Circuit had never been outside before. It looked around in wonder as it slowly walked down the alleyway to the street, careful not to kick any cans or make much noise. It stopped and turned its head when a rat squeaked and scurried away. Circuit wanted to chase it down, to see what it looked like up close, but it knew that it had a job to do, and that it should allow no distractions to stand in its way.
Upon exiting the alleyway, Circuit stopped and observed its surroundings. It appeared to be in a residential area, with a series of identical apartment buildings running down the street to its left on either side of the street. The series extended only one building to Circuit's right, after which there was an intersection between the street it was currently on, and another that ran perpendicular to it. Street lamps that were little more than a light-bulb on a pole were placed at regular intervals on either side of the streets, casting a soft yellow light on the streets.
Why use street lamps when there are no ponies on the street? Circuit wondered. They are wasting energy.
Its question was seemingly answered when a lone pony, a stallion, judging by its body structure, came charging around the far corner to run down Circuit's street. The stallion was wearing another black cloak that obscured its body and face, just like the other two ponies that took Transistor and identical to the one it was currently wearing. Circuit saw that he had a large, lumpy brown bag held in one hoof.
The stallion noticed Circuit almost immediately and skid to a halt directly in front of it. They stared at each other for a few seconds, sizing each other up. They were interrupted by the sound of two dozen shod hooves rapidly striking the pavement in the direction the stallion had come from.
The stallion made an irritated grunt and said, "Screw this! It's your gig now!" He passed his bag to Circuit, who caught it reflexively in its left hoof, its digits with a firm grip on the cord that held it shut. "Later, sucker!" the stallion cackled as he ran past Circuit into the alley behind it.
Circuit watched the stallion go. To most organics, the darkness of the alley would have caused the stallion to completely vanish. The same was not true for Circuit, as it could see exactly what was happening even in the low light. This rule did apparently apply to the stallion, who, unwittingly, tripped on a tin can and fell face first into a trash can with his hindquarters sticking straight up in the air. The stallion did not move, leading Circuit to conclude that he had been knocked unconscious.
Circuit turned back to face the intersection as the thundering hooves became louder. A second later, seven Lunar guards came sprinting around the corner.
"There he is!" one of them shouted. "Surround him, don't let him get away!"
Six of the guards quickly formed a circle around Circuit, their bodies in a low ready stance should their quarry make any moves. Circuit could have easily outdone all of them, as it stood head and shoulders over every one.
The guard that had made the initial command--the commander, as Circuit deduced--approached it with a glare that would have intimidated any organic into submission. Circuit, however, remained completely unfazed by it.
"Thief, drop the bits and come quietly," the commander ordered. "You don't want to make this any more difficult than it needs to be."
So this was what those guards were after. They clearly must think that I am the thief. How? Do they not realize that I am aver twice the size of the thief?
Circuit gauged the weight of the bag in its hoof. With what would pass for surprise in an android, it determined that there was approximately a quarter of a million bits within. It then gently tossed the bag to the commander, who caught it in his telekinesis.
"Smart move. Shackle him," he barked.
The two guards directly to Circuit's sides slowly approached and began locking a set of thick chains and shackles around its ankles.
"You have the wrong individual. The thief you are seeking ran past me before you arrived. He is currently lying unconscious in a waste disposal container in the alley behind me."
"Right," said the mare shackling his right side, apparently having difficulty in the low light. "You just want us to go back there so your buddies can jump us." Under her breath, Circuit heard her mutter, "I'm not falling for that one again..." The guard behind Circuit's right flank snickered at that.
"I am not lying. He truly is back there."
"Save it for the Princess," the commander grunted in annoyance. "She's the one you need to beg mercy from."
Circuit found in odd that it was to be brought before the Princess herself. No court case? "Is the correct phrase not 'tell it to the judge'?"
"It would be, if you had stolen from a privately owned source." The commander narrowed his eyes for emphasis. "But stealing from the royal treasury gets you a trip to the Princess." He turned to the mare shackling Circuit's right side. "Rookie! How long does it take to shackle a prisoner!? Private Watch was done five minutes ago!" he roared.
