Kara watched the QuanticTech delivery chariot roll away, merging into the roundabout of traffic. The android mare had discovered from the conversation between the driver and the pegasus that she had been shipped from the QuanticTech factories in New Trottingam to the small city of Ponyville, which explained why she had been boxed up for a total of two days fourteen hours and seventeen minutes. An awfully long time to be boxed up, she guessed.
Now, given the current circumstances, Kara was not entirely sure what would happen next. She had been sold; that much she could figure out. But to whom and for what purpose, Kara could only speculate. Why was she purchased?
The place she was delivered to gave her no further clues, either. The large structure was an odd combination of a three-story masonry building attached to what appeared to be a massive six-story tree with a hugely thick trunk and, though many windows and a door had been seemingly cut into it, still looked fully alive and growing.
"So… Kara, was it?" the gray pegasus stallion, named 'Dusk' from what she overheard from the conversation, said to her. His sunset-schemed eyes seemed to be analyzing her.
She nodded. "That is correct."
Dusk gave a confirming nod, then began trotting toward the building. "Come on, then," he beckoned. "You're gonna need an orientation of the place before you can help with anything."
Kara picked up her hooves and cantered after him, keeping pace with him to the entrance of the building. She stopped momentarily to read the sign above the door, which announced, 'Golden Oaks Public Library, Est. 978 AB,' before following Dusk through the threshold. She briefly marveled at the fact that the building she was entering had been first constructed four hundred twenty-nine years ago, older even than Princess Twilight herself, according to her database. Considering her database, she plugged in a search for specific information regarding her whereabouts.
> Results for 'Golden Oaks Library': Currently an Omega Technologies-sponsored establishment, Golden Oaks Public Library was magically constructed within the trunk of a Zebrican Golden Oak. It is labeled as a historical landmark as the workplace and home of Princess Twilight Sparkle before her ascension, and since then has undergone many renovations, and is now funded by the MagicTech branch of Omega Technologies. It is presently inhabited and maintained by Dusk and Dawn, twins and librarians.
Dusk led Kara through the library, not really saying anything directly to the android. Which was fine by her. She took the time to pan her sight around the interior, taking in the large bookshelves stocked with hundreds upon hundreds of books. Occasionally, somepony would approach Dusk to ask where a book was or where they could find specific topics. Kara wasn't surprised; it would be hard to find a single book among the thousands of tomes in the library.
They ascended a spiral staircase to the second floor, which was marked on the directory as 'Historical Non-Fiction.' Kara, still distracted by the books, had to stop herself before she ran into Dusk, who had stopped without her realizing. She balanced precariously for a second, then settled carefully back on four hooves. In the back of her mind, Kara wondered if a normal android would have done the same.
Most likely not. Computers aren't supposed to get distracted.
"Dawn?" Dusk called into the racks of historical texts. "Hey, Dawn, you still up here? I have something you need to see!"
Kara winced slightly. 'Something,' he called her; not someone or somepony. It was a reminder to the android that she was just merchandise and, to whomever purchased her, a servant and porter.
There was the sound of shuffling hooves against the carpet, and a unicorn mare poked her head out from behind one of the bookcases. Her lengthy mane was a bright orange with a pink stripe running through it. Her eyes had a soft sunset scheme, much like Dusk's burning sunset eyes. She didn't look particularly pleased toward Dusk.
"Can't it wait?" Dawn said irritably. "I have a research paper to do by tomorrow. If I don't get it done in the next ten hours, Archmage Shine'll have my head."
"Somehow, I don't doubt that…" Dusk mumbled, then waved his wing toward Kara. "It'll only take a minute, I promise."
Dawn raised an eyebrow at the android, peering curiously at her. "Who's that, your new fillyfriend?" she joked to her brother.
Kara blinked, feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable.
The grey pegasus rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Dawn, but wrong answer. This is Kara, the android I bought to help out around here. She can take care of the library while you're studying or when I'm working on something downstairs. Granted, it cost a small fortune, but it's better than hired help."
