Izzy pulls a special friend down from space. Whatley in for quite the surprise.
Wheatley, a core from Aperture Science never thought that he would ever see the Earth up close after being banished, doomed to float around the moon forever. That was however until magic got involved and a special unicorn pulled him down to earth. Well, not exactly Earth, but it's a new home at least.
“Sunny. go long!” Zipp called out as she tossed the red frisbee across the open field outside Maretime Bay. Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, Sunny and Hitch were on a nice picnic enjoying a lovely sunny day. The last few weeks had gone pretty smoothly with no major hurdles yet to come.
As Sunny ran after the disk, Izzy idly unpacked the picnic basket and laid out the checkerboard blanket with her magic. “Alphabittle found this old book that talked about these sparkly berries found from up north that apparently can make some rather good jam. Oh-oh, we should take the Marestream on a road trip to get some!”
Hitch looked up as he petted a bunny. “That sounds rather far. I’m not sure how long I can be gone for.”
Izzy rolled her eyes as she set out some plates. “Pfff. Oh, come on. I'm sure Maretime Bay can survive without you for a while. Sure, there was Sprout, but that was like one time.”
“I guess so. I have to ask Sunny what she thinks too. I mean, it is her vehicle, after all,” Hitch replied, watching Izzy's gaze move slowly skyward as her tongue stuck out. “You okay there, Izzy?”
Izzy horn kept shining as she gazed past the clouds feeling something way up there. All she had to do was reach for it. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she could vaguely sense it. “Mmhmm, I just need to grab something all the way up there,” she said, putting her up in the air.
Pipp also peered upwards after finishing a short livestream to show how lovely nature could be. “Uh, Izzy there’s nothing up there,” she said, squinting to try and see whatever Izzy was talking about.
Izzy scrunched her face more in concentration, her magic locking onto something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. “Just give it a few moments/ It's pretty far.”
“S-space! Space!” Space Core communicated as he slowly orbited another metal sphere with a blue optical on the front.
“Yes mate, space,” Wheatley sighted as his servos moved his singular eye about as he looked down the lunar regolith recognizing many of the familiar craters below after hundreds of orbits of the moon. Honestly, the space core wasn’t all that bad. He was glad the comlink was still open regardless. Otherwise, he’d be alone with his digital thoughts. If cores could go mad like humans, he probably would have.
“I’m in space,” Space Core chimed, still excited after all this time. Well, it was its programming, so it probably had the memory of a goldfish.
As Wheatley slowly spun, his gaze fell upon the earth, the pale blue dot where he took over Aperture Science and then got promptly defeated. “You know, some days I wonder what I’d do if I got back. Probably say sorry to Chell, assuming Glados didn’t me first.” His servos shuttered, mimicking a shiver. Just as his thoughts drifted off, odd streaks of coloured light swirled about in his vision. For a moment, he thought that his optics were starting to malfunction despite how well-built he was.
However, his worries abided a bit when Space Core spoke up too. “Pretty lights. Oh! Are they northern lights?!”
“You see them too? Oh, that’s good. I think.” Wheatley watched the streams of light intensify and noticed it was circling him. His sensors couldn’t make any sense of it as there didn’t seem to be a pattern to the swirls. It took him a few moments before he noticed that the moon was getting farther away from him. “Wait? I’m moving?” he squeaked, as he could feel the pull as the Earth became closer with each passing moment. The colours around him increased as he seemed to pass through a wall of light before resuming his trek toward the blue marble. He frantically looked around, trying to see who was grabbing onto him. “What’s going on!” His panic grew as the planet got ever closer, far faster than it had any right to be. He barely noticed that the terrain below had changed entirely. Whately wasn’t the smartest core, but he knew what re-entry was. “Wah! No, no, no!” His body began to feel friction as he entered the upper atmosphere. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Space Core try out as well, somehow dragged along on this ride.
Flames began to lick at his form as he descended, unaware of the odd shimmering light surrounding him as he fell. “Aaaa, Hot! Hot! Hot!” As plasma roared all around him, he thought back to his career and the subjects he watched over and had the cybernetic version of life flashing before his eyes. It was a solid minute before the flames receded, replaced with rushing air as he descended. Thanks to Aperture Science Engineering he survived, only for his optic to widen as he glanced at the grassland below seeing a town coming up fast. “Aaaaaa!! I’m going to die!”