Five minutes? He finished twelve seconds ago.
"I- I'm sorry sir!" she stammered. "It's really dark and this guy's got really big-"
"I don't want excuses! I want him ready to move!"
"Th- There! Done, sir! Ready to go!" the "rookie" straightened up, visibly shaken.
The commander shook his head, more so to himself. "Right, let's get a move on."
The guards behind Circuit's flanks prodded it with their horns for it to move. The group walked at a brisk pace, but to Circuit it seemed like a leisurely stroll. It glanced down at the rookie. Her head was drooping and she had a fearful look in her eyes. Circuit almost felt like giving her a hug, but the shackles and guards around it would have prevented it.
As they progressed through the empty streets, ponies began opening their windows to see what the guards had accomplished. As it was late in the evening, most ponies were asleep, but there were still a few night owls that were up to see the goings-on. A few shouted some compliments to the guards; most stayed silent.
When they approached the palace, Circuit could not help but look at it in awe. The sheer grandeur of the place was completely unlike anything Circuit had ever seen. Intricate designs were gouged into the solid marble structure that towered over every other building in Canterlot. Golden statues stood guarding the entrance. Art was one of the few things Circuit had next to no knowledge on. It's processors were analyzing every bit of the palace and storing the data. The word they kept coming around to was "beautiful."
The two guards outside the entrance to the palace pushed the massive doors open for the procession. Inside, Circuit was assaulted with yet another barrage of visual inputs. The ceiling was easily twenty meters high, with massive stained glass windows.
A scarlet carpet ran from the palace doors all the way down the interior and traveling up a few steps at the end where it terminated at a large, crimson throne that was currently occupied by a very, very irate pony. Transistor had implanted few images within Circuit's data banks, opting instead to describe the Princesses in detail. Judging by the pony's obvious wings and horn, in addition to her dark blue coat and physics-defying mane, Circuit was forced to assume that this was Luna.
Circuit's guards brought it all the way up to the base of the steps before pushing it forward and lining up side by side behind it. With all eyes on it, Circuit gave a low bow, as Transistor had taught him when teaching customs and courtesies. The only response Luna gave was a raised eyebrow. The commander remained next to Circuit as he addressed Luna.
"Your Highness, we have finally caught the thief," he said with a deep bow. "Shall we bring him to the dungeons until you decide how to properly sentence him?"
Luna squinted her eyes, trying to get a glimpse of Circuit's face.
"Not quite yet," she said. She stood up and walked down the steps to Circuit and the commander, who were still in a bowed position. "Rise. Both of you."
As it stood up, Circuit discovered that Luna was slightly shorter than it was. Luna's eyes widened as she took in the android's massive frame.
"Now, thief, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were put up to this. If that is the case, then the question is who did?"
Circuit glanced at the commander, who, with a stern death glare, mouthed "Speak!"
"Your Highness, as I have told the guards earlier, I am not the thief."
"Do you take me for a fool?" the Night Princess demanded.
"No. I am not sure what to say to convince you that I speak the truth."
Luna narrowed her eyes and straightened up slightly. "Remove your cloak."
This gave Circuit some pause. It was not sure what the consequences of revealing itself to such a powerful figure would be. Circuit spent several seconds attempting to calculate the most probably outcome. It finally decided to terminate the process, as it kept rolling around to the phrase "Either something bad or something good will happen," which, obviously, is not particularly helpful. Circuit finally decided to comply with Luna's orders, against its better judgement.
With it's right hoof digits, Circuit grabbed a crease in the cloak on its left shoulder and pulled across its chest, its shackles jingling as they moved. The cloak came off quickly and cleanly, completely exposing Circuit to the eyes of every pony in the room.
Luna's jaw hung loosely from its hinge as she stared with wide eyes at Circuit. "Wha... What are you? Who are you? Where did you come from?" she asked, almost at a lost for words.
