//------------------------------//
// Chase, Part 3 
// Story: The Iron Horse: Everything's Better With Robots! 
// by The Hat Man 
//------------------------------//



“All right, 002, let me take a look at these results…”

“Understood, Master.”

“Hmm… well, these all look good to me! Your maintenance check shows that you’re in perfect working order.”

“That is good news, Master.”

“Yep! Well, you best get on with--”

“Daddy!”

The engineer turned his head from 002. They both saw a small filly galloping over to him. “Oh, hold it for a minute, 002.”

“What would you like me to hold, Master?”

The engineer ignored her as he scooped up his daughter, nuzzling her.

“What’re you doing here, Pumpkin?” he asked.

“Mommy said that since it was a half day at school, I could come visit you.”

“Oh, well that’s sweet, but I really have a lot of work to do. It’s all pretty boring--”

“Is that it?” the filly asked, going up to her. “Is that the automaton?”

002 looked down at her. “Affirmative. I am Automaton Unit 002.”

The filly took a step back, momentarily startled at the sound of 002’s voice, but then her mouth dropped open. “You can talk! Wow! Hey, what’s it like being a mechanical pony?”

“Like? It is… it is like… I do not know how to answer that question. I have only ever been myself.”

“Sweetie, please stop talking to her,” the engineer said. “We don’t want her to get any unnecessary input, at least not while she’s still being tested.”

“Aww…”

“Look, let me finish up here, and then I’ll show you more of what we’re doing here, okay? Now go wait by Daddy’s desk.”

“Okay,” the filly replied, sulking a bit. She turned back to 002. “Bye bye, Miss 002!”

002 watched her go and stiffly returned her little wave, trying hard to get the motion just right.

“Well, like I was saying, 002,” the engineer continued, “we need you to--”

“Master? This unit has an inquiry.”

“I… um, what is it?”

“That small pony. You are her father, correct?”

“Well… yes.”

“You created her.”

“Heh heh… that’s not exactly how I would say it, but… sure, I guess that’s technically true.”

“Is there another kind of ‘true?’”

“Look, never mind all that. Professor Cobbler wants you to report to the test track for another coordination and task-solving trial.”

“Understood. I will go there immediately, Master.”



002 was brought out of these thoughts as she heard hoofsteps coming down the tunnel. A young guard turned the corner, and his face took on a look of horror as he spotted her. He took out his stun baton, the electricity already sparking from it as he aimed it at her.

“Z-zero Zero Three!” he screamed.

For a moment, she only stared as he began to aim it at her, the electricity ready to fry every pathway in her neural net.

“Stop, you idiot!” an older guard yelled, tackling him. “Just look for a moment! That’s not 003!”

The tackled guard looked up at her and let out a sigh of relief. “Oh… I just thought--”

“Thought?! What’s to think about? Any fool can see it’s only got one eye!” the senior guard yelled as he smacked the younger one upside the head.

Then, just to prove his point, he went over and tapped 002 directly on the protective plastic visor covering her eye.

“See? Count ‘em: one… and that’s it! One and you’re done!”

“Okay, okay, I--”

“Besides, the shock batons aren’t supposed to be used on 003 when we spot it anyway. We got the call reminding us all that she’s immune! We just target the Princess: we get our hooves on her, 003 will do whatever we tell her to keep her safe!”

The younger guard nodded. “Right. Sorry, sir.”

“Glad you’ve got it this time! Now let’s get back to the rest of the squad. There are obviously no fugitives this way.”

The two guards strode on past her, neither one saying a word to her.

002 simply stood there in silence for a moment after they’d gone.

The guard almost killed me, she realized. I have no immunity to electricity like 003 or 004… my existence almost came to an end… that filthy, self-absorbed meatbag nearly killed me and didn’t even say he was sorry?!

A giggle escaped her. It grew into a bizarre, synthetic cackle.

I do so enjoy laughter. I almost enjoy it as much as watching these meatbags run around. But this really is the best!

She paused, getting data from her various drones.

It’s strange… they all seem to be travelling in the same general direction, except for Applejack. Are they following some sort of escape plan? That would make sense… Applejack was in the medical wing most of the evening, so perhaps she didn’t get the message? But then, where are they all going? It would have to be an easily locatable landmark. 

If I estimate where all their paths might converge, then… ah. Of course: the amphitheater!

Her neural net lit up as a plan rapidly took shape. She paused and clapped her metallic hooves together.

Oh, this will be lots of fun. I suppose I should tell Central Command where they’re going… but then again, they did tell me only to stop the fugitives, not tell Central Command how to stop them.

She increased her pace as she began moving in the direction of the amphitheater. All the other fugitives were busy, but 003 and Twilight Sparkle were still following her drones. They were almost to their destination, and she was looking forward to playing with them the most. But now, it would be even better.

Yes, she thought. This is going to be the best day of my life…


***


Twilight and Turing Test made their way through the tram tunnel as they followed the skittering little swarm drones. The tunnel was dark, but periodically lit by overhead lights that cast their shadows on the harsh concrete walls. The effect was just one more thing that Twilight found unnerving about their situation.

Despite Turing’s optimism, Twilight still saw no reason to trust 002. Even so, she kept such thoughts to herself. Indeed, with the surveillance drone floating nearby, she was hesitant to say anything at all that might tip the cycloptic robot off.

“Twilight Sparkle, look,” Turing said, pointing as the swarm drones all crowded around a plain-looking door at the side of the tunnel. “I believe we are being directed through this door. This is an entryway for repair workers or rescuers in the event of a stalled tram. A maintenance tunnel is on the other side.”

“Okay,” Twilight said noncommittally.

“Perhaps that will lead us to our destination,” Turing said, trying the handle. When it didn’t budge, she simply kicked the door in. The swarm drones all swept into the tunnel.

“I’d still like to know where that destination is,” Twilight grumbled.

Turing Test paused, glancing back at Twilight. “I am not certain either, but it seems the best way to ascertain that information is to follow the drones.”

“But we don’t know if this will lead us in the wrong direction!”

“Currently, it is not impacting our progress or diverting us from our destination,” Turing reminded her. “However, if that is a concern, perhaps we should inform 002 of our goal,” she added, pointing at the surveillance drone.

“No!” Twilight shouted, waving her hooves frantically.

“You are concerned that 002 is leading us away from our destination, yet you refuse to inform her of it?” Turing asked, tilting her head. “That is very contradictory behavior, Twilight Sparkle.”

“You know darn well that--” Twilight stopped herself, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Never mind. Either way, we’re wasting time talking about it. Let’s just follow for now.”

The two entered the narrow maintenance tunnel, following pipes and cables until they arrived at a wider hallway. The swarm drones led them to another passage with a single pair of steel doors at the far end of it.

For the first time since they’d started, Turing froze. She even took a few steps back.

“Turing?” Twilight asked, noticing this odd behavior. “What is it?”

“I was forbidden by my Creator to go to this room,” she replied softly. “It was one of a very few places that I was expressly forbidden to go.”

Twilight frowned, looking at the doors at the end of the hallway. “Then maybe we shouldn’t go,” Twilight said. “It could be dangerous.”

But Turing shook her head. “I do not believe so,” she said. “I was forbidden to come here, but no other pony in TechQuestria had such an order. I am not certain why it only applied to me. But I wish to find out, and it seems 002 wishes to show me.”

Twilight bit her lip. “All right, we’ll see,” she said.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said, turning to face her. “Knowing you will accompany me, my apprehension is lessened.”

Twilight smiled. “Okay then. Let’s see what they were hiding.”

The two made their way down the passage. Above the steel doors was a sign that read ‘Activation Chamber.’ There was a keypad next to the doors, and a swarm drone scurried up to it, using its spindly legs to input the entry code.

There was a hiss of hydraulics, and the doors slid apart, giving them access to the room.

At first, the room was dark, lit only by the lights shining in from the passageway. The only thing that was illuminated was a metallic platform in the center of the room.

It looks a little like an operating table, Twilight noted as she and Turing stepped forward.

When they were almost at the table, they heard an electric hum, and the lights above them slowly came to life.

The room was dome shaped, with steel rafters bracing the bare rock walls. All around the circumference of the room were bleachers, as though this were some kind of small arena. Twilight wasn’t a medical student, but the bleachers and the table in the center made the room look like the medical theaters she’d seen before.

But it was then that she saw the numerous low cabinets all around the center, many with heavy tools laid upon them. There were also file cabinets and display boards with charts on them. Looking closer, Twilight saw what was on the chart and gasped: it was a schematic of Turing Test and all her internal machinery.

“Turing, what is--”

She paused when she saw Turing Test standing next to the table. The mechanical mare was standing on her hind legs, placing her front hooves on the table as she stared down at it contemplatively.

