“This way, Turing!” Twilight called, glancing back at the robot over her shoulder. “I want to stop by the traveling bookseller before the good stuff gets snapped up!”
“Understood.”
The two of them were in the outdoor market in Ponyville. Twilight decided to pick up a few odds and ends, especially since she wanted to see if she could find more books about Eastern unicorns. The books she had were severely lacking information on the subject. Of course, there were a few other things she wanted to get while she was out, and even a serious pony like Twilight enjoyed shopping. Spike was back at the castle cleaning up the room where they’d repaired Turing Test and Twilight decided that since her automaton companion had strength to spare, she could be of great help if she decided to splurge on books.
Twilight reached the bookseller’s tent and gleefully took in the sight of all the new and antique books for sale. A moment later, Turing Test arrived, saddlebags already bulging with the knick-knacks Twilight had purchased.
“Ooh, look at this one! And this one!” Twilight gushed examining first one book, then another. “Oh, they all look so good!”
“Ya like ‘em, eh?” said the mare who was running the tent. “I’m sure I could cut a discount for one of my best customers, TwiliiiiohsweetCelestiawhatisthat?!”
Twilight turned to see the bookseller pointing at Turing Test. She sighed. This had been happening all morning.
“I am an independently functional automaton residing with and currently assisting my end user, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing Test said to the bookseller. “I am designated as ‘Turing Test.’ Please identify yourself.”
“Wh-what?” the bookseller stammered.
“Repeating: I am an independently functional automaton--”
“Turing, enough, I’ll talk to the salesponies,” Twilight said, raising a hoof and cutting her off.
“Understood, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight did her best to explain what had been happening. Apparently the bookseller, with all her moving from town to town, had not heard the news about Twilight taking on the task of teaching an automaton friendship. Her explanation didn't seem to allay any concerns, however, as the poor mare kept glancing over at Turing and biting her lip.
“Listen, I know she’s a little, um, odd-looking,” Twilight said, finishing her explanation, “but she’s not dangerous. She’s just helping me shop, that’s all!”
“Well… wait, why is it flipping through the books?”
Twilight turned and saw Turing scanning a book, this time holding it up before her with magic.
“Turing Test, what are you doing?!”
“I am scanning this volume. Information copied and stored.”
“Turing, you can’t just read the entire book without buying it!”
“I merely complied with your command, Twilight Sparkle. When we arrived, you said 'Ooh, look at this one! And this one!' Now I have looked at them.”
Twilight flinched, not only because of Turing Test taking her too literally again, but also because she had momentarily mimicked Twilight’s voice perfectly, except that it had the same electronic distortion present in her own voice. The effect was a little disturbing, to say the least.
“Hooboy,” Twilight groaned, putting her hoof to her face.
The salespony cleared her throat, getting Twilight's attention. “Um, not to be rude or anything, Twilight,” she said, finding her voice again, “but you said it yourself. You can’t read the entire book without paying for it.” She looked at her pointedly.
“But that's..." Twilight sighed. "Right, right, of course,” she said, levitating the money for the books to the seller. “Let’s go, Turing. I don’t see any books on Eastern unicorns anyway.”
“Understood,” Turing said, levitating the purchased books into her saddlebags. She then turned to the bookseller, causing her to take a few steps back. “Etiquette indicates you be thanked for this transaction. Thank you. You will be given 10 seconds to acknowledge gratitude.”
“Ten seconds to... what?!” the seller cried.
“Turing!" Twilight called sharply. "Stop that and come here!”
“Countdown aborted. I will follow, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight let Turing Test catch up to her as they exited the tent and moved on down the road. Tents and stalls were everywhere with ponies selling their wares. It was a busy market day and that meant the selection was quite varied. Antiques, records, dolls, books, and of course the usual produce and other foods were all on display. The citizens of Ponyville were out in full force as well, and Twilight was acutely aware that she and Turing were likewise “on display."
“Unbelievable,” Twilight groaned, tossing her head back. “I lost count of all the vendors that asked me what you were, Turing Test.”
