002 trotted up a narrow spiral staircase, mostly to be in a more ideal place to send and receive signals from her newly acquired army of drones. She was particularly eager to receive data from the surveillance drones, as they were equipped to emit high-pitched sounds and then pick up the data from the echoes. “Sonar,” the scientists were calling it.
Whatever the name, she couldn’t wait to try it out.
She reached the top of the staircase and twitched her ears, turning her head as she did so, receiving data from her drones as she painted herself a picture of TechQuestria in ones and zeroes in her mind.
“You can run, but you cannot hide, little meat things,” she whispered. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”
***
Applejack galloped down the tunnel, the bare rock walls echoing with the sound of her hooves rapidly hitting the metal walkway. Unlike the fancier parts of TechQuestria, this area was apparently unconcerned with being ornate. The rounded tunnel was regularly braced up with circular metallic rafters to stabilize it, and bare light bulbs hung from wires strung overhead.
She still felt an exhilarating rush come over her, though she wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline she felt from escaping or the novelty of her boosted hind legs speeding her down the tunnel that was the cause.
Still, she had to pause for a moment as she came to a split in the path ahead. She skidded to a halt as she was confronted with three different tunnels instead of one.
“Whew!” she said, raising her hat to wipe the sweat from her brow. “I have no idea how these crazy ponies find their way ‘round this place!”
Then she raised her head. There was a strange sound, like the buzzing of an insect, coming from one of the tunnels, She peered around and spotted a small machine using a propeller atop itself to fly. On its bottom was a wide, flat disc. It moved slowly and made a soft, high-pitched beeping sound at regular intervals.
Applejack lowered her head, her ears laid back, and she eyed the little machine suspiciously.
It don’t exactly look dangerous, she thought, but looks can be deceivin’.
***
002 paused as she received a signal.
Surveillance Drone #27 has located Applejack, she determined. She is located in the lower tunnels nearby the Medical Wing at junction #238. And… she is about to have company.
She considered her options. She could report the mare’s position to security, but perhaps she could direct this in a more entertaining direction…
Accessing emergency floodgate controls…
***
Applejack was so focused on the little drone that she almost didn’t hear the sound of somepony approaching behind her. She turned just in time to see something metallic and gleaming sail right past her face.
She looked and saw what had embedded itself into the wall: a scalpel.
She looked back again, a look of horror on her face as she confronted her pursuer.
“Darn, I missed,” Funny Valentine said, using her magic to draw more scalpels out of her uniform. “I guess I need more time on the practice range.”
“What in tarnation are ya doin’?!” Applejack yelled. “Ya coulda killed me with that scalpel!”
“Could’ve, but didn’t,” Valentine sighed. Then she grinned, fanning the scalpels out like a group of playing cards. “These, on the other hand, might do the trick.”
Applejack began to back away. “Whatever happened to that old sayin’... you know, ‘Do no harm?’”
Valentine shrugged. “I never wanted to be a nurse anyway,” she replied. “I was training for the Security Forces, but they said they needed more nurses, so I guess I had to fall back on my old medical training. But why talk about me, when we can kill you instead!”
She tossed the scalpels at Applejack, who barely managed to jump out of the way, using her newly-strengthened hind legs to leap almost to the ceiling. In another moment, Valentine was on her, striking at her with her hooves.
“Get away from me, ya crazy nurse!” Applejack shouted, trying to dodge blow after blow. Then one of Valentine’s strikes caught her across the face, causing her to reel backwards.
“Oh come on, Applejack,” Valentine laughed, her voice taking on a strange giddiness. “It’s time for your physical! And if you keep struggling, you won’t get a lollipop!”
Applejack whipped around and aimed a back hoof at Valentine. She kicked her right in the jaw, sending her flying back.
“Lollipop, eh?” Applejack said, spitting out the trace amount of blood in her mouth. “Well suck on that.”
Valentine shook her head, but flashed a sharklike grin at Applejack as she steadied herself, staring down her prey.
“Mm, this is going to be fun!” she laughed.
Just then, they were both distracted as a loud sound echoed from the left and right tunnels ahead. Applejack turned and saw huge metal doors rising up from the floor, cutting off the tunnels.
“The emergency floodgates?” Valentine wondered aloud. “Why would they activate those?”
Applejack looked over her shoulder at the one open path remaining: the center tunnel.
Guess my decision’s been made for me! she said to herself, and sprinted down the tunnel and around the bend.
Valentine growled as she gave pursuit. Applejack was fast, but a well-placed scalpel or one of Valentine’s hypodermic needles would stop her. And even if such a shot didn’t present itself, Applejack would have to stop sooner or later… and when she did, Valentine would be right there to finish the job.
***
Pinkie and Rarity continued following signs for the amphitheater, but the winding tunnels were so confusing that they’d finally had to stop and get their bearings. They were stopped in front of a sign that had the TechQuestrian logo on it along with their slogan, “Progress! Innovation! Freedom!”
“Pinkie, I could swear that I’ve seen this sign at least two times before!” Rarity cried, still panting after all the running she’d done. “We must have read that map back at the tram station incorrectly!”
“I don’t know…” Pinkie said, eyeing the sign again. “They have a lot of these signs on their walls, so maybe this isn’t the same sign.” She narrowed her eyes, rubbing her chin. “I’m pretty sure we’ve been going toward the amphitheater the whole time.”
Rarity shook her head. “No, I’m sure of it,” she said, tapping the side of the sign. “You see this small scratch on the paint here? I recognize it. Pinkie, we are hopelessly, utterly lost!”
“Mayyybe,” Pinkie said. Then her eyes went wide, and she gasped. “Or maybe we’re both right!”
Rarity blinked. “Pinkie, how in Equestria could we possibly--”
“Maybe this tunnel has a trick to it!” Pinkie continued obliviously. “Maybe you have to guess at the right turn or else it resets and loops you back around to the beginning! Or maybe there’s a code, like if you rearrange the letters in the slogan it gives you a hint about how to progress! Let’s see… ‘Progress, Innovation, Freedom…’”
“Pinkie…”
“I’ve got it! ‘Aforementioned visor prongs!’ Now if we could just figure out what that means--”
“Pinkie!” Rarity shouted. “As impressive as your anagram skills are, I believe we have a little visitor!”
Pinkie paused in her musings and saw that Rarity was pointing up at another surveillance drone.
“Oh my gosh!” she cried. “It’s a tiny robot! Do you think it’s related to Rinny? We heard that announcement a little while ago that Rinny’s back with Twilight, so maybe they freed all her robot family! And Rinny was standing in front of that big meanie Professor Cobbler with a stick and was all, ‘Let my robots go!’ But he said no, so she summoned a plague of robot bugs and frogs and--”
“Pinkie!” Rarity shouted again. “Can we please focus on the issue at hoof?”
Pinkie grinned sheepishly. “Oops, sorry,” she chuckled. “Well… I mean, the little robot isn’t doing anything, really. Maybe it’s harmless.”
They both stared up at the drone. It was merely hanging in the air, its propeller softly humming as it hovered.
“Perhaps,” Rarity said, eyeing the thing suspiciously as she turned away from it. “Still, perhaps we should be going…”
They made their way up the tunnel, glancing over their shoulders as the drone began to follow.
***
002 let out a harsh electronic chuckle.
These two aren’t even making it challenging! she exclaimed to herself. But they want their ‘robots’ to go free in a plague? What a simply wonderful idea…
***
As Pinkie and Rarity continued on their way, they saw a hatch on a nearby air vent open, a harsh buzzing sound emanating from it.
“What is that sound?” Rarity asked.
“Sounds like bees,” Pinkie replied. “But… bigger?”