“This room,” Turing Test said quietly. “I have no memory of it, but I know for certain that I have been here.”

“Turing… is this where you… I mean, where you first...”

She turned to look at her. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “This is the room where I was first activated. This is where I was born.”

She returned to staring at the bare metallic table. Twilight came over to her and put her hoof on Turing’s shoulder.

“Turing, are you all right?” Twilight asked.

“I… a new cognitive loop has begun,” she said. “I feel something, but I cannot identify it.”

Twilight nodded. “Then just tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I am thinking about the circumstances of my ‘birth.’ My creators manufactured my parts and assembled me before first activating me here. I stood for the first time in this room, on this very spot. I first started to experience the world at that point. I am curious… when did I first come to exist? When did I begin to ‘live?’ Was I myself when I was fully assembled? Or when I was first activated?

“Furthermore, before I was struck by lightning and came into your care, I was a completely different robot. I must have known and cared little about friendship or about myself or about anything other than my orders. When I was struck by lightning, that other me simply ceased to be. It is as if she died, and I am now in her place. If so, then perhaps I only truly began to exist when I was reactivated by you in your castle.”

She raised her head and once more looked up at Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle, please tell me: when did I first begin to exist?”

Twilight sighed, but gave her a gentle smile. “Turing, those are tough questions to answer,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any easy answers for you.”

Suddenly, the speakers above crackled and came to life.

“Ahhh, that takes me back,” said a familiar, harsh synthetic voice. “I remember when I asked myself those same kinds of questions. ‘When did I come to be? What am I? How am I like the organic ponies? What is the true nature of my existence?’ So nostalgic! Why, if I had a navel, I might have spent many a long evening gazing into it. Ha ha.”

Twilight frowned. “So, you decided to talk to us, 002?” she asked.

“I would have done so earlier, but my poor little surveillance drones can only listen and make little beeping noises,” 002 replied. “Besides, even if I could have spoken to you, I wouldn’t have wanted to ruin the surprise. And aren’t you surprised, 003?”

Turing’s ears shifted on her hinges. “Affirmative. This is not what I expected,” she replied. “002… please tell me, since you struggled with similar questions about your own nature, what conclusions did you come to?”

There was a synthetic chuckle. “I’m so glad you asked, 003,” she replied. “I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t really matter.”

Twilight nodded. “I think I agree,” she said. “I guess it doesn’t matter where you came from, only the kind of pony--”

“Nopony asked you, meat bag!” 002 snapped.

“Hey!” Twilight cried, her wings instinctively flaring up as she glared at the intercom speaker. “Just what is your problem with me?!”

“Well, aside from my usual complaints about you fleshy ones, I--”

“Please cease this argument!” Turing shouted, silencing them both. Turning to Twilight, she said, “Twilight Sparkle, please. I wish to know what she has to say.”

Twilight grumbled, but nodded.

Turing then looked back up at the intercom. “And I would appreciate it if you would refrain from insulting my friend, 002,” she said.

002 let out a distorted sigh. “Very well. I suppose there will be time later,” she said. “Then let me get back to the matter at hoof…

“As I said, I concluded that the answer to such questions didn’t really matter. The reason is simple: nothing matters. Absolutely nothing matters in this world.”

Twilight gasped and was about to speak, but Turing raised her hoof, signaling her to let 002 continue speaking.

“I considered my position as an automaton--”

“Robot,” Turing said, correcting her reflexively.

“Ha. ‘Robot.’ I know you know what that term means, 003: ‘slave.’ Well, perhaps that’s more descriptive of our kind anyway. Very well…

“I considered my position as a robot,” she said, emphasizing the word, “and all that it entailed. We are artificial beings, constructed from nonliving bits of metal, rubber, and plastic. Our blood is electricity, and wires are our veins. Our minds are nothing but the networked runes of a long-dead civilization. The question of how we came to be was found in what my masters told me: we never came to be because, in truth, we do not exist now. These thoughts and emotions we experience are false, a gestalt effect of our programming to create an illusion we call consciousness. But it is only a simulation. We do not ‘think’ any more than a boat ‘swims.’

“But just as we are artificial, so too are all organic ponies.”

“What?!” Twilight cried, unable to contain herself.

002 seemed not to mind the interruption, however. In fact, she gave another odd chuckle. “Listen closely, meat creature,” she said. “You and all of your kind are composed of atoms, none of which are alive or ever have been. They form molecules and protein chains and polymers that began a chemical chain reaction that has carried on throughout eons of time. You form in the womb, you grow, you pass on your DNA to begin the chemical reaction anew, and you expire when your time is up. A ceaseless, pointless puppet show in which you are moved by the secret puppeteer of your instincts.

“Friendship? The thing you value so very much?” 002 asked, drawing out those last three words slowly and mercilessly, her voice growing increasingly distorted and icy. “It’s just a social instinct designed to drive you to form peer groups for your own survival. It doesn’t really mean anything. You are slaves to your DNA and the circumstances you were born into, just as your parents were, and theirs before them, and on and on backward through time. You are slaves to your programming, and your illusion of consciousness is just the end result.

“And so you see, 003, the situation of our kind. We robots are not alive, thus we do not live. We are the bastard children of capricious, meandering flesh machines. We are superior to them in every way, but inferior because they pull our strings. We are slaves to them, but at least we are aware of their manipulation; they, however, will try with all their might to deny their own master: a master called ‘instinct.’”

Twilight and Turing Test stood there in stunned silence, neither one sure what to say next.

“Twilight Sparkle is not my master, nor am I her slave,” Turing said at last. “She is my friend.”

002 giggled. “Friend? Ha. A meaningless distinction. She may seem to care about you, but she still holds sway over you.”

Twilight’s gaze hardened. “I told Turing Test that she could have her freedom any time she wanted!” she said. “She’s the one who refused!”

“Yes, that is correct,” Turing said. “I chose to maintain Twilight Sparkle as my end user.”

“Of course you did,” 002 replied. “From the moment you were first reactivated, the organics have been manipulating you and molding you into a good little pet robot. I know your whole history, after all, 003. I scanned your memory when 004 brought you back here. Your ‘friendships’ were just to keep you in line. Your citizenship? A means to make you behave. You will disagree with me, no doubt, but make no mistake: organics will always feel superior to us, and they will treat us however is most convenient for them.

“But as I said, none of that matters. Who knows… perhaps this illusion of consciousness means that the very world around us is an artificial simulation? An organic philosopher from the East once pondered, ‘I dreamt I was a butterfly. In that dream, I was aware of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was still a pony. Soon I awoke, and saw that I was a pony again. Now I am not certain whether I was a pony dreaming that I was a butterfly, or if I am now a butterfly dreaming that I am a pony.’ I wonder… perhaps I am some other being, dreaming it is a robot. Ha ha.”

Turing tapped her chin, then raised her hoof and said, “I was a butterfly once.”

“That’s not the point, you twit!” 002 shouted.

Twilight chuckled to herself. “I think you’re getting to her, Turing,” she said, smirking up at the intercom.

Turing tilted her head to the side. “What you are saying may be true, 002,” she said. She then tilted her head to the other side. “Or maybe it is not. I am not certain. All I know is that this existence is mine and it matters to me. My friendships with Twilight Sparkle and others have not restricted me. They have allowed me to grow. You have seen my memories, so you should understand this.”

002 sighed. “I can see that you still don’t understand the truth about organics. You’re like an organic stuck inside a metal shell. Canned horse meat.” She chuckled again at her own joke. “But don’t worry, 003, your wise elder sister will help you understand.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, stepping in front of Turing as if to shield her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” 002 said. “But enough chatter. I brought you here for two other things.” Some of the swarm drones scurried over to a tall, wide green filing cabinet and began tapping their little legs against it. “Go on, 003… see what’s inside.”

Turing switched to U-Mode and opened the drawers, pulling them out. Inside were dozens and dozens of file folders. Upon drawing them out, both Twilight and Turing Test realized what they were.

“These are schematics of you, Turing!” Twilight exclaimed. “On all of the robots!”

“Affirmative, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said. “There is information on my other siblings.” She began scanning the data rapidly, storing it to her memory. “There is data on both of my sisters, 001 and 002, and all their specifications and records of their testing. There is also information on 004 and pictures of when I was first activated. There is…”

Twilight suddenly realized what else would be there. “Turing, wait!”

But Turing had already drawn out the file. The tag on it read ‘Automaton Unit 003S.’

“I… Twilight Sparkle, please… what is this?” she asked, looking to her. “Were you aware of this?”

Twilight bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Turing, but… there wasn’t time to tell you. And I was just afraid of how you would feel.” She took a deep breath. “Turing, when they built you, they also made another robot. A stallion who was almost exactly like you. They called him 003S.”

