Drone Pony 5: Life lessons in the park

A gentle breeze blows during the steady warmth of early afternoon, carrying the scent of rain gone past and the faint smell of baked goods from the nearby town as you leisurely walk in the park. The warmth on your back feels good, and it's nice to get out and stretch your legs. You look up, scanning the tops of the trees for the one you came to the park with. You find her, after straining your eyes for a few moments, far ahead and hovering in the air, head turning left to right slowly as she observes the area, sunlight dully reflecting off her white body.

You wonder if she's enjoying herself, or if she's too focused on the "training" aspect of today's exercise. Really it was more an excuse to get outside for yourself, and maybe to show your little drone a bit more of the world outside the walls of your home.

You put your hand above your eyes to shield them from the sun as she turns her head enough to notice you. You motion for her to stay where she is, smiling as she stops herself mid-air from returning to you to follow your order.
She considers them orders, anyway. You don't really think yourself a "Commander," as she keeps calling you. Maybe one day you'll get her to call you your name instead. For now though, things are alright the way they are. If a bit awkward sometimes.

You put your hands in your pockets as you stroll along the path, basking in the warmth of the day. The heat reminds you fondly of the drone giving you an impromptu massage last night, your smile growing as you remember waking up from a nap with her in your lap. You laugh a little to yourself as you catch up with her and look across the more open section of the park, taking in the landscape with gently rolling hills and lush trees.
The park always was a nice place to go. The pavement and the sparse fencing on the limits of the park the only structures infringing on the otherwise completely natural environment. Ponies with picnic lunches lie about lazily in the sun, some eating sandwiches and gossiping with friends, others taking a quiet nap beneath a tree with their special somepony. A nice, serene scene of spring.

"I assess no threats in this area, Commander."

So much for the serene notion.

You look up at PQ-1, your drone pony, as she floats downward with a gentle humming sound. Whatever that Core of hers does to help her fly, it's surprisingly quiet, allowing you to hear her hooves touch the ground with gentle taps as she lands beside you. Perhaps it's just quieter when it's not in your house, bouncing off all the walls.
She looks up at you with that blank face of hers. You'd had her turn off the somewhat unnerving electronic eye displays she'd used at first in an effort to keep her from shutting down prematurely. Wouldn't be very convenient to install an experimental emotion chip only to have your drone shut down from a power malfunction so soon.

"Good to hear," you reply cooly, turning your eyes back to the lounging ponies in the park, "Though I can't say I'm surprised by your assessment."

"Is this area normally so passive, Commander?"

You nod, smiling softly as you look down at the waist tall construct. "Ponies don't go to the park to cause problems, typically. Not that they cause many problems in these parts to begin with, but especially not in such publicly used areas."

PQ-1, you really should come up with a name for her, makes a clicking sound as she nods once before looking out at the ponies gathered in the park. You follow her gaze, listening to her whirr as she focuses on a nearby pair sleeping beneath a tree.

"Isn't it dangerous to sleep in such public areas?" she asks, "If the weather shifts, or an antagonizing agent arrives, or any number of other potential hazards occur, these ponies would be at risk. Sickness, injury, or even just inconvenience to their day. It does not seem very efficient, Commander."

You have to stifle a laugh at her observation, instead lowering your hand gently to the top of her head. The warm, almost skin-like feel to her still sends a slight shiver down your spine as you pat her on the head. Some would say the gesture doesn't make sense, her being a construct and all. But despite what she's made up of, she's pony in appearance for the most part, and the emotion chip that you blindly installed in her, often makes you subconsciously treat her like any of the other ponies you've encountered. Gestures and shows of affection included.

"Commander?" she asks quizzically, a small note of confusion in her voice. If you didn't know better and weren't looking down at her with a smile, you'd swear she was just any other pony.