The group of friends continued to watch as Izzy’s horn glowed as said unicorn stared high into the sky. It was a solid minute before Sunny spoke up. “Izzy, are you sure there is something up there?” She said squinting.
Pipp moved her phone upwards to peer up as well. “My Pipsqueaks don’t see anything,” Pipp added, pausing a moment later. “Wait, I see something. Like a comet?” She thrust a hoof to the sky.
“I” 'm not sure you can see a comet during the day,” Zipp said, glancing towards the sight and blinking. “Wait, is that what Izzy was grabbing?”
Izzy gasped as her horn sputtered for a moment as she fidgeted in place. “Oh no, oh no! I can’t slow it down!” She cried out as the object kept falling towards them. Izzy's head turned towards a nearby trash can and pointed to it, having an idea. “Zipp, Pipp! Grab that Trash can. Maybe we can catch it.” There was a soft yelling from above, muted but growing louder as Izzy panicked.
“Ew, but it’s a trash can,” Pipp whined as the two pegasi flew closer to it.
Zipp rolled her eyes as she grabbed onto one side of the can. “Relax, it’s empty. Besides, we have no time to get stuff off the blanket.”
As the two took the can skyward, Izzy's face scrunched up as she focused harder on her magic. Her eyes focused on the small orb descending fast reaching out her telekinesis to re-acquire the connection. Her attempt was clumsy as the magic kept sleeping off similar to trying to hold a wet bar of soap in her hooves. Grabbing into it had been so easy, slowing it down was harder said than done. “Eeep! Slow down, slow down!”
The screaming increased as the strange object came clearer into view as the two pegasi moved the can about to line up to catch it. Sunny gasped as she got a look at the object. “It looks like a metal ball?”
Hitch squinted and nodded as he saw it too. “Yeah, and it's coming fast,” he said, gesturing with his hooves. “More to the left, no wait right!” He gestured with his hooves frantically trying to judge where it was falling.
Izzy only had a few moments to reconsider how to slow the object down, her legs twitching in place, all with her horn glowing onwards. “If I can’t slow down the ball. Then I’ll help catch it.” Her magic grasped onto the can moments before it came crashing into it with a loud clang. The impact pushed Zipp and Pipp down before landing the trash can back on the ground.
As the group gathered around the can, Zipp gave Pipp a pat on the back. “Good job, sis. Let’s see what Izzy brought us.”
Thankfully for Wheatley, Aperture Science's sturdy engineering had saved him from turning into scrap metal upon impact. However, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like android hell. It simulated pain for sure, but still. “Ouch!’ As his optics slowly came online, he stared up through a tube he had landed in. His processor paused briefly, finding it hard to believe what he was looking at.”What?!” Above him stood what appeared to be an equine with a purple muzzle looking right at him.
“Oh hey, it talks! Hi there!” Izzy greeted, yanking Wheatley free from the bottom of the garbage can and into the light. She grunted a little. “Wow, you’re heavier than you look.”
Wheatley’s eye darted side to side and looked at the other horses surrounding him, each looking at him. “What? I’m not fat. Wait, are you talking horses?” He half suspected he was malfunctioning somehow, but all his diagnostics came back clean, besides a few minor glitches.
“Ponies, technically,” Sunny replied, squinting as she looked at the shiny sphere. “Well, unless you mean ponies from Saddle Arabia. My dad used to tell me they were fairly tall.”
Wheatley blinked again as his handles moved. “So you’re sure you're not some biological experiment that escaped and bred with a box of crayons? At least you're not mantis men.”
“What?” The group replied, looking at each other confused. Izzy snickered a bit, finding it amusing.
“All I’m saying is talking ponies isn’t normal,” Wheatley glanced over at Pipp and blinked. “Wow, you are quite fluffy. Like a miniature sheep with wings.”
Pipp sputtered, fluttering her wings as she looked at herself. “I’m not that fluffy.” She flapped her wings a few times, bringing out her phone and aiming it at Wheatley, “So, what are you exactly?”
“I’m an err…a core. Yeah! A testing core. I test things,” Wheatley replied quickly, not wanting to go into details right now.