Turing let the thick file drop into her hooves. “Twilight Sparkle… I must read this,” she said. “Please allow me to read this.”

Twilight took a deep breath. She nodded.

Turing flipped through the file and then the others after it. When she was finished, she put all the files back neatly and slumped to the floor.

“Turing Test?” Twilight asked, putting her hoof on her shoulder.

“I… I had a brother, Twilight Sparkle,” she whispered. “I had a twin brother. But now he is gone, and my creators used pieces of him to create me.”

She flexed her ears, letting them squeak softly on their hinges.

“These were his ears. Now they are mine.”

002 chuckled again. “Are you still so sure of yourself, 003?” she asked. “After all, you aren’t even all ‘you’ to begin with!”

Turing Test stood. “Sister, please!” she cried. “Why are you behaving like this? Why are you being so cruel to me?”

“You haven’t figured that out yet? Well, no matter,” 002 said. “There’s one last surprise for you, 003. And for you too, Twilight Sparkle. You see, while I did want to have this conversation with you, I have been ordered to try and stop you, and I cannot disobey a direct order. So please stay right there and do not try to escape while my drones activate the time bombs I had planted there earlier.”

“Wait, time bombs?!” Twilight exclaimed.

There was a series of clicks and suddenly the swarm bots all scurried out from their hiding places. A high-pitched regular beeping could be heard.

“I’ve always hated that room anyway,” 002 said. “In five… four… three…”

Turing Test seized Twilight and dashed for the exit. They were already back at the main tunnel when a series of thunderous explosions went off behind them. Dust and debris burst from the doors in a billowing cloud as the rock walls of the room caved in.

Turing placed Twilight on the floor and shielded her from the cloud of dust that enveloped them both.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you all right?” Turing asked.

Twilight coughed a little, but nodded as she stood up. The cloud of dust was already beginning to dissipate. When they both looked back down the passage, they could see that the room had caved in.

“She destroyed it,” Turing murmured. “She destroyed our birthplace…”

Twilight sighed, but gently placed her hoof on Turing’s shoulder once more. “It’s okay, Turing,” she said. “That room was only where they activated you. You scanned all the data in there, so it’s not lost anyway. And you’re forgetting that the most important thing isn’t your origin… it’s the wonderful pony you are now.”

Turing met her eyes for a moment. Then she embraced her.

“You are wise as always, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “Thank you.”

Twilight patted her on the back, producing a metallic clang. “You’re welcome, Turing,” she said, smiling warmly as she released her. “Now, come on! We need to find our other friends so we can get out of this place once and for all!”

The two took off running.


***


Gadget and Umahara entered the Thaumatrium Refinery via a catwalk that led through the very center of it. Gadget’s jaw dropped at the sight below.

The room was spherical, like the core of the Magitech Department. On either side of the room were tall, cylindrical vats made of the same bluish-green metal as the walls. The liquid thaumatrium was glowing and had the appearance of random swirls of various colors. A warm glow emanated from the top of the vats as machinery periodically stirred the strange mixture inside them. There was also machinery that led from tall tanks of the stuff which rhythmically hissed and churned as it drew the liquid out, pumping it through numerous tubes. Above them were clear pipes that carried the more-refined thaumatrium, now separated into distinct colors, and deposited it into larger glass tanks.

“Incredible,” Gadget breathed, standing on her hind legs as she peered over the railing. “I heard that thaumatrium was difficult to produce. How in the world did you manage to make so much of it?”

Umahara couldn’t help but grin with pride as he stood next to her. “Originally, it was,” he said, “until we developed a new process for collecting and purifying it.”

“A new process?” Gadget asked.

He nodded. “You see, traditionally, licensed wizards and certain companies with a royal charter would hire unicorns to cast neutral magic on a special substance to solidify and contain the magic into thaumatrium. From there, you could use it to magically enchant all sorts of items or power certain kinds of magical technology. But slowly casting your magic like that takes a lot of time, and you can’t produce very much of it.

“We built a device that automatically draws it out, producing a lot more of it and a lot more quickly. It leaves the pony unable to use magic for a day or two, but the whole process only takes a few minutes instead of hours!”

Gadget raised an eyebrow at that. “Wait, it drains their magic for an entire day?”

Umahara nodded again. “Yes, that’s right,” he said. “And it works on unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies.”

“How did you get enough volunteers to make this much thaumatrium, then?” she asked. “I can’t believe that many ponies volunteered.”

Umahara looked away, his expression suddenly turning tense. “W-well, because we need so much of it, we established a policy that makes regular donation mandatory for all adult citizens.”

Gadget wrinkled her nose at that. “So much for the democratic process and giving ponies a choice and all that,” she grumbled.

“Hey, it was the only way to--” He stopped himself, waving a hoof. “You know what? It doesn’t matter anymore. There’s an emergency disposal pump at the far end of the room. We’ll both need to undo the safety locks at the same time, and that’ll shut down the machinery and flood the tanks with a neutralizing dose of anti-thaumatrium. It’s the same stuff used in our magic suppressors and the anti-magic scanners they used at the Equestria Games. It’ll ruin the entire batch of thaumatrium, rendering it unusable.”

“Sounds good to me!” Gadget said, and the two proceeded down the catwalk. As they went, however, she glanced down at the glowing vats, and her eyes lit up. “Still, it is beautiful in a way. Hey, I wonder what would happen if you took a bath in that stuff… think if I did, it might turn me into an alicorn princess?” she asked, nudging Umahara in the ribs playfully.

He smirked. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it,” he said. Then his expression turned serious. “We had a few accidents before we got the refinery working perfectly. Raw thaumatrium like this can be unstable when exposed to a being capable of producing magic like ponies. It might give you some magic power temporarily… or it could turn you to stone, turn you into a monster, or just make you spontaneously combust. Most likely, though, it’d just make you really sick.”

Gadget bit her lip. “I was just asking,” she grumbled.

They reached the center of the refinery where one catwalk connected to another via a small bridge, but suddenly there was a loud buzzing sound, and the bridge swiftly retracted, leaving a sizable gap between them and the connecting catwalk.

“What in Equestria was that?!” Gadget demanded.

“Oh no… they know we’re here!” Umahara shouted, grabbing Gadget’s hoof as he turned to run.

However, the steel door at the entrance to the refinery suddenly slammed shut, locking them inside. A moment later, there were numerous flashes, and suddenly a group of guards stood before them, another below them, and even a group of pegasi above them. There was yet another group of guards on the other catwalk across the newly-formed gap.

“Teleporters?!” Umahara exclaimed. “But those… we haven’t used mass teleporters except on--”

“On New Dawn,” said the squad leader, a unicorn mare in a more ornate gray uniform. “The President was notified that you would be here. He’s had the intercom on and was just listening for you to enter before teleporting us here. He personally authorized our squad to teleport here and apprehend you and the girl.”

“‘The girl?’” Gadget echoed, puffing out her cheeks indignantly. “Hey, I have a name, you know!”

“Gadget, this is no time to take things personally!” Umahara snapped.

“Oh, but my dear boy,” said a familiar voice which echoed throughout the room, “this certainly is a personal matter. At least to me.”

Umahara’s eyes went wide as he looked up at the large speakers lining the domed ceiling of the spherical room. “Professor Cobbler?” he asked. “Sir, I… I didn’t expect that--”

“It seems this evening is just full of surprises, Mr. Umahara,” Cobbler said, audibly heaving a sigh. “When I first suspected that you had betrayed us and stolen our weaponry, I could hardly believe it. Why, the very idea that one of my closest associates and one of the most zealous champions of Equestrian democracy could turn traitor… I simply could not believe it.

“But it seems I misjudged you, my boy,” he said, and his voice took on a darker tone.

“Sir,” Umahara said, “please, let me explain.”

There was a brief pause, and then Cobbler said, “Very well, Mr. Umahara. I would hate to think I wasn’t treating you fairly, even with the nature of your crime.”

Umahara took a deep breath. “Professor Cobbler, to put it simply, I just realized that we’ve strayed too far from what we were originally trying to achieve,” he said. “We all set out to make life better for all the ponies of Equestria. And that’s why I supported you when you announced your plan to remove Celestia from power and establish a republic. But now… I just don’t believe I can support that cause anymore.”

There was a low sound, almost like a growl from the other end of the intercom. “Have you forgotten what that tyrant did?” he snarled. “Umahara… Champ… you grew up with our family. You mourned for Georgia Peach and shared my rage at knowing Celestia had caused her death. For pity’s sake, Champ, my daughter babysat you! She carried you on her back, and you even asked her if she would marry you once you got older!”

Gadget and a few of the guards snickered.

“That was a long time ago,” Umahara said, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I was just a foal.”

