Gadget looked up from a brochure she’d picked up in the lobby when Turing Test tapped on her shoulder.
“Hm?” She glanced up, smiling at the robot. “What is it, Turing?”
“Twilight Sparkle is returning. She is being accompanied by another alicorn.”
Gadget slowly turned and her eyes went wide, jaw dropping open, as she saw that Twilight was indeed coming back across the atrium of the museum. Behind her, a full head taller, a starry mane flowing elegantly behind, was…
“P-Princess Luna!” Immediately, Gadget bowed as low as she could and so abruptly that she actually hit her chin on the floor. “T-Turing Test, bow!”
“Understood.” Turing assumed the same position.
“Arise, Gadgette Giroux,” Luna said as she and Twilight arrived.
Oh my gosh she knows my name, oh gosh oh gosh! Outwardly, Gadget only managed to slowly rise back to her hooves on wobbly legs, her knees practically knocking together, a tight grin on her face as she struggled to not hyperventilate, her eyes fixated on the Princess.
Twilight chuckled slightly at Gadget’s obvious star-struck state. “Um, Luna, this is Gadgette, but everyone calls her ‘Gadget,’” she said, gesturing to her with one hoof.
“I see.” Luna smiled. “Twilight Sparkle has told us-- er, has told me that you are a mechanist working with my sister’s acquaintance, Mr. Vanderbull.”
Gadget’s pupils constricted and her throat felt dry. “Gggkkkkkt!” she replied.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Ah… are you all right?”
“She’s just a little shy,” Twilight said, going to Gadget’s side. She leaned closer and whispered into Gadget’s ear, “Gadget, Princess Luna is really nice. She’s also very sensitive because she had a lot of trouble getting used to things after she was changed back from being Nightmare Moon and being gone for a thousand years. Please try to calm down.”
Gadget swallowed and gave short nod. “Y-yes, that’s right, Your Majesty.” She took a deep breath. “I’m… an engineer. I build machines for Mr. Vanderbull.”
Luna’s smile grew. “Then you should be excellent company on the tour today!” she exclaimed. “I would love to learn more about the incredible devices that have been constructed in my absence.”
“Oh, that’s great!” Gadget said, raising her head proudly. She actually placed a hoof on her chest, forgetting all her anxiety from just a moment earlier. “You see, I happen to be an expert in all kinds of machines, power sources, and other…” She trailed off, her eyes widening again. “Wait. ‘Tour?’ You mean…”
“Yes,” Twilight said, smiling up at Luna. “Princess Luna will be coming with us on the tour.”
From the look of wide-eyed shock she wore, Gadget looked like she was somewhere between jumping for joy or having a massive heart attack. Fortunately, she was saved, this time by Luna herself.
“Please, consider yourself my companion alongside Twilight Sparkle. I would greatly appreciate your help in understanding the things we will see today. Can I count on you?”
“O-oh!” Gadget nodded emphatically. “Yes! Yes, of course, Your Majesty!”
Luna put her hoof on Gadget’s shoulder. “Please, let us do away with such titles. ‘Luna’ will be fine.”
Gadget managed to nod through her smile. “Umm… okay, ‘Luna.’” Inwardly, she was practically shrieking Oh my goodness… How did I get on a first name basis with two different princesses?
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the tension between the two seemed to have been resolved, but then she looked down and saw that Turing Test was still in bowing position on the floor.
“Um, Turing? You can stop bowing now.”
“Acknowledged.” Turing arose and Luna seemed to notice her for the first time.
“Uh, Luna, this is--”
“Ah ha! The automaton my sister mentioned!” Luna bounded over, a huge grin on her face. The two Royal Guardsponies nearby came close, eyes fixated on Turing Test.
“Wait, you mean Celestia… she talked to you about Turing?”
“Yes!” Luna said, walking circles around Turing Test. “She mentioned that you had some sort of artificial pony in your care, but until this moment I hadn’t fathomed what she truly meant!”
“Greetings, Princess Luna. I am Turing Test.”
“And it speaks!” Luna, with all the bright-eyed giddiness of a mere foal, began to examine Turing, lifting the robot’s legs and tail before running her hooves along their surface, even tapping on her metal exterior.
