//------------------------------// // Monody // Story: The Iron Horse: Everything's Better With Robots! // by The Hat Man //------------------------------// It was the day after. Twilight made her way up the hallway in Ponyville General Hospital, noting that she had done so twice before in the last few months: the last time had been after Applejack’s accident, and the first time had been when Applejack had found… She paused, shutting her eyes. Focus, she told herself. I’m here to check on the injured. She knocked on the door to one of the hospital rooms before entering. Once inside, she saw the three ponies occupying the beds. The Doctor had the bed closest to the door, and he had a bandage around his head. Across from him was Bulk Biceps, who was wearing a brace on his shoulder that went over his chest. And lastly, in the bed nearest the window, was Big Mac, with a large bandage around his barrel. “Ah, Princess Twilight!” the Doctor said, smiling when he saw her. “So nice of you to come and visit!” “Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed. “YEAH!!” Bulk Biceps added, causing the others to wince. “Uh, Bulk,” Twilight said, holding out her hoof parallel to the ground, “sorry to say this, but the nurses wanted me to remind you to try and keep it quiet, because you’re disturbing the other patients in the ward.” “Oh! Sorry,” he said sheepishly, actually pulling up the sheets of his bed, as if to hide from her. “I’m just glad to have visitors.” “You say that as if nopony’s visited you at all,” the Doctor said, waving his hoof. “Those nice spa ponies stopped by, not to mention Miss Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.” “Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed. “Not to mention Mr. Apple’s had visits from his family as well.” He grinned. “Not to mention those flowers Miss Cheerilee brought you.” Big Mac blushed. “E-eeyup,” he said, chuckling slightly. “YE- um, I mean, yeah!” Bulk Biceps said, managing to keep his voice down. “I, meanwhile,” the Doctor sighed, “haven’t had a single visitor that was here to see me.” “Well, there is now!” a bubbly voice cooed from behind Twilight. They all turned to see Derpy hovering in the doorway and carrying a small bag. “Derpy!” the Doctor exclaimed. “Doc!” Derpy cried back. “Derpy!” Twilight exclaimed. “Twilight!” Derpy cried. “BULK BICEPS!!” Bulk bellowed. They all turned to look at him. “Hooboy,” Big Mac said, smacking his own forehead. “Well… um, not that I’m not happy to see you, my dear,” the Doctor said, looking to Derpy, “but what are you doing here? I was told you were being treated elsewhere!” “Oh, well, they said that my injuries weren’t that bad,” she said, indicating a small bandage on her chest, “so they released me!” “That’s great news, Derpy,” Twilight said, offering her a smile. “Yep! So I decided to bring you a present, Doc!” She flew over to his bedside and gave him the bag. “Jelly Babies! And I’ll bake you muffins until you’re all better!” “Oh! Well, that’s…” He paused, giving her a broad grin. “That sounds lovely, my dear. And I shall look forward to your company.” “Yay!” she cheered, clapping her hooves together. Then she turned away, biting her lip. “Um, by the way, I ate a few. I got lost in the hospital and it took a really long time to find your room. I kept asking everypony ‘Where’s the doctor?’ but it’s a hospital, so they kept sending me to see all the doctors around here! I’ve already had an x-ray, an eye exam, and I think I scheduled a physical… twice!” The Doctor chuckled. “Only you, Derpy,” he said. “My word, it’s good to have you here. I do enjoy our little chats… er, not that you gentlecolts aren’t good company as well!” he said hurriedly to Bulk and Big Mac. “Yeah!” “Eeyup!” The Doctor smiled before leaning over and whispering out the side of his mouth: “Though honestly I’m the one doing most of the talking. And I don’t think that Doctor Stable fellow appreciates that everyone just calls me ‘The Doctor.’” Twilight cleared her throat, and they all turned to face her. “Listen, everypony, I just wanted to come by to say, well… thank you.” They all looked to each other, then back to Twilight. “Listen, you all got hurt trying to help Turing Test,” she explained. “I heard about your injuries. You put yourselves in danger trying to fight off 004 just to give Turing Test a fighting chance. I think you’re all very brave and I wanted to come by to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” They all smiled. “You’re perfectly welcome, Your Highness,” the Doctor said, bowing humbly. “I only wish that we’d been able to help poor Turing Test more.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “So you know what happened. You know that he took her.” They all bowed their heads. “Um, Twilight,” Derpy said, “I don’t suppose you know where Turing Test is yet, do you?” Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh,” Derpy said quietly, frowning as her ears drooped. “But we won’t give up until we do know,” Twilight added, her voice hard. She opened her eyes and there was a stern, cold determination that was clear to all of them. “You can count on that.” There was silence among them as they all took that in. “Well…” Derpy said slowly, “if you want to see Bon Bon, I was sharing a room with her, so I can show you where she is, Twilight.” Twilight nodded. “Yes, I’d like to thank her as well. Lead the way.” *** Two days later, Twilight was lying on her bed, staring up at the crystalline ceiling of her room. On a small table by her bed was a newspaper reporting the incident. The title read “Terror! Robot Attacks Ponyville!” The story documented the attack, the injuries and damage to property, and how 004 had been driven off. A few paragraphs in, it finally mentioned Turing Test. Twilight closed her eyes. The last few days seemed distant, somehow. It was like waking up from a disturbing dream that she could only half remember. She tried to make sense of it. She’d told Princess Celestia, of course. The nation was on high alert and Celestia had ordered sentries to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Obviously the conspirators were transporting 004 in secret, since a giant robot pony would be impossible to miss, but just the same, there was the possibility that they might have left some evidence. Luna had also assured Twilight that the Night Guard would do their best to follow any lead they could. Twilight wanted to stay optimistic, but after 48 hours with no word, the chances were that the conspirators had gotten away clean. That just left the bigger questions: Why did they take Turing Test? Why now? What had 004 been after? What were the conspirators going to do next? And when would they make their move? And where was Turing Test now? And what were her creators doing to her? Was she afraid? Was she sad? Was she calling out for Twilight to come save her again and again only to realize that nopony knew where she was and-- “Stop…” She whispered the word, covering her face with her hooves and clenching her teeth. She told herself that such thoughts wouldn’t help anypony; all it would do was torture her by turning her inside out with worry. She sat up in bed. With a sigh, she got up and went to the door. She didn’t have much of an appetite, but she knew she should eat something. Maybe some tea with sugar to clear her thoughts. To her surprise, she saw that Spike was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table and idly munching on gemstones from a bowl. “Hi, Twilight,” he said, sitting up when he saw her. “Did you need something, or--” She shook her head. “I’m just making some tea.” He nodded and watched her fill the tea kettle, boil the water, and brew her tea. She pulled up a chair, and they both sat in silence for a few minutes. “Has the mail come yet?” Twilight asked idly. “Y--” He paused, cringing slightly. “What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s… it’s nothing important,” Spike said. “Spike…” she said, setting down her tea and leaning toward him. Spike sighed. He got up from the kitchen table and walked out. When he returned, he had a brown envelope and a few slips of paper. “What is this?” Twilight asked, taking the papers from him. “Well, one is just an official letter reminding you about the Equestrian National Conference this weekend, but the rest are telegrams about… well, about Turing,” he said. “Mr. Vanderbull, Fancy Pants, and Dr. Turing are all saying that they’ll help however they can and want you to know that all you have to do is ask if you need anything.” Twilight smiled. “That’s nice of them,” she said. “You didn’t have to hide these from me, Spike.” “Well, maybe not, but… well, Dr. Turing’s telegram also said that maybe you shouldn’t look inside the package he mailed a few days ago. Unfortunately, it came at the same time as the telegram.” “Package?” Twilight asked. She inspected the brown envelope. It was larger than a letter and it felt like there was a stack of papers inside. She saw that it was indeed from Dr. Turing. She hesitated for a moment, but then tore open the envelope and removed the contents. There was a letter from Dr. Turing and a magazine. The letter read: Dear Princess Twilight and Turing Test, I am proud to share this with you. Your feedback and assistance were invaluable, and I’m truly grateful that I was able to meet you both. I believe you will find the feature article of this latest issue of Scientific Equestrian to be an excellent read, and I believe it is only the beginning of a longstanding relationship between this nation and the automata who will one day call it home. Please do not hesitate to visit again the next time you are in Trottingham. Mint and I would be honoured to have you as our guests again, and the same goes for Miss Gadget and your assistant Spike as well. As always, your dear and faithful friend, -Talon Turing She smiled. “I think you’d like Dr. Turing, Spike,” she said. “He’s really nice.” “He sure seemed nice in his telegram,” Spike replied. “So, uh, now that you opened the package, what is it?” Twilight looked at the cover of the magazine and gasped, nearly dropping it in surprise. She covered her mouth as a lump formed in her throat. The magazine, the issue of Scientific Equestrian in question, had a large picture of Turing Test standing and looking slightly over her shoulder. It was one of many that Twilight had sent to Dr. Turing along with some of her other correspondence over the past few months. She’d reported on Turing’s progress, her new friendships, her habits, her likes and dislikes, and so on in addition to answering any questions he had. The cover read: “The Turing Test: How A Mechanical Pony and a Princess Rewrote the Rules.” A smaller picture of Twilight Sparkle and Talon Turing was in the corner. Twilight’s lip quivered, but she took a deep breath and opened the magazine. “Whoa, whoa, Twilight, are you sure that you--” “I’m sure, Spike,” she replied quietly, giving him a smile. “I appreciate that Dr. Turing didn’t want to upset me, but I want to see what he wrote. This article is official documentation of all the effort Turing Test put into becoming her own pony. Ponies