Hitch leaned closer to the machine, tapping a hoof on the top of it. “He reminds me of those robots from one of the comics Sprout showed me once when we were younger.”
“Oh, let me guess. A laser-firing unicorn robot?” Izzy chirped as she attempted to lift Wheatley with her magic, but it felt slippery somehow.
Hitch rubbed the back of his neck with a faint blush. ”Uh…yeah, actually,” he paused and quickly changed subjects to avoid more awkwardness. “But how about some introductions?” He started to point at each of the ponies around. “I’m Hitch, town sheriff. That’s Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and the one that dragged you down was Izzy.”
Wheatley's optic blinked, giving a glance at each pony before replying. “Oh, hello, I’m Wheatley. Wheatley the moron.” He twitched, realizing his slip-up. “Erm I mean, ignore that last part I said.”
Izzy laughed, patting Wheatley’s metal head. “Whatever you say, Whateley. Nice to meet you.”
Sunny rubbed her chin as she watched the exchange. “So, what do we do next with our new friend? We could show him around town.”
Hitch nodded in approval. “Sounds good to me.” Without delay, Hitch moved across the field to a nearby tree where Sparky was napping and scooped the little drake into his back. The others proceeded to pack up the lunch swiftly before heading back to town with Wheatley upon Izzy’s back.
As Wheatley took stock of his new surroundings, he couldn’t help but wonder about where Space Core could have gotten off to.
“Sp-space! Space,” Space Core sputtered, looking about the obsidian-coloured throne room with shards of glass strewn about the carpeted floor. His yellow optic looked up at a very angry-looking dark purple horse with a sparking horn.
“How dare you crash into my domain! Do you know who I am?!” Opaline snarled with her wings flared in dominance. A wind blew through the sizable hole in the stained glass window, blowing the pony mane about.
“Space wanna go to space,” Space Core replied, his limited processing making it hard to fully know what had happened.
“What nonsense is this?” Opaline poked at the metallic orb her eyes narrowing. “Perhaps you can be useful. Hmm, now where did I put that screwdriver?”
Taking advantage of the momentary quiet, Wheatley took the time to take in his new surroundings. It was quite the contrast between his old home, concrete and steel replaced with plenty of nature, alongside proper civilization. Sure, he had seen all the vines and greenery that had overtaken the facility, but seeing it all in full sunlight was a vastly different experience.
It wasn’t until the ponies reached the dirt paths leading back to town that Wheatley finally noticed the green lizard sitting on Hitch’s back. The lizard turned its large eyes at him, letting out a coo or two as it waved. The fantasy stories of little beasts that would tear machines apart came to his mind as the core’s handles flexed and let out a yelp. “Gah, there is a gremlin on your back!”
His new friends gave him odd looks as Hitch shook his head. “What? No, this is Sparky. He’s harmless. Mostly. He can be quite the hooffull, though. Isn’t that right, little Sparkyroony?” He gave the dragon a tickle to its belly causing Sparky to giggle.
Sunny looked back at Wheatley with a chuckle. “Have you ever seen a dragon before where you came from?”
Wheatley's memory cycled through the few files about the biological science labs, much of the wordy science papers going over his head. A few images of lizards did pop up, along with rats with odd spots. “No, not really. Aperture had some lizard and rat experiments. Not sure most resulted in much.”
Izzy was the first to respond as she scrunched her muzzle.“Animal testing? That doesn’t sound nice at all.”
“I’d never test my makeup products on little critters. I’ve seen the articles to know better.” Pipp joined in while Hitch winced and gave Sparky a head pat.
Wheatley’s handles twitched as he peered at each of the ponies with confusion. “But, aren’t you all animals?” Almost all at once, the group glared at him in unison, a pregnant pause in the air as Sunny snorted. Wheatley even thought he heard a trumpet go off rather comically. After a few seconds, the core twitched. “What? It’s true, isn’t it?” He asked, obviously to the many raised eyebrows.
The silence lasted until the ponies entered Maretime Bay fully, with eyes already falling upon the orb upon Izzy’s back. Izzy quickly spotted Posey along their trek and waved towards her. “Hey Posey, look at what I found!”
Posey moved over to them, squinting as she took a look at Wheatley. “What is this thing? Some sort of fancy Pegasus camera?
