Celestia reached out, pressed her finger against the manufacturing site which lay with the very building she was in and the space in front of her exploded with colour. Despite been completely automated, the designers had the foresight to install several three-hundred and sixty degree cameras throughout the facility to allow them, and now Celestia, to keep an eye on production from a remote location.
With her world now awash with the sight of a particularly small production line, at least compared to several others, she quickly uploaded the specifications of her stitched-together design, which appeared floating in front of her. She looked over the blue, glowing cylindrical object, which held several sockets plugged into her chest.
After double checking her design for any errors, she assumed direct control of the server and partitioned off a small chunk to suit her needs and set a timer for it to format the uploaded data once the production of a single processor was complete.
Assigning it to the manufacturing system, she pulled back and shifted herself over to the camera network once again to find a robotic carrier which would package and deliver the processor to her at home without any other pony knowing what she had done. A pony would no doubt be curious as to why a single package was being moved from the high-tech facility and would produce a paper trail. Switching between camera feeds, she spotted a lone golem wandering the halls and set to repeat. She dove into its data stream and intercepted its orders, setting them to wait for her processor to be complete then deliver it to Twilight's home.
The golem froze for a few tentative seconds, causing Celestia to hope that there wasn't secondary internal security, then turned around and faded out of view of the camera.
Reminder: Double check protocol and security before changing data.
With her most pressing issue complete, she turned her attention back to Twilight. Twilight's laboratory appeared in front of her, while Twilight herself was gone. She hadn't that long, surely?
A new feeling welled up inside of her now, one which she wasn't so happy about: dread. If Twilight found her connected to the network, she'd know she wasn't simply the golem she had created for herself and was capable of much more than emotional support.
Scrubbing the network of her tracks, Celestia pulled herself out of the terminal and thrust herself back into her own body with a start. Unlike the virtual world, the body she inhabited felt so small, so restrictive, and she couldn't help but squirm ever so slightly; even if it was the one that Twilight created for her and the one that would always be treasured, it just wasn't the same as being connected to such a huge network.
It only took Twilight a few minutes to show back up with a smile on her face that faltered slightly seeing Celestia online. She carried in her magical aura an almost identical faceplate to Celestia's own, although with the addition of a white horn having been constructed.
Trotting past the automated doors, she descended the few steps and moved over to the robot, eyes already examining her. "You're awake," she simply stated, voice neutral and giving no hint for a response.
Celestia laid there, wondering if she had done something wrong while Twilight's magic gently took hold of her neck and loosened several screws holding her face plate on.
Without a word, Twilight lifted Celestia's face off to reveal the metal endoskeleton underneath and was quick to replace the plate with her new one, her magic sliding it on as two thin, parallel, connection spikes slid into Celestia's forehead as the plate slotted into place.
Celestia's body jerked against the bindings as she connected with her horn. Fully established, she could feel a whole new level of reality opening up to her. A layer that was hidden just below the surface, of boundless power that dwarfed even Twilight's own well of magic.
She could feel the sheer magical well that Twilight put out as her horn was flooded with data points and Celestia felt swamped by how powerful her creator actually was. Yet, instead of drowning, she could only be in awe. Twilight was allowing her own creation to connect to her on a whole separate level and she could feel her metaphorical heart fluttering at the chance!
Celestia wasn't even sure Twilight could feel it herself but if she did, she would no doubt be able to do anything she put her mind to and not be chained to this council like a dog. It sickened her that her creator was being ordered around and had to give reports like some common workhorse.
She didn't want to feel those emotions that were trickling into her head at the sheer overwhelming power she was put under, but anger and annoyance welled up within her at the thought of her creator being taken advantage of.
But she kept those emotions in and simply smiled warmly at Twilight while she tested her new horn.
"You should be able to levitate a few items," Twilight stated, floating a wrench and some nuts onto the ground in front of Celestia. "The uploaded hardware should have interfaced with you as soon as it slotted in."
Celestia tore her gaze away from her love and focused on the wrench. She could feel the magical pressure everything asserted on reality and directed the hardware to apply a force to the magical field surrounding the wrench, increasing its energetic potential, then applying a small stream of upwards momentum to utilise that potential.
In a fraction of a Second, the wrench glowed with a golden aura and slowly began to float upwards towards the ceiling.
Celestia lowered the momentum and the wrench froze in mid air, as if locked in place.
"Fascinating..." Twilight mumbled, moving closer to the object and poking it with a hoof.
The wrench then began to float off horizontally towards the wall and dropped to the floor once it hit.
"You've only acted upon one axis at a time. That's... rudimentary," she muttered, letting out a sigh. "I guess the processor you have isn't strong enough to handle complex magical calculations as well as everything else. Don't worry, I can rectify that eventually."