Just then, a swarm of smaller drones emerged from the vent. They were shiny metallic spheres split horizontally down the middle with a propeller spinning loudly to keep them aloft. As they hovered in the air just ahead of Pinkie and Rarity, their buzzing did indeed sound like a swarm of bees.
Then they began to move closer.
“Uh oh…” Pinkie said, backing away.
“My thoughts exactly,” Rarity replied.
With an even louder buzzing, one of the drones swooped down, the sharp propeller blades aimed right at them.
“Ah! Rarity, zap it with your magic!” Pinkie cried, ducking behind Rarity.
“What?!” Rarity cried. “Pinkie, I--eek!”
Rarity ducked as the little drone zipped right by her. The blade took off a small piece of her mane as it passed, causing her to scream even louder.
Several more of the drones swooped at them, and the two mares had to nimbly dodge each one to avoid getting sliced to ribbons.
“Less yapping, more zapping, Rarity!” Pinkie shouted.
Rarity glared at her and pointed at the magic suppression device on her horn.
“Oh. Right,” Pinkie gulped.
Just then a drone dove at her and grazed her foreleg.
“Ow!” she yelped. “These little buzzing things are awful! And they’re trying to kill us! Rarity, we’ve got to get away from these… these… buzzkills!”
“Agreed!” Rarity screamed, and the pair took off running.
They rounded a corner… only to run into half a dozen guards in gray uniforms blocking their path.
“There they are!” one of them shouted.
“Oh no!” Rarity cried, turning to run back. “Pinkie, this way!”
“You mean back with the buzzkills?!” Pinkie shouted back.
Rarity hesitated, which gave the guards just enough time to rush at them, ready to tackle them to the ground.
***
Those worthless guards, 002 grumbled to herself. Then she paused. However, Commander Lugnut said I should do whatever I could to stop the fugitives… so if the guards get in the way of the drones, they’re interfering in me executing my orders.
She let out another distorted giggle.
I suppose this is their own fault…
***
“Okay, we got ‘em!” shouted one of the guards as he held a struggling Rarity.
“Unhand me, you ruffian!” Rarity shouted, squirming in his grasp.
“Look, you might as well give up, we--”
A buzzkill dove at him, prompting him to duck. The blades of the drone neatly cut his mane almost down to his scalp as it passed.
“Augh! What the--”
Another zipped right by his muzzle, grazing him across it and forcing him to jerk back. Soon they were overwhelmed as the buzzkills began dive bombing them.
“Thing almost took off my head!”
“My tail!”
“Who the hay is controlling these things?!”
“I’ll radio Central Command!” shouted the leader, putting his hoof to his earpiece. His eyes went wide when he only heard static. “I can’t reach them! Something’s blocking the signal!”
“Excuse me!” Rarity shouted, getting the leader’s attention even as the drones continued their attack. “Are those batons just for show, or will you gentlecolts use them for something other than a terrible accessory?!”
The leader blinked. “R-right! Guards, batons!”
He took out his own baton in his magic, the pegasi and earth ponies among them taking them in their mouths, and began swatting at the pesky drones. He managed to smash one like it was a baseball, and soon the others were likewise destroyed, though not without some cuts (and bruises from using batons in such close quarters).
“All right, guards, we did it,” he said, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. “That was close. I guess we really--”
“Uh, sir, where are the prisoners?” asked another guard.
They looked amongst themselves. Surely enough, Rarity and Pinkie were gone.
“Oh for crying out loud!” he shouted, stomping his hooves. He raised his head and managed to catch a glimpse of Rarity’s (slightly shortened) tail as she disappeared around a corner further up the tunnel.
“That way!” he shouted, taking off in a gallop after them.
The other guards followed suit, but they soon came to a huge door with a sign above it that read “Acoustics Laboratory.”
“Sir, the door’s locked! And I think they’ve barricade it!” said one of the guards.
“Sir, the radio signal’s clear!” said another. “Should I call for reinforcements?”
He nodded. “Do it. We need to get in there and drag those two mares out now!”
***
002 rolled her eye. Ah well. That was fun, but I suppose I’ll let the guards retrieve those two meatbags. Now let’s see… ah, a reported sighting of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy near Biological Research. It seems Rainbow Dash is a bit too much for the other guards to handle. Who is in the vicinity now?
She checked her signals, then paused when she saw who was nearing their position.
Now that should prove interesting…
***
“Stop right there!” shouted the guard as he stood holding up a riot shield with his comrades to block the tunnel.
A rainbow-colored blur zoomed down the tunnel and collided with him, knocking him and his comrades out of the way like they were bowling pins.
“Nice try!” Rainbow Dash laughed as she sped on unimpeded.
A moment later, Fluttershy flew by them as well as they all continued lying there in a daze.
“Sorry! Sorry about this!” she said, bowing to them slightly as she passed.
“Fluttershy, will you stop apologizing to the bad guys?!” Rainbow called back to her. “And hurry up, I think we’re getting closer!”
One of the guards slowly sat up after the two pegasi had passed as he heard a voice in his ear.
“Squad 14, are you there? This is Commander Lugnut! Are the targets secure? Hello? Answer me!”
“The targets are… not secure,” he groaned, rubbing his head. “One of them is very polite, though--”
“Idiot!” Lugnut shouted, causing the guard to wince. “Get after them! Now!”
Meanwhile, Rainbow was practically laughing her head off as she continued down the tunnel, Fluttershy a short distance behind her.
“Can you believe these idiots?” she asked, brushing her mane out of her face. “They should know better than to stand in the way of a Wonderbolt reserve flyer!”
Fluttershy managed to catch up. “They don’t seem to be very effective,” she agreed. “But maybe they’re just having an off day.”
“Or maybe they’re sending the lamest guards before they send in the good ones!” Rainbow scoffed. Then her eyes brightened. “Hey, yeah! Any minute now, they’ll start sending in the heavy hitters! I can’t wait to see what they’re made of!”
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried. “Are you saying you want them to try harder to catch us?!”
Rainbow blinked, then grinned sheepishly. “Oh. Yeah, I guess not. But even if they do, they’ll have to try pretty hard to stop Tee! Did you hear that announcement?”
Fluttershy brightened. “That’s right!” she cried. “I’m so relieved to hear she’s all right!”
“Plus, with a robot on our side,” Rainbow said as she continued to fly, “we’re bound to win. I’ve seen what Tee can do. Nothing can stand up to a robot!”
They rounded a corner and came to large set of doors marked ‘Biological Research Laboratory.’
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned, “more egghead stuff in here, I bet. I remember biology back when I was a schoolfilly… the parts I was awake for, at least.”
Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder. “Well, I don’t think we should go back the way we came,” she said. “Let’s try going through here!”
“I guess you’re right,” Rainbow agreed, and the two of them entered.
“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash breathed.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy agreed.
Before them stood a forest. Somehow, it was contained in an almost impossibly cavernous room, the rocky ceiling high above them. And yet there it was: the rocky floor excavated and replaced with soil and grass from which grew towering trees. Through their branches, they spied bright sun lamps hanging from the ceiling providing artificial sunlight. There were even vents providing a light breeze that caused the leaves of the trees to rustle gently. Faintly, they could even hear birdsong.
“I take it back,” Rainbow said as she flew toward the trees. “This place is awesome!”
“It is!” Fluttershy cried. “Oh my goodness, Rainbow Dash, they built an underground forest!”
As they entered, Rainbow Dash paused, tapping her chin. “Yeah, but… why? What’s the point?”
“Hmm,” Fluttershy hummed, considering the question. “Well, the sign on the door said this was the Biological Research lab. They must be doing research on living things. I’m not sure what they’re studying these trees for… but it looks like there’s a nice path through them. Maybe the ponies of TechQuestria just like going for a walk in the forest just like normal ponies.”