“The number is seven. Eight if you count the asparagus vendor who yelled something unintelligible and fled the scene. I estimate a 28% chance that his outburst was meant as an inquiry.”
“Yes, thank you, Turing.”
“However, the odds of it being an exclamation of fear, an epithet, or the result of a mental disorder largely outweighs that possibility.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Yes, thank you, Turing,” she said again, a little louder this time.
The two of them walked on in silence a bit further. Twilight tried her best to ignore the fact that everypony was staring at them, but she supposed the gawkers and rubber-neckers were unavoidable. She had hoped that taking Turing Test out to the market would be a good way to casually introduce her to the public, but it was rapidly becoming a spectacle and everywhere they went, things got quiet as ponies stopped what they were doing and stared and began to whisper to each other.
Turing Test was hard to miss, of course. A mechanical pony (accompanying an alicorn, no less) was not something one saw every day. Nopony in a century had seen something quite like Turing, and in truth, until now there hadn’t really been anything truly like her at all. It wasn’t that Twilight blamed them, but she’d hoped their reaction would be awe or curiosity at least.
Instead, the two just walked down a corridor of eyes filled with suspicion and fear.
“Twilight!” a chorus of voices suddenly exclaimed in unison.
She turned to see Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, along with a few other children, galloping over to her.
“Oh, hello!” she said, greeting them with a smile. However, they also stopped a slight distance from the pair of them and they all eyed Turing Test with a range of reactions. “Um, can I help you all with anything?” she asked.
“Well,” Applebloom began, apparently serving as the spokespony for the group, “I asked Applejack about that metal pony us Crusaders found and she told me to just forget about it…”
Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. I guess Applejack still wants nothing to do with Turing Test.
“...but Featherweight here and a bunch of other kids saw the newspaper yesterday and we saw the picture, so we found out y’all fixed it! And there she is!”
Applebloom pointed to Turing Test and the other kids all said “Oooh!” excitedly.
Turing Test took a step forward, looking down at the group of foals, causing them to momentarily step back. “Biological lifeforms are smaller than average. Twilight Sparkle, is it correct to identify these individuals as juveniles?”
“Yes, Turing Test, they’re children,” Twilight replied. “This is Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Um, and their friends…?”
“Yep!” Applebloom said, nodding emphatically. “This is Rumble,” she said, pointing out a gray colt, “Twist,” a filly with red hair and purple glasses, “and Button Mash,” a brown colt with a spinning propeller hat.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you!” Twilight said, drawing smiles from the assembled children. She was honestly glad to see that at least a few foals took the time to come over and meet Turing Test in person. This might be a good time to start helping her automaton friend integrate. “Everypony, this is my new automaton friend, Turing Test. Or just ‘Turing’ for short. Um, say hello, Turing!”
“Hello,” she replied.
“Its voice is weird,” Scootaloo said, making a face. “I thought it sounded weird when we found it because it got struck by lightning. I guess it always sounds like that.”
“My vocal processor is capable of mimicking speech or various other noises with high accuracy. However, due to numerous limitations, I am unable to do so flawlessly.”
“Can you sound like anypony?” Rumble asked.
“I am capable.”
“Ooh, ooh, could you sing a song?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.
“The potential exists. However, hearing the song or scanning the music and lyrics would be required.”
“Hey, aren’t those books and things heavy?” Scootaloo asked, gesturing to the bulging saddlebags.
“I am under no significant hindrance,” Turing Test replied. “Though my upper limits are untested, I estimate from previous data that lifting and carrying in excess of three metric tons would be possible.”
That impressed all of them, Twilight included.
“Dang, even Big Mac would be sweatin’ from that much, I bet!” Applebloom exclaimed, her ears perking up as she stared at Turing.
“You mutht be the thtrongetht pony in Equethtria!” Twist added.
“Unknown, although my lifting and carrying capacity and hull durability far exceed the norms of biological ponies.”
While the other children gabbed excitedly amongst themselves (partly in amazement, partly due to not understanding her wording), Twilight noticed that the brown colt, Button Mash, hadn’t said anything yet, but was staring up at Turing. His eyes were wide and shimmering with awe and his mouth was hanging open.
