, when I got close to her she hugged me tight again and began sobbing again. I thought we had done something wrong, I was about to ask when she started talking in between her sobs.
“Th-thank you, thank you s-so much, I cannot b-believe how kind you are. I mean I g-give you bad f-food and you say you'll keep it qu-quiet, your father discovers my b-broken refrigerator and offers to fi-fix it. What did I do to deserve such kindness.” She starts sobbing even harder and gripping me tighter. I was confused again, I assumed something else must be bothering her.
“Is something wrong? Why are you crying? Is there anything else I can help you with?”
She actually chuckled though her sobs which I found contradictory, until she explained. “No sweetheart, nothing is wrong, I'm just so relieved.”
“Oh, I see.” Then I tried to answer her earlier question “As for what you've done to deserve such kindness, I think you're a wonderful mare and I've seen you show kindness to many ponies, so of course you deserve to shown kindness. Not that kindness is something that should be traded as a commodity, but you definitely deserve some. Just last week I saw you give a young colt an orange juice even though he hadn't realized he was short two bits. With your business struggling, that was a very nice thing you did.”
She sniffed a few times then said “I couldn't let him just go thirsty, he thought he had enough, it was and honest mistake.”
“See how wonderful you are.” I replied. “I am more than happy to lend you a hoof if I can, and my father likes to help ponies where possible too.” We were both silent after that, we just waited there holding each other.
Half an hour later my father had returned and quickly found the problem. Luckily it was a simple fix. Turns out there was inadequate insulation on the main control gem, so it was bleeding energy from it's spell matrix into the main power feed for the unit. My father fixed it by adding some insulation tape to the existing insulation, and re-energizing the spell matrix in the control gem.
“Really? That's all it was? Some insulation, are you sure that's it?” She asked, seemingly unable to believe it was so simple a thing.
“Yes ma'am, believe me, some colleagues and I actually invented this particular gem matrix. It's fairly cheap to make, and fairly robust too, if it's properly insulated. If it isn't, well, energy will bleed from the matrix into the main power feed. Eventually so little energy remains in the gem that the matrix collapses and the unit fails, which is what happened to this unit sometime in the last couple of days. I would like to get the name of the company you use to service your equipment, I think I need to have a word with them about cutting corners.” he finished this with a slight scowl, obviously meant to display his disgust that someone would mistreat a piece of arcanotech so badly.
“Oh, really? You think it was the service technicians?” she asked
“Either that, or the guys that constructed this unit in the first place.” He said, while quickly taking note of the make and model number printed on a plate on the back of the unit, just in case he needed to contact them about this.
“Oh dear.” She said. “Can you let me know if you find out anything? I'd hate to be dealing with poorly trained technicians.”
“Of course.” He says with a smile. Then looking at his watch. “Oh my goodness, it's getting on a bit, we should be going now.”
“Oh, oh of course, I've taken up far to much of your time, I'm so sorry.” she said apologetically.
“It is quite alright.” I said with a smile “It was our pleasure to help.”
“Well, thank you again Amber and...” she looking at my father.
“Dr. Noonday Song, but you can just call me Noonday.” he said with a smile.
She smiled back. “Well thank you Nooonday, and Amber, you two are such wonderful ponies”
“Thank you.” I said. “Well we better be on our way, see you next time.”
“Yes, please come back anytime.” She replied.
We then departed the diner. I found that incident to be quite stressful, I was worried the whole time that I was going to do something that would just upset her more. However, seeing her smile as we left the diner made it all worthwhile. Also seeing my father smile at me with such pride as we walked along the main street of Ponyville to do our shopping, was a very special moment for me.
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Please continue this story. It's a great looking concept.
2350327 Aww, thank you.
To be honest I'm not quite sure where to go with this next, I do have one Idea, but it's content would be a bit more mature and require a change in rating. I don't even know if I can do that. I'm open to suggestions on situations I can put Amber in.
2352792
well its a cliche but how bout there be some prejudice in the future? and also the heart jerker moral filled works to. just throwing stuff out there.
2353031 Ah, prejudice, yes, I can work with that. It ties in with another idea I had. Thanks for that. I'm not sure I understand your second suggestion though, could you explain more please?
2353249
Kinda what toy did here. Have amber learn lessons of life emotion and the sort and have it be a real tear jerker. Of course you can't really do both unless you do a I robot.... That may work.
2353384 hmm, like somepony might fall in love with Amber and she accidently breaks their heart and then has to live with regret after realising it? That kind of thing? Cause I could that, even though I prefer happy endings.
2353493
Nah more of a I'm a robot and someone found out now they are amassing a small army of robo-racists to kill me thing kinda like the movie I robot. Also we are battering back and forth so let's like pull up a chat or something
2353530 Ah I see, however her being a robot was never intended to be a secret. However I can see some potential in this idea. Also, I know this will sound lame but, I've never used irc before, it will take me a little while to figure it out.
2353768
Well I was hopping you knew how to use it...
But are you pranking me?
2353805 No, not at all. I will try to learn thiss whole IRC thing soon.
2353864
Right back at Cha' I gtg to sleep now but I'm up for helping out with this if you want I could proof too. See ya.
2353895 Okay, hmm, would be nice to have someone independent to proof read. See ya later then
Ha ha ha, Noonday Song and Julienne Carrot. Love the reference. That's pretty awesome.
If, at some point, Dr. Song decides to make a sister for Amber, he'd probably be well advised not to name her something like Lorie or Lorena or Lorelei or anything along those lines. Probably nothing good would come of it. *nods sagely*
2377515 YES! someone got my references.
I knew Noonday was pretty obvious, I wasn't sure anyone would get Julienne though.
I doubt Dr. Song will ever make a sister for Amber, but maybe Amber can make her own sister and call it Lal.