The unicorn then trotted up to Kara, still peering at her. "It looks real," she commented, then paused for a minute. Her eyes made Kara uneasy, as if they were searching for some minute detail on her holographic face. "Well? You gonna talk, or what?"
Kara realized that Dawn was waiting for the initialization prompt. She had to resist an exasperated groan; saying the same thing over and over was getting a little repetitive. Nevertheless, she recited her text, even saying her name at the end to maintain the illusion of an emotionless automaton.
Dawn didn't look satisfied. "It's a little… ambiguous," she said. "Shouldn't the introduction be more specific? Why not say 'foals' instead of a general term like 'kids?'"
Her question triggered Kara's automatic response program, which offered the system a response to the common inquiry. "The initialization text is standard in all QuanticTech android models and base body-types, such as griffon or anthrocanine," Kara answered, following the suggested reply. "Because of standardization and consumer race variance, an ambiguous introduction would appeal to most consumers, regardless of race." After her explanation, the program offered a follow-up prompt. "Would you like to hear the information specific to my model?"
Dusk and Dawn traded looks. "Sure," they said in tandem.
The auto-response program brought up another text for the android. "My AX500 model is equipped with a magic emulator in my horn, capable of an intermediate levitation spell to assist with my tasks. While I am incapable of true flight, I can glide short distances with my wings, and can stand safely and indefinitely on cloudstuff surfaces. My legs are durable and strong, and can withstand loads up to three hundred kilos and forces up to five hundred newtons."
Dusk whistled appreciatively. "QuanticTech sure does go all-out on their projects. Though I think the emulator is a MagicTech thing."
"They're both Omega Tech. They do collaborate on occasion," Dawn pointed out. "But I guess QuanticTech got permission from MagicTech to use the emulator in the design."
Dusk nodded his agreement, looking back at Kara. The pegasus chewed decisively on his lower lip, contemplating what to do next with the robotic alicorn. There wasn't much he could do with her right now, honestly. Dawn was studying and nothing in the library itself needed attention.
"How 'bout this?" he suggested. "Kara, go down to the kiosk on the first floor. The computer there should have a directory you can use to get acquainted with where everything is in the library. That way we don't need to spend time showing you around or giving you the proper place for every single book."
Kara nodded obediently. "Of course," she affirmed, turning to do as instructed.
The two siblings watched the new android trot away and down the stairs. After she was out of sight, Dawn turned to her brother with a malevolent smirk. "'Entirely at your disposal as a sexual partner,' eh?" she quoted.
"No," said Dusk curtly.
"Aww…"
Kara found her way to the kiosk, which looked more like a receptionist desk than a service counter. At the moment, she was a little unsure about her situation here. Perhaps reality had yet to settle? Or maybe she was in a bit of a shock from everything happening so fast. In a the few hours she had been awake, Kara was born, nearly killed, sold, shipped far away, and was now in servitude to twin librarians. On top of that, she had to conceal her delusions of living consciousness from her new owners.
She decided on shock. Definitely shock.
With a hasty canter, she circled around and entered the kiosk, locating the round monitor of the computer. The artistic 'Q' on the power button identified the system as a product of QuanticTech. Kara activated the magic emulator in her horn, surrounding the button in a light-blue glow and lightly depressing it. The monitor flickered to life from sleep mode, brining Kara to a desktop with a 'Knowledge is Magic!' background.
Kara flicked her eyes over the folders, but couldn't find anything relating to the library directory. Her initial quick-peek futile, she wrapped the keyboard in her magic and typed in a search for the library directory. After scrolling past a few other results, she discovered it in a file labeled 'Library Archive Stuff.'
Kara made a bemused face. Whoever ran this desk clearly was unfamiliar with organization.
Shrugging off her mild irritation, Kara connected her computer mind with the server in the computer, pulling the files and directly downloading them into her database. Once the directory had been transferred into her memory unit, she began a safe extraction of her link to the system…
"Hello, Kara."