Wheatley felt confused with the new horse right up against his optic, almost able to see up her nose. After a moment, he spoke. “Uh, hello.”
“Gah, it talks,” Posey said, jumping back as she gasped. “Where did you find this thing?”
Izzy moved up next to Posey, ensuring not to knock Wheatley off her back as she put a hoof around the mare’s shoulder. “From Outer Space! Space, Space!” she chimed in her usual chirpy way.
“What? What’s that supposed to mean? There’s nothing up there. Just the moon.” Posey retorted, ears flickering.
“Oh, the moon? Yeah, I was orbiting it. Yup, long, long time.” Wheatley replied, getting a few odd looks from the group around him.
“Wait, you were circling the moon?” Zipp asked, flabbergasted. “Wow, Izzy, how far did your magic reach?”
Izzy rubbed her neck as she looked side to side. “I don’t know. I just had this feeling he was up there. Am I stronger than I thought? Oooh!”
Sunny tapped her chin for a moment before she replied. “Maybe something amplified your magic? Similar to how the harmony crystals influence cutie mark magic.” She paused as her friends all looked at her with curiosity. “It’s just a guess. Well, and the story of when Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon.”
Pipp’s head tilted as she tried to comprehend the magic jargon. “So she became a giant magic magnet or something?”
“Wow, I became a magnet? Cool! Wonder what else I can do.” Izzy said with a light bounce, Wheatley adjusting himself as he listened.
“Well, there was that one time you took down a tree with your horn in about ten seconds,” Hitch added, Posey walking away with a huff.
“She did what?!” Wheatley asked, his optics going wide for a moment. It would seem this new world was already full of surprises.
“What? We needed a bridge,” Izzy replied with confidence as if such a thing was normal. The group continued down the street as the citizens glanced at the newcomer.
As the calm resettled, Zipp glanced back at Wheatley with a raised eyebrow. “So, why were you around the moon in the first place?”
“Well, um…” Before he could reply further, the few errors he ignored for a time were now flaring up, causing flashing messages across his vision. Moments later, his optic fell upon the sight of the Bright House with the beam of rainbow light ribboning into the sky. Colours continued to flicker across his vision, reminding him of the magic tunnel he had passed through to get here. New information flashed before his optics, causing his servos to twitch erratically.
Foreign power source detected!… Adaptive core initializing!... New protocols online!...
The poor core was at a loss for what all the new data he was finding out meant. With being plugged into the Aperture Science mainframe, it would be hard to tell what upgrades might have gotten installed into his core. His frame felt all tingly, feeling more charged than he had while plugged into a management rail. A quick check of his diagnostics soon revealed his battery was full. Given how efficient Aperture devices were, he hardly paid his low power much mind for all those years.
It took him a second to realize that he must have been offline for longer than he thought, finding himself in a new location with what seemed like a kitchen ahead while he sat on one of the counters. Coming back online fully, he noticed the blue-haired pony from before pulling away from him with surprise, a rag floating idly beside her. Before he could ask more, Izzy called out to her friend. “Zipp, I think he’s rebooted or whatever.”
Wheatley shifted his gears as he heard more hoof steps approaching the counter. “What? Uhm, no, I’m fine. I think?” he wasn’t sure how they’d be able to help. They were not trained scientists or engineers, as far as he knew. Maybe they would surprise him.
Zipp and Pipp came into view soon enough, with the purple one tapping on her rectangular device. “Finally. And here I thought my phone’s updates were slow.” PIpp quipped as she took another photo of the new robot, seeming impressed by something.
Zipp rolled her eyes, cracking a smile as she double-checked the nearby clock while replying. “It has only been eight minutes.”
“Yeah, like I said, forever,” Pipp said as she looked at Izzy. “Great work on the polish, Izzy. Those scorch marks were so unflattering.”
“Polish?” Wheatley asked while Izzy held a mirror for him to see his reflection. He first noticed that his usual white paint job seemed more vibrant, resembling a core fresh off the assembly line. He also had some new lines of blue paint around his front panel, accenting his glowing eye. “Huh, look at me? It’s like I’m fresh out of the box.”