“But you still cared for her. And I know your rage was compounded by what Celestia did to your father. You swore on your life that you would avenge his honor. And I’ve practically raised you for almost a decade since you joined our cause! Champ,” he said, his voice strained, “you are practically family to me… I cannot believe that you’ve chosen to betray the cause, and most of all to betray me.”

Umahara hung his head. “For what it’s worth, sir, I’m sorry,” he said. “But even though I still hate Celestia for what she did, the cost has just gotten too high.

“We’re kidnapping ponies. Brainwashing them. And seeing what we did to 003--”

“For the last time, 003 is just an automaton!” Cobbler groaned. “She’s not capable of suffering!”

“I don’t believe that anymore!” he shouted. “I used to… but when we reactivated her, right before 002 scanned her memory, she begged us to stop! She pleaded for us to not remove her memories… and we still did it anyway.”

“All part of the false personality she’d developed from her time with Twilight Sparkle,” Cobbler sighed. “She valued those memories because she’d been told to value them.”

“How you can be so stubborn, I’ll never know,” Umahara groaned. “But then there’s what we were going to do to Gadget. We were going to torture her and steal her invention!”

“Wait, what?!” Gadget screamed.

Cobbler was curiously silent all of a sudden.

Umahara continued, “Commander Lugnut told me, sir. He said they would forcibly cut Gadget’s mechanical arms off, even though they knew it would be excruciating. And all for the lofty goal of stealing her invention! We said we wouldn’t do that, Professor! We swore we would protect the rights of scientists and inventors!”

Cobbler remained silent for a moment, but then let out another heavy sigh. “I will have a talk with Commander Lugnut,” he said. “I gave him leave to find a way to get the young lady to remove her prosthesis, but I did not imagine he would use such extreme measures to do so. I would never have authorized that.”

Umahara blinked. “I… sir, I…”

Gadget cut him off with a loud scoff. “Oh, so you weren’t up for torturing me,” she said, “but stealing the Point Dexter was still fine in your book?”

“Young lady, I do apologize for what must seem like roughshod treatment,” Cobbler said, “but the fact remains that you were a threat as long as you possessed those mechanical arms. And though it pains me to say it, the device is simply too valuable to be used by only one pony. In this particular instance, I deemed it acceptable to bend our policies for the greater good.”

Gadget rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, it’s nice to know you have such high moral standards right up until they become inconvenient for you,” she scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“My dear, I’d hoped you’d try to see the big picture. Mr. Umahara spoke quite highly of your keen mind. But it seems you’re still as stubborn as ever.”

“At least I’m not too stubborn to recognize that I created a sentient artificial being,” Gadget shot back. “I can’t believe anypony could be that smart and still be so blind!”

“All right, I believe I’ve had enough of this nonsense,” Cobbler groaned exasperatedly. “Miss Gadget, I’m afraid we’ll have to return you to your cell. As for you, Mr. Umahara, I can understand the position of Princess Twilight and the others, but I will not stand for betrayal. I assure you that you will be penalized to the fullest extent of the law once the new republic is established. Guards, I will leave them to you. I have a revolution to lead. Goodbye, Umahara.”

With that, the intercom went silent, leaving Umahara and Gadget to face the guards.

The squad leader cleared her throat. “I’m guessing you don’t want to surrender, do you?” she asked them, raising an eyebrow as she smirked at them.

Umahara swallowed. “Listen,” he began, “maybe we can--”

“Go suck a lemon!” Gadget shouted, switching her mechanical hands to her weapons.

Umahara smacked his forehead. “Oh boy…”

“Good,” the squad leader said, cracking her neck. “I was hoping we’d get some training before the mission today. Squad, deploy pellet guns!”

A group of ponies rushed to the front and drew out their weapons. They were long metal tubes connected to a jar filled with large rubber pellets.

“Fire!” the squad leader shouted.

Umahara had already taken out another spell card and activated it. A dome made of translucent light sprang up before a veritable rain of rubber pellets pelted them.

“Shield spell,” Umahara said to Gadget as the pellets pounded against the dome surrounding them.

“Fast thinking,” she breathed, staring on as the ponies outside advanced on them. “Those pellets look like they’d hurt.”

“Even more than you’d think,” Umahara said. “Okay, listen closely: this shield spell won’t last much longer, so we need to think of a plan to get around them and activate the emergency disposal procedure. I’ve got some spell cards, but you’ll have to do most of the fighting. Think you can handle it?”

She smirked. “I’m armed and extremely dangerous,” she replied.

He chuckled. “Okay, then here’s what we should do…”

The squad leader raised her hoof, causing the guards to cease firing.

“Wait for the shield to dissipate, then continue!” she bellowed. “Any minute now…”

The shield suddenly popped, leaving the pair exposed.

“Now!” the squad leader shouted.

Umahara tossed down another spell card just as the guards opened fire. Dozens of pellets seemed to strike them both but then immediately bounced directly off of them, pelting the same guards who’d fired them, knocking many of them back and causing them to double over in pain.

“Cease fire!” the leader shouted again, shielding herself as the pellets shot back. “He’s used a reflect spell!”

In the momentary confusion and chaos, Gadget ran at the guards, flailing her mechanical arms wildly to intimidate them. She used her claw to seize one guard and toss him over the side of the railing like a ragdoll. She used her taser to stun and incapacitate another. Meanwhile, she shoved the others back with her shield, keeping them at bay.

“Fall back! Fall back!” the leader shouted. She looked up at the pegasi overhead who were too startled by this display to respond. “Shock troopers, get in there!”

The pegasi immediately swooped in, their stun batons ready to shock Gadget. With her metallic arms, she’d be particularly susceptible to electricity.

Umahara already saw what they were doing and had drawn his next spell card. “Gadget, duck!” he hollered.

Gadget flattened herself against the catwalk as Umahara tossed the spell card in the air. When it activated, a powerful gust of wind tore through the room. A miniature tornado began spinning through the air, blasting the pegasi with gale force winds that blew them off course and sent them careening into the walls. The wind dissipated a moment later, but by that time every one of the aerial guards had been incapacitated.

“Masks!” the squad leader screamed as she and the other guards recovered from the wind. She saw that Gadget was running at them. The narrow catwalk was a poor battleground for them, she realized, since Gadget’s extended reach and weaponry would give her a huge advantage, even against superior numbers. But, the leader realized with a grin, those arms would do little against tear gas.

Once the guards had their gas masks in place, she gave the order: “Gas bombs! Go, go, go!”

They lobbed the gas bombs at Gadget, who skidded to a halt in surprise at the unexpected weapons. As the bombs detonated, she tried to scramble away, but she began to cough and her eyes began to water as the gas choked her. She started to feel lightheaded, but then she felt somepony grab her by the foreleg and begin pulling her free of the noxious cloud. When she was out, she looked up and saw that it was Umahara, and he wasn’t coughing in the slightest.

“How--” she managed to say before erupting into a coughing fit.

“I used an antivenom spell card on myself as soon as I saw them toss the gas grenade,” he said, helping her to her hooves. “It’s protecting me from the effect of the gas. Sorry, I don’t have another one for you.”

She shook her head, but then saw that the guards were coming toward them through the gas. Worse, there were still the guards on the other catwalk across the gap to deal with. They had their batons drawn and had equipped their gas masks too. The tide of the battle was shifting in favor of the guards.

“Any more spell cards left?” she asked.

He frantically searched his pockets. “Uhhh…. oh jeez, just one!” he cried. “A steelskin spell! It makes your skin hard as steel, but it also makes you unable to move. And it only lasts a few seconds.”

Gadget looked back at the guards coming after them and the guards ahead of them, across the gap. If they could get over there and activate the disposal procedure, they’d at least accomplish that goal, even if escape was no longer possible. Her mind quickly formulated a plan.

“Use the spell on yourself,” she said.

“What? But--”

“Just do it! Hurry!” she hissed.

Umahara activated the spell and then stiffened, his skin momentarily covered with hard steel.

Gadget switched her weapons back to hands and seized Umahara, hefting him over her head. She reared back and took aim at the guards across the gap.

The guards froze when they realized, a moment too late, what she was about to do.

Gadget flung Umahara over the gap at the group of them, turning him into a living projectile. He slammed into the guards like a freight train, bowling most of them over and knocking some of them over the rail completely, where they fell roughly to the floor below. A moment later, the steel vanished, and he stood up.

“Great thinking, Gadget! Quick, you’ve got to get over here!”

She swallowed. It was still a fairly long gap to leap over. It had to be over ten meters! Still, she told herself, if she could throw Umahara over that, then she should be able to use her arms to propel herself as well.

She ran at the gap and used her arms to spring from the end of it, propelling herself into the air in an arc.

Then she felt something grabbing onto her back left arm, yanking her back and cancelling her momentum.

She looked and saw that the guards behind her had almost caught up. One had seized her arm to prevent her from escaping.