“Um, little boy?” she asked. The colt didn’t respond. “Hello, um, Button, was it?”
Sweetie Belle poked him with her hoof. “Psst, Button!" she said out of the side of her mouth. "Princess Twilight is talking to you!”
Suddenly Button’s face came to life and he gasped, though not at Twilight. “Aww, cool, it’s a robot!” he shouted, giving a little leap into the air.
Everyone was silent at the word.
“Uh, I don’t know that word,” Twilight said, “but Turing Test is called an ‘automaton.’ Not a... ro-bot.”
“Correct. I am a fully automated mechanical construct which emulates that of biological ponies, therefore classified as an automaton.”
“Nuh uh!” Button shot back, shaking his head. “You’re a robot! I know because you look like the robots in ‘Pronto the Porcupine!’”
“Pronto the… what?” Twilight asked.
“It’s, um… it’s from one of those arcade games,” Sweetie Belle explained, blushing slightly.
“Yeah, exactly! Oh, hold on a second!” He dashed away and returned a few moments later, holding a comic book in his mouth. “Here, look at this!” he said, opening the page. Everyone gathered around to see what he was pointing to.
On the page was a strange-looking mare with orange hair, round spectacles, a red coat with tails, and black pants. She was cackling madly from the top of a building while a cartoonish blue porcupine was glaring up at her. And all around this mad scientist was an army of creatures that looked like ponies, but they were made out of metal. Some even had wind-up keys in their backs and springs for legs, but Twilight and the others had to admit that they somewhat resembled Turing Test.
“This is the official companion comic to the game,” Button was explaining breathlessly, “where the mad scientist Doctor Robotnag creates a bunch of mechanical ponies to do her bidding and take over the world! She decides to name them after herself and calls them ‘robots!’ Pronto’s job is to beat the robots and save everypony with his super speed!”
Twilight picked up the comic and flipped through a few pages. Turing seemed to take an interest in it as well, so Twilight held it up to her.
“Well,” Twilight began, turning her head to the left and right, “I guess these sort of look like Turing Test. A little.”
“That settles it!” Button declared, holding his head up and pointing to Turing Test. “Robot!”
“Yeah, I like ‘robot’ way better than ‘automatron,’” Scootaloo said, struggling on the last word.
“It’s ‘automaton,’ but you’re right,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “‘Robot’ is easier to say.”
The other children all voiced their agreement.
“Now wait a minute! It doesn’t matter if it’s easier to say!” Twilight exclaimed. “The correct term is ‘automaton!’”
“Judging by the semi-independent actions of these machines,” Turing Test said, cutting in after flipping through the entire comic, “I bear greater resemblance to these machines than the automata described in your books, Twilight Sparkle. ‘Robot’ is therefore an acceptable term.”
“Turing, not you too!” Twilight groaned, levitating the comic back to the children. “Listen, just because some comic that you found at… wait, where did you get this?”
“Hey!” yelled the bookseller from before as she galloped toward the group. “You kids didn’t pay for that comic! You owe me three bits!”
The fillies and colts all shared a mutual fearful glance. Clearly, they did not have any money.
“Run for it!” Applebloom yelled and they all scattered in different directions.
“Darn it, Button! Why are you always getting us in trouble?” Sweetie Belle yelled as they ran.
They soon were out of sight, leaving Twilight and Turing Test alone once again.
“Well, that was something, I guess,” Twilight said.
“Correct. It was an interaction followed by a theft.”
Twilight rubbed her forehead. “...Let’s just go home.”
***
Many many miles away, Spitfire and Soarin, leading members of the Wonderbolts, were flying toward a plateau through a mostly cloudless blue sky. The “mostly” was actually what they were called in for. Normally a disturbance involving weather or rainclouds could be handled by a regular weather team, but this was hardly a normal case.
“I think this is it!” Soarin yelled over the roar of wind as they rocketed toward the top of the rock-strewn plateau. They could see that it was actually covered with quite a lot of grass and wildflowers, making it far more lush than the surrounding countryside.
“Nice place, but where are the… ah ha, I see them!” Spitfire called. “Rogue storm clouds at 8 o’clock! And-- wait, are those clouds wearing… tutus?!”