“Pfft, yeah right! I bet those mad scientists are growing pony-eating trees or something!” She turned and glared at a nearby elm. “Yeah, I’ve got my eye on you, tree!” she said, poking it in the trunk.
Fluttershy chuckled. “Oh, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “Don’t be so paranoid! There’s nothing dangerous in this forest.”
“Fugitives located.”
They froze in midair, turning to look at the speaker, though they both already recognized the voice.
Standing at the entrance of the cavern, looking up at them with cold, glowing blue eyes, was Unit 004. The towering stallion had managed to come up behind them without being heard, though whether that was because he’d taken care to sneak up on them or because they’d simply been too distracted chatting about the forest to notice him was anypony’s guess. Now that they’d fallen silent, however, they heard each heavy step he took toward them, even on the soft, earthen floor.
“Surrender now,” 004 said as he approached. “This unit is authorized to use force to apprehend you if necessary. You have five seconds to comply.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy exchanged a look.
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash croaked, “I think we should--”
“Fly for it!” Fluttershy shrieked, and took off at an astonishing speed.
Rainbow was right behind her, but they heard the thunderous hoofsteps of 004 as he gave pursuit.
And then Rainbow Dash remembered what she’d just said a few minutes ago: ‘Nothing can stand up to a robot!’
For once, she would be very happy to be wrong.
“Activating U-Mode.”
There was a flash, and the towering robot teleported onto the path before them.
They both screamed as they tried to come to a halt. 004 aimed his glowing horn at them both.
“Up! Up!” Rainbow shouted, grabbing Fluttershy and giving a mighty flap of her wings, shooting straight up toward the canopy of branches overhead.
A bolt of magic narrowly missed her, singeing the hair on the tip of her tail.
The pair of pegasi took refuge in the branches of a tree, but a series of bolts cut through the leaves as 004 continued shooting at them.
“Rainbow Dash, we can’t stay here!” Fluttershy cried. “He’s--”
A bolt hit the branch Fluttershy sat on. She screamed and froze up in her fear and began tumbling downward until Rainbow Dash swooped and caught her, carrying her into the branches of another tree.
Rainbow put a hoof to her lips, silently urging Fluttershy to be quiet. She then pointed at one of her ears.
Fluttershy nodded, understanding what Rainbow Dash meant: 004, like Turing Test, had excellent hearing. Thus, if they spoke, he would hear them and be able to target them more accurately.
More bolts shot up through the branches, startling them, but they managed to keep quiet.
They both noticed the seemingly random pattern 004 was using and realized that he was trying to either scare them into moving or hoping he’d get a lucky shot. Either way, he’d eventually find them. They couldn’t stay there for much longer.
Rainbow rubbed her temples, then took on a decisive look. She pointed at Fluttershy and pointed off in the distance. She then pointed at herself and pointed downward.
Fluttershy tilted her head, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow frowned. She pointed at Fluttershy again, this time taking her wings and moving them up and down. She then pointed at herself and then pointed down again, and raised her hooves in a boxing position, throwing several mock punches.
Fluttershy nearly gasped, but put her hooves over her mouth as she understood what Rainbow Dash was saying: she wanted Fluttershy to run and get help while she would stay and fight 004.
Fluttershy shook her head violently.
Rainbow Dash wore a confident smile and mimed pounding her own chest before giving Fluttershy a wink. Then, without another word (or motion), she leaped from her branch, swooping into 004’s field of vision for a moment before speeding away again.
004 momentarily turned his head, but then turned back to the tree where Fluttershy was hiding, realizing she hadn’t left. He chose to focus on her and readied another bolt of magic.
He heard a sudden whistling sound behind him, however, and was about to move when Rainbow Dash landed a flying kick to the back of his head, causing a loud clang to reverberate through the woods.
“I’m over here, big and ugly!” Rainbow taunted, laughing as she dashed away.
At last 004 turned his attention toward her, firing bolt after bolt at her.
Fluttershy took this as her cue and sprang from her hiding spot, flying over the treetops toward the end of this underground forest.
I’ve got to hurry! she told herself. Not even a pony as fast as Rainbow Dash can stand up to that horrible robot for long!
Back in the forest, 004 was still attempting to hit Rainbow Dash.
“Your speed and agility are unprecedented,” 004 said. “However, I am capable of refining my targeting algorithms. I will become more accurate. I will shoot you down. If you wish to avoid injury, you will surrender.”
He waited for a response, using his keen hearing to see if he could detect her breathing, a heartbeat, or something else to indicate exactly where she was. He knew which tree she was in, but not which branch. The leaves provided sufficient cover to make accurate targeting impossible.
“If you will not surrender, I will utilize more extreme measures,” 004 said. “I have orders to avoid causing severe bodily injury. However, if that is the only way to apprehend you, I will not hesitate to use deadly force. This is your final warning: surrender.”
He listened again…
Silence.
“Use of greater physical force is authorized,” he rumbled. “Activating E-Mode.”
Rainbow Dash was huddled in the bough of the tree, and she smirked when she heard him activate his E-Mode. What good was enhanced strength, after all, if he couldn’t even reach her all the way up there?
Below her, 004 walked up to the tree, turning around and aiming his back hooves at the tree’s trunk.
With one quick buck, he simply smashed the trunk of the mighty tree to pieces, blasting it apart and causing the top of the tree to topple toward the ground.
Rainbow found herself in a falling tree and gasped, jumping from the felled tree towards another tree nearby.
004 spotted her immediately. Target locked.
He fired a series of bolts at the top of the tree where Rainbow was flying, which made her dive lower. He rushed forward and sprang off one tree, leaping to another, propelling himself upward until he was directly in front of his prey.
“What--!”
He swung his foreleg at Rainbow Dash. She tried to roll away in midair, but 004’s hoof caught a glancing blow on her side, sending her flying through the forest and right into another tree trunk.
She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground, but managed to get up and propel herself into the branches of another tree.
She listened for 004 and heard him approaching, but he had momentarily halted his attack. She’d managed to give him the slip, at least for the moment.
She winced as she gingerly touched her side.
That rib’s bruised. Maybe broken, she realized. She drew in a breath through gritted teeth. Near her, another tree shook and collapsed. Then another tree, even closer than the first, fell as well. He would tear apart the whole forest to find her.
Fluttershy, I sure hope you find somepony quick! she shouted mentally. I can’t keep this up much longer!
***
Twilight took a running leap across the tracks at the tram station. During the day, Twilight had seen the platform filled with ponies of every race and age as they waited for the tram to arrive. Now it was dimly lit and deserted, and the quiet of the place was just a bit unsettling.
A moment later, Turing leaped across the gap as well and joined her, their hoofsteps echoing in the station and down the dark tram tunnels.
“Whew! I just made it across that gap,” Twilight said, raising her head proudly. “I guess getting in more exercise with Rainbow Dash is paying off!”
Turing Test turned to look at her. “Affirmative, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “However, you also could have simply flown across the gap.”
Twilight paused before looking back at her wings, then smacked herself in the forehead, groaning. “Ugh… you spend your whole life as a unicorn, Turing, and it gets really easy to forget that you have wings.”
“As I have stated on previous occasions, I do not forget anything,” she replied, trotting over to a door marked ‘Security.’ “However, even if I were an organic pony, I am not certain how one could forget having certain body parts.”
Twilight rolled her eyes but chuckled nonetheless. “Trust me, it’s easier than you might think,” she said.
Turing turned the handle of the door. Unsurprisingly, it was locked.
“One moment, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “I will now proceed to pick the lock. It will be a delicate, time-consuming procedure.”
She then turned around and, with one hoof, promptly kicked the door in, right off its hinges.