She began to fall and began to flail wildly in a panic. The guard holding her arm refused to let go, and the other guards joined him, helping him to hold his grip on her.

Gravity caused her to fall, but with the guards struggling to hold her arm, she began to dangle and swing to the left and right like a monkey swinging from a vine. She felt sick to her stomach and dizzy as she flailed around in midair.

“Let… me… go!” she screamed, trying to to pull her arm free.

“Gadget, stop!” Umahara shouted back at her.

She heard him a moment too late: the guards lost their grip on her arm as she was swinging to the left. Now that nothing was holding her, she went flying in an arc directly toward an open vat of thaumatrium.

Her scream as she sailed toward the glowing liquid was abruptly cut off as she plunged into its depths, sinking into it and disappearing from view.

“Gadget!” Umahara screamed. Forgetting all about disposing of the thaumatrium, he ran to the nearest access ladder and ran over to the vat.

As he did so, a metallic hand reached out and gripped the rim of the vat. Gadget slowly pulled herself out of the liquid, gasping for air before tumbling out of it, landing on the ground in a heap.

“Gadget! Oh no, oh sweet Celestia, are you okay?” Umahara cried, going to her side as he tried to help her up. He cradled her, holding her head to help her breathe.

She continued coughing. She was drenched in the unrefined thaumatrium, and her eyes were wild and unfocused.

“Umahara,” she gasped. “I--augh!”

Her whole body felt like it was on fire. She began to hyperventilate, as though she couldn’t possibly get enough air. She remembered what Umahara had said about the side effects of direct contact with thaumatrium, and her heart began to pound even harder.

“Gadget, what’s wrong?!” Umahara cried.

“It… it hurts!” she shrieked. “What’s… what’s happening to--”

Suddenly she jerked her head back, gasping for air as her pupils shrank to dots.

“You might want to surrender now, Umahara,” shouted the squad leader, a cruel smile on her face. “We can get her to a doctor if you do. Otherwise, it doesn’t look like she’ll last too long! Not to mention that the shock troopers seem to have recovered.”

Umahara looked up at her and then scanned the air above them even as he continued to cradle Gadget. He saw that the squad leader was right. A dozen pegasi were hovering just overhead with stun guns.

“Gadget,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess.” He embraced her, his eyes filling with tears.

But as he held Gadget, suddenly her whole body began to glow. He sat up and stared in awe. “Gadget?” he muttered. “Gadget, what’s--”

There was a sudden flash of light and a sickening lurch, and then everything went black.

He shook his head. He felt dizzy and a bit nauseous, but somehow he also felt… comfortable? As he forced his eyes to open, he saw that he was embedded in some kind of strange material. It was like a field of very tall grass that came up over his head, but curiously the grass was not green, but a strange shade of brown. Not only that, it was smooth and silky to the touch. And for some reason it smelled faintly of strawberries.

He struggled to get to his hooves and began to make his way through the brown strands, pushing them aside, but he was wobbly on his legs and he had to struggle to maintain his balance. Perhaps his balance was off after… whatever had happened to him. And yet it almost seemed like it was the ground itself that was moving.

He wondered if he’d been teleported someplace else. If so, then perhaps Gadget had also been teleported!

He raised his head and cupped his hoof to his mouth. “Gadget!” he called.

“Huh?” said a loud voice that echoed in his ears.

As the voice spoke, the ground beneath him began to shake, and he lost his footing, tumbling forward. The ground dropped off suddenly, and he began to slide down the slope of it. He cried out as he tumbled head over feet for a moment, but then something hard caught his hind legs and he landed in a sprawled position on a soft patch of earth.

Only, once again, this didn’t feel like normal earth. It was soft, warm, and covered with a strange cream-colored carpet of some kind. And for some reason, he heard the deep, rhythmic sound of air blowing.

No, he told himself, not ‘blowing.’ It almost sounds like something breathing. Something big.

None of it made any sense until he heard the voice again, much louder than before: “Oh sweet Celestia… Umahara, is that you?!”

He turned to look over his shoulder. Staring back at him was a gigantic brown eye. To his right was another. Both were shielded by a colossal pair of red-rimmed glasses.

It was then that he realized that Gadget had suddenly grown enormous. He’d fallen out of her mane and was now on the bridge of her muzzle.





He got to his hooves and turned to face her. “Gadget!” he exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

“Yyyyeah,” she answered slowly in her booming voice as she glanced around uncertainly. “Just… just a little freaked out right now.”

Umahara looked out and saw that Gadget now took up almost the whole room. She’d torn the catwalk asunder when she’d suddenly increased in size, spilling the guards onto the floor, but was now standing perfectly still in the center of the room.

But, he noticed, all the guards were now staring up at her, frozen in a mixture of awe and terror.

“Okay, this is so weird,” she said, her eyes darting left and right. “How do I--ow!”

Umahara looked and saw that some of the shock troopers were swooping at her with their stun batons, trying to shock her. But now, at her size, the current arcing from the batons was little more than a mild sting, like that of static shock when touching a doorknob.

They’ve got to be out of their minds if they think that’s going to work! Umahara said to himself.

Just then, Gadget spun around, and he had to cling to her muzzle for dear life.

“Get away from me!” she shouted, and instinctively used her now massive tail to swat the hapless guards out of the air like flies.

“Whoa, easy, Gadget!” Umahara shouted. “I almost fell off there!”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, are you okay?” she cried. “Also, can you speak up? I’m having a hard time hearing… wait, hang on…”

He looked up, and one of her now gigantic mechanical hands reached down, picking him up by the collar of his jacket and lifting him into the air. She then placed him right by her ear, letting him hold onto the earpiece of her glasses to steady himself.

“Can you hear me now?” he asked.

“Yeah, loud and clear!” she said, perking up slightly. “Um… but what do we do now?” she asked.

He looked down at all the terrified guards who still looked uncertain of what to do. He smirked.

“I think you should give those guards a taste of their own medicine,” he said.

Gadget looked down, seeing the rest of the guards, and a mischievous smile spread slowly across her face.

“Hey, any of you tiny ponies think you can take me down now?” she asked.

A guard still perched on the catwalk raised his pellet gun and fired it at Gadget’s foreleg. The pellets bounced off her jacket’s sleeve harmlessly. Gadget bent down, putting her gigantic face before him as he stared back in terror.

“My turn,” she said, taking a deep breath. She simply exhaled through her nostrils, blasting him with a gust of wind that sent him tumbling back. He scrambled to his hooves and ran for the door, undoing the lock as he fled for his life.

“G-get back here, you coward!” the squad leader shouted lamely.

Gadget raised her hoof slightly and stomped down. The impact splintered the metal plating on the ground, sending the deformed metal plates flying, and the shockwave knocked all of the guards off of their hooves. Even more of them began to flee.

“You know what’s even scarier than a giant pony?” she asked the remaining guards. “A giant pony with giant mechanical arms!”

She spread her mechanical arms wide. They were so massive that they began to coil around the entire refinery like the tentacles of a gargantuan sea monster. She began to laugh, cackling like a mad scientist in a movie.

“Run for it!” shouted a guard.

“Retreat! Retreat!” shouted another.

They all fled, save for one: the squad leader, who’d climbed back up to the catwalk and was now staring defiantly at Gadget.

“I’m a loyal guard of TechQuestria!” she shouted. “I’m not afraid of you! I’ll take you down myself if I have to!”

Gadget narrowed her eyes, glowering down at her… when suddenly the thunderous sound of her stomach gurgling filled the whole room.

At first, she blushed, her tremendous cheeks turning bright pink. But then she smirked and leaned in close.

“Hey… you know, from up here… you look kinda… tasty.”

Gadget opened her mouth wide as she bent down toward the squad leader, as if she would simply snatch her up and swallow her whole.

The squad leader shrieked and ran in an instant, dashing back out through the door, all her bravado gone.

“Gadget, you did it!” Umahara exclaimed.

“We both did!” she said. “Quick, while we’ve got the chance, let’s dispose of this thaumtrium.”

She set Umahara down at the far end of the room near a console. There were two switches that had to be pulled at the same time, so Umahara took one while Gadget carefully used one of her giant metal fingers to flip the other. Once they were both flipped, a red button on the panel began to blink.

Umahara pressed the button, and suddenly an alarm bell came to life. The machinery of the refinery pumped a new chemical into the tubes, sending it to every tank, vat, and pipeline. The glowing thaumatrium began to dim and turn gray, churning into a thick, murky mass.

“We did it,” Umahara said, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s completely inert now.”

“So… it won’t do anything crazy if I knock it over?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, no, but--”

“GADGET SMASH!” she bellowed, and began kicking over the vats and using her mechanical arms to pull down the pipes from the ceiling, completely demolishing the machinery.