Watching this invasive treatment of her friend, Twilight couldn’t help but wince in discomfort. “Um… Luna…”
“It is all right, Twilight Sparkle,” Turing said before she could finish. “Her apparent awe of me is unexpected. Most ponies only stare at me or avoid me altogether. She shows no apparent fear or discomfort.”
Luna tilted her head at that, momentarily turning away from one of the coils of Turing’s mane that she’d been examining. “Fear? Why would I fear you, Contraption?” She then resumed her smile and lifted Turing’s right foreleg. “This is remarkable! Truly remarkable!” She turned back to Twilight and Gadget. “How does it work?”
Gadget actually had a hard time keeping herself from laughing and Twilight actually nudged her when she heard her start to snicker.
“Normally, Gadget could tell you, Luna,” Twilight replied, “but you could just as easily ask Turing Test herself.”
“Oh?” She pursed her lips before slowly turning back to look at Turing. “Yes… I suppose I could. Contraption, can you understand me?”
“Affirmative.”
Luna rubbed her chin. “So… I see you are able to understand and form speech. Tell me, can you answer any question?”
“No. Only questions that I have knowledge about.”
Luna jerked her head back and then began to laugh. “I see! Of course!” She cleared her throat. “Well then, please tell me how you are able to function.”
“That question would normally require a lot of explanation. However, experience has taught me that ponies often require a brief outline, rather than a detailed explanation, of complex matters. Simply put, I am powered by a chemical battery. The electricity it produces allows the numerous servo motors in my system to enable movement among other functions. I have modified cameras that scan my environment which function as my eyes and a complex series of systems which allow me to emulate the abilities of the three main types of ponies, excluding alicorns. All major and minor operations are controlled by my central processing unit. It is also connected to my memory and cognitive functions.”
Luna scrunched her face up. “I’m afraid I don’t think I understand all of that, but I am familiar enough with the new invention of electricity to understand that somehow it animates you.”
“Correct.”
Luna smiled. “Then I have understood at least that much. But tell me, how is it that you are able to think and speak, Contraption? Do you have some manner of brain?”
Gadget cleared her throat. “Actually, Pri-- er, Luna, nopony knows exactly how or why Turing is so smart.” She came alongside her robotic friend, pointing to Turing’s head. “Those things she mentioned, her central processing unit, her memory, and her cognitive function, are all stored inside a compartment in her head. In a way, those three things work like a ‘brain,’ more or less.”
Luna slowly nodded. “And… this is all… mechanical?”
“Yes, that’s right!” Gadget smiled at that, but then narrowed her eyes, rubbing her chin. “The trouble is, the compartment they’re in is locked up tight and we don’t know how to access it without damaging the whole thing. So the truth is that we don’t actually know how it works yet.”
“I see.” Luna leaned in more closely. “Tell me, Contraption, do--”
“Turing Test.”
Luna stopped. “I beg your pardon?”
“I do not mean to show disrespect, Princess Luna, but I do have some emotions, and I have a more positive response to my name. I request that you call me Turing Test, or simply ‘Turing,’ as my friends do.”
Luna’s jaw worked on its own without making a sound for a few moments and Twilight stepped forward, afraid that Turing had inadvertently insulted Luna. But then Luna began to laugh and she turned toward Twilight.
“My sister told me only the barest details of this machine pony, but it-- but she is a wondrous creation! I see, as usual, Twilight, that you keep interesting company. Strange, but interesting.” Luna then turned back to Turing Test. “Very well. If your friends call you ‘Turing,’ then so shall I. And you may likewise address me as simply ‘Luna.’”
Turing nodded. “Acknowledged. I am glad to make your acquaintance, Luna.”
Twilight relaxed, letting out the deep breath she’d been holding in.
“Still,” Luna went on, looking around at all the different hallways leading to different displays, “even with all I have seen since my return, I have never seen machine ponies like yourself, Turing. Are there others like you?”
Turing Test’s ears shifted, squeaking on their hinges. She glanced over at one of the tickets Gadget had in her jacket’s pocket, reading the title again: The Automaton: History of the Mechanical Pony.
“Possibly,” she replied at last. “I would like to know the answer as well.”
***
Back across town inside Vanderbull Industries, a lone donkey wearing a khaki jumpsuit and cap made his way down the hall in the Engineering wing. He pulled a janitor’s trolley with him loaded up with bottles of cleaning fluid, a bucket, and a mop. He stopped at a door that read Gadgette F. Giroux - Executive Assistant/Engineer. He took a key ring from his belt and inserted it into the locked door.
