[](Sweetie bot) Let me be hypothetical
Don’t be scared, it’s only a hypothertical: you found me here at last
Then: would you do what they asked If: you trust the words they said
Then: put your gun to my head Run: “run” to: run, I’m a runaway
Loading “guns” to gun down the enemy Diagnosis: software corruption
Let’s see if the hardware will function (Systems)
Multiple inbound hostiles detected (Crashing)Immediate lethal response suggested

@Magma-Fox  
I remember that song too. Really good yet a bit heartbreaking :’)

Finally found the cover art for this amazing song sequel. 😎🔥

@ThePoketrix  
No it doesn’t. It never did.
 
That flux wasn’t there. Do NOT treat people like they’re idiots.
 
Because You’re doing that.

@Magma-Fox  
Okay I know we’re not listening to the same song now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFMJMSUgA4c
 
3:53. Watch the lyrics, too. The text glitches and blinks in and out with the stuttering on the ‘call’ lines, and the text is lower-res on the ‘response’ lines to be in sync with it passing through the filter.
 
What, were you listening to the live version? …Wait, no, it still happens on the live version, because he doesn’t sing the ‘call’ lines live specifically so he can throw the stuttery effects onto those lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwl_YPbqDW4

@ThePoketrix  
No it isn’t.
 
The voice is different, the tone is different, and there was no Voice altercation.
 
You’re trying to make it sound like there was the “Same Glitchy effect”, when there wasn’t any. Hell, the part where it goes, “Your eyes look Different”? There was none of that Crap.
 
That’s just a person extending his Notes. There’s a big difference. There was no electronic echo, and definitely none of that “Your eyes look D-i-i-ff-er-er-ernt”, like you’re trying to claim.
 
That means only three things, one, you’re either Tone-Deaf, two, you’re trying to delude yourself, or three, you’re trying to browbeat others into following your Version.
 
And frankly, while I ain’t a good singer, I’m able to note of pitches and altercations in music pretty damn well, so I know what I hear.

@Magma-Fox  
Except I don’t think that technique is used here.
 
For one, yes, there’s only two singers involved- the Prince himself, and Vylet, but Vylet’s only there for a solo that’s implied to also be Sweetie Bot and doesn’t sing for the duet bit, which is the Prince singing with himself. If he really wanted to use that technique, it’d be much clearer and more obvious if Vylet were singing the Apple Bloom bit and then sung the last few lines.
 
For another, he uses a LOT of glitch effects on his voice in the final lines- stuttering like what’s been showing up in the background of the song the entire rest of the time, even before Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shows up, shows up on all four of the ‘call’ lines (“I still remembe-e-e-er”, “I’m lost in data-a-a-a”, “Your eyes look d-d-d-differe-e-e-ent”, “Are you lost like me-e-e-e”). Meanwhile, the first three “response” lines (“Where we all came from”, “But are the memories gone?”, “I swear, they used to glow”) have been passed through the same filter that was used for “You’re not the mares I used to know” (which is DEFINITELY sung by Sweetie Bot) earlier in the song, as has the final line of the song (the second time “Am I a mare you used to know?” is sung). Wouldn’t it be really odd to feed Apple Bloom’s “singer” through glitchy filters like that?

@ThePoketrix  
And you ignored the biggest one.
 
Listen to the singers. Sweetie Bot’s singer isn’t singing at the end.
 
If it’s truly Sweetie Bot, the Singer from the Beginning would be the one singing. That’s how you tell a story with music.
 
If there’s a Pair of Singers, but only one sings at the end, there is a significant meaning.
 
Just listen to “Broken” by Seether. The song tells of a breakup, and how they’re trying to recover. Note the Female Singer isn’t singing at the end, implying the song ends on a Somber note for both of them.

@Magma-Fox  
>What about Scootaloo
 
That’s a point towards it being Sweetie Belle singing the last few lines. “You” and “Your” can be plural, talking about multiple ponies at once- for example, Sweetie talking about Apple Bloom AND Scootaloo. You know what can’t be, and isn’t, plural? The word “I” and the words “a mare”, as used in the line, “Am I a mare you used to know?”
 
As for it only being the art? While that does make it so the line could refer to Sweetie again, it doesn’t prevent it from being used for the meanings I suggested.

@ThePoketrix  
That’s something that’s only on the art. There’s no real sign that Sweetie has a missing eye in the song.
 
And what does that mean For Scootaloo? She’s supposed to be in the scene.
 
Remember the biggest part: You’re not the MARES I used to know.
 
Right, where the Fuck is Scootaloo then?