might talk about this for a long time to come. And right now I… I don’t know what else I can do for her… so I’ll at least read what history might remember about her.” He nodded. “Yeah,” he said, pulling up a seat next to her. “Then count me in too.” *** ...In sum, while quantifying artificial intelligence may be no less difficult than quantifying it for organic beings, perhaps ultimately that is because they truly are one and the same. My experiences with the automaton that bears my name and her caretaker, Princess Twilight, have shown me that my original thought experiment was far too limited in scope. It is not in mere actions and responses that we show the content and quality of our minds, but in genuine action, in interaction, in camaraderie, and, yes, in friendship. If other beings are forged in the fires of our blossoming genius, then the best measure of intelligence may not be in mere guessing games, but in offering them our hooves (or claws!) in friendship and watching them as they come into their own as we all go toward a brighter future together. That is the thesis inherent in Twilight Sparkle’s directive, and that is the lesson we can ultimately learn from Turing Test, the robot I am proud to call my friend. -T. Turing They were both silent as Twilight put down the magazine on the table, shutting it quietly. “Wow,” Spike breathed. He swallowed as he looked up at Twilight. Her head was turned, and her eyes were hidden behind her bangs. She pushed her seat away from the table and made her way to the door in silence. “Twilight?” Spike called. Twilight either didn’t hear him or didn’t feel like responding as she made her way down the hallway, stopping in front of a door she’d come to many times before in the last six months. Turing Test’s room. She turned the knob with her magic and entered, Spike following behind. The room was still spartan as ever, with no bed or chairs or any other creature comforts common to a normal bedroom. It had her small table, upon which was laid a small microfiber cloth next to a can of metal polish. In one corner was a mirror. In another was her crank generator. On a shelf by the wall were numerous trinkets: a framed picture of Turing and Rainbow Dash at the start of their aerial race across Ponyville, the carved placard with Turing Test’s name misspelled from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a program from her play signed by the other cast members, the mask from her Nightmare Night costume, some records from Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, a copy of Tom Sawhorse, the snow globe Twilight had given her for Hearth’s Warming, and a box which contained the small, heart-shaped piece of rose quartz she’d received from Maud Pie. All around her were the pieces of her friend’s life. These were the things that mattered to her: the precious things that her friends had given her and she, in turn, had recognized as having value. They were the remnants of a life that, mechanical or not, was no longer there. Though the room was comparatively tiny, in her absence, it now seemed cavernous and empty. And that was when Twilight finally allowed herself to cry. A sob escaped her, and she slumped to the floor, the tears spilling down her cheeks. Spike went to her side and held her, trying to comfort her, but soon his own tears came, and the two of them just held each other as they sat, alone, in the room Turing Test had once called home. “Oh, Spike, I… I don’t know what to do!” she cried, holding the little dragon tightly. “I just keep waiting to hear some news or something, and I keep telling everypony that we’ll find her, but I don’t even know if that’s true! I just keep seeing her like that… Turing Test didn’t deserve to be hurt like that and taken against her will! What kind of ponies would do that to her?! “And now she’s out there, somewhere, and I’d give anything to get her back, but I just don’t know what to do!” “Twilight…” Spike held her, patting her gently, though he was crying almost as much as she was. “Listen,” he said, finding his voice, “I know how you feel, but don’t give up! You were the first one to see something in Turing Test. Everypony else was afraid of her or just saw her as some science experiment. Heck, even Celestia wanted nothing to do with her! You’re the one who made friends with her and helped her make friends with everypony! So I know that if there’s anypony who’s connected to Turing Test, then it’s you! There’s gotta be some way to find Turing, and you and the rest of our friends are the ones who can do it!” Twilight looked down at him. Gradually she managed to smile and held him close, nuzzling him lightly. “Spike,” she whispered, “thank you. I can always count on you to help me through the tough times.” “Aw, jeez,” he said as he blushed. “Come on, Twilight, let’s try to figure something out. If you could save Equestria all those times, then finding the ponies who took Turing Test should be a piece of cake!” “You’re right, Spike,” she said, standing up. She wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Let’s head to the library. We’ll start looking over all the information we’ve got. And let’s get everypony else to look with us. There must be something we’ve missed.” *** “I got nothing,” Rainbow Dash said, flopping backwards with a groan. They were in the library, all six of them, plus Spike, and after another full day of looking through all the information on all possible suspects, nothing else had caught their eye. “Keep checking, Rainbow!” Twilight said as she looked up from the papers she was holding. “Somewhere