As they got closer, they saw that indeed they were. In fact, the nebulous dark gray clouds, six in all, were in vaguely bipedal shapes and were doing an elaborate series of ballet moves. From nowhere discernible, they could hear the sound of an orchestra playing the theme from “Swan Lake.” And someone singing along with it. Badly.
“Okay, enough of this!” Spitfire shouted. “Who’s responsible for this?! I’m Commander Spitfire of the Wonderbolts and I demand to know who--”
“Oho, a celebrity guest!” a mirthful voice cried. And then there was a flash of light and the responsible party appeared before her.
“Great,” Spitfire groaned. “Discord. I should have known.”
Indeed it was. And the ever-chaotic draconequus either didn’t pick up on her stone-faced glare or just didn’t care. “Listen, this little cloud ballet I’ve got going on has been grand, but we really need someone to play the swan!” he said. He snapped his fingers and Spitfire was suddenly coated with brown feathers on her body, black feathers on her neck and head, white feathers on her cheeks, and her muzzle turned into a long, thin bill. “Ah ha, perfect!" Discord cheered, grinning at her. Then he frowned, his eyes narrowing. "I certainly hope you know how to do a good pas de cheval because I hate to think our performance will be ruined by an amateur.”
Nearby, Soarin was having a hard time keeping himself from laughing out loud.
“First of all, I can pas de cheval with the best of them and I kicked serious flank when I was in the Danse des petits cygnes when I was a filly,” Spitfire said, not missing a beat and staring pointedly at Soarin. “And second of all, this isn’t a swan, it’s a Vanhoover goose you mismatched goon!”
“Sssso, you don’t want the part?” Discord asked, giving her an exaggerated frown.
She only stared back at him, her glare becoming icier.
“Oh very well.” He snapped his fingers and Spitfire returned to her normal shape. “Well, in any case, how can I help such distinguished members of Equestria’s most elite flying team?”
“You can start by telling us what you think you’re doing with those storm clouds!” Spitfire shouted, pointing up at the clouds. “They went missing from a nearby town and the ponies there could use some rain!”
“Oh, that. Well, I was only borrowing them temporarily to put on a little show! I must say they’re doing a pretty good job for a bunch of stratocumuli.” The storm clouds silently seemed to be high-fiving and congratulating each other. “Except for you, number six!" Discord said with a disapproving frown. "I saw that miserable excuse for a pirouette!” The sixth cloud hung its vaguely-shaped head.
“Wait,” Soarin said, jumping into the conversation. “Why? What show?”
“The show I’m putting on for my new mountain pony friends!” Discord replied with a sweeping gesture of his eagle-clawed arm.
They followed his gesture and saw a small family of nomadic mountain ponies sitting by, watching with big smiles on their faces. There was a father with three children.
“You see, they were gathering herbs up here and they just looked so bored that I thought I might brighten up their day with some clouds! A bit ironic when you think about it…”
“That’s kinda cool, I guess,” Soarin said, causing Spitfire’s frown to deepen.
“Now hold on,” Spitfire continued. “Why would you want to entertain a small family?”
“I admit, I’ve got a soft spot for the kids,” Discord said, waving to the foals, who smiled and waved back. “After all, I’m an honorary Cutie Mark Crusader!”
“A what?”
“It’s canon to the comics, don’t worry about it,” Discord said quickly. “Anyway, I do apologize for the inconvenience, but I swear I was going to bring them right back! Don’t you trust me?”
“Heh. Trust you? You don’t remember who I am, do you?” Spitfire asked coldly.
“Uhhhhhh errrrrrrr welllllll--” He stroked his beard, squinting his eyes. "Maaaybe... no, no, that wasn't it..."
“Tirek? A bunch of pegasi trying to stop him? You helping him get strong enough to suck out our ability to fly?”
“Ohhh, right. That.” He looked genuinely embarrassed and actually began to shrink, as if trying to quietly vanish. “Um, would a handwritten apology help?”
“It’d be a start,” Spitfire replied sarcastically, giving a roll of her eyes.