"I am an android: a machine built in the form of a pony," Circuit said, answering each of her questions in order. "My name is Circuit. I came from an apartment near where your guards arrested me."
The Princess' jaw worked for several seconds as she turned this new information over in her head. Eventually she shook it as though a mosquito were flying around her. She quickly regained her composure and all but shouted to the commander, "Did none of you realize that he was a machine!?"
Circuit could see the commander's knees shaking slightly. "N- No, your Highness, as soon as we caught him we had him shackled and brought to you. We didn't think-"
"You did not notice anything strange about him? Anything at all?"
Circuit was actually a surprised when the rookie responded to the Princess' question. "You know, I did think it was a little weird when he said 'waste disposal container' instead of just 'trash can.' That and he kinda talks like a robot, too..." The mare was rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof and looking nervously at the ground. Then with a jump and short bow she appended, "Your Highness."
Luna looked at the rookie for a long moment. "What is this about a trash can?"
The commander answered this time. "W- Well, he said that the real thief had gone past him into an alley and... fallen... in... a trash can." The commander's face suddenly flushed red as he realized what he was saying. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "Your highness. Permission to be dismissed? We have a criminal to apprehend."
"Granted," Luna said. The guards all gave a snappy salute and about-faced to leave the palace. As they were leaving, Luna called out, "Oh, and Captain Iron Spear?"
"Yes, your Highness?"
"Please make sure to bring the correct criminal to the dungeons. I will determine what to do with the correct prisoner later."
"Y- Yes, your Highness."
Luna waited for all of the guards to leave before turning back to Circuit. She circled it several times, taking in every detail of the android's body.
"Your Highness, I have an inquiry," Circuit said as she was circling it.
"Ask."
"Why did the guards suddenly believe me? If I were them I would not leave me unattended."
Luna finished circling and stood directly in front of Circuit. "They did not expect a mere machine to lie to them."
"A 'mere machine' does not lie unless it is programmed to."
"Were you?"
I should have anticipated this question, Circuit thought as its logic processors were stuck in a paradoxical loop. After an almost painfully long silence, Circuit replied, "No."
"So therefore you were not lying, is that not correct?"
"No. Yes... Mu. I am not a 'mere machine.' My creator programmed me to be sapient. Most of my traits are a subsequent result of that. Among them, my ability to lie."
"So... you were lying!"
"No."
"But did you not just say-"
"I said I have the capacity to lie as a result of my sapience, not that I was lying."
Luna's eye twitched. On a twisted level of Circuit's mind, it was starting to enjoy this mental torment. "You are quite difficult to understand." She took a deep breath before slowly asking, "Were you, or were you not, lying about the thief in the alley?"
"I was not."
"Then why are you being so difficult!?"
"Because I find it illogical to take my statement as truth when I have told so little, in addition to not being believed at first."
There was a pause as Luna appeared to contemplate Circuit's thought processes. "You are asking why they trust you?"
"Correct," was the simple reply.
Luna smiled and said, "Three reasons: One, you are still shackled. Two, they understand that I am more than capable of protecting myself. And three, I am not completely unattended by my guards." As she said this last one, Luna gestured to a pair of guardsponies in front of the steps leading up to the throne that were standing as still statues.
So still, in fact, that Circuit had actually thought they were statues.
"Those are ponies?" it said in what would pass for disbelief in an android. "No organic is capable of remaining in a static position for that long. Their ears do not move towards sound. Their chests do not expand as they breath. They can not possibly be alive."
"You'd be surprised. My guards are very well disciplined," Luna said with a smug smile.
Circuit was fascinated. Apparently it had much to learn in regards to the functioning of organics.
"Indeed," it stated neutrally. "I digress, you may wish to reanalyze the judgments for leaving me. Reason one is to be deleted, in specificity."
As it said this, Circuit grabbed the the cuff of the shackle on its left foreleg and yanked. The cuff broke as though it were made of paper rather than steel. It repeated this process until each of its legs were free, then picked up the entire assembly and dropped it between itself and Luna. She stood staring at the pile of chains and broken rings with wide eyes and contracted pupils. Even the guards had broken their bearing and were staring at the chains.