in here is the answer! We just need to--” “Twilight, no offense, but we’ve checked through all of these papers like a hundred times!” Rainbow Dash shot back, tossing the papers aside. “I wanna find Tee as much as you do, but this isn’t getting us anywhere!” “But--” “I hate to say it, but she’s right, darling,” Rarity said, raising an eyebrow as she looked through a document provided by the Royal Guard. “Most of these papers are filled with cut-and-dry statistics, and as impressive as the fortunes are of some of these entrepreneurs, I don’t think it’s getting us even a smidge closer to an answer.” Fluttershy nodded. “And even after knowing Turing all that time, I still don’t know anything about what makes her work,” she said, frowning at the diagrams of her machinery. “If Gadget, the Royal Guard, and the Night Guard couldn’t connect any of this to somepony else, then what can we do?” Twilight sighed. “I know it’s frustrating, but-- hey!” She paused, seeing that Pinkie Pie had actually nodded off and was sleeping on a stack of papers. “Pinkie!” “Huh?!” Pinkie exclaimed, sitting up in a panic, some of the documents stuck to her face. “What, what is it, did somepony find something?!” “Ugh!” Twilight groaned, massaging her temples. “There’s got to be something else we can do. Something we’re missing…” Applejack shrugged at that. “Not unless ya got an expert who can help us make sense o’ this. We got a list o’ suspects whose names I’ve never heard of an’ a list o’ Turing Test’s parts from when we first catalogued ‘em after we found ‘er. If there’s an answer here, I sure as heck can’t figure it out.” Then she noticed that Twilight was tapping her chin. “An expert, huh? Hmm…” *** It was the next day, and they were now in the throne room, the papers from the previous day stacked neatly into separate piles on the round table at the center. “Um… she did say she’d be here by noon, right?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes, that’s what the telegram said,” Twilight said. Silence settled in among them. “What time is it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s a minute later than the last time you asked,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. “So…?” “12:10,” Twilight grumbled. “Well, while we wait,” Pinkie said, pulling up a picnic basket from below the table, “I brought some snacks! No sense going hungry while we wait for her to lend us a hoof!” Then a muffled voice from behind the door to the room said: “Did somepony say ‘lend us a hoof?’” The door burst open, and Gadget stood there, her mechanical limbs spread wide in a grandiose display. “Because I’ve got four!” They all gawked at her. “W-well, ‘hands,’ not ‘hooves,’ but still!” she said, blushing and looking away as her voice grew quieter. “Though, I guess I also have four hooves too, since I’m a pony.” Her voice grew quieter as she looked down. “B-but it doesn’t look as cool when I use my regular limbs, so…” Spike rubbed his face. “Oh brother.” The others all stared back at her in silence as her face turned nearly the same color as Pinkie Pie. “Heh heh… um… s-sorry,” she muttered. Twilight sighed, but gave her a kind smile. “It’s okay, Gadget. We’re just glad you’re here.” “M-me too!” she said. “And I’m so sorry I’m late! I dropped my papers on the way over here, and I had to reorganize them.” “Papers?” Twilight asked. “R-right!” she said, rushing over to them. “Okay, um… I brought some research that we can look through--” “Oh, great,” Rainbow groaned. “Rainbow, come on,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. To Gadget, she said, “What kind of research?” “Well, see, ever since I gave Princess Celestia my research, I’ve been working on a bunch of other projects with Mr. Vanderbull, but in between I’ve tried to think about the problem in some different ways. Like, instead of thinking about who has the money and resources or who manufactures the parts used in Turing’s construction, why not think about other machines!” Lifting herself up on her mechanical limbs, she climbed onto the table, balancing herself on the backs of their thrones and hovering over them like some kind of arthropod. From her jacket, she removed more papers and photographs and began placing them on or near the different stacks of papers they’d already placed. “What do you mean by ‘other machines,’ Gadget?” Rarity asked. “I doubt there are any other machines like Turing Test.” “Maybe not,” Gadget said, “but there are a lot of enthusiasts who build automata for a hobby. But only a few of them have the connections or money to even attempt to build something like Turing Test. That’s why I figured it has to be somepony connected to a lot of money and, most importantly, a company! With enough connections, they could get resources, cover their tracks, pay ponies off, and make anything they couldn’t get themselves!” “So, what you’re saying,” Twilight said, “is that we’re looking for some business tycoon?” “Maybe not just one pony. Well, definitely not just one, but that pony might be the leader of this group. We know that much because of Blue Blazer, that Burrojangles guy who got into my workshop, and,” she made a face, “Fine Print. This has to be a group. Probably a big group. But they’re probably organized under one big leader or one big company.” Fluttershy raised a hoof gingerly. “Yes, Miss Fluttershy?” Gadget asked. “So, you think it’s somepony connected to building robots and also connected to a big company?” Gadget pushed her glasses up her muzzle. “Maybe… but when I said ‘other machines,’ I mean machines that also use parts that