“Uh, excuse me, what are you doing?”
The donkey looked up at the gray unicorn stallion galloping over to him.
“What’s it look like, mac?” the donkey replied. “I’m fixin’ ta clean out this here room.”
The unicorn furrowed his brow. “Uh, cleaning day isn’t until Wednesday for the Engineering department. Are you new?”
The donkey raised his ears. “The hay?! I’ve been here for almost a year!” He pointed to the nametag on his uniform, which said his name was Burrojangles. “You sayin’ you don’t know me? One o’ us janitors is the same as another? Or maybe,” he added, raising an eyebrow and giving him a sideways glance, “just all us donkeys look the same?”
The unicorn shifted his eyes and he began to sweat. “N-no, I… look, um, that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing! Miss Gadget’s one of the top engineers around here and nopony’s supposed to go in there unless--”
“Awright, awright,” the donkey said, waving a hoof before placing the keys back on his belt. “Mr. Vanderbull said he wanted this place tidied up, but I guess I can just tell ‘im one o’ his workers made me leave. Ain’t my problem, mac.”
The unicorn froze. “Oh, uh, well…”
“What did ya say ya name was again?”
The unicorn began to back away. “I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t know that it was Mr. Vanderbull himself who called for this! I guess in that case…”
The donkey grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Ohhh, so glad I got ya permission, Mr. Fancy Shmancy!”
“Actually, Fancy Shmancy works downstairs. I’m Flip Switch--”
“Whatever, just lemme get back to work over here.” The donkey unlocked the door as the unicorn, Flip Switch, scampered off. Once he was in, he closed and locked the door behind him. Smiling to himself, he reached into a compartment on the trolley and drew out a camera.
“Well then,” he mumbled to himself, “time to get to work.”
***
Twilight galloped back to the group as they waited at the entrance to the new exhibit, the entrance cordoned off with a velvet rope.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Twilight exclaimed. “I wanted to check out the Anthropology exhibit before we started. It’s so real to me! There was this exhibit of two ancient ponies’ bones from 50,000 years ago! It was like getting a glimpse of my own ancestry!”
The others began talking about it until they heard the fluttering of wings. From down the hallway a pegasus came into view. She landed in front of them, just ahead of the velvet rope.
“So sorry to keep you waiting!” she said, bowing her head. “We wanted to make sure absolutely everything was perfect for our honored guests today!” She lifted her head and smiled brightly. “My name is Blue Blazer and I will be your tour guide through this exhibit! I hope you will find all this as interesting as I do!”
Blue Blazer was pink, but in fact was wearing a bright blue blazer and a matching round pillbox hat atop her chocolate brown mane. Her eyes were brown as well and around her neck she wore a silken scarf tied into an elegant bow. On her flank was the image of a Q next to an A.
“It’s nice to meet you, Blue Blazer,” Twilight said, stepping forward, “my name is--”
Blue Blazer held up a hoof. “Oh, but of course I know who you are! All of you!” She cleared her throat and gestured to them all, one-by-one. “Her Royal Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle, Her Royal Highness Princess Luna,” she began, and then walked over to Gadget, who gasped as Blue Blazer took up her hoof in both of hers, shaking it. “And then there’s you, Gadget: Mr. Vanderbull’s prize assistant and one of his most promising engineers! It is a distinct pleasure to have such an elite scientific mind in our midst!”
Gadget blushed profusely, hiding her face as she turned away. “P-please, I’m nothing special.”
“Oh, pshaw!” Blue Blazer scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Your paper in Scientific Equestrian, ‘Magitech Prostheses Adapted for Everyday Use?’ Buh-rill-ia~ant!”
“Wait, you were published in Scientific Equestrian?!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Y-yeah, not long after I put together the first version of the Point Dexter.” She took a breath and her blush began to fade. “It was just a little something I wrote to show some data from my experiments with using earth pony magic to power devices. Granted, it’s hard to adapt it for other ponies, since I only experimented on myself…” She trailed off, seeing Luna pouting and scrunching her face, clearly not following what they were talking about.
“Oh! I, uh, I built a bunch of mechanical arms that I can control using my earth pony magic, Princess Luna,” Gadget explained.
“Really!” She smiled. “How incredible!”