“Just kidding,” she said. “Ha ha, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight smiled. “You know, as odd as it is, I missed your sense of humor, Turing Test,” she said, trotting past her. “Now let’s see if there’s a hex key in here so I can get this suppression device off my horn.”
“I will stand guard outside, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said. “Please search quickly, if possible.”
The small room had several cabinets and drawers. She was pleased to see that nothing appeared to be locked. She found numerous documents and procedure manuals, some weapons - including batons and a sash with a few gas grenades attached to it - and some radio earpieces.
Twilight found one and clicked it on, hearing nothing but static as she placed it in her ear. Maybe I can listen in on the guards, she thought to herself, grinning at the idea. That way Turing and I can avoid them!
She left it in her ear as she continued to search the room.
***
002 continued making her way through TechQuestria, taking care to choose paths that would let her maintain radio contact with her drones, but avoid any wandering patrols. Not that it would matter, but she was having too much fun to be bothered by them, nor did she feel like having to call any of them “Master” at the moment.
Then she detected a new radio signal from tram station #8, not far from Mechanical Engineering. Oddly, it was only one signal, and the guards were supposed to be patrolling in pairs at the very least.
She had the signal intercepted by one of her surveillance drones and relayed it to herself on her own frequency.
“--ot sure if it’s here, Turing. Just give me another minute to make sure.”
“Very well. But after that, we must proceed forward, Twilight Sparkle.”
002 paused. Well now… it seems I have located 003 and her keeper. Since they like to make friends, I should send them as many new friends as possible…
***
“Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said as she entered the security depot, “I do not wish to be bothersome, but I strongly suggest we--”
She stopped in mid-sentence as Twilight paused in the midst of looking through the supplies to raise her head. Turing spotted the small device in her ear.
“You’re probably right, Turing,” Twilight sighed. “I don’t think here’s a key in here anyway. Where to next?”
Rather than responding, Turing went over and snatched the radio earpiece from Twilight’s ear, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it.
“Hey!” Twilight shouted, glaring at Turing. “Turing, I was going to use that to listen in on the guards’ conversations!”
“My apologies, Twilight Sparkle, but certain ponies could detect the signal and use it to triangulate our location. Furthermore, it could even have been used to listen in on our conversations if it were not handled properly.”
Twilight’s eyes bulged. “Oh,” she replied quietly. “I see. I’m sorry, Turing. In that case, I’m glad you did that. Well, you’re right, we should probably… Turing?”
She paused, noticing the way Turing’s ears were raised as her head turned back toward the door.
“Turing, what is it?”
“We have been detected,” Turing whispered. “Please stay here, Twilight Sparkle. I will protect you.”
“But--”
“Without your magic, you will be vulnerable. Allow me to deal with the situation.”
Twilight’s ears lay flat, but she nodded. “Okay,” she said.
Turing turned back to the door and exited. Her ears detected a great many hooves galloping towards them. She stood on the platform of the station as a large group of security guards came down the stairs. Another group, composed entirely of pegasi, came in through the tunnel to the left, while a third group, made up of earth ponies, came through the tunnel to the right.
In a matter of seconds, they had Turing and Twilight surrounded.
Twilight was still inside the little security station as Turing blocked the door, standing with her legs spread slightly apart and her head raised in a defiant, defensive position.
One of the guards, wearing a captain’s rank insignia on her uniform’s collar, stepped forward.
“Unit 003,” said the guard captain, “we have you and Twilight Sparkle surrounded. You are to surrender to us, step aside, deactivate, and permit us to take her into custody. Is that understood?”
“It is understood,” Turing replied, “but I will not comply.”
The captain frowned. “003, under whose orders are you operating right now?”
“I am now operating with Twilight Sparkle as my end user,” she replied. “I have regained my memory, and, if necessary, I will take whatever measures are necessary to protect her and my other friends. Please retreat and leave us be.”
The captain sighed. “I was afraid of that,” she grumbled. “All right then, 003: activate emergency maintenance code B10M04D--!”
“Turing, don’t listen!” Twilight shouted.
The world around Turing went silent to her. “Auditory systems disengaged,” she stated. “You cannot control me.”
“That’s it… guards, we have no choice: shock troopers, disable the automaton!” the captain bellowed.
Three pegasi swooped in. They wore rubber boots on their hooves and tinted goggles over their eyes. On each of their backs between their wings was a battery pack which was connected by a cable to a long metal baton they held in their hooves. They aimed these batons at Turing Test, and each of them pressed the switches on the handles. The batons emitted a soft hum that quickly grew in pitch.
“Turing, look out!” Twilight shouted.
But Turing only stood there, apparently because she still couldn’t hear any of them, as the batons shot forth bolts of electricity that rained down on her. The room was aglow as the bluish bolts flowed and entangled themselves in long, crackling tendrils that coursed down the length of Turing’s body.
“Turing!” Twilight screamed.
“Gas grenades!” the captain ordered.
A few unicorns stepped forward and took out their gas grenades, removing the pins and then tossing them over Turing Test and into the small room with Twilight. White plumes of gas began to fill the room. Twilight gasped and took a deep breath before the gas filled the air.
However, just when it seemed that the guards had them, Turing simply leaped up and tackled one of the pegasus troopers, causing the other two to stop using their electrical weapons.
She stood before them, smoke rising from her but otherwise completely unharmed.
“I thought they said that much electricity would fry her systems!” one of the shock troopers shouted.
Turing raised her head. “Engaging U-Mode,” she said, causing her horn to appear. Without another word, she fired two bolts of magic at the hovering pegasi, knocking them out of the air. She then scrambled over to where Twilight Sparkle was standing in an increasingly large cloud of noxious smoke.
“Switching to P-Mode.”
Her horn retracted, and her wings appeared. Her jets roared to life, but rather than flying, she directed the force of them into the gas cloud, blowing it back out of the room and toward the guards.
“Masks!” the captain shouted. “Try not to breathe that stuff in!”
The ponies complied, hurrying to put on gas masks, but the cloud of gas filled the tram station, obscuring their sight.
“Switching to E-Mode.”
Distracted by the acrid burning and choking fumes from the gas, the guards were further put into a panic as Turing nimbly weaved in and out of sight, the sound of her hooves on the concrete platform zigzagging all around them the only clue to where she was. The guards began to panic as she landed perfectly-placed blows on them, knocking them out before she vanished back into the cloud of smoke.
“Squad 54 to Central Command!” the captain screamed, holding her hoof to her ear. “We’re being overwhelmed! Send backup! I repeat, send--”
There was another dull whack, and the captain’s voice fell silent. She slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious by a metallic hoof to the back of the head.
A moment later, the gas dissipated, revealing the platform of the station completely littered with the bodies of unconscious guards.
Twilight coughed a little as she emerged from the guard station.
“Good work, Turing,” she managed to say, though she was still breathing hard after holding her breath. She glanced around, taking in the sight of their defeated foes. “Wow. Very good work.”
Turing still said nothing.
Twilight sighed and tapped Turing on the shoulder. Once she had the robot’s attention, she pointed at her own ear to indicate what she meant.
“Ah. Understood. Re-engaging auditory systems,” Turing said. “You may proceed.”
“I was just complimenting you on how you took down all those guards,” Twilight said. Then she looked to Turing with concern. “Are you all right? I saw all that electricity, and I was worried about what it might do to you!”
“There is no cause for concern, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said. “Have you forgotten that Gadget equipped me with a Faraday cage for the purpose of rendering me resistant to electrical shocks?”
“Ahhh, that’s right!” Twilight said, flashing a broad grin. “I did forget. And I guess somepony forgot to tell the guards about it, too!”
“It seems so. Also, since being reprogrammed to assist TechQuestria, I was also equipped with more advanced combat techniques. I doubt that the ponies who restored me would have thought that I would use those techniques on them.”