Turing has.” “Hey!” Pinkie said, getting all their attention. They saw she was holding one of the photographs Gadget had set down. “This is a cuckoo clock! But Rinny doesn’t have any tiny birds inside of her…” “It’s not the bird, it’s the gears, Miss Pinkie!” Gadget said, holding up a cutaway diagram of the clock. “Turing Test has a lot of moving parts, including gears. I thought maybe some clock manufacturers could be involved.” “Wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash said, frowning at one of the papers Gadget had placed near her. “This looks like a refrigerator! What does this have to do with Tee?” “Well, the valves inside are similar to some of the tubes in her wings…” “And this… engine thingy?” Rarity asked. “The pistons are like the ones in Turing’s legs.” Then Gadget felt a tap on one of her mechanical arms. She looked to see Applejack tapping on the mechanical hand that was grasping the back of Applejack’s throne. “Look, I know yer excited to share all this stuff, sugarcube,” Applejack said, “but maybe you oughta come down and help us cut through the technical stuff.” “O-oh!... Yes, of course. I’m so sorry!” she said hurriedly as she got down from her perch. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to be thorough!” Applejack chuckled. “It’s all right, but maybe there’s a better way to think about this.” “I think so too, Applejack,” Twilight said. “The Royal Guard, the Night Guard, and all of us together couldn’t figure this out, so maybe we need to shorten the list.” “Well, what do you mean?” Gadget asked. “You’re the expert,” Rainbow said as she idly flipped through more diagrams. “Who do you think it was?” “What?!” Gadget cried. “But that would just be a guess! I don’t have any proof, so I’m not sure that it’d be right, and I don’t want to waste our time--” “We’re already wasting time going in circles trying to figure this out,” Twilight said quietly. “And while we do, Turing Test is somewhere else. She’s in danger, Gadget.” She looked up at her with pleading eyes. “Gadget, if you had to pick, who would it be?” “The Mustang Peaches,” she replied instantly. They all stared at her after she blurted out the immediate response. “The… who?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I’ve heard of them.” “I have,” Applejack said. “They’re peach farmers down in Mustangia. Not surprisin’, considerin’ the name.” “Isn’t Mustangia the same place where that pony we mistook for Miss Harshwhinny was from?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Oh, she was fun!” Pinkie said. “She sure didn’t like all the closed in spaces, though.” “Not surprised,” Applejack said, leaning back in her throne as she adjusted her hat. “Mustangia’s pretty wild country. It’s at the southern border. Lots of peach farms and chicken coops. If you’ve ever had a canned peach, chances are it came from there.” “But I thought it was just some backwater podunk town!” Rarity exclaimed. Fluttershy tapped her chin. “Maybe… but some ponies say the same thing about Ponyville, and one of the Princesses lives here! In fact, lots of important things happen here!” Twilight tapped the table, getting their attention. “Girls, maybe we should actually hear why Gadget picked Mustangia before we start arguing about it.” They all looked sheepish at that and turned to Gadget, who was scrunching inward away from them all after her suggestion had received such a strong reaction. “W-well,” she said, taking a deep breath, “it’s a simple case of Ochcolt’s Razor: the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions is most likely the right one! I made a short list of things that might mean somepony had a hoof in building Turing Test. Things like experience with automata, having a lot of money, having factories, access to resources, secrecy, and a probable cause to be working against Equestria. The Mustang Peach family in Mustangia fits all of those things. “See, a hundred years ago, the head of the Mustang Peach family, Dearborn Crumble, was the pony who invented the farming automaton that we saw in the Manehattan museum, the one that Celestia refused to endorse. He spent the rest of his life trying to convince other ponies that it could work, but nopony took him seriously. The family still has his old designs and a lot of his older prototypes, so they have the knowledge, and it’s possible they’re carrying a grudge against Celestia… and, um, maybe by extension, all the Princesses.” They all looked to Twilight, who bit her lip. “I see,” she said. “Well, what about those other factors?” “Ah, well,” Gadget said, picking up several more documents, “they have a factory where they can peaches, as well as a distillery where they make peach brandy, but they also manufacture a lot of more complex machinery, including pumps, engines, farming equipment, et cetera. They’re very wealthy, and they have access to other factories and ties to other ponies who could get them resources. And since they live in Mustangia, one of the most remote regions in Equestria with no major towns, they aren’t really under scrutiny. That covers all the criteria.” They all nodded to each other. They had to admit that it seemed a fairly compelling argument. Rarity cleared her throat. “It sounds cut and dry, Gadget,” she said, though she still wore a frown. “But I’ve seen the papers in this pile of documents Twilight received from the Royal Guard. They investigated them very thoroughly, at your urging no less, and found nothing. Is it possible that you might be wrong?” “Well, of course it is,” Gadget said. She sighed, her ears drooping. “I mean, it makes sense, but that doesn’t really prove anything. And if the Royal Guard said they’re innocent, then I guess I must be wrong. I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get everypony’s hopes up.” Rainbow Dash grunted and gave a roll of her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. “Yeah, no offense or anything, but I’m not so sure that the Royal Guard is all that reliable.” “Hey!” Twilight exclaimed, sitting straight up. “Relax, Twilight, I don’t mean your brother, but just this year Wind Rider managed to get past three of those guys with a cake when he tried to frame me!” “To be fair,” Pinkie said, crossing her forelegs, “cake is pretty distracting!