Blue Blazer at last turned to Turing Test. “Well, last of all we have Princess Twilight’s own personal experiment in Friendship, the famous automaton Turing Test!”
“Robot.”
Blue Blazer’s eyes went wide, but then, curiously, she put a hoof over her mouth and stifled a laugh. “Oh my. You’re calling yourself a ‘robot?’”
Turing tilted her head. “Is that word amusing to you? I did not intend to be humorous.”
“Let’s just say you might learn some interesting information on this tour. But then, I suppose that’s the idea!” Blue Blazer looked Turing Test up and down, heaving a sigh. “You are even more impressive in person, though. The machines you’ll see in here can’t compare to you, I’m afraid, but perhaps you’ll learn more about your own kind.”
Turing nodded. “That is my intention.”
“In that case,” Blue Blazer said, unhooking the velvet rope and clearing the path for them, “let us begin!”
Luna lingered for a moment, turning to the two Royal Guards.
“You may wait here,” she said. “I would like to enjoy this exhibit on my own with my companions.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” they both said, saluting her immediately. The both took up stationary positions at the entrance as Luna caught up to the group.
Blue Blazer led them down the hallway and they entered the domed chamber at the entrance to the exhibit. The almost total silence was broken by their collective gasps.
“Wow…” Gadget managed to whisper.
The domed room was filled with numerous mechanical ponies. One was a porcelain figure of a mare with painted lips and glass eyes and a silken gown. Another was like a bronze statue with large joints in its legs and neck and blue polished sapphires for eyes. Still another was a skeletal structure with dozens of interlocking gears housed inside the steel bands of its rib cage. And yet another was of a colt in a sitting position with a Pan flute in his hooves.
“Just… just look at all these!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Understood. I am observing,” Turing replied, walking over to the skeletal automaton.
“Oh, but wait!” said Blue Blazer, wiggling her eyebrows. “There’s more! You see, these automata are at the entrance because, once the exhibit is open to the public, they will be welcoming our guests in style!” She went to the wall, where there was a large lever and pulled the switch. The hum of electricity was heard and then, slowly, all the automata began to move.
The porcelain figure bowed her head and began to dance on a circular platform below her, rotating elegantly like a ballerina. The bronze figure’s sapphire eyes glowed blue and it began pawing and stomping at the ground as puffs of steam blasted from its nostrils. The skeletal pony sat down on its haunches and then lay down before once again standing back up, repeating this motion again and again. And the colt raised the pan flute to his lips and began to play a slow, simple tune on it, moving the various tubes of it side-to-side.
As the four of them stared on in awe, Luna suddenly let out a cry and sank to her haunches, covering her mouth as her eyes began to tear up.
“Luna!” Twilight exclaimed, rushing over.
“My goodness…” Luna was whispering. “To think that the ponies of Equestria… that they were able to create such wonders! What other things have I missed in my absence?!”
“Luna, it’s all right,” Twilight said, putting her hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. This is all new to me too.” She smiled as Luna looked down at her. “We’ll learn about all this together.”
“Y-yes,” she said, getting to her hooves, blushing slightly when she saw that Gadget, Turing, and Blue Blazer were all looking to her. “My apologies. I was simply overwhelmed.”
Gadget pursed her lips and looked at the skeletal figure that was continually laying down and rising back to its hooves. “These machines… most of these weren’t electrical, were they?”
“Correct!” Blue Blazer exclaimed. “We modified them to run on electricity so they wouldn’t need to have their inner clockwork wound.” She gestured for them all to gather around.
“These are all examples of display automata, meaning they were intended purely for ornamental reasons,” she began. “Here we have examples from many different places and times. The Flute Player was commissioned by a Canterlot noble for his wife’s garden 120 years ago. The Dancer was a Maretanian invention placed outside the Grand Duchy’s Great Concert Hall 50 years ago and only recently was acquired for our collection. That unnamed bronze stallion over there once belonged to a Saddle Arabian prince, though we aren’t sure of its date. And the clockwork stallion that is lying down and standing was a construction by Silver Swan in the Golden Age of Automata, about 100 years ago.”
Princess Luna raised her hoof, and both Gadget and Twilight noted that she looked like an inquisitive schoolfilly. “Tell me, what magic was it that animates these mechanisms?”