"Not everything in life is about being efficient, or doing what's convenient," you try to explain, guiding yourself and your drone to a nearby park bench. She hops up and sits on her haunches beside you as you sit with a soft groan of appreciation for the chance to sit. "Sometimes you do things that don't always make sense to others, and sometimes you just have to let the worrying about what could or could not happen go. Like that pair you were observing," you say, gesturing to the snuggling pair fast asleep in the shade of an oak tree, "They enjoy being together, clearly. And on a sunny, warm day like today, with a full stomach and in the loving hold of someone you care about? It'd be pretty easy to just let everything go and relax like that."

PQ-1 hums gently as she processes your words, before finally giving a shallow nod.

"I can't say I completely understand, Commander. But I will accept your judgment."

You sigh, resting your elbows on your knees as you lean forward. She has emotions, sure, but emotions can't always tell you what makes sense innately.

You snap your fingers and sit back up, turning and pointing a finger at her as she briefly leans backwards in surprise.

"Like last night!"

"Last night?"

"Yeah! You thought I was stressed or something, so you helped me relax, remember?"

"Yes, my log is quite accurate on what happened last night. I-"

"It's like that," you interrupt, "I was relaxed, and fell asleep. Because I was comfortable. It didn't matter what else I had planned for the day or anything. I was happy and carefree if even for just a moment."

"I....made you happy?"

The humming turns to an increased buzzing sound as PQ-1 leans forward. You get the feeling she's staring into your eyes, and find yourself taken aback as she presses forward.

"Please, can you confirm?"

It's suddenly difficult to swallow, though you make a valiant attempt before responding.

"Y-yes? I thought that was apparent. I mean, I woke up with you in my lap, which was nice, and I kind of started to...uh, pet you. Despite the fact you don't have-," you snap your mouth shut, refraining from continuing as PQ-1 continues to buzz.

"Commander, I have this...overwhelming sensation!" she says happily, tiny mouth curving into a bright smile, "It's like a combination of several positive emotions. It feels wonderful!"

She's closer now, nose nearly pressed into your chin as you find the edge of the park bench in your back.

"Permission to hug you, sir!"

"What?"

"I request permission to show you affection!"

You stare down at the drone for a moment, finally shutting your gaping mouth long enough to take a breath and say:

"G-granted."

A strange, high pitched sound comes from PQ-1 as she presses the side of her head into your chest and throws her front hooves around your body, squeezing you with a strength you didn't know she had as her squealing dials down a couple notches. She rubs her head against your chest as she gives you an extra hard squeeze, squishing the air from your lungs as you half-laugh half-gasp for breath and pat her on the back.
She eases up a little, and you put your arms around her frame as best you can, careful not to bump her wings-did they get shorter?-as you return her affection. Minutes pass, and you look up to find more than a few sets of eyes on you and your drone. For some reason it makes you blush, and you hug her to you a little harder for another minute or so.
Finally, the hug seems to have gone on just a bit too long, and you cough roughly to signal her. She makes a light beeping sound as she lets go with a smile, one hoof going back to rub the back of her head in a very pony-like gesture.

"I apologize, Commander. In my excitement I turned off my internal clock. I-"

"Literally lost track of the time," you finish with a laugh. You pat her gently on the head as you smile at her and tell her not to worry about it.

"So, how about we check out the other half of the park and head home?"

The smile never fades as she snaps a salute, "Yessir!" and starts to hover off the park bench, slowly ascending into the sky as though being pulled up by the scruff of her neck, "I'll scout ahead and report when you catch up, as we discussed during this morning's briefing!"

And with that, she floats off toward the other end of the park with a happy smile on her otherwise blank frame.

You shake your head gently and laugh to yourself as you get up and pat out the wrinkles she put in your clothing. A few of the ponies who were watching have small smiles of their own, you notice, while a few others have confused looking expressions plastered on their pastel colored faces.
Ignoring both of these, you leave to catch up to your drone pony.
A warm feeling persists in your heart as you walk, making every step feel a little lighter, and making the day seem a little brighter.