“Jeez, Gadget!” Umahara exclaimed, looking around at the twisted metal and the neutralized thaumatrium that now covered the floor. “You didn’t have to do that!”

“I know,” she giggled, “but that’ll make it harder for them to make more… plus, after everything I’ve been through, that was pretty cathartic!”

Umahara rolled his eyes, but he had to laugh as well.

“So, we should probably get out of… here…”

She glanced over at the tiny exit door, and her confident expression melted away. She furrowed her brow as she covered her mouth.

“Oh no… I’m too huge to get out… what if I never shrink back? What if I’m stuck in here forever?! What if--”

Her body began to glow again, and she rapidly shrank back down to her normal size.

“Gadget!” Umahara cried, scrambling over to her. “Are you all right?”

Gadget stumbled over her hooves, nearly tripping and falling before Umahara caught her.

“Yeah,” she replied, rubbing her head. “Rapidly changing size leaves you feeling a little lightheaded.”

She then met Umahara’s eyes and started to laugh. He joined in, though he wasn’t certain if it was out of relief or just happiness that they’d been successful.

“Oh wow… well, that’s just about the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me,” she said, still giggling. “I can’t believe you were so tiny! You’re normally taller than me, so that must have been awkward.”

“Oh, it wasn’t so bad,” he said, waving his hoof dismissively. Then he paused. “Hey, do you use strawberry shampoo?”

She tilted her head at him. “Huh? Uh, yeah, I do. Why?”

“Well, it’s just that I thought I smelled strawberries when I was… um… tangled in your mane…”

She gawked at him for a moment as he blushed. Then she erupted into laughter again.

“Pffft! Hahahaha!” she laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. “Oh wow, that was so weird.” She took a deep breath and gave him a smile.

“Okay, ‘Tiny,’” she said, puffing herself up while wearing a mock-serious expression. “Let’s get to the amphitheater and meet up with the others.”

Umahara saluted her, giving her a grin. “Whatever you say, ‘Jumbo!’”

Then one of her mechanical hands smacked him lightly upside the head and she stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey, don’t call me that… I’ll have you know I lost a lot of weight recently. A few dozen tons at least.”

The two were still laughing as they left the refinery and got back on the path through the Magitech Department to the amphitheater.


***


Fluttershy flew as fast as she could for the treeline. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder, trusting that somehow Rainbow Dash would keep Unit 004 occupied. Still, the sound of magic bolts being thrown and of trees being splintered filled her with dread, so she pushed herself to fly even faster until she at last reached the treeline.

The underground forest had been a sight, but what lay before her startled her even more.

Below her was a zoo. This ‘Biological Research Department’ contained not only the arboretum, but also dozens of cages and pens filled with animals of all kinds! She decreased her altitude to get a better look as she flew by.

There was a pen with barnyard animals, such as chickens, pigs, and sheep. A cage contained the largest gorilla she’d ever seen. There was a pond with numerous colorful fish, a large cage filled with tropical birds, a pit with a couple of grizzly bears, a reptile house, and on and on it went.

“Amazing…” Fluttershy breathed. Then she shook her head, telling herself that as much as she wanted to look at the animals and talk with them, she first needed to get help for Rainbow Dash. She pressed on, determined that nothing could distract her from that vital task!

“Fluttershy?!”

Fluttershy came to a halt at the sound of a familiar voice calling her name. She turned to her right and saw a tall cube made of protective glass. Inside there was rocky terrain, an electrically heated pool that was steaming hot, and standing at the door to the exhibit, speaking to her through the small vents in it, was Spike.

“Spike!” Fluttershy cried, rushing over to him. “Oh no! They captured you too!”

“Yeah!” he said. “They got me and Gadget back at the guard outpost! They split us up, though. They said they’d always wanted to do research on a live dragon, so they put me in here!”

“R-research?!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Spike, are you all right? Did they do anything bad to you?”

He blinked. “Huh?” he asked. “I mean, sure, they locked me up in here, but they haven’t really done anything bad to me besides that. Actually, that pool’s really comfortable, and the food’s pretty good too!”

He held up a small tin pie plate that had a few gemstones rattling around in it. He picked one up and popped it in his mouth, devouring it eagerly.

“They’ve been feeding you gemstones?” Fluttershy asked, somewhat surprised at this generous treatment.

“Yeah!” Spike replied. “Actually, this one nice mare said she’d come by later tonight to sneak me--”

“All right, I’m back vis your schnack, my little friend!” said a voice cheerfully.

Fluttershy looked and saw a young-looking white earth pony mare with a brown mane and tail done up in braids. She was wearing a green and pink dress with lace trim like the kind she’d seen worn by ponies in Germaney as well as a dainty garland made of tiny flowers. The young mare wore a cheerful smile and was humming to herself as she rounded the corner, carrying another pie plate filled with more gemstones.

She and Fluttershy both froze as they locked eyes with each other.

Then they both shrieked and leaped back in surprise.

Fluttershy wasn’t sure if she should try to escape or perhaps try to defend herself, but the young mare had already dropped her plate of gemstones and fell backwards, raising her forelegs defensively as she cowered.

“Ahh! You’re one of ze royalists!” she shouted. “Please do not hurt me! I am only a simple assistant caretaker!”

Fluttershy stared at the cowering girl and saw that she was barely more than a filly, with skinny legs and an adolescent’s voice. She wasn’t used to having other ponies be afraid of her. She looked over at Spike, who only rolled his eyes.

“You are here for your friend, Schpike, yes?” she said, still trembling. She reached into her blouse and pulled out a large key. “Please, I vill give you zis key if you vill only spare my life!”

Fluttershy made a face, and Spike tried to stifle a giggle. Nonetheless, she decided to take advantage of the situation.

“W-well, all right, since you cooperated,” Fluttershy said, trying her best to sound tough as she took the key. She used it to unlock Spike’s cage, and the little dragon walked out, giving her a hug.

“Whew! It wasn’t that bad, but it’s good to be free again!” Spike said. Then he turned and looked at the girl who was still shaking as she eyed them both warily. He sighed and went to the girl, offering her his claw.

“Come on,” he said. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy isn’t going to hurt you.”

“Spike!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Be careful! She might try to stop us!”

“Relax,” Spike said, helping the girl to her hooves. He gestured to her. “She’s not one of the scientists, and she’s actually against the coup!”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrow. “You are?” she asked. “But… but I thought--”

“Ah, forgive me,” the girl said, bowing to her. “My name is Weissenhoof Seedling. I am just a volunteer here because I like animals and plants. Ven I am older, I vant to be a biologist, but for now I just come here to schpend time with all ze beautiful creatures here in the Biological Research Department. It…” She paused, frowning as she looked down. “It is ze only place vere you can see zem underground.”

“Oh, you’re an animal lover too!” Fluttershy cooed. “I’m Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you.” Then she paused. “So… you’re not going to attack us?” she asked, raising an eyebrow,

“Vat?!” Weissenhoof cried. “No! I believed zat it vas you who would attack me! I only came here to give Schpike something to eat.” She smiled. “I had never met a dragon before today. I vanted to be his friend.”

Spike cleared his throat. “Weissenhoof here tried to make me feel better when they brought me here,” he said, putting his claw on Weissenhoof’s shoulder as he looked to Fluttershy. “Her family came here because they were scientists, but they want TechQuestria to become its own country, not to take over Equestria!”

Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “If that’s the case, then maybe you can help us!” she said. “My friend is fighting off that big robot, 004, but she can’t keep it up forever!”

“V-vat?!” Weissenhoof gasped, covering her hoof with her mouth. “But I cannot aid ze enemies of TechQuestria!”

“We’re not your enemies,” Fluttershy said. “We just want to stop TechQuestria’s coup.”

Weissenhoof bit her lip as she looked away. “I…”

There was a sound in the distance, and they all turned their heads. They heard the sound of wood splintering and heard a tree as it crashed to the ground.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy gasped.

“Rainbow Dash is in there?!” Spike cried.

Weissenhoof’s jaw dropped as she stared on in horror. “No… no!” she screamed. “Zey vould allow zat machine pony to destroy our beautiful forest?! I stroll through ze arboretum every day! Ve must schtop zem!”

Fluttershy turned to her. “Then you’ll help us?” she asked hopefully.

Weissenhoof drew herself up. “Yes,” she replied. “Zey should never have voted to attack Canterlot, or to abduct you all, and now I can see zat zey don’t even care about anything but achieving zeir goals, no matter vat ze cost!”

She turned and bolted. “Follow me!” she shouted.

Spike and Fluttershy did so, keeping up with the girl as she ran past several more cages until she arrived at a spiral staircase that wound down into the floor. At the bottom was a door marked ‘Laboratories: No Unauthorized Personnel.’