Blue Blazer waved her hoof. “No magic at all, Your Highness. While some automata are Magitech in nature, utilizing various enchantments or direct stimulation of magical energies, these four are completely mechanical in nature.”
“Astounding,” Luna whispered.
“Well then, if you’ll follow me, we’ll pass by a few other minor displays on our way to the Ancient Automata wing.”
The group continued forward, stopping periodically to look at the smaller displays lining the hallway as Twilight came up next to Luna. “Luna, I was wondering… you never did explain what you’re doing here. Is it just curiosity while you’re in Manehattan?”
Luna shook her head. “No, it is not mere curiosity, though I am curious. In fact, it has more to do with the Cont-- with Turing Test.” At the sound of her name, Turing lifted her ears and looked to Luna. She chuckled to herself. “So lifelike,” she murmured.
“Um…”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Luna said, turning back to Twilight. “My sister apparently did not initially think to tell me about this miraculous discovery until what happened with those two criminals.”
“Grace and Glory?” Twilight asked.
“Indeed. My sister was quite disturbed by those recent events. She told me of the existence of an artificial pony and tried her best to explain it to me, but I confess I did not truly understand what she meant. It seems even Canterlot University and even the Royal Archives are lacking in information on the subject. However, word came to my sister that this museum would be holding a special exhibit and I acquired a ticket to come see for myself and become better educated on the subject at my sister’s behest.” This caused Twilight and Blue Blazer to both raise an eyebrow, though Luna went on obliviously. “And it seems I am quite fortunate to have my sister’s prized former pupil, an expert on the subject, and the automaton in question to accompany me!”
“Robot.”
“Ah, yes.” She mouthed the word silently to herself before repeating it. “Ro-bot. Such an odd word.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Blue Blazer said, her expression somewhat darker than before, “but did you say your sister, Princess Celestia, suggested your visit?”
Luna tilted her head. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Well… um… it’s…”
Twilight stepped forward, putting herself between Blue Blazer and Luna. “To tell the truth, Luna, Celestia hasn’t really been very fond of automata until recently. Although she seems to be warming up to Turing Test ever since what happened.”
Both Luna and Blue Blazer were startled by this.
“Is that so?” Luna looked down. “She seemed quite supportive.”
“I can’t hardly believe it either,” Blue Blazer said, rubbing her chin. “Cele-- er, Her Highness went out of her way to suggest that we replace this exhibit! Honestly, with her history--”
“History?” Luna asked. “What do you mean?”
Blue Blazer swallowed. “It’s just… she has actively opposed the technology in the past. It’s actually part of the exhibit later.” She slowly turned her head and stared at Turing Test, who stared right back. “What exactly happened? And how did you get Princess Celestia to, ah, ‘warm up’ to you?”
Turing Test looked around, noticing that all eyes were on her. “I believe what happened is mostly a confidential matter. However, my actions demonstrated my devotion to my friends and my willingness to sacrifice myself for them. I believe Princess Celestia became convinced that I intended no harm against Twilight Sparkle or the ponies of Equestria. Does that satisfy your inquiry, Blue Blazer?”
“I… I see. Hm.” She shook her head then raised it, her smile back in place. “Well, never mind all that for now. Let’s take a look at the Ancient Automata display!”
They proceeded to the next room. This one was far larger and was lit with orange and yellow lights along the wall, giving the place a strange, almost eerie ambience. Numerous other automata were again on pedestals or glass display cases.
“In this room you’ll find the remnants of ancient automata from before the Equestrian Era and up to the banishment of Night--” Blue Blazer caught herself just as Luna raised an eyebrow, subtly glancing her way.
“Er, from a long time ago! Eheheh… Well, anyway, please look around at your leisure. I’ll be right here if anypony has any questions!”
Luna rolled her eyes and the group began to split up, looking at all the various displays around them.
Gadget stopped by a rusty chunk of metal with gears sticking out of it while Luna began to examine the figure of a pony in an elegant silk harness around her head and muzzle. Turing stuck close to Twilight.
“These really are incredible, aren’t they, Turing Test?” Twilight asked, examining a suit of armor, which, according to the sign nearby it, was based on a design by Leoneighdo da Vantasso.
“Do you believe so, Twilight Sparkle? They do not seem so impressive to me so far.”
Twilight raised her head. “What do you mean? That ponies were able to construct such things so long ago is actually pretty impressive, don’t you think?”