“Oh, good!” Discord exclaimed, snapping his fingers to make a piece of paper appear. “Let’s see… ‘I, Discord, do hereby--’ wait, is that one word or two? Ah, no matter, ‘do hereby apologize to--’”
“Uh, guys?” Soarin said, interrupting the two of them. “There are six clouds, right?”
“Yeah,” Spitfire replied, glancing in his direction. “Why do you… oh come on!”
They looked and saw that there were now five storm clouds instead of six. One of them had wandered off.
“Oops. Well, guess we won’t be doing a second show,” Discord sighed.
“You dope!" Spitfire shouted, throwing her hooves in the air. "Now we’ve got a missing rain cloud!”
“In a tutu,” Soarin added.
“In a tutu!”
Sheepishly, Discord floated over to the remaining clouds and rapidly said “Well so sorry for the trouble hate to rush things but here’s your apology let me take those other clouds back goodbye!” And with that, Discord and the five clouds vanished in a flash of light. Spitfire found a piece of paper stuck to her face with a hastily-written note that said “I.O.U. one apology” on it.
“So, um, should we go find that cloud?” Soarin asked.
Spitfire scanned the horizon and realized she didn’t see it anywhere. “No, I’m not wasting my time tracking one lousy enchanted cloud. Let’s just send out a message telling the regional weather teams to look out for it and that’ll be enough. Come on, let’s go back to Cloudsdale.”
The two of them took off and a few moments later, a sneaky cloud wearing a tutu came out from its hiding place behind a rock and began to fly off, fatefully, to Ponyville.
***
Twilight and Turing Test were nearly to the castle when Spike burst through the front door carrying a letter.
“Twilight, Twilight!” he shouted urgently, waving a piece of paper in his claw. “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia!”
“Oh my gosh, she responded!” Twilight took the letter from Spike, holding it up to read it. “Let’s see… doesn’t say much, just saying she’ll be by to visit in half an hour and to let her know if it’s not okay because she wants to… oh. She wants to ‘talk about the automaton--’”
“Robot,” Turing Test said.
"Huh?" Spike asked, looking to her. "What's a robot?"
"I am a robot."
Twilight interjected herself between the two. “Turing, please be quiet for a moment. Spike, what did you say in response?”
“Nothing! I don’t think I have the authority to tell the Princess ‘no’ in your place. I thought I’d wait for you and Turing to get back.”
“Th-then tell me… Celestia said she would come by in half an hour, right? Now, how long ago did you get this letter?”
“Um,” he gulped, “h-half an hour ago?”
“Warning: unknown aerial object approaching,” Turing Test intoned, ears twitching as she detected the sound.
“Oh no,” Twilight whispered. She and Spike turned their eyes skyward to see what the mechanical mare had spotted. Sure enough, they saw Princess Celestia herself descending in the royal chariot, a cadre of Royal Guard pegasi accompanying her.
Okay, Twilight, stay calm. Stay calm. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Don’t worry, Twi--”
“I’m completely calm, Spike!” Twilight shouted.
“R-riiiight,” Spike said.
The two of them watched as Celestia’s chariot touched down. Spike bowed low and Twilight gave a short curtsy, a practiced move she’d learned in her time as a princess.
“Good morning, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said warmly, approaching them both. She glanced over at Turing Test and her smile wavered, but then turned back to Twilight. “You seem surprised to see me. Didn’t you get my letter?”
“Uhhh, just a minute ago,” Twilight said. She quickly added “But, of course, you’re always welcome here, Princess Celestia!”
“I’m glad. I was hoping I could have a brief chat with you to discuss the automaton.”
“Correction,” Turing Test said suddenly, startling them. Celestia raised her foreleg, jerking her head back. The nearby Royal Guards stiffened and readied themselves to defend their monarch.
“I have been reclassified as a robot. Please identify yourself, white alicorn.”
“W-what?” Celestia gasped, sucking in a breath at this rough address from this strange mechanical creature.
“Ahahaha, oh, Turing Test, always so curious!” Twilight said, placing herself between Celestia and her new ward. “Um, Turing Test, this is Princess Celestia, my mentor, my friend, and the ruler of Equestria!”