"Maid!" Luna called out without taking her eyes off the broken shackles. On cue, a tan earth pony mare with her brown mane tied up in a bun emerged from a door behind the throne to stand by Luna's side. "Wake my sister, and bring her down here please."
Circuit saw the maid look at Luna with an expression of abject horror. Her coat had turned several shades lighter and her knees were knocking together. She eventually piped up and said, "Your Highness? Princess Celestia would... would..."
"She would kill me for having her woken up at such an hour. Now go!"
"Right away, your Highness!" she said, and dashed back through the door with no small amount of fear in her eyes.
Circuit observed the maid's behavior with silent mirth. "It seems your hoof-servants make up the deficit for your guards."
"If you knew what happens when you wake my sister in the middle of her sleep, I'd think you would be quite afraid yourself." Luna sighed and looked back up at Circuit with a steely look in her eyes. "Now I must ask an obvious question: Do you have any intent to harm my little ponies?"
"Physically, no. However, I cannot make any guarantees about their mental health."
Luna's eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back in a feral snarl. Her horn began to glow a rich blue and Circuit felt its weight lifted off its hooves as it was levitated into the air. Circuit began to grow concerned as it felt tension forces growing in its abdomen.
"By that I of course mean no. No I do not." Circuit would have let out a sigh of relief if it could breathe when it saw Luna's gaze soften and she lowered it back to the ground, and releasing the grip that threatened to tear it in half.
"I think your sense of humor needs some work. Your creator didn't spend much time with that part, did he?"
"He did not at all. It is a subsequent result of my sapience. Its development is wholly dependent on how I choose to shape it."
A devilish grin spread across Luna's face as she heard this. "You know, I know the perfect pony for you to talk to, in that case."
I do not like the sound of that. It is called self-determination for a reason.
Before either of them could say anything, the door in back of the throne room opened with so much force that Circuit was surprised its sensors did not receive any traces of gamma radiation as a result of the atoms in the door and in the air fusing upon impact. It did, however, detect a vacuum in the door's wake, so it was at least partially satisfied. Unfortunately, this brief moment of glee was crushed the instant it saw the furious white alicorn striding out of it at a quick pace.
Judging by the alicorn's slender but tall frame, being as tall as Circuit, white coat and multi-hued mane and tail, Circuit decided this one was Princess Celestia: The pony responsible for fracturing its development group and, consequently, the reason for Transistor's foal-napping. Circuit was conflicted on her. On one hoof, her actions had set this all in motion. On the flip side, Circuit's creators had technically been engaging in illegal activities, so her actions were completely justified. This was the first time Circuit's emotions and logic had come in conflict with each other. Without any precedent, it could not decide how to shape its mental image of her.
As Celestia approached Circuit and Luna, the android took note of her slightly bedraggled mane, bloodshot eyes and grinding teeth. Circuit was only going out on a limb, but it felt that it was safe to assume that Celestia was "minorly" upset at being woken up at this hour.
Celestia took a pause from grinding her teeth to address Luna. "Sister, what have I told you about waking me up this much before morning?"
It was more so a statement than a question, but Luna answered anyway with a smirk and roll of her eyes. "What, that you need your beauty sleep?"
"Luna..."
Looking at its time and temperature function, Circuit decided to join in. "For the record, it is morning," it said. "Technically."
Celestia turned to face Circuit. All traces of sleep deprevation and her desire to visit destruction upon Luna with a giant hammer evaporated when she looked into its mechanical eyes.
"Luna?" she asked without breaking eye contact. "What is this?"
Luna glanced at Circuit expectantly, evidently allowing it to introduce itself.
"I am an android named Circuit. I was created by Doctors Transistor, Hydronia, Airfoil, Quantum Leap, and Mr Jackscrew. All of which were part of a development group you broke apart approximately twenty years ago. I was the project they refused to inform you of."
Celestia's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she heard this. "Both of you come with me. I think we have some things to discuss."