Izzy rubbed her hoof on her chest as she smirked proudly. “What can I say? I was inspired. Plus, I thought you could use something after I pulled you down. I'm glad you like it. Hope you are okay.”
As Weatley nodded, the group gathered around, with Zipp seeming determined to get to the bottom of how he got to Equestria. “So, what happened to make you go all loading screen on us?” She asked, giving a few taps to Wheatley’s spherical head.
Wheatley spent a few seconds combing through the new code within his core, attempting to make sense of things beyond the limits of his programming. Parts of the mainframe database still lingered inside, allowing him to parse some of it together. “Well, I spotted this weird light show from this tower down the street, and then I suddenly started to glitch.” He looked to either side of him before he added, “Where are we anyway?”
Sunny waved before gesturing her hoof about the open space. “This is my house. We call it the bright house. The light must have been the unity crystals. They do make quite the spectacle.” Stepping closer, she leaned in to look at Wheatley closer. “Are you saying you might have a connection to magic?”
Zipp raised an eyebrow while also rubbing her chin in thought. “How? He’s not even from here. Think that’s why Izzy could pull him down?”
Wheatley glanced toward the unicorn and replied with a verbal equivalent of a shrug. “I’ll be honest with you. The sciencey parts of my core are just itching to scream that magic isn’t real. But well? I can’t deny the evidence, can I?” He paused for a second before he added. “I did see something about an adaptive core. Oh, I feel fully charged without being plugged in. I heard of wireless charging, but I thought that was just science fiction.”
“Wait, so despite wherever you came from having no magic? Your inner workings just adapted to use it?” Zipp asked as she made notes on her phone.
“Oh! That reminds me of some of my dad’s notes about artifacts. Something about changing the user or environment to suit its function.”
Wheatley thought about it, combing over the new code before slowly nodding. “It would seem so. On the bright side, I don’t have to worry about plugging in.” A few seconds passed as the group thought to themselves, leaving the core to finally slow down and wonder about something important, feeling a little odd without any directives. It wasn’t like he wanted to go back to Aperture. Not wanting to face the music, even if he had any clue of how to return. “So, what do I do now?”
Pipp snapped another photo before she replied. “I know that feeling, trust me. Sometimes I finish making a new song, and then I'm unsure what to do for my Pipsqueaks next.”
“Or are you gripped with indecision, having too many things you could do? So you don’t know what to do first.” Izzy added as she looked at the others before glancing back at the core a sudden thought came to her mind. “Wait, you said you tested things right? How did you do that without a body?
Wheatley shifted his motors as he thought about the testing robots in Aperture, feeling jealous about those sleek white bodies. “Well, I’m usually plugging into a management rail and can activate panels and other things in a network. I mean I once had something like a body but, uh,” He glanced at Zipp. “Long story.”
Izzy beamed, rubbing her hooves together with glee. “Oh, then we just need to get you a body.” Her face fell for a second, tapping her chin instead. “Uh, how do we do that? We built the Marestream. How hard could a robot be?”
“What do you think, Zipp? Got any ideas?” Sunny asked, knowing her friend’s intelligence and tech-savvy nature.
Zipp tapped her hoof on the floor, glancing at the clock occasionally as she thought it over. “Let me see.” There was silence for only a minute before Zipp beamed. “Oh, I got it, and we still have time if we hurry. I know just the pony who can help.”
“Oh really?” Wheatley asked, imagining what having independent arms would be like. At the very least, it would let him explore better.
'`Alright, everypony to the Marestream!’ Zipp declared, Izzy being quick to scoop Wheatley up onto her back before the group hurried outside. It would seem this robot’s adventure had just begun.
“What?!” Wheatley said, spotting the vehicle they were about to board. The Marestream, as the ponies called it, was an RV with wings by any mathematical formula that would be far too small to provide any satisfactory lift. At the same time, the core thought of the human phrase about the humble bumble bee and how it flew anyway.
Opening the main door of the RV, Zipp paused and looked back. “Something wrong, Wheatley?”
“Are you going to drive? There is no way this will fly.” Wheatley said as he observed the lack of any evidence of engines.
“Magic,” Sunny chimed as she headed inside the RV as if that explained everything. Given the new world the robot was in now, that probably did.