Using her magic, Twilight pulled the arms back down and activated them. They clipped Celestia's shell back onto her body and then unclipped her restraints, allowing her to slide off the workbench and stand back up to her full height.
"I've done all I need to here. The council is well aware of my progress and have urged me to continue my work."
Gazing down at Twilight, Celestia nodded. "Of course. I shall follow you, my love."
The corners of Twilight's lips curled upon seeing that, but she turned around and began the long walk back out the facility.
As the elevator travelled through the layers, Celestia gently brushed her fingers through Twilight's mane. "Are you happy, Twilight?"
Frowning at such a question, the mare glanced up at her robot, then scoffed. "What sort of a question is that?" she began shaking her head. "I've made great strides in science that have helped ponies all across the world, I have the council's trust and... I have you by my side."
Celestia's fingers slowed to a stop and Twilight let out a short huff. "Why'd you stop?" she asked, leaning up against those digits.
"My apologies," Celestia replied, beginning to scritch and brush her mare's neck while she formulated a plan to get Twilight to socialise with that Sunset mare.
Her plans to refine her Mana storage and install a fabrication lab would have to be put on hold for now. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know enough about pony socialising to readily formulate a plan that would be operational within the desired timeframe. No, she'd need to get out of the house and watch ponies as they went about their business and as much as it hurt Celestia to admit, Twilight was very much an outlier in terms of normal pony behaviour.
For all of Twilight's hard work, the mare didn't think of installing a wireless data point inside of her creation, so she'd need to manually connect to Twilight's terminal when they returned home, which would no doubt put the pair at odds if she ever found out, at least before she told Twilight about her self-actualisation.
Without realising it, Celestia had to pull herself back in control of her body when they had returned home. She didn't realize it had become that easy to slip in and out of that state and she'd imagine it would be bad if she slipped out of her body at an inopportune time.
I'll have to make sure to not do that while Twilight is lecturing.
Twilight unlocked their front door and let Celestia wander back in first. Drifting past the mare, Celestia's eyes scanned over the blank wall as she wandered down the hallway and slowed to a stop, causing Twilight to stare at her.
"Celestia?" Twilight asked. "Are you alright?"
"I am, Twilight," she replied, reaching up and brushing her fingers over the bare wall. "Where are the pictures of your family?"
Looking over towards Twilight, she found the mare's eyes slightly glazed over and her usually neutral expression slightly downtrodden. "They're... uh, I don't talk about them," Twilight responded, walking down the hallway and brushing past Celestia who tracked her.
"Did I ask something wr-" Celestia tried to ask, but was cut off by the door to Twilight's bedroom opening and slamming shut.
Focus: Twilight Sparkle
Addendum: Do not inquire about her family.
Walking down the hallway, Celestia was sure she had annoyed Twilight somehow by asking about her family. Another thing that she didn't understand, but would pin to her to-do list to find out about.
Perhaps Twilight didn't like her family?
Despite the setback on the emotional front, Celestia now had an undetermined amount of time within Twilight's workshop. Reaching out to take hold of the handle, she opened the door and entered, making sure to close the door silently before walking over to the terminal.
It stood in the middle of the room, next to the mount where Celestia had been pieced together the day before.
Celestia ran her fingers across the metallic terminal then brought her index finger down onto the 'enter' key, causing the machine to whirl to life. With a series of beeps, the green on black display appeared and asked for input.
Glancing around, she found the screwdriver which Twilight had been using and reached down to pick it up before pulling up her internal schematics to review where her easiest access point would be, so she didn't need to dismantle half of her body.
Looking herself over on the schematics, she found the easiest would, once again, be in her chest and focused directly on that section so she would be able to remove her chestplate herself.
Problem: I need to create more time for myself. There is too much risk currently.
Solution: Initiate plan after Twilight sleeps.
Looking around, Celestia began to pick up the other tools that she would need to remove her chest piece then placed them all in a section of cupboard near the door for easy access later.
Pausing once she placed the last tool into the cupboard, she heard Twilight's bedroom door open, then close, and the mare's hoofsteps get closer.
"Celestia?" Twilight called out, a hint of worry entering her voice. "Where are you?"
Celestia walked over to the door and gently opened it, revealing herself to the Unicorn. "I was merely cleaning your workshop, Twilight," she said, flashing her usual smile down at her.
"Oh, good. I... I was worried that you had been taken," Twilight admitted, holding a hoof to her chest as she calmed herself.
Celestia placed her hand on the back of Twilight's neck, then led her over to her couch and sat down. It creaked a little under her weight, but stayed solid even at Twilight climbed on.
"Twilight. They could try, but nopony would be able to take me away from you," she said, looking around. "Now, what would you wish for dinner? I believe you did not eat last night and it is important for your health to eat."