“Please clarify: is she therefore my end user’s end user?”
“That’s not quite right, but for the time being, sure, let’s go with that,” Twilight said, sweat forming on her brow as Celestia stared down at Turing Test. It was rare for her to see Celestia so unnerved by something and she was starting to suspect that Vanderbull hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest about the Princess’s feelings about technology.
Turing's ears twitched and she bowed her head slightly. “Understood. Greetings, Princess Celestia.”
Celestia just stared back at her.
Turing looked back at Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, no reply was received. She may have impaired hearing.”
“Turing Test, please just be quiet!” Twilight groaned.
Celestia regained her composure, shaking her head and giving a small cough, and turned back to Twilight, her smile in place once again. “Princess Twilight, could we talk somewhere in private, please?”
“Of course! Spike, would you please go make us some tea? We’ll be on the balcony!”
"Sure thing, Twilight!" Spike replied, rushing ahead of them into the castle.
A Royal Guardspony came near. “Shall we accompany you, Your Highness?”
“No,” Celestia replied. “I’d appreciate it if you would wait for me out here. I won’t be long.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
The small group entered the castle, Turing Test noisily clicking and whirring all the while, followed by her metallic hooves clanking on the castle floor, which drew an irritated look from Celestia.
Twilight was quick to pick up on Celestia's expression. “Turing, would you please go wait in a room?” she asked.
“Please specify.”
“Any room but my bedroom or the balcony! Just wait there!”
“Understood,” she said, and turned to enter the nearest room, shutting the door behind her.
Celestia said nothing for a moment, but finally let out a long breath, her body losing some of its tension. “It is clearly obedient toward you. That much, I am relieved to see.”
“Y-yeah. She’s a little strange, but she's really not so bad!”
“That… is what I want to talk to you about,” Celestia said slowly.
Uh oh, Twilight thought.
***
The two of them sat on the balcony, a gust of fresh air gently disturbing their manes. Spike had brought them their tea and they sat looking out at Ponyville from their high vantage point.
“It certainly is a wonderful view, Twilight,” Celestia said.
“It is. And this castle really is feeling more and more like my own home every day.” Twilight added a few sugar cubes to her tea, stirring it gently.
“I am very glad to hear that.” Celestia sipped from her cup and gave a satisfied sigh. “Spike has improved his brewing technique. I remember the first time I had tea from him.”
“Oh my gosh, I forgot about that!” Twilight laughed. “He forgot the strainer and it was almost nothing but tea leaves in the cup!”
“It was less a cup of tea and more like a hot salad at that point,” Celestia chuckled.
The two princesses laughed and Twilight momentarily felt silly for having worried about Celestia’s visit. She took a sip of her tea.
“Well, Twilight, as much as I enjoy just spending time with you, I’m afraid we must discuss that machine you’re keeping.”
Twilight tensed up and nearly spilled the tea. “W-what about her?”
Celestia sighed. “I know Vanderbull must have told you of my cautious approach to new technology, Twilight,” she began, looking out at the horizon sadly. “But I want you to know that things are not as simple as Cornelius would have you believe. Let me explain why I have chosen to be this way.
“You see, back when automata were at the height of their popularity, I paid a visit to a farm. While I always found such mechanical things as automata to be novelties and had little interest in them, what I saw that day had a profound effect on me. An inventor had created several mechanical ponies that could plow entire fields on their own. He even gave a demonstration of this, and it was completely perfect and done just as fast as any farmhoof could have done. The inventor claimed the machine could plow ten more fields before the day was through without need for rest or food or even payment.”
“That sounds amazing!” Twilight exclaimed. Then a thought occurred to her and she frowned. “Wait, this was over 100 years ago? Why don’t we have this technology now?”
“Allow me to continue,” Celestia said. “I asked the inventor if his machines had families. He laughed and of course replied that they didn’t. And I then pointed out that the farm workers such a machine would replace, in contrast, did have families. And those families might well go hungry if a machine took their breadwinners’ jobs.”
“Oh,” Twilight said, realizing what her mentor was saying.