Izzy carried the core inside, moving him side to side to show off the interior. “Well, it’s very…uh spacious?” Wheatleyreplied, getting a closer look, noticing that most of the cabin was empty despite the colourful walls. The main feature appeared to be a booth along one side with various windows to peer out at the world. Besides that, there were a couple of cupboards for storage. The front of the RV was a simple seat lacking a backrest along with its controls being a controller with numerous buttons and knobs. The setup felt strange to the core. Didn’t most vehicles have a steering wheel? Eh, it was probably a pony thing.
As the others climbed inside, Izzy glanced about the carbon, tilting her head. “Hmm, now that you mention it, it is rather roomy. But that just means more space for friends.” She moved over to one of the windows, taking a seat and preparing to help Wheatley have a good view once they got going.
Zipp hopped onto the driver’s seat and slid on her shades as she looked back with a smile. “Alright, Wheatley. Hold onto your bolts.” Gripping onto the controller, the Mare Stream roared to life and took the air.
As the RV ascended, the core peered side to side out the window, trying to find any sign of the engines, but could find none despite hearing them. His optics glanced downwards after a while, taking a second glance at the landscape now that he wasn’t plummeting towards it. Rolling hills and pristine rivers swept by, looking untouched by civilization. Not that Wheatley had much experience with the surface, only having reference photos from inside the archives to base opinions on. “It’s very peaceful up here,” he remarked before being sat back on the table as the RV shook just a bit from an updraft.
“If you think that looks nice, just wait till we show you Bridelwood.” Izzy chimed as she showed off her charm bracelets. “We have these huge crystals that can glow and all sparkly like.”
“Oh yeah, like during the music festival,” Pipp said, checking her messages. “But everything changed when the Troggles attacked.” She waved her hoof about before chuckling.
The other ponies just tilted their heads until Zipp glanced back. “It’s a joke based on a book she read.” She glanced back out the window, a bring spread across her face. “Alright, ponies! We're almost there.”
As they approached the towering building, Wheatley couldn’t help but let out a digital whistle at the view, reminded of Aperture's large open areas.
A bell over the shop door jingled as the group entered, with Zipp gesturing around. “If anypony knows how to build a robot body, it would be this stallion.” The main area of the shop was full of various mechanical toys and gadgets, with numerous clocks hanging upon the back wall. In the center of the zone was a large glass display case. Inside was a boxy robot with some saw blades on the front. A plaque proudly declaring it the champion of Bashathon three years running.
Sunny let out a whistle as she gazed about at all the mechanical wonders. “Wow, this place looks amazing, Zipp.”
“Hey yeah, just wait till you see the owner,” Zipp said, raising a hoof to her mouth as he called out the back. “Hey! Gearbox you around!”
“Coming,” came the response as sounds of clattering metals were heard moments before the door behind the counter swung open, revealing the dark gray pegasus stallion with a scruffy silver mane speckle with black lines. On his head sat a pair of golden-trimmed safety goggles. Upon spotting Zipp, he smiled wide. “Zipper! It’s been a while. Staying out of trouble?” He teased with his soft yet deep voice that echoed about the room, oozing with wacky uncle vibes.
“You could say I brought you a new challenge. Say hello, Wheatley.” Zipp said, gesturing to the core as Izzy floated him into view.
As Wheatley took in the details of the shop around him and the owner, he thought of all the numerous mechanisms in Aperture. He wagged his handles as he spoke. “Uh, hello. I'm Wheatley. So? Can you make me a body?”
Gearbox’s eyes widened as he looked at the new mechanical wonder. Wanting to see more, he made his way around the counter and moved up to the core. “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like you before. And it talks?”
“He comes from space!” Izzy chimed in, skipping in place. “I sort of brought him down to earth.”
Gearbox raised an eyebrow as he tapped Wheatley’s body some. “Really? So you’ve brought me an alien? That sure beats a music box.”
“Music box? What is he talking about, Zipp?” Pipp asked, now being reminded of something. “Wait, was this box Silver with gold trim and a pink ballerina?”
Zipp shook her head at Gearbox, but it was too late as he spoke up. “Why yes. Actually, why?”
Pipp gasped, putting her hoof to her face as she looked at her sister with shock. “Sis, what did you do to our family heirloom?”