“It also looks like they fixed your wings, too,” she remarked, giving her a smile. “I bet you’re glad to have those back!”
“I am,” Turing replied, glancing at the panel on her back. “Though it is inaccurate to say they have been ‘repaired.’ You will recall that my wings had been removed due to their disrepair and were still absent when I was abducted from Ponyville. Rather, it seems that they have been ‘replaced.’ Apparently, the TechQuestrians were still in possession of a spare set of wings, although I detect a slight difference in size and weight compared to my previous wings. Puzzling.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, and her expression tightened as she looked away.
Turing tilted her head when she noticed the change in Twilight’s demeanor. “Twilight Sparkle, your expression seems distressed,” she said. “Have I said something inappropriate?”
“Oh, um… no,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “It’s…”
She paused, considering what to say. Should I tell her where those wings and her other replacement parts might have come from? she wondered. No… after everything else that’s been going on, I don’t want to weigh her down by telling her that some of her body parts were probably taken from her late twin brother.
“...It’s not important right now. I’ll tell you later, Turing.”
“If you say so,” Turing said. “In the meantime, I suggest we leave this location before the guards regain consciousness or reinforcements arrive.”
“Okay, but first, let’s make sure they can’t try to use any more emergency maintenance codes on you,” Twilight said.
“Understood,” she said. “One moment… scanning for emergency maintenance codes… codes deleted.”
“Great,” Twilight said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Also, I’m going to take one of those electric weapons. I’d hate to use something like this on another pony, but not as much as I hate being defenseless without my magic. At least this way, you won’t have to do all the work.”
“Very well. Please also take the insulating boots and goggles to protect yourself.”
“Will do,” Twilight said, going to one of the shock troopers and removing their gear. “Between this and the gas grenades I found, I’m developing a regular arsenal!”
A moment later, they were about to leave when they heard a buzzing sound. They both looked up and saw a drone flying on a propeller emerge from an overhead vent.
“Turing, what is that?” Twilight whispered.
“It is a surveillance drone,” Turing replied. “It is capable of transmitting audio and using sound to scan and map an area.”
“Then we need to get rid of it!” Twilight said, aiming her newly-acquired shock baton at the thing.
“Wait one moment, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said, raising her foreleg to stop her. She then pointed at a group of smaller machines crawling out of the vent as well. They were rectangular and dark gray and crawled around on spindly insectoid legs. They crawled from the vent and along the wall like a swarm of roaches.
“Those are swarm drones,” Turing explained. “They are experimental machines designed to work in confined quarters. They are quite versatile, but a single pony has thus far not shown the capability to use them with coordination. The only one I have seen use them is Unit 002. It stands to reason that 002 is controlling them now.”
The little swarm drones moved about on the wall and quickly used their bodies to form letters which read: ‘CORRECT.’
Twilight’s nervous expression did not subside. “That’s all the more reason we should zap them and leave!” Twilight hissed. “I don’t trust her at all!”
“But Twilight Sparkle,” Turing protested, “002 helped me to regain my memory. Why would she help me before only to do us harm now?”
Twilight paused, tapping her chin as she considered the question. “Well, she could have been ordered to capture us. In that case, she’d have to follow her orders no matter what she helped you for! And she didn’t give me the best first impression.”
“You may be correct, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said, still keeping her gaze focused on the swarm drones. “But if 002 is attempting to aid us, then she may prove to be an invaluable ally. Also…”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Also…?” she asked, urging her to continue.
“I want to believe that one of my siblings is trying to help us,” Turing said, raising her head. “She attempted to strike up a conversation with me earlier. Perhaps she also wishes to have a relationship with me.”
Twilight pursed her lips, glancing back at the drones uncertainly. “I’m still not sure this is a good idea, Turing,” she said. “But if you think we should trust her, I’ll support you.”
The swarm drones reformed on the wall to make the image of a smiling face. Again, this did nothing to set her mind at ease.
“002,” Turing said, looking up at the surveillance drone, “are you attempting to guide us?”
Rather than form another word, the swarm drones crawled across the tram platform, then down and next to the tracks. They reformed into an arrow pointing into the tunnel.
“It seems we should go that way, Twilight Sparkle,” she said.
“But Turing, we’re supposed to be going to--” She froze, catching herself as she looked up at the surveillance drone. “--our destination.”
“This will also lead us in the right direction,” Turing replied. “Shall we?”
Twilight bit her lip for a moment, but then gave a resigned sigh and nodded.
The two hopped off the platform and onto the tracks. They followed as the drones led them into the darkened tunnel.
***
A squad of four guards made their way down a tunnel near the Magitech Department. As they passed a side tunnel, one of them stopped, using her magic to shine a flashlight down it.
“Something wrong, Billie Club?” the squad leader asked.
“I think I heard something, ma’am,” she replied. “Just a second, let me check it out.”
“All right, but be careful,” the squad leader said.
“Understood, ma’am,” Billie Club said, and trotted down the tunnel. She rounded a corner, disappearing from sight momentarily.
There was a moment of silence, so the squad leader called “Anything there?”
“No, ma’am!” she called back. “I guess I-- hey! They’re he--”
There was a dull thud followed by Billie Club sailing back into view, tumbling head over hooves.
“Intruders!” the squad leader shouted, holding up her baton. “Don’t let them escape!”
She and the other three guards rounded the corner, finding themselves face to face with… nothing more than an empty tunnel.
“Did they run away?” asked another guard, swallowing nervously.
“They must have,” the squad leader said. “You two get Billie Club some medical attention. I’ll stay behind to stand guard and radio for reinforcements. Rejoin me as soon as you’re able.”
“Yes, ma’am!” they both said, saluting her as they picked up the unconscious Billie Club.
Staring into the dark, empty tunnel, keeping her baton raised and her flashlight shining into the depths, she raised a hoof to her ear.
“Central Command, this is Lieutenant Night Stick of Squad 15,” she said into the radio. “One of my squad has been attacked. We were unable to locate the assailant, but we believe it to be one of the Royalist fugitives. I’m at a side tunnel in section E102, near the Magitech Department. Requesting backup.”
“Understood, Lieutenant,” the voice of the dispatcher said. “Squads 32 and 33 will be directed to your location.”
“Roger that,” Night Stick said, and removed her hoof from the earpiece. She continued staring down the hallway, patiently awaiting the arrival of her backup or the return of her other squad members.
Then she heard a deep rumble. Her ears twitched at the sound. It almost sounded like… somepony’s stomach growling?
She blinked and glanced up.
Gadget was clinging to the rafters on the ceiling with her mechanical arms, and Umahara was clinging to her. The pair of them grinned down at her sheepishly.
“Um… hi?” Gadget said. Then she let go and dropped down toward Night Stick.
Night Stick gasped and reached for her earpiece, but Gadget landed on her, pinning her to the floor before a series of punches from Gadget’s mechanical fists pummeled her into submission.
“Sorry about giving us away. I guess I’m hungrier than I realized. Still, that’s one less guard to worry about,” Gadget said. She glanced over to Umahara, who still had his forelegs wrapped around her barrel. “Um, we’re not clinging to the ceiling anymore; you can let go now.”
“O-oh, right!” Umahara said, chuckling sheepishly as he let go of her. Then he glanced down at the unconscious Night Stick, and his expression changed to a frown as his ears drooped.
Gadget tilted her head as she watched him. “What’s that look for?” she asked.
“It’s just… I knew her,” he said. “Night Stick was a good guard. She was never late. She was always helpful. I… I never expected I’d have to fight her.”
“Technically I’m the one that fought her. You’re just an accessory!” Gadget said, offering him a smile, but the way he looked at her made her stop. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” he sighed. “I’ve made my decision, so I’ll live with it. Anyway, we need to go. Let’s cut through the Magitech Department.”