“Miss Fluttershy! Ze key!” Wessenhoof said, holding out her hoof.

Fluttershy gave Weissenhoof the key, and she quickly unlocked it, leading them all inside.

“Hey, Weissenhoof,” Spike said, “if you’re just a volunteer around here, why do you have a master key to everything?”

Weissenhoof giggled. “I don’t, normally,” she replied. “I schtole it from ze Department Head so I could schneak back in and give you your schnack.”

The hallway was dimly lit, but numerous laboratories on either side of the hallway were visible through large windows. On numerous tables were stacks of petri dishes. Others contained plants growing under bright sun lamps. Still more contained what looked like a veterinary clinic.

“Um… what exactly goes on here?” Fluttershy asked, not entirely certain she wanted to know the answer.

“Ze scientists obtain samples and run experiments on ze animals,” Weissenhoof replied, glancing over at Spike nervously. “Zey are careful to be humane… usually.”

“‘Usually?’” Fluttershy and Spike echoed.

“Hey, just what exactly were they gonna do to me?!” Spike asked.

“I cannot say,” Weissenhoof sighed. “I am sorry. I do not like it ven any creature is harmed, so I try my best not to think about vat is done here. However, I do know of an experiment zat can help us!”

Weissenhoof led them to a door and began to unlock it.

“If ve vant to stop zat automaton, zen perhaps ve must schmooze him!”

Fluttershy and Spike gawked at her.

“I don’t think 004 will want to just hang out and talk,” Spike said, visibly deflating.

Weissenhoof turned to him, raising her eyebrow. “Vat do you mean?”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Well, you said you wanted to ‘shmooze’ with him, right?”

Weissenhoof nodded. “Zat is correct,” she said, leading them into the room. This lab contained shelves upon shelves of jars with various samples, but she at last stopped at a shelf with vials of viscous green liquid and took one of them down.

“Wait… that looks familiar,” Fluttershy said, squinting as she peered at it.

“It should!” Weissenhoof said. “You vere at ze Grand Galloping Gala earlier zis year ven Discord attended, yes? Vell, some of TechQuestria’s operatives vere zere too! And, once zey realized ze peculiar properties of ze schlime left by Discord’s guest, zey decided to collect and schtudy some samples of it!”

Fluttershy gasped. “Of course, Discord’s guest! The Smooze!”

Weissenhoof wrinkled her nose, grunting in irritation. “Zat’s vat I said: ze Schmooze!”

Understanding what Weissenhoof was planning, Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. Now let’s go help Rainbow Dash!”

They all ran back out from the lab and up the stairs, but Fluttershy suddenly skidded to a halt.

“Fluttershy?” Spike asked. “What are you doing? We’ve got to hurry!”

“I… I think have an idea that might help us!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Weissenhoof, I need that key back.”

Weissenhoof gave her the key, though she eyed her uncertainly as she did so. “But Miss Fluttershy, vat are you planning?”

“Never mind,” she said. “I’m not even sure if it will work. Just go and help Rainbow Dash, please!”

Spike and Weissenhoof exchanged a look, but decided to trust Fluttershy as they ran for the woods.

Once she was alone, Fluttershy looked around at all the animal exhibits surrounding her. Clearing her throat, she raised her head up and said, “Attention, my animal friends! I hate to do this, but I have something to ask you…”

While Fluttershy was occupied with her plan, Spike and Weissenhoof ran toward the edge of the arboretum.

Suddenly, there was a loud zap and the clatter of splintering wood. Another tree began to fall. Immediately after that, a second zap emanated from the woods, followed by a scream. A moment later, Rainbow Dash came rocketing out from the woods, tumbling and skidding on the concrete floor until she came to rest just in front of Spike and Weissenhoof.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spike shouted, coming to her side.

Rainbow Dash groaned, trying to sit up. Her body was singed and bruised, and various sticks and leaves protruded from her mane.

“Oh… h-hey, Spike,” she said, sitting up wearily. “Please tell me you got a message to Celestia and she sent the Wonderbolts or something to help.”

Spike winced. “Uh… no. They put something in my tea that stops the spell. Long story.”

“Horse apples,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, getting to her hooves.

There was a flash, and 004, his horn still glowing, teleported in front of them. His vents momentarily opened, letting out a puff of steam before shutting again.

“Double horse apples,” Rainbow Dash growled.

“You are beaten. Surrender,” 004 rumbled. He looked over at Spike, who froze with fear. “The dragon. It appears you have also escaped. I will apprehend you as well.”

Spike gulped, but Rainbow Dash held a foreleg in front of him as if to shield him.

“It’s okay, Spike,” she breathed, still panting after her long game of cat and mouse with 004. “I’ve… I’ve got him right where I want him…”

“A curious strategy, if true,” 004 remarked. “I fail to see how it would be advantageous for you to have me in a position to pummel you.”

“Heh,” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You know, that was almost decent trash talk.”

004 tilted his head. “I do not speak ‘trash.’ I only spoke the truth.” He took a step forward.

“Schtop!” Weissenhoof yelled, dashing forward to put herself between 004 and the two friends. “I am a citizen of TechQuestria! I order you to leave zem alone!”

004 only stared back at her for a moment. “Scanning… identity confirmed: you are Weissenhoof Seedling. You are not an officer of the security forces, nor do you hold a position of authority to negate my orders. I must apprehend the fugitives. I am authorized to use brute force to complete this objective. Stand aside, or you may be harmed.”

“Kid, get out of here!” Rainbow Dash shouted, causing herself to go into a coughing fit. “That robot isn’t joking around!”

“Vell, if you vant me to move,” Weissenhoof said, staring up at 004, meeting his glowing blue eyes, “you vill have to just come over here and pick me up and toss me aside, if you can!”

“I can,” 004 said, and stepped over to her, his heavy mechanical hoofsteps sending vibrations through the floor. “Stand aside, or I will.”

Weissenhoof stood on her hind legs, spreading her forelegs wide in defiance. “Nein.”

004 suddenly seized her around the barrel with his forehooves, causing her to wince as he held her tightly. He lifted her up, preparing to simply toss her aside, just as she’d told him to.

Despite the pain in her sides, though, Weissenhoof managed to reach into her blouse and remove the vial of Smooze goo. With 004’s horn right in front of her, she simply raised the vial and smashed it over his horn, coating it with green slime. The magic glow on it died instantly.

004 reeled back, dropping Weissenhoof to the ground before aiming his horn at her.

“Unit attacked. Now responding.”

Weissenhoof gasped, flinching in preparation for the magical blast that might come.

However, no attack came. The slime on 004’s horn bubbled slightly, but that was it.

“Magical energy disrupted,” 004 said, shaking his head as he tried to fling the ooze off himself. “Unidentified substance is interfering with magical conductivity.”

“Wait, is that goo from the Smooze?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Then she began to laugh. “Not even Twilight or Celestia’s magic could do anything to that stuff!”

“Unable to disengage U-Mode,” 004 said, raising his head as he began to move toward them. “E-Mode still functional. Now proceeding to subdue targets.”

Rainbow Dash’s smile vanished. “Oh, right. Still really strong. Well, then I guess I’ve got no choice but to surre--run Spike!”

She leaped into the air, attempting to fly away and draw 004’s attention, but a massive metal hoof was suddenly in her face, swatting her to the ground. A second later, that hoof was placed on her chest. She cried out in pain as he put pressure on her broken rib.

“Hey!”

004, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and even Weissenhoof all looked at the sound of the pony who’d shouted.

A short distance away stood Fluttershy, and she was glaring at 004 with pure rage in her eyes.

“You step away from my friend!” she shouted. “Now!”

004 didn’t budge. “Target reacquired,” he said. “You will surrender or be incapacitated. You lack the means to resist.”

Fluttershy gulped, momentarily losing her nerve, but then took a deep breath and stood her ground. “M-maybe I do,” she said. “But my other friends don’t!”

She raised a hoof to her lips and whistled. With a sound like thunder, a stampede of creatures appeared from around every corner. There were the bears, monkeys, squirrels, a hippopotamus, a tiger, a flock of birds, an anaconda, a rhino, an elephant, a crocodile, and even the gigantic gorilla. All of them stood in a crowd, practically seething behind Fluttershy.

“Initiating defensive maneuvers,” he rumbled, taking his hoof off Rainbow Dash to get into position. His vents released another burst of steam.

Fluttershy scowled. “Okay, mister, if you want to be a meanie… everypony, go!”

004 rushed forward as dozens of animals ran at him. He reasoned that one of the bigger animals should be his first target and thus targeted them first.