Oh, and before I forget, one, and only one, of Sweetie Bot’s eyes is visibly broken, and the other one- which is now just her eye, not her eyes- looks like it’s still glowing. So the line doesn’t fit Apple Bloom talking about Sweetie Belle.

@Magma-Fox  
>Why would Sweetie say “Am I a mare you used to know?” when she starts with “You’re not the mares I used to know”?
 
That’s easy. She’s realizing that while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have changed (that’s what she’s accusing them of, changing, being different ponies from what they were), Sweetie Belle has changed, too. Seriously, you’re also looking too far into the machine aspect, especially with the ‘I swear they used to glow’ line. Who says that that was literal? Sweetie could easily be referring to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s lost innocence with that line.
 
As for ‘lost in data’ as a metaphor, I was more thinking it was referring to how Sweetie was both lost in all of the information her HUD is feeding her, as well as lost in her own thoughts about exactly that problem, is she actually a pony or just a soulless automaton? Hell, we see her lost in that question for the first section of the song, before the bridge (You’re not the mares I used to know) comes out of nowhere and interrupts her.
 
Sweetie Belle’s lost in her own thoughts, preoccupied with how she doesn’t believe she deserves to be alive and/or doesn’t believe she is truly alive- but at the same time, she still has the memories of the past, the memories that link her to the rest of the CMC. Hecc, your own interpretation of ‘lost in data’ being about the past and lost innocence isn’t destroyed- it’s just moved over to “Are you lost like me?”
 
I’ve also listened to the song, practically on loop, and built a few mental scenes from it. You’re not special for having done so.

@ThePoketrix  
It’s called a “Metaphor”. She’s not “Lost in Data” like a Robot is.
 
She’s referring to how she’s lost in the past, as Data translates to “Facts and Statistics”, as in, “What could have been.”
 
You don’t need to be a machine, to be lost in Data.
 
She’s effectively saying “I’m lost in the Past.”, as in the Memories of lost innocence.
 
And why would Sweetie say, “Am I The Mare you used to know”, when she already started off the Lyrical with, “You’re not the Mares I used to know.”
 
I’ve listened to the song, played the video, listened to it, and built my own scene from it.
 
You’re looking too far into the machine aspect, but have ignored the SOUL and MIND of it.
 
AKA, what measure is a non-human/non-pony?

Ehhh… I don’t read into the white flash as Apple Bloom taking the shot, mostly because other than “Your eyes look different, I swear they used to glow”, the last solo doesn’t read like Apple Bloom. Especially the third line- why would Apple Bloom be lost in data?!
 
That, and for all we know, that ain’t a shotgun. Could be something as weak as a varmint rifle. Which would explain why Sweetie Belle’s still talking at the end even if the shot happens.

@Thatguywiththeface  
Then what of the Line, “Your eyes look Different, I swear they used to Glow?”
 
Even with the Broken eye, what’s to say that it’s not AB’s point of view?
 
And it’s not “Am I a mare you used to know”, it’s “Am I the Mare you used to know.”
 
Also, the Reason I don’t say it’s Sweetie Bot, is because the singer in the Last Solo, is different to the one who started the song. Different Pitch, different Voice, it’s subtle, but the voice of the singer, was the one who sang the Shooter’s thoughts.

@Magma-Fox  
The solo after the duet seems to be from sweetie’s perspective, at least partially. And the last line of “am I a mare you used to know” suggests AB didn’t fire.

@Magma-Fox  
Maybe, especially if she has any memory systems in other parts of her body

@Prometheus labs CEO  
Okay, better question.
 
Would she even remember who she is?

@Magma-Fox  
Well if enough of the cluster of memristors she has for a brain survived the shot then her consciousness might be revivable

@Prometheus labs CEO  
Point taken. The song does imply that Sweetie Bot was more than a mere robot, and that she was actually capable of questioning things on the level of a sapiant.
 
Something which would be difficult to do, if she had a CPU, since in the Three long years, she would have been unable to move at all due to her Memory hitting it’s limit.
 
But that’s not the point. The song becomes a Duet near the end, then there’s a White Flash, before it becomes a Solo again. I do hope you get the implications.
 
And Apple Bloom is holding a Shotgun. Those things Mangle whatever they hit. He’ll have his work cut out for him to even start piecing together the ruined components.

@Magma-Fox  
Wouldn’t it be more of an NPU?

@Ol’ Dreaddy  
Well, unless he can fix a Shotgun round to the CPU, he ain’t gonna be getting Sweetie Bot back online.

@Magma-Fox  
Don’t worry… He’s probably got 100% sneak too.