“Wait, I thought you said we should take the side tunnels!” Gadget exclaimed. “Going right through your old department sounds like a good way to get caught!”
“It might be, but now that Night Stick called for reinforcements, the tunnels will be crawling with guards. Most of the Magitech personnel are either asleep or assisting with New Dawn. If we’re careful, we can sneak through--”
“Okay, okay, just lead the way,” Gadget said, glancing over her shoulder. “We’ll get caught for sure if we stay here.”
“Right,” he said, and motioned for her to follow him. The two of them swiftly made their way to the entrance of the Magitech Department.
“Okay, through these doors is a hallway that leads to a security door,” Umahara whispered, looking to the left and right as they stood before the doors. He drew out a spell card. “There’s a guard on duty, but I’m betting they haven’t figured out what I’ve done just yet, so he should let me in. In the meantime, this spell card will create an invisibility spell for you, so stay close and I can sneak you in. Hold it close, Gadget, and try not to make too much noise.”
Gadget took the spell card. “Wait, why didn’t we just use these to sneak around before?” she asked.
“Because I only managed to get one,” he replied hurriedly. “They’re expensive and difficult to make and they only last for about a minute! I was going to save it for an emergency, but if the guard sees you coming up the hallway, he’ll sound the alarm for sure!”
“Okay, okay,” she said exasperatedly. “Sorry I asked! So, what, I just press this button?”
She pressed it and then swiftly faded from view.
“Whoa, cool!” she said, laughing giddily. He could hear her hooves as she danced around excitedly. “Hey, guess how many fingers my mechanical hand is holding up!”
Umahara smirked. “Just stay close and stay quiet,” he said, and pushed open the door to the entrance.
Through the doors was a long white hallway with a door at the end. The place looked almost sterilized, with a smell that reminded Gadget of a hospital.
Just before the door was a small booth with a security guard inside. The guard looked up from the magazine he was reading at the sound of Umahara entering and watched him stroll casually up to the window of the booth.
“Good evening!” Umahara said to the security guard through the small holes in the thick glass.
The guard smiled. “Evening, Mr. Umahara,” he said. “I thought your shift was over. Figured you’d be resting up until New Dawn started.”
“I just came to check on something,” Umahara said, giving him an easy smile. “Mind letting me in?”
“Sure, sure,” the guard said, reaching for the button that would unlock the front gate. Then he paused. “Actually, I just remembered that they want us to call in anypony who comes in outside the schedule.”
Umahara kept his expression, but he just barely heard Gadget suck in a breath.
“Is that really necessary?” Umahara asked, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t worry. It’ll only take a minute,” the guard said, reaching for his earpiece.
“Oh, the heck with it!” Gadget shouted. One of her invisible mechanical hands transformed into a piston, which she used to smash through the protective glass and send the guard flying back into the wall.
The guard struggled to get up, looking around frantically to see what unseen force had assaulted him, but Gadget was already on him, using the taser at the end of another arm to shock him. Finally, he slumped to the floor.
“Darn it, Gadget, that wasn’t necessary!” Umahara shouted, smacking himself in the forehead. “Central Command might not even know that I’ve defected yet!”
“And if they do, then that guard would’ve brought every guard they had down on us,” Gadget said as she slowly began to fade back into view. “Look, they’ll figure it out eventually. Let’s try to get out of here before that happens.” Then she looked down at her hoof and sighed. “Aww, I wish that could have lasted a little longer. Being invisible was cool.”
She pressed the button on the guard’s panel, causing the doors to the Magitech Department to buzz and then swing open.
Umahara sighed, but had to smile at her bravado. “You know, when I first met you, you seemed kind of timid,” he said as they walked inside. “I never would have thought you could be this… gutsy.”
She blushed slightly at that. “I’m not… that is, sometimes I can be a little timid around strangers, b-but when there’s a job to do, I just focus on getting it done!”
“I think that’s admirable,” he said. And a little scary, he added mentally.
“C-come on, you’re embarrassing me,” she said, her blush deepening. She picked up her pace and trotted ahead of him. “Anyway, so what is it that you ponies do here? What sort… of…”
She slowed her pace as they passed several rooms with windows along the hallway.
Inside were rows and rows of computers. She’d seen similar devices when she’d been in Talon Turing’s lab at King Bullion’s College in Trottingham, but rather than having tape reels, there were large golden discs turning on the fronts of them.
“Runic computers,” Umahara said, raising his head with a touch of pride as he came up alongside her. “Professor Cobbler figured out how to use the ancient Yudacorn runes, and we’ve been using them for our computing. It’s still a long way from perfection, but it can already do a lot more than what Talon Turing’s working on, if that’s what it reminds you of.”
“Wow,” Gadget breathed, walking closer to the windows. “What are they calculating?”
“Some of them are running analyses of geological survey data so we can figure out where to excavate new tunnels for TechQuestria,” he said. “A few more are predicting where those who resist…”
Gadget paused and looked back at him, noting his expression.
“What? What were you going to say?” she asked.
“It’s predicting where ponies who resist the new government will migrate after the coup,” Umahara replied. “Most of TechQuestria doesn’t even know we’re running those calculations, but enough council members demanded it that we started. But nopony can agree on if we’re even calculating it right. There are just so many assumptions…”
He trailed off, making a face.
“W-well we won’t even have to worry about it,” Gadget said, getting his attention, “after we stop this New Dawn thing from starting!”
Umahara blinked. “Stop it?” he asked. He rubbed his temple, shaking his head. “Gadget, we’re not trying to stop it. I just don’t want to be part of it.”
“What?!” she cried, wincing as her voice echoed in the hallway. “Why not?!”
“Gadget, what we’ve built, nopony will be able to stand up to…”
She listened as he told her what exactly New Dawn entailed. As she listened, her eyes grew larger and larger.
“No,” she breathed. “And this secret weapon of theirs… this ‘Harmonic Drive’ at the heart of it? It actually works?”
“We never got the chance to test it,” he said, motioning for her to follow as they continued making their way through the department. “But the theory is sound: I worked on it myself. And they should only need it if they can’t stop Twilight and her friends. Either way, New Dawn is unstoppable.”
Gadget tapped her chin. “But… wait, to make all that magitech run, they’d need a huge amount of thaumatrium!”
“Well, yeah, that’s why we have the thaumatrium refinery here--”
“It’s here?!” Gadget cried. “Then if we sabotage the refinery, then at least they’ll have a shorter supply of the stuff!”
“I… I mean, sure, but we don’t have time to--”
“We’re already passing through here!” Gadget said, seizing his hoof in her own, looking up at him pleadingly. “Let’s throw a wrench or two into their plans while we still can! You want to make up for helping them all this time, right?”
“I…” He heaved a sigh. “All right, fine. It’s on the way, I suppose. But if it’s not safe, then we just move on.”
He led her through another doorway into the core of the Magitech Department.
Again, she gawked at the sight before her.
They were inside what looked like a giant metallic sphere. The light reflecting off the greenish tint of the metal panels lining the walls cast a strange glow over everything. Throughout the center of the sphere was a network of catwalks leading to different subsections of the department.
“This way,” he whispered, motioning for her to follow him across a catwalk. Though there didn’t appear to be anypony around - which made the area eerily quiet - she still felt oddly exposed in the huge, open area.
Then they heard a buzzing sound overhead. They looked up and saw numerous drones hovering around the catwalks, weaving in and out like little metallic sentries.
Umahara took out a spell card and activated it. A moment later, a small, pale blue bubble enveloped them both.