Zipp’s wings fluttered as she shook her head. “Nothing okay. I may have accidentally knocked it off your dresser when I was in your room years ago.” her hoof snuffed the floor in a small circle as he continued sheepishly. “Besides, Gearbox fixed it up so well that you never noticed.”
“Good as new, if not better,” Gearbox boasted, adjusting his goggles. Before the group could discuss further, a loud crash echoed about the room, causing everyone’s heads to turn. Poking his head out of the spilled pile of cogs and spring was sparky cooing and looking all innocent as he clutched a large gear in his claws.
“Sparky!” Hitch groaned, moving over the baby dragon and peering back at Gearbox. “Sorry, I lost track of him for only a moment.”
“Well, how about we get out of Zipp and Gearbox’s way? I can take you three along. We can even show little Sparky to the park.” Pipp said as she took a photo of the rather cute chaos.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Pipp. If it takes longer than the rest of today, I’m sure you guys can stay at the castle.”
Sunny skipped some at the thought. “Oh, a sleepover, that sounds like a good idea.”
Izzy helped Hitch clean up the cogs and gears, looking back at the gang with a grin. “Better than the dungeons.“ she blew a raspberry before she continued. “I can stay and help too. I did build Zipp’s goggles.”
As the group of friends discussed plans, it left Wheatley with a moment to self-reflect. This new planet was so alien yet had a lot of familiar elements. The ponies that had taken him in he was starting to like. Even with the short time spent with them, he was beginning to enjoy their company. His current observation showed that Zipp seemed the most nosey of his past. It would be hard to keep it under wraps for long. Would it be easier to come clean? Maybe, but he had his doubts still. Perhaps he was worrying too much. The world felt somewhat passive. Glados most likely would have chalked them up as good test subjects.
Wheatley whistled as he glanced about the workshop while being carried in, seeing the numerous shelves of various tools and mechanical parts, wires, and other electrical bits and bobs. It reminded him of the assembly line back areas of the Facility. Once placed on the steel central table, he peered at Gearbox curiously. “So, what kind of body will I get?”
Izzy skipped in place as she replied with glee. “Oh! Oh! A pony body, right? I mean, that’s doable, right?”
Zipp softly facepalmed with her wing, letting out an amused chuckle. “You saw Judgement Neigh, didn't you?” Her hoof slid parts around as she surveyed the different servos.
“Maybe,” Izzy gave a cheeky grin as she turned Wheatley to the side and looked closely at his backside and the alien ports. “Why? What is wrong with a pony model? I’ve seen those animatronics before.”
Wheatley’s optics quickly took a second look at the pony's hooves and other attachments, shaking his head some. “No offense, mate, but I’d rather not have some useless hooves. Do you have any hands? Those are great. Can open doors and shoot portal guns and push buttons.” The ponies around him once more gave him odd looks as silence filled the room for a second.
“Hands?” Zipp asked, tapping her chin for a second before her hoof shot up a light bulb going off above her head. “Ah! I got it.” She turned to Gearbox and pointed about the shelves. “You’ve been to Moscow, Right? Must have something like Griffon claws around here somewhere.”
“Or like Sparky claws, big chubby claws,” Izzy quipped as the trio moved to a large blueprint board on a side table, leaving Wheatley to sit and wait. Upon mentioning the goblin, the core can’t help but imagine himself with a flamethrower torching the pesky nature. A minute went by before Izzy smiled back at him. “Oh, I think you’ll enjoy what we got planned.”
It was an hour and a half of a flurry of wires, gears, cogs, and various metal segments as the trio of ponies slowly assembled a body that could work for Wheatley. The core was currently staring at what would eventually be his new arms. The three-jointed servo ended in 4-digit pinchers. Zipp was across the table, slowly assembling a metal frame for the main body with various wires dangling loosely, all ready to be plugged in. He rocked side to side as he sensed Gearbox poking at his backports, trying to make sense of them. “Gah, hey what are you doing back there!”
Gearbox shined a light into various parts as he tilted his head. “Oh sorry, just trying to figure out how to plug things in. Never seen this orientation before.”
