A Bunch of Short Stories About Ponies

by ScarletandLunaRcool


Twilight the Inventor

Prompt used: "A genius has invented a robot with artificial intelligence. That means it is capable of making its own decisions! Try writing in the POV of your lovable new robot. It and its inventor could make quite the dynamic duo. If you'd like to research, try artificial intelligence and Asimov's 3 laws of robotics." Prompt by MissLunaRose on dA

Twilight used her magic to wipe sweat from her forehead as she added the final touches to her new invention. This one will show them! I'm not insane, never was, never will be! That, and many other things, were running through Twilight's head as she stepped back, smiling proudly. Placing a sheet over the invention, Twilight trotted through various other things covered in sheets, towards her basement stairs. Celestia took me in for a reason. I have genius, I just have trouble showing it. Twilight used magic to lock the basement door as she walked towards her bedroom. Tomorrow, I'll prove them wrong. The test runs will go perfectly, I'll be able to show my beautiful creation to everypony, and they'll no longer think I'm insane. Yes, that'll be absolutely brilliant... Twilight drifted off to sleep with thoughts of awards and compliments for her genius.

Meanwhile, Spike was approaching the door to Twilight's basement. He would just take a quick peek, a small glance, at what she had been working on, and then leave as though he'd never been there. She'd never know... Using the spare key Twilight kept hidden in the potted plant by the door (That Twilight had no idea Spike knew about), Spike unlocked the door. It looked like she completed it earlier, she was smiling in a satisfactory way, so I'll just look at it and leave. Using a torch he'd lit with his fire breath, Spike lit his way down the twisting wooden staircase, into the basement.

The first thing Spike noticed was hundreds of things covered in white sheets, and many were messily covered. Some were lumpy, impossible to tell what they where supposed to be. Some were square or rectangular, with purposes unknown. Many of the white sheets had dust covering them, and looked as though they had gone untouched for a long time. The floor was littered with empty oil cans, water bottles, soda cans, and food wrappers from long ago.

As Spike neared the center, there were many more wrappers and cans, from a more recent time. In the very center of the room, a crisp, clean white sheet sat over a thing around an average mare's height. It looked like it had recently been worked on, and was neatly covered, unlike the sheets sloppily thrown over the various other things in the room. Spike figured it was the invention Twilight had been losing sleep over recently, not that it was abnormal for the unicorn mare in question to skip full nights of sleep.

Spike inched closer to the white sheet, ready to unveil it's contents. Finally standing in front of it, Spike reached out, ready to rip the sheet off of the strange invention. Squeezing his eyes shut, Spike grabbed the pristine sheet, and pulled it off the invention. Slowly opening his eyes, Spike saw something he would never expected....

Twilight tossed and turned in her sleep, her dreams turning to her contraption going rabid. She couldn't control it, it tried to destroy her, her friends, Spike... She used all the magic she could, but could see no other option... Twilight had to destroy it. No! I can't! It's my greatest achievement! I've created Artificial Life! Her genius creation had destroyed Ponyville by now. Her friends' limp bodies lay on the ground... But she couldn't. She could never... It was like a child to her...

It was shiny and new. The metal was silver and polished, it's joints oiled. That explains the empty oil cans... Spike though as he examined the robotic mare. Of course, Spike had no idea what it was, as Twilight had created the first A.I. Equestria had ever seen. Spike ran his hand over the shiny metal of the robot's back, felt her cheek, her shiny mane. The mane and tail style were based on Twilight's, and it was an Earth Pony. She's probably still trying to make a working Pegasus and Unicorn... The though of more of these... things... sent a shiver through Spike's scales. Something about this metal mare was not quite right. It's eyes were deep black pools, dull and unblinking. The shiny metal chest did not rise and fall with breath, and Spike felt no heartbeat when he ran his hand over the spot where a heart would rest. Spike quickly re-covered Twilight's invention with the white sheet, and examined the blueprints hanging on the far wall.

Around this wall, many crumpled papers were strewn. The papers on the wall showed many formulas and materials listed and what to do, all in terms Spike didn't understand. Along with those, there were papers showing the anatomy and workings of the robot mare. Spike tried to read the papers, but eventually gave up and started to weave through the failed inventions to the door. After he left, he carefully locked the door behind him, replaced the key, and returned to his bed. As he lay in darkness, he thought of the strange thing in Twilight's workroom and what it could possibly be used for.

Twilight watched Spike exit her basement, replace the key, and sneak to bed. He would never tamper with my invention... Would he? Thoughts of vandal to her beautiful creation made Twilight shiver, but she then shook her head. Spike would never do that! Grabbing her spare key from the pot, while making a mental note to move it, Twilight unlocked her basement door and galloped down the stairs. She ripped the sheet off her robot, only to find it in perfect condition, aside from a few smudges. The smudges quickly disappeared as Twilight took a cloth and hastily wiped down the robot. Twilight donned her lab coat and proceeded to undergo the tests she had planned for the next day.

On through the night, Twilight tested her bot, making sure it ran smoothly, didn't try to hurt her, and acted like a pony. The robots personality was based off of Twilight and her friends. With Twilight's looks and smarts, Applejack's honesty, Rarity's generosity, Pinkie's sense of humor, (even though it rarely came out funny in the monotone voice of the A.I.) Fluttershy's sweet demeanor, and Rainbow Dash's loyalty, Twilight's invention embodied the Elements of Harmony in a new form..... robotics.