“Keep quiet,” he said to Gadget, his voice barely above a whisper. “This is a sound-cancelling spell. It neutralizes the sound of anything inside it to those outside. Those drones are surveillance drones. If they detect us, they’ll send the security forces here. We should be safe, but the spell won’t neutralize anything that’s too loud.”
Gadget nodded silently as the two of them crept along the walkway.
***
002 was enjoying herself immensely. Observing how these organics stumbled around alternately fighting or avoiding each other was far more entertaining than she’d hoped!
Let’s see… Applejack is nearly at her destination, unless Valentine finishes her off first, Pinkie Pie and Rarity are trapped inside Acoustics, 004 should be dealing with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle and 003 are following my little drones… and watching those ignorant guards continuously fail to catch any of them is just so… what word would the organics call the emotion?
She paused, considering it.
‘Satisfying.’ Yes… this is so satisfying. It’s a shame I don’t have any other playmates…
Just then, she noticed she was getting some strange readings from the Magitech Department. Her drones didn’t detect any ponies in the core, but there was a curious anomaly on one of the catwalks. Normally, the soundwaves from her drones would reflect back, giving her a picture of the place. But some of the soundwaves on the catwalk were not bouncing back, as if there was a hole in it.
And the hole seemed to be… moving?
“Sound cancelling?” she wondered aloud. Her singular yellow eye moved back and forth as she considered the problem. Scanning data… what could cancel sound waves that would be capable of movement?
Just then, her radio receiver came to life:
“Attention all units: we’ve just confirmed that Councilpony Champ Umahara has committed acts of treason and sabotage against TechQuestria. Spell cards have been stolen from the supply sent to New Dawn, and we’ve received reports that the Royalist prisoner Gadgette Giroux has been freed. The guards on duty confirmed Umahara’s involvement. He is to be detained on sight and not to be given the same regard as the Elements.”
002 raised her head. A spell card. I see…
She sent a signal to Central Command.
“Central Command,” the radio operator said.
“This is Unit 002,” she said. “Inform Master Lugnut immediately that I believe I have located Mr. Umahara.”
While the operator notified Commander Lugnut, she received another signal from her surveillance drones: Applejack had arrived at the Archives.
So… very… satisfying.
***
Applejack had followed the singular tunnel down further than she would have expected without an end in sight. Every side tunnel she arrived at was blocked by another floodgate. Yet the main tunnel itself grew wider and wider, until she finally arrived at a gaping doorway that stood nearly ten meters tall.
What the hay are they keepin’ in there? she wondered.
There was no time to think about the answer as she heard the sound of hooves still galloping behind her. That crazy nurse was still on her tail!
She ran through the doors into a cavernous room, but the overhead lights were turned off, leaving it in total darkness. She hesitated and looked back to see that Valentine was still running down the tunnel.
But then she heard another noise and spotted a group of swarm drones crawling up the wall to a panel next to the door. With their little legs, they pried the face of the panel off and began disconnecting and reconnecting the wires. There was a spark of electricity, and the massive steel doors began to slide shut, rumbling like thunder along their treads.
“Stop!” Valentine shouted as she galloped closer and closer. “Applejack, get away from there! That’s where--”
The doors shut, locking Valentine out and leaving Applejack in total darkness. However, a moment later, the overhead lights came on, allowing her to see where she was.
Her mouth dropped open at the sight.
The room was a cavernous warehouse. Shelf after towering shelf was filled with boxes and wooden crates. They stretched a seemingly endless distance back into the room. She obviously wasn’t going to be able to exit the way she came in, so there was no choice but to find another way out.
She looked down and saw that the little swarm bots were forming themselves into the shape of an arrow.
“What the… are you little robot critters tryin’ to help?” she asked.
The swarm drones made no sound but continued pointing the arrow down an aisle.
“Well, I ain’t one to trust robot varmints,” she said, narrowing her eyes at them, “but then again, until Turing Test changed my mind, I wasn’t keen on robots at all. All right, I’ll follow ya, but y’all best not be leadin’ me into trouble.”
The swarm drones skittered along the floor, leading her through a veritable maze of shelves until at last they came to a large crate sitting on the bottom shelf. This crate was different from the others: it was metallic, and the lid of it was sealed tight and padlocked.
The swarm drones swarmed around the lock, looking like they were trying to yank it off. They then formed an arrow again, emphatically pointing at the crate once more.
“What… y’all want me to open this? What for?”
The drones surrounded her, scurrying underhoof, jumping at her as if trying to urge her on.
“Hey, hey, no need to get yer tail in a knot!” she snapped. “All right, all right, lemme see what I can do.”
She looked at the lock. She didn’t have a key, of course, but she thought that perhaps she could buck the lock right off. After all, with her enhanced strength, she reasoned, such a feat should be foal’s play.
“Okay, stand back!” she said, aiming her back hooves at the lock. “Here… we… go!”
She kicked as hard as she could, and the lock snapped right off. The top of the crate also popped off, leaving the lid slightly ajar.
The swarm drones crawled up the side of the crate and pushed the lid off completely. They then began to dig inside.
Curious, Applejack got up on her hind legs and peered in as well. The box was filled with packing straw, but the swarm bots were clearing it away. At last, they revealed a rectangular panel. They lifted it up, revealing a large red button.
“Hey now, what does that button--”
Before she could ask, one of the drones jumped on the button, pressing it. An electric hum emanated from the machine inside the straw.
The drones all scattered, scrambling away from the crate like a swarm of cockroaches when somepony turned on the kitchen light.
“Hey!” Applejack shouted. “Where are you little critters goin?!”
She tried to pursue them, but they were all gone in an instant.
“What in Equestria’s gotten into them? An’ just how’s whatever in that crate supposed to help--”
There was a loud clang and the crate lurched forward. Applejack whirled around. Whatever was inside the crate was moving.
Clang!
The crate lurched forward again, the edge of it now teetering over the rim of the shelf. There was a strange chattering sound coming from inside the crate.
Something was throwing itself against the side, trying to get out.
Applejack lowered her head and began to back away, not taking her eyes off the crate. This was a bad idea, she thought. Never trust a varmint, I always say! Why’d I go an’ make an exception fer a robot varmint?!
With a final clang, the crate tilted forward and toppled over, spilling some of the packing straw out onto the floor. The thing inside slowly moved. Applejack saw its pale, glowing green eyes looking at her.
“N-now, you just stay where you are!” Applejack shouted, backing away. “I don’t want no trouble from you, whatever you are! So just--”
The thing suddenly burst from the box, leaping at Applejack as it let out a terrifying, distorted screech!
Applejack screamed and tried to run, but stumbled backwards as the thing pounced on her!
...Or rather, it landed right in front of her. She stared up at it as it sat down, looking back at her. It made no move to attack, but just sat there, watching her and tilting its head back and forth with what seemed like curiosity.
“Wait,” she breathed, “you… yer another…”
The thing before her was another robot pony. This one, however, had a darker, dingier hue to its exterior. Rather than the large glowing eyes that Turing Test had, this had circular lenses with only a pale green dot in each. Rather than a few slits for a mouth, this being actually had a hinged jaw that moved as it made little sounds. The conical coils that Turing had for a mane and tail were present, but they were stiffer and hung over this robot’s head like yarn hung from the head of a filly’s doll. When it moved, it had a strange, rickety quality to it, unlike the smooth movement Turing had.
Still, she couldn’t deny that this robot bore a striking resemblance to Turing Test.
“What the…another robot?” Applejack whispered.
The robot tilted its head. “Ro?” it asked, its voice high-pitched and squeaky. “Row boat? Me rowboat?”
“N-no,” Applejack said slowly as she got to her hooves. “Robot. Yer a robot. Or, uh… an automaton?”
The robot nodded her head. “Tomato ton,” she said, nodding her head. “Meep!”