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but then she smirked and turned to Rarity. “Oh, and thanks again for helping me with that, Rares.” “Oh, it was nothing, dear, really!” Rarity said, waving her hoof (though she wore a pleased smile while she did so). “Still,” she added, turning to face Twilight, “Rainbow Dash brings up a good point. Regardless of what you think about them, the Royal Guard are not infallible. Perhaps they missed something?” “Well, th-that’s why,” Gadget said, tapping on some of the new documents she’d brought, “I thought we could look at some of these other machines. Maybe if we could narrow the list down further, or spot something that looks like it shares a design with Turing Test, then we--” “What the hay?!” Applejack shouted suddenly, causing them all to jump out of their seats. “What is that contraption doin’ here?!” They all gathered around Applejack to see what she was holding. Several of them gasped when they saw what it was. It was a picture of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. “Gadget,” Twilight said, turning to the young mare, “why did you bring a picture of this?” “Oh, well, I found a document about it being sold for scrap by a couple of travelling salesponies,” she replied. “And I found out that it was actually a modified version of… hang on…” She searched through the documents and pictures and brought out another picture of a remarkably similar four-wheeled device. But rather than a massive cider-making mechanism in the back, it seemed to have two large barrels. “Ah ha! This thing!” she said. “It’s  a mechanized harvesting device used on the peach orchards of Mustangia! They can harvest the peaches, slice them, and pit them in seconds!” “Yer sayin’ the Flim Flam brothers didn’t build the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000?” Applejack said. “Um… well, I don’t know who they are, but, essentially, yes. I mean, they modified the original design, which is still impressive, but it was based on this device. Which, as you’ve probably guessed, was made for exclusive use by the Mustang Peach family. They use it to harvest and process peaches for making preserves, pies, and stuff like that. Of course, they still harvest whole peaches the old-fashioned way…” Applejack flipped through the pictures of the machine as Gadget spoke. She frowned, not sure how she felt to hear about the use of such machines on a larger scale on a family-owned farm. But then she came across a picture that made her freeze and her eyes bulge. “Hold on there, sugarcube,” she said, holding up a hoof to silence Gadget. “I’ve seen this before!” They looked and saw that she was holding up a picture of two thin glass bulbs attached to a metallic, rectangular device. To their surprise, it was Twilight who spoke up. “Those bulbs convert magic into electrical energy. I remember experimenting with a similar device when we were putting Turing Test back together! Turing uses it to recharge her battery via magic if there’s no other power source nearby!” She rubbed her chin. “I thought they looked familiar back then, too, but I couldn’t remember why.” “Same here, but now I do,” Applejack said. “They had some gizmos like this on the Cider Squeezy!” Gadget gasped. “Wait, wait, wait… you said you have the pictures that you all took when you were cataloging Turing’s parts, right? If we compare them…” A moment later, she had the picture of the device that was part of Turing and the picture of the device used on the peach harvester. They all gawked in stunned silence. “They match,” Twilight whispered. “They’re exactly the same!” “Gadget,” Fluttershy said hesitantly, “I… I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but could somepony else have built the one Turing Test has? I mean, maybe it’s a coincidence.” Gadget shook her head. “No, this is a unique model! No other company in Equestria makes one like this!” “Then,” Fluttershy said, practically trembling with joy, “then we found them? The ponies who built Turing?” “Ha ha, we did it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, leaping into the air and doing a loop de loop. “Hoowee, we got ‘em!” Applejack cheered. “We’re through the looking glass here, ponies,” Pinkie said, narrowing her eyes. “Gadget, you did it!” Twilight said, embracing her. “You helped us crack the case!” “O-oh, no, Twilight, I-- oof!” she grunted, blushing as Twilight held her tight. “I j-just brought you the new information. You’re the ones who actually made sense of it!” Twilight felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see Spike standing next to her. He’d been standing by quietly the whole time. “Spike, isn’t this great? We might know where Turing Test is!” “Yeah, it’s great,” he said, though the look on his face was less ecstatic than Twilight would have expected. “So, uh… what do we do now?” “We go and get her, that’s what!” Rainbow