“The technology available at the time would have made the construction of such machines difficult, but it is clear that they still managed to do so. However, these machines often serve only one function and in many cases, serve no function at all. They are inferior.”
Twilight blinked for a moment, then her lips curved up into a smirk. “Turing, just because you’re much more advanced than these machines doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the effort that went into making them.”
“I do not understand. Please explain what you mean.”
“Well, it’s like I said before we started,” Twilight said, leading Turing to the next exhibit as she looked over it. “When I went to look at the display of ancient ponies, I could appreciate all the amazing things they did to struggle and survive. Those ponies couldn’t use magic or read or write or even talk! They had to wander the fields of what would later become huge cities and vast farmland while foraging for food and avoiding predators. But they did survive, and they grew and changed, and adapted, and eventually they had families that had families of their own, and eventually it all led to us!
“History is important, Turing. Even if these machines are primitive and simplistic compared to you, you should appreciate it a little. After all, if the technology of those eras hadn’t been refined and perfected, then ponies wouldn’t have been able to build you. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them!”
Turing was silent for a moment, but then bowed her head. “You are correct, Twilight Sparkle. I will be more appreciative.” She leaned in close to the automaton before her and in a lowered voice, her head bent slightly, she whispered two simple words. “Thank you.”
Twilight chuckled. “Come on, Turing, let’s check out the next one!”
“I am coming, Twilight Sparkle,” she replied, and followed her friend.
Gadget was still looking over the rusty device as Blue Blazer came up to her.
“You’re certainly interested in that rusty old thing,” Blue Blazer said. “Do you have any questions?”
Gadget was quiet for a moment, humming to herself as she peered at it. “This was a portion of the Andrividan Mechanism, wasn’t it?” she asked, turning to Blue Blazer with a smile.
Blue Blazer’s eyes went wide. “Oh my! You’re right! We had taken down the sign after noticing an error on it, but you managed to identify it all on your own?!”
Gadget polished a hoof on her chest, examining it smugly. “I did a lot of research on automata even before I joined Mr. Vanderbull’s company. It was used to track the stars and predict eclipses along the pre-Equestrian Telestial system, back before Eclipses were scheduled and they had two respective teams for the Sun and Moon raising. They wouldn’t have clocks like this until the early Equestrian era!”
“Exactly!” Blue Blazer nodded appreciatively. “I must say… with you here, I almost feel superfluous.”
Gadget blushed. “Oh, no, not at all!” she said, waving her hooves. “I mean, I know my stuff, but you’re the guide here! I can keep quiet--”
“You should never be afraid to show your knowledge, Gadget,” Blue Blazer said, smiling at her. “If you want to contribute to anything I have to say, please feel free.”
Gadget breathed a sigh of relief.
“Blue Blazer!” Luna called, stopping by a boat that was filled with several automata holding musical instruments. “What is this massive thing? Could these machines actually play music?”
Blue Blazer sighed, but patiently went over to her. “Yes, Your Majesty. These were constructed by the great Saddle Arabian engineer, Ismare Al-Jazari. A tank of water would slowly empty onto a crank which would turn an intricate series of pegs on wheels which would cause the automata to play the instruments. This is a reconstruction based on her designs, of course.”
“I heard that this was actually programmable,” Gadget said, coming over. “They could switch out the pegs to play different songs, right?”
Blue Blazer nodded. “That’s right!”
“Could it play a song now?” Luna asked, her face lighting up.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I’m afraid not. We do not have a water tank installed and it’s not entirely reconstructed anyway.”
“Oh.” Luna lowered her ears. “A pity. I do so enjoy Saddle Arabian music.”
“Everypony!” Twilight called, getting their attention. “Come look at this!”
They went to where she and Turing were looking up at a huge stone tablet on a slanted display under a glass case. The ancient tablet was covered with arcane writing and faded paintings of ponies in strange clothing, all of it etched into the stone. In the very center was a circle with an image of a huge pony with segmented limbs and several other smaller ponies fleeing from it.
“What’s this?” Twilight asked, turning to Gadget and Blue Blazer.
Gadget peered at it. “I have no idea,” she breathed.
“Nor do I,” Luna said. “This writing predates even the old script used in the days before my banishment. I do not recognize it.”