“I knew that the day might come when ponies had perfected their craft so well that a mechanical pony might be created that could mimic everything a pony could do. But rather than only taking away one job from ponies, such a machine could replace a pony entirely.” Her expression grew dark. “A whole life reduced to nothing in the face of a machine that can do nearly anything. That is something I could not stand by and watch happen. Thus, I spoke out against and cut funding to such individuals whose automata threatened the livelihood of the average worker. Eventually, the machines went out of style entirely, surviving only as miniature children’s toys.”
Twilight was listening intently. Though she still wanted to speak on Turing Test’s behalf, she was once again struck by how protective and caring Celestia was for her subjects. She wasn’t sure if she agreed or not, but it was good to know that there was some motivation for her mistrust of technology other than a mere resistance to change and progress, as Vanderbull had said.
“I admit that I personally find the sight of that machine you have taken in… disturbing, to say the least,” Celestia continued, “but, at least for the time being, I am more worried about where it came from than what it is. You still don’t know who built it?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “Although Mr. Vanderbull and his assistant Gadget are researching it and they’ll let me know if they find anything.”
“And yet when it first arrived, it was looking for you specifically, Twilight. This machine sought you out and you have brought it into your home. I fear that it may be a threat to you.”
Twilight bit her lip, but then drew in a breath. “M-maybe she was a threat,” she said, “but her memory from before we found her is gone. Even she doesn’t know why she was sent.”
“Or maybe it just was programmed not to tell you.”
Twilight swallowed. “My friends have also suggested that,” she admitted. “But I don’t think so. Since Turing Test arrived, she’s been totally harmless.”
“That business where it nearly attacked you all was untrue, then?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
“N-no… That did happen.” She took a deep breath and pressed on. “But that was just her defending herself. And now Turing Test listens to me. I told her to never ever harm anypony and gave her a set of rules to follow.”
“Well, I am glad to hear that. I hope that your trust is not misplaced,” Celestia said, taking another drink from her cup. She swallowed slowly and put the cup down again. She looked down at Twilight. “I have been very worried for you, Twilight. I would be utterly distraught if something were to happen to you, and I shudder to think that someone sent this machine to do you harm. But whether your trust in it is misplaced or not, I will trust your judgment and ask only that you be on your guard and please don’t hesitate to tell me if you suspect the machine of anything.”
Twilight relaxed, glad as always to hear Celestia’s care for her, and especially that she was trusting her. “So,” she said, “you, um… I’m glad you haven’t come to take her away. I was really afraid you would ask me to give her up.”
“I admit the thought crossed my mind, Twilight, but I don’t believe it is my place to interfere in another princess’s duties. I would no more command you to abandon your efforts at making friends than I would make demands on Princess Cadance for the Crystal Empire. However...” and here she took on a pained expression.
“Yes?” Twilight asked, urging her to continue.
“I… I’m afraid I cannot be more supportive of your mission. I have been wrong in the past, just as anypony else is capable of being, and I know that your role in Equestria is of vital importance, but making friends with a machine is not something I believe to be possible. It may be intelligent, in its own way, but when I see that machine..." she paused, closing her eyes, "...I cannot believe that it has anything resembling a heart. It is not truly even alive; it is only an illusion that it appears to be so. To tell the truth, I think it should be shut down and permanently dismantled."
Twilight gasped, bringing herself up to speak.
"But I can tell that you would never allow it, Princess Twilight, and I am not going to force you. Instead, I would ask that you not let your curiosity and your kind heart deceive you; if that machine is not capable of friendship or if it becomes dangerous, then I’d like you to inform me. Then we can decide what to do with it.”
You’re wrong, Princess, Twilight thought, choosing not to say it aloud. Yesterday… it was only for a moment or two, but I know that Turing Test changed somehow. Even she isn’t completely sure about it, but I have to believe that an intelligent being like her really can have emotions!
Outwardly, she only said, “I understand, Princess Celestia. I guess we’ll find out together!” She offered her a smile, which Celestia returned.
“I suppose we will,” Celestia replied, and drank the last of her tea.
To be continued...