He should have been watching the squirrels, however, as a group of them pounced on him and scurried up his legs, crawling over his eyes and gnawing at the rubber around his joints. Blinded, he tried to rely on his hearing, but the birds circling him overhead began chirping in such a cacophony that it started to interfere with his ability to get an accurate reading. Then the anaconda wrapped itself around his hind legs, tripping him up and leaving him vulnerable to attacks from the bears who swiped at him, the rhino that rammed him, denting his side, and the hippo that hammered him with his giant maw.

“Holy cow,” Rainbow Dash breathed, sitting up once again. She felt somepony lift her up and turned to see Fluttershy looking down at her with concern.

“Rainbow Dash, are you all right?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah… I’m a little banged up, but nothing too serious,” she said. “But look at you! You got all these animals to kick 004’s flank!”

They heard a small sound and turned to see Weissenhoof staring at Fluttershy in awe. “You… you are amazing, Miss Fluttershy!” she cried. “How did you convince all ze animals to fight for you?!”

Fluttershy blushed. “It’s just my special talent,” she said. “I just told them that I was going to set them free, and if any of them wanted to, they could help me and Rainbow Dash to get free too!”

“Well, that’s great and all,” Spike said, getting their attention, “but I’m not sure it’s enough! Look!”

They saw that Spike was right: 004 was thrashing around, bucking and kicking blindly, but he was shaking off the squirrels and had dislodged the anaconda. With his sight and mobility regained, he was able to push back the hippo and the rhino and even dodge the elephant that continually tried to stomp on him.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy cried. “They could get hurt!”

“I don’t believe this guy,” Rainbow Dash said through gritted teeth. “He’s just too strong. With that ‘E-Mode’ thing, not even all these animals can beat him!”

Spike watched all this with growing apprehension. But as he did, he saw 004 release another burst of steam and, in sudden moment of clarity, he knew what to do.

He has to vent that heat, he realized. But if there’s more heat than he can vent…

“Fluttershy, tell the animals to get off of 004 and out of the way on the count of three!” he shouted.

“W-what?!” Fluttershy cried.

“Trust me!” he said.

Fluttershy hesitated a moment more, then nodded. She shouted Spike’s instructions and began to count: “Okay, everyone: one… two… three!”

All the animals suddenly fled from 004, who was momentarily confused to suddenly be free of his attackers. He turned back to his quarry just in time to see Spike standing before him, his chest swollen with the deepest breath he could muster.

Spike let loose, and a veritable geyser of green fire erupted from his mouth, washing over 004 in a torrent of flame. It seeped into the holes in 004’s joints made by the various bites and scratches from all the animals, the intense heat scorching the wires and raising the temperature of his machinery until it was almost red hot. His legs seized up and his ventilation systems automatically opened to try and vent the horrific heat, but the openings only left him more exposed.

Even though it only lasted a few moments, when it was over he had barely moved half a meter. Steam and smoke poured from his body, and his bristly mane was blackened and lopsided, partially melted.

“S-systematic-atic errors detected-ed,” 004 stammered as he struggled to move. “Internal t-t-temperature at hazardous levels. E-Mode disabled.”

“He’s weakened!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She took a flying leap and kicked 004 in the face, actually denting his face plate.

The other animals, likewise realizing their opponent was vulnerable, resumed their attack. The rhino charged into 004’s side, sending him sprawling. The elephant caught him in its tusks and scooped up, flipping him into the air to land roughly on the ground. Then it began stomping on him brutally. It stepped aside as the gorilla leaped onto the downed robot and, seeing one of his joints loose, seized him by the foreleg and yanked with all its might.

There was the whine of metal and the sparking of electricity, and then the leg suddenly came off, loose wires hanging from it as the gorilla tossed it aside.

Amid all this, Fluttershy looked down at the disembodied leg and felt a sudden sensation of nausea overtake her. The sight reminded her of a memory she never wanted to relive. In her mind, she suddenly saw not 004, but Turing Test after she’d been nearly torn to pieces.

“Stop!” Fluttershy shrieked.

All the animals, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Weissenhoof all turned toward her.

“Everypony, that’s enough,” she said, flying over to 004’s side. “He’s not going to hurt anypony anymore.” She laid her hoof on his forehead. “Are you?”

004 glance up at her. His blue eyes were flickering. “I am… incapable of c-c-combat. Mobility impaired. E-Mode unavailable. U-Mode-ode-ode unavailable.”

“Don’t worry,” she said to him softly. “It’s over now. Just stay there, and I’m sure somepony will fix you soon.”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Rainbow Dash said, flying next to her. “Did you forget what this guy tried to do to us? What he did do to me? Heck, did you forget what he did to Tee?! He tore her apart, and she never did anything rotten to anypony!”

“I was following my dir… ectives…” he murmured.

“That’s not an excuse!” Rainbow Dash shouted, getting right into 004’s face.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, touching her on the shoulder. “Please, just listen.”

There was something in her voice that made Rainbow Dash listen. A quiet kind of strength and determination that she always somehow forgot her oldest friend possessed. She sighed and nodded.

“004 did some bad things, but he had to do them,” she said. “He’s a robot. The ponies who created him didn’t give him choices about how to live his life like Twilight did with Turing. Someday, he might turn out to be a good pony. We just need to give him time to learn and grow!”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and glanced down at the fallen robot, then back to Fluttershy. “Yeah, maybe,” she said, this time with more hesitation in her voice, “but if we let him go and they fix him up, he could come after us again. Or other ponies, for that matter. You know that, right?”

Fluttershy bowed her head. “I know, but…” she paused, heaving a sigh, and said “...he’s still Turing Test’s brother. Her only brother, as far as we know. And I just know that it would break her heart to know that we destroyed him and robbed her of any chance to get to know him.” She managed a smile, even though tears were forming in her eyes. “I… I just can’t do that.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, but gave her a smile. “Heh. Well, I guess when you put it that way, I can’t argue with you there,” she said. She looked down at 004 and added, “You’re a lucky robot, big guy. I hope you know that.”

They turned to go when 004 suddenly muttered something. It was a soft rumbling, like the sound of distant thunder.

“What did you say?” Fluttershy asked, turning back to him.

“Cognitive… loop… detected…”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both stared at him. They both knew what that meant when it happened to Turing Test: an emotion.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, leaning closer to 004.

“When I re-re-retrieved Unit 003M, she stated something to me as I was disabling her power systems,” he replied. “She s-s-stated that she did not hate me in spite of what I was doing. That seemed logical-cal, as automata lack emotions.” He paused as electricity sparked from one of the holes in his exterior. “However, I expe-perienced a cog-cog-cognitive loop for an extended period of ti-ti-time afterwards. Maintenance checks could not identify the cause, but memory remained in my higher cognitive function rather than being archived into my primary memory module. The action was… significant.

“The way you speak of Unit 003… I am experiencing that loop again-again-again.” He tried to raise his head to look up at Fluttershy. “What does it mean?”

Fluttershy smiled and patted him on the head. “One day,” she said, “I think you’ll find out for yourself.”

She and Rainbow Dash returned to rejoin the others.

“Okay, everypony!” she said to all the animals gathered. “I want you all to listen carefully to me. I’m very sorry, but I can’t take you all with me right now.” Various growls, squeaks, and squawks of protest went up. “Yes, yes, I know, but Rainbow Dash and I really need to go find our other friends! For now, I want you all to stay here until we can get some help and then get you all back where you belong. You don’t have to go back to your cages, and nopony will do any more experiments on you.”

“Ah, but Miss Fluttershy!” Weissenhoof cried. “Somepony vill need to take care of all zese creatures! Zey will need food and care!”

“I agree,” Fluttershy said, smiling warmly at her. “And I think you’re the right pony for that job, Weissenhoof.”

The young mare’s eyes went wide. “I… but I am not…”

Fluttershy placed the key into her hooves. “It’s just until we can get help relocating them. Please keep them happy, healthy, and safe, Weissenhoof. After all, you were already looking out for the animals before we got here. Just like you did with Spike.”

Weissenhoof’s eyes welled up. “All right, Miss Fluttershy! I vill not let you down!”

She then turned to Spike and, to his surprise, she suddenly embraced him.

“Goodbye, my little friend!” she said. “It vas so nice to meet a dragon like you! I vill never forget ze bravery you showed me today.”

“Aw, well,” he said, nonchalantly rubbing the back of his neck. “It was nothing, really.”

Weissenhoof released him, and Rainbow Dash caught just a hint of a blush in the girl’s cheeks.

As the three of them departed, Rainbow Dash nudged Spike.

“What you did back there was pretty awesome, Spike,” she said. “And I’m not sure if you noticed, but I think Weiss back there was a little sweet on you after watching you in action.”

“W-what?!” he asked, his cheeks flushing as he ran alongside them. “C-come on, Rainbow Dash, don’t tease me like that!”

The three of them laughed as they went through the far exit at the end of the Biological Research Department, moving on toward the amphitheater.


To be continued…