“Well, this is one of the most ancient artifacts,” Blue Blazer said, stepping before them. She pointed at the figure in the center. “This thing in the center is believed to be something called a ‘golem.’ This tablet may have been carved by the ancient tribes of the Yudacorns, a semi-nomadic tribe from the Far East, about 2000 years ago.
“The Yudacorns were, as their name would suggest, a tribe of unicorns. According to the legends, they were able to construct massive automata out of stone or clay and animate them using some kind of arcane magic. They called them golems and they could be made to do all sorts of things. This particular tablet tells of a golem which was made to protect the Yudacorns from their enemies. It was so strong that it could not be stopped, and so intelligent that it began to question its role as a slave, which made the ponies who created it afraid that would turn on them. The story ends with the Yudacorns destroying it and all other golems, declaring that it was unnatural to give life to something which had no soul.”
Twilight winced and looked over to Turing Test. But if this bothered Turing, she did not show it. Instead, her robotic companion only looked more closely at the tablet before stepping toward Blue Blazer.
“Can you verify this story as accurate, Blue Blazer?”
Blue Blazer shook her head, even chuckling a little. “Oh my, no. This is only a legend. The idea that they could create such machines so long ago? And even now, there is no such magic like the kind described. It couldn’t possibly exist!”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s true. I’ve studied magic for almost all of my life, and even the best animation spells are only to give the illusion of independent motion. Making a machine that could think for itself like that with nothing but magic would be impossible!”
Turing nodded. “Understood. It is a curious thing how ponies often tell stories that are untrue with no indication of this.”
Blue Blazer shrugged her shoulders. “Well, shall we proceed to the next part of the exhibit?”
***
Flip Switch was walking down the hall on his way to the commissary for a late lunch when he spotted Vanderbull looking over some files one of the railroad managers was showing him. Raising his head and puffing out his chest, he put on his best professional smile.
“Good afternoon, Commodore!” he said, slowing his pace as he approached.
Vanderbull raised his eyes slightly and gave a short smile and nod before returning his gaze to the files.
Undaunted, Flip Switch stopped, intending to interject himself into their conversation. “I see you got someone to finally clean up your assistant’s messy little workshop, eh sir?”
Vanderbull was barely listening at first, but then what Flip Switch said registered and he finally raised his head. “I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, just saying,” Flip Switch began, feeling sweat forming on his brow. The massive minotaur was imposing enough as it were without him also being his boss. “I mean, last time I was in Gadget’s workshop it was pretty messy. I’m sure a little tidying up--”
“You must be mistaken,” he said, creasing his brow. “It isn’t cleaning day. And you know I never deviate from my set schedules.”
“B-but that donkey janitor Burrojangles said you asked him to clean it, so I let him carry on!”
Vanderbull froze, slowly passing the documents back to the railroad manager. “Excuse me a moment,” he whispered to him. Straightening his jacket, he stepped close - uncomfortably close - to Flip Switch. “Flip Switch, isn’t it?”
Flip Switch’s ears lifted. “Yes, sir! I--”
“I actually knew for certain. I make it a point to know the names of everypony in this building, right down to the custodial staff. I not only made no such request for a cleaning of my most valued employee’s workspace, but I also have never hired a donkey named ‘Burrojangles.’ And you let him into Gadget’s workshop.”
Flip Switch’s eyes went wide and he shrank as Vanderbull glowered down at him, blotting out the light and now appearing as little more than a towering horned shadow. “Oh.”
“Now listen to me very carefully,” he whispered, his deep, raspy voice like the sound of thunder from a distant storm. “You are going to go downstairs immediately. You will tell the security guards that they are to lock down the building and stand guard at every door. No one is to enter or leave. You will do this and hope to Celestia that this interloper does not slip by, because if he does…” and here Vanderbull exhaled a puff of air that blew back Flip Switch’s mane “...I will see to it you not only never work in the railroad business again, but that you will forever travel across Equestria on hoof.”
Flip Switch managed to get out a nod and the barest whimper as he galloped down the hallway, shoving other ponies out of the way to get to the elevator.
Meanwhile, Vanderbull ran off in the other direction, heading for the stairs to get up to Gadget’s workshop. He tossed his jacket and tie aside, rolling up his sleeves. If this ‘Burrojangles’ character was still there, he was about to find out what happened when you angered the wrong minotaur.
To be continued...