shouted. “Darn straight!” Applejack agreed, slamming her hooves on the table. “Whoa, whoa, just hold on, everypony!” Twilight said, holding up her hooves. “You’re right, but if this conspiracy involves more than just this family, and it’s pretty clear that it does, then we might need some help.” She tapped her chin. “Spike, take a letter, please.” Spike took up a paper and quill immediately. “Ready!” he said. “Tell Celestia that I need to see her immediately. I want to discuss this with her face-to-face.” *** “Mustangia,” Celestia said as she looked out the window. She and Twilight were seated in a small meeting room in Canterlot Castle that evening. “I had hoped this wasn’t true. When the Royal Guard said they’d found nothing, Twilight, I was honestly relieved to think that young Gadget had been wrong.” She took a sip of her tea, and Twilight did the same. Twilight remembered this room well: it was where she had told Celestia that she would not allow Turing to be taken into custody. Now they were here again, and, once again, they were discussing Turing Test’s freedom. They looked out to see the golden glow of the setting sun. “Is there something wrong with Mustangia, Princess?” Twilight gently asked. “Mustangia was its own wild, lawless region until 200 years ago,” Celestia said. “It was in dire straits due to a drought and famine. It requested aid from Equestria, and we obliged. The efforts weren’t made easy due to how disorganized it was; different factions had different ties of loyalty and different ideas about who owned what trade route. Still, we did what we could, and eventually offered them the chance to join Equestria. They had no central government, as I said, so they founded a temporary confederacy to decide the issue. And, in the end, they accepted.” She took another sip of tea. “Barely.” “Barely?” Twilight echoed. “I would have thought they would jump at the chance to join Equestria!” “On the contrary, it was a slim majority vote.” She sighed. “For years, many ponies have spoken about the ‘good old days’ of an independent Mustangia. Such voices have grown quieter in recent years, but still… perhaps all this was due to such voices continuing to speak in secret.” Twilight furrowed her brow. “I don’t like this. Turing didn’t ask to be caught up in all this.” “None of us asked to be part of this, Twilight,” Celestia said as she heaved a sigh. “But as Princesses of Equestria, it is something we must deal with now.” “So… what do you think we should do?” Twilight asked. Celestia closed her eyes, tapping her chin. “We already sent the Royal Guard to investigate once. I worry that ordering another large-scale investigation might worsen relations with Mustangia and make any rebellious voices seem more legitimate in their mistrust. I will contact the local branch of the Guard and tell them to offer support and backup if you find anything, but for the time being, I suggest you simply tell anypony you ask that you’re there to solve a friendship problem.” “Well, the Map didn’t send us, but that’s still technically true,” Twilight said, giving her a grin. “After all, Turing’s our friend, and finding her is our problem.” Celestia was quiet for a moment. “There is… something else,” she said quietly. “Yes?” Twilight asked. “A group of Mustangian independence rebels and an old familiar grudge might be the background, but this may be something more personal,” she said, her expression turning sour. “It was a decade ago, but something occurred between myself and the current head of that family, a stallion named Cobbler Mustang.” “Cobbler?” Twilight asked. “What happened?” “I don’t want to say too much, Twilight, but I will say that he has suffered greatly, and though I had hoped that he had moved on, it’s possible that he is holding a powerful grudge against me, personally.” She heaved a sigh. “I thought of him when I saw Turing Test for the first time. I had the Guard investigate in Mustangia even before Gadget mentioned the possibility of his involvement. When he appeared to be innocent, I was relieved. I want to leave that poor pony alone in his old age.” “But… Princess Celestia, I don’t understand.” “If I tell you my side of the story,” Celestia said, looking down at her, “then I’m afraid he will be less inclined to confide or trust in you. You have a knack for making friends out of enemies, Twilight, so go, and find Professor Cobbler, and listen to him with an open mind. Perhaps he is innocent… and perhaps not. But if anypony can help him, it’s you. And he, in turn, may be able to help us.” Twilight smiled. “I understand. I’ll do my best.” Celestia nodded. “Then go with my blessing, and I wish you the best of luck. But please be careful,” she added, her expression growing serious. “If the ponies behind this are against Equestria, then they may not welcome the sight of a princess in their midst.” She stood and went to Twilight, extending her wing around her. “I know you are strong and capable, Twilight. But please be on your guard.” Twilight bowed. “Thank you, Celestia. But don’t worry,” she said, giving her a confident smile. “My friends have never let me down, and we’re not going to let Turing Test or Equestria down now!” Celestia laughed. “Very good. Although,” she said, raising an eyebrow mischievously, “it is a shame that you won’t be able to join us for the National Conference this weekend.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I forgot all about the Conference!” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Princess, I’m sorry, but this--” “This takes priority, Twilight,” Celestia said, barely holding back her laughter. “I understand. Honestly, if I could avoid it and devote more effort to help you myself, I would. Besides, there will be other Conferences, but this might be our only chance to end this conspiracy once and for all. You should return to Ponyville now and prepare for the journey with your friends. I suggest taking the early morning train to get there. It will be a long journey…” She paused, tapping her chin. “Celestia?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. She chuckled quietly. “Perhaps I know of a way to make it shorter.” *** Twilight and her friends stood on the platform of the train station early the next morning, their saddlebags lightly packed and ready. Gadget and Spike were there as well. It was so early that Celestia hadn’t even begun to raise the sun. “Aw man,” Rainbow Dash said with a yawn. “I didn’t think any trains came this early!” “They don’t, usually,” Twilight said, rubbing her eyes. “But Princess Celestia said that she’d make arrangements for a train that would take us directly to Mustangia with no stops. If we’re lucky, we might make it there by lunchtime!” “Ugh, don’t talk about lunch,” Rainbow grumbled as she patted her belly, “when I haven’t even had breakfast!” “Maybe if ya wouldn’t sleep in so dang much,” Applejack said, “you wouldn’t be such a mess right now.” “Hey, that’s--” “Oh, look!” Fluttershy exclaimed, interrupting her. “It’s the train!” Sure enough, over the darkened horizon, they spotted a plume of smoke. The slow chugging of the train and the distant moan of its whistle could be heard as it came down from the hills and toward Ponyville. “Wait a minute,” Gadget gasped, “I know that train!” As the sun slowly began to rise, they saw that they knew the train too. The familiar black and red train with gold trim slowed to a halt and stopped right in front of them. The words “COMMODORE” were still emblazoned on the side. “Oh my!” Rarity exclaimed. “Mr. Vanderbull’s lent us his train?!” “And what sort of gift would it be,” said a gruff, familiar voice, “if I didn’t deliver it myself?” Sure enough, a familiar figure stepped down from the engine and onto the platform, the engineer of the train right behind him. “Mr. Vanderbull!” Gadget exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with glee. She bounded over to him, practically bouncing on her hooves. “I can’t believe you’re lending Twilight and the others your private train!” “Neither can I!” Twilight said, bowing to the towering minotaur. “You’re too kind.” He held up his hand and shook his head. “Not at all, my friends. These conspirators have committed acts of brutality and terrorism against you, against Turing Test, against my dear assistant, my business, and our nation! I would gladly donate a hundred trains toward putting an end to their plans!” “You mean we get our own train?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Awesome!” “And it has a sleeper car and a dining car!” Rarity added. “Now this is the way to travel!” The engineer cleared his throat. “Um, pardon me, but… Princess Celestia ordered changes to the train schedules the entire way down to Mustangia so we could slip in between the other trains. We need to go quickly, or we’re going to miss the window of opportunity she gave us.” “Quite right,” Vanderbull said, giving a stern nod. “Please take this train with my blessing. I wish I could join you, but I’m afraid I have business in Manehattan that I can’t avoid. I’ll take the next public train back in an hour.” The others thanked him and began to board. Gadget looked between Twilight and Vanderbull. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, and loudly declared, “I’m going too!” They all froze and looked at her. “Gadget,” Twilight sighed, “you can’t. This could be dangerous!” “Maybe so,” she said, thrusting her chin out and placing a hoof on her chest while she put a pair of mechanical hands on her hips. “But if these ponies are experts in technology, then you might need some extra help. Besides, what if Turing’s still damaged? You’ll need somepony who knows how to repair her!” Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. “Well…” She looked to Vanderbull for help. Vanderbull just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I doubt even I could dissuade her, Twilight Sparkle.” He looked down at Gadget, who was beaming up at him. “You mean I have your permission, sir?” “Of course,” he said, kneeling down to her level. He gave her a hug. “Just be careful… and if you see that ruffian who hurt you, give him a mechanical fist in the muzzle for me!” She grinned. “Gladly, sir!” Then Spike loudly declared, “If Gadget’s going, then I am too!” “What?!” Twilight cried. “But Spike--” “Hey, we’re going to the most distant region in Equestria! If something goes wrong, I’m the only one who can send a letter to Celestia instantly, no matter what! Besides, if one assistant gets to go, why not me?” He folded his arms and looked at her smugly. “I… that is…” The engineer cleared his throat and tapped his large pocket watch. “Oh for the love of… fine! Come on, Gadget, Spike, let’s get going!” She galloped onto the train. Gadget and Spike looked at each other and bumped fists (one scaly, the other metal). As Vanderbull waved to them, the train built up steam and began to move, trundling down the tracks until it picked up speed, rocketing away from Ponyville. Twilight watched the town recede into the distance as they all sped onwards toward parts unknown and, hopefully, to the place where Turing Test was waiting for them all. To be continued...