Applejack blinked. “Uh… right. Listen, uh… I’m tryin’ to find my way outta here, so if you could--”
“Peaches and cream!” the robot shouted, bouncing toward Applejack, her joints making a squealing sound as she noisily landed, sounding like a cart full of pots and pans. “Peach pie! Peach can! Peachy keen! Peachy peachy peach peach!”
Applejack frowned. “Okay, look, I gotta go find my friends,” she said. “If ya don’t know where I can find a door, then I--”
“Door!” the robot cried, nodding her head emphatically. “Me know! Me know door!”
“Wait, you do?” Applejack asked.
“Me know! Door! You come! Me go you door!”
“Well… sure,” Applejack said, and followed the strange robot.
The two of them made their way through the aisles. Applejack wasn’t certain that the robot knew where she was going, but it wasn’t like she had many other options. And while the robot mostly seemed prone to spouting random gibberish, she also seemed to understand language well enough to understand what Applejack was looking for.
“So, uh… hey there, Miss Robot,” Applejack began, walking alongside the robot, “I was wondering’ if ya had a name? My name's Applejack, by the way.”
The robot turned to her. “Nacho.”
Applejack blinked. “Sorry, did you say ‘Nacho?’”
But the robot shook her head. “Najoja.”
“‘Na-jo-ja?’”
This time the robot nodded. “Not! Not Joja!”
Applejack blinked. “Wait… ‘Not Joja?’ Are ya tellin’ me what yer name isn’t?”
The robot nodded. “Not Da say Not Joja.”
“I… see?”
“Icy! Icy! Ice tea!”
Applejack stifled a giggle. “Well, you sure are a funny little robot, whatever yer name is.”
The robot paused. “Me funny?”
“Well, yeah,” Applejack said, smiling at her.
The robot tilted her head to the left and right for a moment. Then, to Applejack’s surprise, she came up next to her and rested her head on Applejack’s shoulder.
“Well, I’ll be,” Applejack said. “Guess maybe I finally found another nice robot like Turing Test.”
The robot raised her head. “Two ring?”
“Uh, that’s ‘Turing.’ She’s yer… well, I guess she’s probably yer sister.”
The robot raised her head. “Sissa? Me sissa?”
“I think so,” she said, tapping her chin. “You definitely look like her… in some ways, I mean.”
“Mean… mean sissa?”
Applejack shook her head. “No, no, she ain’t mean. She’s real nice!”
The robot tilted her head again. This time she covered one eye and seemed to glare at Applejack.
“Sissa?” the robot asked.
Applejack frowned. She’s imitatin’ 002, she realized.
“No, not that sister,” Applejack replied. “Another one.”
“Nutha sissa!” the robot cried, and began leaping around. “Nutha sissa! Nutha nutha zero zero!”
“Yeah, another… wait, ‘zero zero?’”
But before she could ask about that, the robot suddenly dashed off.
“Hey, hold on a minute there!” Applejack shouted, chasing her. “Wait fer me!”
She rounded a corner and found herself facing another door, just like the robot had said. Or rather, a pair of steel doors.
“Zero!” the robot cried, pointing at the doors.
Sure enough, Applejack saw that a large zero had been painted in red on the doors. She also noticed that a yellow and black striped pattern had been painted on the doorframe along with the word ‘DANGER’ printed over and over again.
And that’s when she saw that the swarm drones were messing with the panel next to the doorway.
“Hey now, don’t--”
The doors buzzed and began to slide open.
“Oh boy,” Applejack gulped, bracing herself for whatever was inside. But before she could react to that, she heard a sound from overhead. She glanced up in time to see that Funny Valentine, having crawled through the ventilation system, had kicked off the vent cover and was leaping down at her, a surgical saw drawn and ready to strike.
“Look out!” Applejack shouted as Valentine dove and took a swipe at her with the razor sharp saw. The saw narrowly missed as Applejack leaped out of the way and ran over to the robot’s side. “Look out, robot, that nurse ain’t playin’ around!”
“Play round?” the robot asked, merely glancing at Valentine.
“Hold still!” Valentine shouted, throwing a syringe at Applejack.
“Duck!” Applejack shouted, rolling out of the way. But then she saw to her horror that the robot was merely standing there.
She closed her eyes as she heard metal striking metal. When she opened them, however, the robot was still standing there.
“Hey… you all right?” she asked.
The robot turned her head. The syringe was just barely embedded into her forehead.
“Me catch!” she said, pointing at the syringe. She then turned to Valentine and began to bounce up and down. “Again! Play round!”
“Oh, great, looks like you found the junk heap,” Valentine sighed. “Just keep out of my way!”
Without another word, she instantly turned and tossed another volley of scalpels at Applejack.
Unprepared for the volley, Applejack’s heart leaped into her throat. But then the robot dove in front of her, intercepting the scalpels.
When she landed, Applejack saw she’d caught all of them in her mouth.
The robot dropped them on the floor. “Out da way!”
“Look, will you just move?!” Valentine shouted.
“You just move!” the robot repeated.
“Not me, you, stupid!”
“You stupid!”
“I’m not… augh!” Valentine stomped her hoof.
“Augh!” the robot said, imitating Valentine’s tone of voice and stomping both of her front hooves petulantly.
“You… no more miming me, I mean it!”
“Anybody got a peanut?”
Applejack burst out laughing. “Hoowee, Valentine,” she managed to say, wiping a tear from her eye. “Gotta say, yer not so scary when this here robot is practically runnin’ laps around ya.” She went over to the robot and plucked the syringe from her forehead. “Maybe you should just quit.”
Valentine narrowed her eyes at Applejack. “That ‘robot’ is just a malfunctioning piece of scrap that you should have left in its box,” she said. “That’s Unit 001, the first ‘functional’ automaton Cobbler Mustang built using runic technology.”
Applejack blinked. “Using what now?”
“Whachoo talkin bout?”
“Not now, 001,” Applejack said, putting her hoof on 001’s shoulder.
“It’s a long story,” Valentine said, “but to make it short: Celestia’s policies caused the death of Professor Cobbler’s daughter, so he used his knowledge of an arcane magic and his automaton building skills to try and preserve her mind in a mechanical body. 001 was the result.”
001 looked back and forth between Valentine and Applejack. “Bork?” she asked.
“Needless to say,” Valentine sighed, “the process didn’t quite work. The result was this simpleminded experiment. But, on the upside, she was the first of the automata.”
“I one of the tomatoes?” 001 asked.
“Looks like,” Applejack said. “I mean… sorta.”
“Listen, Applejack,” Valentine said, “I’ve called for backup. The other guards are trying to get in here as we speak. There’s no way out of here, so just give up quietly, and I won’t sever your tendons.”
“Well, if there’s no way outta here, then where’s this door lead?” Applejack asked.
“What door?” Valentine asked, turning her head.
She froze. Her eyes went wide.
“Oh no… oh no no no no… what did you two idiots do?!”
Without another word, she rushed through the doors.
That don’t sound good, Applejack thought, and followed Valentine to see what had her so panicked.
There in the room was a statue of some sorts. It was worn in certain spots, but it looked as though it was made of baked clay. It was painted purple and gold, and it had yellow jewels for eyes. It also had some strange writing on its forehead.
And that’s when they saw the swarm drones with a paint can, swiftly repainting one of the symbols.
“No!” Valentine screamed. “Stop them!”
But then the thing’s eyes began to glow. It slowly got to its hooves, rising up further and further like a monolithic colossus. A low moaning sound like that of a whale emanated from it.
Valentine and Applejack began to back away.
“It’s awake,” Valentine whimpered. “U-unit Zero… the golem!”
The golem fixed its gaze on the pair of them and let out a deafening roar that shook them to their bones. It lowered its head and charged.
To be continued...