“Yeah, Aperture is definitely unique,” Wheatley remarked surprised when he saw another message pop up on his display “Adapting? Again?” Before he could ask further, a blue light blinked on and off on the back briefly before his optic lit up causing a blue scanning line to sweep across the table “Gah!” The bean swept over the many parts of his new body in less than a few seconds resulting in a beeping sound from his chassis. Unseen by Wheatley, the trio of ponies watched as the ports started to reconfigure a more usable interface. Perhaps a few of the nanobots from the facility were still lingering on his body.
“Wow! Did you see that?” Zipp asked, amazed.
Izzy leaned in closer to look at the new equipment nodding in reply. “Oh yeah, he got quite the sparkle.” Spinning the core around she smiled at him. “That was quite the light show. Can you do it again?”
“I-I don’t know. I didn’t even know I could do that. Probably because of that update or whatever from before.” He watched as diagrams rushed before his optics for a few seconds before they went away but paid it no mind for the time being. If it meant getting a new body, then he would deal with the funny magic.
Gearbox adjusted his work goggles and chuckled. “Well, whatever magic that was, it has just made our job easier. It should only take another hour. Don’t you think?”
Zipp nodded, twirling a wrench in her hoof as she smirked. “Let’s get to it.”
The bell above the door rang out as the rest of the gang returned to the store, Pipp calling out. “Zipp we got your text. My fans can’t wait to see what Wheatley looks like.”
Zipp entered the main floor with a smile, Gearbox behind her as she nodded. “Oh yeah, I think you’ll be impressed,” she said proudly.
Izzy nodded in agreement as she joined them now seeing that Sparky was wearing a mini tuxedo and shades. “Huh? What did we miss?” She asked, pointing to the drake.
Hitch chuckled. “Yeah, funny story about that,” he started only to stop when he heard a thunk from behind the door as the sound of some cardboard boxes falling was heard.
“Oops, sorry. Still getting used to these things,” Wheatley called out, some servo sounds being heard.
Zipp chuckled before calling back. “Well? Come on out! Let’s show them all what you got.”
As everypony eagerly watched the doorway, the sounds of treads vibrated as Wheatley wheeled into view. His lower half consisted of dual treads for his legs painted with blue and white pallets. The main metal frame of his body had matching colours as various servos and wires snaked up like a spine. Plastic coverings ensured that no cords would get snagged as he bent. Servos spread out to form broad shoulders, both sides having joints to simulate an upper torso. Each arm ended in a hand mimicking that of a minotaur’s with three fingers and a thumb painted a solid white. Wheatley waved with his new hand as his head moved on a swivel held in its little frame to allow for a full range of motion with a thick bundle plugged into his ports, similar to a spinal cord.
“Hello. Check me out! I got hands, haha!” Wheatleysaid with glee, having enough flexibility to clap his hands together. As he gave a thumbs up, updated info idly scrolled through his vision. He was surprised at just how easy this had all been to set up. At least he now knew how those testing robots felt. He moved into the more open area in front of the counter before circling slowly, showing off his form.
“Wow, you three did a great job,” Sunny said, admiring the machinery at work.
Pipp flapped her wings as she held up her phone live streaming as the robot posed and adjusted his new body. “Oh yes, my pipsqueaks love your new look.” She said, watching all the little emojis slide along the side of her screen.
In return, Wheatley tried a muscle flex motion with his arms, feeling good about the praise. Although without any muscles, it just came across as silly. “Oh yeah, I like it too, much more freedom than some dumb rail.”
“Glad I could help the princess’s new friend,” Gearbox tipped his goggles with a smile. “Try not to break our new toy.”
“Hey, I am not a toy!” Wheatley said, startled, relieved somewhat when Zipp chuckled at the remark, clearly having been just a light jab. “Oh! Har-har, very funny.”
Zipp moved up to her friends as she patted the core’s new back. “Hey, it’s all cool.” She beamed, checking the time as she moved to stand alongside her sister. “Well, it's almost supper. Might as well treat our friends to some castle catering, don’t you think?”
“Sounds great,” Hitch chimed as Sparkly rubbed his tummy, causing the mares to chuckle at the sight. The group does a round of thanks before exiting into the evening streets With Wheatley wheeling behind, now free to foam on his own. As the group moved down the street to the palace, the core couldn’t help but wonder what he’d get up to next. Whatever it would be, he’d just have to find out.
